Chapter 37 – Catching the Thief

Theo and Jeras arrived at the shopping district on the 75th floor of the tower.

“Where are you going now, Mr. Theo?”

“First, I will apply for a promotion to a mid-level merchant, meow.”

“Are you already becoming a mid-level traveling merchant? I’m envious.”

Jeras was inwardly surprised. To become a mid-level traveling merchant, a sales amount of 1000 Tower Coins was required, which was an almost impossible amount considering Theo’s active period unless there was special support.

“Um… Mr. Theo, what kind of goods do you sell?”

Jeras asked cautiously. Depending on the traveling merchant, some kept the goods they handled a secret.

“I sell cherry tomatoes, meow.”

“Yes? Cherry tomatoes?”

It didn’t seem like a lie.

“That’s right, meow. I will show you later if there is an opportunity, meow.”

While conversing like that, Theo arrived at the Traveling Merchant Association branch and requested a promotion to a mid-level traveling merchant.

“Mr. Theo, from now on you are a mid-level traveling merchant.”

Since there were no special conditions for promotion to a mid-level traveling merchant other than the sales amount, it was processed immediately.

“Here is your mid-level traveling merchant certificate.”

The employee of the Traveling Merchant Association branch handed Theo a square certificate made of blue metal. Like that, Theo was promoted to a mid-level traveling merchant.

“Puhuhu. Now I am a mid-level traveling merchant, meow!”

Theo’s footsteps became even lighter, now that he had nothing to be intimidated by before Se-jun regarding the grower issue.

“Congratulations, Mr. Theo.”

“Thank you, meow.”

Jeras congratulated Theo as he came out of the Traveling Merchant Association branch.

“Where is your next destination?”

“Now I must go to the general store, meow.”

Theo purchased two cast iron pots, a saw, and a needle and thread at the general store.

“1 Tower Coin for the cast iron pots, 0.9 Tower Coins for the saw, and 0.5 Tower Coins for the needle and thread, totaling 2.4 Tower Coins.”

At the price called by the general store owner, Jeras’s eyes shone from the side.

‘If I bargain, I can lower the price to 2 Tower Coins.’

Jeras was thinking of helping Theo and gaining more trust.

At that moment,

“Give me a discount, meow!”

Theo began to negotiate the price.

“Hmm… Then I will give it to you for 2.2 Tower Coins.”

At the first discount request, he thought, ‘He looked like an easy target, but at least he’s not getting ripped off.’

However,

“Lower it more, meow!”

“Customer, we also need to make a living. That is difficult.”

When Theo used his second discount request,

‘Hahaha, as if they would lower the price just because he stubbornly asks them to…’

Jeras scoffed and shook his head.

At that moment,

“I understand, meow. Jeras, let’s go, meow.”

Theo answered and began to spin around and walk out swiftly.

“Sigh! Customer, why are you so impatient? I lost. I will give it to you for 2 Tower Coins.”

“…?!”

Jeras was greatly surprised at the general store owner’s words.

Without the five logics to lower the price and the brilliant eloquence that he had found while quickly inspecting the items, Theo had created the result he thought of with just two words.

However, that was not the end.

“1.8 Tower Coins. Or else I will just walk out, meow.”

When Theo slashed the price with his final third discount request,

‘He’s lowering the price even further from there?!’

Jeras was astonished by Theo’s ruthlessness. That is impossible!

However,

“Sigh. Alright.”

As if mocking Jeras’s thoughts, the transaction was made.

‘How could this be…’

Jeras completely lost confidence in his bargaining skills. He had even received education in his family… He felt an incomparable gap compared to Theo.

Although Theo had simply asked to lower the price three times, Jeras felt a sense of awe toward Theo’s bargaining skills.

‘With that level of bargaining skills, he could have made a lot of money even without illegal acts.’

Jeras completely let go of his suspicions about Theo.

“Mr. Theo, I will be on my way now. Be careful, as you might run into the wolves again next time.”

“Got it, meow! Goodbye, meow.”

