Translated by Demonic Dog
Read it only at utoon.net
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Chapter 26 – Expanding Operations
Crunch.
Chew, chew.
Chomp.
Chew, chew.
“Mmm?”
Woken up by the sound of something eating, Se-jun hurriedly checked his side.
“He’s not here…”
The baby bear, who was supposed to be sleeping by his side, was nowhere to be seen. Se-jun thought he knew whose eating sound it was. It seemed the baby bear woke up hungry and was eating something.
While Se-jun stood up from his spot and headed toward the sound,
Squeak!
Dash!
Squeak! Squeak! Squeak!
The black rabbit ran out of the burrow and swung his hammer to punish the crop thief.
Cueeeng?
When the black rabbit, who treated him well until yesterday, hit him, the baby bear cried in confusion as if asking why his Hyung was doing that.
However,
Squeak!
The black rabbit did not go easy on him, as if asking who told him to touch the storage.
Thud! Thud!
Thud! Thud!
The white rabbits also came out, surrounded the baby bear, and stamped their feet on the ground to show their displeasure. They seemed angry that he was stealing and eating the crops they had worked hard to grow without Se-jun’s permission.
“Don’t be too angry. How much could a kid eat anyway… Huh?!”
The first thing that caught Se-jun’s eye was the baby bear, who had already grown to the size of a medium-sized dog. Considering he was the size of a small dog just until yesterday, it was an incredible growth rate.
And then, the following thought occurred.
How much would he have to eat to grow that fast?
Se-jun hurriedly checked the storage.
“…!”
The storage was largely empty. About one-third of the stored sweet potatoes and carrots had disappeared. It was somehow more annoying that he did not touch a single cherry tomato.
Cueeeng!
As soon as the baby bear saw Se-jun, perhaps thinking he would protect him, he rushed toward Se-jun, asking to be held.
Thud.
A heavy feeling different from yesterday. His strength also became completely different from yesterday.
“Do bears originally grow this fast?”
At this rate, keeping him would run the cave dry. No, he might even eat them later, saying he was hungry. Suddenly, a sense of crisis washed over him.
And there was one more existence that felt a sense of crisis just like Se-jun.
[The administrator of the tower was surprised, asking why the cub of the Crimson Giant Bear was here.]
[The administrator of the tower said that the cubs of the Crimson Giant Bear were pig-like creatures that could easily eat 100 kg a day as long as there was food.]
The administrator of the tower grew annoyed. The human’s food storage was being raided.
Because of the picky human, he had been barely receiving them one by one while building a friendship…
Of course, building a friendship with the human was quite satisfying.
But…
For a mere baby Crimson Giant Bear to proudly steal and eat our human’s crops. How dare he! How dare he! It was unforgivable.
[The administrator of the tower was furious at the baby Crimson Giant Bear.]
[A quest occurred.]
[Quest: Expel the baby Crimson Giant Bear from the cave!]
Reward: 1 job skill
Upon Rejection: Starvation to death!!!
The administrator of the tower was so excited that he even offered a reward.
[The administrator of the tower urged him to hurry.]
[The administrator of the tower said that in just a few days, the baby Crimson Giant Bear would grow too large to escape the cave.]
Se-jun felt the seriousness in the words of the tower’s administrator. His survival instinct sounded the alarm. A countermeasure was needed!
However,
“Mmm…”
No idea came to mind immediately.
“Let’s drink a cup of honey water first and think.”
He thought a good idea would come if he supplied energy to his brain.
As Se-jun walked toward the water bottle containing honey with his tumbler,
Toddle, toddle.
The baby bear also diligently followed Se-jun’s back. Since he was hated by the rabbits now, the only existence to protect him was the human in front of him.
Gurgle, gurgle.
While Se-jun was putting honey into the tumbler,
Drip, drip.
The baby bear stared at the honey while drooling heavily onto the floor. Se-jun’s heart softened at the extremely pitiful sight.
“Here.”
Se-jun poured a little honey onto the baby bear’s paw.
Cueng!
The baby bear finally achieved his purpose of coming all the way here following the sweet smell.
Lick.
