Player Farming in the Dragon’s Lair - Chapter 51

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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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51
Thirty-three days since arriving at the Tower.
Lee Woo-jin’s routine never varied much.
He’d wake in the morning, water the World Tree and the vegetables in his garden.
After that came his morning exercises, then a simple meal.
‘Hmm. I should be able to harvest the scallions and onions today.’
The scallion patch had grown lush, its leaves stretching long and thick.
Below the stems, the bases were firm and solid, and the white portions visible above the soil had grown quite fat.
The onion patch was much the same.
The thin shoots that had first emerged were now plump with growth, their bulbs swelling visibly beneath the soil as if preparing to break free.
Just like the picture in that beginner’s gardening book, the leaves hadn’t yet completely fallen over, but even a glance told him the bulbs had filled out properly underground.
“Oh.”
A smile crossed Lee Woo-jin’s lips.
He could already imagine pulling up the scallions with a satisfying yank, and brushing away just a little soil to reveal the rounded onion bulbs.
He’d have to come back and harvest them properly in the afternoon.
.
.
.
“Soil Leveling!”
Thunk!
Smack!
Thunk!
When there was nothing else to do, shoveling was always the easiest way to pass the time.
[Soil Leveling Lv. 7’s Proficiency has risen marginally.]
[Soil Leveling Lv. 7’s Proficiency has……]
— Hehehehe! I can feel the Dark Magic!
As Lee Woo-jin expanded the Manager’s passage, he could raise his skill Proficiency and satisfy his curiosity at the same time. And Amwol was delighted by the faint Dark Magic that could be gleaned from between stones and soil.
“Wait a moment.”
— Huh? Master, what is it?
“I just realized—if you absorb too much Dark Magic, isn’t that dangerous?”
The Demon Sword Amwol had said it lacked Dark Magic originally.
But being with Lee Woo-jin, it had been absorbing the faint traces of Dark Magic hidden in soil and stone.
What if Amwol absorbed too much Dark Magic and gained tremendous power, then tried to suppress him based on that strength? Lee Woo-jin couldn’t afford to overlook this problem.
— Don’t worry. I have no desire to be erased.
“What do you mean?”
— If I were to harm you, Master, that would be a breach of Contract. The command to obey your word and raise no objections establishes an absolute hierarchy, whether in speech or deed.
— And worse, we forged this Contract before the gods themselves. If I dared grow arrogant with a bit of Dark Magic and attempt rebellion, the gods would surely erase my very existence.
[The God of Order confirms that Amwol speaks truly, and states that should Amwol harbor any wicked intent and attempt to betray you, judgment shall be rendered on the spot.]
“Yes. Thank you.”
Setting the Contract aside, Amwol had genuinely pledged to serve Lee Woo-jin as its master.
The reason was simple.
‘If I form a Contract with an Adventurer whom the absolute beings of the Tower—the gods—take such interest in, even while ignoring calamities… that benefits me as well. Kehehehe.’
What Amwol feared most in the Tower.
That was the gods alone.
No matter how much Dark Magic it accumulated.
It could never stand against the absolute beings.
But if it walked alongside Lee Woo-jin, who had their backing?
The gods claimed neutrality, of course, but the fact that they paid attention mattered. To the gods, Adventurers were mere specks of dust.
That they took interest in even that dust was a vital factor.
“Phew. Let me rest for a bit.”
Lee Woo-jin paused his work expanding the passage and opened a bottle of Carrot Juice to drink.
[Your permanent Stamina has increased by 0.01 from consuming Carrot Juice.]
[Stamina recovery speed increases by 10% for 30 minutes.]
Having descended all the way to the passage leading toward the 73rd Floor, Lee Woo-jin took a break.
Growing hungry, he decided to eat a snack.
Nothing fancy—just Shin Ramyeon.
Except he wasn’t cooking it; he was eating it raw.
Crunch!
Crunch!
Crackle!
He squeezed the packet without tearing it open.
The noodles inside crumbled without spilling out.
Once he’d broken them into manageable pieces, he tore open the bag.
Adding the seasoning packet and shaking it would transform the noodles into a spicy, salty snack—a delicacy in its own right.
But before that.
Poof!
[Summoning Dungeon Rat.]
— Squeak! (Master, you called for me!)
“Hungry? Want some of this?”
— Squeak? (What is this?)
Lee Woo-jin tore off a small piece of the unseasoned Shin Ramyeon noodles and placed it in the creature’s delicate, fern-like hands.
“Ramyeon. Remember what you ate before. But this one isn’t cooked.”
The Dungeon Rat’s face lit up.
— Squeak! (I love ramyeon!)
— Squeak! (Thank you for the meal!)
Only then did Lee Woo-jin add the ramyeon seasoning packet into the bag, seal the opening with his hand, and shake it vigorously—shake-shake. The bright red seasoning would coat the noodles inside.
Crackle.
He opened the Shin Ramyeon bag, and the pungent aroma of spice and salt—that distinctive MSG-laden smell of instant noodles—struck his nostrils sharply.
He grabbed a piece and crunched it between his teeth.
The sharp spice and salty tang filled his mouth, accompanied by the satisfying crackle of the dry noodles.
“Ahh. Shin Ramyeon really is the best. Delicious.”
The Dungeon Rat was enjoying his portion just as eagerly.
With each crunch, the creature’s face was a portrait of pure contentment—the very picture of a happy squirrel.
