Squish. Squish.
The Kudzu, drawing life from the fire ant worker, grew rapidly.
“Huh?”
Upon reaching a certain size, the plant stopped growing and, with a sound,
Poof.
A flower bloomed.
Then,
[The Kudzu absorbs the fire ant’s life force.]
[The fire ant’s life force continuously depletes.]
[The Kudzu absorbs the fire ant’s life force.]
[The fire ant’s life force continuously depletes.]
…
..
.
Every minute, a message appeared stating that the Kudzu was absorbing the fire ant’s life force. Sejun watched the fire ant for 30 minutes.
“Huh? Why isn’t it dying?”
No matter how long he waited, there was no sign of the fire ant dying. Even though the Kudzu was supposedly draining its life force, the ant seemed perfectly healthy.
Krueng!
[Daddy, Cuengi’s bored!]
“Hmm, just wait a bit.”
Sejun, while giving Cuengi a piggyback ride, observed for another 30 minutes, but the fire ant still appeared perfectly healthy.
Kuehehehe. Krueng!
[Hehehe, Cuengi’s excited!]
Only Cuengi laughed joyfully, enjoying being carried around.
“I get it now.”
Sejun quickly realized the issue. The Kudzu was just a regular Kudzu. Even if it drained the ant’s life force, it was merely a tiny fraction of the ant’s total life force. To drain the ant completely, thousands, perhaps tens of thousands of Kudzu needed to be planted. Or perhaps the Kudzu needed to grow more to absorb even more life force.
“Oh really….. How am I supposed to use this in combat?”
He’d even have to make holes in the skin…
Moreover, crops needed to be pollinated before they could bear fruit, so he couldn’t harvest anything before that.
The ‘You are a Field!’ skill was profoundly agricultural in nature.
Just as Sejun was feeling disappointed with the skill’s performance,
Kieee….
The unconscious fire ant worker began to regain consciousness.
Then,
[Special Effect: Restraint activated.]
Squirm. Squirm.
With the message of the special effect activation, the Kudzu’s stems began to wrap around the fire ant.
“Oh!”
Sejun was momentarily hopeful, but
Snap.
As the ant moved its legs, the Kudzu’s stems broke off easily.
Squirm.
The Kudzu attempted to grow new stems and tie the ant down, but
Whooosh.
The fire ant spewed fire from its antennae, burning the Kudzu’s stems, further proving the insignificance of Sejun’s newly acquired combat skill.
“Still, I need to harvest this Kudzu. Cuengi, hold it down!”
If he left it as it was and the Kudzu bore fruit, this area could become like the 85th floor.
Krueng!
[Understood!]
As Cuengi held the fire ant still, Sejun pulled out the Kudzu root embedded in the ant’s back.
Suk.
He extracted a Kudzu root the size of a mini carrot from the fire ant’s back.
[You’ve harvested a Strong Vitality Kudzu Root.]
[Your job experience has slightly increased.]
[Your proficiency in Harvesting Lv. 7 has slightly increased.]
[You’ve gained 50 experience points.]
[The fire ant receives minor damage.]
Multiple messages about the harvest appeared simultaneously.
“Huh? This isn’t just any Kudzu root?”
Cuengi, on Sejun’s back, sensed the aroma of herbs emanating from the Kudzu root.
Sniff. Sniff.
Krueng!
[Daddy, there’s a faint smell of herbs in here!]
“Herbs?”
Upon hearing Cuengi’s words, Sejun quickly checked the Kudzu root’s options.
[Strong Vitality Kudzu Root]
→ This is the root of a Kudzu that has grown by absorbing the life force of a living host.
→ Its potency is very weak since it hasn’t fully matured yet.
→ When consumed, it increases health by 0.002 or increases potential health by 0.001.
→ Cultivator: Tower Farmer Park Sejun
→ Expiration Date: 10 days
→ Grade: E
“Is this really an herb? Then, can I plant other seeds as well?”
Putting aside the combat skill’s effectiveness for now, Sejun quickly tried planting other seeds on the fire ant’s back.
