TL: Hanguk
Black Tower, 63rd Floor, Simon Village.
“Excuse me, do you know where Olivo~nim lives?”
“Ah, Olivo’s house is… see that Simon Mountain over there? If you follow this path straight toward the mountain, you’ll find it.”
“Thank you.”
As Sejun followed the villager’s directions to Olivo’s house,
“Stop right there!”
Someone called out to Sejun and his group from behind.
“Huh?!”
“Hey! You evil cat! How dare you hit Lord Haeta on the back of the head and just leave?!”
Haeta, the boss of the 63rd floor of the Tower, was pointing at Theo and shouting.
He had been left behind at the waypoint because waking him up was too troublesome. But, unaware that he had become an employee of Sejun Company, he seemed to have come back for revenge.
And,
“Are those the ones?”
Beside Haeta stood a Stone Lizardman, taller than Haeta by a whole head.
It was Haeta’s father, Haerova, the lord who governed Simon Village and the surrounding areas.
“You scoundrels! How dare you hit my son?! Bring them to me and make them kneel before me!”
“Yes, sir!”
At Haerova’s command, 1,000 Lizardman soldiers surrounded Sejun and his party, closing in on them.
Moments later.
“Puhuhut. Stamp him, meow!”
Theo stamped Haerova’s forehead with the company seal, and Haeta became a filial son who even got his father hired by Sejun Company.
“You… you bastard… I’ll see at home….”
Haerova gritted his teeth as he glared at Haeta .
But,
“Haerova, you can’t speak informally to your senior! From now on, speak respectfully to Haeta!”
Theo stepped in to organize the hierarchy.
At Sejun Company, rankings were determined by the order of joining until promotion, so…
Thanks to this, Haeta became a higher-ranking employee than Haerova, and their family hierarchy became completely tangled.
Although, compared to the tangled hierarchy of the Blackie Family, it wasn’t much.
“Puhuhut. That means all the villages Haerova manages now belong to the great hybrid Chairman Park, meow!”
Theo took over all the villages under Haerova’s control as well.
“Well then, good luck.”
“Puhuhut. Work hard, meow!”
Sejun and his companions left Haerova and Haeta behind and continued on their way to find Olivo.
Once Sejun and his group left,
“Come with me immediately!”
“Um… Theo~nim said to speak respectfully….”
“Ah. Haeta~nim, please come with me.”
“Hehe. Shall I?”
Haeta, oblivious to the situation, followed Haerova meekly.
Pabubuk!
“Dad, please spare me!”
“Theo~nim said to speak respectfully, but he didn’t say not to hit you!”
Haeta was beaten to a pulp by Haerova at home.
***
“Is that the house?”
“Puhuhut. Seems like it, meow!”
Sejun looked at a shabby house located at the entrance of Simon Mountain.
As they drew closer to the house,
Bang!
The door burst open violently, and Olivo rushed out with a panicked expression.
“Huh?! Olivo~nim.”
When Sejun called out,
“Ah, Sejun~nim, please help me!”
Olivo dropped to his knees in front of Sejun and desperately pleaded for help.
“Huh?! Please get up for now. What’s going on?”
“Puhuhut. Don’t hesitate and tell our great hybrid Chairman Park everything, meow! Chairman Park can solve it all, meow!”
“Yes, well….”
Encouraged by Sejun and Theo, Olivo began to explain the situation.
Yesterday, while returning home with his family after picking cinnamon fruits on Simon Mountain, his daughter had been bitten on the leg by a Stone Poison Snake.
She was now suffering from petrification poison and was on the brink of death.
Even now, her condition was worsening, and Olivo had been on his way to find a healer when he saw Sejun and desperately sought his help, like grasping at straws.
“Petrification poison? Let me see her first.”
At the mention of poison, Sejun confidently stepped up.
He had plenty of Detoxifying Green Onions in stock, so his confidence was overflowing.
“Yes! She’s at home right now!”
Following Olivo’s guidance, Sejun and his group entered Olivo’s house.
“Honey, someone has come to treat Ellie!”
“Welcome. Thank you for coming.”
“Yes, let me take a look at your daughter first.”
Olivo’s wife, who had been nursing their daughter, greeted Sejun.
And then,
Huff. Huff.
A young Lizard-girl lay unconscious on the bed, breathing heavily.
