Chapter 304: Cuengi's Treat!

"Meow meow meow! I, Vice Chairman Theo, am also running errands for Chairman Park again today, meow~!"

Piyo~!

[Vice Chairman Theo's next right front paw, Pirururur Yotra, will join you~!]

Piyot continued singing Theo's song. As usual, Theo brought his subordinate Piyot along.

And

Kueng~! Kueng~!

[Cuengi is going to buy some food too~! Cuengi got allowance from dad~!]

Cuengi continued the song after Piyot. Today, Cuengi also joined them.

Sejun thought that it was about time for Cuengi to start exploring the world and gradually broaden his horizons.

He gave Cuengi some allowance to buy tasty food and follow Theo.

Kuehehehe. Kueng! Kueng!

[Hehehe. Big bro, if there's anything Piyot and Big bro wants to eat, Cuengi will buy it all! Cuengi got allowance from dad!]

Cuengi proudly showed his snack pouch filled with his allowance.

"Puhuhut. Good! Then I'll have the 5-colored grilled tuna, meow!"

Piyo!

[Then, I want the premium bird feed too!]

Encouraged by Cuengi's confident shout, Theo and Piyot shared what they wanted to eat.

Thus, on their way to the shopping district on the 75th floor of the tower.

"Meow?!"

Piyo!

[Vice Chairman Theo, there's another fork in the road!]

Kueng?

[Big bro, which way are we going?]

A fork in the road appeared before them.

"Puhuhut. Just follow me, meow!"

Golden cat Theo Park took the lead,

Piyo! Piyo!

[Yes! I'll go wherever Vice Chairman Theo goes!]

Kueng!

[Dad said to follow big bro closely!]

Piyot and Cuengi diligently followed behind.

And

"Vice Chairman Theo, please save me!"

They encountered Uren, who had been chased out of the 99th floor of the tower at dawn and swallowed by a fragment of Jǫrmungandr.

Out of a million people, it was peculiarly Uren alone who got swallowed. Indeed, he was unlucky.

"Puhuhut. Uren, I'll save you, so pay up, meow!"

"Yes, of course!"

Uren, Theo's personal ATM, hurriedly took out money.

"Puhuhut. Watch closely, Cuengi, meow! This is how you get money by saving a life, meow!"

Theo boasted to Cuengi, putting the money pouch Uren handed over into his bag.

And

Kueng! Kueng!

[Got it! You get money for saving someone!]

Cuengi nodded earnestly at Theo's teaching.

Snap.

In the meantime, Theo pulled out his claw,

"Meow!"

and swiftly swung his front paw to defeat Jǫrmungandr,

Clang.

"Cuengi, Piyot, pick up the coins, meow!"

As the three picked up the white coins that fell, they set off again for the 75th floor,

"Vice Chairman Theo, can I come with you?"

"Puhuhut. Follow us, meow!"

This time, Uren, who wanted to travel safely, joined their journey.

Shortly after,

"We've arrived, meow!"

"I know the best restaurant on the 75th floor! Follow me!"

Uren, who heard about Theo's reason for coming to buy food for the party, wanted to introduce him to the best restaurant.

"Puhuhut. That's good, meow! Lead the way, meow!"

"Yes!"

Uren confidently took the lead to the restaurant, with Theo's permission.

'Heh heh. Vice Chairman Theo, you'll be so surprised because it's delicious.'

Uren was full of pride in his taste.

He hurried his steps, imagining how happy the group would be with the restaurant he brought them to.

After some time.

"Puhuhut. The 5-colored grilled tuna was really delicious, meow!"

Piyo! Piyo!

[Yes! The premium bird feed was delicious too!]

Kueng! Kueng!

[Right! It was really delicious! Cuengi barely ate but is full!]

Everyone was satisfied with the dishes at the restaurant Uren guided them to.

"Heh heh. What did I tell you?"

Uren boasted, proud that his restaurant recommendation was acknowledged.

Shortly after.

The meal ended,

Kueng! Kueng!

[Cuengi has allowance! Cuengi will treat!]

Cuengi confidently took out his money pouch from his snack pouch and handed it to the staff.

And

Jingle. Jingle.

