Chapter 19: Very Big, Very, Very, Very Big

‘Tofu, I love tofu!’

For the ones singing the tofu song, Go Nam-tae soaked more beans than the day before.

All that tofu he made in the morning was only enough for a single day.

After finishing a productive day and washing away his fatigue in the bathtub, a familiar device suddenly caught Go Nam-tae's eye.

‘Ding!’

The mirror had opened with that sound, so Go Nam-tae had passed it off as something coming from beyond the mirror.

But thinking about it again, that sound...

“I’m sure it came from here.”

Go Nam-tae's hand trembled slightly as he reached for the phone.

The moment the face-down phone was turned over, a green signal blinked at the top.

As he remembered, the phone was right on the verge of being dead.

Even after that, he hadn't been able to charge it for several days.

“No way...”

The moment he tapped the screen, it opened.

The screen was piled high with all sorts of messages.

The screen was piled high with all sorts of messages.

Missed calls, unread texts, disaster alerts, rift warnings...

When he pressed the unread messages, the texts unfolded.

-Nam-tae, I can't get a hold of you. You got home okay, right?

-Nam-tae, make sure to call me.

-He.llo. Laun.dry.Spe.cial.ist. No.Fail. In☆vest.ment.Gu.ide.

-◇◇ Bank. Notice of loan repayment completion.

-Go Nam-tae, you XX-ing, XX it’s you, right? You XX, I won’t let you...

He almost dropped the phone at the message he saw in the middle.

It was a message sent by the boss of the factory he had quit.

“...How did he know!”

Go Nam-tae, who reflexively tried to block the boss's number, discovered something strange on the screen.

There was no antenna icon.

“...How did this even come through?”

[It is the influence of the Boss's interference power.]

[When the mirror was opened, text communication became possible.]

“...!”

Go Nam-tae lay on the bed and checked the messages that had arrived one by one.

Even the spam, which used to be so tiresome, was fun to look at.

As if proving his weak social relationships, no one had contacted him except for Kim Gu-bok and Go Mi-young.

“Internet connection won't work, then.”

[It will be possible once the interference power becomes stronger.]

“Is that true?”

‘Interference power’ was the solution to almost everything.

After going around in circles, there was only one conclusion.

“I’ll have to do even more farming.”

[That is correct.]

He had acquired the toy called a cell phone, but there was nothing he could watch like before.

It was because everything was blocked by the ‘internet connection’.

Soon after, the phone dropped with a thud...

Zzz.

The sound of steady breathing echoed through the bedroom.

While Go Nam-tae slept, there was a strange movement outside his house.

Shwoosh, shwoosh, shwoooosh!

Next to the storehouse, in a corner, something began to dig through the soil and climb up.

The Divine Beasts, who were sleeping beside Go Nam-tae, slowly raised their bodies.

The little ones who were lying huddled under the bed also woke up, but Ha-eul waved her hand at the family members.

‘Stay by your Boss.’

Ha-eul and the Divine Beasts quietly left the house.

Click.

As they carefully went outside, the birth of ‘it’ was beginning in earnest.

Pop!

What came up first were two flat, round leaves.

The two cotyledons glanced around and sent a signal downward.

‘This place is great!’

The cotyledons, having finished their scouting mission, shwooopped back down.

The next moment, a thick stem shot up from the ground.

A stem as thick as an adult’s forearm began to climb the wall in earnest.

By the time the initial stem covered the storehouse roof, the root side had grown as large as an adult’s torso.

The stem that reached the roof began to surge forward again.

At the end of the first segment, leaves began to bloom wide.

The five-lobed leaves were as lush as stars and spread wider than an umbrella.

Tendrils that came out like antennae here and there firmly gripped the walls and roof.

The stem, which had circled the roof once, went down the other side and began to wind around the entire building.

The stem, which had been gaining momentum until then, suddenly flinched and stopped.

Four translucent water droplets were floating right where the stem was trying to advance.

‘No, go around.’

‘This is what they call a door. You mustn’t block it.’

