[The waypoint on the 35th floor of the Golden Tower has been saved.]

While Sejun was registering the waypoint,

“Puhuhut. Hurry up and return the money you borrowed from Uren, meow!”

“Uhehe. Hand it over! You punk!”

Theo and Uren rummaged through the pockets of Nellie, who was tied up with ropes and unconscious.

However,

Clang.

“What, meow?! He’s completely broke, meow!”

All they found on Nellie were a mere 900 Tower Coins.

Kuehehehe. Kueng!

[Hehehe. Now Cuengi has saved 3,300 Tower Coins!]

Even the pocket money Cuengi had saved was more than that.

“This can’t be, meow! Give me my money, meow!”

Squeeze.

So he tried to brand Nellie with the Five Towers’ Slave Seal to collect the money.

[You have branded Nellie Hong with the Five Towers’ Slave Seal.]

[Nellie Hong now has a forced debt of 50 billion Tower Coins.]

[Forced collection for the 50 billion Tower Coins begins now.]

[Nellie Hong has zero liquid assets.]

[Nellie Hong is already a slave, so 50 billion Tower Coins are added to the existing debt.]

[Nellie Hong’s remaining debt: 1 trillion 49 billion 999 million 9100 Tower Coins.]

Nellie really had nothing left—completely broke.

“What, meow?!”

“He seems to have given it to Magin.”

“Is that so?!”

“Yes. It’s actually better this way. The money taken by Evis and Madaf is probably with Magin too.”

“Then let’s wake this guy up and ask where Magin is, meow!”

“But… Theo-nim, do you mind if I wake him up?”

“Puhuhut. It’s 100 million Tower Coins per hit, meow!”

Theo, catching on to what Uren meant, smiled slyly as he spoke.

And then,

“Yes! Here’s 50 billion Tower Coins! Hey! Wake up!”

Bam, bam, bam!

As soon as Uren handed the money to Theo, he began to beat Nellie.

After a while.

“Huff. Huff. Huff. Nellie, where’s Magin?”

Uren asked, panting heavily.

“Why are you asking about Master Magin’s location?”

Nellie, who had taken 500 blows from Uren, asked in a calm voice.

Since it was a clash of fat against fat, only Uren, who had been beating hard, was exhausted.

“Because it was Magin who told you to borrow money from me. All the money you, Evis, and Madaf borrowed from me is with Magin, isn’t it?”

“…Master Magin? I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Speak, meow! Where is Magin, meow?!”

Theo, who had been listening nearby, grabbed Nellie by the collar and demanded.

Chairman Park’s cooldown time is over, meow! I want to be praised quickly, meow!

Theo, always keeping tabs on Sejun’s condition, realized that doing good deeds too frequently could lessen the impact of Sejun’s praise. So, he made sure to bring Sejun something he liked at just the right time.

The time it takes for Chairman Park, who got excited after receiving something he likes, to cool down again.

Puhuhut. That is Chairman Park’s cooldown time, meow!

Thus, Theo urgently needed an offering to receive Sejun’s praise.

But,

“Hmph! I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Haaak! Tell me where Magin is, meow!”

Even with Theo’s urging, Nellie kept his mouth shut.

At that moment,

“Fuhut. Is it my time to step in?”

As Sejun, who had been watching from behind, spoke arrogantly and stepped forward,

“Everyone step back, meow! The great Chairman Park is about to show us something, meow!”

Theo made a fuss, and thanks to that, everyone’s attention was focused on Sejun.

‘This is a lot of pressure.’

It’ll work out, right?

What Sejun had in mind was to entice with food.

Thinking that Nellie, being a pig like Uren, couldn’t resist the temptation of food…

“Pffft. What are you doing? Don’t tell me you’re trying to get answers by bribing me with food?”

But Nellie just sneered.

“Agh. Let’s just eat.”

“Give me grilled fish, meow!”

“Kyoot kyoot kyoot. Thank you for the meal.”

Kuehehehe.

Piyo!

“Uhehe.”

So, Sejun and his companions ended up having an early lunch.

Meanwhile,

Kking?! Kking!

[How dare you laugh at my butler?! Guys, get ready!]

“Yes!”

Kkiruk!

Angered by the mockery directed at Sejun, Blackie charged fiercely at Nellie,

Thunk.

and delivered a feeble headbutt,

Plop.

then Blackie, Eomdol, and Ggomi all fell asleep together.

“Pffft. What are these things now?”

