Meat tastes best when you eat it at a meat restaurant.
Grilling it outdoors once in a while is nice too, but that's mostly about the atmosphere.
Fortunately, there was a meat restaurant nearby.
A specialty restaurant for fresh, unmarinated Hanwoo beef short ribs.
Looking at the signboard outside—
Fresh short ribs, 100,000 won per 200 grams.
'Hmmm...' An upscale restaurant, then.
Of course, there were places charging 150,000 or 170,000 won, but this one was no less pricey.
Gobang was going to wolf down at least 10 kg, so it would start at a base of 5 million won, wouldn't it?
'Did I pick a place that's too expensive?' But turning back now would be a total loss of face.
The Pea-Summoned were already buzzing, muttering "beef, beef" under their breath.
'Ah, whatever!' What was the point of pointless worrying?
How much money did these people earn for me, anyway?
They entered the restaurant.
No one gave them strange looks.
In a quiet floor-seating room—
"Gobang, you sit down slowly. Slowly. The floor's about to crack."
Ding-dong! He pressed the bell to call the staff.
"Um... excuse me, could we get 20 servings of fresh short ribs?"
"20 servings?"
"And 10 bottles of drinks, and, um, 4 plates of yukhoe too..."
"Yes, yes, of course."
Whew. Order placed, clean and simple.
The first hurdle was cleared.
He'd ordered at restaurants before, but never this much food at once.
'20 servings plus 4 plates of yukhoe—that should be enough to get things started, right?' He'd been holding his card in his hand the whole time, afraid they'd ask if he was ordering too much or whether he actually had the money with him.
"Impressive, Sir Bong the Summoner. Do you come to places like this often?"
"Hahaha, not here, but I used to go to similar places every single day back in the day."
"Hehehe, I'm in awe, sir. That precious beef, every single day!"
Gobang looked at him enviously, and Gyeon Dallae nodded along with a look that said, As expected!
As if he'd ever gone to eat such expensive beef.
He'd gone to serve tables and wipe down the grill.
He was a former part-timer at a meat restaurant, after all.
He'd quit when he started working as a Player.
"Hah! Eat up, everyone. I'll grill the meat myself."
At that, Gyeon Dallae was startled.
"Heavens, no! How could a young master such as yourself take on such labor? Leave it to us lowly ones— I mean, to us."
"I pride myself on grilling meat better than anyone. So hush and eat."
"Still..."
"Is that an order?"
"Your stern command—we shall receive and obey it."
What did he take a former meat restaurant part-timer for?
While they chatted away softly,
Sliiide—the door opened.
The basic side dishes were laid out, and the charcoal grill arrived.
The meat followed right after.
But—
'Huh?' What was this?
'This isn't fresh short ribs.'
Marinated galbi had arrived.
He'd ordered 20 servings, but the quantity was far smaller too.
'Hmm...' An awkward situation.
Marinated meat was against his principles from the start.
Eating fresh short ribs first, then marinated—that was the unspoken rule, wasn't it?
"Sir Bong the Summoner, what's the matter? Your face looks dark."
"I ordered meat, but the wrong thing came..."
"Goodness! How could this be? What shall we do?"
"I'm thinking about it."
"But that looks tasty too. Sniff!"
Really?
Should he just eat it anyway?
'No.' When food arrives wrong, protesting is a customer's legitimate right.
This wasn't being a troublesome customer.
"I'll have to call the staff."
"Quite right. If it's wrong, it must be corrected at once. Show them plainly who Sir Bong the Summoner is!"
"Give them a stern dressing-down."
Ding-dong!
He pressed the bell, and—
"Did you need something, sir? Shall I bring you drinks?"
"...No, it's just that the wrong meat seems to have arrived. Could you check..."
"Pardon? One moment. Oh dear? Why did this end up here? I'm so sorry. We'll swap it out right away."
Whew.
The second hurdle was cleared too.
Fresh meat arrived.
Meat sizzling over the charcoal fire.
The moment it was served, Dong erupted.
Yaman Gobang grabbed five pieces of meat at once.
"You rascal... ahem, how can you take five pieces at once, Gobang? Such gluttony is unseemly, especially with Young Master Bong here— mph!"
Juhyeok shoved a pre-made lettuce wrap into Gyeon Dallae's mouth.
