Idiots. Do you think I don’t know the forr administrators?]
But then—
[Designer, the Earth Summoner has entered Republic of Korea Black Tower (NO.1) 86th Floor.]
[What?]
That damned bastard.
He just keeps climbing endlessly.
At this rate, he’ll reach the 90th floor in no ti.
Wait—
[If it’s the calamity beast on the 86th floor...]
What was it again?
[The Hellfire Cataclysm Phoenix.]
That one?
[Among the Summoner’s forces, is there an ice mage or a yin-cold Murim practitioner?]
[None. There is an alchemist, but at best that ans cold potions.]
[Tsk.]
Then they won’t clear it.
The Hellfire Cataclysm Phoenix was a top-tier fire elental spirit.
Comparable to an Elental King.
How were they supposed to extinguish that fire?
[They’ll fail.]
[High probability.]
[Project a hologram of Republic of Korea Black Tower (NO.1) 86th Floor. I want to watch their failure with my own eyes.]
Perfect timing.
I’ll relieve so stress by watching the Summoner fail.
Just as Juhyeok’s group was about to begin the fire-truck Crane Wing strategy against the phoenix on the 86th floor,
an article broke outside.
It was short.
The headline was the entire content.
But the impact was enormous.
Because of the amount—100 billion won?
Of course that mattered.
But more importantly, the donor had been officially confird as the Top Player.
This was the first ti.
Until now, everything believed to have been done by the Top Player had only ever been speculation.
From holy sword rentals to the mass production of mana-sealing scrolls,
not once had anyone co out and said, “This business was done by the Top Player!”
Still, everyone knew.
If not him, then who?
But this ti, the Korean Awakening Administration released an official statent.
That was sothing new.
L Even his donations are S rank.
L The way he spends money is pure alpha energy.
L I wish I had enough money to donate 100 billion won.
L Grandpa, how many bowls of at soup is that?
L North Korea, is at soup your unit of value?
L I grew up without at, that’s why...
L But 100 billion feels cheap. It should be at least 1 trillion.
L Have you ever donated even 1 won?
L Damn it, no—but if I were the Top Player, I’d donate at least 1 trillion. Not so asly 100 billion.
L You bastard, you’ve got a loose mouth. Can you take responsibility for saying that?
L Whoa, calm down. That guy’s obviously trolling.
Most of the reactions were positive.
Especially toward the fact that the donation had gone through official channels.
L Is he getting ready to reveal himself?
L Reveal his identity? No way.
L We’ll find out who he is soon, then.
L That doesn’t sound good.
L Right. There are trolls all over even this place—imagine being known in real life. Terrifying.
anwhile, a video was uploaded to YouTube.
It contained information on the uncleared upper floor—Floor 86—released by the Korean Awakening Administration.
People watched in anticipation, wondering what kind of terrifying monster awaited them on the 86th floor.
And they were forced to gasp.
The backdrop of Floor 86.
A volcano spewing smoke.
And above it, a floating, blazing mass.
Looking closer, it was not just fire.
It had a shape.
What is that?
Only when the subtitle appeared did its identity beco clear.
– Floor 86 Monster: Superheated Cataclysm Phoenix
– Extre-Fever Infinite-Fla Phoenix
L What, a phoenix?
L Phoenix?
L Uh—Vermilion Bird?
L A creature from legend...
L Phoenix literally ans it can’t die, right?
L No way it’s literally immortal. Just absurdly hard to kill, I guess.
L You can’t even approach it because of the flas.
L You’d have to put the fire out first—but how?
L Is that why he donated to the Fire Agency?
L What does a donation have to do with a phoenix?
L Maybe he hit an impossible floor, realized how important firefighting is, and donated out of respect for firefighters.
L So you’re saying even the Top Player can’t kill a phoenix?
L Can humans kill a mythological creature?
L I think it’s impossible too.
L Agreed. Uncleared.
L It’s called a phoenix for a reason—swords won’t pierce it, and half-baked magic won’t work.
L I guarantee it. Absolute failure.
L Guess we won’t be seeing any more world announcents.
