Chapter 45  : Pumpkin Sweet Potato?

ChubbyCheeks

PR: MattForgenti

He wriggled on top of his blanket.

"It's dangerous outside the blanket!"

"Boy, you're the one who looks more dangerous!"

"Chew?!"

Minhyuk looked at him strangely as he continued to eat his sweet potatoes. He also tried to eat it with a well-ripened kimchi.

"Hehe, life is like sweet potatoes! Eating the dry sweet potato with the spicy and sweet kimchi is the best!"

"Oh, there's something like that?"

This was the first time that Bran saw kimchi in his life. Because of that, he sat in front of Minhyuk with rapt attention.

"Can I have a bite of that one too?"

"Are you sure that it's just one bite?"

"Yeah."

The guardian of this dungeon was Bran. Minhyuk realized that if he did not give him even one sweet potato then his favorability could potentially fall.

Then, Bran took a sweet potato from Minhyuk. He peeled the skin off and placed kimchi on top of it before taking a big bite.

"This is how you eat it, right?"

"That's correct!"

"Chomp."

Bran easily chomped on the kimchi and the sweet potato. His eyes suddenly widened in surprise.

'My, my word……!'

He could hear a heavenly harmony in his ears. His mouth was filled with the sweet flavor of the sweet potato and the spicy and sweet taste of the kimchi.

Crunch, crunch—

The ripe kimchi made a crunching sound that made it more enjoyable to eat.

"Wow… It's really delicious."

"Is it the best?"

"Yeah. It's the best. Chew, chew!"

[Bran's favorability has increased.]

After he finished eating the sweet potato and kimchi, Bran could finally see the black sweet potatoes piled up on one side.

'One, two, three, four, five…… Heok?! Seventeen?!'

He already dug up this much black sweet potatoes?

It was unbelievable. Black sweet potatoes never came out easily. They only appear once the appropriate amount of sweet potatoes that was harvested.

If the amount of black sweet potatoes harvested were proportional to a set amount of the sweet potatoes then it meant that Minhyuk has already eaten at least thirty sweet potatoes.

'How did this happen?'

In truth, it was really difficult for the other users to dig up one or two pieces in an hour.

Bran was not aware that compared to others in his level, Minhyuk was one of the users with the highest DEX. This was one of the reasons why even if he did not acquire the skill yet he still could work faster than the others.

It was only natural that his abilities would increase especially if he continuously dug without taking a rest.

Minhyuk's proficiency in his farming skill was almost more than 90%.

"Huh?"

Bran found something strange again.

"Why are there no sweet potatoes?"

"......Hmm."

Minhyuk tilted his head as if he didn't know while Bran looked around.

There should be around thirty sweet potatoes. Even if he had eaten a few there still should be around thirty of them lying around.

So where did all of it go?

Bran looked around some more. When his line of sight intersected with Minhyuk…

"D, don't tell me you…"

"......"

"You ate all of it?!"

"Eyy, how can one person eat all of that?"

Minhyuk slowly wriggled inside the blanket and hid from him. However, there was no way that Bran wasn't aware of where he was…

"How can you eat all 30 of those sweet potatoes…!"

"You said that I can eat it. A man should not take back whatever he said, right? And the sweet potatoes that Bran-nim raised were all ve~ry delicious that I finished them all without realizing it."

Minhyuk, who was wriggling inside the blanket to hide, smiled at him.

Then, Bran thought…

'There's nothing I can do since he dug it himself…'

That was the rewards of the dungeon after all. However, it was not a welcomed reward for the other users. It did not matter to them if they could get as much as they have dug in this dungeon. But Bran still looked at him with a sad expression.

"My farm……"

[Bran's favorability has decreased.]

The little favorability that has increased has now dropped again.

Minhyuk thought that he could do that so he could increase his favorability.

"Then let's do it like this. I will make you something delicious with sweet potatoes later."

Bran turned around without answering him.

'Don't tell me that he's still going to continue to eat? Eyyy, there's no way a person can eat all of the sweet potatoes in here."

However, it was just his earnest wish.

When he arrived back in his hut, Bran looked at the distant mountain with a sigh. His expression was as if he finally understood what 'life……' meant.

***

After eating all of the sweet potatoes he previously harvested, Minhyuk began to diligently dig up sweet potatoes again.[You have achieved 100% proficiency in your farming skills.]

