Round 7

Prev | TOC | Next

“Sigh.”

It was finally time.

Despite not having slept for two days due to excitement, I was surprisingly alert—perhaps even more so than usual, likely due to an adrenaline rush.

‘Everyone else has been growing while I’ve fallen behind for three years.’

It was a situation that couldn’t help but be exciting.

While those who awakened at the same time as me were being scouted by guilds and making great strides, I had been living a miserable life in this place.

But that was now coming to an end.

“…Done.”

The cooldown period for liquid synthesis had ended.

At the same time, I picked up the carrot juice and tomato juice I had prepared.

There was no need to hesitate.

I immediately used my power.

[Liquid (tomato) and liquid (carrot) will now synthesize.]

[A magical, ambiguous vegetable juice has been completed.]

“Ohhh!”

Magical vegetable juice!

It finally came out!

Despite the trembling of my body from excitement, I checked the completed vegetable juice.

[Mystical Ambiguous Vegetable Juice LV.1]

[Ingredients: Tomato, Carrot]

[Due to the scarcity of ingredients, the completion is ambiguous.]

[When consumed, depending on the amount of mana held for 3 seconds, you can partially see the information of monsters in view.]

[When consumed, depending on the amount of mana held for 3 seconds, it allows detoxification.]

The effects have changed.

The increase in vision and poison resistance disappeared, replaced by abilities that seemed more useful.

“Not bad.”

The ability to check the information of monsters, even if only for 3 seconds, made it a competitive product.

Considering this was just an ambiguous vegetable juice, what effects would a perfect vegetable juice have?

“Quest complete… right?”

I was slightly annoyed by the name of the ambiguous vegetable juice, but fortunately, the quest accepted it.

[Quest Complete]

[Ability ‘Liquid Synthesis’ level up.]

[Liquid Synthesis LV.2]

Number of uses per day: 1 -> 2

Who knew? I never dreamed that my ability would level up just on the third quest. Of course, when someone levels up varies, but it seemed rather early for me.

‘No, no. It’s not too fast considering I’ve been out of it for three years.’

Anyway, the system seemed to acknowledge that it was a tough quest.

The fact that the number of uses had doubled was a significant change. It meant I could use it once on a slime and once on potion synthesis.

‘I could go all in on the slime without splitting it.’

And now that the quest was successful, it was time to check the fourth quest.

[Awakening Quest: Offer Tributes]

[Collect and submit the items listed.]

[Dungeon-grown fruit harvested by yourself: 0/10]

[Magic-infused crops LV.2 harvested by yourself: 0/50]

Seems the fourth is tougher than the third.

The difficulty had clearly increased, which was a headache.

‘My crops are still only LV.1. How can I level them up?’

The first method is to grow the slime.

If I synthesize the slime to create a higher-level slime, perhaps the crops will also level up?

The second is to use the crops I have harvested to create seeds for planting. Ordinary carrot seeds became an item, but if I plant already itemized carrots as seeds, might they level up?

“Let’s just try both.”

Before implementing that hypothesis, I had just finished the cooldown period for the Slime Lord ability, so I immediately summoned a new recruit.

Pop!

Now, a total of four slimes.

And isn’t it about time for one to fall from the sky?

“Well, that’s that, but I can still use the ability one more time.”

The cooldown was already ticking.

However, seeing that there was one use left, I smiled with satisfaction.

“…Surely it doesn’t recharge just one per 24 hours?”

I became a bit anxious, but I continued with my thoughts.

Currently, I had two options: either to combine Mark Two and Poispois, or to merge the two new recruits into a LV.2.

However, I was cautious because if I combined Mark Two and Poispois, I wasn’t sure what would happen to their abilities.

‘Poispois is fine, but I can’t ignore Mark Two’s farming ability.’

So, I decided to first create a new LV.2 and then try merging it with Poispois the next day.

Thump!

“Oh! Welcome, new recruit.”

Just then, a free slime fell from the ceiling.

It had become almost certain that the dungeon was producing one slime per day.

“So, in celebration of the new member joining, shall we try synthesizing?”

Squirm?

When the new arrivals seemed confused, I immediately attempted the synthesis.

[Slime LV.2 has been completed.]

What ability might this one have?

[Slime LV.2]

A common slime.

‘Capable of liquid synthesis’

[Ability: Physical Resistance LV.1]

Physical resistance, huh.

Not bad, but at level 1, it was just mediocre.

[Physical Resistance LV.1]

[Absorbs 10% of physical impacts.]

Indeed, it was an ambiguous ability.

While suitable for a tank, the low level didn’t seem particularly helpful.

“You’re merging with Poispois tomorrow.”

Squirm!

Seeing the creatures wiggle as if pleased, I wondered what would happen to their abilities when merged. Would they disappear, or would they be inherited?

Or maybe a completely different ability?

‘…Let’s not think too deeply.’

The results would show after merging.

Soon, we would know.

Thus, there were now four slimes.

