Chapter 614: Show Your Sincerity, Nya!

 

Red Tower Administrator’s Domain

Flash!

[All eight growth requirements for the Red Tower have been met.]

[The Red Tower has begun its transformation into the Crimson Tower.]

[Time until full growth of the Crimson Tower: 10,000 days remaining.]

[Five additional world trees have been successfully cultivated for the Crimson Tower.]

[Reducing the time needed for growth by 5,000 days.]

…

A golden light shimmered from the crystal sphere as the Red Tower began its transformation into the Crimson Tower.

“Hahaha! We did it!”

Red Tower Administrator Lamter cheered loudly at the sight of the messages in the crystal sphere. Of the nine towers—Black, Blue, White, Green, and Red—four had already completed their transformations.

Although a bit delayed, it wasn’t too late. They were the fifth to transform, putting them right in the middle of the other towers still awaiting their growth.

"Thank you, Sejun."

Lamter thought gratefully of Sejun, who had contributed the most to the Red Tower’s progress.

Thanks to Flame, Red Bean and seven other world trees had thrived within the Red Tower, exceeding the requirement for cultivating three world trees.

Recently, Theo had also sold divine artifacts from the tower, allowing them to exceed the goal of collecting three sacred artifacts.

On top of that, Sejun’s watermelon wine had reduced the tower’s intense energy level to 55%, surpassing the goal of keeping it below 70%.

And the feat of eradicating the Locusts, achieved with Sejun’s giant green onion, counted as an “Epic Achievement,” fulfilling yet another goal.

Each achievement beyond the set requirements counted as double, meaning Sejun’s family had completed seven of the eight growth conditions needed for the tower.

The last goal had been completed by Wudon, who achieved B-rank tower farmer status.

He truly is something.

"I should give him a worthy gift."

Crack.

Lamter snapped off a piece of his own horn to create a token of gratitude for Sejun’s invaluable help in the Crimson Tower’s growth.

 

Blue Tower, Floor 77

As Sejun swam closer to the glowing light, he noticed a small passageway partially hidden under sand beneath a large rock.

“There was something like this here?”

Without the light, it would have been nearly impossible to locate.

“Could the Creator’s monument be down there?”

Sejun brushed aside the sand and crawled into the passageway.

“Huh?!”

A bright light emerged from deep within a trench, as if a massive, sunlit cliff had been turned upside down.

Guess I’ll go down and check.

Picking up a nearby rock, Sejun leaped into the trench, his group following him as they rapidly descended.

However,

This is taking forever.

The trench was so deep that even after 30 minutes, they hadn’t even reached halfway.

“Kuengi.”

Kueng!

With Kuengi’s help, they finally reached the bottom, thanks to telekinetic power.

“It’s really bright down here.”

They found the source of the light—a radiant passageway at the trench’s bottom.

“What could be down there?”

Sejun, trusting his companions, was about to enter the passageway fearlessly.

Just then,

[A Sphere of Fraud warns of imminent danger.]

The Sphere of Fraud spelled out a foreboding red message, warning Sejun.

A deadly threat, even with my companions?!

A chill ran down Sejun’s spine as he sensed the formidable power lurking ahead.

But it was actually a misunderstanding.

“Be careful, Chairman! This area leads to the Dimensional Sea, nya!”

The Sphere of Fraud’s warning was because crossing through the passage would lead straight into the Dimensional Sea.

“Oh, right.”

Remembering the warnings he’d received from the dragons, Sejun quickly backed away.

He picked up a rock from the ground and threw it into the passage.

Crash!

Massive jaws snapped shut, shattering the rock to pieces.

“That…!”

Sejun realized the source of the light.

An anglerfish?

It was a massive anglerfish with a glowing lure on its head, using its light to attract prey.

Then,

“Nya?! Chairman, I feel a strong attraction toward that giant fish! Please catch it for me, nya!”

Feeling an intense pull, Theo gazed at the anglerfish.

“Really?”

Could it be that the fish had swallowed the Creator’s monument?

The anglerfish might have swallowed the monument when it fell into the trench, which explained why Theo’s golden paw hadn’t been able to locate it.

After all, the trench was deep, and the fish likely only hunted there at night.

“Everyone, it’s fishing time! Whoever catches it first wins!”

As Sejun pointed at the giant anglerfish, his companions cheered.

“Puhuhu! Fine, nya! I, Vice Chairman Theo, will catch that giant fish, nya!”

Khehehe. Kueng!

[Khehehe. Kuengi is pretty good at fishing now!]

Kihihit. Ngh!

[Hehe! Come on, Kabulto, get ready!]

Theo, Kuengi, and Kamangi’s family pulled out their fishing rods.

After their experience ice fishing on Floor 89, Sejun had ordered stronger fishing rods made of dragon scales with high elasticity.

Sejun had even sent one of these dragon-scale fishing rods to his fishing-loving father, Park Chun-ho. Whenever he went to fishing spots, he basked in the admiration of others—until he went out fishing every weekend and eventually had his rod confiscated by his wife, Kim Miran, who had had enough.

“All right, let’s begin!”

“Nya!”

Kueng!

Ngh!

At Sejun’s signal, everyone cast their lines toward the anglerfish, which began reacting to the bait.

The bait it went for was…

Yol-yol! Yol-yol!

[I’m gonna get eaten! Great Kamangi, hurry, pull me up!]

Kamangi’s youngest, Kabulto, was wriggling at the end of the line.

But bait’s job is to be eaten.

Ngh!

[Kabulto, get inside fast!]

Kamangi urged Kabulto to dive into the anglerfish’s mouth.

