Chapter 357 – Hey, Don’t Run Away

Rainbow Castle, the royal castle of the Cobb Kingdom on the 79th floor of the Black Tower.

Ppiyot! Ppiyot!

[Lord Rui! I have brought Lord Theo!]

Ppiyot took Theo to King Rui.

“Lord Theo, welcome.”

“Puhuhut. Rui, glad to see you, mew!”

The two faced each other like that.

“But what brings you here…?”

“Chairman Park told me to give you this, mew!”

Theo handed over the leather pouches full of crops that Se-jun told him to give to Rui.

“If it’s Chairman Park… Ah! The Great Black Dragon?!”

He didn’t know why he confusingly called the Great Black Dragon Chairman Park, but fortunately, Rui was well aware that they were the same.

“Oh! Thank you! Even without this, food was lacking lately because many birds were born.”

“Puhuhut. Be very grateful, mew!”

Theo completed Se-jun’s first errand, taking credit excitedly at Rui’s gratitude.

“By any chance, do you have the land deed for the 80th floor of the Black Tower, mew?”

He went into completing the second errand.

“The 80th-floor land deed?”

“That’s right, mew! Chairman Park wants it, mew!”

“. , 80 !” (Wait, in English: “I am sorry. We do not have it right now, but if you give us time, we will mobilize all the intelligence network of the Cobb Kingdom to secure the 80th-floor land deed!”)

“I am sorry. We do not have it right now, but if you give us time, we will mobilize all the intelligence network of the Cobb Kingdom to secure the 80th-floor land deed!”

“Understood, mew! Then I will just check the treasure warehouse today and go, mew!”

“Yes! I will guide you to Lord Theo’s treasure warehouse!”

As Rui was guiding Theo to the treasure warehouse given last time as compensation for the Mother Tree,

“Excuse me… Lord Theo, where are you going?”

“Puhuhut. It’s not over there, mew!”

Theo began to walk to somewhere other than the direction Rui was guiding. A pull was felt over there, mew!

The place they headed to like that had a door more splendid than the treasure warehouse Theo originally received. It was the treasure warehouse of Prana, the Queen of the Cobb Kingdom.

“This place is…”

Rui, who arrived in front of the treasure warehouse where Prana kept only her most precious treasures, was flustered.

“Puhuhut. Open it, mew!”

Theo confidently demanded Rui to open the door.

“W-Wait a moment.”

If he opened this himself, he would be severely nagged by his wife later. Rui hurriedly sent a soldier to Prana, and

“I greet Lord Theo. Lord Theo, please take whatever you want to your heart’s content.”

Prana came in person and readily opened the treasure warehouse.

“Understood, mew!”

Theo entered the treasure warehouse, picked up a single brown bead, and came out.

“Phew.”

As Theo came out picking up only one, Prana quietly sighed in relief. She told him to choose to his heart’s content… but she didn’t seem sincere.

Theo packed the gift to give to Se-jun preciously in his bundle.

“Let’s meet again next time, mew! Ppiyot, let’s go, mew!”

Ppiyot!

[Yes! Goodbye!]

Theo descended toward the 55th floor of the tower with Ppiyot.

“Mew, mew, mew”

Ppiyot! Ppiyot!

Like that, they were on their way toward the 55th floor of the tower while singing.

“Mew?”

Ppiyot!

[Lord Theo, it’s a fork in the road!]

A fork in the road appeared in front of the two.

“Puhuhut. This way, mew!”

Theo went down the right path, sensing the aura of wealth, and white snakes began to appear. It was inside Jormungandr’s belly this time as well.

And

*Squeal! Squeal!*

From afar, a familiar sound of a pig being slaughtered was heard.

It was Uren, who was a slave decoy bringing slaves to Theo, an ATM supplying wealth, and the only one who didn’t know he was Theo’s left front paw.

“Puhuhut. I will earn money again, mew! Ppiyot, let’s go, mew!”

Theo ran toward the place where Uren’s scream was heard, smiling brightly.

***

“Cuengi, good job.”

Se-jun said as he stroked the head of Cuengi, who had harvested Bokbunja with him.

Ajax was spending free time under the pretext of scouting the surroundings.

Hearing Ajax’s roars from time to time, it seemed like he would bring many workers to work on the farm.

Kkuhehehe. Cuengi?

[Hehehe. Are we having lunch now, cueng?]

Cuengi asked, looking at Se-jun with eyes full of anticipation. It seemed he wanted something.

“Yes. We should eat lunch now. Cuengi, is there anything you want to eat?”

Cuengi!

[Cuengi wants to eat Mugwort Garaetteok, cueng!]

As expected of the gourmet genius Cuengi. Although he had never told him about Mugwort Garaetteok, he combined mugwort and garaetteok.

“Understood. Earth Raising!”

Having received the order, Se-jun struck the ground with Myler’s hoe to quickly create a building made of soil.

The kitchen was created in an instant. Not only the exterior but also the interior was identical to the kitchen on the 99th floor of the tower.

Se-jun entered the kitchen, took out the cooking utensils in the subspatial warehouse, and began to cook.

