“Kneel, all of you!”
Boom.
As Ajax’s magic-filled shout echoed, the soldiers of the Caiman Kingdom found themselves kneeling involuntarily.
And then,
“I greet the great White Dragon!”
Terrified, one of the soldiers prostrated himself before Ajax, paying his respects.
“I greet the great White Dragon!”
Other soldiers hurried to pay their respects as well. It was like a collapsing domino effect.
Once the 300,000 soldiers of the Caiman Kingdom were subdued,
“Hehehe. Sejun hyung, you saw my power, right?”
Ajax looked at Sejun with pride.
“Yeah. I saw it well. Seal.”
Sejun nodded and sealed Ajax. Ajax, hyung is tired.
Sejun, having hit all stats at 1000 and his resistance to other energies increased by 10%, was less tired than before, but it was still hard.
“Hehehe. Now I’m the second-in-command, right?”
Ajax, now small again, boasted to Theo and Cuengi.
However,
“Puhuhut. That’s not possible, meow! If I, Vice Chairman Theo, had used my secret technique, it would have been my victory, meow!”
Kueng!
[That’s right! Cuengi also didn’t use his hidden technique, Cuengi’s Destruction Fist!]
Since they hadn’t used their full power, neither recognized Ajax as the second-in-command.
“Eeek! I’m the second-in-command!”
“No, meow! I, Vice Chairman Theo, am the second-in-command, meow!”
Kueng!
[Cuengi is the second-in-command!]
As the three were about to argue about who was the second-in-command,
“Kids, go and heal the hedgehogs.”
Sejun asked them to treat the hedgehogs.
Then,
“Puhuhut. Understood, meow! Hedgehogs come to me, Vice Chairman Theo, who has the best medical skills, meow!”
Theo called over the hedgehogs from Sejun’s knees and healed them with a healing spell.
Kueng! Kueng! Kueng!
[No! Cuengi has the best medical skills! Cuengi will give a good massage with physical magic power!]
Cuengi moved around among the hedgehogs, healing those that were having difficulty moving with physical magic power massages.
And then,
Snort…
“Consider it an honor that I am treating you. Recovery!”
Ajax treated the critically injured hedgehogs.
The three of them, who had been growling at each other until a moment ago, now worked together so well in treating the hedgehogs according to their condition.
A short while later,
Gurr.
Gurr.
The sound of the hedgehogs snoring en masse filled the chestnut tree farm.
Having been relieved of their pain through treatment, they fell asleep all at once due to the fatigue that had accumulated.
Meanwhile, Theo and Cuengi started collecting signatures on a contract,
“Puhuhut. We got a lot of slaves, meow!”
Kueng!
[Stamp it!]
They began to collect stamps from the Caiman Kingdom soldiers who had been prostrating until then.
Then,
“Meow?”
Chuk.
Theo silently extended his front paw to one of the soldiers.
“Huh?! What…”
The perplexed soldier.
“Puhuhut. I, Vice Chairman Theo, know you have something! Hand it over quickly, meow!”
Theo grinned ominously at the soldier.
Then,
“Sigh…”
Shuk.
The soldier, resigned, pulled out a black orb from his belongings.
Snatch.
Theo snatched the orb from the soldier’s hand and ran excitedly to Sejun. Chairman Park, here I come, meow!
And then,
Chak.
“Puhuhut. Chairman Park, I’ve got something good, meow!”
Theo handed the black orb to Sejun.
[King of Caiman’s Inner Core]
“Huh? This is?”
It was the inner core that had fallen from Croker upon his death. The soldier had secretly picked it up when it flew towards him.
Meanwhile,
Plop.
Now, rub my belly, meow! Theo lay on Sejun’s knees.
Stroke. Stroke.
Sejun silently stroked Theo’s belly while examining the inner core.
[King of Caiman’s Inner Core]
→ This is the inner core that the Kings of Caiman Kingdom have kept through generations.
→ The magical power of the previous kings has been accumulating in the inner core, containing about 2500 years worth of practice.
