Player Farming in the Dragon’s Lair - Chapter 97

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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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97
Lee Woo-jin had returned to the Dragon Lair and settled into a peaceful rhythm.
[Prepare yourselves.]
[Enemies will soon converge on the battlefield.]
[The third round is beginning.]
It was a comfort akin to playing an idle smartphone game.
Even while doing nothing, messages about the 40th Floor Stage progression streamed in without pause.
[Flame Wolf defeated.]
[Flame Wolf de——.]
[Defeat monsters. (3/100)]
The Dungeon Squirrel’s performance was dazzling.
How delightful that it was handling the auto-hunt on its own.
“Hm, hm. This is pleasant indeed.”
In truth, Lee Woo-jin himself had doubted the method at first and had considered resummoning the Dungeon Squirrel.
The God of Destiny had also deemed it an unintended exploit and a critical flaw, but the God of Order had approved it.
The reasoning was that the Dungeon Squirrel had been summoned through a skill that Lee Woo-jin possessed.
And so the God of Destiny eventually relented as well,
which was why Lee Woo-jin could now recline here in such comfort.
Of course, his rest was a way of helping the Dungeon Squirrel.
Among the skills Lee Woo-jin currently had, there were no direct offensive abilities, and while he possessed the power of Absolute Concealment to aid survival, relying on that alone to step into the Arena would be foolish.
— Click! (Boss, you go rest, yeah! I’ll handle the rest, got it!)
This was what the Dungeon Squirrel had said while clinging to the wall, setting up ranged traps like arrows and cannons aimed toward the direction of the Arena.
‘Still, I can’t just sit idle while the squirrel works alone.’
Going to the 40th Floor and hanging around would only get in the way.
Lee Woo-jin decided to do what he could.
That was to reward the Dungeon Squirrel upon its return.
And naturally, that reward would be food.
“Hm, what would be good to give it?”
He recalled what the Dungeon Squirrel had eaten with particular enthusiasm.
Carrots, instant ramen, candied sweet potato—
Looking at it this way, one could call it a vegetarian.
Since squirrels were known to favor acorns, it seemed to prefer items with a base of nuts or grains.
‘It doesn’t seem particularly interested in spicy seasonings or meat, at any rate.’
As Lee Woo-jin was considering whether to make popcorn, the bees approached.
Whiiing~
— Master, this time we’ve brought plenty of honey!
— Hehe. The flowers here are abundant, and the honey quality is excellent too.
“Hm, hm. Thank you.”
Golden honey brimming inside the honeycomb.
He separated just the honey into a glass jar of suitable size, sealed it with a cork stopper.
The honey clinging to his fingertip was too precious to waste, so he licked it off—and the sweet taste and fragrance on his tongue lifted his spirits at once.
“This would taste good with rice cakes, wouldn’t it?”
Kim Mi-sook would sometimes shop at the market, and each time, she’d bring back Injeolmi without fail.
Then the whole family would sit in front of the television eating the Injeolmi, dusted thickly with ochre-colored soybean powder, and honey was always part of it.
When you dipped the Injeolmi generously in honey, the nutty richness of the soybean powder, the chewy texture of the rice cake, and the sweetness of the honey complemented each other perfectly.
The Dungeon Squirrel would likely enjoy it too.
‘Come to think of it, I have all the ingredients.’
Rice and beans.
Those two things were all that mattered.
Of course, the Injeolmi sold commercially might use various other ingredients, but the essential materials were those two.
“All right. Let me make it right now!”
Lee Woo-jin retrieved the Black Mithril Pot, rinsed the rice in rainwater, and began cooking. He kindled a fire with firewood and the cooking began.
“You’re already eating?”
“No, I’m making a snack.”
(……) A question mark.
The Doppelgänger tilted his head in confusion.
What Lee Woo-jin was doing looked, from any angle, like cooking rice.
In the meantime, he decided to prepare the soybean powder.
Lee Woo-jin went out to the field and harvested beans right away.
[Tower Skill Bean harvested.]
[Harvesting Lv. 7’s proficiency has increased slightly.]
[You have acquired Harvesting Lv. 8.]
[Tower Skill Bean]
– Grade: C
– Effect: When consumed, randomly elevates one of your current skills by one level for 30 minutes.
– Description: A Tower Skill Bean cultivated by someone. Eat it, and your skill level might just rise.
A hard soybean with a pale yellowish hue.
This little thing had been earning its keep beautifully.
He’d fermented it into soy sauce and doenjang, crafted tofu from it, and now he could even mill it into the soybean powder for Injeolmi. Already incredibly useful, and now this!
‘Should I use the Millstone… no, wait.’
The soybean powder would turn out finer and richer if he roasted it first before grinding.
After rinsing the beans clean and shaking off the water, he spread them wide across a broad pan.
Pop!
As the pan heated, the soybeans began to toast gradually.
At first there was no particular smell, but as time passed, the beans’ distinctive nutty aroma began rising steadily.
Kkamangi twitched his nose.
“That’s a delicious smell, meow.”
Woo-jin chuckled softly, continuing to stir the soybeans with a wooden spatula.
Keeping them moving so they wouldn’t burn, the pale beans grew steadily darker in shade.
“That should do it.”
Woo-jin transferred the roasted soybeans to one side and let them cool.
When he pinched one between his fingers, it felt crisp and dry.
Now it was time to grind them with the Millstone.
He pulled the Millstone, which had been set aside, forward.
“Doppelgänger, feed them in a bit at a time.”
(…) A nod.
The Doppelgänger dropped roasted soybeans into the Millstone’s opening one handful at a time.
Woo-jin gripped the Millstone’s handle and began turning it slowly.
