Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Honestly I thought it was too natural.

Watching Mark Two farm, I almost mistook the existence of slimes for farming monsters.

“Poison?”

Is the ability that comes out every time I synthesize random?

But when I regained a bit of composure and thought, random was actually better.

If only farming abilities came out from slimes the choices would narrow, but if various abilities come out like this I could utilize them in many directions.

Wriggle-

Of course looking at that slow undulating appearance, the thought came that it was still far from going out to hunt with just one poison ability.

[Poison LV.1]

Exudes toxicity and poisons the opponent.

The poisoned opponent becomes paralyzed after a minimum of 10 minutes.

As expected was as expected.

Even granting it’s paralysis poison, the effect appearing after 10 minutes...

‘If I really had to use it there would be ways, but I don’t know how strong the paralysis is.’

Let’s think positively just from having seen the possibility. Who knows, later the poison level might rise and it really becomes strong.

“You’re Dokdok.”

Wriggle?

“From now your name is Dokdok.”

Wriggle!

I was gradually reaching the level where I could roughly recognize the slime’s gestures. Was it the influence of the Slime Lord ability?

“Dokdok, how do you use the poison? Do you spit it or is the bodily fluid coming from your body poison?”

Undulate-

Baae-

Instantly a mouth-like part slightly formed on Dokdok and it spat something out.

“Oh, you spit it?”

Undulate-

“No?”

Wriggle wriggle!

“Both work?”

Wriggle!

Even vaguely being able to communicate was amazing to me.

After watching Dokdok’s poison show for a while I realized it was time.

“Wait. I’ll make you a friend first.”

Using the Slime Lord whose cooldown had come around just then, I summoned a level 1 slime.

Pop?!

A slime of familiar appearance popped out and wriggled as if asking where this was.

Dokdok approached that guy and wriggled.

Wriggle- Wriggle-

Undulate?

While an incomprehensible high-dimensional conversation was progressing, Mark Two who had gone to manage the vegetable garden again approached me.

Undulate!

“Hm? Don’t tell me it’s already harvest time?”

Wriggle!

Mark Two that wriggled as if urging me soon led the way crawling. And as I expected, the place Mark Two stopped was the section where carrots were planted.

“Ooh!”

The leaf size was somehow unusual.

Carrots are hidden in the soil, but the orange body already slightly revealed clearly showed it wasn’t the size I knew well.

Gulp.

Because it was the first cultivation and harvest?

Or because of the unusual size.

While staring at the carrots under a strangely felt tension, Mark Two tactlessly pulled one carrot.

Pop!

“Ooooh!”

An unhideable exclamation burst out once more.

A translucent orange carrot shining like a jewel was fully revealed.

It was much larger than expected but not an unrealistic size. Just the level of ‘Oh? There were carrots of this size?’

“But the color...”

It wasn’t metaphor or exaggeration.

The semi-transparent body really shining as if it were a jewel was reflecting light and shining like glass.

“Is this something I can eat?”

Then Mark Two brought the carrot it pulled as if showing off. When I casually received the carrot from Mark Two, it fussed as if I had to handle it carefully.

Pop! Wriggle! Undulate!

“Okay, okay. I’ll be careful.”

I didn’t know what there was to be careful about since it was ingredients anyway, but I wrapped it preciously for now.

[Carrot imbued with mana LV.1]

Faint mana is contained.

Upon intake, vision rises for 3 minutes according to the amount of mana possessed. Thereafter permanent minute vision rise.

This is...

I’m not seeing wrong right now, am I?

“A mere carrot receiving item judgment...”

I couldn’t hide my surprise at the item window that appeared before my eyes. The item window being displayed meant this carrot had literally received item judgment.

Earth’s items naturally, and dungeon items also didn’t receive item judgment just anything.

“Is it because mana is imbued?”

Among dungeon fruits and berries there were ones that received item judgment and ones that didn’t.

Moreover, those that received item judgment were mostly plants or fruits that became materials for excellent elixirs.

