Not one, but two—no, three.
The journey began on the 16th floor.
[Entering the 16th floor of the Black Tower, Republic of Korea.]
[Your physical abilities have been enhanced to match your level.]
[Characteristic and combat skills are now available for use.]
With enhanced physical abilities, Kozak moved forward to receive the mission.
Juhyeok followed behind.
But wait…
“Gobang! What are you doing? Why aren’t you following?” Juhyeok called out. The barbarian Gobang heard Kozak’s words but didn’t even look at him. He only stared blankly at Juhyeok.
At least he had some attitude.
It seemed he knew whose orders to follow.
“Please follow us, Mr. Gobang.”
“Understood. Gobang absolutely obeys summoner,” Gobang replied, finally falling in line.
From now on, Juhyeok realized he’d have to give explicit orders every time. Even if it was troublesome.
[16th Floor Mission: Defeat 30 Goblin Scouts.]
[Time Limit: Within 5 hours.]
[Completion Condition: Goblin Scouts 0/30]
[Failure Condition: Death or Mission Abandonment]
As soon as the mission appeared, the forest became bustling with activity.
Rustle, rustle.
Something was moving.
“Summoner Bong, activate your energy shield. Be ready to use the Shadow Step skill immediately.”
“Got it.”
Right at that moment!
“Kekek!”
“Keeeeek!”
Goblin scouts suddenly appeared.
They must have been lying in ambush, as their numbers were considerable.
‘There seem to be well over 50 of them,’ Juhyeok thought.
Spit! Spipipit!
Black needle-like projectiles flew towards the three of them.
From the front, from behind, from the ground, from the treetops.
“Dodge!” Kozak shouted.
Tap, tap tap,
“I’ll block them for you!”
Kozak deflected the poison needles aimed at Juhyeok with his dagger while charging towards the forest.
But then?
‘Huh?’
The barbarian warrior stood still, hit by poison needles but unmoved.
They didn’t even penetrate properly.
With a single shake of his body, the needles fell off in droves.
“Mr. Gobang? What are you doing? Don’t just stand there getting hit, go out and sweep them all away!”
In that instant!
The barbarian warrior’s eyes flashed like those of a wild beast.
“Hear order. Kill all. Kill human assassin too.”
“—Except for Mr. Kozak,” Juhyeok quickly added.
“Exclude assassin.”
This summonee required a lot of guidance.
But then,
Thump thump thump thump!
“Kuaaaaaaah!!!”
The barbarian warrior roared as he joined the battlefield.
The goblin scouts launched their poison needles, but they bounced off his thick skin, unable to penetrate.
Grab!
As a scout’s head was caught in his massive hand,
Crunch!
Splat!
The barbarian warrior crushed it instantly.
“…What the—”
It was an incredible display of brute strength.
Is he even human?
While Kozak dodged poison needles and slashed goblin throats, the barbarian warrior Gobang didn’t bother with such finesse. Whether it was poison needles or arrows flying at him, he charged forward at terrifying speed, grabbing heads and crushing them.
Crunch! Splat! Crack!
Or he’d grab their legs and smash them against the ground.
Whoosh! Thud! Thud thud thud!
His power was overwhelming.
Amidst the chaos, Gobang looked at Juhyeok with an innocent expression, as if asking, “Am I doing well?”
“Y-you’re doing great, Gobang!”
“I praised by summoner. Do better than assassin,” Gobang declared proudly.
He wasn’t wrong.
At least in terms of combat.
‘How is this barbarian warrior only Rare grade?’ Juhyeok wondered. He should be at least SR, if not SSR.
‘Maybe he’s Rare because of his low intelligence.’
That must be it.
Low intelligence was a critical weakness, after all.
Gobang was dominating the battlefield.
Goblins were flying through the air.
Not because they had wings, but because the barbarian warrior was throwing them.
Even massive trees were being uprooted and hurled.
Boulder-sized rocks soared through the air.
Goblins that couldn’t dodge were crushed one after another.
Kozak narrowly avoided being flattened by a boulder. “You, son of a—” he began to curse.
This summon was turning out to be a good choice. The barbarian warrior took all the goblin scouts’ poison needle attacks with his bare body. As he drew their aggro, Kozak’s attacks became even more deadly.
Juhyeok took out his mace from the inventory. His energy shield was already activated.
Ting! Ting ting ting!
Poison needles bounced off the shield and fell.
‘Wow! What would have happened without this shield?’
This was good.
‘I’m testing the energy shield here, huh?’
The special rewards were truly exceptional. No wonder he couldn’t give up on the Platinum badge.
‘Now, what about skills?’
He had practiced alone until now, but how would it work in a real battle?
