Chapter 34 of 100
Chapter 34. Boosting the Soil's Vitality
7 min read1,870 words
Chapter 34. Boosting the Soil's Vitality
Roar!
Today, I started the morning with the cub's roar. The only difference was that the baby rabbits inside the rabbit couple's burrow joined in, creating a surround sound effect.
Swoosh.
Sejun added another mark to the cave wall, marking the start of the 185th day of being stranded.
Today is the day the Seed Shop opens.
"Please let good seeds appear."
While Sejun made a devout wish and washed his face at the pond,
Squeak!
Clang!
Clang!
Clang!
The rabbit couple brought their babies out,
Clang!
Clang!
And the baby rabbits also emerged from the burrow. They then prepared breakfast together. The morning menu was simple: roasted sweet potato jerky and carrots.
Chomp. Chomp.
While the adult rabbits quietly ate their breakfast,
Clang!
Clang!
Clang!
The baby rabbits stood in a neat line in front of Uncle Sejun.
Munch. Munch.
Sejun chewed on the roasted sweet potato jerky and used a dagger to cut the carrots into french fry-sized pieces, giving two to each baby rabbit.
Chomp. Chomp.
The baby rabbits held a carrot stick in each hand, alternately chewing on both sides, eating enthusiastically.
Sejun also cut the leftover carrots and put them into two leather pouches he had received when buying seeds. Each pouch, not very large, could hold about five carrot sticks.
He then made a string from leek leaves and tied it to the leather pouches, completing the bags.
"Now, you're in charge of supplies."
Sejun hung the leather pouches on the two relatively larger baby rabbits out of the five.
Clang!!!
The baby rabbits with the leather pouches proudly declared, "Now I'm the strongest! Because I can eat carrots whenever I'm hungry!"
Thus, Sejun and the rabbits started their morning and began their work.
Swoosh. Swoosh.
Sejun quickly cut the leek leaves. Although the female rabbit had returned, Sejun's speed was faster, so she took care of the baby rabbits and did simple tasks.
Swoosh.
When Sejun brought the harvested cherry tomato branches to the female rabbit,
Clang!
Clang!
Clang!
The baby rabbits followed their mother, picking the cherry tomatoes. They were still not strong enough, so 2-3 of them worked together to pick the tomatoes, which was incredibly cute.
Sejun watched the baby rabbits in awe, then regained his composure and went to the cornfield to harvest the remaining corn.
Thud.
[You have harvested well-ripened stamina corn.]
[Your job experience has slightly increased.]
[Your Harvesting Level 4 proficiency has slightly increased.]
[Due to the Level 1 proficiency boost effect, your Harvesting Level 4 proficiency has increased by 5%.]
[You have gained 24 experience points.]
For a while, D-grade + items were not appearing, but today, Sejun finally harvested D+ grade crops. They had a shelf life 1.5 times longer than D-grade, lasting 90 days.
"It seems I've accumulated a lot of job experience."
From Sejun's experience, D+ grade crops started appearing when job experience was about halfway full.
"Good."
Sejun, riding the momentum, continued harvesting the corn.
Then,
[You have leveled up.]
[You have gained 1 bonus stat point.]
Sejun's level increased to 16. He raised his Dexterity to increase his work speed.
"I have some time left."
Today's workload was lighter than usual, and there was still plenty of time left after harvesting the corn. Sejun decided to prepare the corn for planting before lunch.
Sejun took out 20 ears of corn from the storage. He had selected the ones with the prettiest and largest kernels from the harvested corn for planting.
Thud. Thud.
Sejun carefully removed the kernels by hand, worried that the seeds inside might be damaged if he used a spoon, and placed them in a plastic container.
[You have obtained corn seeds.]
[Your job experience has slightly increased.]
[Your Seed Planting Level 1 proficiency has slightly increased.]
Although each ear of corn had about 200 kernels, Sejun's hands became faster as he got used to the task, and he quickly finished planting the seeds from 20 ears of corn.
Then,
[Your Seed Planting Level 1 proficiency has reached its limit and leveled up.]
Sejun's Seed Planting skill leveled up after planting exactly 3,987 corn seeds from 20 ears of corn.
"Done."
Just as Sejun was about to stand up after finishing the planting,
[The Seed Shop is now open.]
[Three random seeds are available for sale today.]
[At your current level, you can only purchase one type of seed.]
The Seed Shop opened, and the seeds available for purchase today were displayed.
[100 radish seeds - 0.1 TACoins]
[100 cucumber seeds - 0.2 TACoins]
[1,000 peanut seeds - 5 TACoins]
"Hmm... They're all good, but..."
Sejun pondered over the seeds. Radishes are tasty raw, but he lacked the ingredients and seasonings to go with them, so he decided to wait. Cucumbers were also ruled out for similar reasons.
"Today, I'll go with peanuts."
Sejun decided to buy peanuts. Roasted peanuts have a unique nutty aroma and flavor.
Moreover, from his limited agricultural knowledge, he remembered that peanuts could improve soil fertility.
"Peanuts are beans, so..."
Peanuts, being beans that grow in the ground, could help restore the soil's fertility.
Sejun purchased the peanuts.
[You have purchased 1,000 peanut seeds.]
[5 TACoins have been deducted from your Seed Bank account.]
[You have earned 50 Seed Shop miles.]
[You now have a total of 106 Seed Shop miles.]
[100 Seed Shop miles have been deducted for the next level up.]
" Deducted?"
[Your level has increased from Newbie to Common.]
