Chapter 124 – Gone with the Land Deed

[Guardian Pink Fur has defeated a Fire Ant Warrior.]

[You have gained 750 experience points, which is 50% of the experience gained by Guardian Pink Fur.]

[Guardian Cuengi has defeated a Fire Ant Warrior.]

[You have gained 750 experience points, which is 50% of the experience gained by Guardian Cuengi.]

…

..

.

[You have leveled up.]

[You have obtained 1 bonus stat point.]

“Nice.”

Se-jun, who reached level 55 by leveling up twice after being carried by Pink Fur and Cuengi, wore a satisfied smile. Then, he invested the bonus stat points into Strength and Stamina, one each.

In games, raising various stats like this would make one a jack-of-all-trades character, but in reality, a jack-of-all-trades was the way to survive.

As Se-jun, who won the battle against the fire ants in that way, returned to the farm leading the way, 7,000 mushroom ants welcomed them. It was their own way of showing gratitude.

Over the past few days, additional mushroom ants had joined to escape the fire ants, increasing their number by about 2,000.

At that moment,

“Kke-ek!”

One of the mushroom ants approached Se-jun, carrying a small mushroom on its back.

“Huh?! That’s a king oyster mushroom, isn’t it? Why that?”

Se-jun recognized the mushroom. Perhaps because it was not fully grown yet, it seemed no different from a regular king oyster mushroom except that it was smaller and its cap was a bit glossier.

“Kke-ek!”

The mushroom ant brought its back closer to Se-jun as if he would know once he harvested it. It was full of confidence.

“You mean I’ll know if I see it? Alright.”

Pluck.

Se-jun harvested the mushroom.

[You have obtained Elixir: King Oyster Mushroom.]

[Job experience increases slightly.]

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

[You have gained 250 experience points.]

“Elixir?”

Se-jun examined the king oyster mushroom.

[Elixir: King Oyster Mushroom]

A king oyster mushroom grown by the tenant farmer mushroom ant of the tower farmer has absorbed all surrounding nutrients alone and grown into an elixir.

It boasts excellent taste and aroma.

Upon consumption, all stats +1

Grower: Tenant farmer mushroom ant of Tower Farmer Park Se-jun

Expiration Date: 90 days

Grade: C

“It raises all stats by 1?”

And on top of that, excellent taste and aroma?! The mushroom ant’s confident attitude became understandable.

“Kke-ek?”

The mushroom ant asked as if to ask how it was.

“Good job.”

As Se-jun patted the mushroom ant’s head,

“Kkereureuk!”

The mushroom ant rejoiced while making a strange sound.

“Kke-ek!”

[This is all thanks to Master! I just grew it diligently!]

“Oh, come on. What did I do? It’s all because you guys grew it diligently.”

“Kke-ek, kke-ek…”

[It is true, though. It is thanks to Master…]

Se-jun thought it was just the mushroom ant’s politeness, but mushroom ants originally did not have the ability to grow elixirs. If they had such a thing, they would have grown elixirs diligently, eaten them themselves, and driven away the fire ants.

Only the mushroom ants that had become tenant farmers among the mushroom ants could grow elixirs.

Although they did not step forward because it was not yet time to harvest, five tenant farmer mushroom ants with elixirs growing on their backs were growing the elixirs under the intensive care of the other mushroom ants.

Sniff, sniff.

“Cueng!”

Cuengi put his nose to Se-jun’s hand holding the king oyster mushroom and sniffed hard. It smells delicious-da-yo!

“Just hold on a bit. Let’s go cook and eat.”

Se-jun took the animals and went to the kitchen.

“Lunch is king oyster mushroom! Crop Gigantification.”

Se-jun used the skill on the Elixir: King Oyster Mushroom.

By doing this, the consumption effect disappeared, but the taste and aroma did not change while only the quantity increased.

However,

[Using Crop Gigantification Lv. 2 on the King Oyster Mushroom.]

[Since the crop is an elixir, the nutrients it possesses are immense.]

[The degree of Crop Gigantification increases significantly.]

“Huh?!”

Creak.

The degree of gigantification of the elixir was much larger than Se-jun’s expectation.

Thud!

The giant king oyster mushroom grew, breaking the roof of the kitchen.

“Guys, get out!”

Se-jun hurriedly shouted and came outside. Fortunately, perhaps because the gray rabbits and the Black Minotaur had built it sturdily, the kitchen did not collapse.

