Chapter 350: Do You Also Want to Seek Asylum?

Zelga witnessed the scene of the sea disappearing in an instant.

"...Oh my goodness!"

He was speechless for a moment before he finally managed to utter a word.

And he looked over the ground, which had been the sea until now.

He saw mountains and plains that had been submerged in water, and at his feet, there was a yellow watermelon with black stripes that had swallowed the sea.

10 watermelons, each 3 meters in size.

Although they were much larger than ordinary watermelons, they were too small considering the amount of water that had made up the sea.

The Shriveled Drought-Inducing Watermelons had stopped absorbing water, having fully grown. It was really fortunate.

Otherwise, as their name suggested, a great drought would have hit the 70th floor of the Blue Tower.

Click.

Zelga descended from the sky and stood in front of the watermelons.

"Let's harvest them first."

Pop.

When Zelga cut the stem of a watermelon,

[You have harvested a Plump Drought-Inducing Watermelon.] [Your Job Experience have slightly increased.]

[Your proficiency in Harvesting Lv. 7 has slightly increased.]

[You have gained 70 experience points.]

The harvesting message appeared.

"Plump?"

To think it swallowed the whole sea and only became plump...

Zelga was puzzled and checked the watermelon's options.

[Plump Drought-Inducing Watermelon] → This is a mutated watermelon that has evolved in the Black Tower grown inside Blue Tower, unable to absorb much water. It vowed to evolve by gritting its teeth so that in its next life, it will absorb lots of water without caring about others.

→ Planting this watermelon causes a severe drought in the surrounding area.

→ It has absorbed a lot of water and is very satisfied.

→ When eaten plump, its effects increase by 100%.

→ Consuming it increases all stats by 20.

→ Consuming it has a low chance of awakening and enhancing water-related talents.

→ Consuming it prevents you from getting thirsty for two months.

→ Grower: Blue Tower's Tower Farmer Zelga

→ Shelf Life: 150 days

→ Grade: A

Consuming it increases all stats by 20 and has a low chance of awakening and enhancing water-related talents.

Not bad but...

"All that water absorbed, and this is it?"

And why would I need the effect of not being thirsty for two months?!

Zelga was dismayed by the rather trivial options.

"Should I try to enhance its medicinal effects with alchemy?"

Thus, he decided to use his specialty, alchemy.

Thud.

Zelga took out a compressor to extract the essence of the watermelon.

Then,

Crunch.

The watermelon, its rind and flesh, was crushed and sucked into the compressor.

And,

[You have stolen one Drought-Inducing Watermelon.] [According to the terms of the contract, a penalty of 10 billion Tower Coins is charged to Kin Aster.]

A message about the breach of contract appeared.

He had breached the terms that required all harvested watermelons to be returned to the Dragon Market.

"What?! A penalty? For a single watermelon, how petty!"

Angered by the message, Zelga remarked,

"Since it's come to this, I might as well plant a whole bunch of them."

Now having become a watermelon thief, Zelga.

Tuk.

Thinking there was no big difference between stealing one or two watermelons, he stole another and extracted its seeds.

Since he had paid the penalty, the stolen watermelons were his.

Naturally, he believed the seeds from his watermelon were also his.

At that moment, as he went down to the 69th floor and planted the seed of the Drought-Inducing Watermelon,

[You have planted a seed of Drought-Inducing Watermelon.] [The drought-inducing watermelon seed absorbs water without regard for others.]

...

..

.

[You have unlawfully planted a crop of the Black Tower's Tower Farmer Park Sejun without permission.]

[According to the Tower's laws, Blue Tower's Tower Farmer Zelga will become a slave of the Black Tower's Tower Farmer Park Sejun for the next 100 years.]

As the sea disappeared, so did Zelga's freedom.

"What?! I'm a slave to the Black Tower's Tower Farmer?!"

Panic-stricken by the message, Zelga was called out by Kin.

-Zelga, what have you done?! Come up here right now!

Kin, enraged by the 20 billion Tower Coin debt and the slave message, summoned Zelga.

***

"Ah, this is nice."

Sejun, having finished planting the Sundried Red Peppers, lay on the stone platform basking in the sun.

