Shiver, shiver.

Theo shuddered, not from cold but from the strong aura of the blue snake. For Theo, who had withstood the dragons aura, the aura spewed out by the fragment of the Apostle of Destruction had been negligible, but

Im not on Chairman Parks lap anymore, meow

Back then, he had Sejuns lap, but now he didnt. Theos confidence plummeted.

Its time to bring that out, meow!

Theo, with a serious expression, pulled out a secret weapon he had hidden in his bag.

And then,

Swish!

He draped the secret weapon like a cape and tied its ends in front of his neck. The mysterious weapon Theo revealed was a blanket Sejun used while living in the cave.

To be exact, it was just the part of the blanket that covered Sejuns knees, which Theo had cut and stored when Sejun discarded the blanket upon returning to the surface.

Puhuhut. Ive now recharged with Chairman Parks lap energy!

Theo exclaimed with a confident look, completely different from a moment ago.

How dare you try to steal Chairman Parks crops! Ill teach you a lesson, meow!

Theo shouted defiantly at the blue snake blocking his path.

-Insolent creature! Feel my wrath! Winds of freezing terror, freeze the enemy!

Whooosh.

With the blue snakes words, a massive ice storm emanating from the snake grew larger, approaching Theo.

But then,

Stop fooling around, meow!

Empowered by the blanket that had covered Sejuns knees for so long, Theo felt fearless.

Theo infused all his magic power into his dragon claws.

Somehow, I feel an overflow of magic power, meow! As expected, when Im with Chairman Parks knee, Im invincible, meow!

Theo once again realized the greatness of Sejuns knee as he felt the endless surge of power into the dragon claw. Although it was thanks to the nourishing meal Sejun had prepared, all credit went to Sejuns knee.

Hmm.

As Theo continued to pour magic power, the black dragon claw started to become transparent.

And then,

Meow! Meow!

Theo swung his now fully transparent front paw wildly.

Without any sound, everything in the vicinity was sliced apart, including the ice storm and the blue snake.

-Argh! To be defeated by such a lowly creature

Thud.

The blue snakes body split into several pieces and collapsed.

Meow! I think I just did something amazing, meow!

Theo, recalling his recent sensation, became lost in thought.

Puhuhut. Ive decided, meow! The name of this technique is Vice Chairman Theos Ultimate Secret Technique Meow-meow Storm Fist, meow!

Just as Theo had named his technique,

Clang.

A bronze coin dropped.

Puhuhut. Now, I can give this coin to Chairman Park, meow!

Theo, with a satisfied look, put the bronze coin and his secret weapon, the blanket, into his bag and took out his sunglasses.

And then,

Humans, Ive arrived, meow!

With a majestic stride, he announced his arrival at the hunters camp.

And then,

Hes here!

Theo is here!

The bald, shining-headed hunters in the camp rushed over.

I knew I did the right thing, meow!

Theo, warmly welcomed by the bald hunters, moved to the center of the camp and started the auction.

Today, Ill start by selling the new crops first, meow.

New crops?

At Theos words, the hunters faces were filled with anticipation. Every time Theo brought new crops, the medical world on Earth was turned upside down. Problems that had been considered impossible for a long time were solved.

Crops like tomatoes that made you lose weight healthily, corn that grew hair, green onions that cured liver cancer, and potatoes that cured stomach cancer. And they were all delicious without side effects.

Now, even hospitals would outright recommend buying Theos crops to patients who have reached a dead-end with conventional treatments. Of course, the issue was the exorbitant price, but the effectiveness was undeniable.

Todays crops for sale are Agility Cucumbers and Stamina Radishes, meow!

Theo took out a cucumber and radish, allowing the hunters to see their options.

Cucumbers help invigorate kidney functions!

Radishes are for lung functions!

As the hunters verified the crop options,

Now, lets begin the auction, meow! First, I will auction 20 pieces of the Stamina Radish, 1 piece at a time, meow!

Theo started the auction.

Only 20 pieces?

The quantity was too small.

150 Tower coins!

155 Tower coins!

160 Tower coins!

Thanks to the limited quantity, the Stamina Radish received high bids from the beginning.

With crops from the tower that could treat liver and stomach cancers, other wealthy individuals with different illnesses also requested to purchase crops in the hope that a remedy for their ailment would be found. Thus, the competition was fierce.

200 tower coins!

SOLD, meow!

With that, the first auction for the Stamina Radish came to an end.

The Stamina Radish is now sold out, meow!

All the remaining Stamina Radishes were sold, with the average price settling at 220 tower coins.

Next up,

Next up are the Agility Cucumbers, meow! I will auction 5 at a time, for a total of 100, meow!!

150 tower coins!

152 tower coins!

153 tower coins!

In the case of the Agility Cucumber, they werent as expensive because kidney transplants could serve as a cure, so its price didnt rise significantly. The average price was 25 tower coins.

After the new crops auction, the auction for previously sold crops began.

Starting with the Exploding Stamina Corn for hair loss treatment, followed by the Detoxifying Green Onion for liver cancer, the Power Potato for stomach cancer, and the Power Sweet Potato that enhances the absorption rate.

While most crops were sold at similar prices, the price of the Power Sweet Potato skyrocketed that day.

350,000 tower coins for 1000 pieces!

370,000 tower coins for 1000 pieces!

400,000 tower coins for 1000 pieces!

This was due to the Stamina Radishes that Theo had sold. For lung cancer treatment, five Stamina Radishes were required, but there was a serious shortage. The idea was to compensate for the lack of Radishes with the effects of the Power Sweet Potato.

Despite the need to spend nearly 400 billion won to buy 1000 Power Sweet Potatoes, on Earth, there were many wealthy individuals willing to pay a high price for just one.

