Player Farming in the Dragon’s Lair - Chapter 82

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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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82
Forty-eight days since arriving at the Tower.
Pop!
[Consuming a Tower’s Blessed Mana Cherry Tomato increases Mana permanently by 0.02.]
[Consuming a Tower’s Blessed Mana Cherry Tomato increases Mana…….]
When he needed to rehydrate and his mouth felt restless.
Or when he’d eaten his fill but wanted a light snack to top himself off—nothing beat the cherry tomatoes.
Bright, refreshing, crisp.
Recently, he’d left a Teleportation Ring on Hard Tower Floor 15, the Snowy Mountain Stage, and had been using it like a refrigerator, stashing carrot juice and cinnamon punch inside. The cherry tomatoes had gone in too, and he was in the middle of retrieving and eating them.
The slightly grainy texture of the chilled tomatoes offered a novel sensation, and they went down effortlessly.
Pop!
Pop!
Woo-jin’s feet carried him toward the corner where straw lay thick upon the ground.
He needed to check on the condition of the Meju he’d made four days ago while harvesting soybeans.
“Let me have a look.”
In the straw-lined corner lay the Meju, arranged as neatly as bricks.
The mounds of boiled beans he’d pressed and compacted were now hard and dry on the surface, their color shifted to a tawny brown.
He lifted one of the Meju and examined it.
The touch against his palm was firm and solid.
Whether thanks to the Meju mold’s efficacy or simply good fortune, the edges maintained their neat, squared-off shape without a hint of crumbling.
When he brought it near his nose, a savory aroma wafted up.
It was a world apart from the smell of boiled beans. Layered with the scent of straw was the distinctive, rich, deep fragrance of properly fermented Meju.
“Woo-jin.”
“Hmm?”
“There’s a funky smell here. Isn’t this rotten?”
“What are you talking about? It’s not rotten—it’s fermented.”
“Fermented?”
“Put simply, the ingredients aren’t just spoiling—they’re ripening in the right way. Kimchi works like that, and so do Doenjang and Ganjang. Instead of staying as they were, they develop deeper flavor and aroma over time.”
“I don’t quite understand.”
“Think of it this way. Raw beans just smell like beans, right? But when you boil them, press them together, and lay them on straw, the good bacteria inside begin to work, and gradually they become Meju. The smell changes, and later you can even turn them into Doenjang or Ganjang.”
Kkamangi blinked.
“So it hasn’t spoiled?”
“Right, it turned out well.”
Woo-jin tapped one of the Meju with his finger.
Tap.
Tap.
“See? The outside is nice and hard, dried properly, and the smell isn’t rotting at all—it’s savory. That’s the mark of successful Meju.”
Kkamangi cautiously brought his nose closer again.
“Hmm…….”
“What do you think?”
“It’s still a bit funky, but……. There’s something nutty about it too.”
Woo-jin chuckled softly.
“See? With this, I can make Doenjang stew later, and condiment sauce, and Ganjang too.”
Kkamangi’s ears perked up.
“It becomes something delicious?”
“That’s right.”
Only then did Kkamangi nod, as if understanding at last.
“Then it’s a good smell!”
“But you said it was rotten just a moment ago.”
“Well, it’s definitely a good smell now!”
The Doppelgänger, who had been listening beside them, applauded quietly.
[The God of Authority says you truly seem to know how to do many things, and it’s quite impressive.]
“Well then, shall I try making Doenjang right away?”
[The God of Adventure asks if you’re going to make Doenjang stew right now too.]
“I don’t think that will work yet. It needs time to mature first.”
[The God of Adventure swallows hard and says it’s a shame.]
“Doenjang gets even more delicious the longer it ages. We can wait and enjoy it properly. Hehe.”
[The God of Adventure nods vigorously and accepts this.]
To make Doenjang, he would need a fermentation pot.
Since he’d secured plenty of large stones while expanding the ceiling of the Dragon Lair, he had more than enough material for the pot.
When Lee Woo-jin reached for the stone, the Doppelgänger glided over and lifted it smoothly with a soft whoosh.
“Huh. The Doppelgänger really is the best at this.”
(……) Satisfying!
The Doppelgänger set the stone down in the workspace where Lee Woo-jin usually labored.
Now it was time to begin crafting the fermentation pot in earnest.
He drew out the Dark Moon and reshaped it into a short blade form, easier to carve with.
Whish!
The Unknown Stone began to fall away in chunks and wedges.
Scrape, scrape…….
He started carving with focused intent, conjuring in his mind the fermentation pots he’d seen countless times in rural villages and traditional Korean restaurants.
The carving itself wasn’t particularly difficult.
His Sculpture skill was at level five.
His Craftsmanship skill was at level four.
The two skills synergized beautifully with each other.
[You have sculpted an Unknown Stone Jangdok.]
[Sculpture Lv. 5 proficiency has increased.]
[Craftsmanship Lv. 4 proficiency has increased.]
[Unknown Stone Jangdok]
– Grade: C
– Effect: Greatly increases fermentation and aging speed. (Aging time -70%)
– Description: A fermentation pot carved from the Unknown Stone that comprises the Dragon Lair.
In this way, he crafted two more fermentation pots.
A total of three fermentation pots were complete.
“All right, let’s see here…….”
Lee Woo-jin checked the saved posts he’d found beneath the section on making Meju.
The process involved making Meju from soybeans, then using that Meju to make Doenjang and Ganjang and red chili paste.
Red chili paste was out—he had no peppers.
He reviewed the sections on making Doenjang and Ganjang.
