Chapter 35. Metamorphosis.

Chapter 35. Metamorphosis.

"Meow meow meow."

As Theo hummed a tune, he emerged from the passage connecting the 60th floor to the 50th floor.

"We need to hurry, meow. The humans are waiting, meow!"

He quickly walked into the passage connecting the 50th floor to the 40th floor.

"Is that him?"

As Theo disappeared, three silver wolves that had been hiding appeared. They were Silver Wolves, and their tribe had been earning money by working as free mercenaries in the tower for generations.

They were now on a mission for the 55th floor landlord, Grid, to track down a stolen item. A simple straw hat, something that could be found easily anywhere.

They didn't know why the landlord Grid wanted a simple straw hat, but it didn't matter. They were mercenaries, after all, and they moved for a price.

The only clue they had, after the entire tribe's efforts, was that one of the fences had handed over the straw hat to a blacksmith in the 75th floor market area, along with other stolen goods.

Following this clue, they tracked down a blacksmith who remembered who had bought the straw hat.

"A yellow-furred cat merchant bought it from the lottery corner."

They then tracked down yellow-furred cat merchants and learned that Theo had appeared here, so they were lying in wait.

"Chief Elka, what should we do?"

"Let's follow him for now."

Though they were mercenaries, they could use the merchant passages by paying a fee, thanks to the agreement between the Free Mercenary Association and the Merchant Association.

Thus, the three silver wolves followed Theo into the merchant passage.

And then,

"Why are the Silver Wolves here?"

Jeras, who had also been waiting to tail Theo, quickly followed into the merchant passage.

Theo, unaware that he was being followed, headed to the 38th floor where the humans were waiting.

***

Day 186 of the ordeal.

After eating lunch, Sejun came down to the cave after taking a nap with the black rabbit and the baby bear on the ground.

And then,

Rustle.

While harvesting cherry tomatoes,

Squeak.

Squeak.

The husband rabbit approached with the scythe rabbit and pointed to the cornfield. The corn stalks were only green stems after the harvest.

"Why the cornfield?"

Sejun didn't know if the corn stalks needed to be replanted like cherry tomatoes or if they could be cut and replanted.

Squeak!

The scythe rabbit went to the cornfield and mimed cutting the bottom of the corn stalks.

"Do I need to cut these?"

Squeak.

The husband rabbit nodded. It seemed they needed to be cut and replanted.

So, Sejun finished harvesting the cherry tomatoes and cut the corn stalks.

Rustle. Rustle.

Sejun tied the cut corn stalks with a rope and moved them to the ground. He had been using leek leaves and cherry tomato stems to cover the areas where he planted crops to prevent water from evaporating in the sun. This allowed him to water the plants less frequently, giving him more time to focus on other tasks.

"Pull!"

Gru! Gru! Gru! Gru!

The baby bear pulled up the corn stalks, tied in bundles of 40. In total, he moved 139 corn stalks to the ground.

Sejun carefully spread the corn stalks over the peanut field, making sure not to cover the planted peanuts. He then spread the remaining corn stalks over a prepared field.

When the work was done,

Roar.

The mother Crimson Giant Bear came to pick up the baby bear.

Gru!

The baby bear waved to Sejun from atop the mother Crimson Giant Bear's head.

"Goodbye! See you tomorrow."

Sejun waved back to the baby bear, went down to the cave, finished the remaining tasks, and went to bed.

***

The next morning.

Roar.

Unlike usual, the mother Crimson Giant Bear woke Sejun, not the baby bear.

"Hmm... What's wrong?"

[The tower's manager says the Crimson Giant Bear has detected traces of other monsters around the cave.]

Eileen answered Sejun's question.

"Other monsters?"

He hadn't noticed anything, and the rabbits with their sensitive hearing had been quiet all night.

[The tower's manager says the Crimson Giant Bear thinks they are horned creatures.]

"Horned creatures?"

Sejun immediately thought of the monsters that had dug several 7-meter deep holes during the Blue Moon.

"That's serious..."

Sejun went up to the ground and looked around. Fortunately, the fields weren't damaged as they had been before.

Instead,

"Hey?!"

The corn stalks and other materials he had used to cover the fields were all gone.

***

Wuchansam was wandering around, following the King of Horses' instructions to find delicious grass.

Then,

Sniff. Sniff.

A fragrant smell came from somewhere.

This is?

Wuchansam cautiously entered the wasteland area. This was a useless area that no one claimed as their territory.

However, since it was no one's territory, all monsters could pass through, so he needed to be careful. The strong smell of red fur still lingered, indicating that some had passed through recently.

Wuchansam quietly approached the source of the fragrant smell.

He found the fragrant grass scattered on the ground and collected it enthusiastically.

The leader will be pleased.

Wuchansam filled his hands with the grass and returned to his territory.

Thus, Sejun's corn stalks, leek leaves, and cherry tomato stems, which he had spread to prevent water evaporation, were all stolen.

***

Roar!

The mother Crimson Giant Bear informed Sejun about the monster intrusion and went out to patrol. She planned to focus on the direction where the horned creatures were.

After the mother Crimson Giant Bear left, Sejun fell into thought.

"Let's be thankful for now."

He was puzzled about why the monsters had taken the corn stalks but was relieved that no one was hurt.

However, he needed to be prepared for the next time.

"Indeed, I need the strength to protect myself."

Sejun thought of the venomous bees as a means of preparation. He had been considering increasing their numbers to protect the area around the cave.

