Chapter 6

Chapter 6

First, he decided to acquire knowledge.

The results would be disastrous if he planted them blindly.

Besides, Woo-jin had the thick farming book titled You Can Do It Too! First Steps to Vegetable Gardening, which he had received from Anonymous 3861.

First, he looked through the table of contents.

It was a standard book that began with a preface and ended with a conclusion.

The methods for planting crops were arranged in Korean alphabetical order by crop name, so it was easy to look things up.

“Hmm. Let’s see. Cherry tomatoes, cherry toma... found it.”

The section about cherry tomatoes was on page 250.

Woo-jin decided to read it closely from beginning to end.

【Cherry tomatoes are a crop that even beginners can grow relatively easily, and using seedlings rather than seeds is more stable. They love sunlight, so it is best to plant them somewhere that can secure at least six hours of direct sunlight a day. The soil should drain well while still maintaining a consistent level of moisture…….】

It was written with illustrations to make it easy to understand.

After reading the section carefully, Woo-jin left the “Cherry Tomatoes” section open.

He had 100 Cherry Tomato Seedlings.

First, I’ll need to clear the soil.

The book said to leave about 40 cm between plants, so…….

Woo-jin rested his chin on his hand and looked around at the soil here and there, calculating things in his head.

Considering the extra space needed for support stakes, work areas, and paths he would use later when harvesting, he needed to make a fifteen-pyeong cherry tomato field.

“Heh heh. Shall I get started?”

He had plenty of tools.

Although they were real-world items with no Grade whatsoever, they were still far better than digging into the soil with his bare hands to plant seed potatoes, so he was satisfied.

Snap.

First, he put on Cotton Work Gloves.

They were the so-called “construction-site Cotton Work Gloves” commonly used in reality, coated with red paint.

Woo-jin first used the Hand Hoe to clear away the topsoil and outline the field.

Every time he dug into the soil and lifted it, damp earth was scooped up.

The rich smell of soil.

“Soil Tilling, Soil Tilling!”

[Soil Tilling Lv. 2 proficiency has increased.]

[Soil Tilling Lv. 2 proficiency has…….]

The rising proficiency was a bonus.

After marking regular intervals in his head, he dug the holes one by one with the Trowel.

The depth was about the thickness of his palm.

He adjusted the soil so they were neither too shallow nor too deep.

[Soil Tilling Lv. 2 proficiency has…….]

When stones or thick clumps of dirt came up, he pushed them aside and tamped the bottom down again with the blade of the Shovel. As the holes lined up one by one, the shape of the field grew clearer.

At last.

[You have learned Soil Tilling Lv. 3.]

The small and precious vegetable patch for planting Cherry Tomato Seedlings was complete.

For some reason, a surge of pride welled up inside Woo-jin, but it was still too early to celebrate.

“Let’s see. Next is…….”

Woo-jin carefully took one Cherry Tomato Seedling out of the seedling tray. The book said it was important to lift it out as it was, with the soil wrapped around the roots so they would not be damaged.

After standing the seedling in the middle of one of the holes he had dug, he slowly gathered the surrounding soil and covered the roots.

Do not press too hard.

Instead, he had to fix it in place by pressing lightly, as if patting it down.

That was how he planted one Cherry Tomato Seedling in the ground.

[Seed Planting Lv. 2 proficiency has increased.]

“Oh. I guess this counts as Seed Planting too.”

The skill’s proficiency had increased.

Along with it, his motivation rose too.

There were 99 Cherry Tomato Seedlings left.

Wouldn’t the Seed Planting skill also reach Level 3 if he planted all of them?

“Seed Planting, Seed Planting!”

He planted one, then moved to the next hole.

The more he repeated the same motion, the more familiar his hands became with it.

If a seedling tilted, he straightened it.

If there did not seem to be enough soil, he scooped up a little more from nearby and filled it in.

Little by little, the Cherry Tomato Seedlings standing in neat rows at regular intervals increased.

[You have learned Seed Planting Lv. 3.]

“Heh heh heh.”

Cherry Tomato Seedling planting complete!

Now I just need to water them, right?

That was what he thought, but when he opened the booklet again,

【After planting cherry tomatoes, you must install support stakes. It is best to install the cherry tomato support stakes immediately after planting the seedlings…….】

Whew.

He had nearly missed installing the support stakes.

Woo-jin brought over 100 sets of support stakes and ties.

Woo-jin began setting up one support stake beside each seedling.

Neither too close to nor too far from the seedlings.

Just as the book said, he chose spots where the stakes would not touch the roots and pushed them into the ground.

Tap, tap.

When he tapped the tops with the handle of the Hand Hoe, the support stakes sank firmly into place.

Next, he took out the ties and loosely tied each stem to its support stake.

They must not be tightened too much.

Considering that the stems would thicken as they grew, he tied the knots with enough room for about one finger to fit through.

He repeated that work for every single seedling.

Before he knew it, three full hours had passed.

“Whew.”

The support stake installation was finished.

Woo-jin sank down onto the ground.

His back hurt, and he was hungry.

I should eat something.

He had eaten too much Yukgaejang cup noodles, small.

‘Anonymous said he won’t be reachable for five days, so I should write a post on the community and ask someone else to get me some food.’

What would be good?

