Secretary Lee rushed straight to Cheon Ryu-jin. Cheon Ryu-jin was sitting upright in the training room, and his ferocity was tremendous.
Not even a hungry dragon would be like this. It was because his Mana Dissipation had recently been getting worse.
Cheon Ryu-jin opened his eyes halfway.
“The goods.”
“Here they are. Five of them.”
The corner of Cheon Ryu-jin’s eye twitched. He became excited at the sight of five portions of Chlorella, then soon hated himself for it.
“Give them to me.”
“You are just going to eat them?”
“Even if you dress up rotten green algae, it is still green algae... I can just eat it roughly.”
Cheon Ryu-jin generously sprinkled Chlorella into decades-old premium whiskey.
“Hmm. Director, seeing this reminds me of the Age of Madness, when Chlorella foods appeared one after another.... I really liked Chlorella tteokbokki, but I was disappointed when it was discontinued....”
“Secretary Lee. Shut up for a moment. Please.”
Cheon Ryu-jin poured in the liquor. Ugh. That strong drink....
Just watching it made Secretary Lee’s head hurt.
Together with the dizzying intoxication of the potent liquor, Cheon Ryu-jin’s mana, which had been dissipating every moment, became firmly locked in place.
“Wow! This is real!”
Earth could not attack!
The greedy Earth that stole mana at every opportunity, its air!
It was completely powerless!
His mana was being maintained!
“Hmph. Heh-heh-heh. Hahaha!”
The rumored Chlorella had an effect.
No.
It was beyond the rumors.
“Mana is firmly condensing inside my body. Hey, you shitty Earth bastard. Ha-ha. Try stealing my mana. Go on, try it.”
“You really are hopeless.”
“Am I wrong? I’m right.”
“Yes.”
Whew!
His mood was good enough to tear apart. Perhaps because he had eaten all five at once. This much should last him several hours.
“Did you find anything about Lord Merchant?”
“There are no clues. His activity record is too clean. He is like a ghost.”
Hmm.
What was his identity?
Climbing the Tower was something you could not do alone.
Even an outstanding genius needed to make use of social infrastructure. That left footprints in the industry.
But <Lord Merchant> had no footprints. He was a being who had dropped from the sky one day.
“Could he be a Tower Climber who Awakened recently?”
“No. Do you think Tower-grown vegetables are easy to obtain? Mid-floor Tower Climbers cannot even catch a glimpse of Tower-grown vegetables.”
Mid-floor Tower Climbers suffered from Mana Dissipation too. However, there were almost no edible Tower-grown vegetables on the middle floors.
Eventually, mid-floor Tower Climbers picked up and ate any vegetables they could find, then got into trouble.
One careless mistake could ring the bell on their lives, while other times it ended with only a minor loss.
It was left to luck.
“Do you know what Wol Ha-yeon told me? Wol Ha-yeon said Lord Merchant’s species might be a spirit.”
“A spirit... They are dangerous beings. We may need to prepare a response.”
Spirits.
Their natures were on par with demons. The products he spread might themselves be no different from contracts with a demon.
“Fine. Are there any other matters the Group needs to handle?”
“There is a terraforming project China and Saudi Arabia were conducting jointly.”
“They must have thrown money around again....”
“They apparently sent an artificial intelligence robot, made at the cost of several hundred trillion won, to the first floor.”
“? Wait. How can a robot cost several hundred trillion won? Is that not overstating it?”
“I heard it is the latest artificial life-form made through alchemy.”
“Heeh... The Chinese bastards make all kinds of things these days.”
Deep down, he was envious.
China’s mana engineering had surpassed Korea’s long ago.
They bought talented people at premiums and even ground up their own talent to advance their science.
Especially the pinnacle of Chinese science.
The Thirteen Origin Masters....
They were threatening beings.
An Origin Master meant ‘a master who pursues origins,’ and in China, they were scientific giants treated as living treasures.
Ten thousand research PhDs were assigned under each Origin Master. Ten thousand PhDs.
One Origin Master could lead a scientific project on the scale of an entire country.
...They were troublesome.
Because they conducted experiments that were so radical, the gap in mana engineering between Korea and China was gradually widening.
“...Keep talking. What happened to the artificial life-form?”
“They lost it.”
“What?”
Cheon Ryu-jin was rarely flustered.
Lost it?
Was that possible?
“They left it on the first floor to test overcoming Reset. But when they entered again, it had vanished without a trace.”
“Keh-keh-keh-keh-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-keh-keh!”
Cheon Ryu-jin laughed madly for a long time.
“They are intelligent, but they have no wisdom. That damn obsession with overcoming Reset....”
“It would be a jackpot if they succeeded. Overcoming Reset.”
“They did not succeed! When have you ever seen the Tower sit still? By the way, why do China and Saudi Arabia keep betting their lives on the first floor? What is in that wasteland?”
“There must be a secret of the first floor known only to them.”
That was probably true.
Cheon Ryu-jin’s eyes gleamed.
