Chapter 75

### Chapter 75: The Competition

### Chapter 75: The Competition

Inside a warehouse filled with treasures Israel had collected throughout his life.

Swoosh.

Theo was scanning the items in the warehouse with his front paws.

"Theo, what are you doing?"

Iona asked, watching Theo move his front paws around.

"Looking for a pull, meow?"

"A pull?"

"Yes, meow. I'm looking for an item that pulls my front paws, meow!"

"Oh!"

Iona had heard from Sejun about Theo's golden front paws.

And

'Hmm. It's just a feeling, after all. It won't work against my high-dimensional magic.'

Feeling jealous of Theo being praised by Sejun, Iona, as a mage, felt a competitive spirit arise.

"Theo, let's have a competition!"

"What kind of competition, meow?"

"A competition to see who can find a higher-grade item, meow!"

"Alright, meow!"

Despite being the president of the Mage Association, Theo was not at all intimidated. His confidence stemmed from Sejun, not himself.

'Hehehe. Victory is mine, meow! Because Sejun said my front paws are amazing, meow.'

Thus, the treasure hunt competition between Theo and Iona began.

***

On the 75th floor of the tower, at Zenka Lake.

Whoosh.

[You have arrived at Zenka Lake on the 75th floor of the tower.]

[Find and eliminate the cause threatening the extinction of the blue carp.]

Sejun, the black rabbit, and Gweung appeared.

"Wow! A different floor!"

Crash!!!

Gweung!!!

Neither Sejun, the black rabbit, nor Gweung paid any attention to the mission. They were all first-timers who had never left the 99th floor of the tower, and everything was new to them.

"What's this?"

Sejun started examining the plants around the lake.

Snap!

Gweung!

The black rabbit and Gweung, amazed by the wide, green lake they had never seen before, immediately jumped into the water.

Sejun walked around the lake, admiring the plants, and then he saw a very familiar plant.

A large, pinecone-like fruit in the center of a broad leaf, with a green stem on top! It was a pineapple.

"Hehehe. Why is a pineapple here?"

Snap.

Excited, Sejun pulled out a dagger and cut the pineapple.

Then

Snap.

He removed the stem and put it in his bag. He planned to plant it on the 99th floor to grow more pineapples.

Snap.

He cut the pineapple into four pieces and tasted one.

"Ugh!"

At first, the sourness made his whole body shiver, but as he chewed the flesh, the sourness lessened and the sweetness increased.

"Wow! It's delicious!"

In no time, Sejun finished the entire pineapple and stood up, marveling. He wanted to count how many pineapples there were.

But

"There are only 12."

Snap. Snap.

Sejun harvested all the pineapples.

While he was enjoying his second pineapple,

Thud. Thud.

Something was approaching from behind Sejun.

"Huh?!"

Sejun turned around to see

Gulp. Gulp.

A 3-meter-tall, bipedal frog staring at him and drooling.

[Frog]

Why is a frog walking on two legs?! While Sejun was confused,

Gulp.

Whoosh.

The frog opened its mouth and attacked Sejun with its tongue.

"Hmph! I've rolled around on the 99th floor, you know!"

Sejun dodged the frog's tongue and pulled out a hand axe, throwing it at the frog.

Thud!

The hand axe hit the frog's head precisely.

[Frog defeated.]

[500 experience points gained.]

"Hmph. This is nothing to me. Retrieve!"

Even though he had a significant advantage by fighting a water monster on land, Sejun was still proud of himself.

While Sejun was feeling triumphant,

[Subordinate 1 defeated the frog.]

[Subordinate 2 defeated the frog.]

The black rabbit and Gweung were also fighting in the water.

[A cause of the extinction of the blue carp in Zenka Lake on the 75th floor of the tower has been found.]

[A mid-level manager quest has been triggered.]

[A mid-level manager quest: Defeat all 2291 frogs in Zenka Lake.]

Frogs: 0/2291

Reward: 10,000 experience points, 1000 tower coins

Failure: You cannot leave the original location until the quest is completed.

"There are over 2000 frogs?!"

Sejun quickly ran to Zenka Lake, dipped his face in the water, and looked around.

In the water, he saw the black rabbit and Gweung chasing the fleeing frogs. Their swimming skills, honed in the pond, were top-notch, but the frogs were water monsters. Despite their large numbers, it took a lot of effort to hunt even one frog.

'How long will it take to catch them all?'

While watching the black rabbit and Gweung fight,

"But what do they taste like?"

Suddenly, Sejun became curious about the taste of frog meat.

So he started a fire and began preparing a dish using frog meat.

***

While Theo and Iona were having their competition in the warehouse, a black wolf ran to Zenka Lake.

"Hegel, we have a problem."

"What is it?"

Hegel, who had nearly died in an extreme experience with Iona, was not particularly moved by his subordinate's report.

"Strange beings have appeared at Zenka Lake."

"Strange beings?"

"Yes... they are roasting frogs."

"What?! Roasting frogs?!"

"Yes! And it tastes really good! Slurp."

The black wolf licked his lips.

"Taste? What are you talking about? Did you eat frog meat?"

The subordinate seemed to be out of his mind. Frog meat was poisonous and inedible.

"Let's go!"

The wolf, eager to return to Zenka Lake, urged Hegel.

"Ahem. Elka, I'll be back from Zenka Lake shortly. Please tell Theo."

"Yes, I understand."

