Part 2 Chapter 147: Uncle-nim, Stay Out of This, Meow! / 871
TL: Hanguk
<Uman>
It had been three hours since they'd parted from Sejun.
"This little guy's eating so much, why isn't he getting any bigger, meow?! Eat more of this and grow up faster, meow!"
Theo poured out enough food to bury the Necrium, which had grown to roughly the size of a large SUV.
The bigger the Necrium got, the more food it could consume, and so its growth rate accelerated in proportion to its size.
Three minutes later.
"Meow… when's Chairman Park coming back, meow…?"
This time Theo was staring down at the ground, grumbling with a glum look on his face.
"Kyoot kyoot kyoot. Theo-nim, just a little longer."
Pat. Pat.
Iona perched atop Theo's head, stroking it to comfort him.
Kyoot kyoot kyoot. Grumpy Theo-nim is just too cute!
Inside, she was screaming with happiness.
Then, after a few more hours.
Thud!
Thud!
The Necrium, which had been quietly eating and had grown to the size of a large bus, took to the sky and tried to break out of the parallel world.
"Meow? Why aren't you eating, meow?! Done with your meal already, meow?! Puhuhut."
Shing.
Theo grinned and drew out his Dragon Claws. If the Necrium was finished eating, he was going to take it down and hurry back to Sejun's lap.
But the Necrium, after slamming against the barrier several times without breaking through, must have decided it didn't have enough strength yet. It came back down to the ground and started eating again.
"Meow…."
At the same time, Theo's expression darkened again.
Just then,
"Kkyung…."
Iona let out a small groan. She'd taken a little damage when the Necrium had body-slammed the parallel world a moment ago.
It hadn't even fully grown yet, but the Necrium's strength was tremendous. At this rate, holding the Necrium for long was going to be difficult.
"Meow?! Iona, are you okay, meow?!"
"Kyoot kyoot kyoot. I'm fi… kyoot?!"
Just as a worried Theo asked her,
[Sildi, the God of Sealing, says he wishes to lend his aid.]
[Diplen, the God of Dimensions, says he wishes to lend his aid.]
[Uncle, the God of Grapevines, says he wishes to lend his aid.]
[Patrick, the God of Earth, says he wishes to lend his aid.]
...
..
.
Messages from various gods extending their helping hands appeared before Iona. Since Iona was a real power player in Sejun Company, they all wanted to get on her good side.
And then,
"Form a line, everyone, meow! As Iona's boyfriend and Vice Chairman of Sejun Company, I, Vice Chairman Theo, will mediate, meow!"
Puhuhut. This is my chance to show Iona how cool I, Vice Chairman Theo, am, meow!
Theo stepped between them and started negotiating with the gods.
[Sildi, the God of Sealing, says that if he bestows his <Power: Blessing of Sealing> upon Iona, the parallel world will become sturdier.]
"Puhuhut. That's a useful Power, meow! Got it, meow! Next, speak up, meow! What are you giving Iona, meow?!"
[Diplen, the God of Dimensions, says that if he bestows his <Power: Blessing of Dimensions> upon Iona, the parallel world will become more stable.]
"Puhuhut. A splendid Power, meow! Next!"
[Uncle, the God of Grape Vines, says that his <Power…>]
"Uncle-nim, stay out of this, meow!"
…?!
[Uncle, the God of Grape Vines, demands to know why his words aren't even being heard.]
"Uncle-nim already has a track record of destroying Podori's seeds, meow! So don't you dare go anywhere near Iona, meow!"
[Uncle, the God of Grape Vines, says that kind of thing won't…]
"Meow! Meow! Meow! Don't want to hear it, meow! Next!"
It wasn't as if sound actually traveled through a telepathic conversation, but Theo plugged his ears with his fluffy front paws anyway and started talking with the next god.
[Patrick, the God of Earth, says that with his <Power: Blessing of Solid Earth>, the earth portion of the parallel world will be sturdier than the rest, reducing mana consumption when creating it.]
"Puhuhut. A fine Power, meow! Next!"
Theo went on to speak with about thirty gods that way.
"Puhuhut. Gods, give Iona what you all just said, meow!"
He'd asked help from all of them.
[…?]
[…?]
The gods were thrown off by Theo's words. Because each of them had only intended for one of them to lend aid. That way, their help would feel more special.
But,
[Diplen, the God of Dimensions, asks if he means to receive the Blessings of all of us.]
