Chapter 530: This Time, I Won't Lose!
TL: Hanguk
The 66th floor of the Black Tower.
In an antique shop within the Red Fortress ruled by Red Orcs.
“Misfortune~nim, is this the one?”
[Coin of Certain Defeat]
Uren asked, picking up a black coin with tails on both sides from a pile of rusty coins.
Then,
[Misfortune, the God of Misfortune, says that is indeed her divine relic.][Misfortune, the God of Misfortune, is delighted, saying it’s fortunate to easily locate her own relic despite being the King of Misfortune.]
Misfortune responded cheerfully.
And then,Piyo!
[This is the first time something like this has happened!]
Piyot, who had followed Uren, looked at Uren with shock.
Except for the time lost gathering information from the 99th floor of the Black Tower down to here, their journey had been remarkably smooth.
They hadn’t encountered a single monster, bandit, or even a fragment of Jǫrmungandr, the Apostle of Destruction.
Furthermore, Uren had located the coin among countless others in a pile, almost as if he were as lucky as Theo, the King of Luck.
But it made sense.
Each day, Uren used the Misfortune-Swallowing Amulet to prevent one large mishap.
More importantly, as the King of Misfortune, Uren’s very act of searching for the divine relic of Misfortune, the God of Misfortune, was essentially a direct march toward misfortune, nullifying other misfortunes along the way.
A negative (-) combined with another negative (-) results in a positive (+).
[Misfortune, the God of Misfortune, urges you to try using the divine relic.]“Yes.”
At Misfortune’s urging, Uren infused the relic with magic power.
[The Game of Certain Defeat begins.][Today’s stakes are 10 billion Tower Coins.]
[If the tails side of the coin appears, you lose.]
[However, if the coin lands on its edge, you will receive 1,000 times the stake.]
[Please toss the coin.]
Messages appeared.
The divine relic, the Coin of Certain Defeat, initiated a random wager daily, betting an amount that the owner could never win.
Whizz.
Following the message’s instructions, Uren tossed the coin.
Clink.
The coin landed on the floor, showing the tails side. It was, of course, expected- both sides of the coin were tails.
[You lose.][10 billion Tower Coins have been taken as the stake.]
[In sympathy, a bit of your misfortune has been taken as well.]
The divine relic, which took money but also absorbed a little misfortune.
Thanks to this, Uren felt just a bit less unlucky today.
And then,
[Misfortune, the God of Misfortune, urges you to hurry up and search for her final remaining divine relic.]Urged by Misfortune, Uren and Piyot set off once more to find the last divine relic of Misfortune, the God of Misfortune.
It seemed that this journey would be smooth as well.
***
99th floor of the Black Tower.
Crash.
Sejun poured about half of the Scorching Cherries into a jar.
The moment he heard the words ‘strong alcohol’, he recalled the Fire Carrot Wine made by Udon, the Tower Farmer of the Red Tower.
He decided to make an even fiery drink using the Scorching Cherries.
Of course, he wasn’t just going to make alcohol – he was planning to add spicy seafood stew as a side dish.
With a spicy side to accompany the strong drink, it would surely boost his spirits even more.
Rustle.
Sejun poured sugar into the jar with the cherries and stirred them with a stick to mix the cherries and sugar together.
As he stirred, he intentionally crushed the cherries. Crushing the cherries would allow their rich aroma to infuse more deeply into the drink.
After mixing the cherries and sugar,
Gurgle gurgle.
he added the alcohol. Specifically, soju that had been distilled from Samyangju made with Level 1 Golden Rice to increase the alcohol content.
Once it was prepared,
“Fermentation.”
Sejun placed his hand on the sealed jar and used his skill to speed up the process. He wanted to complete the cherry wine quickly so he could deliver it to Ramter, who was feeling weak.
[Using Fermentation Lv. 5.][The fermentation period is shortened by a day and a half thanks to Fermentation Lv. 5.]
[Fermentation Lv. 5 speeds up the process slightly.]
[Fermentation Lv. 5 deepens the flavor slightly.]
[Your proficiency in Fermentation Lv. 5 increases slightly.]
Shalarang!
Kkabi assisted Sejun from the side by using the Power of Decay to support the fermentation process.
While Sejun and Kkabi worked hard to make the cherry wine delicious through careful fermentation,
“Puhuhut. Here comes Vice Chairman Hybrid Theo, the master of fishing, meow!”
Kuehehehe. Kueng!
