Chapter 605. "Hehe, My Best Friend After All."

 

Black Tower, 99th Floor.

Squeak.

[Sejun-nim, I believe the time has finally come.]

After eating his fill of rice cake soup and patting his stomach with a satisfied smile, Bossaboo suddenly turned serious.

"The time?"

Squeak, squeak.

[Yes. It’s time I pass my technique on to you.]

"Uh? I don’t need it right now; I can wait," Sejun replied, hoping to delay receiving the skill since his level increased just by training with Bossaboo and Sejun No. 3.

He wanted to wait as long as possible to receive a better skill.

But—

Squeak.

[I plan to go off to find a bride again.]

Bossaboo was determined to pass on his skill to Sejun before departing.

"Why? Let’s find one together. I’ll help you find a good bride!"

Though Sejun tried to hold him back—

Squeak, squeak.

[No, I think it’s best if I search alone.]

Instinctively, Bossaboo sensed he needed to escape Sejun’s meddling grasp.

"That’s a shame…”

Sejun felt genuine regret at Bossaboo's refusal.

Thus far, the record stood at three confessions, three rejections. Watching Bossaboo’s antics had provided endless entertainment for Sejun.

In truth, Sejun was more invested in this than the skill itself.

Squeak.

[Then I’ll transfer the skill now.]

"Alright."

As Sejun agreed—

Hop.

Bossaboo jumped onto Sejun’s head, placing his tiny pink paw pad on top of it to begin the transfer.

[<Hero of Hemk>, Bossaboo, Master of Seventeen Swords, is transferring Skill: Advanced Aura Swordsmanship.]

Previously, Sejun had been unable to receive Advanced Aura Swordsmanship due to his lack of aura, but now the transfer was possible.

Then—

[<Hero of Hemk>, Bossaboo, Master of Seventeen Swords, is transferring an additional skill: Divine Sword Unity.]

[<Hero of Hemk>, Bossaboo, Master of Seventeen Swords, is transferring the unique skill: Sword Mastery of a Sword Master.]

Bossaboo transferred even more skills.

Now that Sejun’s Basic Aura Swordsmanship had reached maturity and his body had been reconstructed by Flame’s Immortal Apple, he was eligible to receive higher-level skills.

[You have received Advanced Aura Swordsmanship (Master).]

[You have received Divine Sword Unity (Master).]

[All conditions to become a Sword Master are fulfilled.]

Hehehe. Now I’m a Sword Master!

As Sejun reveled in his newly acquired sword skills from Bossaboo—

[As a Tower Farmer, you are not permitted to become a Sword Master.]

[The unique skill of a Sword Master: Sword Mastery, cannot be received.]

A message appeared before Sejun.

“What?!”

[Sword Mastery has been replaced by Tower Farmer’s unique skill: Tool Mastery.]

Are you kidding?! Tool Mastery?! That’s not cool at all!

Hoping it might be different, Sejun checked the skill.

[Tower Farmer’s unique skill: Tool Mastery Lv. 1]

When using farming tools, crop planting speed increases by 1%, crop growth rate by 1%, harvest speed by 1%, and crop shelf life by 1 day.

“…”

The minuscule effect irritated Sejun all over again.

You little system! I’ll impeach you! I swear I will!

Sejun seethed at the system.

“Nya?! Chairman Park, calm down! Your face is rotting!”

Theo, noticing Sejun’s expression, quickly began kneading his face.

“No, Vice Chairman Theo, now is the time to be angry.”

“Nya?! Really?! Then I’m angry too!”

Theo, roused by Sejun’s words, grew angrier than Sejun himself.

Hehe, my best friend indeed.

Sejun looked at Theo with pride.

“Nya? Chairman Park, but who are we angry at?”

Theo asked, struggling to feel the full rage without a target.

“The system. The system’s been mocking me.”

“Nya! The system, you say?! How dare it mock the great hybrid Chairman Park! Impeach the system!”

Theo, already harboring a grudge, was quick to pour his emotions into his fury.

As Sejun and Theo fumed—

Squeak.

