Chapter 376: Uncle, Don't Get Married!
"Iona, what are you doing here anyway?"
Theo asked Iona, who was wrapping his tail and smiling contentedly.
"Kyoot kyoot kyoot. I came to solve a request."
"A request, meow?"
"Kyoot kyoot kyoot. Yes! These days in the tower..."
Though Theo didn't ask, Iona excitedly explained in detail why she had come down.
It was a scene that the wizards of the Wizard Tower or the Wizard's Association wouldn't believe if they saw it. Iona was known for her scowls whenever spoken to.
"Puhuhut. I'll go with you, meow!"
After hearing Iona's explanation, Theo decided to follow her.
Because the word 'Red Mist' in Iona's explanation caught his attention. It must be a fragment of Fenrir's core, meow!
There was nothing to lose since he could collect the Fenrir core fragment that Sejun was looking for and spend time with Iona.
"Kyoot kyoot kyoot. Really?!"
Iona was overjoyed at the prospect of Theo joining her.
"Puhuhut. That's right, meow! Which direction should we go, meow?"
When Theo stood up and asked Iona, Piyot and Uren also got up, ready to move.
"Kyoot kyoot kyoot. It's that way!"
Iona pointed in the direction with her short front paw.
At the end of that path was Boar City, a once flourishing city now in decline, once ruled by the great landlord Grid.
"Puhuhut. Let's go, meow!"
Theo, Iona, Piyot, and Uren set off towards Boar City.
***
Black Tower, 99th floor.
[You have planted Agility Cucumbers in the magic-infused soil.]
[Your job experience has increased slightly.]
...
..
.
Sejun was planting cucumber seeds after planting all the seeds of cabbage and radish he had harvested.
He felt particularly motivated today.
[You have consumed Aileen's Healthier Meatball Piece.]
[You must eat all the remaining pieces to gain its effects.]
[69 pieces remaining.]
He continued working without taking a break, eating Aileen's meatball pieces for lunch.
While Sejun was planting cucumbers,
Kking! Kking!
'Hey! I'm hungry! Give me food!'
Fenrir, who had been sleeping in the sling bag, woke up and whined.
"Got it. Blackie, it's time to eat too."
Sejun placed Fenrir on the ground, filled a bowl with milk, and gave it to him along with some dried roasted sweet potato pieces.
Kkihihit. Kking!
'Hihit. I'll hold it, so it can't escape!'
Perhaps due to the nightmare of the milk lake, Fenrir put his right front paw in the bowl to hold the milk in place.
Slurp. Slurp. Slurp.
He ate the dried sweet potato pieces, occasionally wetting his throat with milk.
"Stay put and eat."
Sejun warned the eagerly eating Fenrir and went back to planting cucumbers.
After a while,
[You have completed a 16528 squre meter cucumber field.]
[You have gained 10,000 experience points due to your job trait.]
A message appeared after Sejun finished planting the cucumbers.
"Hahaha. This is rewarding."
As Sejun was smiling contentedly at the message,
"Uh? Where's Blackie?"
Fenrir was nowhere to be seen, leaving behind only an empty bowl.
While Sejun was searching for Fenrir,
Crunch.
Fenrir was digging up and eating the radish seeds that Sejun had planted earlier in the radish field. Today, he wasn't in a generous mood!
And then,
Kkihihit. Kking? Kking. Kking!
'Hihit. Does it taste better because it has my core's energy? I should feed more cores of my core pieces to the butler!"
He realized that the seeds imbued with his core's energy tasted better when he ate them after feeding his core piece to Sejun.
"Hey! Who told you to eat the seeds?!"
Sejun hurriedly grabbed Fenrir by the scruff and put him back into the sling bag.
However,
"Blackie, you little rascal, how many seeds did you eat?"
Fenrir had already eaten 200 of the radish seeds Sejun had planted.
Kking. Kking.
'I'm full now. I'm going to sleep.'
Kurorong.
Perhaps knowing that he would be scolded by Sejun, Fenrir quickly fell asleep to digest the core's energy.
