Capítulo 12: Proposing a Partnership
[Seed shop is now open.]
[Today, three types of seeds for sale will be randomly displayed.]
[At your current level, you can only purchase seeds once.]
List of Seeds appeared in front of Se-jun.
[Watermelon seeds x10 – 5 Tower Coins]
[Sweet Pumpkin seeds x50 – 1 Tower Coin]
[Glutinous Corn seeds x200 – 0.5 Tower Coins]
The prices of these seeds were very different from the ones that were sold last time.
Sejun had only 0.9 Tower Coins, and the only thing he could afford was glutinous corn seeds.
"If it's this expensive, I won't be able to buy anything next time…"
But there was no way to make more money here.
Hunters had three ways to earn Tower Coins in the tower. There might be other methods, but Sejun didn't know them.
The first way to earn Tower Coins was to clear floors and receive clear rewards. The amount earned at once was large, but since each floor's clear reward could only be received once, it didn't account for a significant portion of the actual income earned by hunters.
The second method was monster hunting. The corpses of monsters could be sold to wandering merchants or at the first-floor shop, earning Tower Coins. It was the main source of income for hunters since it could continuously generate revenue.
The third method was completing quests and receiving rewards. Quest rewards varied greatly, so it was difficult to describe them.
Clearing floors was not an option for Sejun since he couldn't even leave the cave, and even if he did, his chances of survival among the vicious monsters were low.
As for monster hunting, apart from the piranhas they ate, all the other monsters were family. And there was no place to sell the fish bones from the piranha corpses, but it seemed unlikely they could be sold anyway.
Crunch, crunch.
Lately, the rabbits had been enjoying sun-dried piranha fish bones as a snack. Sejun had tried them too; the crunchy texture was good, and the more he chewed, the richer the flavor, so he kept reaching for more.
Thus, the last method left for Sejun to earn Tower Coins was:
"Almost extortion-level quests from the Tower Administrator…"
So, after the Seed Shop transaction, he demanded Tower Coins as a quest completion reward from the Tower Administrator.
[The Tower Administrator says they don't know what that is, but they'll give it to you when they grow up.]
He got a weird response. The Tower Administrator doesn't know what Tower Coins are? How could that be?! And saying they'll give it when they grows up…
"How old are you?"
Sejun calmed his excitement and asked.
[The Tower Administrator says that's a secret.]
"Then how many years will it take for you to grow up?"
[The Tower Administrator says about 300 years.]
"…Are you kidding?! So should I record all the Tower Coins I'll receive from now on and pass them down through generations until my great-great-great-great-grandchild gets them?! And I'm not even in a situation where I can have descendants now!"
[...]
When Sejun angrily sputtered, the Tower Administrator ran away again. They disappeared when faced with difficult answers. So, Sejun gave up on earning Tower Coins in this place.
"Phew. Just thinking about it makes me angry again."
Seojun calmed down and looked back at the seeds in the seed store.
The only thing he could buy was the corn.
"Well, corn isn't bad either."
It's delicious whether you steam or grill it. Plus, you can grind it into flour and make something like bread.
"Slurp…"
Seojun's mouth watered just by imagining eating steamed corn. Knowing the taste was indeed more tempting.
"Alright! corn It is then!"
Seojun purchased the corn.
[You have purchased 200 corn seeds.]
[0.5 Tower Coins are deducted from your Seed Bank account.]
[You have earned 5 Seed Store mileage points.]
[Thank you for using the Seed Store.]
[You can use Seed Store Lv. 1 again in 30 days.]
A leather pouch containing 200 corn kernels appeared in Seojun's hand. As expected, the pouch was the most luxurious.
As Seojun opened the high-quality leather pouch and poured it into his hand,
Rustle.
The plump corn kernels flowed out.
Peep!
Peep!
Squeak!
The rabbits, seeing the shiny corn kernels, rushed to the field.
They started digging up the field where they had planted the onion seeds in the morning. It was their silent pressure for Seojun to plant quickly.
[The Tower Administrator is excited.]
[The Tower Administrator urges you to plant quickly.]
"I'll plant without you telling me."
They didn't give any rewards, but still demanded a lot. Despite being annoying, the Tower Administrator was still the only one Seojun could have a proper conversation with.
Seojun went to the field made by the rabbits and started planting the corn seeds.
[You have planted corn seeds.]
[The effect of Seed Sowing Lv. 2 increases the likelihood of the corn seeds taking root.]
[Seed Sowing Lv. 2's proficiency increases very slightly.]
…
..
.
It was a task he had done thousands of times before, and since there were few corn seeds, planting was done quickly.
Shooah.
The father rabbit with a water hose and the child rabbit each took care of a row, watering them carefully, finishing planting the corn before bedtime.
Thanks to that, they were able to sleep at the proper time without an all-nighter.
*****
Day 128.
While Seojun and the white rabbits were doing their morning work after breakfast,
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The black rabbit was practicing by hitting the cave wall with a hammer. The wall remained intact no matter how much it was hit.
He wasn't sure if it was helpful, but the black rabbit's efforts to help the family were adorable.
As everyone was doing their own tasks,
Buzz.
The poison honeybee came to work. It was earlier than usual, and the poison honeybee had been spending more and more time here lately.
Rubbing.
"Welcome."
The poison honeybee rubbed its body on Seojun's face, who was harvesting cherry tomatoes, marking its attendance, and then sat on a flower to start sucking nectar.
How much time had passed?
Peep.
The wife rabbit started preparing lunch by putting dry green onion leaves on the fire.
"Black Rabbit!"
Pang!
At Sejun's call, the black rabbit came running.
"It's hunting time!"
Pang!