"Delicious, right?"
Gyeon Dallae nodded, chewing away.
Kosaku chimed in too.
"The Princess is right about this one. That beast—what's it called, the Meat Shield?—seems intent on filling its entire body with meat."
Well, so what?
If you couldn't spend money at a time like this, when would you? A 2-billion-won annual salary, income from selling mana stones, and even a steady 1 billion flowing in from the Management Authority as rental fees for the Holy Sword—plus rental fees from other nations too?
He could buy a whole Hanwoo ranch at this rate.
"Come on, now. If you're talking here, you're losing. Time spent talking is time for eating meat. Look at Gobang. He hasn't said a single word—just stuffing meat into his mouth."
It was practically mechanical.
He'd grab even undercooked meat and gulp it down.
"Undercooked meat's fine. I'll digest everything."
Fine, my foot.
That was only okay because he was a Yaman warrior.
They kept ordering.
Gobang, the legendary Meat Shield, true to his name.
Super speed.
He almost felt guilty pressing the order bell.
Before they knew it, they'd passed 70 servings.
Then the restaurant owner came over with a nervous expression.
"Um, you've ordered an awful lot of meat..."
He'd been wondering when this would come.
He'd been waiting for this very moment.
He slapped his card down—tap! "Let's settle up for now. Feel free to charge it again in advance."
"Oh! Thank you, sir."
Flex!
This was what the joy of spending money was all about.
As they kept eating, the meat started coming out faster.
They kept switching up the cuts too.
Chadol brisket, tenderloin, galbi-sal, anchang-sal, marinated galbi... And when even that wasn't enough, they had meat delivered from other restaurants and wholesale shops.
Still not enough?
No, seriously, why were they eating so much?
He'd already blown past the projected budget.
"Um, s-shall we order more?"
"...Are we eating too much?"
Kosaku looked crestfallen; so did Gobang, and so did Gyeon Dallae.
How could he call it quits here?
He'd even told them to order as much as they wanted before they came.
Ah, whatever.
"...F-fine, dammit! R-ruin the restaurant! Order more!!!"
His hand trembling, he pressed the bell—ding-dong.
"Woohoo! Magnificent, sir!"
"Truly a bold and generous young master."
Meanwhile, Gobang kept cramming food down.
That day, the four of them devoured roughly 150 servings of meat.
Since each cut had a different price, the total came to 12.68 million won.
No matter how fun spending money was, 12.68 million won was too much.
The owner even handed him his business card and asked him to stop by again next time he filmed a mukbang for his YouTube channel.
A YouTube mukbang—please.
As if he'd ever come back.
Next time, he'd have to go somewhere cheaper.
After finishing the meat, they went out for a walk, had dessert, went to a coin karaoke and sang together.
Later on, Juhyeok got even more excited.
When had he last hung out and had fun with people like this?
Never, even in the past.
It was time to head back.
Though the Pea-Summoned returned at slightly different times, he released them all in a dark, deserted spot.
Juhyeok returned alone to his officetel.
Pulling his pre-prepared hat down low, he held his key card up to the reader at the main entrance.
Beep! He went inside.
An elite Player coming and going alone without bodyguards should have been unthinkable, but not a single security guard noticed him.
They simply took him for one of the residents.
Some of them were surely police officers or Management Authority staff.
CCTV?
That was only for reviewing after an incident happened.
'Ooh, this is thrilling.'
It felt like he'd become a spy.
Like the protagonist of an espionage film.
'Home really is the best.'
He'd eaten and drunk his fill, so tomorrow, the moment he woke up, it would be the Floor 33 conquest.
And the next day—
"We've eaten our meat, so let's get moving!"
"Chong! Strength surges through me!"
"I shall repay this grace with the fullness of my spirit."
"The Meat Warrior has arrived."
Oh, dear.
Look at their faces.
The beef tallow was practically dripping off them. Dripping.
※ ※ ※
The Awakening Management Authority was busy from the morning.
Manager Lee Min-ah and Team Leader Jeon Kwang-il were anxiously waiting for Player Nam Ga-eun to exit Floor 65.
Surely Player Nam Ga-eun would handle it without trouble this time too? The momentous conquest of Floor 66 would take place in three days.
