Chapter 339: Phew, I Survived

[The Tower's Administrator says that the power of destruction she discovered has been extinguished.]

[The Tower's Administrator says that it seems the other Apostle of Destruction are also detectable with the destruction detector.]

[The Tower's Administrator apologizes for being unable to help.]

"It's okay. These things happen. If it weren't for Aileen, we wouldn't have even gotten this far."

Sejun comforted Aileen, who felt sorry, and they returned to the 99th floor of the tower.

[You have arrived at the 99th floor of the Black Tower.]

"Toryong."

-Yes, Master.

Sejun called Toryong to return to the farm.

Koogoogung.

On their way back to the farm riding Toryong,

Gororong.

Kurorong.

Arorong.

Kkirorong.

Pat. Pat.

"Aileen, do you think she arrived by now?"

Sejun, petting the sleeping Theo, Cuengi, Ajax, and Blackie in turns, asked Aileen.

[The Tower's Administrator says that Grandma Brachio should have arrived at the Green Tower by now.]

"Hehehe. Good."

At Aileen's response, Sejun smirked mischievously,

[The Tower's Administrator also smiles, saying she's also looking forward to the revenge.]

Aileen smiled ominously alongside Sejun, the two scheming something together.

A few hours earlier.

When Brachio arrived at the administrative area of the Black Tower, Aileen asked Sejun if they should make a deal with Brachio.

It was because Brachio had once tried to kidnap Sejun using a land deed as a trap.

"Hehehe. Treat her well... and at the end give her Elixir-grade Cherry Tomatoes."

I, Park Sejun, am a man with a big heart... as if. I return what I receive, doubled!

I'll take my revenge on the kidnapping with kidnapping!

[The Tower's Administrator says she understands.]

Aileen, who immediately grasped Sejun's intention, kindly explained how they would conduct the trade, which eased Brachio's wariness.

And then,

"Grandma Brachio, this is a gift. Please try planting these."

Aileen handed over 100 Elixir-grade Cherry Tomatoes to Brachio.

"Hohoho. Thank you, dear."

Unaware that they were actually bombs, Brachio took the Elixir-grade Cherry Tomatoes back to the Green Tower.

The moment she plants those tomatoes, something unimaginable will happen. Hehehe.

As Sejun eagerly awaited the fruition of his sweet revenge,

-Master, we have arrived.

Toryong announced their arrival at the farm.

"Yeah, thanks. Guys, wake up. It's time to eat."

Sejun, holding Theo, Cuengi, Ajax, and Blackie, headed to the kitchen.

Thump-Thump.

"Puhuhut. Chairman Park, take care of your face, meow! It's almost rotting, meow!"

Theo kneaded Sejun's face and,

Kueng!

[Cuengi's massage will make Dad stronger!]

"Hehehe! Hyung, I'll give you a massage too!"

Cuengi and Ajax took turns massaging Sejun's shoulders.

Kkirorong.

Fenrir was still asleep, exhausted from running hard earlier.

Receiving massages from the three, Sejun reached the kitchen.

"Wait for a bit."

Sejun hurriedly took out a pot and some corn to start cooking.

Chiiik.

First, he melted butter in the heated pot, then added the steamed corn cob, stirred it to ensure the butter soaked in thoroughly.

Sprinkle, sprinkle.

For a perfect mix of salty and sweet, he sprinkled a little salt,

Poke.

Finally, he skewered the buttery, salted corn...

[You have achieved the achievement of making 'Sweet-Salty Corn Butter Skewers' for the first time in the tower.]

[The recipe for Salty-Sweet Corn Butter Skewers has been registered under Cooking Lv. 8.]

[Your proficiency of Cooking Lv. 8 has slightly increased.]

[Your proficiency of Cooking Lv. 8 has filled, advancing to Cooking Lv. 9.]

[With the effect of Cooking Lv. 9, you can now enhance the effects of cooking ingredients.]

[From now on, the effects of ingredients used in cooking will increase by 5%.]

Tonight's dinner menu is complete.

"Oh. The effects of the cooking ingredients have increased by 5%?"

Sejun read the message and was pleased.

