Chapter 96
TL: Hanguk
Thud.
When Iona used magic, the ground started to shake. Then the cave slowly began to sink.
After a while,
[You have completed the Mid-level Administrator Quest.]
[You have gained 3 million experience points as a reward for completing the Mid-level Administrator Quest.]
[You have earned 50,000 Tower Coins as a reward for completing the Mid-level Administrator Quest.]
He received the original quest rewards as the quest completion message appeared. The locusts were all wiped out at once by Iona's mini black hole magic.
[You have fulfilled your duty as an Mid-level Administrator.]
[You will return to the 99th floor of the tower in 30 seconds.]
A message appeared announcing his return to the 99th floor of the tower now that the mission was over.
"Iona, I'm going first."
Sejun hastily bid farewell to Iona.
"Huh?"
Unfortunately, Iona, who had not been designated as a subordinate, couldn't come with him.
Squeak!
Kreong!
Pi Ppi...
The animals waved their hands to bid farewell to Iona. The greetings from the black rabbit and Cuengi were cheerful, while ChuChu was sad to part with her master.
Then,
"Puhuhuhut. Iona, take care. President Park's lap is now mine!"
Theo, who got to monopolize Sejun's lap, disappeared, making a taunting comment to Iona.
"Kyoo-Kyoo-Kyoo-Kyoo-My sweet nap!!!"
Iona, now deprived of her sleep place, entered the 4th stage of her anger.
Kyooooooo!
The black hole grew larger in response to Iona's anger. Only after she erased the entire Navia Swamp did Iona, who had come to her senses, moved quickly.
***
The Administrator's Area of the Tower.
[The population of Yellow Locusts on the 67th floor of the tower has exceeded 3 billion.]
[The population of Yellow Locusts on the 67th floor of the tower has met the evolution conditions.]
...
..
.
[The population of Blue Locusts on the 67th floor of the tower has exceeded 5 billion.]
...
..
.
[Red Locusts on the 67th floor of the tower are evolving into Purple Locusts.]
"What?!"
Aileen was taken aback as the dwindling number of locusts suddenly increased rapidly.
"Did something happen to our Sejun?!"
She was worried, although she had given him powerful power to protect him, as he was still relatively weak.
Just when Aileen's anxiety level was skyrocketing,
[Mid-level Administrator Park Sejun has completed his quest.]
[Returning to the 99th floor of the tower.]
"Hehehe. Trying to get a higher reward, huh? Indeed a remarkable human! I knew you could do it!"
Aileen hurriedly searched for Sejun through the crystal orb. She had missed him terribly after not seeing him for several days.
***
[You have arrived at the 99th floor of the Tower.]
Sejun finished his mission on the 67th floor and returned to his home on the 99th floor of the Tower.
Kreong!
As soon as they arrived, Cuengi rushed to his mother.
Squeak!
Pi Ppi.
The rabbits also went to see the other rabbits.
"Maybe I should check the farm too."
"You're going to work again, meow? Rest for a while, meow!"
Theo, who was now comfortably resting on Sejun's lap, was irritated when Sejun said he was going out to work again.
"It'll be over soon."
Sejun, who had now fully become a farmer, only wanted to quickly check if there was anything wrong with the farm while he was absent.
Then,
[The Tower's administrator says you've worked very hard.]
"Yep. And thanks for the power. I was able to save my life thanks to you, Aileen."
[...The Tower's administrator says that there's no need to thank her as she...she was worried and gave it to you because you were weak.]
Aileen, flustered by the compliment, uttered something she didn't mean.
"But, when I thought that I might die, I really missed Aileen."
To be precise, he wanted to see her at least once before he died, but the atmosphere got strange because of the weird way Sejun was speaking.
[......]
"Aileen?"
Upon hearing Sejun's words, the flustered Aileen hid herself.
And then,
- Sejun, I admit, you've done well.
The black dragon statue on the fountain nodded its head.
