Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Woo-jin was holding one roasted sweet potato in his hand.

The outer skin was scorched by the fire and split here and there, with the yellow flesh showing faintly through the cracks.

The lingering heat made his palm warm.

Hoo.

After blowing on it briefly to cool it, he split the sweet potato in half.

As the skin cracked open, steam rose in wisps, and the moist flesh inside revealed itself with a glossy sheen.

The sweet smell pricked the tip of his nose.

One bite.

The soft flesh crumbled in his mouth.

Delicious!

There was a reason people called them honey sweet potatoes.

Just as he was about to take a second bite, Blackie made a fuss and said,

“C-Constellations refer to the ‘gods’ who are the absolute rulers of the Tower, nyah! I’d only heard rumors too, but to think the Dragon Lord was a Constellation, nyah!”

He did not know the details, but it seemed the Dragon Lord was an even more incredible existence than he had thought.

In truth, if one was at the level of the Dragon Lord, was there even any opponent in this world who could stand against him?

“But how did you know the Dragon Lord was a Constellation?”

“He said he was going to the temple, did he not, nyah! When you say temple, that means a place where gods gather. The fact that the Dragon Lord is going there means he himself is a god, nyah!”

I see.

To be honest, Woo-jin did not feel particularly moved.

After all, he had already known the Dragon Lord was an incredible existence.

Even if the Dragon Lord was a god, he could only think, That makes sense.

“But has the sweet potato cooled now, nyah?”

“It’s probably still a little hot. I’ll check it for you.”

Woo-jin split the roasted sweet potato placed in front of Blackie in half. Steam was still rising in wisps from the flesh.

“Hoooo.”

He blew on it to cool it a little.

Nom, nom, nom. Blackie began eating the roasted sweet potato.

“I-it’s really delicious, nyah! It tastes sweet, nyah!”

“Hehehe. Roasted sweet potatoes are sweet as honey. This one seems even sweeter than the ones I ate in Korea.”

It probably really was.

A Tower sweet potato roasted while he possessed the Cooking skill.

[You have consumed Roasted Sweet Potato and permanently increased Strength by 0.002.]

[You have consumed Roasted Sweet Potato and…….]

“Ah, that was good.”

“I’m full, nyah.”

“Should we have cherry tomatoes to cleanse the palate?”

“I want to try them too, nyah!”

“Hehe. Sure. Wait a moment.”

Woo-jin brought over the cherry tomatoes he had harvested earlier.

But something was strange.

“Huh? I think these originally raised Magic Power by 0.001?”

[Tower Magic Power Cherry Tomato]

- Grade: D

- Effect: Permanently increases Magic Power by +0.002 when consumed.

- Description: A cherry tomato from the Tower cultivated by someone. Eating it seems likely to increase Magic Power, if only by a very tiny amount.

It had not been his imagination.

The cherry tomatoes had originally been E Grade.

But now, they had been upgraded by one stage to D Grade.

On top of that, the Magic Power increase had become 0.002, double what it had been before.

“Ah! So when these become D Grade, they raise it by 0.002?”

A new discovery.

The Grade of harvested crops could also rise.

‘Now that I think about it, isn’t that obvious? If farming skill levels rise, the Grade of the crops harvested also rises.’

In any case, it was a great joy for Woo-jin.

If he farmed, he gained experience, leveled up, and could harvest higher-grade crops!

He could enjoy the joy of growth he had never even dreamed of.

---

Naturally, he absolutely did not cross over into the space where the Dragon Lord had lived. He did not even peek around.

If a tenant secretly went inside just because the landlord was not home, how unpleasant would that be from the landlord’s perspective?

Moreover, according to Blackie, the Dragon Lord was a ‘god.’ Even if he was not here right now, it might be possible for him to spy on Woo-jin’s every move, what he was doing, and what this bastard was thinking.

“Ah! The Dragon Lord is so cool.”

“……?”

“Ahem.”

Woo-jin cleared his throat as if nothing had happened.

What was Woo-jin doing right now?

He was planting Lettuce Seeds and Perilla Leaf Seeds.

Blackie was watching beside him.

Woo-jin opened the seed pouch and poured a few into his palm.

The lettuce seeds were small and light, looking as if they would fly away if the wind blew, while the perilla leaf seeds felt a little more solid? than that.

【You Can Do It Too! First Steps to Vegetable Gardening】

【Lettuce Section】

【How to sow lettuce seeds is simple. You can simply scatter them and lightly sprinkle soil over them, or dig furrows about 2 cm deep, scatter the seeds inside, and lightly cover them with soil. That is all. After that, water them thoroughly.】

The perilla leaves were simple too.

It was almost the same as planting lettuce seeds.

Woo-jin first tamped the soil evenly.

He lightly scratched the soil with the Hand Hoe, made shallow grooves, and dropped two or three seeds at regular intervals.

Now his hands moved on their own.

Tap. Tap.

[Seed Planting Lv. 3 proficiency has increased.]

[Seed Planting Lv. 3 proficiency has…….]

[You have learned Seed Planting Lv. 4.]

The skill level had risen.

On top of that.

[You have gained experience through Seed Planting.]

[You have gained experience through Seed Planting…….]

[Your level has increased.]

My level goes up too!

“Hehe. This is fun.”

