Chapter 5

Chapter 5

There was a Personal Trade system in the Tower.

Whether one used the Auction House or Personal Trade, the fee was the same either way, so it was a system that was rarely used. But when making a one-on-one trade like this, it was convenient.

- Me: Wow. I didn’t think you’d really give it to me.
- Anonymous 3861: Use it.
- Me: Should I give you some potatoes?
- Anonymous 3861: No. The increase is too small, so you don’t have to.
- Anonymous 3861: But where are you really? What floor of Normal?

“Has this person only ever been deceived or what?”

Woo-jin, who had received a soft duck-down sleeping bag that looked expensive at a glance, wanted to show some proof for his customer(?).

But what could he use as proper proof?

After thinking for a moment, one thing caught Woo-jin’s eye.

[Weed Containing Magic Power]

- Grade: E
- Effect: Permanently increases Magic Power by +0.001 when consumed.
- Description: A nameless grass growing in the Dragon Lair.

“This is it!”

The important part was not the fact that it raised Magic Power.

What mattered was that the words “Dragon Lair” were in the description.

With this one move, the other person would surely believe him.

[Requesting a Personal Trade with Anonymous 3861.]

[Registering Weed Containing Magic Power ×1.]

- Me: Can you see it?

There was no reaction from Anonymous 3861.

There was no answer at all.

Just as Woo-jin was about to close the Personal Trade window, a chat message popped up.

- Anonymous 3861: No, why is this real?
- Anonymous 3861: You’re saying you’re in the Dragon Lair?
- Anonymous 3861: Insane.
- Anonymous 3861: Wow lolololol.
- Anonymous 3861: You’re really on Mythic Floor 99?
- Anonymous 3861: Mythic was actually a real Difficulty?
- Me: Calm down.
- Anonymous 3861: Do I look like I can calm down right now?
- Me: If you’re acting like that, then what does that make me...

[The trade has been completed.]

He gave one Weed Containing Magic Power as thanks for the sleeping bag.

“Hehehe. It really is soft.”

In other words, he no longer had to tremble at night and at dawn.

Woo-jin unzipped the sleeping bag and got inside.

No, he tried to get inside, then stopped.

‘My body’s too dirty.’

Woo-jin had not washed properly for the past seven days.

The same went for the clothes he was wearing. They were dusty, grimy, and filthy.

- Me: By any chance, could you get me toiletries, shampoo, body wash, cleansing foam, lotion, towels, a spare cotton T-shirt, underwear, shorts, and slippers, my wonderful teacher?!

There was no answer.

- Anonymous 3861: Lolololololololololol.
- Anonymous 3861: This is driving me crazy.
- Anonymous 3861: Seriously.

---

One hour later.

[The trade has been completed.]

The items Woo-jin had asked Anonymous 3861 for were laid out in front of him.

Toiletries
: Soap, toothbrush, toothpaste, razor

Body wash.

Cleansing foam.

Lotion.

Towels. They were soft, like the kind used in a good hotel.

Five white short-sleeved T-shirts.

Five pairs of boxers.

Two pairs of shorts.

One pair of slippers.

“Hehehe. This is nice.”

- Me: But I wear boxer briefs.
- Anonymous 3861: Ha...
- Me: Okay, okay. I’ll just wear them.
- Me: If I ever get outside, I’ll definitely repay this favor. I don’t have much saved up, but I do have enough money to pay you back for this much. I have around ten million won in my account.
- Anonymous 3861: It’s fine.
- Anonymous 3861: More importantly, have you tried planting any other crops?
- Me: No.
- Anonymous 3861: Want to try planting other things? Something might come out that raises abilities like the potatoes did.
- Me: If you give me seeds, I can plant them.
- Me: But I’m going to wash up first.
- Anonymous 3861: Okay.

[Anonymous 3861 has left the chat room.]

Woo-jin immediately stripped off all his clothes.

Though by all his clothes, that only meant the short-sleeved shirt, shorts, and underwear he had been wearing as pajamas.

His preparations to change into new clothes were complete.

“But I should wash first.”

He had plenty of water to wash with.

The lake water right there inside the cave.

There was more than enough water.

The only problem was that it was cold.

There was also the option of boiling water in the aluminum pot and washing slowly, but how long would it take to wash that way?

His desire to get rid of the smell coming from his body and the unpleasant, sticky feeling was greater than the fact that the water was cold, so he decided to wash with cold water right away.

‘Still, pouring water over myself all at once would be bad for my heart...’

Starting slowly from the legs.

Woo-jin used the aluminum pot as a water scoop.

Splash!

“Ah, cold!”

He put toothpaste on the toothbrush.

It had been almost seven days since he last brushed his teeth.

Brush, brush.

He scrubbed his tongue thoroughly too.

After rinsing his mouth with cold water, he filled the aluminum pot with water again and poured it over his legs.

“Brrrrrr.”

His teeth chattered.

After pouring one scoop, two scoops... five scoops of water over his legs, he adjusted to the cold somewhat.

This time, he boldly poured water over his entire body.

Splash!

“Uwaaah! Haaah! So refreshing!”

As if he had been possessed by an old man commonly seen at a bathhouse, he kept exclaiming how refreshing it was. This time, he squeezed out a long stream of body wash.

That was when it happened.

[You have learned Cold Resistance Lv. 1.]

“Huh?”

[Cold Resistance Lv. 1]

- Description: Slightly adapts you to cold environments, making you feel the cold less.

Oh my.

Woo-jin blinked.

