Translated by Demonic Dog
Read it only at utoon.net
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Chapter 25 – Catching a Falling Baby Bear
“President, we used all extraction methods, but we failed to extract any new components from the cherry tomatoes.”
“Is easy?”
Nibble.
At the report from the research team directly led by Jena, the president of Ister Pharmaceuticals, Jena bit her fingernails. It was a habit of hers when lost in deep thought.
‘Was it indeed impossible to extract from items?’
She had overreacted in excitement at her younger brother Chris’s words that extracting something from items would be impossible.
“Still, the clinical trial results are very good. We confirmed that consuming the magical cherry tomatoes decomposes 10g of fat, raising the basal metabolic rate by about 5 to 10%.”
“What about the stacking effect?”
“For non-awakened individuals, while 10g of fat is reduced upon consumption, the basal metabolic rate increases by only about an additional 0.1%. The additional effect is minimal.”
“As expected, indeed.”
Jena, who had personally eaten the magical cherry tomatoes and felt their effect, knew it best. She simply wanted to confirm it with exact numbers.
“What about side effects from overconsumption?”
“There are none other than the side effects that occur when eating regular cherry tomatoes.”
“Really? What about those caused by excessive fat decomposition?”
“That part is surprising. Even with an overdose of the magical cherry tomatoes, we confirmed that if there is little fat in the body, it does not decompose fat below a body fat percentage of 7 to 9%. Instead, the effect of increasing body vitality also disappears.”
In a word, the researcher’s words meant that overusing the magical cherry tomatoes did not cause harm to health.
“I understand. First, please bring the remaining ones to my office.”
Since a few days ago, contacts had been coming in from the members of the FDA Advisory Committee to whom Jena had gifted the magical cherry tomatoes, asking if they could obtain more.
“Yes. But it seems the magical cherry tomatoes really are good. Your jawline has sharpened a lot, President.”
“Hohoho. Thank you.”
Jena’s mood improved at the research team leader’s words. Although the research to extract components from the magical cherry tomatoes failed, her diet was a success.
***
165th day of being stranded.
“Heve-ho!”
Se-jun woke up and added a stroke to the wall, completing another character for five.
“The fourth row is already 30% filled too.”
Although time seemed to pass slowly, before he knew it, it had flown by quickly.
Buzz, buzz.
The poison honey bees woke up early in the morning and approached Se-jun before gathering honey. Within two days, the number of poison honey bees increased by seven more, bringing the total number of poison honey bees to sixty.
“Did everyone sleep well?”
Rub, rub.
The poison honey bees substituted their reply by rubbing their tails against Se-jun’s body.
At that moment,
Squeak!
Squeak!
Squeak!
The rabbits woke up and greeted Se-jun with morning greetings.
Se-jun and the rabbits ate sweet potatoes, carrots, and cool honey water simply, and began their morning farming.
From today, one task was added to Se-jun’s work. Se-jun decided to do the job of cutting green onion leaves, which the wife rabbit used to do.
As the wife rabbit’s belly gradually grew larger, he assigned her easy tasks like preparing meals or plucking cherry tomatoes from the cherry tomato stems Se-jun harvested.
Slice, slice.
Se-jun cut the green onion leaves at an incredible speed. With Keynes’s Training Dagger, Se-jun could be called an almost unrivaled lawnmower in this cave.
The white rabbit with the A-frame carrier alone could not match Se-jun’s speed of cutting green onion leaves, so even the white rabbit with the sickle had to help carry the green onion leaves.
Having finished cutting the green onion leaves in an hour like that, Se-jun immediately began harvesting cherry tomatoes. With his stamina improved lately, this level of work did not even make him tired.
Slice, slice.
Se-jun diligently cut the cherry tomato branches with the dagger, harvesting the cherry tomatoes and bringing them to the wife rabbit.
Since harvesting the D-grade magical cherry tomatoes yesterday, most of the harvested cherry tomatoes were D-grade. The fruits that bore after Se-jun became a D-grade tower farmer grew into D-grade.