Her leg, bitten by a snake, had almost entirely turned to stone below the left knee.
Crunch. Crack.
The petrification was progressing rapidly.
At that moment,
“Mohehe. It smells delicious!”
Lick. Lick. Lick.
Poyo suddenly began licking Ellie’s petrified leg.
Poyo, whose main diet consisted of misfortune, also fed on curses and poisons, anything negative. Thanks to this, the progression of the petrification slowed down.
Though it turned out to be effective, it could have easily been misunderstood as something strange.
While Poyo licked Ellie’s leg, preventing the spread of the petrification poison,
Sejun pressed down hard on a Detoxifying Green Onion with both hands, squeezing out its juice.
Drip. Drip.
The green onion juice fell onto Ellie’s leg.
As it soaked into the petrified areas, the stone began to fade, and the leg gradually returned to its original green scales.
Kueng!
Swoosh.
Seeing what Sejun was doing, Cuengi also followed his lead, extracting green onion juice and sprinkling it on Ellie’s leg. Her leg recovered rapidly.
Shortly after,
“She’ll be fine now.”
“Sejun~nim, thank you so much. Here are some cinnamon seeds. Since you saved my daughter, I can’t accept any money for them.”
Olivo expressed his gratitude, handing the cinnamon seeds to Sejun.
In his heart, Olivo wished he could give Sejun money instead, but his financial situation didn’t allow it.
“No, it’s fine. Part of the responsibility for your daughter’s condition lies with me as well. Instead, I have a small favor to ask.”
“What is it?! I’ll do anything I can!”
Hearing that Sejun had a request, Olivo replied with determination in his voice, vowing to accomplish it no matter what.
“Can you guide me to the place where the cinnamon trees are?”
“Huh? That’s a very simple request….”
Olivo hesitated, feeling conflicted that the request was so trivial compared to the grace Sejun had shown him.
“Puhuhut. If you’re grateful to our great hybrid Chairman Park, then become an employee of Sejun Company, meow!”
Theo pulled out the company seal and spoke to Olivo.
“I’ll join.”
“Puhuhut. Good choice, meow!”
Stamp.
Olivo received the seal from Theo.
“Puhuhut. Since Olivo willingly accepted the stamp, he’ll start as a regular employee, meow!”
Thus, Olivo ended up with a higher position than Haerova, who was an intern, and even received a better salary.
“Then, I’ll guide you.”
Olivo led Sejun and his companions to the location of the cinnamon trees.
***
Outskirts of Destruction.
“What is that?”
Today, as usual, the great dragons ventured out to earn money for shopping at the Dragon Market. They discovered thick, sticky, red liquid masses writhing ominously.
Countless liquid masses stretched out before them. The sizes varied, but the closer they were to the Black Moon, the larger they became.
The great dragons, wary of the liquid masses, cautiously approached the nearest one.
When they closed the distance to about 10 kilometers,
Wriggle. Wriggle.
The liquid mass began to move violently, its shape shifting rapidly.
[Dragon of Destruction]
The mass took on the appearance of the great dragons, specifically mimicking the form of the nearest great red dragon, Ramir.
Though the liquid mass was smaller in size, it had clearly replicated Ramir’s image.
“How dare you imitate me?!”
Enraged, Ramir unleashed her breath attack toward the Dragon of Destruction that had copied her form.
Kuooo.
The Dragon of Destruction retaliated with its own breath attack.
The two breath attacks collided.
Naturally, the smaller Dragon of Destruction couldn’t hold up against Ramir’s breath attack.
Boom!
Ramir’s breath overwhelmed the Dragon of Destruction’s attack, destroying it.
However,
Wriggle. Wriggle.
The liquid fragments of the destroyed Dragon of Destruction didn’t vanish. Instead, they slowly began to regroup.
And,
Kuooo.
Kuooo.
Similar situations unfolded in the surrounding area. The great dragons were battling Dragons of Destruction that had taken on their own forms.
At that moment,
“Huh?!”
Ramir noticed something strange.
Around Jǫrmungandr’s body, where <Earthworm> was, the liquid masses vanished completely after being hit by breath attacks.
Because the World Tree from the <Earthworm> and the Energy of Creation produced by the Destruction Devourers were flowing out of Jǫrmungandr’s mouth.
The liquid touched by the Energy of Creation could not regenerate once destroyed.
