Chapter: 09
The cucumber had sprouted in almost just one day.
However, potatoes were different.
Almost three days had passed since planting them, but instead of green life appearing, only dry dirt winds spun around uselessly.
It was no different from the wasteland you would see in a cowboy movie.
‘It should also be receiving the growth boost effect from 「Fertile Territory」…….’
Why is it so slow?
Did something go wrong?
Wilson’s seed potato? The nutrients in the soil?
Or did I give it too much water? Should I dig it up with the wooden hoe and check directly?
Minhyuk had spent each day worrying about things like that.
Pop!
The 4th day after planting the seed potato.
“Oh!”
Finally, potato sprouts appeared.
Seeing those fresh green leaves, a smile naturally escaped his mouth.
“Hehe.”
Maybe because it had finally sprouted after four days?
He even felt strangely proud.
Like the heart of a parent watching their young child grow.
Kkrung!
Kkrung also spread his short arms wide and celebrated while looking at the potato sprouts.
Of course, it seemed like he was just happy because he would be able to eat potatoes regularly.
“Gulp……”
Minhyuk was the same.
Carbohydrates?
This was impossible to resist.
“Yeah, even if you’re slow, it’s fine. As long as you’re heading in the right direction.”
With the meaning of telling them to continue growing well in the future.
He even gave them a piece of encouragement that sounded like something from a third-rate self-development book.
“Alright!”
Drip, drip, drip—
Using the gigantic leaf basket, he carefully watered them.
Next was the cucumbers.
“……”
Minhyuk quietly looked at the cucumber field that was growing well even without help.
Should he give them words of encouragement too……?
Since it would be unfair to favor only one side like the praising onion and criticizing onion experiment.
“You have talent. Keep working hard.”
Drip, drip, drip—
After watering them with cucumber-specific encouragement, he lay down on the sandy beach and enjoyed sunbathing leisurely.
Whooshhhhh—
The warm sunlight.
The emerald ocean stretching endlessly to the horizon, something he had only seen on social media.
“Ah~ This is nice, really nice~”
Maybe because he had spent his life trapped inside gray concrete buildings, working overtime like a machine.
Every single day felt like he had come to a vacation resort.
“Hmm, should I go swimming?”
When you think of a vacation spot, playing in the water naturally comes to mind.
Whoosh—
Minhyuk quickly took off his shirt.
“……No. This is too dangerous.”
He put his clothes back on again.
‘It only looks beautiful…… but I don’t know what might actually be inside the water.’
Even the peaceful oceans of Earth had sharks.
And this was the Tower.
There was no guarantee there weren’t terrifying sea monsters here.
“I can do it later. Later.”
Once the Safe Zone had more room.
He could expand it toward the ocean.
Then he could build his own private swimming pool where monsters could not approach.
“Lalala~”
Minhyuk continued enjoying his sunbathing while humming.
Day 26 after being stranded.
Late at night.
“Groooowl…….”
While Minhyuk was deeply asleep—
Boom!
Boom!
A gigantic sound of footsteps echoed from the entrance of the jungle.
“U, huh……?”
The vibration was so strong that even Minhyuk, who normally slept deeply, woke up.
Grrrrrr……
A low growl that immediately attracted attention.
With blurry eyes, Minhyuk looked toward the jungle and was shocked.
“Gasp!”
A truly enormous silhouette.
It was difficult to see because it was covered in pitch-black darkness, but something huge was walking around the entrance of the jungle.
The surrounding trees fell like mere weeds.
Crack!
Crack-crunch!
Minhyuk had seen giant mysterious creatures moving before.
But those creatures had been far away, around the mountain peaks of the island.
This was the first time one had come this close.
Minhyuk immediately lowered his body.
‘What if it comes this way……?’
Of course, thanks to the Safe Zone, he would not be in danger.
But being afraid was still being afraid.
And more importantly, the entrance of the jungle was where his potato field was.
What if flying pieces of wood damaged the sprouts?
‘N-no…….’
Crack!
Crack-crunch!
Minhyuk trembled in fear and waited for the giant creature to pass.
“Ugh……”
He spent the entire night awake like that.
Eventually, when the morning sun rose—
“Phew…… let’s go.”
Kkrung……!
[Baby Meerkat enters ‘Observation Mode’.]
With Kkrung mounted on his shoulder, Minhyuk entered the jungle entrance where his potato field was located.
“Ah……”
The entrance of the jungle was a complete mess.
The dense trees had been broken randomly as if a typhoon had swept through, and broken pieces of wood were scattered everywhere.
