Chapter 637: Member Kamangi, Starting Today, You’re on a Diet

 

Black Tower’s 99th Floor at Dawn

With a loud stretch, Sejun greeted the new day.

Flap, flap.

(Bebet: Good morning, Master Sejun!)

Bebet fluttered over quickly to greet him.

“Oh, Bebet, what were you up to?”

(Bebet: I soaked the seaweed!)

“What?! Really?! I totally forgot about that... Ah, there's no one like my Bebet!”

Sejun praised Bebet with an exaggerated reaction, and Bebet beamed as he hopped into Sejun’s hand, who patted him fondly.

Purr.

Bebet quickly fell asleep under Sejun’s gentle touch.

"Thanks to Bebet saving me some time, I should check on the Anchor Tear."

"Meow…"

Sejun gathered up Theo and transported to Jormungandr’s stomach to visually confirm that the Giant Tear of Doom was intact.

“So, Vice-President Theo, what do you think?”

Sejun stretched out Theo’s paw toward the Giant Tear of Doom as he asked.

"Purr-haha! The pull is strong, nya!"

With Theo’s cross-check complete, Sejun returned to the Black Tower to cook seaweed soup and prepare breakfast.

A bit later…

"Aileen, here’s some seaweed soup."

[The tower administrator asks if there’s any Choco Pies left.]

"Choco Pies? Didn’t we have plenty of those left?"

With 10,000 chocolate bricks, Sejun had crafted millions of Choco Pies. With the magic of culinary duplication, as long as he had ingredients and mana, Sejun could practically manufacture them like a factory.

[The tower administrator says there are fewer than 10,000 Choco Pies left.]

“What?!”

She already ate that many?!

Aileen explained that Choco Pies had become immensely popular. Dragons were reportedly donating blood and scales multiple times a day to earn more Choco Pies, leaving several of them feeling woozy.

What in the world! How much blood and scales are these dragons giving that they’re fainting?!

Sejun was stunned by Aileen’s account.

“Aileen, from now on, restrict blood and scale donations to once per day. And send some seaweed soup to those woozy dragons.”

[The tower administrator acknowledges the request.]

After quickly instructing Aileen…

"Vice-President Theo, could you arrange for 10,000 chocolate bricks?"

"Purr-haha! Of course, nya!"

Herr, please acquire 10,000 chocolate bricks, nya!

At Theo’s request, Herr quickly contacted Mud to purchase the bricks.

[The God of Commerce, Herr, receives 5 welfare points as a reward for completing the quest.]

"Hehe. Thank you, Vice-President Theo!"

Grateful for the extra welfare points, Herr thanked Theo.

"Purr-haha! Chairman Park, here they are, nya!"

"Thanks, Theo."

"Purr-haha! If you’re grateful, scratch my belly, nya!"

At Sejun's words, Theo promptly flopped over, exposing his belly.

“Alright.”

As Sejun set the chocolate bricks to melt in a double boiler, he patted Theo’s belly.

Kik-kik, squeak!

[Hee-hee! Butler, me too!]

Kamangi also flopped over in front of Sejun, waiting for his turn.

But…

“Wow, Kamangi, look at that belly. You really need to go on a diet. Let’s cut back on your roasted sweet potato strips.”

It was the perfect excuse for Sejun to reduce Kamangi’s sweet potato rations.

Squeak?! Squeak?! Squeak!

[What are you talking about?! A diet?! The Great Kamangi doesn’t need a diet!]

“Nope. Look, I can pinch this belly fat right here.”

When Sejun demonstrated by pinching two fingers’ worth of Kamangi’s belly fat…

Squeak! Squeak!

[That’s not fat! It’s the majesty of the Great Kamangi!]

“Nope. That’s just fat. Member Kamangi, starting today, you’re on a diet.”

Squeak!

[Nooo!]

Kamangi clutched his face in horror, letting out a tiny wail of despair.

Ah, too cute.

Sejun couldn’t help but feel a little soft-hearted at the sight of Kamangi’s reaction.

