Chapter 320: Harvesting Pears

[You have arrived at the 81st floor of the Black Tower.]

[You have moved from the top floor, the 99th floor of the tower, to the 81st floor.]

[You have descended 18 floors.]

[Due to the effect of the <Title: Retrogressor>, all stats have increased by 18.]

Sejun arrived at the 81st floor.

Splash.

The first thing to greet Sejun was an enormous amount of water.

"Huh?!"

Sejun was taken aback by the unexpected surrounding environment,

Gulp.

and unknowingly swallowed the water that flowed into his mouth.

Then,

[A quest has occurred...]

The quest message appeared, but

"Ugh."

He couldn't catch his breath! Breathing came first; there was no time to check the message.

Sejun hurriedly surfaced for air.

15 meters to the surface.

The water was quite deep, but

Swish-swish-swish.

With just three kicks, Sejun reached the surface. Heh, for advanced swimmer Park Sejun, this was nothing.

Of course, it was more about the strength stat than his swimming skills.

Considering his strength stat was nearly approaching 1000, it was questionable whether he really belonged in the advanced swimming class.

"Puhah!"

Having surfaced, Sejun took a deep breath.

Clink.

While catching his breath on the surface, he summoned the void storage and opened its door.

And then,

"Chairman Park! I missed you, meow!"

The moment the door opened, Theo flew towards Sejun's face.

"Hey...argh!"

"Puhuhut. That tickles...meow?!"

Theo unintentionally received a belly fart from Sejun.

Grab.

"You little..."

Sejun grabbed the scruff of Theo's neck, who was squirming from the tickling,

Splash.

"Meow?"

used him as a makeshift tube, dunking him in the water. Thanks to Theo's water affinity talent, used for waterproofing, he floated well on the surface.

Swish.

"Chairman Park, why is it like this here, meow?"

Theo turned his body around on the water, showing his stomach to Sejun, and asked. He looked like an otter.

"I don't know. Let's find out now."

Sejun answered and checked the message he hadn't been able to read due to breathlessness.

[Quest: For unknown reasons, the surrounding river has overflowed, flooding the farm and turning it into a lake. Restore the flooded farm to its original state within one week.]

Reward: Recognized as the rightful owner of the 81st floor farm of the Black Tower

Failure: The pear tree farm will disappear.

"Unknown reasons?"

This is somewhat like that... there's probably a huge force behind this.

"But how do we drain the water in a week?"

For a moment, Sejun's mind wandered, trying to figure out how to drain the lake.

Then,

Boom.

Suddenly, a giant boat was thrown into the water from the void storage.

Kueng!

[The Cuengi's boat is deploying!]

"Yay! Go!"

Piyo!

[Let's Go!]

Kking!

'I don't want to go!'

On the boat were Cuengi, Ajax, Piyot, and Blackie.

Seeing the lake outside, Cuengi had taken out the Cuengi's boat from the void storage.

Kueng!

[Dad, I'm boarding the Cuengi's boat!]

Float-float.

Cuengi used telekinesis to lift Sejun out of the water and onto the Cuengi's boat.

"Thanks."

Sejun thanked Cuengi and looked around.

"This is a volcano."

Sejun saw the pear tree farm surrounded by mountains, with water levels risen up to the height of the mountains.

"But where is the river? Cuengi, let's go up to the sky."

Kueng!

[Got it! Float!]

At Sejun's command, Cuengi raised the Cuengi's boat high into the sky,

"Wow."

revealing a vast river that could almost be called a sea. The pear tree farm on the volcano was right in the middle of the gently flowing river.

"But how did the river flood up to here?"

Sejun spoke, bewildered.

The difference in elevation between the surrounding volcano and the river's surface was over 30 meters. Even if the river overflowed, filling this basin with water wasn't easy.

Even so, one thing was clear. Since there was a river nearby, breaking the mountain to drain the water was not an option.

"Then..."

Sejun fell into thought for a moment.

"Cuengi, want to play in the water?"

Sejun let Cuengi play in the water in an enlarged state.

Since the basin inside the volcano was quite wide, it was fine as long as Cuengi did not step on the pear trees.

