TL: Hanguk
99th Floor of the Black Tower.
“I’ll feed them quickly before Sejun-nim arrives!”
Flamie once again seized the opportunity of Sejun’s absence to visit the 99th floor of the tower.
[Flamie-nim, welcome!]
Podori greeted Flamie much more enthusiastically than usual.
[Flamie-nim, hello…!]
Next to Podori was another tree.
[Oh?! Sausage?!]
[Flamie-nim, Sausage tried to escape from Sejun-nim’s farm in secret!]
Podori, who had been waiting for Flamie to arrive, immediately tattled on Sausage’s misdeed.
[You tried to escape from Sejun-nim’s farm?! Sausage! Is this what I taught you?!]
[I… I’m sorry!]
Flamie exploded in fury and scolded Sausage with fiery reprimands.
And then,
Puhehe. Good.
Watching Sausage getting scolded, Podori was in a great mood.
A little while later.
[There’s no time! Eat quickly!]
[Yes!]
[Understood!]
After finishing her scolding, Flamie began feeding nutrients to both Podori and Sausage.
If it were any other day, Podori would have complained about feeling full after eating just a little.
It’s more bearable when eating with someone else.
With a companion eating the nutrients alongside him, Podori consumed the nutrients without any complaints.
[Nom. Nom.]
Sausage ate well, too.
[Oh! Podori, you’re eating well today!]
Flamie looked on in satisfaction as Podori ate properly without her nagging
Bzzzing.
Suddenly, Flamie felt a strong sense of foreboding.
[Oh?!]
Where is it?!
Flamie quickly sharpened her senses.
Sejun-nim?!
At the end of her heightened senses was Sejun.
Flamie had cast a tree spell on Sejun when they went on vacation so that she would know if he was in danger.
‘Sejun-nim is in danger!’
I won’t let anything that threatens Sejun-nim get away with it!
Flamie hurriedly moved her roots.
***
Outskirts of Destruction.
Bang!
‘Just a little more!’
Bang!
‘Almost there!’
Jǫrmungandr was desperately struggling to break through his barrier and ascend to the next level of power.
Originally, he had planned to break through the barrier in one go, using the tremendous power he gained by absorbing the remaining strength of the Hydra and the <Earthworm>.
I need to break through this barrier right now!
Unlike his usual lazy appearance, he became impatient due to the dragons approaching him while frantically shooting breaths toward Destruction.
With his current strength, he wouldn’t lose as easily as before, but the damage was already severe.
And if he were to die…
This time, Destruction wouldn’t revive him, making it even more critical.
As Jǫrmungandr struggled to break through the barrier with all his might,
Crunch.
‘What the hell is that now?!’
Whoosh.
From afar, a massive tree root slowly approached, burning the Dust of Destruction in its path.
The intense, murderous intent radiating from the root was far more dreadful than that of the dragons and made it clear, it wasn’t on his side.
If that thing arrives, there’s no way I can win!
Jǫrmungandr grew even more desperate.
Please!
With a desperate heart, he pushed his energy harder, attempting to break through the barrier.
Boom!
Boom!
Even with his increased desperation, the wall of the barrier wouldn’t budge.
And then,
…!
There was a different sensation this time, and Jǫrmungandr felt a faint crack forming in the barrier.
It’s working!
Seeing a glimmer of hope, Jǫrmungandr doubled down on his effort to break through the barrier.
BOOM!
Finally, the barrier wall broke apart.
“Kukuku! Finally, I too!”
Crack.
Jǫrmungandr’s eyes glowed red, and his body began to grow rapidly.
Of course, it wasn’t just his body that expanded.
Breaking through the barrier meant transcending his limits.
Having already reached the absolute final stage of his kind, Jǫrmungandr transcended once more, surpassing even the limits of his species.
Crack.
A horn sprouted from Jǫrmungandr’s head.
“I am now Jǫrmungandr, the Greed that Devours the World!”
Having ascended to a higher state, Jǫrmungandr roared as he proclaimed his new name.
His overwhelming presence dominated the surroundings.
Wherever Jǫrmungandr’s presence reached, his greed began to sap the strength of those within range.
“Our power is being drained!”
“Retreat!”
The mighty dragons hurriedly withdrew from Jǫrmungandr’s area of influence.
