The mole’s claws are optimized for digging through the ground.
This means they also have an excellent ability to cultivate the soil neatly.
“Oh my, how lovely. I’m so glad I registered you as a retainer.”
In just one minute, it leveled 300 square meters of land. Even an ox couldn’t plow this well.
No, not even a tractor could match it.
And since it can be repaired just by putting it into the tube, it’s even more efficient than a machine.
Its versatility is probably overwhelming compared to any other creature in the tube.
“Did you change your class to a summoner? Or maybe a tamer? Didn’t you say you were an appraiser?”
Yangmu’s voice was heavily shaken. It seemed the difference between what he had previously heard from Johan and what he was seeing now was causing some cognitive dissonance.
“Ah, something happened, and it ended up this way.”
“What could possibly happen to allow you to handle such a monster? It doesn’t seem like it’s due to a taming skill, and since it understands speech, it can’t be undead either.”
“It seems special even to you, doesn’t it, Yang Hyung?”
“What if that’s not the only one you can control?”
“Um, I can handle about 30 more.”
“…You must have really missed the army, huh? Why didn’t you just reenlist?”
“Huh?”
“It’s practically a whole unit! This isn’t something you can just describe as ‘special!'”
Yangmu was so agitated that he grabbed Johan by the collar. He wasn’t the only one who was worked up.
“I have a necromancer friend, and he says that normally you can only summon one undead of similar rank to yourself, or maybe five of a rank lower. Even a top American necromancer can only summon one A-rank Dark Knight.”
“Right. And that one Dark Knight is considered a precious tanking resource. But what did you say? 30?”
Haesudo shook his head. He now had a look of understanding on his face.
“That story about surviving among the Tau? I thought it was a lie. But seeing this ridiculous summoning ability, I can believe it now.”
“Ahem, it’s really nothing special.”
Johan, feeling embarrassed by all the praise, lowered his eyes and began moving the fertilizer.
The intense reactions were a bit too much, making him feel slightly ashamed.
“Heh. Whatever the case, this is good for us.”
“Exactly. At least we don’t have to worry about dying.”
The rest began to pour a sack of fertilizer every meter as they resumed their work.
The pungent smell of the fertilizer made Amy wrinkle her nose, but this was their only lifeline at the moment.
“Now, we need to mix the soil and fertilizer once more.”
“Mole, let’s plow it one more time.”
The mole diligently plowed the field again.
Finally, the soil became fertile.
“Ah, Mole, don’t come close just yet. Come back later.”
Satisfied, Yangmu stretched and then extended his hand.
A light emitted from his hand, covering the entire area of land.
“Rapid Growth.”
Yangmu cast a skill over the barren land. As time passed, the smell of fertilizer gradually diminished.
“This is how the nutrients mix evenly. You need to plant crops after the soil becomes healthy so they won’t wither.”
A drop of sweat fell from Yangmu’s forehead. It seemed maintaining the skill wasn’t easy.
“Should we plant the seeds now?”
“Let’s start light today, with garlic. Unlike the others, garlic needs a drying process after harvesting.”
Yangmu took seed garlic out of the sack and scattered them all around. He didn’t bother with lining up the garlic in neat rows as one might see on TV.
Flash
Instead, the light covered the land once more.
For just 10 seconds, Yangmu maximized his magic power, causing his hand to tremble. He could feel the warm magic energy rapidly draining from his body.
“Oh!”
“The sprouts are coming up!”
After 10 seconds, sprouts began to emerge from the ground. It was an extraordinary sight, unlike anything anyone had seen before.
“Water!”
At Yangmu’s command, Johan and the others began to pour the water they had prepared all around.
Thanks to the villagers bringing in water from the reservoir the previous day, it didn’t seem like there would be any shortage.
“Keep sprinkling water everywhere!”
Curiously, the water evaporated instantly as soon as it hit the ground. Time was likely flowing at a rate where one second was equivalent to an hour.
“Take a break.”