The naturally growing cucumber vines were also crushed after being stepped on.
But what was even more shocking was—
“Wow…… it’s huge.”
A gigantic footprint pressed into the ground.
The sunken earth contained footprints several times larger than Minhyuk himself.
A deserted island where such giant creatures wandered around.
“Still…… it’s a relief that everything is safe.”
Fortunately, Minhyuk’s potato field was completely fine.
Moreover, with the tall and dense trees around it gone, sunlight shone down much more strongly.
Ironically, it had become an even better environment for growing crops.
“There are also lots of useful pieces of wood now.”
Unlike ordinary branches, these were on a completely different level in terms of usefulness.
Thick logs had been broken into convenient pieces.
A crisis could always be turned into an opportunity.
“Here we go!”
Minhyuk carried a log as large as a Go board and entered the Safe Zone.
“Looking at the size…… this would be perfect for making a water basket.”
The gigantic leaves he had been using before were decent.
But they were too large and floppy, making it difficult to maintain balance.
He had even spilled water several times while carrying it.
But a properly sized wooden water basket would solve that problem.
Scrape-scrape—
Minhyuk immediately started crafting.
First, he removed the rough bark with his carving knife.
Then he smoothed the surface.
After that, like scooping out a watermelon with a spoon, he slowly carved out the inside of the wood.
[Successfully crafted ‘Wooden Water Basket’.]
[You obtained 30 EXP.]
A properly sized wooden water basket was completed.
[The skill ‘Crafting’ reacts to excellent materials.]
[Hidden effect activated.]
[A special energy has entered the ‘Wooden Water Basket’.]
“Huh?”
However, messages appeared that he had never seen before.
He immediately checked the contents.
[Wooden Water Basket]
Grade → F
Effect → Weight -30%. Capacity increase ++ boost.
Description → A water basket containing special energy.
※Someone personally crafted it.
Kreee—
It was lighter, but its capacity had increased.
The increase was significant too.
Seeing the effects of his skill was quite satisfying.
“But…… why didn’t something like this happen when I made the wooden hoe and fire board?”
Was it because those were made from ordinary branches?
Minhyuk casually shrugged and immediately tested the wooden water basket.
Drip, drip, drip—
Its stability was obvious.
And compared to the leaves, the weight was not particularly heavy.
Most importantly, even though its size was reduced by half, the amount of water it could hold was almost the same.
This was definitely acceptable.
Drip, drip, drip—
“Grow well.”
Minhyuk watered the potato field and cucumber field with the wooden water basket.
The potatoes had only just begun growing stems.
It would still be a while before harvesting.
But the cucumbers were already ripe and hanging from the vines.
Harvest time.
Meaning—
It was time to put them on the market.
“Thank you for growing well.”
After saying goodbye to the cucumbers, he used the merchant summoning function.
[EX-grade Merchant, Elia, is being summoned.]
“Hi hi, Sajang! I’m here!”
“You’re here, Elia? You can do well today too, right? Like a great merchant?”
“Yes yes! Of course, of course!”
Elia confidently nodded.
By the way, there are more today than last time. Will you be okay?”
“How many?”
“Well, that is……”
The total harvest was 300 cucumbers.
If he stored 150 of them as food.
The remaining amount was—
“One hundred fifty……?”
Seeing a number fifteen times larger than the first sale, Elia’s eyes widened.
Well, 150 was a huge number for a six-year-old.
“Isn’t it too many? How about trying just 30 first? Slowly?”
“Umm……”
After sticking out her lower lip and thinking for a moment—
“No! Give me all of them! 150!”
She shook her head.
“Really? You don’t have to push yourself. How about trying 30 at a time?”
“No, I can do it! Elia is a great merchant!”
“Oh……”
Minhyuk looked at Elia, who was burning with motivation, and admired her slightly.
Seriously.
A six-year-old with that kind of work ethic.
That was…… impressive.
“Really? You can sell all 150?”
“Yes! Just trust me!”
Elia clenched her tiny fist.
Her small, chubby hand was quite adorable.
“But…… if I sell them all, let me eat potatoes.”
“Alright. I’ll wait and not eat any until you come back. Here, promise.”
“Wow! Sajang is the best!”
For a passionate employee like this—
Potatoes were nothing.
He could give them whenever.
‘There are about three potatoes left in the food storage……’
One potato?
Even if she was the princess of the Elven race.
Giving more than that would be difficult.
“I’m going!”
“Okay. Come back safely. If you don’t sell everything, just come back. I’ll still let you eat potatoes.”
“Okay!”
