Chapter 305: Why Is This Arm All Torn Apart?
Between China and Mongolia, to the east of the Gobi Desert.
Approximately 1000km north of Beijing, the capital of China.
Flap-flap.
Hundreds of thousands of green locusts flew over the vast sandy lands, forming a three-dimensional pattern.
It was a magic circle.
Moments later.
Buzz.
In the center of the magic circle, a hole appeared in the air,
Flutter-flutter.
and out of the hole came two moths, each the size of a palm. As soon as the moths emerged, the hole closed immediately.
And then,
Flap-flap.
the green locusts began to attack the moths they had summoned.
Locusts, even cannibalistic towards their kind, had no concept of allies.
Just as the two moths appeared, about to be torn to shreds by the locusts,
Woosh.
flames burst forth from the moths' wings,
Whoosh.
burning the attacking locusts.
However,
Flap-flap.
the locusts continued their attack on the fire moths without fear.
Whoosh-whoosh.
The bodies of the locusts served as fuel, causing the flames of the fire moths to grow larger.
Once the flames had grown sufficiently,
Woosh.
a part of the flame detached,
Flutter-flutter.
and transformed into a moth the size of a fist.
Flap-flap.
Naturally, the locusts attacked the newly born moth,
Woosh.
but the newly born moth also created flames on its wings, burning the locusts.
This process repeated, reducing the number of locusts while increasing the number of fire moths. Eventually, only the fire moths remained.
And then,
Flutter-flutter.
the fire moths dispersed in all directions, searching for prey to sacrifice to the flames.
***
99th Floor Kitchen.
"Hehehe."
Thump-thump.
Sejun was diligently working on rice dough, chuckling to himself.
'I can eat pizza now!'
Sejun thought of pizza the moment he felt the texture of mozzarella cheese in the sticky corn.
He had rushed to the kitchen to make this rice dough.
A little later,
"Done."
Sejun had finished the rice dough.
He covered the bowl containing the rice dough with banana leaves for fermentation,
Click.
[You have consumed a piece of Aileen's Healthier Meatball.]
[You must eat all the pieces for it to take effect.]
[437 pieces remaining.]
Sejun quickly filled his stomach with Aileen's cooking.
And then,
"Alright, now to make tomato paste."
He took out cherry tomatoes that had been soaking in hot water one by one,
Slice-slice.
and began peeling them.
Then,
Ppyik!
[I'll help you!]
Beep?
[Uncle, are you making something new again?]
As Sejun began cooking something new, the rabbits showed interest and came to help, eager to lend a hand.
"Yes, it's a dish called pizza..."
Thanks to the rabbits, Sejun was able to explain pizza to them and keep himself entertained while working.
Ppyik!
[That sounds delicious!]
"Hehehe. Right."
As he peeled the tomatoes and had a decent amount accumulated,
Splat.
Sejun poured the cherry tomatoes into a black pot,
Sprinkle-sprinkle.
added some salt, boiled it strongly once, and then started to simmer it over low heat.
"Kids, stir this for me."
Sejun asked the rabbits to stir the tomato mixture to prevent it from sticking to the bottom,
[You have obtained Sticky Corn Seeds.]
[Your job experience has slightly increased.]
[Your proficiency of Seed Harvesting Lv. 8 has slightly increased.]
[You need to use the Seed Harvesting skill 751,161 more times to complete the job quest.]
Sejun had harvested 20 pieces of sticky corn.
While Sejun was preparing the pizza ingredients,
Crackle.
Crackle.
The Daebong persimmon of Accuracy and the Sunflower Seed, enhanced by the Harvest Elixir, were growing vigorously.
***
"Theo-nim, this way."
Uren led Theo, Cuengi, and Piyot to the best clothing store he knew of.
Located quite a distance from the bustling streets of the shopping district, was the clothing store Arachne.
Its flamboyant yet antique exterior exuded the store's class.
"Legendary merchant Uren-nim, welcome."
A soldier guarding the entrance of Arachne recognized Uren and opened the door for him.
"Let's go in."
