“They’re perfectly ripe.”
Hiro looked at the radiant, red tomatoes with a satisfied smile. The surface was smooth and shiny. He gently pressed them with his fingers, feeling a slight firmness.
‘Just right.’
“Perfect time for harvesting. But before that…”
Unlike sweet potatoes, tomatoes couldn’t just be placed anywhere.
“Pepper, gather the sweet potato leaves and lay them out here.”
“Kyuu!!”
“Just like this… Yes, that’s it.”
To keep the tomatoes clean, Hiro layered sweet potato leaves on the ground.
“Shall we start harvesting?”
“I’ll help too!”
“Alright. Here’s how you harvest them… like this.”
Hiro kindly demonstrated the tomato harvesting technique to Pepper.
“Hold the tomato gently and twist it, like this.”
Pop, pop, pop!
With skillful hands, Hiro harvested the tomatoes. He remembered when he had first moved to the countryside and had been called to help with tomato harvesting.
‘I did enjoy that.’
Though he had been worked hard, it was a good opportunity to learn more about farming.
[You have used the Harvesting Skill.]
[Harvesting Speed +10%]
[Stamina consumption during harvesting -10%]
[Skill experience for Harvesting has increased slightly.]
[You have harvested Water Tomatoes.]
[You have gained job experience.]
Ding!
[You have achieved a remarkable feat.]
[You are the first herald to directly harvest a tomato infused with a spirit’s power.]
[From now on, only the Spirit Farmer, ‘Hiro,’ can cultivate Water Tomatoes.]
[Without your permission, no one can cultivate or collect seeds from Water Tomatoes.]
It was a new exclusive.
Hiro liked this.
‘No one else can do this, right?’
The same was true for the earth’s sweet potatoes and the water’s tomatoes; only Hiro could cultivate them. It would greatly help in building his future farm.
Pop, pop, pop.
“Think you can manage?”
“Kyuu! Let me try!”
Pepper confidently stepped forward. But a fox’s paws weren’t like human hands, making the task challenging.
“Kyuuuuuu!! I can’t pick it, Kyuuuu!!!”
“Whoa! Don’t grip too hard! Or else…”
“Kyuaa?!”
It burst.
The red juice of the burst tomato covered Pepper. The strong scent of tomato filled the air.
“Kyuu… I burst it… Kyuu…”
“Well, it happens. Sometimes you just burst them.”
It was a common occurrence. Hiro had also broken a few tomatoes when he first started picking them due to poor control.
“Let’s wash up.”
“Kyuu…”
This time, perhaps feeling guilty for his mistake, Pepper obediently went for a bath.
“Hmm, let’s try a different approach for you.”
“Kyuu?”
“Use your claws to cut this part. Can you do it?”
Pepper’s claws were sharper than expected, making it easy to cut the stems.
“Kyuu! I did it!”
“That’s the way.”
“Kyuu!!”
“But be careful not to damage the tomatoes.”
“Kyuu!”
The tomato harvesting continued.
Pop, pop, pop.
[You have used the Harvesting Skill…]
[You have harvested an unripe tomato.]
[No job experience gained.]
“Huh? Oh, it’s unripe?”
There was an unripe part that wasn’t visible from Hiro’s angle.
“Harvesting unripe crops doesn’t give experience, huh?”
Farmers gained experience from harvesting ripe crops but none from unripe ones. Care was needed when harvesting.
“It can’t be helped. I’ll be more cautious.”
Hiro set aside the unripe tomato and continued harvesting.
[You have used the Harvesting Skill…]
[Skill experience for Harvesting has increased slightly.]
[Skill Level Up!]
[Harvesting LV. 1 -> Harvesting LV. 2]
“My level went up?”
Hiro checked the skill.
[Harvesting LV. 2]
Grade: F
Type: Passive
Experience: 0.11%
Description: Makes harvesting crops easier. Improves the condition of harvested crops.
Effect: Harvesting Speed +13%, Stamina consumption during harvesting -13%, Crop condition improved.
“Huh? This one has an option attached?”
So far, the skills had only involved adjusting numerical values, but the Harvesting skill came with an option.
‘Crop condition adjustment?’
“It says the condition of the harvested crops will improve…?”
Hiro pondered over the description. Then, he found an unripe tomato and picked it.
[You have used the Harvesting Skill.]
[Skill experience for Harvesting has increased slightly.]
[You have harvested an unripe tomato.]
[Crop condition adjustment is applied.]
[You have harvested a Water Tomato.]
[You have gained job experience.]
“Oh… so that’s how it works?”
Looking at the tomato, the green areas had disappeared. It seemed this option helped adjust the state of unripe crops to a perfect state during harvesting.
“Not bad.”
No matter how meticulously Hiro farmed and managed the crops, nothing could be perfect. But with this skill, farming seemed to be much easier.
“Alright, let’s keep going.”
Hiro quickly continued harvesting the tomatoes.
“Is this enough?”
“Kyuu-!”
The tomato harvest was complete. In total, Hiro managed to harvest about 550 tomatoes.
‘The germination rate is 55%, huh?’
“Still low, but it can’t be helped.”
Hiro examined the tomatoes. The well-ripened ones emitted a fresh scent.
“Check!”
[Water Tomato]
Grade: E
Description: A tomato grown under the Spirit Farmer’s careful care. It contains spirit energy. When consumed, the options last for 60 minutes.
Cultivator: Hiro
Options: Basic Detoxification
Poison Resistance +10%
Purification skill effect enhancement +10%
Recovery skill effect enhancement +5%
Satiety +20%
‘Detoxification?’
“So, eating this detoxifies you?”
