99th Floor of the Black Tower

“Oh?! Why is everyone gathered here?”

As Sejun wandered through the farm, he noticed the dragons from the Four Dragons and Five Dragons factions sitting together, drinking alcohol. It was a rare sight, as the dragons hadn’t spent time together outside of mealtimes in Sejun’s kitchen since the failed attempt to form the Nine Dragons faction.

“Hello!”

When Sejun greeted the dragons:

“Hahaha! Sejun, come here!”

“So, you just got back yesterday?”

“Yes, you worked hard traveling to Noyle this time.”

The dragons welcomed him warmly.

“Please try this. I brought it back from Noyle.”

Sejun offered the dragons boiled squid made with Black Flame Firebutterflies.

Each dragon received five slices—a meager portion compared to the mountain of squid he had sent to Aileen the day before.

But—

Chewy.

...?!

The dragons, with their highly developed taste buds, immediately recognized the value of the dish after just one bite.

It wasn’t even comparable to the squid they’d eaten in the past.

“Oh! This is invigorating!”

This was especially true for Ramter, who used fire-based powers.

Thanks to Sejun’s title, The One Who Cooks Calamities, any dish he prepared with Firebutterflies provided a bonus to flame-based attacks.

Moreover, these weren’t just ordinary Firebutterflies—they were the fully evolved Black Flame variety, far superior to White Flame and Blue Flame Firebutterflies.

“Sejun, this isn’t made with normal Firebutterflies, is it?”

Ramter, excited after eating the squid, turned to Sejun.

“No, this was made using Black Flame Firebutterflies—the final evolution stage.”

Sejun replied while showing the dragons one of the Black Flame Firebutterflies.

At that moment—

“Hahaha!”

Kaiser burst into loud laughter.

“See?! Black is the best! It’s superior to all other colors!”

He boasted to the other dragons, seemingly just wanting to show off.

And then—

“Kaiser, what are you talking about?! Haven’t you had carbonara? White is clearly the best!”

“Ridiculous! When it comes to pasta, red tomato pasta is the top choice!”

“Hah! Pasta? You amateurs! Brown slime-braised stew is the ultimate dish!”

The other dragons, unwilling to concede, began arguing over which color was superior.

Why are they suddenly arguing about colors?

As Sejun watched the dragons debate over their favorite colors:

“If you won’t acknowledge that crops infused with Blue Moon energy are the best, then disband the Nine Dragons faction right now!”

The majestic blue dragon, Kin, declared.

“Fine! That’s a great idea! Let’s disband!”

Tior, who had been advocating for grapes, immediately responded.

Wait… the Nine Dragons faction?

Sejun, unaware, learned that the dragons had bonded by borrowing alcohol from each other when supplies ran low.

“Let’s just merge.”

“Agreed.”

And so, the Four Dragons and Five Dragons factions merged to form the Nine Dragons faction—just yesterday.

Now, 12 hours later, the newly formed faction was on the verge of breaking apart.

“Everyone, calm down. Stop fighting. Colors don’t matter. What’s important is the skill of the cook.”

Heheh, it’s delicious because I made it.

Sejun, feeling proud, inserted himself into the argument. It was impressive that he could make such a bold statement in front of the mighty dragons.

“What?!”

“Colors don’t matter?!”

The dragons’ expressions hardened at Sejun’s remark.

Oh?! Did I cross the line?

Sejun’s face also stiffened with tension.

A short silence followed.

Gulp.

The silence was so suffocating that Sejun unconsciously swallowed.

After a brief pause:

“You’re right.”

“If Sejun doesn’t cook, the ingredients are meaningless.”

“Exactly. I’ve tried making it myself, but it never tastes the same.”

“Same here. That’s true.”

The dragons nodded in agreement with Sejun’s words.

“In that case, shall we have another drink?”

“To the Nine Dragons faction!”

“Cheers!”

As if they had never argued, the dragons resumed drinking, using Sejun’s boiled squid as their prized snack.

Each slice accompanied by five drinks.

Since it was a rare dish, they savored it.

“It feels a bit stingy.”

Sejun wondered if he should have given them more.

While Sejun was contemplating this:

“Sejun, are you aware of the upcoming dragon meeting?”

