9. Explosion is Art
I figured my companions would object to testing these dangerous fruits. But their reactions were better than expected.
"That's a great idea! Better than doing it near the house."
"I'll protect you, nyang!"
"I'll detonate the fruit from far away."
My companions made snap decisions on how to proceed.
"Oh, you guys are so reliable."
When I praised them, the turtle blushed and curled up tight. Wait, the most useless one was the most embarrassed.
"But first, we need to open the fruit."
What if it explodes while picking it? I turned the fruit around and spotted a thick line. It screamed, cut here with a knife!
"Nyangnyang. Open it along this line."
"Got it, nyang."
The white tiger grew huge in an instant and effortlessly pried open the fruit. Inside were countless tiny fruits, like pomegranate seeds.
"Mae. Take one small fruit in your beak and drop it far away."
"Understood, falconer."
While Mae did that, I burrowed into the white tiger's soft fur. It felt so warm and nice.
"It won't start a forest fire from the explosion, right?"
"Worry not! This one is here!"
True, with the turtle around, fire wouldn't be an issue.
"...But how do we make it explode?"
"...Indeed."
I wondered if it would go off on its own against my will. But no reaction, even after grunting and sending telepathic commands.
"...Falconer, this one shall drop a stone."
"Good luck!!"
Mae flew up and dropped a rock half my size. Did it need to be that big?
Thud!!
The impact echoed loudly.
"...Nothing happened?"
It didn't explode from that strong hit, so I didn't need to worry about it going off while opening. Good.
"Falconer, wait a moment."
Mae pondered, then flew off. Soon, it returned carrying a monster corpse. Tiny compared to the rock. Would that trigger it?
But the moment the corpse hit the bomb flower fruit—
BOOM—
A massive explosion rocked the air.
"Whoa, that's insane."
"Even I'd get badly hurt by that, nyang."
Beyond imagination. I'd pictured a grenade at best, but this was C4-level from the movies. A single bean-sized fruit packing that punch.
My eyes naturally drifted to the big fruit crammed with tiny ones.
"If we detonated all of these at once...!!"
Just thinking about it sent dopamine surging. Was I holding a nuke right now?
Then Mae fluttered back, dropping something from its beak.
"I picked up the seed."
"Good job."
The bomb flower seed survived the blast.
"Will it grow if we replant it?"
"Likely. But Rare Seed Creation probably won't make the same seed."
"Mana's plentiful anyway. Let's plant one more."
I buried the seed, and the turtle spat water on it. Cupping my hands, I infused mana.
The bomb flower grew rapidly under rapid growth, blooming into stunningly beautiful flowers. I snapped one off, and fruits sprouted fast.
"We can keep multiplying these rare plants like this."
"This one has a proposal. Why not plant all these fruits? Taking them home open like this seems risky."
"True, they're a hassle in this state."
Already opened, better to plant them all.
"To get seeds, do we explode every fruit?"
"No need. Just bury them. Once grown enough, they won't explode."
"Makes sense."
Potatoes planted in soil don't vanish into sprouts right away. Same here—minimal rapid growth should be safe.
"Then this spot is now the Bomb Flower Farm!"
Not my land, but who'd benefit more than me using it well?
"Everyone, step back!!!"
I waved my hands wildly, shoving the grass aside. Fertile soil lay bare.
I planted the fruits at intervals.
"More than I thought..."
Impossible to grow this many in a day. No rush anyway.
"Just sprouts for now."
Hands together, rapid growth. Sprouts poked up.
Confirmed they were good, then headed home slowly.
"By the way, when will you write that letter?"
"Oh, right."
I needed stuff from Haven. Time to propose proper trading.
"The flower for alchemy too—ask if they have an alchemist."
I jotted everything down. To avoid seeming stingy, I added another box of potatoes. Enough for the wounded.
As I handed the letter to Mae—
The turtle sulked, eyes closed.
"Something wrong?"
"...May this one make a suggestion??"
"What."
"It's..."
"We barely held them off again today."
Seola wiped her sweat. Orc corpses littered the area, the long battle leaving chaos.
"Gotta fall back again?"
The man beside her spoke. Kanghyuk Choi, leader of the survivor group centered on Sam Mart.
A gate had appeared in front of city hall. Orcs kept pouring out.
"Aren't gates supposed to close after spitting out a quota of monsters?"
"Nope. Saw on Ark—some gates from the first wave are still open."
"Makes sense. We barely know awakeners, let alone gates."
Two or three months since monsters appeared. Too soon to know everything.
These orcs were way different from prior monsters.
"Definitely... organized."
The surviving orcs retreated. Impossible normally—monsters fought to the death.
"Makes me uneasy."
"Saw a post on Ark about intelligent monsters. Maybe orcs have a leader."
"Worst case. They're already fortifying around city hall."
Then, more humans appeared in the distance.
"New survivors. We take them, right?"
"Of course."
Before orcs, joiners were steady. Now accelerating—small groups can't handle organized orcs.
"No awakeners again. But an electrician—lucky."
"Awakeners stick together. Easier."
Obvious. All might awaken eventually, but normals outnumbered them now. Groups naturally burdened awakeners with heavy lifting.
Few sacrificed easily. Awakeners clustered or took useful few.
"......"
Kanghyuk pulled a photo from his pocket. Him in firefighter gear with colleagues. Only he remained.
For those gone first, he'd steel himself again.
Haven started with 20 firefighters, high awakener rate. They protected locals, rumors spread. Police, soldiers joined.
Awakeners fought with duty. Few truly had it—early apocalypse, they just did their jobs.
Accepted all comers, crowds came. Some worked hard, avoiding freeloading.
Haven ran ideally. Reality bit hard.
Deadweight drained food. Awakeners skipped meals from shortages. Many left.
Now, only sacrificers unfit for this era remained. But limits neared.
Awakeners under 100. Homemade rifles few. Protected: just over 1,000.
Frontlines pushed back. Instant death loomed.
"Without those potatoes, we'd be dead already."
"Can't deny it."
Quick post-battle heals. Raids for supplies possible. Otherwise, barricaded in Sam Mart.
"How to handle all those orcs."
"Hold out, level up, get new skills."
Sole hope in despair. Fight for exp, level for strength. Potatoes enabled attrition war.
"We owe that girl."
"Next time, offer top-shelf trade goods. Our lifesaver."
"Naturally."
Mid-chat, Seola spotted something.
A huge bird weaving between buildings.
"That... her hawk?"
"Looks like."
Familiar veggie box in its talons.
"Potatoes!!!!"
"Fries are here!!!"
Survivors shouted, crowding the landing spot.
No fries this time. Just potatoes.
Why? The letter skewered between them explained.
Did you receive the potatoes well?
Think of these as a trade preview taste.
What I need is cooking oil for french fries, and...
Kanghyuk read the list and declared firmly.
"Grab the goods from storage. Fast."
"Got it!!"
As they rushed off, Seola kept reading.
P.S. Added an extra gift besides potatoes. Try it out.
Instructions included with the gift.
"Another gift?"
"Maybe not potatoes—onions or green onions?"
"Check."
Under the potato-packed box, another smaller one. Carefully opened: mysterious blue fruits.