Chapter 127
TL: Hanguk
"Grrr! Hurry and find Sejun!"
Squeak!
"Yes!"
The Black Wolf Tribe and the Silver Wolf Tribe, who had been helping to rebuild the Red Ribbon Kingdom on the 55th floor, received a message from the cat interns. They arrived on the 77th floor with the Black Rabbit.
"Hegel! The scent have split into two."
"Sniff sniff. So it is."
Upon Elka's words, Hegel sniffed the scents on the floor.
One side had the scent of Cuengi and Theo, while the other had the smell of the Black Minotaurs.
"Then we will also split. The Black Wolf Tribe will follow the scent of the Black Minotaurs."
"Yes! Then we will follow the scent of Cuengi and Theo!"
The wolves split into two groups.
And then,
"Black Rabbit King. Will you come with us?"
Squeak!
The Black Rabbit chose the side where Theo's scent was coming from.
Theo's ability to track Sejun is unparalleled. It is almost on par with the top 10 mysteries of the tower. The Black Rabbit thought that if Theo couldn't find Sejun, it would only mean that Sejun was dead.
Or perhaps he would even find him in the afterlife...
"Then let's go!"
Squeak!
At Elka's shout, the Black Rabbit and the other silver wolves followed the scent of Theo and Cuengi.
The descent of 500 Black Minotaurs from the 99th floor of the tower.
Due to this, the bosses of the 80th and 70th floors began to move busily, tense, trying to figure out the reason for their departure.
And some monsters moved down the floors in advance, preparing for any unforeseen situation. No one knew what kind of butterfly effect this phenomenon might create.
***
While chaos was unfolding in the black tower, Sejun, Theo, and the golden bat were having a good time, being attended to by the monkeys.
"Uhh! I slept well!"
Sejun stretched pleasantly as he got out of bed and woke up feeling refreshed, having slept on the bed that the Monkey Tribe's chief had provided him the previous night. He had laid the king oyster mushroom mattress from his void storage on the chief's bed, and it was very comfortable.
As he woke up after sleeping so well,
Ook!
The monkeys noticed Sejun waking up and quickly brought food.
"What's this?!"
Sejun was surprised to see the breakfast the monkeys had brought. Mangoes with yellow flesh and juicy red watermelons were served for breakfast.
'This looks delicious!'
Sejun's mouth watered at the sight of the mangoes and watermelons, the first he'd seen since entering the tower.
(Wow! This smells delicious!)
The golden bat was equally excited at the sight of the fruit, especially the watermelon, which it could suck.
"Go ahead and eat."
Sejun cut the watermelon to a size the golden bat could hold.
Flap Flap!
(Thank you!)
Chomp! Chomp!
The golden bat grabbed the watermelon with its wings and started to suck on the watermelon eagerly.
"I'll have one too."
Sejun's first pick was a mango.
"I'll enjoy this."
Just as Sejun was about to put a piece of mango into his mouth,
"President Park, did you forget something meow?"
Theo's disappointed voice was heard.
"Huh?!"
Sejun quickly looked at Theo, who was pouting, upset that he wasn't being cared for.
"President Theo, I'm sorry."
Sejun hurriedly took out a Churu treat.
"Here you go."
As Sejun brought the Churu to Theo's mouth,
"Meow! I'll let it go this time, meow!"
Slurp slurp slurp.
Finally, Theo's pouting face relaxed, and he began to lick the Churu deliciously, and Sejun finally put the mango into his mouth.
"Mmm..."
As soon as he put it in his mouth, the mango's unique aroma and sweetness filled his mouth, and the ripe mango's squishy flesh melted softly.
And then,
Gulp.
The mango slid smoothly down his throat without even chewing a few times.
"It's delicious!"
Sejun picked up a watermelon after eating the mango.
Crunch.
He took a big bite, and the flavorful and sweet juice burst from the flesh, dribbling down the side of his mouth.
"What's this, meow?! It's sticky, meow."
