Click.
“Mushroom Ant! Well done!”
Sejun praised the Mushroom Ant as he placed a black bean into the Golden Box of Abundance. Thanks to this, he could now obtain two black beans per day starting tomorrow.
Kkwek!
In response to Sejun’s praise, the Mushroom Ant straightened its antennae more proudly and showed its back.
“Huh?! Why are you showing your back when there’s no mushroom?!”
Confused by the Mushroom Ant’s behavior, which lacked any mushrooms on its back,
Kkwek!
The Mushroom Ant couldn’t speak but seemed frustrated.
“If it’s not the mushroom… Ah, sorry! Is this what you want?”
Sejun then took out the Black Dragon’s Scale,
Kkwek!
The Mushroom Ant quickly nodded its antennae and responded in a cheerful voice. What it wanted was a symbol of being Sejun’s subordinate – the Black Dragon tattoo.
“Here.”
When Sejun used the Black Dragon’s Scale to engrave a Black Dragon tattoo on the Mushroom Ant’s back,
Kkwek!
The Mushroom Ant greeted Sejun and hurried back to its nest where its kin were. It wanted to show off its new Black Dragon tattoo.
As the Mushroom Ant left,
“Aileen, show me the powers I can buy with my money.”
Sejun called Aileen.
Sejun currently had about 26 billion Tower Coins, including 25 billion given by Kaiser and his original funds.
[The Tower’s Administrator asks you to wait a moment.]
Shortly after,
[Grantable Powers]
<Power: Blessing of Fire>, <Power: Blessing of Water>, <Power: Blessing of Light>, <Power: Blessing of Darkness>, <Power: Blessing of Life>, <Power: Blessing of Death>…
[Enhancable Power]
<Power: Mighty Strength>, <Power: Mighty Agility>, <Power: Mighty Magic Power>
Aileen showed Sejun the powers he could buy with his money.
“So many?”
Sejun was surprised to see the number of available powers. There were almost 100.
However,
[The Tower’s Administrator says that if you choose one attribute blessing, you cannot choose the opposing element, so choose wisely.]
Since choosing one attribute blessing meant you couldn’t choose the opposite, the actual number of powers available was less than 50. Still, it was a significant number.
“Aileen, how much for the attribute blessing powers?”
[The Tower’s Administrator says each attribute blessing power costs 20 billion Tower Coins.]
‘Hmm… then, one Blessing of Life and enhancing three other powers would be just right.’
Always prioritizing survival, Sejun naturally chose the Blessing of Life, which seemed related to survival. Having finished his calculations,
“Aileen, I choose the Blessing of Life…”
“Phuhuhut. Chairman Park, I have money, meow!”
While Sejun was shopping, Theo, who had been otherwise occupied, pulled out a money bag from his bundle and exclaimed.
“It’s okay. Aileen, I…”
Sejun, having already decided what to buy, was about to purchase the powers.
But then,
Koong!
The heavy sound of Theo’s money bag being set down drew everyone’s attention.
It was unusual for a magically lightened money bag to make such a sound.
“Phuhuhut. Chairman Park, how about this, meow?!”
Theo, looking triumphant, opened the money bag.
And then,
“Wow!”
Sejun exclaimed in awe upon seeing the contents of the money bag.
As Sejun had guessed, the money bag contained an enormous sum of money – a staggering 100 billion Tower Coins.
Half of it, 50 billion Tower Coins, was from selling Sejun’s crops to Mimyr and agreeing to provide a lifetime supply of rice noodles. The rest, another 50 billion, was from selling a golden plate received from Uren to Mimyr.
“Aileen, show me the powers again!”
With that, the level of powers Sejun could buy drastically increased,
[The Tower’s Administrator says okay.]
And Aileen was equally thrilled.
***
“Khihihi. Theo, you annoyed me earlier, but now you’re doing something commendable.”
Aileen, who had been upset with Theo, smiled and scrolled up the list of powers displayed in the crystal ball.
