Chapter 613: It’s a Total Wipeout, Nya!

Forest of Creation.

“Candidate of the Tree of Creation, you’ve successfully nurtured a dimensional tree. You’ve passed the third trial as well.”

[Yes… does this mean I’ll finally become the Tree of Creation?]

With his leaves drooping and a forlorn voice, Flame asked the Statue of Trials.

“Not a chance.”

[What?!]

“Did you really think becoming the Tree of Creation would be that easy?! There are still more trials to complete!”

The Statue of Trials sternly reprimanded Flame for assuming he could become the Tree of Creation so effortlessly.

[Oh! Y-yes! I also think it shouldn’t be easy to become the Tree of Creation!]

Yes! There are more than three trials!

Flame’s voice brightened considerably.

“That’s right. Becoming the Tree of Creation isn’t so simple. Two more trials remain.”

[So, will the next trial involve sealing my power again?!]

Thinking of sealing his power so he could visit Sejun, Flame asked eagerly.

“No, there will be no more seals.”

[What?! Why not?! Why?! Sealing my power makes the trial more challenging, doesn’t it? Didn’t you say it shouldn’t be easy to become the Tree of Creation?!]

Flame protested to the Statue of Trials, which had suddenly changed its stance.

Because you’ve grown too powerful!

Unable to admit the truth, the Statue of Trials felt wronged. Originally, sealing was indeed the plan, but Flame had grown too strong to be sealed. Even this time, the seal had nearly broken midway through.

Without knowing it, Sejun had narrowly escaped death multiple times.

“Candidate of the Tree of Creation, don’t worry. I’ll raise the difficulty of the trial by other means.”

The statue replied, appreciating Flame’s eagerness for a more challenging trial.

[How will you do that?]

Flame’s curiosity sparked again.

“First, you’ll need to learn something before the next trial.”

[Learn something?]

“Yes. You’ll learn the art of creating an Avatar.”

Usually, one learns this after becoming the Tree of Creation, but… you’re practically a shoo-in.

The statue thought it wouldn’t hurt to teach Flame a few techniques that the Tree of Creation would need to know anyway. After all, there were no other candidates, and Flame was already the most powerful potential Tree of Creation.

[An Avatar?]

“Indeed. It’s like a clone that contains a portion of your power.”

[Oh?!]

A clone of myself?!

Flame imagined playing with Sejun every day through his clone.

[Hehe. Please teach me right away!]

“Very well.”

Flame eagerly began learning the method of creating an Avatar from the Statue of Trials.

 

Morning on Floor 99 of the Black Tower.

Sejun was busy in the kitchen, preparing food.

He had already made breakfast, and now he was working on lunch—a picnic lunch of kimbap for their return to the sea on Blue Tower’s Floor 77.

He laid out a bamboo mat, placed a sheet of seaweed on it, spread a thin layer of rice, and added egg strips, sliced carrots, cucumbers, spinach, burdock, crayfish meat, and pickled radish substitute.

For a crunchier texture, he used only the skin of the cucumber, and since he had no pickled radish, he made seasoned radish instead.

Remembering his mom’s makeshift kimbap recipe, he chuckled.

“Hehe. Is this our family’s secret recipe?”

Sejun thought it was an original dish created by his mother, but in fact, it was a famous recipe from Chef Baek, who ran several franchise restaurants.

Oblivious, he held up a piece.

“Kuengi, say ahh. This is our family’s secret radish-kimbap recipe.”

After brushing sesame oil on the outside, he sliced off the end piece and popped it into Kuengi’s mouth.

Kueng!

[It’s delicious!]

Kuengi beamed as he chewed, wiggling with joy.

Our family’s secret recipe! Kuengi will carry it on!

Kueng?

[Dad, how do you make this seasoned radish?]

“Well…”

Fueled by determination to master the family recipe, Kuengi peppered Sejun with questions.

After answering Kuengi’s questions, Sejun rolled up hundreds of kimbap rolls.

“Aylin, take these.”

