Chapter 230 – I Won’t Let It Go, Meow

The numerous merchant passages and Lindgens installed in the Black Tower.

“Belch. What is it? Why do I feel bloated?”

Jormungandr’s fragment hiding in between spoke. It was because Theo and Yuren’s merchant group were not yet digested.

“They seem to be somewhat strong ones. Well, even so, they won’t be able to get out of my body anyway.”

Bite.

Having finished speaking, Jormungandr’s fragment bit its own tail again and hid its body deeper.

***

“Yes! Of course! I have an abundance of money!”

Yuren answered innocently to Theo’s question. Theo was convinced. This pink pig guy was a pushover, meow! We just had to follow the path, so why did he ask to be saved, meow? He would save him later and get a lot of money, meow!

“Puhuhut. Just trust me and follow me, meow!”

Theo, thinking he had met a pushover, happily took the lead.

After a while,

Hiss, hiss.

White snakes began to appear again.

“You guys stay still, meow! Nya, nya, nyan!”

Theo prevented the merchant group soldiers from stepping forward and dealt with the snakes alone. He could not share the coins, meow! Puhuhut. These coins were all his, meow!

After defeating all the snakes like that,

“My slave, Gaeron, come out, meow!”

-Master, did you call?!

“That is right, meow! Gaeron, just pick up the coins quietly, meow!”

-Yes!

He called Gaeron and had him pick up the coins.

A few hours later.

“Meow?! Why isn’t the exit of the 70th floor of the tower appearing, meow?”

Theo, who had traveled for a long time fighting the snakes, only then realized that something was strange. He should have arrived at the 70th floor of the tower a long time ago.

“Lord Theo, didn’t you know? This road has no end. We are continuously walking in the same place.”

Yuren, who had already been trapped for several days, told Theo what he had discovered first.

“Meow?! Then you are saying we cannot get out of here, meow?!”

“Yes. We also had no way to get out, so we requested help from Lord Theo.”

“…Meow?!”

Theo was deeply shocked by Yuren’s words. Then he could not go to Chairman Park’s lap, meow?! That could not be, meow! He had to return to Chairman Park’s lap quickly, meow!!!

To Theo, who was fanatically obsessed with Se-jun’s lap, separating from Se-jun’s lap was absolutely impossible. No one could block the path between Chairman Park’s lap and him, meow!

“Yuren, give me money, meow!”

Theo confidently held out his front paw, as if asking for the money entrusted to Yuren.

“Yes?! Yes. I can give you as much money as you want, but… why?”

“Just give it to me first, meow!”

“Yes.”

Yuren gave the money pouch in his chest to Theo.

And,

Flash!

Theo, who received the money pouch, began to shine in golden light while burning Yuren’s money.

***

“Heave-ho.”

Se-jun, who opened his eyes in bed, stood up and looked at his lap.

“He still hasn’t come… Theo, isn’t this guy causing trouble somewhere?”

When Theo, who usually returned at dawn, still did not return, Se-jun worried first if Theo was causing trouble somewhere.

However,

“No. My feelings are strange for that to be the case…”

Se-jun’s intuition told him that something had happened to Theo.

“Golden Bat, go to Iona and ask her to find Theo.”

(Yes!)

After sending the Golden Bat to Iona like that,

Slide.

He stood up and marked the date on the bedroom wall, beginning the morning of the 350th day of being stranded.

“I should make Samyangju and the rice noodle dough in the morning, and press the rice noodles with Cuengi in the evening.”

Se-jun, who was checking today’s to-do list while heading to the kitchen to make breakfast.

At that moment,

“Uh?!”

Se-jun discovered a fruit of a color that should not be visible in the cherry tomato field. It was indeed a purple fruit. It was a bunch of grapes that bore on the cherry tomato where he had grafted the grapevine’s branch.

There was a bunch of grapes that hung grapes as large as cherry tomatoes from the grapevine branch.

“Oh! It looks delicious!”

The aroma was decent and the size was large, so it looked tempting.

Pluck.

When Se-jun picked the bunch of grapes,

[You have harvested 15 Large Seedless Grapes for Beginners.]

[Job experience points increase slightly.]

[The proficiency of Harvesting Lv. 7 increases slightly.]

[You have obtained 1,050 experience points.]

“Looking at the name, it seems like a failure…”

Se-jun intuitively felt it was a failure, but he still checked the grape fruit just in case.

