TL: Hanguk
“Wow, how long has it been since I smelled the city air?”
Hanra, the grandson of Hannibal, the chairman of the Freelance Mercenaries Association, who was notorious among the merchants as the ‘Ruffian of the Merchants’ District’, took a deep breath as he stepped into the merchant district.
“Kekeke. It was worth sneaking out without grandfather and Uncle Rak knowing.”
Hanra had slipped out while Hannibal and Rak were sparring. He smiled as he saw the shops and stalls that were still open.
After enduring grueling training every day, he was allowed to go out once a month.
But every time he came, the shops and stalls were always closed, leaving him terribly bored.
The merchants, upon noticing him, hurriedly fled or rushed to close their shops.
Kekeke. Where should I go?
As Hanra wandered around the merchant district, observing them, he strolled around like a predator looking for prey, deciding where to cause trouble today.
Then…
“Huh?! There’s a place that hasn’t reacted to the arrival of Hanra, the future ace of the Tiger Tribe?”
Seems like my reputation has fallen. Fallen indeed.
Hanra frowned as he spotted a stall that hadn’t closed its doors.
It was a fruit candy stall, whose owner hadn’t noticed Hanra because he was busy bargaining with Cuengi.
“Kekeke. I guess I’ll go there today.”
How dare they not close their stall when Hanra’s here!
Hanra walked briskly towards the fruit candy stall.
But who are these guys? Did they come from some rural backwater?
In front of the stall were a young bear and puppy, sharing a fruit candy skewer peacefully.
Anyone could tell they were country bumpkins visiting the merchant district for the first time with their parents.
They had probably pooled all their saved-up pocket money to buy that one candy skewer to share.
“Kekeke. It’s always fun taking candy from kids.”
Time to teach these brats what the harsh city is like.
So, before causing trouble at the street vendor, Hanra decided to first show these little ones the terror of the real world.
Tap.
First, he started by putting his arm around the young bear’s shoulders.
***
Kueng?
Cuengi was startled as he saw Hanra, who had put his arm around his shoulder and started talking to him.
Dad had clearly said that putting an arm around someone’s shoulders was something only close friends did, but this person was doing it even though they weren’t close.
On top of that…
One Tower Coin for each punch?!
And then came a threat.
Is he a friend? Or a bad guy?
Cuengi was confused about how to deal with him.
Kueng?
[Did you just say you’re going to take Cuengi’s money from Cuengi?!]
So, to confirm whether the other party was a bad guy, he asked Hanra again.
Even though he tried not to get angry, he unconsciously emitted a faint killing intent towards Hanra, who was trying to take his pocket money.
Flinch.
Hanra, suddenly feeling the menacing aura from Cuengi, broke out in goosebumps without realizing it.
His instincts told him something was wrong, but…
‘What the hell?! Did I just get scared of a kid like this?!’
My grandpa is the chairman of the Freelance Mercenaries Association, and my uncle is the Black Bear Rak, the ruler of Mount Orin!
Ignoring his instincts,
“Yeah! I said, hand over your money. What, did your bear ears get clogged? Want me to clear them for you?!”
Squeeze.
He applied more pressure to the arm he had slung over Cuengi’s shoulder and spoke in an even delinquent tone.
‘He’s a bad guy! It’s okay to hit him!’
Thanks to that, Cuengi was now sure he could hit Hanra.
“Huh?! What…”
Before Hanra could finish speaking, Cuengi threw his arm off his shoulder and slammed him hard onto the ground.
Kwang!
“Ugh! You damn bear bas…!”
Kwang!
Before Hanra could finish his sentence, Cuengi slammed him in the opposite direction again.
Bang! Kwang! Bang!
And then repeatedly smashed him into the ground dozens of times.
“Ugh…”
And Hanra soon passed out from the beating.
Kueng?
[The 1,000 fruit candies are ready, right?]
Cuengi asked the fruit candy stall owner with a bright smile.
“What?! Yes! Here they are!” owns this.
The stall owner, trembling in fear, hurriedly handed over the fruit candies.
Kuhehehehe.
Kkihiheh. Kking!
[Heheh, hyung! Give me one more!]
Cuengi and Blackie happily munched on the fruit candies as they headed back to where Sejun was.
Drag, drag.
Dragging the unconscious Hanra along.
***
“Hahaha. Hanra, that kid couldn’t hold back even for a moment.”
