Solo Farming In The Tower-Chapter 704: Good. That Was Natural.

“I was wrong...?”

Sejun, who had been so sure of his deduction, drooped in disappointment.

And then—

“Puhuhut. Chairman Park, it’s okay nya! I, Vice Chairman Theo, will keep it a secret nya!”

“Kkyut-kkyut-kkyut. Me too.”

Queng! Queng!

[Dad, cheer up da yo! Queng will keep it a secret too da yo!]

(Bat-Bat! I’ll keep it a secret too! Cheer up, Sejun-nim!)

His companions all tried to console Sejun.

Kkihihit. Nng... Nng! Nng!

[Heehee! Butler! If you give me some roasted sweet potato jerky... No! The Great Kkamang-nim will keep it a secret without any conditions!]

Kkamang was about to demand roasted sweet potato jerky as the price for his secrecy, but when Queng subtly pulled out the Thunderstick, he quickly changed his stance.

“Guys, thank you.”

Sejun expressed his gratitude to his companions and then stared directly at Morgan.

What about you?

“...I-I will keep it a secret too.”

Morgan, who had no idea what was going on, was swept up in the atmosphere and agreed to keep the secret as well.

Now that Sejun had secured everyone’s promise of secrecy—

“Ahem. Now, shall we get back to the deduction? ‘If you go to where the brightest tear falls, you can find the treasure’...”

As if nothing had happened, he resumed trying to solve the riddle.

“Well, it’s definitely not a star nya!”

“Yeah. I thought so too.”

They crossed off the star as a possible answer.

Someone from a parallel universe had tried it and failed.

“Kkyut-kkyut-kkyut. Could it be referring to where a meteor fell?”

Iona, ever the meteor enthusiast, immediately thought of ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) meteors.

Queng!

[It might be where light refracted through a tear-shaped ice mirrors the light da yo!]

Recalling the beautiful scene they had witnessed while obtaining the Baby Puppet Icebloom, Queng gave his input.

(Bat-Bat! It might be a jewel!)

Bat-Bat chimed in with his own theory.

And then—

Kkihihit. Nng?! Nng!

[Heehee! Butler! What if it’s literally someone crying?! With light shining through their tears!]

The Great Kkamang-nim’s deduction is correct!

The Great Kkamang-nim is actually the famous Detective Kapang!

Kkamang barked confidently with a smug look.

Watching him, Sejun’s mood soured.

Kkamang was too confidently spouting utter nonsense.

“Kkamang, do you want to go on a diet until you cry?”

Nng...

[No...]

As Kkamang whimpered at Sejun’s words—

“Um... about the ‘brightest tear’... I think it might be referring to the Tearfall Waterfall.”

Morgan, who had been quietly listening from the side, cautiously spoke up.

“Tearfall Waterfall?”

“Yes. If you ride a horse east for about ten days from here, there’s a huge waterfall. The way the water falls resembles a tear, so they call it Tearfall Waterfall. And I heard that during the day, it shines brightly as it catches the sunlight.”

“Oh. Really?! Hmm. Well, I was thinking about a waterfall too... Let’s head there first.”

To save face as Detective Sherlock Sejun, he subtly piggybacked on Morgan’s suggestion and got up.

And then—

“Puhuhut. Morgan-nim, why are you still sitting there nya?!”

Theo stared directly at Morgan, who remained seated.

“Huh?”

“You said you’d guide us nya! So hurry up and guide us nya!”

No, he meant he’d guide them around town... The Tearfall Waterfall was a ten-day journey on horseback from here.

Morgan felt a bit wronged, but—

“Yes. Please follow me.”

In the end, he agreed.

A life of helpless monotony.

For some reason, he had a feeling that following these people would lead to something interesting.

“Which direction nya?!”

“Direction? Over there.”

Morgan pointed east in response to Theo’s question.

“Puhuhut. Queng, it’s that way nya!”

Queng!

[Got it da yo!]

A short while later—

Boom!

Queng, carrying everyone, flew east at high speed, covering a ten-day horseback journey in just ten minutes.

Swoosh—

“It really is shaped like a tear.”

Sejun looked at the massive waterfall cascading down in the shape of a tear and said.

“Then the brightest tear would be...”

Sejun scrutinized the waterfall closely, searching for something unusual.

“Oh?! Is that it?”

Sejun’s eyes caught sight of a spot where light refracted through the falling water, concentrating into the brightest spot.

And then—

“Found it! Queng, head over there!”

A location that looked like the entrance to a cave.

