Pluck.
When Sejun picked the last, fifth new variety, the 4-colored striped Egg Fruit,
[You have harvested the Elixir: Assorted Egg Fruits.]
[Your job experience has increased slightly.]
[Your proficiency in Harvesting Lv. 7 has increased slightly.]
[Your proficiency in Harvesting Lv. 7 has been filled, and the level increases.]
[You have gained 1000 experience points.]
Messages appeared indicating that the proficiency of the Harvesting skill had been filled and had reached level 8.
[You have achieved the feat of creating a new variety in the tower.]
…
..
.
Following that, messages appeared about harvesting the new variety.
“I’m tired of this.”
It seemed that humans truly are creatures of adaptation. Having waited so eagerly for the harvest of new varieties, doing it five times in a row made even reading the messages feel tiresome.
“But it’s almost over now.”
When Sejun said this,
[You have achieved the feat of creating 15 new varieties in the tower.]
[As a reward for the feat of the Great Farmer, the prestige of the Black Tower will increase.]
[The prestige exceeds a certain level, and the number of entrances to the Black Tower increases by 1.]
[The number of entrances to the Black Tower has increased from 103 to 104, and the 104th entrance is created in the safest place.]
Messages appeared about the creation of the Black Tower’s 104th entrance following the 102nd entrance for the 11th new variety, and the 103rd entrance for the 13th new variety.
And then,
[You have secured 15 new varieties.]
[You have overcome the third trial of the 10th tower.]
Messages finally appeared about overcoming the third trial.
“Done.”
When Sejun was happy,
[The last trial of the 10th tower occurs.]
[The last trial of the 10th tower: The Tower Farmer must get along well with all dragon tribes. This is because you will need their help when you need extra hands later. Obtain 1L of dragon blood from each of the nine dragon tribes to prove your friendship with the dragons.]
The last trial to prove friendship with the dragons began.
“Dragon blood?”
Securing the dragon blood from the black dragon, white dragon, and red dragon was easy. It seemed only necessary to collect the dragon blood from the remaining six dragon tribes.
Thus, Sejun went back to harvesting Egg Fruits after receiving the trial.
Then,
Grrrr.
A belly clock rang.
Kuehehehe. Kueng.
[Hehehe. Daddy, Cuengi is hungry.]
Cuengi’s belly clock.
“Got it. Today’s menu is boiled Egg Fruits!”
Kueng!
[Good!]
Cuengi, who liked all of Sejun’s cooking, cheered with his front paws raised.
“But before that, there’s something we have to do. What is it?”
When Sejun asked Cuengi,
Kueng?
[Wash hands?]
“No.”
“Puhuhut. I, Vice Chairman Theo, know, meow! We need to start a fire, meow!”
“Ddaeng.” (TL: It’s a sound from a show; I don’t remember which one, but on wrong answers, this sound will play.)
“Meow? That can’t be right, meow!”
(Pip-pip. Let me! We need to get down from here!)
“Right. But you’re only half right.”
Then,
Kuehehehe. Kueng! Kueng!
[Hehehe. Cuengi knows! It’s a superhero landing!]
Cuengi answered with a bright smile.
Kueng!
[Cuengi will arrive first!]
Dadadada.
Cuengi quickly ran and jumped down to the ground. No!
“Puhuhut. I do superhero landings better, meow!”
Theo also flew into the air, performing three spins with Iona tied to his tail before jumping down. No!
And then,
(Pip-pip. I can do it too! Superhero landing!)
Piyo!
[I don’t know what it is, but I’ll follow Vice Chairman Theo!]
The golden bat and Piyot followed, jumping after him. No!
This is 100 meters above the ground, on top of the Birds Bearing Tree.
“Shouldn’t you be letting me down! You guys!!!”
Sejun shouted at the animals that had jumped down.
[Power: Indestructible Body] and Kaiser’s scales meant he wouldn’t die, but that didn’t mean it wouldn’t hurt. It seemed like it would be extremely painful to jump from this height.
“Ah! Can’t be helped.”
Sejun started to climb down the tree, hanging on tightly.
Kueng?
[Daddy, why haven’t you come down yet?]
Fortunately, when Cuengi noticed that Sejun was taking too long, he used telekinesis to go up and find him climbing down the tree, and they came down together.
