Chapter 361: Heheh. I Won't Get Caught This Time!
“Hehehe. Vice Chairman Theo, pack them carefully so they doesn’t get scratched.”
Sejun cautioned Theo as he looked at the gemstone pebble road laid by the Pebble God, Peblos.
“Puhuhut. Chairman Park, no worries, meow! I, Vice Chairman Theo, have very soft and squishy paws, meow!”
Theo confidently showed his pink jelly pads in response.
“Really? Ahem. Let’s see how soft and squishy they are.”
Sejun pretended to check and touched Theo’s paw pads. Feeling the soft sensation, the corners of his mouth curled up without him realizing it.
Thus, Sejun enjoyed a brief healing time and then seriously started picking up the gemstone pebbles with Theo.
A short while later,
“There are 1000 ruby gemstone, 1000 sapphire gemstone, and 1000 emerald gemstone.”
Sejun checked the number of gemstones they had collected.
A total of 3000 gemstones. The Pebble God, Peblos, was indeed a god overflowing with love.
“Puhuhut, Chairman Park, can I burn the pebbles, meow?”
Theo, his eyes shining towards the gemstones, asked Sejun.
“Sure.”
Having brought the Jewel of the Earth, Theo had enough shares in the gemstones and gladly gave one of each type of the three kinds of gemstones to Theo.
The largest size. There was not much difference since the sizes of the pebbles were similar.
“Puhuhut. Burn brightly, meow!”
Fwoosh.
Theo laughed as he burned the three gemstones at once. As the size of the gemstones decreased, Theo’s body glowed even brighter.
“Puhuhut. Chairman Park, I’ve become stronger, meow! Face towards me, meow!”
The brightly glowing golden Theo lifted his front paws and leaped towards Sejun’s face.
And then,
Squish. Squish.
Theo clung to Sejun’s face and earnestly started massaging. Today was the day he’d finally rid Chairman Park’s rotten face, meow!
Thus, Theo massaged Sejun’s face until the golden light disappeared.
However,
“Meow…I failed, meow…I couldn’t root it out, meow…”
Looking disappointed as if he hadn’t achieved what he wanted, Theo returned to Sejun’s lap.
‘This guy…’
As the owner of that failed face, Sejun felt displeased.
‘But it does seem like my senses become a bit sharper when I receive Theo’s massage.’
During Theo’s massage, Sejun recalled having a wider field of vision, better hearing, and an enhanced sense of smell.
However, he also smelled Theo’s pungent paw odor more distinctly. Definitely, his senses were heightened during Theo’s massage.
Maybe the ‘rottenness’ Theo mentioned was not about appearance but related to nerves. Huhuh. That’s right. My appearance can’t be ugly.
Sejun arrived at a satisfying conclusion.
However,
[You have overcome an unfortunate reality with a mental victory.]
[Your soul feels fulfilled.]
[Your Mental Strength increases by 5.]
The system informed him as if to make a point.
“How is this a mental victory?!”
Sejun ranted at the unresponsive system for a while,
“Abundance!”
[<Power: Abundance> is applied to the Sundried Red Pepper.]
[The amount of yield that the Sundried Red Pepper will bear next doubles.]
Sejun went to the Sundried Red Pepper field and used his power on it.
***
-So Tier also became a VIP of Dragon Market.
When Tier became a VIP, Kaiser felt a sense of fear. The Dragon Market VIP trial lasts for 30 days.
And Tier became a Dragon Market VIP a day later than him.
-That means…
Even if it’s just for a day, there will be a time when Tier’s rank is higher than his own.
Moreover, what if Kellion becomes a VIP at Dragon Market even later?
Then Kellion will be the only one left as a Dragon Market VIP, mocking him, Ramter, and Tier who have been downgraded to regular status.
-That can’t happen!
Just the thought of it was too dizzying. It was a case of reaping what one sows, but he didn’t want to accept that outcome.
-I need to find a way to extend the Dragon Market VIP period.
Not wanting to be downgraded to a regular member, Kaiser went to find Sejun.
As Kaiser went to find Sejun, Kellion, the only one with the normal grade, was leaving the Golden Tower.
“Tch. After drinking my alcohol and rejecting… that sly Artemis bastard.”
Kellio failed in his Dragon Market business pitch to Artemis Yul, the leader of the great Golden Dragon Clan.