“Fine. We’ll try adjusting with exercise instead of diet first.”

He decided not to reduce the roasted sweet potato strips just yet.

Kik-kik, squeak?! Squeak!

[Hee-hee! Did you see that?! The Great Kamangi swayed the butler’s heart!]

"Truly, the Great Kamangi!"

Chirp!

With a sparkle in their eyes, Kamangi’s followers praised him for yet another “notable achievement.”

"Purr-haha!"

Kik-kik.

As Sejun continued to pet Theo and Kamangi, the chocolate finished melting, and he started baking bread to make Choco Pies.

“Time to cook.”

As he whipped up Choco Pies…

Thump. Thump.

Roar!

[Good morning, Sejun.]

“Good morning, Pink Fur.”

Pink Fur arrived with Queng in her mouth.

Roar.

[Please look after Queng for me.]

Pink Fur handed Queng over to Sejun.

“Got it.”

Sejun tucked Queng under his arm.

Queng…

Queng clung to Sejun’s side, looking very content.

Gulp.

Meanwhile, Pink Fur’s gaze lingered on the stack of Choco Pies beside Sejun.

“Oh, would you like some?”

Roar!

Pink Fur nodded enthusiastically, extending her massive snack pouch.

“Here you go.”

Sejun filled Pink Fur’s snack pouch with Choco Pies.

Roar… roar.

[Thank you, Sejun. I’ll enjoy them.]

Pink Fur clutched her pouch gratefully, beaming with joy.

At that moment…

Slurp.

Looks delicious!

Queng, who had just woken up, drooled while eyeing Pink Fur’s snack pouch.

“Queng, you can have this.”

Sejun gave Queng a Choco Pie to keep him from eying Pink Fur’s pouch.

Hehe. Queng!

[Hehe. Tastes so good!]

Queng happily munched on the Choco Pie.

In the meantime, without a word, Pink Fur quietly left.

A little while later, after breakfast…

“Alright, time to head out.”

Sejun prepared for departure.

His destination was the 3rd-level world <Avian>, connected to the White Tower.

The reason he prioritized the White Tower was that Sejun had only stored waypoint locations on the first floors of the White and Green Towers, and he also owed a debt to Kelion. Hence, the White Tower was first on his list.

Next up was the 6th-level world <Migros>, connected to the Green Tower.

For the remaining towers, he planned to visit them in order of obtaining their first-floor deeds.

Arriving on the first floor of the White Tower, Sejun entered the exclusive passageway.

The great dragons had agreed to pay for Sejun’s travel expenses and accommodation fees for these disaster-clearing jobs, so all Sejun had to do was handle the disasters.

“Hehe. It feels like a vacation.”

It was as if his company had arranged a business trip to a place he wanted to visit.

Click.

With a cheerful heart, Sejun placed his hand on the exclusive passage.

A moment later…

[You have arrived at <Avian>.]

Sejun arrived at Avian.

"Huh? This is...?"

It’s a desert!

All around him was sand.

Whirr.

A gust of wind carried sand into Sejun's mouth.

“Ptoo! Ptoo!”

Sejun quickly spit out the sand that had entered his mouth.

This doesn’t feel like a good start.

Sejun had a bad feeling about this.

Then…

Hehe. Queng!

[Hehe. Queng will keep the sand away from Dad!]

Whoosh.

Queng created a downward air curtain, blocking the sand from reaching Sejun.

“Huh? Queng, you can control wind now?!”

Hehe. Queng!

[Hehe. Queng can use wind after eating Windlon!]

“What?!”

He can control wind after eating Windlon? Then maybe he can handle Necma’s poison or Raton’s lightning, too?

“Impressive, my talented son!”

Sejun praised Queng, although he felt a bit jealous. But he knew his limits and accepted it—following in the steps of the capable could only lead to trouble.

If he had eaten that bead, he wouldn’t even be here now.

“Alright, let’s get to work!”

With Queng’s wind keeping the sand out of his mouth, Sejun and his companions began searching for disasters.

Then…

“Stop right there!”