Kueng!

[Great! Cuengi will grow as big as possible!]

As Cuengi enlarged,

Gush, gush, gush.

An enormous amount of water began to overflow.

Cuengi continued to grow beyond 30m, reaching up to 45m.

"Wow...our Cuengi has grown a lot, hasn't he?"

In the brief moment Sejun was taken aback by Cuengi, who had grown 10m taller than before,

Gush, gush, gush.

The water continued to overflow. Quite a lot of water spilled over into the river.

Kueng!

[This is fun!]

Splash, splash.

Cuengi, having enlarged to full size for the first time in a while, started to play in the water in earnest.

Gush, gush, gush.

The water rapidly decreased whenever Cuengi moved.

Although it was possible to drain more water, Cuengi played gently to avoid causing the mountain to collapse.

A short while later.

As Cuengi played in the water, the water level quickly dropped, and the tops of the submerged pear trees began to emerge from the water.

"The pears are huge."

The size of the pears submerged in water were almost that of a soccer ball.

"Cuengi, well done. Let's shrink back down now."

Kueng! Kueng!

[Got it! Cuengi wants to play on the Cuengi's boat now!]

"Alright. Cuengi, go play on the Cuengi's boat."

Sejun let Cuengi, who had played the biggest role in draining the water, have his fun.

Kueng!

[Cuengi's boat is departing!]

Piyo!

[Yes! Captain Cuengi!]

Kking! Kking!

'I don't want to! Put me in your pocket!'

Piyot and Blackie, who weren't much help in draining the water, became crew members of the Cuengi's boat,

"Kids, let's get to work."

Sejun, Theo, and Ajax began to drain the water.

"Ice Cube."

As Sejun froze the water,

Suck. Suck.

Theo packed the chunks of ice into his bag,

"Dry!"

Ajax dried up the water with magic.

While the three worked hard,

Kueng!

[It's not fun without water!]

As the water disappeared due to their work, making it difficult to move the boat,

Kueng!

[Float!]

Cuengi raised Cuengi's boat into the sky to play in the big water, aiming for the river.

"Cuengi, while you're playing outside, please check why the river overflowed."

Kueng!

[Got it!]

Splash.

Cuengi responded and floated Cuengi's boat on the river.

Kueng!

[A new adventure!]

Piyo!

[Yes!]

Kking...

'I want to go home...'

Cuengi's boat began to move slowly along the river.

***

On the 99th floor of the Red Tower.

"Udon~nim, a cactus has been found on the 53rd floor."

"Ha...already up to the 53rd floor..."

Upon the messenger's report, Udon, the tower farmer of the Red Tower, sighed deeply.

Rain that used to fall once a month.

At some point, it started raining once a year, then once every ten years, and then it stopped altogether.

As the rain ceased, the temperature of the Red Tower grew hotter and hotter.

The consequence of the tower heating up was desertification, starting from the first floor and gradually moving upward.

Currently, everything below the 10th floor had completely turned into a desert.

And the cactus, a plant-like monster resembling a cactus, was the main culprit behind the desertification.

Wherever cacti gathered, the area quickly desertified because they absorbed the surrounding moisture.

However, no matter how thoroughly the cacti were eradicated, if there was a desert, cacti would soon form groups and rise to the upper floors.

And they did so in greater numbers.

On the bright side, cacti store the absorbed moisture in their bodies as pure water.

Thanks to this, in the Red Tower, cacti became a useful means of securing water.

"Summon all the dwarf warriors! We will subjugate the cacti."

"Yes!"

Udon, who had been in deep thought, ordered his subordinate to summon the troops.

Subjugating the cacti caused significant damage, and more cacti would emerge afterward.

However, there was no other way to slow down the desertification.

"I wish to see rain..."

Udon gazed at the dry sky.

Clank, clank.

Wearing red armor, Udon moved down to the lower floors.

***

"We're almost finished."

Sejun said, looking at the water that reached up to his ankles.

Then,

"Puhuhut. Chairman Park, I dumped it, meow!"

Slap.

Theo, who had returned after dumping a bag full of ice into the river, clung to Sejun's legs.

