Tl: Hanguk

“Sejun-nim, I’ll refine just the necessary energy from that stone for you.”

Seeing Sejun unable to touch the scorching Lava Bloodstone, Eomdol confidently stepped forward.

For Eomdol, who used to be Krueger, the Destroyer of Mountains and 7th seat of the Apostle of Destruction, refining such a hot stone was a piece of cake.

“Really? Then, I’ll leave it to you.”

“Yes! Haap!”

Grab.

With a burst of energy, Eomdol embraced the Lava Bloodstone, which was about the size of a grape.

And then,

Sssss.

Eomdol and the Lava Bloodstone began to meld together, like dough mixing into one.

And soon after,

“Uuuaah…”

“Eomdol!”

Kking!

[Our Eomdol is melting!]

Eomdol began to melt away, unable to withstand it.

The Lava Bloodstone was only stone on the outside, but inside, it was pure molten lava.

Ppiak!

[Eomdol, don’t worry! I’ll cool you down!]

Shari, who had once been Queen Sasha, the Screaming Banshee and 5th seat of the Apostle of Destruction, rushed forward, placing her two wings on Eomdol and pouring out cold air.

However,

Sssss!

Startled, Shari quickly pulled her wings away from Eomdol.

Ppi-yak! Ppi-yak!

[Hot-hot! My feathers are burning!]

Shari began screaming in pain so loudly that it hurt the ears. Forget about ice—she was more like the Queen of Screams and Whining at that moment.

Ssssss.

Meanwhile, Sejun hurriedly poured water on Eomdol, allowing him to barely recover and return to his original form.

“Sejun-nim, I’m sorry. I didn’t realize there was lava inside…”

“It’s fine. Thanks to you, we found out there’s lava inside.”

If he had just cooled the surface and tried to eat it…

He would’ve died, cooked from the inside.

Sejun comforted Eomdol, who was blaming himself like that.

Ppiak…

[But I’m the Queen of Screams and Ice…]

“It’s okay, Shari.”

This time, he comforted Shari, who was feeling depressed due to her weakened powers.

The only ones who understand the heart of a sunfish are other sunfish.

I know that feeling. I know it very well.

A moment later.

“Alright, everyone, let’s head back.”

Ppiak! Ppiak!

[Yes! Let’s go home quickly!]

Having fully consoled Shari, Sejun and his group moved to the waypoint with his companions.

As they arrived at the waypoint,

[Black Tower 59th Floor Boss, Silver Wolf Tribe Chief Elka]

“Sejun-nim, welcome! It’s been so long since I’ve seen you!”

Elka greeted Sejun happily, wagging his tail while bowing.

“Huh?! Elka, why are you here?”

“The boss here went for some training, so I’m temporarily acting as the boss.”

“Training?”

“Yes. A month ago, by the order of the great Black Dragon Aileen-nim, under Iona-nim’s supervision, bosses below the 60th floor have been receiving quest training.”

“Ah.”

Aileen must have listened to my request.

Sejun felt like he knew what kind of training the bosses were receiving.

“Aileen, can’t we let people climb the tower by completing quests without having to fight the bosses? That way, there’d be no need for bloodshed.”

[The tower’s administrator says she hadn’t thought of that, but she’ll consider it.]

He had once mentioned it would be nice if there was a way to ascend the tower without unnecessary bloodshed. Apparently, Aileen hadn’t forgotten.

“Aileen, you didn’t forget my words. Thank you.”

When Sejun expressed his gratitude to Aileen,

[The tower’s administrator says, since it was your suggestion, of course, it’s something she should remember.]

[The tower’s administrator regrets that it’s still in preparation and she was planning to tell you when it’s completed.]

Aileen spoke as if it were no big deal.

However,

Kihihihi. Sejun thanked me!

Boom!

In the administrator’s area, Aileen was stomping her feet in sheer delight.

“Elka, are the other wolves doing well?”

Sejun, having finished his conversation with Aileen, asked about the well-being of the other wolves.

“They’re doing great! The young wolves are growing well, and both the Silver Wolves and Black Wolves are doing fine too. Sejun-nim, by the way, who is this?”

“This one?”

“Yes. The one with the noble bloodline resting on your chest.”

Kkirorong.

Elka couldn’t take his eyes off Blackie, who was napping on Sejun’s chest.

