Juhyeok talked late into the night with Kossak.
Kossak claimed it had been a mutually satisfying negotiation where both sides won.
"Heh heh heh. He clearly said he was satisfied. I heard it loud and clear."
What satisfaction?
Listening back, it was practically extortion.
Well, for Kossak, the red-ribbon artist, that much could probably be called a negotiation.
In any case, the results were good.
It's all good, but...
"The item is such a waste. I haven't even used it a few times."
"That's exactly my point. Doesn't that mean there was no problem even without using it?"
"...;
"Besides, miscellaneous attribute items only work up to Floor 60. From Floor 61 onward, they're useless."
That's true. From Floor 61, the Undead section, they're holy-attribute items.
Also, he's not a player who fights with item power, but a player who fights with summoned-beast power.
I know that well enough.
I know, but it still feels like a waste.
Wasn't it a special-benefit item?
"Then what about from Floor 71? You could use it there."
The section where the Mad Demon said the towers would collapse everywhere.
"Absolutely not. Useless items like that won't do. You'd need at least a legendary named-grade item to even try scraping by."
They won't work?
"Why not? What's in there?"
"Well, when you go up to Floor 71, there's this scary thing, like, like, um... monsters.... um, huh? What was it again?"
Kossak tilted his head and furrowed his brow.
"Strange. I can't remember."
"Have you even been up there? Or is it just forgetfulness?"
"I've been up several times. Heard lots of stories too. But... hmm, my head's all fuzzy."
"Try to remember."
"Haah, is there an eraser in my head, or did someone erase it? It's enough to make a ghost weep."
He clawed at his head, trying hard, but in the end—
"I only remember the feeling that it was hard. Just the feeling. Only the feeling."
"Were the monsters really strong?"
"Hmm, to put it precisely, I'd say they were difficult to deal with. Right. Difficult."
Difficult to deal with, huh.
What on earth could it be?
"I even remember the conversations from back then. People saying they never expected such creatures to appear, and that it had actually started in the late sixties."
Late sixties, huh.
Something must start changing around there.
But which floors? Floor 67 was already known.
The Undead Phantom Reaper.
So that leaves Floors 68, 69, and 70.
"Anything else?"
"Really nothing. Not a single bit."
Suddenly, he grew curious.
Until now, he hadn't given a single thought to anything above Floor 71.
What would appear from that section onward?
Why did the Mad Demon say the towers would collapse en masse in the seventies?
He wanted to know more, but what could he do if Kossak couldn't remember?
It wasn't as if Kossak would lie.
Well, I'll find out when I climb up there.
***
The next day.
Juhyeok woke up early in the morning.
Went to the bathroom to empty himself, took a bath, brushed his teeth, trimmed his nails, changed into clean new clothes, and meditated for a moment.
With his preparations complete, Juhyeok took out the Rune of Trait Enhancement from his inventory.
His first enhancement attempt using an item.
So he felt a little nervous.
'Let's do this.'
Using a rune is simple.
People say you "eat" it.
And that expression is accurate.
You actually eat it.
When you bring the small stone fragment engraved with letters to your mouth, it melts away and slides down your throat on its own.
[Your awakened trait is being enhanced.]
With that—
[Trait]: Summoning (Simultaneous Summons: 5)
'There we go.'
Five now.
First, he called Kossak, Gobang, Yeondallae, and Rajiks together and told them the results of yesterday's negotiation.
"Kyakyakya! Who am I? The master of negotiation, none other than John Kossak!"
"Well done, Assassin."
"Negotiator, you brat!"
"Hoeh? Can I keep staying here?"
"Sure, you can play around chewing on carrots."
"My lord, congratulations. And Kossak-nim, thank you for your hard work as well."
"AHEM! It was nothing so grueling as all that, heh heh heh heh."
Kossak kept rattling off his tales of heroism to his companions; he'd repeated the same story so many times it was about to make blood pour from their ears, but the atmosphere was warm and cheerful anyway.