‘Let’s go.’
Juhyeok took a step forward.
‘Shadow Step.’
Swoosh!
Juhyeok vanished in an instant.
An afterimage remained where he had stood.
Poison needles hit the shadow and passed through.
Pipipipit!
Swoosh! Swooooosh!
‘This is freaking sweet.’
Could there be a better skill for escaping?
There was a reason Kozak had told him to learn this first. He was getting more proficient. Enough to not fear the poison needles.
The scouts concentrated their attacks on Juhyeok, but…
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh…
Their attacks were futilely deceived by his rapid movements and illusory afterimages.
‘This is fun.’
Much more than he had expected!
‘Do I perhaps have a talent for this?’
No way!
That’s absurd.
In the end,
[Notice: You have achieved an S++ grade conquest on the 16th floor of the Black Tower (Korea).]
[S++ Conquest Reward: A Platinum Badge is awarded.]
One was certainly better than none.
No, make that three.
***
In Hannam-dong, Seoul.
Police Commissioner Park Kyung-soo and Team Leader Jeon Kwang-il were having a conversation over warm tea.
S++ grade conquest record holder, Player Bong Juhyeok.
They had even sold him equipment at dirt-cheap prices for his sake.
“Phew, what a relief. Was player Bong satisfied?” Commissioner Park asked.
“Yes, it seems so. He informed us that he would attempt the 16th floor this evening,” Kwang-il replied.
“Is that so? It’s rewarding.”
‘I hope he starts climbing soon’, the commissioner thought. ‘And sets records too.’
“By the way, should we leave player Bong’s affiliation as is? Or should we continue to pretend we don’t know?”
“Pretending not to know seems like the better option,” Kwang-il suggested.
“Why?”
“First, we can hide the existence of an S++ conquest record holder. Secondly, given player Bong’s personality, this method is more efficient.”
“Hmm.”
“We can quietly observe and immediately resolve any issues that need support, just like this time.”
Commissioner Park nodded in agreement. Honestly, he still couldn’t understand. They had offered so many benefits, yet Bong hadn’t even blinked.
“I’m heading home now. What about you?”
“Since player Bong said he’d attempt the 16th floor today, I’ll confirm that before leaving.”
“Do you think it’s possible this time? From the 16th floor, it becomes extremely difficult.”
“Well, if we wait a little…”
Just then!
Knock knock.
Someone opened the door and entered the commissioner’s office.
It was Lee Min-ah, a player and department head at the Management Office.
“Oh, Department Head Lee, what’s the matter?”
“It-it just came in,” she stammered.
“What… Oh! Don’t tell me?”
“Yes, it’s an S++ grade conquest record for the 16th floor of the tower.”
“Well, well.”
We sell him some equipment cheaply, and he immediately conquers it?
“16 consecutive S++ grades… Is this even possible?”
Department Head Lee Min-ah answered:
“In baseball terms, it’s like a single pitcher achieving 16 consecutive perfect games.”
“That’s an insane record.”
It wasn’t something to be purely happy about.
At this rate, wouldn’t neighboring countries take action?
“We need to keep this information strictly confidential. Especially watch out for movements from China or Japan.”
“Yes, sir.”
They also needed to continue building a relationship of trust.
“Form a dedicated team. And include player Bong’s family members as support targets as well.”
If they provide benefits not only to him but also to his family…
It might be even more effective.
“But don’t try to take credit for it.”
“…If we don’t take credit, won’t he not know it was us?”
“Player Bong will figure it out. He may be timid, but he’s not stupid.”
“I understand. I’ll take responsibility and proceed with this.”
Commissioner Park had set a goal for himself.
During his remaining term, he was determined to recruit Player Bong Juhyeok into the elite team.
***
Korea’s tower climbing record was the 65th floor.
Tied for second place globally with Norway and Saudi Arabia.
Meanwhile, fellow East Asian countries China and Japan lagged far behind.
In fact, information about each floor of the tower was considered a public good shared by all of humanity. It wasn’t difficult to figure out what appeared where and what types of missions existed.
The problem was the players.
A nation’s fate depended on a single player, so securing skilled players was crucial.
This led to fierce scouting wars, or classifying talented players as national assets and protecting them thoroughly.
Yoo Cheol-min, who had single-handedly conquered up to the 65th floor of Korea’s Black Tower and was now challenging the 66th, was a player coveted by countries worldwide.
Japan and China were particularly persistent in trying to recruit Korean players.
It was essentially a quiet war.
If Player Yoo Cheol-min changed his nationality, that country would undoubtedly surge up to the 65th floor.
China had a large population.
Consequently, they had a proportionally large number of players.
