“Ha... Did you say around seventy S-rank items from the Tower Random Box?”
“Yes. To be precise, he said seventy-four. The reporters judged that there wasn’t enough evidence, so they didn’t turn it into an article, but... there’s almost no chance he said it as a joke. To begin with, he had no reason to make that kind of joke right after completing a tower conquest.”
“The scales are tilted to an insane degree... How do things like this keep happening around one man, Jeong Suho? Is the entire universe pouring its blessings onto that one person...?”
“...I agree.”
James Anderson, the new president of the United States, let out a sigh at the same time as Hamilton, the Chief Information Security Officer of the Tower Security Bureau under the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
“Has there been any progress in the investigation into the incident where we came right up to the brink of war, only for all military weapons to vanish?”
“The CIA has been dispatched to Russia, India, Pakistan, Türkiye, Greece, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Serbia, Kosovo... and all other relevant locations, and they are conducting active searches, but they have yet to secure any definitive evidence. However...”
“You’re saying they suspect it was Jeong Suho’s doing...?”
“In truth, he is the only person—no, the only existence—capable of something like this. So while we have no physical evidence, no grounds, nothing at all, we have no choice but to hold that suspicion...”
“What is the current situation in the countries that had their weapons taken on a massive scale?”
“In broad strokes, they’re all much the same. Having lost enormous assets in an instant, their ruling governments have been shaken, and political instability has grown. They’re also suffering chained economic blows.”
“Ahem... Whatever the case, he’s the greatest threat to us...”
For the United States, which accounted for roughly forty percent of the world’s arms exports, Suho’s actions were a threat in and of themselves.
Slogans of Suho’s like “absolute world peace” and “absolute prohibition of war” ran counter to American interests no matter how one looked at them.
Of course, the United States officially proclaimed that it pursued world peace, and it continued activities for peace through UN peacekeeping operations and international cooperation. But in economic, political, and military terms, America’s actions did not align with the pursuit of peace.
Rather, it was more accurate to say that it “preferred controlled tension or regional conflict” over stable peace.
In the current state of affairs, where the economic gains generated through arms exports had been extremely restricted because of one man, Suho, the United States had to find its own way to survive.
Either uproot the enormous potential threat that was Suho, or—
“We have to crawl on our own, is that it... In any case, we have no choice but to maintain our current stance as much as possible...”
“That’s right... If he were to suddenly appear one day and wipe out every U.S. carrier strike group...”
“...That would be a catastrophe...”
There were frustrating circumstances, but no answer. The conclusion of discussions like this was always to strengthen a more actively pro-Korea and pro-Suho policy.
* * *
The S-rank and SS-rank items Suho had obtained from the Tower Random Box were all distributed to Ultimate Line and Sanarae.
Until now, Suho had posted and sold quite a few of the failures he had crafted in the subspace warehouse with his EX-rank crafting ability—S-rank items—on the global OnTower auction house, but in the end, the money that came in amounted to nothing more than a paltry few tens of billions.
If he was going to hand out items just to make that kind of money anyway, he thought it would be better to distribute them within his own clans. So lately, he had been directing all supplies inward.
After all, Ultimate Line growing stronger was not unrelated to Suho growing stronger, and Sanarae Clan growing stronger was synonymous with Elysium Heights becoming safer.
By now, Ultimate Line’s clan members were equipped with one SS-rank item and two S-rank items as standard gear.
They weren’t purchased with money. Instead, the items were distributed by supporting the person who needed them most, according to class and characteristics.
Needless to say, once they had obtained the power of equipment, Ultimate Line’s overall combat strength rose sharply.
The ones who felt an even greater shock and change than Ultimate Line from Suho’s distribution of high-grade items were, without question, the members of Sanarae Clan.
At some point, Sanarae Clan’s primary mission had become not tower conquest, but the security of Elysium Heights and the protection of its residents. It was simple work that didn’t seem to leave much to do, but since they received enormous compensation from Suho, there were almost no complaints.