"Kossak-ssi."
"Yes sir!"
"The monsters that appear from Floor 51 onward? You remember that, right?"
"Gryphons. Just imagine a really, really big bird."
Rajiks raised his hand high.
"Do we skin them?"
"There's nothing but feathers. We skin the leather from Floor 56 and above, the Wyvern section."
"Hoeh, what do I do?"
"In repeat runs, you just mine ore."
What remained now was to keep the promise.
The deadline for conquering the UAE Black Tower was fourteen days—two weeks left.
He had to climb to Floor 60 at high speed.
While drawing one more summon, of course.
"Alright, everyone gather round. Get ready to welcome our new member."
"Yes sir!"
He hoped for a combat-capable summoned beast.
"Here we go."
But let's not get our hopes up.
Whoever comes out, let's just accept them gladly.
Don't care about the grade or the class.
"Random summon!"
Whooooosh! The summoning began.
A cluster of light descended from the sky.
At the same time, it transformed into a human shape.
Papapat!
At last, the new summoned beast appeared.
Fairly tall, with a slim waist, and big... huh?
"...A woman. It's a woman."
"It's a woman."
"Hoeeeh?"
"The same gender as me, I see."
At that, Kossak glanced Yeondallae up and down.
"Same gender, but very different."
"W-what do you mean?"
"…Pretending not to know when you clearly do. Tsk tsk."
"Why, why you little—!!!"
The appearance was unmistakably female.
The figure proved it.
A black full-body tights-like outfit clinging to her body, revealing every curve so plainly that staring too long would become embarrassing.
The most striking feature.
Something caught the eye before her face did.
The very familiar object held in her two hands.
A long, thick, heavy metal body, a stock braced against the shoulder, a trigger on the underside.
'A rifle?'
That's right.
It was a firearm.
But it differed from an ordinary gun in many respects.
First of all, it was very large.
Bigger and thicker than the standard-issue personal firearms commonly given out in the military.
So large you'd wonder how she could carry it around.
Overall, it looked like an outdated early rifle, yet some parts of it were also quite refined.
On the upper section was a faintly glowing blue glass panel, where unknown letters and symbols appeared and vanished like an LED screen.
To describe it, it felt like a steam-punk large-caliber antique rifle fused with a cyber-punk electronic rifle.
Once he registered the firearm, this time her looks caught his attention.
Black hair and black eyebrows.
By race, she leaned toward the Latin type.
Her long hair was tied back tightly, her face was slender and small, and her lips were red.
And her eyes were narrowed so much they could hardly be seen...
'...They're not narrowed, actually.'
He'd thought her eyes were slit, but in fact they were half-closed.
She was swaying her body back and forth.
"Don't tell me she's dozing off?"
Nah, no way. But then—
Drip, drip, drip.
Sticky drool hanging down from the new summoned beast's lips.
What the—? She really was asleep?
"The woman is sleeping."
"It seems she may not even know she has been summoned."
"Hooeeh."
"Disgusting. If she keeps that up, she'll get sucked right ba—"
Slurp!
"Eek! It got sucked in."
The moment the hanging drool vanished back into her mouth, the new summoned beast's eyes snapped open.
"Oh my! Wh-where is this...?"
Only then did she seem to grasp the situation. She stared blankly at Juhyeok's face, then—
Snap!
She brought both feet together at attention, extended her right hand to her brow, and shouted.
"For victory! Sergeant Veronica Caliber! Commander, thank you for summoning me."
"...Oh! Yes, yes."
Her name was Veronica Caliber.
She called Juhyeok "Commander."
- Name: Veronica Caliber
- Grade: SR (Super Rare)
- Type: Magic Gunner (Human)
- Manifestation Duration: 6 hours
- Satisfaction Rating: None
- Resummon Waiting Time: 3 hours (applies after dismissal)
A beautiful magic gunner of the ranger corps in the Mage Empire's forces, huh.
