Chapter 1
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 1
Chapter Title: 001 – Harvesting Genius #1
-----------------------------------------------------------------
001 – Harvesting Genius #1
001 – Harvesting Genius #1
High atop the Great Wall, so towering that even the mightiest mountains looked tiny beneath my feet.
I gazed down scornfully at the ant-sized world and sank into thought.
Just four days ago, I had been a con artist on the brink of hanging. How the hell did I end up here?
Dad had never been around since the day I was born.
Mom took off with her new husband the moment I started middle school.
I threw a fit, begging her to take me along.
But she said she couldn't because her new place had a cat, and I was allergic.
Did I even have a cat allergy?
I had no idea.
Mom sure knew everything about her kid, huh.
With no other choice, I started working right after middle school graduation.
Wiping grills at a barbecue joint, pulling rickshaws at tourist spots, delivering packages, collecting cash for voice phishing scams—anything that paid.
Just when I was starting to scrape together some real cash, they grabbed me by the scruff of the neck.
“The defendant is sentenced to one year and six months in prison. However, given that this is the defendant's first offense and they show remorse, the sentence is suspended for three years. Additionally, one year of probation is ordered, along with 120 hours of community service.”
Come on, all I did was move a bag full of money around a bit.
Because of probation, I couldn't even take crappy part-time gigs and just loafed around at home.
That's when I started eyeing a certain game.
「How to Earn Minimum Wage Just by Watching Netflix and Clicking (+999)」
「Night Diver ← The GOAT of Gaming, Start Now!」
I was just scrolling my phone at home, hunting for ways to make money, when some posts caught my eye.
There was this old online game called 「Night Diver」 that was even older than me.
They said if you just invested a little cash, you'd recoup it fast.
「Drop 2 mil on gear, then farm and you get tons of Ether and essences lol」
└Sell the gear back and you get your money returned, so it's basically free for real」
└If you snag an Engraving Scroll or something from a boss, you can even afford beef lol」
Kill monsters all day, get money and items, consume the materials and sell the rest.
When even minimum-wage jobs won't hire a minor on probation, it was a godsend for making cash from home.
It felt like it was made just for me!
“Just tapping the keyboard and I make more than minimum wage?”
Killing monsters for materials is called Harvesting.
Selling that cash and loot for real money is 'Rice Farming'.
It came from selling in-game currency to buy rice.
And so began my quest for Rice Farming glory.
I blew through all the living expenses Mom had left me.
Even skimped on next month's rent to buy game items.
Rice Farming, let's go.
[Ether acquired. +500]
[Ether acquired. +500]
[Blessed One 'Thief Ian' has leveled up!]
[Ether acquired. +500]
...
..
.
Who knew this grind could be so damn fun?
Money rolling in, no hunger, no sleepiness.
Maybe it was the payoff for all that effort.
“I did it. Two million won!”
First month profit: two million won.
Second month, with some know-how: three million.
Third month: hit five hundred thousand.
“Woo!”
I got lucky.
Rare material items like 「Estelle's Essence」 dropped like crazy.
Weekly boss raids, where Engraving Scrolls have shit drop rates? They popped every time. Daily dungeons showered me with Crystals that fetch good prices. My brain was fried.
Maybe I had a real talent for Rice Farming.
“Pudding chocolate chicken tastes like this!”
First time ordering famous fried chicken in my life.
First time trying that 31-flavor ice cream.
Stocked the fridge with cola.
Around then, dreams started forming.
“Bust my ass Rice Farming, buy a car, get a girlfriend...”
A rosy future unfolded.
Live a normal life like everyone else.
True normalization of my life.
And today was the showcase announcing a massive update right before summer break.
Depending on the broadcast, Rice Farming prices could skyrocket.
So I sat at my computer full of anticipation.
Then disaster struck.
「This Summer, New Reboot Server Launch!」
「Enjoy the game without excessive pay-to-win pressure—anyone can play!」
“What the fuck is this bullshit! Play without spending? Then everyone who buys my Rice will flock to Reboot!”
「10 mil Ether for sale – 5k won」
「Urgent sale 10 mil Ether 3.5kㅍㅍㅍ」
「10 mil : 3k Bulk sales」
Rice prices tanking in real time.
Total panic selling.
“You heartless bastards, trying to play for free...? You fucking—”
The room spun. My vision went ping—.
Nosebleed gushing like a waterfall.
“Wha—what—”
Couldn't breathe right. Chest felt like someone was squeezing my heart.
Something was seriously wrong.
Did I rage too hard over the Reboot server?
Or was it days without sleep from Harvesting?
Maybe chowing down energy bars instead of meals.
—Lonely Death of a Seventeen-Year-Old Boy— headlines flashed in my mind.
I didn't want to die this embarrassingly.
“Argh! Wahhh!”
After thrashing around forever, I came to and some ladies were staring at me.
“Sister! The baby's alive!”