Swoosh.
As the list scrolled up, powers that Aileen had wanted to give to Sejun but hadn’t dared to because of their high cost became visible.
With the money Sejun currently had, he could choose a few of the lower-level powers from those Aileen had wanted to give him.
<Power: Abundance!>
<Power: Summon Small Meteorite>
<Limited Power: Dragon Fear (3 uses)>
Those were the three powers chosen.
“Sejun, you can choose from these. Each one costs 125 billion Tower Coins.”
Aileen showed Sejun the powers.
***
“Hmm…”
Sejun pondered over the powers shown by Aileen.
He was tempted to choose the seemingly destructive <Power: Summon Small Meteorite> or <Limited Power: Dragon Fear (3 uses)>, which could overpower opponents with just its aura.
However, a caterpillar must eat pine needles to survive, and eating anything else could lead to trouble.
And for some reason, he felt goosebumps thinking about choosing any other power, which seemed ominous.
“Aileen, I’ll choose ‘Abundance.'”
Sejun selected <Power: Abundance!>. Unknowingly, it was the best choice among the three.
<Power: Summon Small Meteorite> required enormous magic power, and using it even once with Sejun’s magic power could lead to death due to magic depletion.
<Limited Power: Dragon Fear (3 uses)> didn’t protect the caster, meaning Sejun had to withstand the Dragon Fear himself.
In other words, using Dragon Fear would kill Sejun first, the caster.
As Aileen herself was a dragon, this was something she hadn’t considered.
Ultimately, choosing any power other than <Power: Abundance!> would have either killed him upon use or been a waste of money without use.
[The Tower’s Administrator says she will now start bestowing the power.]
“Okay!”
Sejun responded, his face full of anticipation.
And then,
[125 billion Tower Coins will be deducted from your Seed Bank.]
[The Tower’s Administrator bestows <Power: Abundance!> onto your Mid-level Administrator mark.]
A green light seeped into the back of Sejun’s right hand. Fortunately, there was no pain.
“Shall we see what kind of power it is?”
Sejun checked his newly acquired power.
<Power: Abundance!>
→ Everything you touch becomes abundant.
An unhelpful description.
“Everything I touch becomes abundant?”
To test it, Sejun reached towards a Five-colored Beanstalk in front of him.
Then,
[<Power: Abundance!> is applied to the Five-colored Beanstalk.]
[The amount of next produce from the Five-colored Beanstalk will double.]
A message appeared.
“Double?!”
With just one touch, the amount of beans doubled?! Sejun excitedly used the power on the crops in the surrounding fields.
An hour or so after using the power on the crops,
“Huh? Why does my body feel so heavy?”
Sejun suddenly felt a decline in his physical condition. It wasn’t sudden, his condition had gradually worsened while using the power.
But, engrossed in the joy of doubling the harvest, Sejun had only now realized his body’s condition was deteriorating.
“Why is this happening?”
Sejun wondered, having never experienced this before, when
[Hello, Sejun-nim!]
Podori greeted Sejun as he passed by.
“Hey, Podori, you’ve been well, right?”
[Yes, of course!]
Sejun approached Podori, engaging in conversation.
‘Wouldn’t it be great to double the grapes too?’
Seeing Podori, Sejun felt a desire for grapes.
Snap.
Sejun placed his hand on Podori’s branch and used the power.
And then,
[<Power: Abundance!> is applied to the Grapevine Podori.]
“……”
Sejun fainted while standing.
To use <Power: Abundance!>, life energy was required, and Sejun, unaware, had recklessly used his life energy.
That was the reason for his deteriorating physical condition.
Moreover, the last entity Sejun used his power on, Podori, was a candidate for the World Tree. To double the harvest of grapes, a tremendous amount of life energy was required.
All of Sejun’s life energy began to be infused into Podori’s body, leading to Sejun’s fainting.
A caterpillar must eat pine needles, but eating too much can kill it.
***
[Wow! I feel energized!]