[Hehehe. Honorary member of the Hybrid Protection Association, Cuengi, is also great at catching fish!]
Under Sejun’s instructions, Theo and Cuengi were busy catching seafood from the cave pond to use in the spicy seafood stew.
Meanwhile,
Kihihit!
Except for Kabi, the unhelpful Blackie Family was just playing around running through the farm.
That was what Sejun wanted from the Blackie Family anyway. Just don’t cause trouble.
As each person focused on their roles, the sun eventually set, and a gentle starlight illuminated the darkened sky, taking its place.
The starlight wasn’t as dazzling as the sun, but it was enough to brighten the night sky.
It was like Sejun, who, despite being strong himself, was often treated like a sunfish among the ultra-strong.
“Alright. It’s done!”
As Sejun, who had been working tirelessly late into the evening without even eating, shouted,
[You have achieved the feat of being the first in the Tower to create Well-aged Extremely Fiery Cherry Wine.][The recipe for the Well-aged Extremely Fiery Cherry Wine has been registered under the Cooking (Master) skill.]
Messages appeared.
Just as the fermentation process was finishing up, Kkabi used the Power of Decay to age the wine, completing the maturation process perfectly.
“Hehehe. Let’s see how it turned out.”
Sejun checked the options of the cherry wine, the product of his hard work.
[Well-Aged Extremely Fiery Cherry Wine]→ A wine made with soju distilled from golden Samyangju made with golden rice (+1), grown by the Tower Farmer Park Sejun of the Black Tower, and brewed with Scorching Cherries and sugar.
→ The rich aroma of cherries is deeply infused.
→ Upon consumption, enhances fire attribute abilities, and its powerful energy of fire with powerful dispelling effects burns away curses, amplifying magic power by 2000% for 20 seconds.
→ If consumed by a god with fire-related divinity, increases divine power by 150 (increases divine power by 100 for other divinities).
→ If unable to handle the intense heat of the Well-aged Extremely Fiery Cherry Wine, the fire may burn the body itself.
→ Chef: Park Sejun, Tower Farmer of the Black Tower
→ Assistant Chef: Kkabi
→ Usage Restrictions: Requires over 5 million magic power or at least 1 million divine power
→ Shelf Life: 1000 years
→ Grade: ★★★
This should be strong enough, right?
Sejun looked at the wine’s options with a satisfied expression.
Then,
“Um… could you each take a sip and let me know how it is?”
He went to the dragons by the fountain and asked them to taste the wine.
The dragons who transferred the wine glasses Sejun poured to their main bodies through their mouths.
…
They were silent for over a minute. Or rather, they couldn’t speak, overwhelmed by the lingering impression left by the wine.
When they drank,
Fwoooosh.
Their mouths were filled with the rich cherry aroma, accompanied by an intense sweetness.
Gulp.
As the wine went down, they could feel the heat all the way down their throats, as if it were burning its way through their esophagus. It was so hot it seemed like their throats were aflame.
The wine continued down their throats, spreading warmth throughout their bodies, starting from their stomachs, and the dragons felt an odd sense of comfort alongside the heat.
In contrast, the esophagus, which had been burning moments ago, now felt cool and refreshing.
The warmth spreading through their bodies, the coolness in their throats, and the lingering cherry aroma and sweetness in their mouths came together to leave a long-lasting impression on the dragons.
Grin.
Before they knew it, the dragons were smiling.
“It’s good.”
Sejun, who had been tense while watching the silent dragons, felt assured upon seeing their smiles.
This wine was a success!
As Sejun felt confident about the wine and was about to head back,
-Ahem. Sejun, I suddenly feel a bit weak…
-…I, too, feel so weak… I can’t do anything.
-Ughhh… maybe I’ll feel better if I have just one more glass of cherry wine?
The dragons spoke in voices that sounded like they were on their last breath.
However,
“You should have drunk moderately. This is a hangover.”
Sejun, seeing through the dragons’ little act of pretending to be weak just to get more of the Well-aged Extremely Fiery Cherry Wine, ignored them and headed down from the fountain.
Then, he quickly made his way to the kitchen to start cooking with Sejun No. 1. The side dish.
Thunk.
Sejun grabbed the largest and best-quality fish in the kitchen to prepare it.
“Meow?! Great Hybrid Chairman Park, you can’t use that, meow!”
That’s the fish for my grilled fish, meow!
Theo cried out in alarm.
104.28.193.250
“Theo~nim, let’s give it to Ramter-nim this time. Ramter-nim is not feeling well.”
