Chapter 328 – Chairman Park Requires a Lot of Care, Meow!

“Hehehe. I’m now level 76.”

Se-jun smiled contentedly.

“But… it’s getting more and more burdensome.”

“I’m overflowing with power!”

Se-jun said while looking at Ajax, who was flying around the sky with a massive body.

As Se-jun was continuously exposed to Ajax’s unsealed power, it became increasingly difficult for him.

“Hyung! Was I cool?!”

Unaware of that, Ajax asked Se-jun in a boastful voice.

“Ajax, hyung is having a hard time. I, Park Se-jun, as the owner of Ajax Mamuve, command. Seal.”

Unable to withstand Ajax’s energy, Se-jun hurriedly sealed Ajax’s power again instead of answering.

And

Pat, pat.

“Ajax, you did well.”

Se-jun praised Ajax, who had become smaller, while stroking his head.

“Ehehehe.”

Ajax grinned, receiving Se-jun’s praise like that.

Then,

Clank.

“I missed you, Chairman Park, meow!”

Cuengi!

[It’s Dad-da-yo!]

Whine!

‘I told you not to leave me alone!’

The subspace warehouse opened, and Theo, Cuengi, and Fenril ran out.

The dragons had upgraded Se-jun’s subspace warehouse, turning it into a multidimensional subspace warehouse that could be opened from other towers.

Additionally, they had also added a function allowing permitted entities to open the warehouse from the inside, even if it wasn’t opened from the outside.

“Guys!”

The party was reunited like that.

“That’s how it happened, meow!”

“So that’s why it didn’t open…”

After hearing the reason why the subspace warehouse did not open from Theo,

“Take a break for a moment. I’ll just harvest this, register the waypoint, and go back.”

Se-jun said as he got up to pick the cherries.

Since he didn’t know what might happen in the future, he planned to register the waypoint since he was already at the White Tower.

However,

“No, meow! There’s somewhere we have to go before that, meow!”

Theo strongly objected to Se-jun’s words.

“Huh? Where?”

Tap.

“I, Vice President Theo, felt a pull, meow!”

Theo shouted proudly, raising his front paw.

“A pull?!”

“Puhuhut. That’s right, meow!”

“Alright. Then go ahead and visit.”

“I don’t want to, meow! We’re going together later, meow!”

Squeeze.

At Se-jun’s words, Theo tightly hugged Se-jun’s knee. *I’m never going to separate from Chairman Park now, meow!*

It was Theo’s first time being this far away from Se-jun. For Theo, this incident was a huge shock.

And the same went for Cuengi and Fenril.

Cuengi!

[Because we are one, we go everywhere together-da-yo!]

Cuengi clung to Se-jun’s left arm like a koala.

Whine!

‘Hey! Take care of me!’

Fenril asserted his presence by biting Se-jun’s shoe.

“Alright, alright.”

As Se-jun picked up Fenril and put him in his pocket,

“Heehee! Hyung! I want to hang on too!”

Ajax clung to Se-jun’s left shoulder.

Consequently, Se-jun had to harvest cherries with Theo, Cuengi, Ajax, and Fenril all clinging to his body.

(Baet-baet.)

For the record, the Golden Bat had already taken his place on Se-jun’s back.

A moment later.

[You have harvested Deep Darkness Cherries.]

[Your job experience increases slightly.]

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

[You have acquired 70 experience points.]

“Done.”

Se-jun harvested the last cherry.

“I expected it, but… there really isn’t much.”

Looking at the basket containing the harvested cherries, Se-jun said in a disappointed voice.

There were roughly 2,000 cherries in the basket. It was far too few to say it was harvested from 100 cherry trees.

“There will be more during the next harvest, right?”

Se-jun looked forward to the next time.

And,

“Guard the farm well.”

He requested the water deer and the monkeys to guard the farm. Since the cherry harvest was over, it was time to leave.

Ppiyu!

[Yes!]

Uk-kik!

[Yes!]

The water deer and the monkeys answered energetically at Se-jun’s words.

Instead of Se-jun, Ajax decided to give them a week’s worth of bananas at once when he collected the cherries once a week.

Although the Crazy Dogs on the 83rd floor of the White Tower had been wiped out by Ajax,

he left 100 Dragon Tooth Soldiers behind just in case.

When all the work at the cherry tree farm was finished like that,

“Vice President Theo, guide the way.”

