Chapter 15: The Hunt for the Corn Supplier

After a hearty breakfast, Go Nam-tae began his work for the day.

"Should I start by making a wooden platform?"

[Do you have a specific design in mind?]

"Well, of course..."

Go Nam-tae trailed off and fell silent.

The first thing that came to mind was the platform his father had made back when he was a child.

But as he continued to imagine it, the project kept growing grander.

'Since there are so many of us, should I make it a bit larger? Maybe add a roof so we can use it even when it rains...'

The platform, which had almost turned into a pavilion or even a villa, finally returned to its original purpose.

A platform was a platform.

He simply decided to make it a bit bigger.

"I’d like it to be spacious enough for all of us to lie down together with room to spare."

[I will set the dimensions and height.]

The simulation platform Toto showed him in actual size was perfectly satisfactory.

"Alright, shall we begin?"

While there was still wood left from when he had cut timber to build the storage, he figured he would need more lumber in the future.

Planning to stock up whenever he had the chance, Go Nam-tae brought over some fresh wood.

"Back and forth goes the saw...!"

A work song naturally flowed from his lips.

It was the same one his father used to sing.

The little ones, who had been watching with wide eyes at the sound of their boss's singing, soon started shaking their rumps to the beat.

His nickname used to be "The Silent Man."

He had earned it back when he worked at the factory because he wouldn't say a single word all day.

Now, that same man burst into laughter while watching the creatures' antics.

"Hahaha!"

Along with the sound of Go Nam-tae's laughter, the wood split clean open.

At the same time, a skill he had missed before appeared.

[Wood Splitting]

"Oh, nice!"

Go Nam-tae tested the skill while holding the saw.

"Split... Split!"

The wood split evenly without even a speck of sawdust.

The cut surfaces were as smooth as glass, to the point where no planing or sanding was necessary.

However, there was a side effect.

"...I need to rest a bit."

After a long time, the yellow bar was floating in his vision again.

As he lay down on the smoothly split wood, the Four Guardians and Ha-eul’s group snuggled up beside him.

'This is great...!'

The freedom to lie down in the middle of work without anyone nagging him.

He was slowly sinking into the leisure and comfort he was experiencing for the first time since becoming an adult.

The fresh, fragrant scent of wood rising from beneath his head coaxed him toward sleep.

'Should I take a nap...?'

There was no one to disturb him here either.

A nap—it was the ultimate luxury that came with this peace.

...Thud.

His head dropped as he drifted off instantly.

A while later.

When Go Nam-tae opened his eyes, he was under the "Four Guardian Parasol."

The little guys were blocking the sunlight from hitting his face.

At his limbs, nine fluffy weasels were stuck to him like glue, standing guard.

Go Nam-tae hesitated for a moment as he stroked them.

Should he make a snack for these loyal creatures, or should he finish the platform first to stop looking like a beggar as soon as possible?

His heart leaned toward the former, but he didn't have much to work with for snacks.

"It would be great to make pumpkin pancakes if only I had some pumpkins..."

Slice up some zucchini, throw in some chili peppers, and fry it in soybean oil—wouldn't that be heavenly?

Hearing his wistful soliloquy, Ha-eul perks up and scurries off somewhere.

Curious about what the little one was doing, he watched as it rummaged through the pile of miscellaneous items brought from the shore.

The creature returned shortly and held something out to him.

"Uh...?"

It was white-shelled, elongated, pointed at the top, and rounded and flat at the bottom.

No matter how he looked at it, it was a pumpkin seed—if one ignored the fact that it was the size of an adult's palm.

The creature made a series of frantic gestures.

"You want me to plant this?"

'Yes! It’ll be delicious!'

There was no reason to refuse.

"Hmm, where should I plant it..."

Since there was only one, he didn't ponder for long.

A pumpkin was still a gourd, after all; he thought it would be fun to watch it climb up the roof.

After digging a hole next to the storehouse and burying it, he sprinkled some earthworm manure over it.