In truth, unless one was an extreme battle maniac, it was only natural to prefer receiving a sufficient salary while protecting VIPs over risking one’s life climbing an unknown tower where all manner of dangers lurked.
Now that Lee Danbi had left for Ultimate Line, Lee Seojun, who had taken over as clan leader, called all of the A-rank and B+-rank Admittees in the clan.
Nearly thirty people in total.
With the only S-rank Admittee gone, the highest-ranked Admittee was now A+, and the clan had fallen considerably in both domestic and international clan rankings. But that wasn’t important anyway.
“This time, I received items from Honorary Director Jeong Suho. I called you all here because I intend to distribute them.”
Many had been dragged there looking annoyed, but the moment Jeong Suho’s name came up, their eyes instantly turned bright and sparkling.
Had there ever been anything mediocre among the things Jeong Suho gave out? The goods he bestowed were always world-shaking items.
When Lee Seojun gestured toward the large reinforced case placed at the center of the conference room, everyone’s gazes turned toward it.
“These items were bestowed free of charge by Director Jeong Suho... in the hope that Sanarae Clan will become stronger. Therefore, I, too, will not distribute them among us in the form of sales or auctions. Instead, I will divide them by giving priority to the person who needs each one most.”
Just what kind of items were they for Clan Leader Lee Seojun to drag things out like this? Their frustration grew, but everyone, filled with anticipation, waited quietly.
“Before looking at the items, first, please write on the tablet in front of each of you what item you need and want most, considering your current combat style, stats, and traits. Write down four choices, from first priority to fourth priority. I’ll give you ten minutes.”
Everyone tilted their heads, but they wrote down the items they wanted without complaint.
The problem was always that they had no money or that the items they wanted weren’t on the market. As for what each person wanted, everyone always had plenty. So it didn’t take them long to write things down.
The items each person had written down were organized one by one and appeared on the large screen in the center, and before long, the display was packed full of the item lists everyone had submitted.
After scanning the list, Lee Seojun smiled and pressed a button at his seat. With a hiss, the reinforced case opened, revealing the items inside.
All sorts of items that looked extraordinary at a glance emitted powerful ether.
Swords, axes, bows, magic guns, breastplates, shields, boots, rings, necklaces... items for truly various slots were neatly displayed inside the reinforced case.
Gulp.
Someone swallowed, and others let out exclamations.
“Uh... This, this is... surely...”
“C-Chief, just what rank is this...”
Whether B-rank or A-rank, they were veteran Admittees with plenty of experience, so they had a certain eye for items. At a glance, they recognized the true value of the equipment.
Looking at them as they stammered blankly, Lee Seojun answered.
“That’s right. They’re all S-rank items.”
“!!!!”
“S-rank...!!”
“M-My God...”
That day, Sanarae Clan enjoyed the tremendous luxury of having every B+-rank and A-rank Admittee equip one S-rank item each.
It was an over-specced item setup unprecedented among any clan in the entire world.
* * *
After Suho and the clan exited the tower, they took time to rest and reorganize, distributed items and rewards, and held discussions on feedback from the tower conquest as well as future plans.
And even then, they responded to interviews with the press that was still anxiously waiting, satisfying curiosity about the tower conquest. The coverage filled every media outlet and recorded an enormous number of views.
As a result of the feedback, Suho became especially concerned about the limits of the reinforced androids and preparations against spirit-type monsters. He held a long meeting with Dr. Choi’s research team regarding the matter.
“You said four to five thousand degrees Celsius?”
“Yes. They were exposed to that level of extreme heat for several minutes.”
Examining the twenty super reinforced androids, parts of which had melted and could no longer function, Dr. Choi sighed.
“I was confident that we had designed reinforced androids that could endure any environment... but the tower’s environments and monsters truly exceed imagination in many ways... To deal with a situation like this, the only methods would be an extreme fire-resistance setup or a cold-attribute setup... and they would have to be invested entirely into that in order to obtain somewhat meaningful defensive power.”