***
Inside the 10th Tower.
-Stella Hisron, have you awakened?
Stella, who had come to her senses, heard a voice with an incomparable majesty coming from somewhere.
“Who is it?”
-I am the administrator of the 10th Tower.
“The administrator of the 10th Tower? Then, where is this?”
-Yes. This is the first floor of the 10th Tower.
“Why am I…? Gasp!”
Only then did Stella remember that she had lost consciousness right before she was attacked by Halphas, Apostle of Destruction.
And then,
“Thank you for saving me.”
She expressed her gratitude to the administrator of the 10th Tower who had saved her.
-Cough. Never mind. After all, I needed someone to give tasks to.
“Tasks? What kind? Since you saved my life, I’ll help you with anything.
-Soon, a being who has passed the trial of the 10th Tower will come. Help that being to climb the tower.
“Yes.”
……
“Um… But when are they coming?”
-Well, I’m not sure myself.
“Yes…”
Stella had to wait for Sejun without any promise of when he would come.
***
“Come on, guys, let’s eat.”
When Sejun called the animals over after preparing the food,
Kueng!
[It looks delicious!]
Cuengi got excited seeing the boiled Egg Fruits in the giant pot. Only Cuengi was excited.
“Chairman Park, where is the grilled fish, meow?”
(Pip-pip. Is there no fruit?)
Theo and the golden bat consistently searched for their preferred food regardless of what Sejun was making.
And then,
“Kyoot kyoot kyoot. That’s right. To become Vice Chairman Theo’s right front paw, you need to eat a lot.”
Piyo!
[Thank you for the meal!]
Iona shared a few peanuts from her peanut pouch with Piyot.
In the end, only Sejun and Cuengi ate the Egg Fruits.
“Here.”
Sejun took out grilled fish and fruits from the void storage for Theo and the golden bat,
“Iona, Piyot, each of you take one of these.”
“Kyoot kyoot kyoot. Thank you.”
Piyo!
[Thank you, Sejun~nim!]
He gave each of them a pouch filled with peanuts.
As Sejun took care of the other animals’ meals and approached Cuengi, who was eating the boiled Egg Fruits,
Kuehehehe. Kueng!
[Hehehe. It’s delicious!]
Heaps of Egg Fruit shells were seen next to Cuengi, and the pot was already about half empty.
Kueng!
[Dad, eat the colored ones!]
Cuengi offered the colored Egg Fruits to Sejun, sharing the elixirs with him.
“Oh? Thank you.”
Usually, he would eat all the good stuff himself… What’s the occasion? Sejun felt uneasy about Cuengi’s behavior. Is this one bitter?
Tak.
Nevertheless, to taste it, he cracked open a red Egg Fruit on the edge of the pot.
He momentarily wanted to play a prank on Cuengi by breaking an Egg Fruit on Cuengi’s head, but
Kueng?
[Is that how we’re supposed to break Egg Fruits?]
His playfulness quickly faded when he realized that Cuengi was going to take the egg fruit and hit him in the head with it.
Thus, Sejun, restraining his playfulness for the sake of survival, peeled the Egg Fruit shell and,
Pop.
Salted it, put it in his mouth, and chewed.
Chew chew.
“Um.”
The blandness and nuttiness almost became too plain, but the saltiness grabbed hold and forcefully carried the flavor, enhancing the taste and stimulating the appetite.
Still, the dryness of the yolk couldn’t be helped, but after much research, Sejun, the unofficial barista of the Black Tower, managed to make a decent cup of coffee.
Slurp.
Drinking the coffee, he completely overcame the dryness.
Gulp.
“Ah… Good.”
As Sejun swallowed the Egg Fruits with coffee, making a pleased expression,
[You have consumed Elixir: Blue Stamina Egg Fruits.]
[Stamina increases by 4.]
A message appeared.
The yellow, red, green, and blue Egg Fruits each increased a stat by 4, and the assorted Egg Fruits increased all stats by 1.
And then,
“Understood.”
Sejun finally realized why Cuengi had offered it to him. The Elixir Egg Fruits tasted no different from the regular Egg Fruits.
Because they tasted the same, Cuengi had offered the elixir to him.
‘It’s the taste!’
Thanks to this, Sejun now clearly understood why Cuengi had been trying to steal his share until now.
