Chapter 121 – Harvesting Pineapples

“Are they cooked?”

Se-jun poked the steaming sweet potatoes and potatoes with chopsticks.

Slide.

The chopsticks went in smoothly without resistance.

“They’re done.”

Se-jun took the pot off the hearth and took out the sweet potatoes and potatoes to cool.

And while the sweet potatoes and potatoes were cooling, he checked the grilled fish for Theo to eat and the grilled Purple Locust meat for Cuengi to eat, putting the fully grilled ones onto plates.

Iona’s roasted peanuts were already completely roasted and spread out on a wide plate to dry.

At that moment,

“Cueng! Cueng!”

Cuengi came up from the cave carrying a giant fish. Theo hyung! I caught a big fish-da-yo!

Hearing the news that Se-jun was throwing a party, Flamie drove a giant fish all the way from the sea of dimensions and had Cuengi catch it.

“It’s tuna, meow!”

Theo got excited as he looked at the 20-meter giant fish Cuengi brought.

“Chairman Park! When is the party starting, meow?!”

Theo, whose mind grew urgent because of the tuna, stomped his feet and rushed Se-jun.

“President Theo, wait. And we need time to grill the tuna anyway.”

“Understood, meow! Cuengi, grill the tuna quickly, meow!”

Cueng?

[How do I grill it-da-yo?]

Cuengi tried to grill the tuna, which was bigger than the hearth, by moving it this way and that.

However,

“That’s not how you do it, meow!”

In the eyes of the grilled fish enthusiast Theo, it was far too clumsy.

“Iona, help me, meow!”

“Kyut-kyut-kyut. What can I do for you?”

Iona, who had been smiling warmly at the roasted peanuts, asked in a bright voice.

“Make a fire, meow!”

“Kyut-kyut-kyut. That is easy. Power of fire, by my command, burn everything to ashes! Incinerating Blaze!”

At Theo’s request, Iona readily created a fire. A very big and hot fire.

“That’s not the fire, meow! Are you planning to burn my grilled tuna to ashes, meow?!”

Theo cried out in horror at the fire Iona had made. It felt as if his tuna would turn to ash at the slightest touch of the flames.

“Kyu—then you should have said so.”

Although Iona’s mood soured as Theo’s voice grew louder, Theo was a precious existence who provided her with sweet sleep. Iona exercised patience and held back.

She only held back because it was Theo; had it been anyone else, Iona would have launched Hellfire immediately.

“Is it done?”

Iona held her temper and lowered the fire’s temperature to match Theo’s request.

However,

“Reduce the size of the fire slightly above the bottom part, meow!”

“Kyu—like this?”

“No, meow! Increase the size of the middle part, meow!”

Theo’s demands were endless, and Iona’s patience was gradually beginning to run dry.

“Kyu-kyu—is it done?”

Anger Kyu Level 2. Iona’s anger gauge slowly rose. Theo, unaware that a crisis of losing his life was approaching, was busy ordering Iona around.

“You reduced it too much this time, meow!”

“Kyu-kyu-kyu—you are too demanding.”

Just as Iona’s patience was reaching its limit at Theo’s demands,

“It’s done, meow!”

Fortunately, the shape and temperature of the fire reached the state Theo wanted.

“Cuengi, put the tuna into the fire, meow!”

Cueng!

At Theo’s instruction, Cuengi put the tuna into the fire, and the shape of the tuna and the fire fit perfectly. It would have been much easier if they had matched it to the shape of the tuna in the first place.

“Now, we just have to wait two hours for it to be finished, meow!”

While Theo was waiting for the grilled tuna to be done,

“Kyu-kyu—”

Iona wrapped herself around Theo’s tail and found peace of mind.

“Everyone, let’s start the party!”

While Theo and Iona bickered and grilled the tuna, Se-jun steamed the Songpyeon and finished setting up the prepared food.

“Nyang-nyang-nyang! Chairman Park, let’s go up there quickly, meow!”

Theo grew excited, grabbed Se-jun’s leg, and led him onto the body of the well-grilled tuna.

“Wait a moment.”

There was something to do first. Se-jun took two plates of Songpyeon separately to the dragons.

“Kaiser-nim, Kellion-nim, please try this. It’s a food called Songpyeon.”

Serving the dragons directly like this put them in a good mood and allowed the other animals to eat comfortably.

