Chapter 42: Setting Out

Chapter 42: Setting Out

Swish. Swish.

In the afternoon, after eating Aileen’s health soup, Sejun’s stats all increased by 3, and he reached level 18, so he invested his bonus stats into agility, which increased by 4. He cut the leeks as fast as if he had a motor.

Moreover, with his increased strength, he started cutting 2-3 leek leaves at once, significantly reducing the work time compared to the morning.

Swish. Swish.

Moo! Moo!

Sejun had Moo carry the cut leek leaves. Of course, to make Moo move, he needed to offer honey as a reward.

"Alright, we finished one row. Let’s eat honey."

Moo!

At Sejun’s words, Moo hurriedly brought the glass bottle of honey and ran to Sejun.

Click

Sejun opened the glass bottle

Drip.

Pouring a drop of honey on Moo’s front paw,

Lick. Lick.

Moo started licking the honey enthusiastically.

In the meantime, Sejun took a short break.

"It’s changed a lot."

Sejun looked around with a proud expression.

The wasteland where he had planted 1,000 peanut seeds, 3,000 corn seeds, and 1,000 cherry tomato seeds was now turning green as the sprouts grew.

Of course, the leek field, where Sejun had yet to harvest, was so lush it could be called a green forest.

While Sejun was observing the changes around him,

Moo!

Moo, who had finished eating the honey, called out to Sejun. Let’s get back to work!

If the Earth runs on capitalism, then Moo runs on honey. Honey made Moo move.

Swish. Swish.

Encouraged by Moo, Sejun got up and started cutting leeks again. Did I make a mistake? Sejun glanced back and continued cutting leeks frantically.

Moo!

Behind him, Moo, eager to eat more honey, collected the leek leaves at a crazy speed, following Sejun as if trying to eat him.

"Huff, huff, huff."

Sejun panted heavily, cutting leeks as if chased by Moo. Thanks to Moo, the time it took to cut leeks was halved compared to the morning.

Lick. Lick.

Compared to Sejun, Moo still seemed to have plenty of energy, happily licking the honey on his front paw.

Thanks to Moo, Sejun finished the work early and used the remaining time to plant the remaining corn seeds and cherry tomatoes.

Moo?

Moo hovered around Sejun, wondering if he would get more honey. What else is there to do?

"I have to do this alone."

Moo...

At Sejun’s words, Moo sat on the ground dejectedly.

At that moment,

Thump!

The black rabbit emerged from the ground. Brother, I’m here!

Moo!

Moo ran towards the black rabbit. Brother, play with me!

While the two of them practiced and played, Sejun diligently planted the seeds.

Poke.

He stabbed the ground with a dagger, planted the seeds, and covered them with soil.

While Sejun was carefully planting each seed,

[You have planted a magic cherry tomato seed.]

[The effect of Seed Planting Lv. 3 increases the probability of the magic cherry tomato seed sprouting.]

[Your job experience has increased slightly.]

[The proficiency of Seed Planting Lv. 3 has increased slightly.]

[The effect of Proficiency Increase Lv. 1 increases the proficiency of Seed Planting Lv. 3 by 5%.]

[The proficiency of Seed Planting Lv. 3 has reached its limit and the level has increased.]

The level of Seed Planting became 4. Just as Harvesting’s level 4 introduced a new effect, Seed Planting also gained a new effect.

[Job Skill - Seed Planting Lv. 4]

- The probability of seeds sprouting increases slightly.

- The probability of being damaged by pests decreases slightly.

"Pests? Bugs?"

Sejun was surprised, as he had never seen bugs in the tower before. What’s this, making me anxious? Real bugs won’t appear, right?

Putting aside his unease, Sejun continued planting the seeds.

***

Theo stationed Woocheon-sam and Woocheon-sa at the entrance of the 40th floor merchant passage and went down to the 38th floor of the tower. He did this to monopolize the attention of the humans. Attention is for me alone!

To the hunters, the massive Black Minotaur was a source of fear rather than interest, but Theo was cautious.

Theo thought that since humans liked him, a fierce beast (?), they would also like the Black Minotaur. Theo was completely misunderstanding his charm points.

"I’m here!"

Upon arriving at the 38th floor, Theo announced his presence to the waiting hunters.

"Ah! You’re finally here!"

Almost 100 hunters, who had been waiting for Theo for several days, greeted him.

Knowing that Theo had arrived late at the previous trading location, the hunters waited patiently this time. The number of hunters had increased significantly as hunters from other guilds joined to buy magic cherry tomatoes.

'Puhuhu. So many humans are here to trade with me!'

Theo’s steps were confident. As Theo walked forward, the hunters parted like the sea.

"Today, I will auction 3,600 D-grade magic cherry tomatoes, 400 at a time!"

Standing in the middle of the humans, Theo declared boldly. With his backpack capacity tripled, he could carry 3,600 cherry tomatoes even after filling a third of it with leek leaves.

There was still room for about 400 more, but it was reserved for the crops he would deliver to Sejun’s family.

"What?!"

"3,600?!"

Theo’s announcement excited the hunters. With the demand outside the tower overwhelming, they were happy to see the quantity increase.

"400 for 120 Tower Coins!"

