Chapter 24: Harvesting D-Class Crops
TL: Hanguk
“Meow?”
Peong?
Theo and the black rabbit, who had been hugging each other and sleeping all night, woke up at the same time and locked eyes.
Blink. Blink.
Both were at a loss for how to resolve this awkward situation.
“Did you sleep well, meow?”
Peong!
They were so flustered that they forgot what had happened yesterday and got up as if nothing had happened.
“Are you up?”
Sejun also woke up upon hearing the conversation between Theo and the black rabbit.
“That’s right, meow!”
Peong!
Zzzt!
Zzzt!
Both answered at the same time and realized what they had to fight for.
Swoosh.
As Sejun added a stroke to the cave wall and started the 162nd day,
Haak! Haak!Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.
Peong! Peong!
Sejun’s voice became the spark, and Theo and the black rabbit stared at each other like sworn enemies, on guard.
Theo pulled out his hidden claws, and the black rabbit gripped the hammer tightly with both hands, ready to swing at any time.
Cat and Rabbit Fight. A battle between yellow and black. The atmosphere grew increasingly tense.
At that moment,
“Let’s get along well.”
“Meow?”
Peong?
Sejun, who had returned after washing his face, picked up both Theo and the black rabbit by the scruff of their necks and placed them on each of his knees.
And then,
Swoop.
Swoop.
Swoop.
He put dried sweet potatoes in his own mouth and put Churu and carrots in the mouths of Theo and the black rabbit.
Munch, munch, munch.
Gulp, gulp.
The two glared at each other for a moment longer, but gradually focused on eating, and the fight ended trivially. And so, Theo and the black rabbit recognized each other’s territories.
After a quick breakfast, Sejun started his morning farming right away. He hurried to work because of his excited heart. The reason was the training dagger of Keinz he held in his hand. He wanted to use it as soon as possible.
First, Sejun went to the field to plant the carrots tops that the rabbits had eaten.
Scoop. Scoop.
As expected, the named dagger dug the ground well. The billion-dollar named weapon, used to cut monsters, had fallen to a farming tool in Sejun’s hands.
Swoosh.
Sejun planted one of the carrot tops in the hole he had made with the dagger.
[You planted the carrot top.]
[The effect of Sowing Lv. 3 increases the probability of the carrot taking root.]
[Your job experience increases very slightly.]
[The proficiency of Sowing Lv. 3 increases very slightly.]
[The effect of Proficiency Increase Lv. 1 adds a 5% increase to the proficiency of Sowing Lv. 3.]
“Huh?! This also increases proficiency?”
Sejun, who thought it only applied to combat, reread the option of Keinz’s training dagger.
[Proficiency Increase Lv. 1]
All skills used with this dagger increase proficiency by 5% faster.
“All skills used with the dagger?”
Indeed, a B-Class named item was different.
“Hehehe. I should work hard to increase my proficiency increase skill.”
Sejun’s enthusiasm soared. Sejun quickly planted the remaining three carrot tops and went to the cherry tomato field.
Sejun cut the stem with several cherry tomatoes on it using the dagger.
Swoosh.
The tough cherry tomato stem was cut so easily. Lately, there were many cherry tomatoes to harvest, so they were harvesting them by cutting the entire stem.
[You have simultaneously harvested 7 ripe cherry tomatoes.]
[Your job experience increases slightly.]
[The proficiency of Harvesting Lv. 3 increases slightly.]
[The effect of Proficiency Increase Lv. 1 increases the proficiency of Harvesting Lv. 3 by an additional 5%.]
[You have gained 70 experience points.]
“Wow.”
It’s really enjoyable to work.
Snip. Snip.
Sejun diligently cut the cherry tomato stems and harvested several cherry tomatoes at once.
And the task of separating the cherry tomatoes from the harvested stem was Theo’s responsibility. Theo removed the cherry tomatoes and put them directly into a bag.
As Sejun handed the cut cherry tomato stem to Theo,
“Why am I doing this when I’m the representative?”
Theo complained as he asked.
“Then what about me? I’m the president, and I’m working too.”
“What? Sejun, you’re the president?”
