Right! There Were Rewards.
"Right! There were rewards."
Han Ji-woo first checked the Dungeon Tree's growth progress.
Dungeon Tree to sapling stage: 25/100%
"Oh, it's grown quite a bit?"
At 25 percent in one go, clearing four more quests would evolve the Dungeon Tree into a sapling.
But there was another number displayed above the growth rate.
To next quest: 0/100%
"So it takes time to get the next quest."
Just in case, Han Ji-woo tried casting Growth Acceleration.
But the quest gauge didn't budge.
So this time, he tossed a Mad Cow corpse near the Dungeon Tree.
And wouldn't you know it—the tree absorbed it right away? The massive Mad Cow corpse melted into the ground like liquid, vanishing without a trace.
"Oh, so that's how it works. How much did it go up...?"
To next quest: 5/100%
"...You're kidding me."
It devoured a whole precious cow and only gained 5 percent? Han Ji-woo was floored by the abysmal cost-performance ratio—like they'd swapped out their conscience for trash.
"Wasting good beef like this is insane."
No rush anyway. He could feed it the scraps from butchering beef or chicken—innards, bones, kitchen waste—and take it slow.
If monsters showed up at night now and then, he could hunt them and toss the whole bodies in.
Just then, a message popped up, as if urging him on.
Name the three crops to receive as rewards.
"Hmm. What should I pick?"
Han Ji-woo rubbed his chin, deep in thought.
His top priority was set: rice!
For a Korean, rice power was king, no matter what anyone said. Grilled beef, chicken, fish—it all felt a bit off without rice.
Of course, he had no clue how to grow rice. But with Pao's Great Harvest skill, it should be fine.
No paddies here, but he'd probably figure it out.
If it's tough, I could dig one myself.
Either way, once he grew rice and got actual grains, his quality of life would skyrocket by like 17 times. White rice went with everything.
Juicy beef, crispy grilled fish, tender chicken on a hot stone! Pair it with rice, and the flavor synergy exploded!
"Alright, first one's rice!"
The second thing he'd craved since arriving: kimchi.
He'd never realized how precious it was until he couldn't have it anytime. But making kimchi needed tons of ingredients he didn't have yet.
Plus, gotta think of the other dungeon folks.
Not just Koreans got kidnapped—people from all over the world. So something universally appealing: potatoes!
"Potatoes!"
Tasty enough, low difficulty to grow as a staple crop, versatile cooking methods. Steam 'em, bake 'em, stir-fry shreds, mash into mashed potatoes, fry into french fries.
Not to mention, Koreans make potato pancakes from just grated potatoes. Thinking of that starchy, nutty flavor made his mouth water.
Of course, without knowing the others' situations, he couldn't assume they cooked fancy. At least they can roast 'em, right?
This got him thinking—maybe build some facilities for the dungeon folks' convenience.
I'll do that later.
For now, the last crop. Something cool and sweet sounds good.
Han Ji-woo loved drinks. Sodas, sports drinks, fruit juices, fresh fruit drinks—he devoured them all. Even hangover cures.
Here, no drinks at all, and withdrawal was setting in.
What crop could sub for drinks? Answer: watermelon!
"Watermelon!"
One bite into that red flesh, and juice burst out like crazy. Sweet, with an amazing aroma.
Once Han Ji-woo locked in his three crops, the message continued.
Rewards have been delivered to your Inventory.
He quickly opened his Inventory to check: 50 rice seedlings, 50 potato seeds, and 50 watermelon seeds.
Han Ji-woo handed them all to Pao.
"Pao, your time to shine."
Pao nodded solemnly.
"Got it, Master! But rice needs a paddy."
"I'll handle the paddy. You plant the potatoes and watermelons first."
"Okay!"
With the land doubled in size, plenty of room for fields and a paddy. The soil was so fertile, no need to till.
Pao picked a spot far from the Dungeon Tree, dug holes with his hands, planted potato seeds, and patted the soil down.
But Lucy, watching from afar, suddenly rushed over and raised a paw at Pao.
"Eek!"
Startled, Pao instinctively covered his face, but Lucy's paw slammed the dirt instead.
Thwack! Meow!
With a short kiai, her paw dug a perfect hole for a seed.
Pao sighed in relief, patting his chest.
Nyaao!
Lucy pointed her tail at the hole, meowing like hurry up and plant it.
"Ah, got it."
Pao quickly planted a potato seed. Lucy covered it with soil and pressed it down firmly with her paw.
Nya~!
Delighted by the fun, Lucy led the way, digging holes. Pao planted, and she covered and patted. Thus, the dream farmer duo was born.
