The age belonged to the Awakened.
It was a phrase people had heard so often that they were sick of it.
Towers had appeared all over the world.
And only the Awakened could deal with them.
Naturally, society had come to revolve around the Awakened.
Awakening was like winning the lottery!
Everyone lived each day dreaming of Awakening.
That was what society had become.
Jeong Sohyeok was an Awakened.
He had been living an ordinary life when his Awakening suddenly manifested, turning his entire life upside down.
Did that make him happy?
No.
At least for Jeong Sohyeok, Awakening had been nothing short of a disaster.
Everyone hailed Awakening as winning the lottery, as a blessing.
Yet there was a reason he alone regarded it as a disaster.
Jeong Sohyeok had been none other than a highly promising baseball prospect.
The Awakened were prohibited from participating in ordinary sports.
Their enhanced physical abilities posed a danger to both themselves and their opponents.
And so, Jeong Sohyeok gave up on baseball.
Or rather, baseball gave up on him.
Still, he could have accepted that much.
The path of baseball had closed, but another path had opened.
All he had to do was pursue a brilliant future as an Awakened.
‘If only that had been the case.’
It was not.
Awakening meant winning the lottery?
Sure.
Even fifth prize was technically a win.
The ability Jeong Sohyeok awakened was worth about five thousand won at best.
It was an E-Rank buff ability that increased the target’s regenerative ability.
Buff-type abilities were generally treated as highly valuable.
Partly because they were rare.
And partly because buffs themselves were extraordinarily powerful.
Jeong Sohyeok’s ability, however, was different.
It did not increase strength or speed.
Instead, it increased ‘Regeneration.’
Its effects amounted to making wounds heal faster or causing hair to grow more quickly.
It was so insignificant that it barely deserved to be called an ability.
Even compared to an E-Rank Healer of the same rank, the difference was obvious.
Stopping bleeding, alleviating illness, restoring fatigue.
Healers were superior to him in every respect.
In the end, Jeong Sohyeok shut himself away.
He had lost the baseball he loved.
He had also lost any hope of making a living as an Awakened.
And so, he confined himself to a tiny rooftop room of barely thirteen square meters.
He simply killed time, day after meaningless day.
“Ah, I’m hungry.”
I got out of bed.
When I looked outside, the sun was already setting.
How long had I been lying there?
Five hours? Eight?
I had no idea.
This ridiculously sturdy Awakened body had given me eyes that did not tire even after hours of scrolling through Shorts.
I had almost forgotten that I was hungry.
I rummaged through the refrigerator.
The first things I saw were the soy-braised meat I had made yesterday.
A rolled omelet wrapped in plastic.
Kimchi Mom had sent me.
And some instant rice my sister had bought for me.
I might have shut myself away, but I still remembered to cook occasionally.
I should at least live like a human being.
Besides, delivery food was a waste of money.
“Heh. There’s a complete meal.”
I placed some soy-braised meat over a steaming bowl of rice and took a bite.
It was satisfying.
Naturally, I did not forget to keep scrolling through Shorts while I ate.
The tiny rush of dopamine they provided was one of the few pleasures left in my life.
“……Vegetables are ridiculously expensive these days too.”
As I scrolled, a video comparing prices from ten years ago to current prices caught my eye.
“I guess I should start rationing the kimchi too.”
At this rate, cooking at home was becoming almost as expensive as ordering delivery.
Ingredients were simply too expensive.
Then a brilliant idea crossed my mind.
“Should I grow some?”
Potatoes or carrots might be too difficult.
But scallions, lettuce, and tomatoes should be manageable, should they not?
I lived in a rooftop room, so I had more than enough space to grow them.
“It isn’t even my money, so I feel guilty spending too much of it.”
Right.
How could a shut-in with no job possibly have money?
For now, I was living off the allowance my sister gave me.
I knew perfectly well that I did not deserve such a generous sister.
The moment the idea occurred to me, I went online and ordered a few essentials.
‘Sorry, Sis.’
I might spend a little more right now, but I would save money in the long run.
The delivery arrived at dawn that same day.
A plastic washbasin with drainage holes.
Soil.
A watering can.
And a cherry tomato seedling.
There was a simple reason I chose cherry tomatoes.
I had grown them before.
Granted, that had been back in elementary school.
Still, it was better than trying something I had absolutely no experience with.