After bidding farewell to Jeras, Theo went to the blacksmith shop to draw equipment.

However,

“There is nothing I want to grab today, meow.”

There was no equipment pulling Theo’s hand.

“I should just go, meow.”

Theo moved to the 99th floor.

Jeras parted with Theo and returned to the Secret Inspection Bureau.

And he submitted a report to the director.

[Reason for the surge in traveling merchant Theo’s sales: Traveling merchant Theo is a genius of bargaining.]

Jeras had thoroughly misunderstood Theo.

***

Se-jun confirmed that the poison honeybee queen, who returned with a swollen belly, was sucking nectar and sleeping in the pit, and went down to the cave to sleep.

The next morning.

When Se-jun, who opened his eyes a bit early, went up to the surface to check if the poison honeybee queen was doing well, the poison honeybee queen had disappeared again.

Instead, there was a small beehive at the top of the rock where the rope was tied. The poison honeybee queen was finally settling down and preparing to lay eggs.

At that moment,

Kuuuong.

Kkueng!

the mother Crimson Giant Bear and the baby bear came together.

Roll, roll

The baby bear rolled down as if riding a slide, along the mother Crimson Giant Bear’s shoulder.

Lick, lick.

The mother Crimson Giant Bear licked the baby bear a few times as if washing him.

Kkueng! Kkueng!

It was a fascinating scene that the baby bear, who was so strong, staggered here and there under the mother Crimson Giant Bear’s tongue.

While Se-jun was looking at the two like that,

Kuuung.

After washing the baby bear, the mother Crimson Giant Bear said something while looking at Se-jun and went out on patrol. Although there was no translation from Aileen, he felt like he knew what she meant.

“I must catch a lot of crayfish today as well.”

For some reason, it seemed the mother Crimson Giant Bear would appear at lunch today too.

“Kkueng, since this is where the honey you eat is made, you must not eat this.”

Se-jun warned the baby bear in advance, fearing he might touch the poison honeybee queen’s beehive, which had just been established.

Kkueng! Kkueng!

The baby bear nodded strongly. I understand! I will protect it!

Se-jun went down to the cave, ate breakfast with the rabbits, and started his daily routine.

He gained one more Agility, and the farming work was as familiar as could be. And since the harvest of other crops had ended, the only thing to harvest was cherry tomatoes.

Se-jun easily finished all the work in two hours and went to the pond.

“Black Rabbit, you’re ready, right?”

Pyak!

Splash.

The Black Rabbit answered Se-jun’s question and dived into the pond, first dealing with the piranhas that blocked their view.

Pyok! Pyok! Pyok!

Every time the Black Rabbit’s hammer was swung, piranhas were bounced out of the pond.

Se-jun quickly threaded the piranhas onto a rope and made two bundles of piranhas to give to the baby bear.

And when the Black Rabbit came out of the pond, Se-jun began hunting crayfish in earnest.

There were about 40 crayfish inside the pond. For some reason, the fellows that had entered the pond once did not make any attempt to go back out.

Se-jun entered the water and grabbed the crayfish one by one by hand. Yesterday, he had stabbed them all to death without thinking, but catching them this way allowed him to catch them without calling other piranhas or crayfish.

“I can’t let the pond water get contaminated.”

Because the crayfish had massacred the piranhas yesterday, the pond water became contaminated, so Se-jun couldn’t even drink water or wash his face until morning. He needed some way to purify the water.

Like that, Se-jun picked up crayfish from the pond while thinking of a way to purify the water.

And while Se-jun was gathering the crayfish like that,

Pyak!

the Black Rabbit slit the crayfish’s bellies with Se-jun’s dagger and drained their blood.

At that moment,

Stab.

A black light shone from the Black Rabbit’s body and hammer as he stabbed the crayfish’s belly. Usually, when leveling up, a bright light simply shone, but this time was a little different.

Although there was no change in the Black Rabbit’s body, his hammer became slightly larger, and the end of the handle turned sharp like an awl.

It looked different from a general level up.

Pyak!

