Chapter 291 – Cuengi, I Think the Gift Got Swapped

“Phew…”

Merchant Zidin went straight to the Mage Association branch to receive a free appraisal after hearing the store owner’s words.

“I should stop being a merchant now.”

Zidin smiled bitterly as he looked at the palm-sized item held in his hand.

He was not hoping for a massive jackpot. He only wished he could recover the amount he lost on this trade trip, but…

‘Why does it have to be a cursed seed of all things…’

The item Zidin received an appraisal for was the seed of a plant called Darkspot.

It was named Darkspot because as it grew, it attracted all kinds of dark and impure energy, making the surroundings gloomy and dark.

Because no one ate it due to its impure energy, Darkspot once occupied and ran rampant on an entire floor of the tower, but…

the Black Dragon stepped in, and it almost went extinct.

Since then, Darkspot seeds had no value at all because they were treated as plants to be removed upon discovery.

‘Considering the trouble of disposing of it, maybe I should pay someone to take it…’

Because the mage repeatedly requested that he burn and discard it, Zidin could not even throw the Darkspot seed away and was holding onto it like this.

‘Should I ask the blacksmith to burn it for me?’

As Zidin was thinking he should head to the blacksmith like that,

Whimper… whimper…

a pitiful cry was heard from beneath his feet.

As Zidin looked down following the sound,

“Oh? It’s a puppy?”

a dark blue puppy, with its pink tongue slightly peeking out, lay rolled over on its back showing its belly, acting cute (?).

‘It’s cute.’

As Zidin squatted down to touch the puppy’s belly,

Snatch.

“Oh?!”

the puppy suddenly stood up, bit the Darkspot seed in his hand, and started running.

“Hey! Put that down!”

Zidin quickly chased after Fenril to take the Darkspot seed back from him.

***

Kking! Kking!

[Oh yeah! Since I’m full, I have strength!]

Fenril ran while devouring the impure energy contained in the Darkspot seed.

Trot. Trot.

As he gained strength, force returned to his legs, allowing him to run more energetically than before.

“Puppy! That’s dirty!”

Although Zidin chased from behind,

Kking?! Kking!

‘Hmph! You think I’ll be caught?! This body is none other than the 1st Seat of the Apostles of Destruction, Lord Fenril!’

Fenril escaped, dodging this way and that between people’s feet with the movement he had learned while being bumped by their feet.

As Fenril was fleeing diligently like that,

Flail. Flail.

“…?!”

at some point, even though he was moving fast, his feet did not touch the ground.

Kking?

[Why aren’t my feet touching the ground?]

When the flustered Fenril looked for the reason why his feet did not touch the ground,

Flap. Flap.

!

[Lord Theo, I caught Kkingkking-i!]

Ppiyot was flying while holding Fenril with his feet.

Kking! Kking?!

‘Ugh… How frustrating! To be caught by this tiny fellow again?!’

While Fenril was feeling frustrated at being caught by Ppiyot again,

“Kkingkking-i, why are you wandering around alone, meow?!”

Ppiyot arrived at the place where Theo was.

Ppiyot!

[Lord Theo, here!]

When Ppiyot handed Fenril over to Theo,

Grab.

Theo grabbed Fenril by the scruff of his neck with his front paw.

At that moment,

Plop.

the Darkspot seed that Fenril had in his mouth fell to the ground.

Unlike its initial size, the seed had shrunk to the size of a fingernail, having shrunk as Fenril absorbed all the impure energy.

“Kkingkking-i, what did you pick up and eat, meow? It will be trouble if you eat just anything, meow!”

Just as Theo was nagging Fenril and was about to pick up the seed to examine it,

“Huff! Huff! By any chance… are you… the owner of… this puppy…?”

Zidin, who had followed Fenril, asked Theo while gasping for breath.

“That is so, meow! What is the matter, meow?”

“Huff. Huff. That… puppy… took… my… seed…”

Although his words were quite interrupted because he was out of breath, the meaning was roughly understood.

“Kkingkking-i, did you even commit theft, meow?! That is bad, meow!”

Running away from home and even theft. Even though he was his subordinate, he could not forgive it.

Slap. Slap.

So Theo scolded Kkingkking-i by slapping his butt with his front paw. The sound was loud, but it did not hurt.

However,

Kking?! Kking!

Fenril cried hysterically.

He was not exaggerating,

‘How dare he slap my butt?! I will surely repay this humiliation!’

Fenril cried because he felt it was too unfair to be slapped on his butt.

“Here it is… meow?”

After scolding Fenril like that, Theo picked up the seed and was about to give it to Zidin, but stopped.

