It actually works.
"
"
Of course it works. Hehehehe.
"
It wasn't just about the successful clear.
His level had gone up, he'd achieved an S++ clear with a multinational tower ticket, and he'd even received a badge.
Up until now, players could only conquer the tower of their own nation.
So naturally, he'd assumed the Platinum badge could only be obtained at Korea's Black Tower.
He'd regarded the multinational ticket as simply a means of support or overseas travel.
But to think it actually applied. 'The ticket... it's unexpectedly useful?' If that's the case, the floor endings for receiving perks would change from 5 and 0 to 4 and 9.
In other words, the next perks would be at floors 64 and 69. With one more ticket, the endings would shift to 3 and 8. Still, none of this was certain yet.
What if he could receive the badge meant for floor 60 of Korea's Black Tower in advance at the United Arab Emirates' Black Tower?
In other words, they might refuse to give it, citing duplicate rewards.
In the end, to find out, all he'd have to do is clear floor 60 of Korea's Black Tower right now... 'Ah, jeez.' Ju Hyeok's eyes fell on Go Bang's legs.
A complete mess from stepping through the poison marsh.
The skin had melted away, exposing the tendons underneath.
He wondered if the man could even walk like that.
"
Are you okay, Mr. Go Bang? That looks really painful.
"
"
A warrior does not feel pain from wounds like these. They'll heal up soon enough.
"
And he was right.
His wounds were healing rapidly, new flesh knitting over them.
His regenerative ability alone was truly top-notch.
"
What should we do? Go straight into floor 60 of the Republic of Korea's Black Tower?
"
"...
"
"
We can use the same method there too. It's all thanks to your brilliant strategies and tactics.
"
You sly little rascal.
The loser doesn't feel pain, so he wants to go right back in.
Can't you see Go Bang's calves are melted?
"
Hehehe, hehehe... Hehe?
"
Kosak, sensing something ominous in Ju Hyeok's steady stare at him, glanced sideways at Go Bang's wounded legs and then said:
"
P-perhaps it would be better to go in tomorrow instead of today.
"
That's right.
The conquering ends here for today.
Making him endure that kind of agony twice in one day?
No way.
Let's just check the perks.
And whether the UAE's Black Tower Platinum badge is even recognized.
Ju Hyeok opened his inventory.
He checked, and there were 60 badges.[For accumulating 60 Platinum badges, a perk will be granted.]
"
Oh!
"
A perk. And the badges count too. Then...[Perk: One Ladder Game Ticket (1 use) will be delivered to your inventory.]
"...
What the hell is this?
"
Damn it! Another prank?***
Deputy Director Jeon Gwang-il was meeting with Lee Min-a, who had just been promoted to team leader, in his office.
"
Team Leader Lee. Did everything go well yesterday?
"
Team Leader Lee Min-a visited Ju Hyeok's home once every three or four days to collect tower materials. She'd also been to the penthouse right after the S++ clear on floor 59.
"
Yesterday, I met with Player Bong and received tower ore and four sheets of wyvern whole leather. They said they'd be sending one sheet each as samples, but he left work right away, so they haven't been placed in the tower materials warehouse yet.
"
"
I-is that so?
"
Honestly, he'd been secretly hoping.
Because Player Bong had started the wyvern section.
He hadn't had the slightest concern about the clear itself.
He'd naturally expected an S++ rating, and that's exactly what happened.
What Jeon Gwang-il had hoped for was the leather.
Would he be able to bring back wyvern leather too?
But there had been no need to even worry about that.
"
Let's take them out quickly. This is wyvern leather, something you rarely even see as a tower reward.
"
"
Yes, I'll take out one sheet at a time.
"
Whoosh!
Emerging from Team Leader Lee Min-a's inventory was a deep black leather—like the Basilisk, it was whole leather.
Every part except the wings was intact.
The Earth Wyvern.
Its defense was far superior to wyverns of other elements, making it perfect for crafting player armor.
"
Hahaha, fantastic. Incredible.
"
"
Are you going to hand this over to HG Fashion as well?
"
"
No, the Management Bureau will purchase it. Earth wyvern isn't suitable for everyday goods. Armor or bulletproof clothing is the right call.
"
The second was flame wyvern leather.
"
Look at this one. The red color. It's so pretty.
"
"
Its heat retention is outstanding, too. Wearing it in winter would be incredibly warm.
"
"
Can't wear it in summer, though.
"
"
Well, there's frost wyvern leather, isn't there?