Thanks to this, Theo, who had been happily enjoying the Churu on Sejun's lap, got splashed with watermelon juice and had to groom himself again, annoyed.
Crunch. Crunch.
"Wow. It's really sweet."
The crispy texture and sweetness with each bite were delightful. Although the watermelon wasn't cold, it was still very delicious.
Sejun saved all the mango and watermelon seeds. He planned to plant them later in the 99th-floor farm.
Ook.
The monkeys fanned them with giant leaves while they ate breakfast.
"Hehehe. Good."
"Puhuhut, Good, meow!”
(Master Sejun, Brother Theo, I'm happy!)
It felt like they were tourists.
After enjoying the fruits for breakfast, Sejun began to move in earnest.
"Lead me to where the banana trees are."
He wanted to take a look at the banana trees that were sick.
'I hope I can fix them.'
Ook!
While Sejun was thinking, the monkeys guided him to where the banana trees were.
"Hmm. Is this what's sick?"
Sejun spoke as he examined the banana tree.
The banana tree looked dry and dying from lack of moisture, but the fresh grass at the bottom showed that the problem was not a lack of water.
"Shall we look inside first?"
Sejun was about to peel off the dried outer bark of the banana tree when
[Farmer's Touch Lv. 3 is activated.]
[While your hand is in contact, the growth of the banana tree accelerates slightly.]
[The banana tree is sick and lacks the energy to grow.]
When Sejun's hand touched the banana tree, the skill was activated.
[A quest has been generated.]
[Quest: Boost the banana tree's energy to overcome the illness.]
Reward: Upgrade of Farmer's Touch to Farmer's Warm Touch.
Failure: Death of the sick banana tree.
"Huh? An upgrade?"
A skill upgrade. It was something Sejun had never heard of, information kept secret within each guild.
"But what should I do to boost the banana tree's energy? Should I give it fertilizer?"
Ook?
[Do you need fertilizer?]
One of the monkeys quickly brought fertilizer from the village after hearing Sejun's words. The monkeys were also farming and had been making fertilizer.
Sejun spread the fertilizer brought by the monkeys around the banana tree, watered it, and waited, but there was no effect.
"Meow! I know how to energize it, meow!"
Theo, who had been getting bored, shouted.
"What is it?"
"President Park, just watch what I do, meow!"
Theo confidently stepped forward and
Thump. Thump.
"Wake up, meow!"
He began to thump the banana tree as if performing CPR.
However
[The banana tree is further weakened by the shock.]
The banana tree was too weak to withstand Theo's thumping.
"Hey!"
Sejun quickly grabbed Theo by the scruff of his neck and pulled him to his knee.
"Why isn't it energizing, meow? My front paw is weak, meow."
Thump. Thump.
Theo thumped Sejun's knee, frustrated that he couldn't understand.
While Sejun was receiving a massage from Theo,
(Sejun, how about singing a song?)
The golden bat came up with a new idea.
"A song?"
(Yes. Hearing a song might energize it.)
"Hmm."
The golden bat's idea made sense. Sejun had heard that playing music for plants helps them grow and improves the taste and yield of their fruits.
"Let's try it."
Since there were no other options, they decided to try anything that came to mind.
"Ahem. Ah. Ah. Ah~!"
Sejun picked up a twig and cleared his throat, preparing to sing.
[The banana tree is further weakened by the noisy sound.]
"What?!"
He was just warming up his voice...
The banana tree was more sensitive than he thought.
"Pffft. I must sing my song, meow! I am the mighty servant of the black dragon..."
Theo sang an impromptu song of his own creation to the banana tree, still clinging from Sejun's knee.
[The banana tree becomes upset by the arrogant song and weakens further.]
"President Theo, stop. It's not working."
"Let's just chop it down, meow!"
Snap!
Daring to become weaker after hearing his composition! The furious Theo unsheathed his claws.
Then
(Where, where, where did the golden bat appear~)¹
The golden bat began to sing a song that sounded like its theme song, something it had heard while roaming the Earth.
