Player Farming in the Dragon’s Lair - Chapter 16

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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16
A building in Gangnam-gu, Seoul.
South Korea’s greatest guild, The Sky.
Its guild master, known only as Anonymous 3861.
Kang Min-woo was reading an article that had been posted on Naver.
[Kang Min-woo Takes On ‘Hard’ Difficulty!]
A month ago, after clearing Normal Difficulty Floor 100, Kang Min-woo had publicly declared his intention to challenge Hard Difficulty next.
The world record belonged to the United States.
Hard Difficulty Floor 34.
China and Japan were also attempting to progress through Hard Difficulty.
By comparison, South Korea was falling behind.
It couldn’t be helped.
Kang Min-woo didn’t have an Observer.
Perhaps that was why.
When Kang Min-woo announced he would challenge Hard Difficulty, the netizens’ reactions were dominated not by encouragement, but by concern.
– We’re rooting for you, Hunter Kang Min-woo.
– Isn’t that pushing yourself too hard? Maybe you should stop at Normal Difficulty Floor 100…
– Agreed. Even the US has said outright that Hard Difficulty is impossible without an Observer’s help.
– Just clearing Normal Difficulty Floor 100 is already an amazing record ㅠㅠㅠ
An Observer.
A “great being” that watches over the Tower’s adventurers.
Their ranks were divided into lower, middle, and upper grades, with higher-ranked Observers possessing greater power.
When an Observer watches over an adventurer, various benefits follow.
Such as obtaining items.
Or acquiring skills.
Or even receiving “hints,” among other things.
Adventurers with an Observer’s backing could progress through the Tower far more quickly and safely than those without.
But the odds of an Observer choosing to watch an adventurer were worse than winning the lottery. Though countless adventurers were climbing the Tower, only three had gained an Observer’s patronage.
One from each of the United States, China, and Japan.
‘And the American’s is even middle-ranked.’
No other country officially had an adventurer receiving an Observer’s support.
Kang Min-woo was no exception.
‘Honestly, attempting Hard Difficulty without an Observer is virtually suicide.’
Clearing Hard Difficulty without Observer assistance was known to be that dangerous—that impossible.
Yet despite this, Kang Min-woo’s declaration to challenge Hard Difficulty came from necessity.
Looking at Kang Min-woo alone, he could stop at Normal Difficulty Floor 100 without any further challenge and live comfortably without the slightest worry.
The wealth and fortune he had accumulated so far, let alone the fame, would provide for three generations living lavishly.
But the situation of South Korea as a whole was different.
Unless an adventurer with an Observer’s backing emerged, South Korea would stagnate, forever locked behind the record of Normal Difficulty Floor 100.
‘Then it’s finished.’
The twenty-first century.
In the past, they said the world changes every ten years, but since the Towers appeared, the global order has been teetering on the edge every single year.
If the United States, China, and Japan continue climbing and conquering Hard Difficulty Towers at this pace?
If they ascend to the unreachable pinnacle of world power, then Korea will simply be done for.
A stagnant nation has no future.
The people aren’t ignorant of this reality.
Yet no one had burdened Kang Min-woo with this responsibility.
The Korean people knew well how many brushes with death he had endured climbing the Tower.
That was why they offered both encouragement and worry.
‘When I ran the simulation, I hit a wall at Hard Difficulty Floor 3.’
Despite investing enormous capital to purchase Coins and items, the good equipment Kang Min-woo needed wasn’t appearing on the market.
Money alone couldn’t buy everything.
It was obvious.
Kang Min-woo had already acquired the finest items available at Normal Difficulty level.
To get anything better?
Clear rewards from Hard Difficulty.
Or items sponsored by an Observer—those were his only options.
The United States, China, Japan.
Unless those Hard Difficulty adventurers went insane, no such items would ever reach the market.
It was a hopeless situation.
But.
