Chapter 59 of 100
Chapter 59. Honor Falls
7 min read1,789 words
Chapter 59. Honor Falls
On the 232nd day of the ordeal, after lunch, while practicing cloud-making and providing shade for Theo, the black rabbit, and Gweung,
Thud. Thud.
Roar!
The mother Crimson Giant Bear brought a massive tree trunk.
Recently, as the gray rabbits started making chairs, beds, and display cases from trees, the mother Crimson Giant Bear had been bringing trees every time she went on patrol.
However,
"There are too many..."
Jaejun said, looking at the pile of trees stacked like a mountain behind the brick house. Although he had asked for trees, the mother Crimson Giant Bear had been bringing them every 2 to 3 hours for the past few days.
Bang!
When the mother Crimson Giant Bear put down the tree and went back on patrol,
Hop!
The woodcrafting gray rabbit climbed onto the tree to prepare it.
And when he was about to cut the tree with an axe,
Crack.
The branches quickly moved, constricting the gray rabbit's body.
Crunch.
A tennis ball-sized red fruit, resembling a knot on the branch, popped out and opened its mouth to try to eat the gray rabbit.
Squish!!!
"Rabbit!"
Pierce.
Jaejun quickly cut the fruit in half with his dagger to save the gray rabbit.
Then,
......
[Everyone come here... it's here.]
A voice came from the fruit.
"What was that?"
Jaejun tried to listen more closely, but
[You have defeated a Carnivorous Fruit of a Fallen Large Ent.]
[You have gained 50 experience points.]
The branches were already dead.
"Fallen Ent?"
This tree was a monster?! Sometimes bloodstains or the smell of blood on the trees seemed strange.
But...
"I thought it was the blood of other monsters."
It was a real monster.
"But what does 'everyone come here' mean? And what is 'it'?"
Jaejun instructed the venomous bees to expand their scouting range.
The next morning.
Wearing a straw hat, Jaejun came out of the brick house, and a venomous bee landed on his shoulder.
And
Buzz.
[Report from Barrack 3, patrol complete.]
Buzz.
[Nothing suspicious around.]
A venomous bee from the third venomous bee queen's hive reported the patrol results to Jaejun.
"Good job."
Rubs.
The venomous bee rubbed its body against Jaejun's face and flew off to its companions.
Buzz. Buzz.
The venomous bees from the third venomous bee queen's hive were now diligently collecting pollen and nectar from the wide field where flowers were starting to bloom. Jaejun had planted 3000 corns and 1000 cherry tomatoes a month and a half ago, and 1951 corns and 650 cherry tomatoes had grown and bloomed.
Germination rate: 65%. The germination rate improved as the seed planting level increased.
Buzz. Buzz.
The venomous bees returned to their hive with pollen and nectar. The third venomous bee queen's hive was inside a brick structure near the leek field, with several holes for the bees to enter and exit, making it sturdy.
While Jaejun was watching the venomous bees,
Squeak!
Chirp!
Chirp!
The rabbits called out to Jaejun, urging him.
"Alright. I'll harvest now."
Today was the day to harvest the 1000 carrots planted on the ground and in the cave.
Pull.
Jaejun went to the carrot field and pulled the carrot stems, and plump carrots came out.
After harvesting 20 carrots,
Crunch.
Jaejun and the rabbits started eating the carrots. C-grade carrots definitely tasted different.
"Delicious. Let's each eat one more. We need to increase our agility to finish the work faster."
Squeak!!!
Chirp!!!
Chirp!!!
The rabbits, excited by Jaejun's words, didn't care about agility. What mattered was eating more carrots. They ended up eating all 20 carrots before starting work.
Pull. Pull. Pull.
After eating 6 carrots, Jaejun's agility increased by 3, and he pulled carrots at an incredible speed, finishing the carrot harvest in less than an hour.
Squeak.
Chirp.
Chirp.
The rabbits were pleased as they looked at the carrots piled up in the cave storage.
"Lord Jaejun, we have arrived."
"Meeting the great black dragon Lord Jaejun."
Elka brought two wolves she had never seen before. Theo had to go down the tower for another trade, so Elka brought the wolves to deliver the blade leaves to the 67th floor of the tower.
"I am Malkai."
"I am Borori."
The wolves introduced themselves to Jaejun, wagging their tails enthusiastically.
"Alright. Malkai, Borori, I'll leave it to you."
"Leave it to us!"
"We'll do our best!"
The wolves loaded the blade leaves and prepared to leave. Theo, carrying a load of goods, came out of Jaejun's brick house.
"President Park, I'm going out."
Theo, who didn't want to leave Jaejun's lap, buried his face in Jaejun's lap, marking his territory.
"Take care of my lap!"
"What are you talking about? Have a good trip."
Jaejun said, detaching Theo from his leg.
"Meow... I understand! I'll be back!"
Theo, looking anxious, left with the wolves.
***
"Good job, everyone. We'll rest for 5 days and then continue searching the 39th floor of the tower!"
"Yes!"
The guild members answered and left the tower, following Guild Master Leon of the Phoenix Guild.
Kim Dong-sik, who had participated in the first successful raid of the deadly Tarantula due to his contribution in obtaining the Decoding Leek, also left the tower.
