Chapter 280 – Indeed, Our Cuengi Was a Filial Son

Thud.

As Se-jun picked the last and fifth new variety, the four-colored striped Egg Fruit,

[You have harvested Elixir: Assorted Egg Fruit.]

[Your job experience increases slightly.]

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

[The proficiency of Harvesting Lv. 7 is filled, and the level rises.]

[You have gained 1000 experience points.]

A message appeared stating that the proficiency of the Harvesting skill had been filled, reaching level 8.

[You have achieved the achievement of creating a new variety in the tower.]

···

..

.

Following that were messages about harvesting a new variety.

“This is tedious.”

Humans were indeed creatures of adaptation. Since he harvested the long-awaited new varieties five times in a row, reading the messages became tedious.

“Still, it’s almost over now.”

When Se-jun spoke,

[You have achieved the achievement of creating 15 new varieties in the tower.]

[As a reward for the Great Farmer’s achievement, the status of the Black Tower rises.]

[As the status exceeds a certain level, the number of entrances to the Black Tower increases by one.]

[The number of Black Tower entrances increases from 103 to 104, and the 104th entrance is created in the safest location.]

A message appeared stating that the 104th entrance of the Black Tower had been created, following the 102nd entrance for the 11th new variety and the 103rd entrance for the 13th new variety.

And,

[You have secured 15 new varieties.]

[You have overcome the third trial of the 10th tower.]

The message that he had finally overcome the third trial appeared.

“It’s done.”

When Se-jun rejoiced,

[The final trial of the 10th tower is initiated.]

[The final trial of the 10th tower: The tower farmer must get along well with all dragon clans. That way, you can receive help when you need a helping hand in the future. Receive 1L of dragon blood from each of the nine dragon clans to prove your closeness with the dragons.]

The final trial to prove closeness with the dragons began.

“Dragon blood?”

For now, the dragon blood of the Black Dragon, White Dragon, and Red Dragon was as good as secured. It seemed he only needed to obtain the dragon blood of the remaining six dragon clans.

After receiving the trial, Se-jun went back to harvesting Egg Fruits.

At that moment,

Grumble.

The belly clock rang in his stomach.

Kkuhehehe. Kkueng.

[Hehehe. Papa, Cuengi is hungry-da-yo.]

It was Cuengi’s belly clock.

“Alright. For today’s menu, let’s eat boiled Egg Fruits!”

Kkueng!

[I like it-da-yo!]

Cuengi, who liked all of Se-jun’s dishes, cheered while raising both front paws.

“But before that, there’s something we have to do. What is it?”

When Se-jun looked at Cuengi and asked,

Kkueng?

[Wash hands-da-yo?]

“No.”

“Puhut. I, Vice Chairman Theo, know, meow! We must light a fire, meow!”

“Wrong.”

“Meow? That can’t be, meow!”

(Baet-baet. Me! We must go down from here!)

“That’s right. But you only got it half right.”

At that moment,

Kkuhehehe. Kkueng! Kkueng!

[Hehehe. Cuengi knows-da-yo! It’s the superhero landing-da-yo!]

Cuengi replied with a bright smile.

Kkueng!

[Cuengi will arrive in first place-da-yo!]

Dadadada.

Cuengi quickly ran and jumped down to the ground. “No!”

“Puhut. I am better at the superhero landing, meow!”

Theo also threw himself, with Iona clinging to his tail, performing three rotations in the air as he jumped down. “I said no!”

And,

(Baet-baet. I can do it too! Superhero landing!)

Ppiyot!

[I don’t know what it is, but I will follow you, Master Theo!]

The Golden Bat and Ppiyot jumped down following them. “I said that’s not it!”

This was the top of the Bird-Bearing Tree, 100 meters in the air.

“You guys have to let me down! You punks!!!”

Se-jun shouted toward the animals that had jumped down.

Since he had the and Kaiser’s scale, he wouldn’t die, but that didn’t mean it wouldn’t hurt. Jumping down from this height seemed like it would hurt a lot.

“Sheesh! It can’t be helped.”

Se-jun clung to the tree and began to climb down diligently.

Kkueng?

[Papa, why aren’t you coming down yet-da-yo?]

Float. Float.

Fortunately, when Se-jun took too long, Cuengi used telekinesis to go up and look for him, discovered Se-jun climbing down the tree, and came down together with him.

***

Inside the 10th tower.

