Solo Farming In The Tower

Forest of Creation

[Finding the problem is too hard. Can’t I get a hint?]

After two weeks of sending countless Avatars to search every corner of the world, Flamy anxiously glanced at the Trial Statue and asked.

However—

"The fifth trial begins with finding the problem itself. Therefore, there are no hints."

The statue was unyielding.

"Hmm. Treasures are always hidden in hard-to-reach places."

Instead, the statue muttered to itself, subtly dropping a hint.

A hard-to-reach place?! _{𝚗ovp𝚞b.𝚌om}

For Flamy, the hardest place to reach was...

Sejun’s side.

The moment Flamy thought of Sejun, its leaves burst into flames with excitement.

[Ah! I got it!]

The **problem must be near Lord Sejun!

[And maybe Theo will help with his Golden Forepaws! Hehe.]**

Flamy was already desperate to attend Sejun’s upcoming birthday party, so this realization delighted it even more.

It didn’t even matter if the fifth trial didn’t actually require leaving—Flamy needed an excuse to go.

After all, it had been almost a month since it gained access to the "Law of Creation: Gets Weaker When Holding Breath" and the Authority: Sickly Beautiful Girl, but due to the Trial Statue’s watchful gaze, it hadn’t been able to use them freely.

Now, it had a reason to go to Sejun!

[Thank you for the hint, Trial Statue! The problem is in the Black Tower, right?!]

"Huh?!"

Before the statue could correct the misunderstanding—

[Hehe! I need to hurry and prepare Lord Sejun’s birthday gift! Which Fire Apple should I bring?! Hehe. I wonder if Lord Sejun can finally eat a Golden Fire Apple now?]

Flamy enthusiastically prepared to descend to the 99th floor of the Black Tower.

...That’s not where the problem is.

The Trial Statue, unable to respond, watched in frustration as Flamy jumped to the wrong conclusion.

Black Tower, 99th Floor

"Alright, guys, shall we get started?"

Sejun looked at the mountain of potatoes stacked before him and spoke to his companions.

"Puhuhut. Leave it to Vice Chairman Theo, nya!"

Kyaooong!

[I may have lost the lap, but I’ll win this one!]

At Sejun’s words, Theo and Baektang immediately sharpened their claws and started peeling potatoes at high speed.

Mooo!

The peeled potatoes were handed over to the Black Minotaurs, who smashed them with their bare hands to extract potato starch.

Kuuong!

Mooo!

Next to them, Pink Fur and the Ox King were busy mashing corn to extract its starch.

They needed the starch to make glass noodles.

Originally, sweet potatoes were supposed to be used as well, but—

Grrr... Squeak! Squeak!

[Grrr. Sweet potatoes aren’t for squeezing! Sweet potatoes are only for making The Great Kkamang’s Roasted Sweet Potato Chips!]

"That’s right! We are the Roasted Sweet Potato Chip Guardians! We will protect them at all costs!"

Screech!

Shalala!

...

Kkamang and his underlings tied red headbands around their heads, fiercely guarding the sweet potatoes from being taken.

"Fine, fine. Just be quiet."

Squeak!

[Okay!]

Annoyed by Kkamang’s incessant whining, Sejun removed sweet potatoes from the starch extraction list.

Hihit. Victory!

Pleased with his great achievement in winning against Housekeeper, Kkamang proudly scampered off to Kkamang’s Great Domain.

Squeak!

[Come listen, everyone! The Great Kkamang has defeated Housekeeper!]

Kiki!

Kyahaha!

Kkamang enthusiastically boasted about how he had whined his way to victory, entertaining the Destruction Pioneers and Devourers of Doom.

While They Were Extracting Starch—

"Queng, let’s start our part too."

Queng!

Sejun and Queng began kneading the dough.

Sejun worked with flour to make wheat noodles, while Queng worked with rice to make rice noodles.

Originally, he could have just used cooking skills to duplicate the dish, meaning he wouldn’t have needed to go through all this trouble.

However, since his cooking skill had evolved into “Delicious Cooking,” a new problem arose.

Now, he could create flavors that surpassed the limits of the ingredients—which was great.

But in return, duplicating a single portion of food required far more mana and time.

To minimize mana and time consumption, he needed to prepare the ingredients properly.

That way, he could mass-produce food in one go.

Also...

It was just satisfying to see a neatly stacked warehouse filled with noodles.

Huhuhu.

It was simply Sejun’s personal preference.

Thus, as Sejun and his group spent two days making noodles—

Meanwhile...

"Lord Sejun, I’ll be going now."

"Yeah. Be careful, Toryong."

"Puhuhut. Toryong, bring back lots of money, nya!"

"Yes!"

