PLUNK, PLUNK....
I threw Chlorella ramen into the puddle.
Since Chlorella was clumped onto the ramen noodles, I had the hope that if I left them soaking in water, the Chlorella might grow.
It might not go as planned....
But the sight of ramen sticking out looked cool, so I took a picture and posted it on Plant Gallery.
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[Title: Planted Chlorella in my front yard heheh.]
(Photo)
I hope it grows well.
Please give me cultivation tips.
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Plant Gallery had been quiet, but the moment I made a post, chaos erupted again.
— This bastard, reallyyyyyyyy.
— Do you think landscaping is a joke? Do you think landscaping is a joke? Do you think landscaping is a joke? Do you think landscaping is a joke?
— You should seriously go see a doctor.
— Would there even be hospitals on Mars lol.
— Where on Mars do you live? Give us your address.
— Why do I feel like the Chlorella is actually going to grow;;;;
— Me too;;;; This bastard’s plant growth speed is weird;;;
— He’ll probably post soon saying he cultivated a Chlorella field?
There were many people who ignored my genius plan to cultivate Chlorella with ramen.
I wanted to laugh at them, but truthfully, I was just as nervous.
It was uncertain whether the Chlorella coating the ramen noodles would grow.
And now Chlorella and Black Beard Algae were competing for survival in the puddle.
The puddle was a good environment for Chlorella to grow, but the same applied to Black Beard Algae.
“From now on, kill each other....”
Still, Chlorella needed to win. Was there a way I could help it?
[You have planted 2 crops.]
[Farm Upgrade access granted.]
Whoa. A Farm Upgrade?
A rather impressive function had been added.
The Lordly perks granted by the Tower had all sorts of things.
Long live the Lord of the First Floor!
Long live me!
[Aqua.... Long live Aqua! (づᵔ.ᵔ)づ]
Woohoo~
After taking time to praise ourselves individually, we looked into the Farm Upgrade.
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<Lv.1 Farm>
Moss Plant Growth +5
[Upgradeable!]
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Ohh. Once the upgrade function was added, a fact I had not known became clear. Until now, I had been receiving the effect of a Level 1 Farm!
“No wonder Plant Gallery was falling over in surprise.”
Everyone had found it strange that the Black Beard Algae was growing so quickly, and it was because a buff had been applied.
[Moss Plant Growth +5]
“I don’t know exactly how much Growth +5 means, but it must be overpowered.”
Mystery solved!
Now I tapped Farm Upgrade.
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[Lv.1 → Lv.2 Upgrade Available]
1 Farm = about 356 sq ft of cultivation land
Current Farms: 1
Required Materials: 100 Low-Grade Magic Stones
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I needed to place one hundred Low-Grade Magic Stones into the Farm to upgrade it.
“Are they a kind of fertilizer...?”
When I opened the Exchange and checked the price, Low-Grade Magic Stones were trading at around 300,000 won each.
One hundred of them came to a whopping thirty million won.
For fertilizer—.
“Not much, huh?”
Amazingly, my sense of money was slowly being shattered. I was adapting to the spicy prices of the Tower.
This insane industry sold leftover seeds for 8,000 won. Of course, I was not all that innocent either.
I sold Black Beard Algae for 500,000 won.
Therefore, a price of 300,000 won meant Low-Grade Magic Stones were treated like common rocks on the Exchange.
“Cool purchase of one hundred rocks.”
I lightly purchased one hundred Low-Grade Magic Stones. That was thanks to having saved a fair amount of money by selling Black Beard Algae.
FLASH!
I set the one hundred Low-Grade Magic Stones that had been transmitted to me into the Farm one by one.
It was strangely satisfying. It felt like giving plant nutrients.
[Aqua.... Heave-ho! (づᵔ.ᵔ)づ]
Aqua helped with its tiny hands too.
The Low-Grade Magic Stones melted like sugar and were absorbed by the earth.
Soon after.
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<Lv.2 Farm>
Green Algae Plant Growth +5
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Hooray! Upgrade achieved!
