Chapter 406: So That Makes 8?!
TL: Hanguk
4th Floor of the Black Tower.
"Attack!"
Hundreds of thousands of hunters formed a massive circle with a radius of 10km around the waypoint.
Keeaak!
They were fighting against the Flesh Eaters that surrounded them.
Protecting the waypoint was extremely important because if the waypoint on the 4th floor was captured, there would be no way to come to the 4th floor in the future.
"Mages, prepare buffs!"
"Yes!"
Under the command of Han Tae-jun, who was directing the mages, they began to take out cherry tomatoes from their pouches and eat them.
Sejun's A-grade Magical Cherry Tomatoes, which increase magic power by 1 for 10 minutes upon consumption.
Up to 10 can be stacked, so consuming them all at once can increase magic power by 10.
With the magic power buff from the cherry tomatoes, the mages were ready.
"Mages, use your magic! Magic Missile! Dodge if you can! Multi Magic Missile!"
"Fireball!"
"Fire Arrow!"
Starting with Han Tae-jun, the mages began using their magic.
The Flesh Eaters were reduced in number by the mages' magical bombardment, providing a brief respite on the front line.
"Prepare buffs!"
Leon, the guild master of the Phoenix Guild who was commanding the warriors, shouted to the hunters.
And then,
Crunch. Crunch.
The warriors began to eat Sejun's crops from their pouches.
Most ate Stamina Corn, while hunters with more money ate the expensive Power Sweet Potato or Power Potato.
Now that Sejun's crops were widely distributed, overall prices had fallen a lot.
However, Power Sweet Potato, which enhances effects by five times, Power Potato that cures stomach cancer, and Agility Carrot that treats vision were still expensive.
Hunters who couldn't afford even Stamina Corn ate combat rations to fill their bellies.
While the mages bought time, the warriors, who had gained buffs from eating the crops, resumed fighting the Flesh Eaters.
After about an hour, they had exterminated all the surrounding Flesh Eaters.
"Phew. Hurry and rest! The next wave of Flesh Eaters will arrive in an hour!"
Thud.
The exhausted hunters immediately sat down on the spot.
At that moment,
"Humans! We are here, meow!"
The cat employees of Sejun Company visited them.
"Oh! The wandering merchants of Sejun Company!"
"If you die collecting contribution points, it's all for nothing! Hurry and exchange for tower coins to buy crops!"
While the hunters without money hurriedly exchanged their contribution points for tower coins,
"Give me 1000 Magical Cherry Tomatoes!"
"I'll take 100 Stamina Corn!"
Other hunters quickly lined up in front of the wandering merchants and began buying goods.
Without the supply from these wandering merchants, it would have been impossible to defend the waypoint on the 4th floor of the tower.
While the hunters were buying Sejun's crops,
"Huh? Is this a pineapple?"
Miel, a mage hunter, discovered a new crop.
What is this?
As Miel timidly reached for the pineapple,
Slap.
"No, meow! Don't touch it, meow!"
Ellie, the Intern cat, slapped Miel's hand and stopped her.
"Ouch! Why did you hit me?!"
"It might explode if you touch it, meow!"
"What? Explode? You're joking, right?"
Does it mean it's so delicious it will explode?
"I'm not joking, meow!"
"Really? Then can I at least check the options? I'll be careful."
"Alright, meow! Be really careful, meow!"
As Ellie carefully held the pineapple with her front paws like chapssaltteok, Miel cautiously placed her hand on the pineapple.
And then,
[heading_tag][Suppressed Screaming Pineapple][/heading_tag]
...
..
.
→ Cultivator: Tower Farmer Park Sejun
→ Shelf Life: 120 days
→ Grade: A
"I'll buy them all!"
After checking the options of the pineapple, Miel shouted.
"Really, meow?! Great, meow! It's 1000 tower coins per piece, meow!"
"What?! 1000 tower coins?!"
Almost close to 1 billion won in price.
'A single pineapple for 1 billion is too expensive...'
Miel hesitated for a moment.
"If you're not buying, move aside. We want to buy."
The hunters lined up behind began eyeing the pineapple.
"Looks like they're selling a new crop over there."
"Really? Let's switch lines!"