"
"
Ah, right!
"
Frost wyvern leather is pure white.
It gives off a subtle cooling aura.
Then what about lightning wyvern?
"
Would wearing this give you a tingling shock?
"
"
I touched it, and it doesn't seem that way. But its color is a brilliant azure, so it'll be popular.
"
Four types of wyvern leather.
Each had distinct characteristics.
This was why everyone went on about wyverns, wyverns, wyverns.
Then, a moment later.
"
Hm?
"
Examining the leather, Deputy Director Jeon Gwang-il noticed something strange on the wyvern's head leather.
"...
This is.
"
Holes as if pierced by bullets.
And not just one, but more than ten.
"
They look like bullet holes, don't they? Or arrows, or magic?
"
"
Must be one of those.
"
Since it was a flying monster, there was nothing odd about using ranged weapons.
Even melee players were required to carry pistols or crossbows for pulling.
But Player Bong Ju Hyeok had stated himself that his trait was summoning.
And yet something had pierced this tough leather this cleanly?
It hadn't even self-restored, at that.
That meant it had taken a considerable hit.
"
It seems to be some kind of spirit mage. One who has enhanced their summoned spirits' grades at least three times.
"
"
If they can fire arrows, they'd be wind or water aligned.
"
"
Yes, if it's an Elaim or a Sylperion, they might be able to pierce it.
"
Enhancing a water spirit Undine three times turns it into an Elaim, and enhancing a Sylph three times turns it into a Sylperion.
"
If they've enhanced their trait, they must have pulled multiple spirits—two with one enhancement, three with two.
"
"
Yes, while achieving an S++ clear, they must have gotten a trait enhancement rune from the tower rewards at least once or twice.
"
Among summoning traits, spirit summoning is rather rare.
Of course, being a spirit summoner by no means made an S++ clear easy.
Handling spirits is that difficult.
Grade enhancement of summoned spirits doesn't come easily either. Even feeding them runes, enhancement often fails.
Moreover, there are many kinds of runes.
Runes for spirit grade enhancement, runes for beast grade enhancement, runes for golem grade enhancement...
If they knew for certain what Player Bong Ju Hyeok's summons were, they could even offer support.
"
Anyway, floor 60 is coming up soon.
"
"
Whew, that's exactly what worries me.
"
Things were going to become very tricky. When he was below floor 50, it had been more or less fine.
Nearly every nation was in the late 50s or 60s floor range back then.
But now?
Player Bong's climbing floor was higher than the national average.
It was no exaggeration to say he'd become the surety for tower conquests.
They wouldn't just sit still.
They would move heaven and earth to uncover his identity.
For the Awakening Management Bureau, letting them do as they pleased was absolutely not an option.
At that moment!
Bzzzt! Bzzzt!
The smartphone rang.
Both Deputy Director Jeon Gwang-il's phone and Team Leader Lee Min-a's phone.
What now?
He answered the call.
"
It's me. What's going on...?
What?
"
Jeon Gwang-il shot to his feet.
"
Sa-say that again. Uh... r-really? No, why would a global notification message come from that country? Y-you've confirmed it? For sure? Y-yes, u-understood.
"
This was a disaster.
His heart thumped, pounding fiercely.
He felt dizzy enough to collapse.
"
No, no way. It can't be. It can't be true.
"
He had to verify the facts, and fast.***
It took about an hour for the news of the S++ clear of the UAE's floor 60 to become known in South Korea.
Of course, thanks to the development of social media, it had spread far faster than that, but fact-checking took time.
Breaking news flooded out like a deluge.
Not Korea?>
I'm going crazy. I couldn't get any work done all day.
I took a half day off today too.
I have an acquaintance in the UAE, and it's a festival over there right now. Total chaos.
Did he bow to oil-money bombs?
They say they presented a blank check. How much did they write in?
We got stabbed in the back. A damn sweet potato. I'm choking on it.
Damn it, where did my soda go?
Bin Zayed stole it, that's where.
Public-opium sales are discontinued. Where am I supposed to get my fix now?
This is insane. But who is it? I can't even curse him since I don't know who he is.
The Republic of Korea's greatest player is Nam Ga-eun!
The atmosphere was anything but ordinary.
Whether much time remained or little remained on South Korea's Black Tower clock, hadn't the nation's greatest player just been snatched away right under everyone's noses?
Furious people flooded the Management Bureau's website, paralyzing its boards.
Over a hundred related posts were also uploaded to the Blue House national petition platform.
