Chapter 76

76. The match isn't over yet, nya!

76. The match isn't over yet, nya!

Suddenly, Theo, who had come out of Izrael's warehouse, started running.

“Theo President, where are you going?!”

Elka asked while running after Theo.

“I can feel President Park's knees nearby, nya!”

“Huh?!”

“It's in that direction, nya! It's getting closer, nya!”

Theo climbed onto Elka's head, grabbed her ears, and shouted.

“Got it!”

Elka ran in the direction Theo pointed, despite being puzzled by Theo's words, which were filled with confidence.

“Hold on tight!”

Elka started running in the direction Theo indicated.

****

Progress 1231/2291

“Is it about a thousand left now?”

As Sejun muttered, checking the remaining number of Progs,

“Kids! Sejun says there are still about a thousand Progs left! Hurry and catch them!”

Hegel, who had been attentively listening to Sejun's every move, shouted to the black wolves.

“Yes!”

Roar!

Gweong!

The black wolves, along with the black rabbit and Gweong, who were enjoying the thrill of group hunting, answered together.

The wolves' hunting method, which involved surrounding and dealing with the Progs from a distance, was a new experience for the black rabbit and Gweong, who had always hunted alone.

The wolves brought the Progs they caught through group hunting to the ground and presented them to Sejun.

Plop!

[Prog defeated.]

[500 experience points gained.]

[Level up.]

[1 bonus stat point gained.]

Sejun easily accumulated experience points and reached level 30.

Then,

[A quest has appeared.]

[Job quest: Plant a new crop that you have never planted before.]

Reward: Level 31 unlock, 500 Tower Coins.

A level 30 job quest appeared.

“A new crop that I've never planted?”

Sejun thought for a moment as he looked at the quest.

“Oh! I have that!”

Plop.

Sejun dug the ground with his dagger and planted the pineapple crown he had kept in his pocket after eating the pineapple.

[Pineapple crown planted.]

[The probability of the pineapple crown taking root increases due to the effects of Seed Sowing Lv. 4.]

[The probability of being affected by pests decreases slightly due to the effects of Seed Sowing Lv. 4.]

[Job experience increases slightly.]

[Proficiency in Seed Sowing Lv. 4 increases slightly.]

[Proficiency in Seed Sowing Lv. 4 increases by 5% due to the effects of Proficiency Increase Lv. 1.]

[Quest completed.]

[Level 31 is unlocked as a quest completion reward.]

[500 Tower Coins are gained as a quest completion reward.]

“Huhuhu. This quest was lucky.”

If he hadn't found the pineapple, he might have been unable to level up until the seed shop opened.

Fortunately, he completed the job quest immediately without losing a single point of experience.

As Sejun was leveling up again by defeating the Progs the wolves brought,

Rustle.

The bushes rustled.

And then,

“I found it, nya!!”

Something yellow jumped out from the bushes.

“Huh?! Theo President?!”

Theo, who had arrived at Zenka Lake with his knee detector running at full power, jumped off Elka's back and launched himself at Sejun.

Thump.

Sejun caught the flying Theo with both hands. It was very warm and soft.

“President Park, nice to see you, nya. When did you get here, nya?!”

Theo asked, raising his front paw casually.

“What? Theo President, how did you know I was here?”

Sejun knew Theo was nearby from Hegel, but he didn't expect him to come so early.

“I have my ways, nya!”

Theo said arrogantly, sitting on Sejun's knee.

And then,

Snap.

He took out two contracts and handed them to Sejun. One was a contract with the Black Wolf tribe, and the other was a contract to receive 5000 Tower Coins from Izrael and Oren.

Theo had calculated the value of his and the wolves' lives and demanded a reward of 25,000 Tower Coins from Izrael and Oren.

However, they were short by about 5000 Tower Coins,

“Pay the rest with your labor, nya!”

Theo made Izrael and Oren sign a contract to pay the remaining amount with their labor. Theo was good at using what he learned from Sejun.

“Did I do well, nya?”

“Yeah. But did you pick three items from Izrael's house?”

“I haven't picked them yet, nya...”

Theo answered, watching Sejun's reaction, afraid he might be sent back.

“Really? Then bring them next time.”

Since the contract transferred Izrael's house and all its contents to Sejun, he could pick items anytime.

“Got it, nya! I'll bring them next time, nya!”

Relieved by Sejun's words, Theo lay down comfortably on Sejun's knee.

And then,

Purr.

He soon fell asleep.

***

As the number of remaining Progs decreased, the speed at which the wolves brought them slowed down.

When the number of remaining Progs dropped below 100, they scattered and hid, and the black wolves, black rabbit, and Gweong also dispersed to find them.

As the tedious search continued, the black rabbit and Gweong started exploring Zenka Lake instead of looking for Progs.

Rustle.

Roar!

Gweong!

The black rabbit and Gweong proudly displayed the treasures they found in Zenka Lake in front of Sejun.

Most were just rocks or bone fragments, but to the black rabbit and Gweong, they were fascinating treasures.

“Wow! Great job! Go find more treasures.”

Roar!

Gweong!

Encouraged by Sejun, the black rabbit and Gweong entered Zenka Lake with determination to find better treasures.

***

[A quest has appeared for the Intermediate Manager.]

“Kukukuku! I wonder what quest this clever human has received.”

Eileen checked Sejun's quest.

