A metal workshop that repaired and crafted Players' weapons—
"Deputy Director? What brings you here in person...?"
"A new Tower material has been discovered. I came to ask whether it can be processed."
"Really? Let's have a look."
At the words "new Tower material," the master craftsmen came swarming.
When he showed them the ore loaded on the truck—
"Th-this looks like ore—"
"That's right. It's adamant ore."
"What?"
"O-Ore?"
"Isn't this the Tower reward ingot?"
"Here, let me see it too."
Each of them picked up a piece of ore, unable to hide their astonishment.
To think they'd get to see ore instead of finished metal ingots.
"We'll need to smelt it to be certain."
"That's exactly what I came to request."
The craftsmen broke several pieces of adamant ore into small fragments with hammers, sorted them, put them into a small blast furnace, and melted them down.
When it came to smelting, the leader and the others were seasoned experts, so the process went smoothly.
They melted the ore to extract the metal, filtered the impurities out of the molten steel, poured it into a pre-made mold, and let it cool.
"It really is an adamant ingot."
"The ore content is remarkably high too. At least fifty percent or more."
There it was.
The smelting was a success.
"Could you use this to make leatherworking tools first?"
"Tools used by leather craftsmen, not Tower-conquest equipment? Well, we can make those quickly enough... but why on earth?"
"That's a secret... I'm sorry."
"Hahaha, of course. It's state business, so we'll have them ready in no time. We'll make them out of adamant. How many sets do you need?"
"At least a hundred sets."
"Got it. We'll contact you when they're done."
And so the leatherworking problem was solved.
There were plenty of materials.
How long could it take to make leatherworking sets?
He'd bring them more ore anyway.
Jeon Gwang-il called Go Yeon-ha.
"CEO Go, I've secured the leatherworking tools. Please proceed with commercialization quickly."
-Thank you. I'll do my absolute best to make proper products.***
Ju Hyuk also received Jeon Gwang-il's message.
The ore smelting had been a great success.
The quality was excellent as well.
The metal content was higher than expected, so it would yield over a ton of ingots.
When he told Rajix, the round body wobbled and jiggled with joy, not knowing what to do with itself.
Seeing it that happy—well, he'd just have to go mine some more.
But he couldn't keep mining ore forever.
That day was approaching.
Just three days away.
In three days, it would be time to welcome a new guest.
He'd also clear Floor 50 and confirm the special privileges.
And right then, news came on the TV.
>FFS, why are those oil bastards coming to our country and spouting nonsense? They've got Saudi Arabia right next door.
>There are rumors their relationship soured after they backstabbed each other.
>Ah! The trait enhancement rune?
>Kkkk, Saudi Arabia must be thrilled deep down.
>What about the US? They'd come running if you offered them an oil field.
>They're already in talks with Japan. And oil fields were only valuable back in the day.
>Doesn't Russia also have a temporarily naturalized Player?
>Yeah, they're in talks with China. And the Russian Player isn't a temporary-naturalization specialist. They're just the top Player.
>Wow! They just lend out their top Player like that?
>It's an authoritarian state, so when ordered, they obey.
>Nam Ga-eun is our top Player. They shouldn't have the nerve to ask to borrow them.
>You think so?
>What do you mean?
>Is Nam Ga-eun really our country's top Player?
>Ahh! Now that you mention it, we do have a separate top Player.
>They're only on Floor 49, but eh, they'll hit the 60s within two months, right?
Crown Prince Bin Salah's desperate appeals continued the next day.
>Kkkk, saw that coming. Now they're pointing without even pretending to be subtle.
>They're basically saying, "Recorder of the S++ grade, please watch the news." Offering money you can't refuse.
>But when are they going home? It's unsettling.
>What's the government doing? They should kick them out ASAP.
>They're planning to stay for quite a while.***
Ju Hyuk saw the news too, but he wasn't particularly interested.
If they were going to offer the trait enhancement rune, maybe he'd consider it.
Did they think money could buy everything?
What did they take the future world's richest man for?
He blocked it out and went off to mine ore again.