The extreme sweetness felt through his tongue. It was the sweetness the baby bear tasted for the first time in his life. Delicious!
Lick, lick.
The baby bear licked his paw ravenously.
In the meantime, Se-jun, who made the honey water, shared it with the rabbits and thought of a plan to send the baby bear out.
At that moment,
“Ah! That would work.”
Suddenly, an idea to send the baby bear out came to Se-jun’s mind.
“Indeed, once energy goes into the brain, it starts working.”
Tap, tap.
Se-jun carefully knocked on the poison honey bees’ hive with his fingers to send the baby bear out. The poison honey bees were absolutely necessary for this task.
Buzz, buzz.
As an impact was applied to the hive, the poison honey bees came out in a hurry.
“Guys, sorry to bother your sleep. Help me out.”
Buzz, buzz.
The poison honey bees drew a circle at Se-jun’s words.
“Thank you. Move this outside.”
In the place Se-jun pointed to, there was a rope made by weaving green onion leaves for escape. He planned to lift the baby bear with this.
“Rabbits, go up and receive the rope.”
Squeak!
Squeak!
Squeak!
The rabbits answered and climbed up the hole in the cave ceiling. It would have been good if they could carry the rope up, but because the rope was quite heavy, they could not exit the cave while running with it.
Buzz, buzz.
Buzz, buzz.
Meanwhile, the poison honey bees clung to the end of the rope and flew up toward the ceiling hole carrying the rope.
And,
Tight.
He tied the baby bear’s body with the opposite end of the rope.
Cueng?
The baby bear stared at him as if asking why he was tying him up.
“Now you should go to your mom.”
Cueng! Cueng!
The baby bear began to cry at the word mother. It seemed he finally remembered his mother now.
As the poison honey bees flew up carrying the rope like that, the rabbits received it.
“Pull!”
Se-jun shouted while holding the baby bear’s body in a cheer posture.
Squeak!
Squeak!
Squeak!
Buzz! Buzz!
The rabbits and the poison honey bees pulled the rope together.
However,
……
Lick, lick.
The baby bear was licking his paw without moving a muscle.
“Now, let’s try once more. This time, when I call out one, two, pull at the same time on two. One, two!”
Squeak!
Squeak!
Squeak!
Buzz! Buzz!
At Se-jun’s call of two, the rabbits and the poison honey bees pulled with all their might.
The baby bear’s body moved 5 cm.
“It’s working!”
“One, two! One, two!”
Following Se-jun’s counts, the rabbits and the poison honey bees lifted the baby bear and barely sent him out of the cave in an hour.
[You completed the quest.]
[You obtained the job skill – Seed Harvesting Lv. 1, as a quest completion reward.]
“Seed Harvesting?”
Se-jun checked the skill.
[Job Skill – Seed Harvesting Lv. 1]
– The probability of obtaining better seeds when harvesting seeds from crops increased very slightly.
While Se-jun was checking the skill,
Squeak.
Squeak.
The rabbits untied the rope wrapped around the baby bear’s body.
When the rabbits completely untied the rope like that,
Roar!!!
Just in time, the roar of the mother Crimson Giant Bear searching for her cub was heard from afar.
Cueng! Cueng!
The baby bear ran toward his mother while calling her.
“Whew. Guys, good job.”
Se-jun said, reaching his hand toward the rabbits jumping into the hole.
However,
Swish.
The rabbits changed direction with their long ears, avoided Se-jun’s hand, stepped on Se-jun’s shoulder or head, and landed on the ground.
And then,
Buzz, buzz.
The poison honey bees headed to the cherry tomato field to replenish their energy.
166th day of being stranded. Se-jun, the rabbits, and the poison honey bees defended the cave’s food and peace from the baby bear who would grow into a terrifying predator in the future.
***
75th floor of the tower, the director’s office of the Secret Inspection Bureau of the Wandering Merchant Association.
“Agent Jeras, I will give you a new mission.”
“Yes!”
Jeras, who had been waiting for a new mission after the failed operation to arrest Scaram, answered energetically.
“This mission is the investigation of a wandering merchant.”
“An investigation?”
“Yes. As a rookie wandering merchant, his sales suddenly surged lately, which is suspicious, so find out what caused the sales to rise.”
