Part 2 Chapter 139: Park Flamie, You're Dead! / 863
TL: Hanguk
"Puhuhut. From now on, you work hard for the Great Hybrid Chairman Park, meow!"
Kueng!
[I got go back now because I need to close the rift!]
After sending the disciplined orcs back to their home world, <Orkpia>,
Kueng!
Cuengi closed the rift, and
[You have closed the Dimensional Rift that formed at a point where Causality was twisted in the level 7 world, <Yusen>.]
...
..
.
A quest completion message appeared.
And then
"Huh?"
This is bad!
The orcs made him so angry that he'd wasted way too much time!
"Eok-Samchiri, are the other worlds okay?! Why didn't you tell me I needed to move on to the next world?!"
Sejun, who had spent three hours disciplining the orcs in <Yusen>, belatedly asked in worry about the other worlds.
Three hours was enough time for hundreds of worlds to have been swept up in Dimensional Wars, but
[Sejun-nim, it's fine. You can take your time with the quests now.]
System Eok-Samchiri's answer was utterly calm.
"Huh? Just like that, all of a sudden? Don't tell me...! Has the war already broken out?!"
Thinking that System Eok-Samchiri's answer was one of resignation, Sejun asked in alarm.
However,
[No. Causality suddenly shifted significantly, and the outbreak of the First Dimensional War has been delayed by anywhere from one day to up to one month.]
There really was a reason he could take it slow now.
"Really? Did Causality shift because the Great Dragons stepped in?"
[Hahaha. Who knows.]
System Eok-Samchiri gave a vague, deflecting answer to Sejun's question.
But
Sejun-nim, I'm sorry.
Flamie is watching right next to me.
There was actually another reason.
A few minutes earlier.
The Forest of Creation.
"Tree of Creation candidate Podori. You have successfully raised world levels ten times. Congratulations on passing the fifth trial. Having passed all the trials for a Tree of Creation candidate, from now on, you are a Tree of Creation."
[Thank you!]
Podori had passed all the trials for a Tree of Creation candidate and ascended to the rank of Tree of Creation.
Hah. I didn't expect this to happen so quickly...
Under Flamie's razor-sharp supervision, he had been diligently raising levels, and before he knew it, he had raised world levels ten times.
Meanwhile,
"Additionally, since only one Tree of Creation may exist per generation, the fifth trial that Flamie was undergoing has been suspended."
[Heheh. Yes!]
Flamie's bright voice rang out, now free from the worry of becoming a Tree of Creation.
Now that things have turned out this way!
Park Flamie, you're dead!
Having become a Tree of Creation, Podori was filled with a hundredfold courage and tried to pay back all the contempt and mistreatment he had received from Flamie, but
...I still can't tell how powerful Flamie is...!
Even with the abilities of a Tree of Creation, Podori could not gauge the magnitude of Flamie's power.
Hah. I can't push her around, can I...
There's no escaping this, is there...
Podori felt the staggering gap between Flamie's power and his own, and despaired.
And then,
I'd better not get cocky from now on either.
[Flamie-nim, is there anything you'd like me to do?]
He prostrated himself of his own accord. Just moments ago, when he had looked at Flamie with impure intentions, her expression had hardened ever so slightly.
[Heheh. Podori, now that you've become a Tree of Creation, you've developed some sense. Right now, I need you to extend your roots into the worlds where rifts have formed and block the rifts temporarily.]
[What? The rifts? But there are over a thousand of them!]
[If you've become a Tree of Creation, you should be able to handle that much with ease! Or can't you?]
Whoosh.
Flamie conjured flames as she asked, and
[No! I can absolutely handle it! I'll close every last rift!]
Podori hurriedly extended his roots and began blocking the rifts.
But
[Podori! When did I tell you to close all the rifts?! I said to close them 'temporarily'!]
Podori was getting chewed out again.
In truth, closing the rifts entirely would be much easier and make for cleaner follow-up, but
[If you close all the rifts, Sejun-nim won't be able to receive his rewards.]
[Ah. Yes, ma'am!]
