Season 4: Chapter 180. Fertile Soil (3)
Sang-Hyeon woke up with bleary, unfocused eyes. His head felt heavy and slow.
Did I drink too much soju?
He stumbled into the bathroom, turned on the cold water, and stepped under the shower.
Shhhhhh...
“Ugh!” The icy shock jolted him awake.
He stared blankly into the mirror afterward. Then, he dried himself off and stepped out to find Ju-Hyeok in the kitchen.
“I think we need to cut back on late-night food.”
Ju-Hyeok was busy cooking something at the stove. He barely looked up. “Huh? What? Yeah, later.”
Chiiii-iiik...
Steam roared, and the hood whirred, too loud for conversation.
“What are you making?” Sang-Hyeon leaned closer and peeked over his shoulder.
“Oxtail tomato stew. It’s good for hangovers. I saw it on YouTube.”
“O-Oxtail?”
When did he even buy something like that?
“Yeah. I’m looking out for you, bro.”
That was a lie. These days, Ju-Hyeok just cooked whatever he happened to see online. Sometimes, he even seemed like he drank just to justify making hangover food.
“If you’ve got nothing to do, peel those tomatoes over there.”
“Peel...? Tomatoes have skin?”
“Sigh.” Ju-Hyeok gave him a look of pure disappointment and demonstrated.
‘What is this, a Michelin restaurant?’
Sang-Hyeon stood frozen, watching as Ju-Hyeok scored an X into a tomato.
“See? Cut like this. Dip it in boiling water, then into cold water.”
Shhhhhh...
As soon as it hit cold water, the skin lifted like magic.
“Oh...”
“All of them. Execute.”
“Execute~”
Sang-Hyeon peeled all six tomatoes while Ju-Hyeok blanched the oxtails, sauteed vegetables, and reduced tomato paste like a man possessed.
“Go wait.”
“Execute~”
He obediently retreated and watched a few videos.
“Come eat.”
The tomato oxtail stew was finished.
Dun-dun.
It deserved its own sound effect.
“Wow...”
Sang-Hyeon tasted only the broth first. The warmth instantly spread in his mouth. It tasted rich, tangy, and slightly spicy with the heavy oxtail grounding the brightness perfectly.
“This. Yeah. This is healing,” he said without even thinking.
Ju-Hyeok paused. “Oh, right. Speaking of healing, what about Survival Craft?”
“Huh...?”
“What are you going to do there now?” Ju-Hyeok meant The Knights, Sang-Hyeon’s faction. “You can’t rule forever, right?”
Sang-Hyeon froze. He’d been quietly thinking about it too. “Feels like I can’t turn back anymore.”
Like a martial artist slipping into the dark arts, one step became two, then ten. Almond wasn’t just another character now. He led an entire order.
“I thought I could stop at the right time and go fishing or something, but now I can’t.”
“Because you’re a dictator. Dictators don’t step down. Someone has to kill them.” Ju-Hyeok laughed, picking apart the oxtail with mechanical precision.
“Kill me?”
“If you want an ending, a tyrant has to die. That’s the rule.”
“But dying feels... weird. Why should I?”
His pride stung at the idea.
“You die as a villain. That’s how stories end.”
“Some rule forever.”
“Yeah, in real life. Not in stories, man.”
“Huh?”
Wasn’t it usually the opposite?
“Either way, you die, and someone else leads. Whether it’s the Knights or Cheese Village, whoever wins.”
The most evil villain had to die for narrative balance. That was Ju-Hyeok’s proposal.
Sang-Hyeon slowly shook his head. “Almond can’t die like that. It doesn’t suit him.”
He wasn’t just role-playing Almond. He was Almond.
“You’ve been in Survival Craft too long.” Ju-Hyeok only meant it as a joke.
Sang-Hyeon actually nodded. “I can’t stop. If I leave, the Knight content collapses.”
In the end, it wasn’t because of the competition, rewards, or power. It was people who chained him there.
“Are you tired?”
“A little...” Sang-Hyeon slurped up the tailbone cleanly. “But oxtail is good for strength, right? Maybe this helps?”
“You sound like an old man. And no, I didn’t make this as medicine.”
