Shiver, shiver.

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

“I’m not on Chairman Park’s lap anymore, meow…”

Back then, he had Sejun’s lap, but now he didn’t. Theo’s confidence plummeted.

“It’s 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 Sejun’s knees, which Theo had cut and stored when Sejun discarded the blanket upon returning to the surface.

“Puhuhut. I’ve now recharged with Chairman Park’s lap energy!”

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

“How dare you try to steal Chairman Park’s crops! I’ll 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 snake’s 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 Sejun’s 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 I’m with Chairman Park’s knee, I’m invincible, meow!”

Theo once again realized the greatness of Sejun’s 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 Sejun’s 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 snake’s 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. I’ve decided, meow! The name of this technique is Vice Chairman Theo’s 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, I’ve arrived, meow!”

With a majestic stride, he announced his arrival at the hunter’s camp.

And then,

“He’s 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, I’ll start by selling the new crops first, meow.”

“New crops?”

At Theo’s 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 Theo’s 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.

“Today’s 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, let’s 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 weren’t as expensive because kidney transplants could serve as a cure, so its price didn’t 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 Park’s 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 Sejun’s lap. Feeling exhausted, he quickly headed to the 49th floor of the tower.

***

“Cuengi, let’s go.”

Krueng!

[Understood! Daddy, get on!]

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

“Let’s 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 can’t eat while inside, Cuengi.”

Krueng?

[Can’t eat inside?]

“Yes.”

Krueng…

[Understood…]

Cuengi seemed disappointed by Sejun’s words.

Creak.

[You have arrived at the 49th floor.]

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

“Lord Sejun, you’ve arrived!”

Upon Sejun’s arrival, Dooku hurriedly greeted him.

“Yes. Everything’s been okay?”

“Yes! No issues!”

“Good. Oh, right! Use this.”

Sejun handed a Dragon-Tooth Helmet to Dooku.

“What’s this?”

“It’s made from a dragon’s teeth.”

“A dragon’s tooth? For a mole like me…”

Moved by Sejun’s gesture, Dooku carefully put on the Dragon-Tooth Helmet.

“How to use it is…”

Sejun quickly explained the helmet’s 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 didn’t 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.

“Let’s go. The Golden Bat you can go ahead and start singing songs.”

(Okay!)

At Sejun’s call, the Golden Bat, which had been sleeping on Sejun’s 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 Theo’s presence.”

Sejun’s Theo detector was activated.

Sniff. Sniff.

Krueng!

[I don’t smell Big Bro!]

Even though Cuengi sniffed around diligently, he couldn’t detect Theo’s scent. Sejun’s Theo detector seemed to have improved for some reason.

“Really? But why do I feel so uneasy? Cuengi, let’s quickly head that way.”

Sejun pointed in the direction where he felt Theo’s presence.

Krueng!

[Understood!]

Thud. Thud.

On Sejun’s command, Cuengi started to run quickly.

After about 30 minutes of full-speed running,

Krueng!

[I can smell Big Bro!]

Finally, Cuengi detected Theo’s 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 Sejun’s voice, Theo opened his eyes with difficulty and spoke with great effort.

“I got it.”

Sejun quickly placed Theo on his lap.

“Puhu…hut. It’s… mine, meow…”

Theo chuckled weakly and clung to Sejun’s lap with all his remaining strength.

“What’s so funny that you’re 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 Sejun’s 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 Theo’s condition. Clearly, something had happened. Sejun felt guilty, thinking it might be his fault for sending Theo away.

‘I won’t let this go!’

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

“Cuengi, let’s 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 Theo’s 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 I’m on Chairman Park’s lap, I’m invincible, meow! I feel so powerful, meow!”

Once again, all the credit went to Sejun’s lap.

And then,

“Why aren’t you healed?”

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

*****

4/5