The Black Tower had a different environment on each floor.
There were caves, deserts like wastelands, forests where grass and trees mingled, even denser jungles, treacherous mountains, snowfields swept by blizzards...
The inside of the tower was no different from a real environment.
The stones rolling around were real, the hard-textured trees were real, the soft rustling grass was real.
Did the players who entered the tower just quietly watch all of that?
As a memento of entering the tower, they picked up stones and put them in the tower-exclusive inventory, snapped off tree branches and put them in, plucked a few blades of grass and put them in.
But the moment they left the tower, everything disappeared.
The stones, the branches, the grass—everything without exception.
Maybe it was because they were in the inventory?
Maybe holding them in their hands while exiting would make a difference.
But the result was the same.
No drops, no gathering.
Only clear reward items.
Only things granted through the tower-exclusive inventory could be taken out.
Everything else was absolutely forbidden.
But then, what about the things that came out of Laxiss's backpack?
A massive Iron-Armored Basilisk's hide had been skinned—whenever had he done the work—a magic stone had been mined, and even grass that looked like medicinal herbs had been pulled up.
"You gathered and brought back all of this, Laxiss?"
"Hooee, sorry, Summoner. Those people finished the clear too early. This is all I could get."
"Bad people! They just kept clearing among themselves and finished whenever they pleased."
"Hooeng!!!"
Anyway, it was simply astonishing.
It was strange that Laxiss was only Rare.
Well, Gobang was Rare at first too.
Strong, but dim-witted.
Similarly, Laxiss was capable but had weak combat power.
Ah.
To think I tried to cast out this precious being just because of low combat power.
I must reflect deeply.
Juhyeok hugged Laxiss tight—wham!—and rubbed his face against him as he spoke.
Soft, round. "Ah, Laxiss! You're the best! The best! A true angel among angels! Tell the Mad Demon to step aside!"
Then the others followed.
"Th-that's right. A very excellent summoned-being."
"Laxiss, may this maiden have a hug as well?"
"Excellent. The warrior shall protect Laxiss."
"Hooeng?"
Laxiss didn't know what to do.
He'd thought he would be scolded for not filling the bag completely.
To be praised like this.
"Hooeee..."
The items Juhyeok had received up to floor 41.
Except for a few, over 90% were magic stones.
What's the point of clearing S++?
They tell you to eat magic stones and get lost.
It was the same for other players.
Selling magic stones to make a living—that's what a player was.
Occasionally clear rewards like metals, hides, herbs, or items dropped, but the probability wasn't that high.
In that sense, Laxiss's tower-gathering ability could chew up and swallow an LSSR—who knew this many material items would come rolling out of such a tiny bag. 'It's like a backpack with inventory-like performance.'
He goes with us to the end.
No replacements. What about floor 51?
Well, we'll just park it there.
And we'll manage one more trait enhancement.
By any means necessary.
"Laxiss, you're disappointed it ended so quickly, right?"
"...Yeees."
"Shall we go in one more time, then?"
"Tomorrow?"
"No, right now."
"Hooeng? It's once a day though..."
"We can go in. I can do it twice. Hahaha."
"Hooeeek?"
Startled, Laxiss.
His eyes went round. "...Hooe, Summoner, you're amazing. Incredible."
"Want to go in now?"
"Yeees."
"Then let's go!"
Spot![Entering Floor 41 of the South Korean Black Tower.]※ ※ ※
Before starting the clear.
Juhyeok gathered the summoned beings.
"Alright, everyone, we've already cleared this floor at S++. Go as slowly as possible. Make things easy for our Laxiss to work. Got it?"
"Yep! We'll drag it out until the mission time limit."
"We'll try. The lizard will kill them slowly."
"This maiden will move together with Laxiss."
"Hooeng!"
I was looking forward to it.
Just how much material would he gather?
Laxiss, deploy.
Rumble rumble rumble.
The enlarged Gobang moved forward and blocked the passageway so the Basilisks couldn't approach Laxiss.
Kosaku assisted as well.
And Laxiss, already standing far ahead, had begun his gathering activities. 'Fast, so fast.'
His legs were merely decorative.
They posed no obstacle whatsoever to Laxiss's movement.
Perhaps his round, plump body had been designed for ease of movement.
He'd roll over there, wiggle his bread-loaf bottom as he worked, then roll somewhere else and wiggle his bread-loaf bottom again.
The sight was so adorable that just watching was delightful.
And it wasn't only Juhyeok.
"Kyaaak!!!"
Gyeon Dallae chased after Laxiss, screaming like a crazy X. 'Hmm.'