Just in time, Green Algae Plant Growth increased!
Chlorella would grow vigorously now!
“The downside is that the moss growth buff has disappeared, but in this situation, it’s actually a benefit.”
The Farm had been promoted to Level 2, so now only Chlorella received a growth buff.
Soon, Chlorella would secure victory in the struggle for survival.
That did not mean I could neglect Black Beard Algae cultivation.
I needed to make a separate Black Beard Algae farm. Black Beard Algae was the foundation of all terraforming.
Every Farm began at Level 1.
[Aqua.... Impressed by the plan! It’s truly genius! ꉂꉂ (ˆoˆ )]
It was not much of a plan, but Aqua cheered me on.
Today’s work was finished too, so should we head back?
“Return!”
But once I returned to my studio, something felt underwhelming. There was an enormous difference between my cramped studio and my Territory.
I picked up a dining chair.
Let’s rest in the Tower.
“Enter!”
I was probably the only person who went in and out of the Tower just to bring in a dining chair.
I sat in the dining chair and rocked back and forth as I rested.
Wow.
With the horizon stretching endlessly before me, even resting felt different. Chlorella grew diligently, and Aqua bounced around....
[Aqua.... Scamper, scamper, scamper! Q–(ᵔ.ᵔ Q )]
“This is nice.”
As I rocked the dining chair back and forth, the sound of wood echoed pleasantly.
CREAK, CREAK.
Everything was nice, but the dining chair did not quite match the mood of this grand natural scenery.
“Should I buy a fishing chair?”
To be honest, I had never gone fishing or camping.
They were fairly popular hobbies, but they had been luxuries to me.
“I hated travel time too much.”
I spent four hours commuting on weekdays, so on weekends, I wanted to stay still and rest.
But.
What if I could come and go from this kind of wilderness in one second?
That was a different story.
“Should I try taking up camping as a hobby?”
Once I made the plan to camp, even the barren plains began looking different.
Some people spent money and time to travel there deliberately.
It was not as though they could simply hop on a plane. What about immigration checks? How would they get to the airport?
All of that took time.
My entry took one second.
Above all, when night came, the Milky Way in the sky was incredible.
“Though the eyes of the senior Lords are mixed in with the real stars....”
The senior figures in the Lord business.
Their gazes were not particularly frightening. Most of the emotion they showed was curiosity.
They found me interesting.
They were probably curious about what a novice Lord was trying to do.
“It won’t hurt to leave a good impression on the seniors.”
Should I show them humanity’s camping?
It seemed fun to obtain camping supplies one by one and fill this vast wilderness according to my taste.
“Ah, right. They say camping supplies are expensive....”
There was no need to worry.
They could not possibly rival the Tower’s prices.
“Aqua. Come here. Let’s eat chocolate.”
[Aqua.... Sweet food is for only novice fellows! I don’t particularly like it! ( ◡̀\_◡́)ᕤ]
That was what it said.
SLURRRRRP! ꉂꉂ (ˆoˆ )
Then it inhaled the chocolate.
CRUNCH. CRUNCH, CRUNCH.
Sharing chocolate together as the sun set made me feel truly content.
***
Europe had the <Global Tower Institute>.
It was a research facility established with the purpose of having geniuses from around the world cooperate to uncover the Tower’s secrets.
Its construction costs alone were in the tens of trillions.
Every facility was state-of-the-art.
However, the nature of scientists was the problem.
Geniuses cooperating?
It was nothing but an empty ideal.
The scientists had become bitter enemies in no time.
“Hey. You draft-beer addicts.”
“What are you talking about? You eel-pie bastards.”
“What’s wrong with eel pie!”
The British and German research teams were engaging in a war of nerves in the cafeteria. European countries had never gotten along especially well.
That atmosphere continued at the Global Tower Institute. They united by country and kept one another in check.
“Go eat the fish and chips your mother made.”
“Ha-ha. Is that why you lost World War II because you couldn’t eat it?”
“Ghk!”