The Black Rabbit entered the pond, carrying his hammer majestically.

“Why suddenly?”

Pyak!

The Black Rabbit gave a thumbs-up to Se-jun. I will handle it now!

Pyok!

As the Black Rabbit hit the crayfish’s head hard, the crayfish’s movement stopped. The crayfish was knocked out by the hammer blow of the Black Rabbit whose strength had grown due to the level up.

Pyok! Pyok!

The Black Rabbit dragged the knocked-out crayfish out of the pond.

And,

Stab.

he stabbed the chest of the crayfish with the handle part of the hammer, which had turned sharp.

Pyak?

Having even drained the crayfish’s blood, the Black Rabbit looked at Se-jun arrogantly. Did you see that?

“Alright. I will leave the crayfish to you now.”

Since his work was reduced due to the Black Rabbit’s growth, Se-jun absorbed himself in grilling the crayfish.

And,

Kuuuong.

As lunch time approached, as expected, the mother Crimson Giant Bear returned to Se-jun’s cave.

Crunch, crunch.

Indeed, the mother Crimson Giant Bear put 20 grilled crayfish in one mouthful.

Since he had set aside the portion for his family this time, the event of going down to the cave again did not occur.

After eating lunch deliciously like that,

“Ask her if she can dig up some ground over there.”

Se-jun requested Aileen for a translation with the mother Crimson Giant Bear.

Since he had also obtained a justification to ask for work by serving a delicious lunch, Se-jun had no hesitation.

Originally, he had planned to ask when he served the steamed corn last time, but Aileen was sleeping at that time.

[The administrator of the tower conveys the Crimson Giant Bear’s words, asking where she should dig.]

Great!

“Here.”

Se-jun pointed to the ground about 500 meters away from the cave. He decided on a place far away in case it caused damage to the cave.

Thump. Thump.

The mother Crimson Giant Bear clicked and quickly arrived at the place Se-jun pointed to.

And,

Thump! Thump!

with only inserting her front paws into the ground and moving a few times, the ground was flipped, and the black soil underneath rose to the surface. She finished in an instant what would take an excavator several hours.

Thanks to the mother Crimson Giant Bear, Se-jun flipped about 1000 pyeong of land in an instant.

Kuuuong.

The mother Crimson Giant Bear went out on patrol again, and Se-jun planted 3000 corn seeds and 1000 cherry tomatoes along with the rabbits on the 1000-pyeong land throughout the afternoon.

And,

Swoosh.

just as the watering can rabbits had diligently given almost all the water to the places where seeds were planted,

Drip.

the water coming out of the watering can stopped.

“Huh? What? Why isn’t water coming out?”

Se-jun, who thought water came out infinitely from the watering can, asked.

Squeak.

The husband rabbit shook his head. We used up all the water today.

Although he didn’t know until now because there was no need to use all of it, the white rabbit’s watering can item had a fixed amount of water that could be used in a day. It seemed he had to save the use of water from now on.

Se-jun covered the watered fields as much as possible with the remaining green onion leaves and fell asleep.

However, that night, the grass thief struck again.

***

“Meow meow meow.”

As Se-jun’s cave neared, Theo, who felt good, walked quickly while humming a song.

At that moment,

Crunch, crunch.

the sound of chewing something was heard from somewhere.

“What is it, meow?”

Looking toward the direction of the sound, a Minotaur was eating grass.

“Uh? Aren’t those the green onion leaves that Park Se-jun grows, meow?”

Theo recognized the green onion leaves as soon as he saw them. He knew them well because he had cut them himself.

“Where did you get that, meow?”

Theo approached the Minotaur and asked.

Moo?

The Minotaur confirmed the opponent was a traveling merchant and answered. I picked it up from the ground.

“There’s no way that’s true, meow! That is the grass that Park Se-jun treasures, meow! Park Se-jun uses that grass as a bowl, makes ropes, and even uses it when wiping his butt, meow! You stole Park Se-jun’s grass, meow!”

Theo caught the grass thief, Woo Chun-sam.