“I… I want it!”
Ulrich answered, as if mesmerized by the black dragon tattoo on Theo’s paw.
It was a mark of being a subordinate of the great black dragon. Possessing it would be a glory for the clan, no, the glory of his entire race.
And if he could achieve it, he would become a great king who would be remembered in the history of the Black Orcs for generations to come.
“Then listen to me from now on, meow!”
Theo spoke arrogantly, placing his hand on his waist. If Ulrich obeyed him, he intended to ask Sejun later to get one of Kaiser’s scales for him.
“Of course! We will follow whatever the subordinate of the great black dragon says!”
“No, meow!”
“What?!”
“Listen carefully, meow! I am Theo Park, the deadly yellow cat, subordinate of the great black dragon, meow!”
“Ah! Yes! The deadly yellow cat, Theo Park, subordinate of the great black dragon!”
“Puhuhu, that’s right, meow!”
Theo felt very pleased to hear his introduction from someone else’s mouth.
“Subordinate of the Great Black Dragon, deadly yellow cat Theo Park, bestow upon us the honor of using the mark of the great black dragon!”
“Meow?! How do you intend to use the mark, meow?”
“We have a way. Luken!”
As Ulrich shouted,
“Yes!”
A giant Black Orc entered, holding a staff adorned with skulls.
“Our black orc tribe’s shaman, Luken, will copy the mark on the paw of the great black dragon’s subordinate, the deadly yellow cat Theo Park.”
“Copy, meow?”
“Yes! The mark of the great black dragon’s subordinate, the deadly yellow cat, Theo Park, will not be damaged.”
“Okay then, meow!”
“Thank you! Deadly yellow cat, Theo Park, subordinate of the great black dragon!”
“Ulrich, just call me by my name from now on.”
The titles were getting too long, and Theo found them bothersome.
“Yes! Lord Theo!”
“Lord Ulrich, where will you engrave the mark?”
Luken asked Ulrich.
“The great black dragon is a supreme being! It’s impossible for me to be above him! I will engrave the mark on my forehead!”
“Yes! I understand. Then, please place the mark on your head!”
“Okay!”
Thud!
Ulrich lay before Theo.
“Lord Theo, please place the mark on my forehead!”
“Like this, meow?!”
Chuk.
At Ulrich’s request, Theo placed his paw, with the tattoo, on Ulrich’s forehead. Somehow, it looked like a delinquent stepping on a person’s head, who was bowing down and begging.
“Please stay like that for a moment!”
Thump! Thump!
As Luken hit the ground with his staff and used a spell,
Ooong.
A red light flowed between Theo’s paw and Ulrich’s forehead.
“It’s done!”
“Thank you for your hard work, Lord Theo!”
“You’ve worked hard too, Ulrich, meow!”
Theo responded without changing his position at Ulrich’s words.
“…You may take it off now.”
“Okay, meow!”
Theo finally lifted his paw off Ulrich’s forehead, revealing the perfectly engraved tattoo of the great black dragon on Ulrich’s forehead.
At that moment,
“Meow?!”
Theo discovered that something else was copied as well. The round shapes surrounding the black dragon tattoo. Theo’s paw print had been engraved along with the black dragon tattoo on Ulrich’s forehead.
However,
“Luken, from now on, this mark will be the flag of our Black Orc kingdom!”
“Yes! I understand!”
The black orcs thought that the original mark of the great black dragon looked like that.
‘It’s not my fault, meow!’
Theo kept his mouth shut. Thus, the image of the great black dragon’s mark and Theo’s paw print became the new flag of the Black Orc kingdom.
***
Late at night in the 99th-floor cave of the tower.
Crackle. Crackle.
The sound of burning firewood. And surrounding the campfire were Sejun, Flamie, Cuengi, Golden Bat, and Iona.
“So, the man opened the lid just in case…”
Gulp.
Everyone swallowed, engrossed in Sejun’s words.
“And another dumpling disappeared!”
Sejun was telling scary stories around the campfire, having fun.
Krueng!!!
[Dad, I’m scared!!!]
Cuengi clung to Sejun’s side at the mysterious phenomenon of food disappearing without being eaten. Nothing was more terrifying for Cuengi than food vanishing for no reason.
Then,
Grrrrrr.