“Ah. This is Blackie. You’ve seen him before, right? At my party last time.”

Elka had indeed seen Blackie at Sejun’s one-year survival anniversary party, but back then, Blackie was in his Super Sunfish form, so his presence was nearly nonexistent.

Even if he had noticed him, he probably mistook him for a random mutt rather than a wolf of noble lineage.

“Is that so? I don’t remember. But did Sejun-nim personally name him Blackie?”

Elka, feeling regretful at such a common-sounding name used for a neighborhood mutt, asked hesitantly.

“Yeah. It’s fine, right?”

“…Yes. It’s a name that perfectly suits one of noble blood.”

Having lived in society for a long time, Elka knew how to keep his true feelings in check.

“Blackie, wake up. Say hi to Elka. He’s a wolf like you.”

Kking…

When Sejun woke him, Blackie frowned as he groggily got up.

“I greet the noble wolf of esteemed lineage, Blackie-nim.”

Upon Elka’s polite greeting,

Kihihit. Kking! Kking! Ki…

[Heheh! That’s right! I am of noble bloodline! The invincible wolf! The great Blackie…]

Feeling flattered by Elka’s respectful treatment, Blackie barked in delight.

Kkirorong.

Then he promptly fell asleep again.

And,

[You have welcomed a noble baby wolf respectfully.]

[All abilities increase by 1% for one week.]

[Talent: Faint Elegance will activate for one week.]

Messages appeared in front of Elka.

This was why wolves couldn’t help but be in awe of wolves with noble blood. Just meeting them provided numerous buffs.

“Alright, we’ll be going now.”

“Yes! Please take care, Sejun-nim!”

Why is his fur suddenly so glossy?

Sejun wondered about Elka’s suddenly changed fur as he returned to the 99th floor of the Black Tower.

***

On the 1st floor of the Black Tower:

“I heard there’s a hunter who just surpassed 500 in all stats?”

“Yeah. I heard he is a Korean.”

“Really? So, Earth’s second strongest after Park Sejun is also coming from Korea?”

“Who knows? Maybe the strongest will change. To be honest, no one knows what Park Sejun’s stats are.”

“That’s true. We just assume he’s amazing because everyone says so.”

Two hunters were chatting about a rising star hunter who had burst onto the scene like a comet.

‘No. What dangerous things are you saying?!’

How could I become the strongest by surpassing Sejun?!

Oh Kyung-chul, who had been quietly listening to their conversation with a satisfied expression and nodding, was startled.

“If I eat a lot like this, what about Sejun? We have to make sure Sejun gets some too!”

‘If I’m going down, I’m taking you, my comrade, with me! We’ve got to share the good stuff!’

Kyung-chul had been planning to eat fewer Seedless Grape for Beginners by using Sejun as an excuse.

However,

“Puahahaha! Oh Kyung-chul, are you worried about Sejun-nim?”

“Don’t worry. Sejun-nim is way stronger than you. You’d have to eat about 5,000 of those to even come close.”

“Stop spouting nonsense and eat! Or we’ll force-feed you!”

“I understand! I’ll eat them!”

Through the words of the black bears, Kyung-chul realized just how strong Sejun was.

“But do I really need to get stronger now?”

There was nothing wrong with being strong, but lately, I can climb the tower just by completing quests…

Kyung-chul recalled the recent news about the Phoenix Guild’s hunters reaching the 55th floor of the tower.

Since a month ago, the boss of the 51st floor had started offering a quest – bring him what he desired, and he would allow the use of the waypoint.

Shortly after, the bosses of the 52nd, 53rd, and 54th floors had begun giving similar quests every few days.

Thanks to that, hunters who had given up on climbing the tower had recently started ascending again.

Well… They got stuck again on the 55th floor.

That’s because the quest from the Black Rabbit, the king and boss of the Red Ribbon Kingdom on the 55th floor, was just too difficult.

Ppyak!

[If you swim better than me, you pass!]

The Black Rabbit, who had learned how to swim from Sejun in the pond on the 99th floor of the Black Tower, had an enormous amount of pride in its swimming skills.

***

[You have arrived at the 99th floor of the Black Tower.]

“Toryong!”

Sejun, who had arrived on the 99th floor of the tower, called out to Toryong as he headed home.

“Huh? Why are they lined up?”