She had left them for Sejun's sake.
This was the reason Sejun could take his time completing the quests.
I thought things would get at least a little easier once I became a Tree of Creation...
Podori had become a Tree of Creation, but nothing had changed.
However,
Heheh. Now that Podori's become a Tree of Creation, he's quite useful.
On the flip side, from the perspective of Flamie, who was bossing him around, there were even more things she could put him to work on, and she was pleased.
***
A few days after Podori became a Tree of Creation, one morning.
"Heave-ho!"
Having slept like the dead for a solid eight hours, Sejun opened his eyes with vigor.
Sejun got up from his spot and
"Hrraaah!"
stretched out wide, then
"Meow...."
Kyoo...
Kking...
"Ehehe...."
gathered his companions and headed to the kitchen.
"Hm hm hm."
While Sejun cooked,
"Meow meow meow."
"Kyoot kyoot kyoot."
Kyoo. Kyoo.
Kking! Kking! Kking!
"Hm~ hm~ hm~"
the companions who had woken up hummed along to Sejun's tune, waiting for the meal to be ready.
A short while later.
"Huuuam."
Aileen, having just woken up, shuffled into the kitchen with a languid yawn.
"Aileen, you're up?"
"Yeah."
"Hold on a sec. It's almost done. Blackie, go wake up the kids."
Kihihit. Kking!
[Hehe. Got it!]
"Good mowning, Teeecher-nim!"
"Teeecher-nim, did you sweep well?"
"Teeecher-nim, YamYam stole my sosage off my skewer!"
"Teeecher-nim, do the airplane spoon for Jjokjjok!"
Soon, a loud and lively meal began.
When the chaotic breakfast was over,
Kihihit. Kking!
[Hehe. Let's dig in the dirt with the great Blackie!]
"Heehee. Anyone who wants to build sandcastles with Taecho, come here!"
Blackie, Taecho, and the Children of Destruction went out to play in the yard, while
Slurp.
"Ahh. That's good."
Sejun sipped the morning coffee that Cuengi had brewed for him and enjoyed a brief moment of rest with his companions.
First, this morning I'll pick the peas, then go close some rifts...
All while mentally organizing the day's tasks.
"Eok-Samchiri, is today a day for absorbing essences?"
[Yes. They will be available for consumption in four hours.]
"Got it. Remind me again later."
[Yes.]
After lunch, I'll absorb the essences, and then work on preparing for the show...
The Children of Destruction had been asking why he didn't put on performances like he used to, so he had recently started preparing one again.
This time, it should be Snow White.
Since Iona is white, she'll play Snow White, and since Iona is Snow White, naturally Theo will be the prince. Then who should play the stepmother?
While Sejun was mulling over the casting,
"Puhuhut. Chairman Park, you remember I'm going with you, Vice Chairman Theo, to find Land Deeds today, meow?!"
Theo asked.
Sejun had been steadily collecting Land Deeds in pursuit of his goal of becoming the Tower Landlord, and he had been planning to send Theo into the tower alone for that purpose, but
"No way, meow! I'm going with Chairman Park, meow!"
Lately, after being pried off Sejun's knee a few times for dates with Aileen, Theo had become extremely sensitive and was refusing to go anywhere alone.
After System Eok-Samchiri had blown through roughly 15,000 hours, Sejun had developed a strong belief in the principle of use it or lose it, and lately he had been making an effort to spend at least thirty minutes a day on dates with Aileen.
Of course, he hadn't completely given up on getting back the time he'd lent out. He was also steadily devising a plan to recover it.
"...Yeah. Of course I remember. Actually, I was going to ask you about that, Vice Chairman Theo."
"Puhuhut. Ask away, meow!"
"Vice Chairman Theo, shall we go find Land Deeds after dinner?"
"Puhuhut. Sounds good, meow!"
And so, Sejun moved according to his planned schedule, and throughout the morning,
[You have harvested Divine Elixir: Pea of Great Magic Power.]
[Your job experience has increased.]
...
..
.
he picked peas, and
[You have closed the Dimensional Rift that formed at a point where Causality was twisted in the level 6 world, <Rihabain>.]