The Origin Masters were extraordinary bastards. If he dismissed them blindly, he might be the one to get his head smashed in.
“Whatever. How much did you buy the Chlorella for?”
“We spent a premium building the buy wall. What you just ate cost well over one hundred million won.”
“You bought it well. Fine.”
Could a company like Cheongyeol not spend one or two hundred million won?
Cheongyeol was not a neighborhood supermarket that fussed over pocket change.
“Keep building the buy wall from now on.”
“Yes.”
***
[3,000,000 won deposited]
[3,000,000 won deposited]
[3,000,000 won deposited]
Chlorella was selling like hotcakes again today. Chlorella’s price, which had risen insanely, settled in the three-million-won range.
That was because I had diligently increased the supply chain. I had built Chlorella Farms diligently over several days, and as a result, the product price had dropped several times over.
“The so-called Good Chlorella!”
Thus, I now had a full five Chlorella Farms.
A full 1,780 square feet!
A virtuous cycle of investment was occurring.
However, my account was always barren. As soon as money came in, I bought Magic Stones, making it impossible to save.
\=======
[Quest: Agriculture 1]
Objective: Sell crops worth 100 million won (100 million/100 million)
Reward: 「Crop Praise」 Skill
\=======
Thanks to that, the quest was completed today too, and I received the Skill as a reward.
The method of using the Skill naturally entered my mind.
The Crop Praise Skill.
As the name implied, all I had to do was praise the crops.
“Um... Chlorella. Grow up big and strong...?”
When I awkwardly praised it, Chlorella’s growth speed began increasing explosively.
The Black Beard Algae Farms grew vigorously too.
[The crops hear praise and grow well!]
[Growth +3 for several hours.]
“Ohh!”
When I was in elementary school.
I had received that kind of education.
They said that if you praised onions, they would grow up big and strong....
The innocent elementary schooler Han Ja-in believed it completely and praised onions every single day.
But after a while, I learned a shocking fact.
“That was pseudoscience.”
Onions had no ears, so they could not receive praise!
My childhood innocence had been shattered.
However, perhaps the power of a Lord surpassed even science, because the plants were growing vigorously.
DING!
An additional quest appeared.
\=======
[Quest: Exploration 1]
Objective: Scout within a 30km radius of the Base
Reward: Obtain 「Lost Item Radar」 Skill
\=======
Oh-ho. The quest type had changed from [Agriculture] to [Exploration], so it seemed that various quests had been prepared.
WHOOOOOSH...!!!
A sandstorm blew through the wilderness. It was telling me to advance thirty kilometers.
‘It’s not as though I can’t do it, right?’
There were not even any monsters. At this level, it was a generous quest.
At that moment.
[18,000,000 won deposited]
[20,000,000 won deposited]
[22,000,000 won deposited]
[24,000,000 won deposited]
[26,000,000 won deposited]
“????”
What was this?
The unit of price had suddenly changed?
Someone had bought five Chlorella for around one hundred million won.
They were a person who paid a premium to purchase Chlorella whose price had gone down.
“Goodness. Did they bid wrong? I should refund them....”
I tried to find the refund button, but the buyer had even enthusiastically pressed [Purchase Confirmed].
“Ha-ha. Then it wasn’t a mistake.”
I did not go out of my way to stop someone who wanted to buy it at an expensive price. They must have been a benevolent rich uncle.
“I’ll put this money to good use for the Level 3 Farm upgrade. Ha-ha.”
The Chlorella Farms were Level 2.
The upgrade condition for a Level 3 Farm was as follows.
Placing Magic Stones worth more than a total of one hundred million won into it!
I had wondered when I would ever save that much money.
But now, this was a different story.
I will use it well.
Rich uncle.
“I’ll be able to build a Level 3 Farm soon.”
Before that, I decided to complete the Exploration Quest. The reward for this quest was better than I had expected.
Since the 「Crop Praise」 Skill had been so useful, I looked forward to the next reward, 「Lost Item Radar」.
[Aqua.... Explorer Spirit! I’m skilled at exploration! Q–(ᵔ.ᵔ Q )]
One-two, one-two~
Aqua was full of motivation too. But adventures required preparation.
First, I left the Tower and visited a bicycle store.
***
A neighborhood bicycle store.
The owner greeted me happily.
“Welcome, customer.”
“What kind of bicycle is popular these days?”
“You need to ride a bicycle suited to its purpose. Where are you planning to ride it?”
“Hmm... A wasteland.”
“A-A wasteland? You have unusual tastes. Most people ride by the Han River....”
The owner was flustered.
“Yes. My front yard is a wasteland.”
“Hmm... In that case, give up on a road bike. Even an electric bicycle is dangerous in an environment like that.”
After thinking it over, the owner showed me an enormous bicycle placed in the corner of the store. Its wheels were as thick as those of a small motorcycle.
“This one is a model called a Fat Bike. It is an off-road bicycle with extremely reinforced wheels and tires. As you can see, the contact patch of its wheels is incomparable to that of other bicycles.”
Ohh. That meant it would be safer.
