It was the 10th day since he started climbing the tower.
Clearing the 9th floor yesterday had been easy as well.
Strictly speaking, it was easy for Kossak, not for him.
The 9th floor mission was to eliminate ten jungle carnivorous corpse flowers.
Giant carnivorous corpse flowers that spread their petals on the ground in the dense jungle forest and snapped up the legs of any human passing by.
"What'll it be? They're in the way."
They had no teeth, the force of their petals closing was weak, and while digestive fluid did leak out, it only caused a slight sting on contact with skin.
John Kossak simply trampled over them.
He crushed the corpse flowers flat, flattening them beyond recognition.
"Should I try stepping on one too...?"
"Hey now, don't come any closer, they stink and they'll get your shoes dirty."
Aren't these things way too much like flowers raised in a greenhouse?
On the other hand, he didn't have any proper combat skills, so it made sense they wouldn't lunge at him.
In any case, the 9th floor was cleared.
S++ rank was the default.
The Platinum Badge came as a bonus.
How reassuring that was.
The fact that he was a deranged assassin who had brutally killed three people was no problem at all. 'Honestly, he only did that to protect me anyway.'
Today was the 10th floor mission.
Designated summon of Kossak, first of all.
Satisfaction rating of 5, no questions asked.
And then—
[John Kossak's satisfaction rating has been set to 5.]
[Due to the continued streak of perfect scores, John Kossak's manifestation time has been increased by 1 hour.]
'...Huh?'
He hadn't expected that.
'The perfect scores were worth it.'
John Kossak also had a delighted expression.
"Thank ye. Now I can assist ye for one more hour."
"I've said this before, but I'm counting on you."
"Just trust in me!"
Juhyeok and Kossak entered the 10th floor.
[Entering the 10th floor of the Black Tower of South Korea.]
[Physical abilities have been enhanced to match the floor level.]
[Traits and combat skills are now available.]
At around the 10th floor, the feeling changed.
He could now clearly sense it.
'I've gotten stronger.'
A readjustment of his physical abilities inside the tower.
Vitality overflowed, and strength surged up.
Along with it, a subtle mana he could feel from his lower abdomen.
It was useless for now since he hadn't learned a skill yet.
Among the status window entries, there was one labeled [Combat Skills].
Juhyeok had the Summoner trait, so he had nothing, but players with other combat traits generally acquired skills starting from level 1.
So did that mean Summoners could never learn combat skills?
That wasn't the case.
Skills could be learned by leveling up, or through rewards in the form of items, such as Skill Runes.
Anyway, the 10th floor's mission—
[10th Floor Mission: Defeat 1 Giant Horned Mantis.]
[Time Limit: Within 2 hours.]
[Completion Condition: Giant Horned Mantis 0/1]
[Failure Condition: Death or mission abandonment.]
"I'll help too."
"Ah, no can do. If something goes wrong and my Summoner-nim so much as gets a scratch, I'll have to bash me own head in."
"No, still, I can't just stand around doing nothing. If I get hurt, I can just drink a healing potion. I got one as a reward."
"Save yer potions and just cheer from the back."
He didn't want to be a greenhouse flower anymore.
He wanted to do something.
"No. This time, for sure! I'll definitely fight alongside—"
In that instant!
Skrritch, skrritch!
A massive Giant Horned Mantis emerged, parting the forest.
"...Oh."
It was huge.
Just looking at it sent chills down his spine.
The compound eyes of a giant insect.
A well-developed mouth and mandibles.
Forelegs curved like scythes.
A triangular head with a horn jutting out where antennae should be.
That was a 10th floor monster?
How did other players manage to kill these things?
"...If, if I clumsily tried to help from the side, it'd just get in your way, right Kossak-ssi?"
"Well, nothing'd really get in me way."
"No. Cheering from the side is better than awkwardly trying to help."
"Is that so?"
"Yes! Fighting, Kossak-ssi!"
"Yeeehap!"
Papapat!
Kossak charged forward at a terrifying speed.
Pook, pook!
Two stabs destroyed the mantis's compound eyes, swish! swish!
Two slashes severed both of its forelegs, and pook! jueeeeeong!
A blade of deep blue aura sliced open the mantis's abdomen, spilling its guts everywhere.
Once again, it was over in an instant.
The Giant Horned Mantis was killed without even a chance to counterattack.
[You have succeeded in the 10th floor mission.]
[Your level has increased.]
[Reward: 1kg of Manastone.]
[Notice: You have achieved an S++ rating in the conquest of a floor of the Black Tower (South Korea).]