As he watered it, he added a word of blessing.

"Grow well."

...The moment Go Nam-tae turned away, the ground gave off a faint glow.

The rest he had fully enjoyed brought a surge of vitality.

He immediately picked up his saw and hammer.

[Ten legs should be stable enough.]

[A height of 40 centimeters to match the Boss's height and a leg thickness of 15 centimeters would be appropriate.]

By cutting the wood according to Toto's advice, everything fit together perfectly without the need for nails.

His assistants were excellent as well.

The Four Guardians held the large pieces, while Ha-eul’s group moved the smaller bits of wood.

Tap, tap.

The final joint snapped into place perfectly.

"It's done!"

The new platform was wide and sturdy enough for five grown men like Go Nam-tae to roll around on.

The smooth, off-white wood seemed to shimmer.

It was then.

[You have manufactured the Boss's Platform.]

[Mana recovers faster when resting on the platform.]

[Food tastes better when enjoyed on the platform.]

[You have crafted an item manually for the first time.]

[Crafting skill advances.]

[‘Joining’ has been unlocked.]

"Wow...!"

He had gained an unexpected item and even a skill.

It was a shame he had nothing to eat, but he could test one of the effects immediately.

"Everyone, let's lie down here!"

'Waaaah!'

Go Nam-tae sprawled out and closed his eyes.

About five minutes later, he snapped his eyes open and shouted.

"Whoa, this is the real deal!"

It said 'mana recovers faster,' and in that short time, his body felt beyond fully charged—it felt light as a feather.

With just a hint of exaggeration, it was almost comparable to sleeping in his own bedroom.

Because he was overflowing with energy, lying down actually became boring.

"Shall we go harvest the beans now?"

Peep peep peep!

Boing boing!

'Yes, sounds good!'

Gurgle.

But first, he had to eat.

At the Saeron Guild headquarters.

Vice Guild Leader Jeong Sang-myeong held out a piece of corn to the Saeron Guild Leader, Park Gi-beom.

"Corn?"

"They call it Labyrinth Corn."

"Does corn grow in the Labyrinth? Where did this come from?"

"I don't know. People outside were making such a fuss about how delicious it is, so I had the boys go buy a few."

Without much expectation, Park Gi-beom took a bite of the corn.

His eyes widened.

Park Gi-beom was a Hunter who had conquered the highest floors in South Korea.

After devouring the entire ear of corn, his gaze turned serious.

"Find out where this came from, discreetly. Find out who is supplying it and which floor it was found on!"

Before going to harvest the beans, Go Nam-tae tended to his primary equipment.

Specifically, his scythe.

The scythe was the tool his father had cherished and maintained most carefully until he fell ill.

Scritch, scritch!

After being ground against the whetstone a few times, the scythe soon revealed a blue, razor-sharp edge.

Cling.

When he brandished the scythe in front of the bean field, the crayfish fled in a panic at the sight of the sharp edge reflecting the sunlight.

"I’ll cut the bean stalks, the Four Guardians will move them, and Ha-eul’s group will pick up any dropped beans."

'Yes!'

'Leave it to us!'

The creatures' eyes were more than just motivated; they practically flickered with fire.

They looked like racehorses waiting for the starting signal.

It had been a long time since he had harvested beans.

Aside from the fact that these were twice as large and had twice as many pods as the beans he knew, they were no different from the ones on Earth.

Slash!

With a single swing of the scythe, the bean stalks were severed at once.

However, the cut ends looked too sharp and dangerous.

Go Nam-tae leaned over and cut the severed stalks again horizontally.

It was a labor-intensive task for someone working upright, but he had to be careful considering Ha-eul’s group would be running back and forth through the field.

Go Nam-tae warned the little ones who were poised to leap into the field from the edges.

"Everyone, wait until I tell you to come in!"

Peep peep peep peep peep!

The response was thunderous, but their twitching behinds made him nervous.