“Right... But the problem is, it’s not like only hot enemies appear... In any case, once elemental spirits started appearing, the reinforced androids couldn’t do a thing.”
“...Hmm... Then how about this?”
“What do you mean...?”
“For now, this is under the assumption that your subspace is spacious enough, Clan Leader Jeong Suho.”
“Ah, don’t worry about that. The space is really generous. There’s truly plenty.”
“That is fortunate. We haven’t been able to mass-produce the super reinforced androids, but haven’t we produced quite a number of Reinforced Android Ascend units?”
“That’s true... Ah, then!”
“Exactly. We divide those Android Ascend versions into groups and focus each group entirely on a specific attribute. About ten units with fire-resistance setups and cold-attack weapon setups, another ten or so with the opposite—cold-resistance setups and fire-attack weapon setups—and on top of that, electric-resistance setups... In this way, we create dedicated anti-attribute combat groups specialized for every attribute, including light and darkness, earth, wind, and so on. If we do this, the consumption of Android Ascend units will be severe, but...”
“Ooh... You’re right... That’s definitely possible. We can accept that level of consumption. It’s better than dying, isn’t it? Creating dedicated response teams prepared for each attribute... As expected, I was right to consult you, Doctor.”
“I’m glad I was of help. Shall we begin production immediately?”
“Yes, yes! Let’s get started right away.”
From that day on, Suho and the research team spent some time focusing on producing Reinforced Android Ascend units and devoted themselves to attribute setups for each group.
Not only that, in the subspace warehouse, he pestered Ravi relentlessly and newly devised countermeasures against supergiant monsters like Karnoas.
The mass attack that covered the entire field of the corresponding floor had worked effectively this time, but depending on the circumstances, there might be situations where such a brute-force attack was not possible. The space might be narrower than expected, or there might be something below that must not be destroyed, among various other reasons.
Therefore, he had to devise a method to concentrate effective damage in a limited, narrow area while dealing with a supergiant monster.
Prepare for danger before it comes.
Since he never knew what kind of enemy he might face or when, he had to account for every possibility.
* * *
Before he knew it, a month had passed since he had finished conquering the ninety-sixth-floor tower.
Since the year had already changed from 2040 to 2041 inside the tower, it meant that a full three years had now passed since Suho had obtained this absurd wealth and ability.
After spending quite a lot of time reviewing the battles on the ninety-sixth-floor tower and supplementing what had been lacking, and only after preparing countermeasures of his own, Suho was finally able to enjoy proper rest with an easy heart.
He spent a few days rolling around doing nothing, resting, when suddenly, a thought struck his head like a bolt of lightning.
“Ah...?”
“Yes?”
“Why didn’t I think of that...?”
Seeing Suho mutter with a dumbfounded expression after recalling something, the team leaders of Ultimate Line who were with him tilted their heads.
“I’m going to step out for a bit.”
“Wh-Where to?”
“The tower.”
“What?!”
“It won’t take long.”
Leaving only those words behind, Suho disappeared into the subspace warehouse.
Then he called Ravi and asked,
“Ravi, you said that if it’s a place I’ve entered and exited through the subspace warehouse, I can open a dimensional gate and go there again, no matter where it is, right?”
“That is correct.”
“Even if... it isn’t Earth?”
“Of course. Even if it is a planet somewhere in space that is not Earth, it can be connected without issue.”
“Mm... Then what about the tower?”
“Ah...?”
The space inside the tower was not, of course, a specific physical location on Earth, nor even one in the universe.
It was a kind of isolated space.
It bordered the real world through a thin boundary, and when a Tower Break occurred, demonic beasts from another dimension crossed over to Earth through cracks in the collapsed boundary, but fundamentally, the world inside the tower was an intersecting dimension that did not physically exist yet influenced reality.
Rabi also did not seem to know the exact details regarding this.
“Hmm... It seems I have never attempted such a thing before.”
