I Planted Tomatoes
“Check!”
| [Tomato Seed]<br>Grade: F<br>Description: A seed needed for farming.<br>Sow it in a garden plot and tend it properly to grow delicious tomatoes.<br>Requirement: Farmer.<br>Option: Germination Rate +2% |
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There were a neat hundred or so seeds from raiding the squirrel’s nest.
Yeong-ung had never imagined he would end up obtaining seeds in a way like this.
‘And…….’
“I got a new skill too.”
There were many different kinds of titles.
Some increased numerical values such as stats, attack power, or defense, but on rare occasions, a title could come with a skill.
This was one of those cases.
“Check!”
| [Search LV. 1]<br>Grade: E<br>Classification: Active<br>EXP: 0.00%<br>Description: Searches for items, objects, and living beings within a 10 m radius centered on the caster.<br>Spirit Power Cost: 500<br>Cooldown: 60 seconds.<br>Search Range: 10 m<br>Effect: Search Range +10% |
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Yeong-ung decided to try out the newly acquired skill.
“Search!”
| [Search skill used.]<br>[Please specify a search target.] |
| --------------------------------------- |
“Hmm…… seeds?”
| [Searching…….]<br>[Search complete.]<br>[There are currently no seeds within a 12 m radius.]<br>[Search Skill EXP has increased slightly.] |
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
Thanks to the skill effect and the title option, the range had increased by about 20%, allowing him to search 12 meters.
Unfortunately, there were no seeds within the search range.
“Well, I guess it doesn’t matter. Let’s plant these first.”
“Yip!”
Yeong-ung returned to the garden plot with Pepper and gripped his hoe.
He had already sown sweet potato seeds on one side.
“Then let’s plant the tomatoes a little farther away.”
“I’ll help too, yip!”
“All right.”
Yeong-ung swung the hoe and began turning over large chunks of soil.
| [Land Clearing skill used.]<br>[Work Speed +15%]<br>[Stamina Consumption while working -13%]<br>[Land Clearing Skill EXP has increased slightly.]<br>[Class EXP acquired.] |
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THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!
“Yiiiip!”
Pepper moved forward rapidly, digging up the ground with its front paws to help Yeong-ung.
Pepper was surprisingly fast.
‘Not bad.’
“I can’t lose either.”
Yeong-ung sped up too.
The area where the original garden plot had been was relatively soft, so turning over the soil had been easy.
But once they moved beyond that section, the ground became harder.
THANK YOU! THANK YOU!
“Whew…… this is harder than I expected.”
“Yip…… my front paws hurt…… yip…….”
What should he do?
After thinking for a moment, Yeong-ung came up with an idea.
“Pepper. Let’s water the ground.”
“Yip? Water it?”
“Yeah. If we water it, the soil should soften a little. We can use that.”
“Yip!”
“Good. Watering!”
| [Watering skill used.]<br>[Watering Skill EXP has increased slightly.] |
| ----------------------------------------------------- |
SPLASH!
Yeong-ung used the skill to spray water over the hard ground.
Then, once he thought the water had soaked in enough, he swung the hoe.
THANK YOU!
“Oh! This is much better than before.”
It was a little muddy, but the soil had softened, making it far easier to work than before.
| [Land Clearing skill used.]<br>[Land Clearing Skill EXP has increased slightly.]<br>[Class EXP acquired.]<br>[Level increased.] |
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
While he was busily clearing the land, he heard the sound announcing a level-up.
Yeong-ung opened his Status Window.
“Status Window!”
| [Status Window]<br>Name: Yeong-ung.<br>Level: 5 EXP: 1.33%<br>Class: Spirit Farmer.<br>Title: Discoverer of the Spirit Realm.<br>HP: 1,500/1,500 Spirit Power: 7,712/8,000<br>Satiety: 65%<br><Stats><br>Strength: 5 + 10 Stamina: 5 + 10 Agility: 5 + 10 Wisdom: 5 + 10 Luck: 10 + 10<br><Special Stats><br>Spirit Power: 5 + 75<br>Remaining Stat Points: 25 |
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“What should I do…… Should I raise them?”