With other hunters showing interest in the pineapple and switching lines,
That's right! Park Sejun's crops have always been worth the price!
Growing impatient, Miel decided to trust Park Sejun's name rather than her own judgment.
"Fine! Give me 50!"
Are they really buying this?
When Vice Chairman Theo instructed the Sejun Company's wandering merchants to sell the pineapples, all the wandering merchants were reluctant.
They thought it was difficult to store and wouldn't be popular with the hunters.
So the youngest, Ellie, had no choice but to bring all the remaining stock, but...
Ellie ended up selling 100 pineapples that day and recorded the highest sales among the wandering merchants.
As the wandering merchants left,
"The enemies are coming!"
"Prepare for battle!"
The battle started again.
I'll give try it first.
"Power of the wind... Wind Blow!"
To test its power, Miel used a wind spell to send the pineapple into the middle of the Flesh Eaters' formation.
Please be worth 1000 tower coins!
Miel prayed as she watched the flying pineapple.
While Miel was praying,
Thud.
The pineapple fell among the Flesh Eaters.
And then,
Crack.
The middle of the pineapple split from the impact, and the trapped magic power burst out violently.
Screeee!
Kwagwang!
Along with a tremendous scream, a huge shockwave occurred.
The Flesh Eaters within a 50-meter radius of the explosion point were annihilated by the shockwave, and the enemies within a 100-meter radius were knocked out.
[You have killed a Flesh Eater.]
[You have gained 1000 experience points.]
[Contribution has increased by 1.]
...
..
.
[You have leveled up.]
[You have gained 3 bonus stats.]
[Magic power has increased by 5.]
"Oh! Level up!"
While Miel was delighted by the level-up message,
[You have annihilated the enemy using a bomb.]
[You can change class to Bomb Mage (C).]
[Do you want to change class?]
A job advancement message appeared.
Bomb Mage?!
C-rank, higher than her current job, Mage (D).
I have to do this!
Miel instinctively felt that this choice would change her destiny.
"I'll change class."
Miel decisively chose to advance,
"Kukukuk! Explode!"
That day, she single-handedly wiped out half the enemies, earning an enormous amount of contribution.
***
75th Floor of the Black Tower.
Grrrr.
Fenrir growled, watching Theo and Cuengi approaching him with fierce expressions.
Despite his efforts, he only looked cute.
Kking! Kking!
[Don’t come any closer! I'll bite if you do!]
When his growl didn’t work, Fenrir barked noisily.
However,
"Blackie, you're noisy, meow! You really need to be punished, meow!"
Kueng!
[Cuengi will teach you what manners are!]
That only made his older brothers angrier.
Kking?! Kking!
[Hey! What are you doing?! Protect me!]
Fenrir, cornered, asked his butler, Sejun, for help.
"Hey? Blackie, did you just call me 'Hey' again?"
Sejun, feeling betrayed, didn't help.
"Blackie, you have no manners, meow! You need to be disciplined, meow!"
Kueng! Kueng!
[That's right! CUengi will instill manners in you!]
Thus, Fenrir was forced to receive a manners patch through Theo and Cuengi’s punishment.
Kking! Kking!
[I'm not Blackie! I’m Fenrir, the noble wolf who hunts gods and the 1st seat of apostle of destruction!]
Fenrir finally couldn't hold it in and revealed his identity, but
"Puhuhut. If Blackie is Fenrir, then I'm Chairman Park, meow!"
Kuehehehe. Kueng!
[Hehehe. Then Cuengi is Grandpa Kaiser!]
They thought Fenrir’s words were just their cute younger brother boasting, having already seen the gigantic Fenrir on the 99th floor of the tower.
A short while later.
"From now on, be respectful to Chairman Park, meow!"
Kking...
[I got it.]
Sigh.
When Theo raised his paw at Fenrir's words,
Kking...
[Yes...]
Fenrir shrank back and used formal language.
Fenrir's manners patch was finally complete.
"But when did Blackie become able to talk?"
When Sejun asked Blackie.
...
Blackie?
Blackie didn't respond. He still wasn't used to his new name yet.
Kueng?
[Blackie, aren't you answering Dad's question?]