[S++ Conquest Reward: You are granted a Platinum Badge.]
[You can now challenge the 11th floor.]
[Exiting the Black Tower of South Korea.]
Poof!
Juhyeok returned to his studio apartment.
'...It's already over.'
Did this mean he'd escaped beginner status?
Let's check the rewards.
1kg of Manastones.
5.5kg in total accumulated.
The Platinum Badges? Since he'd received the trait enhancement bonus at 5 badges—
[For accumulating 10 Platinum Badges, a special privilege will be granted.]
'...Again?'
Another privilege had arrived.
What could it be?
[Privilege: You may copy one skill possessed by a summoned being.]
[List: Blade Explosion, Shock Breaker, Vile Ambush, Poison Dagger, Shadow Steps, Disturbance, Concealment, Invisibility, Polymorph... Please state the skill you desire.]
"...Wow."
Skill copying.
So that meant he could learn one of John Kossak's techniques?
There were too many.
Which one should he choose?
"Summoner Bong-nim!"
"Yes?"
"You absolutely must take Shadow Steps."
"What's—"
"The skill you'll copy from me. Don't ask questions, don't hesitate, just learn Shadow Steps."
Should he, though?
Let's ask for the reason first.
"Why?"
"It's handy for running away. If things go bad for me, ye can slip away swiftly and quietly."
"..."
Running away? What does he take me for!
Did he look like someone who'd run off to save his own skin?
"...Skill acquisition: Shadow Steps."
[Skill: Shadow Steps has been acquired.]
[Shadow Steps has been registered in your status window.]
Quick feet were extremely important in combat.
Speed was the essence of fighting, wasn't it?
It was useful for running away too, of course.
Anyway, the skill's usage instructions sank right into his head.
Skill: Shadow Steps
Description: Quickly flees while leaving a trail of shadows. Effectiveness improves as your level rises.
How to use it.
He could use it by speaking the name aloud, or by expressing the intent in his mind as he moved.
'How satisfying.'
[Combat Skill]: Shadow Steps
He finally had a skill he could use inside the tower.
'Could it also work in the real world...?'
No harm in trying.
"Shadow Steps."
He activated the skill, but—
"..."
Nothing happened.
"Doesn't work."
He'd secretly hoped it would.
"Unbelievable."
Summoning skills worked outside the tower.
But why not combat skills?
If they were going to allow summoning, they should allow this too.
"It's inconsistent. So inconsistent!"
"I don't know what yer on about, but ye sound right."
What a shame.
A skill that was incredibly useful for making an escape.
If it worked outside too, there would be countless ways to use it.
Still, he could use it inside the tower, so he was gradually becoming safer.
A favorable turn of events.
※ ※ ※
It was the 11th day of climbing the tower.
A day off from his part-time job.
He had taken a special day off.
Because he had something to do.
A thought suddenly crossed his mind.
Should I quit the part-time job?
'...I'll stick around a bit longer and see.'
Conquering the tower wasn't difficult.
All he had to do was summon John Kossak-ssi.
At the very least, Kossak had said he'd have no problems up until the mid-10th floors.
For the upper 10th floors, he'd need to summon one more.
Once the random summon cooldown came back around, that is.
Anyway, his task for this morning was decided.
Selling the Manastones.
But it required a special process.
The most difficult and arduous moment for Juhyeok.
Manastones were stones harboring energy that was harmless to the human body.
They were used across various industries, and research on them was ongoing.
He could sell them anywhere.
However, the moment he tried to sell Manastones—
his identity as a Player would be exposed.
He would be placed in an extremely dangerous situation.
Inside the tower, he was a warrior who wielded great power, but in reality, a Player was no different from an ordinary civilian.
He could be kidnapped and imprisoned by bad people and turned into a Manastone shuttle.
Players died plenty inside the tower, but they also died plenty in the real world.
Well, that didn't apply to Juhyeok.
He could summon John Kossak in reality as well, like a loyal bodyguard.
Even so, he couldn't feel entirely safe.
What if something troublesome happened after John Kossak's summon was dispelled?
What if, by unlucky coincidence, he couldn't summon him immediately due to the designated summon cooldown?
If he wanted safety, there was only one choice.
Contracting with the state.
In the past, there had been dealings with large corporations, and Players had joined forces to form guild-like alliances, but those had mostly disappeared now.
There were rumors that black markets and secret Player organizations still lingered, but their nature was unclear.
Contracting with a national government was the safest option.
If he requested it directly, they would provide personal protection.
The state would also handle the sale of reward items obtained from successful missions on his behalf.
Of course, there could be preconceptions.