As soon as he left the Black Tower, he went to the Awakened Association building next door to find Han Tae-joon, to hand over the Sun Pumpkin to his master.
In the president's office of the Korean Awakened Association.
The room temperature, previously set to -30°C, was now set to -35°C, indicating that the Flame Curse was worsening.
"Is this Sun Pumpkin grown by Park Se-joon?"
Han Tae-joon asked, looking at the golden pumpkin glowing in his hand.
"Yes. It's exactly as described in the item description. I saw the fire resistance option on the Sun Pumpkin and begged the cat merchant to get it for you, Master."
Although Theo had sold the Sun Pumpkin to cover up his mistake, Kim Dong-sik added a bit of exaggeration to gain more points with his master.
"Good. Dong-sik, thank you. I'll give you three chances to refuse a one-on-one sparring session."
Han Tae-joon, though puzzled, knew this was the reward his disciples liked the most.
"Thank you!!!"
Kim Dong-sik, now with three chances to avoid beatings, answered happily.
"Go on."
"Yes."
As Kim Dong-sik left,
Crunch.
Han Tae-joon started eating the Sun Pumpkin whole, without peeling it.
Chew. Chew.
"Wow!"
The fire resistance option was important, but the pumpkin was surprisingly sweet.
Then,
[You have consumed the Sun Pumpkin.]
[200g of fat has been broken down, increasing fire resistance for 5 hours.]
[Talent: The effect of the potion is 30% stronger.]
[The Flame Curse is temporarily lifted.]
With greatly increased fire resistance, Han Tae-joon could escape the Flame Curse for a few hours.
"Ha ha ha! Great!"
Han Tae-joon quickly got up, ready to kill the boss on the 52nd floor of the tower who had cursed him. In his current state, he was confident he could kill the boss.
"Secretary Kim! I'm going to the tower. If anyone looks for me, tell them I'm on vacation!"
Han Tae-joon shouted to Secretary Kim waiting outside the president's office and
Crash.
Jumped out of the window on the 30th floor of the building.
Bang.
"President! What about the world Awakened Association meeting tomorrow?!"
By the time Secretary Kim opened the door, the president's office was already empty.
Han Tae-joon started climbing the tower again.
***
"Is this the 67th floor of the tower?"
"Yes, this way."
Elka led Theo to where her tribe was gathered.
Rumble.
Rumble.
About 100 silver wolves, 4-5 meters in size, were gathered there.
"Greet him. This is the representative we serve."
"Greetings, Representative Theo."
"Great! Nice to meet you!"
Theo felt a sense of grandeur as the 100 wolves bowed to him.
'Puhu. As expected, I'm invincible with Park Se-joon!'
"I'll take a look around for a bit."
Feeling good, Theo started exploring the 67th floor. The Red Locusts were being driven back by the blade leaves, and they had reclaimed a considerable amount of land.
Then,
"Is that cat the great black dragon's..."
The lizardmen, free mercenaries, and mages resting in the back whispered and glanced at Theo.
'Puhu. They recognize me, the deadly yellow cat Theo Park, the subordinate of the great black dragon?'
Theo walked slowly, lifting his chin proudly, allowing the 67th floor inhabitants to see his deadly appearance.
Then,
"Representative Theo, I'm sorry."
Elka looked apologetic as she watched Theo from a distance. While delivering the blade leaves, she had heard strange rumors.
The main content was that 'the great black dragon is extremely greedy for money.'
It seemed to be due to this blade leaf trade. Although it was true, as someone serving the great black dragon, she couldn't let Se-joon's honor be tarnished.
So, every time she traded, Elka spread different information to the lizardmen.
"The great black dragon has a cat merchant named Theo who is extremely greedy for money. This trade was led by Representative Theo from start to finish."
By spreading this information a few times, the tower inhabitants thought the great black dragon couldn't possibly be greedy for money. Elka had protected the great black dragon's honor.
Instead, Theo's honor started to decline.
Although he didn't have much honor to begin with, his reputation, which was close to zero, dropped below zero, and rumors about the wicked merchant Theo began to spread.
'Puhu. What? They can't even look me in the eye out of respect?'
Theo was unaware of his growing infamy.
"Representative Theo, let's go down now."
"Alright!"
Elka quickly led Theo down the tower before she was caught.
***
On the 235th day of the ordeal, at dawn.
Squeal!!!
A scream came from the cave. It was the start of labor.
Creak.
Jaejun quickly opened the door and came out of the brick house, ready to go down to the cave.
Then,
Crack. Crack.
An unnatural sound came from somewhere.
"What's that?"
Jaejun looked in the direction of the sound and saw 50cm tall trees, as thick as his wrist, walking on two legs and approaching the cave.
[Small Branch Scout of a Fallen Ent]
They were monsters.
"Black rabbit, intruders!"
Jaejun quickly stabbed the branch scout in front of him with his dagger and called the black rabbit.
[You have defeated a Small Branch Scout of a Fallen Ent.]
Chirp!
The black rabbit, hearing Jaejun's call, picked up his hammer and
Smash! Smash! Smash!
beat the branch scouts. In an instant, 8 branch scouts around him fell.
Then,
Crack. Crack.
An uncountable number of branch scouts were approaching.
It was going to be a tough morning.