Season 4: Chapter 95. Radish Servant (2)
Of course, monsters existed in nearly every game. Survival Craft wasn’t just about living day to day. It was a survival game that required players to overcome the threat of monsters. Server makers often used these monsters to create tension. Cheese Village's approach was no different.
“At night, waves of monsters will come.”
“Waves?”
“Yeah, like in defense games. That way, players won’t just focus on food or armor, right? They’ll have something else to work toward.”
In a lifestyle content server like Cheese Village, the key was to give players a sense of purpose naturally. Hunger created goals for food, the cold or heat created goals for comfort, and monsters would instill the desire to grow stronger.
“But don’t monsters get easy to defeat after a while?”
“Exactly. The main point is just to give them a little jolt. The awareness that there’s a threat, even if it’s easily overcome, will make players think differently.”
“Hmm.”
“And later on, they’ll unite more when they clash with the hidden Paprika residents.”
“Is that so? Sounds plausible.”
And so, the server entered its second day. It was 6 A.M. in real life, and almost no streamers had logged in yet.
“This should be the right time.”
Several nights had passed in the game already, but there hadn’t been any real monster waves so far. Monsters needed time to breed and gather.. Today would be different. A large group of monsters would form.
“Is it happening?” PD Jang rubbed his bloodshot eyes and stared at the monitor.
“Grrrr...!”
A massive cluster of monsters gathered somewhere outside the village.
“Have their levels gone up?”
“Yeah, they get stronger as night falls.” Park Oh-Hoon stretched his neck, trying to relieve some tension. “Ugh, I’m so sleepy.”
They had nearly fallen asleep standing up the previous night. The first day had been full of unexpected variables like Almond wiping out the Paprika residents and Sweet Radish’s early wealth.
Sweet Radish already started efficiently amassing surplus crops in Cheese Village far faster than the planning team had expected, but this variable was manageable. The monsters would handle the situation.
“Here they come. Where are they headed?”
“Krrrr...!”
The monsters began moving. Their red eyes gleamed as they raced across the plains like uncontrollable beasts.
“They’re heading toward Sweet Radish’s house.”
The monsters moved quite predictably. They would almost certainly target the largest plots of land. In Cheese Village, monsters were like a tax system that mainly applied to the rich. No, not a tax, they were more like an audit.
Boom!
The monster horde charged onto Sweet Radish’s farm and began wreaking havoc. They destroyed everything in their path with their huge claws, teeth, and overwhelming strength.
[Ground-Digger]
This Ground-Digger monster was the enemy of all crops.
“But why is it called Ground-Digger?” PD Jang questioned the naming sense of Survival Craft.
“Oh, it makes a digging sound when they go underground.”
“Wow... you’re right.”
Digdigdig...!
The sound of digging echoed throughout Sweet Radish’s fields.
***
Around three or four hours passed.
“No, fifty times. Let’s set the price at fifty times the standard soil’s value. Plus, we need to account for distribution.”
Just as Almond finalized the price, a strange vibration rippled through the ground.
Digdigdig...!
‘Huh?’
Almond instinctively placed his hand at his waist and drew his sword. The torchlight reflected off the Iron Sword and trailed behind him.
Shhhraaak!!
He swung his sword and definitely slashed something.
“Ahhh!?”
Boom!
A Ground-Digger burst from the earth.
— ??
— What is that?
— Is that a Dachshund?
— Why is there a monster??
— This is insane, lol
[HP: 73%]
It still had a lot of health left. Even though Almond had attacked it as soon as it emerged, it was stronger than he’d expected. It looked like a sausage, but it was no joke.
“Eek...!”
Making a strange noise, it dug back into the ground.
Digdigdig...!
‘So that was it.’
The vibration he felt earlier came from its digging.
— Ground-Digger?
— Lol, it’s a Ground-Digger
— What’s next? These monsters just keep getting weirder haha
— Ground-Digger, lol
Dududududu...
The Ground-Digger targeted Almond again from somewhere unseen. However, it wouldn’t be a surprise attack this time.
“Here!”
Before it could pop out, Almond struck the ground with his sword.
“Eek~!?”
Thwack!
He hit the Ground-Digger dead on.
[HP: 0%]
The damage dealt seemed much higher underground since it immediately died.
— Oh
— Ground-Digger plays so well, lol
— Ahh
— Should we count this as fishing?
— Poor Ground-Digger, lol
Ding.
[BeginnerTip has donated 3,000 won!]
[Don’t pet the Ground-Digger because it’s cute. It’ll suddenly grab you and drag you underground. The person who tried to pet it disappeared with a scream, leaving only the sound of digdigdig... echoing.]
The donation came with an incredibly detailed tip.
— ?
— What is this, lol?
— Digdigdig... Seriously? Haha
— But yeah, I’ve seen Ground-Diggers acting like this.
— How does it even sound like digdigdig and cry? Lol
— ??
“Thanks for the tip, BeginnerTip, but I’ve got a manager here today...”
Beep.
[BeginnerTip has been muted for 5 minutes due to long message usage.]
— Hahahahaha
— Hahaha, banned right away
— Is Walnut here today? Haha
— Wow, Walnut is working hard haha
— Things should get back on track now, lol
Just then, the ground rumbled again.
Digdigdig...!
— What’s going on?
— Is there another one??
— Is that really the same monster making the digdigdig sound?
