Chapter 23: The First Harvest and an Unexpected Invitation

[Entered Floor 12 of the Tower.]

Mission: Eliminate Giant Worker Ants 0/20

Time Limit: 12 hours

I couldn’t do the usual climb today because I was preparing to return to my family’s home since morning.

Honestly, I didn’t worry much since it would be over quickly if I put my mind to it.

Bbyak!

Bbyak was confident again today.

He seemed excited to roast the monsters.

Toto stepped forward first.

He wanted to show us the impressive skills of the youngest member.

Pachi!

Toto stretched both hands forward, and yellow sparks flared up.

Then.

Pazizjik!

With a tremendous flash, the worker ants scattered.

It didn’t even take a minute.

In the blink of an eye, they were all defeated.

The monsters that usually just got blackened and burned were now frying golden brown.

Bbyak!

Satisfied, Bbyak flapped his wings.

Though he eats anything well, he’s a bit of a foodie.

Compared to the ones burnt black, the ones fried and crispy were much better.

Protein, savory, and packed with nutrition.

[Notice] You have achieved SSS rank for the first time in the world on Black Tower Floor 12.

[Reward] Obtained Golden Ticket.

[Reward] Magic Stones 48 kg

[Reward] 20 Useful Health Recovery Potions

[Reward] Worker Ant’s Pocket Dimension Pouch

[Reward] Tower Construction Blueprint

Another successful climb today.

The rewards were satisfying as well.

First of all, the Pocket Dimension Pouch.

This is an essential item for players.

The inventory you start with only holds about 1000 kg of magic stones.

But the Worker Ant’s Pocket Dimension Pouch is on a completely different level in terms of capacity.

[Worker Ant’s Pocket Dimension Pouch] A pocket dimension pouch belonging to the worker ants residing in the tower. Can store up to 1001 units.

This meant the inventory capacity got a lot bigger.

I had been struggling just to store magic stones until now.

How many times had I gone back and forth to the plains?

But now?

I could carry around 100 tons.

Moreover,

[Tower Construction Blueprint] Allows the player to build various structures on tower land. Higher levels unlock more buildings.

I even got the Construction Blueprint.

It felt like a secret plains area was about to be transformed.

When I double-tapped the liquid inside the blueprint tablet, various building options appeared.

[Tower Construction Blueprint] LV.1

[Buildings Available for Construction]

Beast Public Restroom: 5,000 kg Magic Stones

Egg hatchery: 10,000 kg Magic Stones

Public Dining Hall: 100,000 kg Magic Stones

Power Plant: 500,000 kg Magic Stones

Communication Tower: 500,000 kg Magic Stones

Detached House: 50,000 kg Magic Stones

Upgrade Blueprint Level: 2,000,000 kg Magic Stones

The prices were as fierce as at the market.

There were plenty of things to buy at the market already, and now I had to build, too.

Even if I bought every magic stone mined worldwide, it wouldn’t be enough.

“Once I get back to the plains, I need to check the magic stones the rabbits have mined.”

Although I felt bad toward the hardworking rabbits, they needed to be paid in magic stones.

Farming or fishing isn’t a big help yet.

It might change later, but right now, the most important thing is magic stones.

In that sense, the mining rabbits were truly invaluable labor.

They might be small, but the amount of magic stones they steadily mine is nothing to dismiss.

The tower climb was over, and after giving Bbyak and Toto enough time, I returned to the plains.

There was no sign of my family having come back.

“Oh, father Rabbit. Perfect timing.”

At that moment, father Earth Rabbit appeared carrying the fish he had caught.

“Where’s Somi?”

Bbyak!

Just then, Somi, who was nearby, heard my voice and hurried over from somewhere.

“There you are. Has everyone returned?”

Bbyak bbyak bbyak.

“Did you all come back early today?”

Bbyak.

Somi nodded.

Maybe because it was the first time, everyone returned early.

Well, that’s how you slowly get used to things.

Just greeting the rabbits alone was enough satisfaction.

Once we have magic stones, I’ll give them a free pass.

So they can come freely anytime and get some healing.

“More importantly, can I see some of the magic stones the rabbits mined?”

Bbyak bbyak.

This time, father Rabbit answered my question.

He gestured for me to follow and, sticking out his rear, led the way to the magic stone warehouse.

The mined magic stones were gathered in a wide plaza.

Rabbits wearing yellow helmets were busily carrying magic stones loaded in mining carts.

The amount was far more than I expected.

At a rough estimate, there were at least 10,000 chunks of stone the size of adult fists.

“How much is all that?”

Bbyak!

A whopping 12,000 kg.

The amount mined in just one day.

“Whoa, that much?”

Bbyak bbyak.

Apparently, there’s a huge magic stone vein nearby.

They had only just mined the entrance.

There’s still a long way to go.

I bought three free passes first.

Now there were 9,000 kg left.

I needed to use them wisely.

Dohyun and Pildu said they would earn magic stones through item rental business, but that required some preparation time.

A business isn’t something you can start today and tomorrow.

How much they’d earn was still unknown.

So the amount I could use steadily right now came only from rewards from climbing and the stones mined by the Earth Rabbits.

Of course, the amount was not small.

10 tons a day.

In a month, that’s 3,000 tons.

I don’t know how long the mine will last, but it should be enough for at least a month.