[Roasted Sweet Potato]
– Grade: D
– Effects
– Taste Bonus +10%
– Upon consumption, permanently increases Strength +0.002
– Description: A roasted sweet potato from the tower’s power squash. Still warm and steaming.
For reasons he couldn’t fathom, this roasted sweet potato came from an adventurer named Lee Woo-jin—trapped in a tower of a “Mythic” Difficulty Level that the world had never even heard of.
Wisps of sweet, fragrant steam rose from the golden flesh.
One bite, and the moist, sugary flesh melted on his tongue like silk. Kang Min-woo devoured the entire roasted sweet potato without rising from his seat.
[You have consumed a Roasted Sweet Potato. Strength permanently increases by 0.002.]
“…That’s genuinely delicious.”
Kang Min-woo shook his head slowly.
The taste wasn’t what mattered now.
What mattered was that his Strength stat had risen—even if only by 0.002.
‘If this keeps up, maybe I could break through Hard Difficulty Floor 3, given enough time.’
The stat increase was minimal, true.
But in Lee Woo-jin, Kang Min-woo glimpsed something like hope.
What’s more, Lee Woo-jin’s crops had clearly climbed from E Grade to D Grade—and the stat bonus had risen in tandem, from 0.001 to 0.002.
‘Lee Woo-jin. I need to stay in contact with him. And to do that….’
I had to give him what he wanted.
Kang Min-woo typed rapidly into the search bar.
[Best Kimchi Stew Restaurants]
* * *
Meanwhile, Woo-jin stood facing off against the Doppelgänger.
The Doppelgänger’s current level and ability scores were as follows.
[Doppelgänger][Lv. 1]
– Strength: 3
– Agility: 3
– Stamina: 3
– Mana: 3.07
– Resistance: 0.022
Skills: Soil Preparation Lv. 3, Seed Planting Lv. 3, Harvesting Lv. 2, Cold Resistance Lv. 1, Cooking Lv. 2, Silent Step Lv. 1, Flame Resistance Lv. 1, Dark Adaptation Lv. 1
And Woo-jin himself?
Name: Lee Woo-jin
Title: Novice Farmer of the Tower
Level: 6
Stats
– Strength: 5.004
– Agility: 4
– Stamina: 4
– Mana: 4.08
– Resistance: 0.022
– Remaining Points: 0
Skills: Soil Preparation Lv. 4, Seed Planting Lv. 4, Harvesting Lv. 3, Cold Resistance Lv. 1, Cooking Lv. 2, Silent Step Lv. 1, Flame Resistance Lv. 1, Dark Adaptation Lv. 1
“Heh heh heh.”
An absolutely overwhelming difference.
Two points higher in Strength, one point higher in Agility, Stamina, and Mana respectively.
And on top of that, the gap in equipment!
The Doppelgänger was naked as the day it was born.
But this one—
A Lightweight Iron Sword.
Sturdy Leather Armor.
A Necklace of Protection.
Adventurer’s Leather Boots.
Equipped with a total of 5,800 Coins’ worth of gear.
“Isn’t this completely against the rules?”
“What are you talking about? This is a fair and square duel.”
……
Even as he said it, he felt a pang of guilt.
What was I going to do anyway?
I had to save myself first.
Tap-tap-tap!
The Doppelgänger lunged forward without hesitation despite the gap in equipment and level. Woo-jin didn’t dodge. There was no reason to.
When the Doppelgänger closed to within a meter or so.
Woo-jin grinned and swung the sword he was holding.
One hit like this would probably knock it down for good.
A wet thud, or perhaps a crack.
But.
Whoosh!
“…Huh?”
“W-Woo-jin! It’s coming from below, meow!”
The Doppelgänger had seen the path of Woo-jin’s blade and ducked to avoid it.
It was a movement that couldn’t be explained as a copy of Woo-jin’s physical abilities, which were slightly below the average South Korean man’s athletic prowess.
Whack!
The Doppelgänger drove an uppercut straight into him.