And it had.
Soon, Floor 66.
The conquest timeline had been moved up.
The time remaining was about two months.
With the Holy Sword in hand, there was no need to rush.
But they had decided to conquer Floor 66 as quickly as possible.
Why?
The impact of Japan's repeated failures at conquering Floor 57 of the Black Tower was significant.
He'd felt secretly gleeful since the protagonist of that failure was Yu Cheol-min, but watching and hearing the despair of the country right next door with his own eyes and ears, how could he feel nothing?
Public anxiety was rising in Korea as well.
The political sphere wanted it handled quickly.
And Director Park Kyung-su's bombastic claim that it would be handled within a month had also played a part.
So, after a long debate, they decided.
Conquer it early and buy themselves six months of time.
By then, enough time would have passed for Player Bong Ju-hyuk to enter the 60th floor range.
Coincidentally, an inquiry about renting the Holy Sword had come in from the American side.
The plan: conquer Floor 66 quickly, bank six months of time, and then begin the Holy Sword rental business in earnest.
The rental fees would all go straight into Player Bong's account, but the sweet profits to be negotiated beyond that would be the nation's share.
That might turn out even more lucrative than the money.
For all these reasons, the early conquest of Floor 66 was decided.
Now all that remained was for Player Nam Ga-eun to finish conquering Floor 65.
"If Player Bong Ju-hyuk enters the 60th floor range, could he do it without the Holy Sword?"
"Look at Yu Cheol-min. Even that pathetic guy conquered up to Floor 65 without the Holy Sword. America's Player Gerald Watson got up to Floor 66—"
"Ah!"
"Are you saying Player Bong is less talented than Gerald Watson?"
"Of course not. Absolutely not."
"That man is beyond classification. If he just equipped a few light-attribute items, he could leap straight up to Floor 70. A Player who conquered the Black Tower 32 consecutive times with S++ ratings—"
In that instant!
Lee Min-ah froze with a blank expression.
"Hold on a second."
"What?"
"You're wrong, Team Leader."
"Wrong? What?"
Wrong, she said.
Where?
"It's not 32 consecutive times."
"What are you talking about? Everyone in the country knows he's conquered it 32 consecutive times... Ah!"
Right.
Manager Lee Min-ah was a Player.
Which meant?
"...It appeared again, didn't it?"
"Yes. The record for the 33rd consecutive S++ rating just came up."
"Hmm, right, that's true. I was wrong."
"Either way, the fact that he's beyond classification is accurate."
In that instant!
Whoooosh!
A cluster of light gathered—
Spot!
Nam Ga-eun appeared.
It had taken six hours.
"...Cheeeese!"
The Holy Sword in one hand, the other forming a V-sign, Player Nam Ga-eun beaming brightly.
But she looked somewhat worn out.
She pulled a healing potion from her inventory and drank it.
"Phew, I feel like I'll live. Ahh!"
She let out a refreshing burp.
"Today was a bit tough."
"...Shall we postpone Floor 66, then?"
"I said a bit! A bit!"
Still, hearing that it was hard made him feel sorry for her.
It would have been so nice if he could give her one more trait enhancement.
"Let's push a little longer."
"Yes, sir!"
Anyway, it was a success.
"PR team, prepare the press release. Start editing the bodycam footage."
The next conquest: Floor 66 of Korea's Black Tower.
Conquer that, and they'd buy themselves six months.
※ ※ ※
South Korea, along with the vast majority of nations, did not force Players into contracts.
It was left entirely to individual will.
Whether an Elite Team contract or a standard one.
It was forbidden by law, and coercive methods could backfire.
And yet, one country had forced its Players to conquer the Tower through conscription.
That country was India—the very first nation where a Tower collapsed.
Blinded by the mana stones flowing out of the Tower, the Indian government lured Players in, confined them in one place, and threw them into the conquest.
If they resisted, they were beaten with clubs and batons.
This left them unable to move.
Even if they entered the Tower and exited, they were right back where they started.
At first, it worked.
Mana stone production had surpassed even China's.
But there was no way the Players would receive proper compensation.
They were lucky to get three meals a day.
The result?
The Indian Players died to monsters inside the Tower, or took their own lives.
Because that was the only way out.
Newly Awakened Indians hid the fact that they were Players.