The black rabbit shouted excitedly, holding his hammer and ran to the pond.
Pang! Pang!
Taking a hunting stance in front of the pond, the black rabbit urged Sejun to hurry up. He seemed eager to show the results of his training.
"Alright."
Sejun hurried to the pond at the black rabbit's enthusiasm, holding a torch and shaking it over the water.
Splash!
The piranha sensed the movement and immediately jumped up.
Leap.
Pang!
The black rabbit's hammer, honed through training, struck the piranha's body cleanly, sending it flying out of the water.
And then
Chak.
He even managed to land perfectly outside the pond using the recoil.
At first, he had to save the rabbit from falling into the water several times… Sejun was quite proud.
Clap, clap, clap.
Sejun applauded and praised the black rabbit.
Pang!
The rabbit, pleased with Sejun's praise, took his stance again. The black rabbit's passion was burning.
Thanks to the black rabbit's burning passion, they had a very hearty grilled fish lunch. Everyone ate more than usual, but there were still five grilled fish left.
Peep…
Peep…
Peep…
The rabbits, seemingly unable to eat anymore, lay down on the floor with their bellies swollen.
"Ah, I'm full."
Sejun could not eat anymore and put down the grilled fish he was eating.
Just then,
Drip. Drip. Drip.
Water droplets fell from Sejun's hand.
"What?!"
Could it be a monster?!
Sejun hurriedly looked up.
"Huh? A cat?!"
On the hole in the cave ceiling, a yellow colored-cat (TL note: Cheese colored see image at the end) was drooling while staring intently at the grilled fish.
Peep!
Peep!
The rabbits hurriedly fled into the burrow,
Leap. Leap.
Pang!
The black rabbit, a warrior, climbed onto Sejun's shoulder and prepared to attack the cat.
And then,
Buzz.
The poison bee also prepared for battle by pulling out a sharp stinger from its tail.
"Ah! Don't misunderstand, everyone! I'm not a despicable cat who came to steal food!"
The cat, whose attention had been on the grilled fish, hurriedly regained its senses and waved its front paws, shouting.
"Then why are you here?"
"By any chance, are you customer Park Sejun?"
"Yeah, I'm Park Sejun. Why?"
Bounce.
Twirl. Twirl. Twirl.
Chak.
The cat jumped down from the hole, made three spins in midair, and landed gracefully.
And then,
"Hello. My name is Theo, the wandering merchant."
Teo knelt on one knee and placed one hand on his chest as he introduced himself.
"A wandering merchant?"
Sejun looked at Theo curiously. He had heard that people occasionally met wandering merchants while climbing the tower, but he had never heard of a cat wandering merchant.
"Yes. I heard that a new member has joined the Seed Shop, so I came to greet you and do business as well."
While talking to Sejun, Theo kept glancing at the grilled fish. As he got closer to the grilled fish, the strong smell of the fish distracted Theo's mind.
'Hang in there, Theo! Don't lose your sanity!'
Theo tried to shake his head to regain his composure, but
Gurgle.
his body was honest.
"Ah! I'm sorry."
Theo quickly apologized to Se-jun. How could he commit such a faux pas in front of a potential customer he would be dealing with in the future?
"It's fine. If you haven't eaten, do you want to eat this grilled fish?"
"It's okay."
"We have leftovers anyway. You can eat it."
"Well… then, should I just eat one?"
Theo cautiously picked up one grilled fish and put it in his mouth.
Slurp.
As soon as he put it in his mouth, the grilled fish seemed to melt away.
"It's so delicious!"
After exclaiming that, he had no memory of what happened next. When he came to his senses, Theo was eagerly licking the fish bones. Fish bones were scattered all around him. He had eaten all five grilled fish.
The rabbits and the bee looked at Theo pitifully.
And Se-jun was smiling brightly.
"Now, shall we start trading? Let's start by calculating the cost of the grilled fish."
Se-jun had a feeling when Theo started talking about trading. This guy is gullible.
"Huh?"
Theo was confused by Se-jun's words.
"Wasn't it for free?"
"Where is anything free in this world? You said you came to trade, right?"
'I got tricked.'
Theo belatedly realized his mistake.
So Theo agreed to pay 0.5 Tower Coins to Se-jun for the five grilled fish, and the trading began.
He had to take money from the customer, but instead, he gave money. A business starting with a loss.
'I'll definitely sell!'
Theo resolved himself and laid out his goods from his bag.
"Ta-da! How about these? Fresh items that came from other floors."
Se-jun looked at the items Teo proudly displayed.
[Tumbler – 5 Tower Coins]
[Mini Fan – 3 Tower Coins]
[Portable Hand Warmer – 5 Tower Coins]
"Are these items from outside the tower?"
"Oh! You recognized it right away! This tumbler has preservation magic on it. If you put something hot or cold in it, the temperature will be maintained! It's an amazing item!"
"And this mini fan has wind magic enchanted, so whenever you need it, just switch it on like this…"
'Hmm…'
Se-jun carefully watched Theo's enthusiastic product explanations.
'Is he tricking me knowingly? Or does he really not know?'
If he was tricking him knowingly, it was truly incredible acting.
But there was not a shred of falsehood in Theo's eyes when he said that the tumbler had preservation magic, the mini fan had wind magic, and the portable hand warmer had warming magic.
'No matter how I look at him, he's an unfamiliar face.'
He thought he was gullible, but he was actually an incredibly huge sucker.
Se-jun was really lucky. It's not easy to meet someone like this. Using this fool, he felt like he could earn Tower Coins.
"Gullible… I mean, Theo. Do you want to work together?"
Se-jun proposed a partnership to Theo.
*********
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