Woo-jin lightly covered them with soil and pressed them down firmly with his palm to settle them in place.

“This should be enough.”

One row of lettuce.

One row of perilla leaves.

Looking at the newly made rows in the field, Woo-jin straightened his back for a moment and caught his breath.

“I wonder if this person is doing well.”

[Requesting a chat with Anonymous 3861.]

[Anonymous 3861 has accepted the chat.]

- Me: hi

- Anonymous 3861: yeah

- Me: I harvested sweet potatoes. I’ll give you some.

[Requesting a Personal Trade with Anonymous 3861.]

[Anonymous 3861 has accepted the trade.]

Woo-jin registered Tower Strength Pumpkin Sweet Potato ×100.

- Me: These raise Strength.

- Anonymous 3861: Oh. They do.

- Anonymous 3861: Did you plant the lettuce and perilla leaves?

- Me: I just planted them.

- Anonymous 3861: ohh

[The trade has been completed.]

Woo-jin decided not to bother telling him that the Dragon Lord had gone to the temple and was away for a while, or that the Dragon Lord’s true identity was a Constellation.

- Me: Right. I’ll give you cherry tomatoes too.

- Anonymous 3861: Nah, I still have a lot left.

- Me: These are better than those.

[Requesting a Personal Trade with Anonymous 3861.]

[Anonymous 3861 has accepted the trade.]

Woo-jin registered Tower Magic Power Cherry Tomato ×100.

- Anonymous 3861: ?

- Anonymous 3861: Whoa. The Grade went up??

- Me: yep

- Anonymous 3861: Hey! Can you raise the Grade more?

- Me: Hmm. I don’t think I can right away, but I think it might be possible with time. If something good shows up, I’ll let you know.

- Anonymous 3861: Good.

Anonymous 3861: Need anything?

Woo-jin thought for a moment.

What else should he plant?

‘No. For now, let’s focus on what I’m already growing.’

If he needlessly increased the number of crop types at random and failed to properly manage his existing crops, it would defeat the purpose.

Something he needed.

What was there?

If he was honest, what came to mind right now was Korean food.

Since he had not eaten rice in a long time, he wanted white rice.

Kimchi stew with rice.

Gulp.

- Me: Could you get me kimchi stew and rice later?

- Anonymous 3861: OK. I’m free today, so send me a chat when you want it.

I’m already looking forward to it.

Kimchi stew with rice.

“Did something good happen, nyah? Your mouth is stretched all the way to your ears, nyah.”

“There’s something. I’m going to eat something delicious for dinner.”

“I-I want to eat something delicious too, nyah. Churu!”

“Fine, fine. I’ll give you Churu.”

Blackie’s eyes sparkled.

“Adventurer, you’re the best, nyah!”

Woo-jin thought about what to do until dinner.

Should he kill time browsing the community? Or…….

Slide.

The firmly closed 99th Floor door.

He entered the Administrator Passage through the hole beside it.

Blackie followed him.

“You shouldn’t keep coming here, nyah!”

“I’m just looking. Just looking. What, do you think I’m going to do something bad(?)?”

The passage had been expanded.

Originally, it had been only wide enough for Blackie to go back and forth by himself, but thanks to Woo-jin using the Soil Tilling skill to expand the passage, Woo-jin could stride freely.

Of course, only up to the entrance to the 98th Floor.

That was where the Doppelganger appeared.

Woo-jin stood in front of the 98th Floor door and peeked inside.

[Doppelganger][Lv. 1]

“It’s still there.”

“Of course it is, nyah.”

The Doppelganger discovered Woo-jin.

Tap-tap-tap! The Doppelganger began running toward him.

In any case, it could not come out toward the Administrator Passage, so there was no need to be scared at all.

On top of that, it was level 1.

This body of mine? Level 6.

Just as expected, the Doppelganger could not come beyond the door.

It simply stood confronting him at the entrance.

“But why is it still level 1?”

“That’s obvious because it copied the adventurer’s Status Window, is it not, nyah?”

“I’m level 6 now, though? Then shouldn’t it be level 6 too?”

POP! Blackie took out the administrator manual.

It seemed he was checking what was written about the 98th Floor Doppelganger’s information. Woo-jin went beside him and glanced at it.

[The Doppelganger copies the Status Window and equipment from the moment the adventurer enters.]

“This is it, nyah!”

“I saw it too. Then that means this guy is fixed at level 1 forever?”

“I-it seems that way, nyah?”

“And it has no equipment either?”

“That’s right, nyah.”

Woo-jin distributed one stat point he had obtained earlier from reaching level 6 into ‘Strength.’

And then.

[Accessing the Auction House.]

[Current coins held: 6,353]

[Immediately purchasing Iron Sword Enchanted with Lightening Magic for 1,500 coins.]

[Sturdy Leather Armor for 500 coins…….]

[Necklace of Defense for 3,000 coins…….]

[Adventurer’s Leather Shoes for 800 coins…….]

Woo-jin equipped the items he had purchased from the Auction House one by one.

It was about the level of full gear for an adventurer who had reached around the 10th floor, in other words, around level 10.

It was absolutely not equipment a level 1 could handle.

With eyes full of resolve, Woo-jin said,

“This is a real duel.”

“…….”