Chapter 451: The Insect Farm (5)

"Haaam."

Seo Jun-Ho woke up and started stretching as if it were his daily routine. The corners of his mouth curled up smoothly after checking that his stretches were better than usual.

The surroundings still had no magic, but he was recovering really fast.

'Well, it makes sense considering how much I’ve invested in my body so far.’

It was natural since he had taken dozens of elixirs and even gone through a body transformation. As he brushed himself off and got up, he saw Tess entering the medical room with a flushed face.

"Oh, Sonny, you are up. How are you?"

"I’m getting better day by day. By the way, did something good happen?"

"No. What, good? It’s still the same, like a spinning wheel."

Tess waved his hand in denial, but he eventually asked, "By the way, have you heard?”

"Heard what?”

"The missing knights were finally found."

"Oh, where?”

"Don't get surprised…" Tess lowered his voice as if he were sharing a great secret with Seo Jun-Ho. "They were found in Audrick’s house. You know Audrick, right? The Knight Captain? The missing knights were found in his cave."

"That's a surprise."

"…Is that all? Why do you seem so dry?” He seemed to have expected a bigger reaction from Seo Jun-Ho, so Tess started looking like he was losing steam at Seo Jun-Ho’s lackluster reply. "Well, anyway. Audrick is now in a precarious situation. Serves him right, though."

"Is it really okay for you to say that? What are you going to do if I go to the knights and tell them?"

"Uh…" Tess scratched his head. "I didn't think of that. I thought that you were not interested in becoming a knight."

"Now, that’s shocking. Do I look weak in your eyes?”

"No, that’s not what I meant. It’s just that I... I know just what kind of people are those who want to become knights."

People like them were usually selfish troublemakers. Tess thought that all knights were like those.

‘In that sense, Mr. Sonny is...’

It hadn’t been that long since Tess met Seo Jun-Ho, but Seo Jun-Ho felt like a completely different person from those people. Of course, Tess didn’t really have a logical basis for his deduction.

‘It's just a feeling.’

Tess simply felt that Seo Jun-Ho was a decent man.

"You’re mistaken about one thing." Seo Jun-Ho corrected Tess' thoughts. "Knights aren't supposed to be obnoxious and rude boors."

"Well... I have heard that they used to value honor or something in the past."

Unfortunately, honorable knights only existed in fairy tales here. The reality was that it would be impossible to find a single honorable knight here.

Seo Jun-Ho looked at Tess' gloomy face and sighed lightly.

'I’m sure it’s not just Tess who’s thinking that way...'

Tess’ thoughts were similar to the thoughts of those people living on the lower floors.

Seo Jun-Ho was upset. It felt like his precious memories of honorable knights were being trampled on by the dirty shoes of those boors.

"Oh, and while you were sleeping, an occupational inspector came to see you."

"Occupational inspector?"

Tess explained with a nod, "People who fall here need to get a job once they recover to some extent. Otherwise, they will be reduced to slavery."

"Can I choose anything?”

“Yes. However, you can’t be reckless and choose an occupation you’re not good at. If you end up not getting a decent score from the occupational aptitude inspector, you will be reduced to slavery all the same.”

In that case, Seo Jun-Ho would have to choose an occupation that he was fairly confident in performing.

‘What should I do? I’m most confident of my body…’’

However, he didn't want to be a soldier or a knight here.

He would feel like he would also be trampling on the people he greatly respected.

Seo Jun-Ho fell into deep contemplation.

Tess smiled upon seeing that. "You don’t have to decide right now, so think about it more. If you have any questions, you can ask me."

"What kind of work can I do using only my body?"

"How many jobs like that do you think exist on a Farm? Anyway, jobs like that usually involve farming."

Seo Jun-Ho suddenly realized that even though he had been hearing the word farm, he still had no idea what they were growing here.

"If I become a farmer, do I only have to carry water, manure, and maybe sow the land?"

"What are you talking about? Have you already forgotten what I told you about how you’re not good at making jokes?” Tess shook his head and continued. "Demonic stones, the farmers here farm demonic stones."

***

“Damn…” Seo Jun-Ho had to admit that he had gotten careless.

‘I got involved with the knights, so I forgot that I still have to gather information.’

Seo Jun-Ho quickly organized his thoughts.

'This is a farm. A literal farm.’

However, the demons owned the Farm. In exchange for their lives, the people here regularly pay tributes to the demons in the form of demonic stones.

‘I was wondering why they’re underground, but I didn’t expect that it was all because of this.’

The door to the outside world could only be opened by the demons. In other words, the king and his knights were the same as the others. They were all slaves.

'It's absurd for me, but it might just be natural for the people here.’

The people here were much more afraid of the knights than the demons outside.

"Demons…"

Seo Jun-Ho calmly measured his current level.

‘Without magic… It’ll be difficult for me to handle a Common demon.’

However, he was confident that he could crush Low demons with just his physical strength, but Common demons and above were different. Fighting them without magic was like trying to punch a gun-wielding opponent.

'But there’s still a way…’

This dark underground cave still had a hole he could exploit, and it was—

"Hey, Sonny! Stop muttering to yourself! Come over here and carry your luggage!"

