“The tomatoes were already anything but ordinary last time.
If you’ve improved the variety too, I’m definitely looking forward to this.”
“Hmm.
Little brother Gyuseong, I’m a little worried.
You didn’t get greedy and turn the delicious tomatoes into something strange, did you?”
“If I had, I wouldn’t have brought them here.”
“Then I’m really looking forward to them!
Wahahaha!”
The tomatoes came in all sorts of colors.
And because they gleamed so brightly they almost looked transparent, neither man was quite willing to be the first to taste one.
“They really do look…
unusual.”
“Like some kind of plant from a dungeon.”
They couldn’t bring themselves to eat one, even when I offered them free samples.
In the end, I decided to demonstrate.
I took out a tomato and popped it into my mouth.
Just like before, it seemed to dissolve, filling my mouth with a rich, concentrated tomato flavor.
‘These don’t have something addictive in them too, do they?’
To tell the truth, I’d eaten a few without thinking before leaving the dungeon.
They were that hard to resist.
After a while I’d felt normal again, but now that I’d tasted another one, it was just as hard to stop.
In the end, I took out another tomato and ate it.
“Gyuseong?”
“A-all right, that’s enough now…”
Huh?
What was wrong?
I glanced down at my hand and found myself clutching an entire handful of tomatoes.
Gulp.
I swallowed the tomatoes that had filled my mouth and hurried to explain.
“I-I didn’t mean to do that.
I just started eating without noticing…
Haha.”
“Hmm.”
Kang Hanul took one of the tomatoes I’d offered him.
The instant he ate it, his eyes widened, and he fixed an intense stare on the bag of tomatoes I was holding.
“Gyuseong, give your hyung one too.”
“Yes, here you go.”
I was just about to give Yeongseong hyung one when another hand shot out and snatched it away.
“Hey!
Kang Hanul!”
“Munch, munch.”
Hanul smugly stuffed the stolen tomato into his mouth.
Determined not to lose out a second time, Yeongseong hyung quickly reached out and caught the next tomato I offered him.
“Whoa!”
“Well?
Good, isn’t it?”
I could confidently say these were even more delicious than the previous mana-infused tomatoes.
Naturally, personal tastes varied, but I was certain the Mana Cherry Tomatoes were objectively better.
“This is insane!”
“They definitely taste even better.”
“No!
That’s not what I mean!”
Kang Hanul’s eyes blazed as he shouted again.
“My mana went up!”
“What?
How could…”
“Little brother!
Give me just one more!”
I’d brought four kilograms for the two of them, plus sixteen kilograms for my family, so I had plenty.
And that was after setting aside the slimes’ share, of course.
“Here you go.”
“Hmm!”
This time Hanul didn’t eat the tomato.
Instead, he examined it carefully.
It was obvious he was reading the item’s description, and Yeongseong hyung waited with bated breath.
“Three seconds!
Now that’s a little disappointing!”
After reading the whole description, Hanul nodded and handed the tomato back to me.
I’d expected him to gobble it up again, so that was a surprise.
“What’s supposed to last three seconds?” Yeongseong hyung asked.
“I wrote down the information for the new tomatoes too.”
He read my notes and looked up at me with a startled expression.
“Is something like this even possible?”
“Haha…”
“This is no laughing matter!
Sure, three seconds is disappointing, just like Kang Hanul said.
But for an Awakened, those three seconds could make the difference between life and death.”
When he put it like that, it sounded even more impressive.
“Of course, we’d still need to find out how much it actually raises mana.
But if the variety can be improved further…”
“I’m going to try.
Maybe the next step is to raise its level.”
“Come to think of it, it’s only a Level 1 tomato!”
I still didn’t know how to raise a crop’s level.
But if I kept experimenting, perhaps I’d stumble on a way to do it, just as I had with this new variety.
‘My slimes are probably the answer.’
Everything was connected in the end.
Liquid Synthesis and Slime Lord were two seemingly useless abilities on their own, but putting them together had shown me the way forward.
“Well, let’s talk prices, shall we?” This chapter was taken from g.com without permission.