If it works as described, a 1 would increase to 1.05. It's not a huge difference, but it's significant when you eat three meals a day.

Thus, Sejun was able to make slightly more effective dishes.

Poke. Poke.

For Theo, he skewered a few pieces of fish on some of the skewers.

A moment later,

"Guys, let's eat."

When Sejun placed a plate piled with corn on the table,

Kueng!

[Thank you for the meal!]

"Hehehe! Hyung, Thank you for the food!"

Cuengi and Ajax started eating, holding one corn on their both hands,

"Puhuhut. The grilled fish, filled with Chairman Park's devotion is delicious, is delicious meow!"

Theo also enjoyed the grilled fish sitting on Sejun's lap.

"Shall I try some too?"

Chuck.

Sejun picked up a corn skewer and bit into it.

Whoosh.

First, the rich scent of butter enveloping the corn kernels filled his mouth.

As he chewed the corn kernels, the sweetness and saltiness melded seamlessly with the butter and corn, creating a unified flavor.

After dinner,

"Hehehe. It should be about time for that message to appear."

He waited for the message indicating that his revenge had been successful.

However...

"Yawn."

Even though he waited, the message did not appear. Sejun had underestimated the dragons' laziness.

"Meow... Chairman Park, let's sleep meow."

"Should we?"

In the end, Sejun, tired of waiting, took the whining Theo to the bedroom,

Arorong.

Kkirorong.

Ajax and Fenrir were comfortably sprawled out in a big '大' shape in the middle of the bed.

Chuck. Chuck.

Sejun lifted them up, settled in the middle, and placed Ajax and Blackie on his left and right and,

Kerrr.

Soon as his head hit the pillow, he fell asleep.

***

99th floor of the Green Tower.

"Hmm hmm hmm."

Whisk. Whisk.

Ophelia hummed a little tune while randomly throwing corn seeds onto the ground.

And then,

"Grow!"

She used the Tower Farmer skill, infusing magic power into the soil.

Then,

Budduk. Budduk.

The corn seeds rapidly took root on their own and grew quickly.

A little later,

"Good! Now it's time to harvest!"

Ophelia began to harvest the fully-grown corn... and the harvesting was done in an instant.

"Great! I've reached harvesting level 7! Ahem. As expected, I, Ophelia, am the best tower farmer!"

Ophelia looked proud as she viewed the harvested corn.

However...

If Sejun had seen it, he would have shaken his head disapprovingly.

Because although she planted 1000 corn seeds, she only harvested a mere 50 ears of corn.

If it had been Sejun's field, planting 1000 corn seeds would have yielded at least 20,000 ears of corn.

While Ophelia was proud of her 50 ears of corn,

-Ophelia, come up here for a moment.

"Yes, Grandma."

Brachio called Ophelia.

***

"Alright."

[During sleep, 10% of your life force was stored.]

[The Life Orb is 2.1% complete.]

[Over 24 hours, 0.1 magic power has been accumulated.]

[Your magic power has increased by 0.1.]

"Hehehe..."

When Sejun woke up and saw the message, he was smiling,

[The Tower's Administrator says that she have detected the power of destruction on floors 57 and 62 of the tower.]

Aileen, who had been waiting for Sejun to wake up, informed him of the locations of the power of destruction she had found.

"Floors 57 and 62?"

Coincidentally, both were floors without land deeds.

Then there were only two options.

Either find a land deed for Sejun to go, or have someone take a piece of Fenrir's core and go down to check.

Gororong.

As he thought this, Sejun gazed thoughtfully at Theo sleeping on his lap.

"You're it."

Good luck, Vice Chairman Theo.

After feeding him breakfast, Sejun decided to send Theo down.

"I should pack something nice for him."

He decided to pack a lunch for Theo, who would be suffering in his stead.

After preparing Theo's favorite grilled fish and homemade tuna churu,

Dadadada.

Sejun finely chopped the fish meat, added eggs, and shaped it into balls with his hands.

He then steamed them; they were fish balls.

A little later.

As the fishy smell filled the surroundings,

"Meow... I smell something delicious, meow!"

Theo woke up, stretching.

