Chapter 552: I'm Just a Sunfish, After All.
Ppiik!
Ppaek! Ppaek!
Ppyak! Ppyak!
Peeep!
When the rabbits who had left to meet Sejun returned much earlier than expected,
Why are they back already?
Did something happen to them on the way?
Their parent were very worriedBut,
“Oh?! That’s a dragon tattoo?!”
When they saw the dragon tattoos engraved on the baby rabbits’ left front paws,
They met Sejun~nim.
That’s why they came back so early.
The parent rabbits were relieved.
Only Sejun, Theo, and Cuengi carried dragon scales that could engrave the dragon tattoos.
Moreover, Theo and Cuengi spent almost all of their time with Sejun.
In other words, having the dragon tattoo most likely meant they had met Sejun.
When the baby rabbits reunited with their parents,
“Dad, I met Sejun~nim!”
“Mom, Sejun~nim doesn’t have horns! You didn’t know that, did you?”
“Sejun~nim has two arms!”
“Uncle Theo is kind! He’s not scary!”
As if they alone knew everything, the baby rabbits started chattering about Sejun and Theo to their parents.
I miss the times I used to play with Sejun~nim.
There were moments when Theo~nim took care of us.
Listening to the baby rabbits, the parent rabbits recalled their own childhoods. After all, they too had times like that.
The baby rabbits and parent rabbits smiled as they reminisced about other memories they shared with Sejun.
While the baby rabbits and parent rabbits smiled happily,
“Wolha, I’m here.”
“Wolgang, you’re back?”
Wolgang and Wolha called each other’s names and blushed.
Calling each other by their new names felt a little awkward but also exciting.
“But Wolgang, did Sejun~nim name us? I was so surprised when he suddenly gave us names.”
“Yeah. I complained to Sejun~nim, saying, ‘How can you not give us names?!’”
“Really?!”
“Yeah.”
Wolgang had gotten a taste for bragging and lately told lies whenever he opened his mouth.
“Wolgang, you’re so cool!”
“Ahem. Well, it’s nothing…”
Thanks to this, his status as the head of the household was greatly elevated.
“Then shall we go to our room and talk?”
But it seemed he had elevated it too much.
“Huh?! Can’t we just stay here…?”
“Follow me!”
“Ah. Alright! I’ll go, so let go of my ears!”
Wolgang was being dragged away by Wolha by his ear.
***
Morning on the 89th floor of the tower.
“Ugh. It’s hot.”
Sejun woke up sweating profusely in a damp state.
Even though he had slept surrounded by ice on the frozen lake, Iona used magic to keep the bonfire burning all night and,
Being snuggled up with the furballs, Theo, Cuengi, and Blackie, made him so warm that he ended up sweating.
At that moment,
[Hehe. Sejun~nim, you’re awake?]
A cool breeze brushed Sejun’s face along with Flamie’s voice.
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“Ah. I can breathe now. Thanks, Flamie.”
Sejun placed Flamie, who had fanned him with her leaves, onto his palm and petted her gently. Then he gathered his companions and stepped outside.
“Wow. It’s so cool.”
The cold air quickly cooled his sweat, and soon, the sweat started to freeze.
“Ugh. It’s cold.”
Hurriedly, Sejun went back inside the igloo, shook off the frozen sweat, warmed up by the fire, and prepared breakfast.
“In a place like this, we need to eat something warm.”
The menu was a spicy fish porridge made with the piranha they caught yesterday, with pieces of dough added in.
When the ice attribute Ice Piranha was made into a dish, it had the effect of increasing cold resistance.
A short while later,
“Aileen, eat this.”
Sejun handed a huge pot of fish porridge to Aileen.
Then,
“Guys, come eat.”
He scooped portions of fish porridge into bowls and handed them out to Cuengi and Blackie family.
Sejun gave grilled fish and roasted peanuts to Theo and Iona, both of whom were quite particular about their food. Seeing them like this, they definitely looked like a well-matched couple.
Now it’s my turn to eat.
After taking care of everyone, Sejun scooped up a large spoonful of the fish porridge.
“Whoo. Whoo.”
He blew on it to cool it down and then put it into his mouth.
Gulp.
As the spicy fish porridge slid down his throat,
“Keuh. This hits the spot.”
The warmth spread through his body, and he couldn’t help but exclaim in satisfaction.
After warming himself up with the hot porridge,
“Fireball.”
He used Iona’s magic to break the ice that had frozen over the lake overnight.
“Alright. Let the 2nd ice fishing competition begin!”
And just like that, today’s ice fishing contest started again.
“Ah, I’ll add a new rule today. If you catch a Frost Giant Piranha, it’ll count as 5,000 regular piranhas, and if you catch an Super-Giant Piranha, it’ll count as 15,000 regular ones.”