→ Upon consumption, you gain a total of 1000 bonus stats. (If consumed by beings with magic power less than 2500, the inner core will absorb all stats from them instead.)
→ Upon consumption, your level increases by 5.
→ Usage Restriction: Lv. 100 or above, All stats 2500 or above
→ Grade: ★★★
“Wow… There’s something beyond level 100…”
Sejun realized that there was a level beyond 100 as he read the usage restriction.
“But this is impressive.”
Sejun remarked as he fiddled with the inner core.
Despite the incredibly high usage conditions, the effects of +1000 bonus stats and +5 levels made it all seem reasonable.
Moreover, it had three stars, which were known to be stronger than SSS grade. It meant it was an incredible item.
“Vice Chairman Theo, good job.”
Stroke. Stroke.
Sejun praised Theo as he diligently stroked Theo’s belly.
“Puhuhut. That’s it, meow! Work harder, meow!”
Theo enjoyed Sejun’s touch.
“Right, meow! I also picked this up earlier, meow!”
Theo pulled out Fenrir’s core that he had put in his bag earlier.
[??’s Core Fragment]
“Is this an unappraised item?”
Chuk.
Sejun grabbed the thumbnail-sized core fragment to send it to Aileen for appraisal.
Then,
[You have acquired a fragment of the door leading to the 10th Tower.]
A message appeared in front of Sejun,
Swish.
And a fist-sized brown wooden piece separated from the core fragment.
It was a piece of the door leading to the 10th Tower that Fenrir had torn off and eaten in the past.
“Huh?!”
What? Was there no door to the 10th Tower?! Sejun was baffled as he examined the brown piece.
[A Fragment of the Door Leading to the 10th Tower]
→ It is one of the fragments of the door leading to the 10th Tower.
→ Currently, the door is broken into 5 pieces, making it impossible to create a path to the 10th Tower.
→ Usage Restriction: The one who holds the key to the 10th Tower
→ Grade: Unmeasurable
The door broke into five pieces?
“So, then that means I have to find 4 more pieces?”
This made Sejun’s journey to the 10th Tower significantly more troublesome.
At that moment,
Kking!
‘My core! Hey! That’s mine!’
Fenrir, the culprit who made things troublesome for Sejun, woke up and claimed ownership of the core,
Chomp.
and bit the core in Sejun’s hand.
However,
“Blackie, no, meow!”
Whack!
Theo hit Fenrir on the back of the neck to make him spit out the core.
Chuk.
“Good job.”
Sejun caught the core that Fenrir spat out.
And,
“Blackie, you wanted to eat this, huh? Understood.”
Shove.
Sejun put a black bead into Fenrir’s mouth. It was royal jelly that the Poisonous Queen Bee had upgraded in effect and bitterness.
Kking…
‘This isn’t my core…’
Fenrir ate the black royal jelly and passed out from the intense bitterness. It might have been karma.
Tap.
“Blackie, sleep well.”
Sejun put the unconscious Fenrir in his pocket,
“Aileen, please appraise this.”
and asked Aileen for appraisal.
[The tower’s administrator tells you to entrust it to her.]
Thus, Fenrir’s core fragment was handed over to Aileen’s care.
***
White Dragon’s Territory.
Thud.
A giant green dragon landed. It was Brachio. She had come to see Kellion, the one she was closest to among the four dragon tribes.
“Brachio, what brings you here?”
Kellion asked Brachio.
“Kellion, I came to ask you something.”
“Ask me? What about?”
“Yes. Recently, the activities of the white, black, red, and purple dragons have been lively. Do you know why?”
“Huh?! Why, you ask? It’s just to reduce the power of destruction a bit.”
Kellion answered, slightly avoiding Brachio’s persistent gaze.
“Really?”
Brachio asked again.
“…Yes.”
Kellion tried to sound nonchalant, but it was clear he was lying.
“Then, can you swear on your name?”
“No. You don’t just swear on your name whenever.”
“Then, in exchange for swearing on your name, I’ll grant you two favors.”
“…I don’t want to.”
“As I thought… you’re hiding something.”
“I told you I’m not! Ahem. I should go to sleep now.”