"Here's your change."

From the money pouch containing 100 Tower Coins, just one Tower Coin was taken out and handed to Cuengi.

...?!

Cuengi's pupils shook violently as he received the Tower Coin in his front paw.

Kueng?! Kueng?!

[Where did all my money go?! Was it that expensive?!]

The precious 100 coins received as allowance from Sejun.

Cuengi was shocked to see 99 of those coins disappear for the cost of the food.

Cuengi had things he wanted to buy with 100 Tower Coins.

Powerful clothes to protect his weak dad.

A sturdy club that wouldn't break even if his mom swung it around.

A hammer for his brother that would split the ground when swung.

A powerful magic wand to gift to sister Iona.

A large and sturdy saddle needed for riding on the back of Toryong.

Snacks for Blackie.

A very prudent spending plan.

However, except for Blackie's snacks, there was nothing he could buy with 100 Tower Coins.

It was a good thing that Sejun didn't give Cuengi a large sum of money to help him learn financial sense.

But

Kueng!!! Kueng!!!

[My money is gone!!! Cuengi can't buy what he wanted now!!!]

The only one who could stop Cuengi's crying was Sejun, who unfortunately couldn't accompany him.

"Puhuhut. Cuengi, calm down, meow! I'll solve this, meow! Give a discount, meow!"

There was only one cat who could only do what he had learned.

As Theo confidently stepped forward to negotiate a price reduction for the first time,

Swoosh. Swoosh.

Uren was gesturing towards himself with his front paw from behind everyone, looking at the staff.

'Put it on my tab.'

Fortunately, they were accompanied by Uren, a regular customer of the restaurant, unlucky but rich pig.

"Here, I'll give this back to you."

Thanks to him, the staff returned all of Cuengi's money,

"Puhuhut. See, Cuengi, meow?!"

Kueng!

[Big bro is amazing!]

Cuengi looked up to Theo with admiration for turning the cost of the food to zero with just one negotiation.

After settling the bill for the food,

"Pack 1000 portions for takeout, meow!"

Theo ordered food to take to the 99th floor of the tower.

Kueng!

[Cuengi will pay!]

Cuengi boldly stepped forward to pay again, looking towards Theo. Big bro will reduce the price!

"Puhuhut. Trust me, Cuengi, meow! I'll get you a discount, meow!"

Receiving Cuengi's expectant gaze, Theo boldly negotiated a discount,

Swoosh. Swoosh.

Uren's debts piled up.

Piyo!

[I'm jealous!]

Piyot, who couldn't join the excellent combo play of the three, looked at them enviously.

Then,

"You can come to pick it up in about 3 hours."

The staff provided the time to pick up the food.

Considering the amount ordered was nearly 10,000 servings, it was an incredibly short time.

But,

"Is it going to take that long, meow?!"

Theo, who disliked waiting, exclaimed. Then I'll be late to Chairman Park, meow!

'Meow... But I still have to run Chairman Park's errands, meow.'

Theo reluctantly decided to wait.

And,

"But Cuengi, what did you say you wanted to buy earlier?"

Deciding to buy what Cuengi wanted while waiting, Puhuhut. Indeed, I am a great big brother, meow!

Kueng!

[First, Cuengi want to buy clothes that will protect dad!]

"Puhuhut. Buying clothes for Chairman Park, meow?! Good, meow! Let's go, meow!"

Theo exclaimed, looking at Uren. Hurry and guide us!

Thus, Theo, Piyot, and Uren moved for Cuengi's shopping spree.

***

"Are they doing okay?"

Sejun was worried about Cuengi, who had followed Theo down.

"No, they'll be fine."

He's not the kind to get beaten up; if anything, he'll be the one doing the beating.

With Theo there to keep him in check, he'll be fine. Though he might get into some trouble.

"And there's the golden bat."

Sejun brushed off his worries, recalling the golden bat he had secretly sent to follow them, just in case.

And,

Step. Step.

Before he could worry again, he walked towards the cornfield.

When thoughts become burdensome, moving the body is the best solution.

So, to move his body, Sejun went to the cornfield.

[···Y···]

In the corner of the cornfield, sticky corn sprouts greeted Sejun with a cheer.