Although he was confused because Fenril was with him, he knew for sure when he picked up the seed. He felt a pull from the seed.

Moreover,

“Kyut-kyut-kyut. Lord Theo, what is that?! Can’t you give it to me?!”

“No, meow! First, I must give it to Chairman Park, meow!”

Iona grew excited upon seeing the seed. Puhuhut. This is definitely an incredible item, meow!

“I shall buy this, meow!”

“Yes?! That?!”

“That is so, meow! Take this, meow!”

Theo forced a purse of money into the hands of the flustered Zidin and left.

“Why would he…?”

Zidin looked wonderingly at Theo, who was paying money to buy the Darkspot seed, and opened the money purse.

And,

“Gasp! How much is all of this?!”

He was shocked to see the amount inside the purse. It contained a whopping 1 billion Tower Coins.

“…I should stop being a merchant now.”

Zidin, who had obtained 1,000 times the money he lost on his previous trade trip thanks to Theo, decided to become a merchant group leader with this money.

***

The 99th floor of the tower.

“Aileen, will Cuengi be okay?”

When Se-jun asked, worrying about Cuengi like a child near the water,

[The Tower Administrator says not to worry, asking if you hadn’t always said that nothing is as useless as worrying about others on the 99th floor of the tower.]

“Ah… right.”

Se-jun was convinced immediately by Aileen’s single word.

“Come to think of it, now is not the time to worry about Cuengi.”

Cuengi was a wild beast with few matches even on the 99th floor of the tower.

Since such a Cuengi went down to the 88th floor of the tower, it was like releasing a shark into a water tank.

It was correct to worry whether Cuengi might drive the creatures on the 88th floor of the tower to extinction.

Se-jun returned to the farm while talking with Aileen like that.

“Oh?! The smell of grapes?”

The scent of grapes vibrated throughout the farm.

And Se-jun discovered grapes hanging in abundance on Podori’s branches.

[Hey! Eat this and make grapes quickly!]

[Yes?! I have to eat again?!]

[Shut up and just eat!]

[Yes…]

Flamie had pressured Podori in order to cheer up Se-jun, who was worrying about Cuengi.

Of course, Se-jun was currently worrying whether Cuengi might shatter the ecosystem of the 88th floor of the tower.

“Wow! I should pick them all!”

Se-jun hurriedly approached Podori

Pluck. Pluck.

[You have harvested 15 fragrant grapes overflowing with life.]

[Your job experience increases slightly.]

[The proficiency of Harvesting Lv. 8 increases slightly.]

[You have acquired 1,050 experience points.]

…

..

.

and began to harvest grapes.

Thanks to that, Se-jun was lost in the pleasure of harvesting grapes, allowing him to cast aside his worries for a moment.

“Oh! Delicious!”

While he was harvesting grapes, also eating some in between like that,

Trot. Trot. Trot.

Kkuhehehe. Kkueng!

[Hehehe. Dad, Cuengi is here, da-yo!]

Cuengi ran over excitedly.

However,

“Cuengi, who told you to go to the 88th floor of the tower without a word?! Huh?!”

Se-jun did not welcome Cuengi and scolded him first.

At that,

Kkueng! Kkueng!

[Dad is angry at Cuengi, da-yo! I hate Dad, da-yo!]

Cuengi cried sorrowfully.

“Why are you crying as if you did nothing wrong?!”

Kkueng! Kkueng!

[Cuengi went to get a gift for Dad, da-yo! I wanted to prepare a secret gift and make Dad happy, da-yo!]

“What?! A gift for me?”

Only then did Se-jun understand the reason why Cuengi went down the tower without telling him.

And,

‘I made a mistake.’

He realized his fault. He should have asked the reason for going down the tower first.

“Cuengi, sorry. Dad was worried about Cuengi… and got worked up.”

Snuggle.

Kkueng… Kkueng…

[I hate Dad, da-yo… though Cuengi likes Dad…]

At Se-jun’s apology, Cuengi buried his face in Se-jun’s lap and let his sorrow explode.

Pat. Pat.

Se-jun patted Cuengi’s butt and waited until his emotions were calmed.

A moment later,

Growl.

a stomach rumble rang from Cuengi’s belly. Seeing that the sound was longer than usual, it seemed he hadn’t eaten anything since lunch.

“Cuengi, shall we have dinner?”

Kkueng…?

Cuengi slightly raised his head at Se-jun’s words, contemplating whether to reply or not. It seemed Cuengi was still angry, da-yo.

At that moment,

“But we’re having honey Garaetteok, which Cuengi likes, today?”

Se-jun launched his finishing move,

Kkueng! Kkueng!

