You Have Been Invited to the Auction House of the Gods - Chapter 106

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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106

 

 

 

 

Agriculture is the foremost foundation of all nations under heaven.

…

Since the climate and soil of each region are not the same, he commanded the governors to seek out and question the old farmers.

Among these, duplicates were discarded and only the essential parts were selected to create one volume,

which was titled ‘Nongsa Jikseol’.

 

— Excerpt from ‘Sejong Sillok’ Volume 44, 11th Year, 5th Month, 16th Day (Sinyu).

 

Contrary to my initial expectations, Golden Fragrance surprisingly had many agriculture-related items.

 

Well, if you have to live for countless eons, you might as well have some simple hobbies.

 

The problem was the scale of those ‘hobbies’.

 

Was it because they had to satisfy the tastes of gods?

 

Whether agricultural texts or artifacts, they all exceeded the bounds of human comprehension.

 

I had expected a peaceful rural life story from something called ‘Samshin Grandmother’s Flower Garden Cultivation’,

but the cover had drawings of human bones and flesh.

It even included cultivation methods for udumbara flowers that bloom once every 3,000 years.

 

This was relatively tame by comparison.

 

Why on earth would anyone want to cultivate a World Tree?

 

No, was a World Tree even something you could cultivate if you tried?

 

On the last page, there was an advertisement saying “If it’s too bothersome, use Golden Fragrance’s labor market!” with Lord Smith winking.

 

So after filtering through everything, what I ultimately won was the ‘Direct Explanation of Farming – Revised Edition’.

Although it was only E-grade, it was one of the few agricultural texts comprehensible within human common sense.

 

Of course, that wasn’t the only reason I bid on Nongsa Jikseol.

 

I’m a rational consumer, after all.

 

What was King Sejong’s intention in compiling Nongsa Jikseol?

 

He wanted his people to farm well, but the books distributed by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs were foreign imports that didn’t match Korea’s climate and soil,

so he had his subordinates conduct field research and compile it through interviews with practitioners—creating an agricultural manual suited to the Korean Peninsula’s climate.

 

The key point is this.

 

An agricultural manual suited to the Korean Peninsula’s environment.

 

That alone was valuable enough, but His Majesty went one step further.

 

It seemed he wasn’t letting his subjects slack off even after ascending to the heavens.

 

If he had adapted farming methods to the Korean Peninsula’s climate, now he had reached the level of creating environments suited to the crops instead.

 

I opened Nongsa Jikseol and placed a dungeon pepper on a blank page.

 

Soon, ripples spread across the page.

 

The dungeon pepper sank into the paper that had turned liquid-like.

 

And after a moment, text began to be inscribed on the blank page.

 

***

 

Gyeonggi Province Outskirts, Hanuri Pyeongtaek Factory

 

In front of it, massive greenhouses were lined up in rows.

 

“I had no idea… it could be this easy.”

 

Kim Jin-woo looked at the dungeon peppers inside the greenhouse with an incredulous expression.

 

I agreed with his sentiment.

 

I never imagined a mere E-grade item could create a capsaicin pepper field.

 

Though I called it a pepper field, it was actually a perfect recreation of the dungeon environment outside the dungeon.

 

Nongsa Jikseol, which I thought would simply provide farming methods,

actually had the ability to ‘recreate’ the elements necessary for seeds and their environment.

 

‘This thing is really something else.’

 

‘Why do dungeon peppers only grow in that place’—Nongsa Jikseol’s interpretation was different from the conventional view.

 

I had never considered the idea that dungeon peppers would choose their own habitat.

 

It wasn’t that an environment like capsaicin created dungeon peppers,

but rather that dungeon peppers established themselves first and that environment formed as a result.

 

This was Nongsa Jikseol’s analysis.

 

This single perspective completely changed our approach.

Instead of mimicking the dungeon environment, we used a method of ‘guiding’ crops to choose their own habitat.

 

Until now, what we had attempted was building an environment similar to the dungeon and then trying to plant dungeon peppers.

 

The method that Nongsa Jikseol taught was simple.

 

Crush Magic Stones and use them as fertilizer.

 

It wasn’t that I hadn’t tried this method before.

 

I just hadn’t thought to experiment with adjusting the ratios and properties.

No, I probably had thought about it.

I just lacked the money.

 

Pouring hundreds of billions of won just to cultivate plants found in dungeons wasn’t an easy thing to do.

There was no guarantee of success, and even if it succeeded, it would be meaningless.

 

Nongsa Jikseol had detailed information written down to the Magic Stone ratios.

 

If it had only gone this far, I would have given up.

 

Using Magic Stones as fertilizer would cost more than the harvest was worth.

 

But perhaps it was the great king’s benevolence, considering the people’s poor financial situation?

 

Even diluted application methods were specifically presented.

 

You had to spray it more frequently than using the concentrated solution,

but when the cost difference was hundreds of thousands of times, that much was bearable.

 

If there was one problem, it was the Security Guards and Workers.

 

Security Guards could be replaced with Goblins,

but there was nothing I could do about the Workers who had to farm directly.

 

It wasn’t easy for ordinary people to farm in an environment changed by Dungeon Peppers.

 

But here, an unexpected solution appeared.

 

Sister An Hyeon-su’s Golems.

 

Rather than leaving unused ones rotting in the Empty Lot anyway,

she coolly threw them over, saying it would be profitable to at least put them to farm work.