And then,

"Puhuhut. Leave it to me now, Chairman Park, meow! Guys, follow me, meow!"

As Theo boasted to Sejun,

Gurgle, gurgle.

The waters began to approach Theo.

Finally, Theo was using his water affinity talent as intended.

As Theo drained the water from the farm,

"Land Moving!"

Sejun used Myler's hoe to strike the ground,

Boom, boom.

raising the land around the farm to prevent water from entering.

Once all the water from the farm was completely drained,

[The pear tree farm has been restored to its original state.]

[The quest has been completed.]

[You are recognized as the rightful owner of the pear tree land deed on the 81st floor of the Black Tower.]

[Land Deed Skill: Farm Information Lv. Max is activated.]

The quest was completed.

"Alright. Shall we harvest the pears now?"

Pluck.

Sejun, now the owner of the farm, harvested a pear.

And then,

[You have harvested a Pear of Mild Strength and Stamina.]

[Your job experience points have slightly increased.]

[Your proficiency in Harvesting Lv. 8 has slightly increased.]

[You have gained 70 experience points.]

[You do not accumulate experience points because you have not completed a job quest.]

The message appeared.

"Huh?"

Mild?! Sejun was taken aback and checked the options of the pear. After all the effort to drain the water... it would have been a complete waste if the taste was bland.

[Pear of Mild Strength and Stamina]

→ A pear produced by a pear tree grown inside the tower, which absorbed sufficient nutrients.

→ The pear became bland and enlarged after absorbing a lot of water when submerged.

→ If left in a dry place to evaporate 10L of moisture, it will return to its original size and regain its taste.

→ Consumption increases strength and stamina by 1 each.

→ Cultivator: Tower Farmer Park Sejun

→ Expiration date: 150 days

→ Grade: A

"Phew. That's a relief..."

Sejun sighed in relief after reading the description. Fortunately, there was a way to make the pear tasty again.

"Let's harvest them first. Ajax, help me."

"Sure! Hyung!"

While Sejun and Ajax were harvesting pears,

Thump.

Cuengi's boat, moving along the river, collided with a giant tree root.

Kueng?

[Flamie noona, were you here too?]

It was Flamie.

[Yes. Sejun nim was looking for pears here?]

*****

Kueng!

[Yes! But, Flamie noona, do you know why the river overflowed?]

Cuengi asked Flamie about the reason for the river's overflow.

[Overflow? Why would that...?]

Kueng!

[Dad wants to know what caused the pear tree farm to be submerged!]

Master Sejun wants to know?! What do I do?! Flamie was panicked by Cuengi's response. It was natural because Flamie was the one who caused the river to overflow.

Moving her roots had caused the river to overflow.

Flamie was the culprit behind submerging the pear tree farm.

'If Master Sejun finds out, he will hate me! What should I do?'

Flamie fell into worry.

Then,

'Ah!'

Flamie hastily snatched up a giant monster that was passing by near her roots.

And then,

[Ah! I know who did it!]

Kueng?!

[Who is it?!]

[This guy!]

Flamie showed Cuengi the creature she had just caught with her roots.

-You fiend! Do you know who I am?! I am the Apostle of...

Cuengi, who had been thoroughly educated by Ajax and others yesterday that Apostles of Destruction must be eliminated on sight,

Kueng!

[It's a bad guy!]

Bang!

Cuengi attacked the Apostle of Destruction immediately,

Clang.

and the Apostle of Destruction, Leviathan, the serpent that summons tsunamis, one of the 12 Seats of Destruction, disappeared, leaving behind 7 green coins.

Kuehehehe. Kueng!

[Hehehe. Cuengi has solved the case!]

Cuengi, having removed the cause of the flood, beamed with the thought of boasting to Sejun.

[Right. Good job, Cuengi. But you can't tell Master Sejun that you saw me, okay?]

Kueng! Kueng!

[Got it! Then, I'll be going back!]

Cuengi navigated Cuengi's boat upstream with telekinesis.

[Hehehe.]

Thanks to this, Flamie managed not to reveal her size to Sejun today as well.

*****