Crunch.
The heavy Millstone turned, crushing and grinding the roasted beans.
At first, coarsely broken bean fragments came out, but as he kept turning the handle, finer and finer powder fell down below.
He repeated the process, pouring the powder back into the Millstone and grinding again.
Soon the pale yellowish soybean powder he’d seen at markets began accumulating in a wooden bowl.
Soybean powder—done.
Now to make the Injeolmi.
The rice finished cooking right on time; he lifted the pot lid and spooned the fluffy grains into a bowl.
He wet his hands with cold water, then grabbed a handful of rice with his bare hands.
Even with cold water on his hands, freshly cooked hot rice could burn severely, but Woo-jin didn’t mind.
[Fire Resistance Lv. 4]
He felt the heat, nothing more.
Thanks to his Fire Resistance skill, his skin suffered no damage at all.
He pressed and kneaded the rice in his hands into bite-sized rice cakes, then placed each one on a wooden tray beside him.
The Doppelgänger came over and joined in making the rice cakes. Before long, chewy rice cakes had piled up like a mountain in the wooden bowl.
Next, he brought over a wide wooden tray and poured the soybean powder onto it.
He placed each rice cake on the powder and rolled it.
The powder clung thickly to the moist rice cakes, coating them in pale yellowish color.
[‘Injeolmi’ has been completed.]
[Cooking Lv. 8’s proficiency has increased.]
[Injeolmi]
– Grade: B
– Effects
– Taste Bonus +50%
– When consumed, all stats +20% for 60 minutes
– When consumed, randomly elevates one of your current skills by one level for 60 minutes
– Description: A dish born from Tower rice and beans cultivated by someone. Outstanding culinary craftsmanship shines through.
“Ahhh.”
The completed Injeolmi.
He decided to taste it with honey, just as he would have at home.
He poured honey from a glass bottle into a small bowl, grabbed an Injeolmi thickly coated in soybean powder, and dunked it in the honey.
The moment he tasted it, it was exactly as he’d expected.
Chewy rice cake, savory soybean powder, sweet honey.
[Consuming Injeolmi raises all stats by 20 percent for 60 minutes.]
[For 60 minutes, Craftsmanship Level 5 increases by one rank.]
[Consuming Tower Sweet Honey increases Experience Points gain by 20 percent.]
“I want to try some too, meow!”
“Sure, let’s all eat…….”
Lee Woo-jin stopped mid-sentence.
He’d been so absorbed in making the Injeolmi that he’d momentarily forgotten—he’d made it specifically to give the Dungeon Squirrel something delicious after all the work it was doing to advance the 40th Floor Stage.
“Sorry, can you wait a moment? I want to eat with the Dungeon Squirrel.”
There were other ways to give it a separate portion, but he wanted to eat together.
Kkamangi, who had been reaching forward with his front paws to grab the Injeolmi, stopped. His expression showed disappointment, but he soon nodded in acceptance.
“Got it, meow!”
“Thanks.”
[God of Adventure says he’ll eat with everyone later too.]
“Thank you.”
.
.
.
40th Floor.
Boom!
Crash!
The Stage was still in progress.
The Dungeon Squirrel was pressed against the wall, adjusting the angles of the long-range traps while clearing out the monsters appearing on the Arena.
Lee Woo-jin peeked his head through the open Manager’s Door on the 40th Floor.
“Squirrel! Let’s have a snack!”
– Squeak? (A snack?)
Rumble.
– Squeak. (Now that you mention it, I’m pretty hungry.)
It bounded toward him like a flying squirrel from the direction of the Manager’s Door and landed in his arms with a soft thump.
Lee Woo-jin arrived immediately in front of the 99th Floor via the Teleportation Ring.
The Dungeon Squirrel sniffed the rich, savory aroma wafting from inside the Dragon Lair.
– Squeak! (What a delicious smell!)
“Here, sit and eat with me.”
– Squeak? (What is this?)
“It’s a rice cake called Injeolmi. You just dip it in this honey and eat it.”
Lee Woo-jin dipped an Injeolmi in the honey and placed it in the Dungeon Squirrel’s paw.
Normally the soybean powder would scatter everywhere when you picked up Injeolmi, but the sticky honey held the powder firmly in place.
Crunch crunch.
The Dungeon Squirrel stopped chewing after tasting the Injeolmi.
For a moment Lee Woo-jin thought it might not like it, but he was wrong.
The Dungeon Squirrel’s face grew brighter than ever.
– Squeak! (This is really, really delicious!)
It began eating the Injeolmi eagerly.
– Squeak? (Can I have one more?)
“Of course! Eat as much as you want.”
– Squeak! (This is the best!)
Kkamangi asked.
“Um, um, Woo-jin, can I eat now too, meow?”
“Go ahead, let’s eat!”
Lee Woo-jin prepared Injeolmi generously coated with soybean powder along with honey and handed it to the gods who had waited their turn.
[God of Adventure laughs with glee, accepts the Injeolmi and honey, and dashes off to where the other gods are.]
[God of Order picks up an Injeolmi, takes a bite, then chuckles heartily and says, “This is absolutely perfect on the tongue!”]
[God of Authority remarks that it pairs wonderfully with the honey and says he could keep eating like this.]
(……) Thumbs up!
Lee Woo-jin smiled contentedly.
Food really does taste better when you share it with others.
A Farmer on the Dragon Lair (Ongoing)
Author │ Gaebeak S
Publisher │ Kim Joo-hyung
Published by │ J Pul 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]
Website │ www.jayplemedia.com
ⓒ Gaebyeok S2026
※This work has been published by J 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.
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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