[Sejun-nim, I’m off now.]

Bossaboo was ready to leave.

“Alright! Take care, and I hope you find a wonderful bride!”

Sejun wished Bossaboo the best of luck.

After Bossaboo left—

"Time to work."

Sejun got up.

And—

“Nya?”

Squeak?

He removed Theo and Kuengi from his body, getting them ready for the day’s work.

A short while later—

“Heh. Chairman Park, I’ll earn lots of money today!”

Squeak!

[Kuengi will gather lots of herbs today too!]

Theo and Kuengi departed for the Red Tower’s 27th floor and the herb field, respectively.

“Kamangi, let’s get to work too.”

Squeak!

Sejun placed Kamangi into his sling bag and began his morning tasks.

First, he harvested the crops from the 99th-floor farm.

“You guys, ready?”

Squawk!

He then joined the mushroom ants in transplanting seedlings into the rice paddy created by Torong.

The rice they planted today was the Golden Sticky Rice, strengthened once with the Elixir of Enhancement.

Though the enhancement didn’t increase its medicinal properties, it did reduce the amount needed to activate the effect from 100,000 to 70,000 grains.

After finishing the planting—

“Gate summon.”

Clack.

Strengthened by the Yellow Bean, Sejun turned the key to open the gate to the Tenth Tower.

“Patrick, Hammer, I’m here!”

After greeting them—

[Field’s Calling (Master) has activated.]

[You have planted the Devourer of Destruction Seeds in the body of the Fourth Apostle of Destruction, Demon of Annihilation, Melfix.]

…

…

…

Sejun planted the Devourer of Destruction Seeds in Melfix’s body.

It’s almost time for it to disappear.

Looking at Melfix’s considerably smaller body, Sejun decided to store it in the subspace warehouse once he was done.

If Melfix’s body disappeared while he was away, he wouldn’t receive any experience points.

As he continued planting seeds—

[You have defeated the Fourth Apostle of Destruction, Demon of Annihilation, Melfix.]

[You have gained 6 trillion experience points.]

[You have leveled up.]

[You have received 1 bonus stat point.]

[Strength has increased by 30.]

[Strength potential has increased by 1%.]

…

…

…

A message appeared before Sejun. Melfix’s body had disappeared quicker than expected.

Thanks to the massive experience points, Sejun was able to force his way through the job quest, reaching level 161.

The reward for completing the job quest was +300 to all stats and 20 billion Tower Coins.

“Heh. Nice.”

Another day of growth.

“This is what farming is all about.”

Sejun, feeling pleased, planted the remaining Devourer of Destruction Seeds.

Then—

Squeak! Squeak!

[Hehe. Quickly, present the seeds to the Great Kamangi!]

Plop, plop, plop.

Sejun sat beside Kamangi, who was busily collecting seeds from the Devourers of Destruction, waiting for him to finish.

Squeak! Squeak!

[Hehe. Master! The Great Kamangi has collected all the seeds!]

“Good job.”

Once Kamangi finished, Sejun put the seeds in his sling bag and prepared Kamangi and the rest of his family for travel.

Squeak!

[Master! Remember to watch over me, okay?]

“Alright.”

Sejun gently patted Kamangi, who was drowsily holding onto the world’s energy.

“Patrick, Hammer, I’m heading out.”

After bidding farewell to Patrick and Hammer, Sejun returned to the Black Tower.

–Bro-in-law!

He took a short break to play with Ace, then crossed the dimensional gate to <Earthworm>.

Nothing today.

Seeing no new Tears of Destruction, Sejun felt a twinge of disappointment.

Moreover, all the other Tears of Destruction had transformed into the Tears of Creation by now.

He gained five extra drops of the Tears of Creation, but Sejun was now the only one working on <Earthworm>.

[Hehe. Sejun-nim, hang in there. Something good will surely happen soon!]

Flame consoled Sejun.

Recently, she had found multiple gaps and was figuring out a way for the Tears of Destruction to reach <Earthworm> safely.