Flop
Exhausted, Yangmu collapsed on the spot. It was understandable—he had made the garlic stalks grow to ankle height in just 10 minutes.
“Whew, it’s not easy work. The magic consumption is more intense than I thought.”
His lips were as parched as a drought, showing how much he had overexerted himself. Johan handed him some bottled water, helping Yangmu rest.
“But the efficiency is better than I expected.”
“I pushed myself to the limit for a moment, and now all my magic power is gone.”
“Still, you look like you can keep going until tomorrow. It even seems like there’s some hope.”
Although he was complaining, his expression wasn’t one of despair. In fact, he seemed refreshed.
“There are still some rotten plants here and there, but it doesn’t seem impossible. Surprisingly, this is kind of fun. If this works, it would really be revolutionary.”
Whoever said that men live for fun must have had someone like Yangmu in mind.
“So, Yang Hyung, do you think you can hold out until the quest is completed?”
Yangmu, who had been looking up at the sky, tilted his head diagonally. It was a habit of his when faced with difficult tasks.
“Well, if there’s no interference, I can definitely finish within two weeks, but whether that will happen… I’m not sure.”
Interference from someone.
Johan couldn’t predict that either. He just hoped any interference would be manageable.
Tingle
At that moment, Johan felt a tingling sensation on his skin. It wasn’t a physical sensation but rather something in the realm of intuition.
“Something’s coming. Everyone, prepare for any possible situation.”
Johan climbed onto the mole’s back and looked around.
The surroundings were still quiet.
‘Kalmo did mention that whenever sprouts appear, something mysteriously digs up the ground and destroys them.’
The plants had grown far beyond mere sprouts by now.
If someone was watching this place, and they intended to interfere based on the plants’ length, now would be the perfect time to act.
A faint vibration echoed through the air. The source was the eastern mountain range.
“Everyone else, stay here and guard this place. Protecting this land is our top priority.”
“Where are you going?!”
“I’m just going to scout the area quickly. I think some interference is about to happen.”
“It’s not particularly dangerous right now. Go ahead.”
Yangmu swallowed his words and waved his hand as he watched Johan mount the mole and rush toward the source of the vibrations.
“There they are. Those gluttonous wild boars.”
500 meters away, a horde of giant wild boars could be seen running on all fours.
Normally, they walk on two legs, but when they run, they use all four, making their charging power exceed that of even E-rank monsters—these were the Deb.
“There must be at least 50 of them. They really sent a lot, didn’t they, Life Goddess?”
Even Johan would break at least ten bones if he collided with those creatures.
That’s why, when dealing with the Deb, the standard tactic was to attack from a side they couldn’t defend well.
“Let’s see if your charge works against you this time.”
Thud
But he didn’t dodge.
There was no reason to avoid it when he had a monster even more dangerous than those creatures under his control.
Snort
Two Tau appeared, snorting as they emerged.
In an instant, cracks formed within the Deb horde. Confronted with a higher predator, instinctive fear seeped into their bodies.
Rumble
The Tau’s charge then overwhelmed them.
As the massive beasts surged forward, the Deb panicked and began to turn tail and run.
Squeal
They tangled with each other and collapsed. These creatures, who knew nothing but charging, couldn’t manage to escape properly.
“It’s chaos, complete chaos.”
While they were caught in this turmoil, the Tau arrived.
Crunch
One Deb was killed instantly. The Tau trampled its body, and a frenzied slaughter began.
The Tau rampaged with no restraint, as if venting its frustration from being previously subdued by Ursus.
Squeal
The Deb scattered in all directions. Any orders they might have received seemed forgotten; all that remained was their primal instinct to flee.
Johan didn’t stay idle either. He shot arrows, piercing the center of their foreheads as they ran.
“Deji, you can take down all the fleeing ones.”
Slash
As soon as the command was given, a Deb’s head fell.
The two Tau and Deji easily overpowered the 50 Deb. Not a single one escaped; they were completely annihilated.
The blood overflowed so much that it formed a pool.