A loud noise came from Cuengi’s stomach.
Krueng!
[I’m hungry now that we’re talking about food!]
The fearful expression from a moment ago disappeared, and Cuengi looked pitifully at Sejun. Normally, they would go to bed early and wake up early, but today was a special situation. Permission from Mom or Dad was needed for a late-night snack.
“Should we eat some popcorn then?”
Krueng!
[I am excited!]
Cuengi didn’t know what popcorn was, but at Sejun’s word that they would be eating, he cheered in delight.
“Just a moment.”
Sejun stood up and placed two wide pots made from fire ant worker carapace over the campfire.
And then
Sizzle.
He poured red corn kernels into the two pots. It was the exploding stamina corn that he had set aside for later consumption.
Shortly after,
Crack. Crack.
Steam created inside the heated corn kernels began to pop and escape, causing the pots to quickly fill with white snowflake-like popcorn.
“Let’s make some salted popcorn first…”
Sejun added salt to one of the pots filled with popcorn and stirred it evenly.
And then
“Here.”
Sejun rolled some leaves into a cone like an ice cream cone and filled it with popcorn. He didn’t give too much, just enough to whet the appetite.
Crunch.
Krueng!
[Delicious!]
(It’s tasty!)
“Kyoot Kyoot Kyoot!”
The animals exclaimed and started eating the popcorn frantically, addicted to its savory and salty taste.
Meanwhile,
Sejun took out a new pot and started boiling water and honey together.
Krueng!
Cuengi looked anxiously at the honey turning brown. If you’re going to burn honey like that, you should have let me eat it instead.
“It’s not burning. Just wait a little.”
When the honey had reduced to a certain extent, Sejun poured in the unsalted popcorn and stirred it vigorously to evenly mix the honey and popcorn, making honey popcorn.
Krueng?
[Is it ready yet?]
Cuengi, who had finished the popcorn given by Sejun and was intoxicated by the honey scent emanating from the pot, started circling around the pot, watching Sejun making honey popcorn.
“Cuengi, wait.”
When Sejun spoke sternly to Cuengi, who was wandering around the hot fire,
Krueng!
[Cuengi will wait in his place!]
Cuengi quickly sat down in its place and waited patiently for the food, as he had learned when he was younger.
‘It’s almost done.’
“Iona, please use a weak drying spell.”
Sejun asked Iona to cast a spell to remove the moisture from the popcorn in the two pots. The taste of popcorn is important, but the texture is really important as well.
“Kyoot Kyoot Kyoot. Yes! Dry!”
Iona quickly cast a drying spell. She, too, wanted to quickly eat the popcorn, enticed by the sweet smell.”
Once the honey popcorn was ready,
“Eat whichever flavor you want.”
Sejun let the animals choose between salted popcorn and honey popcorn, and filled a bowl for himself.
“Hehe. I’ll have half of both.”
Sejun filled his leaf-cone cup half with salted popcorn and half with honey popcorn, covering the opening and shaking it to mix.
And then
Crunch.
He grabbed a handful of popcorn and shoved it into his mouth.
Crunch.
‘Yes! This is it!’
Sejun shivered at the taste in his mouth. The combination of salty and sweet popcorn alternated as he chewed, creating an unbeatable blend.
On top of that
Crunch. Crunch.
The crunchy texture of the honey popcorn, which hardened as the honey cooled, added to the enjoyment of eating.
Krueng?
Cuengi, who was focusing on the honey popcorn, followed Sejun’s example and mixed his popcorn. Following Sejun always led to success, so Cuengi trusted him completely.
And then
Krueng!
[It’s delicious!]
Once again, the trust was rewarded.
Krueng!
Crunch. Crunch.
Cuengi began to eat salted popcorn with one hand and honey popcorn with the other, alternately gobbling them down.
And so, the 295th night of being stranded passed.
***
-Find and protect the golden bat at all costs!
Han Tae-Jun, who had ordered his subordinates to find the golden bat after receiving Theo’s message, was hurrying towards the tower.
Just then
Buzz.
The secretary’s smartphone started ringing.
“Hello. Really? Send the link right away.”
Click.
The secretary hung up the phone.
And then
“President, they say they’ve found the golden bat.”
“Really? How?”
“Take a look at this.”