Podori, unaware that it was absorbing Sejun’s life energy, was excited to draw in the energy.
However,
[Huh?! Something feels off?]
Suddenly, it felt a strong sensation.
Therefore, Podori quickly checked the source of the energy and
[Ah! Sejun-nim!]
There was Sejun, whose life energy was diminishing and who was withering away in real-time.
[Sejun-nim! You can’t die!]
If Sejun died, Podori too would face consequences from both Aileen-nim and Flamie-nim! Hurriedly, Podori began reinfusing life energy into Sejun, aiding his recovery.
But then,
Thud.
Sejun collapsed, and contact with him was lost.
[No, this can’t happen!]
Podori was unable to continue supplying life energy.
Though the explanation is lengthy, this all happened in a mere moment.
“Meow?! Chairman Park! Snap out of it, meow!”
Slap! Slap!
Theo, equipped with a Sejun-radar, quickly detected Sejun’s distress and began administering treatment.
And then,
Krueng?!
Cuengi also realized that Sejun’s condition wasn’t good.
Kuueng!
[Dad, you can’t die!]
Cuengi, with tears and snot running down, hurriedly massaged Sejun’s body.
Kuueng… Kuueng…
Massage. Massage.
With each rub of Cuengi’s front paws on Sejun’s body, a faint blue light appeared and disappeared.
Driven by a desperate desire to heal Sejun, Cuengi unknowingly infused magic into Sejun’s body and inadvertently mastered a physical magic massage that strengthened Sejun’s body.
Fortunately, before Sejun collapsed, Podori had infused just enough life energy to prevent death, allowing Sejun to recover quickly under Theo and Cuengi’s massages.
However,
[The Tower’s Administrator is furious, asking if you’re the one who did this to our Sejun!]
[I’m sorry!]
[Podori! What have you done to our master?!]
[I’m sorry!]
Podori, having caused Sejun to faint, was reprimanded by both Aileen and Flamie.
It was a helpless situation, but Podori couldn’t talk back considering the formidable nature of the others.
‘I’m wronged!’
Podori cried out in its heart, unheard by anyone.
***
“Alright!”
Sejun woke up feeling refreshed.
“When did I fall asleep?”
Having no memory of lying down on the bed, Sejun tried to recall what had happened.
“Ah… I used the power on Podori, and suddenly I felt my energy draining… And then…”
He couldn’t remember anything after that.
“Did I faint using the power? But why?”
As Sejun wondered why he had fainted,
[The Tower’s Administrator asks if you’re awake now and if you’re feeling okay.]
Aileen spoke to him.
“Yeah, I’m fine. Aileen, but why did I faint while using the power?”
Sejun asked Aileen about what he was curious about.
[The Tower’s Administrator says that <Power: Abundance!> is a power that uses life energy.]
[The Tower’s Administrator apologizes for not informing you about this in advance.]
“No, it’s okay. These things happen.”
Unaware of how close he had come to death, Sejun coolly responded, trying to look unfazed.
And then,
“Meooow…”
He lifted Theo, who was hanging onto his knee as usual, and attached him to his leg.
Swoosh.
He marked the date on the bedroom wall.
“It’s already the 358th day.”
In just a week, it would be a year since he was stranded. Time had passed so quickly…
“It was really scary back then…”
Sejun recalled the moment he first arrived at the tower.
Krueng?
[Dad, are you okay?]
Cuengi, along with Pink-fur who had just woken up, came looking for Sejun.
“Yeah, I’m fine now.”
Krueng!
[That’s a relief!]
Cuengi expressed relief and clung to Sejun’s leg.
“Let’s go have breakfast.”
“Sounds good, meow…”
Krueng! Krueng!
[Great! Cuengi is hungry!]
With Theo still half-asleep responding and Cuengi excited at the thought of eating, Sejun headed to the kitchen with both of them clinging to his legs.
Day 358 of being stranded. A peaceful morning began on the 99th floor of the tower.
*****