“Now the only ones left are… the great Brown Dragon.”
Kellion flew toward the Brown Tower to meet Grave Renma, the leader of the great Brown Dragons.
***
“I need to go to the bathroom.”
Sejun, who had consumed a lot of mugwort juice potion while using his power at the Sundried Red Pepper field, went to the bathroom.
And on the way out of the bathroom.
“Huh? Why is it like this here?”
Sejun spoke as he looked at the ground around where the Jewel of the Earth had been embedded.
He couldn’t feel any vitality in the soil. The cherry tomatoes planted nearby had all withered away.
“Ah. Earlier, when it said it absorbs the power of the earth… Did it absorb all the vitality? Abundance!”
Sejun used his power to restore the vitality of the land.
[<Power: Abundance> is applied to the land.]
[The land becomes twice as fertile.]
“Abundance!”
Only after using the power five times, the stems of the cherry tomatoes finally regained their health.
Gulp.
[You have consumed water-diluted Mugwort Juice of Life.]
[Your Life force is restored by 10%.]
Sejun drank the mugwort juice potion to recover the life energy he had used.
At that moment,
-Sejun!
Kaiser came looking for Sejun.
“Kaiser~nim, hello.”
-Yes. Our Sejun is working hard. As expected, our Sejun is very diligent. Oh, your face looks a bit better too.
What’s this? Why so many compliments today? As Sejun looked at Kaiser with suspicion,
“Puhuhut. Kaiser~nim, that’s because I, Vice Chairman Theo, have been keeping Chairman Park’s face from rotting for a while, meow!”
Theo boasted about what he had done to Kaiser, who appreciated his efforts.
-I see. Theo must have worked hard.
“Puhuhut. That’s right, meow! I, Vice Chairman Theo, have had a very hard time because of Chairman Park, meow!”
“Vice Chairman Theo, be quiet.”
Sejun told Theo to be quiet, gritting his teeth,
“Understood, meow!”
Theo, who always listens well. In response to Sejun telling him to be quiet, Theo rubbed his face against Sejun’s lap and acted cute.
“…But Kaiser~nim, what brings you here?”
After watching Theo’s cute behavior for a moment, Sejun asked Kaiser.
-Ah. I came to ask if there’s a way to extend the Dragon Market VIP period.
“A way to extend the Dragon Market VIP period?”
-Yes.
Kaiser waited eagerly for Sejun’s answer with eager eyes.
“That’s easy. If your total purchases for the month exceed 300 billion Tower Coins, the Dragon Market VIP period automatically extends for 30 days.”
-Really?! Is it that easy?
“Yes.”
-Kahahaha.
Kaiser was overjoyed at Sejun’s words. 300 billion Tower Coins was an amount he could reach by purchasing just three black beans.
By diligently purifying fragments of Fenrir’s core and clearing the red mist outside, he could earn enough within a month.
This meant he could be a VIP at Dragon Market for life.
‘I won’t have to worry about being ridiculed by Tier or Kellion.’
As Kaiser felt relieved,
“And if the total cumulative purchase exceeds 5 trillion Tower Coins, you can become a VVIP, which is a higher tier than VIP.”
-What?! VVIP?!
Kaiser was shocked at Sejun’s words. A rank higher than VIP? It was exhilarating.
He wanted to quickly surpass the other dragons in rank and look down on them.
-Kahahaha. Sejun, I’ll buy three black beans for now.
Though Kaiser had 400 billion Tower Coins, he refrained from spending his entire fortune impulsively.
‘Money must be spent strategically.’
Whether the monthly cumulative purchase was 300 billion or 400 billion Tower Coins, the VIP period would extend for the same 30 days.
So, he spent exactly 300 billion Tower Coins to extend his Dragon Market VIP period for another 30 days.
Then he quietly flew towards the fountain, making sure other dragons didn’t notice.
***
Brown Tower administrative area.
“Kellion, what brings you here?”
Grave Renma, the leader of the great Brown Dragons, asked as he saw Kellion who had come to see him.
“Ahem. We aren’t friends who meet only when there’s trouble, are we? I’ve even brought some Samyangju to drink with you.”
Kellion began his pitch for Dragon Market as he brought out the liquor.
A little later.