He nearly fell from the impact, but barely kept his balance and retreated, swinging his sword.
Whoosh!
It dodged and pressed forward again.
Woo-jin flailed his sword frantically through the air several times.
Each time, the Doppelgänger evaded every swing and closed in.
Crack, thud!
“Why is it this strong?!”
“You forgot, meow! That bastard is the Shadow King, meow. It’s incredibly strong, meow!”
It had the same ability scores, but its combat sense was exceptional.
Thanks to the Necklace of Protection, the hits didn’t hurt even when they connected, but Woo-jin decided to just run.
His breath was already coming short after just a few swings of the sword.
…But that thing seemed to be gasping for breath too?
It wasn’t an illusion.
Currently, the Doppelgänger was facing off against Woo-jin.
Its body was heaving intermittently.
Which meant.
‘If I just drag this out, I’ll win, right?’
No matter how good the Doppelgänger’s combat sense was, it was level one with pathetic ability scores, so the hits didn’t hurt at all and left no wounds.
What if he just took all the attacks without dodging them, waited until it exhausted itself, and then counterattacked?
‘Alright. Let’s try it.’
Woo-jin took a defensive stance again.
Once they both realized the fight would resume.
The Doppelgänger charged at Woo-jin.
Thud.
Pound-pound-pound-pound-pound-crack!
He was taking a barrage of fists, but it didn’t hurt at all.
Of course, it was the Doppelgänger who was growing tired.
Thud!
The Doppelgänger stopped its assault, put distance between them, and heaved its body heavily while gasping for breath.
“Done attacking? Then it’s my turn now.”
This time Woo-jin charged forward.
The Doppelgänger seemed startled and retreated, attempting to dodge, but its movements were significantly slowed.
Thud!
As Woo-jin swung his sword in a wide arc, the Doppelgänger couldn’t dodge and took the hit directly.
Thump!
The Doppelgänger fell.
Woo-jin flinched and stepped back.
“…Is it dead?”
Kkamangi swallowed hard and cautiously approached.
With its pink gelatinous paw pad, it poked the Doppelgänger tentatively.
The Doppelgänger, still lying down, slowly turned its head to look at Woo-jin and Kkamangi.
The startled Kkamangi jumped and scrambled onto Woo-jin’s back.
“A-it’s still alive, meow!”
Whether the Doppelgänger had suffered a mortal wound or simply exhausted its stamina, it remained unable to rise.
Woo-jin felt it by instinct.
One more swing of his sword, and he could finish the Doppelgänger.
If he did, would that clear Mythic Difficulty Floor 98?
After all, the objective of Floor 98 was to defeat the Doppelgänger.
‘No.’
Kkamangi had said as much.
– The objective you’re given matches your current Difficulty Level and Floor, meow! If you go to a different Difficulty or Floor, you won’t even be given a mission, and naturally you can’t clear it either, meow. You won’t be able to return to reality, meow.
Woo-jin had been given the mission for Mythic Difficulty Floor 99.
He could only clear the mission for Mythic Difficulty Floor 99.
Which meant that achieving the objective of Floor 98—defeating the Doppelgänger—would yield no benefit whatsoever.
‘In that case, maybe instead…….’
Woo-jin extended his hand toward the Doppelgänger and spoke.
“Want to be friends with me?”
The Farmer in Dragon Rare (Serial)
Author │ Gaebyeok S
Publisher │ Kim Joo-hyeong
Published by │ J Plus Media Co., Ltd.
Marketing │ Han Jae-hyeok
Address │ 401, 11 Digital-ro 33-gil, Guro-gu, Seoul (Guro-dong, Ace Techno Tower 8th)
Email │ [email protected]
Website │ www.jayplemedia.com
ⓒ Gaebyeok S 2026
※This work is published by J Plus Media Co., Ltd. in accordance with a contract with the copyright holder, and no content may be used in any form or by any means without the permission of the company and author.
Violation of this may result in criminal and civil legal liability.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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