Chapter 11: Becoming an Adult
TL: Hanguk
The black dragon Aelin Pritani found the sweet potatoes hidden in a corner of Sejun’s cave. After persistent persuasion(?), she received three sweet potatoes and some leaves from the human as a quest and began to roast them on a fire.
Making roasted sweet potatoes seemed incredibly easy viewed through the crystal ball, as all you had to do was wrap them in leaves and put them on the fire.
“There’s no way I, the great black dragon, can’t do what a human can.”
Aelin was confident of success. However, the first roasted sweet potato was completely burnt, turning into charcoal that couldn’t be eaten and had to be thrown away. The second one was taken out too quickly, leaving the inside uncooked. Roasting sweet potatoes was a profound dish that tested one’s patience.
“Hehehe, did it work out well?”
Aelin, with hopeful eyes, took out the last remaining roasted sweet potato that gave off a sweet, smoky scent. With the know-how from two failures, she was certain of success this time.
She carefully held the roasted sweet potato with two claws and broke it in half.
“Huh?”
It felt different from when she broke the roasted sweet potato the human had given her. What is this?
But as the steaming, yellowish-brown cooked flesh of the roasted sweet potato was revealed, she quickly forgot about it.
“It worked! It worked!”
Aelin rejoiced at the sight of the finished roasted sweet potato.
“Hehehe, human, did you see that? I, black dragon Aelin Pritani, made this roasted sweet potato!”
Aelin looked proudly at the roasted sweet potato.
And then
“Ah.”
She peeled the skin off and put half of the roasted sweet potato in her mouth.
It seemed like it would taste better if she bit into it like a human, but she was a black dragon. She couldn’t allow herself to imitate a human’s appearance, as it would lower her dignity.
Crunch.
“What?!”
This wasn’t the right texture. Her teeth should have sunk in without any resistance, but she felt a subtle resistance. It wasn’t the moist, chewy, and soft texture that the human had offered.
Moreover, it was sweet but didn’t have the more concentrated sweetness of the first roasted sweet potato she had eaten.
“How could this be? My fire is stronger and better… Why is mine less tasty…”
The great black dragon couldn’t believe that she was worse at roasting sweet potatoes than a human.
A dragon like me can’t control fire better than a human! Aelin was frustrated.
“Ugh! My pride is hurt!”
Aelin was upset again today.
“Since I’m annoyed, let’s see what the human is doing.”
Aelin began watching Sejun’s cave through the crystal ball.
*****
Squeak!
Squee!
Sejun woke up to the sounds of the busy rabbit couple.
“Alright!”
As soon as Sejun got up, he went to the wall where he recorded the dates.
And then
Swoosh.
He drew a line on the wall with a fish bone, completing the character 正.
On the wall, there were two lines with ten 正 characters each, and below that, a third line with four completed 正 characters.
[120th day of being stranded]
‘Almost four months have passed…’
Sejun glanced at the wall once and went to the pond to wash his face and eat breakfast.
Then he began his morning farming.
Tap. Tap.
[You have harvested a well-ripened Magical Cherry Tomato.]
[Your job experience increases very slightly.]
[Your Harvesting Lv. 2 skill proficiency increases very slightly.]
[You gained 10 experience points.]
…
..
.
Woosh, woosh.
Yip, yip.
As Sejun harvested the cherry tomatoes, the baby rabbits ran to him with pitiful expressions.
“Heh, if you think making such a pitiful face will make me give you cherry tomatoes, you’re sadly mistaken.”
Yip, yip?
Yip?
Uncle, are you crazy? The baby rabbits, unable to understand Sejun’s words, tilted their heads and started to back away.
Sejun’s isolated sense of humor failed to evolve with the world and developed independently, like the Galapagos Islands. Or perhaps it was devolving.
“If you rub your face against my cheek, I’ll give you some.”
As the baby rabbits tried to run away, Sejun hurriedly told them the main point.
Yip…
Yip…
The baby rabbits sighed with a resentful expression. It felt as if their affection for Sejun was decreasing in real-time.
I’m sorry. I didn’t know it was such a big deal.
“Uncle was just joking. Here…”
Just as Sejun was about to hand over the harvested cherry tomatoes,
Hop, hop.
One of the baby rabbits jumped once on the ground and once on Sejun’s knee before climbing onto his shoulder. This rabbit was particularly fond of Sejun.
