Chapter 95 – Awakening

Squeeeak!!!

Kkuueeng!!!

“Huh? That sounds like the kids.”

Hearing the sorrowful cries of the Black Rabbit and Cuengi, Se-jun quickly ran in the direction the sound was coming from.

“Guys, what’s wrong?!”

Se-jun asked as he found the Black Rabbit and Cuengi crying and looking around the surroundings diligently.

Squeak?

Kkueng?

The Black Rabbit and Cuengi turned their heads at Se-jun’s voice.

Squeak!!!

Kkueng!!!

Discovering Se-jun, the Black Rabbit and Cuengi opened their arms and hurriedly charged toward Se-jun.

Pitter-patter.

“Huh?! Guys?”

The Black Rabbit and Cuengi charged without brakes, showing how glad they were. Especially seeing Cuengi, who had half lost his mind out of joy at finding Se-jun, Se-jun felt a chill down his spine. This is going to kill me!

He tried to hurriedly avoid the charge of the two, but it was impossible for Se-jun to dodge the two who had incredibly high agility stats compared to him.

Thud!!!

“Cough!”

At the same time his breath was blocked by the body tackle of the two, Se-jun’s life flashed before his eyes like a panorama.

‘Am I dying? I wanted to see Aileen before I died…’

At that moment,

[Your body has suffered a fatal injury.]

[ is activated.]

[Consumes magic power to protect the body from breaking.]

The authority was activated and protected Se-jun’s body from breaking.

‘Right. I have the Unbreakable Body so…’

That was the last thought Se-jun had before fainting, along with the pain that felt like his entire body was breaking. The authority kept the body from breaking, but it did not eliminate the pain.

Whoosh.

Se-jun flew through the air, becoming one body with the Black Rabbit and Cuengi.

And Theo, who intuitively knew that Se-jun was safe.

“Eek! Fall off, meow!”

Clinging to the lap of Se-jun who was flying while fainted, Theo only wagged his tail diligently to remove Iona.

***

“Mr. Tarik, why have you been so scarce lately?!”

Tamuro welcomed Tarik, who had visited the 67th floor of the tower again.

“Hahaha. Thank you for welcoming me like this, Mr. Tamuro. By the way, I heard that you are having a hard time lately because of the Purple Locusts…”

Tarik said as he looked at the quiet defensive position.

“Ah! We were lucky. The waypoint was almost breached, but for some reason, the Purple Locusts suddenly withdrew.”

“Ah… I see. Mr. Tamuro, this is a small token of my sincerity. Please accept it.”

This time too, Tarik held out a black token worth 10,000 Tower Coins guaranteed by the Chow Merchant Group.

But

“Cough. Mr. Tarik, please spend a bit more this time. I also have many mouths to feed. I have already received it five times, but it was insufficient.”

Tarik’s face hardened for a moment at Tamuro’s words.

And,

“…Hahaha. My thoughts were short! Of course. I should give you more.”

Tarik took out another black token from his chest and handed two black tokens to Tamuro.

“Cough. Thank you.”

Tamuro smiled and received the black tokens Tarik handed over. Around Tamuro’s neck, the necklace Iona had given him was hanging.

“Then go out and return as much as you want. I have some busy business.”

Tamuro hurriedly excused himself so Tarik could act quickly.

***

Step, step.

“Umm…”

Se-jun regained consciousness at the wetness felt on his forehead.

Kkueng!

Cuengi rejoiced, looking at Se-jun who had regained consciousness.

But

Kkueng…

Cuengi hesitated, unable to hug Se-jun as before. This was due to his worry that Se-jun might lose consciousness again if he hugged him.

“It’s fine. Dad is sturdy now.”

Se-jun said, opening his arms to Cuengi.

Although his body was a bit heavy, perhaps thanks to the authority, there was no uncomfortable or painful spot.

Kkueng.

At Se-jun’s words, Cuengi took courage and hugged Se-jun.

And,

Wet.

Se-jun could tell why his forehead was wet. Cuengi had been putting his saliva on his front paw and placing it on Se-jun’s forehead, saying he was nursing Se-jun.

At that moment,

Squeak!