“Yes…" Seo Jun-Ho’s train of thought was interrupted by the supervisor’s scream. He walked over to the supervisor, and the latter shoved a large bag into his chest. The large bag contained fist-sized stones that gave off a brilliant purple color.

"Hand this over to the lord noble outside. A demonic stone will become a useless stone if it’s not put in a custom-made container within six hours."

"I understand."

"If even one of them is missing or gets scratched, you better be ready to get punished."

"Yes…" Seo Jun-Ho carefully carried the bag and left the mine.

'This is the hole I can exploit...’

The demonic stone was an ore carrying a trace amount of demonic energy.

[You sense lowest-grade demonic energy from the target.]

[Watchguard of Darkness can consume the demonic energy.]

[Upon absorption, your magic stat will increase.]

‘Bingo.’

This was why he decided to become a farmer, leaving all the other good jobs aside. Of course, the demonic energy in the demonic stone was as small as dust.

[Magic stat has increased by 0.003.]

[Magic stat has increased by 0.002.]

[Magic stat has increased by 0.005.]

…

‘There are about twenty demonic stones in a bag...’

He would have to repeat this chore at least twenty times to increase his magic stat by one point. However, Seo Jun-Ho wasn’t disappointed at all.

'It doesn’t matter how long it would take, you will eventually reach your destination as long as you’re walking on the right path.'

It was a lesson he had learned from his long or perhaps short life so far.

***

There was an office at the entrance of the mine. A noble was sitting in front of a clean desk. He stared at the man in front of him with a surprised look.

‘What? It's not even nine o'clock yet…’

The demonic stones’ courier would usually arrive around eleven. However, the newbie who had just entered the mine today actually managed to carry today’s first batch here before nine.

The curious noble couldn’t help but ask, "Did the supervisor say something in particular? Like today's harvest won’t be that huge or something?”

"He did not say anything."

"Hmm." The noble found it strange, but he still placed the demonic stones in the custom-made container. "Here is the notarized certificate. Go back and give it to your supervisor."

"I understand."

Seo Jun-Ho got up with his empty bag and went back into the mine.

"Dig faster like me! We must make sure that the nobles won’t yell at us about our harvest anymore!” The supervisor sighed while looking at the slow workers.

He was about to swing his pickaxe once again.

"Hmm?"

However, he abruptly stopped with a pale look.

The new recruit he had sent away just a while ago was already here.

"W-what's wrong?! How come you’re back so early?!"

"I have delivered the demonic stones,” replied Seo Jun-Ho.

"That's ridiculous!" The supervisor checked his watch and said furiously, "It takes two hours to get there without a backpack. You had to carry that heavy bag over your shoulder, but it only took you an hour to go there and back?!"

"Here's the notarized certificate," said Seo Jun-Ho.

The supervisor snatched the document out of Seo Jun-Ho’s hands. The supervisor’s eyes widened upon seeing it. The notarized document certified that there were no issues with the quality of the delivered demonic stones.

"I can move fast."

"Well, you’re young, so I guess I expected it. I was actually as good as you when I was your age.” The supervisor chuckled and carried over another bag. "Rest for a while, and once you have recovered your stamina. Deliver this, and you can go home for the day."

"Do I have to go home? Am I not allowed to deliver more?"

At that, the supervisor looked at him as if he were crazy.

"Well, you can deliver more if you want to do so, but… you aren’t just going to be working for a day or two, so you have to take care of your health."

"If I find it too difficult, I will make sure to tell you,” insisted Seo Jun-Ho.

"I really can’t understand young people these days. All right, do as you please."

After getting permission, Seo Jun-Ho delivered nine batches of demonic stones that day.

0.54…

His magic stat increased by 0.54 on his first day of work.

***

"Hmm." The king slowly read the documents. The documents contained the personal information of this Farm’s inhabitants.

‘'I have no idea. Just who the hell is it?’

Since they could kill three armed knights with their bare hands, why were they hiding?

Were they saving their strength to rebel at the right time?

"Interesting." The king smiled.

He wasn’t anxious. Actually, he wanted that person to rebel right this instant. He was merely a half, but the blood of the demons was still running through his veins. As such, he also wasn’t the type to refuse a fight.

Actually, he was always bloodthirsty, so if possible, he would even initiate a fight.

‘I’m getting a bit impatient just waiting here. I think it’s a great idea to throw bait.’

The king raised his head and spoke, "Audrick."

"Argh, cough!"

Tremble.

There was an individual covered in blood and lying next to the king’s desk. He was Audrick. His negligence resulted in him becoming the target of the king’s sinister hobby of torturing people.

"I'll tell you how you can save your life and keep your position at the same time."

“…” Audrick’s swollen and bruised eyes turned to the king. Humans would rather die than lose the power that they had been enjoying for a long time.

As such, Audrick crawled over to the king without hesitation, even though the latter was the one who had inflicted such wounds on him not too long ago. He then prostrated himself before the king without any hesitation.

Amused at the sight, the king held his chin in his hand and spoke…