Kang Hanul grinned broadly as he made his opening offer.
“Five hundred thousand won a kilogram.
How’s that sound?”
“Hmm.”
To be honest, the twenty million Yeongseong hyung had paid me yesterday was unusually generous.
A figure like this was much closer to what I’d expected.
At five hundred thousand won per kilogram, four kilograms would bring in two million won.
‘If every harvest is forty kilograms, that’s twenty million won each time, at least on paper.
Though I’ve got to think about the slimes’ share too.’
I didn’t know the new Mana Cherry Tomatoes’ harvest cycle yet.
The older mana-infused variety could be harvested every day, but I still hadn’t confirmed the new ones’ schedule.
And once I set aside what the slimes needed, I’d probably only have around ten kilograms left to sell each time.
This time I’d brought a little more than usual because I wanted to give some to my family too.
‘Even ten kilograms is five million won.’
Was I seriously about to become rich?
Only a short while ago, I’d been earning a hundred thousand won a day.
Now it felt like I was suddenly being showered with money.
“Let’s go with that for now.
Consider it a first-customer discount.”
“Wahahaha!
Much obliged!”
Hardly anyone knew about my crops yet, so I was willing to agree to this price.
Once more customers appeared and competition increased, I intended to raise it naturally.
I wouldn’t plan on charging Yeongseong hyung more after all he’d done to help me, but everyone else was another matter.
“I have to report this to the guild right away.
Text me your bank account, and I’ll send the payment immediately.
Ah!
We still have to price the Leila and the paralyzing poison.”
“I’d like three hundred thousand won per kilogram for the Leila.
One fruit weighs around five kilograms, so that’s one and a half million.
As for the poison…”
I hesitated, and Yeongseong hyung helped me out.
“A batch of paralyzing poison that size would sell for around a hundred and fifty thousand won at my shop.”
“Hmm.
In that case, I’ll throw it in for free.”
“Wahahaha!
You really mean that?”
“Getting on your good side isn’t going to hurt me, Mr.
Hanul.”
“You’re a young man who knows how the world works!”
He flashed me a grin, then promptly transferred the money to the account I’d given him.
[12,500,000 won has been deposited.]
“Payment received.”
“I’ll contact you again after tomorrow’s dungeon expedition!
I’ll get going!”
Hanul hurried off.
Yeongseong hyung gathered up his items and sent me his payment too.
[12,500,000 won has been deposited.]
“Uh, hyung?
Your juice doesn’t contain carrots, so I wasn’t planning to charge you this much.”
“Just take it.”
“You gave me way too much yesterday too.
I can’t keep accepting that.”
I transferred two million won back to him.
He let out a little laugh.
“Hey, I know it’s important to keep money matters straight, but I’m not nearly as poor as you’re worrying I am.
You have no idea how much I made working for Ara Hongryeon, do you?”
“That’s one thing, and this is another.
I’d feel bad otherwise.
It’s not like we’re only going to be seeing each other for another day or two.”
I waved my hands in refusal until he finally ruffled my hair and waved goodbye.
“All right, thanks.
I’ll have the things you made analyzed first.
If the results are good, I’ll tell you.”
“I really hope it works out.”
“It will.
I’ve got a strong feeling about this.”
With that, Yeongseong hyung left too.
He probably wanted to analyze everything as quickly as possible so he could begin treating his wife.
I was left alone, but instead of returning to the dungeon, I headed home.
I’d been visiting more often lately.
But that was a good thing.
In the past, I’d actually been afraid to visit.
I knew my family didn’t dislike me, yet some small part of me always whispered, what if?
That lingering doubt had made me avoid coming home.
‘There’s no reason to feel like that anymore.’
Once again, I felt grateful to the slimes.
Now that I thought about it, I was grateful to my quests too.
They’d effectively shown me the path I needed to follow.
I should appreciate everything I had.
With that thought in mind, I arrived home.
“Mom, I’m home.”
“Oh my, back again already?”
So she’d started greeting me with, back again, had she?
I grinned and began unpacking my bag.