“Yes! Leave it to me!”
“Here is the information of the wandering merchant to investigate. Memorize it and destroy it.”
“Yes!”
Jeras came out of the director’s office and turned the first page of the document containing the information of his target.
…!
In the portrait, there was a cat with a blank expression. But his face looked quite familiar.
‘Could it be?!’
Jeras hurriedly checked the name.
Name: Theo
It was him. The cat wandering merchant who interfered with his operation to arrest Scaram.
‘Theo! I caught you now! I will thoroughly shake out your corruption!’
Jeras gnashed his teeth and moved to dig up Theo’s corruption.
***
“Heave-ho!”
As soon as Se-jun opened his eyes, he went to the cave wall and added a stroke.
The morning of the 170th day of being stranded dawned.
Squeak!
Squeak!
Squeak!
The rabbits came out of the burrow while giving morning greetings.
“Right. Good morning.”
Buzz, buzz.
The poison honey bees also came, rubbing their tails and greeting him for the morning.
While Se-jun was exchanging morning greetings with the cave family like that,
Cueng!
The baby bear poked his head through the ceiling hole. The baby bear who appeared after four days had grown larger than a large dog.
If he had not sent the baby bear out back then… just thinking about it was dizzying.
However,
Roar.
This time, the mother Crimson Giant Bear was also together with him. The mother Crimson Giant Bear was so large that her body was not even properly visible.
…!
…!
Se-jun and the rabbits were flustered. No matter how hard the black rabbit beat him, bringing his mom like this was too much.
Roar.
[The administrator of the tower conveyed that the Crimson Giant Bear wanted to feed honey to her cub.]
Fortunately, the administrator of the tower interpreted the mother Crimson Giant Bear’s words.
“Huh?! Honey?”
Fortunately, it seemed the baby bear did not tell on them.
Roar.
[The administrator of the tower conveyed that the Crimson Giant Bear would protect this area in exchange for giving honey.]
“Good.”
If the Crimson Giant Bear protected the surroundings, safety could be sufficiently secured when going outside the cave.
As Se-jun accepted,
Roar.
Growling lowly, the Crimson Giant Bear left the baby bear behind and left the spot. It was to announce to the surroundings that this place was her territory.
Cueng, cueng.
As his mother left, the baby bear pestered for honey.
“Wait.”
While Se-jun was contemplating how to hand over the honey,
“Wait?!”
A good idea came to mind. With a size like that, wouldn’t he easily be able to pull Se-jun up as well?
Se-jun had the poison honey bees deliver the rope to the baby bear.
And then,
“Pull!”
Cueeeng!
The baby bear lightly pulled Se-jun up. It was a baby bear elevator.
Slide.
Climbing up along the rope, Se-jun looked down. He saw the crops he had grown.
“I am finally leaving this place.”
Slide.
As the rope went up, Se-jun’s heart beat faster with tension and expectation for the 99th floor of the tower.
Step.
Finally, Se-jun stepped onto the ground of the 99th floor.
However,
“What is this?”
As soon as he came out of the cave, what Se-jun saw was an endless wasteland. He looked around, but there was not even a single blade of grass.
And in the far distance, a red beam of light rising to the sky was seen.
“That is the waypoint.”
He had to go there to have a way to leave this tower.
However, Se-jun did not possess the military force to break through the monsters to get there.
The deal with the Crimson Giant Bear was also about protecting this area, not about taking him over there.
Of course, he tried asking the Crimson Giant Bear to take him there through the administrator of the tower, but
[The administrator of the tower conveyed that the Crimson Giant Bear refused.]
[The administrator of the tower said that to get to the waypoint, one had to defeat about 3,000 monsters to go.]
“Whew.”
Se-jun stared at the waypoint with regret.
“Still, it’s something that I can at least see that.”
Focusing on the situation which became better than before, Se-jun poured two squeezes of honey onto the baby bear’s paw.
And then,
“Let’s plow the field.”
Together with the two shovel-wielding rabbits, he began to make a new field on the ground of the 99th floor.
170th day of being stranded. Se-jun made his first expansion.