"If you sleep like that, I..."
Sejun was annoyed with Fenrir, who had caused trouble and then fallen asleep, and tried to wake him, but seeing Fenrir's cute, peaceful face, he couldn't bring himself to do it.
"Well, as long as you don't get sick."
Sejun gently rubbed Fenrir's bulging belly to help with digestion.
After a while,
Burp.
Fenrir let out a hearty burp and grew slightly larger. Fortunately, the sling bag still had some room.
But,
"Blackie, you little..."
Feeling a bit uneasy about Fenrir's growth, Sejun poked Fenrir's belly out of spite. Who gave you permission to get stronger without asking?
Kkiing...
Fenrir rolled over and hugged Sejun's poking finger.
"Hmph. I'll let it slide this time."
The softness and warmth from Fenrir's touch made Sejun smile gently.
***
When Theo and his party arrived at Boar City,
"Oh! Iona-nim and your companions, welcome."
Meerkat Tre, who had taken over the market of Boar City after the wild boars loyal to landlord Grid were driven out, came out to greet them warmly.
"Kyoot kyoot kyoot. Tre, where is the target of the request?"
"Uh... could we discuss it inside the inner castle? We've prepared a meal."
"Kyoot kyoot kyoot. Alright then!"
Though Iona wasn't hungry, she didn't refuse. It was because Tre, who kept stretching his neck and looking around anxiously, seemed uneasy.
'It's a trap.'
Someone was definitely lying in wait in the inner castle with a trap set up.
'Kyoot kyoot kyoot. It's not bad since I get to spend more time with Theo-nim.'
Happy about spending more time with Theo, Iona followed Tre into the inner castle.
On the way to the inner castle,
...
Though it was a declining city, it was too quiet. As if there was no one around.
As they entered the inner castle,
Clang.
The iron gate fell, closing the inner castle door.
"I'm... I'm sorry. They said if I didn't bring Iona-nim here..."
"Kyoot kyoot kyoot. It's alright. Power of Gravity..."
Iona stopped Tre, who was apologizing to her, and began chanting a spell to prepare for battle.
"Meow! Hurry up and stamp it, meow!"
Piyo!
[Stamp it properly here!]
"Yes!"
Meanwhile, Theo and Piyot were intimidating Tre into stamping a slave contract.
"...Is it because of me again?"
Thinking that falling into a trap was due to his bad luck again, Uren began to take money out of his pocket.
At that moment,
Thump. Thump.
A giant red boar appeared from the inner castle. It was Pex, who had been a subordinate of Grid in the past.
"Iona, I've been waiting for this moment! The enemy of Grid-nim!"
Pex, who was destined to live in hiding forever, had gained power by chance and thought of avenging Grid.
So, he took over Boar City, which was once their city, and held everyone living in the city hostage to force the mayor to call Iona.
There were some riffraff beside him, but that wouldn't be a problem. He could just kill them all. With his plan...
As Pex confidently smiled at Iona,
"Gravity Control!"
Iona applied 20 times the gravity on Pex. Everyone has a plan until they get hit.
Kwaaang!
"Guh!"
Unable to withstand the gravity, Pex was crushed flat to the ground. At the same time, his towering confidence was also crushed into the ground in an instant.
He couldn't even move a finger under the overwhelming force pressing down on him.
He realized he couldn't do anything against such a strong opponent. They were on a different level.
He could see his broken white arm bone sticking out through his skin, unable to withstand the gravity. Blood was also oozing out through the hole.
His consciousness began to fade.
At that moment,
- Do you need more power?
He heard the whisper that had given him strength before.
***
"Kyoot kyoot kyoot. It's over."
As Iona was about to deliver the final blow to the dying Pex,
"Yes... I'll offer my soul... give me... power..."
Pex gritted his teeth and uttered his last words.
And then,
Whoosh.
At the same time as Pex's answer, a crimson mist began to flow out and envelop Pex's body.
"Hellfire!"
Sensing the immense energy, Iona quickly attacked Pex.