Since Theo and Cuengi dominated the contest yesterday, Sejun added a new rule to make things more interesting.
Although the rule was added for fun, there were always those who took even lighthearted competitions way too seriously.
Kihihit. Kking! Kking!
[Hehe. Great Blackie has a brilliant idea! Mukbupal, you’ll be the bait to lure the Super-Giant Piranha!]
Ppuu?! Ppuu?!
[What?! Me?!]
Mukbupal, startled by Blackie’s words, began to back away.
However,
Kking!
[Guys, tie him up!]
The youngest had no choice in the matter.
Kking!
[Mukbupal, you can do it!]
Ppuuuu!!!
And so, with Blackie’s encouragement, Mukbupal was tossed into the ice lake instead of slime meat.
Sploosh.
As soon as he entered the water, the piranhas, attracted by Mukbupal’s scent, swarmed toward him.
Ppuu!
[You bastards! How dare you attack the great Mukbupal, who can devour the seas?! Unforgivable!]
Slap. Slap.
Mukbupal easily defeated the approaching piranhas with his legs. Thanks to being named by Sejun, all of his stats had increased by 888.
While taking down the swarming piranhas, Mukbupal activated his power,
‘Ink Eight Shadow Clones!’
Ppuuuuuu!
He spouted ink, creating clones that scattered in all directions.
The ink clones, resembling Mukbupal, spread out to search for and lure the Super-Giant Piranha.
Though each clone only had 20% of the original’s power, it was enough to fend off approaching piranhas while moving.
While Mukbupal and his clones were busy searching for the Super-Giant Piranha,
[Hehe. Sejun~nim, I’ve got a bite!]
“Got it! Ucha!”
“Puhuhut. I’ve caught one, meow!”
Kueng!
[Cuengi caught another one too!]
Everyone except Blackie family was busy catching piranhas.
Meanwhile,
“Kyoo-Kyoo-Kyoo! Why aren’t any fish biting my bait?!”
Despite choosing an excellent spot where there were more fish than water, Iona somehow managed to catch very few piranhas.
Haha. The world really is fair.
Sejun chuckled as he watched Iona struggle.
At that moment,
Boom!
A hole in the ice lake shot up water like a fountain, and piranhas began to fall freely from the sky along with the water.
Then,
“Magic, move according to my command. Invisible Hand.”
Iona caught the falling piranhas from the water in the air and declared triumphantly,
“Kyoot kyoot kyoot! I’m first place now!”
She laughed happily.
“That’s cheating. Only fish caught with fishing rods count in this competition.”
“Kyoot?!”
As Sejun reminded Iona of the rules of the ice fishing contest,
Ppuuu!!!
Underneath the ice lake, Mukbupal was desperately running away from the Super-Giant Piranha.
Just a moment earlier,
Found it!
One of Mukbupal’s clones had located the Super-Giant Piranha and lured it to Mukbupal. That part had gone well.
The problem was that 1,000 Frost Giant Piranhas, guarding the Super-Giant Piranha, had come along as well.
To make matters worse,
Wait?! To catch this thing, I have to get eaten?
Mukbupal belatedly realized that for the plan to succeed, he would have to be swallowed.
I don’t want that!
Mukbupal fled at full speed, and the Super-Giant Piranha, along with the Frost Giant Piranhas, began to chase him.
He created clones to scatter and distract the enemies’ attention, but the Super-Giant Piranha stubbornly pursued only Mukbupal.
In the process, the water churned violently, creating fountains.
Despite his desperate attempts to escape,
Chomp.
Mukbupal was eventually swallowed by the Super-Giant Piranha. His trivial abilities were no match for it.
And then,
Kihihit. Kking! Kking!
[Hehe! It’s hooked! Pull it up, guys!]
The Blackie family excitedly pulled on their fishing rods.
However,
Kking?!
The Super-Giant Piranha’s strength was too much for the Blackie family to handle.
Kking!
[Butler! Help!]
Swoosh.
Blackie, being dragged along with the fishing rod, called out to Sejun.
“Huh?! Blackie!”
Sejun rushed forward and grabbed Blackie, but,
“Huh?!”
Swoosh.
He was dragged along too.
Kking?!
[Why are you coming with me, butler?!]
“Sorry.”
I’m just a sunfish, after all.
Finally, Sejun’s true feelings came out.
Just before Sejun and Blackie were about to plunge into the freezing lake,
Kueng!
Cuengi used telekinesis to lift both Sejun and Blackie back up, pulling the Super-Giant Piranha along with the fishing rod.
However,
Snap.
The fishing line wasn’t strong enough to hold the Super-Giant Piranha.
“Huh?!”