As Nellie laughed at Blackie and his minions,

“Huh?”

Nellie’s eyes turned black, and he lost consciousness.

Inside Nellie’s mental world.

“Where is this place?”

As Nellie looked around,

Boom!

“Aaagh!”

“Growl. How dare you mock my butler?!”

A giant wolf appeared and pinned Nellie down with its front paw.

And then,

Boom!

Boom!

“How dare you laugh at Sejun-nim?!”

“How dare you laugh at Sejun-nim!!!”

Following the wolf, a massive stone figure and a spider appeared.

Though smaller than the wolf, they were still enormous.

‘Wha… What is this?!’

This was a fear unlike any he had ever experienced. He had never feared death, but this terror went far beyond the fear of death.

It felt as if he would be completely erased from existence.

“P-Please spare me!”

Terrified, Nellie pleaded, but

“Growl. It’s too late. My butler has already been hurt emotionally!”

“If you did something wrong, you must be punished.”

“Kiiik. Yeah. Didn’t you see our Sejun-nim’s face when he got hurt earlier?!”

The three were already furious.

“Kyaaak!”

Blackie, Eomdol, and Ggomi, who were formerly Apostles of Destruction, showed Nellie the depths of hell.

***

[You have entered the Navel of the Earth.]

“We’ve arrived.”

As Magin read the message and followed his subordinate into the basin, he saw a massive round stone at its center.

“It’s almost done now.”

Looking at the stone, which had turned more than 90% dark red, Magin said.

“Magin-nim, are you sure this is really okay?”

Evis, who had come with Magin, asked in a fearful voice.

“Don’t worry. No matter how powerful an Apostle of Destruction is, they can’t exert their full power inside the Golden Tower.”

A year ago, Magin had accidentally encountered a fragment of Delia, the Demon of Corruption and 8th Seat Apostle of Destruction.

-You smell good. I will help you.

Delia’s fragment, having discovered Magin’s corrupted soul, showed goodwill and proposed an alliance.

“Good.”

Magin accepted.

Obsessed with the idea of exterminating the Elves, Magin didn’t hesitate to use any means necessary.

Of course, he was also confident that he could control the situation well.

Thus, after forming an alliance with Delia, Magin brought Delia to the Navel of the Earth to destroy the stone filled with the Earth’s energy.

Seeing the powerful Earth energy flowing from the stone into the ground, Magin believed that destroying this stone would significantly weaken the Earth energy on the 35th floor of the Tower.

Step.

As Magin approached the stone, he saw a Lightning Protection Magic Circle drawn in a 100-meter radius around it.

He also saw Delia’s fragments sending red energy towards the stone inside the magic circle.

“How many fragments are there now?”

“Three thousand.”

“That’s quite a lot.”

Although he was taken aback by the unexpectedly large number of fragments, he still wasn’t worried.

The fragments of the Apostles of Destruction couldn’t withstand lightning.

“Delia, how much longer?”

Magin asked one of the fragments surrounding the stone.

-Kekekek. It’ll be done by tonight.

All the Delia fragments answered simultaneously, grinning wickedly.

What’s going on?

Magin felt a sense of foreboding from their laughter, but

Kwoooom!

There’s the lightning.

As long as there’s lightning, they can’t escape the Lightning Protection Magic Circle.

Trusting in the lightning, Magin reassured himself.

***

“Puhuhut. Chairman Park’s grilled fish was excellent today too, meow! Truly, Chairman Park is a master at grilling fish, meow!”

Theo, having eaten the grilled fish that Sejun had prepared, lay down on Sejun’s lap, patting his belly with a happy smile.

Kuehehehe. Kueng! Kueng!

[Hehehe. Dad is also great at making pancakes too! Dad, Cuengi has a lot of money, so if there’s anything you want, just let me know!]

Cuengi, who was in high spirits after dipping pancakes in honey, boldly opened his pocket money pouch and took out 3,300 Tower Coins as he spoke.

Cuengi had just reached 3,300 Tower Coins, surpassing his previous record of 3,200 Tower Coins—the most he had ever saved in his life.

He had every right to be proud.

“Sure. Got it. I’ll tell you if there’s anything I want later.”

As they continued their pleasant conversation,

“Aarg! It’s true! That bastard Magin ordered it all! He told me to borrow money from Uren and bring it back! Heugheug. I’m really sorry for mocking you.”

Suddenly, Nellie began screaming and confessing on his own, then started crying and apologizing.

“What’s going on?”