“Puhuhut. Understood, meow! Just trust me, meow!”

Se-jun and the party moved north under Theo’s guidance.

On the way,

there were a few unlucky guys blocking Se-jun and the party’s path, but

Cuengi!

[I’ll punish you-da-yo!]

Cuengi cleared them up,

“Stamp it, meow!”

and Theo obtained stamps on the contracts and sent them to the farm.

When they had added about 100 farm employees like that,

“Puhuhut. It’s here, meow!”

a shabby, gloomy-looking temple appeared before Se-jun. *It feels a bit ominous.*

“Despair has not ended yet. The end of hope is despair. In the end, everyone shall fall into despair…”

While Se-jun was reading the text written on the temple floor,

“Puhuhut. Let’s go in quickly, meow! I feel a strong pull, meow!”

Theo pulled Se-jun’s leg toward the temple with an excited expression.

‘Right. Since it’s Theo’s pull, there won’t be anything dangerous.’

Se-jun set aside his worries and followed Theo into the temple.

***

-Kellion, is our Se-jun doing well?

-Ah! He’s safe! How many times are you going to ask?!

Kellion replied in annoyance to Kaiser’s question.

Since he had been asking every five minutes after Se-jun vanished, it was understandable that Kellion was annoyed.

However,

-Kellion, aren’t you being too harsh?! Kaiser is only doing that because he’s worried about Se-jun!

-That’s right! You shouldn’t behave like that!

Ramter and Tier defended Kaiser. There was no one on Kellion’s side here. *I miss my grandson…*

Thus, Kellion broadcasted Se-jun’s situation live every five minutes.

-Huh?! There was a place like that in our tower?!

Kellion closely watched Se-jun and the party entering the temple.

***

In the center of the temple lay a circular altar, and on top of it was a massive gray rock as round as an egg.

Surrounding the rock were four massive stone statues standing guard.

The statues were armored figures holding a sword, a spear, a bow, and a staff. Other than that, there was nothing else in the temple.

“Vice President Theo, is the pull coming from that rock?”

When Se-jun asked while looking at the gray rock,

“No, meow! It’s beneath that, meow!”

Theo shook his head and pointed at the floor with his front paw.

“Really? Then should we move that rock first?”

Step.

As Se-jun spoke and took a step forward,

Thud!

a massive iron gate suddenly slammed down, blocking the temple entrance.

And,

-Welcome. O warriors who shall scream in despair.

blood-red letters of a bizarre shape appeared on the gray rock, and a voice was heard.

“Huh?”

*Why warriors all of a sudden?* While Se-jun was wondering,

-I am the adversary of hope and the ruler of despair, the Demon King of Despair, Mordor. If you wish to leave here alive, accept my trial.

Rumble.

Along with Mordor’s words, the four giant stone statues surrounding the gray rock moved and

Thump.

pointed their weapons toward Se-jun and the party.

“Oh. They’re moving.”

“Puhuhut. Chairman Park, do you want them, meow?”

Cuengi!

[Cuengi is bigger-da-yo!]

“Hyung! I’ll make them for you later!”

Se-jun and the party were busy talking among themselves while looking at the statues.

-Then I shall give you the first trial. Fight and defeat this statue.

Meanwhile, Mordor delivered the first trial,

Thump. Thump.

and the stone statue holding a spear stepped forward in front of Se-jun and the party.

-Hehehehe. There is also an easy way. If you kill one of your companions, I will consider you to have passed the trial.

Mordor laughed, imagining the despair-filled warriors killing one another.

However,

“What are you talking about? Vice President Theo, slice him.”

Se-jun reacted with a straight face at Mordor’s absurd words.

“Puhuhut. Understood, meow!”

Shing!

At Se-jun’s words, Theo unsheathed his dragon claws and

Swish.

slashed the air with his front paw.

Crunch.

The blades of mana, which cut through the four stone statues and the gray rock, left five lines on the temple wall.

Crack.

Thud.

The four stone statues split in half and collapsed, shaking the floor,

-For me… to perish so easily…

[Guardian Theo has defeated the sealed Demon King of Despair, Mordor.]

[You have acquired 3 billion experience points, which is 50% of the experience gained by Guardian Theo.]

[You have leveled up.]

[You have acquired 1 bonus stat.]

[Your Strength increases by 10.]

[You have leveled up.]

