Chapter 8 of 100
Chapter 8. It was a good match.
8 min read2,004 words
Chapter 8. It was a good match.
Swoosh.
The energy of the Blue Moon that had attached to the sweet potato vine flowed into the ground along the vine.
'There was a sweet potato there?'
The sweet potatoes he planted this time were all for seedlings. He planned to cut the vines when they grew to a certain length and transplant them.
'But I didn’t even expect the sweet potatoes...'
"Swallow..."
Thinking about being able to eat the sweet potatoes, Sejun unconsciously drooled.
"Should I eat it raw? Roast it? Can I boil it?"
Sejun thought about how to eat the sweet potatoes as he greeted the 92nd day of his ordeal with wide-open eyes.
Swoosh.
Following his daily routine, he first drew a line on the wall and then moved to the sweet potato field.
And
Scrape, scrape.
Sejun carefully began digging around the area where the Blue Moon's energy had flowed into the ground.
"Wow!"
He hadn't dug much with his hands when the head of a blue sweet potato was already visible.
Rustle, rustle.
Sejun calmed his quickening hands and carefully removed the soil around the sweet potato, as if excavating an archaeological artifact.
A moment later, Sejun carefully lifted a fist-sized blue sweet potato from the ground.
[You have harvested a Power Sweet Potato containing the energy of the Blue Moon.]
[Your job experience has greatly increased.]
[Your Harvesting Level 1 proficiency has greatly increased.]
[Your Harvesting Level 1 proficiency has filled up, and your level has increased.]
[You have gained 50 experience points.]
The job experience and skill proficiency, which had only increased slightly, rose significantly. Moreover, the skill level had also increased.
But none of that mattered to Sejun right now.
Sejun looked at the sweet potato in his hand.
[Power Sweet Potato containing the energy of the Blue Moon]
A sweet potato grown inside the tower, rich in nutrients and delicious.
The taste has been further enhanced by the energy of the Blue Moon.
When consumed, strength permanently increases by 0.05.
Cultivator: Tower Farmer Park Sejun
Expiry Date: 30 days
Grade: E
It's even more delicious than before.
Sejun went to the cherry tomato field and harvested the blue cherry tomatoes containing the energy of the Blue Moon.
[You have harvested a Magic Cherry Tomato containing the energy of the Blue Moon.]
[Your job experience has greatly increased.]
[Your Harvesting Level 2 proficiency has increased significantly.]
[You have gained 50 experience points.]
The Harvesting skill had just leveled up, so the increase in skill proficiency this time was smaller than before.
"Hehehe."
With a blue sweet potato in his right hand and a blue cherry tomato in his left, he felt like he had the world in his hands.
Then,
[An additional quest has appeared.]
A message appeared, ruining Sejun's mood.
'I knew it.'
The threats from the quest, which always targeted Sejun's crops, began again.
[Quest: Offer the Power Sweet Potato containing the energy of the Blue Moon to the tower's manager.]
Reward: None
If refused: Death!!!!!
[Quest: Offer the Magic Cherry Tomato containing the energy of the Blue Moon to the tower's manager.]
Reward: None
If refused: Death!!!!!
Two quests appeared simultaneously.
'This time, it's a bit intense?'
The exclamation marks made it clear how frustrated the tower's manager must be.
'What should I do?'
If he refused and the tower's manager got too upset, it could be a big problem. He might really die.
But this time, he didn't want to give in. So he decided to complete an unfinished quest first to improve the tower's manager's mood.
"I offer the remaining Magic Cherry Tomatoes."
[Quest completed.]
Sejun completed the quest to offer 500 Magic Cherry Tomatoes.
[The tower's manager is pleased with the basket full of Magic Cherry Tomatoes.]
[The tower's manager grumbles, asking what he's doing.]
Despite trying to hide his satisfaction, the message revealed everything. The tower's manager had a simpler personality than expected.
And he wasn't in a bad mood right now. So he decided not to give in today.
"I'll give you the rest next time."
Sejun accepted both quests but put them on hold. Last time, he didn't know any better and had his crops taken, but he couldn't let these delicious items be taken away.
'I'll try them myself!'
[The tower's manager threatens to demand them next time.]
Sejun was annoyed by the tower manager's demanding attitude, as if he were collecting a debt, but decided to tolerate it today.
He didn't want his enjoyment to be ruined by such things.
"But what should I do with this?"
The sweet potato was big enough to share with the rabbits, but the cherry tomatoes were too small.
"Then there's only one option."
Eat quickly and destroy the evidence!
He decided to give the rabbits plenty of Magic Cherry Tomatoes.
Sejun put the blue cherry tomato in his mouth.
Crunch.
The skin of the cherry tomato, containing the energy of the Blue Moon, was chewy like jelly.
And
Squish!
The juice of the cherry tomato soaked his mouth, spreading a sweet and sour taste.
If the Magic Cherry Tomato was a simple local festival, the Magic Cherry Tomato containing the energy of the Blue Moon was a grand city festival.
Swallow.
[You have consumed a Magic Cherry Tomato containing the energy of the Blue Moon.]
[Magic permanently increases by 0.05.]
"Mmm..."
The lingering sweet and sour taste in his mouth after swallowing made him oblivious to the message.
After eating the blue cherry tomato, Sejun went to the fire pit.
"It's a shame I don't have aluminum foil..."
But Sejun had all-purpose leek leaves.
Crack.
He broke off a leek and wrapped the sweet potato in the leaves.
Then he waited.
"Hum, hum, hum."
The anticipation of eating roasted sweet potatoes made him hum a tune. He could have caught piranhas or harvested more cherry tomatoes during the wait, but he didn't today.