-Ahem. Shall we try it?

-You say its name is Songpyeon?

Kaiser and Kellion asked in voices full of anticipation.

“Yes. Inside is a sweet potato filling, and a filling made of potato mixed with honey…”

While Se-jun was explaining,

Clatter.

Hearing that sweet potatoes were inside, Kaiser and Kellion poured the Songpyeon into the mouths of the dragon statues.

And,

-……

-……

The two dragon statues fell silent. They were likely busy tasting the Songpyeon.

“Then, please enjoy.”

After Se-jun bowed to the two dragon statues and returned to his seat,

“Chairman Park, over here, meow!”

Pat! Pat!

Theo, who could not wait and climbed onto the grilled tuna first, patted the tuna’s body and called Se-jun.

“Alright.”

Se-jun put his food on a plate and climbed onto the grilled tuna. Meanwhile, the rabbits sat down and waited for Se-jun to eat.

“Let’s eat.”

At Se-jun’s word, the animals began to eat.

“Chairman Park, open the Churu quickly, meow!”

Theo, who lay flat on Se-jun’s lap, looked up at Se-jun and said confidently. It was natural for him to be confident.

Because,

‘The protagonist of this party is me, meow!’

It was clearly a party to celebrate Se-jun’s completion of his job quest, but at some point in Theo’s mind, the party had become one thrown for him.

The reason for throwing the party? He did not know, but such things were not important, meow! As long as he had Se-jun’s lap, Churu, and the big fish, that was enough.

Rip.

As Se-jun tore open the Churu packet and squeezed it for Theo to eat easily,

Chomp, chomp, chomp.

Theo began to eat eagerly.

And,

Nibble, nibble.

“Kyut-kyut-kyut.”

Iona, buried in Theo’s tail, also held the pre-prepared roasted peanuts tightly with both hands and began to nibble on them.

Chew, chew.

Se-jun also ate the Songpyeon he made.

“It’s sweet potato.”

The first Songpyeon he picked up was one filled with sweet potato. As he chewed, the sticky dough and soft sweet potato mixed, giving a chewy yet soft texture.

Moreover, while there was only the sweetness of the sweet potato at first, from the middle, the sweetness of the rice supported the sweetness of the sweet potato, providing a variation of unique flavors just when he was getting used to the sweet potato flavor.

Gulp.

After eating one Songpyeon like that, he picked up the next one.

Chew, chew.

This time, it was a Songpyeon made with a filling of potato mixed with honey. The texture was similar, but the density of the sweetness was different.

If the Songpyeon containing sweet potato was a slowly soaking drizzle, the Songpyeon with potato and honey was a heavy downpour. Everything was swept away and mixed in the downpour.

The sweetness of the rice was swept away by the sweetness of the honey, making it indistinguishable. That did not mean it was not delicious. The heaviness of the honey absorbed other sweetness like gravity, creating a multi-dimensional taste.

“Indeed, it tastes like honey.”

By the time Se-jun had deliciously eaten about ten Songpyeon,

“But where did Cuengi go?”

Se-jun looked around, searching for Cuengi. Cuengi, the eating champion of the 99th floor of the tower, was nowhere to be seen where the food was being eaten.

“Cuengi!”

When Se-jun called Cuengi,

Cueng…

Cuengi’s voice was heard faintly from below. Along with a small vibration.

“Huh? Cuengi!”

When Se-jun called Cuengi again,

Crack.

Cuengi came out, opening the tuna’s mouth. It was Cuengi, who had been eagerly eating the grilled tuna from the inside. On Cuengi’s forehead, the golden bat sat and shone.

“You?!”

Se-jun quickly checked on Theo.

Chomp, chomp, chomp.

Theo was still busy eating Churu, unaware that Cuengi had touched his tuna.

‘Thank goodness.’

“Cuengi, eat Songpyeon now.”

Cueng!

At Se-jun’s words, Cuengi answered energetically, went to the table where Songpyeon was piled up, and began to eat them.

And,

Suck, suck.

The golden bat was seen holding a cherry tomato that Se-jun had placed as a decoration on the Songpyeon, sucking its juice.

“Ah…”

Se-jun realized the fact that he had prepared nothing for the golden bat at the party.

‘Is there nothing the golden bat would like?’

Se-jun fell into deep thought.