"Puhuhut. That's right, meow! Give them all, meow!"
Theo was beyond their common sense. No. He had no common sense.
Puhuhut. For me, Vice Chairman Theo, subordinate of the Great Colorless Dragon Hybrid Chairman Park, nothing is impossible, meow!
So long as he had Sejun backing him up, that is.
"Puhuhut. Of course I'm not asking for free, meow! I, Vice Chairman Theo, take after the great Chairman Park and am very generous, meow! I'll give one Sejun Company Welfare Point each, meow!"
Then, just as Sejun had taught him, Theo said it as if he were granting a tremendous favor while still keeping Causality in mind.
That much divine power isn't even one percent of a Power…
Compared to the Powers the gods were giving Iona, it was an absurdly small reward.
But,
[Uncle, the God of Grape Vines, says he doesn't even need the Welfare Points.]
Uncle, apparently with no shame to speak of, stepped up to offer his Power again even after being shot down once.
"Meow?! Uncle-nim absolutely cannot, meow! Don't even glance in our Iona's direction, meow!"
He got shot down again, of course.
[Diplen, the God of Dimensions, says he agrees.]
[Sildi, the God of Sealing, says he agrees.]
...
..
.
The gods accepted without negotiating. Negotiating with Theo was just too much of a burden. If their luck ran out, they might even end up with their seal pressed onto a contract.
[Diplen, the God of Dimensions, has bestowed <Power: Blessing of Dimensions>.]
[Sildi, the God of Sealing, has bestowed <Power: Blessing of Sealing>.]
...
..
.
And so, Iona's Parallel World Magic, after receiving Powers from a host of gods, twenty-eight of them to be exact, became dozens of times more durable than before.
"Kyoot kyoot kyoot. Thank you, gods. And Theo-nim, you were so cool just now."
"Puhuhut. I know, meow!"
Just as he'd intended, Theo got to show Iona his cool side.
Time passed.
Thud!
Thud!
The Necrium grew at an explosive rate, and with a body now ten times bigger than before, it tried to escape, but the parallel world, reinforced by the Powers granted by the twenty-eight gods, held up just fine against the Necrium's attacks.
A while later.
"Meow! Chairman Park, what took you so long, meow?!"
"Sorry. Something else came up out of nowhere. Vice Chairman Theo, look at this!"
Sejun arrived and pulled out three Land Deeds for the Great Black Tower, showing them off proudly.
"Meow?! You got three Land Deeds, meow?! Chairman Park, that's amazing, meow!"
"Heheh. This body is pretty amazing."
Gotta keep some boundaries, though!
Sejun, puffed up by Theo's praise, twisted his face into a smug expression.
"Puhuhut. Chairman Park, just now you said sorry to me, Vice Chairman Theo, so as a token of apology, give me ten thousand years of Lap Monopoly Rights, meow!"
"Like I'd give you that?"
"Give them to me, meow!"
"Nope."
"Yes, meow!"
While Sejun and Theo were bickering,
Crrrack.
The Necrium began to grow explosively. Up to roughly the same size as the original Necrium.
It had finally finished growing.
"Alright, time to take it down. Guys, let's get it."
"Puhuhut. Got it, meow!"
Kueng!
Theo and Cuengi stepped forward.
Boom!
Kraboom!
[Park Theo, the Lucky Legendary Merchant of the Black Tower, have slain the End of Calamity, Necrium.]
[You have received four hundred billion in experience, fifty percent of that gained by the Park Theo, the Lucky Legendary Merchant of the Black Tower and Advanced Herbalist Park Cuengi.]
The Necrium was taken care of.
And then,
"First I've got to taste-test the ingredients myself before deciding how to handle them."
Heheheh. Let's see how good this is, shall we?
"Vice Chairman Theo, cut the Locust meat into finger-thick pieces, and the Slime meat into 5mm-thick slices."
"Puhuhut. Got it, meow!"
"Cuengi, tear off the Petrification Spiders' legs."
Kueng!
Sejun left the prep work to Theo and Cuengi and got started on the cooking. Unfortunately, the Necrium's "Fire Moth" feature was its wings, so they'd had to give up on Fire Moth meat.
The dishes he was making now were Locust Chicken, Slime Sweet and Sour Pork, Butter-Steamed Petrification Spider Legs, and a Seaweed Soup and tangy Sour Seaweed Salad both made from Blood-Sucking Leech.
"Meow meow meow meowww!"
Tap-tap-tap-tap.