A clear invitation to leave.
“There’s something…”
Brachio, suspicious of Kellion’s departing figure, went to find Ramter, his next closest friend.
***
“Puhuhut. Chairman Park, we got all the stamps, meow!”
Kueng!
[Dad, all done!]
After playing on Sejun’s lap by himself, Theo, when caught by Cuengi, went back to stamping and has now returned after finishing stamping the rest with Cuengi.
Thanks to the hedgehogs that woke up in the meantime, it didn’t take too long.
By the way, Ajax was harvesting chestnuts under Sejun’s orders.
“Good work. Godori, these guys are yours to command now.”
Sejun handed over the 300,000 soldiers of the Caiman Kingdom to Godori.
Kweet!
[Thank you!]
Kweet. Kweet.
Godori and the hedgehogs felt honored by Sejun’s words.
“But what about the Caiman Kingdom?”
As Sejun pondered over what to do with the Caiman Kingdom on the 84th floor of the tower,
“Kyoooot! Huh?! Where is this?”
Iona, who had been sleeping soundly on Theo’s tail without knowing anything, stretched lazily and asked after waking up.
The surroundings had completely changed while she was asleep.
“Puhuhut. Iona, did you sleep well, meow? This is the 83rd floor of the tower…”
As Theo explained how they ended up here to Iona,
“Kyoo-kyoo-kyoo. Those bad guys! If I hadn’t been asleep, I would have dropped a meteor on them. But since the enemy has already surrendered…”
Iona spoke with a tone of regret after hearing the story.
“Puhuhut. Don’t be disappointed, Iona! Bad guys will appear again, meow!”
“Kyoot Kyoot Kyoot. Yes!”
As the two were talking,
“Guys, let’s go back.”
Sejun got ready to return.
Although the 83rd floor suffered a lot of damage, with the sturdy 300,000 slaves, it would be quickly repaired.
On top of that, he planned to send Theo to the 84th floor to receive war reparations from the Caiman Kingdom, so there were sufficient funds.
Thus, without realizing it himself, Theo was set to go to the Caiman Kingdom on the 84th floor.
“Vice Chairman Theo, have a good trip.”
“Meow?! Where am I going, meow?”
“Yeah. Go to the 84th floor and bring back a hefty compensation.”
“Meow! Understood, meow! Leave it to me, meow!”
Initially reluctant, Theo confidently answered. Puhuhut. This is my specialty, meow!
“Chairman Park, I’ll be off then, meow!”
“Kyoot Kyoot Kyoot! I’ll go too!”
“Okay. Have a safe trip!”
With Sejun’s farewell, Theo, with Iona on his tail, cheerfully headed towards the 84th floor.
And then,
“Toryong!”
Sejun called for Toryong and headed towards the waypoint.
A moment later,
[Moving to the 99th floor of the Black Tower.]
Sejun returned to the 99th floor of the tower.
***
Black Tower’s Administrator Area.
[1st Seat of Apostle of Destruction, Fenrir’s Core Fragment]
→ This is a fragment of Fenrir’s core, the 1st Seat among the Apostles of Destruction.
→ It contains 0.01% of his total power.
→ If the power of destruction within is not removed, you will be consumed by it.
“Why is Fenrir’s core here?”
Aileen wondered aloud after the appraisal of the core was completed.
However, that concern was brief,
“But in this state, our Sejun can’t use it, right?”
She began to ponder if there was a way for Sejun to use the core.
And then,
“Alright! First, let’s try to remove the power of destruction inside!”
She started to infuse magic power into the core fragment to eliminate the power of destruction within.
As some of the power of destruction was removed from the core,
Clatter.
Suddenly, tower coins piled up around the core. It worked on the same principle as eliminating the red mist.
“Huh?! These are tower coins?! Kehihihi. Sejun, just wait a bit! I’ll bring you a lot of money!”
Wooong.
Aileen began to use her magic power in earnest to annihilate the destruction in Fenrir’s core fragment,
Clatter.
and tower coins began to pile up in the Black Tower’s Administrator Area.
*****
