Chapter 52. Planting Strawberries and Green Chili Peppers

Aileen was deeply immersed in the fun of feeling her dragon heart beat, even without eating anything.

Thump...

"Ah! It's beating!"

Thump...

"It's beating again!"

It was beating very slowly but steadily. Although the heartbeat was still too weak to accumulate mana, Aileen was incredibly happy just knowing that her dragon heart was beating.

"This is all thanks to that clever human! I wonder what that clever human is doing? I, the great black dragon Aileen Pratani, should be taking care of him..."

As her thoughts turned to Sejun, Aileen became curious about what he was up to. He might be using an unappraised item that could be dangerous, or he might be eating something delicious alone...

"Ugh! I can't forgive that!"

The thought of him eating something delicious without her made her furious.

Just then,

"Huh?"

[Achievement unlocked: Reproducing the forgotten dish, Sweet Potato Soup, in the tower.]

[Achievement unlocked: Reproducing the forgotten dish, Potato Soup, in the tower.]

"Hehe. Reproducing new dishes for me! That clever human has done something clever again! I need to hurry and ask for some!"

Aileen rushed to the crystal orb.

However,

[You have over 1,000 unread notifications.]

[Please clear your notifications.]

The notifications from the crystal orb interrupted Aileen.

"Ugh! I'm busy!"

Aileen quickly skipped through the notifications without reading them. Among them were red warnings, but her determination to eat the new dishes quickly made her skip them all.

Then,

"Hehe. Shall I, the great black dragon Aileen Pratani, see what that clever human has made?"

Aileen hurried to the crystal orb to check what Sejun was eating.

***

When Sejun's stomach was somewhat full,

[The tower manager has come to taste the Sweet Potato Soup and Potato Soup, drooling.]

Aileen's message appeared.

"You didn't answer when I called you earlier. It's all cold now."

[The tower manager was busy with something.]

"Alright. Give me a quest."

[A quest has been issued.]

[Quest: Treat the tower manager to Sweet Potato Soup and Potato Soup.]

Reward: Aileen will eat the food and find it very delicious.

Penalty for refusal: Aileen will be very disappointed.

"I've put it in a pot with a lid in the cave. Just take it."

With Sejun's words, the quest was completed.

[The tower manager is very grateful for the delicious food.]

[The tower manager says it's very sweet and energizing.]

Energizing? It must be because of the Power Sweet Potatoes and Power Potatoes. Sejun and the animals were also feeling very energized.

"Alright. Eat a lot."

After lunch, Sejun took a nap with Theo, the black rabbit, and Gweung. In the afternoon, he started replanting the sweet potato sprouts he hadn't finished in the morning.

By the afternoon, other rabbits who had finished their tasks joined in, and the sweet potato field was quickly completed.

[2500 square meters of sweet potato field created.]

[5000 experience points gained.]

"Phew. Done. Now to the leek field..."

Just as Sejun was about to move to the leek field,

Splash!

The black rabbit called Sejun to go fetch some seafood.

"Alright."

Sejun went down to the cave and found something he hadn't seen before in front of the pond. It was a net made of leek leaves.

"Did you guys make this?"

Sejun asked the gray rabbits.

Beep!

Beep!

Beep!

Bing!

"Huh?!"

Among the gray rabbits nodding in response to Sejun's question was a single red rabbit, who was sticking closely to the architect rabbit.

He wanted to ask what was going on with the red rabbit, but it was still young. At this age, its interests could change many times a day.

Instead, he thought he should give the red rabbit a carrot later as a gesture of comfort.

Splash!

Splash!

The black rabbit entered the pond with the net and called Sejun. "I'm going in now!"

"Alright!"

Sejun grabbed the rope.

A moment later,

Snap! Snap!

The signal to pull the rope twice came.

"Haah!"

The net was quite heavy, probably because it was full. Sejun used all his strength to pull it up. Fortunately, the black rabbit started moving the seafood from the net back into the pond, reducing the weight.

In this way, they pulled up about 100 piranhas and crayfish. It was tiring, but it was much easier to catch seafood than before.

"Let's do it a few more times."

Splash!

The black rabbit immediately went back into the water at Sejun's words. Although 100 was a good number, it was better to eat them quickly to prevent spoilage, even with the low water temperature.

Besides, they had the Crimson Giant Bear mother who always needed more food. Worrying about having too much food was pointless.

This way, Gweung and the Crimson Giant Bear mother were able to have their first full meal served by Sejun.

Roar.

Gweung.

Roar.

Gweung.

Thump. Thump.

After a satisfying dinner, the happy Crimson Giant Bear mother and Gweung walked back home with lively steps.

Sejun and the black rabbit caught more seafood. They wanted to give some to the Silver Wolves as well, since they had agreed to catch them quickly.

Meanwhile, the gray rabbits, following Sejun's instructions, made bags out of leek leaves for the wolves to carry. These were designed to be worn on both sides of their bodies and could be used for Theo's trading trips later.

With these bags, the wolves carried piranhas, crayfish, and eel chunks down to the 85th floor of the tower. They had to do this today because Theo and the trading trip were leaving in the morning.

The busy day passed quickly.

***

Gweung!