China’s tower climbing progress was only at completing the 58th floor and challenging the 59th.
It paled in comparison to Korea’s completion of the 65th floor and ongoing challenge of the 66th.
They had tried every method.
Bestowing hero titles on first ascent players, lavishing rewards…
Their magic stone production was enormous.
As a result, China’s economy was thriving.
But the problem was their stagnant tower ascent.
With the Black Tower erected near the metropolis of Shanghai, only about two months remained until the deadline for conquering the unconquered upper floors.
What if the collapse countdown began?
They couldn’t just sit idly by.
An active countermeasure was needed.
Namely, attracting excellent players to their country through naturalization policies.
So where would they draw talent from?
From their neighbor, Korea.
Korea was teeming with talented players.
Even without recruiting Yoo Cheol-min, Korea’s top player, if they could naturalize anyone from the elite team, they wouldn’t have to worry about tower collapse.
Mass appeal, pride—none of that mattered anymore.
Such notions had crumbled long ago.
But then came news from Korea.
A player with 16 consecutive S++ conquest records?
They had never heard of or experienced such a player before.
How could they sit still?
With almost no pro-China factions in Korean politics, they couldn’t work behind the scenes, but they still had an ace up their sleeve.
Those ethnic Korean-Chinese players with Korean nationality but Chinese ancestry—naturally cooperative with China.
Even now, they were giving their all to persuade the elite team and gather information on the S++ conquest record holder.
***
Japan’s case was more desperate than other countries.
There was only one tower, but its location was the problem.
Japan’s Black Tower was located west of Mount Fuji.
Although far from major cities, there were observations that if the tower collapsed, it would affect the seismic zone.
An unprecedented earthquake in the Kanto region could occur.
The sinking of the Japanese archipelago could become a reality.
Even the Hamaoka Nuclear Power Plant might not be safe, raising fears of another tragedy like Fukushima.
Korea was relatively fortunate in comparison.
Their tower wasn’t in a major city or a seismic zone.
As a result, Japan harbored intense jealousy towards Korea.
Why was Japan’s tower in a seismic zone while Korea’s was on a rural mountain with few people?
Why were Korean players superior to Japanese players? Wasn’t Japan known as a gaming powerhouse?
When the towers first appeared, Japan had been confident.
Tower climbing was like a game system.
With hikikomori[1] shut-ins who did nothing but play console games all day abundant in Japan…
They thought tower climbing would be easy if these people awakened as players.
But the results were disastrous.
Tower climbing progress: 56th floor.
Dead last among the three East Asian countries.
Even if they somehow managed to get through the 50s, what about the 60th floor?
Tower collapse seemed inevitable.
Japan’s choice was the same as China’s.
Bring Korean elite team players to Japan.
Or recruit the recently famous S++ grade conquest record holder.
With many pro-Japan politicians in Korean politics, they hoped to achieve good results soon by using them.
***
The 16th floor conquest was also an S++ success.
Kozak said there would be no problem up to floors 17, 18, 19, and 20.
“Summoner Bong, I nearly wet myself. To think you could make even that barbarian idiot Gobang into a useful human being,” Kozak marveled.
Juhyeok wanted to say that Gobang was actually stronger than Kozak, but instead he replied, “Whew! It was only possible because you led from the front, Mr. Kozak.”
“Hehehe, you flatter me,” Kozak chuckled.
“Hahaha!” Juhyeok laughed along.
Then, turning to the barbarian warrior, Kozak barked:
“Gobang, you bastard! Stop eating already!”
“Kitchen tasty,” Gobang mumbled through a mouthful of food.
“Chicken! This isn’t a kitchen, it’s chicken!” Kozak corrected exasperatedly.
“Yes, kitchen,” Gobang nodded.
After a conquest, a party was standard.
So they had ordered chicken.
Considering the barbarian warrior’s size, they ordered 10 chickens, but they were disappearing in an instant.
He’d grab a whole box and pour it into his mouth.
Crunch, crunch!
He even ate the bones.
“Summoner good person. Give kitchen, I give my life,” Gobang declared solemnly.
“Chicken!” Kozak shouted.
“Right. Kitchen,” Gobang agreed.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake!”
Mere chicken was nothing.
The 20th floor was within sight.
Assuming everyone received Platinum badges,
‘What will the special reward be?’
A skill? An item? Characteristic enhancement?
Anything that could make him safer would be good.
There had been danger for him too in the 16th floor’s goblin scout extermination mission.
Without Shadow Step and the energy shield, he would have surely been hit by poison needles.
What if he had been barehanded, without skills?
Always be cautious.
Never be overconfident.
Let’s tackle the 17th floor first and see.