“Hannibal, stop laughing and scold the kid! What are you going to do if he causes a big trouble one day?!”
Rak raised his voice as Hannibal seemed to have no intention of scolding his runaway grandson, Hanra.
“In due time, Hanra will come to his senses.”
“And what if he causes trouble before that time comes?”
“Then I’ll have to stop him.”
“Sigh…”
Even if he’s the only blood relative left…
Hannibal’s refusal to correct his attitude toward him made Rak sigh deeply.
Just then,
“Hannibal-nim!”
One of the mercenaries who had gone ahead to the merchant district to keep Hanra from causing trouble came running in a hurry.
“Hahaha. What is it? Did Hanra go to a shop and cause trouble again?”
Looks like Hanra caused another incident. I’ll have to apologize to the shop owner and compensate them.
“No, he tried to cause trouble, but he got beaten up by a customer and passed out. He’s being dragged away as we speak.”
“What?! Hanra got beaten up until he passed out?!”
Our Han Ra, who dares to hit him?!
Hannibal, usually calm, lost his composure when it came to his grandson.
“Where is he?! Lead me there, quickly!”
“Yes!”
Urging his subordinate, Hannibal rushed toward the merchant district.
And
“That Han Ra kid. I knew he’d meet his match someday. But was his training lacking? He’s not the type to get beaten up…”
Rak followed slowly behind Hannibal.
***
“Machun and Magin get one Golden Dragon’s Scale each, Ninir gets 1000 Flame Beans.”
“Puhuhut. We got the easy ones, meow!”
“Right? Here you go.”
Sejun retrieved the items that came out of the last five scrolls from the Void Storage and handed them over to Machun, Magin, and Ninir.
Woong.
The scrolls from 1 to 5 merged and began creating the Legendary Merchant items.
And then…
[The Carpet that Travels Between the Black Tower and the Golden Tower]
[The Bag that Wanders Between the Black Tower and the Golden Tower]
[The Ultra-High-Heat Furnace that Produces Currency]
Machun received a flying carpet that could travel between the Black Tower and the Golden Tower,
Magin got a bag similar to Theo’s, but one that could only move between the Black and Golden Tower,
And Ninir obtained a furnace that could burn items to produce money.
“Puhuhut. We’ve acquired three Legendary Merchants, meow!”
As Theo rejoiced, having increased his impeachment power…
Kueng! Kueng!
[Dad! Cuengi bought snacks! Try this one!]
Cuengi appeared, carrying a mountain of fruit candy, and handed them to Sejun and the newly appointed Legendary Merchants.
Then…
Crunch, crunch.
Cuengi clung to Sejun’s side, happily eating the snacks.
“But who’s this?”
Sejun asked as he looked at Hanra, who was several times bigger than Cuengi and being dragged along behind him.
Kueng!
[This guy tried to steal Cuengi’s money, so Cuengi taught him a lesson!]
“Puhuhut. Did you stamp him, Cuengi?”
Theo laughed as he asked Cuengi.
Kueng! Kueng!
[Cuengi doesn’t have a stamp, so couldn’t stamp him! Big brother can stamp for Cuengi!]
“Puhuhut. Alright, meow!”
Thump.
Theo stamped the back of the unconscious Hanra’s head.
At that moment…
“Who dares?! Who dares to lay a hand on my grandson?!”
From afar, Hannibal roared as he charged toward where Sejun was.
Just as the children’s fight was about to escalate into an adult fight
“Puhuhut. Hannibal-nim, come on over, meow!”
“Huh?!”
The Black Tower’s Legendary Merchant Slave Hunter Theo Park?!
Seeing Theo, who was holding a stamp and welcoming him with open arms, Hannibal’s anger quickly cooled.
“That guy knocked out Hanra-nim.”
One of Hannibal’s subordinates quietly pointed at Cuengi as he informed Hannibal.
That?!
Hannibal was shocked when he spotted Cuengi clinging to Sejun’s side. He had seen him once before in the Red Ribbon Kingdom.
Cuengi Park, the son of the great Black Dragon.
Hanra, I’m sorry. This is something even Grandpa can’t fix.
The trouble Hanra had caused was far beyond Hannibal’s ability to clean up.
To think my grandson would mess with the family of the Great Black Dragon… It was a miracle he wasn’t dead already.
Come to think of it, it’s about time Hanra woke up to reality.
Hannibal had heard many stories of people joining Sejun Company and turning their lives around.