【When Meju is submerged in salt water and aged, the solids above become Doenjang, while the dark liquid that remains below becomes Ganjang.】
【Once the Meju is complete, first remove any straw or foreign matter clinging to its surface. In the meantime, prepare the salt water to go into the fermentation pot. Dissolve the salt in water to achieve an appropriate salinity, then strain only the clear liquid from above and use that.】
【Next, wash the fermentation pot thoroughly and disinfect it, then dry it completely. Place a support inside the pot so the Meju doesn’t touch the bottom directly. Stack the Meju pieces neatly inside, then pour in salt water until the Meju is fully submerged.】
【Finally, add supplementary ingredients like charcoal, dried peppers, and jujubes, then cover with a lid and let it age. As time passes and the liquid has sufficiently steeped, the solids become Doenjang, and the remaining liquid can be used as Ganjang.】
“Good. Let’s give this a shot.”
The Doppelgänger picked up the Meju pieces one by one from where they lay on the straw and carried them to the workspace.
Lee Woo-jin started by preparing the salt.
[Magic Condiment Basket]
– Grade: B
– Effect: A basket containing unlimited basic condiments for use.
– Description: Contains salt, sugar, pepper, and olive oil.
He took out the salt container from the condiment basket.
“First, I need to make the salt water.”
He poured generous amounts of water into the Black Mithril Cauldron and shook in salt.
He stirred it with a wooden spoon until the salt dissolved.
He kept stirring until it was completely clear—a salty brine, ready.
Pop.
Lee Woo-jin dipped his fingertip into the salt water and tasted it with the tip of his tongue.
Definitely salty. This seemed about right.
Next came cleaning the fermentation pot.
Lee Woo-jin washed the inside of the stone fermentation pot he’d made thoroughly with lake water.
Just in case any stone dust from carving remained behind.
After washing, he carefully dried the inside with a dry cloth to remove all moisture.
“Good. Now let’s add the Meju.”
Lee Woo-jin stacked the finished Meju pieces one by one into the fermentation pot, standing them upright.
The rectangular Meju pieces, brick-like and neat, went in layer after layer.
“Now the salt water.”
Lee Woo-jin poured the salt water slowly into the pot.
The brine seeped into the gaps between the Meju and rose steadily.
As the Meju absorbed halfway through, the water level climbed until it nearly submerged everything.
Next he needed to add charcoal, dried peppers, and jujubes, but since he had no peppers or jujubes, he decided to add only charcoal.
These were meant to eliminate unwanted odors anyway.
In fact, charcoal alone would have worked perfectly fine.
Charcoal was already being produced in abundance from burning wood logs regularly.
After layering the charcoal in, I decided to secure the meju so it wouldn’t float to the surface.
I cut thin strips of wood into a cross shape and laid them across.
Thanks to that, the meju wouldn’t bob up through the water but stayed submerged below.
“Okay. Done.”
[Doenjang production initiated.]
[Cooking Lv. 7 increases fermentation success rate.]
[Unknown Stone Jangdok effect significantly reduces aging time.]
Once I’d covered the jangdok with its lid, it took on quite an authentic appearance.
A fermentation pot of the sort you’d find in the corner of a country home’s yard now stood firmly planted inside the Dragon Lair.
“All finished!”
(……) Applause!
“Phew, that was grueling.”
“Hard work well done, meow!”
.
.
.
Meanwhile, at the very moment Woo-jin was making doenjang.
In the Cult of Calamity’s administrative office.
The cult leader, Rabbit, paced nervously back and forth across the chamber.
– I can’t sit idle like this. I’ll have to go out and verify it myself!
– If no one appears, I will personally execute both you and that witch Eldora.
Rabbit recalled the final words Buer, an Apostle ranked tenth in the hierarchy, had left as he set out for the Abandoned Dungeon.
Rabbit waited anxiously for Buer’s return, heart heavy with worry.
Eldora was no less anxious, her own mind equally troubled.
“It’s already been a whole day! Why haven’t we heard anything, squeak?!”
“Could it be that he’s still waiting for Dark Moon to appear?”
“Ugh! I’m so nervous I’m stressed out of my mind, squeak! This won’t do, squeak! I’m going to the Abandoned Dungeon myself to see what’s happening, squeak!”
“B-but what if Buer gets angry?”
“I don’t care, squeak! Whatever comes, I’ll find out, squeak!”
Rabbit had reported to Buer based solely on Eldora’s account regarding Dark Moon’s existence. Truth be told, Rabbit herself needed direct confirmation of Dark Moon’s presence.
[Transferring to the Abandoned Dungeon.]
Pop!
She arrived in a cavernous dungeon, thick with dark and damp air.
Fear struck first, but she pushed forward slowly, one step at a time.
“Squeak, squeak…….”
Her trembling body moved forward, one footfall after another.
Then she heard a sound from far ahead.
Crunch!
Munch-munch…….
Was that the sound of someone chewing?
‘Someone’s bound, squeak?’
Though the light was poor, she could make out a figure with hands and feet bound, sitting against the wall. The figure appeared to be eating something.
As she drew closer…….
“B-Buer?”
Buer turned to look at Rabbit, his eyes wide with alarm.
In his hand lay something small and round, red as a vegetable.
Farming in the Dragon Lair (Serialized)
Author | Gae-byeok S
Publisher | Kim Joo-hyeong
Published by | Jplus Media Co., Ltd.
Marketing | Han Jae-hyeok
Address | 401, 11 Digital-ro 33-gil, Guro-gu, Seoul (Guro-dong, Ace Tech Tower 8th)
Email | [email protected]
Website | www.jayplemedia.com
ⓒ Gae-byeok S 2026
※This work is published by Jplus Media Co., Ltd. in accordance with a contract with the copyright holder, and no part of its content may be used in any form or by any means without the permission of the publisher 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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