But can she use that firearm in the Tower?
Well, she must be able to, or she wouldn't be carrying it around.
"Welcome."
But there was no reply.
Tilting, swaying. What the—?
"..."
Falling asleep again right after saluting?
Snore, snore.
Unbelievable.
She's snoring.
"Hoeh."
"Hmm."
"A most peculiar summoned beast."
Kossak too wore a displeased expression.
"I don't like that woman."
"Why not?"
"The salute and the battle cry, that's why."
"What's wrong with that..."
"Our characters overlap. The salute and battle cry were originally my thing first. Look! Choom! That's what I mean."
He wasn't wrong.
"But that person's a soldier?"
"...Huh?"
"The Mage Empire's ranger corps, and I believe her rank is sergeant."
"Uhhh."
"Kossak-ssi, did you perhaps serve in the military?"
At that, Kossak rolled his eyes this way and that.
"I, I was exempted... because I have flat feet."
"I see."
"If it weren't for the flat feet, I'd have quit being an assassin and joined the army."
Flat feet, my foot.
When he performs Shadow Steps, he practically flies.
Anyway, a strange one, this woman.
To come out of a summoning while dozing off.
Does she normally sleep a lot?
Or did she die in a past life without being able to sleep?
- Sergeant Veronica Caliber is a veteran sniper of the Mage Empire's Northern Ranger Corps. Amid the bitter cold, battling magical beasts that attacked every day, she made her name as an infallibly accurate magic gunner. Then came an unexpected massive wave of magical beasts; a colossal number of them swarmed toward the fortress walls on the border.
- If the northern wall fell, the Empire was finished, and a desperate battle unfolded. They had to hold out until reinforcements arrived. All manner of magical beasts attacked ceaselessly, day and night; there was no time to sleep. As drowsiness overcame her, she stabbed her thigh with her greatsword to stay awake and held out to the very end. Her eyes grew so bloodshot that tears of blood nearly flowed; she had long since surpassed the limits of what a human could endure. At last, after fighting day and night for a hundred days, Veronica was finally able to slip into peaceful rest when she confirmed the arrival of the reinforcements.
It's really true?
She died from lack of sleep.
Of course, the final blow was dealt by a magical beast, but she had gladly accepted that death.
Because she could finally sleep in peace.
'I should avoid disturbing her when she's sleeping, if I can help it.'
Well, he'd gotten the damage dealer he'd hoped for.
Her grade was decent too—SR, Super Rare—and her class was Magic Gunner.
He wanted to enter the Tower right now and see how skilled she was, but... she was sleeping like that, and he couldn't very well wake her.
"I'll wake her."
"She seems to be sleeping far too soundly. Let's leave her be."
"No! Now that she's here, she must fulfill her duty. I cannot stand by and watch her sleep."
Kossak approached Veronica, who was nodding off on her feet, and poked her in the side.
In an instant!
She sprang up.
"Sergeant! Veronica Cali—"
Then, seeing Kossak standing before her,
"Who the hell are you? You wanna die?"
"D-did you just say that to me?"
"Who else is here but you? You bastard who looks like a fledgling bird—"
"...I am a Cossack, you know?"
"So what? Do bullets not pierce a fledgling's belly?"
Click!
Bzzzzz!
"Or should I shove something spicy up your backside instead?"
"..."
Kossak's face went blank with bewilderment. He didn't know what to do.
Ahh, why is Kossak like this with every woman he meets?
Left with no choice, Juhyeok stepped in.
"Veronica-ssi?"
"Sergeant Veronica Caliber, reporting for duty!"
"I'm thinking of entering the Tower—"
"Is it an operation?"
"Yes. I want to try taking down a few Scorpions."
"Scorpion annihilation operation. I will carry it out perfectly. For victory!"
Oh!
Impressive.
And so Juhyeok's party, with the new summoned beast in tow, began the Floor 50 King Scorpion repeat-run mission.
