Chapter 25 : The Fountain of Vitality and the Hidden Mine

Woo Min returned to his studio apartment.

He had climbed the tower early again this morning.

His rank was, of course, SSS class.

Though he was a male ant slightly stronger than the worker ants, he was no match for Bbyak and Toto.

However, the rewards were disappointing.

As usual, he only received the golden tickets, mana stones, and potions.

There were days when the rewards poured down abundantly, but today was not one of those days.

Still, he couldn’t help but feel a bit dissatisfied.

Putting that bittersweet feeling behind, he immediately entered the plains.

Pat-

With a blue glow, the plains appeared.

It was still vibrant and lively today.

The rabbit creatures were diligently carrying out their assigned tasks.

The farmer rabbits were harvesting carrots, and the miner rabbits were mining mana stones.

In just one day, they had gathered ten tons of mana stones.

Let’s use them right away.

What’s the point of hoarding if it just goes to waste?

There was one thing he had been pondering deeply last night.

The item he wanted to buy as soon as possible was none other than the Fountain of Vitality.

Thanks to the bracelet Somi had made, he understood very well the effects of vitality.

It was a ridiculously good option.

It increased mana regeneration and made skills more powerful.

If such an option was applied to the mana beasts?

It would show an unbelievably effective outcome.

Without any hesitation, he opened the mana stone shop.

And purchased it.

At the same time, a small box was delivered.

“Where should I put this?”

He had already bought the fountain, so now he had to choose the installation spot.

The plains were vast, too vast.

Where would be best?

Still, the center of the Rabbit Village would be ideal, right?

Sitting in the village center, he opened the box.

Clack, clack, clack—

Like a transforming robot, the fountain began assembling itself.

Soon, it was reborn in its complete form.

[The Fountain of Vitality has been installed in the Hidden Plains.]

[The vitality of all living creatures increases by 10%.]

A system message announced its completion.

Vitality increased by 10%.

It felt as though energy was surging through every part of his body.

He wondered if the other friends felt the same, so he looked around.

The rabbits were working as hard as usual.

But—

Bbiee!

For some reason, everyone’s fighting spirit was overflowing.

Was this the power of the fountain?

Their stamina was visibly enhanced.

And it wasn’t just the land rabbits.

Bbyak was flying swiftly through the sky.

Somi was passionately crafting new inventions.

Toto was digging tunnels and hiding seeds with dedication.

Everyone was bursting with energy.

He was glad he had bought it first.

As soon as enough mana stones were collected, he planned to buy all four types of fountains.

Buying them as quickly as possible was the most efficient strategy.

One had to be smart about these things.

There was no point in saving unnecessarily.

Just then, someone appeared at the center of the village bathed in a blue glow.

It was none other than Woo Min’s father, Jin-Su.

He looked around carefully, searching for something.

Then—

Bbiee!

Father earth rabbit greeted Jin-Su warmly.

Yesterday, Jin-Su had only sampled a taste.

A transparent lake lingered in his mind overnight.

Fish he had never seen before.

So lively and spirited, their size was only about the palm of his hand, but they provided an exhilarating fishing experience he had never felt before.

How could a fishing enthusiast forget such a thing?

With his new fishing rod and the perfect spot, it couldn’t be more ideal.

There was only one thing missing: a partner to soothe the solitude.

Lately, his friends had been too busy to meet.

Growing older made it difficult to get together.

But that didn’t matter.

He had the perfect companion who got along with him perfectly.

His father earth rabbit.

Before he knew it, the two had become inseparable friends.

Well, since they liked each other, that was enough.

Jin-Su and father earth rabbit headed silently toward the lake.

The kids seemed invisible to them.

It was oddly lonely.

As he watched his father walk away absentmindedly, the blue glow reappeared in the village center.

Soon, Seolha appeared.

“Ah, Seolha.”

Maybe because she had just been ignored by his father, Seolha looked twice as happy to see him.

Calling her with an involuntary voice, she looked over at him.

“What’s going on here?”

“I just came to take a short break. I also have something to give you.”

She rummaged through her inventory, then a pile of items spilled out.

Gems sparkling with red light.

Mana stones.

Not a small amount.

Much more than yesterday.

As expected of the rank 1 player, her inventory was wide.

If she filled it with mana stones, how much would that be?

Over twenty tons.

“Fortunately, there’s still a good amount of mana stones left untransferred.”

Seolha smiled brightly.

She was not just beautiful in face but kind-hearted as well.

Why was she called the Bewitching Witch?

He couldn’t understand it at all.

She was an angel of snow-white purity.

“Are you really giving me all of this?”

“Of course. Woo Min, to me, you’re a special person.”

She mumbled to herself and suddenly blushed.

Could it be she liked him?

No way.

Better not get ahead of himself.

“Thank you. Oh, and since you came, I’ll give you this too.”

How could he just take?

If something was given, something should be given in return.

Koreans valued sincerity.

Sincerity defined Koreans.

He handed her the flower bracelet No. 2 made by Somi.

“Th-this is…”

Seolha looked surprised as she accepted the bracelet.

Well, this wasn’t an ordinary bracelet.

It was a terrifying item that boosted vitality.

“Soli only made a few of these. Since it requires Bbyak’s Feathers, the number isn’t large, but I really wanted to give this to you, Seolha.”

For someone who worked harder than anyone else for the country like Seolha, this item was essential.

This would make climbing the tower and defending the gate much easier.

Of course, there was a real reason behind it.