[The enemy will only grow stronger in this state!]
Flamie also quickly withdrew her roots and began encircling Jǫrmungandr with them.
***
Inside Jǫrmungandr’s Stomach.
Sejun, who had been eating meals and planting the Destruction Devourer Seeds, noticed a change.
At that moment,
Sssss!
The white snakes that were digestive cells grew horns on their heads and became stronger.
“Meow!”
Of course, they still weren’t a match for Sejun and his group.
[You’ve gained 1 million experience points, 50% of the experience points earned by Guard Park Theo.]
“Oh?! Experience points increased!”
While the snakes had grown stronger, the experience points gained from defeating them had doubled.
Hehehe. This is totally sweet.
Sejun smiled contentedly as he observed the increased experience points.
The outside world might have been a hellish battlefield, but inside this hellish stomach, it was a paradise.
Three days passed like this.
Thump! Thump!
The energy of creation overflowed into <Earthworm>, strengthening the defensive walls so much that the white snakes could no longer easily breach them.
“Hey everyone, time to eat!”
“Puhuhut. Good, meow!”
Kueng!
Kking!
“Yes, hyung!”
Thanks to this, Sejun and his group now had the leisure to gather for breakfast, lunch, and dinner together.
Ppuu!
[Sipdeokgu, water!]
104.28.193.250
Bebe!
[Sipdeokgu, milk!]
Ppuu!
[Sipdeokgu, refill!]
Of course, the youngest, Sipdeokgu, was kept busy running errands for Mukbupal and Besugu.
A little while later.
After lunch was over
Kueng!
[Dad, here’s your coffee!]
“Yes! Thank you!”
Slurp.
“Ahh.”
Sejun sipped the coffee that Cuengi had prepared for him.
“Puhuhut. Even I, Vice Chairman Theo, also drink coffee, meow! Churu coffee, meow!”
Kuehehehe. Kueng!
[Hehehe, Cuengi drinks Choco Milk Coffee!]
Kihihit. Kking!
[Hehe. Cuengi-hyung, thanks for making me Sweet Potato Milk Coffee!]
“Uhehehe. I’ve got Tomato Juice Coffee with honey!”
Following Sejun’s example, the others each grabbed their own version of “coffee” and settled themselves around Sejun.
“Keumeow!”
Kue.
Kkii.
“Kyaaa.”
After taking a big sip of their coffee, they all mimicked the sound Sejun made.
They enjoyed their coffee time together.
Purr.
Gororong.
Kurorong.
Kkirorong.
Arorong.
After taking a nap, Sejun and his group started their afternoon work again.
The afternoon tasks weren’t anything special.
Theo, Cuengi, and Ajax patrolled alongside the Earth Dragons around <Earthworm>, defeating white snakes that tried to breach the defensive walls.
[You’ve planted a Destruction Devourer Seed in the body of Hydra, the Nine-headed snake and 10th seat of the Apostles of Destruction.]
…
..
.
Sejun continued planting seeds.
When he ran out of Destruction Devourer Seeds, he planted other seeds or harvested the fruits from crops he had already planted.
It was almost no different from the life he had back in the Black Tower.
If there was one thing he missed, it was the lack of conversations with Aileen.
“It’s been so long since I last talked to Aileen.”
I really want to talk to her.
As Sejun missed conversations with Aileen,
Since I’m feeling down, I should eat something spicy for dinner tonight.
Pluck. Pluck.
He began harvesting well-ripened peppers.
At that moment,
[You’re a Field! Lv. 9 has been activated, inflicting additional damage.]
[You’re a Field! Lv. 9 has been activated, harvesting the stats of Hydra, the Nine-headed snake and 10th seat of the Apostles of Destruction.]
[Strength +10, Stamina +12, Agility +15, Magic Power +5.]
Stat harvesting was triggered.
Hydra had weakened, so not many stats were harvested.
Thus, Sejun continued harvesting chili peppers.
[You have gained 430 billion experience points.]
[You have leveled up.]
[You have obtained 1 bonus stat point.]
[Strength increases by 30.]
[Strength potential increases by 1%.]
Hydra’s body disappeared as its life force ran out.
And then,
[Job Quest: Improve the soil quality of 3.3 million square meters of land to the highest grade.]