And then,
Rub, rub.
The baby rabbit rubbed its face against Sejun’s cheek. The soft touch of the rabbit’s fur felt pleasant.
“Oh-! You get two!”
Sejun gave two cherry tomatoes to the rabbit who listened to him. The other baby rabbits got one each.
Yip!
Yip!
The baby rabbits who only got one cherry tomato protested, but Sejun didn’t give them any more.
“Hehehe. This is what happens when you disappoint your uncle.”
At Sejun’s words, the baby rabbits huffed and went to a cool spot in the cave to eat their cherry tomatoes.
When Sejun finished harvesting the cherry tomatoes, he took a short break and prepared grilled piranhas for lunch.
Then,
[The tower administrator is furious with you.]
“Again, why?”
Sejun casually dismissed the message from the tower administrator, who seemed to be angry for no reason.
At first, he thought it was a big deal and always got nervous, but now that the tower administrator had been angry several times, he just let it slide.
“Is it some kind of anger management issue?”
When it was time for lunch,
Buzz, buzz.
The poison honeybee came to work, sucking nectar as usual.
“Welcome.”
Rub, rub.
The poison honeybee landed on Sejun’s shoulder as he was watering the carrot field and rubbed its body against his face to mark its attendance.
And then,
Buzz, buzz.
It flew to the flowers to suck nectar. However, it went to the green onion field, not the cherry tomato field.
The green onion, which had been left uncut to bloom, finally bloomed. The poison honeybee ate the nectar from the green onion flowers first, then moved to the cherry tomato flowers.
“I have to pick the green onion flowers today.”
It was about time to get the green onion seeds. After finishing lunch, Sejun pulled out the green onion with blooming flowers as soon as the poison honeybee finished sucking nectar and left.
The green onion that bloomed had fulfilled its role and would die soon, so it had to be harvested and eaten quickly. Grilled whole green onion was added to today’s lunch menu.
Sejun separated the green onion flowers and dried them in the sun. Once the green onion flowers were completely dry, the seeds would easily come out with just a few shakes.
Sejun started his afternoon farming after drying the green onion flowers well in the sun.
Buzz buzz.
As evening approached, the poison honeybee came, spat out honey, and went home, and the afternoon farming also ended smoothly.
“Blue Moon is in two days.”
Sejun, who was walking back and forth to aid digestion after dinner, looked at the wall calendar and said.
The 5th Blue Moon since being trapped in the tower.
The 4th Blue Moon passed peacefully, but like the 3rd Blue Moon, monsters could appear, so he couldn’t let his guard down.
“I hope it passes safely this time too…”
Sejun sat down in his designated seat, worried.
But seeing the crops growing lushly in the sun, a bright energy swelled in Sejun’s heart, pushing away his worries.
“I’m happy.”
From the center of the quadrant where Sejun’s designated seat was, quadrant 1 had a green onion field, quadrant 2 had a cherry tomato field, quadrant 3 had a carrot field, and quadrant 4 had a sweet potato field, which all reassured Sejun’s heart.
So one day passed, and it became the 121st day of being trapped.
Today was similar to the usual days. However, the poison honeybee did not come for lunch today. It seemed that the poison honeybee was also preparing for the Blue Moon.
As evening approached, Sejun turned off the fire and prepared for the Blue Moon with the earplugs made from green onion leaves and cherry tomatoes.
He found a spot in the corner of the cave and prepared for the Blue Moon, seeing a different sight than usual.
“Why haven’t you guys gone in yet?”
The rabbit couple placed their six baby rabbits on Sejun’s designated seat and tied their legs tightly together with green onion leaves.
And then,
Squeak…
Squeak…
The rabbit couple went back into their burrow, looking at their babies for a while and making a sad crying sound before closing the entrance.
“What’s going on?! Why are you guys like this?”
Byeya!
Bye!
Byeng!
As Sejun hurriedly tried to get up and take the baby rabbits, they raised their soft paws with a serious expression and shouted not to come closer.
Soon after, the Blue Moon began.
*****
There is one tradition among the White Rabbit farmers. On the day the 5th Blue Moon rises since their birth, they can only become a true adult White Rabbit farmer when they receive the light of the Blue Moon.
So today was the most important day for the baby rabbits.
The baby rabbits looked up at the sky with anticipation, waiting for the Blue Moon to rise.
