Juhyeok dismissed all the Blood-Summoned Ones and returned to the White Tower.
Two S clears in a single day.
It had been an extrely satisfying run.
One shot on the 84th floor with a sub-light-speed round,
and a mana electromagnetic pulse on the 85th.
“Clearing towers really is just click-click.”
Refreshing.
How could it not feel good?
Overwhelming power, zero risk.
It felt like casually hiking up a mountain spring trail in the backyard.
“Isn’t a mana EMP incredible?”
He asked Mackenzie, who was standing beside him, what he thought.
“Well... not really. There’s a similar spell in magic.”
A lukewarm response.
This old man was surprisingly narrow-minded.
And fiercely competitive, too.
“Oh? Really?”
“Yes. Rather than a mana EMP, it would be a Spell Power Binding Block.”
“... Spell... what?”
Why was the spell na so long?
“It’s a spell that binds and seals the target’s mana flow. You can even store it in a scroll like this and use it.”
Mackenzie rummaged through his robe and pulled out a rolled-up sheet of paper.
“Ah... right.”
A magic scroll.
It looked useful.
Though who knew when he would ever use it.
By the way, El still hadn’t woken up.
Just then—
“Bong Summoner!”
Kosak ca running over in a panic the mont Juhyeok appeared in the White Tower.
“Keep it short. It’s Bong, not Bo-ng.”
“Yes, sir! Bong-bong Summoner!”
Bong-bong?
What was that, a soft drink?
“You cleared Tower No. 2’s 85th floor as well?”
“That’s right. S rank. With a mana EMP—electromagnetic pulse. Ever heard of it?”
“Outstanding. As Minister of the People’s Ard Forces of the Republic, this is truly a montous occasion.”
Why had he suddenly brought up being the Minister of the People’s Ard Forces?
“I have a matter that requires your approval, Summoner Bong.”
“What is it?”
“How about building a bracelet mass-production facility and a Rajix Trading manufacturing plant in the Republic?”
A factory in North Korea.
“Labor costs are cheap, and with solid political-business collusion, we can enjoy every advantage and grow into a top-tier conglorate.”
He said political-business collusion without the slightest sha.
Well, of course he would.
He was both the Minister of the People’s Ard Forces and the most powerful man in North Korea.
“What does CEO Jung think?”
“He’s strongly in favor.”
“And Chairman Kim?”
“This is about feeding the people rice and at soup. He can’t oppose it.”
“Where would you build the factory?”
“How about the land around the Pyongyang Black Tower? There’s no risk of collapse, and it has strong symbolic value.”
“Isn’t that too much? We’re only building a bracelet factory.”
Kosak’s expression turned serious.
“No, sir. Bracelets are only the beginning. The factory manager is here, so are we supposed to let him sit idle? We have to grind him down. He’s a golem anyway, so there’s no such thing as death from overwork.”
Wow.
What a ruthless foreman.
Still... he wasn’t wrong.
A golem dying from overwork?
“... Fine. Go ahead and push it through.”
“Yes, sir!”
Once an assassin, once a politician, and now a businessman.
Kosak was a master of reinvention.
In so ways, he was even more impressive than Rajix.
Anyway—
was El okay?
They had exited together, and she had entered the White Tower after being dismissed.
But she still hadn’t moved.
Juhyeok walked over, poked her lightly, then set his palm gently against her smooth tal forehead.
Suddenly—
Click!
El’s head rotated.
“H-holy shit! You scared !”
“My apologies.”
“N-no, I’m the one who should apologize.”
He had definitely been startled.
Still, it was a relief to see her moving.
“... Is your body okay?”
“My priMari functions have not fully recovered, but movent is not an issue.”
“Hmm. Getting hit by EMPs over and over sounds rough on a golem body.”
“It is fine. It is rely a blackout phenonon.”
rely a blackout?
El spoke casually, as if it were nothing, despite Juhyeok’s worried expression.
“Please do not worry. Recovery is guaranteed over ti.”
“Still, getting hit repeatedly can’t be good. Try to find a way to neutralize mana electromagnetic pulses.”
Even a water gun hurts if you get hit hard enough.
“In any case, I only have one mana EMP remaining.”
“Oh?”
So they could only repeat the 85th floor once more for now.
...
That was fine.
Better than taking EMP hits over and over.
“I will search for a solution while producing a new EMP.”
“Please do.”
A way to stop the Gigant without hurting herself.
She would figure it out.
She was a Russsal magitech engineer.
Anyway, today’s work was done.
“Go ho and rest. You blacked out today, so you’ll probably feel dizzy. Recover slowly.”
“I am a golem. Rest has no aning for .”
And then—
“I will go to the workshop and devise a mass-production plan for the Obesity Escape Bracelets... huh?”
She trailed off.
“Uh... um...”
El stood frozen, staring fixedly in one direction.
“What is it?”
A crack appeared in El’s usually expressionless face.
Shock.
Disbelief.
Astonishnt.
“C-could it be that this is still Black Tower 85th Floor?”
“No way.”
“Then why are those here?”
She pointed at sothing.
The five mana core engines Rajix had placed in front of the workshop earlier.