...
..
[As a quest completion reward, 7 minutes have been credited to Unique Power: Temporary Creator God.]
he traveled diligently from world to world, closing rifts.
"But why does the reward seem smaller than before?"
Sejun furrowed his brow in thought as he checked the quest rewards.
Something felt off. A level 6 world should have given 10 to 13 minutes as a reward, so 7 minutes?
"I don't think it's just my imagination..."
As Sejun continued to question the smaller reward,
[Sejun-nim, your next destination is the level 9 world, <Torion>.]
System Eok-Samchiri hastily changed the subject, and
"Got it. Let's go, guys."
"Puhuhut. Roger that, meow!"
Sejun and his companions moved to <Torion>.
And then,
[I can't believe Sejun-nim noticed.]
System Eok-Samchiri, having nearly been caught by Sejun regarding the reduced rewards, fell into deep thought. The quest difficulty had decreased due to Podori's intervention, which had lowered the rewards.
In truth, all it had to do was tell Sejun that Podori had become a Tree of Creation and was blocking the rifts, but
How much am I allowed to say?
It was being cautious because it never knew when Flamie might come up in conversation. One wrong word and it could be dragged off by Flamie and thoroughly scolded.
In any case, while System Eok-Samchiri was agonizing over this,
"Phew. Let's call it a day."
"Puhuhut. Sounds good, meow!"
Sejun finished closing rifts and returned home with his companions to prepare for the meal.
A little while later.
"Everyone, let's eat!"
Sejun had lunch with his companions and relaxed for a bit over coffee, then
[Sejun-nim, it is time to consume the essences.]
"Yeah."
Gulp.
He swallowed a marble swirled with blue and red.
Thirty minutes later.
[You have successfully absorbed 1% of the Water Essence.]
[You have successfully absorbed 1% of the Fire Essence.]
Sejun had fully absorbed the essences, and
[You have passed the 45th and 46th trials to become the Great Colorless Dragon in a single attempt.]
[As a reward for passing the trials, 0.02% of the Great Colorless Dragon's power has been bestowed upon you.]
Trial completion messages appeared as well.
"All right, let's rehearse the play now. Everyone, you've memorized the Snow White script, right?"
"Puhuhut. Of course, meow! I, Vice Chairman Theo, am smart, so I memorized it all, meow!"
"Kyoot kyoot kyoot. Yes! We're absolutely running through to the final scene today!"
Iona replied to Sejun's words with an extremely enthusiastic voice. After all, the final scene of the play had a kiss between her and Theo.
Kihihit. Kking!
[Hehe. Butler! The great Blackie memorized all the head dwarf's lines too!]
"Good job. If you don't mess up a single line during the actual performance, I'll give you one Roasted and Dried Sweet Potato."
Kking?! Kking! Kking! Kking!
[Really?! Got it! The great Blackie will do my best! Hey, you guys! You'd better do your best too and not get in the great Blackie's way!]
"Yes, sir!"
Kkiruk!
Caw!
...
..
.
At Blackie's words, the underlings who had been cast as the 13 dwarves alongside him answered in nervous voices.
If any of them made a mistake and caused Blackie to flub a line, all of that resentment would be directed squarely at them.
"Hehe. Daddy, Taecho memorized all the stepmother's lines too!"
"Oh. Really?! Then shall we run lines together with Daddy?"
"Yeah! Mirror, mirror, who is the fairest of them all?"
"Why, it is Snow White, of course, with her pure white fur, eyes that sparkle like stars, and adorable paw pad jellies."
Sejun answered Taecho's question. For the record, the role Sejun had taken was the magic mirror.
And then,
"Sejun, I want to play the magic mirror!"
Aileen, who had been listening, stepped forward with a stiff expression. It was just a line in a play, but hearing Sejun call someone else the fairest had put her in a bad mood.
"Huh? Just like that, out of nowhere? I already memorized all the lines...."
"Sejun, you're out!"
Her jealousy erupting, Aileen seized Sejun's role by force.
*****
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