Kueng!
Crunch.
While Theo and Cuengi handled the prep, Sejun mixed the chicken and sweet-and-sour batter, set up the steamer, and soaked the Blood-Sucking Leech skin in water.
A little while later.
"Alright. Let's eat."
The food was finished, and Sejun sat down to eat with everyone. The menu had grown by two dishes from his original plan, ending up at seven.
That was because at the spot where the Locust's body connected to its wings, there was Fire Moth meat, plus meat that was a mix of Locust and Fire Moth.
The Fire Moth meat, with a texture similar to squid, was made into Fire Moth Tempura, while the meat with the mixed chicken-and-squid texture was made into steak.
"Wow. Delicious!"
I've gotta hunt down every single Necrium!
Sejun marveled as he ate. It was about 1.5 times tastier than the meat from the final-evolution forms he usually ate.
On top of that,
[You have consumed Necrium Body Meat Tempura.]
[All stats have risen by 100.]
[You have consumed Necrium Head Skin Salad.]
[For twenty minutes, ten percent of damage dealt to enemies shall be converted into life force.]
...
..
.
The dishes made from Necrium had effects twice as good as those made from previous Calamities.
Kuehehehe. Kueng!
[Hehehe. Daddy, this steak has a really interesting texture and it's delicious!]
Cuengi, being a fellow connoisseur like Sejun, took an interest in the new cut of meat.
"Puhuhut. As expected, the grilled fish made with Chairman Park's care is the best, meow!"
"Kyoot kyoot kyoot. Sejun-nim's roasted peanuts are eternal truth."
Theo and Iona, regardless of whether there was new food or not, ate the same things they always ate. Watching them like this, they really were a perfect couple.
Kking?! Kking!
[Butler! Why does great Blackie's meal have more broccoli than Roasted and Dried Sweet Potato?! There's been a mistake!]
Blackie was glaring at the half piece of Roasted and Dried Sweet Potato sitting on top of a heap of broccoli, fuming.
"There's no mistake. Blackie, you're on a diet."
"Hehe. Daddy, it's yummy."
"Yeah. Our Taecho, eat as much as you want."
"Yes!"
Grrrr.
When Sejun played favorites between him and Taecho like that,
Kking?! Kking!
[Butler! Taecho's got a pot belly too, why aren't you putting her on a diet?! This is discrimination!]
Press. Press.
Blackie pressed Taecho's belly with his front paw and protested to Sejun.
"Hng… does Taecho have a big belly…?"
At Blackie's words, Taecho looked down at her round little tummy and her face crumpled.
"No, no. It's natural for Taecho's belly to stick out. To grow up, you've got to store up lots of energy. Here, Taecho, have some more of this."
When Sejun popped a piece of sweet-and-sour pork into Taecho's mouth,
"…Hehe. Yummy."
The smile bloomed back across Taecho's face, broad and bright.
Kking?! Kking! Kking!
[Where's the logic in that?! Then give great Blackie more Roasted and Dried Sweet Potato too! Great Blackie has to eat lots of Roasted and Dried Sweet Potato to grow up, too!]
Watching this, Blackie barked even more fiercely.
"Blackie, you're already all grown up."
Of course, Blackie's tantrum didn't work on Sejun.
Kking! Kking!
Blackie kept whining.
"Alright, alright. I'll give you a little more Roasted and Dried Sweet Potato. Happy now?"
Sejun, pretending to give in, dropped half a piece of Roasted and Dried Sweet Potato into Blackie's bowl.
Kihihit.
Blackie put on a satisfied smile and started polishing off both the broccoli and the Roasted and Dried Sweet Potato in his bowl.
That's Blackie for you. Total Josam Mosa case. Heheheh. [TL: Josam Mosa — "three in the morning, four at night"; refers to being fooled by superficial changes that don't actually change the total.]
Sejun watched Blackie with a wicked smile. In the end, the amount of Roasted and Dried Sweet Potato Blackie had eaten over the meal was the same one piece as always.
While everyone was happily eating like that,
Kkuik-!
Uren came falling out of the sky.
Piyo?!
[Uren-nim, what kind of accident did you cause this time?!]
Kkaung!
Nyongnyone!
Ppokppok!
Jjaekjjaek!
Along with the rest of his party members.
And then,
[The End of Calamity, Necrium]
Behind them, a fully grown Necrium was in pursuit.
Still, this time at least Uren had brought the ingredients along with him.
*****
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