First, he washed the red and blue mugwort separately with water, put them in boiling water to blanch them slightly, and squeezed out the moisture.

Because if he entrusted it to Cuengi, juice would be squeezed out instead of water, so he did it himself.

“Ah. Cuengi, could you squeeze this?”

Se-jun said, giving the unblanched Fresh Mugwort of Life to Cuengi, who was watching from the side while drooling.

Since the topic came up, he intended to try making mugwort juice too.

Cuengi?

[I just need to squeeze this tightly, cueng?]

“Yes. Very tightly.”

Cuengi!

[Leave it to Cuengi, cueng!]

At Se-jun’s words, Cuengi nodded his head eagerly, placed the Fresh Mugwort of Life between his two front paws, and began to press tightly.

Then, the red mugwort juice began to fall into the glass bottle. Instead of dropping one drop at a time, the mugwort juice poured out.

And the mugwort remaining in Cuengi’s hands was squeezed so much that it crumbled into powder.

‘Ah. If I entrust it to Cuengi, it becomes powder instead of juice.’

Se-jun gained a grand realization.

Cuengi?

[Dad, is this enough, cueng?]

Cuengi spoke as he shook off and blew away the mugwort powder on his hands.

“Yes. Extremely outstanding.”

Even a juicer couldn’t squeeze like that… indeed, our son was outstanding.

“Then please do it.”

Se-jun requested the mugwort juice from Cuengi and finely chopped the squeezed mugwort with a knife.

He kneaded the chopped mugwort by adding rice flour and water. Since there was sweetness in the mugwort, he did not use honey and added only a little salt.

A moment later,

“End.”

Se-jun, who finished the kneading, began to steam the red dough and blue dough separately.

Now, if he placed that steamed dough into the black noodle press and pressed it with Cuengi’s strength, garaetteok would be completed.

Then, (Wait, “” -> At that moment,)

At that moment,

“Huh?! Brother Se-jun! Are you making garaetteok?!”

Ajax returned. No matter how much he liked free time, it was not enough to skip lunch.

“Yes. You came at the right time. Guys, gather around.”

Se-jun called all of his group.

And,

“Wash your feet and stamp your footprint here.”

He made the mugwort dough he set aside into the shape of hotteok and had them stamp their footprints. It was Mugwort Gaetteok.

Cuengi?

[Is this a slave contract, cueng?]

Cuengi, who had received a few footprint stamps on slave contracts, glared and looked at Se-jun. ‘Dad, are you making Cuengi a slave, cueng?!’

“No. And Cuengi, who told you to make such a scary expression at Dad? Huh?! You shouldn’t do that!”

Se-jun spoke to Cuengi in a stern voice and held the red mugwort juice that Cuengi had squeezed out earlier in his hand.

Although he hadn’t checked it yet, since the juice was extracted to the extent that the mugwort turned into powder, the effect would be certain.

Cuengi. Cuengi.

[I am sorry, cueng. Cuengi doubted Dad, cueng.]

Fortunately, at Se-jun’s words, Cuengi quickly apologized and stamped his footprint on the Mugwort Gaetteok.

“Ehihit. Brother Se-jun, everything stamped with my footprint is mine, right?”

This was because Ajax was diligently stamping the Mugwort Gaetteok.

Cuengi!

[Since this is stamped with Cuengi’s footprint, it is all Cuengi’s, cueng!]

While Cuengi and Ajax were diligently stamping their footprints on the Mugwort Gaetteok and claiming their ownership like that,

“Now. Blackie, let’s stamp your footprint too.”

King?

‘Are we bathing again?’

Se-jun grabbed Fenrir’s front paw, washed it with water, and

*Press.*

pressed Fenrir’s footprint onto the small-sized Mugwort Gaetteok made for Fenrir.

King? King?

‘This is soft? Is it food?’

At the soft touch, Fenrir tried to eat the mugwort dough, but Se-jun blocked his mouth with a dried roasted sweet potato slice.

After placing the footprint-stamped Mugwort Gaetteok on the steamer like that,

“Shall we check the options of this?”

While waiting, Se-jun checked the options of the mugwort juice Cuengi had squeezed.

[Mugwort Juice of Life]

A novice herb collector squeezed 1,000 Fresh Mugwort of Life, grown by absorbing the overflowing life force of the Green Tower, using only raw strength, reducing the effect of the mugwort juice by half.

Upon consumption, restores 5% of life force per 1 ml.

The taste is concentrated, making both sweetness and bitterness rich.

Capacity: 100 ml

Cultivator: Herb Collector Cuengi

Expiration date: 300 days

Grade: A

Fortunately, the effect was just as Se-jun had expected. Although the effect was reduced by half in the middle, it didn’t matter. Since there was plenty of mugwort.

[The Green Tower Farmer Ophelia Iolg has harvested 1 Fresh Mugwort of Mana.]

[11,251 Fresh Mugwort of Life and 10,076 Fresh Mugwort of Mana are stored in the temporary storage of the Green Tower.]

Even now, Ophelia was diligently harvesting for him.

Ophelia, what a grateful fellow. To make such efforts for my health and longevity.

“I should send her something delicious later.”