“Oh-wah!”

Se-jun admired the gigantified king oyster mushroom from outside the kitchen. Seeing a mushroom this large was the first time since the mushroom cloud Anton had made in the past.

“Kuu-ung!”

Pink Fur rejoiced upon seeing the king oyster mushroom that had grown to 10 meters in size. It felt like this would have a satisfying chew.

“Pink Fur, please move the mushroom somewhere else.”

Because the mushroom was too large, it was difficult to do anything inside the kitchen anyway.

“Kuu-ung!”

Crack.

Pink Fur pulled the giant king oyster mushroom out of the kitchen and moved it to an empty plot of land.

“Good. Now, divide it into five pieces vertically.”

“Kuu-ung!”

At Se-jun’s words, Pink Fur gathered mana and injected it into her claws, creating four claws made of mana.

And,

Slash.

As Pink Fur swung her mana claws from top to bottom toward the giant king oyster mushroom, the giant king oyster mushroom was divided into five pieces in an instant.

Thud.

Pink Fur held the giant mushroom so it would not fall and laid it on the ground.

And then, the king oyster mushroom party began.

Just as Pink Fur began to eat the top part, and the mushroom ants began to eat the bottom part,

“Moo-ooo!”

The aroma drifting from the king oyster mushroom tempted the Black Minotaurs. The Black Minotaurs approached, drooling.

“You guys take one too and eat it with the Bull Demon King.”

Se-jun let the Black Minotaurs take one of the five-parted mushrooms.

“Moo!”

The Minotaurs channeled mana into their horns, sliced the mushroom like a knife, and carried it away.

“Let’s eat too.”

At Se-jun’s words after finishing the distribution of the mushroom, Cuengi and the rabbits ate the king oyster mushroom. At first, they ate it raw, and when they got tired of it, they steamed it or grilled it to eat.

-It is a pity… If only there were alcohol, I would have brewed it right away…

-Thinking of alcohol again?

Kellion rebuked Kaiser, who was expressing regret while looking at the king oyster mushroom.

“Kellion-nim, would you like more?”

-No. I have eaten plenty.

Unlike Aileen, the two dragons did not eat much compared to their appetite.

“Aileen, do you want more?”

[The tower administrator says she is full now.]

“No way? In the past, you said you had to eat at least one large pot to feel somewhat full?! You aren’t sick anywhere, right?”

In the past, it was normal to worry first if a child who used to eat rice by the rice cooker only ate half a bowl. Se-jun worried about Aileen.

[The tower administrator says you should worry about yourself first rather than her.]

“Alright.”

He worried about others again.

[The tower administrator says she is still happy that you worried about her.]

“Really? I will worry about Aileen a lot in the future too.”

[……]

“Aileen?”

The conversation cut off again.

“But what should we do with this?”

Although everyone worked hard and ate a lot, one piece out of the five-parted mushroom still remained.

“I should eat this tomorrow.”

Just as Se-jun thought he should leave the remaining king oyster mushroom and eat it tomorrow,

“Cueng!”

Cuengi lay on top of the king oyster mushroom and called Se-jun. Dad, it’s nap time-da-yo!

“Then shall we sleep a bit?”

Since he was full, he did feel drowsy.

Se-jun lay down next to Cuengi. The flesh of the king oyster mushroom sank as if swallowing Se-jun’s body.

“Wow. Isn’t this completely latex?”

Se-jun sat up and said as he watched the resilience of the king oyster mushroom rise again without losing its volume.

“I should cut this later and take it home.”

It felt like it would be nice to use as a substitute for a mattress when sleeping.

“Cueng!”

Squeeze.

Cuengi gently pressed Se-jun’s chest as if telling him to lie down quickly. And he did not remove his front paw. Although it was heavy, perhaps because it was only one front paw, it was bearable.

And,

“Bat-bat.”

The golden bat, which liked dark places, took a spot between Se-jun and Cuengi.

Snoore.

Kyu-snoore.

Bat-snoore.

In that way, the three fell asleep.

30 minutes later,

“Kuu-uh-ung!!!”

At Pink Fur’s sudden roar, Se-jun, Cuengi, and the golden bat woke up with a start.

“What?! What’s happening?!”

Se-jun hurriedly looked around.

“Kieeeek!”