‘You have to be able to open and close this.’

‘The door is where the Boss passes through.’

Flinch, flinch.

The stem looked at the Divine Beasts' reactions, then slid into a curve and gracefully avoided the door.

‘That’s it, good job!’

Grow, grow, the stem got excited and bloated its body even more.

Even after covering the entire storehouse, the stem still had strength left.

With its remaining power, it headed toward the warehouse next.

In front of the warehouse, Director Ha-eul gave a warning in advance.

‘There’s a door here too, so be careful. Don’t block the windows either.’

Flinch, flinch, wiggle, wiggle.

The stem stretched out diligently again.

After firmly wrapping around the building and covering the entire roof, its strength gradually faded.

The stem wanted to climb the main house as well, but unfortunately, its power ran out.

The Divine Beasts and Ha-eul patted the flinching stem in disappointment.

‘It’s okay. You can grow again tomorrow.’

‘We’ll help you too.’

‘After sleeping a bit, try to make just one fruit.’

‘You have to give a greeting of thanks to the Boss.’

‘It can be small.’

Wiggle, wiggle.

The stem, heartened by the advice of its seniors, put in one last burst of strength.

Sleep? Sleep can be had during the day. It had to make the gift for the Boss first.

And wasn't it an important gift that would determine its first impression?

Something small was not satisfying.

Vibrate.

The stem gathered its remaining strength into one place.

Pop!

A flower bloomed.

A small ball beneath the flower seemed to get bigger and bigger, then began to show off its lumpy muscles.

‘Get bigger, get bigger, more, a bit more, more!’

The main body, which was being greedy, finally fell fast asleep.

Only then did the pumpkin stop growing.

‘I told it to grow small.’

‘Looking at that, I don't think it'll even be able to wake up tomorrow night.’

The ‘seniors’, confirming that the fellow had fallen asleep again, returned to their sleeping quarters.

Right next to the Boss.

Opening the door, Go Nam-tae froze just as he was.

“What... is this?”

His vision was filled with green leaves.

The storehouse, the warehouse, the building, and the roof...

The house was completely and tightly wrapped in giant stems without a single gap.

Setting aside the fact that one of those leaves was the size of a parasol, what on earth was that thing sitting shyly next to the storehouse?

The pumpkin, larger than a truck bed, was so massive it could be called a mini-storehouse.

To him, who was dumbfounded, the Divine Beasts stepped forward and introduced ‘it’.

‘It’s a pumpkin! It grew last night.’

‘What, you guys already knew about this?’

While Go Nam-tae was freaking out internally, their introduction continued.

‘It’s going to wrap around and protect the Boss’s house from now on.’

‘It’s sleeping right now. I think it’ll wake up tomorrow night or the day after.’

‘And that over there is a gift for the Boss.’

“A gift...?”

The word ‘gift’ was surprising, but the phrase saying that the pumpkin would ‘wrap around and protect the house’ stuck in his mind more.

A house covered in green leaves somehow felt like it gave off a sense of stability.

Anyway, while he didn't know it, a new family member had entered.

No, this time he had planted it himself.

But then, who was the one who brought that seed?

Looking back, Ha-eul was already patting the giant pumpkin.

At that sight, Go Nam-tae whispered to Toto.

“I have to give this one a name too, right?”

[It has already perfectly settled in as the guardian of the Boss’s domain, but if you give it a name, it will become twice as faithful.]

He couldn't quite imagine what it would be like if a pumpkin became faithful.

Would more pumpkins grow...

‘...Let’s think about the name until it wakes up.’

Go Nam-tae marveled once again at the grand scale of the ‘gift’ and imagined what he would cook with it.

Pumpkin pancakes, pumpkin porridge, pumpkin rice cakes...

The dishes he could make with pumpkin were endless.

“You really worked hard. Thank you. I’ll eat well.”

Go Nam-tae patted the pumpkin stem and went into a pumpkin dismantling show.

Go Nam-tae, who had turned away, could not see it.

