NoveLight ™
Chapter 625. Hah! Kamangi's Coming After Me!
Inside Jormungandr’s Stomach
"Kee-kee!"
"Don’t worry, everyone. I’ll stay with you until the rescue team arrives."
Sejun reassured the anxious Destruction Devourers who were glancing nervously in his direction. While he and his companions could leave, the Destruction Devourers had to remain behind, and they worried that Sejun might not return.
Three days should be enough, right?
He decided to wait with them until Bepbep could open another portal connecting this place to the Black Tower. Earlier, amidst the chaos, he hadn’t realized it, but Bepbep should be able to make a new dimensional portal here fairly quickly.
Kee-hee-hee! Kking! Kking!
[Hee-hee! Don’t worry, everyone! The great leader Kamangi will never abandon you!]
Kamangi joined in, comforting the Destruction Devourers.
Then—
"Kee-kee!"
"Kee-kee!"
Kking?
[You want to hear the heroic tales of the great Kamangi?]
The Destruction Devourers eagerly requested Kamangi to share his feats.
Kee-hee-hee! Kking! Kking!
[Hee-hee! Alright! Then let me tell you the fresh story of how the great Kamangi defeated our caretaker!]
Kamangi proudly began to brag about his victory over Sejun in the 10th Tower earlier that day.
While the Destruction Devourers were enthralled by Kamangi’s tale—
"Since we’re camping outside tonight…"
Sejun started planning the evening menu, considering the environment.
"Shall we start with some meat?"
To create a camping atmosphere, he set up three fires: one for cooking rice, another for grilling fish for Theo, and a third to heat up a frying pan.
Once the pan was hot enough, he flipped the fish over for an even grill and placed some slime meat on the pan to sizzle.
Just grilling meat alone would feel a bit lacking.
Sizzle.
So he also added sausages, sweet potatoes, potatoes, and onions to the pan.
Going back and forth, he flipped the fish and meat a few times to prevent them from burning. The meal was finally ready.
"Everyone, let’s eat."
Sejun called his companions over.
"Puhuhut."
Kuhehehe.
Kee-hee-hee.
A cheerful, delicious dinner.
After dinner ended—
"Time to make things bigger."
Sejun enlarged a king oyster mushroom to serve as a mattress, pulled out a blanket, and set up their sleeping area.
Theo, Kuengi, and Kamangi’s family watched him from a short distance away.
At that moment—
Kee-hee-hee! Kking!
[Hee-hee! Guys, I beat the caretaker today!]
Kamangi, still thrilled, boasted to Theo and Kuengi about his victory over Sejun in the 10th Tower. He couldn’t get enough of his victory.
“What?! Kamangi, how did you manage to defeat our great hybrid Chairman Park, nyang?”
Kkueng?
Curious, Theo and Kuengi asked him.
Then—
Kee-hee-hee! Kking!
[Hee-hee! Here’s how the great Kamangi did it…]
Kamangi shamelessly confessed to his “crime.”
"Hah! Kamangi’s coming after me, nyang!"
Kkueng!
Kking…
In the end, Kamangi was dragged off for a long-overdue lesson from his older siblings.
A little later—
"Alright, let’s sleep."
Sejun and his companions lay down to rest, and Kamangi soon found himself embroiled in a rematch in his mental world.
"This honey is delicious! Eat this, and I’ll forgive you, little brother!"
Tonight, Kuengi joined in.
Since the Pink Fur incident, Kuengi had developed the ability to create a near-separate consciousness for himself.
And so, another familiar day ended in an unfamiliar place.
The next morning.
“Alright.”
As Sejun woke up...
“Baetbaet! Sejun, you’re awake?!”
Baetbaet greeted Sejun excitedly.
“Huh?! Baetbaet, how...?”
Just as Sejun began to ask...
“Baeth-heh.”
Baetbaet proudly pointed a wing.
There it was—a dimensional portal!
Sejun had assumed it would take Baetbaet three days to create a portal to this place, but he had overlooked one detail.
When a task involves Sejun, his family performs several times better than usual.
“Baetbaet, you did great!”