“If only Theo had left just one day later, I could have sold the D-grade cherry tomatoes.”
He felt a sense of regret. However, thanks to that, he could eat the D-grade magical cherry tomatoes to his heart’s content, so it was not entirely bad.
Slice.
While Se-jun was thinking about that and cutting the cherry tomato branches,
[You harvested seven ripe magical cherry tomatoes at the same time.]
[Your job experience increased slightly.]
[The proficiency of Harvesting Lv. 3 increased slightly.]
[The proficiency of Harvesting Lv. 3 increased by an additional 5% due to the effect of Proficiency Increase Lv. 1.]
[You obtained 140 experience points.]
[You leveled up.]
[You obtained 1 bonus stat.]
Although he had leveled up a few days ago, the experience points grew as he harvested D-grade cherry tomatoes, so he leveled up earlier than expected, reaching level 14. Se-jun increased his stamina with the bonus stat.
“Shall I rest for a bit?”
Taking the opportunity as he stopped his hands, Se-jun looked around to see the situation of the other white rabbits.
Although the wife rabbit was excluded from farming, the sickle rabbit and the carrier rabbit, who had nothing to do since Se-jun cut the green onion leaves quickly, helped the other rabbits, so the progress of the work was actually faster than before.
“A brief rest!”
Thanks to the single dagger Theo brought, Se-jun and the rabbits had plenty of leisure in their day.
At Se-jun’s shout, the rabbits gathered around the fireside, their official resting area.
“Here, let’s rest while eating one each.”
Se-jun brought two cherry tomato stems he had just harvested, plucked the cherry tomatoes, and distributed them to the rabbits one by one.
Sink.
Slurp, slurp, slurp.
The rabbits sank their teeth into the cherry tomatoes and began to suck the juice,
Squeeze! Squeeze!
and Se-jun squeezed the cherry tomato juice into his tumbler to make cherry tomato juice.
At that moment,
Buzz, buzz.
The poison honey bees approached. When they were eating like this, the poison honey bees used to spray honey onto the rabbits’ cherry tomatoes.
Buzz, buzz.
The poison honey bees approached Se-jun as well.
“I’m fine.”
Since he wanted to taste the pure flavor of the cherry tomatoes today, Se-jun declined the honey.
Like that, Se-jun and the rabbits took a break, returned to their respective works, and then ate lunch.
Slurp.
“Ah, good.”
Se-jun washed away the remaining salty taste and fishy odor in his mouth with coffee after eating the salt-seasoned grilled fish for lunch. Today, he boiled water in the pot and made coffee with hot water.
Squeak…
The black rabbit climbed onto Se-jun’s lap and lay down to take a nap.
One second later.
Squeak, purr.
“How did he fall asleep as soon as he lay down?”
Se-jun looked at the black rabbit in wonder and then stared at the sky.
When about ten minutes passed like that,
Cueng, cueng.
A strange sound came from above the cave.
“Huh?!”
Se-jun hurriedly stood up from his spot,
Squeak?! Squeak?
and the black rabbit, who was tossed aside because of that, looked around in confusion.
However, Se-jun could not afford to pay attention to that. The sound heard from above was not loud, but it was definitely a monster.
Hop!
As Se-jun continued to look up, the black rabbit, sensing something strange, quickly jumped onto Se-jun’s shoulder.
At that moment, Se-jun and the black rabbit made eye contact with an existence with red fur poking its head through the ceiling hole.
Cueng?!
Slip.
Cueeeeng!!!
The opponent, who was even more flustered than Se-jun and the black rabbit, slipped and fell into the cave while letting out a strange scream.
***
I shouldn’t go over there.
The place mom always said I shouldn’t go. She said it was the poison honey bees’ territory and was dangerous.
However, while mom fell asleep for a moment, the baby Crimson Giant Bear, who woke up, went out alone to play and got lost.
Mom!
Mom!
The baby Crimson Giant Bear called out for his mother at the top of his lungs, looking for a way back home.
However, the baby Crimson Giant Bear headed in the wrong direction, gradually moving further away from his mother Crimson Giant Bear, and ended up entering the poison honey bees’ territory that he was told not to enter.
