“Hey, I heard you have my brother Elge’s inner core. If you hand it over nicely, your life will be spared…”
While Sejun and Cuengi, annoyed by hunger, were unaware of Komodo Caiman’s smug approach,
Kueng! Kueng!
[Cuengi is angry because he’s hungry! Cuengi will show you the justice of Cuengi!]
Whooosh.
Cuengi swung his stick of justice towards Komodo Caiman and the elite soldiers blocking his way. To Cuengi, there was no greater injustice than hunger.
Boom!
A massive explosion and shockwave occurred, creating winds so fierce that it was impossible to open one’s eyes.
And then,
“It’s all over…”
Sejun belatedly realized that this place was the royal palace.
‘I’ll rebuild a stronger building for you guys.’
Sejun apologized to Black Rabbit and ChuChu inwardly.
After the wind settled, Sejun opened his eyes to see the extent of the damage to the royal palace.
However,
“Huh?! It’s intact?”
Contrary to Sejun’s expectation, the royal palace was still standing.
Not a single crack was on the hall’s walls, and only Komodo Caiman, the elite soldiers, and some furniture were cleanly gone.
“Did our Cuengi control his strength?”
When Sejun looked at Cuengi,
Kueng? Kueng!
[Why didn’t it break? Anyway, that’s a relief!]
Cuengi, who, just like Sejun, was relieved that the building hadn’t been destroyed, was seen. It wasn’t just Cuengi.
Then,
“Kyoot, kyoot, kyoot. Cuengi, even if you’re angry, what would we have done if the royal palace was destroyed?”
Iona, having emerged from Theo’s tail, holding the Staff of Disaster, spoke to Cuengi.
Iona had cast Absolute Shield magic around them to prevent Cuengi’s attack from destroying the building.
Kueng! Kueng!
[Cuengi was angry because the way was blocked due to hunger! Cuengi will be careful next time!]
“Kyoot, kyoot, kyoot. Try to control your strength a bit more in the future.”
Iona telling Cuengi to control his power was ironic, coming from a wizard of destruction.
While Sejun’s gaze was on Cuengi and Iona,
Rumble, rumble.
“Meow?”
Theo picked up a black orb that rolled towards him.
‘Puhuhut. The front paws being attracted to it means it’s a good thing, meow! Later, after eating, I should give this to Chairman Park and ask for a belly rub, meow.’
Theo, smirking, put the black orb into his bag. Thus, Komodo Caiman’s inner core ended up in Sejun’s hands.
In the end, Cuengi and Iona did all the work, but Sejun and Theo reaped the benefits.
With Iona’s help, the incident was resolved without major damage(?),
“Cuengi, let’s go eat.”
Kueng!
[Good!]
Click.
Cuengi, his mood slightly improved after swinging the stick of justice, quickly clung to Sejun’s leg,
“Let’s go!”
Sejun moved towards the banquet hall.
***
In Hawaii, USA.
“Headquarters, we’ve reached the destination.”
A C-17 transport aircraft appeared over Hawaii.
-Drop them.
“Roger that.”
Following the headquarters’ command, the pilot opened the rear door, and soldiers dropped boxes containing 100kg of Vitality-Infused Fragrant Grapes each.
Thump, thump.
The boxes fell to the ground, and the Vitality-Infused Fragrant Grapes inside burst from the impact.
Shortly after,
Gulp, gulp.
Drawn by the dense fragrant grape aroma spreading around, giant leeches approached.
The scent was so strong that all the giant leeches within a 5km radius of the boxes gathered.
And the giant leeches close to the boxes started sucking the juice of the Vitality-Infused Fragrant Grapes.
“Headquarters, the leeches are responding to box number 1.”
-Good. Check the other boxes as well.
“Roger that.”
The pilot flew the transport aircraft to drop boxes at other drop points and checked their reactions.
A total of 10 boxes were dropped.
“Headquarters, leeches have responded to boxes from 1 to 10.”
-Understood. Return now.
As the pilot of the transport aircraft received orders from headquarters to return and was changing direction,
“Huh?!”
