Chapter 8:

“Do spirits eat too?”

[Special existences are capable of consumption.]

They had looked special from the very first moment he saw them.

Fortunately, there happened to be four ears of corn left, and they were still piping hot, making them perfect for eating.

“Can you eat one each?”

“If it’s too much, should I break them in half for you?”

Bounce, bounce, bounce, bounce!

Their reaction was incredibly intense.

They were adamantly telling him not to break the corn and that they could eat the whole thing.

Once again, Go Nam-tae could understand their gestures.

The way they each tightly hugged an ear of corn looked exactly like Ha-eul’s group.

The eating process, however, was a bit different.

The corn kernels that entered their bodies were absorbed and disappeared bit by bit, as if they were being erased.

As he watched blankly, only the cobs remained.

“……Should I give you more?”

“You’ll have to wait a bit for more corn, but I have earth dragon meat, and I can catch some crawfish for you right away.”

The sound of crawfish splashing into the water was loud.

Fortunately for the crawfish, the little ones weren't interested in eating them right now.

The spirits gathered in a circle and whispered amongst themselves for a moment before looking at him with eager eyes.

[The Wind-Rain Spirits wish to form a contract with the Boss.]

True to their name, cool water droplets fluttered around them.

Nam-tae’s impression of working with them had been good as well.

Naturally, saying ‘yes’ was the right choice, but he had already experienced what happened with Ha-eul’s group.

Before he could even ask, Toto brought up a message window.

[Contracting with spirits consumes a ‘large’ amount of mana.]

[Please check your mana.]

The pale pink window was filled with warnings.

“……Then I’ll just contract them one by one.”

[Yes, that is wise.]

Feeling as though he were being praised for being a good boy, Go Nam-tae let out a small sigh.

If he were even slightly irrational, he might have wondered if his father had been reincarnated as Toto.

But there was no way his father would be like this.

Go Nam-tae asked cautiously.

“I’m going to contract you one by one.”

“Can you wait?”

Bounce, bounce!

‘We like that!’

They were refreshing fellows, just like their names.

Go Nam-tae attempted to contract the one who stepped forward first.

He needed to give them names first, but this time, he didn’t struggle with it.

“How about Cheongnyong for you?”

Shhh.

The spirit, showered in mana, began to sparkle.

[Registering Cheongnyong as the Boss’s contracted spirit!]

It was a success, but…… Go Nam-tae had to sprawl out on the ground immediately.

His head was spinning.

‘It was definitely worth the warning…….’

The mana bar, which had been a clear color between navy and purple, instantly plummeted to orange.

[Current Mana: Orange, on the verge of fainting]

[Recovering: 17% → 19, 21 ……32%…….]

Cheongnyong approached worriedly and patted his shoulder.

A cool sensation spread from where the spirit patted him, relaxing his body.

“I feel like my mana recovery is getting faster for some reason?”

[There is a slight influence.]

Perhaps because of that, it reached near full charge within a few minutes.

It was the recovery power of a Boss who was invincible within his territory as long as he didn’t faint.

The second one’s name was, naturally…….

[Registering Baekho as the Boss’s contracted spirit!]

He reached near exhaustion again, but the recovery was even faster than the first time.

He successfully finished the contracts for the third, Jujak, and the fourth, Hyeonmu.

By the end, he was leaning against a cool water bed in a pose resembling a dissolute king.

“I look forward to working with you.”

Slosh, slosh.

Instead of an answer, a cool energy relaxed his entire body.

“……And there are other family members who came before you.”

“Greet them when they return later.”

“They’re cute friends.”

While introducing Ha-eul’s group, Go Nam-tae glanced over toward the stream.

‘Shouldn’t they have passed by now?’

It seemed to be taking longer than expected.

He had told them not to overdo it, but thinking of Ha-eul’s solemn expression, the ferret might be being stubborn.

‘Should I go look for them?’

Just as he was about to stand up, he heard the sound of rapid pitter-patter.

The white balls of fur were scurrying toward him.

However, the way they were running was unusual.

One, two, three…… eight of them crossed the bridge.

One was missing.

One of the two adult ferrets was gone.

“Ha-eul, where’s Ha-byeong?”

Squeak, squeak-squeak-squeak!

Ha-eul cried out intensely and opened his mouth.

Even before the ferret could answer, Nam-tae was already standing up with his pickaxe.

“Explain on the way!”

“Where is it?”

“Lead the way!”

Squeak-squeak!

Ha-eul explained the situation as they ran.

He said the material gathering had gone quite smoothly.

However, even though they found almost everything, the Transparent Sky Leaves weren't easy to spot.

They finally found some, but they were awkwardly positioned right on the boundary of the Boss’s territory.

But the Boss’s territory was expanding very slightly.

Perhaps it was expanding at the same rate his crops grew, or as he built the storage shed.

Ha-eul’s group, having become the Boss’s pets, could also feel that territory.

It just so happened that a portion of the largest leaf had entered the territory.

That was where the disaster occurred.

A Chameleon Snake had been waiting under the leaf.

The creature was a predator more than capable of making a meal out of a ferret.

Neither Ha-eul nor Ha-byeong noticed the snake, which had turned its body transparent under the transparent leaf.

The moment Ha-byeong climbed onto the leaf, the snake snatched him and swallowed him whole.

To make matters worse, the ferrets had clutched the materials he had requested even while fleeing.

‘Dammit!’

Go Nam-tae’s eyes rolled back.

Toto quietly brought up his mana bar.

The mana bar, which had been depleted four times, was barely over half full and wasn't increasing any further.

Even so, he couldn't just ignore the one who had been sacrificed because of his errand.

Ha-eul’s speed was like the wind, but Go Nam-tae was able to follow without much difficulty.