They were all great scholars....
But they fought for their countries’ honor.
After all, what was more entertaining than the World Cup was the <Tower Cup>.
“German bastards. Want to play chess with me?”
“Who plays chess these days? Bring out Among Tops.”
The English and Germans sitting across from each other continued their pathetic contest.
“German fellows. Is terraforming research going well?”
The Global Tower Institute did not handle combat. Tower Climbers were already good at that on their own.
This place developed only new technology. Among its fields, the most closely watched was naturally [Tower Geology].
The inside of the Tower was incredibly vast. If they could develop such unclaimed land?
Their mouths watered.
Land had been a source of power since ancient times. They were considering how to make use of it.
“Ahem. The results of our terraforming.... Were not bad. Our researchers endured for a full three days on the first floor of the Tower.”
The German research team puffed up proudly.
“What did you do for three days?”
“We analyzed the soil composition of the Tower’s first floor. It is dry land, but with enough water, it seemed we could make use of it somehow.”
“Ooh.”
The British research team exclaimed, then asked back with malicious expressions.
“Where are you going to get enough water?”
“......”
“Surely you are not saying you will carry water in your inventories? You can only bring twenty liters per person.”
The British kept attacking!
However.
Germany had a method too.
“What about you?”
“W-What?”
“What did the mighty British Empire do? I heard you were researching the Reset Phenomenon?”
“Ugh.”
Reset.
It referred to the phenomenon in which the terrain and monsters reset every time someone entered the Tower. All changes returned to their original state.
Reset was trouble itself.
What did it matter if the Tower was vast? Its form was restored every time someone entered.
If not for Reset, they could terraform it somehow.
No matter how many resources they poured into the Tower, they turned to bubbles the moment they left.
“The Korean research team puts it this way... It is like pouring water into a bottomless earthenware jar.”
“Hmph. Once we overcome the Reset Phenomenon, we will make Great Britain Season 2. Just wait.”
“Do as you please lol.”
Tremble, tremble.
They had pounded one another relentlessly.
But each side had received fatal wounds.
Noisy chatter!
At that moment, the Chinese research team entered. China’s number of researchers was overwhelmingly large as well.
There were nearly a thousand of them.
The German and British teams became intimidated for no reason. Their voices grew quieter too.
“It’s the Chinese team... I hear things are intense over there.”
“Did they accomplish something?”
“I heard the Communist Party’s Supreme Committee ordered them to establish a residence on the Tower’s first floor 「by any means necessary」.”
“Huh? By any means necessary? But it resets?”
“When you are told to do it, you do it. Apparently, that is that country’s way.”
It was unbelievable. Was the government threatening them with a sword?
Basic science was not something that could be forced.
“Why issue such a reckless order?”
“They are preparing so the Supreme Committee can flee into the Tower whenever necessary.”
“Ha! They want to turn the first floor into a bunker for the upper class?”
They were stunned.
It was quite plausible.
“That is why they are pouring unlimited resources into the first floor. They are bringing in enough concrete and rebar to easily build an entire city.”
“Does money grow on trees there...?”
Was this the status of a continental power?
It was staggering.
In a bad way.
Not only China, but oil-producing countries including Saudi Arabia were pouring money into first-floor residences.
“How much would they need to spend before living in the Tower became reality?”
“Developing a Mars colony would be cheaper. The economic feasibility is in the abyss.”
If they could discover a way to live in the Tower, the rules of the world and humanity might be restructured, but that was still a distant story.
***
I visited a secondhand camping equipment store. They said camping’s popularity had waned somewhat these days.
That meant quality listings could be bought cheaply!
“Sir. How much is this fishing chair?”
“Just give me 20,000 won. It’s very sturdy.”
“Not bad....”
I paid 20,000 won and was about to leave the store when I stopped.
“One more chair, please.”
Aqua needed its own chair too.
A full 40,000 won spent!
“While I’m at it, I should buy some snacks other than chocolate too.”
I should leave some snacks inside the Tower as well.