Chapter 37: Please Let Me Do It!

Yang Man-chun waited, fully armed.

Even though he had stepped back from the shadows, he was still a near S-class hunter. It meant he possessed the martial power to single-handedly stop an A-class rift.

He stared at the wooden barrel on the table, feeling tense. Since it was an item that served as a medium for spatial abilities, he had naturally gotten it appraised.

'Where on earth did this wood come from? No, what kind of person made such a thing out of this wood!'

His friend, an appraiser, placed more value on the wood than the item's performance. The wood itself supposedly possessed a strength equivalent to S-class steel. At the same time, it was much lighter. He said he could never forgive the person who turned such incredible material into this simple, crude barrel...

If secrecy hadn't been a condition, the friend would have begged to let him study it officially.

To think someone made a barrel out of such an amazing material... No, should he be more amazed that someone could use such an incredible item so freely?

It was a moment that made him even more curious about the person named Go Nam-tae. No, he was more curious about whether that person was even a 'human' named Go Nam-tae.

*Click.*

The time had come. The moment Yang Man-chun took a deep breath.

*Zap!*

The air began to crack.

'It's a rift...!'

Only a rift appeared by tearing through space like this. However, this rift was a bit strange.

It hesitated, as if tiny cracks were groping through the air. It was as if it were unsure whether this was the right place.

After groping through the air for a while, the crack paused when it lined up with the wooden barrel. Its appearance almost made him chuckle, as if it were saying, 'Ah, here it is!' Then, a hole the size of a coin peeked open. It was the smallest rift he had ever seen.

The smaller a rift was, the weaker its power. A hunter of Yang Man-chun's level could likely make it vanish with a single strike.

However, Yang Man-chun's hands began to tremble. If his mental strength had been even slightly weaker, he might have rolled his eyes back and fainted.

'I knew it, as expected, such a trick...!'

*Grip.*

It was the moment he gripped the hilt of his sword with all his might.

Something poked out from inside the rift and fluttered toward him.

*Swoosh.*

The object, which had been swimming through the air, landed precisely in front of Yang Man-chun.

'Uncle, my brother said he'll send a note first.'

If he hadn't heard Kim Jae-won's warning beforehand, he might have cut it down.

Yang Man-chun didn't dare touch it, but fortunately, the contents were laid out right in front of him.

- Hello, my name is Go Nam-tae.
As you heard from Jae-won, I've requested to open this door for a trade.
If you permit it, I'd like to send the goods immediately. Would that be alright?

'Yes, yes!'

The moment he read the neat, pressed handwriting, that answer almost burst out of him. Yang Man-chun asked the rift cautiously.

"Are you truly Mr. Go Nam-tae? ...Are you human?"

He immediately mocked himself for asking.

'Will I know if he says yes? And what would I do if he said no?'

A reply came soon after.

- Yes, I cannot meet you in person due to circumstances, but I am certainly a 'human' named Go Nam-tae.

It was just writing, but he felt a strange sense of disappointment. At the same time, his hair stood on end.

He wondered if the permission would have been granted if he had shown even a bit more suspicion.

Still... the first impression he got through the note was polite and respectful. It could be a monster that knew how to write in Korean, or something controlling a person. There was no end to the suspicion. But even if this hole was for an invasion, it wouldn't be able to harm Park Seong-yeon. Yang Man-chun nodded.

"Very well."

Another note came through immediately.

- If there is anything you want, I will send that first.
What would you like?
The types of crops are still limited, so I can send you whatever I have.
Of course, you know that everything I send will be counted toward Mr. Kim Gu-bok's sales, right?

The moment he read the last line, the wariness he had been holding onto almost crumbled. Yang Man-chun gripped his trembling sword and nodded.

"Everything you've sent so far has been good. But... could you also give us a lot of those tomatoes?"

Instead of an answer, the rift's entrance grew slightly larger, and things began to pour out. One bag each of corn, rice, and beans, and another bag of vegetables like pumpkins and cucumbers. And finally, two boxes of tomatoes...

The blood-red tomatoes looked ominous. Yet, paradoxically, they looked delicious and tempting.

Knowing that taste, Yang Man-chun almost reached out instinctively. Just then, another note came through.

- This will be the end of this trade.
If you refuse, there will be no future trades.
However, since there is a connection with the patient and Jae-won, I will continue to provide until he is healed.
In that case, please send someone as secretly as possible to Mr. Kim Gu-bok's shop.

He was being polite until the end, but he was drawing a clear line. The moment he refused here, that rift would never open again. Instead, this connection would end.

The rift, where an unprecedented power could be felt, became more chilling the more he looked at it. A fierce conflict raged inside Yang Man-chun.

With just what was sent now, Park Seong-yeon might be able to fully recover. Then couldn't they just stop here?

As he hesitated, the door suddenly swung open, and Park Seong-yeon shouted.

"I'll do it! No, please let me do it!"

***

"Whew..."

Go Nam-tae let out a small sigh. Just before the door closed, the handsome skeleton had given a sign of approval, but the key was whether the scary grandfather standing there with a sword would allow it.

Even if he viewed Park Seong-yeon's side positively, the problem was Kim Gu-bok's shop. He was worried about how long a shop guarded by only two fledgling hunters would last, especially when the nephew of a big shot like Park Seong-yeon had been attacked. If the rift became an issue, it could be ruined at any time. Because of that, he had risked the danger and requested direct communication with Park Ki-beom.