[Combat Skill – You are a Field Lv. 1 has been activated.]
[Fire ant worker’s body is planted with the seed of a Magical Cherry Tomato.]
[Your job experience has slightly increased.]
[Combat Skill – You are a Field Lv. 1 proficiency has slightly increased.]
…
..
.
[The Magical Cherry Tomato rapidly grows, absorbing the life force of the fire ant worker.]
However, other crops didn’t turn into herbs. It seemed there were specific crops that could become herbs.
“Well, at least I’ve figured out how to cultivate crops quickly, so that’s good.”
As Sejun felt somewhat satisfied with his findings and was about to return to his farm,
Kieeek.
A fire ant with a small, Sturdy Blade Green Onion growing on its back started to follow Sejun. The ant had undergone a change in its pheromones due to the crops planted in it and now perceived Sejun as an ally.
“What’s this? Cuengi, let’s go slowly.”
Sejun, riding on Cuengi’s back, spoke as he noticed the ant following him.
Krueng!
[Understood!]
Cuengi moved at a pace allowing the fire ant to follow.
Soon, the fire ant arrived at Sejun’s farm and
Kieeek
Kkeek
It naturally joined the group of mushroom ants.
***
75th Floor of the Black Tower.
“Sigh… I don’t want to go in…”
Paeten sighed, looking at the dilapidated warehouse, his place of work. On his first day, he encountered a ghost in the warehouse and fainted, prompting him to resign the next day.
However, the Wandering Merchants’ Association refused to accept his resignation.
And then…
Bang!
The door of the warehouse opened abruptly as if to hurry him inside.
“I can’t even run away because of those ghosts…”
Paeten walked into the warehouse as a cow being led to a slaughterhouse.
Upon learning that Paeten was sent by Theo to tidy up the warehouse, the ghosts harassed him at home whenever he missed work, hoping to avoid their own torment when Theo visited.
When Paeten entered the warehouse,
– Oh! Is the youngest here?!
– What are you doing?! Hurry up and move!
The ghosts greeted him and ordered him to clean. Thanks to Paeten installing shelves and organizing the items, the height of the stacked goods on the floor had reduced.
As Paeten was busy dusting and tidying,
“Here are 1000 Tower Coins, meow!”
Theo’s voice was heard from outside. Just as a sparrow can’t pass a mill without stopping, Theo couldn’t bypass the lottery draw warehouse on the 75th floor.
-Kiieek! Lord Theo is here!!!
The ghosts panicked at the sound of Theo’s voice.
Bang!
“Puhuhut, I’m here, meow!”
Theo entered the warehouse confidently.
– Lord Theo, welcome!
The ghosts lined up orderly to greet Theo.
“Huh…”
Paeten stared in astonishment. The ghosts were that scared? Paeten once again realized whom he had messed with.
“Why is this warehouse still so dirty, meow?”
…
…
Theo’s words froze both the ghosts and Paeten.
“First, bring out the items I have asked you to keep aside, meow!”
– Yes!
The ghosts hurriedly brought out four items they had stored for Theo to inspect.
“Hmm, meow…”
Theo stretched out his front paw, comparing the attraction between the four items in front and others he hadn’t seen yet.
Then,
“Get me the item under this, meow!”
Theo pointed to the ground full of stacked items.
– Yes…
The ghosts diligently fetched the items, and Theo inspected each one.
“Not this one, meow!”
It seemed that several ghosts were destined to face Theo’s wrath that day and move on to the afterlife.
After about an hour, about ten ghosts moved on to the afterlife.”
And then,
– Guys, I think it’s time for me to leave.
One of the ghosts spoke, moments from its end.
“I found it, meow! I’ll be back next time, meow!”
Theo picked up a worn-out black vest that seemed to have been mended numerous times and left.
And then,
– Youngest, you heard Lord Theo, right? He said the warehouse is dirty.
– I almost moved on to the afterlife. Youngest! You’re on overnight duty from today!”
– From now on, sleep in front of the warehouse.
To avoid their torment next time, the ghosts started to pressurize Paeten even more.