“Meow… Fine, meow! Since it’s Great Hybrid Chairman Park’s request, I’ll give it up, meow!”
Theo spoke in a slightly dejected voice, reluctantly giving up his fish.
Kuehehehe.
My octopus is safe.
Cuengi chuckled as he watched, relieved.
However
Kueng…
[Cuengi has to give it up too….]
When Sejun picked up the huge octopus he had his eye on and put it in the pot, Cuengi’s face fell.
Kking! Kking!
[Great Blackie will win!]
In the end, only Blackie, who was fighting with an octopus half his size that he had chosen as his dinner, managed to score an unexpected victory in this situation.
Kking!
[Butler! Help me!]
Along with a definite defeat.
“Sigh, how can my sunfish not even handle a single octopus?”
Sejun laughed as he pried Blackie free from the octopus, which had its seven tentacles wrapped around him, with one of its tentacles still in Blackie’s mouth.
“Here, eat this and behave.”
Kihihit! Kking!
[Hehe! Okay!]
Sejun gave Blackie some Roasted and Dried Sweet Potato to snack on and went back to preparing the ingredients.
A little while later…
“Ah, that’s good.”
Sejun exclaimed in delight after tasting the completed spicy seafood stew. Even though he had made it himself, it was incredibly delicious.
With the cooking done,
“Sejun No. 1, thank you for all your hard work.”
Sejun patted Sejun No. 1 on the shoulder, who had helped him with the cooking. It was now time to say goodbye.
Swish.
Sejun No. 1, whose time had expired, transformed into a beautiful ivory-colored light and quietly disappeared.
…
You don’t realize the presence of someone when they’re there, but you feel their absence keenly once they’re gone. Sejun felt an immediate emptiness.
At that moment,
Grrrrr.
The sound of Cuengi’s stomach growling.
Come to think of it, everyone had skipped dinner while preparing the food and drink for Ramter.
“Hold on a moment.”
Sejun hurried back to the fountain.
“Ramter~nim, please try this.”
Put the Well-aged Extremely Fiery Cherry Wine and spicy seafood stew into the mouth of the red dragon statue to transfer it.
Then,
“You must be hungry. Let’s eat dinner quickly.”
He grilled some fish, fried eggs, and mixed soy sauce and butter into rice, sharing a quick dinner with his companions.
Another busy but peaceful day passed by.
***
Red Tower’s Administrator Area.
…
Ramter sat there in a daze, so drained of energy he didn’t even have the strength to slightly move the tip of his tail.
Then
…?
Ramter’s nose twitched at a spicy aroma tickling his nostrils.
Gulp.
Ramter unconsciously swallowed the saliva that had pooled in his mouth.
It was a small movement, but like a small weight moving a huge mass on a lever, it was enough to stir Ramter into action.
And then
[Well-Aged Extremely Fiery Cherry Wine][Calamity Spicy Seafood Stew]
What’s this?
Ramter turned his head toward the source of the smell and saw the food and drink placed nearby.
The stew had an intimidating name because Sejun had added fire moths, which tasted like squid, and the legs of petrifying spiders, which tasted like king crab.
Slurp.
Ramter started by tasting the spicy seafood stew, which had a mouthwatering aroma.
“Aah.”
He couldn’t help but let out a sigh of satisfaction at the rich, spicy broth.
And then,
Swoosh.
His hand naturally reached for the bottle of cherry wine.
Pour.
He poured a glass and downed it in one shot.
“Ahhhh.”
This time, a long sigh escaped as the intense sensation of the drink burned down his esophagus.
Soon, Ramter was drenched in sweat as he devoured the wine and side dishes.
While he was deeply engrossed in his feast,
Bzzz.
[The Red Tower is now connected to a new world: Grima.]The crystal orb vibrated, announcing that the Red Tower had connected to a new place.
“This time, I won’t lose!”
Fwoosh.
Ramter, who had regained his energy by now, was burning with determination.
“Ah!”
Because of this, the remaining wine and food evaporated on the spot. Sejun’s wine and side dishes had greatly enhanced Ramter’s strong aura.
“It’s fine.”
I’ll just ask Sejun to make more.
With the wine and food Sejun had given him, Ramter had burned away all his negative emotions.
“I should ask him to make about 10 bottles of cherry wine and 3 bowls of seafood stew for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Sejun should be able to manage that, right? I am the great Red Dragon Ramter, after all. Hahaha.”
It seemed he had become a bit too positive.
*****
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