[Summoning, Ajax Mamebe, Tower Farmer of the White Tower.]
After about 10 seconds since the message appeared,
Boom.
In front of Sejun, a gigantic white dragon, Ajax, about 20 meters in size, appeared.
“Aargh. What’s this? Where am I?”
Ajax, who had now come to his senses, looked around and spoke.
“Ah…Ajax! Go back!”
Sejun, feeling dizzy, hurriedly shouted. Just withstanding the magic power passively emitted by Ajax’s breathing was enough to make Sejun feel faint. He may have acquired a dragon servant for 200 years, but he was unable to utilize him effectively.
[Reverse summoning, Ajax Mamebe, Tower Farmer of the White Tower.]
“Phew.”
Sejun sighed in relief after reverse summoning Ajax.
“Did the dragon just come and go, meow?”
Krueng!
[It was the white dragon!]
Theo and Cuengi, who had been watching Ajax, spoke. They were already aware of the contract with Ajax and weren’t too worried.
“Hahaha. Did you see? A white dragon responding to my call?”
Sejun shouted boastfully, trying to salvage his pride.
However,
“Chairman Park, we aren’t strangers, meow.”
Krueng!
[That’s right! It’s okay even if Cuengi’s dad is weak!]
Rather than appearing strong, Sejun ended up being comforted by the animals.
“…Thanks.”
Upon reflection, Sejun realized it wasn’t the first or second time he had shown such vulnerability in front of the kids. There was no shame in it.
‘I didn’t faint in front of the dragon!’
Technically, he withstood Ajax’s magic power for a few seconds, which was quite impressive. He had grown significantly stronger than before, it just wasn’t apparent because of those around him.
“Get to work, slave.”
For now, Sejun instructed Ajax to harvest tomatoes and started making rice cakes again. The cycle of making and waiting continued.
Just when things started to get a tad boring,
Rumble.
While lying between Sejun’s legs and enjoying a stretch from Sejun, Cuengi’s stomach grumbled.
“Cuengi, want some honey popcorn?”
Krueng!
[Yes!]
Unsurprisingly, Cuengi couldn’t resist any food with honey.
Then,
“Chairman Park, I request the development of a Churu-flavored popcorn, meow!”
Theo, wanting to join Sejun in eating popcorn, requested a new popcorn flavor.
“Churu flavor?”
Popcorn with Churu? Just the thought made Sejun grimace. Wouldn’t it taste very fishy?
“I’ll try making it.”
Sejun used exploding stamina corn to make popcorn. He divided the popcorn into three portions and started making the sauce.
He took out two pots: In one, he mixed water and honey; in the other, Churu and water. A sweet and fishy aroma rose.
“It smells delicious, meow!”
Krueng!
[It smells delicious!]
Cuengi and Theo sniffed the aroma from the pot with the simmering Churu.
‘Isn’t it fishy?’
To Sejun, it was overly fishy, but to Theo and Cuengi, it seemed appetizing. And so, He made three flavored popcorn: salt, honey, and Churu. Sejun, Theo, and Cuengi began eating.
Then,
“Chairman Park, try this one, meow!”
“I’m good… You eat, Vice Chairman Theo.”
“Chairman Park! Are you disregarding my sincerity, meow?”
“No, it’s just… I feel bad eating what you like.”
“I’ll make a special exception for Chairman Park, meow!”
Theo kept insisting on the Churu-flavored popcorn.
‘I’m fine!’
If Theo had maliciously offered like ‘Chairman Park, eat this Churu-flavored popcorn and suffer, meow’, Sejun would’ve declined instantly.
But, Theo, with a ‘I’m giving this to you because it’s you, meow’ expression, made it hard for Sejun to refuse.
Krueng!
[Big bro, Cuengi also want to eat more of Churu-flavored popcorn!]
“Cuengi, you’ve eaten enough, so stop eating, meow!”
If Cuengi hadn’t reduced the amount of Churu-flavored popcorn, Sejun would’ve ended up with even more of it.
Thus, Sejun, enduring the fishy taste in his mouth, reached his rice cake-making target and went to bed.
***
White Tower, 99th floor.