But then—
[World Announcent: You have achieved clear grade S on Black Tower NO.1 (Korea), Floor 86.]
L Huh?
L Cleared it?
L They did?
L They actually did?
L They did it!
L They really did!
L You idiots, why are you all so suspicious?
L Long live Comrade Top Player!
L Long live Comrade Top Player!
L With Juche revolutionary spirit, long live Comrade Top Player!
L Long live Comrade Top Player Juhyeok!
L Impossible my ass!
L Hahaha, sa as always. You all scream “impossible,” and then it’s S again.
L But how did they clear it?
L No idea.
Did they pour water on it or sothing?
The raid ended in an instant.
Among all the clears so far, it was easily one of the fastest.
The mont the phoenix was pulled in by Veronica Caliber and entered the fire-truck Crane Wing encirclent,
its fate was sealed.
From thirty chemical fire trucks ca 3,000 liters of extinguishing agent per second—
three tons every second, 180 tons every minute—
And that wasn’t even counting the massive liquid-nitrogen drops from dinsional firefighter Rajix.
[You may now challenge the 87th Floor.]
[Exiting Republic of Korea Black Tower (NO.1).]
SPOT!
Juhyeok and the others returned to the penthouse.
The summoned entities rested in White Tower Floor 17.
All summons were dismissed.
Then—
“Designated Summon: Jepetto.”
FWOOSH!
“Master!”
“Welco back, Jepetto. Was it hard staying in the world of souls?”
“Not at all. ...T-the raid?”
“Haha, of course it was a success.”
“Ah! I trusted you!”
Juhyeok explained in detail how they had defeated the phoenix on the 86th floor.
Jepetto looked deeply moved.
“P-please unsummon quickly. I must deliver this joyous news to the souls.”
“Rest at ho a little before going.”
“No, the brothers and sisters over there were very curious about the phoenix raid...”
“Even so, you can spend ti here and go once your manifestation ti runs out.”
“Ah... understood.”
After that, Juhyeok entered White Tower Floor 17 as well.
The summoned entities were gathered in the plaza, celebrating together.
“A perfect raid.”
“Indeed. We finished it before it could even respond.”
“That firefighting breath was incredible. Far superior to a Silver Dragon’s Ice Breath.”
“Choosing the Crane Wing Formation was decisive.”
“Veronica Caliber’s pull was flawless. Aggro was perfectly controlled.”
“This was all thanks to the logistics commander from start to finish.”
“Huh.”
They exchanged praise.
“The old mage worked hard too. Flying with the dinsional firefighter and dropping liquid nitrogen! Ha! Almost like a bomber. A phoenix bomber.”
“And it only worked because Mad Demon’s crescent sword aura never missed.”
“The magitech engineer and the hobody alchemist pulled their weight too.”
Ding!
: I always do my job properly. But the rest of you did well too.
Then Gyeon Dallae looked at Juhyeok, who had just entered White Tower Floor 17.
“However, everyone must rember that this was all accomplished under Young Master’s command.”
“Does this old man not know that? Well done, Summoner.”
“Excellent leadership.”
“It is an honor to fight by your side.”
“Certain victory!”
“Hup!”
Why was everyone being so embarrassing?
Anyway, the items they had obtained this ti—
Phoenix Ash and Phoenix Feathers.
What were they used for?
: Phoenix ash is originally associated with revival and eternal life, and phoenix feathers are the essence of fire♥
Ah.
: If phoenix ash is left alone for a long ti, it revives into a phoenix again. Of course, we’ll use it as material for elixirs and nectar for you♡♡
Not interested in nectar.
What about the feathers?
: They’re used in enhancent elixirs that strengthen the body and mind with the power of fire. Since we already have the fox orb, now all we need is the fruit of the World Tree and a dragon heart...
A thought suddenly crossed his mind.
In the past, Mari had said that materials for nectar and elixirs would start appearing in the 80s.
Coincidentally, a phoenix had appeared on the 86th floor.
Then what about the 87th floor? The 88th, 89th, and 90th?