That joining the state meant a loss of freedom, or being unfairly exploited.
But that was only true under authoritarian governments.
A typical government—especially the South Korean government—granted Players broad freedoms.
Because Players weren't a danger in reality. Because they were only strong inside the tower and weak outside of it. Because without them, the tower's collapse might occur.
If anything, the state should step up and protect them as a top priority.
'Sweet embrace of government power, how I love thee.'
Currently, Players managed by the state fell into two categories: 'Elite' and 'Regular.'
Elites were specialized tower-climbing teams under special state management.
They aimed for the uncharted upper floors.
Regular teams, on the other hand—or "scrub" teams—were Players who had lost the will to climb and only lingered on the lower floors.
As long as he didn't join an Elite team.
Because that came with duties and responsibilities.
What Juhyeok wanted was a scrub team.
Over 90% of Players contracted with the state belonged here.
Players who simply parked themselves at a moderate floor and performed repeat missions.
How great was that?
A goal that fit the identity of scumbag Bong Juhyeok perfectly.
But there was also a source of unease.
The notices that had come in while conquering up to the 10th floor recently.
[Notice: You have achieved an S++ rating in the conquest of a floor of the Black Tower (South Korea).]
He'd only recently learned what this meant.
After finishing the 10th floor conquest yesterday, he had accessed an internet forum called the Tower Climbing Gallery, which Players occasionally visited to research information about upcoming floors—
└ Is that rumor for real?
└ Yep. The authorities are keeping it hush-hush right now, but you think only one or two people saw the notices?
└ Ten consecutive S++ ratings. Is this a national flex or what?
└ What else would it be if not national flexing? You know what the record for Japanese Players is? A measly A rank, supposedly. Didn't even trigger a global notice.
└ Worldwide, A++ is the highest record. That didn't trigger a global notice either.
└ So only S rank or higher triggers a global notice?
└ Seems like it. And it's not just S, it's S++, so it's definitely a massive national flex.
└ Clearly a recent awakened one... Who the hell is it?
A global notice that appeared for all Players.
Everyone knew about it.
It was the topic setting various internet forums ablaze recently.
Naturally, the state would be aware of it as well.
'If it's revealed that I'm the one behind the S++ ratings...'
He could be forcibly dragged into an Elite climbing team.
So what?
Wouldn't it be better to just own it? Confidently come out and declare who he was?
A golden opportunity to gain both fame and fortune at once?
'Absolutely not!'
A single act of boldness could turn the course of his entire life 180 degrees.
Let's remember this once more.
He hadn't earned the S++ ratings because he was amazing.
It was because John Kossak was amazing.
Even Kossak couldn't be trusted once they passed the 20th or 30th floors.
What if the random summon didn't go well and he ended up with a lower rating than Kossak-ssi's?
'Scrub team. Absolutely, definitely.'
What's wrong with being a scrub?
Thanks to the Manastones they acquire, industries develop, the environment is protected, and the world grows more prosperous.
Alright! Now all he had to do was press the phone number.
And simply tell the government official, 'I've awakened. I'd like to sell Manastones.' That was it.
But he had to muster his courage.
It wasn't easy.
Was this really the right thing to do?
Once he made the call, there was no going back.
Couldn't he just keep hiding and live like this?
Then what about the tower climbing rewards going forward?
He wouldn't even be able to sell things like Manastones.
'5.5kg. That's 2.75 million won.'
He picked up his smartphone, then put it down.
Punched in the entire number, then deleted it.
Even now, countless thoughts flashed through his mind.
Aaagh!
The crystallization of indecisiveness.
The pinnacle of pettiness.
A curse of paternal genetics.
Father, why did you make me this way?
No.
Trust in the maternal genetics.
Just as he was agonizing over it for the dozenth time—
'That's it! I'll just find a way to keep it hidden.'
He'd cleared up to the 10th floor with S++ ratings, but from the 11th floor onward, he'd just tell Kossak-ssi to take it easy and laze around.
"Whew..."
Finally, Juhyeok picked up his smartphone and dialed 1111.
Brrring...
The moment the call connected—
Click!
— Hello? Please state your business.
"I-I'm Bong Juhyeok. Um, I-I... c-called because I've, I've awakened."
He had finally gone through with it.
— Congratulations. May our government-affiliated assistants visit your residence?
"Yes, that's fine. But I don't live with my family; I live on my own in a rented studio. The address is..."
— Understood. We'll head over as quickly as possible.
Petit bourgeois Bong Juhyeok.
It was the bravest decision of his 25 years of life.
Even braver than entering the tower for the first time.