Sejun noticed a long line of Poisonous Bees stretching endlessly.

Is something happening?

“What’s going on here?”

Sejun approached one of the Poisonous Bees in line and asked.

Whirr! Whirrr!

[Sejun-nim, hello! We’re waiting to offer our congratulations to Sweetie-nim, who has become the Great Poisonous Queen Bee!]

“Our Sweetie has become the Great Poisonous Queen Bee?!”

Then this is no time to waste! I need to go congratulate her right away!

Sejun hurried toward the cave where Sweetie’s hive was located.

Then

Whirr! owns this.

[Welcome, Sejun-nim!]

Sweetie, who had evolved into the Great Poisonous Queen Bee with a larger body and more splendid wings than before, greeted Sejun warmly at the entrance of the cave.

She had come out to welcome Sejun after hearing from her subordinates that he had arrived.

“Sweetie, congratulations on becoming the Great Poisonous Queen Bee.”

When Sejun conveyed his congratulations,

“I’m so happy that Sejun-nim is congratulating me.”

Rub rub.

Sweetie rubbed herself against Sejun’s face in joy, just like she used to.

“Sejun-nim, here’s a gift. I need to go back now.”

Sweetie handed Sejun a seed given to her by Seventh, then hurried back to her hive to continue receiving congratulations from the other Poisonous Bees.

I should be the one giving her a gift, though…

“I’ll make sure to give her something nice later.”

Sejun felt a bit guilty toward Sweetie.

[??? Seed]

But why does this seed have question marks in its name?

Noticing that the seed didn’t have a name, Sejun picked it up and examined it closely.

[??? Seed]

→ ???

→ It hatches when you put magic power into the seed.

→ Usage Restriction: ???

It hatches if you infuse magic power?

After reading the description, Sejun thought,

“Aileen, can you appraise this for me?”

Since entering the tower, Sejun had been practically brainwashed by Aileen with constant education on how unidentified items could be dangerous, so he immediately asked Aileen for an appraisal.

A moment later,

[The tower’s administrator warns that this is an extremely dangerous seed and advises you never to plant it.]

Aileen conveyed the appraisal of the seed to Sejun.

“Okay. I got it. I absolutely won’t plant it.”

What kind of seed is this?

Sejun answered and quickly checked the seed again.

[Seed of the Magic Stream]

→ This seed was created to give birth to a new Magic Stream after the previous Magic Stream was extinguished.

→ Because the Magic Stream last perished on the 99th floor of the Black Tower, the new Magic Stream must be reborn on the 99th floor of the Black Tower.

→ If you infuse magic power into the seed, it will hatch. (Once you start infusing magic power, you cannot stop until the Magic Stream is fully formed.)

→ Usage Restriction: Sejun, Tower Farmer of the Black Tower

“As expected…”

It’s a good thing I got it appraised.

It turned out to be a seed that would give birth to a Magic Stream. If Sejun had infused his magic power into it, he probably would have been drained dry and died.

Sweetie’s gift had almost turned into an assassination tool for Sejun.

“Sealed.”

Well… it’s not like the world will collapse just because there’s one less Magic Stream.

As Sejun was about to store the seed of the Magic Stream without planting it,

“Great Hybrid Chairman Park, give me that, meow!”

Theo, his eyes shining, stared intently at the Magic Stream seed and asked.

“Sure.”

Since no one could plant it except for him anyway, Sejun handed the seed over to Theo and,

“Cuengi, put this in there for me.”

Kueng!

[Got it!]

Cuengi, who had been holding the Lava Bloodstone with telekinesis, floated it over and placed it in the pond in front of the house.

Then,

Ssssss.

The water began to heat up.

After testing the temperature of the water with his hand,

“Hehehe. Hot spring, complete.”

Sejun stripped off his clothes and

Splash!

He plunged into the pond, steam rising around him.

In an instant, the outdoor hot spring was complete.

“Ah. It’s refreshing.”

As he soaked his body in the hot water, his fatigue quickly melted away.

Now I should be able to touch it, right?

Sejun placed his hand on the Lava Bloodstone submerged in the water to check its options.

Meanwhile,

“Puhuhut. Multiply a lot, meow!”

Tuk. Tuk.

Theo, who had placed the seed of the Magic Stream into the Pouch of Abundance, tapped the pouch with his front paws and laughed.

*****

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