“As expected of Chairman Park, meow! The food temptation from earlier worked, meow! Amazing, meow!”

Theo started praising Sejun.

“Uh… I-Is that so?”

Sejun was bewildered.

“Puhuhut. Where is Magin, meow?!”

“Magin is at a place called the Navel of the Earth…”

As Theo was extracting Magin’s location from Nellie,

Kking!

[Butler! Give me 10 pieces of dried sweet potato!]

Blackie, who had woken up by now, called out to Sejun, proudly demanding 10 pieces of dried sweet potato, feeling justified after working hard today.

“Okay.”

Knowing that Blackie wouldn’t eat them all and would stash them away in his secret storage, Sejun gave Blackie 10 pieces of dried sweet potato.

Chomp. Chomp. Chomp.

Hehe. Butler, I punished the one who laughed at you.

Blackie grinned while munching on the dried sweet potato.

104.28.193.250

A little while later,

“Magin is at a place called the Navel of the Earth?”

“Puhuhut. That’s right, meow! Nellie will guide us, meow!”

“Alright. Let’s head there right away.”

“Let’s go, meow!”

With Nellie leading the way, Sejun and his party headed to the Navel of the Earth where Magin was.

And,

‘I’m scared.’

Nellie trembled with fear as he saw Blackie glaring at him with wide-open eyes from Sejun’s sling bag, wondering if he was doing well.

However,

I can’t sleep! I have to be ready to punish anyone who mocks the butler again!

Blackie was fighting off sleep, determined to stay awake.

After traveling like that for about 3 hours, Sejun and his companions,

[You have entered the Navel of the Earth.]

They had reached the place where Magin was located.

At that moment,

[The power of the 8th Seat of the Apostle of Destruction, the demon of corruption, Delia, has been detected 5km to the west.]

A message appeared in front of Sejun.

“Demon of Corruption, Delia?”

If it’s Delia…

“She might be ugly, but she’s the one who gave me the Fermentation skill, right?”

It wasn’t that her face was ugly—it was literally rotten.

Sejun’s first impression of Delia had been rather good.

So, to maintain that good first impression, he decided to deal with her from afar without looking at her face.

5km to the west…

“Guys, attack over there!”

Sejun directed them to attack the giant dark-red stone at the center of the basin.

“Puhuhut. Understood, meow! Theo-Kueng-Park 10,000-step Meteor Strike, meow!”

“Kyoot kyoot kyoot. Yes! Power of gravity, drop the stones floating in the sky onto the enemy. Meteor.”

Kueng! Kueng!

[Got it! Kueng-Meteor Punch!]

Boom!

The attacks from Theo, Iona, and Cuengi rained down on the stone and its surroundings.

But,

‘What’s this?’

No messages appeared.

‘What’s this?’

“Kyoot kyoot kyoot. Something’s strange.”

Kueng?

[Should I attack again?]

Sensing that something was amiss, the three prepared to attack again.

At that moment,

-You fools! How dare you attack me, Delia, the Demon of Corruption and 8th Seat Apostle of Destruction!

A massive demon, twice the height of the deep basin, appeared.

[Delia, the Demon of Corruption and 8th Seat Apostle of Destruction]

Delia’s main body, with a pair of enormous black wings, dressed in a suffocating black long dress that covered her entire body, and with a face of decayed, tattered skin.

Why is her main body here…?

“Guys, take this!”

Before Delia could release her seal, Sejun quickly handed out the Transcendence Black Bean plus the four beans set to his companions.

Gulp.

[You have consumed the Transcendence Black Bean (+2).]

…

..

.

He ate one himself as well.

And then,

Clank.

“Everyone, come out!”

Kiki!

Kiki!

He opened the Void Storage to release the Destruction Devourers.

At the same time, the dense energy of Creation that had been trapped in the Void Storage began to flow out.

At that moment,

-Kekeke! Let everything rot away! Seal Release!

Four pairs of wings grew from Delia’s back as the ground and atmosphere rapidly became contaminated, turning dark red under the influence of her energy.

She had broken the seal all the way to the fourth stage in one go.

Chiiik.

As the aura of decay, which had already reached where Sejun was, began to burn the blue energy of creation,

[Bev, the God of Courage, shouts joyfully, “Park Sejun, I knew I could count on you!”]

[Bev, the God of Courage, acknowledges your courageous feat.]

…?

Sejun, unintentionally, once again earned recognition for his bravery from Bev.

*****