“Hand over everything you’ve got!”

Bandits on horseback approached Sejun and his party from a distance.

Whether it was Sejun’s bad luck or Theo’s good luck, their path was blocked by bandits.

[Avian’s Hero, Shining Star of the Desert, Badhin]

“Huh?”

A hero?!

The leader of the bandits was Avian’s hero.

And then…

[A quest has been generated.]

[Quest: Avian’s Hero, the Shining Star of the Desert, Badhin, has lost his way and is causing trouble as a bandit. Set him straight.]

Reward: All Stats +100

[If you complete the quest within 10 minutes, you will receive double the reward.]

[As usual, you can quickly complete the quest with the help of Black Tower’s luck mascot Park Theo and Senior Herb Specialist Park Queng.]

The quest message appeared in front of Sejun.

To win favor with Sejun, System 371 added a time limit with a doubled reward, even advising him to seek Theo and Queng’s assistance.

But…

“Isn’t it a bit disrespectful?!”

The constant suggestions to rely on Theo and Queng sparked resistance in Sejun.

“I can handle a 3rd-level hero on my own!”

After all, he was the disciple of Bosa Boo, the hero of the 7th-level world Hamk.

Driven by a rare stubborn streak, Sejun decided to tackle the quest alone.

In the worst-case scenario, he had Dragon Scales, the <Authority: Hard Body>, and the <Authority: Extra Life>—he wasn’t worried about dying.

“Guys, I’ll handle the leader!”

“Purr-haha! Got it, nya!”

“Queng!”

[Got it!]

His companions weren’t too concerned.

Kik-kik, squeak!

[Butler! Let me know if it gets tough! The Great Kamangi will help you!]

Kamangi, however, seemed to expect Sejun to struggle.

“Here I go!”

Sejun shouted and charged toward Badhin.

Thud!

“Ugh!”

Badhin was knocked off his horse by Sejun’s punch, rolling across the ground.

But…

“You scoundrel!”

The blow wasn’t enough to knock him out; Badhin quickly got up and lunged at Sejun.

Bang! Bam!

Sejun and Badhin exchanged relentless punches.

Sejun had the upper hand in physical strength, but Badhin was skilled enough to compensate with technique, keeping the battle even.

However…

Wham!

“Ugh!”

As Badhin began to catch onto Sejun’s straightforward attack pattern, the tide turned against Sejun.

“Purr-haha! Chairman Park, we’re back, nya!”

“Queng!”

[Queng is back too!]

Fortunately, Theo and Queng returned after dealing with the other bandits, turning the situation around.

Thud! Thud!

Theo and Queng climbed onto Sejun’s body, taking hits aimed at him.

“Kuh!”

With each blow he delivered, Badhin found himself in more pain.

Eventually…

Wham!

Sejun’s punch landed on Badhin’s stomach, ending the fight.

“You... cowardly...”

Badhin wore a resentful expression, clearly upset.

However…

“Purr-haha! This isn’t cowardly, nya! We’re all one, nya!”

“Queng! Queng!”

[That’s right! We’re all one!]

To Theo and Queng, who had been thoroughly trained by Sejun, this was the only way to fight.

“Hehe. The loser talks too much.”

Wham!

Sejun gave Badhin one more punch to the back of his head, knocking him out cold.

“Haha! I won!”

Sejun felt proud, thinking he’d won on his own.

“Purr-haha.”

With a satisfied purr, Theo stamped Badhin’s forehead, officially making him an employee.

[Quest complete.]

[As a reward for completing the quest, all stats increased by 100.]

[Since you exceeded the time limit, you did not receive the double reward.]

Sejun received the quest completion message.

At this point, he would have been in a good mood if it had ended there, but…

[In the future, do not fight alone! It’s best to receive assistance from Black Tower’s luck mascot Park Theo and Senior Herb Specialist Park Queng!]

System 371 added an extra note that soured Sejun’s mood.

Why did they have to add an exclamation mark after “best”?!

Today, Sejun’s liking for the system only decreased further.