The pilot noticed something strange.
Bang! Bang!
The giant leeches had started fighting among themselves.
Even though the Vitality-Infused Fragrant Grapes were gone, the scent of the grapes continued to emanate from the bodies of the leeches that had eaten them.
The giant leeches attacked and killed the ones emitting the scent of the Vitality-Infused Fragrant Grapes,
Slurp. Slurp. Slurp.
and began to suck the remaining juice of the Vitality-Infused Fragrant Grapes from their bodies.
Bang!
The giant leech that killed its kin and consumed the juice of the Vitality-Infused Fragrant Grapes became a target for the other leeches’ attacks.
This cycle continued for about an hour before stopping, and the naval command received reports for the first time that the number of giant leeches had decreased.
And then,
“They said they give Vitality-Infused Fragrant Grapes for working on the grape farm on the 4th floor of the tower, right? Send hunters to the 4th floor to secure as many Vitality-Infused Fragrant Grapes as possible!”
Chief of Naval Operations, Samuel ordered the deployment of navy-affiliated hunters to work on the grape farm on the 4th floor of the tower to obtain Vitality-Infused Fragrant Grapes.
Thus, Operation: Civil Support saw 500 navy-affiliated hunters dispatched to work on the grape farm on the 4th floor.
***
[Caiman Royal Family’s Inner Core]
…
..
.
→ The core contains approximately 120 years’ worth of accumulated magic power.
→ Upon consumption, it grants a total of 100 bonus stats. (If consumed by a being with magic power less than 120, the Inner Core will absorb all of their stats instead.)
→ Usage Restriction: Lv. 52 and above, Magic Power 120 and above
→ Grade: S
“this a inner core too?”
“Puhuhut. How is it, meow?”
After finishing his meal and feeling full, Theo, lying on Sejun’s lap and making him stroke his belly, asked with a smug voice.
“Of course, you did well.”
Sejun responded while vigorously stroking Theo’s forehead and chin.
“Puhuhut. Naturally, meow! I, the Vice Chairman Theo, always do well, meow!”
Theo seemed like he could fly to the sky with Sejun’s lavish praise.
Swoosh, swoosh.
Theo expressed his pleasure by rubbing his back against Sejun’s lap.
As a result, Sejun’s pants were covered in fur.
“I should make another Theo ball soon.”
“Kyoot, kyoot, kyoot. A Theo ball? I’ll buy it!”
Iona, who had been eagerly eating roasted peanuts, heard Sejun’s words and hurriedly requested a pre-order with her cheeks puffed.
Rushing as if afraid someone else might snatch it away. After all, if not Iona, no one else would buy it.
Thus, it was decided to sell the Theoball to the valued customer, Iona,
Crunch, crunch.
Iona felt relieved and started eating her peanuts again.
Then,
Kuehehehehe. Kueng!
[Hehehe. Delicious!]
Sejun saw Cuengi, who, despite having eaten over an hour ago, was enjoying the meat as if it was his first time.
And,
Piyo! Piyo!
[I’ll eat a lot and grow big enough to carry Master Theo on my back! Piyot won’t lose to fullness!]
Piyot, who had returned after emptying its stomach.
Peck, peck, peck.
Inspired by Cuengi’s hearty eating, Piyot emptied his stomach for the 10th time and started eating peanut powder again.
“It’s still a long way to go.”
Watching them eat, it seemed like he would have to wait even longer for the meal to end.
“Theo, hold this for a moment.”
Sejun handed the inner core to Theo and,
Swoosh.
pulled out Elge’s inner core from the pouch on his waist for comparison.
He had kept Elge’s inner core without consuming it, intrigued by the explanation that the inner core could be cultivated.
As Sejun took out the inner core,
“Huh?!”
“Meow?!”
An attraction occurred between the inner core Sejun held and the one Theo held, trying to merge with each other.
And as Sejun loosened his grip on the inner core he held,
The inner core was drawn towards the one Theo held and naturally merged into one like two droplets of water coming together.
“Oh! Fascinating.”