As Cuengi reached for the Rod of Justice from his pouch again,
Ah! My name is Blackie!
Kking! Kking!
[I don't know! It just happened suddenly!]
Blackie hurriedly answered, glancing nervously at Theo and Cuengi.
"I see. Blackie, nice to meet you. My name is Park Sejun."
Kking!
[Yes!]
Sejun formally greeted Blackie, who could now communicate.
"Alright. Let's go shopping now."
Sejun picked up Blackie and put him in a sling bag, standing up.
"Puhuhut. Chairman Park, what do you want to buy, meow?! Tell me, and I'll guide you to everything, meow!"
Theo, who had been to the shopping district many times, clung to Sejun's leg and shouted.
"Then... let's go to the blacksmith first."
"Got it, meow! This way, meow!"
Theo pointed his paw towards the blacksmith shop.
Soon they arrived at the blacksmith shop.
"Ah! This is the lottery corner!"
Sejun was moved to see the blacksmith's lottery corner, which he had only heard about.
"How much is it?"
Sejun asked the blacksmith's employee to try the lottery.
"It's 20 tower coins."
The employee answered.
"Can you give me a discount..."
Knowing how much Theo had paid, Sejun was about to use his three-times bargaining skill.
Though he had plenty of money, he always told Theo to use this skill, so he needed to set an example.
At that moment,
Kueng! Kueng!
[Cuengi will pay and negotiate!]
Enthusiastic Cuengi stepped forward. Cuengi will get a big discount and let Dad try the lottery with Cuengi's pocket money!
Kueng!
[Give a discount!]
"Then... 17 tower coins..."
As the employee began to negotiate, Cuengi took out the Rod of Justice from his snack pouch.
Cuengi, used words, not force.
Bang! Bang!
Luckily, Cuengi didn't hit the employee but lightly tapped his own paw with the rod.
However, it was only light to Cuengi; each tap shook the blacksmith shop.
"Wait a moment! Just for today, I'll give it to you for half price, 10 tower coins!"
The employee hurriedly shouted, thinking the shop might collapse if the negotiation continued.
Kuehehehe. Kueng! Kueng!
[Hehehe. Dad, Cuengi will pay! Here you go!]
At the employee's words, Cuengi proudly took out his precious 10 tower coins and paid.
"Thank you, Cuengi."
Kuehehehe. Kueng!
[Hehehe. Dad, if you need anything, Cuengi will buy it all for you!]
At Sejun's words, Cuengi proudly shouted while patting his pocket money pouch.
A little later.
"Alright. I'll take this."
After much deliberation at the lottery corner, Sejun chose a dull stone knife.
[heading_tag][Stone Knife][/heading_tag]
→ ???
→ Usage Restriction: Lv. 10
→ Maker: Anonymous
→ Grade: C
There was no particular reason. He was simply drawn to it.
"Vice Chairman Theo, how's this?"
Sejun asked the golden-pawed Theo to confirm if he had chosen well.
"Puhuhut. As expected of Chairman Park, meow! It's excellent, meow!"
"Huh? It's excellent?"
'I usually have bad luck though? This can't be right?'
Sejun was puzzled by Theo's praise.
'I'll find out soon enough.'
"Aileen, appraise this."
Sejun sent the stone knife to Aileen.
***
Black Tower Administrator's Area.
"Khehehehe. Just wait a moment, Sejun!"
Aileen hurriedly appraised the stone knife Sejun had sent.
Then,
[Earth Blade]
The item's name changed. The description said it was a divine relic of Patrick, the God of Earth.
"What?! This is a relic!"
As Aileen marveled at the Earth Blade,
[You have achieved one of the conditions for Black Tower's growth by collecting 5 divine relics.]
An alert appeared in the crystal orb. Due to the God of War Battler, the condition had previously been unmet as divine relic was destroyed, but now it was fulfilled again.
"Khehehehe. As expected of our Sejun! Then the growth conditions..."
Originally, seven conditions had been met... so that makes 8?!
Fwoosh!
[All 8 conditions for the growth of the Black Tower have been met.]
The crystal orb glowed golden, signaling that the Black Tower's growth conditions were fully satisfied.
*****
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