Player Farming in the Dragon’s Lair - Chapter 24

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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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24
A taste of the mundane world after so long.
The combination of Pork Belly and Kim Misook’s Aged Kimchi was nothing short of sublime.
With plenty of Pork Belly to spare, they ate their fill—Lee Woojin, Kkamangi, Doppelganger, and the God of Dominion together consumed a full two kilograms.
Yet eight kilograms of Pork Belly remained, a reassuring abundance.
[The God of Dominion says this is the most delicious food he has ever tasted, and compliments your cooking.]
“Heh. Thank you.”
“My belly’s about to burst, meow.”
(…….) Couldn’t agree more.
Kkamangi lay sprawled on the ground, his face blissful.
Woojin collected the Grilling Pan and rinsed it properly in the lake water. He’d originally planned to discard it as disposable, but he couldn’t bring himself to waste something worth an E-rank Item.
[The God of Dominion asks if there is anything you desire in return.]
“Pardon?”
The sudden offer caught Woojin off guard.
He’d grilled and shared the Pork Belly simply because he wanted to enjoy good food together—nothing more.
But if he was being offered something, he wasn’t about to refuse.
Woojin placed his hands on his hips, thrust his belly forward boldly, and spoke with confidence.
“Send me home, please!”
Might as well go for it.
If it works, great. If not, oh well.
A Dragon Lord.
Not to mention the God of Dominion, called a Constellation.
Surely he possessed that much power?
Woojin’s face showed barely concealed hope.
And then came the answer.
[The God of Dominion says that would violate the fundamental rules of the Tower and cannot be granted.]
“Understood.”
Disappointing.
[The God of Dominion says he doesn’t know why you are here in the first place, but if you wish to return to reality, you must abide by the Tower’s principle: the given objective must be cleared.]
And that objective is to defeat the Dragon Lord…
Woojin almost voiced the thought but held his tongue, sensing it might offend.
Just then, warm sunlight streaming through caught his eye—the rays pouring down through the ceiling of the Dragon Lair.
Those rays, falling on a portion of the cavern, allowed him to maintain morning, afternoon, and evening cycles, and to cultivate crops.
‘With Doppelganger around, I could expand the farming. But that would mean letting in more sunlight.’
Currently, it illuminated roughly a hundred square meters.
Woojin wanted to expand that to about a thousand square meters.
Which meant excavating and removing that much of the cavern ceiling.
But making such alterations without the landlord’s permission was illegal.
Of course, South Korea’s laws didn’t apply here, but a tenant remodeling a property without the owner’s consent was something one simply shouldn’t do, by any reasonable standard.
Woojin decided to ask the Dragon Lord for permission right now.
“Dragon Lord, would it be all right if I made another request?”
[The God of Dominion says to go ahead.]
“As you can see, I’m farming here, but the lit area isn’t sufficient. Would I be permitted to expand the ceiling somewhat?”
The God of Dominion was amenable.
[The God of Dominion says you may do as you wish with the space you currently occupy.]
“Wow. Thank you!”
Had he refused, Woojin would have already become charred Lee Woojin direct-grilled when that flame breath hit him back when he broke through the wall.
* * *
With the landlord’s approval secured.
His belly full and digestion on his mind, he decided to begin work at once.
There was one problem, though.
“I’ll need a ladder to reach that high.”
The one-room studio attached to the Dragon Lair.
The height from floor to ceiling varied by location, but even at the shortest point, it measured roughly ten meters.
An ordinary ladder wouldn’t do.
A small collapsible ladder of the type used on construction sites was out of the question; what he really needed was something like a moving company’s telescoping ladder.
‘Wait. Why would I need a ladder at all? Can’t I just come down through the passage to the hundredth floor?’
Woojin promptly entered the Administrator Passage.
“Where are you going, meow?”
“Just need to check something.”
I picked up the shovel and stepped into the passageway.
Thinking I should expand the passage leading up to the 100th floor as well, I glanced toward the opposite side from where I was descending when I tilted my head in confusion.
“Huh? Why is this side blocked off?”
Unlike the passages to the 97th and 96th floors—small openings where Kkamangi could slip in and out—this one wasn’t open at all.
It was sealed as if no path existed.
“The passage only goes to the 99th floor, meow. There’s nowhere that leads to the 100th floor, meow.”
“Why?”
“I don’t really know either, meow. It was already blocked when I first came here, meow.”
“I see.”
I’d have to give up on using the passage.
I was about to head back to the Dragon Lair when I suddenly spun around and started digging at the blocked passage with my shovel.
“Earth Leveling, Earth Leveling!”
[Your proficiency with Earth Leveling Lv. 4 has increased slightly.]
[Your proficiency with Earth Leveling Lv. 4 has…….]
Thunk-thunk-thunk!
Kkamangi watched me dig without stopping me.
Using the Administrator Passage itself was something not permitted for adventurers in the first place.
If they’d wanted to stop me, they should have blocked my entry from the start.
But there were no other adventurers or administrators in this tower, and as I grew accustomed to living here with Kkamangi alone, I found myself gradually, unknowingly picking up their habits.
Besides, I was curious what might be beyond.
Thunk!
“Hm?”
The shovel suddenly felt as though it was pushing through empty air.
