“Hmm. How do I get in there…”
Fenrir, the god-hunting wolf and the first seat among the Apostles of Destruction, gazed at the Black Tower, lost in thought.
To find the item that enhanced the abilities of the dragon swallowed by Kaiser, the leader of the Black Dragons, he needed to enter the Black Tower, but there was no obvious way in.
Of course, there was a method used by the other Apostles of Destruction, which involved sharing their power with a being capable of entering the tower and parasitizing them with a fragment of themselves to gain access.
But that was too lowly a method for a noble wolf like himself.
Then
“Ah. I can use Jǫrmungandr!”
Fenrir recalled Jǫrmungandr, the world-devouring serpent disguised as a passageway hunting around the tower.
And
“Jǫrmungandr!”
Fenrir called out to Jǫrmungandr and began devising a plan to enter the Black Tower.
***
Click.
After breakfast, Sejun opened the Golden Box of Abundance, and inside were three black beans neatly placed.
“Hehehe.”
Sejun chuckled as he took out two black beans from the box, then
Click.
He closed the Golden Box of Abundance. Now, when he will check it tomorrow morning, the remaining black bean would magically become three.
“It’s a pity I can only put in one bean.”
Sejun said in a regretful voice, looking at the Golden Box of Abundance.
Well… being able to increase the number of black beans in this way was something to be thankful for, but still, the more, the merrier…
The two obtained black beans were secretly stored in the void storage along with the Golden Box of Abundance, unbeknownst to the dragons.
There were three dragons and two black beans. If he started selling the black beans now, a tremendous fight would break out among the dragons over who gets to have them.
Considering the effects of the black beans, it was a distinct possibility.
But in two days, there would be six surplus black beans, allowing him to sell two to each dragon, so there was no need to create discord.
Starting a fight among the dragons might raise the price of the black beans, but that would mean losing the future for short-term gain.
If the three dragons started fighting over the black beans,
“This farm would turn into a complete mess…”
Moreover, if he got swept up in the aftermath, it would be dangerous for him too… the losses outweighed the gains.
While Sejun was securing the black beans,
Krueng!
[Cuengi is going to collect herbs!]
“Okay, take care.”
After a hearty breakfast, Cuengi headed to the western forest where kudzu was planted. Having been away for a few days, he expected to find more herbs than usual today.
“I should get to work too.”
After Cuengi left, Sejun also got ready to work. There was a lot to do.
He had to bottle the finished wine, brew new wine in the empty jars, and make rice noodles for Mimyr as Theo had promised.
Additionally, he needed to use <Power: Abundance!> to double the harvest yield.
“Vice Chairman Theo, it’s time to work.”
Tattle-tattle.
Sejun shook his leg, looking at Theo, who was obliviously clinging to it. If the Chairman works, you should too. Work, Vice Chairman Theo.
But
“No, meow! Chairman Park works too hard, meow!”
Squeeze.
Theo, unwilling to let go of Sejun, clung even tighter in protest.
“Working hard is why I’m the chairman, Vice Chairman Theo.”
“Meow! That’s true, meow!”
Theo had an epiphany from Sejun’s offhand remark about work.
The hardest worker is the chairman, meow! Then as the Vice Chairman, he too must work harder, meow! Otherwise, he could lose his position as Vice Chairman, meow!
“Chairman Park! I’ll work hard and come back, meow!”
Theo, determined not to lose his position as Vice Chairman, hurriedly descended the tower to work.
“But did he take the crops in his bundle?”
Sejun spoke in a worried voice, looking at Theo, who had already gone far enough to be out of sight.
If Theo hadn’t refilled his bundle with crops after selling them to Mimyr, it would be empty now.
“Well… if he didn’t, he’ll come back midway.”
Sejun, watching the direction Theo went, quickly walked towards the brewery.
***
Tower 4th Floor.
Trudge. Trudge.
A group of 10 novice hunters, who had easily cleared the 2nd and 3rd floors of the tower where the experience farm was located, cautiously moved through the 4th floor in search of their prey, skeletons.
