Chapter 24
The sweet smell of caramel spread into the air.
The rustling inside the bushes became more violent.
Good.
They took the bait.
Pretending to be completely relaxed, I picked up the best-coated candied potato.
I stared toward the shaking bushes.
Then bit down dramatically.
CRUNCH!
“Khaaaa! Sweet!”
I exaggerated every reaction.
“Listen to that crunch!”
I chewed slowly.
“And the inside is so soft. Ahhh, delicious!”
The candy coating cracked like glass.
The smell of sugar became even stronger.
Rustle! Rustle!
Finally...
The beetles could no longer resist.
They hurried out from between the leaves.
You little bastards.
They had already tasted the barbarian-style rest-stop potatoes once.
How could they possibly resist the upgraded candied version?
Their antennae trembled.
Their large eyes were fixed completely on the food.
Their patience had clearly reached its limit.
“Mmm.”
I took advantage of the moment and made an even more delighted expression.
“It gets better the more you chew.”
“...!”
The beetles stared at me with a mixture of desire and suspicion.
Then the largest of the five slowly stepped forward.
Is this one their leader?
The leader remained cautious.
Still...
It carefully extended one front leg that had been hiding something.
Tap. Roll...
A shiny pebble rolled toward my foot.
This one was actually quite beautiful.
Several colors mixed together inside it.
The beetles must have considered it extremely valuable.
“So?”
I looked down.
“You want to trade this for my potato?”
Yay! Yay!
The leader beetle raised one front leg and began dancing happily.
The remaining four rushed out of hiding.
Then copied the exact same dance.
“No.”
“...!”
Why?!
They stopped dancing all at once as though struck by lightning.
“I already told you.”
I crossed my arms.
“I do not need these rocks.”
Why?! It is so pretty!
The beetles staggered in despair.
Their finest stone had been rejected!
Then what could they possibly offer in exchange for potatoes?
That was probably what they were thinking.
Their antennae moved wildly as they panicked.
Now.
While they were shocked...
I dropped a fairly thick log in front of them.
THUD.
Jack had already drawn a gear shape on the wood.
Can they really do it?
Sure, the surface of the trap they had cut through had been impressive.
But at the end of the day...
They were still insects.
I needed to know how intelligent they were.
How much control they had over their cutting ability.
If they could follow this design...
A pattern requiring complicated curves and angles...
Then this could completely change how our village developed.
I hid my doubts and spoke calmly.
“I know you have something far more valuable than pebbles.”
Us?!
The beetles looked confused.
I tapped the black lines on the log.
“If you can cut the wood along these lines...”
I pointed at the candied potatoes.
“I will give you potatoes.”
“...!”
The beetles stared blankly at the log.
Then they gathered together.
They touched antennae and began whispering.
Every few seconds, they glanced at me.
...Why do I feel like bugs are treating me like a sucker?
After a long discussion...
The leader proudly stepped forward.
It puffed out its body.
Then twitched its antennae as though scoffing.
It climbed onto the log.
And...
CRRRRRRUNCH!
Huh?!
The sound resembled an old hand saw or a spinning drill.
The beetle’s saw-like jaws moved along the black line.
Fine sawdust scattered through the air like snow.
Then...
Tap.
A perfectly carved wooden gear separated from the log and dropped to the ground.
The leader raised one front leg proudly.
How about that?! Potato now!
Jackpot.
A short while later.
In the middle of the Northern Rock Tribe village.
“So... you ‘hired’ these beetles?”
“Yes.”
Zakan looked strangely between me and the beetles.
At my feet, the leader beetle stood proudly even in front of the tribe’s strongest warrior.
Then...
It extended one front leg toward Zakan.
A greeting between leaders?
“You did it, Shaman!”
Jack ran over barefoot after hearing the good news.
His face was glowing with joy.
I pointed toward him.
“This is Jack.”
Then I looked at the beetles.
“Help him cut wood.”
I pointed at the potato sacks.
“If you do that, I will give you lots of potatoes.”
Raise front leg.
The leader saluted Jack.
“J-Jack, sir.”
“Get along with each other.”
“Yes, of course!”
Jack’s face turned red with excitement.
“This way, Beetle Masters. Let me show you the construction site!”
He happily hummed while placing the beetles on his shoulders.
Then disappeared with them.
Zakan still looked like he had many questions.
But I didn’t have time to explain everything.
We had already wasted too much time dealing with the potato thieves and delayed construction.
“Zakan. I’ll check the farm and return. Get ready.”
“Understood.”
I left Zakan behind and headed toward my small, precious potato field at the edge of the village.
Thanks to leveling up...
My farm now had thirty slots.
Ahem.
[D-Rank Potato harvested.]
[D-Rank Potato harvested.]
My hands had become quite experienced.
Every time I dug through the soft soil...
Golden potatoes appeared.
Normally, one potato plant produced around twenty potatoes.
With thirty farming slots...
One full harvest cycle gave me more than six hundred potatoes.
Six hundred D-Rank Potatoes every three days.
At first glance, it sounded abundant.
But not when considering the reality of this barren frontier.
We needed to eat.
We needed to sell some to fund village development.
And most importantly...
We needed to store enough food to survive the Great Famine that the original game’s story had warned about.
“POTATO!”
[D-Rank Potato has become more delicious through Gamjadori’s skill.]
Gamjadori ran around on its tiny legs.
It busily used its skill on the freshly harvested potatoes.
Potatoes blessed by Gamjadori became unbelievably delicious.
“Today is a jackpot.”
After completely harvesting the field...
The final result was around 780 D-Rank Potatoes.
An unusually huge harvest!
Looking at the small mountain of potatoes made me feel rich.
This was nice.
...But no Muscle Potato again.