Land with top-grade soil (0/3,300,000 square meters)
Reward: Level 151 unlocked, 100 billion Tower Coins, All Stats +300
Sejun received a job quest upon reaching level 150.
“This is easy.”
The quest was nothing more than what Sejun did every day while feeding the Earth Dragons, so it wasn’t difficult for him.
Each time he fed the Earth Dragons, he improved about 660,000 square meters of land to top-grade soil.
As time passed,
“Puhuhut. Time to clock out for the day, meow!”
Starting with Theo, Cuengi and Ajax returned to Sejun, clinging to his lap and sides. Together, they had dinner and fell asleep.
Late at night.
(Pip-pip. Good night, everyone!)
Paespaes woke up, ate the fruit lunchbox Sejun had prepared, and flew around <Earthworm>’s skies on patrol to check for any breaches by the white snakes.
(Pip-pip. All clear!)
After completing its patrol,
(Pip-pip!)
Whoosh.
Paespaes quickly flew and created a dimensional gate.
However, since they were inside Jǫrmungandr’s stomach, the dimensional gate attempts kept failing.
(Pip-pip! I won’t give up!)
Sejun-nim wants to see Aileen-nim!
Paespaes refused to give up.
Whoosh.
It kept trying to open the dimensional gate.
(Pip-pip! Success~!)
When a familiar location came into view, it cheered in excitement!
(Sejun-nim! I did it!)
Paespaes returned through the dimensional gate to <Earthworm> and informed Sejun.
“Oh?! It’s home!”
Sejun led his companions through the dimensional gate and returned to the 99th floor of the Black Tower. Finally, they slept at home.
***
The next morning.
“Alright.”
When Sejun opened his eyes,
[The Tower’s Administrator says tearfully that she thought she would never see you again after <Earthworm> was eaten by Jǫrmungandr.]
[The Tower’s Administrator…]
[The Tower’s Administrator…]
Aileen, who had been waiting for Sejun to wake up, bombarded him with rapid-fire words.
“Aileen, calm down.”
Sejun soothed Aileen and continued the conversation.
“Really? Jǫrmungandr got stronger?”
So that’s why the digestive cells got stronger too.
[The Tower’s Administrator says that’s why the grandfathers were making plans to rescue you and Ajax oppa.]
“Ah. Does Kellion-nim know Ajax is back too?”
“Really? Then let him know quickly.”
Given how much Kellion loves his grandson, he must be out of his mind right now.
[The Tower’s Administrator says she’ll be back quickly after telling him, so don’t go anywhere.]
“Okay, got it.”
After answering Aileen,
“Hehehe.”
Since Aileen told him not to go anywhere, Sejun stayed in bed, wiggling his toes under the blanket and relaxing.
Ah, this is nice.
In his arms were Theo, Cuengi, the Blackie family, and Ajax, all held tightly.
As Sejun was enjoying his healing morning time,
-Sejun! Are you hurt anywhere?!
-My grandson! Are you okay?!
-Aigo! Sejun, you’re alive!
-It’s such a relief that both Sejun and Ajax are safe!
The dragons of the Four Dragon Council, informed by Aileen of Sejun and Ajax’s return, stormed into Sejun’s bedroom.
The dragons thoroughly inspected Sejun and his companions, checking every corner of their bodies to ensure there were no injuries. Once they confirmed that nothing was amiss, they hurriedly left.
They needed to inform the other dragons of Sejun and Ajax’s safe return and prepare countermeasures against the suddenly strengthened Jǫrmungandr.
After the dragons departed,
Kuooong!
Kueng!
[It’s mom!]
Even Pink-fur came by to check on the condition of Sejun and Cuengi before leaving.
Once all the parents’ visits were over
“I’m hungry.”
Sejun and his companions ate breakfast.
And then,
“Aileen, we’ll be back.”
“Puhuhut. Aileen noona, we’ll be back, meow!”
With Aileen sending them off, Sejun, his companions, and Paespaes used the dimensional gate to head back to <Earthworm> for work.
As Sejun spent fulfilling days in <Earthworm>, defeating white snakes to gain experience, farming, and completing quests,
“Why can’t I digest it yet?! I can’t eat anything else because of this!”
Jǫrmungandr had indigestion and couldn’t swallow anything.
*****
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