Around Sejun, Theo, Cuengi, Ajax, and Fenrir were also lying down, lazily basking in the sunlight.

Then,

[You have received enough light.] [Your Strength increases by 5 due to the effect of the Sundried Red Pepper.]

"Hehehe. I'm happy."

Sejun smiled contentedly as he read the message.

"Puhuhut. Chairman Park, I'm happy too, meow!"

Theo, who had been dozing off on Sejun's lap in the warm sun, said with a face full of happiness.

Kueng! Kueng!

[Cuengi is happy too! But Cuengi would be even more happier with some snacks!]

"Really? Then should we make our Cuengi even happier?"

Kuehehehe. Kueng!

[Hehehe. Yes, please!]

"Eh?! Hyung! I think I'd be happy with some snacks too!"

Ajax quickly shouted out, worried that only Cuengi would receive snacks.

"Hehehe. Alright. Let's have some snacks, Ajax."

Clank.

Sejun opened his void storage and took out various snacks.

In addition to the official snacks of the 99th floor of the Black Tower, such as dried sweet potatoes, there were also dried persimmons, crispy dried banana chips, and chewy garaetteok.

And so, snack time began.

Kuehehehe. Kueng!

[Hehehe. Dad, Cuengi is so happy!]

"Ehihi. Hyung! I'm so happy too!"

Kkihihih. Kking! Kking?

"Heheh. Four snacks! What's the occasion today?"

Cuengi, Ajax, and Fenrir ate the snacks with happy expressions.

"They're eating well."

As Sejun watched the three of them with a satisfied expression,

[Your soul feels fulfilled with overflowing happiness.] [Mental Strength increases by 1.]

His Mental Strength increased as well.

Tap. Tap.

"Chairman Park, give me some snacks too, meow!"

"Alright."

'I was wondering why you were staying still.'

As Sejun scooped some Churu with a spoon and brought it in front of Theo,

Slurp. Slurp. Slurp.

Theo licked the Churu deliciously.

"Puhuhut. I'm happy, meow! As expected from Chairman Park, meow!"

[Your soul feels fulfilled with infinite trust towards you.] [Mental Strength increases by 1.]

Oh, Mental Strength has increased again!

"Yes, I'm happy too."

At that moment,

[Blue Tower's Tower Farmer Zelga has stolen one Drought-Inducing Watermelon.] A message appeared, stating that a watermelon had been stolen.

"Steal? I specifically set a high penalty to keep it from being taken..."

[According to the contract, 10 billion Tower Coins have been received from Kin Aster as a penalty.] Thud.

It seems that Zelga from the Blue Tower thought Sejun's happiness was lacking and gave him money.

[Blue Tower's Tower Farmer Zelga has stolen one Drought-Inducing Watermelon.] [According to the contract, 10 billion Tower Coins have been received from Kin Aster as a penalty.]

Twice at that.

"Hehehe. Thank you."

Sejun happily picked up the Tower Coins that had fallen to the ground.

But,

[It has been confirmed that the Blue Tower's Tower Farmer Zelga has planted a Drought-Inducing Watermelon without permission.] As if to say that he shouldn't be so happy too soon, an even bigger gift came.

[According to the laws of the Tower, a Tower Farmer who has planted a crop with exclusive cultivation rights without permission must work under the holder of those rights for 100 years.] [According to the laws of the Tower, the Black Tower's Tower Farmer Park Sejun will now have the Blue Tower's Tower Farmer Zelga as his slave for the next 100 years.]

The Blue Tower's Tower Farmer Zelga became Sejun's fourth Tower Farmer slave.

"No. I could stop being happy now... Hehehe."

Laughter of happiness burst forth naturally.

[According to the job trait, you borrow 0.2% of the Blue Tower's Tower Farmer Zelga's stats.] [Your Strength increases by 11, Stamina by 16, Agility by 6, and Magic Power by 14.]

Thanks to that, his stats also increased.

"Zelga is quite weak, huh?"

Sejun spoke in a slightly disappointed tone upon seeing the modest increase in stats.

Of course, Zelga was definitely stronger than him, but this level wouldn't even make Sejun faint if he stood in front. Should we see his face?

"Guys, gather around!"

Before summoning Zelga, Sejun called Theo, Cuengi, Ajax, and Veronica to prepare for any unforeseen circumstances.