Had she seen wrong?
Things that should not exist here.
Hallucinations from blackout aftereffects?
No. Her nervous system was fine.
El couldn’t close her open mouth.
She was utterly baffled.
Those mana core engines were items that could not—
must not—
be taken out of the 85th floor.
“Ah! You an those?”
“Y-yes. How in the world...?”
“Our Rajix laborer brought them.”
“H-how?”
It would be easier to show her.
Juhyeok called over Rajix, who was cleaning White Tower Floor 17.
“Rajix.”
“Hoee!”
At the summoner’s call, the space farmhand rolled over in a hurry.
“Put those cubes into your subspace bag.”
“Hoee!”
Swish, swish, swish...
The five mana core engines went into Rajix’s subspace backpack.
“Take them out again.”
“Hoee!”
Swish, swish, swish.
“That’s how we brought them.”
Well?
How did it feel to witness the power of Rajix?
“Rajix’s nickna is Space Farmhand. Inside the tower, he can bring out almost anything.”
“...”
“He mines ore, skins hides, finds magic crystal veins, and even digs up upper-grade and highest-grade magic crystals...”
Insane.
How was that even possible?
... Well, if it weren’t possible, this wouldn’t be happening.
El recalled the assassin’s introduction from yesterday.
That he was ranked second, right after the laborer.
Only now did she understand
why Rajix—who was weaker than a dog in combat—had been ranked number one.
The ability he possessed.
It ignored the system’s rules.
Terrifying.
A rule-breaker that completely changed the landscape of the tower.
This wasn’t just about bringing out a few mana core engines.
As everyone knew, once a floor was cleared, it reset imdiately.
Which ant the destroyed Gigant would reappear in perfect condition.
Every clear ant five more mana core engines.
The 85th floor had beco a mana core engine factory.
As long as the Black Tower existed.
“How is this even possible?”
“I don’t know either.”
Then—maybe?
“Then... could we bring out /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ an entire Gigant?”
“Well... the size...”
Rajix’s mysterious subspace ability did have limits.
Specifically—the size of what could be stored.
A camper van was fine.
Even a dump truck or a bus larger than that was possible.
But a Gigant was the size of a building.
“Even one arm would be pushing it.”
“That’s a sha.”
If they could bring out a whole one, the ga would be over.
“... Right? Still, if we dismantle it, we could at least bring out the major components.”
Bright!
El’s face lit up.
Major components.
For example, mana circuit boards, mounted weapons, golem joint chanisms, and so on.
Even just those would be huge.
“And Rajix’s current rank is SSSR. If he gets promoted to RSSSR, he might be able to carry arms or legs.”
“Ah!”
Once again, El’s face filled with shock.
SSSR, she said.
A hamster laborer with the power to ignore the system’s laws was only SSSR?
“We’ll send him for a rank breakthrough soon. I’m curious how far he’ll evolve.”
“I-I am too.”
Even as he said it, Juhyeok felt bitter.
Honestly, he didn’t want to send Rajix away.
“But can you use mana core engines to manufacture things?”
“They are a comprehensive convergence of magitech technology. They have self-generation capabilities. They power golems using magic crystal energy, supply energy to various magitech devices, and can be applied across many fields.”
They generated energy, distributed it, and activated golems.
So that was how incredible they were.
“The design process is complex, requiring rare tals, materials, and delicate manufacturing techniques—things even I cannot produce. And yet, to obtain them so easily...”
One thing still bothered him.
“Could we build golems?”
“It would take ti, but it is possible. If we acquire a few more key components.”
Nice.
Let’s go in once more tomorrow and do a repeat clear.
El needed rest today after the blackout.
El walked toward the pile of mana core engines stacked in front of the workshop.
Juhyeok left her alone to inspect them.
Now then—ti to settle accounts.
They had cleared Tower No. 2’s 84th floor with an S rank:
2 badges and one upper-grade magic crystal mine.
Then the 85th floor.
Tower No. 1 had failed to get S rank, but Tower No. 2 succeeded—so 2 more badges.
Total badges: 142.
Physical badges: 46.
And one special reward.
What is it?
[You have accumulated 140 Platinum Badges. A special privilege has been granted.]
[Privilege: A Tower Clearing Mission Reset Ticket has been delivered to your tower-exclusive inventory.]
Not bad.
That was a good pull.
******
The world announcent revealed South Korea’s Tower No. 2 clearing of the 84th and 85th floors.
The footage also revealed the true identities of the monsters on those floors.
84th Floor
A gigantic beast, the Frozen Colossus Condor, soaring leisurely through the high sky, summoning countless ice hawks for both offense and defense.
85th Floor
A colossal golem, Magnus Ego Gigant, the size of a skyscraper, rising from underground and moving freely despite its bipedal form.
L: That giant condor is way too high up.
L: Even long-range players can’t reach that altitude.
L: And even if they could shoot that far, would it even hit?
L: Impossible. That thing’s unkillable.
L: Southern comrades give up way too fast.
L: Then you try it with your revolutionary spirit.
L: I’m still stuck in the wyvern zone... and even those little bastards are killing .