The strict, solemn, and serious Heavenly Emperor Empire princess was nowhere to be seen.
Meanwhile, Gobang grabbed the tail of an approaching Iron-Armored Basilisk and flung it away, whoosh whoosh.
He didn't even kill them.
Even after quite some time had passed, the kill count was 0.
It seemed the gathering activities had now more or less finished.
The rolling Laxiss came to a stop and looked up at Gobang from in front of him.
"Hooe..."
"Worker Laxiss, may I catch a lizard?"
"Just one, please."
"Understood."
The moment of greatest curiosity.
How exactly would he skin it in one piece?
Gobang grabbed the tail of a passing Basilisk.
Then he swung it around, whoosh whoosh, and slammed it into the ground!
Wham!
"Got it."
In that instant!
"Hueeeeng!"
Laxiss burst into tears.
Juhyeok immediately rebuked Gobang.
"What are you doing, making him cry?"
Kosaku too, and Gyeon Dallae too.
"You wretch! I knew you'd cause trouble sooner or later! You think you're an SR, so you've got no respect for anything?"
"This is too much, Gobang! Doing something so rough to this small, weak Laxiss! Even among fellow servants, you must observe proper courtesy!"
Gobang was startled and waved his hands in denial.
"Uh, I, I only caught a Basilisk."
That's right.
Why did he cry?
So I asked.
"Hooeng, if you kill it like that, the hide gets all ruined. It has to be thrown away."
"Ah!"
He was supposed to skin it, but it looked like a savage slam had ruined the hides.
Originally, Basilisk hides had an automatic scratch-repair function, but damage exceeding a certain limit, like this, couldn't be restored.
So Juhyeok took out the Cold Dusk's Golden Mace he'd received as a special privilege.
"Trust me. I'll take down one cleanly."
"Hueeng, if you hit it with that, the hide will freeze and shatter. The Summoner doesn't need to catch any."
"..."
What is wrong with these guys?
Each of them was blocking his hunting in their own way.
He had no choice.
Juhyeok gestured to Kosaku.
"Ah, Laxiss, you should have said so earlier. This SR Kosaku will take them down cleanly for you."
"Hooeng?"
"With the blade aura of this dagger, I'll stab their eyeballs and..."
"Hooeeee."
Laxiss's eyes sparkled.
The hunt began anew.
Gyeon Dallae rang her bell to inflict confusion on the Basilisks.
Then Gobang lightly broke their legs, and once they were bound, Kosaku finished them off.
And thus, Basilisk corpses without a single scratch.
Laxiss immediately stepped forward.
He took out a short knife from his garment, made a few incisions here and there, and then.
Grasping the Basilisk's jaw area with his short arms, "Nng-cha!"
He pulled hard while rolling over and over, and—shaaack!
"Whoa!"
Clap clap clap clap!
Juhyeok and the rest of the summoned beings applauded.
The body and the hide were completely separated.
It looked like molting.
The skinned hide automatically went into the small backpack. 'That must be a skill too.'
Of course.
Laxiss was Rare, not Normal.
He was extremely practiced and seasoned.
No wonder he received praise everywhere.
One caught, so one more.
It takes some time, but so what?
It's not like we need to clear S++.
But after the sixth one.
"Hooe, that's all."
Huh? What do you mean, that's all?
"The bag is full."
"Ah..."
Even that backpack seemed to have its limits.
Well, a single hide is enormous.
Disappointing, but we'd have to be satisfied here. Monster hide.
This stuff was rare and expensive.
The combat boots Juhyeok wore were also made from Basilisk hide.
It was used for armor crafting, but also for general crafting.
Bags, shoes, wallets, things like that.
Extremely durable, and because of its rarity, the price was whatever the seller asked.
But the quantity was so small that it couldn't be commercialized.
Instead, celebrities like singers and actors, along with wealthy elites, struggled to get their hands on monster hide.
Animal protection groups and such had been making such a fuss lately.
Protesters stripping naked while demanding that people stop skinning poor animals for human greed—it had become chaos.
So even famous figures had to be mindful of animal protection groups.
But what about custom-made items crafted from monster hide?
The claims of animal protection groups wouldn't hold any water.
Surely they wouldn't argue that monsters also had the right to live in peace.
A thought suddenly occurred to him.
He wanted to feed Laxiss the Summoned-Being Grade Ascension Rune.
To create a worker who hid his strength—the strongest worker in history. 'I really am curious.'
Laxiss, an SR.
Worker Laxiss, an SSR.
If his grade rose, how would he change?
