Chapter 119: The First Followers
After that, he turned the "camera" toward Hwi as well.
This cat looked so foolish that he honestly felt there was a good chance it would pass too.
Besides, there was apparently no limit on the number of attempts allowed for submissions.
He could simply test things repeatedly.
[ Ding! ]
[ Verification successful! ]
[ Would you like to permanently confirm this follower submission? ]
"Huh?"
Hwi, who had been lying on the floor feeling sorry for itself, suddenly turned its head toward Joo Joowon in confusion.
A moment ago, it had heard a voice asking whether it wanted to stay with Joo Joowon forever from now on.
But where was the cat that had spoken to it?
Why couldn’t it see anyone?
The tabby climbed to its feet and sniffed around in confusion.
There wasn’t even the scent of another cat nearby.
"Hm?"
Seeing Hwi’s reaction, Joo Joowon immediately sensed that something was strange.
So follower submission wasn’t simply automatic once the trust requirement had been met?
It actually asked the target for permission as well?
Then why hadn’t Byeol reacted at all when he submitted him earlier?
Could it be because of the difference in affection levels?
After thinking about it for a while, that was the only explanation Joo Joowon could come up with.
Byeol truly trusted him enough.
Perhaps, in Byeol’s heart, he had already accepted that Joo Joowon had the right to decide everything for him, which was why he had never even received the question in the first place.
That seemed to be the only possible explanation.
After all, with how sharp and perceptive Byeol was, there was no way he would simply ignore a voice that suddenly appeared beside his ears.
Joo Joowon felt unexpectedly touched.
He had never imagined that Byeol trusted him this deeply.
Without hesitation, he rushed over, grabbed the cat’s fluffy face with both hands, and planted several kisses all over it.
"Meooooow!"
What are you doing?! Are you trying to eat me again?!
Byeol honestly wanted to punch him several times.
"Hehe."
Joo Joowon scratched beneath Byeol’s chin to calm him down.
Only then did his excitement settle slightly before he turned toward Hwi.
He had already guessed that with how simple minded Hwi seemed, earning its trust would probably not be difficult.
What he had originally expected was that Hwi would fail because of the level requirement.
What he had never expected was that Hwi wasn’t an ordinary cat at all.
It was already a mutated beast.
The main reason Joo Joowon had never considered that possibility was because he had seen cats with body sizes similar to Hwi’s on the internet before.
As a result, he had never connected the two ideas.
He rubbed Hwi’s head before opening the door to the neighboring apartment.
"Bomi, are you asleep?"
The cactus shifted its roots slightly, almost as though it were greeting him.
Joo Joowon crouched in front of it. "Bomi, I want to discuss something with you. I currently have a territory waiting to be inherited. However, there’s a review process involved. In a moment, a voice will ask whether you’re willing to come with me. If you refuse, then you won’t be able to follow me to the territory. So when the time comes, remember to agree, alright?"
Bomi stood motionless atop the corpse beneath it.
Its roots wriggled slightly.
Joo Joowon had no idea whether it was eating or whether it had actually understood what he said.
Since his Mental Power was still too weak to project outward, he could only sense energy fields rather than communicate directly.
As a result, he simply decided that Bomi’s reaction counted as agreement and immediately pointed the camera toward it before selecting submit.
[ Ding! ]
[ Verification successful! ]
[ Would you like to permanently confirm this follower submission? ]
"Yes!"
Three out of the four required slots had now been solved immediately.
Joo Joowon’s spirits instantly soared.
He gently tapped the foxtail grass with his finger. "Songi, you heard what I just said to Bomi, right? Let’s give it a try with you too."
[ Ding! ]
[ The target has rejected your follower invitation! ]
Joo Joowon’s expression remained perfectly calm as he immediately shifted the camera toward Songi.
"Songi, let’s try as well."
To be honest, Joo Joowon wasn’t surprised by the result at all.
After all, the foxtail grass had essentially been kidnapped by force.
Before that, Byeol had even nearly used it as a chew toy.
Not only was there no affection between them, it probably held a grudge against him instead.
So what Joo Joowon had done just now was merely a test to determine whether the foxtail grass was some kind of heavenly treasure or whether it was a living being with intelligence and the ability to think, just like Bomi.
Now that the system had already provided the answer, he considered the experiment worthwhile no matter what.
Songi and Bomi were his real targets.
[ Ding! ]
[ This follower does not meet the quest requirements! ]
Joo Joowon rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
The system had referred to Songi as a "follower."
Did that mean Songi had actually agreed to the system’s invitation but simply failed to meet the level requirement?
Then what exactly would Songi need to do in order to reach Level 1?
Would it be like Bomi, with the flower on its head beginning to bloom?
Joo Joowon glanced toward the corpse that Songi had rooted itself into.
He wondered whether Songi would be able to level up after completely absorbing the corpse beneath it.
Plants naturally possessed very long growth cycles.
The only reason they had mutated so quickly in the first place was because of the rain brought by the game system.
That rain had allowed both zombies and plants to experience widespread level increases.
Now that the system tutorial stage had ended, how much time would they need to raise their levels on their own?
Joo Joowon felt that he couldn’t afford to put all of his eggs into one basket.
He gently touched Songi’s prickly body and said, "Songi, work hard and level up so you can bloom soon, alright? Bomi next door is still waiting for you."