L: Flying giant monsters are one thing, but now giant robots too?
L: It’s not a robot, it’s a golem.
L: Sa difference.
L: I even have a golem-summoning trait, and the gap is absurd.
L: If you had to compare it?
L: A mouse versus a grown man.
L: aning one stomp and you’re dead.
L: Why even show this? Nobody can kill giant monsters like that.
L: How did our top player even beat them?
L: That’s why he’s the top.
L: Right. As long as we trust the top player, we’re fine.
L: Other countries are the ones who are screwed.
L: What if we get another temporary naturalization request?
L: Don’t even joke. The top player isn’t eligible for that.
L: True.
Not just Korea—players all over the world watched the footage.
And their impressions were all the sa.
Whether it was the 84th floor or the 85th floor—
or any monster from the 81st floor onward—
they were absolutely impossible to defeat.
Harder than the undead zone.
Only one person could do it.
South Korea’s world-class top player.
Pyongyang, North Korea
Chairman Kim In-jung was reading a report flown in from the North Korean embassy in China.
China’s situation had not been good lately.
Sothing called the Chinese Players’ Association was openly opposing the Chinese governnt.
They had grown bold.
Players standing up to the state?
Kim In-jung already knew from the report that Liberation Rune Necklaces were being distributed in large quantities in China.
But that was foolish.
Liberation Rune Necklaces were not all-powerful.
They could only be used three tis, and each use lasted only one hour.
What would happen when they were exhausted?
Almost all Chinese players were already under governnt surveillance.
They were watching for any funny business.
Would players under that kind of monitoring just sit still?
They would resist.
And so the conflict kept deepening.
Because of that, purchasing upper-grade magic crystals had beco difficult.
Prices rose. Supply shrank.
Following orders from the man who held his life in his hands, Chairman Kim was purchasing large quantities of upper-grade magic crystals from ordinary Chinese players.
Those crystals were sent to the Pyongyang branch of the Korean Awakening Administration, then transported to Seoul by South Korean players.
But now there was trouble.
He was in danger of missing the target quota.
If he failed, he could be replaced.
If he fell out of favor with Minister of the People’s Ard Forces Kosak, replacent would be imdiate.
What was so hard about that?
A natural death like cerebral infarction or heart failure would solve everything.
Those damned Chinese bastards.
Was it only the Chinese governnt?
The players were the sa.
China had always been the Republic’s thousand-year enemy.
Just then—
Bang!
The door burst open and Kosak walked in.
“C-Comrade Kosak!”
“Well now, Chairman Kim, you look healthier. Did the bracelet work?”
“Yes, y-yes, sir. I’ve lost a lot of weight.”
“Good. Never forget our generosity.”
Kosak casually sat down on the sofa, crossed his legs, and continued.
“So then... about the upper-grade magic crystal purchases.”
Kim In-jung’s heart sank.
The mont had co.
“I-I apologize. The Chinese players refuse to sell upper-grade crystals... we are far below target. P-please forgive .”
“The reason?”
Kim showed Kosak the report from the Pyongyang embassy in China.
“Liberation Rune Necklaces, huh...”
“This is only the beginning. It could affect both the Republic and the South.”
Kosak snorted.
“You’re worried liberated players might do sothing to us?”
“I-just in case.”
“No need to worry.”
“Y-yes, sir.”
“Even if a hundred Chinese players storm in at once, there must be no problem. Understood?”
“Of course.”
Then—
“That aside, you may stop purchasing upper-grade magic crystals.”
“W-what...?”
“Don’t worry. It isn’t your fault. We simply no longer need them.”
“Ah!”
A reprieve.
His life had been extended.
“And there’ll be an official notice soon. Prepare yourself.”
“For what?”
“You know Rajix Trading?”
Of course he did.
The company that made and sold the Obesity Escape Bracelets he wore.
“They’ll soon announce a large-scale investnt in the Republic. Rajix Trading is showing generosity toward our people.”
“Th-thank you!”
This was welco news.
Recently, South Korean companies had submitted investnt plans to North Korea, but the scale had been small.
They still didn’t trust the North Korean governnt.
Negotiations often fell apart.
But Rajix Trading making a large investnt?
There was no reason to refuse.
“Once Rajix Trading enters North Korea, we will spare no support.”
Kosak smiled in satisfaction.
“To do business, you need land first.”
“We will prepare pri land in Pyongyang.”
“That is fine, but the area around the Pyongyang Black Tower—about two million pyeong should suffice.”
“A-around the Black Tower?”
“Yes. Mobilize the people and begin groundwork. Rajix Trading will cover the budget.”
“Understood.”
Rajix Trading’s foothold would soon be in North Korea.
If reunification ever ca, land prices would skyrocket.
Better to buy now.
“And the Kaesong Industrial Complex, Wonsan Resort, Sinuiju...”
“Just say the word. I will promise revolutionary privileges to Rajix Trading.”
“Heh heh, excellent. Just be discreet—loose talk can cause trouble.”
“Don’t worry. Long live Juhyeok!”
“Long live Juhyeok!”
And so, Rajix Trading’s advance into Pyongyang was decided.
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