Chapter 204: Collecting Balanidae (TL: A type of barnacle)

"Just trust me, Lord Theo!"

For Lord Theo! Kona, with a determined look, jumped onto the back of the lake turtle.

Splash.

Splash.

With short limbs flailing in the air, Kona glided as much as possible, and dived into the water. Kona swam hard and climbed onto the back of the lake turtle.

"Is this the shell of the lake turtle?"

Kona spoke, looking at the red back of the lake turtle. The shell was densely packed with holes that looked like volcanic craters, varying in size from small to massive.

It looked sturdy, and Kona thought it seemed like a good material for making equipment, though they would have to refine it first to be sure.

Just then,

Scrape.

Krueng?

[Did Kona come to take this too?]

Cuengi, who had already settled on the back of the lake turtle, spoke up. Cuengi had been busy prying off pieces of the turtle's shell and stuffing them into its snack pouch.

"Yes!"

Kona, thinking Cuengi also came to mine the shell, responded and began to dig into the turtle's shell with a pickaxe.

Clang! Clang!

After about 10 minutes of pickaxing by Kona, a piece of the lake turtle's shell came off.

"Peng?"

Beneath it, the real shiny shell appeared.

"Then what's this?"

Kona was confused, looking at the stone she had mined when,

Puaang!

[My back feels cool!]

The lake turtle let out a pleased cry.

"Back? Huh?! What are you guys doing there?"

Sejun, who had been creating ice for the lake turtle, asked Cuengi and Kona, who were on the turtle's back.

Krueng!

[Daddy, Cuengi dug up oysters!]

Cuengi proudly showed Sejun what he had dug up from the turtle's back, waving them in its hands in response to Sejun's question.

"Oysters?!"

At a glance, it was obviously wasn't oysters, but to Cuengi, the closest thing in his knowledge was oysters.

"Wait a minute. Ice cube."

Sejun made an ice bridge to move over to the turtle's back to properly examine and explain what was attached to the shell.

"These are Balanidae. So, this is why you felt hot."

Sejun touched the red Balanidae and spoke. They were slightly hot to the touch, and the parts touching the turtle's back would be even hotter.

At that moment,

[You have discovered the reason why the lake turtle cannot sleep.]

[The quest has been updated.]

[Quest: Remove all the Balanidae parasitizing the body of the lake turtle!]

Reward: 130,000 experience points, 13,000 Tower coins, flourishing of the lake turtle, an endangered species, in 100 years.

With the quest update, the rewards increased slightly.

"Good."

The quest, motivating Sejun, who was already eagerly picking off Balanidae and thinking about the tastiest way to eat them.

"Cuengi, these are called Balanidae."

Sejun told Cuengi the name of the creatures attached to the turtle's back.

Krueng?! Krueng?

[They're not oysters?! Then we can't eat them?]

Cuengi was shocked at Sejun's words, becoming gloomy at the thought of not being able to eat something tasty.

"No, you can eat these too. And they're very delicious."

Krueng?!

[Really?!]

"Yes. So let's work hard to pick them!"

Krueng! Krueng!

[Got it! Cuengi will pick the most!]

"Puhuhut, not while Vice Chairman Theo with Dragon Claw is here, meow!"

Thus began the competition to collect Balanidae began. This time, Sejun did not stop them since there was no reason to intervene as they weren't causing harm to their surroundings.

"Kona, call the other penguins too."

"Yes!"

Sejun involved the penguins, making them collect Balanidae off the turtle's back.

***

"Just you wait!"

Aileen, searching everywhere with the crystal orb for the Three Head Society.

[A being with the aura of destruction has infiltrated the Black Tower.]

"Huh? Aura of destruction?"

Upon receiving the alert, Aileen immediately checked the location where the alarm had sounded and was able to locate Mister One, the boss of the Three Head Society with a '1' on his mask, on the first floor of the tower.

"So, this guy is the one who messed with my Sejun's family. Iona, go to the foggy area on the 59th floor of the tower. The Three Head Society's hideout is there."

While keeping an eye on Mister One, whom she found by chance, Aileen sent Iona to take care of the hideout that Mister One had passed. True to her title of the Great Destructive Wizard, Iona erased the existence of the Three Head Society's hideout and its members from the tower.

As Aileen was monitoring Mister One, he entered a cave on the 47th floor of the tower and stopped moving.

"Iona, the northern cave on the 47th floor. I've marked it, so go and take care of it."

Believing this to be the last hideout of the Three Head Society, they decided to deal with Mister One.

"Kuhhh, it's over!"

Aileen, whose body had become stiff from looking at the crystal orb for a long time, stretched herself.

Just then,

"Huh?! What's that?"

She spotted the leather vest that Sejun had asked her to appraise. She had been so focused on searching for the Three Head Society that she'd forgotten all about it.

"Hehehe. I need to appraise this quickly and give it to Sejun."

Aileen used her appraisal magic on the leather vest.

***

Two hours later.

"It's much cleaner now."

Sejun, who had been freezing the island, commented upon seeing that about a quarter of the balanidae that had filled the lake turtle's back were gone.

"Time to make lunch."

Sejun moved to the lakeside, gathered some branches from around, and piled them up on the ground. The lunch menu was grilled balanidae. He took out some balanidae he had stored in the void storage and laid them on top of the branches.

Snap.

Fwooosh.

Sejun created fire with a snap of his fingers and began grilling the balanidae whole on the branches. Since balanidae naturally possess a high tolerance to heat due to their inherent high temperature, so Sejun produced a high heat with his Talent: Enhanced Fire Mastery

Krueng!

[It smells delicious!]

As the balanidae cooked to a certain degree, Cuengi, drawn by the aroma, began to waddle around, and other penguins also subtly gathered.

"Puhuhut! Victory is mine, meow!"