At the same time, they fled to other countries.
Countless naturalizations took place.
To Pakistan, to Malaysia, to Europe, to China, to Japan, even to South Korea—
The number of Players dwindled.
Would the unconquered upper floors ever be conquered?
In the end, the Mumbai Tower collapsed.
Only then did the Indian government go, "Oh no!" and retract the conscription, granting Players freedom and fair compensation—but it was far too late.
And yet, one country still maintained forced conscription.
It was North Korea.
How was that possible, you ask?
North Korea has no Tower.
Because North Korean players are registered under South Korea's Black Tower.
For a nation that prides itself on its sovereignty, it was an extremely humiliating affair.
But North Korea turned it into an opportunity.
Tower defense against collapse was South Korea's job, so all they had to do was piggyback on it.
Why bother climbing the uncleared upper floors?
The South would take care of everything anyway.
South Korea had no other choice either.
They couldn't stop North Korean players from entering the Korean Black Tower.
The magic stones that North Korean players acquired as rewards naturally became state property.
Those who obeyed were elevated with Communist Party positions and medals, while those who resisted were thrown into concentration camps and drained of their magic stones.
So what did newly awakened players in North Korea do?
They defected, of course.
A small number crossed over to South Korea, but the majority went to China.
Now, what about China?
It operated almost identically to other nations.
Players who acted freely in the private sector, and players supported and cultivated by the state.
But there was one more type of player.
Forced naturalization players.
Though the Chinese government would never admit their existence.
A room adorned in lavish gold.
A man sat in a chair, reviewing documents.
A gaunt body, and an expression devoid of even a trace of humanity.
That was why anyone dealing with him had to be extremely careful.
"Deputy Director. I've come as summoned."
The man called Deputy Director tossed a bundle of documents at his subordinate.
"This is...?"
"A list of players belonging to South Korea's elite teams."
"What? Wh-where did you get this?"
"What do you care? Just do your job."
"I-I'm sorry."
The Deputy Director pulled a cigarette from a red cigarette case, lit it with a click, and exhaled a hazy puff of smoke.
"Pick out the suitable ones and bring them to me. Players capable of clearing Floor 59, or the recently contracted ones—except for anyone whose name is well known."
"Yes, sir!"
"As always, leave absolutely no evidence behind. The motherland will deny your existence."
"Hail!"
His subordinate saluted and left.
Xiao Jun, Deputy Director of China's Special Intelligence Bureau, didn't even spare him a glance.
China's Tower climbing progress stood at Floor 58 cleared, Floor 59 challenge underway.
Only 48 days remained until the deadline for clearing the uncleared upper floors of the Black Tower erected near the metropolis of Shanghai.
If the Shanghai Tower couldn't be cleared, the worst-case scenario would unfold.
The remaining two Towers would collapse one after another.
Then three new Towers would appear elsewhere.
But among the players managed by the state, China had no talent capable of clearing Floor 59. It had been that way since the Floor 56 Wyvern section.
Facing a desperate crisis, what choice did China make?
Naturalization policy, of course.
But there were several kinds of naturalization.
Voluntary naturalization, temporary naturalization, and forced naturalization.
They would approach talented foreign players and offer conditions, and if negotiations fell through, they'd send an elite intelligence team to bring them in anyway.
Mongolia, Laos, Cambodia, Nepal, Bhutan, African nations... The targets were mainly players from weaker countries than China.
Forced naturalization—or rather, abduction.
It had been effective. Pushing up from Floor 56, they had reached Floor 59 before anyone knew it.
But from Floor 59 onward, progress had stalled.
Even the players they'd brought in for their talent couldn't overcome that wall.
So recently, South Korea had been added to the list of abduction targets.
Honestly, it should have been added long ago.
They had also observed Japan's mistake.
It was absurd.
Xiao Jun's muttered words dripped with derision.
"We won't do something stupid like Japan. Openly granting naturalization? That's why they got humiliated."
Players were just ordinary people, nothing more.
Kidnap them, torture them a few times, soothe them gently, stamp the citizenship papers, and deploy them into the raid. Done.
In Xiao Jun's view, it was the most effective method.
And what if they got caught?
Who would dare touch China?
Russia or the United States, maybe. ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────