***
Sejun, having finished his conversation with Aileen, surveyed the farm.
"They're doing well as expected."
Tomato fields, sweet potato fields, carrot fields, and other fields on the ground were well managed by the white rabbits, who were specialists in farming.
The harvest was done properly, and new fields were made, making the size of the farm quite large.
When Sejun arrived at the end of the field, he saw black soil.
"It's almost finished here too."
Before he knew it, the Black Minotaurs had turned over the soil, and about 90% of the wasteland had turned into fertile black soil. It seemed like anything could grow well on this soil.
After examining the fields above ground, Sejun went down into the cave.
"Flamie, have you been well?"
[Yes! Master! I'm so glad to see you!]
As soon as Sejun arrived, Flamie flapped its leaves excitedly and greeted Sejun.
"Huh?! The number of Ents has increased?"
Sejun asked, noticing the ten Ents that had grown up to his chest.
[Yes! The Ents are continuously producing seeds in the western forest and planting them!]
"Is that so? I should go take a look."
As Sejun said this and stroked Flamie's leaves,
[Farmer's Touch Lv. 2 has been activated.]
[While your hand is in contact, the growth of the apple tree is slightly accelerated.]
The skill was activated, promoting the growth of Flamie.
[Hehehe. Master! I'm growing!]
"Is that so."
Externally, it didn't look like there was much difference, but Sejun had no intention of spoiling Flamie's good mood with unnecessary words.
After chatting with Flamie, Sejun went to bed.
And then,
"Meow meow meow."
Theo, excited by the joy of monopolizing Sejun's knee after a long time, sang a cheerful humming song. He was so happy that he couldn't sleep.
Then,
(Theo, brother! Are you here?)
"Meeeoow!"
Theo was startled by the greeting of the golden bat that had been hiding in the corner of the room.
(Sorry if I startled you.)
The golden bat quickly apologized.
However,
"Meow? What are you talking about, meow? I wasn't startled, meow! Have you been well, golden bat?"
Theo, who couldn't show a weak side to his youngest brother, asked how he was as if nothing had happened.
(Yes. But brother, I have a concern.)
"What's up, meow? I'll give you some advice, meow!"
Theo's breath quickened with the anticipation of being able to act as a big brother.
(What should I bring back from outside the tower that Sejun would like?)
The golden bat, who would soon be going out of the tower again, was wondering what to bring back that Sejun would like.
"That's too easy, meow!"
Fortunately, the golden bat's problem was Theo's specialty.
(Is it easy?)
"Just bring whatever your front paws are attracted to, meow! Every time I brought something that attracted me, I received a lot of compliments from Sejun, meow!"
(Oh! I'm jealous, brother! But how do I know what my paws are attracted to?)
"You just know, meow!"
It was a completely unhelpful piece of advice.
***
Bam!
Iona entered the Chairman's office of the Wandering Merchant Association by forcefully opening the door with wind magic.
"Kyoo-Kyoo-Kyoo- Chairman Mason! I accuse Tariq, the leader of the Chow Group and the elite wandering merchant, of his crimes!"
"Tariq?"
'What did he do this time?'
Mason thought that Tariq must have made a big mistake, seeing Iona in 3rd stage of her anger.
"Iona, why don't we have a tea first and then talk?"
"No, I have a busy day today. Here's the evidence."
Iona, who needed to move quickly to the 99th floor of the tower to get a good night's sleep, declined Mason's suggestion and handed him a necklace.
"What's this?"
"It's a necklace with a video recording spell on it."
"Ah. Then I'll watch the video and decide on Tariq's punishment."
"I already did that."
"What?"
"I already punished Tariq. To death."
"What?!!!"
Mason was surprised at Iona's answer. Tariq was a subordinate of Landlord Grid, the leader of the boar tribe. Mason was unable to do anything about Tariq because of Grid, who threatened him with food as a weapon.