"Hehehe. They're growing well."

Sejun, looking at the nicely grown sticky corn sprouts, took out the Enhancing Elixir and

Pop.

opened the lid.

While waiting for Theo, he planned to use the Harvest Elixir to harvest the fruits and then replant their seeds.

'Just a drop!'

Drip.

Sejun carefully dropped a single drop of the Harvest Elixir on the sticky corn sprout.

Then

Crack.

The sprout grew rapidly.

"Good."

After checking the growth of the sticky corn, Sejun moved to another spot and

Dig. Dig.

dug two holes in the ground, spacing them wide apart.

Drop.

Drop.

He placed a seed in each hole, one of Daebong persimmon of Accuracy seed and the other of Sunflower Seed.

The Daebong persimmon of Accuracy seed was saved while waiting for the tangerine to grow on the tangerine tree on the 85th floor of the tower, eating them as snacks with animals.

Drip.

Sejun first dropped a drop of Harvest Elixir on the Daebong persimmon seed and then

Swoosh.

covered it with soil.

Drip.

He planted the Sunflower Seed in the same manner.

"Now to harvest the seeds."

Sejun waited for the crops to grow and

[You have obtained a Corn Seed.]

[Your job experience slightly increases.]

[Your proficiency in the Seed Harvesting Lv. 8 skill has increased slightly.]

[You need to use the Seed Harvesting skill 791,217 more times to complete the job quest.]

...

..

.

He harvested the corn kernels.

One hour later.

"Ugh, finally!"

After squatting down to harvest the corn kernels, Sejun stretched and stood up.

"Let's see how well they've grown."

Sejun went to check on the crops that he used the elixirs on.

"Oh! They've all grown?"

Sejun found the corns on the sticky corn among the three crops.

Drip.

As Sejun picked the corn,

[You have harvested Sticky Corn.]

[Your job experience slightly increases.]

[Your proficiency in Harvesting Lv. 8 has increased slightly.]

[You have gained 70 experience points.]

Messages appeared.

[You have achieved the achievement of creating a new variety in the tower.]

...

..

.

[As a job trait, all stats increase by 10.]

[You have achieved the achievement of creating 17 new varieties in the tower.]

...

..

.

[The number of entrances at the Black Tower's entrance increased from 104 to 105, with the 105th entrance being created in the safest place.]

Messages about achievements and the addition of an entrance to the Black Tower appeared next.

"Let's see."

As the messages poured in, Sejun checked the effects of the sticky corn.

[Sticky Corn]

→ Corn grown within the tower, which has absorbed enough nutrients, but for some reason, the nutrients were focused entirely on making the corn sticky.

→ The stickiness intensifies when heat is applied.

→ The taste is bland.

→ Cultivator: Tower Farmer Park Sejun

→ Shelf Life: 150 days

→ Grade: A

"How sticky could it be?"

Pop.

Curious, Sejun peeled one side of the sticky corn, placed it on the ground, and

Poke.

poked and pulled out one kernel with his dagger.

But

Swoosh.

The dagger came out cleanly. The stickiness was weaker than expected. In fact, it was almost nonexistent.

"What? Ah. It said the stickiness intensifies with heat, right?"

Snap.

Whoosh.

Recalling the explanation, Sejun flicked his fingers to create fire and heated the dagger.

Then,

Poke.

When he poked the corn kernel with the warmed dagger and pulled it out,

Stretch.

This time, the corn stretched long following the dagger.

Snap.

The corn stretched about 3cm before it broke.

"Oh! It does stretch. Good. Let's heat it up more."

Sejun, fascinated by the stretching corn, heated the dagger for a while longer,

Poke.

and poked and pulled the corn kernel again.

Then,

Stretch.

This time, the corn stretched even longer.

As Sejun raised his arm above his head, the corn stretched over 10cm.

Then,

Snap.

The corn could not stretch any further and broke,

Slurp.

and Sejun, almost instinctively, put the stretched corn into his mouth.

It was a habit from eating pizza.

And,

"Huh?! This tasts similar to mozzarella cheese...?"

Sejun felt a familiar taste from the unfamiliar crop.

*****

TL: SoonTM

*****