“You bastard!!! How dare you summon and dismiss me at will?!”
Ajax, enraged because Sejun called him and dismissed him on a whim.
Then,
Rustle.
He saw a document rolled up between his claws.
“Huh? What’s this?”
Ajax unrolled the paper and began to read its contents.
And then,
“What… What is this?! When did I stamp this? Could it have been Aileen?!”
Ajax was shocked to see his own seal on a contract stating that he couldn’t refuse Sejun’s orders for 200 years. He suspected Aileen.
He couldn’t imagine that his own grandfather, Kellion, had done it.
Then,
[Black Tower’s farmer, Park Sejun, commands: Harvest the Elixir: Cherry Tomato Imbued with Powerful Magic Power and offer it.]
Sejun’s order appeared.
“Damn it!”
Ajax wanted to refuse, but the dragon’s contract is different from contracts with other beings. Failing to uphold the contract damages their very existence.
Such damage is lethal for dragons. Therefore, Ajax had no choice but to adhere to the contract.
Thanks to that, Ajax finally began to work properly, getting his hands dirty. Of course, his face showed clear reluctance.
“Arrgh! Park! Se! Jun!”
Ajax grinded his teeth, calling out Sejun’s name.
***
“Alright!”
Sejun got up immediately after opening his eyes. He had fallen asleep at dawn and wanted to sleep more, but he had to finish making the rice cakes today, so he couldn’t oversleep.
Stretching.
“Meoooow…”
Sejun grabbed Theo, put him on his knee, and
Swoosh.
Added a mark on his bedroom wall, marking the start of 316th day of being stranded.
“Hoo-Ugh… my breath still stinks.”
Sejun smelled his own breath and frowned. He had rinsed his mouth multiple times before sleeping, but the bad breath still lingered.
Then,
Kkwek.
A mushroom ant, with its antennae held high, confidently approached Sejun and showed its back. And on its back, was a delicious-looking mushroom. It was an elixir mushroom.
Pop.
Sejun plucked the mushroom, which looked like a black truffle but was white in color.
[You’ve harvested an Enhanced Elixir: White Truffle.]
[Your job experience has slightly increased.]
[Your proficiency in Harvesting Lv. 7 has slightly increased.]
[You’ve gained 250 experience points.]
Then,
After quickly looking around, Sejun swallowed the mushroom.
[You’ve consumed the Enhanced Elixir: White Truffle.]
[All stats increase by 3.]
The strong aroma of the truffle dominated his mouth and drove away the bad breath.
“Hah, now the bad smell is gone. Thanks. You did a good job growing it.”
Kkwek!
The mushroom ant coolly responded to Sejun’s praise and walked away. After successfully consuming the mushroom, and just as Sejun was hastily eating honey and honey jelly to get rid of the elixir mushroom’s smell,
Krueng!
[Daddy! Cuengi’s hungry!]
A very sensitive baby beast, Cuengi, came looking for Sejun because he was hungry.
Gulp.
“Oh… you’re here?”
Sejun, though nervous, attempted to act nonchalant, yet his voice and gaze betrayed his unease.
Krueng!
[Daddy, you’re acting strange!]
Obviously, his poor acting wasn’t enough to deceive the sensitive baby beast.
Sniff sniff.
Noticing Sejun’s strange behavior, Cuengi began sniffing around Sejun’s mouth.
‘At least the smell from the honey shouldn’t give me away.’
“Sorry, I was hungry and had some honey. Do you want some, Cuengi?”
Krueng!
[Cuengi want to eat it!]
Cuengi’s attention was shifted to the honey due to Sejun’s words. Just when Sejun thought he had perfectly deceived Cuengi,
Click.
Krueng!
[Daddy, your hands smell delicious!]
Sejun had erased the scent from his mouth but forgot about the scent on his hands. The aroma of the truffle from his hands while opening the glass bottle reached Cuengi’s nose.
Krueng?!
[Daddy ate something delicious alone?!]
Cuengi started to question Sejun. Today, Sejun failed to secretly eat the elixir without Cuengi noticing.
Thus, Sejun was being interrogated by Cuengi about what he ate that morning alone when,
-Sejun, come up here for a moment.