This was the day he would first welcome roasted sweet potatoes in this place. He kept the fire pit reverently to prevent any unfortunate accidents, like the sweet potatoes burning.
'After all, waiting for delicious food is the happiest time.'
How much time had passed?
Crack, crack.
He was enjoying the pleasant sound of the leek leaves crackling when
Squeak!
Squeak.
Squeak!
Squeak!
The rabbit family came out of their burrow.
Sniff, sniff.
Sniff, sniff.
The rabbits, eyes closed, were naturally drawn to the fire pit by the sweet scent of the roasting sweet potatoes.
"I'll let you have some tasty food in a moment."
Squeak!
The baby rabbits cheered at Sejun's words. The rabbit couple also waited happily, arms crossed behind them.
After a while, the smell of roasted sweet potatoes began to waft through the air.
Squeak!
Squeak!
The baby rabbits started to worry that the sweet potatoes might burn.
But Sejun didn't panic. Timing was crucial from this point on. If he took them out too early, they would only be cooked on the outside, and if he waited too long, they would burn completely.
Sejun watched carefully, waiting for the smell to mature.
And
'Now!'
Sejun quickly pulled the leek leaves wrapped around the sweet potatoes out of the fire pit.
Swoosh, swoosh.
He peeled off the blackened leek leaves.
There, the sweet potatoes, slightly stuck to the bottom, were revealed.
Swallow.
Sejun carefully poked the sweet potato with a fish bone.
Poke.
Squish.
The fish bone easily pierced through to the center of the sweet potato.
'Done! Perfect!'
Sejun smiled broadly and used the fish bone like chopsticks to move the roasted sweet potato onto a clean leek leaf.
He then cut the leek leaf into small pieces and started peeling the sweet potato, holding it by the end.
"Ouch, it's hot!"
The roasted sweet potatoes were so hot that his hands burned, but he endured it, thinking about the sweet potatoes he would soon eat.
Squish.
As he peeled, precious pieces of sweet potato fell off with the skin.
'I'll eat these later.'
Sejun secretly collected the sweet potato skins in one place without anyone noticing.
But
Squeak!
Squeak!
The baby rabbits, having caught the scent, were already grabbing the sweet potato skins and eagerly licking the sweet potato stuck to them.
'Smart kids.'
He was impressed by the rabbits' actions, figuring out how to eat on their own without being taught. They were clever rabbits who knew how to enjoy their food.
After giving the skins to the baby rabbits, Sejun peeled the sweet potato, leaving only the ends.
Steam.
"Hum, hum, hum."
The sight of the hot steam rising from the yellow flesh of the roasted sweet potato made him smile.
Squeak!
Squeak!
The baby rabbits, who had already eaten the skins, were now pestering for the sweet potatoes.
"Alright."
Sejun cut the roasted sweet potato into small pieces and placed them on each of their leaf plates. Since they were sharing the sweet potatoes, the effect of increasing strength would not apply.
But
I don't care.
He wanted to share the first harvest with his family. With so many mouths to feed, the amount each one got was small.
Then
"No!"
Squeak?
When Sejun stopped the baby rabbits from eating the roasted sweet potatoes in front of them, they were confused.
"We should eat together. Bring your parents."
Squeak!
The baby rabbits ran off to bring the rabbit couple.
Finally, everyone sat in front of their leaf plates.
"Let's eat!"
Squeak! Crunch!
Squeak! Crunch!
Squeak! Crunch!
The rabbits put the roasted sweet potatoes in their mouths and quickly spat them out. They thought the sweet potatoes were cool because there was no steam.
"Ha, ha, ha. You need to cool them down. Hoo, hoo."
Sejun showed them how to blow on the sweet potatoes to cool them down.
Hoo, hoo.
Hoo, hoo.
Hoo, hoo.
The rabbits followed Sejun's example and blew on their sweet potatoes.
"Shall we try now?"
Yum.
Sejun took a big bite of the roasted sweet potato, and the sweet scent and hot steam filled his mouth. The inside of the sweet potato was still hot.
But Sejun had a high-level skill.
"Chew, chew."
He rolled the sweet potato around in his mouth, cooling it with the air inside. Of course, it looked a bit unappealing.
He gave up on the visual aspect and carefully chewed the cooled sweet potato.
Mush.
The soft sweet potato crumbled easily, almost breaking apart before he even bit into it. Finally, the long-awaited sweetness exploded. The world seemed to turn yellow.
'It's like honey.'
Of course, it would have been even better with milk and kimchi, but it was still delicious without them.
The late Mr. Applephone's boss once said,
"Simple is best."
Without any additional flavors, he could focus on the pure sweetness of the sweet potato. The sweet potato stood on its own with just its sweetness, and it was not at all boring or tiring.
"It was a good match."
Sejun had already eaten the sweet potato, including the skin.
'If anyone ever looks down on sweet potatoes as a famine food, I'll have to tell them that sweet potatoes are great matchmakers.'
Sejun got up from his seat, lost in thought.
Then
Rumble.
His stomach growled.
"Why?"
He felt like he had eaten a lot, but his stomach was still empty.
"Oh."
He realized he had only eaten one cherry tomato and a small piece of roasted sweet potato for breakfast.
His stomach was naturally empty.
Squeak!
Squeak!
The baby rabbits started to whine from hunger.
Crack, crack.
The rabbit couple quickly broke off some leeks and roasted them over the fire to prepare breakfast.
"Wait a moment."
Sejun also went to the storage to get more cherry tomatoes, gave one to each of the baby rabbits, and ran to the pond to catch piranhas.
Crunch, crunch.
The baby rabbits quieted down with the cherry tomatoes.
That's how the fourth Blue Moon passed without any major incidents.