And,

“Ah!”

A fruit suddenly came to mind. There was the pineapple he had brought from the 75th floor of the tower. Seeing it eat the cherry tomato’s juice, he felt certain that it would also like the sweet and sour juice of the pineapple.

“Wait a moment.”

“Nyang?”

“Kyut?”

With Theo and Iona hanging onto his legs, Se-jun rushed to the field where he had planted the pineapples.

“Oh! It grew quite big.”

Even though Se-jun had not been able to pay much attention to them in the meantime, the pineapple crowns took root and grew well, growing fist-sized pineapples one by one.

At the pineapple’s admirable behavior, Se-jun patted them one by one.

[Farmer’s Touch Lv. 2 is activated.]

[While touched, the growth of the pineapple accelerates slightly.]

Meanwhile, he looked at which pineapple to pick. While he was patting the pineapples one by one like that,

Touch.

As Se-jun placed his hand on one,

[Farmer’s Touch Lv. 3 is activated.]

[While touched, the growth of the screaming pineapple accelerates slightly.]

There was a pineapple with a different name.

“Screaming Pineapple?”

The appearance of a new breed. However, the name was too ominous to just harvest it.

“Guys, support me.”

“Chairman Park, just trust me, meow!”

“Kyut-kyut-kyut. Leave it to us!”

When Se-jun requested help, Theo and Iona shouted confidently and prepared to protect him.

And,

“I’m cutting it now.”

Se-jun gave the signal to Theo and Iona.

And,

Slice.

Grabbing the pineapple crown as if grabbing someone’s hair, he cut the stem connected to the fruit with a dagger.

[You have harvested an Unripe Screaming Pineapple.]

[Job experience increases very slightly.]

[The proficiency of Harvesting Lv. 6 increases very slightly.]

[You have gained 30 experience points.]

“…Whew.”

Fortunately, perhaps because it was still unripe, nothing happened.

‘Even if it’s unripe, it should taste fine, right?’

While Se-jun was wondering if the golden bat would eat the unripe pineapple deliciously,

Crack.

The middle of the screaming pineapple split open like a mouth.

“Uh?!”

“It’s dangerous, meow!”

At the unusual mana felt from the pineapple, Theo quickly hugged the back of Se-jun’s head with his front paws and covered his ears, and

“Shield!”

Iona quickly cast a shield spell on Se-jun’s body.

Soon,

Screeech!!!

A sharp screaming sound filled with mana was heard from the pineapple.

Whoosh.

Even though it only screamed, a wind rose and a light dust storm blew. It was a relief. Had it not been for the protection of the two, he might have gone deaf or had his insides shaken by the shockwave.

“Chairman Park would have been in big trouble without me, meow!”

“Kyut-kyut-kyut.”

Theo bragged as usual, and Iona smiled meaningfully.

At that moment,

[You have achieved the feat of birthing a new breed in the tower.]

[The tower grants you exclusive cultivation rights for the new breed.]

[The screaming pineapple cannot be cultivated without your permission.]

[Job experience increases slightly.]

[The proficiency of Harvesting Lv. 6 increases significantly.]

An achievement message stating that he had obtained a new breed appeared.

“But what was that scream earlier?”

Se-jun checked the half-split pineapple.

[Screaming Pineapple]

A pineapple grown inside the tower that was delicious due to absorbing sufficient nutrients.

Upon harvesting, the mana accumulated by the pineapple exploded, splitting the side of the pineapple and releasing a mana-infused shockwave accompanied by a scream-like sound.

Because it was harvested while still unripe, the intensity of the shockwave was greatly reduced.

Grower: Tower Farmer Park Se-jun

Expiration Date: 30 days

Grade: C-

“This is the intensity of the shockwave being greatly reduced?!”

He might have to risk his life to harvest a fully ripe one.

“Now even crops…”

The things he had to risk his life for were gradually increasing.

While Se-jun muttered and went to the golden bat with the pineapple,

Pat.

“Chairman Park, cheer up, meow.”

Theo rested his chin on Se-jun’s crown and comforted him by patting Se-jun’s head with his front paws.

And,

Bat, bat.

(Se-jun-nim, thank you! It’s delicious because the sour taste is strong!)

Fortunately, the juice of the unripe pineapple was to the golden bat’s taste, so the golden bat was greatly pleased.