Jajangmyeon and sweet-and-sour pork would be nice.

Just as Woo-jin was excitedly about to write a post on the community,

He froze.

He stopped what he was doing and shook his head.

Woo-jin checked the Tower Resistance Potatoes piled up on the ground.

[Tower Resistance Potato]

- Grade: D

- Effect

- Permanently increases all resistances by +0.002 when consumed.

- Description: A potato from the Tower cultivated by someone. Eating it increases various resistances.

‘Let’s try eating only these for a while.’

When he thought about it, there was no need for him to fret over posting on the community three meals a day to ask people to deliver food.

The Tower Resistance Potatoes were delicious enough.

On top of that, eating them permanently increased “all” resistances by 0.002.

If he ate 100, that was 0.2.

If he ate 1,000, that was 2.

He would keep planting and harvesting potatoes from now on.

If he kept eating them? Wouldn’t his resistance go up quite a lot?

“Good.”

He lit the burner, filled the pot with lake water, and began boiling it.

Then he put three Tower Resistance Potatoes inside and started boiling them.

Bubble, bubble…….

That was when it happened.

[You have learned Cooking Lv. 1.]

“Oh.”

He had obtained another new skill.

This time, it was Cooking.

[Cooking(Lv. 1)]

- Description: Create dishes using ingredients. Completed dishes taste slightly better.

At the same time,

[You have made Boiled Potato through Cooking.]

[Boiled Potato]

- Grade: D

- Effect

- Taste Bonus +10%

- Permanently increases all resistances by +0.002 when consumed.

- Description: A Tower Resistance Potato has been boiled. It is nice and warm.

Gulp.

For some reason, it smelled even better.

Woo-jin tossed the Boiled Potato back and forth between both hands to cool it down.

After carefully peeling off the skin, he took a bite.

Chomp.

“Ow, hot!”

The inside was still incredibly hot.

He rolled the Boiled Potato around in his mouth with his tongue, melting it as he ate it.

He could feel the unique softness of boiled potato.

“Wow, it got even tastier.”

Even before this, the savory flavor of a boiled Tower Resistance Potato had been stronger than that of an ordinary potato, but now it tasted far better than an ordinary potato.

He could guarantee it would be a hit if he made French fries with this.

After Woo-jin demolished one Boiled Potato in an instant where he sat, he picked up the second Boiled Potato.

Thanks to the cold wind, the outside had cooled just enough, so he did not need to roll it back and forth in his palms.

The inside was still hot.

That made it even more delicious. It felt as if it was warming him from the inside.

After he finished eating the last Boiled Potato like that,

Woo-jin checked his abilities.

- Resistance: 0.01

His resistance had reached a whopping 0.01!

“...Ahem.”

To another adventurer, it would be enough to make them snort.

But to Woo-jin, it was extremely precious.

Only a single day had passed.

But after 100 days? His resistance would be 1.

He would have raised his resistance by 1 without equipping a single item.

“La la la.”

I should wash the dishes and get some sleep.

***

Day 8 since entering the Tower.

Morning.

“Splash, splash!”

He filled the aluminum pot with lake water and washed his face.

He squeezed out a little cleansing foam, rubbed it hard between his palms to make a bit of lather, then rubbed it mercilessly over his face.

Scrub, scrub, scrub!

Personal cleanliness. He had to pay attention to hygiene.

If he came down with an illness because of bacteria or germs, his chances of dying would rise.

In society, he could go to a hospital, get checked by a doctor, take medicine, and recover, but this place had no hospital and no doctor.

Breakfast was two Boiled Potatoes.

That left 93 potatoes.

He should eat Yukgaejang cup noodles, small, for lunch.

Woo-jin was living a somewhat planned(?) life in his own way.

Step.

He checked the vegetable patch where he had planted the cherry tomatoes.

“Ooh.”

The cherry tomato field had changed noticeably overnight.

Until yesterday, the seedlings had only been the size of his palm, but now they had grown up to around the middle of his thighs.

The stems had thickened further and were brushing against the ties loosely fastened to the support stakes. The leaves, in particular, were glossy and spread out wide.

Without thinking, Woo-jin took a step back and looked over the whole field.

It had only been a little over a day since he planted them, yet they had grown this quickly?

‘They definitely grow incredibly fast.’

He had felt it ever since planting and harvesting the seed potatoes.

If he had planted and harvested them outside, it would surely have taken a good two or three months, yet here it had taken only three days. In other words, just three days.

‘I wonder if it has something to do with this place being the Dragon Lair.’

Smiling, Woo-jin filled the Watering Can with lake water. Then he walked between the cherry tomatoes and watered them.

“Grow big and strong. Heh heh.”

***

Meanwhile.

At the center of the Dragon Lair.

“…….”

The Dragon Lord.

It had been one day since he had awakened from deep sleep.

He confirmed that, in a small empty space in the corner of his lair, a life-form on the level of dust(?) was active.

A tiny space blocked off on all sides by walls.

It was faintly connected to the lake and passage inside the Dragon Lair, but the connection was practically nonexistent.

In any case.

He infused his vision with Magic Power and looked beyond the space.

He could see a single, unbearably weak human rejoicing while eating something like grass scraps.

“…….”

The Dragon Lord closed his eyes again just like that.

It was not worth paying attention to.