Gweung announced her arrival with a powerful cry.

"Ah."

Swish.

Sejun added a mark to the cave wall, starting the 215th day of his survival.

"It's already the day the seed shop opens. I wonder what will be available?"

Sejun prepared to work, looking forward to today's seeds.

Crunch.

He had a simple breakfast of raw sweet potato and a few cherry tomatoes before starting his work. Today, he planned to plant potatoes.

Tap. Tap.

Sejun placed the potatoes on a flat stone he had dug up from the ground and cut them.

"They said the eyes should be on them, right?"

Sejun didn't just cut them into quarters but divided them into 2-4 pieces, ensuring the eyes were not too concentrated.

Previously, he couldn't communicate with the husband rabbit, but since they could talk, he learned more detailed farming knowledge.

Rustle.

Sejun scooped the cut seed potatoes into a crossbody bag made of leek leaves with both hands. The gray rabbits were skilled, and they made the bags as close to Sejun's specifications as possible.

He started planting the seed potatoes next to the sweet potato field he had planted yesterday.

Of course, he called Gweung to clear the leek leaves covering the empty field.

Gweung!

Gweung was happy to be given a task and worked hard to carry the leek leaves. Actually, she was happy about the honey she would get after completing the task.

Poke.

Sejun stabbed the ground with his dagger, creating a space, and planted the seed potatoes with the eyes facing up. Since the crossbody bag didn't hold much, Sejun went back and forth, planting potatoes diligently.

When he had planted about half of the potatoes,

[The seed shop is now open.]

[Your rank is Common.]

[Today, 4 random seeds are available for purchase.]

[You can buy as many seeds as you want within 5 tower coins.]

The seeds available for purchase today appeared as the seed shop opened.

[Flame Bean Seed - 5 tower coins]

[20,000 Carrot Seeds - 4 tower coins]

[100 Strawberry Seeds - 0.5 tower coins]

[100 Green Chili Pepper Seeds - 0.5 tower coins]

"Flame Bean Seed?"

It cost 5 tower coins for one. Although he had enough money, the condition of buying within 5 tower coins meant he couldn't buy the Flame Bean Seed and anything else.

"Hmm... Familiar taste, after all."

Sejun's hesitation was brief. He decided to buy several familiar seeds instead of one unknown one.

[20,000 Carrot Seeds purchased.]

[100 Strawberry Seeds purchased.]

[100 Green Chili Pepper Seeds purchased.]

[5 tower coins have been deducted from your Seed Bank account.]

[50 seed shop points have been earned.]

[You now have a total of 56 seed shop points.]

Rustle.

Three leather pouches filled with seeds appeared in Sejun's hands.

[Thank you for using the seed shop.]

[You can use the seed shop Level 2 again in 30 days.]

"There's more to plant now."

Although the workload increased, Sejun's face was bright. The thought of eating strawberries and green chili peppers gave him energy.

"I'll have to leave the carrot seeds to the rabbits."

A vast field had been prepared by the Black Minotaurs and the shovel rabbits over the past few days, and the rabbits' enthusiasm for carrots meant they would plant all the seeds even if it meant less sleep.

After planting 4,000 potatoes and all the strawberries and green chili peppers in the cave,

"Mr. Sejun, we're back."

The wolves had returned after delivering food to the wolves on the 85th floor.

"Take a break."

Sejun let the wolves rest for a moment after their trip to the 85th floor and separated the bags from the wolves, taking them down to the cave.

Then,

"Mr. Theo."

He called Theo, who was enthusiastically eating churu in a corner.

Squish, squish, squish.

"What is it? It's nap time."

Theo, who was eating churu, ran to Sejun's lap.

"No. Let's pack these together."

Sejun walked to the storage with Theo hanging from his knee and packed the cherry tomatoes they had harvested yesterday into the bags.

Since the bags the wolves wore didn't have preservation magic like Theo's backpack, he packed the most recently harvested ones.

In this way, he packed 100 cherry tomatoes into each of the six bags and put them back on the wolves.

"Have a good trip. Mr. Theo."

"Got it! I'll sell them all again! Let's go, everyone!"

"Mr. Sejun, we're off."

"Alright. Elka, Boldo, Kishu, have a good trip."

Theo and the wolves left the tower with Sejun's farewell.

"Phew. Now I need to prepare lunch."

Sejun went to the pond and fished for piranhas and crayfish with the black rabbit.

They were still edible, but unlike yesterday, the piranhas' eyes were slightly cloudy, indicating they were starting to spoil. He needed to act quickly. Even if they were spoiled, the detoxifying leeks would prevent food poisoning.

"But I don't want to eat them that way."

With this thought, Sejun pulled up the net.

"Ugh!"

This time, a chunk of eel was caught in the net.

Splash!

The black rabbit went into the pond, took a breath, and came back out.

Sejun used a spear made from his dagger to cut the eel chunk into smaller pieces and put them into a hole, where other rabbits took the eel pieces to cook.

After that, the black rabbit only fished for eel chunks.

"Does the black rabbit want to eat eel?"

Just as Sejun was thinking this,

"Whoa?! Ouch!"

The rope connected to the net was suddenly pulled hard, almost dragging Sejun's body.