And that day drew closer.
One day before the random summon cooldown reset.
Ju Hyuk handed over the accumulated ore at the Management Agency and returned to the penthouse.
Beep beep. He opened the door and stepped inside.
"Chung! Welcome back, sir!"
Today, once again, Kosak was diligently wiping the living room windows with a clean microfiber towel.
"Loyal servant Kosak, helping Rajix clean! Hehehe."
"Hahaha, take it easy. Your body's not in great shape."
"I'm Ssual! Ssual. A mere smack can't hurt me."
"Sure, sure."
He'd watched the man get smacked half to death and nearly killed.
He'd brought it on himself.
Kosak was the one who first goaded him into the bet, after all.
Ju Hyuk had business with Gyeon Dallae.
She was a shamaness, so she could do divination, right?
Ju Hyuk wasn't the type to believe in such things, but having vividly experienced the effects of her rituals and talismans, how could he not believe?
"I shall perform the rice divination. I cannot determine the detailed future, but at the very least, I can glimpse matters of fortune and misfortune."
Gyeon Dallae took a handful of rice from the rice container by the sink.
Then she sprinkled it out across the table.
"Hmm."
She observed the scattered grains of rice, occasionally prodding them.
Had it come?
Would it be luck (吉) or misfortune (凶)? Calamity (禍) or blessing (福)?
"The reading has come forth."
"Oh! What is it?"
"Though ominous matters stir, it ends in great fortune; though the roots of calamity form, they are swept away by blessing. Such is your fortune."
Huh?
That was confusing.
"In other words, it's good?"
"Ultimately, yes."
"Thank you for the reading."
One thing down.
"My lady."
"Speak."
"Let's begin preparations for the gut."
"I shall prepare."***
The next day.
Ju Hyuk took a taxi.
The site of the gut was, as previously discussed, Mani Mountain on Ganghwa Island.
Just as before, he summoned Kosak to scout out the market, then summoned Gyeon Dallae and Go Bang near Mani Mountain.
Since it was a place with many passersby, Gyeon Dallae strung a sacred rope around the area where the gut would be held.
Finally, he summoned Rajix too.
"Hoh-eng?"
Even with the sacred rope strung up, people would pay no attention, she said.
Even if the drums pounded away.
They set up the ritual table and began the gut.
Solemn, serious, dignified.
Rajix, too, pressed its round body flat against the ground and joined in, hoh-eng, hoh-eng.
And then, back at the penthouse.
"Let's enter Floor 50."
[Entering Floor 50 of the Black Tower of South Korea.]
The mission appeared.
[Floor 50 Mission: Defeat 60 Scorpions and 1 King Scorpion, regardless of type.]
The conquest began.
He gritted his teeth and moved as fast as possible—he couldn't let his guard slip and miss the Platinum Badge.
Ju Hyuk waited in the rear along with Rajix, so the summoned wouldn't get in the way.
Rajix wore a grave expression.
It knew that whether the trait enhancement rune appeared would determine its own fate.
A random summon would bring six people from the catalog.
Let's say Gwangma doesn't count.
Then five.
If the trait enhancement doesn't happen, he can only summon four.
One left over.
They could rotate, but who would be the replacement in this situation?
Nobody except the laborer.
The King Scorpion appeared.
No pushover, that one.
Its massive pincer clamped down on the waist of the enlarged Go Bang.
KWA-JIJIK!
But Go Bang pried the pincer open to escape, snapping it in the process, and while Kosak's sword qi severed the tail's stinger, he slipped into the relatively soft underside and stabbed away with his daggers without mercy.
Still, the creature's exoskeleton was so thick, and its resistance so desperate, that it didn't end easily.
It was a fairly fierce battle.
Granted, they were being pummeled by Ssual Go Bang and Ssual Kosak.
But for a truly smooth hunt, it was clear they needed one more dealer. From Floor 51 onward it was a flying-monster section, so ideally a dealer with ranged capability.
But honestly, did they really need to recruit one?
A dealer?
Wasn't there one already?
A dealer, already prepared.