“Yes. So hurry up, Representative Theo.”
“Alright. But is the president higher than the representative?”
Theo’s eyes sparkled as if he had found a new goal to aim for.
‘Hehehe. When I become the president, I will monopolize both of Sejun’s hands and knees!’
Theo imagined himself lying on Sejun’s knees, being petted on his belly with one hand and fed treats with the other.
“That’s right.”
“Oh! I’ve learned something good! I’ll work even harder!”
“Eat while working.”
“I don’t like this.”
Theo didn’t like cherry tomatoes. Sejun thus motivated Theo and went back to harvesting cherry tomatoes.
At that moment,
Meow!
As lunchtime approached, the black rabbit called Sejun to move the piranhas he had caught. Today, he caught more piranhas than usual, to pay for Theo’s weekly salary.
Before wrapping the piranhas in leaves, Sejun seasoned them with salt and pepper.
He grilled three fish first, seasoning each with salt, pepper, or both, not knowing which seasoning the rabbits and Theo could eat.
“If there’s any leftover, I’ll just eat it.”
Finally, they could eat seasoned food. Sejun, with a fluttering heart, wrapped the rest of the piranhas in leaves and placed them in the fire.
Then he waited for the grilled fish to be done. Today, there were many exciting things.
After a while, the smell of grilled fish began to fill the cave.
“Let’s eat!”
Sejun called the white rabbits.
Peep!
Meow!
At Sejun’s words, the white rabbits answered and prepared the rest of the meal. The wife rabbit grilled green onions, while the other white rabbits brought sweet potatoes and carrots from the storage.
Chomp.
While the rabbits ate carrots and waited for the other dishes to be ready, Sejun didn’t put anything in his mouth.
When you’re hungry, your taste buds become more sensitive. Sejun waited and waited, focusing all his taste buds on the seasoned grilled fish.
And finally,
“It’s done!”
After a long wait, the grilled fish Sejun had been waiting for was finally ready. When he removed the leaf covering the fish, steam rose, and the smell of pepper spread.
The first grilled fish he took out was a piranha seasoned only with pepper.
“Hmm.”
Sejun deeply inhaled the aroma.
“Let’s try it. Do you guys want some?”
Sejun cut the pepper-seasoned grilled fish into small pieces and distributed them to the rabbits.
However,
Cough, cough.
The white rabbits started coughing, as if the pepper was too spicy for them.
Bang!
Fortunately, the black rabbit seemed to have discovered a whole new world and ate it enthusiastically.
And then,
“Representative Theo, would you like to try?”
“I’ll pass. You think I’d play around with fish?”
Theo was a pure fish lover.
Luckily, the white rabbits enjoyed the grilled fish seasoned with salt.
Thus, the pepper became a seasoning just for Sejun and the black rabbit.
After lunch,
Gulp.
Sejun sat on his designated seat, where the sun shone, and drank coffee for the first time in a while.
Carrot harvesting was over, except for those flowering for seed collection. In the afternoon, there was nothing left to do besides harvesting cherry tomatoes, so they had some free time.
“I’m sleepy…”
Bang…
As soon as Sejun sat down, Theo and the black rabbit naturally took their places on Sejun’s lap and napped.
Snoring.
Snoring.
The two quickly fell asleep. As a result, Sejun, who couldn’t get up, spent his time gazing at the sky.
At that moment,
Buzz! Buzz!
Three baby bees, the size of a thumb, hatched from the hive and went out into the world. When the cherry tomato field was in full bloom, the queen bee began laying eggs in earnest.
And now, 3-5 baby bees were born every day, and the number of bees soon exceeded 50. To be exact, there were 53.
Buzz.
The adult bees began teaching the baby bees their work.
It was a peaceful sight. Sejun watched the adult bees teaching the baby bees while finishing his coffee.
“Now, wake up.”
Sejun woke Theo and the black rabbit.
“Five more minutes…”
Yawn…
Theo and the black rabbit, who were making a fuss about sleep.
Thunk.
Sejun grabbed the back of Theo and the black rabbit’s necks, set them down on the ground, and stood up.