-Stella Heathron, are you awake?

From somewhere, a voice carrying an untouchable dignity reached Stella, who had regained consciousness.

“Who are you?”

-I am the administrator of the 10th tower.

“The administrator of the 10th tower? Then here is…?”

-Yes. It is the 1st floor of the 10th tower.

“Why am I…? Gasp!”

Only then did Stella remember that she had lost consciousness just before being attacked by Halphas, the 2nd Seat of the Apostles of Destruction.

And,

“Thank you for saving me.”

She expressed her gratitude to the administrator of the 10th tower who had saved her.

-Ahem. It is fine. In any case, I needed someone to do some work.

“Work? What is it? Since you saved my life, I will help you with anything.”

-Soon, a being who has passed the trials of the 10th tower will arrive. Help that being climb the tower.

“Yes.”

······

“Excuse me… but when are they coming?”

-Well. Even I do not know.

“I see…”

Stella had to wait for Se-jun without any promise of when.

***

“Now, guys, let’s eat.”

When Se-jun made the food and called the animals,

Kkueng!

[It looks delicious-da-yo!]

Cuengi became excited looking at the boiled Egg Fruits in the huge pot. Only Cuengi was excited.

“Chairman Park, where is the grilled fish, meow?”

(Baet-baet. Is there no fruit?)

Regardless of what Se-jun was making, Theo and the Golden Bat consistently searched for what they wanted to eat.

And,

“Kyutkyutkyut. Here. To become Vice Chairman Theo’s right front paw, you have to eat a lot.”

Ppiyot!

[I will eat well!]

Iona took out a few peanuts from her peanut pouch and shared them with Ppiyot.

In the end, the Egg Fruits were for Se-jun and Cuengi.

“Here, take this.”

Se-jun took out grilled fish and fruit from his sub-space warehouse, handed them to Theo and the Golden Bat,

“Iona, Ppiyot, take one of these each.”

“Kyutkyutkyut. Thank you.”

Ppiyot!

[Thank you, Mr. Se-jun!]

He handed a pouch containing peanuts to Iona and Ppiyot each.

After taking care of the other animals’ meals like that, Se-jun approached Cuengi, who was eating boiled Egg Fruits,

Kkuhehehe. Kkueng!

[Hehehe. It’s delicious-da-yo!]

A pile of Egg Fruit shells was visible next to Cuengi, and the pot was already about half empty.

Kkueng!

[Papa should eat the colored ones-da-yo!]

Cuengi offered the colored Egg Fruits to Se-jun. Cuengi was yielding the elixirs to Se-jun.

“Oh? Thank you.”

Normally, he would have eaten everything good for the body himself… why now? Se-jun felt a sense of anxiety at Cuengi’s behavior. ‘Is this bitter?’

Tap.

Even so, to taste it first, he struck the red Egg Fruit against the edge of the pot to crack it.

A brief playful urge to crack the Egg Fruit by hitting it against Cuengi’s head tried to rise,

Kkueng?

[Is that how you originally crack an Egg Fruit-da-yo?]

When he imagined Cuengi holding an Egg Fruit and striking his own head, the playfulness vanished instantly.

Thus, having suppressed his playfulness for the sake of survival, Se-jun peeled the Egg Fruit shell,

Tap.

dipped it in salt, put it in his mouth, and chewed,

Munch, munch.

“Mmm.”

The saltiness grabbed what would have been a slightly bland taste of only plainness and nuttiness by the collar, forcefully carrying it and turning it into an appetizing flavor.

Although the choking throat due to the dryness of the yolk was unavoidable, Se-jun had become the unofficial barista of the Black Tower, capable of brewing decent coffee after much research.

Slurp.

Drinking the coffee, he completely overcame even the dryness.

Gulp.

“Ah… good.”

As Se-jun swallowed the Egg Fruit along with the coffee with a pleased expression,

[You have consumed Elixir: Egg Fruit of Stamina.]

[Stamina increases by 4.]

the message appeared.

The yellow, red, green, and blue Egg Fruits had the effect of increasing each stat by 4, and the Assorted Egg Fruit increased all stats by 1.

And,

“Now I know.”

Only then did Se-jun realize why Cuengi had yielded this to him. It was because the elixir Egg Fruits did not taste different from regular Egg Fruits.

Since the taste was the same, he had yielded the elixirs to Se-jun.

‘It’s the taste!’