A level-50 dealer, owner of dazzling talent, wielding a mace and the Aegis behind an energy barrier, freely deploying Shadow Steps and Honwon Pyeollyeokgon.
Ranged?
Couldn't he just make them come down?
He had a pistol, too.
He could pass the belongings check, bring it in, and shoot away.
Or he could get a crossbow from the Player Shop, roughly pull a flying one, and drag it down.
Wait, right.
He didn't need the trait enhancement at all.
What if he skipped the random summon altogether?
If he joined as a dealer himself, everything would be solved.
But the summoned grew more and more frantic.
Rajix, too, stood beside him, gripping the hem of his clothes with both hands.
It would keep being like this, wouldn't it?
Higher floors meant proportionally greater danger—that was common sense.
Suddenly, he remembered what Gwangma had said.
That when the Earth Black Tower rose into the 70s, it would start collapsing in places.
Not a wrong statement.
Even now, in the late 60s, the floors couldn't be cleared without the Holy Sword, couldn't they?
And one more thing.
How had Kosak's previous summoner died?
Comparing it to his own situation, it wasn't hard to guess.
The floors kept rising, the trait enhancement never appeared, and with a limited roster, the conquest continued—eventually the summoner would have had to act as the dealer themselves.
If they died, that was the end.
The summoned couldn't leave, and the tower's collapse would destroy the world.
Putting it all together.
The reason the summoned were so desperate for the trait enhancement was obvious.
Fine. He'd do as they wished.
'So what if I get strong alone? How strong can one person get? Talent, my ass.'
Ju Hyuk's class was Summoner.
What were the virtues of a proper summoner?
'Summon good people, increase the number of simultaneous summons, raise their grades... that's my role.'
The time he had was ample.
Except for a few countries, every nation's climbing progress was still in the 50s.
'No need to rush.'
Slowly.
Enjoying everything along the way.
Collecting the Platinum Badge and steadily claiming every special privilege.
And if a situation arose where the current roster struggled?
'Unseal Gwangma, I guess.'
At the very least, inside the Tower, it would obey his commands.
His worries gradually faded.
Ju Hyuk finally arrived at peace.
[Notice: You have achieved an S++ grade for clearing Floor 50 of the Black Tower (South Korea).]
[S++ Clear Reward: The Platinum Badge is awarded.]
Back at the penthouse.
The summoned stood in the living room with weary expressions.
It was time to open the inventory.
And so the summoned were extremely anxious.
Ju Hyuk, on the other hand, was utterly at ease.
"...W-will you check now?"
He nodded at Kosak, nodding with all the willpower of "it will go well for you."
"Summoner, a warrior always..."
He nodded at Go Bang with a look that said don't worry.
"Maiden, whatever the result, only to you, my lord..."
He met Gyeon Dallae's eyes and nodded with a benevolent expression.
"Hoh-eee..."
He stroked Rajix's head and nodded with a smile that said trust me.
He had to be the one holding the center—who else would?
'Ten characters.'
Fifty Platinum Badges, gleaming brilliantly.
[You have accumulated 50 Platinum Badges. Special privileges will be granted.]
It had begun.
No matter how cold it is, the plum tree pushes through adversity and blooms its buds wide open.
The flowers of special privilege would do the same.
In the end, they would bloom in full, soothing the hearts of Ju Hyuk and the summoned.
Heaven helps those who help themselves.
[Special Reward: One Multinational Tower Access Ticket (single use) has been added to your inventory.]
'Hmm.'
A Multinational Tower access ticket.
'Hmm.'
He'd gotten this ticket before, too.
'Hmm.'
Two in total.
"Hmph... Ah, damn it all! Forget it!"
"Isn't this just going too far?"
"I'm not doing it! No way! I don't need it! Climbing the Tower? Go jump in a lake!"
"No matter how I think about it, this just isn't right."
"Throw it all away!!! What kind of joke is this special reward?"
"He's right, that Bong guy! It's like they're making fun of us."
"I'm going up to the 51st floor right now, abandoning the mission, and coming back down. Don't try to stop me! Platinum? They can give that to the dogs."
