Chapter 70. Interns Arrive

Chapter 70. Interns Arrive

As midnight approached,

"Kids, get into position!"

Squeak!

Swish!

Thump!

At Sejun's command, the rabbits scattered throughout the field.

The field had become so vast that it was difficult for Sejun to check the crops infused with Blue Moon's energy on his own.

A moment later,

Rumble!

As the Blue Moon rose, the mother Crimson Giant Bear was the first to be affected, becoming increasingly agitated.

"Aileen!"

Sejun hurriedly called out to Aileen,

[The Tower Manager confidently says to trust only yourself.]

Aileen's message was accompanied by the appearance of a black dragon in the sky.

Then,

Roar!

The roar of the black dragon echoed, and the monsters on the 99th floor of the tower regained their senses.

"The moon is beautiful."

Today, there was no need to worry about the monsters or the location of the crops infused with Blue Moon's energy, so Sejun could enjoy the sight of the Blue Moon in the sky and the black dragon Aileen flying for the first time since he was stranded.

Slurp.

He even had the luxury of drinking coffee.

"Pet me more, nya."

Although it was annoying to keep doing what Theo wanted on his lap, Sejun didn't mind because of Theo's warmth and soft fur.

After some time,

Rustle.

The crops began to absorb the energy of the Blue Moon.

Then,

Squeak!

Swish!

The rabbits pointed to the crops that had turned blue and called out to Sejun.

"Good. Let's start harvesting, then."

Sejun followed the rabbits' guidance and harvested the crops infused with Blue Moon's energy.

When he went down to the cave to harvest,

[Master! I've grown!]

Flame had absorbed the energy of the Blue Moon and grown to the height of Sejun's waist. Additionally, Flame's leaves, which had turned white and yellow from using the Purifying Flame and Affinity Flame, had absorbed the energy of the Blue Moon and turned half green.

"What happened?"

[With the energy of the Blue Moon, I felt a surge of power!]

The energy of the Blue Moon had not only helped Flame grow but also shortened the cooldown time of Flame's flame buffs.

[Ah! Master! I've discovered the ability of my third leaf!]

"Really? What ability is it?"

[Just a moment! Yaaah!]

The last leaf, which had remained green, turned blue, and a blue flame seeped into Sejun's body.

[The Guardian Flame seeps in for 3 hours.]

[The Guardian Flame protects the target.]

A small blue flame floated around Sejun like a will-o'-the-wisp.

"Is this the Guardian Flame?"

Sejun touched the blue flame, but it wasn't hot.

[Yes! The Guardian Flame will protect you, Master!]

"Thanks."

Sejun stroked Flame's leaf and praised it.

[Hehehe. I feel good!]

With the Guardian Flame buff from Flame, Sejun harvested the remaining crops infused with Blue Moon's energy.

As a result, he harvested 52 Magic Cherry Tomatoes and 2 Vigor Corn from the cornfield that was about to be harvested.

The harvested Magic Cherry Tomatoes were shared with the animals, and the corn, which Sejun needed for his low stamina, he kept for himself.

"Aileen, take the corn."

Sejun gave one of the two corns to Aileen, who couldn't eat the crops that increased magic power for the stability of the Dragon Heart.

[The Tower Manager is moved by your consideration for not forgetting me.]

After distributing the harvested crops,

"I need to eat too."

Sejun ate the last 10 Magic Cherry Tomatoes and 1 Vigor Corn infused with Blue Moon's energy, increasing his magic power by 3 and his stamina by 0.3.

"Huh? The Blue Moon is over?"

The blue moonlight had already disappeared, and sunlight was shining on the ground again. Thanks to Aileen, the 9th Blue Moon had passed safely.

"Aileen, thanks."

[The Tower Manager says you only need to trust yourself.]

Since there was still some time before morning, everyone took a short nap.

Then,

Whoosh.

"Yaaah! What, nya?!"

