20 Million a Day? Double It!
A whole week passed without any major incidents. My contract with Choi Eunji was coming to an end in just one more week. My stats hadn't gone up at the Dungeon Entrance or anything, but it was a relief that her stamina had increased thanks to the permanent stamina-boosting item from Jam Tiger Jelly.
'Thanks to that, my bank account is looking pretty plump too.'
I'd raked in a whopping 10 billion won. With 11 billion now sitting in my real-world account, I could honestly live pretty comfortably without doing guide work anymore. On top of that, the carrots I was listing on the Dungeon Shop kept selling out instantly. Since carrots were getting such a good response, I'd been buying carrot seeds nonstop from Farmer Master's shop window and planting them.
I still had those potato, sweet potato, and tomato seeds in my inventory from before, but with carrots selling out every time, there was no reason to plant anything else.
Lately, the sound of money rolling in had me feeling pretty happy, but my greed kept growing anyway.
'No matter how much money you have, it disappears fast!'
Sure, 11 billion in my real-world account was a huge sum, but buying a house and car in Seoul would burn through it in no time. Even if I converted the 2 billion or so from the Dungeon Shop into my real account via the black market, it'd total around 13 billion at best.
'Not enough for a really nice place.'
The real estate market might be in a slump, but prices in central Seoul were still insane. Even looking at decent spots, it wouldn't cover the key money for jeonse. And I couldn't exactly move to the countryside when I had to farm in the dungeon.
Life didn't flip upside down overnight just because I'd come into a windfall from nothing. And I was serious about farming.
Just reaching the point where I didn't need to do guide work anymore made that month guiding Saintess Choi Eunji a total turning point in my life.
These days, the saintess—who'd stopped showing her old prickly side—would sneak off to the farm whenever she needed to pee and even water it with her own urine, letting me harvest twice a day. I'd list the harvested crops on the shop window, and they'd sell out immediately. It felt almost too good to be true, but even jacking the price of carrots and tomatoes up to 200,000 won each, they still flew off the shelves.
The reactions from my potential customers—who'd started off calling it a scam or aggro—were starting to shift bit by bit.
I was honestly curious too. Who the hell was buying them? Still that scammer spamming DMs? Or someone else?
To be honest, I'd started thinking that GlassesMakeMePrettier—who'd offered 100,000 won each and whom I'd pegged as a scammer—might actually be legit. Prices had gone up to 200,000 won per carrot, and they were still DMing offers of 300,000 won each. If sales kept going like this, I might even consider meeting them.
Harvesting 50 twice a day made 100 per day. At 300,000 won each, that'd be... a massive 30 million won a day!!!
Even just planting and selling carrots the past week had netted me 20 million daily, but human greed really has no end.
"Eek~ Haha~ Ungh~ Hngh~ Ahhn~!"
That was the saintess, who'd gotten used to the Lust Slimes, letting out her moans. I sat on a nearby rock watching her, but she kept getting aroused and couldn't stop her national anthem magic chant.
"Is the protective suit working?"
"Kyaa~ Ho Tae, you're right—it feels just like playing in water~ Ahng♡ So ticklish!"
A Lust Slime bounced up and slammed into Choi Eunji's chest. Splash— It really sounded like water droplets, and with the slime's unique fluids splattering, it looked exactly like water play. Before, in regular clothes, she'd gotten soaked head to toe, but in her bikini-style protective suit, she stayed dry.
Instead, the scene unfolding before me was insanely erotic. I'd thought wet clothes would be hotter, but jumping and rolling around in a bikini was way sexier. Maybe it was obvious? With so little covered, her pale skin was on full display without reservation.
That deep cleavage. Every time a slime hit, it jiggled—boing boing— making me half-expect, half-worry something might pop out.
Her slim frame had plump thighs and a full, round ass that shook right along with it. There wasn't a single part I could ignore; her body demanded every bit of attention.
The protective suit Choi Eunji was wearing had to be top-grade.
'At least 500 million won, easy.'
Just from her buying a few carrots at 200,000 won each via direct trade without batting an eye, it was clear money wasn't an issue for her. She got a hefty monthly stipend from the government for "maintaining dignity," and apparently it was no small amount.
Anyway, the days of panicking at the sight of monsters were gone. Now she relied on her suit and blended in pretty well with them. Yesterday, she'd soloed 100 Dungeon Wasps with her new crossbow, so she was definitely growing. The problem? Her stats still weren't budging.
So for the afternoon, I decided to try a different approach. That morning, instead of listing 10 carrots for sale after harvest, I diced them up. My plan was to head to the Jam Tigers' habitat at Hill of Good and Evil—Jelly's old stomping grounds—and lure them in.