— Why are there so many monsters in the village???
According to Survival Craft’s design, monsters didn’t frequently appear inside villages. Villages were generally monster-free zones. Cheese Village was no different, but that didn’t stop monsters from invading. It only prevented monsters from spawning inside the village.
Dududududu...!
A horde of Ground-Diggers circled Almond like sharks closing in.
Almond’s eyes darted around as he muttered to himself, “I think the distribution cost will need to go up...”
— Hahahahaha
— Seriously, haha
— Yeah, for remote areas, that’s definitely true~
— Gotta charge 3 times more for delivery
— Why are there so many monsters around the house?
***
At the entrance of Sweet Radish’s house, a cotton-candy-like hand knocked on the door.
“Sweet Radish~”
Thud, thud, thud.
Almond finally arrived at Sweet Radish’s house.
“Who is it? Who dares knock on the door of this humble estate!”
— ?
— ?? Haha
— Haha, what’s this concept?
— What’s going on? Lol
Creak.
The door opened, and someone appeared. It wasn’t Sweet Radish.
— Wait, there’s a servant?
— How much money did he make in one day? Haha
— Did this guy use a money bug? Haha
[SweetPotato]
The servant was Sweet Potato.
“Didn’t I ask who you are...?”
For a moment, they locked eyes and blinked at each other.
[Almond]
The nickname above Almond’s head caught Sweet Potato’s attention. Almond had turned on his nickname display in advance.
“Ahem.” Almond cleared his throat and looked away.
“What!? Wh-What should I do?!” The startled Sweet Potato lowered his head repeatedly and ran to get Sweet Radish.
— Hahahahaha
— Ahem, lol
— So cute haha
— Perfectly timed, haha
In less than a second, the sound of footsteps echoed as Sweet Radish rushed out.
“Aiiiiyo! Almond!”
— Hahahahaha
— The future owner of fertile soil is coming out like a dog, haha
— Wow, the wealthiest person in the village is bowing like that, haha
“Ah, ah, welcome! What brings you to this humble place at such an hour?”
“It’s not humble at all. Why are there so many monsters around here?”
Almond showed off his bloodstained sword. Sweet Radish bowed repeatedly with his avatar’s big head and led him inside.
“Ah... Haha! You’ve worked hard! Well then, please come in. Let me explain.”
— Hahahaha
— He’s got to clean up when Monster D. Roger comes, right?
— Wow, the inside of the house is insane, haha
— Wow, the interior is amazing, haha
Indeed, Sweet Radish’s house looked impressive inside. It seemed that Sweet Radish had quite the knack for this sort of thing.
“Please, sit here. Hey, Potato Servant! Bring some tea!”
— Hahahahaha
— Just straight up servant lool
— Potato Servant LOL
Sweet Potato, now affectionately called Potato Servant, hurriedly moved to brew some tea.
“I’ve brewed the finest herbs since a distinguished guest has arrived.”
Sweet Radish shot a glare at Potato Servant. “Herbs? What?”
“I just brought the most expensive ones.”
“Hey! Don’t just bring whatever! If you bring the expensive stuff, what are we going to do?”
Of course, Almond overheard all their whispers nearby.
“Ahem.” Almond cleared his throat again.
Sweet Radish snatched the tray from Potato Servant’s hands and served it himself.
“Ah, oh no! Almond, I should’ve brought something better! Potato Servant, you fool!”
Whack! Whack!
“Ah, master...!”
“He doesn’t know any better! Hahaha!”
— What are they doing? Haha
— Why is Potato Servant like this? Haha
— What happened here?? Haha
Almond felt curious about what everyone kept asking in the chat, but he focused on the main objective.
“Why are there so many monsters here...?”
Sweet Radish’s eyes lit up as if expecting something. Then, the words he had been waiting for came out.
“I’ve come to sell some soil.”
Seeing was believing.
Thud.
Almond placed a sample of the soil on the table for Sweet Radish to see. Meanwhile, his hand instinctively went to his waist, but neither Sweet Radish nor Sweet Potato noticed.
“Wow!”
The gleaming black soil immediately captured their attention.
“This... this is amazing!”
“This is crazy!”
Sweet Radish and Sweet Potato clapped in delight. They looked as if they had just gained the world, but the world wasn’t so kind. The path Almond had taken to get here had not been smooth.
“Let’s start with the price first...”
“Ah, yes, yes. How much do you want?”
Almond gently tapped the soil and began the negotiation.
“Do you know what the standard soil is?”
“Ah, yes. It’s the highest quality soil currently being traded in the village. About 70% of our farm is currently standard soil.”
“Hmm. I’ll need to charge a few times more than that. As you can see.”
“How many times more...? How many times?”
“Haha.”
The air grew tense.
“Hmm. About this much...”
Almond held up ten fingers.
Sweet Radish’s eyes sparkled. “Ten times! I’ll buy it even if it’s ten times the price...”
Almond furiously waved. “A hundred times.”
“Pffft!” Sweet Radish spat out the tea he was drinking.
— Hahahahahahaha
— Aaaah, hahaha
— WTF, when did it go up so much? Haha
— Is he thinking of buying a golden fishing rod? Haha
— Just tell him to die already haha
— Hahahaha, this is too much
— K-Distribution costs are insane, haha
— Did Sweet Radish just glance at a weapon? Haha
— Adding another zero to seek revenge for the G-Star grudge