“Don’t tell me all the carrots planted here are items?”

Honestly I didn’t hope to that extent, but the thought that maybe it was possible crossed my mind.

“I can harvest all of these now, right?”

Wriggle!

With Mark Two’s permission, Mark Two and I started harvesting the carrots.

Since it was a vegetable garden of only 100 pyeong it wasn’t a large amount, but still because I had planted over 300 carrots it took some time.

“Hoo.”

While I dug one, Mark Two dug three.

Probably because I was careful while digging it took a bit of time, but Mark Two pulled them out vigorously like an expert without a single damage.

‘Mark Two is a filial child.’

In many ways it felt like my life was blooming thanks to Mark Two.

Having dug all the slightly over 300 carrots between the two of us, flowers also started blooming on the cherry tomatoes.

“Oh? Come to think of it, did you do the pollination one by one too?”

Undulate!

It must have had to do all these fields alone, and briskly as they grew quickly, it was really amazing.

Mark Two tapped as if saying manage the harvested carrots from now, then went to manage the tomatoes.

“Unlike how it looks, it’s reliable.”

On the outside it looks slow and a bit lacking but cute, but when it actually works it definitely gets it done.

Thanks to that I suddenly came to worry about how to organize the carrots I had harvested.

“I never thought I’d harvest this quickly.”

Who would have known that something that for 3 years was only about whether sprouts would grow or not would progress all the way to harvest in just two days in one go.

“Dokdok, and new friend. It’s time for you guys to work too.”

I called the two still having a high-dimensional conversation and made them organize and move the carrots.

Worried poison might get on them, I told Dokdok not to emit poison except when separately commanded.

“Wow, these are all items?”

I wondered, but it was real.

There were a total of 309 carrots and without missing a single one all received item judgment.

Because the size was also large, I set aside only 10 for quest use and worried about how to handle the rest.

“Shall I try eating just one first.”

Honestly the thought also came that it was a bit wasteful for me to just eat. That was because I had consumed 3 years of time and enormous resources just for this one thing, so it was an unavoidable psychology.

“Eh, but now that Mark Two is here I can cultivate anytime, right.”

Let’s trust myself and trust my slimes.

Having made a resolve once like that, I held one carrot and was about to bite it when I paused.

Wriggle-

Mark Two who was taking care of the tomatoes was blankly watching me who was about to eat the carrot.

“What. What.”

Wriggle-

“Don’t eat it?”

Wriggle-

Mark Two casually approached and held one carrot itself. Even without hands it was holding it well.

“You want to eat too?”

Undulate!

“Of course! Even if all is hard, um... I’ll allow up to about 10.”

Then Dokdok and the new recruit who were beside each gripped one carrot.

“...You guys 5 each.”

Wriggle!

The guys that undulated as if thankful ate the carrots before me. I thought they didn’t need food, but that wasn’t it either.

“Hey, even I the lord haven’t put it in my mouth yet and you guys eat first!”

Crunch!

Having thrown a joke once, I immediately chewed the carrot. At the same time the juice of the carrot flowed out in a splash and wet my hand.

“Uum!?”

Is this a carrot?

No, it was clearly a carrot.

The texture was carrot and the taste was carrot.

But the overflowing juice and the rich carrot taste, and the unique sweetness of carrot were maximized to the fullest and ravaged my tongue.

[Vision rises for 3 minutes.]

At the same time even the system window that delivered the finishing blow saying what you ate was an item.

‘No. Vision or whatever isn’t what’s important!’

Heavenly vegetable.

I wanted to name it that much.

This was a level of taste so different in dimension that comparing it to ordinary carrots would be rude.

Crunch- Crunch-

Somehow the more I chewed the sweetness rose more.

But that sweetness wasn’t a cloying or stimulating feeling but a taste as if leaving a long aftertaste.

‘If I had to compare, the feeling of fragrant sweet coffee or tea kinds?’

