Chapter 29 : The Path Forward and a Promise with Seolha

I finally have a goal going forward.

Honestly, until now, I had just been living however things went.

I climbed the tower and cultivated the plains.

But now?

I have to bring down Mitsuru’s backers.

How dare they threaten those around me?

I can’t just stand by and watch quietly.

I need to pursue this like a real man, relentlessly.

I have to disrupt everything to the fullest extent.

The method isn’t difficult.

I just have to keep living like I do now.

Make and sell items.

Earn mana stones, cultivate the plains, and raise new magical beasts.

Not only Bbyak, Somi, and Toto, but also all the magical beasts I’ll raise in the future will be plenty.

There’s also the Earth Rabbits and the Dudermoles led by Dusik.

And I’m sure I’ll meet many more going forward.

Mitsuru even muttered something about the Black Beetle.

It’s the Blue Dragon.

Her backers are connected to the Blue Dragon.

Is it a magical beast as strong as Bbyak?

But one thing’s clear — the Blue Dragon hasn’t started moving yet.

Why?

Even though the baby Phoenix got an SSS rank, would the Blue Dragon be any different?

If there were someone raising another divine beast, who received the world’s first SSS rank, I wouldn’t be here.

In other words, the Blue Dragon’s existence isn’t certain yet.

Even if it exists, it’s definitely not being raised by human hands.

“Ah, Team Leader. I’ll give you the items I have.”

Since we met anyway, I might as well strike while the iron’s hot.

I took out the items Somi had made so far.

25 bottles of hair loss spray, 3 flower bracelets.

These weren’t things you see easily.

“Understood. I’ll try to sell them at the highest price and contact you.”

“Ah, and please take care of these too.”

Next were the Earth Rabbits’ harvested carrots.

50 boxes, each weighing 20 kg.

A total of 1 ton.

“Isn’t this just carrots?”

“Yes. But these aren’t ordinary ones.”

Dohyun smiled knowingly.

He opened a box and grabbed a carrot.

Then a system window popped up.

No way, are we farming crops in the tower now?

Diet carrots, huh?

This will definitely make money.

50 million people live in Korea.

Half of them are women.

How many Korean women haven’t tried dieting?

From young students to wealthy heirs, middle-aged CEOs, and even elderly ladies enjoying their golden years.

Not a single one would have skipped it.

And this isn’t just Korea.

Looking globally—

It’s impossible to even calculate.

If you lined up people willing to spend billions to lose weight, they’d stretch all the way from Seoul to Busan.

This is a jackpot business.

After item rentals and player care services, this was agricultural product sales.

“Is this all you have?”

“No, I’m steadily growing more. There will be more later.”

I harvested 1 ton of carrots in just a few days.

It’s all thanks to the springs.

The more fields and working magical beasts I have, the more production will increase.

“Understood. I’ll handle the carrots and hair spray through auctions, and will actively push the flower bracelet rental business.”

Dohyun thumped his chest as if to say, ‘Trust me.’

I can rely on him.

That’s why I entrust things with confidence.

“Then, I’ll get going first.”

“Good work.”

Now I had a goal going forward. Time to head home quickly.

I have to raise my three brothers and nurture the Earth Rabbits and Dudermoles.

At the same time, I’ll cultivate crops and mine mana stones.

Wait for it, unknown powers of Adom.

I’ll show you exactly what happens when you mess with an SSS rank player!

***

Kieek—

In Kyoto, Japan, at the hidden underground secret facility of the Seryu Group, a black bug exploded and died with a scream.

Yamamoto Takehiko’s expression darkened instantly as he watched.

The bug that manipulates humans: the parasitic bug.

Two of them are a pair.

If one is fed to a human, it parasitizes the body and lives on.

It can alter memories and control the mind, turning any human into a puppet that obeys its commands.

The other one acts like a detonator.

If the brainwashing is undone, killing the remaining bug leaves no evidence.

But the only case when the parasite kills itself is when its paired bug inside the host dies.

Modern science cannot detect the parasitic bug.

Due to its perfect parasitic nature, even if the host killed the parasite, it wouldn’t be possible to know.

In other words, except if the host dies, the parasite never self-destructs.

But clearly, one parasitic bug self-destructed.

And its host was Mitsuru.

Mitsuru.

The player who awakened the S rank after her predecessor.

Ten years ago, they fed the parasite to her right arm.

True to her name as the ninja of Adom, her skill in hunting monsters hidden in the shadows was admirable.

So Takehiko approached her.

On the surface, it was a job offer.

Though not large in scale yet, the future looked promising.

Mitsuru accepted willingly.

For a girl just coming of age, this new challenge was an exciting adventure.

But tragedy came sooner than expected.

Mitsuru accidentally discovered the hidden truth of the group.

In the end, she was forced to be fed the parasite.

All memories related to the group were erased, and she was turned into a puppet who obeyed only commands.

Thus, Mitsuru became Takehiko’s right arm and handled many tasks.

Yet her parasite self-destructed.

That meant she was dead.