The clever Ha-eul guided him only through paths where Nam-tae could run.

After running for less than ten minutes, Ha-eul stopped.

“This place is……”

Everything before his eyes was white.

And blue.

Beyond the white sandy beach, blue waves were rolling in.

‘I thought I smelled the sea, so it was here…….’

No, such sentiments were for later.

Ha-eul cautiously pointed at something with his front paw.

‘Damn, because of this……!’

There was a leaf so large that it made him wonder why such small creatures had tried to take it.

The key was whether the thing that had eaten Ha-byeong was still hiding beneath it.

“Toto, what are the characteristics of a Chameleon Snake?”

[It assimilates perfectly with the surrounding terrain.]

[It uses strong grip strength and a massive maw to swallow prey whole and digest them.]

[As one of the predators of the 100th floor, its objective level is around 17.]

[This is based on the sum of defense and attack power.]

“Then what about me?”

[The Boss is level 100 within his territory.]

[Outside the territory, even with a generous estimate, you are barely a 2.]

Despite the stingy evaluation, Go Nam-tae’s eyes did not cool down.

Just as Ha-eul’s group had come to know instinctively, he could also perceive the territory.

Two steps.

He had to find the snake within that range.

It was impossible to find a creature that perfectly assimilated with its surroundings using just his eyes.

It was a creature that had even perfectly fooled Ha-byeong, who possessed detection traits.

He had to find another way.

While running through his available skills, Go Nam-tae’s eyes gleamed.

“Right, let’s go with this!”

[Watering!]

The vast ocean before him was all water…… but it was too far.

Still, a tiny amount of seawater responded to his call.

Drip.

Water fell like a light drizzle.

[Watering, Watering, Watering!]

The mana bar, already precarious due to successive depletions, fell ruthlessly.

His head spun with dizziness, and the orange mana bar sent out warning signals, but he couldn't stop.

‘Just one more time!’

[Watering!]

It was then.

At a point about fifteen paces to the right, seawater flowed through the air, and the creature’s form was revealed.

Hiss!

The creature flicked its tongue and hissed as if angry at Go Nam-tae for revealing its presence.

“Do I look that easy to you?”

Hiss, hiss!

It really seemed to think he was easy.

The snake shot its long tongue toward him.

However, perhaps unable to enter the territory as it pleased, it stood in place and swung its front legs wildly.

It was a relief that he looked easy.

If it had fled, it would have been difficult to catch.

“I’ve caught over a hundred rat snakes in the back field of my house!”

The end of the rat snake—no, the 100th-floor Chameleon Snake—that lunged at Go Nam-tae was pathetic.

The pickaxe used for catching agricultural pests exerted its full power.

Thud!

The snake’s head disappeared entirely as it fell to the ground.

‘1, 2, 3, 4, 5…….’

Go Nam-tae counted to five in his head and then shouted ‘Butcher.’

The snake’s belly split open, and the things it had eaten poured out.

Among them was the small, white creature it had eaten last.

……It wasn't breathing.

Go Nam-tae placed Ha-byeong in his hand and tapped near the heart.

Thump, thump, thump, thump!

Blowing in air.

Tapping again.

Repeat!

Again, ……and again!

Cough!

Hack, hack!

The white ferret coughed…… and its eyelids trembled.

The moment he confirmed those jewel-like black eyes, a wave of relief washed over him.

“He’s alive……”

Beep……!

Was this a sound in his head, or the system?

It didn't matter.

Slowly.

The moment Go Nam-tae fainted for the second time in his life, a message appeared.

[A skill has been unlocked.]

[Emergency Rescue.]

[You can sense a crisis involving a follower and confirm their location.]

[Excluding instant death, life-saving is possible.]

[Mana consumption is high.]

[Manage your mana well.]

Snap!

As soon as Go Nam-tae opened his eyes, he asked.

“How many minutes this time?”

[It is not a matter of minutes.]

[The Boss has woken up after 33 hours, 13 minutes, and 47 seconds!]

“What?”

Over a day had simply vanished.

No wonder he felt his empty stomach screaming the moment he woke up.

[Mana depletion is a matter you must be careful about.]

[The fact that you recovered after experiencing mana depletion four times in one day is solely thanks to the Boss being the Boss.]

[The recovery speed of the Boss’s original territory and the expanded territory are different.]

[The only place where the Boss is absolutely the strongest is undoubtedly the original territory.]

Toto’s voice was quite intense.

It was a warning that he was only the strongest in his own corner, so he should be careful, and careful again.

“……How are the kids doing?”

[The Boss’s followers have been doing well and finding food on their own.]

If Toto were a person, a pulsing vein mark would likely have appeared on his forehead.

Still, for some reason, he liked this version of Toto more than the indifferent one.

The term ‘followers’ was a bit strange, but it seemed to suit them well.

“That’s good……”

As he threw off the blanket and stood up, Go Nam-tae finally realized something strange.

“How did I get home?”

[Cheongnyong, Baekho, Jujak, and Hyeonmu each grabbed one of the Boss’s limbs and brought you.]

He could immediately picture the scene.

Four sets of hands floating in the air…….

To an outsider, it would have looked like a horror scene.

“My Four Symbols, you worked hard.”

“Thank you.”

Bounce, bounce, bounce, bounce!

The spirits, who had approached him at some point, were bouncing their bodies and welcoming his return.

He also waved his hand toward Ha-eul’s group, who were peeking inside from outside the door.

“Let’s go eat!”

“We have to eat and then finish the storage shed!”

A farmer is a busy person.

If the body is fine, one must get up.

Bounce, bounce!

As he stood up, the Four Symbols playfully led the way.

As if they had something to show him.

An exclamation burst from Go Nam-tae’s mouth as he followed them out.

“Wow……”

A gift was waiting for him.