The blue flame viciously attacked Theo, who was happily jumping onto Sejun's stomach. It was the Guardian Flame.

"Nya?"

Whoosh.

The Guardian Flame attacked Theo whenever he tried to get close to Sejun.

"Trying to take Sejun's lap, nya?!"

Theo was furious at the appearance of a new competitor for Sejun's lap.

"Nya!"

Whoosh.

The standoff between Theo and the Guardian Flame continued.

However,

Whoosh...

As time passed, the Guardian Flame's buff time ended, and the blue flame faded.

"Phew. My victory, nya!"

Theo raised his chin and tail, stomped on Sejun's lap in a victorious pose, and climbed onto Sejun's chest.

Then,

Tap. Tap.

Theo gently patted Sejun's cheek with his front paws.

"Phew. President Park, revenge, nya."

It was Theo's timid revenge. After completing his revenge, Theo settled back on Sejun's stomach and fell asleep.

Roar.

Grrr.

Fortunately, no branch scouts disturbed their sleep until morning.

***

"Ah!"

Sejun woke up after 4 hours of sleep and started his day.

"Theo, move a bit! You're making me sweat!"

" Nope, nya!"

Sejun, who was harvesting cherry tomatoes, complained. For some reason, Theo's lap obsession was even stronger today.

He used to move around occasionally, but today he clung to Sejun for hours without letting go.

"Sigh. Then go to the other knee."

"Okay, nya!"

Sejun sighed and compromised, and Theo finally moved to the opposite knee.

While Sejun was harvesting cherry tomatoes with Theo hanging on,

"Master Sejun, we have arrived."

Elka arrived with 5 carts full of Red Locust corpses, accompanied by 9 wolves. Elka had been helping with transportation between the 67th floor of the tower and the wolves while Theo was away on a trade mission.

"Good job. Let's eat first. Gweong, pull the carts to the front of the house."

Gweong!

At Sejun's command, Gweong transformed into a giant, grabbed two carts in each hand, and moved them to the front of the house.

Sejun then served the wolves soup from the kitchen where he had been cooking it for 24 hours.

"Master Sejun, thank you for the meal!"

While the wolves were eating,

"How's the 67th floor these days?"

Sejun asked about the situation on the 67th floor.

"Recently, the movement pattern of the Red Locusts has changed, making it difficult for the Lizardmen and free mercenaries."

Because most of the Red Locusts were killed by the Blade Leaves before they could fight, they now moved with a much larger force.

The Red Locusts covered the Blade Leaves with their own corpses, a tactic that played to their strength in numbers.

As a result, the Red Locusts no longer got distracted by the Blade Leaves, and the alliance on the 67th floor of the tower was forced into a tough battle again.

Thanks to this, the order volume for Blade Leaves increased, and the wolves were now bringing Red Locust corpses to the carts in the morning and evening and taking the Blade Leaves and Chef's soup back.

"Here is the payment for the Blade Leaves and Chef's soup."

Elka handed the money to Sejun. Even when Theo wasn't trading, Sejun's balance was increasing thanks to the wolves. The problem was that he had no place to spend the money...

"Is it dangerous?"

"Don't worry. The Red Locusts haven't invaded near the waypoint yet."

"Good to hear. Do you want another bowl?"

"Yes! Thank you."

The wolves wagged their tails happily in response to Sejun's question.

Then,

"We'll head back now."

"Okay, take care."

After eating another bowl of soup, the wolves loaded the pots of Blade Leaves and Chef's soup onto the carts and went back to the 67th floor.

"Theo, the other side."

"Okay, nya."

After seeing off the wolves, Sejun moved Theo to the opposite knee and went to find Oren. He had initially planned to make Oren and his gang suffer a bit more but changed his mind.

***

On the mud field of the 99th floor of the tower.

Moo~

Moo~

Thousands of Black Minotaurs sang happily as they scooped mud into 2m x 1m x 1m brick molds to make mud bricks.