Mom!
Mom!
The baby Crimson Giant Bear was searching for his mother in the poison honey bees’ territory.
At that moment,
Sniff, sniff.
A sweet smell came from somewhere.
It smells delicious!
The baby Crimson Giant Bear even forgot that he was searching for his mother and headed toward the place where the smell came from.
Sniff, sniff.
Following the smell, the baby Crimson Giant Bear realized that the smell was rising from a hole in the ground, and cautiously poked his head out to look down.
Huh?!
But there was a gaze looking up at him from below.
Slip.
Being too flustered, the baby Crimson Giant Bear lost strength in his legs and fell into the hole.
Mom, save me!!!
***
“Huh?!”
Se-jun caught the falling entity with his hands. In that way, a monster the size of a small dog with red fur was embraced in Se-jun’s arms.
Thud!
The first thought Se-jun had upon receiving the monster was that it was fluffy.
Cueng?
The monster looked at Se-jun, who had caught him.
“A dog?”
No matter how he looked at it, it was a dog. But looking at the name, it was not.
[Baby Crimson Giant Bear]
Se-jun put the baby Crimson Giant Bear down on the ground.
Cueng.
The Crimson Giant Bear was still scared, stood on two legs, grabbed Se-jun’s leg with his front paws, hid behind him, and looked around.
“What should I do with him?”
Se-jun fell into thought about what to do with this Crimson Giant Bear that suddenly appeared. The fact that there was a baby meant there was a mother, who might be searching for the baby somewhere.
While Se-jun was contemplating like that,
Toddle, toddle.
Thinking that there was no existence to attack him, the baby Crimson Giant Bear began to explore the cave.
The place he headed first was the water bottle containing the sweet-smelling honey.
However,
Buzz, buzz.
Flash!
As the poison honey bees drew their stinger needles toward the enemy who not only invaded the cave but also targeted the honey,
Cueeeng! Cueeeng!
the baby Crimson Giant Bear let out a scream and quickly hid behind Se-jun’s leg again.
Buzz, buzz.
The poison honey bees hovered around the baby Crimson Giant Bear, preparing to attack.
Shiver, shiver.
Trickle.
The terrified baby Crimson Giant Bear trembled and even wet himself. It was too pitiful to see him like this.
“It’s okay.”
Se-jun calmed down the poison honey bees and sent them back.
Cueeeng.
As the poison honey bees disappeared, the baby Crimson Giant Bear clung to Se-jun, who had protected him, asking to be held.
“What is this guy?”
Se-jun picked up and embraced the baby Crimson Giant Bear for now.
Purr.
“What?”
As soon as he held him, the baby bear fell asleep in an instant. Why? The black rabbit did that too, and why did they sleep so well in my arms like this?
Se-jun put the baby bear down on his designated seat with doubts.
Then, he had the black rabbit guard the baby bear and began his afternoon farming.
Feeling concerned about the baby bear, Se-jun checked on him from time to time.
While he was checking on the baby bear frequently like that,
Huh?!
The black rabbit and the baby bear, who were supposed to be at his designated seat, were nowhere to be seen.
Could it be?!
He worried if the baby bear had eaten the black rabbit.
As Se-jun hurriedly looked around, the voices of the black rabbit and the baby bear were heard from the pond.
Squeak!
Squeak!
Cueng!
When the black rabbit showed his piranha hunting, the baby bear looked at the black rabbit with eyes of respect.
Squeak?! Squeak!
The black rabbit looked at the baby bear with a very proud stance. Did you see what Hyung did?!
Cueng! Cueng?
The baby bear nodded, looking at the black rabbit as if saying his Hyung was amazing and asking if he could eat it.
Squeak!
The black rabbit answered generously. Of course!
Cueng!
Receiving the black rabbit’s permission, the baby bear began to gobble down the piranha.
Watching the two of them, Se-jun decided to leave the management of the baby bear to the black rabbit for now.
165th day of being stranded, the lost baby Crimson Giant Bear began to board and lodge.