TL: Hanguk
Outskirts of Destruction.
A crimson-red eye, forced wide open by four black fingers gripping the Black Moon door, rolled wildly as it scanned the outside.
And then,
“What have you two done?!”
After grasping the situation outside, Destruction angrily shouted at Jǫrmungandr and Hydra.
It was no wonder. Destruction only had two Apostles left, and the remaining forces consisted of just one ogre and two planet-destroying turtles.
“I’ll kill you!”
Crunch.
It intended to grab and kill them.
But the already-wide Black Moon door wouldn’t open any further, and Destruction’s thick arm couldn’t easily push forward.
“Arrgh! I’ll kill you!”
While Destruction lost its reason and struggled to shove its arm through the Black Moon,
……
……
Jǫrmungandr and Hydra could do nothing but tremble. Their minds went blank, and the thought of running away didn’t even occur to them.
For the first time, they understood why their prey hadn’t run away when faced with them.
An entity crushed by overwhelming power and fear was utterly helpless.
As they waited motionlessly, resigned to their fate at Destruction’s hands, Destruction’s massive, grotesque black hand approached them.
The hand came within just five meters of them when,
It halted.
Destruction’s hand stopped. No, it could no longer advance.
The size of the Black Moon door had a limit, and no matter how much force Destruction applied, it couldn’t push its arm in any further.
It was a stroke of tremendous luck. The short five-meter distance was what saved Jǫrmungandr and Hydra.
Crunch.
Destruction pulled its arm back.
“This is your last chance.”
Regaining some of its composure, Destruction moved away from the Black Moon door and left these parting words. The Black Moon door soon closed.
“Whew. We survived.”
Hydra exhaled in relief.
At that moment,
Chomp.
Jǫrmungandr opened its mouth wide and bit down on Hydra’s five heads.
“Jǫrmungandr… nim?”
You’re not serious, right?
Hydra’s remaining four heads turned toward Jǫrmungandr with a shocked expression.
But,
“Hydra, I’m sorry. But I need to survive.”
“You bastard! You-”
Crunch.
Jǫrmungandr opened its mouth even wider and swallowed Hydra’s remaining heads as they tried to resist.
Jǫrmungandr, the world-devouring serpent and 3rd seat of the Apostle of Destruction.
It had the Power of ‘Infinite Appetite’ that could devour anything and make the power of what it devoured its own.
On top of that, it had another power, <Power: Kin Devouring>, which amplified the effect fivefold when it consumed its own kind.
Until now, it had restrained itself out of fear of being killed by its comrades or Destruction. But this was no time for such concerns.
A short while later,
Gulp.
Jǫrmungandr completely swallowed Hydra, head and body alike.
“I should have done this sooner.”
Licking its lips, Jǫrmungandr savored the satisfaction of absorbing the power from Hydra’s body.
And then,
“Just wait a little. I’ll finish you all off.”
It grinned wickedly at <Earthworm>, a Level 10 World thrown out as bait by the Creator God, which was squirming before it.
***
34th Floor of the Brown Tower.
“Puhuhut. Let’s head back to the treasure vault, meow!”
“Yes!”
At Theo’s words, Ganess enthusiastically took the lead.
Terrifying yellow demon… It must have calculated everything, even my attempt to escape.
Ganess shuddered inwardly at Theo’s cunning, convinced he had anticipated his movements and had laid a trap while waiting.
As they approached the hideout of the Brown Demon Gang,
“Where is it?! Find that thieving cat bastard who stole the treasure, now!”
A furious shout echoed from the hideout.
The boss of the Brown Demon Gang, Rugal, was enraged at the robbery of their treasure vault and was furiously berating his subordinates.
And then,
“Meow?! Did you just call me, the right hand man of the great Chairman Park, Vice Chairman Theo, a cat bastard?!”
Are you looking down on our Chairman Park?!
Thwack.
Theo, upset at such a strange point, struck Rugal on the back of his head, forcing him into silence.
While Rugal was unconscious,
“Cuengi, let’s pack up the treasure.”
Kueng!
[Got it!]
Following Sejun’s instructions, Cuengi used telekinesis to transfer the treasures from the vault into the Void Storage.
“Ganess, by the way, is it okay to use the word ‘Brown’ so freely here in the Brown Tower?”
Sejun asked Ganess out of curiosity.
