TL: Hanguk
Combat Shop Headquarters.
“What should I do?”
Is there no good solution?
There are only a few hours left now!
Battler grew increasingly anxious as the three-day deadline that Theo had mentioned approached.
And then,
This is all Hunt’s fault!
Battler blamed Hunt. However, this time, Hunt was indeed partially at fault.
Because he informed Battler a day late, one of the three days Theo gave had already been wasted.
Should I go or not?!
Battler, agonizing over the decision for a while.
“Ah, that’s right!”
Come to think of it...
He remembered that Bev, the God of Courage, and Thunder, the God of Storms, were on friendly (?) terms with Sejun and Cuengi, who hang out with Theo.
He could ask them...
It would hurt his pride as the God of Battle to ask another god for a favor, but it was less humiliating than kneeling in front of Theo.
Thus, Battler went to find Bev and Thunder.
“What?! You want me to talk to Sejun to persuade Theo?!”
“What?! You want me to ask Cuengi to talk to Theo?!”
Bev and Thunder, upon receiving Battler’s request, hesitated.
‘If I say something, will Sejun listen? I don’t think so... Won’t I just get blocked again?’
‘Cuengi blocks me no matter what I say...’
They hesitated, worried about getting blocked.
But then,
“Ah, you’re so stingy! Fine! If you just just tell him, I’ll give you 100 million divine power each.”
Battler thought the two were trying to negotiate.
He didn’t realize that two gods were struggling because of one human and one bear.
While he himself was struggling because of one cat.
Of course, none of these individuals were ordinary beings.
“Alright, I’ll give it a try.”
“I’ll try talking to him too.”
Bev and Thunder were swayed by the 100 million divine power and tried asking Sejun and Cuengi to cancel calling Battler despite risking getting blocked, but
[Black Tower’s Tower Farmer Park Sejun has blocked conversation for 3 days.]
[Cuengi Park has blocked conversation for 3 days.]
As expected, they got blocked.
Moreover, it had the opposite effect
[Black Tower’s Legendary Merchant Theo Park says he’ll impeach you if you don’t come right now.]
Battler was summoned immediately.
***
Black Tower, 89th Floor.
On the way to Amur Lange’s mansion.
“Alright! Let’s go!”
Shooong.
Sejun and his companions were quickly sliding down the snow-covered mountain on sleds.
They could have taken an easier route to Amur Lange’s mansion without crossing the mountain, but they intentionally climbed to the top and slid down because...
“Puhuhut. Once again, I, Vice Chairman Theo is in first place, meow!”
[Hehe. This is fun!]
Kueng!
[Cuengi is fast too!]
Kihihit. Kking!
[Hehe. The great Blackie is coming through!]
“Kyoot kyoot kyoot. I can’t lose!”
Because it was fun.
While none of the party except Sejun had ridden sleds before, they all performed better than him.
Sledding relied not only on physical ability but also on the instinct to descend without reducing speed, which they all naturally excelled at.
“Guys, wait for me!”
Sejun, who quickly fell behind.
[Hehe. Sejun~nim, I’ll stay with you!]
Only Flamie heard Sejun’s cry, slowed down, and matched his pace.
A short while later,
“Meow?! Great Hybrid Chairman Park, why are you still here, meow?! I came back because I was worried, meow!”
Kueng?!
[Dad said to do it, but why can’t you?!]
Theo and Cuengi, who had already reached the bottom of the mountain, climbed back up to the middle of the slope to find Sejun and,
Plop.
They clung to Sejun’s knee and side and went down together.
When they reached the mountain’s base,
Kihihit. Kking!
[Hehe. Butler! I won this time!]
“Kyoot kyoot kyoot. Well done.”
The Blackie family and Iona, who had been waiting below in case their paths diverged, welcomed Sejun warmly.
Once everyone was gathered again,
“I’m hungry. Theo, help fillet the piranhas, and the rest go get some firewood.”
Sejun assigned tasks to the group and began preparing dinner.
The menu for dinner was fish cutlet.
It seemed they would be eating only fish for a while to consume the piranhas filling the void storage.
Well, it wasn’t that much anyway, if they wanted, they could finish it in just two or three meals.
After all, there was Cuengi, the glutton, and Aileen, who pretended otherwise but was also a glutton.
Sizzle.
While frying the fish in oil, Sejun also prepared tartar sauce, grilled fish for Theo, and roasted peanuts for Iona.