Toryong departed for his final study tour at the Sanctuary of Forgotten Gods.

Land of Ruin

Thud. Thud.

"Kekeke. Come out, come out, wherever you are."

Tarak was playing a cruel game of hide-and-seek with the pure spiritual bodies of the future Creation God candidates, pretending to look for them.

And—

We’re scared!

Somebody help us!

Shiver. Shiver.

The spirits cowered in a corner, trembling.

"Kekeke. I understand your fear. I’ve been through it myself."

Thud. Thud.

Tarak spoke in a soft, sweet voice, trying to corrupt the spirits.

However—

"Everyone ignored me. Even the Primordial God who was born alongside me."

"Even my own brother abandoned me while I was trembling! He left me behind!!!"

Tarak suddenly lost control, shouting in a voice filled with resentment.

It seemed his story was true.

"I was born alongside the Primordial God! So why am I weak and ugly?! Why only me?!"

Once he erupted, Tarak’s words overflowed with bitter rage.

And the more he expressed his anger, the more monstrous his appearance became.

His hatred was turning him into the very creature he despised.

At that moment—

"Eek! So scary!"

One of the frightened spirits suddenly bolted away from Tarak.

"Help! Someone, please save us!"

That became the signal.

The other spirits also began running, trying to escape Tarak.

And then—

"Kekeke. Where do you think you’re going?!"

One of the fleeing spirits was caught.

"Kekeke. Look closely. Do I really look that scary?"

Tarak brought the spirit close to his hideous face, grinning with twisted, distorted lips.

His voice trembled slightly with 1% hope and 99% despair.

And then—

"Monster! Stay away from me!"

The response always met the 99% despair.

"Tch. Boring."

Crunch. Crunch.

Tarak ate the spirit.

It tasted bitter.

****

Sanctuary of Forgotten Gods

[Half-God Earth Dragon, Park Toryong, Guardian of Black Tower's Park Sejun, has arrived to decide his career path.]

Toryong had arrived at the Sanctuary of Forgotten Gods.

Strapped to his body were dozens of bottles—he had brought the maximum amount of Samyangju he could carry.

So this is what it looks like.

Toryong scanned his surroundings.

He stood at the entrance of the Sanctuary, beyond which lay a fog-covered forest, its misty haze making it eerily gloomy.

At that moment—

"Someone’s here."

"A visitor?"

"Who is it?"

"Doesn't seem dead."

"A new Gravekeeper?"

From behind the trees, Gravekeepers and dead gods cautiously peeked out, observing Toryong.

And then—

Let’s get started.

"Alright! One sip extends your life by 10 years! Two sips, 20 years! Samyangju, handcrafted by Chairman Park of Sejun Company, now available for just 10 billion Tower Coins per glass!"

Toryong boldly announced his sales pitch, drawing the attention of the Gravekeepers and dead gods.

The gods who resided in this Sanctuary eventually faded into oblivion due to running out of divine power.

But if they could restore their divine power, they could live indefinitely.

And no god wanted to disappear.

Yet now, someone offered them extended life in exchange for wealth—something they had no real use for.

After all, they came into existence with nothing and would leave with nothing.

Three months in Sejun Company, and you automatically gain a business mindset.

Having observed Sejun and Theo, Toryong had fully grasped the art of business.

At his words—

- I’ll take one.

- Two for me.

- Me too.

The dead gods swarmed in, handing over money, purchasing Samyangju to extend their lifespans.

Meanwhile—

"This one’s interesting."

"Should we buy some too?"

"Why not? We've got plenty of abandoned jewels in storage."

The Gravekeepers, intrigued by Toryong, contemplated whether to join in.

But before they could decide—

"SOLD OUT! All gone!"

While they hesitated, the Samyangju was completely sold out.

So this is what it feels like.

Experiencing his first complete sell-out, Toryong felt immense satisfaction.

At that moment—

"What do you think? It’s fun here, isn’t it? Want to become a Gravekeeper?"

One of the Gravekeepers approached Toryong, his voice a mix of hope and nervous anticipation.

"Yes. I’ll do it. I’ll become a Gravekeeper."

Toryong accepted without hesitation, as if it was the most natural decision in the world.

"W-Wait, really?! /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ You’re actually becoming a Gravekeeper?!"

The Gravekeeper who had made the offer was more shocked than Toryong.

And—

"Yes. I mean it. I’ll become a Gravekeeper."

Toryong reaffirmed his decision.

A Few Days Earlier

"Lord Sejun, where should I go?"

Toryong had sought Sejun’s advice on which divine realm would be best for his career.

"Hold on. The more information we have, the more options we get."

To make the best decision, Sejun consulted multiple gods—