Chapter 636: Oh My, Our Kamangi's Face Has Really Gone Sour?

 

Temple of the Creator God

With a soft flowing sound, the Creator God was assembling beads to complete a painting again today.

At that moment…

"Huh...?"

Looking at a picture that was nearly 80% complete, the Creator God was taken aback. Within the painting was an image of himself, locked in a contest with the next Creator God, each racing to complete their own puzzle.

It was clearly an important memory... but…

"But this… I actually lost this one..."

Recalling the scene, the Creator God remembered the outcome. He had indeed won at the time—so why did this painting exist?

What was the purpose here?

The next Creator God's intentions were unclear, especially with only a painting to go by. Yet one thing was certain: this memory, this incident, seemed to have had a huge impact on the next Creator God's descent into darkness.

<Bix>

"Purr-haha! Chairman Park, we're off, nya!"

"Queng!"

[Queng will be back soon!]

As soon as Theo and Queng finished speaking, loud explosions resounded from the direction of the oncoming disaster horde charging towards the city walls.

The two reached the enemy formation in an instant and began wreaking havoc.

"Follow Lord Theo!"

"Follow Lord Queng!"

The citizens of the city-state Mepol threw open the gates and charged out as well. Just moments before, two ogres that Theo had defeated were attacking Mepol's walls.

After fending off the ogres, Sejun and his group had received a warm welcome and royal treatment from Mepol's king, Messius. However, when five more ogres advanced toward Mepol with disasters in tow, Theo and Queng had taken it upon themselves to handle the crisis.

In Bix, a world without vast nations and composed primarily of city-states, Theo’s and Queng's swift actions brought a sense of relief to the people.

Kik-kik, squeak!

[Haha! Follow the Great Commander Kamangi!]

Kamangi eagerly joined the Mepol citizens, playing the part of a commander.

A little later…

[Once again, without lifting a finger, Chairman Park Theo and Senior Herb Specialist Park Queng have claimed half the experience points from the vanquished disasters—quite the accomplishment!]

[You have acquired a total of 531.231 billion experience points.]

System 371 once again prodded Sejun's patience.

"Isn't this enough to raise my popularity all the way up? I shouldn't have to worry about impeachment anymore, right?"

Unaware that Sejun's animosity was rising steadily, System 371 contentedly celebrated alone.

"Everyone, great job. Now let's load everything into the spatial storage."

"Purr-haha! Got it, nya!"

"Queng!"

Sejun and his companions collected the bodies of the disasters and returned to Mepol.

"Messius, would you like to purchase our Disaster Eradication Package?"

"Purr-haha! If you have any dignity, you should buy it, nya!"

Kuhe-hehe. Queng! Queng!

[Hehe. Anything Dad sells is good! If you don’t buy it, Queng will be angry!]

Sejun’s team had started their sales pitch in earnest.

For the first disaster, the Locust, they offered sturdy-bladed green onions and detoxifying green onions.

For the second disaster, the Giant Bloodsucking Leech, they suggested a wine made from a life-imbued, fragrant grape.

For the third disaster, the Fire Moth, they recommended sticky corn to drive them away.

Unfortunately, they didn't have specific counter crops for the fourth and fifth disasters, the Petrified Spider and the Slime. Instead, they suggested using some specially ripened pineapples and blazing cherries as explosive weapons.

Though the inhabitants of Bix, an 8th-level world, had enough ability to handle up to the fifth disaster, the sheer number was the real problem. The disasters continued to devour all the available food, increasing in number at an alarming rate.

"G-got it! I’ll buy everything!"

Whether persuaded by Sejun’s salesmanship or Theo and Queng’s subtle threats, Messius purchased the entire package without a second thought.

After selling the necessary crops to defeat the disasters, Sejun offered, "Now, I’m selling some food."

"Purr-haha! Buy our magnificent Chairman Park's food, nya!"

Kuhe-hehe. Queng!

[Hehe. Dad’s cooking is delicious!]

