“Candidate for the Tree of Creation. You have successfully nurtured a Dimension Tree. You have passed the third trial.”
[Yes… Does this mean I will become the Tree of Creation now?]
Flamie drooped her leaves weakly, speaking in a dejected voice as she asked the Trial Statue.
“Did you think becoming the Tree of Creation would be that easy?! There are still more trials left!”
The Trial Statue scolded Flamie for trying to become the Tree of Creation so easily.
[The trail ends here…]
Since the area was surrounded by the sea, further tracking was impossible.
“There’s no helping it. Kin~nim, please help us.”
He had clearly said to ask if anything was troubling them.
Recalling Kin’s words from yesterday, Sejun requested the help of Kin Aster, the Great Blue Dragon.
-Find every being that has passed through the 77th floor of the Tower between last night and this morning!
Kin Aster’s order, issued in response to Sejun’s request, resounded throughout the entire Blue Tower.
The Wandering Merchant Guild in the Blue Tower was thrown into chaos.
After all, anyone moving between floors of the Tower would have used the merchant routes managed by the guild.
As the floor bosses and wandering merchants scoured the area for the Jewel Pen Shell thief,
Sejun and his companions spent the entire morning searching the sea floor for the Creator God’s Tablet.
“Why can’t I find it?”
Once again, they had no success.
“They definitely said to search the seabed…”
Mulling over the words of the Creator God, Sejun surfaced and began preparing lunch.
Hehehe. Cold kimbap needs hot soup.
Sejun placed a pot of water on the fire and opened a ramen packet.
The perfect combination.
Sejun looked at his companions and smiled.
[Hehehe. Dad is a genius!]
Experiencing the combination of ramen and kimbap for the first time, Cuengi was in awe and once again praised Sejun.
After their delightful lunch,
Sejun lay back on a sunbed, sipping his coffee.
Theo and Cuengi climbed onto Sejun’s body, settling into place.
Blackie was sound asleep, a piece of roasted and dried sweet potato dangling from his mouth.
“Our Blackie must be cold.”
Hehehe. The sea breeze is quite harsh.
Seeing Blackie like that, Sejun’s playful side kicked in.
He covered Blackie with a thick blanket of sand, then lay back on the sunbed, pretending to know nothing and resumed his rest.
Blackie woke up, whimpering as he struggled to free himself from the sand.
Kking?! Kking?! Kking!
[Who did this?! Who dared to cover the Great Blackie with sand?! Detective Kkeobungi will find the culprit for sure!]
He set off to investigate.
“Blackie, do you want some roasted and dried sweet potato?”
Completely distracted by food, Blackie instantly forgot about the investigation.
While Sejun and his party were enjoying a peaceful moment,
“Sejun-nim, we found something!”
Zelga, the Tower Farmer of the Blue Tower, arrived with a clue about the Jewel Pen Shell thief.
“So, you saw a ship carrying a huge object moving from the 77th floor to the 82nd floor?”
Fortunately, the 82nd floor was one of the floors where Sejun had registered a waypoint while searching for the Creator God’s Tablet in the past.
I was already frustrated from not finding the tablet… now I have a way to relieve some stress.
“Alright, everyone, let’s go!”
Sejun and his party set off for the 82nd floor of the Blue Tower to catch the Jewel Pen Shell thief.
Marchio, the port town on the Blue Tower’s 82nd floor.
Inside the largest mansion in Marchio, a massive Jewel Pen Shell covered in jewels was being transported.
“Where did that come from?”
Watching from a mansion window, Bochiel, the Legendary Merchant of the Blue Tower, asked his subordinate, Tobas.
“Hehehe. Some fool only ate the meat and left the shell behind.”
“Really? There’s actually an idiot who would abandon a Jewel Pen Shell?”
Bochiel asked, sounding a bit skeptical.
Within Bochiel’s merchant group, Tobas was known as ‘Tobas the Empty-Handed’ because most of his trade ventures resulted in little to no profit.
Bochiel had continued to entrust Tobas with trade, believing that his diligence would eventually pay off.
But now that Tobas had struck a big deal, Bochiel felt a bit uneasy.
“Yes. And here, try this. I found it drying near the Jewel Pen Shell. Dip it in this sauce, it’s absolutely delicious.”
Tobas handed Bochiel a piece of dried seaweed, which he dipped into Sejun’s soy sauce seasoning before offering it to him.
Even Sejun hadn’t noticed that his seasoning had gone missing.
“Tobas… You knew someone was drying this, yet it never crossed your mind that they might come back for it?!”
Realizing Tobas’ mistake, Bochiel scolded him.
“Where is it?! Go return that Jewel Pen Shell immediately and apologize!”
Tobas, who had just thought he had finally lived up to Bochiel’s expectations, became dejected as he opened the door.
“Puhuhut. As expected, the great Detective Sherlock Sejun is incredible, meow! It’s a clean sweep, meow!”
Sejun and Theo grinned wickedly as they looked at Tobas and Bochiel, who stood behind him.
Theo stamped Bochiel’s forehead with a seal, adding two more votes to Theo’s impeachment tally.
“Puhuhut. From now on, Bochiel will oversee the Sejun Company’s Blue Tower branch, meow! If you ever need help, seek assistance from the 99th-floor boss or Zelga, meow!”
“Yes! I’ll do my best!”
Bochiel had just gained the most powerful connections possible.
After recovering the Jewel Pen Shell and plundering half of Bochiel’s treasure vault,
“Puhuhut. Chairman Park, grill some fish for me, meow!”
“Alright. I’ll use the kitchen too.”
They made themselves at home in Bochiel’s mansion, eating dinner there as if it were their own place.
They returned to the 77th floor of the Blue Tower and resumed searching the darkened night sea.
To be honest, the search was more of an excuse to digest all the food they had eaten.
As they swam through the pitch-black sea,