[You have acquired 1 bonus stat.]

[Your Strength increases by 10.]

Mordor, the Demon King of Despair, who had been sealed inside the gray rock, perished while gifting Se-jun two level-ups.

Thanks to that, Se-jun had risen seven levels in a single day.

“Hehehe. I’m now level 78.”

While Se-jun was laughing,

“Puhuhut. Chairman Park, it’s this, meow!”

Theo dug up the spot where the gray rock had been, found a yellow bead, and brought it to Se-jun.

“Huh? What is this?”

Se-jun inspected the yellow bead.

[Heart of Mordor, the Demon King of Despair]

This is the heart of Mordor, the Demon King of Despair.

As Mordor, the Demon King of Despair, perished, it contains only pure mana.

Upon consumption, Mana increases by 300.

Upon consumption, the talent: Bringer of Despair can be awakened.

If you consume all five hearts of the ancient demon kings, you can obtain additional effects and the .

Usage Restriction: All stats 1000 or higher

Expiration Date: None

Grade: SSS

“Oh! As expected of Vice President Theo! Vice President Theo is the best!”

After checking the item options, Se-jun praised Theo, raising his thumb.

An increase of 300 Mana and talent awakening upon consumption.

Moreover, if he consumed all five demon kings’ hearts, he would get additional effects and even a title.

It was the best among the items Se-jun had seen so far.

“Puhuhut. That’s right, meow! I, Vice President Theo, am the best, meow! Chairman Park, since I did well, please extend my exclusive rights to Chairman Park’s lap for another month, meow!”

“Sure. That much is nothing!”

In a good mood, Se-jun readily granted Theo’s request and checked his stats.

Stats: Strength (1036/1193), Stamina (1364/1398), Agility (974/1008), Mana (1369/2279), Mental Power (17/500)

“Huh?! My Agility is insufficient?”

In order to consume the Heart of Mordor, the Demon King of Despair, all stats had to be 1000 or higher.

His Agility stat was 26 short of 1000.

“I guess I’ll have to consume it after going back.”

If he consumed the seven bonus stats he obtained today, along with the elixirs and other crops on the farm, raising it by 26 would be more than enough.

“Ah. Just in case, I should take this too.”

Having organized his thoughts, Se-jun picked up the gray rock where Mordor had been sealed and placed it in the subspace warehouse.

And,

“Guys, let’s go now.”

Se-jun set off toward the waypoint with the party clinging to his body.

On the way to the waypoint,

Kyao!

unlucky fellows blocked Se-jun and the party’s path once again, and

Cuengi!

[I’ll punish you-da-yo!]

“Stamp it, meow!”

they were sent to the farm by the two-stage combo of Cuengi’s fist and Theo’s stamp.

Se-jun arrived at the waypoint like that.

Tap.

As he placed his hand on the red crystal,

[The waypoint on the 83rd floor of the White Tower has been saved.]

[Loading saved waypoints of other floors.]

[As there are no saved waypoints other than the 83rd floor of the White Tower, you cannot move to other floors of the White Tower.]

messages appeared. Since this was expected, he was not flustered.

“Now let’s go home. I finally get to use this.”

Tap.

Se-jun raised his left arm and infused mana into the black bracelet. It was the Dragon Horn Return Bracelet Kaiser had given him.

Then,

Hummm.

the golden letters engraved on the bracelet began to shine.

And,

[The return magic imprinted on the Dragon Horn Return Bracelet activates.]

[Calculating the distance between the current coordinates and the return coordinates.]

[Identifying the number of people nearby.]

[Returning the six to the designated location.]

Se-jun disappeared from the 83rd floor of the White Tower.

A moment later.

[You have arrived at the 99th floor of the White Tower.]

“Huh?!”

Se-jun had arrived in an unexpected place.

At that moment,

[You are exposed to powerful mana.]

[It is mana that you cannot handle.]

messages appeared in front of Se-jun.

The 99th floor of the White Tower was a place where the mana released by Ajax had accumulated in high density. It was too much for Se-jun to endure.

“Ugh…”

Se-jun fainted along with the messages.

“Chairman Park!”

Theo, who had been distracted looking around, quickly used Energy Drain to absorb the mana heading toward Se-jun, and

Knead, knead.

massaged Se-jun’s face using his healing technique.

“Chairman Park requires a lot of care, meow!”

Theo was working hard today as well.