Clang.
Clang.
Moreover, possibly because its density was higher than the Energy of Destruction, more Tower Coins were dropping.
Perfect! That’s the way!
“Everyone, gather around Jǫrmungandr’s body! We can annihilate them in that area!”
At Ramir’s command, the group quickly positioned themselves around Jǫrmungandr’s body.
Kuooo.
They began hunting the Dragons of Destruction.
Thanks to this, the Dragon Market’s sales skyrocketed by 100%.
***
Black Tower, 63rd Floor, Simon Mountain.
“Ugh, up you go!”
As Sejun grabbed hold of a cinnamon tree and pulled with all his strength,
Snap!
The cinnamon tree began to come out with its roots intact.
Then,
[Your proficiency in Transplanting Lv. 5 has slightly increased.]
[Due to the effect of Transplanting Lv. 5, the roots have not been damaged.]
[Due to the effect of Transplanting Lv. 5, the cinnamon tree will remain in a stable condition for 5 hours.]
A series of messages appeared.
Now, Sejun was strong enough to easily pull out small trees by sheer force.
Hehe. I’m pretty strong, huh?
“Transplanting!”
Feeling smug, Sejun uprooted another cinnamon tree.
Kueng!
[Cuengi will help Dad!]
Shuk. Shuk.
Of course, Sejun quickly felt a sense of futility when he saw Cuengi pulling out cinnamon trees as easily as if he were picking radishes.
But still, none of my roots broke!
Sejun comforted himself by looking at the intact roots of his tree.
The difference between 99% and 100% may have seemed small, but it was significant to Sejun.
After Sejun and his group uprooted 50 cinnamon trees and stored them in the Void Storage,
“Sejun~nim, why don’t you come to my house for a meal?”
Olivo invited Sejun and his group for dinner.
“Should we?”
Sejun, planning to check Ellie’s condition one more time before leaving, gladly accepted Olivo’s invitation.
They descended Simon Mountain and headed to Olivo’s home.
Dinner consisted of flour bread and soup with a little meat.
The food was decent enough, but,
Why is she staring at me like that?
Sejun found it difficult to eat properly because Ellie was staring at him intently.
At that moment,
“Sejun oppa, how old are you?”
“27.”
Ellie asked with a resolute look on her face.
“You’re 10 years older than me. Hehe. But that’s okay.”
“Huh? What is?”
“Getting married…”
“Oh! You mean your legs are cramping?!”
Sejun suddenly raised his voice, interrupting Ellie mid-sentence.
He had gone through the trouble of saving her, he couldn’t risk letting her die again.
I hope Aileen didn’t hear that.
While Sejun cautiously looked around,
“Eek!”
Shiver. Shiver.
Ellie suddenly started trembling.
She heard it.
A moment later.
Ellie went to lie down in bed saying she wasn’t feeling well, and Sejun and his group headed to the waypoint to return home after finishing their meal.
On the way to the waypoint.
Now that I think about it… I just got confessed to.
“Hehe. I am quite popular.”
Feeling proud about receiving a confession, Sejun chuckled to himself.
But then,
“Huh?!”
He was struck by the realization that his face fit the aesthetic standards of the Lizard race.
“Vice Chairman Theo, give me a massage.”
Sejun, feeling the need for improvement, offered his face to Theo first, and
“Puhuhut. Got it, meow! But Chairman Park’s face is already at its best, meow!”
“……”
Sejun felt despair once again at Theo’s comment.
Kihihit. Kking!
[Hehe. Butler! We’ll give you a massage!]
One good deed succeeded with this!
Completely oblivious to Sejun’s feelings, the Blackie Family excitedly stepped on Sejun’s face, smearing it with dirt.
“Hey, you little rascals!”
104.28.193.250
Finally, an enraged Sejun grabbed the fleeing Blackie.
“Bububububup.”
[Butler is angry! Run away!]
He vented his frustration by blowing raspberries on Blackie’s belly.
“One good deed complete.”
Kking?
And so Blackie completed one good deed without knowing why, and
“As expected of the great Blackie~nim!”
Kkiruk!
Sharalang!
…
..
.
Following Blackie’s lead, the other subordinates presented their bellies to Sejun.
“Puhuhut.”
Kuehehehe.
Of course, Theo and Cuengi also lay on their backs, waiting for their turn.