 

Of course, timing-wise, she did take bags of Ghost Stones she’d never seen before while absorbing the Cult.

 

But readily offering A-Grade Golems for pepper farming wasn’t an easy thing to do.

 

The Magic Tower kids would have been horrified if they heard.

 

‘I should put some more Ghost Stones in Sister’s place.’

 

That said, not everything went according to plan.

 

While I was looking around the Greenhouse, a person walked out from among the Golems wearing Straw Hats.

 

An old man dressed in a Straw Hat and Work Clothes.

 

He walked slowly while wiping sweat with the towel hanging around his neck.

 

As if accustomed to labor, he opened his mouth with an expression of refreshment from sweating.

 

“You were right. Dungeon Peppers definitely seem to choose their natural habitat.”

 

“Is that so.”

 

I answered reluctantly.

 

“Yes. It’s one of the discoveries that will turn the Academic Society upside down.”

 

Honestly, I couldn’t understand why that Grandfather was here either.

 

“So you’re going back now?”

 

“Hm? Going back? What do you mean by that?”

 

Actually, I hoped he would go back quickly.

Even when fighting Kang Mu-heon, I wasn’t uncomfortable, but that Grandfather was quite awkward.

 

“Didn’t you come out to confirm whether the hypothesis was true?”

 

“Now I need to start researching in earnest. Don’t worry, I fully intend to pay the price for that.”

 

“I see.”

 

“Tsk tsk, do I make you uncomfortable?”

 

“…That can’t be.”

 

Yes, quite a lot actually.

 

But I couldn’t bring myself to voice my true feelings.

 

That was because that old man wasn’t an ordinary person.

 

How could an ordinary person walk around inside a Greenhouse dressed as a farmer in the first place?

 

He was the retired former Magic Tower Master Yeondam Jin Young-heon.

 

‘I keep getting entangled with retired heroes.’

 

It was a connection made while cleaning up the Religious Order Forces.

Many of the Cult’s forces were hiding in the Magic Tower too.

 

‘Tsk, I shouldn’t have shared information with the Magic Tower.’

 

The reason for sharing information was simple.

After cleaning up the religious order forces, solidify the alliance with the Magic Tower,

and if there were any kids interested in dungeon botany, send a few over.

 

I thought they’d dispatch a couple of moderately interested mages, but they sent a monster instead.

 

‘The Magic Tower Master, despite his appearance, is quite a vindictive character.’

 

I should have guessed when I saw the Magic Tower Master’s soul-crushed expression while cleaning up the religious order forces.

 

This was deliberately leaked information by the Magic Tower Master.

 

There’s no way information would reach the ears of the former Magic Tower Master who retired long ago.

 

The fact that he’s a botanist who devoted his life to researching dungeon plants is something both the Magic Tower Master and I know.

 

He said he learned magic just to wander around dungeons and conduct research.

 

‘Well, since it’s come to this, I should extract as much as I can.’

 

I revised my original plan of just setting up a simple greenhouse.

 

I didn’t think I was exploiting an old man older than Sister An Hyeon-su.

 

Where does that person look like an old man?

 

Firm skin and straight posture.

Aside from his hair being white, he’s middle-aged at most.

 

“Didn’t you say you were going to a dungeon?”

 

“Yes. I’m planning to go soon because of Cowbell’s milk. But why do you ask…?”

 

“Ah, it’s nothing special, but let me come along.”

 

“…”

 

“For some reason, I feel like following you around will lead to new research material.”

 

I had forgotten.

That old man, claiming to be retiring to farming, built a house in a dungeon.

It’s called retirement, but when you think about it, he might be stronger than the current Magic Tower Master.

 

Since it’s come to this, I need to change my strategy.

 

I thought for a moment and then nodded.

 

“Yes, well, let’s go together. But please sign a contract first.”

 

“A contract?”

 

“Just like a contract job. It probably won’t happen, but if Elder Yeondam gets hurt, my position would become quite difficult.”

 

What could happen to Jin Young-heon, an A-rank Hunter?

But there’s a saying that you don’t notice your clothes getting wet in a drizzle.

Non-regular workers become regular workers, then become C-Level managers, and so on.

Just like no one knew Zhang Qingye would become Asin’s CLO.

 

“If you’re going to stay here for research anyway, wouldn’t legitimate employment as a short-term contract worker be better? Going to the dungeon is also an extension of that.”

 

“Well, if that’s your intention, then so be it.”

 

Jin Young-heon smiled reluctantly, but the employment contract of Chain Contract Magic wasn’t something even a former Magic Tower Master could easily avoid.

I naturally handed over a contract.

 

It was a simple one-page document since it was a fixed-term contract.

 

Jin Young-heon signed it with a flourish.

 

“Aren’t you going to read it?”

 

“Is there anyone who doesn’t know that Asin’s contract conditions are the best in the industry? It’s like Asin’s creed, so I doubt you’d be careless just because it’s a fixed-term contract.”

 

“I’m grateful for your trust.”

 

I put the documents in an envelope and carefully placed it in my inner pocket.

 

“Shall we go right away then?”

 

I smiled and took the lead.

 

Things seem to be working out easier than expected.

 

Originally, contracts are supposed to be read carefully.

 

Asin’s contracts don’t have any toxic clauses.

That’s true even for contract work, even short-term part-time jobs.

 

Instead, they just have premium clauses that anyone would welcome.

 

‘I should tell Jin-woo to prepare an employment contract.’

 

***

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