Chapter 373: Am I Invincible Now?
On the 63rd floor of the Brown Tower.
On the ground where most of the land is rotten in a dark reddish color.
"Whew. Will this really work?"
A Red Goblin with red skin looked down at a brown bean and spoke.
Even though the description said it could revive dead land, but he was skeptical about its actual effectiveness.
"It's what the great brown dragon Grave ordered."
Orik, the Tower Farmer of the Brown Tower, brushed aside his doubts and planted the bean in the rotten land.
And then,
[You have planted the Kidney Bean of Soil Fertility.] [You have planted crops belonging to Park Sejun, the Tower Farmer of the Black Tower, without permission, who holds the exclusive cultivation rights.]
[According to the laws of the Tower, Orik, the Tower Farmer of the Brown Tower, will be Park Sejun's slave for 100 years.]
A message appeared.
"No way... Have I been sold?"
Orik, seeing the message, thought that Grave had sold him into slavery. It was a reasonable suspicion since Grave had ordered him to plant the bean.
"Grave sold me..."
While Orik despaired over the fact that Grave had sold him,
Wiggle. Wiggle.
The Kidney Bean of Soil Fertility took root quickly in the rotten land without dying.
***
[As a reward for the achievement of the Great Farmer, the job trait that allows you to borrow the stats of slave Tower Farmers has been enhanced.]
[According to the job trait, you borrow 0.3% of the stats of Ajax, the Tower Farmer of the White Tower.]
...
..
.
A rise from 0.2% to 0.3%, a 0.1% increase.
It wasn't a large number, but in relative terms, it was significant.
And then,
"Wow. Am I invincible now?"
It was such a huge number that it made Sejun, the sunfish, say something reckless.
Despite his overflowing confidence, Sejun didn't think about summoning Orik, the Tower Farmer of the Brown Tower.
For Sejun, who prioritized safety, doing anything alone was absolutely unthinkable.
"Hehe. My total stats have increased by almost 1000."
After checking his stats and grinning with satisfaction, Sejun said,
"Blackie, you're in big trouble now. You absolutely can't beat me anymore. Hehehe."
He gently scratched the belly of Fenrir, who was sleeping soundly in the sling bag.
Kking... Kking... Kking...
'Be quiet... I'm sleeping... keep scratching my belly...'
Fenrir, disturbed by Sejun's voice, whimpered but fell back asleep as Sejun continued to scratch.
At that moment,
[Your soul feels fulfilled with your great growth.]
[Mental Strength has increased by 1.]
A message appeared in front of Sejun.
"Huh?"
Why only 1? I'm incredibly pleased right now!
Sejun tried to explain to the message just how pleased he was, but the message didn't change.
"Che. You're as stubborn as a pumpkin. You don't understand my feelings..."
Grumbling, Sejun headed to the pumpkin field.
"Hmph. Pumpkin, no matter what you do, you're still just a pumpkin!"
He took out his frustration by harvesting the Poison Detoxifying Japanese Pumpkin. Sejun held grudges.
"Done."
After venting his frustration and finishing the pumpkin harvest,
Bzzz.
[Hello, Sejun~nim.]
Rub, rub.
The Poisonous Queen Bee, who had completed her Royal Jelly making practice, landed on Sejun's shoulder and rubbed her body against his cheek.
"Hi. Did you finish your practice well?"
Bzz! Bzz!
[Yes! I made something amazing!]
The Poisonous Queen Bee responded enthusiastically, drawing large circles in the air several times.
'I'm getting a bad feeling...'
Sejun began to feel uneasy looking at the Poisonous Queen Bee.
Just as strong denial is affirmation, the Poisonous Queen Bee's strong confidence meant it was probably not going to taste good.
Unaware of Sejun's worries,
Bzz. Bzz.
[This time, you will really like it. I finally developed my own special recipe.]
The Poisonous Queen Bee exuded even stronger confidence. And a special recipe... It was very unsettling.
Bzz.
[The Great Queen liked it too.]
Fortunately, this time the confidence was well-founded.
"Really? Let me take a look."
Hearing that even the Great Queen Bee liked it, Sejun quickly held out his palm.
