Chapter 53

TL: Hanguk

Floor 67 of the Tower. It was a swamp on all sides.

Croak. Croak.

Thud.

A Lizardman hunter hit the head of a 1m-sized giant frog with an arrow.

Keruk, keruk.

The Lizardman hunter laughed happily, having successfully hunted a large prey after a long time. From the 61st to the 70th floor of the tower was the Lizardmen’s territory where they lived by hunting large frogs and snakes from the swamp.

Then,

Phooddeuk.

A red locust, about 20 cm in size, sat on the corpse of the frog that the Lizardman hunter had hunted.

And then,

Woojeok, woojeok.

The red locust began to eat by cutting the frog’s skin with its large jaws as if with scissors.

Kerok!

The Lizardman hunter rushed at the red locust that touched his prey and killed it with a dagger.

And then,

Ajak, ajak.

The Lizardman hunter tore off one of the red locust’s legs and tasted it to see if he could eat it.

Kerok, kerok.

The Lizardman hunter laughed happily, finding the taste better than expected.

In the meantime,

Phooddeuk, phooddeuk.

Several more red locusts flew in and began to eat the corpses of the giant frog and their fallen comrade. The Lizardman hunter was so busy eating that he didn’t even notice the locusts, allowing him to easily hunt them down.

However,

Phooddeuk, phooddeuk.

More red locusts flew in to eat the bodies of the frog and their fallen comrade, increasing their numbers to hundreds.

Kerok...

Feeling fear as the red locusts became too numerous, the Lizardman hunter was about to return home when the sky turned red.

Kerok?

When the Lizardman hunter looked at the sky, feeling something strange, he saw that the sky was filled with so many swarms of red locusts that the sun could no longer be seen.

Then,

Phooddeudeuk, phooddeuk.

About 100,000 red locusts that had separated from the swarm headed for the swamp where the Lizardman hunter was, and shortly after, nothing was left there.

***

The Black Rabbit, as usual, sent up the piranhas and crayfish in the net to prepare a meal.

Today, Cuengi requested a full meal of eel, so to show off his big brother’s dignity, the Black Rabbit moved pieces of eel flesh in the net several times.

And while he was riding the current down again,

Kuwoong.

A small vibration accompanied a sound.

Bbang?

When the Black Rabbit looked at where the sound came from,

Huh?! What’s that?

A green light was flowing from a gap between the Giant Electric Eel and the wall, then disappeared.

Curious, the Black Rabbit started cutting the eel’s body that was blocking the wall where the green light was flowing.

And then,

Seogeuk, seogeuk.

As the black rabbit cut through the skin of the giant electric eel on the opposite side, creating a hole in the eel’s body,

Pahaat.

A green light came in through the hole.

Then,

Kuwoong.

Bbang!

With the vibration, the calm flow of water suddenly became rough, and the Black Rabbit was sucked in beyond the hole in the body of the eel.

However,

Chul-ong.

The Black Rabbit’s leg got tangled up in the net. It was an enormous relief.

If it weren’t for the net, the Black Rabbit would have been swept away by the current in an instant.

As soon as the Black Rabbit confirmed he was safe, he took a closer look at where the green light was coming from.

What is that?!

There was an underwater cave where the giant electric eel had been blocking. The green light was flowing from beyond the underwater cave.

When the water flow stopped and the green light disappeared, the Black Rabbit pulled the rope twice.

***

And so, Sejun had strung up the caught squids on green onion leaves, creating semi-dried squids, a new snack after the dried sweet potato.

“How is it?”

Sejun asked, looking at the Architect Rabbit examining the mud. Sejun was currently touring the Black Minotaurs territory with the Black Rabbit and the Architect Rabbit.

Beep!

The Architect Rabbit nodded his head. This is enough!

The reason Sejun came all the way to the Black Minotaurs territory despite being busy with farming was because of the mud.

When Sejun had previously visited this place, he had thought about making mud bricks upon seeing the mud, and with the joining of the Architect Rabbit, he decided to start making the mud bricks in earnest.