Kaiser called Sejun to the fountain with a serious tone.
“Yes! I’m coming! Cuengi, eat this while I’m gone, okay?”
Thanks to Kaiser, Sejun, who had the chance to escape, gave a bowl of chestnuts he had previously peeled to ensure Cuengi wouldn’t be hungry while waiting for him, and went to Kaiser.
Krueng! Krueng!
[Alright. Cuengi will wait while eating the chestnuts!]
Cuengi sat down on the ground and waved one front paw at Sejun while picking up and eating chestnuts with the other.
“Kaiser, what’s the matter?”
– Take this.
With a gruff voice, Kaiser handed Sejun a mysterious black stone. It felt quite heavy, indicating its high density.
“Kaiser, what is this?”
– What do you mean, what? It’s food! Eat it quickly!
The fact that this stone was food was surprising…
“…You want me to eat this?!”
Thinking he had misheard, Sejun asked again.
– Yes! Eat it! Consider yourself fortunate! Aileen made this food specially for you!
Thinking of Aileen, who had fallen asleep exhausted after cooking, Kaiser seemed to get furious again.
However,
“What?! This is a dish made by Aileen?!”
Upon hearing Kaiser’s words, Sejun’s face turned pale, and he hurriedly examined the food, which did not look like food at all.
[Aileen’s Healthy Meatball]
→ The great black dragon Aileen Pritani combined various elixirs and meat, and then cooked them under high heat and pressure to form a ball.
→ Due to the extreme pressure and heat, the meat became as hard as a diamond, but its effects are outstanding.
→ With the help of the great black dragon Kaiser Pritani, most of the toxicities of the elixirs were neutralized, preventing side effects upon consumption.
→ When consumed, all stats increase by 100.
→ Chef: The great black dragon Aileen Pritani
→ Expiration date: None
→ Grade: S+
“Phew.”
At least this time, thanks to Kaiser, there was no poison.
“But all stats increase by 100?!”
Upon confirming that there was no poison, Sejun finally took note of the other details. Aileen had specially used ingredients from their family’s elixir storage with Kaiser’s permission.
‘But can I even eat this?’
Just to be sure, Sejun cautiously bit into Aileen’s dish with his front teeth.
Clink.
As expected, it was solid as a rock. It felt more like he would break his teeth rather than biting the meat. It seemed more appropriate to call it a rock ball¹ rather than a meat ball.
‘What a shame.’
It seemed safe to eat this dish since there were no mentions of poison or bad taste… but it was too hard.
– Tsk. What to do with this… Give it to me. I’ll break it.
Unable to bear it, Kaiser broke Aileen’s dish into 100 pieces and gave them to Sejun.
“Thank you, Kaiser.”
– Forget it! Just thank Aileen when she wakes up!
“Yes.”
Kaiser, with those final words, went off to drink again.
Then,
“Should I try eating it?”
Sejun cautiously put one of the pill-sized meat pieces that Kaiser had given him into his mouth. Thankfully, he only tasted a slight saltiness.
Gulp.
As Sejun swallowed the piece of meat,
[You have consumed a piece of Aileen’s Healthy Meatball.]
[You must eat all of it to gain the full effect.]
[99 pieces remain.]
A message appeared indicating that no effect could be gained by eating only a part of it.
“It would be nice if my stats increased by 1 for each piece…”
Still, he was grateful that he could eat it this way. Although inconvenient, all he had to do was eat 100 pieces of the meat fragment.
Just as Sejun was about to eat the next piece,
[The compressed meat expands, providing a feeling of fullness that lasts for 24 hours.]
Along with the message, Sejun felt his stomach expand as Aileen’s compressed dish expanded inside Sejun’s stomach.
“What?! What if I had eaten all of it?!”
The mere thought made cold sweat run down Sejun’s forehead.
*****
TL Notes:
1) Here 주먹 도끼 is used which literally translates to ‘fist axe’ but is an idiomatic expression which means something/someone with great power or force which doesn’t translate well in English so I have used ‘rock ball’ instead to match with meat ball which roughly provides the same meaning.
*****
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