As far as he knew, the Great Dragons were very sensitive about descriptive modifiers like ‘Black’ or ‘White’ attached to their names.
“Ah, about that…”
Ganess began to explain.
According to Ganess, a thousand years ago, one of the Great Brown Dragons had joined a group called the Hot Warriors for fun.
When the Great Brown Dragon left, he was so pleased with his time with them that he revealed his identity and bestowed upon them the honor of using ‘Brown’ five times. ἈƝȎВÊꞩ
Thus, the Hot Brown Warriors were born.
The group considered the honor bestowed by the Great Brown Dragon to be sacred, and for 900 years, they never used the remaining four instances of the descriptor.
However, when the original leader passed away and his son, Rekron, became the new leader and the Hot Brown Warriors began to change.
Rekron framed or secretly eliminated warriors who opposed his views, filling the group with his loyal followers.
By the time the original members realized something was wrong, it was already too late.
Having completely seized control of the organization, Rekron established subordinate groups like the Brown Assassins, the Brown Demon Gang, and the Brown Outlaws to generate income.
These subordinate groups engaged in all sorts of atrocities to extort money.
Just having the descriptor ‘Brown’ attached to their name made them powerful wherever they went.
“Then what about the last usage? Where did they use the final ‘Brown’ descriptor?”
Since the explanation accounted for only four uses of the descriptor, Sejun asked about the last one.
“It’s said that the final ‘Brown’ descriptor was sold to the Brown Hyena Tribe, now the Brown Hyena Clan, for an enormous sum of money.”
“I see. But Ganess, how do you know so much about their internal affairs?”
“Well, actually, my father was the deputy leader of the Hot Brown Warriors, but he was dishonorably discharged because of Rekron. So, for revenge…”
Ganess began to share his story.
To clear his father’s name, Ganess had infiltrated the Brown Outlaws and was gathering evidence.
“But… will you be alright?”
As he spoke, Ganess began to worry about his own future and asked Sejun if he had a plan.
After all, no matter how strong the Yellow Demon was, he couldn’t possibly compare to a Great Dragon.
“About what?”
“…Don’t you realize what it means to use the descriptor ‘Brown’ in the Tower?”
When Sejun looked at him with a clueless expression, Ganess asked with a serious face.
“Does it mean that a dragon will get involved if we mess with it?”
“Yes, you’ll incur the wrath of the Great Brown Dragon.”
“Really?”
So, messing with these guys is essentially messing with the Brown Dragon?
‘But they messed with me?’
“Hehehe.”
Hearing Ganess’s answer, Sejun instead seemed pleased.
Maybe I could get some scales and claws as compensation?
This incident was practically giving Sejun a legitimate reason to act.
‘These guys with the “Brown” descriptor given by the Great Brown Dragon attacked me!’
If he reported this to the Four Dragons Council, the matter would be resolved instantly.
However,
“Since I’m an adult who can handle things alone, I should solve this like an adult.”
Sejun decided to handle it amicably(?) by himself first.
“Orik, come here.”
To start, he called for Orik, the Tower Farmer of the Brown Tower.
A moment later,
“Kelkelkel. Sejun-nim, you called for me?”
The Red Goblin Orik responded to Sejun’s summons, arriving with his laughter.
“Orik, tell Grave-nim. Tell him that Hot Brown Warriors tried to mess with me and ask how he plans to compensate me.”
“What?! The ‘Hot Brown Warriors’ dared to mess with Sejun-nim?!”
Kelkelkel. This is perfect.
Hearing Sejun’s words, Orik let out a wicked laugh.
The Great Brown Dragon Grave Renma was already displeased with the Hot Brown Warriors.
The reason? The honor of using the descriptor “Brown” had been granted to the Hot Warriors by Grave’s own son.
Even though Rekron caused chaos in the Tower, Grave couldn’t personally intervene because of the “Brown” descriptor bestowed by his son.
It had been reckless, but a Great Dragon’s promise was sacred, and breaking it was unthinkable.
But what if the Hot Brown Warriors provoked a being who possessed dragon bones?
That would give the dragon-bone-bearing individual a legitimate cause. While the descriptor “Brown” was important, it couldn’t compare to dragon bones.
In other words, Sejun now held the power of life and death over the Hot Brown Warriors.