······
Having ascended the 2nd and 3rd floors with ease, it was their first hunt, and everyone was tense. Apart from the sound of footsteps, there was no conversation among them.
After 3 hours of searching for skeletons, they had moved quite a bit, but they hadn’t seen a single skeleton.
“Have we traveled too far?!”
A frightened hunter shouted to his party members as they strayed far from the waypoint. They were inexperienced in hunting and lacked common sense.
“Mendal, could you shut your mouth for now? At this rate, your noise will attract all the skeletons.”
“Uh… sorry…”
Realizing his mistake, Mendal quietly responded.
Then
Sniff. Sniff.
“Doesn’t it smell like grapes around here?!”
Stefan, leading the group, took a deep breath and commented.
“Oh? You’re right.”
As they moved a bit further, the other party members also smelled the strong scent of grapes.
“Where is this smell coming from?”
“Let’s follow the smell.”
Tired of searching for skeletons, the weary hunters decided to follow the grape scent. They were a bit hungry, and the scent of grapes was too fragrant to resist.
But
“What?!”
Rattle. Rattle.
The hunters, who had followed the sweet grape scent, suddenly found themselves surrounded by over 50 black skeletons.
“Drop your weapons and follow us.”
At the command of a talking black skeleton, the novice hunters had no choice but to comply. They were just relieved not to be killed on the spot.
As they followed the black skeletons, the scent of grapes grew stronger.
A little later.
“Wow.”
The hunters saw a vast vineyard laden with bunches of grapes.
And
“What am I looking at?”
“Are skeletons farming grapes?”
The hunters witnessed the bizarre sight of black skeletons and regular skeletons harmoniously harvesting grapes.
Then
Pluck. Pluck.
“Go and pick them.”
The black skeletons pushed them into the vineyard and instructed.
***
“Here’s the Samyangju.”
Sejun bottled today’s batch of Samyangju and distributed 20,000 bottles, giving 10,000 each to Kaiser and Kellion.
-Hahaha. Just looking at it is satisfying.
-Indeed. We won’t run out of booze for a while.
Kaiser and Kellion were delighted to receive 10,000 bottles of Samyangju each.
But
-······
Ramter could only watch enviously. He had been completely stripped of his Tower Coins by Kaiser.
Although Ramter had been diligently accumulating Tower Coins, it was still nothing compared to the wealth of Kaiser and Kellion.
He couldn’t afford to buy Samyangju since buying black beans was the priority.
Then
“Hey Ramter~nim, try some of this leftover Samyangju.”
Sejun offered Ramter 5 bottles of Samyangju.
After bottling, exactly 20,005 bottles of Samyangju were produced, and Sejun kept 5 of them for himself, to drink or use in cooking later.
However, seeing Ramter unable to take his eyes off the Samyangju, Sejun felt a pang of sympathy.
One of the saddest things in the world is not being able to eat what you desire. It seemed dragons were no different.
-Sejun, thank you!
Ramter was touched by Sejun’s gesture.
-It’s nothing much, but take this.
To express his gratitude, Ramter gave Sejun the red full-body armor he had brought with him.
“Really?!”
Sejun was delighted at Ramter’s offer.
The red full-body armor was standing like a scarecrow in the middle of a sweet potato field.
Sejun had been eyeing the armor since yesterday, but since he wasn’t close to Ramter, he only peeked at it from a distance. He couldn’t believe he was being offered such armor?
-Yes. Now it’s yours.
With Ramter’s words, the usage restrictions on the armor were lifted.
“Thank you!”
Upon hearing Ramter’s words, Sejun hurried to the sweet potato field with excitement and examined the armor.
[Red Dragon’s Full Body Scale Armor]
→ This armor is made from 1000 Red Dragon scales and crafted by a skilled blacksmith to withstand the dragon’s aura.
→ Made from the Red Dragon’s scales, it is almost immune to fire and is very sturdy.
→ When worn, it consumes magic power to activate a barrier that neutralizes some of the dragon’s aura.