Thanks to this, Se-jun clearly knew why Cuengi had tried to snatch and eat his food until now.

Cuengi was not seeking things that were good for the body, he just wanted to eat delicious things.

Item effects and such were not important at all. Until now, he had completely misunderstood that Cuengi was stealing and eating things good for the body. It was just that he was taking delicious things…

“Indeed, our Cuengi was a filial son.”

While Se-jun was drawing such a strange conclusion,

Kkueng. Kkueng.

[Cuengi told Papa to eat. But I want to eat it-da-yo.]

Having eaten all the regular Egg Fruits before he knew it, Cuengi began to contemplate whether or not to lay a hand on the colored Egg Fruits.

“Our Cuengi, do you want to eat honey?”

Kkueng!

[I like it-da-yo!]

When he offered honey to such a Cuengi, Cuengi snatched the glass jar Se-jun was holding without a shred of hesitation.

Kkuhehehe.

Lick. Lick.

The elixir Egg Fruits were already out of Cuengi’s interest.

Yum.

Thanks to that, Se-jun could eat the elixir Egg Fruits comfortably.

***

Korean Awakened Association.

“Vice President, what should we do?”

“Control all the articles, and first find Master to report.”

“Yes!”

Cha Si-hyeok, Han Tae-jun’s first disciple and Vice President, hurriedly gave instructions to his subordinates.

“Of all times, when Master isn’t here…”

Cha Si-hyeok was frantic because of the three Black Towers that had suddenly appeared in Korea.

If they had only appeared like the two Black Towers that were created in the past, he wouldn’t have been this frantic. Since they would only need to control people’s access.

However, as the fourth Black Tower of Korea appeared at Wangsimni Station in Seongdong-gu, the story completely changed.

[You have entered a safe area where beings of calamity cannot enter.]

That message began to appear to ordinary citizens and hunters who entered the area enclosed by drawing lines connecting the four Black Towers.

The area where the four Black Towers were connected was designated as a safe zone.

That alone was enough to surprise the entire world… but as two more Black Towers appeared at Heron Park in Heron-gu and the Seoul Arts Center in Seocho-gu, the safe zone expanded even further.

Because of that, foreign governments were requesting talks with the Korean government for now.

And the Korean government was requesting the Korean Awakened Association to participate in the talks together as advisory members.

***

“Vitality.”

Using the Vitality skill in between, Se-jun consumed 59 elixir Egg Fruits, causing his Strength to increase by 62, Stamina by 62, Agility by 58, and Mana by 54.

“Hehehe. Today’s me has surpassed yesterday’s me by far.”

While Se-jun was eating the Egg Fruits and feeling pleased,

“Puhut. I ate well, meow! As expected, Chairman Park’s grilled fish is the most delicious, meow!”

Theo, who had eaten his fill of grilled fish, climbed onto Se-jun’s lap and lay down on his back.

Stroke. Stroke.

Se-jun naturally stroked Theo’s belly.

A moment later,

Purr.

Theo fell asleep in no time, and

Kkuhehehe.

Cuengi pressed his butt against Se-jun’s hip and diligently licked and ate the honey.

And,

“Kyutkyutkyut.”

Iona had settled down on Theo’s tail before long, and

Nod. Nod.

the Golden Bat and Ppiyot were sitting near the fire, dozing off while warming themselves.

It was such a peaceful atmosphere.

“But why am I not recognized as the owner of the land?”

Se-jun felt doubtful while looking at the towering Bird-Bearing Tree. It was because the quest had not been completed.

“Isn’t it a mature tree at this point?”

Since I don’t know how long it will take, I should head to the 99th floor of the tower tomorrow morning first.

Se-jun planned to receive the dragon blood of the three dragons on the 99th floor of the tower in exchange for black beans or Samyangju, and ask for the dragon blood of the other dragons in advance.

After all, it would take time to receive the dragon blood of the other dragons, so the sooner he spoke, the better.

“Cuengi, let’s sleep.”

When Se-jun spoke while holding the dozing Golden Bat and Ppiyot,

Kkueng!

[Understood-da-yo!]

Cuengi, who had finished eating the honey, grew his body to about 5 meters,

Hug.

hugged Se-jun, placed him on his belly, lay down, and they all fell asleep together.

While everyone was asleep like that,

-Ssack?

the Bird-Bearing Tree moved its branches to create shade for Se-jun and the animals.

Day 360 of being stranded. The hectic day passed safely.