It'd been a week since Jelly visited, and he hadn't come back, so things probably hadn't gone smoothly. I'd go myself, show off my crops' taste to the Jam Tigers, play around with the gathering crowd, and see if it sparked any stat changes for Choi Eunji.
According to Jelly, my crops were super important to Jam Tigers, so feeding them nonstop might trigger something. Truth be told, I really wanted more items. Maybe they were taking time because I hadn't offered cash. Thinking of Kim Chaerin pouting when I sold the gift item to Choi Eunji for 10 billion, I was open to bartering too.
'They mentioned a treasure vault...'
Besides the stamina item Choi Eunji ate last time, they said there were plenty more, so now I was getting greedy.
After morning exploration, I harvested another 50 carrots I'd planted on the farm, listed them on the shop, then took a break by the nearby stream for lunch.
Lately, I'd gotten hooked on cooking with my own crops. Sure, selling them on the Dungeon Shop would make more money, but veggies I grew myself tasted twice as good, no contest. Once I tried cooking with my own produce, store-bought stuff felt lacking. You know how it is—once you know the taste, it's scary.
'It's all for eating well, right?!'
I chopped up regular onions and beef sirloin from the Dungeon Shop, stir-fried them first. As the beef fat soaked into the onions, releasing that savory, clean aroma, I added my homegrown tomatoes and carrots, simmering and stir-frying until soft. No seasonings needed in my cooking. Once the veggies released their juices and cooked down, I dumped in a bunch of pre-made tomato sauce and just stirred—it beat any high-end restaurant stew, thanks to the doubled flavor from my veggies alone.
Like my Synthesis skill, the carrots and tomatoes blended into a stew over four times tastier. Slurp—slurp—fwoo— Kim Chaerin blew on spoonfuls, stuffed her mouth, and chewed happily. Just watching her eat made me grin like a proud dad.
Choi Eunji sat primly too, piling carrot and beef on one spoon for dainty bites.
"Mmm~ Yumm~~~~~~"
Her crescent-moon eyes curving said it all—the flavor was hitting just right. She wasn't snapping anymore, and calling me "Ho Tae" instead of "you punk" felt weird, like I couldn't quite adjust.
She'd thrown an outer coat over her protective suit, but leaning forward for each bite exposed the inner view, which was distracting. I tried not to look, but my eyes kept drifting. She didn't seem to care, treating it like just a suit, not covering up—which only drew my gaze more.
Definitely... big. Big and... pretty. Pink, right? After our first time, she'd clung like she'd come home with me every night, and shaking her off was exhausting. But with me sleeping in the dungeon so much lately, she didn't mention my place anymore. Which made sense, but weirdly, it left me antsy. At least she was a stellar customer buying a few carrots direct daily—grateful for that.
"Wow... so good!"
"Seconds pleeease—"
Seeing them devour my cooking got me hyped. What the hell, feeling good!
"Dessert? Carrot skewers?"
"S-skewers?!"
"Yeah, bet they'll taste great."
Choi Eunji's eyes went wide with anticipation too. Couldn't waste that, so I pulled out the leftover carrots, tossed them in the pot, and hit grill mode. My all-purpose pot handled temp control, auto-clean, steaming, grilling, soup—everything. Curious how grilled carrots would taste.
And yep...
"Insanely good!"
Choi Eunji and Kim Chaerin both thumbs-upped my verdict. Tomorrow, I'd plant those potatoes from Farmer Master's shop.
Hill of Good and Evil.
As we neared the Jam Tiger habitat, tons of them started swarming, drawn by the smell. No people in sight. Ever since the Jam Tiger Rebellion incident, awakeners and tourists had been avoiding the place. Perfect—we tossed carrots one by one without worrying about prying eyes, venturing deeper.
Jam Tigers' official name was Black Cat Fighter. They didn't attack humans first, but I'd seen YouTube clips of them brawling bloody battles with Dog Flies or other monsters invading their turf. Kinda scary. Standing on hind legs throwing meow meow punches, they lived up to the fighter name.
'But Iris said it's safe, so should be fine.'
Worst case, we had secret agent Kim Chaerin for backup. Tossing prepared carrots had them laser-focused, tails wagging like puppies if you looked close. Kim Chaerin cooed over how cute they were, throwing not just my carrots but snacks and fruits from her suspiciously bottomless pouch, giggling away.
Choi Eunji seemed startled at first, but bolstered by her suit, she slowly reached out, petted one, and beamed with pure bliss. I'd petted a few too—the fluffy fur was weirdly addictive.
Seeing them welcome my crops so warmly put my mind at ease. But when the carrots ran out, they turned and waddled off like business was done, nearly breaking my heart—
"That one's not leaving?"
Choi Eunji's voice made me turn. There, one Jam Tiger was smiling and waving.
My monster sucker customer, Jelly.