“Right? Then I’ll give it a try. When I recently went to the 96th-floor tower, I entered the subspace warehouse several times, so I should try going into one of those.”
“Understood. Hmm... Oh, the coordinates are saved. Where would you like to go?”
Once Suho chose a location, Rabi opened a gate for him.
Instantly, the surrounding scenery changed.
“Wow...”
The place he crossed over to was the spot where they had held the first-day barbecue party during the Healing Tower camping trip.
On the plains where cool winds bent the plateau grass low, the traces of the camp Ultimate Line had set up remained exactly as they were.
It was a peaceful plateau devoid of demonic beasts, as most had been culled.
“It works... This... it actually works...”
He equipped his Tempestvein Wings and flew about, surveying the plateau and checking the rangefinder on his visor to find that the field was of considerable size, its diagonal length well over 15 kilometers.
After looking over the plateau as a whole, he flew to the spot where the portal leading to the 12th floor was supposed to be, only to encounter an unexpected situation.
“Huh...?”
The portal that should have been there, leading to the upper floors, was nowhere to be found.
“What the... why is it gone?”
No matter how much he looked around, he could find neither the portal leading up to the upper floors nor, conversely, the one leading down to the lower floors.
After putting their heads together to discuss it with Rabi, they reached the conclusion that when the ‘Altar at the Tower’s Zenith’ collapsed, the rings that bound and connected each floor must have been severed.
In other words, each floor had now become an independent intersecting dimension; this field was one of them.
“That’s a shame. Then the floors I never entered through the subspace warehouse are ones I can never go back to...”
“Hmm, it would appear so.”
“But hey, this is still something. There are quite a lot, aren’t there?”
Suho had entered and exited the subspace warehouse on roughly 35 of the total 96 floors, so records remained for those.
“That much is my land, then.”
More vast land had been acquired.
The problem was that in the reality of Earth, the tower had already vanished.
In the end, only Suho could make use of the tower’s space, which ultimately meant it was no different from the subspace warehouse, but...
“Tch, I already have a plot of land as large as the solar system all to myself. Does this even mean much...”
“It depends on finding a method, but it may differ from the land in the subspace warehouse.”
“Really? How is it different?”
“First, the subspace warehouse is an exclusive domain that no one but you and I may enter or exit. However, the tower’s space is not that type of exclusive domain—haven’t the other clan members stayed inside for extended periods? Thus, if we can only find a connected passage, other people will be able to enter as well.”
“Ooh... I see. If we can find that passage...”
Yes, then it would truly become solid additional real estate.
* * *
The fact that Ultimate Line had conquered the 96th-floor tower in a mere 76 days was treated as a major issue by clans and Admitee management organizations worldwide.
Beyond the mere fact that they had cleared the tower quickly, an extreme yet efficient strategy for tower conquest was a grave matter that could promise the future of Earth’s civilization and guarantee the survival of humanity.
As increasingly high towers were appearing all over the world and their numbers continued to grow, in such bleak times where doomsday tales circulated frequently, the triumphant feat of a successful conquest told by Ultimate Line was like a lifeline.
But each time the detailed contents of the conquest were revealed one by one, it became clear that this lifeline was not something just anyone could grasp... and every nation felt bleak despair once again.
No country could operate that many super-enhanced androids, and no clan possessed that many S-rank Admitees.
The massive mass attack Suho had demonstrated was not known to the outside, but even if it were, it would be the same.
There was no one among humanity besides Suho who could do such a thing.
Ultimate Line’s value skyrocketed, and every country bowed its head before them.
With the hopeful expectation that, should a high-rise tower appear in their land, they would surely come.
* * *
Roughly five weeks after the conquest of the 96th-floor tower was completed,
around March 14, 2041.
As if mocking the quiet and peaceful world, another high-rise tower rose in Basel, Switzerland.
Its height was a staggering 103 floors.
It was the greatest and worst tower to appear in the entire history of Earth.