When Orik reported what he had heard from Sejun to Grave,
“Great Brown Dragon Grave-nim says he will send 5,000 scales and 100 kilograms of claws as compensation. He also says you may deal with the Hot Brown Warriors however you please, Sejun-nim.”
Grave’s judgment was delivered.
“Hehehe. Is that so? Orik, then go capture the leader of the Hot Brown Warriors.”
“Kelkelkel. Yes! I’ll beat him like a dog and bring him to you!”
Orik, subtly mixing his personal vendetta into Sejun’s order, showed how much resentment he had built up against Rekron.
“Alright.”
Sejun turned a blind eye to Orik’s words.
“Kelkelkel.”
And so, Orik left with a sly laugh after receiving Sejun’s command.
What… just happened?
Ganess, who had been watching from the sidelines, was utterly baffled.
With just a few words, Sejun had caused the Great Brown Dragon to send scales and claws as compensation, and the Hot Brown Warriors had been turned into criminals.
This one’s a demon too. A black demon.
Ganess shuddered in fear as he looked at Sejun.
“Ganess, by the way, where’s the best place to do business on the 34th floor of the Tower?”
Sejun asked Ganess for information about the 34th floor. Treasures were great, but he needed to do business to keep earning money afterward.
“Hmm… there’s a village called ‘Wegil’ to the west. It’s the most active commercial hub on the 34th floor.”
“Wegil Village.”
Sejun repeated the name to commit it to memory.
“Oh, and when you head to Wegil Village, you’ll come across areas with red ground. Those are quicksand. Don’t try to cross them; go around.”
Ganess warned him about the quicksand along the way.
At that moment,
Twitch.
“Meow?!”
Theo, who had been grooming himself enthusiastically while clinging to Sejun’s knee, suddenly had his ears perk up involuntarily.
“Ganess, say that again, meow!”
Theo, sensing something, urged Ganess to repeat himself.
“Huh?! Again? Oh, um… I was saying, when you go to Wegil Village, you should avoid the quicksand…”
Ganess repeated his earlier words.
Twitch.
104.28.193.250
Again, Theo’s ears perked up involuntarily.
And then,
Puhuhut. It feels similar to a pull, meow!
Theo realized what was happening.
He had developed a new ability, a Twitch Radar that responded to clues about places he was drawn to based on the information he heard.
“Puhuhut. Chairman Park, we need to go to the quicksand, meow!”
“Quicksand?”
Twitch.
“That’s right, meow! My ears keep reacting every time I hear the word quicksand, meow!”
“Got it.”
If Theo said so, Sejun trusted Theo’s words without hesitation.
No. I absolutely won’t believe you when you say my face is ugly!
Sejun trusted Theo about almost everything else.
After completely looting both the treasure vault and a smaller stash Ganess had pointed out, they headed toward Wegil Village, where the quicksand was said to be.
“This must be it.”
Sejun looked at the patches of red ground, large and small, and spoke.
And then,
Whoosh.
He picked up a stone nearby and tossed it onto the red ground.
Sink…
The stone sank slowly.
It was definitely quicksand.
And then,
“Puhuhut. Great hybrid Chairman Park, my front paws are being pulled, meow!”
Even Theo’s front paws were being drawn downward, as if magnetized.
A moment later,
Kueng!
[Dad, I found it!]
Boom!
The 100-meter-tall, gigantified Cuengi dug up the quicksand with his massive front paw and pulled out a gray stone tablet, placing it on the ground.
[Creator God’s Tablet.]
The Creator God’s Tablet, buried within the Brown Tower, had finally revealed itself.
“Cuengi, great job finding the tablet! Vice Chairman Theo, you did great figuring this out too!”
“Puhuhut. Of course, meow! I worked hard, meow!”
Kueng!
When Park Sejun praised Theo and Cuengi for discovering the Creator God’s Tablet,
Kking?!
[Butler! What about me?!]
Blackie barked fiercely, demanding praise for himself too.
“Alright, Blackie, you’ve done a great job of eating well and sleeping well, looking cute as always.”
Sejun, despite having nothing specific to praise Blackie for, found a way to compliment him in his own way.
Kihihit.
Blackie was very happy.
And then,
Kihihit. Kking?! Kking!
[Hehe! Hey, everyone, did you hear what the butler said?! From now on, eat even better and sleep even more!]
“Yes!”
Kkiruk!
Sharalarang!
…
..
.
Thus, the Blackie family resolved to become even lazier.
*****
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