As Uren entered,
"Puhuhut. Good, meow! Let's go in quickly, meow!"
Theo happily followed Uren into the store, and
Kueng!
[Let's go in quickly!]
Piyo!
[Yes!]
Cuengi and Piyot followed them in.
Upon entering the store,
"Welcome. Who is looking for clothes?"
A store attendant, waiting inside, politely greeted them and asked.
Kueng! Kueng!
[Cuengi want to buy clothes for dad! Cuengi want to buy strong clothes!]
Cuengi expressed his desires.
Despite the abstract answer,
"Do you want strong clothes? Please follow me."
The attendant didn't ask further and led them away.
And then,
"Please have a look around."
They were guided to a room filled with dazzling chain armors.
Kueng?
[Are these strong?]
Cuengi asked, looking at the armor.
"Of course! I assure you, these are the finest products from the Black Tower. Feel free to touch them; they won't get scratched."
The attendant confidently answered Cuengi's question.
Certainly, the attendant wasn't boasting. The items were worth their merit.
Kueng?
[Is that so?]
Grip.
Taking the attendant's word, Cuengi grabbed and pulled the arm part of a chain armor in front of him to test its sturdiness.
However,
Crack.
The chain armor tore off as easily as ripping paper.
...?!
"...?!"
Both Cuengi and the attendant were shocked.
'Why is it so weak?'
Cuengi was shocked because the armor was too weak.
'What kind of armor is this?!'
The attendant was shocked because of the armor's price.
The chain armors here were Arachne's secrets, made from mithril thread processed from mithril.
Commissioned by Iskara, the best blacksmith of the Black Tower, and sent to the Wizard Tower to be engraved with various magic.
Especially, the chain armor that Cuengi just damaged had three layers of hardening magic engraved on it, making it an item that could be called a masterpiece.
Therefore, its price was a staggering 5 billion Tower Coins.
To damage such armor...
Crack.
Crack.
Unaware, Cuengi continued to tear other chain armors' arms, searching for sturdy armor for Sejun.
"Cu...customer, please stop! Do you know how much those cost?"
The attendant, true to the store's reputation, tried to calm Cuengi down as much as possible.
Kueng?
[How much are they?]
Cuengi asked innocently in response to the attendant's question.
"The first armor you broke costs 5 billion Tower Coins. The others are 1 billion Tower Coins each. You owe a total of 7 billion Tower Coins."
Kueng? Kueng.
[What are you talking about? Cuengi isn't buying this.]
Cuengi responded to the attendant asking for money.
In Cuengi's logic, since he wouldn't buy such weak armor, there was no need to pay.
"What?!"
The attendant was shocked by Cuengi's response, and when looking for Uren to communicate,
"Puhuhut. I'll buy it, so give us a discount, meow!"
Theo said he would buy the armor.
Kueng? Kueng!
[Big brother will buy? Then Cuengi will pay!]
Hearing Theo would buy the armor, Cuengi took out his allowance pouch.
Swoosh. Swoosh.
Uren quickly pointed at himself with his front hooves. Once again, a debt was incurred in Uren's name.
As Theo placed the three chain armors, with one arm missing each, into his bundle,
"Give me that, meow!"
Theo pointed at the armor stand and said.
"This one?!"
As the attendant lifted the armor stand,
"Puhuhut. No, meow! This one, meow!"
Theo took a square wooden plank that was holding up the armor display stand.
"Ah, that was it. If you need more, just let me know. I'll give you more."
A customer who had just brought in 7 billion Tower Coins in sales. Such wooden planks could easily be given away.
"Phuhuhut. It's fine, meow!"
Theo naturally refused since what he wanted wasn't an ordinary wooden plank.
Theo carefully placed the wooden plank that he felt drawn to into his bundle. Phuhuhut. Another feat to be praised by Chairman Park, meow!
"It's time, meow! Let's go back, meow!"
Theo happily went to pick up the packed food.
***
Phew.
"It's done."
Sejun tasted the thickened tomato paste and declared it finished.
Then,
Thump, thump, thump.
Knead. Knead.
He took out the fermented dough to start making pizza dough.