He couldn't feel at ease, remembering how Ha-gye had ended up with swollen lips the moment he looked away.

Boing boing boing boing!

'We’ll keep an eye on them!'

"Right, thanks!"

After entrusting the task of supervision to the more mature Four Guardians, Go Nam-tae picked up his scythe again.

Soon, a brilliant display of scythe-work began.

The silent system window only popped up when the harvest was nearly finished.

[Skill has been activated.]

[Mowing]

"Oh!"

It wasn't something specific like 'rice harvesting'; it was just 'Mowing.'

That meant it could be used much more broadly.

[If you had mown diagonally like you were originally doing, a 'Bean Harvesting' skill probably would have appeared.]

"...Is that how it works?"

Now that he had a skill, he wanted to try it out, but...

"Mowing!"

The new skill he used so boldly ended after toppling the last two remaining bean stalks.

Thanks to that, his mana was still full.

Now it was time for the anxious little ones.

"Everyone, start!"

Pitter-patter-pitter-patter!

The white and blue lumps charged into the field.

After harvesting crops, the process is generally similar: Drying, Threshing, and Sorting.

Just like when he threshed the rice, an old tool appeared for the bean threshing.

The flail Go Nam-tae remembered had a broken head and was completely rotted away, but this one had also returned to a new state, though it still bore the marks of time.

The well-dried beans on the large tarp were waiting for the flail's "flogging."

"Alright, here’s one hit!"

Thwack-thwack-thwack!

Under the barrage of innocent flailing, beans flew in all directions.

The Four Guardians acted as gatekeepers, pushing back every single bean that dreamed of escaping the tarp.

"And two!"

He got a bit too excited.

After pounding the bare ground and kicking up a cloud of dust, Go Nam-tae hurried to check the flail.

He wondered if he had broken it, but fortunately, it was perfectly fine.

Go Nam-tae asked:

"If I bring new things from Earth and put them in the warehouse, do they become pristine like this too?"

An incredible answer came back to the question he had asked half-jokingly.

[That is correct!]

And that wasn't all.

[The more the Boss's reality interference increases, the longer the mirror stays open.]

[When the Boss's influence reaches its peak, the door may even remain fixed open.]

[If the Boss's authority grows even stronger in that state, living beings might even be able to pass through.]

"Could that... include me?"

He meant the way back home!

[...Ultimately, it is possible.]

[However, allowing other living beings to cross is on a completely different level from the Boss himself moving. You, Boss, will be the only one to know the exact possibilities.]

It was a bit disappointing, but he had finally heard the words 'it is possible.'

This was exactly why he had to increase his 'interference power.'

"Then, could I perhaps invite people from Earth too?"

The first people who came to mind were naturally Kim Gu-bok and his wife.

He wanted to thank them, share a delicious meal, introduce them to his cute subordinates... However, the pleasant imagination could not continue.

[However, if a sapient being above a certain level crosses over, they will automatically become the Boss's thrall.]

A thrall was a concept lower than a subordinate.

They would be in absolute obedience to the Boss's commands, and even the power over their life and death would be handed over.

In other words, inviting just anyone was absolutely out of the question.

Especially for Kim Gu-bok and his wife, it was something that should never happen.

[Skill has been activated.]

[Threshing]

Due to his startled state of mind, he didn't even think about testing the new skill.

Perhaps because of that, no skill appeared for the subsequent bean sorting at all.

[That is because it is something the Boss is originally not very good at.]

[If you repeat it a few times, it will be activated soon.]

"Then what about washing dishes?"

[The Boss loathes washing dishes, does he not?]

'...'

That meant a 'Dishwashing' skill would never manifest for him.

...He decided never to aim for it again.

Instead, the sacks filled with plump beans made him feel satisfied.

Originally, nothing is wasted with beans.

Humans eat the beans, and the stalks and pods can be collected and used as cattle feed.

Looking at the mountain of by-products, another farmer's dream began to bloom.

'...Maybe I should try raising a cow?'