Sejun checked the inner core held by Theo and noticed its content had changed to grant 220 bonus stats.
“Puhuhut. That too is because I did well, meow!”
Theo took all the credit and looked at Sejun. ‘Come on, praise me already, meow!’
“Right.”
While Sejun was stroking Theo’s belly for a while,
“Hello, Theo~nim!”
Five monsters approached Theo to greet him. They were Goblin Paku and other monsters sent by the bosses of the 50th floor to receive the Dragon Warrior Helmet.
They had been waiting in the tavern for several days on Theo’s instructions, and since Theo hadn’t come looking for them, they decided to find him.
“Scaram?”
As soon as Sejun saw Paku’s face, like Theo, he recalled Scaram.
“Puhuhut. This guy is not Scaram but Scaram’s nephew, meow!”
Theo corrected Sejun’s mistake.
“Nephew?”
“That’s right! And now he’s my subordinate, meow! Greet him, meow! This is Chairman Park, meow!”
“Yes! Greetings, Chairman Park~nim!”
The monsters greeted Sejun following Theo’s words.
“Ah, nice to meet you. Theo, but what are these monsters here for?”
Sejun quietly asked Theo after receiving the monsters’ greetings.
“Puhuhut. These guys want to receive the Dragon Warrior Helmet…”
Theo explained the monsters’ circumstances.
“Is that so? Then…”
Sejun told Theo about the conditions to receive the Dragon Warrior Helmet.
And then,
“Puhuhut. Chairman Park said you must satisfy two conditions to receive the Dragon Warrior Helmet, meow!”
Theo relayed Sejun’s words.
“Two conditions?”
“What are they?”
The monsters hurriedly asked after Theo’s announcement.
“Land Deed and an interview, meow!”
With the Dragon Warrior Helmet, there would be almost no adversaries on that floor, so Sejun wanted to interview the bosses to see if they were decent monsters.
And for Sejun to interview the bosses, he needed a land deed to move to the floor where the boss was located.
“Understood!”
The monsters hurriedly dispersed to convey the two conditions mentioned by Theo to their bosses.
Thus, rumors that a land deed was necessary to receive the magnificent Dragon Warrior Helmet bestowed by the great Black Dragon began to spread throughout the Black Tower.
Thanks to this, Sejun could easily obtain more land deeds.
***
4th Floor of the Tower.
“What is this…”
Jackson, the leader of the navy-affiliated hunters sent to work on the grape farm, was puzzled by the incredibly long line.
Rumors about the grape farm had spread, and other hunters had also lined up to work there.
Since one could easily earn hundreds of millions by working peacefully for just 10 hours, it was incredibly popular among beginner hunters.
Then,
Rustle rustle.
“Are you here to work?”
A Black Skeleton approached Jackson and handed him a piece of bone.
“512?!”
Looking at the numbers carved into the bone, Jackson realized it was a number tag, and that there were 511 Hunters in front of him.
“Major Jackson, should we change our strategy?”
“Yes, sir, this is taking too long.”
“Let’s just go in!”
When his subordinates suggested a strategy involving force,
Boom!
A group of intruders attacked the grape farm’s warehouse creating a loud explosion.
And then,
Thud. Thud.
Suddenly, ten 3-meter-tall giant skeletons rose and began killing the intruders with overwhelming force.
They were the Dragon Tooth Warriors Sejun had left for the defense of the grape farm.
Sejun originally planned to give the Dragon Tooth Warriors Helmets to the ten Black Skeletons, including Philip, to guard the grape farm.
However, the Black Skeletons couldn’t wear the Dragon Tooth Warrior Helmets because they were too weak.
So, the Dragon Tooth Warriors remained in helmet form and only transformed into Dragon Tooth Warriors when intruders appeared, like now, to deal with them.
“Hmm… What about buying a spot in line with money?”
“That sounds like a good idea.”
Thanks to this, the navy-affiliated hunters quickly adjusted their strategy to a different approach.
*****
6/6
*****
TL: Mass release completed. Hope you enjoyed it!
*****
