Chapter 332: But Aren't You Being Very Disrespectful for Someone Asking for a Favor?

Late at night on the 99th floor of the Black Tower.

Waiting for it to get dark, Sejun ate an Elixir-grade Cherry Tomato and raised his magic power stat to the potential limit of 2412.

"Alright! The lights are out too."

He completely darkened the surroundings and infused magic power into the golden key.

However,

"Aish..."

No light emanated from the golden key. It was a failure.

"Meow. Chairman Park, it's late. Let's just sleep, meow."

Theo, who had been waiting by his side, yawned and urged Sejun to go to bed.

"Yeah. I should."

Thinking he had done everything possible under the circumstances, he went inside the house without any regrets and fell asleep.

A few hours later,

Inside Sejun's bedroom where he slept,

Gororong.

Kyurorong.

Arorong.

Kirorong.

The sound of five people snoring was heard. Iona had finished her duties at the Wizard's Association and had joined them.

Then,

(Pip-pip! Sejun-nim, I'm back.)

The golden bat quietly reported its return from Earth and

Snap.

Clinged to Sejun's side, hiding itself.

And then,

Baerorong.

The golden bat snored, seemingly tired from its trip to Earth after a long while.

Thus, the sound of six people snoring in Sejun's bedroom became each other's lullabies.

Another peaceful night on the 99th floor of the Black Tower.

Yet, a massive war was about to start below.

***

83rd floor of the tower.

"By the king's command! Kill all enemies blocking the way of the Caiman Kingdom without leaving a single one alive!"

300,000 soldiers of the Caiman Kingdom invaded the 83rd floor to attack the Kingdom of Kov on the 79th floor.

And then,

"The Caiman Kingdom's army is coming! Pack your things quickly!"

"Let's run away!"

The residents of the 83rd floor chose to flee rather than fight the invaders.

The Caiman Kingdom's army did not chase and kill as long as they did not block their way, so it was a rather reasonable choice.

However, the chestnut hedgehogs did not do that.

Kwieek! Kwieek!

[This land belongs to the great Black Dragon, Park Sejun! We will definitely protect it!]

Because there was a chestnut farm located right in the middle of the path the Caiman Kingdom's army was passing through.

Kwieek!

[We will protect it!]

Kwieek!

[Smash them all!]

Following the words of the chestnut hedgehogs' leader, Godori, the other chestnut hedgehogs stretched their cute hands towards the sky in agreement.

Kwieek!

[Pull out the thorns and stick them in the ground!]

Kwieek! Kwieek!

Following Godori's order, the orderly lined-up hedgehogs plucked two thorns from the hedgehog in front of them and

Pook. Pook.

Stuck them into the ground. The hedgehogs' arms were too short to pluck thorns from their own backs.

Thus, after planting the thorns,

Chuk.

The hedgehogs stepped sideways

Pook. Pook.

And once again plucked thorns from the hedgehog in front of them, sticking them into the ground, effectively covering the surrounding area of the chestnut farm with thorns.

A little over 10,000 hedgehogs began a desperate resistance against the 300,000 soldiers of the Caiman Kingdom at the chestnut farm.

***

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

[The Life Orb is 1.8% complete.]

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

[Your magic power has increased by 0.1.]

"Heh, I've grown again today."

Sejun woke up and checked the messages.

"Meow..."

As usual, he picked up Theo by the scruff of his neck, who was sleeping on his lap, and put him on his lap.

Then,

Kyurorong.

"Huh?! Iona, you were here?"

Sejun noticed Iona, who had wrapped herself with Theo's tail and was sleeping curled around him.

And then,

"Ah, that's right."

Seeing Iona reminded him of the gray rock he had acquired after defeating the Mordor, Demon King of Despair.

"I'll show it to Iona when she wakes up."

Inside Iona's body was sealed the Nightmare, Demon King of Nightmares. Perhaps he could easily obtain the second Demon King's heart.

A moment later,

[The Golden Sweet Potato's are grateful for the farmer's footsteps and lends its strength.]

[Strength stat's potential rises from 1294 to 1295.]

