TL: Hanguk
[Black Tower 55th Floor Land Deed]
“Thank you.”
Sejun, who received the land deed for the 55th floor of the tower, expressed his gratitude to the black rabbit and gently stroked him as he sat on his palm.
Squeak!
[So, make sure you come to my wedding!]
Feeling Sejun’s caress, the black rabbit nuzzled against Sejun’s hand and spoke in a cheerful tone.
“Got it. It’s your wedding, Black Rabbit. Of course, I’ll go.”
Sejun chatted a bit more with the black rabbit and then transferred the salt Black Rabbit acquired from the salt mines of the White Tower to the void storage.
And then,
Squeak!
[Uncle, take this!]
The black rabbit handed Sejun a purple coin he obtained after defeating the Apostle of Destruction in the White Tower. He didn’t know its use, but with that, Sejun now had collected 21 coins.
“Thanks.”
Squeak!
[Then, see you at the wedding!]
As their conversation ended, the black rabbit hurriedly bid his farewell. Being a groom-to-be, he had a lot to prepare for.
“Chairman Park, I’ll be back soon, meow!”
Theo, who was leaving with the black rabbit, tightly hugged Sejun’s leg and bid his farewell. This was because Sejun had asked him to inquire about his family’s well-being once he was down there. Through the Mirror of Longing, Sejun confirmed his family was safe, but he wanted to know more details about their situation.
“Alright. Did you pack the Churu too?”
“Yes, meow! I packed a lot, meow!”
Thump! Thump!
In response to Sejun’s question, Theo patted his bag, answering confidently.
“Be careful.”
“Got it, meow! I’ll be back quickly, meow!”
After Theo and the black rabbit left,
Swish. Swish.
Sejun sowed kudzus until evening, working diligently to complete his job quest.
Thanks to his efforts, he achieved more than half of his job quest and leveled up his Firefield skill once again. Since it was a low-level skill, it leveled up rapidly with just a bit of proficiency gained.
“It’s about time for dinner. But where did Cuengi go?”
Sejun looked around for Cuengi, who should have come whining about hunger a while ago. But Sejun did not see him anywhere around.
Then,
Thud. Thud.
Krueng! Krueng!
[Dad, Cuengi is hungry! Cuengi brought dad some food!]
From somewhere, Cuengi ran towards Sejun, calling out. He was covered in dirt.
Brought me food? What food? When Sejun looked closely, Cuengi was holding something in his front paws.
“What?! That is?!”
Recognizing what Cuengi was holding, Sejun’s face paled. Could it be that thing?! He knew it was good for him, but he didn’t want to eat it again! The mere thought of eating it made him shudder.
However,
Krueng!
[Dad, eat this and become strong!]
Cuengi handed Sejun the glowing kudzu roots with a proud expression. And there were three of them. Hehehe. Cuengi will make dad strong!
“Tha… Thank you.”
Krueng?
[Why aren’t you eating?]
Cuengi urged Sejun to eat, watching him intently.
“I’m not hungry right now…”
Gurgle.
Just then, Sejun’s stomach conveniently growled. The timing was indeed impeccable.
Krueng?
[Dad, did you just lie?]
Cuengi, sensitive to Sejun’s lies, began to take out his stick strapped to his back. He had taught him that lying was bad.
“I… I meant I’m really hungry! I’ll eat it well.”
Gulp. Gulp.
Sejun hurriedly began eating all three kudzu roots at once. He wasn’t eating just because he was afraid of being hit. He was eating out of respect for Cuengi’s sincerity. If he didn’t eat, Cuengi would be disappointed.
But,
[You’ve overcome a near-death experience.]
[Due to the Talent: Sturdy Vitality, your maximum stamina increases to 12.]
The message rendered Sejun’s excuses meaningless.
“Gah!”
Although he had eaten one earlier, consuming three at once was a completely different experience.
Shivers.
A horrible taste made cold sweat break out, and Sejun’s body trembled. He felt like he was losing consciousness.
Gulp.