A thick golden energy traveled down from the spot he patted and circled around once.

Creeeak.

The roots deep underground, which could not be seen, grew a span longer.

A skill was created during the pumpkin dismantling show.

[Slicing]

Looking at the pumpkin spread across the yard, Go Nam-tae felt a surge of regret once more.

“Pumpkin pancakes would be perfect. ...Should I have ordered even a little bit of flour...”

He hadn't ordered any because the others didn't eat Earth's food.

Toto spoke to him as he lamented.

[It is a small amount, but flour is inside the Boss’s sink.]

“...Is that edible? Ah...!”

No answer was needed.

The moment he asked, Go Nam-tae covered his mouth.

Everything old in his house had returned to being like new.

The cracked bathtub, the worn-out sink, even the leaning main beam.

In such a situation, it was only natural for old flour to become fresh.

“Everyone, today it’s pumpkin pancakes!”

At that moment when Go Nam-tae was enjoying his peaceful gourmet life.

In a certain area of the 100th Floor of the Labyrinth, there was a gathering of big shots.

Paraem of the Frost’s Condemnation.

A man with noble long hair flowing like a halo, beautiful but exuding an aura of ill omen.

Irshak, One Who Tears and Swallows Dreams.

A being resembling a jellyfish with eyeballs scattered over slimy, translucent skin.

Sekaru, the Ruler Who Shed Her Skin.

A witch with vertical yellow pupils and a seductive figure whose red dress rippled with lethal grace.

These were the Bosses of the North, South, and West, respectively.

It was a very rare thing for the three Bosses to face one another.

An encounter between Bosses was usually for the purpose of devouring each other.

On the surface, they maintained a balance and guarded their own territories, but they were always watching for an opening.

Even now, they had only gathered as phantoms projected through magic, not in their true forms.

The location was a neutral zone. It was the central area that even they could not enter recklessly.

The purpose of their meeting was directly related to Go Nam-tae.

Paraem started the meeting.

“You know that Grumore’s mana can no longer be felt, right?”

“I know.”

-I know.

“Do you think Grumore has fallen into a slumber?”

“No way. Grumore has never once entered a hibernation period in the last several thousand years.”

-What if now is such a time?

That was right.

Go Nam-tae didn't know it yet, but the Boss of the 100th Floor was not just one.

There were Bosses in the South, North, West, and also in the East.

The ‘previous’ Eastern Boss, Grumore, was an alias for Pichipitotitapatet.

It meant ‘Cruel Usurper’.

“Do you think Grumore has entered a hibernation period, Irshak?”

-That is a possibility.

At the lukewarm answer, Sekaru clicked her tongue with a dissatisfied expression.

“If he’s entered a hibernation period, isn't that more of a reason to be on guard? It means he’s up to something.”

“Sekaru, what do you think Grumore is aiming for?”

“Hmph! Hasn't his goal always been consistent?”

Unification of the labyrinth.

Unifying the labyrinth and even devouring the central area.

His ambition had never once been broken.

“The day before yesterday, I headed toward the easternmost part of my territory. The mana I felt was constantly changing, getting stronger and then weaker.”

-...You too?

If Irshak had felt it as well, then it was likely the truth.

Sekaru bit her lip and asked.

“Do you two believe that someone else has swallowed Grumore?”

“Who knows.”

-....

“Then how about sending scouts? I think it would be good to gather information.”

-Fine, I agree.

“...Agreed.”

The opinions seemed to be in unison, but the three of them knew that the information would never truly be gathered.

Because they were not in a relationship that would ever cooperate.

Anyway, there was a gain from meeting together.

That something had happened to Grumore.

Whether he was gathering strength through a hibernation period or had been swallowed by a new Boss, Grumore could no longer be as he was before.

That meant the balance would be broken.

Could they just stand by and let that happen?

“Let us meet here again in ten days.”

-Fine.

“Fine.”

Flash!

The spot where the phantoms of the three Bosses disappeared.

In that place, a big, very big, very, very, very big pumpkin stood tall like a mountain.