“So, I’ve been having a lot of worries lately.”
“Yes. You’ve had it tough. I understand how you feel. I know. Our White Tower too…”
Kellion responded empathetically to Grave’s words and filled his empty glass. This time, it felt promising.
It didn’t seem like he would just drink and refuse like Artemis had.
But…
‘I mustn’t be hasty.’
If he failed here, becoming a VIP at Dragon Market would be out of reach. He had to be very careful.
So, he got Grave to drink a little more,
“Grave, there’s a place called Dragon Market. There, you can find…”
He introduced the Dragon Market, which sold crops with various abilities.
He explained that he and Kaiser were buying crops that offered the powers of light and darkness,
Ramter, Kin, and Brachio were buying crops that absorbed overflowing fire energy, water energy, and vitality,
and Tier was buying crops that detoxified toxins accumulated in the body.
“Dragon Market? There’s really such a place?”
Grave, who had been troubled by issues in the Brown Tower, showed immediate interest.
Especially since the situations in the Red, Blue, and Green Towers were similar to that of the Brown Tower, he was even more intrigued.
“It’s true! And I’m sure there’s a crop in Dragon Market that can solve the problem of the Brown Tower!”
Kellion confidently stated.
‘Sejun will somehow take care of it.’
Kellion had known Sejun for a long time. Sejun always seemed prepared, pulling out the necessary crops as needed.
“Then let’s head out right away.”
“Okay. Follow me.”
Kellion flew to the Black Tower with Grave, who would help upgrade him to become Dragon Market VIP.
***
After Kaiser left.
‘Hmm hmm hmm.’
Having quickly settled lunch with Aileen’s meatball piece, Sejun stopped while strolling through the farm.
Slurp.
Sejun took a sip of the coffee he was holding in his right hand while looking up at the blue sky.
“Ah, this is relaxing.”
He indulged in some rare alone time.
Gororong.
Of course, it wasn’t completely alone since Theo was sleeping on his lap, having eaten his fill of Churu. Well… he would feel lonely if he were truly alone, so this was just perfect.
[The Five-colored Beans are grateful for the farmer’s footsteps and lend their strength.]
[Your Agility stat potential increases from 1651 to 1652.]
While Sejun was enjoying his leisurely coffee time and providing his crops with the sound of his footsteps,
Clank.
Kkieehiit. Kking!
‘Heheh. This is fun!’
Fenrir, who had woken up feeling great after a feast of dried sweet potatoes in the void storage, dashed out.
He had five pieces of dried sweet potato snack stuck in his mouth.
“You can’t even eat them all…”
Sejun got up to take the snacks from Fenrir’s mouth, as it was obvious that he would come complaining of a stomachache later.
Just then,
Crash!
A glass bottle that Fenrir had been playing with earlier rolled out from the void storage and shattered on the floor.
Kking!
‘That was what I was playing with earlier!’
Realizing he had done something wrong, Fenrir hurriedly hid his body.
However, being a hunter and never one to hide, Fenrir, the god hunting wolf and the 1st seat of Apostles of Destruction, was not used to concealing himself.
“Blackie, what did you do inside?!”
Sejun caught him easily since Fenrir was only hiding his eyes with a Five-colored Bean leaf.
And then,
“Since you broke the glass bottle, I’m confiscating these.”
Kking!
‘Those are mine!’
As a punishment for causing the accident, Sejun took four of the five pieces of dried sweet potatoes that Fenrir had been munching on.
Sssrk.
A noise came from the spot where the glass bottle had broken.
“Huh?”
When Sejun looked towards the sound and saw a brown bean pod at the end of the Five-colored Beans, fully matured and ready to be harvested.
“What is this?”
Sejun picked the brown bean pod.
[You have harvested a Kidney Bean of Soil Fertility.]
…
..
.
A message appeared.
“Kidney Bean of Soil Fertility?”
It was a bean with a name he had never seen before. It was a new variety.
And then,
“Was that the mutagen elixir?!”
Sejun realized what had been in the glass bottle that just broke. My 300 billion Tower Coins…
Thud. Thud.
Meanwhile, Fenrir quickly moved and hid again.
Kkieehiit. Kking!
‘Heheh. I won’t get caught this time!’
Fenrir, covering even his ears with a leaf, was confident he had hidden perfectly.
*****
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