***
“Guys, are you ready?”
Krueng!
Squeak!
Ook!
Kkwek!
At Sejun’s words, the workers of the 99th floor responded energetically and swiftly dispersed, heading to their assigned farms.
It was to quickly find crops imbued with the energy of the Blue Moon when it began. Everyone was eager, knowing that after the Blue Moon, a late-night snack time awaited.
Krueng!
[Cuengi’s location is here!]
Snap.
Cuengi clung to Sejun’s leg.
“Alright. Aileen, are you ready?”
Sejun, stroking Cuengi’s head, asked Aileen.
[The Tower’s Administrator loudly says not to worry.]
This time, Aileen had fully charged the searchlight with mana. While Aileen could now act directly, the use of the searchlight was unavoidable to prevent Sejun from fainting due to her powerful mana.
Soon, as the sun transformed into the Blue Moon,
Kwooo!
Aileen quickly turned on the searchlight and roared.
And then,
“Ugh…”
Wobble.
Thud.
Sejun fainted. Because there was a powerful magic carried in Aileen’s roar.
Krueng!
[Dad’s passed out again!]
Cuengi hurriedly moved Sejun to the bedroom. There were no situations that were easily resolved for Sejun.
***
“Umm…”
[The Tower’s Administrator asks if you’re feeling okay.]
As soon as Sejun opened his eyes, Aileen asked him anxiously.
Aileen thought that Sejun had fainted because she had overlooked the fact that she had recently eaten magical cherry tomatoes and her magic power had greatly increased. Still, Aileen held Sejun in high regard.
“I’m okay, except for a slight tightness in my chest… Oh, it’s Cuengi.”
The tightness in his chest was because Cuengi, who had been taking care of Sejun, was sleeping on Sejun’s chest.
Snuggle.
Kurorong…
Lifting Cuengi, Sejun sat up.
“I’m fine, so don’t worry. Huh? Theo was here.”
While talking to Aileen, Sejun felt warmth on his lap and looked down to see Theo, who had returned at dawn, soundly sleeping there.
Snap.
“Meow…”
Snap.
With Theo and Cuengi comfortably attached on his lap, Sejun stepped outside. The courtyard of his house was neatly filled with crops imbued with the energy of the Blue Moon harvested at dawn.
“We’ll have these for breakfast today.”
Sejun picked up the blue crops and headed to the kitchen. Lately, thanks to Cuengi’s help with the herbs from the 85th-floor kudzu field, he had eaten many herbs and wasn’t too greedy for these crops.
After enjoying a breakfast made of the Blue Moon crops,
Slurp, slurp.
Sejun, while feeding churu to Theo, who woke up late, enjoyed his morning coffee.
“Chairman Park, try this on, meow!”
Theo, after finishing his churu, carefully took out the black vest he’d taken from the ghost storage from his bag and carefully handed it over making sure it didn’t tear.
“Huh? Wear this?”
A leather vest that looked centuries old. Wearing it would earn him the title of a beggar.
“That’s right, meow!”
Theo replied with a proud expression. Knowing Theo wouldn’t bring him anything weird, Sejun decided to first check its options.
[Leather Vest]
→ ???
→ Usage Restrictions: Lv. 30, Agility 50 and above
→ Grade: B
“Aileen, could you appraise this?”
[The Tower’s Administrator says to leave it to her.]
The leather vest in Sejun’s hand disappeared.
In the meantime,
“Chairman Park, I brought news about your family, meow!”
Theo took out a report delivered by Han Tae-jun from his bag and handed it to Sejun.
“My family?”
Sejun quickly read the report.
And then,
“Damn those f*cking bastards from the Three Head Society!”
For the first time since coming to the tower, Sejun cursed in rage. How dare they touch his family?!
[The Tower’s Administrator is furious, asking who angered you.]
-What’s wrong, Sejun?
-Why are you mad, Sejun?
“Chairman Park, what’s wrong, meow?”
Krueng?
[Dad, what’s wrong?]
Kreong?
The strongest of the Black Tower began to gather in response to the anger of the black tower’s real leader.