“It's a miracle! A miracle!”
“How did a baby who nearly died from the umbilical cord around its neck survive...!?”
Yor.
That was my new name.
Till around age ten, I was just trying to figure out what the hell was going on.
By twelve, I got it.
“Reincarnation!”
I'd reincarnated.
From Hiyan to Yor in this world.
Probably died from some acute heart condition in my past life.
So where was this reincarnation spot?
No electricity, no cars—straight-up medieval vibes.
‘Craving some spicy kimchi ramen.’
Never thought my Korean life was abundant.
But poverty had basements deeper than hell, and that basement was called Lillke Orphanage.
“Sister, I'm hungry.”
“Yor, I'm hungry too.”
Ah, the fond memories of Lillke Orphanage.
Nosebleeds over half a bean? Nothing special.
By fifteen, even the orphanage was about to kick me out.
Overheard the Director saying they'd contracted me out as labor for some construction site.
「Join the Glorious Great Wall Construction!」
「Daily Wage: 20 Copper」
Thompson bro went first and snapped his back—gone in half a year.
No way that was human work.
So I ran away.
Ran and did whatever it took.
“Grab that freeloader!”
“Pickpocket!”
“Who stole all the church's silverware and donation box!”
Focused on surviving over thriving, and suddenly I was twenty.
Got caught, thrown in the Sodom guardhouse jail.
“Name's Yor. From some backwater Lillke Orphanage in Maril Land. Record: fraud, extortion, theft—ugh, fuck, it's endless just reading it.”
Someone snitched on me.
“Guard captain! Do you know how many times this bastard rigged the dice in a row? Statistically impossible! He's cheating, no doubt!”
It was like a lottery den. Bet on the sum of three dice in a rice bowl.
First time gambling, but beginner's luck? I raked it in.
Then some beefy staffer grabs my collar, accusing me of scamming.
“What trick did you pull?”
“Spill it, punk!”
“Daring to scam Lord Dantes' business? Ballsy fucker!”
Crack-! Thud-!
Every day in jail, beaten under the guise of confessing my scam methods.
But how could I confess?
I wasn't scamming.
After a month of beatings and lockdown, dragged to the gallows.
This is it, I'm dead—.
Crack—.
The pillar holding the noose rope snapped.
“What, was it that rotten?”
“Executioner, if the rope snaps or pillar collapses, execution gets postponed a week, right?”
“Yeah, this guy's got insane luck.”
Whatever, I lived.
Never knew life could hand out luck like this.
Another week passed.
Snap-.
This time the noose rope broke.
“Execution halted twice in a row?”
“This fucker has the luck of the devil!”
“I know a guy selling sturdy ropes. Just 30 copper. I can fetch 'em by afternoon. Heh heh heh—”
“You scheming even now? We're hanging you for sure!”
Two weeks after the second postponement.
Executioners were overdue, and it was killing me more than death.
Blood draining dry.
Even the gambling den thugs who screamed they'd beat me to death hadn't shown.
Then one day.
“Yor! Come on!”
“Move it!”
Rough guys sack over my head, drag me somewhere.
This is it, death for real.
“Rope and pillar ready?”
“Shut up!”
“Better not run your mouth today!”
Swish-.
Sack yanked off, and instead of gallows, I'm in some office.
Another uniformed woman perched on the desk, looking down at me.
Glossy clean hair, flawless skin, form-fitting uniform, deep purple eyes.
Stunning beauty!
“Heard you had the guts to scam a Dantes family joint, but you're just a kid.”
The knockout beauty shifts her gaze, sits properly.
Starts slicing meat on the plate in front of her.
“You're Yor, right? Seventeen? Eighteen?”
“...Twenty.”
First time seeing someone this gorgeous—got me shaking.
Feels as intense as the noose around my neck.
“Yor, word is your execution got halted twice. Rare as hell. That's why I'm here. Got a proposition.”
“A proposition?”
“Here's mine: Sit tight and wait for death, or flail around with a slim shot at survival. Which?”
“Flail, obviously.”
No brainer.
Better than rotting in jail beaten to death or hanged.
She liked my answer—flashed a sly grin.
“Then formal intros. This is me.”
Rustle-.
Hands me a small card.
Business card?
「Imperial Special Task Force」
「Recruiter Ezekiel」
Recruiter? Military?
What does the army want with me?
As questions swirled, Recruiter Ezekiel asked.
“Yor, ever heard of a 「Blessed One」?”
Blessed One—.
Rings a bell somewhere.
Maybe from church visits every weekend from Lillke Orphanage?
Kinda.
Can't quite recall.
Grrrowl-.
Stomach too empty, brain's foggy.
My eyes locked on the plate of meat atop Ezekiel's desk.
“Give me that, and it might jog my memory.”
“Want this?”
“Yeah. Might even remember my past life.”
“Past life? Hilarious. Eat up. Gotta have a full belly to work.”
Work?