“Let’s watch the battle from here.”
“Got it.”
As they approached the Black Tower, the fragment of Jǫrmungandr camouflaged itself upon Fenrir’s order and hid its body.
And then,
Boom!
At Fenrir’s command, the Hydra, an Apostle of Destruction with nine heads, attacked the Black Tower.
“Block it!”
The guarding Black Dragons hurriedly stepped forward to block the Hydra.
However, with their strength, they could barely fend off the unsealed Apostle of Destruction. The Black Dragons started to get pushed back gradually.
At that moment,
“How dare you raise your heads and push forward here?!”
A Black Dragon, twice as big as the others, appeared.
It’s Kaiser!
Fenrir focused his attention and observed Kaiser closely, as Halphas had mentioned that Kaiser had swallowed something and suddenly became stronger.
After a short while,
“Can you also block this power?”
As the Hydra released its seals up to the third level and grew gigantic,
“Hahaha! With that level of power, you cannot defeat me!”
Kaiser stepped forward, swallowed something,
And with a booming blast,
Destroyed the Hydra with three attacks and flew off to assist another tower.
“I found it.”
Fenrir, who had been closely observing Kaiser,
Noticed that Kaiser first swallowed four round, oval-shaped fruit of red, yellow, green, and blue colors.
And then, after swallowing a black round, oval-shaped fruit, his energy was significantly amplified.
‘I need to find that black fruit.’
Fenrir now knew exactly what he needed to find.
“Let’s go.”
“Got it.”
Upon Fenrir’s order, the fragment of Jǫrmungandr moved towards the Black Tower again.
Thanks to the other Apostles of Destruction drawing the dragons’ attention, none of them noticed Fenrir’s approach.
***
“Here you go. Take two each. You know the price, right?”
Sejun extended his right hand, showing six black beans in his left.
-Hahaha. Of course!
-Of course, I know!
-Hahaha! Don’t worry!
Click. Click. Click.
The dragons placed their money bags on Sejun’s right hand and took two black beans each.
They had not yet been able to give out the dragon blood they received(?) from other dragons because they couldn’t make the vessels.
The three dragons planned to use the scales they received(?) as the main ingredient to create vessels for holding each dragon tribe’s blood.
“Let me check if the money is correct.”
Sejun started counting the money in the money bags. Trust is good, but thorough verification is better.
“Huh?! 55 billion Tower Coins? There’s more money here?!”
Turns out, dragons can make mistakes too. Sejun checked the first money bag and said,
-Hahaha. Sejun, I put in a bit more.
Ramter boasted with a hearty voice,
“Oh! Really?! Thank you.”
As Sejun expressed his gratitude to Ramter,
-Hahaha. Ramter, you stingy guy!
-Exactly!
Kaiser and Kellion mocked Ramter.
-Eek! Then how much did you guys put in?!
Provoked by their teasing, Ramter raised his voice and asked,
-5…
-5…
Kaiser and Kellion hesitated, only mentioning the first digit, unable to give a full answer.
They didn’t want to be teased for putting in less money than the other.
-Come on, Sejun, hurry and check.
“Okay.”
Eventually, Ramter, feeling impatient, urged Sejun,
“56 billion Tower Coins, 58 billion Tower Coins.”
Sejun confirmed the remaining money bags.
-………
Kaiser grimaced silently at Sejun’s words,
-Hahaha! Stingy guys!
Kellion became triumphant and started mocking Kaiser and Ramter in earnest.
And then,
-Sejun, since these guys are stingy, let’s just trade the black beans between us next time.
-You, get out!
-Yeah! Kaiser, kick him out!
Kellion nearly got chased out of the Black Tower for provoking them unnecessarily.
-Hahaha. It was obviously a joke. Shall we have a drink?
-Uhem. Shall we?
-Let’s do it!
Kellion had no choice but to appease their anger with his treasured liquor.
In the end, Kellion lost both money and liquor.
As the dragons went to drink,
“Chairman Park, I want to burn some money, meow!”
Theo, with sparkling eyes, said while looking at Sejun’s money bag. It’s tempting, meow!
“Alright. Should I give you 100 million Tower Coins?”
“Puhuhut. No, meow! I can burn more money now, meow!”
Thanks to the talent: Energy Drain, Theo became stronger by absorbing energy from his surroundings.
Because of this, the amount of money he could burn at once had increased.
“Then 200 million?”
“That’s right, meow!”
“Here.”