The auction started with the price of one D-grade magic cherry tomato at 0.3 Tower Coins.

"400 for 160 Tower Coins!"

Thomas, the research team leader under Michael’s orders, immediately raised the price to 0.4 Tower Coins per tomato.

However,

"400 for 170 Tower Coins!"

"400 for 180 Tower Coins!"

"400 for 200 Tower Coins!"

The hunters present were all sent by wealthy individuals to make the trade, and their financial power was not to be underestimated.

The auction heated up,

"400 for 320 Tower Coins!"

At 0.8 Tower Coins per tomato, Thomas, who had to secure the tomatoes at his superior’s request, won the first auction.

"Yay!"

The other hunters looked at Thomas enviously. The price had risen too much because of Thomas.

The subsequent auctions also saw bids at 0.75 to 0.85 Tower Coins per tomato, with 2,000 tomatoes being bought by Thomas. Since it wasn’t his own money, Thomas bid freely.

"Sold out!"

Thanks to Thomas, who spent the company’s money freely, Theo achieved a record-breaking sales amount. A staggering 2,870 Tower Coins! It was an enormous sum.

'Park Sejun will praise me!'

Thinking about hearing the praise "As expected, only Theo can do it!" while eating Churu on Sejun’s lap made Theo feel good.

"Those who want to take a photo with me, line up!"

In a good mood, Theo smiled widely throughout the photo session, providing excellent service to the female hunters.

And,

"Give me a reward!"

He also received a proper reward.

After the photo session,

"Let’s do a human trade."

Theo called Kim Dong-su and proposed a trade.

"I’ll do it!"

Kim Dong-su, who had failed to secure the tomatoes due to the tycoons’ actions, accepted without even hearing the conditions.

"The conditions are the same as last time. The reward is 200 magic cherry tomatoes. Please deliver them to Park Sejun’s family."

Theo received Kim Dong-su’s signature on the contract and handed over 50 Tower Coins, agility carrots, stamina corn, and 50 magic cherry tomatoes each.

"What?!"

Kim Dong-su was greatly surprised when he saw the options of the crops Theo handed over. Carrots that increase agility and improve vision, and corn that increase stamina and improve skin elasticity!

To Kim Dong-su, who had only known about the magic cherry tomatoes, it was a big shock.

'If this becomes known, it will cause a stir again.'

Kim Dong-su realized this was an opportunity.

"Theo, I will deliver 50 Tower Coins and crops to Sejun’s family every month without any reward. In return, give me the opportunity to buy other crops."

"Meow... I’ll think about it and let you know next time."

Theo postponed the decision to ask Sejun.

After completing Sejun’s errand perfectly, Theo returned to the entrance of the 40th floor merchant passage where the Black Minotaurs were waiting.

Munch. Munch.

Woocheon-sam and Woocheon-sa were eating the leek leaves while keeping an eye on the wolves. However, they found it troublesome and knocked the wolves out every time they regained consciousness.

"Let’s go back up!"

Moo...

Moo...

Woocheon-sam and Woocheon-sa, who would only get one meal a day if they returned, answered gloomily and got up reluctantly.

On the other hand, Theo, excited about getting back to Sejun’s lap, walked with a light step.

"Meow, meow, meow!"

Singing a tune, Theo led the two Black Minotaurs and three wolves towards the 99th floor of the tower.

At that moment,

Moo?

Woocheon-sam, who was moving, suddenly scratched his head. Did I forget something?

***

Where is that Woocheon-sam?

Uma-oh, who had been waiting for Woocheon-sam, became furious when there was no news.

Could it be?! Did he enter another monster’s territory while looking for grass?

That foolish one might have entered the territory of the red-furred ones or the venomous honeybees while looking for delicious grass.

No. What if he went there?!

A terrifying scene came to Uma-oh’s mind. It was a place where even corpses wouldn’t remain.

Was it because of my order?

Uma-oh thought Woocheon-sam had died because of his order to bring grass. He couldn’t imagine that Woocheon-sam was eating delicious grass three times a day.

Feeling guilty, Uma-oh decided to search for Woocheon-sam’s body himself.

Moo!

Uma-oh called his subordinates, Wooil to Wubaek, to guard the waypoints.

And,

Thump. Thump.

He moved to search for Woocheon-sam himself.

***

"Phew."

Day 205 of the ordeal. Sejun sighed as he looked at the dozens of piles of leek leaves, each about 1 meter high. There were too many.

The leek field had grown larger each time the leek roots split, but there was no one to eat the leek leaves. The production far exceeded the consumption.

"Things will improve when Woocheon-sam and Woocheon-sa return."

Even then, it would only reduce the rate at which the piles of leek leaves increased. It was already more than the two Black Minotaurs could handle.

At that moment,

Moo!

Moo jumped onto a pile of leek leaves. It looked soft and comfortable.

"If you like it, take it to use when you sleep."

Moo?

At Sejun’s words, Moo asked happily. Can I take Mom’s too?

"Sure."

Just as Mom Crimson Giant Bear and Moo were about to leave with 10 piles of leek leaves for their bedding,

Moo!

Thump. Thump.

A Black Minotaur, similar in size to Mom Crimson Giant Bear, with red, bloodshot eyes, ran madly towards Sejun’s leek field.