However, the crimson mist blocked Iona's attack and forcibly lifted the fallen Pex.
Crack.
The sound of Pex's bones breaking as he struggled to withstand the 20 times gravity could be heard continuously.
When the crimson mist fully covered Pex, a wolf head made of the mist appeared beside his head.
-Kukukuk. I am... the one who kills dragons. You foolish ones. Become my prey.
The wolf head roared and moved Pex's body.
"Wind, create a storm at my command. Tornado."
Iona hurriedly chanted a spell and cast magic.
Whooong.
A powerful wind gathered and quickly formed a whirlwind that engulfed the body controlled by the wolf head.
However, the whirlwind, which seemed capable of grinding everything to dust, lost its momentum as soon as it touched the crimson mist.
"Power of gravity..."
Iona immediately prepared another gravity spell.
The crimson mist had nullified Hellfire and Tornado, but it couldn't nullify Gravity Control.
"Mini Black Hole."
When Iona cast the spell, a black hole opened behind Pex and began to suck in everything around it with strong suction.
But,
-Kukukuk. You can't kill me with that.
Pex withstood the suction power with the strength of the crimson mist, but that was his limit.
"Kyoot kyoot kyoot. Let's see how long you can last. Power of gravity, at my command, strike the enemy..."
This time, Iona used Mini Black Hole in front of Pex.
-Eek! I... like this...
Unable to endure it, Pex's body was torn in two and sucked into the black hole.
Just as the black orb that emerged from Pex's body was about to be sucked into the black hole,
"Meow!"
A golden line slashed through the air, and the black orb disappeared.
Theo had used the One-Meow Slash to save the black orb from being sucked into the black hole by sacrificing a bit of his strength.
"Puhuhut. It's a 0.001% power fragment!"
Theo put the black orb into his bag to give it to Sejun later.
A little later.
Having completed the request, Theo and his party finished the meal Tre hurriedly prepared.
"Kyoot kyoot kyoot. Theo-nim, I'll finish up quickly and return."
"Puhuhut. Got it, meow!"
They parted ways, promising to meet again.
***
Late afternoon.
Kueng!
[Dad, Cuengi is back!]
Cuengi, who had been digging up kudzu roots, returned to the farm.
Kueng!
[Dad, eat this!]
"Sure. Thanks. Let's eat together, Cuengi."
Sejun and Cuengi each ate a blue kudzu root peacefully.
[You have consumed a Blue Kudzu Root of Potential.]
[All stat potentials increase by 5.]
After eating the kudzu root,
Kueng!
[Dad, Cuengi is going for special training!]
Cuengi stood up immediately.
"I'll go with you."
Sejun followed Cuengi.
'I need to have a chat with Black Rabbit.'
It had been days since Black Rabbit reached the 99th floor of the tower, but he showed no intention of going back down.
So Sejun planned to ask what was going on.
Kueng! Kueng!
[Got it! Hold tightly to Cuengi!]
"Okay!"
At Cuengi's words, Sejun hugged Cuengi tightly. Otherwise, he could fall.
Kueng!
[Here we go!]
Kwang!
Using his telekinesis, Cuengi flew like Superman.
And then,
"Ahhhhh..."
Sejun fluttered like a cape behind Cuengi.
A moment later,
Kueng!
[Big brother is training over there!]
While floating in the sky, Cuengi pointed down to the ground.
Ppiyaak!
[Nine thousand-nine hundred one!]
There, Black Rabbit was doing jumping squats with a Black Minotaur on his back, jumping 10 meters with each squat.
Ppiyaak!
[One more!]
Black Rabbit finished his last jumping squat and collapsed.
"Black Rabbit, it's time to go home."
Sejun waited for the training to end and then approached Black Rabbit.
Then,
Ppiyak!
[Uncle, don't get married!]
'This brat...'
Black Rabbit's sudden words riled up Sejun.
But,
Ppiyak!
[Uncle, I'm really scared of the night!]
After hearing the next words, he understood. Like father, like son. It's okay. Your dad was like that too.
*****
Black Rabbit at night be Like:
*****