[You have mastered the Beginner's Farming Skill.]

[You have gained 10 DEX.]

Minhyuk checked the notifications about his little successes.

(Beginner's Farming)

Passive Skill

Level: 1

Effects: — Collecting and digging for materials will be 4% faster.

'I can dig as many sweet potatoes as I could then.'

He would eat all of the sweet potatoes in the field.

If that wasn't his goal before, then it would be his goal now.

Then…

Thwap!

Thwap!

Another black sweet potato came out of the field. It was the final black sweet potato. Minhyuk placed all of the black sweet potatoes he harvested and headed towards Bran's hut.

"Bran-nim, I finished gathering 20 black sweet potatoes."

"......That's really fast!"

[Bran's favorability has increased.]

Bran might have detested Minhyuk for eating all of his sweet potatoes but it was still an undeniable fact that he surprised him.

In fact, he was not confident that he would be able to dig up 20 black sweet potatoes within 24 hours.

[You have completed the Quest: Dig Up 20 Black Sweet Potatoes.]

[You have completed the Secret Quest: 'He Who Cherishes the Little Things.]

[You have acquired 1,000 Beginner's Farming EXP.]

[Your EXP acquisition rate is increased to x2 for 1 week.]

[Beginner's Farming has leveled up.]

[Beginner's Farming has leveled up.]

[Your DEX acquisition rate in the 'Farming Dungeon' has increased.]

[For User Minhyuk only, Ellie's Sword and the rewarded DEX acquisition rate have been added together. You have obtained a total acquisition rate of x6. This can only be applied inside the Farming Dungeon.]

"Huh……?!"

Minhyuk was very happy. It was a secret quest, after all. Bran smiled a little at him.

"To be honest, I actually wanted to ask you a favor with farming but you know..."

He smiled bitterly.

"Who would want to come here and dig up sweet potatoes, and to top it all off, they could only dig up one to two in an hour. Who else would be so interested in farming sweet potatoes? No one would even feel rewarded by digging up sweet potatoes."

This secret quest was very, very, difficult. And just like Bran said, who would even earnestly do this quest without being lazy?

A farmer?

It was one of the lowest among the non-combat classes. No, in all honesty, it would be extremely difficult to find anyone with the farmer job class. It even had a lower percentage compared to the chefs.

Nevertheless, Minhyuk truly did his best. Of course he still wouldn't forget how he ate all of his sweet potatoes.

However, he still ate the sweet potatoes that he farmed and raised more deliciously than anyone.

It was an act of sincerity.

And he was fully satisfied with him.

[Bran's favorability has increased.]

"Thank you. I will cook a delicious meal made out of sweet potatoes for you later. You'll probably be surprised!"

Minhyuk was genuinely happy with what he received.

There was only one reason…

'My DEX acquisition rate has increased in this dungeon…!'

Together with the effect of Ellie's Sword, it has given him a total of x6 increase. If others could gain 1 point in 6 hours, then Minhyuk could gain 6 points in 1 hour!

Minhyuk also looked at his leveled up Beginner's Farming skill.

(Beginner's Farming.)

Passive Skill

Level: 3

Effects:

— Collecting and digging for materials and ingredients will be 10% faster.

— Has a 3% chance of obtaining better materials and ingredients.

'Ooooooooh…!'

Minhyuk was very moved.

My god, this is…!

There might be a possibility that he could get a more delicious ingredient!

"Boy, I would like to ask an additional favor from you. Starting from now, Sweet Potato Men will appear in the fields."

"Sweet Potato Men?"

"Yeah. They're the ones who suck up the nutrients from the black sweet potatoes to soak themselves up. But because you dug up all those black sweet potatoes then they might pop out of the ground and attack you. However, you don't need to worry since their numbers will definitely be little. You only need to bring me ten sweet potato men and one sweet potato warrior. "

[Quest: Hunt Ten Sweet Potato Men.]

Rank: D

Restrictions: Open only to those who have completed the 'He Who Cherishes the Little Things.'

Rewards: For every Sweet Potato Man the drops are: 1 million gold, a seed and an increase in DEX acquisition rate.

Penalty for Failure: Bran's favorability will drop.

Description: Only for those who have completed the quest He Who Cherishes the Little Things. Hunt ten Sweet Potato Men and one Sweet Potato Warrior.