The secretary played a video on the tablet, and a broadcast edited by Bae Jeong-ho titled ‘There’s Such a Thing in the World’ was shown.
“Hmm… it’s already been broadcasted. Where is it?”
“It’s Hanla Building next to our association.”
“Next to our building? It was that close? How much does the Hanla Building cost?”
“Well… The original price was about 200 billion won, but due to the broadcast about bats appearing in the building, I think we can significantly lower the price.”
“Buy it immediately.”
“Yes!”
Han Tae-jun, asked by Theo to find a building where the golden bat appears, was thinking of giving it to Theo as a gift.
‘Hehehe. I’ll count this as a favor.’
Coincidentally, the owner of Hanla Building wanted to sell the building urgently. As a result, Han Tae-jun was able to enter the tower with the building contract purchased under Sejun’s name.
***
“Ugh…”
When Sejun woke up in the morning, the surroundings were a mess. Popcorn spilled from the night before was scattered all over the floor.
Gurorong.
Baerorong.
Cuengi was sleeping inside the pot, holding the golden bat. Iona had gotten up early and went to check on the construction site of the wizard tower.
[Master, are you awake?]
“Yeah.”
Flamie greeted Sejun, who was looking around.
“Did you sleep well too, Flamie?”
[Yes. It wasn’t quiet last night, so it was great!]
Our Flamie must have been lonely all this time, wasn’t it? Sejun thought that he should play in the cave more often from now on.
And he left Cuengi and the golden bat sleeping and went outside.
Then
Kkwek!
A mushroom ant proudly approached Sejun.
“Hehehe. You came at the right time.”
When mushroom ants are full of confidence, they usually have an elixir mushroom on their back, so Sejun welcomed the mushroom ant warmly.
Kkwek!
The mushroom ant, pleased with Sejun’s hospitality, showed its back. As Sejun expected, there was only one elixir mushroom on the back of the mushroom ant. It was a black, stone-like mushroom he had never seen before.
“You worked hard to grow it.”
Sejun praised the mushroom ant while patting its back.
And then
Pop.
He picked the mushroom.
[You have harvested a Enhanced Elixir: Black Truffle.]
[Your job experience has increased slightly.]
[Your proficiency in Harvesting Lv. 6 has increased slightly.]
[You have gained 250 experience points.]
“Huh?! A Black Truffle?”
It was a mushroom he had only heard of on Earth.
“Isn’t this really expensive?”
Sejun hurriedly checked the options.
[Enhanced Elixir: Black Truffle]
→ A Black Truffle grown by Park Sejun’s tenant farmer mushroom ant, absorbing all the surrounding nutrients for a long time, growing into an elixir.
→ Boasts an intense fragrance.
→ Upon Consumption: All stats +3
→ Cultivator: Tower Farmer Park Sejun’s Tenant Farmer Mushroom Ant
→ Expiration date: 150 days
→ Grade: C+
“Wow!”
It was an enhanced elixir that increased all stats by 3.
‘I’ll eat it before Cuengi wakes up and get rid of it!’
Gulp.
Sejun hurriedly put the Black Truffle in his mouth and chewed. It was obvious that Cuengi would ask for it if he saw it. He had to survive too! He couldn’t keep being treated as the weakest.
[You have consumed a Enhanced Elixir: Black Truffle.]
[All stats have increased by 3.]
“Good.”
Feeling stronger than yesterday, Sejun cheerfully started the morning.
Then
Krueng!
[Good morning!]
Cuengi, awakened by hunger, energetically greeted Sejun in the morning.
Sniff. Sniff.
Krueng! Krueng?!
[Dad’s mouth smells good! What did you eat alone?!]
Approaching Sejun, Cuengi started sniffing around Sejun’s mouth and immediately figured out that Sejun had eaten something alone. The problem was that he ate the black truffle, which had an intense fragrance.
“What?! No! I didn’t eat anything!”
Sejun hurriedly covered his mouth to prevent the fragrance from spreading, but
Krueng?! Krueng!!!
[Then why are you covering your mouth?! Dad, you said lying is bad, but Dad, you’re lying now!!!]
It only increased Cuengi’s suspicion.
“No, I didn’t eat anything.”
The more Sejun denied it, the stronger the truffle scent spread from his mouth, confirming that he had eaten something alone.