“What have you brought this time?”
Give it a try.”
Aside from my mother, everyone still seemed to be out.
I had arrived a bit early.
“Oh goodness, what’s this?”
“It’s a dungeon fruit called Leila.
One should be enough for all four of you.
Oh, and please save the seeds.
I’ll take them with me next time I visit.”
I’d brought two Leila and sixteen kilograms of Mana Cherry Tomatoes.
The tomatoes were rather excessive, but that was how much I wanted to look after my family.
“Gyuseong, have you started farming?”
“Something like that.”
“That’s all well and good, but don’t push yourself too hard.
You’ve never farmed before.
I don’t want you getting sick from overdoing it.”
“Mom, I’m Awakened.
I’m pretty sturdy, so don’t worry about me.”
Once I’d finished unpacking, I rose to leave.
“Leaving already?”
“Yeah, I’ve got a lot to do.”
“Why don’t you rest a little first?”
“It’s fine.”
Just then, my mother spoke again, a little hesitantly.
“Gyuseong.”
“Yes, Mom?”
“I think Jaeseong is planning to quit his job.”
“Jaeseong?”
She wasn’t saying he wanted to change jobs, but that he intended to stop working entirely.
He was a sensible guy, so I doubted he’d make a decision like that without thinking.
“Does he have something else in mind?”
“He wants to study cooking more.
And he said something else too.
It might sound a bit sudden…”
“What did he say?”
“He wants to try cooking with the things you’ve been bringing home…”
I considered my younger brother’s idea for a moment.
Come to think of it, I’d only thought about eating my crops raw or making them into juice.
The idea of cooking with them had never even crossed my mind.
“…That’s brilliant!”
“Oh my, you think so?”
“Yes!
I’d never considered it, but that’s a really good idea.”
I knew how passionate Jaeseong was about cooking, and the food of his I’d tried had been pretty good too.
‘If I’m being fair, I probably judged him a little too harshly just because I’m his older brother.’
If a stranger had tasted his cooking, they would’ve been impressed enough to give it a thumbs-up.
He was genuinely talented.
“What a relief.
I was rather worried about him.”
“You really didn’t need to be.
It’s a fantastic idea.
There’s just one thing I’m a little concerned about…”
I trailed off and began calculating the costs.
My crops weren’t ordinary, and they were valuable even as raw ingredients.
They didn’t actually cost much to produce, but the fact that people would pay so much for them showed how competitive they were.
If he used ingredients like these for cooking, how expensive would the finished dishes have to be?
‘Well, I’m the supplier in the end, so it won’t be a huge problem.’
Selling them cheaply wouldn’t actually cost me anything.
It would just reduce my potential profit.
Labor and practically everything else were free, after all.
If my brother opened a restaurant, I wouldn’t charge him the same price I charged a guild.
That was entirely up to me.
‘Maybe I should pay for Jaeseong’s cooking lessons too.
Or even send him abroad to study?’
For the first time in years, I felt I could hold my head high.
If I could keep earning anything close to what I’d made today, sending him abroad would be easy enough.
I’d carried a debt of gratitude and guilt toward my family for a long time.
Maybe this was my chance to repay it, even if that debt had only ever existed in my own mind.
“Is there some problem?”
“No, I thought it over.
It’s nothing.
There’s no problem at all.”
Studying abroad, culinary training, and perhaps even opening a restaurant.
All of it came down to money, and I needed money now.
Buying the dungeon was urgent too.
I’d better discuss things with Jaeseong before deciding.
I’d been about to head back, but now I would stay until he got off work.
* * *
“…Team Two Leader, where on earth did you get this?”
Kang Hanul gave the person questioning him a dazzling smile.
“Wahahaha!
I’ve got an absolutely remarkable little brother!”
“This is…
completely insane.”
The speaker was Go Gangyeon, vice leader of Team One, but everyone gathered there nodded in agreement.
Even Guild Master Han Seokjun had been silent for some time, examining the items Hanul had brought back.
And it all began with the Ara Hongryeon Guild.
A great disturbance was spreading through the world of the Awakened.