“Now, let’s get to work.”
Sejun went back to the cherry tomato field and harvested the tomatoes.
Rustle. Rustle.
“Hehehe. They cut so well.”
Thanks to the stems cutting so easily, Sejun naturally became excited.
Sejun was so absorbed in harvesting the cherry tomatoes that he didn’t notice the time.
“I’ll be going now!”
As soon as Theo filled his bag with cherry tomatoes, he prepared to descend the tower and save the remaining time for Representative Theo to use later.
He planned to sell the carrots and sweet potatoes after the next harvest, as there wasn’t enough for the rabbits and himself.
“Already? Take this grilled fish with you.”
“Thank you.”
Theo carefully put the grilled fish that Sejun gave as his weekly pay into his bag.
“When you stop by the store district, be sure to visit the forge and try your luck at the lottery corner.”
“Got it.”
Sejun made Theo buy the necessary items from the store again, and on the way, he also made him try the equipment lottery at the blacksmith’s. Sejun didn’t want to waste Theo’s dazzling talent..
“I’ll be back meow.”
Theo went down the tower again for the fourth transaction.
While sending Theo away and harvesting cherry tomatoes,
[You have simultaneously harvested 6 well-ripened Magical Cherry Tomatoes.]
[Your job experience greatly increases.]
[The proficiency of Harvesting Lv. 3 greatly increases.]
[Due to the effect of Proficiency Increase Lv. 1, the proficiency of Harvesting Lv. 3 increases by an additional 5%.]
[You have gained 90 experience points.]
“Huh? 90 experience points?”
It wasn’t the experience points one could get from harvesting six cherry tomatoes.
Sejun examined the harvested cherry tomatoes.
Three were the original cherry tomatoes, but the other three were different.
[Magical Cherry Tomato]
A cherry tomato grown inside the tower that has absorbed enough nutrients and has a delicious taste.
When consumed, it breaks down 20g of fat in the body and increases magic power by 0.2 for 10 minutes.
The effect can be stacked up to 10 times within an hour.
When a non-awakener consumes it, it breaks down 20g of fat and revitalizes the body.
The taste has improved as it was cultivated by a tower farmer who just got the hang of farming.
Cultivator: Tower Farmer Park Sejun
Expiration date: 60 days
Grade: D
It was a D-grade crop.
The fat breakdown, magic power increase, and expiration date were all doubled.
But what caught Sejun’s eye was something else.
“It tastes better?”
Sejun immediately put the D-grade Magical Cherry Tomato in his mouth.
Pop.
Crunch.
As soon as he bit into the cherry tomato, a stronger sweet and sour taste swept through his mouth.
“It’s delicious… Gasp!”
Sejun quickly came to his senses and hastily put the D-grade cherry tomatoes into his pocket separately. He didn’t know from where the tower administrator might be watching greedily, and the black rabbit as well.
But he was already caught.
Peong?!
The black rabbit that had been watching Sejun from a while ago rushed over and shouted. What are you eating alone?!
Shh!
Sejun put his index finger to his lips and quietly took the black rabbit to a corner of the cave. There were only three D-grade cherry tomatoes, and the other white rabbits might feel left out if they found out.
“You have to eat quietly. Got it? We’re accomplices now.”
Sejun warned the black rabbit and gave him a D-grade cherry tomato.
Peong!
The black rabbit nodded confidently and replied. Don’t worry!
“Okay.”
Sejun trusted the black rabbit and went back to harvesting cherry tomatoes.
And shortly after,
Slurp! Slurp! Slurp!
The sound of the black rabbit sucking up cherry tomato juice echoed throughout the cave. Hey! You said not to worry!
Fortunately, 10 more D-grade cherry tomatoes were harvested before that, so the white rabbits didn’t have to be left out.
[The tower administrator feels left out because you didn’t give them any.]
“I told you I’d give you some.”
On the 162nd day of being stranded, everyone truly tasted the D-grade Magical Cherry Tomato without anyone feeling left out.
“Huh?! I feel somewhat left out, meow.”
Theo went down the tower, feeling strangely left out.
*****