[At the Common level, four random seeds are available for sale.]
[At the Common level, you can purchase seeds up to 5 TACoins worth.]
[Your Seed Shop Level 1 has leveled up.]
As the Seed Shop's level increased, the Seed Shop skill also leveled up.
[Thank you for using the Seed Shop.]
[You can use Seed Shop Level 2 after 30 days.]
Rustle.
A leather pouch containing 1,000 peanut seeds appeared in Sejun's hand.
"In the afternoon, I'll plant the peanuts."
The field was already prepared by the cub and the rabbits over the past two days, so all he needed to do was plant the 1,000 peanuts.
Sejun looked down to pick up the plastic container with the corn kernels he had planted.
Then,
Swoosh.
A tiny foot reached out and grabbed a handful of corn kernels from the plastic container. It was the front paw of a baby rabbit with fluffy white fur.
"Got you, little one."
Sejun grabbed the baby rabbit by the scruff of its neck with a stern voice. The corn kernel thief was caught red-handed.
Clang!
The baby rabbit struggled to escape Sejun's hand but, surprisingly, seemed comfortable and started munching on the corn kernels in its front paws.
Crunch. Crunch.
The sound of the corn kernels popping as the baby rabbit chewed was audible.
It was cute, but he couldn't be swayed. As an uncle, he couldn't ignore his nephew's misbehavior. While Sejun was thinking about how to discipline the baby rabbit,
Crunch. Crunch. Crunch.
"Huh?"
He heard something popping from behind.
"What is it?"
Sejun turned his head and saw the baby rabbits eating the raw corn kernels he had planted.
Boldly, the baby rabbits with the leather pouches had filled them with corn kernels. What he thought was a solo act turned out to be a group effort.
"Who told you to take these?! Hey?!"
Sejun raised his voice and scolded the baby rabbits, thinking he needed to correct their bad habits.
However,
Clang...
Clang...
Clang...
The baby rabbits started crying, feeling wronged. We didn't do anything wrong...
There was a misunderstanding between Sejun and the baby rabbits. The baby rabbits thought the corn kernels in the plastic container were theirs because Sejun always gave them the kernels when he fed them corn.
"Okay, okay. Uncle is sorry."
Suddenly feeling guilty, Sejun comforted the baby rabbits and took the remaining cooked corn from yesterday, removing the kernels and giving them to the baby rabbits.
Then, it was lunchtime. Sejun handed the sleeping baby rabbits to the rabbit couple and prepared lunch.
Then,
Roar!
For some reason, the mother Crimson Giant Bear returned early from her patrol, as if on schedule for lunch. Could she have come to taste the cooked corn she fed to the cub yesterday?
"I don't have to give her corn."
Despite his words, Sejun quickly filled a pot with corn and started cooking. It wasn't out of fear; the customer is king, right?
While Sejun was cooking the corn, the rabbits skewered piranhas and gathered carrots to prepare for lunch.
Then,
"Pull!"
At Sejun's command, the rope tied to the line
Rattled.
Today, it felt like riding a high-speed elevator as the rope quickly ascended.
"Whoa!"
In an instant, Sejun's eye level rose 5 meters above the ground and then descended. Today, the mother Crimson Giant Bear, not the cub, pulled the rope.
Roar! Roar!
As Sejun ascended, the cub quickly took its place. I'm waiting nicely! Give me food!
"Let's eat."
As Sejun distributed the food, the mother Crimson Giant Bear subtly took a seat behind the cub, looking at Sejun with a pleading gaze. If he hadn't prepared the cooked corn, things could have gotten messy.
Thinking it was a good idea to prepare the cooked corn, Sejun gave 20 ears of cooked corn to the mother Crimson Giant Bear.
Roar.
The mother Crimson Giant Bear greedily devoured the 20 ears of cooked corn in one bite.
Munch. Munch.
Roar?
The cub looked at its mother with a happy expression. Mom, is it good?
However,
Roar?
The cub's expression gradually darkened. Mom, did you eat them all?
Roar...
The mother Crimson Giant Bear looked at Sejun with a pleading gaze, and Sejun had to go back to the cave to cook more corn.
When Sejun brought the cooked corn back to the surface,
Clang!
Roar!
The black rabbit and the cub were sliding down the mother Crimson Giant Bear's arm, which was lying on the ground, like a slide.
"Are you not scared?"
The black rabbit, perhaps because it was a warrior, fearlessly played on the mother Crimson Giant Bear's body.
Sejun gave the cooked corn to the cub and finished his meal.
Slurp.
Thanks to the mother Crimson Giant Bear, Sejun could enjoy a peaceful coffee and a quiet break.
Roar.
The mother Crimson Giant Bear rested for a while, then got up and went back on patrol, and the rabbits started their afternoon farming.
Then,
Thud.
Sejun stayed on the surface and used a dagger to dig the ground and plant the peanuts.
[You have planted peanut seeds.]
[Due to the effect of Seed Planting Level 3, the probability of the peanut seeds germinating has increased.]
[Your job experience has slightly increased.]
[Your Seed Planting Level 3 proficiency has slightly increased.]
[Due to the Level 1 proficiency boost effect, your Seed Planting Level 3 proficiency has increased by 5%.]
After about an hour,
[You have created a 250-pyeong peanut field.]
[You have gained 500 experience points.]
Sejun finished planting all 1,000 peanuts.
On the 185th day of being stranded, peanuts, which would improve the soil's fertility, started growing in the field.