Queng!

[Got it da yo!]

And so, Sejun and his companions arrived at the entrance of the cave.

“It’s definitely here.”

Sejun was convinced as he saw the artificially constructed stairs.

This was undoubtedly the entrance to where the treasure was hidden.

“Let’s go.”

“Puhuhut. Let’s go nya!”

Sejun and his group began descending the stairs. After a long while, the stairs, which had been going down, started to lead upwards. Then, after climbing for some time, the path sloped down again.

The path continued like that, a winding and endless loop.

“What the hell? This is just going around in circles.”

How much longer do we have to go?

As Sejun grumbled—

“Puhuhut. Chairman Park, I sense a pull from that direction nya!”

Theo pointed in one direction.

Queng!

[Queng will make a path da yo!]

Boom!

Queng smashed through the wall where Theo pointed and started digging a tunnel.

In truth, the god who had hidden the treasure had given Toryong directions that were more of a trap than a shortcut.

But thanks to Theo and Queng’s combo play, they cut through what would have been hundreds of kilometers of detours.

After following the tunnel Queng dug for about 30 minutes—

“Oh!”

Sejun discovered a storage room packed with an enormous pile of treasure.

It looked to be about 5 quadrillion Tower Coins.

“Hehehe. Guys, start collecting!”

Sejun and his companions began stuffing the treasures into their spatial storage, and Morgan, caught up in the frenzy, helped carry the loot.

17 hours later—

“Huh? The sun is still up? Ah, a whole day passed?”

Sejun, emerging from the cave, looked at the rising sun.

The amount of treasure had been so immense that it took them all night to move it.

“Morgan-nim, thank you for your help. Here, I got this from inside. It should be useful for you.”

Sejun handed over a reward to Morgan, who had worked through the night. Then, he and his companions headed for the dimensional gate.

For his entire night of labor, Morgan received just a single gold ring.

However—

“This is?!”

For Morgan, it wasn’t just a gold ring.

On the ring’s surface was an engraving of a two-headed eagle with its wings spread wide — a design that could only be used by a very specific group.

Why is the Emperor’s seal of the Ulton Empire here?!

It was the symbol of the Emperor.

The ring Sejun handed him was the lost Emperor’s seal that Morgan’s distant ancestor had lost.

In fact, Morgan’s full name was Morgan Duvana Ulton.

The youngest of seven imperial siblings of the Ulton Empire. He was born too late and, unable to compete against the powerful factions his older siblings had already established, lost his mother and subordinates to their power struggle and was exiled.

Feeling powerless and tormented daily over his inability to avenge them...

“Is this a sign from the gods to take revenge for my mother and my subordinates...?”

Morgan gripped the Emperor’s seal tightly, deeply lost in thought.

A few hours later.

Instead of heading west to his home, Morgan began moving east toward the imperial capital.

After 1,000 years, the Emperor’s seal of the Ulton Empire had resurfaced.

Its appearance was significant, and a massive storm began to brew over Crphies.

****

"Arrival."

Sejun and his companions returned to the Black Tower after passing through the dimensional gate.

"Puhuhut. Chairman Park, but why did you give that ring to Morgan-nim earlier nya?!"

Theo asked Sejun.

"Oh, that... Well... Morgan-nim had a connection with the ring."

"Nya?!"

"Well, it’s like this..."

Sejun began explaining the situation to Theo.

Sejun, who couldn’t just send Morgan off empty-handed after all his hard work, thought to himself:

A single box should be enough, right?

No.

Since he had to keep the secret, should he give him two boxes instead?

While Sejun was contemplating how much treasure to give to Morgan, his eyes caught sight of a gold ring.

[<Title: One Who Has Long Peered Into the Beginning> has discerned the essence of the ring.]

The title activated, revealing the options of the ring.

[Ulton Empire Emperor’s Signet Ring]

A ring made by melting the blood and gold of a Gold Dragon, which the first emperor of the Ulton Empire, Jakan Duvana Ulton, obtained during his travels to another world after defeating a Gold Dragon.

The first emperor, Jakan Duvana Ulton, designated it as the imperial signet ring of the Ulton Empire.

Any document stamped with this signet ring represents the direct imperial command of the Ulton Empire Emperor.

Usage Restriction: A descendant of the Ulton imperial bloodline, or one recognized by the Ulton Empire Emperor’s Signet Ring.

Grade: ★

Skills: <Lightning Breath (Master)>, <Shock Resistance (Master)>, <Nerve Acceleration (Master)>, <Shield Lv. 7>, <Cure Lv. 5>...

