A Bountiful Corn Harvest (1)
The Tower’s balance had always been a precarious thing, held together by mutual checks and endless power struggles. Now that balance had been shattered by a single NPC.
Whoever recruited a Legendary NPC—or claimed a hidden quest—could surge ahead of every other Ranker and seize the summit.
An ominous war-cloud was already gathering over the Tower. And the very eye of that storm, Zion, was currently…
Crops are growing way faster than I expected. Is it because of the game system?
…completely absorbed in farm work. A single bead of sweat slipped through her silver-white hair and came to rest on the smooth hollow of her collarbone.
Three days earlier—right after she had settled the Sword Demon incident—Zion had begun tilling a modest plot in the chapel’s backyard.
Surprisingly, she had dabbled in farming and other lifestyle content back in Dungeon & Soul. The reason, of course, had been pure min-maxing.
Corn, potatoes, tomatoes—eating them raised your stats, so I farmed like crazy. After a while it just got fun, so I kept going…
In the Arena, levels and gear were equalized. Even the tiniest stat edge became a chasm. Food could give you a hundred points total. Barely the difference of one extra auto-attack—yet it was a number no one could afford to surrender.
If Rin and Ifrit were here, this field work would’ve been done in no time.
Floor managers were buried under daily duties; they had no choice but to handle everything themselves. The problem was that Ifrit had declared, “No cutting in line!” and dragged Rin out of the chapel by force.
With her convenient free labor—er, helpers—gone, Zion had been left to work the field alone.
“A savage beast like you dares set foot here?”
“Why the hell do I need permission from a weakling like you?”
“……??”
Mid-swing of her hoe, Zion belatedly realized the chapel entrance had grown extremely noisy. Wiping sweat from her brow, she walked over—and sure enough, two people were locked in a snarling standoff.
A black-haired boy with beast ears and a golden-haired elf with long, pointed ears were growling at each other.
“Mind the order, will you? Even a brainless animal should grasp that much.”
“Bullshit. I got here first.”
“……It seems words will no longer suffice.”
The golden-haired elf drew her bow; the black-haired beastman clenched his fists. The air crackled on the verge of explosion.
Before the fight could erupt, Zion stepped between them. If those two went all-out, the chapel would be reduced to rubble—and that would be inconvenient.
“Lost little lambs are always welcome. How may I assist you?”
“……So that’s the Saintess of the Beginning.”
“Ahem! A pleasure to meet you. I am Elena, manager of the 33rd Floor.”
“I’m Leon, manager of the 34th Floor.”
“A pleasure to meet you both.”
Her silver-white hair, mussed from farm work, fell in graceful arcs. Through the strands, her cross-shaped pupils gleamed. The moment Elena and Leon beheld that otherworldly beauty, both were certain.
This woman was the Legendary NPC. The black-haired beastman Leon struck first.
“Anything I can help you with?”
“You shameless line-cutter…!!”
“Pardon? Help?”
“Yeah. I’m looking for work. As long as there’s pay, I’ll do anything.”
“I’m afraid I don’t have much to offer as compensation…”
“That’s quite all right. Unlike this beast, I am more than willing to help without any reward.”
“I’ll take whatever you give me.”
Sparks seemed to fly between them for an instant—or maybe it was just her imagination. Either way, Zion smiled sweetly.
Her free labor—er, helpers—had just walked out, and now brand-new workers had rolled right up to her door.
“If you insist… there is one small favor I could use…”
“Leave it to me!”
“Anytime!”
“Then this way, please.”
Just as planned.
She wore the most harmless smile she could manage while grinning like a fox inside, and led them naturally toward the field. In the backyard they found the plot she had prepared. Zion rested a hand on her hip with a troubled air.
“I need to harvest the crops, but I’m terribly short-handed. Would you mind lending a hand?”
Rank 46 High Ranker, Divine Archer Elena.
Rank 48 High Ranker, Iron Fist Leon.
Making High Rankers do farm work would have made any outsider faint on the spot—yet both accepted without hesitation.
As expected, she starts with menial chores. But I’m not the type to walk away over something this trivial!
Refusing “petty” work is for amateurs. You have to steadily close the distance, step by step.
First they had to raise the NPC’s favorability by granting her request. Only then would the hidden quest unlock.
Yet Elena and Leon both tilted their heads at the same moment. A quest window had appeared—but the reward looked… strange.
Helping with Farm Work
The Saintess of the Beginning has asked for help with farm work.
Though the field is small, there are more crops than expected.
Working hard for half a day should finish it.
🎁 Reward: Corn for the Soul ×3
At the bizarre name they had never heard before, Elena and Leon reflexively cast Appraise on the corn.
*Ding!*
A translucent window materialized before their eyes. The moment they read its contents, both were struck speechless with shock.
◈ Corn cultivated by someone in a field.
◈ These golden kernels, imbued with holy prayer, refine the eater’s frail soul and draw out their latent potential.
◈ On use: Permanently increases Strength by 10.
“This is my thanks for your help.” — Saintess of the Beginning
Elena and Leon first doubted their own eyes. No matter how hard they rubbed them, the text remained unchanged.
To High Rankers standing at the Tower’s peak, a permanent +10 Strength was not a number one could laugh off. It was a figure that might—or might not—rise after years of brutal training and life-risking dungeon raids.
Sh-she’s handing out a top-tier item like this just for a little farm work…!!
So this is what a Legendary NPC truly is…!!
Both thought the same thing at once: no matter what, they could not let this opportunity slip away.
Heretic Inquisitors.
Strictly speaking, they did not belong to the Kyodan. The Order itself flatly denied their existence. Yet no one was ignorant of the truth: they were the hunting dogs who carried out the Kyodan’s dirty work in the shadows.
And at last those hunting dogs had begun to move. Clank. The cold scrape of metal on metal rang out.
Fanatics had finally descended upon the Floor of Beginnings. At their head strode their leader.
“So this is the place where the heretic dwells.”
Blue hair framed a pair of blue eyes steeped in the arrogance of a true zealot. Victor surveyed the Floor of Beginnings.
It had been a long time since he last set foot in his hometown, yet he felt nothing in particular. If anything, he simply wanted to leave as soon as possible.
Moving in secret to avoid the eyes of Wild Flame, guardian of the Floor of Beginnings, had cost them more time than expected.
“Brothers, a heretic resides here. What shall we do?”
“Purify her with the baptism of fire!!”
“Only flame can cleanse a heretic!!”
“Burn her! Nothing but the stake!!”
Victor smiled with satisfaction at his brothers’ cries for purification by fire—yet a shadow of worry lingered.
The order from the Kyodan had been singular: convert the Saintess of the Beginning. Should conversion fail, execute her without delay.
Execution itself was no problem. The true difficulty lay in bringing an undeniable heretic into the fold of the Order…
Why would the High Priest issue such a command?
Victor, who had burned every heretic without a single exception until now, could not comprehend it. But the thought did not last long. He was merely a sword. A sword does not think; it only swings according to its master’s will.
If the higher-ups had commanded it, he would stake his life to carry it out—even if he himself could not understand.
All is as God wills.
“Brother, we have confirmed the locations of Wild Flame and Sword Dragon.”
“Are they still at the chapel?”
“No. They are elsewhere.”
“……Good. Split the force in two.”
One unit would become the Shield that pinned down Wild Flame and Sword Dragon.
The other would become the Sword that purified—or executed—the heretic.
Divided into two forces, the Heretic Inquisitors set out to fulfill their appointed missions.
Today they had but one purpose.
To purify the Saintess of the Beginning.