And amid all this, what about Ju Hyeok?***
Ju Hyeok was on the phone with Jeon Gwang-il.
"
No, Deputy Director. I have not naturalized. I've never even been to the UAE embassy. I haven't acquired citizenship, either.
"
Jeon Gwang-il had called to ask whether Ju Hyeok had perhaps naturalized to the UAE.
It was an understandable misunderstanding.
"
The UAE tower? W-well, someone must have done it. And done it very well, at that.
"
He could have simply revealed the existence of the multinational tower ticket, but he didn't want to.
They weren't that common—he had only one left now.
And per the contract, it had to be used on floor 61 of the UAE.
"
I'm not going anywhere. Floor 60 of the Republic of Korea's Black Tower? I plan to clear it tomorrow, so don't worry and just wait.
"
Naturalization, my foot.
He was busy as hell.
Ju Hyeok hung up and checked the message floating in his mind again.[Perk: One Ladder Game Ticket (1 use) will be delivered to your inventory.]
"
Unbelievable.
"
What? A ladder?
A ladder, of all things?
He'd nearly had a heart attack spinning the roulette wheel, too. 'Just when things are going well, it hands me something weird.'[Poke one of the numbers written on the ticket with your finger. Once poked, the ladder game will begin. If you do not poke within one hour, the opportunity will disappear.]
Well, first, let's see what this ladder looks like.
A holographic image appeared before his eyes. 'Knew it.' Eight vertical lines were drawn at wide intervals.
Each line was numbered.
From 1 to 8.
The final square at the bottom of each line was the prize.
200kg of magic stones, a rune of grade enhancement for summoned beings, 50kg of sectonium, a Heavy Strike skill rune, wyvern leather armor, 100 healing potions, a multinational tower ticket (1 use), and finally, a trait enhancement rune. 'Thankfully, no blanks.' But there were no horizontal lines visible between the numbers and the prizes.
They were hidden, like fog.
The horizontal lines would probably reveal themselves once a number was chosen.
Like this, no one could ever know where a line would lead.
He even narrowed his eyes and stared, wondering if the horizontal lines might be visible somehow... 'Tch! Can't see a single one.' The best outcome was the trait enhancement rune.
The second best was the rune of grade enhancement for summoned beings.
He didn't need anything else.
Well, was the multinational tower ticket decent too?
Ju Hyeok copied the entire ladder and the prizes onto a single sheet of paper about the size of a wall calendar.
He wanted to show his summoned ones just what kind of scam this damned perk business was.
"
So, you're saying you can't see anything about how the horizontal lines are drawn in the middle?
"
"
That's right.
"
"
Wow, one wrong pick and it could be the magic stones.
"
"
Mr. Kosak, you pick one. Which number do you think is best?
"
"
How about number 7? Lucky seven!
"
Maybe that was good.
"
A summoner is a man. And men choose number 1.
"
That's right.
The manliest of men.
What's your opinion, Gyeon Dallae?
"
Beneath the far right line, number 8, lies the trait enhancement rune of my wildest dreams.
"
"
Yes.
"
"
But what if there are no horizontal lines between the lines, and it's just a simple straight-down line ladder?
"
That was a fair point.
That kind of trick was often used in real life.
But would they pull such a stunt here?
And Rajiks?
"...
Hooak?
"
Trembling, he avoids my gaze.
Don't ask. Where's Veronica?
"
Hrrrk, smack smack, snore.
"
I had a feeling, and sure enough. Let's not wake her.
Summing up everyone's opinions so far: Man No. 1, Lucky No. 7, and—since he might be messing with us—No. 8, who supposedly has a Trait Enhancement Rune. So 1, 7, and 8.
But Juhyeok had no intention of choosing any of these three.
Let's not listen to the Returnees.
If the number they picked turns out to be wrong, someone's bound to get roasted.
If you're Korean, you pick 3.
"
I'll go with number 3. Let's finish this quickly and get some rest.
"
Damn ladder game.
Whatever I get, I get.'You think I'll chicken out like I did with the roulette?'Not a chance!
He approached it boldly.
He'd take it coolly.
He pulled the Ladder Game pass out of his inventory.
The moment he pressed the number 3 written on it, the pass vanished with a pop![You have selected number 3.][The ladder game will now begin.]
At the same time, the hidden part was revealed in a flash!
How were the horizontal lines drawn?'...Huh?'The horizontal lines were jam-packed, everywhere.
Too many—dizzying, even.