I recalled the first-floor Territory. I would feel safe only if I rode something like this.
“On sandy beaches, muddy roads, snowy roads... It can run anywhere. You could say it gets stronger the rougher the terrain is. And you see that sturdy suspension? There is no shaking.”
“Sounds good.”
“The product is called Marslander, literally a Mars rover.”
“Will it really run on Mars?”
“......”
Whenever I posted a picture of the Territory, people began talking about Mars.
So I asked.
“It... would probably run on Mars? Maybe? But the price is a little steep.”
“H-How much?”
I immediately shrank back.
The habits of living as a commoner had seeped into my body. My heart always pounded before I checked a price tag.
“It is a full five million won.”
Whew!
What had I been expecting?
Aqua in my chest pocket sighed in relief too.
[Aqua.... I lost a decade of my life! (꜄꜆꜄•o•)]
At Tower prices, they would probably have asked for around two billion won.
I pulled out the one hundred crisp 50,000-won bills I had withdrawn in advance.
“Here.”
“Eek! A cash lump-sum headbutt...!”
The owner was startled and gave me lifetime free maintenance, a helmet, a night light, and protective equipment as free services.
The benefits were considerable!
“If you give me services like this, what will be left for you, sir?”
“? Customer. I just sold a five-million-won bicycle.”
“? Exactly.”
“?”
In the Tower, five million won was the price of a worn dagger.
It was an incredible value-for-money product.
We returned to the studio in high spirits.
“Enter the Tower!!!”
My Mars-like Territory.
I put on protective equipment and began pedaling.
[Aqua.... Vroom, vroom! ꉂꉂ (ˆoˆ )]
WHIRRRR!
The owner said the crank was high-quality, so the pedals moved well even with little force. I did not know what that meant, but it meant it was good.
WHOOSH~
Marslander advanced.
[Aqua.... Raise the sails! A shattered-stone zone has been spotted ahead! (ง •̀ʖ•́)ง]
Rough ground appeared, where chunks of rock were scattered like glass shards. I became tense, but I did not slow my pedaling.
Entering the shattered-stone zone! Whoosh!
“What????”
[Aqua.... ???? ( ⚆o⚆)]
Marslander’s performance was so sturdy that it simply broke through the shattered-stone zone.
Any other bicycle would have gotten ten flat tires.
I pedaled even farther.
How much farther had I gone? I had only enjoyed the ride, but somehow I had already completed the thirty-kilometer scout.
\=======
[Quest: Exploration 1]
Objective: Scout 30km (30/30)
Reward: 「Lost Item Radar」 Skill
\=======
FLASH!
A new Skill entered me. When I used Lost Item Radar, a paper map appeared.
It was a map of the first-floor Territory, and red X marks had been placed everywhere.
Go there!
That was the feeling, right?
If I followed it like a treasure map, would I find ‘lost items’?
The Skill was named Lost Item Radar, after all.
“There are lost items on my first floor? Who dropped them, and when?”
I decided to check.
I vigorously pedaled Marslander onward. Before I knew it, the sun was slowly setting, and early-evening stars shone in the sky.
TWINKLE, TWINKLE.
The stars watched me.
Their gazes were still full of curiosity. In particular, they were greatly interested in the beloved steed I had chosen.
“Heh-heh. I got one.”
Jealous, were they? It was a natural feeling.
This Marslander.
Its appearance was no joke!
The more boldly I advanced, the more the stars watched with interest. It seemed even the senior Lords could not resist a modern bicycle.
“The closest lost item is around here.”
The map had an interesting feature: regions I had not explored were covered in pitch-black fog.
‘It is like a strategy game minimap.’
Even beyond the black fog, X marks were densely placed, so it was fun to clear the fog and search for lost items.
“I’m here.”
When I reached the X mark, the lost item immediately caught my eye.
It was a sparkling coin.
It had apparently been neglected for a long time, because it was covered in dust. I picked it up and blew on it, revealing complicated circuits engraved into its surface.
Language was engraved on it too.
Simplified Chinese.
“What... A Chinese person visited here?”
In the midst of my confusion, the coin spoke.
[Bioelectricity. Signal detected → DNA Scan. In progress → Match Rate 0.000% (You are not an Origin Master.)]
[Hello. Your language. Korean confirmed. Automatic translation. Beginning.]
“Hmm.”
I was quite surprised, but having already picked up a talking water droplet, I could remain calm.
Meanwhile, Aqua.
[Aqua.... TILT! ( o )ﻌﻌ⊙⊙!!]
[Aqua.... It’s my first time seeing a talking coin! This is truly heart-dropping!!!! (꜆꜄꜆⚆ ⚆ )o✧]
A talking water droplet sure had an enormous reaction.
“Talking, mysterious coin. What exactly are you?”
[I am. An alchemy device. Developed by. The Origin Masters. Of the Chinese Communist Party.]
“Al-Alchemy Device...!”
[And. Right now. I am abandoned alone. And very. Sulky.]
Pout!
It was an alchemy device that had become furious after being abandoned.