I blinked, wondering if there was another space beyond.
Whoooosh!
A breeze washed over me.
Bright sunlight was streaming through as well.
I lowered my head and peered through the hole, and clouds came into view.
Crack!
After expanding it further and making my way to the end of the passage.
I could see it.
“…Good heavens.”
This was the sky itself.
All I could see were clouds.
And below was a bottomless chasm.
Looking down, the black tower extended far below with its dark outer wall stretching endlessly downward.
I could truly feel that I was inside the tower.
“So this is where it ends.”
“Seems like it, meow!”
“But isn’t that strange? Why isn’t there a 100th floor? Could the 99th floor be the end?”
Flip!
Kkamangi consulted the Administrator’s Manual.
I caught a glimpse from beside him, but there was nothing about a 100th floor.
“You’re right, there’s no mention of it, meow. The 99th floor might be the end after all, meow.”
I see.
I nodded.
After taking a moment to admire the view outside, I realized that the top of the tower was the Dragon Lair, and I began expanding the space using Earth Leveling from the passageway side.
“Where are you going, meow?”
“Up to the ceiling.”
I was creating an upward slope with a gentle gradient.
This way I wouldn’t need to go through the trouble of finding a ladder.
Just as I’d planned, I continued digging with the shovel from the passageway side, and as I advanced toward the single-room studio attached to the Dragon Lair, I was able to reach the cave’s ceiling.
“Oh!”
I climbed above the cave’s ceiling.
In other words, I’d reached the very top of the tower.
I slowly rotated 360 degrees, examining the surroundings.
But no matter where I looked, there was only open sky—no sign of other continents or seas.
Escape was out of the question.
From the beginning, I’d imagined nothing would change anyway.
Still, it might be nice to come up here later with a mat spread out, eating Kimbap and enjoying a picnic with this expansive view.
“Heh heh.”
Woojin set about expanding the cave ceiling next.
Since he was shoveling at the top of the tower—that is, at the cave’s ceiling—he didn’t need a ladder at all, and the work went much faster.
“Earth Leveling, Earth Leveling!”
[Earth Leveling Lv. 4’s proficiency has increased slightly.]
[You have acquired Earth Leveling Lv. 5.]
The hole, which had been about 330 square feet, gradually expanded.
* * *
Several days passed like this.
Today marked the twentieth day since he’d arrived at the tower.
During that time, Woojin had devoted himself to expanding the cave ceiling.
On the first day he’d worked alone, but starting the second day, working with Doppelganger made the pace much faster.
And finally.
“All done!”
A hole wide enough to satisfy him.
When he came down to look, the broad stretch of earth was bathed in fresh sunlight.
“Heh heh heh.”
Woojin was now thinking of expanding his Potato, Sweet Potato, and Cherry Tomato crops from the original 330 square feet each to nearly 1,000 square feet apiece.
“Status window.”
Name: Lee Woojin
Title: Novice Farmer of the Tower
Level: 9
Stats
– Strength: 5.01
– Agility: 5
– Stamina: 5
– Mana: 5.20
– Resistance: 0.032
– Remaining Points: 0
Skills: Earth Leveling Lv. 5, Seed Planting Lv. 4, Harvest Lv. 4, Cold Resistance Lv. 1, Cooking Lv. 2, Stealthy Step Lv. 1, Flame Resistance Lv. 1, Dark Adaptation Lv. 1, Wood Cutting Lv. 3, Craftsmanship Lv. 1
The more you farmed, the better.
Woojin checked the Title section of his status window.
[Novice Farmer of the Tower]
– Category: Title
– Effect: Gain Experience Points during farming activities
Experience Points even without clearing the tower.
In other words, he could level up.
For someone like Woojin, who’d once worked as a tower administrator, this was an absurdly broken effect.
Others had to suffer through, risking their lives to conquer the tower and clear one floor at a time, barely gaining a single level with each victory, while Woojin gained levels just by farming.
Moreover, each crop came with various effects.
“Let me rest a bit before I start.”
(…….) He nodded.
Woojin sat down, munching on Cherry Tomatoes while browsing the Community.
Time passed quickly when he browsed the Community like this.
‘Lots of new posts.’
Several times more than usual.
Soon he understood why.
– Kang Minwoo is absolutely insane ㄷㄷㄷㄷ
– He’s already at Hard Difficulty Floor 10?
– Word has it a Lower-rank Observer has been assigned to him.
– Really?!
– Makes sense—without an Observer, the conquest speed would be impossible
– Whoa. Is Korea finally rejoining the Vanguard Conquest Team lineup again?!
Kang Minwoo, who’d received an S-rank Weapon from Woojin, had begun to make his mark.
A Player Farming in the Dragon Lair (Ongoing)
Author | Gaebug S
Publisher | Kim Juhyung
Published by | J-Play Media Co., Ltd.
Marketing | Han Jaehyuk
Address | 401st Floor, Ace Techno Tower 8, 11 Digital-ro 33-gil, Guro-gu, Seoul, South Korea
Email │ [email protected]
Website │ www.jayplemedia.com
ⓒ Kaebyek S2026
※This work is published by Jay Plus Media Co., Ltd. in accordance with a contract with the copyright holder. The content may not be used in any form or by any means without the permission of the company and the author.
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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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