Yol-yol…

[Okay…]

Reluctantly, Kabulto sped toward the anglerfish’s maw, tears in his eyes.

Life was tough for the youngest of the Kamangi family.

Boom!

Luckily, Kabulto slipped into the anglerfish’s belly unharmed.

Ngh!

[Pull!]

The Kamangi family pulled with all their might, but the anglerfish didn’t budge.

Instead, it started retreating, pulling the Kamangi family with it.

“Ngh?!”

As they were being dragged, Sejun abandoned his own rod and grabbed onto the Kamangi family.

“Nya!”

Kueng!

Theo and Kuengi dropped their rods and rushed to help as well.

Once they were all on one rod,

Whoosh.

The giant anglerfish yanked them all forward with a powerful twist of its head.

And,

“What?!”

“Nya?!”

Kueng?!

Ngh?!

Like fish caught on a hook, Sejun and his companions were sucked into the anglerfish’s mouth.

The master of bait-and-switch, the anglerfish, had outsmarted them all.

 

“Did we get eaten?”

“Puhuhu! Looks like it, nya!”

Theo answered cheerfully, feeling safe as long as he was with Sejun.

As Sejun and Theo conversed,

Yol-yol!

[Great Kamangi, you’ve come to rescue me!]

Kabulto, thinking Kamangi had come to save him, was moved to tears.

“Let’s find the monument first.”

Sejun rallied his companions and began exploring the anglerfish’s belly.

As they wandered through the fish’s stomach,

“Chairman, the pull is strongest over here, nya!”

Theo pointed to a pool of acidic digestive fluid.

“Underneath there? Kuengi.”

Kueng!

In response, Kuengi used telekinesis to part the fluid.

Like a miraculous parting of the sea, the fluid split, revealing the bottom of the stomach and its contents.

Most items were heavily damaged by the acid, but a few remained intact.

[Soul-Severing Black Fang]

[Unyielding Iron Wall]

[Fragment of Mana Stream]

…

Only rare, powerful items had survived.

“Hehe. Vice Chairman, let’s gather these.”

“Puhuhu. Good idea, nya!”

Sejun and his companions eagerly gathered the valuable items from the stomach floor.

Finally,

“I found it!”

The Creator’s monument was revealed at last.

Then,

Sway.

The stomach fluid suddenly surged, as the giant anglerfish began to swim away from the passage connecting to Floor 77.

 

Forest of Creation

“Alright, that’s enough.”

The Statue of Trials spoke as it observed the Avatar Flame had created.

But,

[Not yet! I can go even weaker!]

Flame refused to give up.

It wasn’t that Flame hadn’t mastered the technique taught by the statue.

“A 5% power Avatar is enough for the trial.”

[No! I need an even weaker Avatar!]

He was simply more dedicated than necessary.

This candidate is taking the trial very seriously.

The Statue of Trials watched Flame with admiration.

However,

I can’t be with Sejun unless it’s an extremely weak Avatar!

Flame’s only thought was to create an Avatar weak enough to accompany Sejun.

What Flame wanted was an Avatar with only one-trillionth of his power.

He still had a long way to go.

Just as Flame was tirelessly working on the Avatar,

[Huh?!]

Sejun is in danger!

Through the mystical connection, Flame sensed Sejun’s peril.

Sejun’s in the Dimensional Sea?!

Though confused, Flame knew he had to return Sejun to the tower safely.

Boom!

Flame moved his roots in a hurry.

 

Dimensional Sea

Rumble.

A massive current suddenly surged, sweeping everything in its path.

The giant anglerfish, which was about to move, was helplessly caught in the current and pushed toward the passageway back to Floor 77.

Swept along, the anglerfish was pushed from the depths of the trench, through the sea, and back up through the air.

Across multiple floors linked to the Dimensional Sea, currents were reversing, each floor’s sea forced to flow backward.

A little later,

Thud.

The current weakened, and the anglerfish fell onto a rocky islet.

“Ugh!”

Sejun and his companions tumbled out of its mouth from the impact.

“Huh?! Where are we?”

Floor 77 of the Blue Tower?

Quickly regaining his senses, Sejun looked around in confusion. He’d been in the deepest part of a trench but now found himself on the surface.

“What just happened?”

Bewildered, Sejun tried to figure it out.

Puhuhu! Thank you, Flame, nya!

Khehehe. Thanks, Sister Flame!

Theo and Kuengi expressed their gratitude toward Flame.

Kihihit. Ngh!

[Hehe. Great Kamangi has won!]

Kamangi, already perched on the anglerfish, declared his victory.

Soon after,

“Kin, what does this say?”

Sejun asked Kin about the inscription on the Creator’s monument.

[Seven Commandments: When all tower farmers are gathered, the abilities of all tower farmers will increase.]

They deciphered the message on the monument.

Everyone’s abilities will increase if they gather?

“I’m not the only one who gets stronger?”

Feeling slightly disappointed, Sejun sighed.

“All right, let’s head back.”

Sejun gathered the Creator’s monument and returned to the Black Tower. Of course, he paid Kin for the monument with watermelon wine and transcendent black beans.

Upon his return to the Black Tower,

“Sejun, I need your help!”

Tyr called out for assistance.

“Huh? What do you need help with?”

“Sejun, I want you to help transform the Violet Tower into the Violet Spire.”

The Violet Tower was the only one in the Dragon Society that hadn’t transformed into a tower yet.

Furthermore, they risked becoming the last of the nine towers to transform.

Then,

“Puhuhu. Tyr, if you want the help of our great hybrid Chairman Park, show your sincerity, nya!”

Perched on Sejun’s knee, Theo confidently extended a paw toward Tyr, demanding tribute.