"Vice Chairman Theo, are you awake?"

"Puhuhut. Yes, meow! Did Chairman Park sleep well, meow!"

"No. I couldn't sleep well because I was worried."

Sejun lied to make it easier to send Theo down willingly.

However,

"Meow? Really, meow!"? For someone who didn't sleep, Chairman Park's face isn't very rotten, meow!"!"

Theo was oddly sharp about weird things.

"Vice Chairman Theo, you can tell that?"

"Puhuhut. Yes, meow! Right now, Chairman Park's face is just rotten enough to be able to look at, meow!"

What does 'just rotten enough to be able to look at' even mean? Sejun pondered Theo's incomprehensible aesthetic standards when,

Kueng!

[It smells delicious!]

Cuengi entered the kitchen.

"Cuengi, did you sleep well?"

Kueng!

[Did daddy also sleep well?]

"Yeah. Now, go bring Ajax and Blackie since it's time to eat."

Kueng!

[Understood!]

Dadada.

At Sejun's command, Cuengi hurried to the bedroom,

Arorong.

Kkirorong.

And came back carrying Ajax and Blackie on his shoulder. He really just brought them as told.

Chuck. Chuck.

Cuengi placed them in their respective spots and,

Plop.

Sat down in his own place looking at Sejun, ready to eat.

"Alright. Let's eat."

While Sejun was putting food on the table,

"Huh?"

Kking?

Ajax and Fenrir woke up to the smell of food.

"Oh! It's breakfast!"

Kking!

'It's food!'

Naturally, both were thrilled to see food right in front of them as soon as they opened their eyes.

After everyone ate breakfast,

"Here, Vice Chairman Theo, take this."

Sejun handed a lunchbox to Theo as he spoke.

"Chairman Park, what is this, meow?"

Theo asked as he took it.

"It's a lunchbox. You need to go to floors 57 and 62 of the tower..."

As Sejun was explaining what Theo needed to do,

Ppyang!

[Uncle, I'm here!]

Black Rabbit arrived with an enormous number of rabbits.

Thanks to the Messenger Bird Piyot, who properly conveyed Sejun's instructions to send rabbits to be tenant farmers at the Red Ribbon Kingdom to the 99th floor of the tower.

Ppiyek!

Ppip!

The rabbits surrounded Sejun, each eager to become his tenant farmer first.

"Alright, everyone, line up in two rows."

Chuck.

[You have designated the 5012th tenant farmer.]

Chuck.

[You have designated the 5013th tenant farmer.]

Sejun placed his hands on the heads of the rabbits, designating them as tenant farmers.

And then,

"Puhuhut. Chairman Park, this lunchbox is delicious, meow!"

Theo ate his lunchbox while watching Sejun work.

[You have designated the 8272nd tenant farmer.]

[You have designated the 8273rd tenant farmer.]

...

...

.

As Sejun busily designated the rabbits as tenant farmers,

[It has been confirmed that Ophelia Iorg, the Tower Farmer of the Green Tower, planted the Elixir: Cherry Tomatoes Imbued with Powerful Magic Power without permission.]

Finally, the message Sejun had been waiting for appeared.

[According to the tower's laws, a Tower Farmer who plants a crop with exclusive cultivation rights without permission must work under the holder of those rights for 100 years.]

[According to the tower's laws, Ophelia Iorg, the Tower Farmer of the Green Tower, will now work under Sejun Park, the Tower Farmer of the Black Tower, for the next 100 years.]

"Hehehe. Revenge successful. Now I'll kidnap you, Ophelia..."

As Sejun was delighted and about to summon the enslaved Ophelia,

[According to job traits, you borrow 0.2% of Ophelia Iorg's stats from the Green Tower.]

[You have gained Strength 340, Stamina 400, Agility 240, Magic Power 300.]

A message appeared indicating that his stats had increased due to his job trait.

And,

"Sum...what?!"

Sejun hurriedly stopped the summoning.

The stats had increased too significantly.

This meant that Ophelia's stats were incredibly high...

and it meant that summoning her could mean death for him.

"Phew. I survived."

Sejun, having survived yet another day, let out a sigh of relief.

*****