Having plenty of money, Sejun happily gave Theo 200 million Tower Coins.
“Thank you, meow!”
Poof!
Theo turned golden as he burned the money Sejun gave him.
“Puhuhut. I am none other than the Golden Cat Theo Park, meow!”
Theo was feeling smug after burning money for the first time in a while.
“Vice Chairman Theo, go run an errand.”
Sejun said, looking at Theo.
It’s almost been a year since he got stranded in the tower.
So, he planned to invite the founding members of the farm for a modest party to celebrate surviving a year.
“Meow?”
Hearing Sejun’s words, Theo, who was glowing golden and feeling smug, suddenly drooped his ears and looked dejected. The golden glow faded.
And then, he looked at Sejun with the most pitiful expression. Can’t I just not go, meow?
“Nope. You can’t. Go right after breakfast.”
“Che. Got it, meow!”
Realizing his act didn’t work,
Flop.
“Chairman Park, pet my belly and feed me Churu before I go, meow!”
Theo decided to enjoy everything he could on Sejun’s lap before leaving.
A little later,
“Chairman Park, I’ll be back, meow!”
“Alright. Take care.”
Piyo!
[Chairman Sejun, I’ll be back too!]
“Alright. Piyot, take care as well.”
Theo and Piyot went down the tower, receiving Sejun’s farewell.
Sejun thought of the modest party.
However,
“Puhuhut. Did you hear that, Piyot? It’s a party, meow!”
Piyo! Piyo!
[Puhuhut! It’s a party!]
If that was the plan, sending Theo and Piyot down was a mistake.
The news of an event for Sejun had already spread throughout the 99th floor below, thanks to the Silver Wolves.
Thanks to that, the lower floors were busy preparing for the party.
“Puhuhut. A party for Chairman Park must be grand and magnificent, meow!”
With Theo joining in, the modest party Sejun had in mind was long gone.
“Time for quest.”
Unaware of all this, Sejun, who had bid farewell to them, opened his void storage to complete a job quest,
Rustle.
And took out a pile of corn.
And then,
Pluck. Pluck.
He started detaching each kernel of corn.
[You have obtained a Corn Seed.]
[Your job experience points increase slightly.]
[Your proficiency of Seed Harvesting Lv. 7 has slightly increased.]
[You must use the Seed Harvesting skill 999,999 more times to complete the job quest.]
…
..
.
“……”
Pluck. Pluck.
Sejun silently continued seed harvesting.
[Your proficiency of Seed Harvesting Lv. 7 has filled and the level has increased.]
“Huhuhu.”
The Seed Harvesting skill reaching level 8 brought Sejun a sense of satisfaction.
And then,
Pluck. Pluck.
As Sejun focused back on his work,
[Due to Seed Harvesting Lv. 8 effect, you have obtained a Sticky Corn Seed.]
[Your job experience points increase slightly.]
[Your proficiency of Seed Harvesting Lv. 8 has slightly increased.]
[You must use the Seed Harvesting skill 991,281 more times to complete the job quest.]
“Huh?! Sticky Corn Seed?”
He obtained a new variety of seeds.
– When harvesting, there’s a very low chance to obtain a new variety of seeds.
Thanks to the newly added effect from Seed Harvesting skill reaching level 8.
No achievement message appeared. It seemed that harvesting the fruit was necessary for it to be recognized as an achievement.
“Great!”
Sejun went to the Golden Tree Stump Pot of Abundance, holding the Sticky Corn Seed with a happy heart.
Because planting it in the Golden Tree Stump Pot of of Abundance, which speeds up growth by ten times, would allow for quicker harvesting.
However,
“Huh?!”
The Golden Tree Stump Pot of Abundance, where rice had been planted, was almost losing its golden glow.
The power of abundance had been used up.
Sejun considered using <Power: Abundance> for a moment but decided,
“No… let’s just wait.”
He chose to wait for the power of abundance to replenish itself naturally.
The Golden Tree Stump Pot of Abundance was miraculous. It seemed like it would be too much for his ordinary(?) vitality to handle.
“Still, it’s a relief.”
Looking at the well-ripened golden rice, Sejun said,
“Sticky, you stay here for a moment.”
[You have planted the Sticky Corn Seed in the land imbued with magic.]
[Your job experience points have slightly increased.]
[Due to the sound of the farmer’s footsteps, the effect of Magic Seed Sowing Lv. 8 has been enhanced.]
[Due to the effect of Magic Seed Sowing Lv. 8, the growth speed of the rice doubles for 24 hours.]