Kking!
[Mukbupal!]
As the line snapped, only Sejun and Blackie made it back to the surface. Thus began the Mukbupal Rescue Operation.
Of course, it wasn’t anything fancy.
After briefly pausing the ice fishing competition,
“Let’s go!”
“Puhuhut. Got it, meow!”
[Hurry, let’s save Mukbupal!]
Kueng!
Kking!
“Kyoot kyoot kyoot.”
Everyone got into a waterproof bubble created by Theo and began searching the lake.
“Wow.”
Why is it so empty.
The lakebed was completely barren, a result of the piranhas having run wild.
After about an hour of scouring the lake,
Kugugung.
The Super-Giant Piranha and the Frost Giant Piranhas spotted Sejun’s group and swam toward them with their enormous mouths wide open.
“Huh?! There’s Mukbupal!”
Fortunately, Mukbupal was clinging to the Super-Giant Piranha’s gums, unharmed.
Kking!
[Mukbupal!]
Ppuu!
[Blackie~nim, you came to save me!]
Kking! Kking! Kking!
[Of course! We’re family! Ggomi! Use your web!]
Kkiruk!
Swoosh.
Following Blackie’s command, Ggomi shot a spider web at Mukbupal and tied him up.
Kking!
[Pull!]
The Blackie family and Sejun pulled Mukbupal into Theo’s waterproof bubble.
Kueng! Kueng!
[They messed with our Mukbupal! Let’s teach them a lesson!]
Crackle!
Once Mukbupal was rescued, Cuengi pulled out his thunderbolt staff and struck the Super-Giant Piranha and the surrounding piranhas.
[Intermediate Herbalist Cuengi Park has defeated Super-Giant Piranha, the Ruler of the Ice Lake.][You’ve gained 50 million experience points, which is 50% of the experience points earned by Intermediate Herbalist Cuengi.]
[Intermediate Herbalist Cuengi Park has defeated the Frost Giant Piranhas.]
…
..
.
With the piranhas defeated, the Mukbupal Rescue Operation was successfully completed.
And,
[By reducing the piranha population, the ecosystem of the ice lake has begun to recover.][Quest has been completed.]
[You have been recognized as the rightful owner of the Ice Lake Land Deed on the 89th floor of the Black Tower.]
The quest was also completed.
Although the ice fishing competition came to an ambiguous end,
“Puhuhut. The Super-Giant grilled fish and the Frost Giant grilled fish are all mine, Vice Chairman Theo’s, meow!”
“Kyoot kyoot kyoot. Congratulations, Theo~nim.”
[Hehe. Sejun~nim, that was fun!]
Kuehehehe. Kueng!
[Hehehe. There’s so much to eat!]
Kihihit. Kking!
[Hehe. This time, the stars were us, the Blackie family!]
Everyone seemed satisfied with the results.
However,
“Now, let’s make sleds and play.”
The competition wasn’t over yet.
Sejun quickly crafted sleds and sticks for pushing on the ice using wooden planks and Fire Ant carapace made of metal material.
“Alright. Stand at the starting line.”
At Sejun’s words, the group each got onto their sleds and took their positions.
“Go!”
“Meow!”
Kueng!
“Kyoot! Wind.”
Shwooong.
In an instant, Theo, Cuengi, and Iona reached the other side of the ice lake.
Chwak! Chwak!
[Sejun~nim, hang in there! At this rate, Blackie will catch up to you!]
“Yeah! Huff, huff!”
Once again, it was a battle for last place between Sejun and Blackie family.
Kihihit. Kking!
[Hehe! Guys, push harder! If we try just a little more, we can beat the butler!]
Under Blackie’s command, the Blackie family diligently pushed their sled forward.
Ppuu!
In particular, Mukbupal used his clones, wielding 72 sticks, to push the ice in perfect sync. The gap between Sejun and Blackie family began to close rapidly.
A little while later,
“Huff… huff… I won.”
Sejun barely managed to reach the other side of the lake, overtaking Blackie family.
“Puhuhut. Great Hybrid Chairman Park, I senses something pulling from about 10 km away, meow!”
Chairman Park, your face looks ugly, meow!
While Sejun panted, Theo looked south while kneading Sejun’s face with his front paw and
“Kyoot?! If it’s 10 km in that direction, that’s where Amur Lange~nim, the Second Apostle of Creation, once stayed!”
Following Theo’s gaze, Iona spoke.
“Hehehe. Is that so?”
If it’s where the Second Apostle of Creation stayed, there must be something valuable there.
Sejun smiled as he began preparing for a new adventure.
Kking…
[We lost to the butler…]
Not knowing that the Creation God’s Third Apostle behind him was dejected from the wounds of defeat.
*****
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