Three at LV.2 and one at LV.1.

The change in just three days was astonishing.

And this wasn’t the end.

“Now that the quest is completed, shall we do it properly?”

I installed the ladder I had brought into the hole leading underground and took Mark Two and the rest of the slimes down with me.

“Alright, this is now a field. We’re using it all as farmland.”

Squirm! Wiggle!

It meant they had to work like mad, but these guys seemed thrilled, dancing around.

And so, I started the real work of plowing the land and dividing it into sections.

“Surprisingly easy.”

Honestly, before starting, I wondered how long it would take to turn this vast land into farmland, but working with the slimes made it quick work.

Slimes naturally have the temperament of farmers, regardless of their abilities.

I brought back strawberries, eggplants, cucumbers, carrots, as well as potatoes, sweet potatoes, and Embergrill.

I decided to plant everything I had brought.

Since the slimes would take care of everything themselves, there was nothing difficult about it.

‘Mark Two was able to manage a 100-pyeong field with ease. So, I’ll assign the 100-pyeong field to the new recruit and let the LV.2 slimes handle this area.’

The seeds I brought were not enough to fill 1,000 pyeong.

I wasn’t even sure how many pyeong it was exactly, but I estimated it by comparing it to the size of a 100-pyeong vegetable garden.

So, I divided it into 10 sections of 100 pyeong each and decided to plant the seven types of seeds I brought, seeds from the magic-infused tomatoes, and the harvested magic carrots in each section to get more seeds.

“That makes a total of 9 types. One section is left.”

Since not all the allocated sections were filled, there was a lot of idle land. It felt like I had become a landowner unexpectedly.

Squirm- Squirm-

The slimes, perhaps born to be farmers, efficiently handled tasks that I might have messed up.

Of course, I wasn’t completely unnecessary, so as I did my part, we were soon able to sow all the seeds.

“You’ve worked hard. Let’s eat.”

Squirm!

Since the yield of tomatoes was much greater than that of carrots by weight, we were able to fill our bellies without shortage.

And not long after, I saw cherry tomatoes budding again.

“Can we harvest these once a day?”

I didn’t know how often it was possible, but if we could harvest them once a day, at least the slimes’ food problem was somewhat solved.

Crunch, crunch!

Seeing them munching on the cherry tomatoes, I couldn’t help but feel pleased.

“Uh, I wish I could give some to my family.”

Naturally, watching them eat made me think of my family first, and also of Young-seong, who had helped me.

If there’s good food, you want to share it with your family, right? I roughly calculated the slimes’ food and gathered some cherry tomatoes.

There were five carrots left after making the vegetable juice, so I planned to give four to my family and one to Young-seong.

“I should go now.”

I wanted to see their reactions after eating, quickly.

So, I immediately went out.

“Take good care of the farm!”

Squirm!

* * *

Choi Young-seong, the owner of ‘Awakened General Store,’ was having a headache because of a sudden visitor—or rather, a troublesome guest.

“Hey, Choi Young-seong! You think hiding it will stop me from finding out!”

“Stop talking nonsense and go back.”

And, unfortunately, this troublesome guest was a person he couldn’t easily deal with.

From one of the top five guilds in South Korea, Ara Hongryeon .

The person standing in front of him was Kang Hanul, the team leader and one of the top five ranked Awakeners in the guild.

“Come on, don’t be like that. Call that friend over for a drink, will you? What harm am I going to do? Choi Young-seong, I’m disappointed.”

“What friend? I don’t know the person. It was just a visitor who stopped by!”

“Hey, Choi Young-seong! Do I look that easy-going to you? Hahaha! I can spot a lie in an instant! You think I don’t know how long we’ve known each other?”

As they were bickering, someone entered the shop.

Ding-

“Young-seong, I’m back again! Oh? You have a guest?”

“Uh, uh… you.”

Young-seong muttered, flustered, then quickly put on a poker face. However, his expressions were already caught by Kang Hanul’s gaze.

“Oh, could it be that this is…?”

“Yes?”

Kyu-seong suddenly looked at the opponent who was acting like they knew him, and then was startled.

“Po, Predator Kang Hanul?!”

“Hahaha! It’s this guy, right? Isn’t it?”

“What do you mean…?”

Suddenly, Kang Hanul approached and casually put his arm around Kyu-seong’s shoulder. Due to his massive, tiger-like stature, the ordinarily built Kyu-seong looked quite small.

“Carrot!”

“Carrot? Ah!”

At the mention of carrots, Kyu-seong quickly checked his bag. Sensing this with a beast-like instinct, Kang Hanul burst into a hearty laugh.

“Did you bring it again, friend?”

“Yes? Yes, I have it but…”

“Great! Today, it’s on me! Hey, Choi Young-seong. Close the shop and come out!”

“No, Mr. Kang Hanul? What’s happening…”

“Let’s go and I’ll tell you on the way! Hahahaha!”

Prev | TOC | Next