The leader of the great silver dragons, Crisela Hithron, approached him.

“Of course. It’s in two weeks and four days, isn’t it?”

“Hohoho, you remembered well.”

Crisela looked at Sejun with approval.

“Well then, I must insist that a main dish made with Black Flame Firebutterflies be included in this meeting. Absolutely.”

She finally got to the point.

“Black Flame Firebutterflies?”

“Yes. Can you do it?”

Crisela’s tone rose with anticipation.

It was likely because the boiled squid had been incredibly delicious—or perhaps she felt pressure to showcase something special at the dragon meeting.

Or maybe both.

However—

“I’m not sure. It might be difficult.”

Sejun couldn’t give her a positive answer.

He wanted to agree, but obtaining Black Flame Firebutterflies wasn’t easy.

“Why? Did I do something to upset you?”

“No, it’s not that…”

Sejun carefully explained the situation to Crisela, who seemed disappointed.

It took 10,000 ordinary Firebutterflies to evolve into one White Flame Firebutterfly. To evolve into a Blue Flame Firebutterfly, it required 100,000 White Flame Firebutterflies.

And to create a single Black Flame Firebutterfly, 1,000,000 Blue Flame Firebutterflies were needed.

In other words, 1 trillion ordinary Firebutterflies were required to obtain just one Black Flame Firebutterfly.

It was no wonder they were difficult to procure.

“Besides, I’d need the land deed for the first floor of the tower to even attempt it.”

“The land deed… Just wait a little longer.”

Crisela’s tone carried determination as she promised to take action.

“Alright.”

After concluding his conversation with Crisela, Sejun had breakfast with his companions and began his daily tasks.

Piyot, Yuren, and Poyo, who were supposed to come in the morning, didn’t show up—likely due to Yuren’s misfortune causing some kind of trouble.

Sejun wasn’t too worried. After all, Piyot, the youngest yet most dependable of them, was with them.

Click.

Sejun opened the door leading to the 10th floor of the tower and entered, casually inspecting the area.

The tower was eerily quiet since all the Calamity Predators had migrated to the Sky Bean Planet.

After checking the 7th floor, where Hamer and Stella resided, and the 9th floor, where Patrick was, Sejun moved on to examine the other floors.

[The Earth God Patrick has instructed you to take this.]

Patrick sent Sejun a small glass vial containing a single drop of chocolate-colored liquid.

[Elixir of the Earth]

“Oh?! What’s this?”

[The Earth God Patrick suggests it would be better to see the explanation directly.]

“Yes.”

At Patrick’s suggestion, Sejun examined the Elixir of the Earth:

[Elixir of the Earth]

An elixir refined from the essence of the Earth. When sprinkled on soil, it rapidly enhances the energy of the land, maximizing the taste and effects of crops grown in it.

Note: A piece of land treated with the Elixir of the Earth cannot be treated again for one month.

Usage Restriction: Tower Farmers only.
Creator: Earth God Patrick
Grade: SSS

Maximizes taste and effects?

“Patrick, why are you only giving this to me now?!”

Sejun, realizing how useful this was, scolded Patrick.

[...]

Patrick fell silent, seemingly flustered by Sejun’s reaction.

In truth, Patrick had been reluctant to create the Elixir of the Earth—it was tedious to make. However, after seeing Hamer give Sejun a Strengthening Elixir, he felt pressured to contribute something as well. Since Sejun was the prospective owner of the 10th Tower, Patrick figured he ought to give him a “landlord bonus” and reluctantly created the elixir.

[The Earth God Patrick suggests letting that matter slide.]

[The Earth God Patrick offers to provide you with five drops of the Elixir of the Earth every month.]

“What? Five drops per month? That’s great!”

Sejun eagerly accepted Patrick’s proposal and secured a promise to receive the elixir regularly.

After finishing his conversation with Patrick, Sejun decided on his next task.

“Should I plant some scallions?”

He started planting detoxifying scallions on the first floor of the tower.

Meanwhile:

“Puhuhut. As the great Chairman Park’s right-hand cat, I’ll plant the fastest, meow!”

Theo eagerly planted scallions alongside Sejun.

“Kweet-kweet-kweet! I won’t lose either!”

Iona focused on planting peanuts.