"P-please calm yourself. It is all this girl's fault. I accept my punishment for disturbing your peace, young master, with my paltry fortune-telling and shabby street performance."
"Boo-hoo-hoo!"
All hell broke loose.
***
Juhyeok took a deep breath for a moment.
He'd gotten too worked up.
Times like these were exactly when he needed to stay level-headed.
"Ugh, the more I think about it, the angrier I get."
Then Kosak, watching Juhyeok's mood, spoke up.
"Seeing as it's come to this, we should aim for the 55th floor special reward."
Honestly, that was the only option left.
"...Do you really think we can clear an S++ rating with this lineup?"
"Proceed with the random summon."
"There are only four slots?"
"W-well, nothing we can do. To reach the 55th floor, we'll have to drop one person."
Who? Everyone's gaze turned to a single spot.
"Hoo-hoo..."
Obviously, the non-combat summon—a worker.
"Lajiks, you're saying we cut him?"
"I do so with the heart of Uchammasok..."
What do you mean, Uchammasok? Is climbing the Tower a Three Kingdoms drama now?
"If that's how it is, we could drop Kosak too. He has the Mad Demon, after all..."
Kosak's mouth twitched.
"Oh? Now that I think about it, that's perfect. Lajiks, the Mad Demon, and me—the three of us can climb from the 51st floor with no problem. Hahahaha. We should've done this from the start."
The mood turned ice-cold.
"I-I'm sorry."
"This warrior apologizes to the Summoner. And to the worker too."
"Th-that is right. Strengthened rewards are not something that can only be obtained through Tower climbing rewards. For example, items as well..."
Wait a moment.
That's right.
There was another way to obtain one.
"Come to think of it, there is one person who might have a Trait Strengthening Rune..."
"Gasp!"
Kosak sprang to his feet and asked.
"Who might that be? Just tell me. Your loyal servant Kosak will fetch it at once!"
"Well, you see..."
Juhyeok explained to the summoned ones.
About the situation in the United Arab Emirates.
Why the Crown Prince had personally come to Korea.
And the strained relationship with Saudi Arabia.
The cause was the competition over the Trait Strengthening Rune.
The UAE had monopolized it, and Saudi Arabia was furious.
He wasn't certain, but the prince might be carrying the Rune on him.
When Juhyeok finished his story, Kosak, who had been listening silently, smiled and said,
"Summoner Bong, leave it to me."
"...Leave what to you? Don't tell me—robbery?"
"Pfft, I don't steal anymore. Unless there's a ribbon attached."
Robbery would actually be better.
"There's one thing I'm genuinely good at, besides assassination."
"What's that?"
"Negotiation. I'll meet him in person and negotiate. In a way that satisfies both sides."
He looked quite confident.
He could guess what kind of negotiation Kosak intended, but whether the prince would simply hand it over was questionable.
"...You really won't take it by force?"
"Nope!"
"You won't kill or injure anyone?"
"Nope!"
"You'll make it a win-win where both sides are satisfied?"
"Nope!"
Should I trust him?
He searched the news—apparently Crown Prince Bin Sala was still staying at a hotel in Korea.
Having rented out an entire floor.
"But! There is something I need."
"Name it."
"First, please give me the shield and mace you received before, Summoner Bong."
The items he'd received as special rewards.
The Golden Aegis of Warm Dawn and the Golden Mace of Cold Dusk.
That's what he was referring to.
"They're practically brand new."
"That's exactly the point."
"You're planning to negotiate with these?"
"Yep. They're gifts. Don't we need to make a good impression before the negotiation?"
Hmm.
Now he was taking his weapons too.
Nothing to be done about it.
Might as well grab at straws.
"Fine. I'll trust you this once. But! It has to be negotiation, no exceptions. Violence is forbidden. In exchange, I won't blame you even if you fail."
"Nope—I mean, yes, sir!"
Suddenly, Gyeon Dallae's fortune came to mind.
Good fortune follows misfortune; blessing follows calamity.
He hoped that would be the case.