[Your proficiency of Magic Seed Sowing Lv. 8 has slightly increased.]
Sejun planted the Sticky Corn Seed in a corner of the field and
Swish. Swish.
He took out a sickle and began harvesting the rice.
Kkwek.
Kkwek.
In the meantime, Mushroom Ants approached and
Crunch. Crunch.
They husked the harvested rice with their front teeth, producing white rice.
“Hehehe. Today it’s soy sauce egg rice. Sss.”
Swish. Swish.
Thinking of mixing the white rice with soy sauce and a raw egg, Sejun drooled and harvested the rice with even more enthusiasm.
***
“Meow meow meow.”
Piyo. Piyiyo!
Theo and Piyot were humming a tune as they went down the tower.
Then,
“Meow?!”
Piyo!
[Theo~nim, it’s a crossroad!]
A crossroad appeared before them again.
“Puhuhut. This way, meow!”
Theo confidently headed towards the right path.
Knowing that pondering longer wouldn’t necessarily lead to a better answer, Theo just guessed.
As Theo and Piyot passed,
Thump.
The right path closed, and the face of a snake sealed shut.
-It’ll be fine, right?
Inside him, Fenrir was transforming his body to enter the Black Tower.
-Well… He’ll figure it out.
Creak.
The fragment of Jǫrmungandr opened its mouth again, waiting for its next prey.
Thus, Theo and Piyot entered the belly of Jǫrmungandr again.
Sss. Sss.
White snakes appeared before them.
Papapak!
“Piyot, pick up the coins, meow!”
Theo defeated the white snakes, and
Piyo!
[Yes!]
Peck. Peck.
Piyot followed Theo, picking up the white coins.
“Meow meow meow.”
Theo kept defeating the white snakes blocking the way and continued to run forward.
Piyo?
[Theo~nim, why aren’t we leaving right away?]
Piyot asked, seeing Theo continue to walk despite knowing it wasn’t the right way.
“Puhuhut. There’s something here, meow.”
Theo laughed and replied.
Theo was about to use One-Meow Slash to escape as soon as the white snakes appeared.
However,
“Meow?!”
Theo felt an attraction pulling his front paws and decided to follow the path.
As Theo and Piyot followed the path,
Oink!
A familiar scream came from the opposite side.
“Meow?! That sound? Let’s go, Piyot, meow!”
Theo hurried towards the source of the sound.
And then,
“Theo~nim, please save me!”
Uren, who had once again taken the wrong path, had been trapped inside the body of a fragment of Jǫrmungandr for days and was in danger of dying.
“Puhuhut. Uren, you need money to escape from here, meow! Hand over the money, meow!”
Theo, thinking his front paws were drawn to Uren, boldly extended his paw and demanded money.
“Of course! I’ll give you as much as you need!”
True to his status as an icon of misfortune and gullibility, Uren took out all the money bags he had on him and handed them over to Theo.
Receiving 20 money bags. 20 billion Tower Coins.
“Puhuhut. Let’s get out of here, meow!”
Theo burned all the money inside the bags.
Poof.
Theo, shining so brightly in gold that it was dazzling. Puhuhut. Indeed, money burns the best when it’s burned, meow!
And then,
Snap.
He pulled out the dragon claw on his right front paw,
Swoosh!
And swung it with overflowing energy. One-Meow Slash, meow!
……
There was no sound, but the magical claw’s threat made the surrounding animals shiver with goosebumps.
A few seconds later,
Zzzzzz.
Five lines were drawn across the fragment of Jǫrmungandr, splitting it into six pieces,
Sssss.
And it turned into dust and disappeared.
Clang.
“Piyot, pick up the coins, meow!”
Piyo!
[Yes!]
Piyot swiftly flew around, picking up the white coins.
Then,
Piyo?
Piyot’s eyes caught sight of an animal with dark Indigo fur falling.
Whimper!
The young animal flailing with its short legs. Puhuhut. You’re my subordinate now!
Snap!
Piyot gracefully caught the dark Indigo animal,
Piyo!
And diligently flew back to Theo with it.
Whimper!
“What’s this, a dog, meow?”
Theo, grabbing the front paw of the dog(?) that was giving him a hostile look,
Press.
Stamped its paw on a contract. He felt a strong attraction coming from this dog.
“Puhuhut. Everything has its use once you get its stamp, meow!”
Theo laughed, looking at Fenrir.
*****
6/10