Theo, uninterested in the balanidae, stayed on the lake turtle's back, diligently removing more balanidae.

"They're cooked well. Let's eat!"

After trying one of the grilled balanidae, Sejun spoke to the animals.

Krueng!

[Thank you for the meal!]

"Thank you for the meal!"

Cuengi and the penguins began to eat the balanidae they held.

However,

"Peng!"

Unlike Cuengi, who was enjoying his meal, the penguins who had grabbed the balanidae hurriedly dropped them and rushed into the lake to cool their hands. The balanidae were too hot.

Unlike Cuengi, who could easily ignore most things with his tough skin, the penguins were quite sensitive.

"Cool them down here before eating, guys."

Feeling sympathetic towards the penguins in the same plight, Sejun made ice cubes and placed the balanidae on them to cool.

Just as everyone was enjoying their meal,

Thump.

A fist-sized red bead rolled out from the flesh of the giant balanidae Cuengi was eating and rolled and stopped in front of Sejun.

"What's this?"

It was clearly a inner core from the balanidae.

'Is it another bitter one?'

As Sejun was about to pick up the bead with a tense expression,

Krueng!

[That's definitely for Dad!]

Cuengi confirmed Sejun's thoughts. It was a bitter core.

Sejun picked up the bead and checked its options.

[Fiery Balanidae's Inner Core]

→ This is a core from a Balanidae that has parasitized on the lake turtle and grown by absorbing the turtle's energy for a thousand years.

→ Upon consumption, it increases strength by 20 or increases potential strength by 10.

→ It enhances flame-related talents slightly upon consumption.

→ It has a strong bitter taste.

→ Usage restriction: Lv. 30 and above, Strength 20 or more

→ Grade: B

Munch.

Without hesitation, Sejun put the Balanidae core into his mouth. It was easier to eat it quickly than to waste energy pondering whether to eat it or not.

'Pain is temporary, stats are forever!'

Gritting his teeth, he endured the rising bitterness and consoled himself.

Gulp.

After bearing with the bitterness, Sejun swallowed the core.

[You have consumed the Fiery Balanidae's Inner Core.]

[Your potential strength increases by 10.]

[Your existing flame-related talents have been enhanced.]

"Good."

His mouth was bitter, but his heart was firm.

Just then,

Click.

"Huh?"

Dadadada.

A penguin placed a single red core in front of Sejun and ran away. It had given Sejun the core that came from the Balanidae it was eating.

Stare.

From a distance, the penguin watched to see if Sejun would enjoy the core it had given. Quite anxiously.

Overwhelmed by the intense stare, Sejun swallowed the Balanidae's inner core right away. He thought it better to consume it while the bitter taste still lingered in his mouth.

"Gugh..."

Gulp.

[You have consumed the Fiery Balanidae's Inner Core.]

[Your strength increases by 10.]

[Your existing flame-related talents have been enhanced.]

Although the bitterness was no different from the first one he had eaten, this time the options were as good as the first one, perhaps because the balanidae was younger.

As Sejun was cutting the meat into manageable pieces after swallowing two cores,

"Huh?!"

He felt something hard and spherical inside. Another core?

Without suspicion, Sejun reached into the flesh,

"Chairman Park! No, meow!"

Theo, who had been diligently removing and collecting balanidae from the back of the lake turtle, sensed danger approaching Sejun's knee and hurried over.

But it was too late.

With the core already in hand, Sejun.

[You have come into contact with the Essence of Fire.]

[Your body has received a critical injury.]

[<Power: Indestructible Body> has been activated.]

[Consuming magic power to prevent your body from disintegrating.]

[You are critically low on magic power.]

[Dragon Tribe Skill - Dragon Skin is activated.]

[The scales of the great black dragon Kaiser have been destroyed.]

"Aargh!"

Sejun felt a searing pain in his hand.

And then,

Boom!

An explosion from the core sent him flying into the lake.

"Chairman Park! Are you okay, meow?"

Theo hurried into the water, pulling Sejun out of the lake to check his condition. Fortunately, other than his body feeling as hot as fire and minor burns on his right hand, there seemed to be no serious injuries.

Press. Press.

Pressing his paw on Sejun's right hand, Theo used the healing skill.

Krueng! Krueng!

[Daddy... It's hot. Please, get up, daddy!]

Cuengi also rushed over in a panic, not knowing what to do, and massaged Sejun's legs while crying.

"Don't worry, Cuengi, meow! I'll heal Chairman Park, meow! Cuengi, go fetch some water to cool him down, meow!"

Krueng!

[Okay!]

Cuengi brought water in a balanidae shell, continuously doused Sejun's body.

For over an hour, as Theo and Cuengi were cooling and attending to Sejun,

[The Tower's Administrator is infuriated, questioning why Sejun has fainted.]

[The Tower's Administrator inquires why Sejun's body is filled with fiery energy.]

Aileen, who had been about to give Sejun an appraised leather vest, asked Theo in anger, noticing that Sejun's body was so full of fiery energy that it seemed he might burst into flames at any moment.

"Aileen, Chairman Park got hurt touching that core over there, meow! But he's not waking up, meow!"

Whoosh.

Pointing at the red core that continued to produce intense heat since the explosion, Theo explained.

Swoosh.

Aileen hurriedly collected the core. Knowing its true nature was crucial to understanding why Sejun had collapsed.

But,

"Ouch, it's hot!"

The red core was so hot that not even Aileen could touch it.

"Grandfather! Help!"

Aileen quickly called for Kaiser's assistance.

As everyone was worried about Sejun,

[You have absorbed a minute amount of the fiery energy.]

[Your fire attribute talent has been enhanced.]

Sejun was gradually absorbing the fiery energy within his body, enhancing his fire attribute talent.