[Large Seedless Grapes for Beginners]

[Grapes born by grafting a branch of the Seedless Grapevine for Beginners, which was improved to make a beginner’s body sturdy, onto cherry tomatoes.]

[Influenced by the cherry tomatoes, the size of the grape fruits became larger.]

[Every time you eat one grape, all stats increase by 1.]

[Grower: Tower Farmer Park Se-jun]

[Expiration Date: 150 days]

[Grade: A]

“Hmm… it’s a failure.”

It was a failure. Nothing had changed except for the explanation that the fruit grew larger by grafting with cherry tomatoes.

“Since it raises stats, I must eat it.”

Se-jun frowned and ate all fifteen of the astringent grapes. If Theo had seen it, Se-jun’s face would have looked so rotten that it would have called for Theo’s massage.

[You have consumed a Large Seedless Grape for Beginners.]

[All stats increase by 1.]

…

..

.

“Uegh! I will definitely make a proper grape!”

Suffering from the astringent feeling that did not disappear from his tongue, Se-jun burned with determination. The fact that all stats rose by 15 comforted Se-jun at least.

Se-jun, who ate the grapes grafted with cherry tomatoes like that. After eating breakfast, he set out to find other trees grafted with grapevine branches in earnest.

However,

“There are no fruits.”

Most of them were failures.

“Now checking the ones in the kudzu field is the end. Toryong-i!”

For the final confirmation, Se-jun rode Toryong-i and moved to the western forest where the kudzu field was.

***

Sniff, sniff.

“Kkuhehehe. Kkueng!”

[Hehehe. I smell something good-da-yo!]

Cuengi, who was resting briefly after digging up herbs, followed the delicious smell and discovered a bunch of grapes hanging on the grapevine branch Se-jun had grafted with the kudzu.

“Kkueng!”

[I should take it to Dad and eat it together-da-yo!]

Just as Cuengi was about to pick the grapes, thinking of eating them together with Se-jun,

“Freeze. Cuengi, I caught you red-handed! You were trying to eat it alone again, weren’t you?”

Se-jun, who arrived at the kudzu field, interrogated Cuengi, who was trying to pick the grapes. How long had it been since he was caught eating alone, yet he tried to eat alone again?! He was highly habitual!

“Kkueng! Kkueng!”

[No-da-yo! It is a misunderstanding-da-yo!]

At Se-jun’s interrogation, Cuengi spoke in grievance.

“Is that true?”

“Kkueng! Kkueng!”

[That is true-da-yo! Cuengi was going to take it to Dad and eat it together-da-yo!]

Se-jun decided to believe Cuengi’s answer. Because though our Cuengi might eat in secret, he would not lie.

“Alright. Sorry for doubting you.”

Se-jun apologized to Cuengi at Cuengi’s answer, and,

“Kkueng! Kkueng!”

[No-da-yo! Since Cuengi has deceived Dad before, that can happen-da-yo!]

Cuengi coolly accepted Se-jun’s apology.

“Thank you for understanding. Come here.”

When Se-jun called,

Patter, patter.

Cling.

Cuengi immediately clung to Se-jun’s leg.

“Let’s see.”

Se-jun waddled with Cuengi clinging to his left leg, approaching the bunch of grapes. Cuengi had grown significantly heavier as he ate a lot lately.

Se-jun approached the bunch of grapes, and,

Pluck.

Harvested the bunch of grapes from the grapevine branch grafted with the kudzu.

[You have harvested 22 Life-Overflowing Grapes.]

[Job experience points increase slightly.]

[The proficiency of Harvesting Lv. 7 increases slightly.]

[You have obtained 1,540 experience points.]

“Life-Overflowing Grapes?”

The word ‘Seedless’ was missing from the name. Se-jun, who had a good feeling, checked the grapes right away.

[Life-Overflowing Grapes]

[Grapes born by grafting a branch of the Seedless Grapevine for Beginners, which was improved to make a beginner’s body sturdy, onto kudzu.]

[The overflowing life force of the kudzu was injected into the grapes, creating a variety with seeds.]

[The astringent taste disappeared and the sour taste was enhanced.]

[Grower: Tower Farmer Park Se-jun]

[Expiration Date: 150 days]

[Grade: A]

“Good!”

Although the effect of increasing all stats by one disappeared in exchange for having seeds and improving taste, Se-jun was only happy to finally be able to eat delicious grapes.

Wipe.

“Here. Cuengi, this is how you eat it.”