“Really? Grandma said it was good for stamina.”
Ju-Hyeok coughed awkwardly and looked away. “No. I just felt like cooking.”
Sang-Hyeon cleaned another bone down to nothing.
“I still think you should die. A public execution is a good ending.”
“What about a long, prosperous reign?”
“No.” Ju-Hyeok shook his head at his stubborn refusal.
‘He complains about the burden, but doesn’t want to fall. Maybe it’s pride or hunger for the throne?’
After eating, Sang-Hyeon washed the dishes.
Ju-Hyeok called out again, “Think about it. What a dictator should be.”
“Okay~”
“Good grief.”
***
Somewhere deep within Cheese Village...
“This... this is...” Acorn Jelly stood frozen, staring at a secret buried in the world itself.
[Archive of Eternity and Ephemera]
It had an impossible structure with metallic panels, sleek and otherworldly, unlike anything in this realm. On one vast wall, he found a seam.
“A door?”
He pushed it.
Creeeak...
Acorn Jelly stepped inside.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Gunshot-like sounds echoed out, and lights flared overhead. A massive chamber unfolded before him. Row upon rows of flawless shelving ran endlessly into the dark, as if crafted to store the entire world’s knowledge. The system itself acknowledged him for such a monumental discovery.
BAM!
[You are the first to uncover a World Secret.]
[You have acquired the class: Great Adventurer!]
— holy
— HIDDEN CLASS??
— the madman found lore instead of farmland
Acorn Jelly’s class instantly changed, and he received three new skills.
[Fast Travel]
[Teleport]
[Time Capsule]
They all had to do with movement and time.
“This is... way bigger than what I came for...”
He just wanted to find Fertile Soil. If one individual besides the Knights could just obtain it, farm it, and sell it... He could become astronomically rich. He wouldn’t have to pay any taxes to the Knights or be under their supervision. Instead, he would have complete ownership. However, he had accidentally stepped into the beating heart of the world.
“Well... now that I found this, I have to do something with it.”
— lmao too late to walk away
— once the secret opens, there’s no exit bro
— RIP farming dreams
In the end, Acorn Jelly accepted it.
“My mobility is insane now. Travel time cuts down massively... I can use this to find All Black.”
— AGAIN WITH THAT MAN
— he can’t let it go omg
— at least he’s consistent
“Of course, I’ll explore here too. This place is clearly not normal.”
He admired the towering shelves.
“But no one could read all this.”
Then, he noticed a massive pillar. Except, it wasn’t a pillar, but a computer.
“Oh. There’s a search function?”
Just one window was open.
[Search: _____]
It was plain, minimal, and primitive. He typed, half jokingly.
[Search: Fertile Soil]
— LMFAO here we go again
— at least he didn’t type All Black first
— wait, why is it loading?
— ??
A result appeared.
[Regarding This Land’s Soil]
[D7-009]
It was Fertile Soil’s research logs. Acorn Jelly scrolled through.
==== ====
... Thus, Fertile Soil is considered the most desirable magical substrate.
Researchers have studied ways to produce it. Ultimately, the only consistent method remained the most traditional...
==== ====
His throat tightened as more text slid into view.
==== ====
... a brutal method.
The most fertile soil is created only through strong flames and using villagers as fertilizer.
Upon learning this horrific truth, the research team...
==== ====
Acorn Jelly’s eyes shook violently.
‘What... what did I just read?’
Fertile Soil was made from people burned into the ground. The chat confirmed what he feared.
— oh god it's real
— unfiltered Fertile Soil info dropping
— he found the lore
— Acorn Jelly detonated a truth bomb
This could only mean one thing.
“So... where did Almond get all that Fertile Soil?”
Silence followed.
— yeah...
— we know.
— don't say it out loud.
Everyone feigned ignorance. They all understood this truth already.
Acorn Jelly swallowed. “This... this can’t be real.”
Cold horror crawled across his skin. All that soil... All that black dirt...
“I need more. More evidence.”
He searched feverishly. One entry led to another. Secrets piled into secrets. He kept scrolling and went deeper into the darkness.
Morning light crept into Cheese Village.
Beep.
[Almond has logged in.]