[Sounds good, da-yo! Cuengi is hungry, da-yo!]

Honey Garaetteok, da-yo! Cuengi was disarmed by Se-jun’s finishing move.

Kkuhehehe. Kkueng!

[Hehehe. Cuengi wants to eat honey Garaetteok quickly, da-yo!]

Cuengi was held in Se-jun’s arms and headed toward the kitchen.

Munch. Munch.

Lick. Lick.

Kkuhehehe.

“Cuengi, is it delicious?”

Se-jun asked as he watched Cuengi take a bite of the Garaetteok held in his right front paw and lick the honey from the glass jar with his left front paw.

Kkueng! Kkueng!

[It is, da-yo! It’s delicious, da-yo!]

Cuengi replied with a bright expression at Se-jun’s question.

“Cuengi, from now on, when you go somewhere, you have to tell me where you are going before you leave. Got it?”

Kkueng! Kkueng!

[Understood, da-yo! Next time I will definitely tell you before I leave, da-yo!]

“Yes. Eat some more.”

Se-jun pulled out more Garaetteok from his subdimensional warehouse.

When the meal was finished like that,

Kkueng!

[Dad, thank you for the meal, da-yo!]

Cuengi politely bowed to Se-jun. Aww, although he was my baby, he was too cute.

“Hehehe. Shall Cuengi eat grapes for dessert with Dad?”

Kkuhehehe. Kkueng!

[Hehehe. Sounds good, da-yo!]

“Let’s do that.”

Se-jun seated Cuengi on his lap and ate grapes.

Nom.

While Se-jun ate grapes with one hand,

Scratch. Scratch.

and scratched Cuengi’s belly with his other hand,

Present.

Kkueng!

[This is a gift for Dad, da-yo!]

Cuengi pulled out a glass bottle filled with red liquid from his snack pouch and handed it to Se-jun.

“Thank you.”

‘Hehehe. What is this? Is it something delicious?’

Pop.

Se-jun opened the cork of the glass bottle with an expectant expression.

And,

“Ugh!”

he hurriedly closed the lid again. It was because a terrible stench came from inside the glass bottle.

“Um… Cuengi, I think the gift got swapped?”

Kkueng! Kkueng!

[That is the gift, da-yo! I got it specially for Dad, da-yo! Eat it quickly, da-yo!]

“O-okay.”

Se-jun decided to examine in detail what this was first before eating it.

[Red Juice of Life]

It is juice obtained by squeezing the roots of the Red Rock Corpse Flower with strong force.

Upon consumption, Stamina and Stamina potential increase by 150.

Upon consumption, lifespan increases by 10 years.

It smells strongly of rot.

Usage Restriction: Lv. 60 or higher, Stamina 700 or higher

Expiration Date: 7 days

Grade: SS

‘Ah… so it smelled like this because it was squeezed from the corpse flower roots.’

Having seen the description, Se-jun was able to understand why the stench came from the glass bottle.

“But increasing lifespan is incredible.”

Kkueng!

[Cuengi hopes Dad lives for a long time, da-yo!]

Cuengi replied at Se-jun’s words.

“Right. What’s a rotten smell anyway!”

Gulp. Gulp.

Moved by Cuengi’s words, Se-jun boldly drank the Red Juice of Life.

However,

‘This won’t do!’

This was truly the worst taste ever. No, putting aside the bad taste, it simply wouldn’t go down his throat at all.

“Ugh!”

His stomach turned, and the situation was such that what he had eaten was coming back up instead.

‘Cuengi, I’m sorry.’

“Ugh…”

Just as Se-jun could not hold back and was about to spit out the Red Juice of Life,

“Chairman Park, I’m back, meow!”

Plop.

Theo, who returned with Fenril on his back, clung to Se-jun’s face and covered Se-jun’s mouth while

Squeeze.

pressing his cheeks.

Gulp.

“…!”

At the same time, the Red Juice of Life was swallowed like a miracle.

[You have consumed the Red Juice of Life.]

[Stamina and Stamina potential increase by 150 each.]

[Lifespan increases by 10 years.]

Thanks to that, his lifespan increased by 10 years.

“Phew.”

Se-jun breathed a sigh of relief at having swallowed Cuengi’s gift without spitting it out.

“Meow! Chairman Park pooped through his mouth, meow!”

“Kyu-kyu-kyu, this is not good manners!”

Ppiyot!

Whimper!

Instead, he had to suffer the misunderstanding from the animals that he had pooped through his mouth.

Kkuhehehe.

Nom. Nom.

Only Cuengi, who had blocked his nose with telekinesis in advance, ate grapes deliciously without change.