Chapter 54
“BARBARIAN!”
[Skill ‘Finding the Best Plot’ activated.]
Five glowing slots appeared throughout my cultivation land.
Those were the Special Cultivation Slots where Muscle Potatoes could grow.
[You have obtained 5 Muscle Potato Seed Eyes.]
I handled them far more carefully than ordinary potato seeds.
One by one...
I planted the precious Muscle Potatoes.
Then gently covered them with soil.
Finally...
Growth Acceleration.
[Muscle Potato - Time Until Harvest: 23:59:58]
Perfect!
Once they were harvested...
Zakan would eat them.
I would eat them too.
I stood and stretched.
Then looked over my expanded farmland.
The number of cultivation slots has really increased.
After leveling up...
I now had a total of 250 active cultivation slots.
One hundred had already been given to Malko and the three barbarian boys assigned as tenant farmers.
That left me with 150.
I personally used only 50.
Which meant...
A hundred cultivation slots were currently unused.
We’re running out of land.
Inside the village wall...
There wasn’t much empty space left for fields.
Jack was building a five-story apartment.
We also had the village hall.
Dining hall.
Forge.
Mari’s workshop.
And other structures.
Almost all the unused land inside the wall had been claimed.
I couldn’t simply waste cultivation slots.
So...
If we lacked land inside the wall...
We needed to expand the farmland outside it.
I also needed more tenant farmers.
“...We’re missing a lot of things.”
Still...
That could wait.
There was something else I wanted to inspect first.
The potato I had just harvested when my understanding reached 100%.
==========
【Target Information】
• Name: Potato
• Grade: A-Rank
【Details】
• Satiety x2: Keeps the eater full throughout the entire day.
• Calories x2: Contains twice the calories of an ordinary potato, providing lasting stamina.
• Storage Duration x2: Spoils significantly slower than an ordinary potato.
• Vitality Enhancement: Eating the potato quickly relieves accumulated fatigue and restores vitality.
==========
Finally.
An A-Rank Potato.
I laughed.
“This isn’t even a potato anymore.”
Then...
“It’s basically medicine.”
Twice as filling.
Twice the calories.
Twice the storage period.
And now...
It removed fatigue.
The perfect food for children carrying heavy logs and steel all day.
Of course...
Mercenaries and knights from human lands would probably drool over the calorie and vitality effects as well.
I should tell Topu to sell these at an outrageous price.
Still...
I have a mountain of work.
I sighed.
We needed to clear land outside the village for more fields.
We needed to cultivate Muscle Potatoes.
We needed to stockpile food for the approaching Red Moon and Great Famine.
And...
I wanted to grind dried Fire Chili Peppers into chili powder.
“If I could...”
I sighed.
“I’d use the chili powder to make gochujang immediately.”
But...
No meju.
A Korean dining table without fermented sauces was like going to war without a weapon.
Fire Chili Peppers were fantastic.
But if I wanted to cook proper Korean food...
I needed jang.
And to make jang...
I needed soybeans.
I rubbed my chin.
Then...
A memory suddenly flashed through my mind.
“Wait.”
My eyes widened.
“I have that!”
The seed pouch Topu had received from Baron Ruonic.
Maybe...
There were soybeans inside.
I immediately pulled out the precious silk pouch.
Then untied it.
Inside...
There were several small paper packets, carefully folded.
Tiny writing covered their surfaces.
...Why is this written in Korean?
Was it because this world came from a Korean game?
The setting was a strange mixture of medieval European fantasy...
Yet the words on seed packets were written in familiar Hangul.
Ridiculous.
But...
Actually convenient.
I laid all the seed packets across the dirt.
Then sat down.
There weren’t many varieties.
Let’s see what we have.
I picked up the first packet.
“...Rose.”
Useless.
I can’t eat flowers.
Next.
“Chrysanthemum.”
Rejected.
I don’t need flowers!
“Daffodil.”
No.
“Lily.”
No.
“Tulip...”
With every packet I pushed aside...
My expression became darker.
I DON’T NEED THESE!
Useless decorative plants!
“...Damn it.”
It was supposed to be a noble lady’s seed pouch.
She must have planned to build a flower garden.
Every packet scattered across the ground contained flowers.
Not a single edible crop.
Then...
I stared at the final packet in my hand.
“Haa...”
I sighed deeply.
Please.
Anything.
Just give me something edible or useful.
With almost no hope remaining...
I turned over the final packet.
My eyes widened.
One simple word was written there.
[Bean]
“Holy shit!”
I jumped up.
“I FOUND BEANS!”
Beans!
Soybeans!
Meat from the field!
The foundation of the glorious fermented sauces used in Korean cooking!
How many things could I create from this tiny seed?
Soy sauce.
Doenjang.
Gochujang.
With this...
My cooking possibilities would explode!
“HAHAHAHAHA!”
I hugged the packet to my chest.
Then ran toward Zakan.
A short while later.
Inside Zakan’s tent.
“No.”
“...Why?!”
I hadn’t even finished explaining my exciting new farming plan.
Zakan already crossed his arms and firmly rejected it.
I stared at him.
Completely stunned.
I had been certain he would agree.
Zakan looked back with his usual emotionless expression.
“There are too many projects happening in the village.”
Then...
“We are still building the communal residence.”
He raised another finger.
“After that, we need the village hall.”
Then...
“After those are finished, weren’t we supposed to build proper homes for you and me?”
I hesitated.
“W-Well...”
Then...
“Yes.”
Zakan continued mercilessly.
“You also said we need Topu’s warehouse.”
Another finger.
“Jack’s workshop.”
Another.
“Additional buildings in the commercial district.”
“...”
Yes.
I said all that.
I silently pouted.
Zakan continued.
“Naturally, our tribe has limited manpower.”
Then...
“Expanding our territory beyond the village wall right now would be difficult.”
Yes, yes.
Everything you say is completely correct.