“Right. I need to wash first.”

Scrub, scrub.

He lathered up his whole body.

The dirt, dust, and smell of sweat disappeared, and instead, a fragrant body wash scent began wafting from his body.

Next were his face and hair.

He washed his face, ears, and neck with cleansing foam.

Then he made plenty of foam in his hair with shampoo and washed it all out.

“Uwaaah! This feels great!”

It was not a joke. It really felt great.

Woo-jin roughly rubbed his hair dry with the white towel that felt like something from a hotel. Then, after wiping the water from his body, he put on the boxers.

He also put on a short-sleeved T-shirt and shorts.

And then he immediately dove into the duck-down sleeping bag.

Zip!

He zipped it all the way up.

Rustle, rustle. A soft feeling wrapped around his whole body.

Soon, heat spread through his body, and warmth rose up around him.

“Haaaah. This is nice...”

So this was a duck-down sleeping bag.

It was a completely different level of warmth compared to the cheap field sleeping bag he had used in the military.

A smile formed naturally on his face.

.

.

.

Before he knew it, Woo-jin had fallen asleep.

“Slurp.”

It seemed it had felt so good that he had even drooled.

He wiped his mouth and opened his eyes. It had already become night.

He could see the moon through the holes in the ceiling.

“Haaam. I slept well.”

[Requesting a chat with Anonymous 3861.]

Were they busy?

They were not accepting the chat.

Woo-jin got out of the sleeping bag and put on the slippers.

Outside, it was chilly.

Still, it was not as cold as the middle of winter.

If he had to compare it to something, it felt like autumn.

Fwoosh!

He filled the aluminum pot with lake water and turned on the gas burner.

He opened the lid of a small Yukgaejang cup noodle, poured in the soup powder, then poured in hot water.

Then he closed the lid again.

He slightly split a pair of wooden chopsticks and used them to hold the lid in place.

Three minutes passed.

He opened the lid.

Hot steam rose in wisps.

He lifted a chopstickful, blew on it, and slurped the noodles.

“It’s delicious no matter when I eat it.”

[Anonymous 3861 has accepted the chat.]

Ah.

- Me: Hi.
- Me: Thanks to you, I washed up properly and had a warm, great sleep.
- Anonymous 3861: Good.
- Anonymous 3861: First, I got several kinds of seeds.
- Me: What do you have?
- Anonymous 3861: Sweet potatoes, lettuce, perilla leaves, cherry tomatoes.

[Anonymous 3861 has requested a Personal Trade with you.]

[Anonymous 3861 has registered ‘Sweet Potato Slips ×100.’]

[Anonymous 3861 has registered ‘Lettuce Seeds ×100.’]

[Anonymous 3861 has registered ‘Perilla Leaf Seeds ×100.’]

[Anonymous 3861 has registered ‘Cherry Tomato Seedlings ×100.’]

- Me: How many coins should I give you?
- Anonymous 3861: Don’t need any.
- Me: Wow... Are you rich?
- Anonymous 3861: Yep.

[The trade has been completed.]

There had been no coin transaction, so there was no fee either.

[Anonymous 3861 has requested a Personal Trade with you.]

- Me: Again??
- Anonymous 3861: Yep.
- Me: No... Even if you give me that many all at once, I can’t plant them all.
- Anonymous 3861: They’re not seeds.

[Anonymous 3861 has registered ‘Hand Hoe.’]

[Anonymous 3861 has registered ‘Shovel.’]

[Anonymous 3861 has registered ‘Trowel.’]

[Anonymous 3861 has registered ‘Watering Can.’]

[Anonymous 3861 has registered ‘Gardening Shears.’]

[Anonymous 3861 has registered ‘Cotton Work Gloves ×10.’]

[Anonymous 3861 has registered ‘Support Stake and Tie Set ×100.’]

[Anonymous 3861 has registered ‘You Can Do It Too! First Steps to Vegetable Gardening.’]

- Me: D-d-d-damn.
- Anonymous 3861: Accept.

[The trade has been completed.]

In an instant, he had gained a pile of farming tools.

Woo-jin examined the sweet potato slips, the lettuce and perilla leaf seeds, and the cherry tomato seedlings.

- Me: Why aren’t the sweet potatoes and cherry tomatoes seeds?
- Anonymous 3861: The reason is in the book.
- Me: Oho... Anyway, thank you.
- Anonymous 3861: Don’t mention it. In exchange, show me the harvest later. Also, I’ll be busy with my schedule for five days, so I won’t be able to contact you.
- Me: What do you do?

[Anonymous 3861 has left the chat room.]

“Ah.”

They left.

Woo-jin scratched his cheek.

In any case, he had obtained plenty of items through Personal Trade.

“Hehehe.”

Woo-jin finished the remaining small Yukgaejang cup noodle.

Every last drop of broth too.

[You Can Do It Too! First Steps to Vegetable Gardening]

[List Price: 20,000 won]

“An expensive book.”

It was a thick book with over 400 pages.

When he roughly flipped through it, it was a full-color book about farming, with detailed photos of crops and how to plant them.

As the title suggested, it was not written for professional farmers, but for people who grew vegetables and the like on a small scale in weekend farms or vegetable gardens in front of their homes.

‘Anyway, what should I plant first?’

Trying to do everything at once would be greed.

He currently had four choices.

Sweet potatoes, lettuce, perilla leaves, and cherry tomatoes.

“Hmm.”

He did not think for long.

He wanted to eat something refreshing.

Cherry tomatoes.

He chose you.