“I’m starting to wonder whether things like the World Tree or dragons might appear as monsters.”
...
Silence fell.
The summoned entities seed to have been thinking the sa thing.
“If a dragon shows up... can we really kill it?”
No one answered right away.
Eventually, Mackenzie stepped forward.
“...Anyone who has ever participated in a successful dragon raid is granted the title of Dragon Slayer.”
Then—
“In my forr world, thanks to excellent comrades, this mage also holds the title of Dragon Slayer.”
Oh! As expected of a 9th-circle archmage.
“I would not call it easy, but considering our RSS-rank companions, plus the technical-class magitech engineer and alchemist, and Rajix’s abilities... we can kill one.”
Cossack added,
“Dragons are smarter than humans. Cheap tricks don’t work well on them. But if we give up on S rank, we can kill one.”
So what if they missed out on S ?
Two badges were not that important.
The real problem was—
“It won’t be dangerous, right? No one gets hurt?”
Silence again.
Then—
“This old man knows very well how dangerous dragons are. I can’t promise zero casualties. But so what if soone dies? Even if they die, they’ll appear in the White Tower as a soul. And we even have resurrection runes.”
So... soone could die.
“That’s a bit...”
Ever since the White Tower appeared, the deaths of summoned entities had no longer been an unbearable burden.
But how could he calmly watch his companions die inside the Tower?
“I think we should restock extinguishing agents, clear No.2 Tower’s 86th floor, and then decide whether to move on to the 87th.”
They had plenty of ti anyway.
There was no need to rush upward.
Besides, this was usually when problems started to appear.
An insurmountable wall, or enormous sacrifices.
Now was the ti to reorganize the party.
First goal: rank breakthroughs for the summoned entities still stuck at SS-rank—achieve an all-RSS lineup.
Second goal: fully utilize magitech engineer El.
They had not been together long, yet she had already built a mass item-production system and devised strategies for giant-monster floors beyond the 81st floor.
If she were given enough ti...
couldn’t she even co up with a way to kill dragons?
So for the ti being, upper-floor progression was put on hold.
Then what should they do?
“Should we just do repeat clears?”
“Aren’t repeat clears boring?”
“Is climbing uncleared upper floors any different? You climb, raid, get rewards, climb again... it’s the sa pattern.”
What difference was there?
“Let’s just relax and rest without thinking.”
“Even resting gets boring.”
“Look at Mari. She entertains herself just fine.”
“...Y-yes!”
Cossack had a point.
Rest only lasted a day or two.
At this rate, they would soon start suggesting climbing the upper floors again.
They needed sothing new—sothing that would redirect their attention.
Wait.
Co to think of it, there was that.
“How much refined mana tal do we have stored in the warehouse? Over 1,000 tons?”
“I’m not sure of the exact amount, but it should be more than enough.”
We have plenty of refined mana tal.
Then—
“Should we try building an elevator?”
“What kind of—”
“A White Tower Floor 17 elevator.”
“Oh!”
That was not a bad idea.
It certainly sounded better than climbing uncleared upper floors and running into terrifying things like dragons.
“But even if we install an elevator, I’m not sure there’s any actual benefit.”
“I’m not sure either...”
“We won’t know unless we install it.”
Wouldn’t it be a waste of 1,000 tons of refined mana tal?
There were so many other things it could be used for.
But would the White Tower nu really include an elevator-installation option for no reason?
There had to be a reason it existed.
Maybe we should try building it once.
Should we make it?
If it was possible, then why not?
But what if it was useless?
Or worse, dangerous?
Decision paralysis again.
What did you need at tis like this?
Sothing to help you decide.
For example—
“Fairy Princess.”
“Speak, Young Master.”
“Shall we do a divination for once? To see whether installing the elevator will bring gain or loss.”
Relying on fortune-telling instead of rational judgnt might seem foolish.
People would probably call it superstition.
But wasn’t Gyeon Dallae a genuine shaman?
An RSS-rank fairy maiden standing right in front of him.
Trusting her divination was actually quite rational.
“Very well. I shall read the on.”