Pyupyu

The Black Rabbit and Pyupyu brought breakfast they had made for Se-jun to eat.

“Thank you.”

When Se-jun praised the Black Rabbit and Pyupyu while stroking their heads,

Kkueng.

Cuengi thrust his head forward as if asking to be praised as well.

“Yes. All right.”

While he was stroking the animals’ heads like that,

“Chairman Park, are you awake now, meow?”

Theo, who was sleeping on Se-jun’s lap, woke up.

“By the way, where did Iona go?”

“She went to deal with Tarik, meow.”

“Tarik came?”

“That’s right, meow.”

Iona, who knew that the necklace with the video storage magic given to Tamuro was activated, went to the waypoint herself for a certain cleanup.

***

“Tarik, stop!”

As Tamuro, who thought he had secured enough evidence footage while tailing Tarik, stepped forward,

Keruk, keruk.

Growl.

Lizardman soldiers and Silver Wolf tribe wolves who were hiding beforehand surrounded Tarik and his subordinates.

“Hmph! I thought you were just a money-grubbing lizard, but you are foolish as well.”

Tarik said while looking at Tamuro. Although he was caught at the scene of discarding monster carcasses, Tarik was not shaken at all.

“…Since it has come to this, it can’t be helped. Kill them all.”

“Yes!”

At Tarik’s words, the traveling merchants who followed Tarik took out equipment from their bundles. And Tarik also took out a giant blood-colored battleaxe from his bundle.

The battle began like that. The tide of the battle was unexpectedly flowing advantageously for Tarik. The reason was because of the weapon Tarik pulled out.

When Tarik swung the battleaxe, red energy stretched out from the battleaxe and flew around.

“Avoid it!”

The Lizardmen and Silver Wolves were busy dodging the red energy.

“How did he get Guillotine…”

Elka was flustered looking at the giant battleaxe Tarik was swinging. Guillotine was a relic-grade weapon that occupied the fifth place among the top 10 strongest armaments of the Black Tower. Because it was an object that was once the sacred relic of the Silver Wolf tribe, he knew it better than anyone.

“Elka, why did you betray Lord Grid? Because of your choice, your entire tribe will starve to death!”

“Shut up! I have nothing to say to someone who does not know pride!”

“Even though your grandfather and parents died like that, you are still talking about pride. You haven’t snapped out of it.”

At that moment,

“Kyu—Tarik, stop talking nonsense and quietly admit your guilt.”

Hulu, from the sky, Iona appeared. (Wait! Raw is ` .` -> “From the sky, Iona appeared.” Let’s translate: “From the sky, Iona appeared.” Why did I write “Hulu, from the sky, Iona appeared”? I will write “From the sky, Iona appeared.”)

“You are Iona?! Why are you here? Could it be that this is your doing?!”

“There is no need for you to know that. I will handle Tarik, so you guys handle the rest! Seal!”

Iona shouted while casting sealing magic on the weapon Tarik held.

“What?! Why is it suddenly like this?!”

Tarik was flustered by the weapon that suddenly did not work. As Tarik’s weapon was sealed, the battle ended in an instant due to the attacks of the Lizardmen and Silver Wolves who had overwhelming power.

“Squeal! How dare you persecute me like this, the leader of the Chow Merchant Group and a board member of the Traveling Merchant Association! I will formally protest to the Wizards’ Association and the Free Mercenary Association and not leave you guys alone!”

Tarik, tied in ropes, screamed at the top of his lungs like a dying pig.

“Well. Will you really be able to escape safely this time as well?”

Iona smiled looking at Tarik. In the past, despite being suspected several times, Tarik had destroyed evidence and witnesses, and leisurely escaped using his power.

“What?! Hahaha. I am an elder of the Wild Boar tribe, under the protection of Lord Grid, the great landlord of the 55th floor of the tower! No matter what I do, you cannot punish me!”

“Yes. But will you still have such composure after seeing this? Tamuro.”

“Here it is.”

At Iona’s words, Tamuro unfastened the necklace and handed it to Iona.

And when Iona operated the necklace,

-What?! Hahaha. I am an elder of the Wild Boar tribe, under the protection of Lord Grid, the great landlord of the 55th floor of the tower! No matter what I do, you cannot punish me!