If Seolha climbed the tower diligently, he too would be at ease.

Tower ascents had to increase steadily to reduce gate overflow incidents.

That way, he could focus entirely on his own work.

It was a win-win situation.

“T-thank you.”

As he fastened the bracelet around her wrist, Seolha bowed her head deeply and expressed her gratitude.

The blue flowers suited her perfectly.

“Seriously, Seolha has helped me so much.”

Just the mana stones she gave him added up to more than twenty tons.

Was that all?

No way.

Knowing Seolha’s personality, she would regularly supply mana stones from now on.

In the future, the bracelet wouldn’t be wasted at all.

The more of these rental items, the better.

But money wasn’t everything.

First, he wanted to give to the important people.

The business side would be handled by Dohyun and Pildu.

He’d heard they were negotiating directly with other countries.

Just then, a message from Dohyun arrived.

Judging by the message’s urgency, it looked serious.

He was glad they had switched to the special phones that allowed communication inside the tower.

– “Is it possible to get in touch for a moment?”

It was obviously about the business deal he had mentioned before.

The company called WM Company.

“The team leader just contacted me. I’m heading out now. I’ll rest afterwards.”

“W-what? Ah, okay.”

Hearing this, Seolha looked disappointed.

After bidding her farewell, he left the plains and immediately called Dohyun.

Thump thump.

Click-

“Yes, team leader. What’s the matter?”

– “Ah, it’s not about the others. Our corporation was just established today. We’re about to receive the rental fee for the bracelets.”

“Already?”

– “Ahahaha, who do you think I am? I may look like this, but my network is pretty extensive.”

Dohyun laughed proudly.

“Impressive.”

– “Ah, what have I really done? It’s all thanks to Woo Min.”

He had just been sitting and enjoying the sweet results.

Somi made the bracelets, and Dohyun himself handled the sales.

Did he really deserve this praise?

Still, being praised felt good.

– “The shipment of mana stones will arrive around Wednesday.”

“A shipment?”

A shipment.

If it was a shipment of mana stones, how much could it be?

He had said they would ship as much as possible, but he had no sense of scale.

“How much exactly?”

– “Not that much. About one thousand tons.”

“Huh?”

He doubted his ears for a moment.

Not 100 tons, but 1,000 tons?

That was worth over 200 billion in currency.

Who on earth did they lease to that they got such a huge sum?

“D-did you get scammed or something?”

– “Scam? You could say that. But you have no reason to worry. These are legitimately obtained mana stones.”

He was glad he had trusted them.

Bbyak had a keen eye for people.

Seolha, who was just here, and Dohyun were just as capable.

More than capable—they were overflowing with talent.

But how was he supposed to use mana stones worth a hundred billion?

He needed to rework his plans from scratch.

***

[You have entered Floor 15.]

Mission: Defeat the Giant Queen Ant 0/1

Time Limit: 12 hours

Finally, Floor 15.

Today was an especially important day.

Over 1,000 tons of mana stones were coming in from the United States.

He had pledged to receive them, so there were only a few hours left.

Plus, the third special reward was just around the corner.

Every time he collected five golden tickets, he had received incredible items.

What would it be this time?

Bang!

Floor 15 was the mid-boss.

The giant queen ant.

There was only one to defeat.

But the number of soldier ants guarding her was at least twenty.

Considering he had defeated ten on Floor 14, this was twice as difficult with the resurrected soldier ants.

Of course, that was nothing.

Go, Bbyak!

Flamethrower!

Fwoosh!

With just one flame attack from Bbyak, the ants were charred to a crisp.

The rank was, of course, SSS.

[Notice] You are the first in the world to reach Black Tower Floor 15 at rank SSS.

[Reward] You receive a golden ticket.

[Reward] 60 kg of mana stones.

[Reward] 20 useful mana recovery potions.

Once again, only the basic rewards.

But the real prize was the special reward.

[Notice] You have received 15 golden tickets special reward.

What could it be?

His heart pounded.

The special reward for 10 tickets had been a plain.

Would this time be better?

[Reward] The hidden mine has been unlocked.

The special reward for 15 golden tickets was the mine!

He had prepared himself not to be disappointed even if it was something bad, but it was exactly what he needed.

Lately, the additional rewards had been generous, meant for the big goal.

He already lacked enough mana stones to use.

Wasn’t there the 1,000 tons of mana stones that Dohyun had sold?

Of course, he hadn’t used them yet. They were scheduled to arrive at the warehouse today.

For others, it was an unimaginable amount.

Would they ever see this much in their lifetime?

But there were more places to use them.

No matter how much he earned, he needed more.

Just upgrading the shops required 3,000 tons of mana stones.

What about the construction plans?

That was no small matter either.

A whopping 2,000 tons.

Just to raise two shop levels, 5,000 tons were needed.

So, even if it was 1,000 tons, it was just enough to buy two expensive items.

And who knew when he would earn that much again.

In the worst case, no one else might rent anymore.

The mine on Floor 10 produced over 10 tons daily, but the more mana stone sources, the better.

Stable income alone was an enormous merit.

No wonder public servants were once a popular profession.

There was no worry about supply interruption.

That alone was a huge advantage.

“Let’s see what’s inside.”

Putting the trio of siblings into his head, he cast a skill.

“Enter the mine!”

With a golden light, the place instantly changed.

It was a mine filled with yellowish sand.

And then—

Doo-duh?

A new mana beast greeted them.

A small, round creature wearing a yellow helmet.

It was a mole.