Gyeon Dallae set out a low table and sat on the floor.
Rattle—she scattered rice grains across the tabletop and shook a bell.
“Heaven and Earth spirits, please illuminate the path our Young Master walks.”
Jingle, jingle.
She shook the bell.
Shuffle, shuffle.
She felt the rice grains on the table.
Clatter, clatter.
She drew a divination stick from the container.
Then—
“The on has been revealed.”
Oh!
Anticipation filled the air.
“It is Great Fortune.”
Great Fortune?
Not just fortune—Great Fortune.
“Yes!”
“Nice!”
“Huh!”
“Excellent. Install it imdiately.”
“Sounds safe to install.”
“If it’s Great Fortune, why hesitate?”
Right!
Compared to Great Fortune, 1,000 tons of refined mana tal was nothing.
Install the elevator imdiately.
Now—where should it go?
This was the plaza on White Tower Floor 17, so the center would be best.
He opened the administrator nu and tapped the elevator-installation option.
[Do you wish to install a White Tower Floor 17 elevator? Cost: 1,000 tons of refined mana tal.]
“Install.”
[Installing White Tower Floor 17 elevator.]
Wooooong!
The entirety of White Tower Floor 17 began to shake.
CLANK! CLACK!
A radiant ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) light ford in the center of the plaza.
And what appeared was—
“Huh? It’s a real elevator?”
It was not taphorical.
It was an actual elevator.
A rectangular, one-story structure, with sliding doors on both sides and even buttons.
The summoned entities rushed toward it.
“This is it?”
“It looks exactly like one.”
“Is this the open button?”
“Hey! Why are you pressing it? The commander hasn’t even touched it yet.”
“It’s fine. Press it. We should test whether it’s dangerous or not first.”
anwhile, Juhyeok heard—
Ding!
[Achievent: You have installed the first elevator on White Tower Floor 17.]
I was wondering why nothing had popped up.
[Achievent reward granted.]
The reward?
[For one ti only, elevator round-trip operation cost is waived.]
Free was nice, but—
only once?
Wait, there was an operating cost? Installation was not the end of it?
[Elevator round-trip operation cost per use: 10 kg of top-grade Magic Stones.]
“Are you kidding ?!”
This was daylight robbery!
So they got you to install it, then bled top-grade Magic Stones out of you little by little?
Ugh!
One ride was free, so they might as well use it once.
After that, they could think carefully.
The world of souls.
『Jepetto reporting! Greetings, brothers and sisters!』
『He’s here.』
『Why are you so late?』
『We were waiting!』
『How did the 86th floor go? Success or failure?』
『It was a success, right? Right? You killed the phoenix, didn’t you?』
『Did the firefighting strategy work?』
Jepetto paused for effect.
『I shall explain slowly, so listen carefully. First, Veronica Caliber drew in the phoenix hovering over the volcano with special ammunition created by magitech engineer El. With its aggro secured, we lured it into the fire-truck Crane Wing Formation—』
The souls listened with bated breath.
When Jepetto reached the part where it was finished off with a shower of liquid nitrogen and ash and feathers were obtained—
『Hooray!』
『They did it!』
『Phoenix Ash dropped! Ash, the material for nectar!』
『If Mari makes nectar, the Summoner will easily live another thousand years.』
『We can breathe easy now. Ti is on the Summoner’s side.』
『Longevity is important, but enhancent elixirs must be made too.』
『That is only a matter of ti—once we get a dragon heart.』
『Dragon? Is that so child’s na?』
『I should go out there... I was a Dragon Slayer back in the day.』
『Doesn’t everyone have so kind of Slayer title? What is so special about that?』
『Yeah. It’s not like you killed one solo.』
『Anyway, if I want to go out, I just need to wait about 80 days, right?』
『I wish random summoning would resu soon.』
『Next ti it will be . I am definitely going.』
『I will join for sure and leave my na in the history of the Tower.』
A Summoner who cleared everything with ease.
Hardship and adversity were almost nonexistent.
Wasn’t this the ultimate team?
Just being summoned into that team would be an honor in itself.
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