Cuengi wasn’t keen on things that were good for the body; he just wanted to eat what tasted good.
The effects of items or such were not important at all. He had completely misunderstood that Cuengi was stealing things because they were good for the body. It was just about stealing tasty things…
“Indeed, our Cuengi is a filial son.”
As Sejun was reaching this peculiar conclusion,
Kueng. Kueng.
[Cuengi said it’s for Dad to eat. But Cuengi want to eat it.]
Cuengi, who had already eaten all the regular Egg Fruits, started to contemplate whether to touch the colored Egg Fruits.
“Do you want some honey, our Cuengi?”
Kueng!
[Yes, please!]
When offered honey, Cuengi didn’t hesitate for a moment to snatch the glass jar Sejun was holding.
Kuehehehe.
Lick. Lick.
The Elixir Egg Fruits were no longer of interest to Cuengi.
Yum.
Thanks to that, Sejun could comfortably eat the Elixir Egg Fruits.
***
Korean Awakeners Association.
“Vice Chairman, what should we do?”
“Control all the news and first, find master and report to him.”
“Yes!”
Cha Si-Hyeok, Han Tae-jun’s first disciple and the vice president, quickly ordered his subordinates.
“Just when master isn’t here…”
Cha Si-Hyeok was overwhelmed due to the sudden appearance of three Black Towers in Korea.
If they had only appeared like the previous two Black Towers, it wouldn’t have been so chaotic. It would have been enough to control people’s access.
However, the story completely changed with the appearance of Korea’s fourth Black Tower at Wangsimni Station in Seongdong-gu.
[You have entered a safe area where the beings of disaster cannot enter.]
This message started appearing to ordinary people and hunters who entered the area connected by a line through the four Black Towers.
The area between by the four Black Towers was designated as a safe zone.
It was already a surprising event for the world… but the safe zone expanded even more with the appearance of two more Black Towers at Yongsan Park in Yongsan-gu and the Seoul Arts Center in Seocho-gu.
As a result, governments from various countries were requesting meetings with the Korean government.
And the Korean government was asking the Korean Awakeners Association to participate in the meetings as advisory members.
***
“Vitality.”
Using the Vitality skill intermittently, Sejun ate 59 Elixir Egg Fruits, resulting in an increase of 62 strength, 62 stamina, 58 agility, and 54 magic power.
“Hehehe. Today’s me has greatly surpassed yesterday’s me.”
As Sejun was happily eating the Egg Fruits,
“Puhuhut. That was delicious, meow! As expected, Chairman Park’s grilled fish is the best, meow!”
Theo, who had eaten his fill of grilled fish, climbed onto Sejun’s lap and sprawled out.
Stroke. Stroke.
Sejun naturally stroked Theo’s belly.
After a while,
Gororong.
Theo quickly fell asleep, and
Kuehehehe.
Cuengi busily licked honey, pressing his buttocks against Sejun’s hip.
And then,
“Kyoot kyoot kyoot.”
Iona had already found her place on Theo’s tail,
Nod. Nod.
The golden bat and Piyot were sitting near the fire, dozing off.
Such a peaceful atmosphere.
“But why am I not recognized as the owner of the land?”
As Sejun looked at the Birds Bearing Tree, towering high, he felt puzzled. It was because the quest had not been completed.
“Isn’t this a mature tree by now?”
If this isn’t a mature tree, it means this tree will grow even larger in the future.
“I don’t know how long it will take, so I should visit the 99th floor of the tower tomorrow morning.”
Sejun planned to obtain dragon blood from three dragons on the 99th floor in exchange for black beans or Samyangju and to ask for the dragon blood of other dragons in advance.
It would probably take time to receive the dragon blood from the other dragons, so it would be better to speak to them sooner.
“Cuengi, let’s sleep.”
As Sejun said this while holding the dozing golden bat and Piyot,
Kueng!
[Understood!]
Having finished eating the honey, Cuengi grew his body to about 5 meters and
Woosh.
He hugged Sejun, placing him on his belly, and they all fell asleep together.
As everyone was asleep,
-Ssak?
The Birds Bearing Tree moved its branches to create shade for Sejun and the animals.
Day 360 of being stranded. Another hectic day passed safely.
*****
4/5