Ghe-he-he. Queng!

[Hehe! Queng is a master planter!]

Queng energetically planted corn.

Heehee! Squeak-squeak!

[Heehee! The mighty Kamangi is slimmer now! Faster than ever!]

Kamangi, having lost a bit of weight, proudly planted sweet potatoes with newfound vigor.

Three hours later:

Squeak!

[Butler! The mighty Kamangi is hungry from working so hard!]

Kamangi ran over to Sejun, demanding food.

Grrr…

At the same time, Queng’s stomach growled loudly.

“Alright, let’s go eat.”

Sejun led the group back to the 99th floor of the Black Tower, where they shared lunch together.

After lunch, Sejun returned to his farming tasks.

Plop.

He dropped a single drop of the Elixir of the Earth, provided by Patrick, onto the soil where he had planted Baby Doll Ginseng, Baby Doll Extreme Flame Herbs, and Baby Doll All-Poison Herbs.

“Heheh. Nice. It’s working well.”

Outwardly, nothing seemed different, but Sejun could tell the herbs had grown noticeably more vibrant.

Ghe-he-he. Queng!

[Hehe! Dad, here’s some coffee!]

Queng brewed coffee and brought it to Sejun.

“Thanks.”

Sip.

Sejun took a sip.

“Ahh! As expected, coffee brewed by Queng is the best!”

With a contented smile, Sejun gave Queng a big thumbs-up.

Ghe-he-he!

Delighted by Sejun’s praise, Queng beamed with pride.

“Aah. That was refreshing. Time to get back to work.”

After finishing his coffee, Sejun and his companions passed through the dimensional gate to the Sky Bean Planet.

There, they planted Sky-Reaching Beans on the body of a Kraken to expand the planet, along with Calamity Pioneer and Calamity Predator seeds.

About an hour into their planting:

Flap, flap.

“Sejun.”

Crisela crossed the dimensional gate and called out to Sejun.

Then:

“Here’s the land deed.”

She handed Sejun the land deed for the first-floor store of the Silver Tower.

“Sejun, can you go there right now? A world connected to it seems on the verge of destruction.”

“Yes, I’ll go immediately. Everyone, let’s move!”

Hearing the urgency in Crisela’s voice, Sejun quickly rallied his companions and returned to the Black Tower.

After bidding farewell to Aileen:

“I’ll be back soon, Aileen.”

Shimmer.

Sejun departed for the Silver Tower.

[You have arrived at the first floor of the Silver Tower.]

Arriving at the first-floor store, Sejun was greeted by two cheerful-looking men.

“Welcome! This is Bling-Bling Silver & Cash!”

What?! They’re not fainting?

Sejun was taken aback. These men clearly didn’t belong on the first floor of the tower.

“Bling-Bling Silver & Cash?” he asked, curiosity piqued as he blocked the door to his subspace warehouse with one hand.

“Ah! You must not have heard about us properly. We at Bling-Bling Silver & Cash lend money to those in urgent need and charge a very reasonable interest—”

Loan sharks.

Sejun immediately identified them.

If they’re loan sharks, they must have money...

“Heheh. Everyone, come out.”

At his call:

Thud.

“Puhuhut. The great hybrid Chairman Park missed you, meow!”

Queng!
Squeak!

The companions rushed out as Sejun opened the subspace warehouse.

“Leave. See this land deed? This shop is mine now.”

Sejun confidently declared his ownership.

“Don’t be ridiculous! This is Bling-Bling Silver & Cash’s headquarters!”

“Yeah! If the boss finds out, you’re as good as dead!”

The employees of Bling-Bling Silver & Cash refused to leave.

“You don’t want to leave? Then join Sejun Company.”

“Puhuhut. That’s an excellent idea, meow!”

Sejun and Theo exchanged villainous grins.

Thunk. Thunk.

Theo knocked out the two employees, stamping their papers to officially induct them as full-time employees of Sejun Company.

“What the—”

Queng!
Crash!

Even Ova, the boss of Bling-Bling Silver & Cash, who had emerged from his office, was knocked out by Queng and forcibly added to Sejun Company.

And just like that, the notorious Bling-Bling Silver & Cash, once infamous in the Silver Tower, quietly vanished.