At Hiro’s farm, the team was busy tidying up the garden after the tomato harvest.
“Let’s move that over there.”
“Kyuu!”
“Gather everything here… We’ll need the stakes again.”
“Kyuu!”
First, they removed the stakes that had been supporting the tomato plants to prevent them from falling, then piled up the pulled tomato vines in one spot.
Next, Hiro grabbed a hoe to till the soil.
[You have used the “Tilling” skill.]
[Work Speed +15%]
[Stamina Consumption during Work -13%]
[Skill Experience in “Tilling” has slightly increased.]
[You have gained Job Experience.]
Thunk, thunk, thunk!
‘Is it because I increased agility? The speed at which I wielded the hoe was noticeably faster than before.’
“Not bad, right?”
“Kyuu!? M-Master! You’re so fast!”
Pepper, who was digging alongside Hiro, was startled by his increased speed.
Thunk, thunk!
“About 230 tomato seeds, right?”
With a total of 230 seeds harvested from water tomatoes, Hiro needed to expand the garden to plant them all.
“Pepper, water here!”
“Kyuu!”
“Water Sprinkling!”
[You have used the “Water Sprinkling” skill.]
Hiro sprinkled water to soften the hard ground a bit before swinging the hoe with all his might. Thanks to investing in strength, he could apply more force than before.
Thunk!
The hoe dug deep. With a strong pull, he turned the soil over in a large chunk.
[Tilling skill…]
[Tilling skill experience has slightly increased…]
[You have gained Job Experience…]
Several hours passed like this.
“This should be enough, right?”
Hiro straightened up, wiping the sweat off his brow. It had taken longer than expected, but there was no helping it. Expanding the garden for 230 tomato seeds wasn’t easy.
“Whew! All done!”
“Good job. Now let’s plant the seeds.”
“Kyuu! Leave it to me!”
As Hiro took out the seeds, Pepper ran over to make holes in the furrows. Hiro planted the seeds in them.
[You have used the “Seed Planting” skill.]
[Growth Speed +13%]
[Harvest Yield +7%]
[Skill Experience in “Seed Planting” has slightly increased.]
[You have gained Job Experience.]
Planting the seeds didn’t take too long. His back hurt a bit, but the patch he had applied helped a little.
“Whew… That should be all of them, right?”
“Kyuu! I checked everything!”
“Really? Then we’re done here.”
Hiro stretched his back again. Bending over to plant seeds made him feel like his back was curving. He had to be careful—even with a patch, it wasn’t a cure-all.
“I need to be cautious from now on.”
“Alright! Time to finish up! Pepper, water sprinkling!”
“Kyuu!”
[You have used the “Water Sprinkling” skill.]
[Crop Growth Speed +20%]
[Germination Rate +5%]
[Skill Experience in “Water Sprinkling” has slightly increased.]
The watering range was narrower than expected, likely due to the low skill level. But with only a one-second cooldown, Hiro used the skill repeatedly to ensure the garden was evenly watered.
“All done watering!”
“Great. Nice job.”
“Kyuu!”
“Since we’ve replanted the tomatoes… how about grabbing a meal?”
“Kyuu!”
At the mention of food, Pepper’s eyes sparkled. The true joy of farming? It was the snack breaks. The taste of snacks after hard work was better than any gourmet feast.
‘Back when I moved to the countryside, that was one thing I really enjoyed.’
When he had moved to the countryside, Hiro, being a young man, often got called out to help with work, sometimes to the point of exhaustion. But what got him through it was the snack breaks.
‘Those snacks were delicious. They say hunger is the best seasoning, right?’
Even simple meals tasted better after farming—better than ramen eaten by the Han River or at a mountain lodge during a hike.
“I put up with it for a whole year because of that. If not for those snacks, I would’ve left long ago.”
“Kyuu? Run away!? Is there a monster…?”
“Not like that. Just wait. I’ll give you something delicious.”
“Kyuu!”
Hiro had something prepared for today.
‘Is it dried well?’
Near the shrine, there was a flat rock. On top of it, sweet potato leaves were spread out, with slices of sweet potato drying on top.
“Let’s see… Looks good, right? Check!”
[Delicious Earth-Dried Sweet Potato]
– Grade: E
– Description: Tasty snack made by cutting earth-baked sweet potatoes and drying them naturally. Strongly sweet with a deep, unique flavor. Infused with spirit energy.
– Options:
– Health Recovery +2,000
– Mana Recovery +1,300
– Spirit Recovery +1,300
– Satiety +20%
‘This is different from baked sweet potatoes.’
The dried sweet potatoes restored both health and mana.
‘This is basically a potion.’
It was practically at potion level for recovery—not bad at all. Normally, only one food effect can apply at a time.
‘Baked sweet potatoes restore health, but they can only do so once.’
But these dried sweet potatoes provided instant recovery upon eating, regardless of that restriction.
‘Not bad. Maybe I can even sell these later if I get the chance.’
“Pepper.”
“Kyuu?”
“Try this.”
“What is it?”
“They’re called dried sweet potatoes.”
“Kyuu?”
“Just give it a try.”
“Kyuu!”
Hiro handed it over, and Pepper, without any hesitation, bit into the dried sweet potato.
“Kyuuuu!?”
Pepper’s eyes widened in surprise.
“It’s delicious!”
“Right?”
Hiro took a bite of the dried sweet potato as well.
[You have consumed Delicious Earth-Dried Sweet Potato.]