"Ah, the sweet potato warrior has a special ability of recovering its strength just by eating the sweet potatoes around him so be careful. That guy is over Lv30 so it might be a bit hard on you. Don't strain yourself.""Yes. I understand. I'll accept the quest."

Despite Bran's concern, Minhyuk still readily accepted the quest.

This quest has extremely good rewards and there would be a total of ten sweet potato men that will appear.

One sweet potato man would give a drop of 1 million gold so a total of ten would give him 10 million gold in drops alone. In addition, Minhyuk saw that there were unknown seeds that would drop too.

Bran continued to speak.

"And if you hunt a sweet potato warrior, you'll definitely find something that you'll like. Hohoho."

"D, don't tell me…"

Bran nodded his head.

"Oooooooooooh!"

Minhyuk's body was suddenly filled with strength.

He had a hunch. It was definitely obvious that something delicious would come out.

"And I'm telling you that there is a relationship between the seeds that will drop and the sweet potato warriors."

"Yes!"

Swoooosh!

Minhyuk once again moved towards the field to dig up sweet potatoes. He was like a whirlwind with how fast he was working. The speed and tenacity with which he used to dig up the sweet potatoes had increased. He was truly concentrating on this quest.

[You have gained 1 DEX.]

He quickly heard a notification not long after he started.

Thud, thud, thud!

While Minhyuk diligently dug up the sweet potatoes…

"Gumaguma!"

A monster suddenly popped out of the ground.

It looked like a peeled sweet potato and was as tall as an 8-year-old child. It looked adorable with the tiny sickle on its hands.

"Gumaguma!"

The sweet potato man quickly narrowed the distance between them. Minhyuk, who was digging out sweet potatoes, swung his fists.

"Skrrrt!"

Squiish!

"Guma, kueeck!"

The sweet potato man quickly flew towards the barrier.

It was just one move.

A green seed dropped along with the gold. Minhyuk picked the drops quickly.

[You have acquired 1 million gold.]

[You have acquired a seed.]

Then he continued his fast pace of digging up sweet potatoes again.

There's definitely something delicious that will drop from the sweet potato warrior in the end!

His appetite gave him infinite concentration.

Then he heard a notification.

[You have gained 1 Will.]

"Huh…?"

The sound broke Minhyuk's concentration. Minhyuk checked the detailed explanation about Will.

[You have the will to do things. When you're much more eager or you're much more focused than usual your fatigue will disappear. This cannot be raised using bonus points.]

"Oh…!"

This was a superb stat.

This kind of stats would usually be obtained when the user was over Lv50 and had met the conditions. However, it wasn't easy to meet the conditions needed. Of all the users who have played Athenae, only 3% knew about these special stats.

After checking the stat, Minhyuk continued to dig sweet potatoes again.

[You have acquired a sweet potato.]

[You have acquired a sweet potato.]

[......sweet potato.]

Minhyuk's hand began to get faster and faster. And along with his speed, his DEX continued to rise which gave him confidence.

He could now dig 4 sweet potatoes in an hour.

"Guma! Aaack!"

Minhyuk once again punched the noisy monster who kept on shouting guma.

Then…

[You have successfully hunted ten Sweet Potato Men.]

[A Sweet Potato Warrior has appeared.]

Baaaaaaang!

An earth-shattering sound was heard along with the explosion on the ground.

Minhyuk, who was still digging the sweet potatoes, stopped what he was doing when he heard the notification.

Finally, the guy that I've been waiting for has come out.

The sweet potato warrior belonged to a larger variety of the sweet potato men. Its hand was now holding a spear.

"Huh?"

On the other hand, Minhyuk was surprised.

'How come?'

The sweet potato warrior was a monster. And it wasn't like Minhyuk did not see the sweet potato men from before. However, there was something special in this sweet potato warrior.

It was the color of the light surrounding it.

'It's glowing with a black light?'

It wasn't a food ingredient but the monster was surrounded by a glowing light.

This was the first time that he had seen a black light.

***

TL's corner!!!

Surprisingly enough, we have no foot notes in the chapter. Lol. Well, well. What could the black light mean? What stat will it increase if he ate it? Or was it something else???

PR’s corner!

It’s the black light of death, because he’s threatening Minhyuk’s food and is going to perish.

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