And they left after just thirty minutes.
Everyone wore thoroughly satisfied expressions.
Now that Veronica's abilities have been confirmed, it was time to embark on a full-fledged ascent of the unexplored upper floors.***
[You are entering the 51st Floor of the Black Tower (South Korea).]
From the 51st to the 55th floor lay a stretch where flying magical beasts, griffons, appeared.
Juhyeok's party was ready to head to the mission zone.
But then.
Bobbing, swaying—Veronica was dozing off even as she walked.
"Seal Summoner, she's asleep again."
"Hooehng."
"All the time, too. Is something wrong with her?"
"At this point, I'd say so. There's hardly any time to chat and get to know one another."
But there was no need to worry.
The moment battle began, the look in her eyes changed completely.
Juhyeok poked her arm.
"Gah! Sergeant, Veronica Caliber."
"Sergeant, time to get ready, don't you think?"
"Ah! Understood. Victory assured!"
[51st Floor Mission: Hunt 15 Eagle-Talon Griffons.]
[Time Limit: Within 14 hours.]
[Failure Conditions: Death or mission abandonment.]
The mission had appeared.
A flock of enormous birds visible high up in the sky.
"Commencing operation."
During the repeated clears of the 50th floor, they had admired the power of her magic rifle.
Large magic rounds that reduced a King Scorpion to a near-death state in a single shot, and small magic rounds that easily pierced the exoskeleton of ordinary scorpions.
In truth, her physical abilities were nothing special.
Stronger than an average person, but far inferior to other summoned beings.
Even accounting for her rank.
Her equipment, however, was anything but ordinary.
The magic rifle went without saying, along with a reinforcement suit—a bodysuit, combat boots that enabled rapid movement through magic discharge, and magic-protective gloves shielding her hands and fingers.
High-performance combat equipment crafted by the Magic Empire.
That, it seemed, was Veronica's true strength.
So how would she fare in a full-fledged S++ grade, time-attack mission?
Ttararat-ttang! Dudududung!
A drumbeat and bell chimes that stirred the fighting spirit.
Gyeondallae's rhythm had changed a little.
Sensory maximization.
Strength enhancement along with increased speed.
Adrenaline surged.
With more people present, Gyeondallae focused her mind and shook her bells like mad.
"Excellent, Your Highness. Thanks to you, our morale is through the roof."
Veronica moved swiftly forward.
She raised the muzzle, took a standing firing stance, and aimed at an Eagle-Talon Griffon—
Zzing! Pakk!
A milky-white magic round struck the griffon's body.
"Kyaaak!"
The griffon flew at Veronica with terrifying speed.
But she did not flee.
She continuously fired small rounds, steadily whittling the beast down.
Pakk! Pakk! Pakk! Pakk! Pakk…
Firing her magic rifle, she slowly backed her way toward Gobang.
"Handoff."
"Taking over."
The Eagle-Talon Griffon's leg landed in Gobang's grasp.
A perfect aggro handoff.
The moment Gobang secured the griffon, Kossak lunged in and smashed its head to pieces.
Even amid all this, Veronica kept moving.
The moment one griffon was handed off, she was already pulling the next.
Pakk! Pakk! Pakk…
Dealing damage with small rounds, then another handoff to Gobang.
The battle continued without a single moment's pause.
Kill one, and another was delivered.
Delivery, and more delivery.
Not a rifle-woman, but a courier.
Gobang and Kossak had no trouble at all simply holding position.
All they had to do was grab the already battered, wounded griffons and finish them off.
The clear speed was one thing, but it was also extremely stable.
A tank, a melee dealer, a ranged dealer, and Gyeondallae's buffs.
'This is practically a complete party.'
He felt proud.
He had picked good people.
As a summoner, he couldn't have been more satisfied.
[Notice: The Black Tower (South Korea) has achieved an S++ clear grade on the 51st Floor.]
[S++ Clear Reward: A Platinum Badge is granted.]────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────