As Sejun walked through the farm, absorbing the energy of the crops to increase his potential,

"Kyoo-gyoot!"

Iona stretched languidly as she woke up.

"Iona, you're awake?"

"Kyoot-kyoot-kyoot. Good morning, did you sleep well, Sejun~nim?"

Iona, feeling great after a good sleep, greeted him cheerfully in the morning.

"Yeah, I slept well too. Iona, I have something to show you."

As Sejun responded to Iona's greeting,

Clank.

He opened the void storage and took out a gray rock split into two.

Then,

"Kyoot? Kyoot! What is this?!"

Iona was surprised to see the gray rock, immediately recognizing what it was used for.

It was natural. It was the item she had been searching for a long time to help her sleep well.

It was cleanly cut, and it seemed like it could be used again with a little work.

"Iona, do you know what this is?"

"Kyoot-kyoot-kyoot. Of course! This is a sealing stone!"

"A sealing stone?"

"Kyoot-kyoot-kyoot. Yes! A stone that seals magic, a sealing stone. But Sejun~nim, where did you get this?"

Iona asked excitedly.

"Puhuhut. I'll tell you that, meow!"

Not missing the chance to show off, Theo proudly explained how they came to possess the sealing stone.

"Kyoot-kyoot-kyoot. Theo defeated the Demon King of Despair?! That's amazing!"

"Puhuhut. That's right, meow! From beginning to end, it was all Vice Chairman Theo's doing, meow!"

Flattered by Iona's praise, Theo became even more arrogant.

He followed Theo's lead, and it was true that Theo had defeated the Mordor, Demon King of Despair, so it was a fair point.

'This guy.'

Sejun quietly smiled as he watched Theo boast to Iona,

"But the one who took the sealing stone was me, Park Sejun."

"Meow?! I was about to take it, but Chairman Park just took it first, meow!"

"Heh. In the end, I'm the one who ended up with the sealing stone."

Sejun teasingly provoked Theo.

However,

"Kyoot-kyoot-kyoot. Theo-nim, don't get angry. If you hadn't found the place where the Demon King of Despair was, we wouldn't have this sealing stone at all. I think Theo-nim's role was bigger."

Theo had a strong ally, Iona.

"Puhuhut. That's right, meow! The Vice Chairman's role was the greatest, meow!"

Encouraged by Iona's words, Theo's spirits lifted once again.

"Ugh..."

Is there no one on my side? Looking for support, Sejun searched for allies when,

"Puhuhut. Iona, then let's seal Nightmare here and defeat it, meow! Chairman Park needs to eat five Demon King hearts to become stronger, meow!"

Theo suggested to Iona that they should defeat Nightmare.

However,

"Defeat...?"

Iona couldn't readily agree.

"Meow? Iona, why, meow?"

Theo looked at Iona, puzzled. Nightmare only gave her nightmares, so why hesitate, meow?

"Kyoot... That's..."

If Nightmare disappears, she won't have a reason to sleep with Theo anymore!

Iona couldn't be honest about her feelings.

Moreover, for some reason, Nightmare had been getting nicer lately.

So, with Nightmare helping in dreams with magical research and such, there wasn't really a need to defeat it.

'What should I do?'

As Iona pondered what to do about Nightmare,

-Human! I am the Nightmare, Demon King of Nightmares. If you spare me, I will give you my heart! (TL: I don't know if I mentioned this previously but here the name of Nightmare is in English and the title in Korean which when translated to Korean makes it Nightmare, Demon King of Nightmares)

The urgent voice of the Nightmare, Demon King of Nightmares, resounded in Sejun's mind.

'No way. You've been tormenting Iona by preventing her from sleeping.'

Sejun naturally refused.

-Not true! We've become quite close recently! Ask Iona!

'Ask Iona? But aren't you being very disrespectful for someone asking for a favor?'

-No, it's not! Human-nim, please ask Iona!

Without a second of hesitation, Nightmare urgently raised his voice at Sejun's words. He really wanted to live.

"Ehem. Fine. I'll ask her."