His backpack capacity would definitely increase. 'Could it be that he'd be able to bring back not just tower materials, but items and things like that too?'
A worker companion with promising growth.※ ※ ※
Juhyeok and his party exited the tower.
The clear that had taken the longest time so far.
The cramped living room of the officetel was piled high with the things Laxiss had gathered.
"Hahahaha!"
"Hehehehe."
"Hooehehe."
He felt full without even eating.
Assuming it all sold, how much would all this be worth?
Six whole Basilisk hides.
Including the one skinned earlier, seven in total—just that alone left no room in the living room.
Fifty kilograms of magic stones mined inside the tower.
25 million won at market price.
Unknown medicinal herbs.
They'd find out once they got them appraised.
Tower rewards supposedly gave dried herbs, but these were fresh herbs just gathered.
They hadn't managed to mine any ore.
Well, they could mine it later.
He put it all into Juhyeok's inventory.
Even though the space had expanded from his level-up, it was nearly a third full.
Worker Laxiss, now officially confirmed as a full member.
Five in the household total. 'We can't put this off any longer.'
Moving was urgent.
He wanted to move right away.
A spacious house was essential for the summoned beings' comfort.
Juhyeok took out his laptop and turned it on.
He should open a real estate transaction site and search for a decent apartment.
Apartment prices were no joke.
Even if not a penthouse, most decently spacious units exceeded 5 billion won.
Expensive ones were in the tens of billions.
Well, in a world where even 20-billion-won ones existed. 'Expensive, so expensive.'
Looking to the provinces widened the options.
He could buy a much more spacious apartment for a far cheaper price.
But he didn't want to leave Seoul.
This was Juhyeok's hometown.
His parents and family were here too.
Click, click. Even while thinking, he kept searching apartments.
Not a single one caught his eye.
He knew the reason himself.
Because that penthouse Jeon Gwangil had once proposed wouldn't leave his head.
It kept lingering in his mind.
How wonderful would it be to live there?
It was hard to break away from something that had once captivated you.
This is why first love is never forgotten.
In the end, Juhyeok looked at the photos of the penthouse he'd given up on again.
Whether you had money or not, the devilish penthouse was always a burden. If he were a real alpha male, he'd have splurged on it without hesitation. 'Wait! What happened with the holy sword rental?'
He should ask about that while he was at it.
He turned on his smartphone for the first time in a while.
He was a public official, so he'd be busy—a text message then.
A moment later.
Tootok!
The message notification rang.
A reply came like clockwork.
Let's see, the rental fee was... "Huh?"
What is this?
Juhyeok rubbed his eyes and checked the message again. 'You rented it... twice?'
Good heavens!
What kind of windfall is this?
Borrowed it twice?
And the calculation was done precisely. 20 million dollars, 26 billion won. 'Then there's no problem buying the penthouse at all.'
Aaaaaah!
Earth's strongest nation, the USA.
A country full of alpha males.
Thanks to the gracious American player, the 20-million-dollar holy sword rental fee—26 billion won—would soon be deposited into his account.
Truly the best player.
He could rightfully be called hyung-nim.
Gerald Watson hyung-nim.
Give me 26 billion won and you're my hyung.
Ahem! Of course.
If he'd known he'd rent twice, I would have given him a discount.
And he was even planning to visit again in a few months.
That's right. To clear floor 67.
"Alright, everyone, gather round. I have a major announcement."
"Yep!"
"What is the matter?"
"The warrior is ready to listen."
"Hooe?"
He casually showed them the laptop screen. "We're moving. To here."
"Th-this place?"
"Isn't that the palace we saw before?"
"A spacious home."
"Hooeee..."
"And how much is it?"
"20 billion won."
"...Ye-yes?"
Kosaku said, trembling. "Th-that's too expensive. We'll have to take out a loan. Then Boss Summoner becomes house-poor. We won't even be able to eat ramyeon."
Where did he even learn "house-poor"?
"The loan sharks will come again. Then we'll need ribbons."
"We're not borrowing money though."
He casually said terrifying things.
"Er, even if we buy it, who will clean that huge house?"
In that instant!
"Hooe, your feet, please. Your feet!"
"...".
Whoosh!
In the blink of an eye, Laxiss was sweeping the floor with a rag.
Kosaku stared blankly at Laxiss's retreating figure.
"...We can buy it."
Gyeon Dallae also offered her earnest, heartfelt advice one last time.
"This maiden is worried, my lord. To indulge in such extravagance for your servants. Please reconsider."
"It's fine. Money can be earned again. Right, Laxiss?"
"...Hooeng?"
We have a treasure trove—what's there to worry about?────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────