How many embedded skills are there?

Though there were no particularly outstanding skills, there were over twenty of them.

As Sejun marveled at the options of the ring—

[<Title: One Who Has Long Peered Into the Beginning> has found the destined owner connected to the [Ulton Empire Emperor’s Signet Ring].]

The title activated once more, and Sejun saw a golden thread connecting the ring to Morgan.

"That’s why I gave it to Morgan-nim."

"Puhuhut. As expected of the great hybrid Chairman Park nya! You can even identify the rightful owner of an item nya!"

"Huhut. Well, it’s nothing much."

Sejun, unable to resist Theo’s praise, raised the corners of his mouth in a smug grin.

Ah.

Maintain composure.

He quickly suppressed the smug expression that was about to surface.

"Nya? But why didn’t you give him any of the treasure in the box nya?"

"Think about it. If he’s the owner of the Emperor’s Signet Ring, it means Morgan is of the royal bloodline, right? He’s a gold spoon, so there’s no need to give him anything."

Sejun, who had a bit of a grudge against gold spoons as a dirt spoon himself, kept that thought to himself.

He didn’t want to seem petty.

"Morgan-nim was a gold spoon?! As expected, the great hybrid Chairman Park’s deduction skills are amazing nya!"

"Hahaha. I am, after all, Detective Sherlock Sejun."

Sejun couldn’t help but indulge in Theo’s praise.

"Nya! I can see the rotten smugness rising from Chairman Park’s face nya! Step on him nya!"

"Kkyut!"

Queng!

Squeak!

Today, Sejun’s companions once again stomped on his face to humble him.

While Sejun was being stepped on by his companions, becoming more humble—

-Why isn’t he showing up?!!!

Corruption, who had been waiting all night for Sejun, was fuming in anger.

And when night fell again, Sejun and Theo, along with the Kkamang family, gathered in Kkamang’s mental world.

"Oh. Now it’s no longer a tiny-mini, but a mini."

Sejun, pretending to be surprised, looked at the now fist-sized Mini Chairman Park No. 4.

Wiggle. Wiggle.

Mini Chairman Park No. 4 danced with joy, moving his shoulders up and down.

Once again, he pressed his head against Sejun, demanding to be petted.

Swipe. Swipe.

Sejun petted the head of Mini Chairman Park No. 4 and then said,

"Guys, eat this sweet potato caramel and forgive Kkamang and the others."

He began to soothe the spirits.

At that moment, rumble—

Corruption hurriedly appeared.

-Why did you come so late?! And why didn’t you come last night?!

As soon as he appeared, Corruption started scolding Sejun, trying his best to make a “cute” expression he had practiced hard.

"I was busy yesterday. Hehe. But did you wait for me last night? Aww. Cute."

Sejun began to tease Corruption.

-What?! N-No! I didn’t wait for you! Why would I wait for you?!

Corruption, flustered, raised his voice.

But—

"If you didn’t, then you didn’t. Why are you getting angry?"

-I wasn’t angry or anything...

When Sejun spoke with a hurt expression, Corruption’s voice quickly softened.

At that moment—

"Oh, right. By the way, why haven’t you been sending Ogres and Planet-Destroying Turtles lately? I need to complete the quests. Can you send them again?"

Sejun asked Corruption to send Ogres and Planet-Destroying Turtles again.

However—

-Hmph! And why should I do that?

Corruption flatly rejected Sejun’s request.

And then—

-Kekekeke. I am not one who grants requests but one who brings forth despair — Corruption.

In a gloomy and ominous voice, he threatened Sejun and his companions.

"Theo, Vice Chairman!"

"Understood nya!"

At Sejun’s call, Theo clung to the back of Sejun’s head, pressing his two front paws against Sejun’s temples.

Fwoosh.

Burning money, he transferred power to Sejun.

Fwoosh—

-Kekekeke...

Corruption, hit by the Se-O-Beam, let out a weak laugh as he dissipated.

Good.

That was natural.

He barely managed to turn the “Yes” that was about to slip out into a “Hmph” without getting caught.

A moment later.

Crack.

The Black Gate began to open.

And then—

"Kekekeke. Go forth! Go and destroy the world!"

From the Black Gate, Ogres and Planet-Destroying Turtles poured out.

"Well, there’s nothing I can do since what I want and what you request happen to align."

Corruption spoke as if he had no choice.

But his lips were slightly curled up in a grin.