The scene of Tarik speaking just now was played back in the air exactly like a hologram.

“T-That is?!”

“Kyut-kyut-kyut. It’s a necklace with video storage magic that I developed. Everything you did has been saved! Moreover, thank you for tying in Grid, the great landlord, together.”

…!

“Dispose of them.”

“Yes!”

“Yes!”

Leaving behind the speechless Tarik, Iona instructed Tamuro and Elka. Since there was evidence now, there was no need to keep them alive.

“S-Spare me!”

“Hellfire.”

Under Iona’s magic, Tarik’s entire body was engulfed in hellfire that would not extinguish until death.

“Squeeeal!”

Tarik died while letting out painful screams.

The Lizardmen and wolves collected the discarded monster carcasses and the corpses of the traveling merchants together.

***

“It has been 5 days since I fainted?!”

Se-jun, who was eating breakfast, was surprised. No wonder he was hungry no matter how much he ate.

“That’s right, meow!”

“Then what about the Locusts?”

“The Locusts began to eat up the green onions, so we drove them away, meow!”

As the population of Locusts decreased, the poison flowing inside the Locusts’ bodies disappeared, and the Locusts were not affected at all even when eating the Detoxifying Green Onion.

“Then what about the quest?”

Se-jun hurriedly checked the quest.

[Middle Manager Quest: Exterminate the Yellow Locusts on the 67th floor of the tower.]

Yellow Locusts: 803,919,112/2,938,170,012

Reward: 75,000 Experience Points, 7,500 Tower Coins

Upon Failure: You cannot return to your original place until you complete the quest.

“Huh?!”

As the number of Locusts decreased, the Locusts devolved by two stages from Red to Yellow before he knew it. And as the Locusts devolved, the quest difficulty and rewards also decreased together.

‘At this rate, the rewards will gradually decrease. Isn’t there any way?’

While Se-jun was pondering if there was any way to receive more quest rewards,

“Kyut-kyut-kyut. Mr. Se-jun, you have woken up!”

Iona entered the cave.

“Yes. Tarik?”

“We caught him. Here is the evidence footage.”

Iona showed the saved video to Se-jun.

“Huh?! What did you do with all those monster carcasses?”

Se-jun asked, looking at the monster carcasses scattered on the ground in the video. The moment he saw the monster carcasses, a good idea occurred to him.

“We have just collected them for now. Why?”

“Please bring those monster carcasses. I have a use for them.”

“Yes. I will be right back.”

Iona went out again.

And,

“Now, everyone gather.”

Se-jun began to give instructions to the animals.

When Iona returned with the bundles containing monster carcasses, the inside of the cave was cleanly emptied.

“Guys, pour everything here.”

At Se-jun’s instruction, the animals held the bundles Iona had brought and began to pour the monster carcasses inside the cave. This was a strategy to increase the number of Locusts inside the cave to raise the quest difficulty and then catch them all at once.

The original owners of the cave, the Jewel Frogs, obediently moved to find a new residence when Gaeron, who was the god of the Jewel Frogs, stepped forward and commanded.

“Iona, please lure the Locusts with wind magic.”

“Yes! Wind!”

Iona used wind magic to make the smell of the monster carcasses go to where the scattered Locust swarms were.

A moment later,

Flutter. Flutter.

Following the smell of the monster carcasses, swarms of Yellow Locusts with yellow bodies began to enter the cave.

“Good.”

Se-jun said as he hid and watched those Locusts.

“Phew. Now there are no Locusts left outside.”

“Good job.”

Se-jun, who had lured all the Locusts for several hours, said.

As time passed like that,

[The Yellow Locusts have evolved into Blue Locusts.]

[The quest has been updated.]

…

..

.

As the number of Locusts increased, evolution began again.

And,

[The Red Locusts have evolved into Purple Locusts.]

[The quest has been updated.]

…

..

.

When the Red Locusts evolved into Purple Locusts,

“Now is the time!”

“Yes! Mini Black Hole!”

Iona used her strongest gravity magic.

And the Nabia Swamp disappeared entirely.

This is the evolutionary stage of the Locusts.

Green -> Yellow -> Blue -> Red -> Purple