All the royal jelly made by the Great Queen Bee had been delicious, so this should be fine too.
Bzzz! Bzzz!
[Yes! Here you go!]
At Sejun's words, the Poisonous Queen Bee took out a golden royal jelly hidden in her fur and placed it in Sejun's palm.
[Sweet Golden Royal Jelly]
The color and name were already a pass.
But complacency was dangerous. Checking the options was essential.
This was how Sejun, as weak as a sunfish, managed to survive on the 99th floor of the Black Tower filled with strong.
One of the secrets was Sejun's caution, who always knocked on a bridge before crossing it.
Of course, the biggest secret to Sejun's survival was enticing the strong with food.
"Let's see."
Sejun checked the options of the royal jelly.
[Sweet Golden Royal Jelly]
→ This royal jelly was made with a special recipe improved by the Poisonous Queen Bee, based on the royal jelly manufacturing method taught by the Poisonous Queen Bee.
→ It is made with honey, so it is sweet.
→ When consumed, all stats increase by 20.
→ When consumed, your body will emit a sweet taste and smell for 1 hour.
→ Creator: Poisonous Queen Bee
→ Expiration Date: 100 years
→ Grade: A+
Fortunately, the options were good and the taste was good too.
Even though the body emitted a sweet taste and smell for an hour, it wasn't a life-threatening issue, unlike before.
"But..."
I haven't given her a name yet. We've been together for so long...
Sejun felt a pang of guilt seeing that the creator was just labeled as the Poisonous Queen Bee.
And then,
'What should I name her...?'
He hurriedly began to think of a name for the Poisonous Queen Bee.
Since she buzzes, so Buzzy.
Since she's a poison bee,, so Poisonbee.
Since she's the first poison bee, so Firstbee.
...
..
.
Sejun could only come up with terrible names.
After much deliberation, he decided on a name for the Poisonous Queen Bee.
"Alright. From now on, your name is Sweetie."
Since honey is sweet, Sweetie it is.
Bzzz?! Bzzz?
[Really?! Did you just give me a name, Sejun?]
"Yeah. Do you already have a name...?"
Does she have a name, and I just never asked? That thought made Sejun feel even guiltier.
As Sejun felt embarrassed,
Bzzz! Bzzz! Bzzz!
[No! I don't have a name! I'm so happy to have a name!]
Fortunately, the Poisonous Queen Bee, now Sweetie, liked the name Sejun gave her and rubbed her body against Sejun's face.
And so, another victim was added to Sejun's naming spree.
"Haha. I really do come up with good names."
Gaining more confidence, Sejun looked forward to the next time Sejun's Naming Shop would open.
Bzzz.
[Sejun~nim, Sweetie will go to sleep now.]
Sweetie, tired from making royal jelly since morning, went back to her hive.
Nom.
Sejun popped the royal jelly that Sweetie had given him into his mouth.
"Hehehe. It's delicious."
The floral fragrance and honey sweetness lingered in Sejun's mouth, leaving a long-lasting aftertaste.
As the royal jelly melted away,
[You have consumed Sweetie's Sweet Golden Royal Jelly.]
[All stats increased by 20.]
[Your body will emit a sweet taste and smell for 1 hour.]
A message appeared. Thanks to giving her a name, the royal jelly's name had changed.
"But does my body really smell sweet? I can't really tell."
Sejun sniffed himself to check.
At that moment, Fenrir, who had been sleeping in the sling bag, opened his eyes wide.
And then,
Kking! Kking!
'I smell something sweet! A strong sweet smell!'
Sniffing around, Fenrir climbed up Sejun's body, following the scent,
Lick. Lick. Lick.
And started licking Sejun's neck vigorously.
"Haha... Stop licking!"
Sejun, feeling ticklish, hurriedly pulled Fenrir off.
Then,
Lick-lick. Lick-lick.
Fenrir turned his head and aimed his short tongue at Sejun's neck, persistently trying to lick him again.
"Hey, you'll break your neck at this rate."
Sejun had no choice but to offer his hand to Fenrir, fearing he might get hurt.