“Thank you, Flame. You’re the best.”

[Hehe.]

Sejun praised Flame, gently patting her.

Thud, thud.

He began planting the Devourer of Destruction Seeds into the ground.

I want to make Sejun-nim happy as soon as possible!

Flame diligently manipulated her roots, guiding the Tears of Destruction through various gaps to create a path devoid of the energy of creation.

While everyone focused on their respective tasks—

Squeak… squeak…

Kamangi began to whimper.

Corruption had appeared.

“Lullaby~ lullaby~ my little puppy~”

Sejun sang a playful lullaby, patting Kamangi’s head, and teasing him as he did so.

Whenever they had the chance, Sejun and Kamangi never missed an opportunity to poke fun at each other.

 

Inside Kamangi’s inner world.

“I forgive you.”

As the final, one-millionth soul forgave the Kamangi family and returned to the world’s energy—

Rumble.

A red aura emerged from the souls, beginning to form into Corruption.

This Corruption was three times larger and stronger than before, perhaps because it was the millionth one.

And then—

–Hehehe. We meet again, betrayed wolf. Are you not afraid of being betrayed once more?

Peering deep into Kamangi’s mind, the Corruption unearthed his secret.

“Grrr. Shut up! Master will burn you to ashes soon!”

Kamangi let out a fierce growl at the Corruption.

Flash.

A golden light descended from the heavens, starting to burn away the Corruption.

–Hehehe. Don’t think this feeble power of the primordial can stop me forever. You know it as well. In the end, you’ll be discarded, so…

This time, it took a while for the Corruption to dissipate.

“Grr… How frustrating.”

Next time, I’ll be sure to tell Master I trust him!

Kamangi, still looking at the spot where the Corruption had vanished, growled, frustrated he hadn’t voiced his trust in Sejun.

 

<Earthworm>

As Kamangi’s whimpers subsided, he opened his eyes.

Then—

Squeak!

[Master! I’m done with my apology!]

Kamangi handed the world’s energy he’d been holding to Sejun.

[World’s Energy Free from Corruption]

Its name had changed, reflecting the complete eradication of Corruption.

Corruption, ever cunning, had hidden its consciousness within the world’s energy in case of failure. This would have allowed it to resurrect eventually, using the world’s energy for rebirth.

But thanks to Sejun and Kamangi’s family, that plan had begun to crumble.

“Kamangi, well done.”

Squeak! Squeak!

[Hehe. Master! The Great Kamangi did well, so hand over the roasted sweet potatoes!]

“Sure.”

Puffed up with pride after Sejun’s praise, Kamangi munched on his roasted sweet potato chips as Sejun continued planting seeds.

Without the other Destruction Sejuns, planting the Devourer of Destruction Seeds alone took a lot more time today.

“Chairman Park, I’m back!”

Squeak!

[Kuengi is back too!]

Theo and Kuengi, who had clocked out early, found Sejun.

“Good job, guys.”

As Sejun patted their heads—

“Heh. Chairman Park, take this! I, Vice Chairman Theo, sold out today!”

Koohehehe. Squeak!

[Hehe. Kuengi gathered five herbs today too!]

Theo and Kuengi handed Sejun their earnings for the day.

“Thanks.”

As Sejun praised them and continued planting the remaining seeds—

[What should I do?!]

Flame encountered another emergency.

Buzz!

[I’ve done it! I’m now a demigod!]

Dalkomi, who had been absorbing Flame’s energy, had become a demigod.

Since Dalkomi could no longer absorb Flame’s energy, Flame’s attention turned to the mushroom ants passing by her roots.

[Hehe. Guys, want some power?]

One mushroom ant god could be handy!

And so, Flame began eyeing the mushroom ants.

Meanwhile, at the Seed Shop Headquarters.

[Honeybee Queen Dalkomi, demigod partner of Black Tower’s Park Sejun, is here to explore her career path.]

“Partner of Mudtap?”

Partner?!

Due to a misunderstanding by the non-combat gods, Dalkomi’s career exploration turned into quite the spectacle.