Se-jun decided to treat Ophelia to food later and transferred 20 ml of the Mugwort Juice of Life into each container.

He mixed one of them with water in a 5 to 1 ratio and tasted it.

“Ugh!”

It was too sweet and the bitterness was also strong. It was difficult to handle the concentrated taste of 200 mugworts with 100 ml of water. So he added more water.

Like that, he added water several times and found the optimal mixing ratio, and 20 ml of mugwort juice in 500 ml of water was the most edible blend.

But the taste was very disappointing as it felt like drinking slightly bitter sugar water.

At that moment,

Cuengi!

[Dad, the rice cakes are done, cueng!]

Cuengi, who remembered the smell of the dough from making garaetteok in the past, called Se-jun.

“Yes.”

Se-jun hurriedly took out the garaetteok dough from the steamer and placed it in the black noodle press held by Cuengi, and

Cuengi!

Cuengi pressed with strength and began to squeeze out the garaetteok.

And,

[You have achieved the feat of creating the red Garaetteok of Life for the first time in the tower.]

…

..

.

[You have achieved the feat of creating the blue Garaetteok of Mana for the first time in the tower.]

…

..

.

The red and blue garaetteoks were squeezed out, achieving cooking feats, and thanks to that, the effect of the mugwort improved by 5%.

Se-jun cut the continuously emerging garaetteok into bite-sized pieces, dipped them generously in honey, put them into the mouths of Cuengi, Ajax, and Fenrir, and also put one into his own mouth.

He ate with regular honey instead of kudzu honey so as not to ruin the taste of the mugwort.

“Mmm. Delicious.”

As soon as he chewed, a rich mugwort aroma filled his mouth, and honey seeped between the chewy rice cakes, creating an outstanding flavor and taste.

While eating the garaetteok like that, the Mugwort Gaetteok was completed, and each deliciously ate the Mugwort Gaetteok stamped with their own footprint.

Once lunch was over,

“Become Abundant.”

[The takes effect on the Bokbunja bush.]

[The quantity of the next fruit to bear on the Bokbunja bush is doubled.]

Before departing, Se-jun used the authority on the Bokbunja bush to increase the next harvest yield.

Although consumed life force, Se-jun’s life force had also increased a lot in the meantime, and

*Gulp.*

[You have consumed diluted Mugwort Juice of Life.]

[Life force is restored by 20%.]

He restored his life force by drinking the diluted Mugwort Juice of Life.

“Become Abundant!”

[You have consumed diluted Mugwort Juice of Life.]

[Life force is restored by 1%.]

…

..

.

Later, he used the authority while sipping it like water.

While Se-jun was increasing the harvest yield of the Bokbunja bush,

Cuengi!

[If you work here, you will be paid 10 peanuts and 5 Tower Coins a day, cueng!]

“Instead, you’ll have to work hard!”

Cuengi and Ajax explained to the big-footed squirrels who arrived late following Ajax what wages they would receive and what they had to do if they worked on the farm.

A moment later,

“Guys, let’s go home now. Ajax, guide us to the waypoint.”

Se-jun asked Ajax, who had scouted, for the location of the waypoint.

“Yes! Hyung, the waypoint is to the west. But… there is a mysterious lake to the east.”

“A mysterious lake?”

“Yes. The lake is milk. Even though I drank a lot, there is still plenty.”

“Eh? A milk lake?”

Come to think of it, he had heard about it from the Raccoon tribe who came to the harvest festival in the past. That there was a milk spring, so they scooped milk and made cheese with it.

“Let’s go! Toryong!”

Se-jun hurriedly called Toryong and headed to the milk lake.

“It was real?”

Although he had believed the Raccoons’ words, it hadn’t felt real… but seeing the milk-colored milk lake, it felt real.

“So real milk comes out from the ground…”

Se-jun gathered milk from the milk lake, and

Kkuhehehe. Cuengi!

[Hehehe. It’s milk, cueng!]

“You can drink a lot! Keep drinking!”

Cuengi! Cuengi!

[Understood, cueng! Cuengi will drink a lot, cueng!]

King?

‘Shall I wet my throat?’

The three drank milk diligently by the side.

After a bit of time passed,

“Huh?”

Se-jun, who was scooping milk, and the three drinking milk slid forward. The milk was rapidly decreasing.

King? King!

‘Why are we moving forward more and more? Hey! Don’t run away!’

*Thud. Thud.*

Fenrir diligently chased the decreasing milk.

*Glug.*

Naturally, the culprit was Cuengi. Cuengi had released his seal after a long time and drank the milk. Thanks to that, the milk lake eventually bottomed out.

Unluckily, it was a lake from which milk no longer emerged.

Cuengi?

[Did Cuengi do wrong, cueng?]

Cuengi wore a crying face and watched Se-jun’s reaction.

“No. It’s okay. I gathered plenty of milk.”

Se-jun comforted Cuengi by showing the milk contained in dozens of glass bottles. Such trivial milk. He could just find a larger milk lake later.

King!

‘Hey! I’m thirsty!’

However, Fenrir, who chased the decreasing milk and couldn’t drink even a single sip of milk, barked while looking at the glass bottles filled with milk.