Se-jun, demonstrating to Cuengi, roughly wiped the grape he would eat with his clothes, plucked a grape from the bunch, and placed his mouth on the small hole created by plucking it.

And,

“If you suck it while pressing here gently, the grape skin will naturally separate.”

Press.

Pop.

Explaining further, when he pressed the grape skin slightly and sucked in, the grape flesh was smoothly sucked into Se-jun’s mouth.

Chew, chew.

As he chewed the grape, the unique aroma and sweet-and-sour flavor of the grape filled Se-jun’s mouth.

‘Yes. This is the taste!’

Se-jun, who ate grapes worthy of the name, wore a satisfied expression and savored the taste,

Pui.

Gulp.

He separated and spat out the grape seed and swallowed the grape.

And,

Wipe, wipe.

“Here.”

Se-jun, who finished the demonstration, put the spat-out grape seed in his pocket, wiped one grape clean with his clothes, and handed it to Cuengi.

“Cuengi can do it too, right?”

“Kkueng!”

[Cuengi can do it-da-yo!]

Cuengi answered vigorously to Se-jun’s question and put the grape to his mouth.

But

Squish.

As soon as Cuengi pressed it slightly, the grape burst immediately.

“Kkueng!”

[No-da-yo!]

Cuengi instinctively put the grape smeared on his front paw into his mouth, skin and all.

And,

Chew, chew.

Gulp.

Cuengi swallowed the seed and skin whole.

“Kkueng…”

[It is hard to spit out seeds-da-yo…]

Cuengi, who swallowed the grape without being able to spit out the seed, answered in a gloomy voice.

“It’s okay. Cuengi, let’s just eat them whole.”

Wipe, wipe.

Se-jun quickly wiped five grapes and put them into the gloomy Cuengi’s mouth all at once. In any case, with Cuengi’s digestive power, eating seeds would not cause any trouble.

Chew, chew.

“Kkuhehehe. Kkueng!”

[Hehehe. It is delicious-da-yo!]

Thanks to that, Cuengi shook off his gloominess at once and cheered up.

“Then, Dad will go.”

Se-jun cut the branch he had grafted with the kudzu and returned to the farm. If he grafted this branch back onto the grapevine, the quest was completed.

***

The golden light disappeared from Theo’s body after burning all the money inside Yuren’s money pouch.

“If we cannot get out, I will break it down, meow!”

Shring.

Theo, who became strong after burning money, drew his Dragon’s Claws, and,

“Nya, nya, nyan!”

He swung his front paws relentlessly at the wall, but it only created small scratches on the wall. Moreover, the scratched wall recovered rapidly.

“Yuren, give me more money, meow!”

“Yes. Here it is.”

Yuren, overwhelmed by Theo’s momentum, took out another money pouch and handed it to Theo.

“Nya, nya, nyan!”

Theo, who burned the money in the money pouch like that, attacked the wall again. This time, the wall broke more than before, but the wall was incredibly thick.

“An de! Yuren, give me everything you have, meow!”

“Yes?! Uh? Uh…”

While Yuren was flustered, Theo searched Yuren’s chest, pulled out ten money pouches, and began to burn the money again.

Flash!

This time, a light so bright that it was incomparable to before exploded. It was inevitable. The money contained in each of Yuren’s money pouches was 100 million Tower Coins.

In other words, Theo was burning one billion Tower Coins at once.

“Puhuhut. I overflow with strength, meow!”

Shring!

Theo, who gained confidence while burning the money, drew his Dragon’s Claws,

“Meow!”

And swung his front paw vigorously once.

Slash.

This time, the wall was pierced as easily as a sheet of paper, and a giant hole was made.

Slash.

Theo’s attack, perhaps having remaining power, pierced the adjacent merchant passage, and,

“Uh?!”

People moving through the passage began to be seen. They were Secret Inspection Bureau agents who were searching the suspicious path where the missing persons had disappeared.

“Lord Yuren!!!”

“We will rescue you!”

The Secret Inspection Bureau agents, seeing Yuren on the opposite side, hurriedly connected a rope to rescue Theo, Yuren, and the members of Yuren’s merchant group.

At that moment,

-Which bastard dared to make a hole in my stomach?!

The face of Jormungandr’s fragment, furious about a hole being made in its stomach, revealed itself before them.

And,

“Was it you, meow?! Was it you who blocked the path between Chairman Park and me, meow?! I won’t let you off, meow!”

Theo swung his golden front paw toward Jormungandr’s fragment, which had delayed his happy path home to Se-jun’s lap.