“Brother-in-law, share them with the Four Dragons and Five Dragons grandpas, and enjoy them yourself too.”

After handing out kimbap to Aylin and other dragons, Sejun and his companions had their breakfast.

Then,

“Alright. Let’s go!”

With their lunch packed, Sejun and his companions returned to Blue Tower’s Floor 77 to resume the search for the Creator’s monument.

[Arrived at Floor 77 of the Blue Tower.]

…

Arriving on Blue Tower’s Floor 77,

“What?!”

“Nya?! The Great Hybrid Chairman Park, our Gemstone Pen Shell is gone, nya!”

“Teosson, it’s a theft case.”

They were greeted with a case of theft.

“Everyone, look around and see if anything seems suspicious.”

Sejun instructed his companions.

“Puhuhu. Got it, nya! Leave it to Detective Teosson of Sherlock Sejun’s team, nya!”

Khehehe. Kueng!

[Khehehe. Detective Kunan will also look for evidence!]

Kehihit! Ngh!

[Heh! Caretaker! The Great Kamangi will catch the thief!]

Theo, Kuengi, and Kamangi’s family began searching for clues to the thief who had stolen the Gemstone Pen Shell.

“Did they take anything else?”

Sejun looked around for other missing items and then—

“What?!”

My seaweed!

He noticed the seaweed he had carefully dried on a rock was also missing.

“Who steals dried seaweed? It takes hours to dry…”

Grumbling, Sejun started drying more seaweed on the rock.

A short while later,

Da-da-da.

Ngh!

[Caretaker!]

Kamangi came rushing over, calling for Sejun.

“Kamangi, did you find something?”

Ngh! Ngh!

[No! That’s not important!]

“Then what is it?”

Ngh? Ngh?

[Caretaker! What was the Great Kamangi’s name again? Was it Detective Kabangi?]

“Detective Goofy.”

Ngh?! Ngh?

[Huh?! Was that it?]

Kamangi tilted his head in confusion, unaware that Sejun was teasing him.

Then,

“Puhuhu. The loyal assistant of Detective Sherlock Sejun, Teosson, has found evidence, nya!”

Theo came back with a single blue hair.

Sniff. Sniff.

Kueng!

[The scent trail leads this way!]

Kuengi sniffed the hair and began following the scent trail.

However,

Kueng…

[The scent ends here…]

Being near the ocean made it impossible to track further.

“Looks like we’ll need some help. Lord Kin, please assist us.”

Recalling Kin’s offer to help if needed, Sejun decided to ask for assistance from the Great Blue Dragon Kin.

Then,

–Track down everyone who visited Floor 77 of the tower from last night to this morning!

Upon receiving Sejun’s request, the Great Blue Dragon Kin Aster issued an order that echoed across every floor of the Blue Tower.

The Merchant Guild of the Blue Tower was especially rattled, as the thief had likely used one of their trade routes to move between floors.

While the bosses and wandering merchants on each floor searched for the Pen Shell thief, Sejun and his companions spent the rest of the morning scouring the ocean for the Creator’s monument.

But,

“Why can’t I find it?”

Once again, they found nothing.

“He specifically said to look beneath the ocean…”

Mulling over the Creator’s words, Sejun surfaced to prepare lunch.

Hehe. Kimbap tastes better with hot soup.

He put a pot of water on and opened a packet of ramen.

Kimbap and ramen.

The perfect combination.

“To us.”

Sejun smiled at his companions.

Khehehe. Kueng!

[Khehehe. Dad, you’re a genius!]

Amazed by the kimbap and ramen combo, Kuengi praised Sejun yet again.

After their surprisingly satisfying lunch,

“Ah, this is nice.”

Sejun lay back on a sunbed, sipping his coffee.

Then,

“Puhuhu.”

Khehehe.

Theo and Kuengi climbed onto Sejun and settled in comfortably.

Meanwhile,

Purr.

Kamangi slept nearby, clutching a piece of roasted sweet potato jerky in his mouth.