— Squeak! (This really is delicious!)
After they’d finished the ramyeon,
Lee Woo-jin licked the seasoning dust from his fingers clean, brushed off his clothes, and stood up.
“Right. Dungeon Rat. It said your place was the ‘Abandoned Dungeon.’ What does that mean?”
— Squeak. (It means exactly what it says—abandoned. The witch decided it was no longer useful.)
“So I can use it?”
— Squeak? (There’s nothing there.)
Lee Woo-jin nodded.
An empty, abandoned space.
If he could figure out how to use it, all the better.
Lee Woo-jin turned and headed back toward the Abandoned Dungeon.
[High-Rank Witch’s Abandoned Dungeon]
— Monsters: 0
— Traps: 0
It truly was abandoned, just as advertised.
A vast cavern.
Corridors.
Nothing else.
As if it had never been a dungeon in the first place.
— Squeak? (Master, do you need ownership rights to this place?)
“Ownership rights? Such a thing exists?”
— Squeak. (It does. Every dungeon has a Land Deed. With a Land Deed, you can own the dungeon.)
— Squeak. (I can find it for you if you wish.)
“What? You can do that?”
Find the Land Deed for him.
How could it possibly find it, and from whom?
Given that it said “High-Rank Witch’s Abandoned Dungeon,” wouldn’t the witch still have it in her possession?
“You’re not thinking of getting it from the old owner, are you? That could be dangerous, so maybe we should drop the idea.”
— Squeak! (Don’t worry! The Land Deed is hidden somewhere in this dungeon!)
Hidden somewhere in this dungeon?
Lee Woo-jin blinked, confusion written across his face.
The Dungeon Rat chuckled and elaborated.
— Squeak. (Usually, a dungeon’s Land Deed is hidden somewhere within it. Only the witch who owns it knows the location.)
— Squeak! (But abandoning a dungeon means the witch stopped hiding the Land Deed and left it exposed! A single circuit through the dungeon and you’ll find it in no time!)
“I see. I don’t fully understand, but in any case—you’re saying you can bring me the Land Deed?”
— Squeak! (That’s exactly right!)
.
.
.
It took less than thirty minutes.
For the Dungeon Rat to find the Land Deed and make its way back to where Woo-jin waited.
– Squeak! (It’s here!)
[Abandoned Dungeon Land Deed]
– Grade: A
– Description: A Land Deed proving ownership of a dungeon created by the high-rank witch Eldora. Currently in an abandoned state.
A single sheet of paper that looked like aged parchment.
The moment Woo-jin took the Abandoned Dungeon Land Deed from the Dungeon Rat, a message bloomed before his eyes.
[Do you wish to claim ownership of the Abandoned Dungeon?]
“Huh?”
– Squeak? (Why are you doing that?)
“A message asking if I want to claim ownership. Hmm.”
Well, whatever.
[You have acquired ownership of the dungeon created by high-rank witch Eldora. This fact will be reported to Eldora.]
“……?”
A bad feeling crept over him.
Woo-jin’s instincts screamed that he needed to get out of this dungeon immediately.
“Dungeon Rat, come back.”
Poof!
[The Dungeon Rat has been unsummoned.]
Woo-jin vanished in an instant.
[Concealment Lv. max]
[Stealthy Steps Lv. 2]
Then he scurried back through the hole connected to the Manager’s passage and filled it in with soil once more.
The hole, now completely sealed.
Still taking no chances, Woo-jin backtracked and refilled all the loose earth he’d dug along the path leading to the dungeon entrance.
* * *
[Ownership of the Abandoned Dungeon has been transferred as follows:]
– Previous owner: Eldora
– New owner: Lee Woo-jin
Eldora’s brow furrowed.
What kind of absurd situation was this?
Abandoned or not, a dungeon was still a dungeon.
And someone had dared to invade the dungeon of a high-rank witch like herself, stealing the Land Deed and changing the ownership?
“Their audacity knows no bounds.”
Yet something troubled her.
If someone had entered the dungeon, an alert should have been triggered to notify the owner—Eldora—of the intrusion.
But no such notification had appeared.
This shouldn’t be possible. Whoever this Lee Woo-jin is, no one can enter a dungeon without the owner being notified.
To be frank, it was a dungeon she’d discarded anyway.
If a mere intrusion notification had come through, she would have ignored it without a second thought.
But a change in ownership was an entirely different matter.
This was nothing short of a challenge to her authority as a witch.
Her pride had been trampled.
‘I need to see who this person is.’
.
.
.
Meanwhile, on the 99th Floor, a notification appeared for Woo-jin.
[Someone has invaded the dungeon.]
Though it said ‘someone’, Woo-jin had little trouble deducing that the intruder was none other than the dungeon’s original owner.
‘I’d better not go back there for a while.’
He was relieved he’d escaped so quickly.
Farming in a Dragon’s Lair (Serialized)
Author | Gaebuk S
Publisher | Kim Joo-hyung
Published by | JP Media Co., Ltd.
Marketing | Han Jae-hyuk
Address │ 401, 11 Digital-ro 33-gil, Guro-gu, Seoul (Guro-dong, Ace Techno Tower 8th)
Email │ [email protected]
Homepage │ www.jayplemedia.com
ⓒ Gaebyek S2026
※This work is published by Jay Plus Media Co., Ltd. in accordance with a contract with the copyright holder. The contents may not be used in any form or by any means without permission from 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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