Theo and Queng helped advertise Sejun's dishes, attracting customers.

Growl, squeak!

[If you try to buy roasted sweet potato strips, the Great Commander Kamangi will not let it slide!]

Meanwhile, Kamangi’s family growled at anyone approaching the roasted sweet potato strips, making it nearly impossible to buy them.

"I’ll take the spicy stir-fried chicken, please."

"Ah, the minimum price for a dish made from the first disaster, the Locust, starts at 10,000 Tower Coins. It has a stat-boosting effect."

"Ten thousand?! That’s too expensive…"

"Hiss! The price of our Great Hybrid Chairman Park’s food is more than fair, nya! Buy it quickly, nya!"

"…Alright. Here you go."

Although there was a bit of coercion, Sejun earned some money, and the Mepol citizens gained both safety from the disasters and strength, so it was a win-win situation.

As Sejun continued to sell the Disaster Eradication Package and disaster dishes in Mepol, evening fell, and he and his companions retired to the rooms provided by Messius to rest up for the next battle.

 

Kamangi's Mindscape

"Guys, have a bite and forgive my little ones here, okay?"

Sejun handed roasted sweet potato strips to the spirits from the world energy, asking forgiveness for Kamangi's family.

"I’m really sorry."

"Sorry."

Kamangi's family sincerely followed Sejun, apologizing wholeheartedly.

"Purr-haha! Forgive us after eating our Great Hybrid Chairman’s grilled fish, nya!"

"Eat this honey and forgive us!"

Theo and Queng joined in to help Kamangi’s family earn forgiveness.

"Alright, we forgive you. Just give us one more serving of that."

"I forgive you too. I’d like one more grilled fish…"

Thanks to Sejun and his companions' efforts, the spirits forgave Kamangi’s family, and the aura of corruption dissipated from the spirits, vanishing under Sejun’s watchful gaze.

Then…

Gurgle.

One remnant of corruption, forming its own shape, appeared under Sejun’s gaze.

But then…

Fwoosh!

Sejun's eyes glowed fiercely in a golden hue, and…

Fwoosh.

Kyaaah!

The corrupt spirit screamed in agony as it burned away. Unlike before, Sejun had now acquired the power to eliminate powerful corrupt spirits, a gift from the Creator God's will.

"Purr-haha! Acting all tough, huh."

Sejun puffed up proudly after eradicating the corruption.

"Nya?!"

Normally, Theo would have charged right over to tease him for his smugness, but this time, he stared blankly at Sejun.

Chairman Park, you look so cool, nya!

Was it that Sejun had become cooler? Or had Theo's standards dropped? No one could say for sure.

As Sejun continued apologizing to the spirits without any further threats from corruption…

Rumble.

Click.

The door to the room where Sejun and his companions were sleeping creaked open.

"Your Majesty, they’re all asleep."

King Messius of the city-state Mepol entered quietly with his subordinates.

"Good. Are you sure they're asleep?"

"Yes, we’ve dispersed enough sedative to put down even large beasts, so they won’t wake for days."

"Alright. Prepare the servant contract magic."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Messius intended to cast a servitude spell on Theo and Queng to make them his subordinates, thereby securing his power and protecting Mepol.

To that end, he had treated Sejun and his companions lavishly to lull them into a false sense of security.

However, Messius had overlooked something important.

Just as the saying goes, "Theo hears daytime gossip, and Bebet hears nighttime plans."

(Bebet: Excuse me, but did I just hear you say you intend to cast a servitude contract on our Sejun?!)

Standing guard by Sejun’s side, Bebet glared at Messius.

"It’s none of your concern. Take it down quietly."

Underestimating Bebet's small appearance, Messius ignored her.

"Yes, Wind Press."

"Paralyze."

"Slow."

Following Messius's orders, the wizards cast spells on Bebet.

But Bebet’s skin was that of a mighty golden dragon, with high resistance to magic, so the spells had no effect.