“Kamangi might get cold out here.”

The sea breeze was biting, and Sejun’s playful side kicked in.

He piled a thick blanket of sand over Kamangi and returned to his sunbed, pretending to know nothing.

A little while later,

Ngh… Ngh…

Kamangi woke up, wriggling out of the sand.

Ngh?! Ngh?! Ngh!

[Who did this to the Great Kamangi?! Detective Kapangi will find the culprit!]

He immediately set out to investigate but was quickly distracted when Sejun held out more sweet potato jerky.

“Kamangi, want some sweet potato jerky?”

Ngh!

The mystery forgotten, Kamangi was lost in his favorite treat.

Just as Sejun and his companions were enjoying this peaceful time,

“Master Sejun, we’ve found something!”

The tower farmer of Blue Tower, Jelga, arrived with a lead on the Gemstone Pen Shell thief.

“So you saw a ship carrying a large item from Floor 77 moving to Floor 82?”

“Yes.”

Luckily, Floor 82 was a floor Sejun had previously registered as a waypoint when searching for the Creator’s monument.

I was already annoyed from not finding the monument. Now I have something to take my frustration out on.

“Let’s go, everyone!”

Sejun and his companions set off for Floor 82 of the Blue Tower to catch the Gemstone Pen Shell thief.

 

Port Town of Marchio on Blue Tower’s Floor 82.

“Carefully move it!”

A giant Gemstone Pen Shell was being carried into the largest mansion in Marchio.

Meanwhile,

“What’s that thing?”

Bozel, a merchant of the Blue Tower, watched the shell being brought into his mansion from the window and asked his subordinate, Tobas.

“Hehe. Some fool only ate the muscle and left the shell.”

“Really? There’s a fool who’d leave a Gemstone Pen Shell like that?”

Bozel’s voice was skeptical.

In Bozel’s merchant group, Tobas was known as “Empty-Handed Tobas” because most of his trading expeditions yielded little profit.

Bozel kept assigning Tobas tasks, believing his diligence would eventually pay off. But now that Tobas had struck gold, Bozel felt uneasy.

“Yes. Oh, try this. I also grabbed some dried seaweed they were seasoning nearby. It’s delicious with this sauce.”

Tobas dipped a piece of the stolen dried seaweed in Sejun’s soy sauce and offered it to Bozel, unaware that the seasoning was also missing.

“Tobas, if you knew someone was drying this, didn’t it occur to you that they might come back?!”

Realizing Tobas’s blunder, Bozel scolded him.

“Go return that Gemstone Pen Shell and apologize!”

“Yes…”

Thinking he’d finally gained Bozel’s approval, Tobas deflated and turned to leave the room.

And then,

“Heh. Gotcha.”

“Puhuhu. Sherlock Sejun’s assistant Teosson is amazing, nya! It’s a total wipeout, nya!”

Sejun and Theo were grinning as they caught Tobas—and Bozel, who stood behind him.

A little while later,

Stamp.

Theo stamped Bozel, the Blue Tower merchant, with his paw, casting his lot with Sejun Company.

Then,

“Puhuhu. From now on, Bozel, you’ll oversee Sejun Company’s Blue Tower branch, nya! If you need help, reach out to the boss on Floor 99 or to Jelga, nya!”

“Yes! I will work hard!”

Bozel now had connections with the tower’s strongest.

After reclaiming the Gemstone Pen Shell and raiding half of Bozel’s treasure stash, Sejun and his companions feasted on a hearty dinner.

“Mind if we use your kitchen?”

“Puhuhu. Chairman Park, please grill some fish, nya!”

“Alright. I’ll make myself at home.”

Treating Bozel’s mansion as their own, they stayed for dinner.

Then,

“Let’s head back.”

They returned to Floor 77 of the Blue Tower and resumed searching the dark ocean.

They swam in the pitch-black sea, mostly to digest their meal.

As they swam through the murky depths,

“Hm?”

Sejun spotted a faint light coming from the ocean floor in the distance.