Chapter 44 of 100
Chapter 44. Searching for the Electric Eel
8 min read2,015 words
Chapter 44. Searching for the Electric Eel
What should I do?
Umaou, who had returned to the waypoint and fallen asleep feeling good, was now lost in thought, his expression serious as he looked at the withered leek root in Zan's hand.
Upon reflection, there were definitely red-haired beings and others in the leek field yesterday. And the neatly planted leeks.
In other words, someone was growing leeks. The great warrior and leader of all Black Minotaurs had stolen someone else's property.
What if the other Black Minotaurs found out? It would be the greatest disgrace.
Munch, munch.
Mmm~
Umaou first removed the only evidence, the withered leek, by eating it. It was delicious.
I'll pay the price a month later.
Umaou decided to return to the place a month later, when he could leave the waypoint, to pay for the grass he had eaten first. Then, he would pay the price and eat more grass. This time, he couldn't eat properly due to the 1-hour limit.
But what should I pay with?
Umaou was lost in thought about what to pay with. Sejun had already made a detailed compensation list, but Umaou didn't know about it.
***
Cuewng!
Cuewng's loud cry woke Sejun and the rabbits.
"Ah!"
Sejun sprang up energetically, added a line to the wall, and started the 207th day's morning.
"Let's eat breakfast!"
Sejun called the rabbits to eat breakfast. The morning menu was carrots and steamed corn.
"Phew."
Squish...
Squish...
But Sejun and the rabbits' faces were incredibly gloomy. This was because the carrots and corn they were eating now were the last.
The carrots they had harvested initially were long gone, and the recent carrots were those Sejun had grown from the upper parts of the carrots he had planted.
But this was the last of the carrots, and the last of the corn. From the day after tomorrow, they would have to eat only leeks and cherry tomatoes.
They couldn't catch piranhas or crayfish in the pond, and the potatoes, the fastest-growing crop, would take about two weeks to harvest. It seemed a time of hunger was coming.
Munch, munch.
Chomp, chomp.
After such a gloomy breakfast, Sejun and the rabbits started their morning farming.
Snap!
Today, the black rabbit also worked hard, helping with the tasks.
The black rabbit's desire to go outside the pond was so strong that Sejun persuaded it to only go outside when he was with it.
Sejun and the black rabbit agreed to explore outside the pond for two hours after lunch.
Snap! Snap!
To fill the two-hour gap when Sejun was away, the black rabbit, in place of the mother rabbit, picked the cherry tomatoes from the branches Sejun had harvested.
Meanwhile, the mother rabbit joined the task of cutting leek leaves, working with the scythe rabbit in the leek field.
This was possible because the baby rabbits had started to help with the farming a little.
Squish.
Squish.
Squish.
The baby rabbits, who had the blood of farmers, were enjoying farming and following their older siblings to experience different jobs.
Snap.
[You have harvested 6 well-ripened magical cherry tomatoes simultaneously.]
[Your job experience has increased slightly.]
[Your Harvesting skill level 4 proficiency has increased slightly.]
[Your Harvesting skill level 4 proficiency has increased by an additional 5% due to the effect of Proficiency Increase Level 1.]
[You have gained 136 experience points.]
"D+ grade 4, D grade 2."
Just from the experience points, he could tell what he had harvested. The ratio of harvesting + grade crops was increasing. His job experience was almost full.
While Sejun was thinking about when his job level would increase, he was harvesting cherry tomatoes.
Buzz, buzz.
He saw a group of venomous bees moving busily.
"What is it?"
Sejun turned his head in the direction the venomous bees were heading.
"Hmm?"
There, the cherry tomatoes he had planted for a job quest were blooming. Out of the 1,000 cherry tomato seeds he had planted, only 621 had grown properly.
"Is it time to harvest already?"
As he said this, Sejun's gaze turned to the potato field. Since he had planted the cherry tomatoes the day after planting the potatoes, the planting times were similar. With the corn almost finished tomorrow, Sejun's eyes were drawn to the potato field.
Snap! Snap!
Feeling better at the thought of soon being able to harvest potatoes, Sejun cut the cherry tomato branches vigorously and harvested the tomatoes.
After finishing harvesting the cherry tomatoes and returning to the surface,
Snip, snip.
The wife rabbit, wearing a slightly more elaborate apron, was cutting leek leaves with a sharper, larger pair of scissors.
The wife rabbit had also undergone a second awakening yesterday. As a result, Sejun could accurately grasp her abilities.
The wife rabbit's ability was all-around. With this second awakening, the performance of the equipment in her apron had all improved.
Sejun joined the leek field work team, cutting leek leaves and planting new leek roots.
The effect of a bountiful harvest not only influenced the growth of leek leaves but also the roots, making the roots grow at an incredibly fast rate in the fertile soil.
"Can I restore the field Umaou ruined in five days with this?"
Just as Sejun finished cutting all the leek leaves,
Snap!
The black rabbit came up to the surface. Today, it wasn't to move piranhas but to bring the prepared lunch.
The lunch menu was grilled leek and cherry tomatoes. Sejun and the rabbits ate lunch in silence.
And
Munch, munch.
Unable to eat piranhas, Cuewng filled its stomach with leek leaves. In no time, about ten large leek leaves disappeared into Cuewng's stomach.
"Good appetite?"
Seeing Cuewng eat the leek leaves better than expected, Sejun wondered if all the leek leaves he had taken home had disappeared into the Crimson Giant Bear's stomach.
"Take more leek leaves if you need them."
Cuewng.
Cuewng nodded vigorously at Sejun's words.
"Good, not picky."