He hesitated.
Once stats were increased, they could not be reset.
Originally, he had planned to learn more before assigning his points.
But no matter how much he searched online, he could not get a clear sense of what he should raise.
‘Some classes say investing in the Special Stat ruined the build…… while others say the Special Stat is crucial.’
Spirit Farmer was an EX-grade Special Class.
There was nothing he could use as a reference.
“I can’t help it. For now…….”
Using the posts he had read so far as a reference, Yeong-ung distributed his stat points moderately.
“Ten into Strength, ten into Stamina, and five into Spirit Power.”
He put ten points into Strength and Stamina, invested the remaining five in Spirit Power, and closed the window.
Was it because he had raised his stats?
“Oh…… I feel noticeably stronger.”
The grip of the hand holding the hoe felt stronger.
And when he swung the hoe, the ground was definitely easier to dig than before.
THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!
“Yip! Master! You’re fast, yip!!”
Pepper looked startled when Yeong-ung suddenly sped up and began catching up, then increased its own pace too.
They cleared the land and made furrows.
Then they sowed the seeds.
| [Sowing skill used.]<br>[Growth Speed +10%]<br>[Yield +5%]<br>[Sowing Skill EXP has increased slightly.]<br>[Skill Level Up!]<br>[Sowing LV. 1 -> Sowing LV. 2] |
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By the time Sowing reached Level 2, all the tomato seeds had been planted.
“Finishing touch! Watering!”
“Yip!”
| [Watering skill used.] |
| -------------------- |
SPLASH!
Water sprayed over the garden plot.
It quickly soaked into the soil.
“Good work. Want some sweet potatoes now?”
“Yip! Yes, yip!!!”
“But before that…….”
Yeong-ung checked Pepper’s condition.
Was it because Pepper had been digging through the watered soil?
Its gray fur was caked with mud and looked extremely dirty.
“Y-Yip…… Why, why are you looking at me like that, yip?”
“Why else…… Pepper, you’re filthy.”
“F-Filthy, yip!?”
“Yeah. So.”
Yeong-ung smiled and grabbed Pepper.
Sensing something ominous, Pepper struggled to escape, but Yeong-ung did not let go.
Whine…… whine…….
“M-Master…… I’m scared, yip…….”
“It’s fine. This is all for your own good.”
“Yip…….”
“Let’s wash you first.”
That day, Pepper was squeezed and washed in Yeong-ung’s hands until every trace of mud was gone.
***
“Hmm…… This really is a strange place.”
Yeong-ung entered the temple.
Pepper was sleeping outside.
Apparently, the bath had been exhausting.
‘Animals really do hate baths.’
“Can a spirit even be called an animal?”
Anyway.
After washing Pepper’s fur clean, Pepper had looked at him as though utterly betrayed, so Yeong-ung had stuffed a sweet potato into its mouth.
In the meantime, Yeong-ung explored the temple.
He had searched it once before, but after planting the tomatoes, he had nothing else to do.
“But seriously, whose temple is this?”
He had asked Pepper, but Pepper did not seem to know anything useful.
“Let’s try…… Search!”
Yeong-ung used the Search skill.
| [Search skill used.]<br>[Please specify a search target.] |
| --------------------------------------- |
“A hidden room?”
Ding!
| [Your skill level is too low to locate hidden rooms.]<br>[Search Skill EXP has increased slightly.] |
| ------------------------------------------------------------ |
“Huh? It can’t even find one?”
Because the skill level was low, there were limits to what it could locate.
Yeong-ung smacked his lips in disappointment.
“Guess there are no shortcuts.”
He continued looking around the temple.
Then he discovered several doors he had not seen before.
“Hm? What are these doors? I’m sure they weren’t here at first……?”
They were unfamiliar wooden doors.
Yeong-ung grabbed one of the handles.
Ding!
| [Access denied.]<br>[You currently lack the required authority.] |
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“Huh?”
The door would not open because he lacked authority.
The other doors were the same.