"
Son of a...!!!
"
Just then.
"
Staff Sergeant Veronica Calibur! It's your turn for night watch!
"
At Juhyeok's shout, Veronica, who had been sleeping, sprang up.
"
...You don't have to stand watch. Sleep well.
"
"
Th-thank you.
"
Snore snore snore.
Lucky her.
It had finally begun.
The red dot blinked, then slowly started descending along the lines.
Juhyeok picked up a ballpoint pen and traced the red dot's path down the paper as it fell.
"
It just keeps coming down like this?
"
"
Yes.
"
"
Ahh, my heart is pounding.
"
People crowded around Juhyeok, watching where the ballpoint pen was heading.
The red dot descended along line 3.
It hit a horizontal line and turned.
Went down, turned again.
Back and forth.
It absolutely had to reach the far right.
The Trait Enhancement Rune was on that side.
"
No, why does it keep going left when it should go right?
"
"
I'm only following it, Your Honor.
"
"
Can't you force it to turn?
"
"
This humble maiden is too faint of heart to watch.
"
"
Ooh, it's turning, it's turning! It's going right!
"
"
Yes, go, let's go! Let's goooo!!!
"
"
S-Staff Sergeant Veronica Calibur! Preparing for duty!
"
"
...Don't get up. Just sleep.
"
"
Hoeek!
"
"
Ahh, very good. Keep going right..., huh? Why is it going the other way again?
"
"
Ahh! N-no, you can't go there!
"
"
Boo hoo.
"
"
Ooh! It turned the wrong way again.
"
"
Yes, the mood is great.
"
"
Just keep going that way.
"
"
Changing the direction by force. Ugh!
"
"
You bastard! Why are you enlarging yourself in the living room?
"
"
Coming dooown...
"
"
Huh? Why left again?
"
"
Aaaaaaargh!
"
"
Ahh, this humble maiden is about to faint.
"
"
Nooo!!!
"
"
Staff Sergeant Veronica Calibur! You must have misheard!
"
"
Just tell her to sleep!
"
"
It-it's coming down!
"
"
Not there! Aack!
"
"
Tu-turn it! Turn the direction!
"
"
I told you, it's not me doing it.
"
"
Not left! It's a magic stone!
"
"
Goddammit!!!
"
"
No wayyyy!!!
"
"
Staff Sergeant Veronica Cali—"
He froze.
It had come all the way down to the bottom. Juhyeok's ballpoint pen stopped too.
"
Huh?
"
"
Huh?
"
"
Oh!
"
"
Ah!
"
"
Hoeek…
"
And the prize there was....
"
A Returnee Grade Enhancement Rune?
"
"
An enhancement rune.
"
"
Is-is it a good one, Your Honor?
"
It was good.
Not the best possible outcome, but the next best thing.
Phew. Either way, a solid result.
"
Lajiks, laborer!
"
"
Hoek!
"
"
Are you ready for your promotion?
"
"
...Hoeeng?
"
Swish.
Or rather, swish swish—he was very curious.
About the changed Lajiks.***Vice Director Park Gyeongsu arrived at the Awakening Management Agency, braving a barrage of questions from reporters packed in formation at the door as he went inside.
"
Director. The S++ grade floor conqueror—is it true he's naturalizing?
"
"
Permanent naturalization, or temporary?
"
"
If it's temporary naturalization, was there a backroom deal with the UAE?
"
"
Please answer us.
"
"
The people want to know.
"
"
Where are you going, Director? Director! Director!
"
Director Park Gyeongsu's face was completely hardened.
He strode quickly to Vice Director Jeon Gwangil's office and flung the door open.
"
H-how did it go?
"
"
He's not naturalizing.
"
"
...Really?
"
"
Yes, I confirmed it personally. He's currently at the penthouse, and he plans to conquer Floor 60 tomorrow.
"
"
Heh heh, what a relief.
"
Park Gyeongsu walked over to the sofa and flopped down into it.
All the tension drained from his body.
Thank goodness he wasn't naturalizing, after all.
He'd nearly had a genuine fright.
Just then!
Bzzzz! A call came in.
"
Is that you, Mr. President?
"
"
Yes, what should I tell him?
"
"
Well, I...
"
If he told him not to worry, it would signal that they knew who the S++ grade conqueror was. If he claimed ignorance, he'd look incompetent.
"
Haah."
What else could he do?
He had no choice but to keep his mouth shut until the Floor 60 conquest message rang out.────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────