Sejun was determined to find a way to enjoy this, swallowing the kudzu roots with a desperate will.
[You have consumed three golden kudzu roots simultaneously.]
[The effect of the golden kudzu roots is enhanced.]
[Stamina potential increases by 80.]
[Due to the Talent: Sturdy Vitality, your maximum stamina increases by 3.]
“It’s… so unfair…”
Seeing the last message, Sejun muttered. It felt like he went through so much trouble, but he only got a 3-point increase in his maximum stamina?! Is this some kind of joke?
Thud.
Sejun passed out. Today, he learned that eating something horribly unpalatable could knock him out.
Krueng!
[Dad is so weak!]
Although Sejun passed out because of the unpleasant taste, Cuengi mistakenly thought that Sejun had collapsed because he was weak.
Krueng.
[Dad is snoring.]
Upset, Cuengi enlarged his body, placed Sejun on his belly, had a snack from his snack pouch, and then dozed off.
***
The next morning.
Snore.
“Umm…”
Sejun woke up to the sound of Cuengi’s snoring.
“Did I pass out and sleep all night? But I feel so refreshed.”
Sejun moved around, feeling surprisingly invigorated.
Just then,
Rumble.
Cuengi’s stomach grumbled.
“I better prepare breakfast quickly.”
Sejun quietly descended from Cuengi’s belly and hurriedly prepared breakfast.
After eating breakfast,
[You have planted 94 kudzus in the Fire field.]
[Your job experience has increased slightly.]
[Your proficiency of Fire Field Lv. 3 has increased slightly.]
[Your proficiency of Magic Seed Sowing Lv. 6 has increased slightly.]
[Due to the effect of Fire Field Lv. 3, the kudzus grow stronger.]
[Due to the effect of Magic Seed Sowing Lv. 6, the chance of kudzu taking root increases.]
[The kudzus grow faster, hearing the farmer’s footsteps.]
[You have 415,035 times left until the job quest completion.]
As Sejun was busily planting kudzus,
Krueng!
[Dad, Cuengi brought kudzu roots to make you strong!]
Cuengi dug up some golden kudzu roots again. This time, there were five.
Krueng!
[Dad, eat quickly!]
Cuengi stared intently at Sejun, making sure he ate.
“What should I do?”
Sejun stared at the five golden kudzu roots, conflicted. He didn’t want to faint again from eating them. More than that, he didn’t want to experience that horrible taste again.
“You’re amazing, Cuengi! But where did you find these?”
Sejun asked, petting Cuengi’s head as he tried to buy some time to think of a solution.
Krueng! Krueng!
[These are easy to find because they have a bitter and sour smell! Cuengi can find more!]
Thinking Sejun’s question was a compliment, Cuengi replied proudly.
“Is… that so?”
Sejun’s mind hit the emergency button at Cuengi’s declaration of being able to find more. This wasn’t the end. He hadn’t realized that so many of these golden kudzu roots existed within the kudzu field.
Then,
“Aha! That’s it!”
A memory flashed in Sejun’s mind.
“Cough. Cough.”
“Sejun, try this.”
When he had a cold, his mother always prepared ginseng lemon honey for him. Ginseng was bitter and lemon was sour, but honey neutralized the taste, making it enjoyable.
Krueng!
[Why aren’t you eating, Dad?]
As Sejun hesitated, Cuengi urged him to eat.
“Cuengi, wait. I just thought of a way to make it tasty.”
Krueng?
[This isn’t good; can you really make it tasty?]
This kid! He really did give it to me because it tasted bad.
“Yes, by soaking the kudzu roots in honey.”
Sejun replied, pulling out a jar of honey from the void storage and immersing the kudzu roots in it.
Krueng?
[Does it really become delicious that way?]
Cuengi looked at the kudzu roots soaked in honey with a puzzled expression. How can something not tasty become tasty?
“Trust me, it really does.”
Sejun took one of the honey-soaked kudzu roots and put it into his mouth.
Chew. Chew.