'He's prepared.'
Sejun thought, watching the golden bat, and hoped it wouldn't be hurt by the banana tree's reaction.
However
"What?"
"President Park, why do you let the golden bat keep singing, meow?!"
There was no message that the banana tree was weakening.
A moment later...
[The banana tree recovers a little energy from the calming sound.]
"What's this?"
Sejun read the message with a dumbfounded expression.
1 hour later
[You have completed the quest.]
[As a quest reward, Farmer's Touch Lv. 3 is upgraded to Farmer's Warm Touch Lv. 3.]
The energy that Sejun and Theo had shaved off was restored by the golden bat's song, completing the quest.
Sejun immediately checked the upgraded skill.
[Farmer's Warm Touch Lv. 3]
- Warmth is added into the loving touch of the farmer.
- Plants that are touched by the farmer's warm touch grow a little faster.
- The diseases of sick plants touched by the farmer's warm touch are slightly healed.
"Good."
With this skill, saving the banana trees was only a matter of time. Sejun hurriedly began to heal the trees by placing his hands on them.
Ook!
Ookee!
The monkeys bowed again in awe as they watched the banana tree gradually regain its original color with Sejun's touch. It was a miracle of God.
Thus, Sejun healed 100 banana trees in one day and returned to the monkey village as evening fell.
Ook!
The village was already preparing a festival, having heard that Sejun had healed the banana trees. Unfortunately, all the monkeys could gather were mangos and watermelons, so there was no increase in food for the festival.
Instead, dried mangoes thinly sliced from unripe mangoes that Sejun had directed to prepare in the morning were added to the menu, along with fruit wine fermented using mangoes and watermelons made by the monkeys.
Still, there was too little food to enjoy the festival.
"This doesn't feel festive at all."
Sejun started cooking, taking food out of his void storage.
Ook!
As Sejun began to cook, the monkeys watched his culinary skills in fascination.
From the monkeys' perspective, being able to watch divine cooking was a story they could pass on to their descendants for centuries. So, they watched Sejun's cooking intently.
That's how Sejun, under the watchful eyes of the monkeys, completed four dishes.
Honey potatoes, roasted sweet potatoes, tomato soup, and stir-fried squid.
"Come on, let's eat!"
At Sejun's words, the monkeys ate Sejun's dishes placed in front of them first.
Ook!
The reactions of the monkeys who ate Sejun's cooking varied. Monkeys who ate honey potatoes and roasted sweet potatoes were delighted by the sweetness, and those who ate tomato soup were enchanted by the tangy, addictive taste.
And
Ook! Ook!
Monkeys who tasted the spicy stir-fried squid turned red and sweated profusely.
Ook!
Those who tasted the spiciness quickly soothed it with other foods and then hurriedly recommended the stir-fried squid to other monkeys, laughing as they watched their friends suffer from the spiciness.
That's when, as they were enjoying the festival,
Gwoo!
Gwoooh!
A monster's roar suddenly came from outside the village. The joyful time didn't last long.
Ook!
Ookee!
The monkeys suddenly moved around frantically and hid behind Sejun.
"Huh? What's wrong with you all?"
Ook! Ook!
[It's the gorilla tribe! Oh divine one, please protect us!]
"Gorilla tribe?"
Then
Thump. Thump
A crasher entered the festival, accompanied by massive footsteps. It was a huge 7-meter gorilla leading twenty 3-meter gorillas, wearing an ill-fitting large ribbon and skirt.
It was the daughter of the gorilla tribe's chief, who had been touring other monster villages to find a husband and had appeared after smelling the delicious food.
*****
TL Notes:
1) The theme song of the South Korean animated series 'Golden Bat' (황금박쥐), which is a remake of the Japanese anime series 'Ōgon Bat' (黄金バット)
*****
Chapter 127: Healing the Banana Tree
*****
For extra chapters, you can read them on my Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/HangukTranslations.
Join our Discord for announcements or to report any mistakes.