Hegel hurried to Zenka Lake.

***

"Here they are, Sejun."

The wolves emerged from the water, dragging the unconscious frogs by their necks to Sejun.

"Thanks."

Thud! Thud!

[Frog defeated.]

[500 experience points gained.]

[Frog defeated.]

[500 experience points gained.]

Sejun used his hand axe to defeat two frogs and gave the wolves frog and leek rolls.

Chomp chomp.

"Really chewy!"

"Delicious!"

The wolves ate the dish and returned to the water.

One hour earlier.

Curious about the taste of frogs, Sejun started a fire, prepared the frog meat, and began roasting frog and leek rolls, inserting detoxifying leeks into the middle.

Thinking of safety, Sejun always carried detoxifying leeks as a precaution, in case the ingredients were poisonous.

When the dish was complete,

[You have achieved the first frog and leek roll in the tower.]

[The recipe for frog and leek rolls is registered at Cooking Level 3.]

[Your proficiency in Cooking Level 3 has increased significantly.]

[Your proficiency in Cooking Level 3 is full, and your level has increased.]

Sejun's cooking level increased.

And

[The special effect of frog and leek rolls at Cooking Level 4: Comfortable underwater movement.]

"Special effect?"

A special effect had been added to the dish. This was a new feature added at Cooking Level 4.

Sejun checked the completed dish.

[Frog and Leek Roll]

Frog meat wrapped around detoxifying leeks and roasted.

The frog meat and detoxifying leeks are well-cooked, making it very delicious.

The detoxifying leeks have neutralized the poison in the frog meat.

Special effect: Comfortable underwater movement

Chef: Tower Farmer Park Sejun

Expiry date: 5 days

Grade: C+

While Sejun was checking the options for the frog and leek rolls,

Snap...

Gweung...

The black rabbit and Gweung, tired from chasing frogs, emerged from the water.

And

Snap!

Gweung!

The hungry duo ate the frog and leek rolls and were excited.

"I'll try it too."

Sejun put a piece of roasted frog in his mouth.

Chomp.

'This tastes like chicken.'

The meat was tender, but the taste was just like unseasoned chicken.

Swallow.

[Frog and leek roll consumed.]

[Special effect: Comfortable underwater movement for 30 minutes.]

"I should have brought salt..."

Sejun was a bit disappointed.

At that moment,

"Rrrr. No!"

Five black wolves approached, shouting.

"What?"

Snap!

Gweung!

Sejun and the animals raised their weapons, wary of the black wolves.

"The frog meat is poisonous."

"Right! Spit it out quickly!"

The black wolves looked at the three with worried expressions.

"Ah! Thanks, but I've already detoxified it. Do you want to try one?"

Sejun took a bite of the frog and leek roll while talking to the black wolves.

"......"

When Sejun ate his third frog and leek roll,

Swallow.

"I... I'll try one."

"I'll try one too..."

"Here."

The black wolves took the frog and leek rolls from Sejun.

And

"Wow? It says the underwater movement is easier?"

The black wolves were surprised by the message that appeared after eating the frog and leek rolls.

"This means..."

The black wolves jumped into Zenka Lake to test the effect of the message. This could help them complete their requests more easily.

A short while later,

The black wolves, successful in hunting frogs, emerged from the water with the frogs' necks in their mouths.

Auuu!

The black wolf called to his companions.

"Where's the restaurant?!"

Da-da-da.

The black wolves gathered to eat Sejun's dish.

***

"This..."

Hegel, watching the scene at Zenka Lake, was speechless.

The wolves hunted frogs in the lake and brought them to the black-haired human, who then killed the frogs.

The wolves, having received meat from the man, returned to the water.

At that moment,

"Hegel!"

The tribal leader, Falca, ran over.

"Falca, what's going on?"

"Try this."

Falca handed Hegel a frog and leek roll he was holding.

Chomp chomp.

"Wow! Such delicious meat!"

Hegel, eating the frog and leek roll, said. It was the first time he had eaten meat that tasted like meat since coming here on a request.

Swallow.

And the message appeared.

"Can't be! Is it because of this dish that our wolves can hunt frogs?"

"Yes. Thanks to this human's dish, we can successfully complete the request."

Falca pointed at Sejun.

"Really? Then I should thank him."

"Yes, let's go."

Falca led Hegel to Sejun.

And

"Sejun, this is the leader of the Black Wolf tribe, Hegel."

'Sejun?'

Hegel's mind went blank at Falca's words.

Elka had told him the name of the great black dragon, Park Sejun.

And the black dragon tattoo on Sejun's right hand. That was a tattoo only allowed to the black dragon's kin.

The great black dragon!

"I see the great black dragon!!!"

Hegel quickly bowed before Sejun.

And

"I see the great black dragon!!!"

The other black wolves also bowed before Sejun, following Hegel.

Rumble.

Gweung.

The exhausted black rabbit and Gweung, undisturbed by the loud cries of the black wolves, took a nap.

***

"Meow?!"

Theo, examining the items in the warehouse, felt something strange.

'I can sense Sejun's knee nearby, meow!'

It was a strange occurrence, but Theo trusted his Sejun knee detection ability.

"Iona, I have to go, meow!"

Theo rushed out of the warehouse.

"Hmm. My victory, then."

Iona, holding up a B-grade item she found in the warehouse, claimed victory. The true winner would only be known with time.