“Who in Korea was powerful enough to kill Mitsuru?”

Takehiko wasn’t too shaken.

She was his prized subordinate, but still just a small asset.

Kidnapping an S rank player and feeding her the parasite was nothing difficult.

After all, the Seryu Group is Japan’s top enterprise.

But Mitsuru was different from ordinary players.

She was an assassin trained under Takehiko since the early growth of the Seryu Group.

On the tower, she was an S rank player and the strongest ninja.

That was Mitsuru.

So who killed her?

It’s impossible in Korea without firearms or legal methods.

The only possible guess was that she died during tower climbing or gate defense, but even that was ridiculous.

She had been climbing the tower for only a few days.

There was no way she made a careless move, given her strict obedience to commands.

What about the gate?

Mitsuru was a new secretary dispatched to Korea from the association.

She had no duty to defend the gate.

No matter how much I think, I can’t find a reason.

The emptiness from losing a prized warhorse is indescribable.

With a lonely expression, Takehiko stood and headed somewhere.

Then a man in a black mask appeared.

Without a word, he knelt beside Takehiko.

“Mitsuru is dead.”

“How truly sorrowful.”

Takehiko stared at the masked man standing before a glass cage holding numerous parasitic bugs.

He took out a glass bottle filled with red liquid from his pocket.

“Go to Korea and break this. We must hold a blood funeral for Mitsuru.”

“Understood.”

The man vanished at the command.

Takehiko stayed behind, gazing at the empty spot where he had disappeared.

***

Early morning.

Woo min climbed the tower again.

To root out the backers behind Mitsuru, he had to become stronger than ever.

I’m not alone.

Outside the tower, I have two SSS rank magical beasts.

Not only that.

I have Somi, who effortlessly creates amazing inventions.

Honestly, I’m not too worried.

Still, I have to do what must be done.

First, climb the tower.

Of course, calling it climbing is just a formality.

I finish it in a snap.

The rank, of course, is SSS.

I’m so used to it that it’s annoying when people ask.

With some free time left, I checked the community.

An ordinary day, no different from usual, but in the community, every day was a storm.

ㄴ Wow, SSS rank again;

ㄴ Auntie, one bowl of gukbap here please!

ㄴ What? A Korean player with SSS rank?

ㄴ ㄴ ㄴ I don’t know either, just climbed for the hell of it lololol

No matter how many times I see it, I don’t get tired of it.

It’s almost like a religion.

Ha, this is why I use the community.

Just then.

Father Earth Rabbit finished harvesting carrots and came looking for me.

Actually, he hadn’t left the tower yet.

How is the internet so fast?

It’s thanks to the communication tower I built yesterday.

Now I can use data freely even inside the tower.

Lying in the single detached house I bought for 50 tons of mana stones, I leisurely looked at my phone to pass the time.

This is healing.

Don’t I have work to do?

Resting counts too.

Then.

My phone suddenly buzzed loudly.

Usually, I just exchanged simple texts, but now calls were possible.

The name on the screen was Seolha.

Before answering, I cleared my throat.

Click—

“Hello.”

– It’s me. Woo min.

Her voice was already lively.

Looks like she climbed the tower’s 50th floor.

Truly worthy of world rank 1.

“Really? Congratulations.”

– It’s all thanks to you. So, do you have time today? Like I said yesterday, I want to treat you to a meal.

Oh my.

This is definitely a date request.

Lately, the atmosphere between Seolha and me has been unusual.

Am I just imagining things?

Of course not.

Even Bbyak, Somi, and Toto agree.

How could this be just a misconception?

“Of course. I’m free anytime.”

– Then I’ll come to the association by noon. See you there.

I glanced at the clock.

It was already past 10.

I better prepare now or I’ll be late.

“Got it. See you at the association.”

– Yes.

Click.

After the call ended, I clenched my fists tightly.

No way, something like this would happen to me too.

To have a meal alone with Seolha, the witch of frost, or rather, the beauty Seolha.

It still felt like a dream.

Ah, but this isn’t the time to daydream.

I had to get ready quickly.

As the appointed time approached, I arrived at the association.

About 20 minutes before noon.

But Seolha was already waiting.

“You came early.”

I smiled awkwardly and took a step forward, but Seolha suddenly blushed.

She lowered her head shyly.

“I-I just got here too.”

Good thing I came a bit early.

It’s cold outside, let’s go inside quickly.

“Shall we eat first even if it’s a bit early?”

“Sounds good.”

Near the association were many great restaurants.

Well, the commercial district is good, so no wonder.

Among them, the best was a famous fine dining restaurant featured in the top 1%.

Price was no issue.

At least a year ago, you had to book in advance just to get a seat.

But who was Seolha?

Everyone’s idol.

The witch of frost.

The most popular player worldwide.

That’s when my connections shined.

Apparently, the chef here is a huge fan of Seolha.

Just as we were about to enter the restaurant—

Ku gu gu gung—

A sound of something collapsing.

“Ka-kyuk!”

“A monster!”

People screamed in panic.