And then,

"Summon Slave Number Four!"

Sejun summoned Zelga.

[Summoning Blue Tower's Tower Farmer Zelga.] The message appeared, but even after 10 seconds and 20 seconds passed, Zelga didn't show up. It was because of the distance between the Black Tower and the Blue Tower.

After another 30 seconds passed,

"Kin~nim, I am sorry! I am so sorry!"

Zelga was summoned in a state of prostrating himself before the great Blue Dragon, Kin, begging for forgiveness.

Poor guy.

I should treat him well.

"But where is that fishy smell coming from?"

As Sejun was looking for the source of the smell,

Pat. Pat.

"Do you also want to seek asylum?"

Veronica, feeling a sense of camaraderie, patted Zelga on the back and suggested asylum.

***

The Black Dragon's Territory.

"Kahaha. It's done."

Kaiser, who had been focusing all his attention on eliminating the destruction inside Fenrir's core, opened his eyes.

Since he had to remove exactly 0.25% of Fenrir's 1% power contained in the core, he had no room to spare to move the statue and had to concentrate.

Kaiser, who had removed precisely 0.25% of the power of destruction.

Swoosh.

He swept up the Tower Coins that had fallen on the floor after removing the power of destruction.

"Good. Exactly 250 billion Tower Coins!"

Kaiser smiled, satisfied with his precise calculation.

Then,

"I'm envious."

Brachio, who had been watching from the side and not leaving, spoke enviously.

"Hey! Brachio, I told you to go back already!"

Kaiser yelled at Brachio, who had been lingering around for days despite being told to leave.

"So just hurry up and tell Sejun about me."

"No way. Then Aileen would be mad at me!"

"Do it!"

"No!"

While Kaiser and Brachio were bickering,

"What?! Dragon Market VIP?! What is that?"

Kaiser, who had been handing over Fenrir's core to Tier, the next in line, heard the new news.

And then,

"The great Black Dragon, lower-ranked than Ramter? Unacceptable! Brachio, just wait, I'll talk to Sejun for you!"

Upon the shocking news, Kaiser changed his mind.

Even if he got a little scolded by Aileen, he decided to promote the Dragon Market to Brachio and make himself a VIP.

Of course, first, he would have to calm Sejun's anger towards Brachio.

Kaiser moved the Black Dragon statue and hurriedly went to find Sejun.

Meanwhile,

"Crisella, I'll give you a chance to trade with the Dragon Market."

"Artemis, is there a problem with the tower? There's this thing called Dragon Market. They have various crops..."

Following Ramter, Kellion and Tier were visiting the Silver Tower and the Gold Tower to promote the Dragon Market and become the next VIPs of the Dragon Market.

***

"Oh! This is really delicious!"

Zelga took off his hood and ate the potato that Sejun gave him as a gesture of comfort.

And then,

'So it was him.'

Sejun could finally identify the source of the fishy smell.

The figure of Zelga, with his hood removed, was that of a merman—a fish with arms and legs.

"Eat a lot."

"Yes!"

At Sejun's words, Zelga began to eat the potatoes vigorously.

"Puhuhut. Zelga, eat a lot, meow!"

"Yes. Thank you."

Normally indifferent to others eating, Theo, for some reason, recommended the food with a pleased expression.

And then,

"Puhuhut."

Theo wagged his tail and his eyes sparkled as he watched Zelga eating deliciously. It was very suspicious.

"It looks like he's going to cause trouble..."

As Sejun looked at Theo uneasily,

"Puhuhut. Chairman Park, can't we make grilled fish out of that guy, meow?"

Theo approached Sejun and whispered quietly so Zelga couldn't hear. I knew it.

"No."

"Got it, meow!"

Theo quickly gave up at Sejun's firm response.

"That's right! Chairman Park, take this, meow!"

Suddenly, he pulled out money from his bundle. Money received from Uren and items obtained from the Caiman Kingdom poured out.

"Hehehe. I'm happy."

Sejun smiled as he looked at the wealth Theo had poured out.

Today was a day overflowing with happiness.

Just then,

-Sejun!

Kaiser flew in to deliver another piece of happiness to Sejun.

*****