Though the kudzu root hadn’t fully absorbed the honey yet, so the sweetness hadn’t fully permeated it. Still, the honey on the surface made the golden kudzu root much more palatable.
The sweetness of the honey balanced and mitigated the extreme bitterness and sourness of the kudzu root, balancing the flavor. Sejun believed that if it soaked for a few more days, it would taste even better.
Gulp.
[You have consumed the Golden Kudzu Root of Life.]
[Your Stamina increases by 50.]
[Due to the Talent: Sturdy Vitality, your maximum stamina increases by 1.]
This time, since he wasn’t lacking in potential stamina, his stamina stat increased.
Krueng?
Seeing Sejun eat with relish, Cuengi too carefully took a kudzu root from the jar and tried it.
Chew. Chew.
While the kudzu root was still bitter, it was tolerable due to the honey.
Krueng! Krueng!
[It really became tasty! Dad’s amazing!]
Admiring Sejun’s magic, Cuengi tried to sneak another kudzu root from the jar, subtly trying to eat more honey.
However,
Click.
Sejun closed the jar lid.
“Trust Dad and let’s wait for three days and then eat it. It’ll taste even better.”
Krueng! Krueng!
[Okay! Cuengi trusts Dad!]
All of Cuengi’s previous doubts vanished, and Cuengi seemed ready to believe everything Sejun said.”
Krueng! Krueng!
[Dad, wait a little! Cuengi will dig up more kudzu roots!]
Dadadada.
Eager to eat more honey-soaked kudzu roots, Cuengi began digging in the Kudzu field to find more.
By lunchtime,
Krueng!
[Dad, Cuengi’s hungry!]
Looking completely dirty, Cuengi ran over with 10 golden kudzu roots.
And then,
Krueng! Krueng!
[Dad, Cuengi dug these up! Let’s soak them in honey!]
As Cuengi handed over the 10 kudzu roots to Sejun,
[Guard Cuengi shows immense passion for herb gathering.]
[You can create the job: Herbalist, and change Guard Cuengi’s job to Herbalist.]
[Creating the Herbalist job and changing Guard Cuengi’s job to Herbalist requires 20 World’s Energy pieces. Do you want to use it? (Current World’s Energy: 21 pieces)]
“Huh? Herbalist?”
Seeing the message, Sejun was surprised. How passionate does he have to be for such a message to appear?
“But what’s this ‘World’s Energy’?”
Confused, Sejun wondered about this unfamiliar term. Unbeknownst to him, he already had 21 pieces.
Then,
“Could it be?!”
At the number ’21,’ Sejun remembered and took out the 21 coins he had received after defeating the Apostles of Destruction. Somehow, they seemed to be connected to World’s Energy. His guess was half right. The World’s Energy was actually contained within the coins.
“Who knew it could be used like this? Cuengi, want to become an Herbalist?”
Intrigued, Sejun asked Cuengi.
Krueng?
[What’s an Herbalist?]
“Herbalist? It’s a job that specializes in finding herbs beneficial for the body.”
Krueng!
[Then, Cuengi will do it!]
Hearing Sejun’s explanation, Cuengi nodded eagerly. Cuengi will become an Herbalist and find lots of good herbs for Dad! As expected, Cuengi had the thoughts of a dutiful son.
“Alright. I’ll change Cuengi’s job to Herbalist.”
Fsssssh.
As Sejun spoke, a bright light emanated from 20 of the 21 coins he held. The coins disintegrated into powder and disappeared.
[Using 20 World’s Energy pieces to create the Herbalist job and changing Guard Cuengi’s job to Herbalist.]
[Guard Cuengi’s job has been changed to Herbalist.]
A radiant light enveloped Cuengi, signifying his job change to Herbalist.
And then,
[Herbalist Cuengi has unlocked the job talent: Herb Detection.]
Krueng!
[There are herbs nearby!]
Having unlocked a new talent, Cuengi detected herbs nearby and began digging deeply, unearthing a red kudzu root.
*****