After showing a bit of arrogance and clearing his throat once, Sejun

"Iona, how have things been with Nightmare lately?"

asked Iona.

"Kyoot?! What?!"

Iona was startled by Sejun's unexpected question.

"Kyook... The truth is..."

Iona honestly shared her situation.

"So, you're saying that recently Nightmare hasn't been causing you nightmares?"

"Kyook... Yes. Recently, Nightmare has actually been quite helpful in various ways."

Iona cautiously answered, glancing at Theo.

"Got it."

Sejun accepted Iona's answer.

'Hey. Can you hear me?'

Sejun called out to Nightmare in his mind,

-Yes! I can hear you!

Nightmare quickly responded.

'Since you've been helping Iona recently, I'll let you live in exchange for your heart.'

-Thank you, human-nim!

'But there's a condition.'

-A condition?!

'Yes. Write a contract that you won't threaten Iona.'

-Of course! I'll write it right away!

'Good. Now give me your heart.'

-Yes! Just a moment!

Following Nightmare's response,

"Kyoot?"

A yellow energy began to seep out of Iona's body and started forming into a sphere.

After a moment, a yellow sphere was completed.

Grab.

When Sejun picked up the sphere and examined it,

[Heart of Nightmare, Demon King of Nightmares]

"It's almost similar."

Like the Mordor, Demon King of Despair's heart, it had the effect of increasing magic power by 300. However, the talent was different: 'The Bringer of Nightmares.'

"But... I can't eat it now."

Eating it wouldn't increase his magic power because he had already raised his magic power to its potential limit yesterday.

However,

"Well... I'll just eat it anyway."

Gulp.

Sejun swallowed the yellow sphere without hesitation.

Even though the 300 magic power went to waste, to Sejun, that amount was trivial and could be compensated by eating just 30 Elixir-grade Cherry Tomatoes.

As Sejun swallowed the heart of the Nightmare, Demon King of Nightmares,

[You have consumed the heart of the Nightmare, Demon King of Nightmares.]

[Your magic power increases by 300.]

[Your magic power has reached the limit of its potential.]

[No more magic power can be absorbed.]

[Magic power will be discharged.]

[Talent: The Bringer of Nightmares has been awakened.]

"Ugh!"

Ah, right, this was going to happen... As Sejun awkwardly moved with unsteady steps to take care of his business,

Dadada.

Theo jumped down from Sejun's lap and quickly looked for an empty spot

Pababak!

"Chairman Park, over here, meow!"

After digging a hole, Theo called over Sejun.

"Ugh! Vice Chairman Theo, thank you."

Sejun expressed his gratitude to Theo for digging the hole,

"Chairman Park, then do your business well, meow!"

Dadada.

Theo cheerfully moved away from Sejun. He could tolerate the smell but not the sound.

"Transform!"

Creak. Creak.

Sejun infused magic into the guardian wooden shield, creating wooden walls around him and making a makeshift toilet...

And the crops planted in this magic-enriched land were said to have a higher yield more than those planted in other lands.

While Sejun was discharging the magic power he couldn't digest,

"Kyook... Now I can't sleep with Theo-nim... I should go do some research..."

-Right. I'll help you.

"Kyook... Thank you, Nightmare."

Iona, feeling disheartened, was about to return to the Wizard Tower.

Then,

"Iona, aren't you going to sleep, meow? Where are you going, meow?"

Theo called out to Iona, swaying his tail softly.

"Kyoot?"

"Puhuhut. I also sleep better when Iona is on my tail, meow!"

"Kyoot-kyoot-kyoot. Really?!"

Iona was delighted by Theo's words.

"Puhuhut. Yes, meow!"

"Kyoot-kyoot-kyoot. Then let's sleep quickly!"

Swoosh.

At Theo's response, Iona quickly wrapped herself with Theo's tail and closed her eyes.

And then,

Pat pat.

"Chairman Park, when are you coming back, meow? You're pooping too much, meow."

Theo stroked Iona while waiting for Sejun.

At that moment,

Piyo!

[Theo~nim, a war broke out on the 83rd floor of the tower!]

Piyot delivered the news of war to the 99th floor of the tower.