The number of venomous bees in the cave had rapidly increased to over 200. Although it was still not enough to deal with a single monster, it would eventually grow to a level that could threaten monsters.

With this in mind, Sejun approached the rock where the venomous bee queen's cocoon was and quietly sat down in front of it.

Today was the day the venomous bee queen would emerge from her cocoon.

According to the description of the venomous bee queen's cocoon, the queen would recognize the first creature she saw as her owner. Sejun planned to take a break from farming and wait for the queen to emerge.

Sejun carefully opened the leek leaves covering the hole where the venomous bee queen's cocoon was placed and peeked inside.

Rustle. Rustle.

The venomous bee queen was struggling to emerge from her cocoon.

"Keep going."

Sejun quietly cheered for the venomous bee queen and closed the leek leaves.

To ensure no one disturbed the venomous bee queen, Sejun stayed quiet and ate dried sweet potatoes with coffee while waiting for the emergence to finish.

He also prepared honey and cherry tomato stems with flowers in case the venomous bee queen was hungry.

After some time,

Buzz. Buzz.

Sejun slightly lifted the leek leaves.

Buzz. Buzz.

The venomous bee queen slowly flew out of the hole and met Sejun's eyes.

[The venomous bee queen has successfully emerged from her cocoon.]

[The newly born venomous bee queen has recognized you as her owner.]

[Your beekeeping skill level 2 proficiency has significantly increased.]

[Your beekeeping skill level 2 proficiency has reached its limit and leveled up.]

Buzz. Buzz.

The venomous bee queen rubbed her body against Sejun's hand, showing affection.

She then approached the cherry tomato flowers and started to drink nectar, likely because she was hungry.

"Eat well."

The venomous bee queen, who would protect the area around the cave, drank nectar and recovered.

***

This was abandoned in the wasteland?

Yes, Leader.

Well done.

Thank you!

Wuchansam felt very happy with the King of Horses' praise.

Munch. Munch.

The King of Horses was amazed as he chewed the grass Wuchansam had brought. Each piece was sweet and soft.

To think such grass was abandoned in the wasteland. He wanted to send his subordinates to claim the entire wasteland, but the amount of grass was too small.

The amount of grass in front of the King of Horses was only a tenth of what Sejun had lost. The rest...

Burp. I'm sorry, Leader.

Wuchansam burped and apologized to the King of Horses. He had eaten the grass until he was full while bringing it back. As a result, the King of Horses didn't send his subordinates to the wasteland.

Wuchansam, go back to the wasteland and bring more of this grass.

Yes, Leader!

Following the King of Horses' instructions, Wuchansam headed back to the wasteland. Of course, since his stomach was full, he planned to find a quiet place to take a nap first.

***

38th floor of the tower.

The hunters had been waiting for Theo for five days. Most of them had given up and left, leaving only two teams who really needed the magic cherry tomatoes.

"Maybe he went to another floor?"

"No, there might be a supply issue."

As they considered various scenarios for Theo's absence,

"Hey humans, I'm here, meow!"

Theo appeared.

"He's here!"

"Theo, why are you so late?!"

The hunters welcomed Theo.

"Sorry, meow. I had some business. But what, meow? Did my popularity fade, meow?"

Theo had expected a large crowd to cheer for the new D-grade magic cherry tomatoes, but the number of people was smaller than he had hoped, making his ears droop.

"No, everyone wanted to come, but they were worried you'd be uncomfortable, so they drew lots and only we came."

"Is that so, meow? Next time, there's no need to do that, meow."

Theo's ears perked up at Kim Dong-su's words.

"Right."

Kim Dong-su had unknowingly told a white lie to cheer up the poor cat.

'Why did I do that?'

Kim Dong-su couldn't understand his own actions. Seeing Theo disappointed, he wanted to lift his spirits.

As Kim Dong-su tried to understand his actions, unaware that he was becoming Theo's caretaker,

"The magic cherry tomatoes I'm selling today are special, meow!"

"I know. That's why we're here to buy special cherry tomatoes."

"No, meow! This time, they're even more special, meow! They're D-grade magic cherry tomatoes, meow!"

"What?! D-grade?"

The hunters, who initially thought it was just Theo's act, changed their expressions. A higher grade in the tower meant better effects. They felt their wait was worthwhile.

"Can we see the stats?"

"I want to see them too!"

"Me too!"

The hunters crowded around Theo to see the stats of the D-grade magic cherry tomatoes.

"Humans! Line up, meow!"

Theo made the hunters line up and let them check the stats one by one.

"Really D-grade."

"20g of fat can be broken down?"

"The magic power increase is 0.2."

"The expiration date is 60 days."

After the hunters checked all the stats,

"I'll be selling 2000 D-grade magic cherry tomatoes in an auction, 400 each, meow."

Theo announced the start of the auction.

"400 for 70 Tower Coins!"

"400 for 90 Tower Coins!"

The price of the D-grade magic cherry tomatoes quickly rose above 0.2 Tower Coins after two bids.

The hunters bid high prices without considering the cost. D-grade magic cherry tomatoes had never been released outside the tower, and their rarity meant this transaction would definitely yield at least double the profit.

The price skyrocketed, and the D-grade magic cherry tomatoes sold for about 0.3 Tower Coins each.

"Sold out, meow!"

Theo sold 2000 D-grade magic cherry tomatoes and received a total of 612 Tower Coins, with total sales exceeding 1000 Tower Coins.

'Phew. Finally, I'm becoming a mid-level merchant, meow! I don't need to be afraid of Sejun anymore, meow!'

Theo, who could finally face Sejun without fear, felt relieved.