Just then,
"Chairman Park, I'm back, meow!"
Slap.
Theo, having completed his errand, clung to the back of Sejun's head.
"Vice Chairman Theo, you're back?"
"What, meow?! Why are you making food, meow?"
Theo, dissatisfied that Sejun was making food after sending him on a food errand, asked in an annoyed voice.
"Hehehe. Suddenly, I wanted to eat this dish."
Sejun, feeling very happy at the thought of eating pizza, replied with a cheerful voice.
"Why are you so cheerful, meow?! I don't like it, meow!"
Theo got upset seeing Sejun happy even in his absence.
Squeeze!
Theo hugged Sejun's head even tighter.
"That's nice."
Nevertheless, only Sejun's mood improved due to Theo's soft belly.
"But where is Cuengi?"
Kueng!
[Cuengi is here!]
Cuengi, who was smelling the unfamiliar scent of tomato paste, raised his hand and replied energetically at Sejun's call.
"Did our Cuengi come back well?"
Kueng!
[I came back fine!]
"Did you have any allowance left from what Daddy gave you?"
Kueng!
[Yes! It's here!]
Cuengi took out his allowance pouch.
"Shall we see how much you spent?"
Sejun opened Cuengi's allowance pouch to check how much money was spent.
But,
"Huh?! You didn't spend any?"
Inside the pouch, the 100 Tower Coins he had given were still there.
"Cuengi, you didn't spend any money?"
Sejun asked,
Kueng! Kueng!
[No! I bought food and armor with the allowance Daddy gave!]
"Then why is the money still here?"
Kueng!
[Big brother got us a discount!]
Cuengi looked at Theo with eyes full of admiration.
And,
"Phuhuhut. That's right, meow! I got us a discount, meow!"
In the meantime, Theo, who was now hanging on Sejun's knee, raised his head and boasted.
"You got a discount?!"
This was almost like robbery? When Sejun was puzzled,
(Pip-pip. Uren~nim paid on credit from behind.)
The golden bat told Sejun the truth.
"Ah..."
Sejun finally understood why Cuengi's allowance hadn't decreased.
"Then, shall we see what our Cuengi bought?
"Phuhuhut. You'll be surprised, meow!"
Theo took out the packed food, three sets of mithril chain armor with arms torn off, and a wooden plank from his bundle.
"Why are all these arms torn off?"
[Right arm torn Enhanced Mithril Chain Armor (Triple-layered)]
[Left arm torn Enhanced Mithril Chain Armor]
[Right arm torn Enhanced Mithril Chain Armor]
When Sejun asked, looking at the Mithril chain armors with one arm each torn off,
Kueng!
[Cuengi did it to check if they were sturdy!]
Cuengi proudly said. Cuengi checked everything for Daddy!
"I see."
Knowing why the arms were torn off, Sejun examined the most expensive-looking mithril chain armor.
[Right arm torn Enhanced Mithril Chain Armor (Triple-layered)]
Refined Mithril threads through the secret process of Arachne, the top clothing store of the Black Tower...
...
.
Usage restriction: Strength over 500, Magic Power over 1000
Creator: Arachne, Iskara, and the Enchantment done by Wizard Tower
Grade: A
"It should be worn inside."
Although it was a chain armor, it felt as comfortable against the skin as wearing clothes made of fabric.
"Cuengi, tear this off for me."
Wearing armor with only one arm was awkward, so Sejun asked Cuengi to tear off the remaining left arm as well.
Kueng!
[Okay!]
Rip.
Cuengi tore off the left arm,
Swoosh.
and Sejun put on the chain armor, now sleeveless.
And then,
"Vice Chairman Theo, please drill a hole here."
Sejun handed the left arm piece that Cuengi had torn off to Theo,
"Got it, meow!"
Pop. Pop. Pop. Pop.
Theo drilled four holes at the desired spots with his dragon claw, completing the modified mithril armor for sunfish Fenrir.
And,
Bloom.
Meanwhile, outside, a Sunflower Seed flower that resembled a sunflower bloomed outside.
*****