Kkihihit. Kking! Kking!
'Heehee. It's sweet! It's delicious!"
Fenrir was excited by the sweetness coming from Sejun's hand.
"Thank goodness others aren't around. If they were here... I guess I'm pretty lucky."
As Sejun thought while watching Fenrir,
[You have overcome an unpleasant reality with a mental victory.]
[Your soul feels filled with satisfaction.]
[Mental Strength has increased by 3.]
His Mental Strength had risen.
"This is really..."
He was increasingly dissatisfied with the system.
A moment later,
[1 hour has passed and the sweet taste and smell from your body have dissipated.]
As the effect of Sweetie's Sweet Golden Royal Jelly wore off,
Kking!
'It's salty!'
Fenrir, who had been licking Sejun's hand, spat out his saliva.
'Damn Blackie.'
Sejun felt annoyed, thinking about how he had tolerated having his hand covered in drool.
'For dinner tonight, you'll get roasted sweet potato strips made from sweet potatoes harvested by Ophelia.'
He decided to get petty revenge using the tasteless crops from Ophelia.
***
Black Tower, 3rd Floor.
"Is this where the accident happened again?"
Michael McLaren, Vice Chairman of Gagel, asked while looking at the site of the experience point farm accident.
Having rushed over from handling company affairs on Earth, his voice was full of irritation.
"Yes. As you can see..."
His subordinate answered in a subdued voice.
Just by looking at the surrounding blood, one could tell.
And the culprit behind this situation was a mutated cherry tomato with a giant 1-meter diameter cherry tomato head.
Around its mouth hung the tattered clothes of hunters it hadn't fully consumed.
These kinds of mutations had occasionally been appearing in the experience point farm on the 3rd floor of the Tower recently.
"How many times has this happened already?! Didn't I tell you to burn them from a distance?!"
"Yes, but sometimes there are hunters who don't follow the control measures..."
"This is frustrating... So, have you found the cause of these mutations?"
"Well... We examined the tissues of the mutants, but there is no difference from other contaminated cherry tomatoes."
"Sigh... I got it. For now, burn everything and control it so they absolutely can't get close in the future."
"Yes! Burn it all!"
The subordinates, following Michael's orders, began to set the experience point farm ablaze.
"Damn it. The board's pressure to expand the experience point farm has been intense lately... Should I clear this place out?"
As Michael considered whether to clear the burning experience point farm,
-Don't you need power?
A whisper echoed in Michael's mind.
'Of course, I need power. Unstoppable, overwhelming power...'
Always desiring great power, Michael answered the whisper without hesitation.
-Then come find me.
'Where are you?'
-If you focus on my voice, you will find me.
Drawn by the irresistible voice, Michael felt increasingly compelled.
The voice was coming from within the burning experience point farm.
-Come and take me.
"Understood..."
Following the voice, Michael stepped into the experience point farm.
Though it seemed like he would soon be engulfed by the flames, a red mist parted the fire, greeting Michael.
Guided by the red mist, Michael ventured deeper into the farm.
"Is this it?"
He discovered a single black orb lying on the ground.
-Yes. That is me. Pick me up, and you will gain immense power that no one can stop.
"Immense... power..."
Michael muttered in a daze as he picked up the orb.
-Kahahaha. You are now the strongest! Together, we will kill the dragons managing the Black Tower and dominate it!
"The strongest... Hehehe... Yes... Let's kill the dragons together."
As Michael picked up Fenrir's core fragment, his eyes turned blood-red.
And then,
Twitch. Twitch.
The contaminated cherry tomatoes began transforming into mutants in response to Michael's aura.
***
Black Tower, 99th Floor.
Before Sejun had his dinner,
"Guys, gather around."
He called Black Rabbit, Cuengi, Ajax, and Veronica to stand in front of him. Hehe, now it should be safe, right?
"Alright. Summon Slave No. 5!"
Sejun summoned Orik, the Tower Farmer of the Brown Tower.
A moment later,
"Kehekehe. Master, did you call for me?"
A goblin with red skin appeared, rubbing his hands together eagerly and letting out a sly laugh.
*****