Even with a slight markup, there were many willing buyers, so they could afford to buy 1000 Power Sweet Potatoes without any issues.

With the auction concluded,

See you next time, meow!

Theo quickly left the venue without even taking photos.

Huff, huff. I suddenly feel so unwell, meow! I need Chairman Parks lap, meow!

Although the after-effects of using a lot of magic power during the fight with the blue snake were only manifesting now, Theo believed it was because he was away from Sejuns lap. Feeling exhausted, he quickly headed to the 49th floor of the tower.

***

Cuengi, lets go.

Krueng!

[Understood! Daddy, get on!]

Upon hearing Sejuns words, Cuengi, who had eaten a hearty lunch and was patting his stomach, enlarged himself and lay down in front of Sejun.

Lets go.

So, riding on Cuengi, Sejun moved towards the waypoint to head back to the 49th floor.

And then,

Creak.

Cuengi, stay inside for a bit.

Upon arriving at the waypoint, Sejun spoke as he opened the void storage.

Krueng!

[Understood!]

Cuengi seemed excited to go into the pocket void storage, probably planning to munch on stored food until Sejun opened the door for him.

However,

You cant eat while inside, Cuengi.

Krueng?

[Cant eat inside?]

Yes.

Krueng

[Understood]

Cuengi seemed disappointed by Sejuns words.

Creak.

[You have arrived at the 49th floor.]

After closing the door, Sejun arrived at the 49th floor using the waypoint.

Lord Sejun, youve arrived!

Upon Sejuns arrival, Dooku hurriedly greeted him.

Yes. Everythings been okay?

Yes! No issues!

Good. Oh, right! Use this.

Sejun handed a Dragon-Tooth Helmet to Dooku.

Whats this?

Its made from a dragons teeth.

A dragons tooth? For a mole like me

Moved by Sejuns gesture, Dooku carefully put on the Dragon-Tooth Helmet.

How to use it is

Sejun quickly explained the helmets usage.

Sejun had been distributing these helmets to bosses on the farming floors.

To use the waypoint safely, it was more convenient for him if they kept their positions.

Thanks to this, Dooku would later be known as the Impenetrable Dooku among the hunters.

After teaching Dooku how to use the helmet, Sejun

Creak.

Cuengi, come out.

Sejun called for Cuengi, who was in the void storage, to come out and travel from the waypoint to the farm.

Krueng! Krueng!

[Cuengi listened well to Daddy! Cuengi resisted and didnt eat!]

Cuengi came out with his snack pouch so full of food that it looked ready to burst, and he did so confidently. What he meant was that he had restrained himself from eating in the storage, and now he was ready to feast!

Well, well done.

Sejun smiled and patted Cuengi on the head, appreciating the effort he made to keep his promise.

Lets go. The Golden Bat you can go ahead and start singing songs.

(Okay!)

At Sejuns call, the Golden Bat, which had been sleeping on Sejuns back, quickly flew towards the persimmon farm.

Krueng!

[Dad, hop on!]

Sejun mounted the now-enlarged Cuengi and moved to the persimmon farm.

Just then,

Huh? I can feel Theos presence.

Sejuns Theo detector was activated.

Sniff. Sniff.

Krueng!

[I dont smell Big Bro!]

Even though Cuengi sniffed around diligently, he couldnt detect Theos scent. Sejuns Theo detector seemed to have improved for some reason.

Really? But why do I feel so uneasy? Cuengi, lets quickly head that way.

Sejun pointed in the direction where he felt Theos presence.

Krueng!

[Understood!]

Thud. Thud.

On Sejuns command, Cuengi started to run quickly.

After about 30 minutes of full-speed running,

Krueng!

[I can smell Big Bro!]

Finally, Cuengi detected Theos scent.

There he is!

After running for about 10 more minutes, they spotted Theo lying on the ground.

Vice Chairman Theo!

Krueng!

[Big Bro!]

Sejun and Cuengi ran towards Theo, calling out to him.

And then,

Vice Chairman Theo!

Sejun hurriedly and gently picked up Theo.

Chairman Park put me on your lap

Hearing Sejuns voice, Theo opened his eyes with difficulty and spoke with great effort.

I got it.

Sejun quickly placed Theo on his lap.

Puhuhut. Its mine, meow

Theo chuckled weakly and clung to Sejuns lap with all his remaining strength.

Whats so funny that youre laughing like a fool?

Sejun, looking pitifully at Theo, tied him to his knee with a rope. Having done it once before, he could skillfully wrap the rope. Theo, feeling the warmth of Sejuns lap, seemed relieved and soon passed out.

But why is Theo drained of magic power

Having experienced magic power depletion himself many times, Sejun instantly recognized Theos condition. Clearly, something had happened. Sejun felt guilty, thinking it might be his fault for sending Theo away.

I wont let this go!

Sejun swore not to forgive whoever or whatever had done this to Theo.

Cuengi, lets go to the farm.

Krueng!

[Understood!]

Cuengi, carrying Sejun and Theo, hurriedly ran towards the persimmon farm.

Chew. Chew.

On the way, Sejun chewed on an elixir-grade cherry tomato and fed it to Theos mouth. As an elixir that boosts magic power, it helped to recover quickly from the magic power depletion.

Thanks to it, Theo awakened, having recovered from the depletion.

As long as Im on Chairman Parks lap, Im invincible, meow! I feel so powerful, meow!

Once again, all the credit went to Sejuns lap.

And then,

Why arent you healed?

Sejun anxiously looked at Theo, who had consumed 20 elixir-grade cherry tomatoes.

*****

4/5