They were thrilled because they could eat a pile of delicious Parsley Leaves instead of tasteless mud if they made 10 of these giant mud bricks and brought them to Sejun.

These giant mud bricks were being made to build a wall to defend against the attacks of the corrupted Ents, a project that had started a few days ago.

Meanwhile,

"Ugh!"

"Ugh!"

Not far from the Black Minotaurs, Oren and his gang were diligently scooping mud into the brick molds.

Their once clean fur was now covered in mud, making them look like beggars. They could barely make 10 mud bricks a day, so grooming was a luxury they couldn't afford.

"Hmph. How did I end up making bricks..."

Oren sobbed in frustration.

When they woke up from their sleep after eating the grilled fish sold by the gray rabbits,

"Hmm?"

"What?!"

The gray rabbits had disappeared, and the terrifying Black Minotaurs were approaching, starting to give them tasks.

Thus, 10 cats became slaves in the mud brick factory.

"I'll go home and bring money! Please let us go!"

Oren and the cats pleaded with the Black Minotaurs,

Moo.

But they only replied that it wasn't within their authority.

On the third day of making mud bricks, barely alive,

Moo!

"Really? An expert to appraise the items?!"

The cats were overjoyed at the thought of escaping this mud brick work.

Then, Sejun appeared before them.

"Let's see the items first."

Sejun stepped forward and said.

"Yes."

Honestly, there was nothing to see, but it was a procedure to prolong their false hope.

Slowly,

The cats took out the items from their packs.

"These items are all trash."

"What?!"

The cats despaired at Sejun's casual inspection.

"They're all worthless. You probably heard that they were enchanted items, but you were scammed."

‘Phew. How does it feel, nya? Sejun's harsh words? Cry now!’

Theo, hanging on Sejun's back and eavesdropping, trembled with the pleasure of revenge.

Then,

"Sniff."

As Theo expected, the cats started crying.

But the revenge was just beginning.

"You know, according to the contract you signed, you need to make 100,000 mud bricks to pay for the grilled fish. How many bricks do you make in a day?"

"10..."

Oren answered weakly.

"Right. So it would take you at least 10,000 days to make 100,000 bricks. But can you work without eating anything during that time?"

"No..."

"Right. So your debt will increase, and you'll have to make even more bricks. You'll probably be making bricks here until you die."

The cats' faces turned pale. If Sejun was right, their lives were over.

"But I'll give you a chance."

Sejun handed out 8 new contracts.

"A chance?!"

"You'll work as interns in our distribution department for 10,000 days to pay off your debt."

The cats carefully examined the contracts. The content was fair. They would carry items in their packs for 10,000 days and receive one grilled fish per day.

"I'll do it."

The cats quickly stamped their paws on the contracts, fearing they might lose this opportunity.

"Me... me too?"

Oren, who hadn't received a contract, called out to Sejun in fear of being left behind.

"Here."

Sejun handed Oren a contract. Oren's contract had an additional clause:

The right for the distribution department head to take 3 items from Oren's house.

Since Oren's house was wealthy, Sejun, trusting Theo's golden paw, added this clause.

"Here."

Oren stamped his paw on the contract and handed it to Sejun.

He had plenty of expensive items at home. If Sejun had asked for a large sum of money, he might have hesitated, but giving 3 items from his house wouldn't significantly reduce his wealth.

With the cats stamping their paws on the contracts and handing them to Sejun,

"Interns! Welcome, nya! I'm the head of the distribution department, Theo, nya!"

Theo climbed onto Sejun's shoulder, crossed his arms, and spoke arrogantly.

"What?! You're Theo?!"

Oren, surprised, pointed at Theo with his paw.

"Disrespectful to the head, nya!"

Smack!

Theo slapped Oren with his paw in anger.

"Follow me, interns! We have a lot to do, nya!"

Theo's exciting revenge began. And Sejun was finally free from his damp knees.