→ Usage Restriction: Strength over 1500, Stamina over 1500, Magic Power over 1000, recognized by Ramter Zahir
→ Creator: Udon, Tower Farmer of the Red Tower
→ Grade: SS
“Strength and stamina over 1500, and magic power over 1000?”
The usage restrictions were tremendous.
“What a pity…”
The fact that he couldn’t wear such a magnificent armor, nor use the barrier that neutralizes the dragon’s aura.
“Looks like I got an SS-grade item after all…”
Disappointed for a moment, Sejun carried the armor next to the Creator God’s tablet signpost and
Click. Click.
He adjusted the armor’s joints to make it kneel beside the signpost with its right hand making a V sign.
“Hehehe. Nice.”
Sejun, pleased for some reason, displayed the Red Dragon’s Full Body Scale Armor in front of the Creator God’s tablet.
“Now, off to make more booze.”
Sejun headed back to the brewery to make another batch of 20,000 bottles of Samyangju, as he had sold that much today.
“Hehehe.”
Sejun was excited about the prospect of sweating and working hard.
Indeed, such laborious work suited Sejun, but
“Hehehe. I need to make booze quickly to earn money.”
Sejun simply loved making money.
***
“Meow meow meow. Vice Chairman Theo is working hard again today, meow!”
Theo, having had a great realization from Sejun’s words, was using the merchant passage to descend the tower when
“What, meow?”
He came upon a fork in the road.
And
“Phuhuha. This way, meow!”
Following the pull in his paws, Theo headed down the left path. Whether the path was right or wrong didn’t matter. Theo had the ability to turn even a wrong answer into the right one.
A little later
Thud.
The left path closed, and the face of a snake appeared.
“It would be nice if he’s tasty.”
A fragment of Jǫrmungandr, the world-devouring snake, was pleased to swallow Theo.
But Theo was a strong cat who could tear open Jǫrmungandr’s fragment’s belly and escape whenever he wanted.
Scratch. Scratch.
“Meow meow meow. The pull is stronger, meow! Something good is ahead, meow! Vice Chairman Theo, the right hand of Chairman Park, is on the move, meow! Gaeron, pick them up, meow!”
-Yes!
Theo, humming a tune, defeated the white snakes and spoke to Gaeron on his head.
Swoosh. Swoosh.
Gaeron diligently picked up the white coins with his tongue, following Theo’s instruction.
Then
Piyo! Piyo!
The sound of a bird’s cry was heard. Theo intuitively felt that the source of the allure was in the direction of the sound.
“Over there, meow!”
Theo quickly ran towards the source of the sound.
Swoosh!
Piyo!
There, Theo saw a small bird fighting, surrounded by white snakes.
The bird’s cries were loud, but it seemed tired from the prolonged battle, its wingbeats weakening, and its altitude gradually decreasing.
If it dropped just a bit more, it risked being swallowed by the snakes.
Swish. Swish.
Theo swiftly intervened and dealt with the snakes.
And then
“Puhahaha. Since I saved your life, you need to stamp here…”
Press.
Twinkle. Twinkle.
The bird, looking at Theo with eyes full of admiration, quickly stamped the contract Theo presented.
Piyo! Piyo!
[Thank you for saving me! My name is Pirururur Yotra from the White-Headed Long-Tailed Tit Tribe!]
Pirururur Yotra introduced itself to Theo.
“Puhahaha. Your name is Piyot, meow? Piyot, you are now my subordinate, so you must listen well to me, meow!”
Swipe. Swipe.
Subordinate: Piyot (Ψ)
Theo wrote ‘Piyot’ next to the footprint he had already stamped on the ‘subordinate’ section of the contract.
Piyo.
[I… my name isn’t Piyot, it’s Pirururur Yotra.]
Pirururur Yotra corrected its name on the contract.
However, Pirururur Yotra spoke too quickly, and to Theo’s ears, it just sounded like Piyot.
“Piyot, I know your name is Piyot, meow! I wrote it correctly here, meow!”
Theo pointed at the contract as he spoke.
Piyo…
[But that’s not my name…]
Thus, Pirururur Yotra, dejected about being contracted under a different name, became Theo’s new subordinate.
*****