What should I do first for the prosperous plains?

Nothing urgent.

I planned to take it slow and buy what was needed.

Maybe they knew my concerns.

Father Earth Rabbit carefully voiced his opinion.

Bbyak bbyak—

“Want me to buy more fields?”

Bbyak!

Come to think of it, Father Earth Rabbit’s job was officially a farmer.

So why was he like this?

Because the fields were insufficient.

There was only one fishing pond nearby.

And for magic stones?

If I didn’t build, it was way too little.

There was only one field in the plains.

Only enough for a single farming rabbit to handle.

The other farming rabbits were plowing, but compared to the fields bought at the market, efficiency dropped.

The fields that had sprouted crops were different from the freshly plowed ones, which showed no sign of growth.

There were ten farming rabbits and ten fields.

The numbers matched perfectly.

And look at how confident he was.

It looked like he could accomplish something big.

“Alright. Let’s go buy fields.”

I enthusiastically accepted father Rabbit’s suggestion.

We developed nine new fields in the plains.

father Rabbit was thrilled.

He hurriedly put on the wheat straw hat he had brought from somewhere.

Then busily started plowing.

He planted seeds and watered them with the watering can Somi had made.

That moment.

Bpok!

With a fresh sound, a green new sprout popped up.

At the same time, the system window appeared.

[You have harvested the first tower-grown carrot.]

[Diet Tower Carrot] A diet carrot rich in fiber and minerals. Highly effective in burning body fat.

I knew you could do it!

***

Suwon, Gyeonggi Province.

Seolha, exhausted, stepped out of the gate.

The gate was orange, one level below the red gates.

Still, defending the gate alone was exhausting.

An orc army poured out.

No matter how many were frozen, the relentless warriors never stopped.

Especially the Chieftain’s presence was extraordinary.

Even after being hit by dozens of arrows, he kept charging forward — truly befitting a leader.

Of course, Seolha couldn’t match him.

“Huff, today’s been tough.”

Wearing a tight Rider suit and a helmet, Seolha exhaled deeply.

One orc wasn’t a big problem.

But the overwhelming number of enemies rolling in like waves was unavoidable.

Fortunately, since it was Seolha, she managed to hold the line at this level.

Perhaps because she had used all her remaining mana, she felt especially tired.

At times like this, seeing cute animals would be the perfect healing.

For some reason, Woo min came to mind.

“Should I give him a call?”

I hadn’t contacted him separately since exchanging numbers.

Putting aside the tower climbs, the gate overflows and incidents had been happening frequently lately.

At least three level-2s or one level-5 needed to be deployed, so there was no rest.

I fiddled with my phone and scrolled through the contacts.

I repeatedly hovered my finger over the number saved as Woo min.

Finally.

Tring tring.

I called.

Calming my pounding heart, I steadied my voice as much as possible.

“Ahem, hello?”

– “Ah, yes, Seolha.”

Thankfully, he answered quickly.

“Is it okay if I come to Woo min’s house now? To see Bbyak and Somi, too.”

– “Ah, what should I do? I’m at the family home in Suwon right now.”

Oh.

Suwon, of all places.

“Well, I’m in Suwon too.”

– “Really? If it’s not inconvenient for Seolha, you’re welcome to come.”

Right, didn’t he say he was at his family home?

The whole family must be there.

If I went without notice, only Woo min would get tired.

That was when—

– “Hey, hyung, is that Seolha?”

Another voice came through the receiver.

It sounded like Woo min’s younger sibling.

– “Shut up. I’m on the phone.”

– “Are you saying Seolha’s coming? Tell her to come no matter what. If it’s inconvenient, we’ll just go out with mom and dad.”

– “Be quiet, they can hear everything. Ahaha, sorry, Seolha.”

Woo min answered with an awkward laugh.

Someone else then took over the call.

– “Hello, this is Woo min’s mother. If you don’t mind, please come over comfortably. I really wanted to meet you.”

A middle-aged woman’s voice.

It was Woo min’s mother.

“Ah, hello.”

– “Mom, what are you doing?”

– “Why, I thought it’d be nice to meet someone famous on my birthday.”

What a lively family.

Very different from someone who had lived alone since childhood.

– “Anyway, if you don’t mind, please come. Let’s have dinner together.”

Somehow, my heart warmed.

Still, this was the first time, so I had no idea what to do.

No matter how much I thought about it, going directly to someone else’s family home didn’t seem polite.

But the whole family seemed to want me to come.

“Well, I guess it’s shameless, but dinner sounds good.”

– “Ah, that sounds great.”

Already a welcoming voice.

Then the phone was handed back to the original owner.

– “Hello? Seolha, I’m really sorry. Our family’s a little unusual.”

“No, I’m the one who’s grateful for the invitation.”

My heart was pounding.

For the first time in my life, I was going to someone else’s home.

It felt like I was acting like the main character in a drama, trying to behave with proper etiquette.

“If you send me the address, I’ll come right away.”

– “Okay, I’ll send it in a message. Come safely.”

“Okay.”

Click.

My heart felt like it would burst.

It was an emotion I had never experienced before.

Taking a deep breath, I started the bike.

Cutting through the cool wind, I checked the address Woo min had sent.

Not far.

If I rode quickly, I’d arrive in ten minutes.

Seolha’s face under the helmet was already flushed red.