Placing Baetbaet on his hand, Sejun patted his head.
“Ba-heh-heh. It was all for you, Sejun.”
Baetbaet, delighted by Sejun’s affection, soon dozed off.
Hoisting the sleeping Baetbaet onto his shoulder...
Swoosh.
Baetbaet camouflaged himself and disappeared from sight.
“Aileen, I’m back.”
Sejun crossed the portal and returned to the Black Tower.
[The Tower’s Administrator asks in a worried voice if you’re okay.]
“Yeah. But what happened?”
Sejun asked Aileen. After all, the Great Dragons knew more about the outside world.
[The Tower’s Administrator explains…]
Aileen recounted the story.
The Great Dragons had witnessed an Earthworm bursting from Jormungandr’s mouth, emitting a massive blue aura.
They then enthusiastically hunted down the Doom Tears imbued with the energy of creation.
The coins they earned from the hunt were quickly spent at the Dragon Market, leading to a significant sales boost.
So, Aileen, eager to boast, had waited for Sejun to return.
When Baetbaet returned alone, Aileen had learned that Sejun and his companions were stranded in Jormungandr’s body and anxiously watched over Baetbaet’s portal-making efforts all night.
Although the story omitted everything before that, it was clear Aileen had genuinely worried about him.
Surprisingly, Sejun felt unexpectedly comforted and happy, despite assuming he’d feel burdened by someone caring so much.
Of course, there was some guilt for making Aileen worry.
But rather than feeling indebted, Sejun felt more inclined to return Aileen’s kindness, finding joy in knowing she cared.
The thought of occasionally making her worry even crossed his mind.
However, if the doting Kaiser ever found out about Sejun’s silly idea, Sejun might be in big trouble.
No matter how much he cared for Sejun, Aileen was Kaiser’s absolute priority.
“Aileen, sorry for worrying you.”
[The Tower’s Administrator tells you not to apologize.]
[The Tower’s Administrator thanks you instead for returning safely.]
“Thanks for caring about me.”
As Sejun and Aileen exchanged heartfelt words...
Boom!
Thump. Thump.
A slightly exhausted Pink Fur ran over, having stayed up all night worrying about Kuengi.
“Kueng!”
“I’m here, Mom!”
Kuengi jumped from Sejun’s side and ran to Pink Fur.
The two nuzzled each other, reveling in their reunion.
I miss my mom too.
Watching Kuengi and Pink Fur, Sejun thought of his own mother.
Ace, who had fallen asleep out of worry, rushed over upon hearing of Sejun’s return.
“Thanks for caring about me, too, brother-in-law.”
Sejun comforted the relieved Ace.
“Aileen, what happened with the Earthworm?”
As Ace calmed down, Sejun inquired about the Earthworm’s status, concerned about the Earth Dragons, especially Tohryong.
[The Tower’s Administrator assures you not to worry.]
[The Tower’s Administrator reports that the other elders safely returned the Earthworm to its original place.]
“Good to hear,” Sejun replied, feeling relieved as he began his day on the 99th floor.
“Everyone, breakfast time!”
His first task of the day, naturally, was preparing breakfast.
After they ate...
“Is it time for the Golden Tower now? Artemis, over here.”
Sejun handed Artemis 12 sacred artifacts and 101 pieces of World Energy, instantly meeting four growth requirements for the Golden Tower.
This completed a quest, even without needing full-time deities, and he collected welfare points.
“Alright, I’m off!”
Sejun said goodbye to his companions on the 99th floor.
Step by step, he moved to the waypoint that had recently been relocated near his home, ready to fulfill the remaining conditions for the Golden Tower’s growth.
Shortly after...
[Arrived at the Golden Tower’s 86th floor.]
...
..
.
“Here we are!”
Sejun reached the 86th floor of the Golden Tower, where Daemonka resided.
I’ll relax and work here for a few days.
He planned to take it easy while gathering information at Daemonka.
He’d unknowingly overworked himself at the Silver Tower and worked hard again yesterday.
“Park Sejun, working 100 hours a week is too much.”
Yeah. I deserve a break. Hehehe.