“Good.”

Sejun filled the brick mold, made by the Wood Craftsman Rabbit, with mud. The wood was procured with the help of Mother Crimson Giant Bear.

When Sejun asked Mother Crimson Giant Bear for wood, she brought back two logs the next day, each almost as thick as Sejun’s body. The inside of the wood was a deep red like blood, which was strange, but the Grey Rabbits said it was good wood.

Sweep

After filling the mold and smoothing the overflowing mud,

And when the brick mold was removed,

Clunk.

The mud retained its shape, forming a perfect square mud brick. Now all he had to do was dry the mud brick until it hardened. The mud brick was made incredibly easily.

“Shall we just make about 100,000 for now?”

Sejun casually mentioned a number that would take tens of days of continuous work to achieve. Of course, he didn’t care. He wasn’t going to make them himself.

There were plenty of spare laborers in the area, rolling mud into their mouths, so he didn’t need to do it himself.

Sejun made a new deal with the Minotaur King to receive mud bricks in exchange for green onion leaves. As large brick molds for the Black Minotaurs were already being made, they decided to send them with the Black Minotaurs returning after the day’s work.

“What should we make first?”

Like playing Minecraft, Sejun returned to the cave and joyfully imagined what he could build with the bricks.

Then, after having grilled fish and stir-fried squid for lunch, just as he was about to start his afternoon work –

“Ah!”

Sejun suddenly remembered that he had not planted the Golden sweet potatoes.

“I should plant them quickly and harvest the cherry tomatoes.”

Sejun went to the storage to get the harvested Golden sweet potatoes.

But,

“Huh?! Where did they all go?”

There were no Golden Sweet Potatoes that had been stored in the storage.

***

On the rooftop of the Korean Awakened Association building, built right next to the black tower, two robust men were looking down at Gangnam downtown.

“Hoo. What forces have contacted Park Sejun’s family?”

President Han Taejun asked his eldest disciple, Cha Si-Hyeok, exhaling a puff of smoke from his cigarette.

“23 countries including the United States, Japan, and China are monitoring Park Sejun’s family. I have quietly dealt with the people from the three countries who attempted kidnapping.”

“Well done. Is it Dong-sik’s shift now to protect them?”

“Yes.”

“Tell Dong-sik to come see me during his shift change.”

Han Taejun planned to send Kim Dong-sik on an errand to get more magical cherry tomatoes.

Eating the magical cherry tomatoes given by Kim Dong-sik increased one’s magic power, making it a little easier to overcome the curse of flame and making external activities much more comfortable.

Above all, they were delicious.

“Yes.”

While they were talking for about 10 minutes,

Sizzle,

Blisters began to form on Han Taejun’s finger, accompanied by a burning sound and the appearance of a burn-like wound.

“Argh! Damn it. This curse...”

“Master, are you okay?!”

“What’s all the fuss about this? Just go.”

“Yes.”

Cha Si-hyeok sadly looked at his master, Han Taejun, descending from the rooftop. In the past, he could stay active outside for about an hour, but now he struggled even after 20 minutes.

“There must be a way!”

Cha Si-hyeok determined to find a way to break his master’s curse.

***

“Why is this here, meow?”

Sitting on Elka’s back and checking his inventory, Theo looked at the Golden Sweet Potato in his inventory that was emitting light with a perplexed expression. Sejun had clearly said that he would plant the Golden Sweet Potato.

It seemed like he might have put it in the inventory without thinking when he was packing sweet potatoes.

“Mr. Theo, what’s the matter?”

“It’s nothing, meow! There’s no problem, meow!”

At Elka’s question, Theo hastily replied.

‘I can’t show any weaknesses to my subordinates, meow! I am the perfect Theo, meow!’

While Theo was thinking about how to handle the Golden sweet potato, Elka entered the entrance of the merchant route leading from the 60th floor to the 50th floor.

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Another one will be released soon!