After Elia put the 150 cucumbers into her subspace backpack and left—
Minhyuk finally had proper work to do again after a long time.
Tap— tap—
First, he personally harvested the 150 cucumbers he had handed over to Elia.
[Successfully harvested ‘Cucumber of the Deserted Island’.]
[You obtained 8 EXP.]
[Successfully harvested ‘Cucumber of the Deserted Island’.]
[You obtained 7 EXP.]
[Successfully harvested ‘Cucumber of the Deserted Island’.]
[You obtained 9 EXP.]
A storm of experience points poured in.
Thanks to that, the Safe Zone expanded by another 3 pyeong.
[Level up!]
[Safe Zone LV.7 → LV.8]
But his work was not finished there.
Tap— tap—
The remaining 150 cucumbers that would be used as daily food.
He harvested all of them.
[Successfully harvested ‘Cucumber of the Deserted Island’.]
[You obtained 10 EXP.]
[Successfully harvested ‘Cucumber of the Deserted Island’.]
[You obtained 9 EXP.]
[Successfully harvested ‘Cucumber of the Deserted Island’.]
[You obtained 6 EXP.]
.
.
.
Experience points poured out like crazy.
At this point, wasn’t this less like cucumber harvesting and more like experience harvesting?
Thanks to that, Minhyuk’s Safe Zone leveled up once again.
[Level up!]
[Safe Zone LV.8 → LV.9]
He had only picked cucumbers.
Yet the Safe Zone instantly expanded by another 6 pyeong.
“Hmmm……”
Minhyuk frowned slightly in confusion.
The area where he could grow crops had expanded?
Good.
Of course, it was something to be thankful for.
What farmer in the world would dislike having more harvest?
The problem was—
Compared to the expanded farmland, his labor force was painfully insufficient.
Even looking at the tasks remaining right now.
“First, I need to remove the cucumber vines……”
He needed to plant seeds in the 6 additional pyeong of expanded Safe Zone.
The sandy beach was not a problem.
A few casual movements with his hands were enough.
But what about the jungle entrance, where the ground was solid?
He had to dig the earth himself using the wooden hoe.
Furthermore, every time cultivation ended, he would have to plow the field again.
‘From now on, I plan to keep expanding the jungle entrance area……’
Having to dig up all that enormous land alone.
Was he actually no longer becoming a farmer, but instead turning into a miner……?
The problem that was bound to appear as the Safe Zone continued expanding.
At that moment—
Kkrung……? Kkrung-kkrung!
Kkrung, who had been staring at Minhyuk seriously, pounded his chest as if saying to leave it to him.
Minhyuk gently patted the small fluffy head.
“No. You’re already doing more than enough.”
If he was in a situation where Kkrung just played around and ate without doing anything, then maybe he would make him help.
But surprisingly, Kkrung held a very important role on this deserted island.
A miniature radar.
Rather than forcing him into labor, it was better for him to focus on his actual duty.
Besides, because he was so small, his work efficiency would not be good anyway.
“Workers…… I probably can’t buy them from the shop, right?”
Minhyuk thought for a moment, clicked his tongue, and then laughed honestly.
“Forget it~ There’s no such thing as something free in this world.”
It wasn’t like working overtime alone with a suffocatingly strict boss.
He was on a deserted island with beautiful scenery and fresh air.
Doing a little work leisurely by himself.
‘This is basically a reward.’
Besides, there was no comparison when it came to pride and accomplishment.
This was why people moved to farming.
“Alright! Let’s go plow the field, Kkrung!”
Kkrung!
Holding the wooden hoe, Minhyuk headed toward the expanded Safe Zone.
Around the same time.
The 777th floor of the Tower.
The legendary land, 「Eternal Island」.
Deep inside the jungle—
Tap-tap-tap!
A group of meerkat brothers was moving quickly through the jungle.
Kkrung?
Kkoroong?
Kkruk-kkruk!
The reason the meerkats, who normally settled in one place, dug burrows, and lived peacefully, were now rushing through the jungle like wanderers?
It was simple.
They were searching for their lost youngest sibling!
The group had scattered while avoiding a snake attack, and only the youngest had gotten lost and failed to return.
Kkruuung—!
Stop!
At the first meerkat’s command, all the other meerkats stopped immediately.
Sniff-sniff—
Their noses twitched.
Kkrung! Kkoreung—!
I smell the youngest! He must be nearby!
Soon after the first brother made his judgment, the meerkat group immediately began moving again.
Tap-tap-tap!
Wait just a little longer, youngest!
Your brothers are coming!