Nearly a million Fire Ant Warriors and workers surrounded them. The thick aroma of the king oyster mushroom had spread all the way to where the fire ants were, drawing them in.

“There are too many of them.”

If those fire ants began to use fire, there would be no way to protect the farm.

At that time,

-Hey. Go earn your keep. I have no mana.

-Ahem. Shall I step in?

At Kaiser’s words, Kellion flew toward the fire ants.

And,

-Insects, end your lives!

He said a single word and returned.

Fwoosh.

At Kellion’s words, the fire ants burned themselves to death. No fire ant screamed or refused. They chose death without hesitation, as if doing something natural.

“Ah…”

To kill a million fire ants with just a single word, a dragon was indeed a dragon. Although they sometimes appeared funny, at times like this, they were truly terrifying to the point of goosebumps.

‘I must stay on good terms with them.’

Se-jun resolved to stay on good terms and not play around in front of the dragons in the future.

***

The Mage Association Headquarters on the 91st floor of the tower.

“Kyut-kyut-kyut. How far has the excavation of the Sacred Stone progressed?”

Iona, who had run in a hurry after receiving the association’s contact, sat in the head seat of the meeting room and asked.

“Looking at the strength of the detector, it is within 100 meters.”

Vice Tower Master Gonoba, who took the form of a hyena, replied.

Iona had run all the way here in a single breath yesterday after receiving contact that the Sacred Stone was detected in the mana stone mine on the 77th floor of the tower managed by the Magic Tower.

The Sacred Stone was a fallen star from the sky, and it was known that if one was recognized as the owner of the Sacred Stone, its special power would protect them.

‘I should give it to Se-jun-nim.’

As soon as she received the contact, Iona thought of Se-jun as the owner of the Sacred Stone. She had already known a long time ago that Se-jun was not the Great Black Dragon.

At first, she had thought it was just a game of pretending to be weak for a while, but she was not a fool; if she watched what Se-jun and the other animals did beside him, there was no way she could not know.

Moreover, even the other dragon statues worried about Se-jun. Comparing the mana exuded by Se-jun and the dragon statues next to him made it even clearer. Se-jun’s mana was similar to the hunters who had recently begun entering the tower.

At first, she was slightly angry about being deceived, but what did that matter? It was enough as long as she enjoyed being with him and could sleep without nightmares.

Therefore, for her own sweet sleep, the safety of Se-jun, who was as fragile as an ocean sunfish, was more important than anything.

While Iona was thinking of finding the Sacred Stone and giving it to Se-jun in that way,

“Let us head to the mine quickly, Iona-nim.”

“Kyut-kyut-kyut. Yes.”

Gonoba guided Iona to the magic circle connected to the mana stone mine.

“Then, we will depart.”

As Gonoba activated the magic circle,

Swoosh.

The two disappeared. Gonoba’s gaze looking at Iona was cold and sharp.

***

“Shall I see if the black rabbit is doing well?”

Se-jun used the Guardian Rabbit Statue to check the treasure warehouse of the Red Ribbon Kingdom. Since Se-jun had put in the rice flour, the black rabbit had been making dough whenever it had time.

[List of items currently available for withdrawal from the Red Ribbon Kingdom’s treasure warehouse (Total: 23,911,814 items)]

Dough 1 kg x 5

Gold Ingots x 10,000

Silver Ingots x 50,000

Farm Land Deed for the 77th Floor of the Tower

Farm Land Deed for the 83th Floor of the Tower

…

..

.

Se-jun had withdrawn the Tower Coins and deposited them into the Seed Bank, and he had given the Mithril ingots to Iona because she said she wanted to use them for magic experiments.

“But what is a farm land deed?”

Cueng?

[Let’s take it out first-da-yo! It might be food-da-yo!]

“Then shall we take out the 77th-floor land deed?”

Se-jun decided to take out the land deed to examine it.

[Withdrawing 1 Farm Land Deed for the 77th Floor of the Tower from the Red Ribbon Kingdom’s treasure warehouse.]

Appear.

A rolled-up document made of leather appeared in Se-jun’s hand.

At that moment,

[The summoning function for the initial engraving of the Farm Land Deed for the 77th Floor of the Tower is activated.]

“Huh?!”

Se-jun suddenly disappeared.

And,

“Cuee-eng!”

[Dad disappeared-da-yo!]

Cuengi cried, searching for Se-jun who had suddenly disappeared.