[Due to the hidden title, ‘Greedy Farmer,’ the exclusive crop’s effect is applied at double potency.]
– Health Recovery +4,000
– Mana Recovery +2,600
– Spirit Recovery +2,600
– Satiety +20%
“Hmm… this is good.”
Dried sweet potato is a snack made simply by drying sweet potatoes. Though it’s simply dried, the taste is different from roasted sweet potatoes. While roasted sweet potatoes are sweet and soft, dried sweet potatoes are even sweeter with a stronger flavor.
Chewy.
“And the texture is nice too.”
The outside was crispy, and the inside was soft, making it extra enjoyable to chew.
“Delicious.”
“Kyuu! It’s so tasty! Kyuu!”
Crunch, crunch!
Pepper wagged his tail happily, engrossed in eating the dried sweet potatoes.
Ding!
Just as Hiro was enjoying the snack, a message notification popped up.
[Achievement Unlocked]
[You are the first to make dried sweet potatoes in the Spirit Realm.]
[Cooking skill experience has greatly increased.]
[Skill Level Up!]
[Cooking Skill LV. 1 -> Cooking Skill LV. 2]
“Oh, the level went up too?”
Hiro checked his skill.
[Cooking LV. 2]
– Grade: E
– Type: Passive
– Experience: 11.53%
– Description: Enhances cooking abilities. Special effects are added to completed dishes.
– Effect: Cooking Bonus
– Completed dish effect +15%
– Completed dish duration +10%
“Not bad.”
As the cooking skill level increased, so did the effectiveness of his dishes, which was beneficial for him.
Crunch, crunch.
The sound of chewing dried sweet potatoes echoed softly around Hiro’s farm for a while.
***
A few days passed.
“Kyuu…”
Pepper sat alone in the shrine, waiting endlessly for Hiro.
“Master Kyuu…”
The cold silence filled the shrine, something Pepper hadn’t felt when Hiro was with him.
The feeling of being alone.
He had experienced something like this before. During a monster attack, Pepper had desperately fled to survive. He had dug a small hole to hide in and spent days there, holding his breath in fear. The loneliness and isolation he felt then were unimaginable.
But now, it was different.
“Kyuu.”
He wasn’t alone anymore.
Back then, no matter how much he cried out, no one heard Pepper’s voice or came to his aid. Shivering with fear in that dark burrow, he felt as if he would be alone forever.
But now, it was different.
‘He’ll come back soon.’
Hiro would definitely return.
With the strong belief that he would come back to him, Pepper could wait.
***
“Hmm…”
As usual, Hiro was eating while browsing the Overlord Community, observing the atmosphere.
“Will the crops sell well? I wonder how much the sweet potatoes will go for.”
Currently, in *Overlord*, the position of ‘crops’ wasn’t exactly favorable. Especially user-grown crops—they didn’t sell well. The quality was lower, and the quantity wasn’t substantial. Above all, there was no real reason for anyone to buy crops from users.
“Might as well buy them from NPCs.”
NPC-sold crops were of decent quality and available in large quantities. And most importantly…
“They’re cheap.”
NPC crops were inexpensive. Players were trying to sell one sweet potato for 100 gold, including labor costs. But an NPC sold three sweet potatoes for just 100 gold. The low price alone gave NPCs a huge competitive advantage.
“If they’re not selling, they should lower the price to at least move some stock… being stubborn over this…”
Hiro understood that people wanted to get some return on their investment, but it was a short-sighted approach. Sometimes, you had to accept a loss to avoid an even greater one. Being stubborn could lead to disaster in an instant.
“Not that it’s my problem.”
Hiro continued eating and moved on to check something else.
“How’s the potion market?”
He looked up the price of recovery potions.
[Low-Grade Health Recovery Potion]
– Grade: E
– Description: A health recovery potion made by a skilled alchemist. Consuming it restores health. Be cautious, as overuse may lead to potion addiction.
– Requirement: Level 1 and above.
– Effect: Health Recovery +3,000
“So, one of these goes for 200 gold?”
A potion that restored 3,000 health for 200 gold. Considering 100 gold was equivalent to about 1,000 won in cash, each potion cost around 2,000 won.
“Potions certainly have higher health recovery than my crops.”
But…
“Then again, my dried sweet potatoes restore both mana and spirit power too.”
Even though their health recovery was lower, the added mana recovery was a significant advantage. Above all, in *Overlord*, players couldn’t overuse potions. To enhance realism, perhaps, if you keep consuming potions, you can end up with a status ailment.
[You have overused potions.]
[Status Effect: Potion Addiction]
[All potion effects -50% until the potion addiction wears off.]
Potion addiction would kick in after consuming too many potions. To recover from this, players had to find a special hot spring… or abstain from potions for a week.
“But hunting without potions? That’s tough, especially without healers around…”
“However, my crops don’t cause that kind of addiction. They’re snacks, not potions.”
This was a clear point of distinction. A recovery item without potion addiction? It was bound to be a hit.
“Now, I just need to figure out how to get access to the auction house.”
Hiro finished his meal, cleaned up neatly, then went to his room and lay down in the capsule.
Whirrr!
[Please select the game you want to launch.]
“Overlord.”
[Launching Overlord.]
Hiro logged into *Overlord* once again.
Today was…
“Are the sweet potatoes ready?”
It was harvest day for his sweet potatoes.
Cliche Novel 
Has this novel stopped being translated? Been almost two weeks since the last chapter
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Time to go MTL the rest TwT
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