Meanwhile, Han Ji-woo decided to make a paddy away from the lake.
"Gotta dig and fill with water, I guess."
Normally, it'd take muscle and time—labor. But he had a better way.
He opened his Creation window, placed his palm on the ground, and willed it.
1,000 dirt into Creation.
Dirt sucked into his palm like sand in a vacuum, carving out a big hole. Dirt x1,000 appeared in Creation.
"Hmm, too big for 50 seedlings."
No problem. It'd fill up as rice propagated.
Closing Creation, the 1,000 dirt auto-stored in his Inventory.
"Pao! Fill this with water, okay?"
Pao, busy planting, ran over and nodded vigorously.
"Yes, Master! Fill with water, and bro does transplanting!"
"Pao."
"...Pao."
Han Ji-woo cringed and placed his hand on the paddy ridge facing the lake, opening Creation again.
Wonder if this works?
He tried pulling 200 dirt, but willed it to dig narrow and long toward the lake.
Amazingly, the dirt obeyed, carving a channel to the lake.
Water flowed in along it.
"Oh, nice."
As water filled the deep basin, forming a proper paddy shape, Creation activated.
Is the thing you just made a paddy?
"Yes."
As he answered, brilliant light erupted from the paddy.
Moments later, the light faded. The crude paddy was gone, replaced by a proper rural one.
A neat rectangular basin with flat ridges, water inlet from the lake channel with a wooden sluice gate, and outlet on the opposite side. Each gate was a square wooden trough inserted into the ridge, with a central wooden door lifted by a handle from above.
"But... does the outlet drain?"
Inlet pulls from the lake—easy. But no channel on the outlet.
Han Ji-woo climbed up, grabbed the handle, and pulled.
The door lifted, and water rushed out fast.
Once drained, he saw a stone drainage pipe buried deep underground beyond the gate. Water seeped through it into the soil.
"Ha, this skill is broken. Creation."
The more it upgraded, the better it performed beyond expectations.
He closed the outlet, opened the inlet to refill, then hit the planted potatoes and watermelon seeds with Growth Acceleration like mad.
Pao's Great Harvest already sped growth, but stacking Acceleration made it faster—no reason not to.
Mid-cast, a never-before-seen message appeared.
Sufficient proficiency accumulated. Growth Acceleration skill has been enhanced.
"Oh!"
Finally, Growth Acceleration got its glow-up.
Growth Acceleration skill effect doubled.
Growth Acceleration target expanded. Can now affect all entities within 500m radius with a single cast.
"Whoa. That's huge?"
Like it'd been crouching for this power-up. Effect doubled was massive, and now area-wide bonus. 500m radius covered the whole space.
From now on, one daily cast managed all crops!
However, entities that do not wish to use Growth Acceleration are excluded.
"That makes sense."
Mature crops might wither before harvest. Same for One-Horned Chickens or Mad Cows aging too fast.
But Han Ji-woo wouldn't exclude any. Time flowed fast here anyway—just harvest busily, raise chicks and calves.
He cast Growth Acceleration right away.
Growth Acceleration!
As the skill triggered, a never-seen effect bloomed. Rainbow light burst from his body, whooshing outward!
The iridescent glow enveloped everything nearby and vanished. Sensing something, Lucy bolted to the chicken coop.
Nyaaooo!
"What's up, Lucy?"
At her urgent call, he rushed over. The four eggs left from day one and two hatched simultaneously, chicks popping out.
But the two from day one's eggs were noticeably bigger.
Peep! Peep! Chick! Chick!
The One-Horned Chickens approached the peeping chicks.
Cluck! Cluuuck!
"Whoa, this is killer."
With doubled effect, keep hatching, and a coop full of dozens was imminent.
"Gotta expand the coop first."
He built two more 2-pyeong structures, attaching to make 12 pyeong total.
"Pao! Feed 'em."
"Okay!"
Pao whipped up feed instantly and tossed it in. Han Ji-woo smiled warmly at the chicks pecking away, then glanced at the cowshed.
The knocked-out Mad Cows had woken, sitting calmly inside. Like the coop soothed chickens, the shed calmed them.
"Pao, feed the crazy cows too..."
King Goblin Pao has grown into an adult.
"Huh?"
Mid-instruction, the sudden message widened his eyes.
Pao's base stats all increase by 10.
"Ooh! Master! I feel power surging!"
"Growth Acceleration grew him too? Wait, he was still a teen with that face?"
Shocking on multiple levels. But it wasn't over.
Cat Tribe Lucy has grown slightly larger.
Han Ji-woo was thrilled at Lucy's boosted stats that followed.