Chapter 324: Songi’s Hidden Strength

Joo Joowon smiled warmly. "You can just find any suitable spot outside and take root there. Just make sure you don’t block the way."

The soil on the mountain wasn’t suitable for planting crops, but that wasn’t a problem for the cactus. Besides, being able to stay in the soil would naturally be much more comfortable for a plant than being confined to a narrow flowerpot. At the very least, its roots would be able to spread out as much as they wanted.

Bomi slowly gave its agreement.

Because of the translator’s machine translation, Bomi’s voice sounded very stiff. Joo Joowon couldn’t tell whether that was simply how Bomi spoke or whether it was a difference caused by the machine translation.

Although the translator could translate the languages of most races, that didn’t mean it could also convey their emotions and expressions perfectly. On the contrary, it even gave the translated speech a strange accent. It sounded stiff and mechanical, and it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that it had a strong machine-translated feel.

Because of this, Joo Joowon had decided to turn on the translator only when he needed it. There was nothing wrong with simply listening to them meow during their everyday interactions.

As for Byeol and the others, they didn’t seem to have any objections to this strange translation style. Perhaps, to them, human language and the translated "cat language" didn’t sound all that different?

This might also have been because vocal sounds only made up a small part of how cats communicated. They were more accustomed to expressing themselves through body language.

Gaemi: "..."

I really can pollinate plants, but is there really no one who will speak up for me?

"There’s also you, Tori." Joo Joowon ignored Gaemi’s protest and finally turned his attention to the foxtail grass. "I know you’re conscious. Don’t pretend to be stupid here."

Tori: "..."

It shook its leaves and coldly responded with an "Oh."

After hearing the translation, Joo Joowon could tell that its voice sounded very young. More specifically, it was roughly like the voice of a two- or three-year-old child, except that it was more ethereal.

He couldn’t help but pause for a moment before suddenly remembering that foxtail grass was an annual herbaceous plant. It was different from a cactus, which had a long lifespan and could live long enough to outlast its owner as long as it received proper care.

"I don’t actually have any particular plans for you." Joo Joowon thought about where to put the farmland. At present, the only building in the territory was the Lord’s Manor, so he couldn’t cultivate farmland too far away. It would be difficult to keep an eye on it.

However, he couldn’t put it too close, either. The ground around the manor had already been plowed several times, making the conditions too harsh. Even if he managed to turn it into farmland, the crops planted there probably wouldn’t survive.

"Gaemi, take it over to your nest later and help it find a suitable place. Let Tori decide where it wants to live." Then he turned to the foxtail grass and continued, "You’ll be living there from now on. I want you to help me look after the farmland. If there are any pests or anything like that, don’t let them damage the crops. And don’t let weeds grow in the farmland, either."

"You’re not an ordinary foxtail grass, after all. You shouldn’t have any problems helping pull out weeds when you have nothing else to do, right? As for your salary... Well, let’s talk about that later. Our household isn’t exactly wealthy, either."

Tori nodded indifferently.

In any case, ever since Joo Joowon had taken it away, those two furry monsters had at least stopped trying to bite it. He had even arranged for the cactus to look after it. The soil where it would take root wasn’t barren, either. Apart from not getting much sunlight, the place was quite comfortable.

Since that was the case, what difference did it make where it took root?

In the memories of the foxtail grass, neither humans nor animals were particularly good creatures. It had been growing peacefully where it belonged, yet they would constantly pull it out for no reason.

However, it didn’t really care. After all, it couldn’t die anyway.

Joo Joowon took a look at the map. The yellow dot representing a neutral unit had finally turned green, indicating that Tori had joined his faction.

He opened Tori’s status panel to take a look.

...

[ Name: Tori ]

Race: Foxtail Grass

Level: 10

Skills: Reincarnation, Detoxification, Dissolving Liquid, Rapid Healing, Photosynthesis

Talents: Tenacious Life, Elemental Affinity, Born of Heaven and Earth

Favorability: Familiar

Status: Healthy

Introduction: An unusual variant among ordinary grasses. A plant that became one of the first living beings during the great changes in the world. It possesses extraordinary potential.

...

Joo Joowon was stunned.

Level 10?!

Judging from Tori’s appearance, which was no different from that of an ordinary foxtail grass, he had originally thought it would only be around Level 1 at most. After all, even Bomi and Songi, whose appearances had changed so dramatically, were only Level 3 and Level 2, respectively. Who could have imagined that the most inconspicuous foxtail grass would actually be Level 10 already?

There was no way Rori had reached this level while following Joo Joowon. He hadn’t had time to pay much attention to it over the past few days. In other words, it was very likely that Tori had already been Level 10 when he rescued it from Byeol’s mouth.

No, it wasn’t quite right to say that he had rescued it anymore. Rather, his actions had successfully allowed both himself and Byeol to escape a disaster. Even if Tori wasn’t the kind of mutated plant with powerful combat abilities, its level alone was enough to show that it couldn’t possibly be weak.

Joo Joowon looked through Tori’s skills.

[ Reincarnation (Epic): A bond-type skill. Breaks through the limits of lifespan, allowing the user to reincarnate without restriction into seeds it has produced and grow again. The other plants can be used as its clones. ]