And as the sun in the sky turned blue, the energy of the Blue Moon descended upon the baby rabbits through the hole in the cave.
Byeak!
Byea!
Though underestimated as rabbits, the monsters were still monsters. Seeing the light of the Blue Moon, the baby rabbits screamed in excitement.
Oof. Oof.
The baby rabbits’ muscles began to swell. The rabbits, once smaller than the palm of a hand, transformed into 30cm-sized muscular rabbits. There was even a 王 (means King in korean) character on their bellies.
If rabbits are like that during the Blue Moon… I didn’t even want to imagine the other monsters.
Pyea!
Pye!
The baby rabbits continued to scream and look at the sky. Fortunately, there were no monsters coming due to the sound of the baby rabbits.
The Blue Moon ended safely once again.
Pyea…
Pye…
As the Blue Moon ended, their muscles shrank like deflating balloons, and the baby rabbits returned to their cute appearance. However, their size had changed to be similar to the rabbit couple. They had become adults.
Then
Pah.
A blue light exploded from the bodies of the baby rabbits.
“Huh?!”
Sejun, who had been watching the baby rabbits, witnessed a strange sight. The blue light moved to the tips of the baby rabbits’ hands, gathered, and turned into items.
‘So that’s why I couldn’t use the husband rabbit’s watering can.’
Sejun realized why no water came out of the watering can when he held it. The farmer rabbits seemed to have their own exclusive items.
The items gradually took shape and turned into a shovel, a sickle, a shovel, a watering can, and a cart.
And
“Tteokme?”
Was it a hammer since it was made of iron? Suddenly, an item from a different genre appeared.
Looking closely, only the one holding the hammer had turned black in color. And the name written above its head too.
[Warrior Black Rabbit]
“Warrior Black Rabbit?”
Pyang!
Jump!
Rub-rub-rub.
The Warrior Black Rabbit climbed onto Sejun’s shoulder, thinking Sejun had called him, and acted affectionately. He was the one who received two cherry tomatoes from Sejun.
When morning came, the adult rabbits no longer played. They each used their own farming tools to help with farming.
The rabbit with the watering can helped the husband rabbit water the crops, and the rabbit with the sickle helped the wife rabbit cut the leaves of the green onions.
The rabbit that got a cart as an item carried the cut green onions leaves and moved the harvested crops to the storage shed, and the two rabbits with shovels expanded the field to plant more seeds.
Their skills were still inexperienced, but since the farming tools were items, they were a great help in farming.
And the Black Rabbit without a farming tool helped Sejun with hunting.
Splash.
When Sejun shook a torch near the pond, a piranha jumped up.
“Now!”
Ppiya!
At Sejun’s signal, the Black Rabbit, who had been waiting, jumped up to smack the piranha with the hammer.
However
Pye?!
The timing was off. The Black Rabbit’s body collided with the piranha before it could swing the hammer.
Thud!
But luckily, the Black Rabbit and the piranha fell out of the water together with a body slam.
Jump.
The Black Rabbit hurriedly got up as soon as it fell to the ground.
And
Ppiya!
It ran to the struggling piranha and struck it with the hammer.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Although it was unknown why the hammer made a rubber mallet sound, the effect was certain. The piranha was dead. But it was crushed to the point of being inedible.
Ppiya!
The Black Rabbit looked at Sejun proudly, with a victorious expression and the hammer on its shoulder. How about me?
But
‘Don’t look at me, look over there.’
Ppieek!
Mother Rabbit approached, seeing the piranha that should have been eaten for a meal turned into a mess.
Ppieek!
Pye…
The Black Rabbit had to endure about an hour of nagging from Mother Rabbit.
As the newly grown-up rabbits became accustomed to their respective equipment,
[30 days have passed since your purchase at the Seed Shop.]
[Seed Shop Lv. 1 is reactivated.]
On the 125th day of being trapped in the tower, the Seed Shop opened again.
*******************
Hi everyone, if anyone is still reading this, please leave a review and rating on Novelupdates. It’s still early, but you can change the review later when we have enough chapters. Nevertheless, you can leave a preliminary review/rating now.
Also, I am currently translating around two chapters daily. I don’t have a fixed schedule, so should I create a Discord account for pinging when a new chapter is released, as other translators do, or is it okay as it is?
And lastly a picture of Se-jun’s Tower family (excluding poison honeybee)
And another picture of Se-jun and poison honeybee with honeybee clocking in