“Hup.”
I looked around the rooftop.
It was morning.
I could immediately see which spot received the most sunlight.
I set down the washbasin.
Poured in the soil.
And carefully planted the seedling.
All that remained was to water it.
‘That was easy.’
Just as the internet had claimed, it really was one of the easiest plants to grow.
‘Did they say it takes about a month?’
If I managed to harvest these successfully, I planned to try growing other things too.
For now, I would consider this an experiment.
“I should get some sleep.”
How long had it been since I last did any work at dawn?
My entire body was screaming at me to sleep.
At that moment.
[An eligible target for your ability has been identified.]
“……Huh?”
Words appeared before my eyes.
It was that damned Status Window I had not seen in ages.
“Why is this suddenly showing up?”
My good mood vanished instantly.
I had hoped never to see it again.
I clicked the Status Window with an irritated gesture.
Then—
[E-Rank Skill ― Blessing of the World Tree]
[Target: Jeong Sohyeok’s Cherry Tomato.]
“Cherry tomato?”
Was this some kind of joke?
The target of my buff was a cherry tomato?
Utterly dumbfounded, I turned my head.
The cherry tomato seedling swayed in the breeze.
Almost as though it were waving at me.
“……Sigh.”
Fine.
The skill was useless anyway.
“Blessing of the World Tree.”
WHOOOSH!
Light shot from my fingertips and seeped into the cherry tomato plant.
It had been a long time since I felt mana draining from my body.
My already exhausted body began demanding sleep even more desperately.
“Sleep…….”
I reached my bed and collapsed into sleep.
That evening.
“……It doesn’t even feel like I slept, and it’s already six?”
Yaaawn.
I dragged my stiff body upright and opened the window.
Nothing woke me up better than the outside air.
Grrrrr.
After going without food all day, my stomach was now protesting loudly.
“Ah…… I finished all the rice yesterday.”
I remembered the last packet of instant rice spinning inside the microwave.
Should I stop by the convenience store?
“……Sniff, sniff.”
Then an appetizing scent drifted in from somewhere.
“Is someone downstairs cooking?”
It smelled fresh and refreshing.
A fragrance that stimulated my appetite.
I had never smelled anything like it before.
“Wow, I cannot take this anymore.”
Clutching my starving stomach, I left the room.
I had been planning to buy a convenience-store lunchbox, but—
“Huh?”
Something enormous caught my eye.
“What is that?”
I slowly approached it.
Standing in one corner of the rooftop, taller than I was—
was none other than the cherry tomato plant.
“???”
As I approached it, the fragrance grew stronger.
The scent I had noticed earlier had been coming from the cherry tomatoes.
No, more importantly—
‘Is this really a cherry tomato plant……?’
Even a particularly vigorous cherry tomato plant would usually grow to around 1.5 meters at most.
Yet this one was taller than a person?
I had never heard of such a thing.
And it had not even been a full day since I planted the seedling.
Then I noticed small red fruits among the leaves.
They were unmistakably cherry tomatoes.
Grrrrr―.
“Damn it.”
Pop.
I plucked a cherry tomato from the stem.
Its sweet fragrance teased my nose.
Slurp.
Saliva spilled from my mouth and dripped onto the ground.
‘……What could possibly go wrong?’
Chomp.
I tossed it straight into my mouth.
Chew, chew.
“Wow.”
What was this?
The juice danced across my tongue.
As though a single tomato were not enough, my tongue practically trembled for another.
“J-Just one more.”
Just as my hand reached toward another cherry tomato—
DING.
[Jeong Sohyeok’s Cherry Tomato]
―Rank: R (Rare)
―Freshness: Excellent
―Blessing Type: Strength
“……What is this?”
There was even an additional description.
―An extraordinary cherry tomato. Its rank increased after receiving the Blessing of the World Tree. Something good may happen if you eat it……?
Something good?
More importantly—
‘Blessing of the World Tree.’
That was the name of the only skill I, Jeong Sohyeok, possessed.
A completely useless E-Rank Skill.
My mouth fell open.
Do not tell me all of this happened because of my skill?
‘Was it a plant-only skill?’
Who could possibly have predicted it?
My Awakening ability made plants grow faster and taste better.
‘……I suppose it is fortunate that I found out now.’
It was still just as useless as ever.
But at least I had finally found one thing I could use it on.