Trusting in Sejun Company’s reputation, Hannibal decided to leave his grandson in their care. No, in truth, he didn’t have any other choice.
“Hahaha. It’s an honor to meet the great Black Dragon Sejun-nim and his right hand, Theo-nim. Please take care of my grandson, Hanra, from now on.”
“You mean this guy, meow?”
When Theo pointed to the unconscious Hanra,
“Umm…”
Hanra began to regain consciousness.
And then…
“Grandpa, that stupid bear bas…”
Whack!
“Ugh!”
Just as Hanra, who had spotted Hannible, was about to complain that the Cuengi had hit him, Hannibal smacked him on the back of the head, knocking him out again.
“Hahaha, I’m sorry. I spoiled him too much. Please, just don’t kill him.”
“Puhuhut. Don’t worry, meow! We won’t kill him, meow!”
At that moment…
Grrrrumble.
Kueng!
[Dad, aren’t we going to eat something tasty?]
Cuengi, who had already finished all the fruit candies, looked up at Sejun and asked.
“Huh!? Right! Let’s go eat something delicious.”
That’s right! We came here to celebrate Cuengi becoming an Intermediate Herbalist.
Sejun, remembering the original purpose of coming here, quickly found a restaurant and went in.
“Puhuhut. Today, Hannibal-nim is treating us, right meow?”
“O-Of course!”
Naturally, Hannibal ended up paying for the meal.
A little later…
“Ah, I’m full.”
“Puhuhut. It tasted even better since it was free, meow!”
Kuhehehe. Kueng!
[Hehehe. That was delicious!]
After finishing the meal,
“Puhuhut. Assistant Manager Jeff, here’s the new intern, Hanra, meow! I’ll take Machun and Magin with me, meow!”
Theo stopped by the Sejun Company branch in the merchant district and handed over the unconscious Hanra.
Then…
“Let’s go see Mason-nim.”
Sejun decided to visit Mason, the chairman of the Wandering Merchants Association, to acquire the Land Deeds for the 59th and 94th floors of the tower while he was here.
And so, they arrived at the chairman’s office of the Wandering Merchants Association.
“Mason-nim, could you help me acquire the land deeds for the 59th and 94th floors of the black tower?”
“One moment, please. I had a feeling Sejun-nim might come looking for more land deeds, so I’ve prepared them in advance.”
Mason opened a drawer and pulled out the land deeds in response to Sejun’s request.
“Oh. Fortunately, I have the land deeds for the 59th and 94th floors that Sejun-nim is looking for. You should take these as well since you might need them in the future.”
He handed Sejun five land deeds.
The remaining 3 were land deeds for the 65th and 72nd floors of the Black Tower, and the 62nd floor of the Red Tower.
“Thank you.”
As Sejun was about to get up, having secured the land deeds…
[It has been confirmed that Udon, the Tower Farmer of the Red Tower, has planted Scorching Cherries without permission.]
[According to the laws of the Tower, the Tower Farmer of the Black Tower, Park Sejun, will now command Udon, the Tower Farmer of the Red Tower, for 100 years.]
A message appeared in front of Sejun.
[You have achieved the Great Farmer’s feat by commanding all 8 Tower Farmers.]
[As a reward for achieving the Great Farmer’s feat, your job trait that borrows stats from the Tower Farmers you command is strengthened.]
[According to your job trait, you will now borrow 1% of the stats of Ajax, the Tower Farmer of the White Tower.]
…
..
.
At the same time, as a reward for the Great Farmer’s feat, the stats borrowed from the other Tower Farmers increased from 0.5% to 1%.
“Huh?! What?”
How did Udon?!
Sejun was confused by the sudden message.
***
93rd Floor of the Red Tower.
Red Fox Bayon secretly mixed Scorching Cherry seeds into the Flame Bean seed container of Udon.
“Nooo!”
‘Chairman Park! Vice Chairman Theo! Your loyal full-time employee Bayon has done it!’
Bayon laughed quietly as he watched Udon scream in despair while sowing the seeds.
And
How are you both doing? Your loyal full-time employee Bayon is doing well. Sometimes, I think of the foods we ate together.
‘You haven’t forgotten about me, have you?’
Gulp.
With a distant look in his eyes, Bayon gazed up at the sky, swallowing his saliva. Today, for some reason, the clouds looked like the pancakes Sejun had once topped with ice cream.