—
[Deji, the Familiar’s level has increased. Lv.1 -> Lv.2]
—
Deji, who had taken down over 30 of them, leveled up. It seemed to sense its newfound strength and showed signs of joy.
“I have a feeling you’ll be useful later, so come back for now.”
He stored away the 50 Deb at once.
If his guess was correct, this monster wave wouldn’t be a one-time event.
“At least once a day, maybe even right now, another wave could happen.”
Given the high likelihood of repeated attacks, he needed to replenish the monsters he could use.
Someone might increase the difficulty level after seeing this battle, after all.
—
“You’re back already? I heard pig squeals from afar.”
Yangmu, who seemed to have recovered his strength, was stretching when Johan returned. It looked like he was about to use his skill again.
“I took down a few. I don’t think we need to worry about any more attacks today.”
“Really? That’s a relief. Then, should we push ourselves a bit more today?”
Yangmu clasped his hands together and activated his skill once more. Seeing that they were making progress seemed to energize him.
Flash
The light permeated the land again. The plants that had reached ankle height started growing a bit more.
One hour, two hours passed.
Splash
Each time Yangmu shouted, they sprinkled water.
Watching the plants grow in real-time was unexpectedly entertaining.
Another hour, two hours passed.
The sun began to set. Repeating the cycle of work and rest made the time fly by.
“Let’s call it a day. We’ll have to work hard again tomorrow.”
Seeing Yangmu’s dazed eyes, Johan supported his body.
“Shall we? I was reaching my limit anyway. This is the first time I’ve used this skill for so long—I’ve set a new record.”
His face showed a mix of exhaustion and satisfaction.
And no wonder—the plants had already grown up to their calves.
Even excluding the withered ones, it seemed like they would have a sufficient harvest.
“Let’s just bring in the potatoes and sweet potatoes. We need to grow them right away tomorrow.”
Yangmu was pleased with how much his skill proficiency had improved.
“It’s almost like training in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber. By tomorrow, my skill level should increase too, making things even more efficient.”
Watching Yangmu work so hard, Johan thought it wouldn’t be bad to be on the same team.
He was a true leader, now as ever.
—
“Let’s all head back. Deji will guard this place.”
Deji took on the role of a scarecrow. It was a perfect scarecrow that didn’t sleep or eat and would protect this place no matter what.
Johan returned to the village for a break.
The villagers began to wake up, and everyone gathered at the village hall to eat the meal prepared by Kalmo.
Everyone except for Johan.
“This is a big problem. If today passes, I’ll fail the daily quest.”
The biggest issue was right in front of Johan.
Naturally, he couldn’t bring himself to eat.
His job as an undertaker required him to prepare at least one body each day to maintain it.
But in this place, he couldn’t find any Earthlings’ corpses.
With about 5 hours left in the day, Johan had nothing he could do.
“Am I going to lose my job like this? If I lose this job, what will happen to me, my skills, and my abilities?”
He started to feel anxious. The thought of returning to his previous state was unbearable. He absolutely didn’t want to go back to being an F-rank appraiser. The mere thought of it was revolting.
Then, it happened.
—
[The God of the Dead recognizes the predicament you cannot escape from and offers you a proposal. Will you accept a quest that can replace your daily quest?]
—
“…A quest to replace the daily quest?”
Startled by the sudden notification, he checked the screen again.
As he had felt before, it seemed that the God of the Dead was constantly watching over him.
The god knew exactly what he wanted.
He wasn’t sure what it entailed, but it was a quest he couldn’t refuse.
“Anything is better than losing my job. Accept.”
—
[The daily quest has been replaced with a special quest.]
—
What kind of quest had the God of the Dead given him?
No matter how difficult the quest, there was nothing to lose. After all, there would be rewards.
—
[Collect the God’s Body Parts]
Difficulty: A
Time Limit: 7 days
Reward: Penalty for missing the daily quest is lifted. A portion of the God’s body.
– The God of Life can only interact with the world during the day. Find and destroy the body parts while avoiding his gaze. He must never learn of this.