And then,

“Kuk! I don't like it!”

Eileen frowned at Sejun's quest. The quest reward was too meager. She had forgotten the quest she had given Sejun in the past.

“I should ask Dad how to change the quest reward.”

Anton had taught Eileen how to synchronize the black dragon statue with the crystal ball, so now she could communicate directly.

“Dad.”

Eileen called Anton through the black dragon statue.

-Oh! My granddaughter! How are you?!

Kaiser answered cheerfully, as Anton was not around.

“Yes. Grandpa, I have a question.”

-Kukukuk! Ask away! Your grandpa will tell you everything! But did you miss your grandpa Eileen?

“Yes?! Yes! Of course, I missed you. Grandpa, can you tell me how to change the quest reward?”

-Kukukuk! Your grandpa also misses Eileen very much. But you want to change the quest reward?

“Yes.”

-Hmph! Are you going to give something to that Sejun again?!

Kaiser's voice rose, remembering the 100th anniversary fountain he had given Sejun as a quest reward.

But,

“Grandpa. Are you angry with me?!”

Kaiser's voice softened, even more than before, as Eileen's tone hardened.

-Oh... No! I wouldn't... Come, let me explain in detail!

Kaiser, the super alpha of the Fritani family, spoke more softly than ever.

After learning how to change the quest reward from Kaiser for a few hours,

“Change the reward.”

Eileen placed her hand on the quest window, infused it with her will and mana, and started changing the quest reward.

She increased the experience points from 10,000 to 100,000,000 and the Tower Coins from 1,000 to 10,000,000, making the reward 10,000 times larger. Eileen was too generous.

But,

[You cannot change the reward for the Intermediate Manager quest.]

[Sejun's level is too low.]

Sejun's level was too low.

“Tsk! Then 1,000 times!”

Eileen tried again, removing zeros, but 1,000 times, 100 times, and even 10 times were still too high for Sejun.

“Then 7 times!”

[You cannot change the reward for the Intermediate Manager quest.]

[Sejun's level is too low.]

Even though it was no longer "too" high, it was still too high.

And then,

“5 times!”

“2 times!”

“1.5 times!”

Finally, the quest reward was changed.

“Kuk. I hope the clever human gets stronger quickly.”

Eileen was upset that she couldn't give more to Sejun.

***

[The reward for the Intermediate Manager quest has been changed from 10,000 experience points to 15,000 experience points.]

[The reward for the Intermediate Manager quest has been changed from 1,000 Tower Coins to 1,500 Tower Coins.]

“Huh?”

Sejun, who had been dozing off by the lake as the wolves brought Progs more slowly, suddenly woke up to the message that the quest reward had changed.

“Did Eileen do something?”

Sejun knew that only Eileen could do such a thing.

As Sejun regained his senses, he looked around.

And then,

“What's all this?”

Sejun noticed a pile of miscellaneous items almost 10 meters high in front of him. The treasures the black rabbit and Gweong had brought had accumulated this much.

“Let's see what they brought.”

As Sejun was about to check if there was anything useful,

“Kwikkwikkwik.”

Iona flew over, singing, to accept Theo's defeat and declare her victory.

“Huh?! Greetings, Sejun!”

Iona greeted Sejun, who she had just noticed.

“But what's that?”

Sejun asked, seeing the transparent liquid in a glass bottle floating around Iona.

“Oh! This? It's a contract invalidation potion I found in Izrael's warehouse.”

“A contract invalidation potion?”

“Yes. If you sprinkle this on a contract, it becomes invalid.”

“Really?”

“Yes. Take a look.”

[Contract Invalidation Potion]

A potion that can invalidate a contract.

If you sprinkle this potion on a contract, it becomes invalid.

It cannot invalidate contracts that have been overseen by a high-ranking official or contracts that have been in effect for more than 100 days.

Grade: B

‘There's such a thing.’

Sejun thought, realizing that contracts weren't just final once signed.

“Are there many of these contract invalidation potions?”

“No. I've only heard of them; this is the first time I've seen one.”

Sejun was relieved by Iona's answer but thought he should prepare for the possibility of contract invalidation in the future and checked his contracts.

As Sejun was checking his contracts,

“Theo President, wake up.”

Iona lifted Theo's eyelids to wake him up.

“Nya? What? Iona, I want to sleep more, nya...”

“Then I win the match, right?”

“Nya?!”

“It's a match to find the best item. I win, right?”

Iona's words made Theo's eyes widen.

“No, nya! I win, nya!”

Theo shouted, jumping up. He thought he was invincible as long as he was with Sejun and could never lose.

“Kwikkwikkwik. But I already found a B-grade item, and Theo President hasn't found anything yet.”

Iona confidently declared her victory.

“The match isn't over yet, nya!”

Theo shouted at Iona, focusing all his attention on his front paw, determined to find a better item quickly.

At that moment,

Zap.

Theo felt a strong pull on his front paw.

‘Puhuhu. As expected, I can't lose even if I want to, nya!’

Theo followed the pull and

Plop.

started rummaging through the pile of miscellaneous items the black rabbit and Gweong had collected.

And then,

‘Got it, nya!’

“Puhuhu. Iona, I, Theo President, win, nya!”

As Theo confidently held up the item he had found in the pile,

Thump.

“Nya?”

The pile of miscellaneous items collapsed onto Theo's head.