I don’t know well since I don’t drink alcohol, but like how expensive whiskey or wine leaves a luxurious aroma long around the mouth, this carrot also gave that feeling.

I had only eaten one bite but the aftertaste remained long. The funny thing was that because it was larger than ordinary carrots the body part was still left for a long while.

“...This is crazy?”

This, it will definitely sell.

Not simply farming for the quest, but farming for success also seemed possible.

“Of course I have to clear the quest too. The more I grow the ability the higher the probability of farming success.”

In the end all this was possible thanks to my abilities.

Liquid Synthesis with a cooldown of a day that I thought I had to use only on potions.

Slime Lord that could only give commands to slimes and summon one a day.

Looking at them one by one they were lacking somewhere, but when the two combined they created tremendous synergy.

Undulate!

Moreover these commendable guys were even cute.

...Is it only me who sees them that way?

“Eeh?”

While I was immersed in sentiment for a moment, the guys had eaten all the carrots allocated as their share.

The momentum was unusual so cold sweat flowed thinking what would have happened if I hadn’t set a limit.

“You, you guys eat better than I thought?”

I said it pretending to be nonchalant but an alarm rang in my head.

‘What if slimes are actually creatures that eat a lot of food?’

Thinking about it, it was only two days.

The time I had taken interest in the monster called slime.

I still knew almost nothing about slimes. I only knew they were creatures harmless to humans.

“Do you die if you can’t eat?”

In a way it was natural as living things, but just in case I asked. Then Mark Two undulated and expressed something.

“If you die to the right, otherwise to the left.”

Wriggle-

The slimes moved to the right in unison.

“Haha, I asked an obvious thing. Hahaha.”

I forced a laugh but gradually cold sweat started flowing down my back.

“Then how much do you have to eat a day? Express it in number of carrots.”

Then the slimes each started laying out the carrots they needed.

I thought at most it would be around the ten they just ate.

But at a number that exceeded my expectation my face was also stiffening along with it.

“...Don’t lie. What slime eats that much?”

For a moment harsh words popped out because I got heated, but it was unavoidable.

Mark Two was continuously moving carrots without stopping. By eye it was already going over 30.

Dokdok stopped at exactly 25.

The new recruit 12.

“Ma, Mark Two?”

Wriggle?

At my call Mark Two tilted its head as if asking why while moving carrots.

“You’re talking about the food to eat in a day, right?”

Wriggle!

I’m doomed.

The carrots harvested now were to the extent that even using them immediately as the slimes’ labor costs would be insufficient.

Of course having harvested over 300 carrots in two days, thinking about it it wasn’t that big a problem.

But it was just that my eyes had rolled for a moment due to the joy of the first harvest, haa.

“40? Well since they work a lot they have to eat a lot.”

I decided not to be greedy.

In the end all this was possible thanks to the slimes, so my priority naturally had to have the slimes at the very top.

“Then 77 carrots a day. Since they starved yesterday 154. Even so if I harvest the tomatoes tomorrow too we won’t starve roughly.”

While calculating alone I said to the slimes.

“Leave only 10 that I’ll use separately and eat the rest sparingly yourselves. We can’t starve our kids.”

Wriggle! Undulate!

The slimes danced as if happy.

Soon watching the appearance of them eating the carrots greedily as if they had been hungry, I thought I had been too indifferent.

“I have to go out right away.”

I had gone out once in the recent month or so, but I had to go out again right away.

I was thinking of commissioning analysis of the carrot’s components outside, a ladder to go down underground, and purchasing various seeds and seedlings.

I was also thinking of learning information about slimes and taking out all of Mark Two’s bodily fluids and Dokdok’s poison to commission.

“Shall I watch until the tomatoes?”

With the extremely fast growth speed it seemed I could harvest the tomatoes soon too. If so I could finally make the fruit and vegetable juice imbued with mana...

“Shall I plant Polygonum multiflorum seeds too?”

In a full 3 years.

The time to clear the quest was approaching.