Swish, swish.
Cuewng!
Feeling proud, Sejun stroked Cuewng's belly, and Cuewng lay down to make it easier for Sejun to stroke, starting to eat leek leaves.
While stroking Cuewng, Sejun suddenly had a question.
"Why aren't you growing these days?"
Considering the growth rate so far, Cuewng should have grown over 5 meters, but it was still around 3 meters. Or, it felt even smaller than before.
"It's not because of lack of food, right?"
But Cuewng was full of energy these days.
While Sejun was worried about Cuewng,
Purr.
Cuewng fell asleep with a leek leaf in its mouth, and Sejun leaned against Cuewng's body and fell asleep too.
And
Purr.
The black rabbit, feeling sleepy after lunch, climbed onto Sejun's lap and fell asleep.
***
Snap!
The black rabbit, refreshed from its nap, woke Sejun. It was time to explore outside the pond.
"Let's eat a detox leek first."
Snap!
At Sejun's words, the black rabbit chewed a detox leek to prepare for any possible poisoning.
"Check the rope next."
Snap!
The black rabbit checked the rope tied around its waist. The rope was a minimal safety measure; if the black rabbit pulled the rope twice, Sejun would pull it.
"Here's a weapon."
Sejun handed the black rabbit a harpoon he had made by attaching his dagger to a short piece of wood, which was easier to use underwater than a hammer.
Splash!
Equipped with the rope and harpoon, the black rabbit entered the pond.
"Be careful."
Snap!
The black rabbit answered and left the pond through a hole.
Swish, swish.
Sejun loosened the rope, wishing for the black rabbit's safety.
***
Outside the pond was pitch black, but the black rabbit, who had been there before, didn't panic and waited. Gradually, its eyes adjusted to the darkness, and it could see.
If it were complete darkness, this wouldn't work, but there was a faint yellow light below, making it possible.
Yesterday, he had adapted to the darkness and tried to look around when a commotion outside caused him to return to the pond.
Now, let's go!
Paddle, paddle.
The black rabbit kicked its legs vigorously toward the yellow light. The water current was strong toward the yellow light, making the black rabbit approach it faster.
The water temperature got colder as it went deeper.
And
What's all this?!
Upon reaching the yellow light, the black rabbit saw a large number of piranha and crayfish corpses carried by the current. The yellow light was coming from the other side of the pile of corpses.
The black rabbit pushed through the pile of corpses and saw a giant eel's corpse, its head emitting a bright golden light. The eel was so long that it would take about 25 leek leaves connected end-to-end to match its length.
This is it!
The black rabbit was sure this eel was the giant electric eel Sejun had mentioned.
Paddle, paddle.
The black rabbit swam to the giant electric eel's head and
Poke!
Stabbed the head with the harpoon, tearing the flesh and entering the eel's head to rummage around.
Flash!
It found a fist-sized golden orb. Uncle will like this!
Pop.
Excited, the black rabbit hugged the orb and swam out of the eel's head.
Then, it put the harpoon on its back, pulled the rope twice, and entrusted itself to Sejun's hands, hugging the orb tightly.
Whoosh, whoosh.
The rope was pulled, and the black rabbit was quickly lifted up. At some point, the black rabbit lost consciousness, having held its breath for too long.
***
'Signal!'
Feeling the two pulls on the rope, Sejun started pulling it.
He pulled as quickly as possible without breaking the rope. After about two minutes of pulling, a golden light appeared beyond the pond's hole.
"What is it?"
Feeling something strange, Sejun continued pulling, and the black rabbit, holding the golden light, arrived in the pond.
"Black rabbit!"
Sejun quickly entered the pond and pulled the black rabbit out. He removed the orb and the rope from its possession and
Huff.
Just as he was about to give it artificial respiration,
Poke.
"Ah!"
A black paw covered Sejun's mouth.
Snap!
The black rabbit frowned and looked at Sejun. What are you doing, Uncle?!
"No, I was trying to save you..."
Sejun felt a bit hurt.
Snap!
The black rabbit, now conscious, stood up vigorously. It brought the golden orb Sejun had thrown and handed it to him.
"What is this?"
Sejun took the golden orb the black rabbit handed him.
[You have obtained the core of the electric eel.]
The same message had appeared when he took the orb from the black rabbit's possession, but Sejun hadn't checked it.
"Giant electric eel's core?! You found the giant electric eel?!"
Sejun looked at the black rabbit in amazement.
Snap!
The black rabbit raised its head proudly. I'm strong!
Sejun didn't understand why finding the giant electric eel's corpse was connected to being strong, but he checked the core's options.
[Core of the Giant Electric Eel]
The core of a giant electric eel that lived for 1,000 years in the underground lake on the 99th floor of the tower.
It emits light, containing the power of electricity.
Consuming it grants the skill: Thunder (雨雷).
Usage restriction: Magic power 10 or higher, the one who killed the giant electric eel (Park Sejun)
Grade: A
A core that grants a skill! The mysteries of the tower were truly endless.
But
"I can't eat it now."
Sejun's magic power wasn't enough to consume it yet.
"Here, take this."
Crunch, crunch.
Sejun handed the golden orb to the black rabbit and started rubbing its shoulder.
Snap?
Confused by Sejun's sudden change in attitude, the black rabbit tilted its head. What's up with Uncle?
"Mr. Black Rabbit, please give me a piece of eel."
Sejun wanted to eat eel.
Thus, dinner was decided to be grilled eel, cut by the black rabbit from the giant electric eel.
Just as the grilled eel was almost ready,
"I'm back, nya!"
Theo returned with great success.