(Beb-bop! Beb-bop!)

With a powerful body slam, Bebet knocked them all unconscious.

(Bebet! Time to stamp! I’ve always wanted to do this! Hee-hee.)

Bebet eagerly stamped her paw on the foreheads of Messius and his men. Of course, it had no actual effect.

 

The Next Morning

"Ugh. Huh?!"

As Sejun woke up, he spotted Messius and his subordinates, tied up and fast asleep.

"What are they… doing here?"

As Sejun was puzzled…

(Bebet: Sejun, these guys tried to enslave you with a servant contract! They're bad people!)

"A servant contract?"

They tried to make me a slave?!

Sejun seethed with anger at Bebet’s revelation.

From Messius’s perspective, however, it was a bit unjust. The servant contract was a high-resource spell, and he hadn’t considered it necessary for Sejun and Kamangi's family, whom he thought were easy enough to handle.

Moments later…

"Hiss! Hiss! Hiss! How dare they try to enslave our great Hybrid Chairman Park?! Unforgivable, nya!"

Theo fumed, unleashing his three-stage hiss and then stamping his paw on Messius and his subordinates' foreheads.

And thus, Messius and his subordinates became full-time employees of Sejun Company.

"You’ll be permanent rookies from now on, nya!"

Theo added the punishment of relegating them to permanent rookie status.

It seemed that enslaving Sejun had angered him more than targeting his life.

"Vice-President Theo, that might be a bit harsh."

"Is it, nya?! Alright, just rookies for a hundred years, nya!"

Thanks to Sejun’s intervention, their rookie period was reduced from a lifetime to a hundred years.

With Messius now an employee of Sejun Company…

"Purr-haha! Messius, lead us to the treasure vault, nya!"

"Y-yes…"

Theo boldly raided Messius’s assets.

"Hehe. Let's see what’s in here."

"Purr-haha! Chairman Park, let’s grab everything valuable, nya!"

"Of course."

And so, Sejun and his family extended their stay in Bix for another week.

 

Five Days Later

"Is that the last one?"

Looking at the three planet-destroying turtles in the distance, Sejun muttered.

"Purr-haha! Seems like it, nya! Queng, go fetch them, nya!"

"Queng!"

Queng flew over to the planet-destroying turtles, who immediately shrank in size and groveled at the claws of the doom-bringer, Queng.

As the battle ended…

Kik-kik, squeak!

[Hee-hee! All thanks to the Great Commander Kamangi!]

Kamangi strutted proudly.

"Oh my, our Kamangi's face has really gone sour!"

Sejun teased as he gently squeezed Kamangi's chubby cheeks.

Squeak, squeak!

[No way! Great Kamangi's face isn't sour!]

Kamangi barked in protest, determinedly denying it.

After a while…

"Let’s head back."

Gathering his companions, Sejun returned to the Black Tower.

[You have arrived on the 99th floor of the Black Tower.]

 

"Hmm, there were fewer disasters than I thought."

Only half the spatial storage was full.

I want to become a landlord quickly…

Slightly disappointed by the limited harvest, Sejun muttered.

"Aileen, I’m back."

He announced his return to Aileen.

[The tower administrator says she’s relieved you returned safely.]

[The tower administrator says you've done well and that other leaders are waiting for you.]

"The leaders?"

[The tower administrator says they’ll be coming to meet you soon.]

As Sejun continued his conversation with Aileen…

Flap, flap.

Dragons from the Yellow Dragon Society and Red Dragon Society flew toward him.

Then…

-Sejun, come to our Golden Tower and handle the disasters, will you?

-Our Red Tower could use your help too…

-Our White Tower as well…

The great dragons requested Sejun’s aid in eliminating the disasters infiltrating their respective tower worlds. Without Sejun's help, disaster eradication would take longer and the risk of destruction would increase.

"Hehe. Of course, I’ll handle it."

Thankfully, there seemed to be plenty more disasters left to take care of.