In addition, it boosted poison resistance and enhanced purification and recovery skill effects.
“Pretty impressive.”
If the Earth’s sweet potatoes were meant for tanks, this was a perfect skill for priests. It was an incredible option.
“Let’s have a bite…”
Hiro wiped the surface roughly. Since he hadn’t used any pesticides, there was no need to wash it thoroughly with water.
‘No fine dust or pollution here, anyway.’
There was no need to wash it.
“Alright…”
Crunch!
Hiro took a big bite of the tomato.
“Mm!?”
Delicious.
It was sweet and tangy, like drinking fresh tomato juice. The sweet aroma of the tomato filled his mouth. It was incomparable to any tomato he had ever bought in reality.
“This is really good! Sweet, tangy, with just the right amount of acidity.”
Crunch, crunch.
The unique flavor of the tomato was delightful, and even the skin was fresh with a pleasant chewiness.
[You have consumed a Water Tomato.]
[Due to the effect of the title ‘Greedy Farmer,’ the effects of the consumed crop are doubled.]
[Basic Detoxification.]
[Poison Resistance +20%]
[Purification skill effect enhancement +20%]
[Recovery skill effect enhancement +10%]
[Satiety +20%]
“Wow… it’s really tasty.”
“Kyuu…”
“Oh, you should try it too.”
Hiro handed a tomato to Pepper. Unable to take a big bite, Pepper started biting into it and sucking out the juice.
Slurp, slurp!
“Kyuu! It’s delicious, Kyuu!”
“Isn’t it?”
“Kyuu!!”
Slurp, chomp.
Hiro and Pepper sat together, leisurely enjoying the fresh taste of the tomatoes. They ended up devouring several of them.
“Wow, we really ate a lot.”
“Kyuu…”
Pepper, feeling full, patted his round belly.
‘So you don’t gain weight even if you eat like this?’
Tomatoes are a classic diet food—low in calories, high in nutrition, and free of fat or cholesterol, making them a guilt-free option. However, that only applied when eaten in moderation. Even low-calorie foods can cause weight gain if eaten excessively. But in *Overlord*, there was no need to worry about that.
‘You don’t gain weight no matter how much you eat in this game.’
If it tastes good, it’s zero calories? In reality, this was as absurd as the saying, “Pain is youth.” But in *Overlord*, it was common sense. No matter how many high-calorie foods you ate, in-game food had zero calories.
‘Is that why celebrities say they diet in *Overlord*?’
In reality, they ate low-calorie diet foods like konjac, but in *Overlord*, they could indulge in foods that were hard to enjoy otherwise. It was a foolproof way to succeed at dieting.
‘That’s why most celebrities play *Overlord*, isn’t it?’
“The world has really become convenient.”
With these thoughts in mind, Hiro used a skill on the tomatoes.
“Seed Extraction!”
[You have used the Seed Extraction Skill.]
[You are extracting seeds from the Water Tomato.]
Ding!
[Seed extraction succeeded.]
[You have obtained 1 Water Tomato Seed.]
[Skill experience for Seed Extraction has increased slightly.]
[Due to the ‘1+1 Seed Extraction’ title effect, an additional seed has been obtained.]
[You have gained job experience.]
He also needed to extract seeds for the next farming cycle. Hiro busily used his skill to collect tomato seeds.
[Skill Level Up!]
[Seed Extraction LV. 2 -> Seed Extraction LV. 3]
After continuous work, the skill level for Seed Extraction increased.
“Roughly… 230 seeds?”
Due to the low success rate, he wasn’t able to collect too many seeds. Still, it was enough for now—he could plant more and extract seeds again later.
“But…”
Hiro looked at the pile of tomatoes.
“I need to store these somewhere…”
He felt uneasy about leaving the tomatoes outside. He needed to find a separate, safe place to store them.
‘Tomatoes should be kept in a cool, dry place away from sunlight, right?’
“Should I just shove them inside the temple? But…”
Ding!
“Huh?”
Just as he was pondering, a message window appeared.
[A new quest, ‘Offer Tomatoes to the Altar!’ has been generated.]
[Offer Tomatoes to the Altar!] Grade: E
Description: Offer tomatoes to the altar of the forgotten god’s temple. Offering them might provide a solution to your current dilemma.
Success Condition: Offer 200 tomatoes to the altar.
Reward for Success: ???, key, experience.
Penalty for Failure: An unknown entity sheds tears.
“……”
It was a sudden quest. Hiro’s curiosity was piqued.
“Who exactly is this unknown entity?”
Now it mentioned tears. It seemed likely that the owner of the forgotten god’s temple was involved, but without more information, he couldn’t be sure.
“Hmm… 200 tomatoes, huh.”
‘Does it matter?’
He couldn’t sell the tomatoes anyway, since he couldn’t use the auction house, so offering them wouldn’t be a loss.
‘Let’s do it, then.’
“Pepper.”
“Kyuu?”
“Let’s move the tomatoes inside.”
“Kyuu!”
Hiro packed as many tomatoes as he could into his bag. Due to its limited capacity, he could only fit 100, so he had to carry the rest manually. He placed the tomatoes on the altar. Though he was worried about placing all 200 at once—
Swoosh!
“…They disappear as soon as I place them?”
There was no need to place them all at once; they vanished one by one. Eventually, all 200 tomatoes were gone.
[You have completed the quest, ‘Offer Tomatoes to the Altar!’]
[You have gained experience.]
[Level Up!]
[Level Up…]
[You have obtained the Key to the Food Storage.]
After completing the quest…
“A key?”
Hiro received the Key to the Food Storage.
Cliche Novel 