Eager to relax, Sejun finally arrived at Daemonka.
But...
“Huh?!”
His plans unraveled before they even started.
“Biyot!”
[Sejun! Theo! Hello!]
“Uhuhu. Hello!”
“Mohehe. Hello!”
Sejun was greeted by Biyot, Yuren, and Poyo at Daemonka.
This doesn’t feel good...
As Sejun sensed impending trouble...
“Nya?! Chairman Park feels a pull towards Yuren!”
Theo pointed at Yuren with his paw.
Boom!
A massive bolt of lightning struck toward Yuren.
And then...
“I am the fleeting flash that lights the world, the great destroyer, the unfortunate accident, Laton. Misfortune has drawn me here, so today, you shall all perish.”
A bolt of lightning possessed Yuren’s body.
Sadly, Sejun’s ominous feeling was accurate.
Laton was here to weaken the Thunder Qi of the Golden Tower.
With Theo and Yuren’s synergy, things started moving swiftly.
“I can’t catch a break…”
Sejun grumbled as he approached Yuren, carrying Kuengi in his arms.
“Kuengi, whack him with the Thunder Club.”
“Kueng!”
[Got it!]
Kuengi pulled out the Thunder Club.
Whack!
“You! Ugh!”
Thwack! Thwack!
“How dare you...”
He began pounding Yuren—or rather, the Laton possessing him.
After a while...
“Kwaaak!”
Amid Yuren’s occasional cries of awareness...
Sizzle.
Unable to withstand Kuengi’s exorcism, Laton finally emerged as a yellow orb from Yuren’s body.
Slurp.
And once again, Kuengi devoured him.
“Kuengi, you alright?”
“Kuhe-hehe. Kueng!”
[Hehe. It’s a bit like a zesty lemon.]
“Uh... Right.”
I didn’t ask about the flavor, but it was lemon, huh...
And so, with Kuengi’s one-line flavor review, Laton was no more.
[Herb Specialist Park Kuengi has defeated Laton, the fleeting flash, great destroyer, and unfortunate accident.]
[Herb Specialist Park Kuengi has gained 1,500 billion experience points, half of the total XP earned.]
Sejun received some experience points.
“Mohehe. Delicious!”
Lick. Lick. Lick.
Meanwhile, Poyo, the misfortune-eating sand fairy, lapped up Yuren’s well-aged misfortune.
“There’s still one condition left for the Golden Tower...”
Sejun hadn’t given up on recuperating at Daemonka.
Then...
[Sejun, it’s ready! This is it! Time for the World Tree!]
[Yes!]
Blaze #101, with 0.499% of Blaze’s power, provided nutrients to a candidate lemon tree on the Golden Tower’s 67th floor, birthing a new World Tree.
Unaware of this, Sejun...
“Sejun, shall we have lunch now?”
“Hehehe. Sure.”
As he lounged in a room prepared by Daemonka’s master Yuto, he got up for lunch.
[The Golden Tower’s administrator says thank you for your hard work.]
“Huh?”
For what...?
‘Huh?! Why the Golden Tower?’
Sejun belatedly realized that the Golden Tower had ascended to Great Tower status.
[The Golden Tower’s administrator says this is the promised reward.]
“Thank you.”
Of course, he wasn’t upset about receiving the reward.
But what just happened?
There was a slight sense of unease.
‘Now I’ll have to head to the Brown Tower.’
He was a bit disappointed that his relaxation time had vanished.
Blatantly slacking off didn’t suit Sejun’s nature.
So, after a quick lunch at Daemonka, he returned to the Black Tower within three hours.
“Sejun’s a true powerhouse! Great Tower, cleared in 3 hours!”
“What?! 3 hours?!”
Once again, Sejun’s abilities were acknowledged by the Great Dragons.
And...
“Kek-kek-kek! Sejun’s coming soon! Prepare the food quickly!”
Orik, the tower farmer of the Brown Tower, prepared traditional Red Goblin cuisine, eagerly awaiting Sejun.
“This feels ominous...”
Once again, Sejun’s sense of foreboding wasn’t wrong.