“Nom.”
Mmm.
If I could have an unlimited supply of something this delicious, perhaps Awakening was not so bad after all.
I swiftly harvested every ripe cherry tomato from the plant.
There were about fifty of them.
They filled a stainless-steel bowl to overflowing.
“Tonight is a tomato feast.”
I gave them a quick rinse with water.
Then, just as I was about to begin my meal in high spirits—
“Your sister is here∼!”
“Ugh.”
What incredible timing.
As I mentioned earlier—
my sister paid my living expenses.
Even if we were family, it was far more generosity than I deserved.
Naturally, there was a price.
“……It hasn’t even been a week yet.”
“Why? Do you want me to leave?”
“……No.”
Once a week.
She came to inspect whether I was still alive and well.
That was the simple condition my sister had imposed.
‘Though it is a little inconvenient when she drops by whenever she feels like it.’
Still, my current lifestyle would not even be possible without her.
Even taking that condition into account, I could thank her a hundred times and it still would not be enough.
My sister looked around the room.
“The cleaning is fine. Your clothes are…… neat too.”
Next came me.
“And it looks like you’ve been eating properly.”
SMACK!
Without warning, she slapped me across the back.
“Aagh!”
“What is this?! You have to live a little more messily so your sister has something to worry about!”
“Isn’t it better if you don’t have to worry……⋯?”
“Hmph. If I cannot even enjoy worrying about you, what is the point of paying your living expenses?”
‘……What kind of logic is that?’
Despite what she said—
my sister smiled, apparently satisfied.
She crossed her legs and sat down at the table.
“You haven’t eaten yet, right? Your sister will treat you. Let’s go out.”
“No…… I was just about to eat.”
“Hm? You should have run out of rice by now…… Do not tell me you haven’t been eating three proper meals a day?”
My sister’s expression became downright terrifying.
“Ugh……! No! I’ve been eating properly.”
“……Reaaally? Then what were you about to eat?”
“Um…… these.”
I pointed to the cherry tomatoes on the table.
“……Cherry tomatoes?”
“Y-Yeah.”
“Are you joking?”
My sister sprang to her feet.
She grabbed my wrist firmly.
“Enough nonsense about cherry tomatoes. Be a good boy and come with me.”
“W-Wait! Just wait!”
“Do you still have something to say?”
“One! Just eat one before you decide!”
I hurriedly picked up a cherry tomato.
“……Sniff, sniff.”
When she brought it close to her nose—
her nose instinctively reacted to the scent.
And there was more.
The glossy red skin.
The plump flesh that looked ready to burst.
“……Just one?”
“Yeah! Just one!”
My sister reluctantly opened her mouth.
As though feeding medicine to a child, I hurriedly popped it inside.
Pop!
“……Oh my.”
My sister began moving her lips as though entranced.
Chew, chew.
Gulp.
A tense moment passed.
“……It’s delicious?”
‘Yes.’
Even my sister approved.
Perhaps because I had grown them myself, my sense of pride doubled—
“Chomp.”
“……Sis?”
“Chomp. Chomp. Chomp. Chomp. Chomp.”
Before I could even try to stop her—
my sister’s hands began moving so quickly that I could barely see them.
One by one, the cherry tomatoes disappeared.
My dinner was vanishing before my very eyes.
“W-Wait.”
Pop, pop-pop, pop!
My outstretched hand froze and began trembling.
The stainless-steel bowl that had been overflowing moments earlier was completely empty.
“Guuulp.”
Every last one of those cherry tomatoes disappeared down her slender throat.
“……Ah!”
Only after swallowing everything did my sister finally come back to her senses.
“……My dinner.”
“Oh my, haha…… They were so delicious that I lost control…… D-Do you want your sister to order you some delivery food?”
At that moment—
BEEP-BEEP-BEEP!
“Ah, right. I had something scheduled.”
I stared blankly at the empty bowl, my soul practically gone.
My sister glanced back and forth between her phone and me.
“S-Sorry! You can order something expensive, so get whatever you want delivered!”
Then she fled as though escaping the scene of a crime.
“……My cherry tomatoes.”
Thud.
Grrrrr.
Between my empty stomach and the crushing sense of loss, I could not even fall asleep.
At the time, I had no idea.
I had no idea what kind of repercussions the cherry tomatoes my sister had eaten would cause.