Every one of them only displayed a message saying he lacked authority, and none of them budged.
“Hmm…….”
In the end, after circling around, he arrived back at the room containing the altar.
“So this is the only place I can enter after all?”
Yeong-ung looked at the altar.
Since finishing the sweet potato harvest, he had already offered two hundred sweet potatoes to it.
The being mentioned in the quests.
‘An unknown being…….’
This place was called the Temple of the Forgotten God.
Based on that alone, it was reasonable to guess that the unknown being might be the owner of this temple.
“Since it’s a god in the Spirit Realm…… a God of Spirits?”
There was nowhere near enough information to determine who the owner of this temple was, or who the unknown being might be.
“But…….”
Yeong-ung looked around.
When he first entered the temple, it had felt like a cold, eerie ruin.
Now, however, there was a faint warmth to it.
The atmosphere itself seemed to have changed a little.
“I don’t know who you are, but.”
The quests had helped Yeong-ung.
They had taken sweet potatoes from him, but in exchange, he had received useful Class Skills.
Skills he needed if he was going to farm in this place.
Yeong-ung could clearly feel that the being giving him those quests was favorable toward him.
It seemed like they could form a mutually beneficial relationship.
“Let’s get along.”
***
Several more days passed.
“The tomatoes have grown pretty well.”
“Yip!”
“It’s about time to put up supports.”
Tomatoes were plants that needed stakes.
As the fruit grew, it became heavier, and without support, the plant could snap or the fruit could fall onto the ground and spoil.
That was why each plant needed to be tied individually to a support.
“I should gather some branches nearby first.”
“Yip! I’ll help too, yip!”
Yeong-ung and Pepper wandered around nearby gathering branches suitable for use as stakes.
“Then this…….”
Yeong-ung drove the gathered branches into the soil beside the tomato plants and secured them firmly.
“Pepper, can you bring me some sweet potato vines?”
“Yip! Yes!”
Sweet potato vines were the only thing he had that could be used for tying.
“Here you go, yip!”
“Good work.”
Using the sweet potato vines, Yeong-ung tied the tomato stems to the stakes so they would not fall over.
Pepper wanted to help, but—
“Yip…….”
Fidget, fidget…….
How was Pepper supposed to tie vines with front paws?
“Yip…….”
Pepper slumped down with a dejected expression.
“You just wait there.”
Yeong-ung quickly tied the stems to the stakes.
With them secured this firmly, they should not fall over even once the tomatoes began to fruit.
“Whew…… this should be enough.”
Yeong-ung straightened his back.
CRACK.
Something made an unpleasant sound in his lower back.
He had been bent over continuously while tying the stems, and now he felt a slight ache.
“You can even feel back pain in a game.”
Overlord reproduced all five senses as realistically as possible.
Pain was included among them.
Of course, he had heard that extreme pain, such as having an arm severed or suffering near-fatal injuries, was suppressed so players would not actually feel it.
But things like an aching back or sore wrists?
Those could still be felt.
‘They said it was supposed to make the game more realistic or something…….’
“They really didn’t need to recreate this part.”
Yeong-ung clicked his tongue and munched on a raw sweet potato.
As the sweet, nutty flavor filled his mouth, the pain seemed to ease a little.
“Yip…….”
And Pepper was watching him.
Pepper had been deeply shaken by the fact that it had been unable to help Yeong-ung.
‘I want to help Master…… I do…….’
“Yip…….”
Then Pepper saw it.
Yeong-ung was rubbing his lower back even though he was still young.
Pepper’s small black eyes sparkled.
‘I can help too, yip…….’
***
Twenty minutes later.
Yeong-ung looked shocked when Pepper returned covered from head to toe in dust, dirt, and all sorts of grime.
“You…… where did you go?”
“I brought medicinal herbs for you, Master, yip!!”
“Medicinal herbs?”
“Yip!”
Looking more closely, Pepper had something resembling a medicinal herb clenched in its mouth and was wagging its tail.
It was admirable that Pepper had gone out to get it for him.
But before anything else—
“Bath first.”
“……Yip?”