"...Should I change the supply location?"

[If you are worried about the rift being discovered, you can simply make it look like something other than a rift.]

"Make it not look like a rift...?"

[The characteristic of a rift is the appearance of a cracked line in the air.]

[You simply change that shape.]

[However, this will not be as easy as finding fixed coordinates.]

"Then that means I'll need a lot of practice."

[It also requires a lot of mana.]

[You are still lacking, but once you create it, it will become easier.]

As expected, a lack of mana. Hearing the words he used to hear every day after a day's break made them feel almost nostalgic. Since he had found the answer anyway, he just had to put in the effort.

However, practicing opening rifts consumed so much mana that he had to finish today's tasks first. Before that. To work, he had to fill his stomach first, right? There were already those waiting while swallowing their saliva.

"Everyone, let's have a snack first. How about some corn?"

'We love it, we love it, we love it!'

Everything the family ate was being supplied from the vegetable garden. The corn he picked himself after a long time felt heavy in his hands. Since Heung-bok had come out to the field, he hadn't had a chance to touch the harvest.

Soon after, Haeul's Family and the Sasin-su also rushed to the cornstalks in excitement. They looked quite funny, dangling from the stalks. But for some reason, the corn looked much larger than Haeul's Family. They were about the same size at first.

"Toto, about the corn. It seems like it's changed a bit, hasn't it?"

[Yes, that is correct.]

"Ho... How?"

[The mana level has increased by 2%, the size and weight have increased by 3%, and the sugar content has increased by 2 brix.]

[The efficacy for both mana and physical strength has been upgraded by 3%, and a regeneration support effect has been added.]

The effects had grown while he had the status window turned off because it was in the way. He said this briefing was about the yard inside the stream, but it was gradually being applied to the outside as well.

This meant that he had grown a bit, but it also meant that he was only just beginning.

"Then can it become even more delicious than this?"

[Naturally.]

'Then will a single kernel of corn become as sweet as honey?'

However, the words that followed exceeded his imagination.

[In the future, if the Boss's authority increases further, each crop could become a medicinal herb on par with an elixir.]

"Oh, come on, that's going too far."

Go Nam-tae laughed it off as a joke, but Toto had said from the beginning: The system didn't know how to joke or play pranks. However, there was something it didn't say.

'If the Boss integrates the territories, that is.'

There was no need to inform the novice Boss, who was still busy adjusting to the Labyrinth, about the existence of the other three bosses. The spies they occasionally sent were being blocked by the loyal pets, spirits, and the powerful gatekeeper who only acted subservient to the Boss.

[It is not an impossible task.]

[If the Boss's territory grows larger...]

"Right, right. By about... several hundred million times? Does it just need to grow that much? After about a thousand years?"

*Chuckle.*

Go Nam-tae even waved his hand as he laughed. If he had known how accurately he had pointed it out, he wouldn't have been able to laugh like this.

If the territories of the other three bosses were combined, it might actually be around that much. But... did it really have to take a thousand years?

"Anyway, you're saying the crops will grow larger and taste better in the future, right? The old couple will love that!"

[Yes, more people will come to like them.]

"Then they'll sell even better?"

[That is correct. The more they sell, the greater your interference power will become.]

"Right, interference power..."

Go Nam-tae, who was repeating the words like a parrot, paused for a moment. It was because he suddenly thought of the elderly Yang Man-chun. He looked middle-aged, but he was a person he almost instinctively called 'Elder'. He was a man who radiated such a powerful aura.

He remembered the hostile gaze that man had sent toward the door. Go Nam-tae shook his head.

'No, the interference power follows my will!'

The reason rifts became a source of fear for people was that they harmed humans. His rift was solely to become a 'delicious passage'. It was for doing 'good' deeds, just as he had saved Park Seong-yeon this time.

'Then it's only right that the interference power grows, right?'

That was also the only way he could find a way back. After quite a complex bit of worrying, Go Nam-tae nodded vigorously.

"Right, let's grow the interference power!"

Go Nam-tae, who had struggled to reach a 'natural' conclusion, gained a hint from the conversation.

"Toto, about those elixirs. If I grow Earth's medicinal herbs well, the effects will get better too, right?"

[Of course.]

[For example, if you grow wild ginseng, you can produce effects ten times, or even 100 times greater than the expected efficacy on Earth.]

[However, there is a price.]

"What's the price?"

[Elixirs require incomparably more power than grain.]

[While you are turning medicinal herbs or semi-elixirs into seeds, you cannot turn other crops into seeds.]

[I recommend you attempt it after all the necessary crops have been turned into seeds.]

The seeds had increased quite a bit, but there was still a lack of things he could plant. There were dozens of types waiting their turn in the storage. He could live without wild ginseng, but he couldn't give up on rice cakes right now.

"...Uh, right."

[Still, it does not matter if you receive the seeds in advance.]

[The longer they are kept in storage, the more they become seed-ified.]

"Got it."

The order of creating seeds became more important. Conveniently, the corn had ripened, blowing his worries away. He had to take things one step at a time, starting with today's tasks.

***

That night.

*Crash!*

The loud sound of something breaking woke the family. Go Nam-tae, who ran outside, couldn't help but sigh.

"Oh, no...!"