"Iona! Even if Tariq committed a big mistake, how could you ignore the Wandering Merchant Association and kill a wandering merchant?!!"
Mason was furious. The situation was already beyond repair.
"Tariq fed the red locusts on the 67th floor of the tower, increasing their numbers. That's a threat to the safety of the tower. As the Chairman of the Wizard's Association, I have the authority to make an immediate judgment. Everything is stored in the necklace, so check it out."
"Is that true?"
Mason quickly started checking the video. The video showed Tariq giving several bribes and throwing away monster corpses. And even trying to get away by mentioning Landlord Grid
In the meantime, Iona quickly went up to the 99th floor of the tower.
'With this, I can even involve Grid.'
Everything always depends on the justification. And the justification for executing a being that tried to endanger the tower was just too perfect.
'If I do well, I can finish off Grid with this video.'
Then a video that Iona had additionally stored at the end of the video came out.
-Chairman Mason, confiscate the wealth of the Chow Group and use them to compensate for the expenses of the Wandering Merchant Association, the Freelance Mercenary Association, and the Wizard's Association. And the remaining money will be entrusted to the intermediate wandering merchant Theo to be used for the reconstruction of the 67th floor of the tower.
"Theo?"
Mason called his subordinate and ordered him to bring information about Theo.
***
"Alright."
Sejun woke up from his sleep.
And then
Zzzz.
Zzzz.
"Hmm? Iona?"
Sejun hurriedly looked at his knee at the sound of Iona's snoring.
And then
"When did she get up here?"
Iona was visible, covered with Theo's tail on his knee.
Iona, who quickly traveled through the light-speed merchant route as soon as Sejun left, was fortunately able to finish her work and arrived an hour ago, was able to have a quick nap on Sejun's knee, using Theo's tail as blanket.
Just then,
Flap. Flap.
The golden bat appeared in front of Sejun.
(Sejun! What do you think about this? It has a good grip, so I was attracted to it!)
The golden bat, who took Theo's advice, handed Sejun the item it brought.
"Is this a wireless microphone? Don't tell me you went outside the tower?"
(Yes! This time I brought something that attracted me, as per Big Brother Theo's advice!)
The golden bat looked at Sejun with hopeful eyes.
'Am I also going to be praised?'
It was because Theo had boasted about bringing something attractive and getting affection from Sejun, which was why.
However,
"Golden bat, that only works for Theo."
Theo was gifted.
(Oh...)
The golden bat was disappointed by Sejun's words.
"It's okay. At least now I know that you appear in the karaoke room with this wireless microphone. Let's start by learning letters first."
Sejun was planning to teach the golden bat the letters so it could bring back information that could identify the places it appeared.
(Yes! I will learn diligently!)
"Now, this is 'Giyeok'."
Swoosh.
Sejun picked up a twig and drew a 'ㄱ' on the ground.
Swoosh.
('Giyeok.')
The golden bat also picked up a twig and copied the letter Sejun wrote and read it out.
On the 264th day of being stranded, Sejun began teaching Hangul¹ to the golden bat.
***
At a coin karaoke in Seoul.
"Black limo...Huh?!"
Suddenly, the microphone disappeared from the hand of the man who was singing passionately.
A moment later,
"There's nothing to steal here, so you stole a microphone! Compensate quickly! Or I'm going to report it to the police!"
"No, I really didn't steal it! Check the CCTV!"
In response to the bar owner's accusation, the man insisted on checking the CCTV in his defense.
And then,
"Huh?!"
"See?! I told you I didn't steal it!"
In the CCTV footage, the microphone suddenly disappeared from the man's hand.
And when they rewound the footage slowly, they could see something golden moving fast, taking the microphone from the man's hand.
"Let's send this to 'There's Such a Thing in the World'."
"Should we?"
By coincidence, both were avid viewers of 'There's Such a Thing in the World'.
*****
*****
TL Notes:
1) Hangul, alphabetic system used for writing the Korean language.
*****