“Aileen, here you go.”
[The Tower’s Administrator says thank you for the meal.] [Bev, the God of Courage, asks you to persuade Theo to not call Battler.] [Thorn Shield of Agony]
“Eek! Please spare me!”
Battler knelt, not only on his knees but also rubbing his hands together desperately.
Normally, Sejun would have stopped them at this point, but this time, he was too angry. Instead, he stood far back and simply watched.
He wanted to hit Battler himself, but since his strikes wouldn’t harm Battler and would only get in the way of the others, he stayed behind.
“Meow! From now on, offer three shields every month, meow!”
“Yes...”
After a prolonged scolding, Battler barely managed to escape by agreeing to supply divine relics to Theo.
Finally, he was able to return to the Combat Shop Headquarters.
“Puhuhut. Great Hybrid Chairman Park, this way, meow!”
“Alright.”
Back in reality, Sejun followed Theo’s lead as they resumed heading toward the mansion of Amur Lange.
***
Outskirts of Destruction.
Crunch.
“It’s over!”
“We did it!”
Hydra and Leviathan shouted with ecstatic voices after successfully shedding their final skins.
A life-risking molting.
A single mistake could have cost them their lives or left them weaker than before.
Thankfully, both succeeded, and now they had even larger bodies and greater strength.
“Phew, it’s finally over.”
Jǫrmungandr sighed in relief as he looked at the two.
Since Kraken disappeared, he had been carefully commanding the remaining calamities for ten days, ensuring nothing was lost. It had been exhausting.
Of course, even though Hydra and Leviathan had finished their molting, they needed time to stabilize their bodies before they could move.
“I’ll make use of your old skins.”
The molted skins, imbued with the energy of Destruction, were excellent resources for creating new forces.
“Calamities, answer my call.”
As Jǫrmungandr gathered and compressed the skins of Hydra and Leviathan with his power,
From the First Calamity, Locust, to the Eighth Calamity, Flesh Eaters, excluding the Sixth Calamity, Ogres, tens of thousands of calamities were born.
“Kehehe. With this, I have enough troops.”
Jǫrmungandr laughed as he looked at the massive army.
“Go. Show them the power of destruction!”
He sent the entire army to a world that had been troubling him lately.
A Level 10 World.
Drakenia.
A world inhabited by Dragons.
***
“Puhuhut. Here, meow! I feel a pull from here, meow!”
Theo pointed with his paw at a massive mansion.
Unlike the snow-covered surroundings, the mansion had a beautiful garden full of flowers.
There were no guards in sight, likely because Amur Lange had already left.
“Alright, let’s go inside!”
Clang.
Sejun boldly opened the iron gate of the mansion.
Then,
[Welcome, Park Sejun, Tower Farmer of the Black Tower, and your companions. I am Amur Lange, the Apostle of Creation.]
The lingering thoughts of Amur Lange welcomed Sejun and his group.
[If you wish to obtain the reward I have left here, you must pass my trial.]
It seemed that Amur Lange had left something behind.
As Amur Lange spoke, Sejun and his party’s vision turned dark.
And then, the trial began.
“Come at me. You must defeat me to obtain the reward.”
The lingering thoughts of Amur Lange appeared in each of their mental worlds.
Kueng?!
Cuengi woke up first as the Beast of Apocalypse tore apart Amour Lange’s annoying thought with its gaze and
[Ha-yap!]
Flamie destroyed Amur Lange’s thoughts next, regaining her consciousness.
“Super-Giant Chairman Park, punish him, meow!”
“Puhuhut.”
Annihilate!
“Kyoot kyoot kyoot.”
Theo and Iona followed shortly after, awakening as well.
Hey! Why didn’t you come greet me?!
Blackie and his subordinates woke up a bit later, having punished Amur Lange’s thoughts for not coming to greet him.
(Pip-pip?)
Even Paespaes, who was napping and caught off guard, defeated Amur Lange’s lingering thoughts and passed the trial.
And then,
Kuuuu.
The only one still asleep was Sejun, who snored loudly, unable to wake up.
A Sunfish in both body and soul, Sejun lagged behind as always.
While his companions waited for Sejun to pass the test quickly and become stronger
“Puhuhut.”
[Hehe.]
Kuehehehe.
Kihihit.
“Kyoot kyoot kyoot.”
To keep Sejun warm, they found spots on his knee, palm, side, and chest as they waited patiently for him to wake up.
*****
1/5