In the end, I decided to buy a house.
I still wondered if this was really the right choice.
I'd just dropped twenty billion won—if my heart felt calm after that, that would be abnormal.
I had to keep mind-controlling myself, telling myself I'd bought well.
"High-end apartments don't really drop in price, right?"
If anything, they tend to go up.
I can always sell it later and move out.
"Let's think of it as an investment."
This wasn't for Juhyeok himself.
It was for the summoned ones.
As long as they were in this world, he wanted to give them a comfortable place where they could rest properly.
Instead of cramming themselves into this narrow officetel.
The next morning.
As usual, he designated and summoned the blood-summoned.
"Sir! Are we climbing the 42nd floor today? I'm ready!"
"No. If we did it twice yesterday, we should rest today."
"This is exactly when we gotta work. We gotta make money. We'll become real house-poor at this rate."
For some reason, Kosak was more fired up than anyone.
"Perfect timing—our worker Rajiks is here too. We gotta score big."
Score big, my ass.
"I'm not becoming house-poor. I've got plenty of money, and I'm living just fine right now."
"Ah, money is something you can never have enough of. Money is power. The more money you got, the stronger you become. And the stronger you are, the safer you are too, Summoner sir."
Since when did this guy get so obsessed with money?
"Also, if someone starts selling a Trait Enhancement Rune, you gotta have the cash to buy it."
Oh, Mr. Kosak.
That's not something that costs a few bucks.
Juhyeok had once asked Jeon Gwang-il about it.
How much does a Trait Enhancement Rune go for?
Apparently, tens of billions can change hands.
Of course, not in won—dollars.
"Eh, no way we earn enough for that. Just give up. Life's easier that way."
"Dust gathers into a mountain."
Gather dust to make a mountain?
Maybe that worked in the agrarian age. These days, dust stays dust no matter how much you pile it up.
"I'll set up a Tower-climbing revenue generation project and give a briefing."
"A briefing? You're making it sound awfully grand."
"We gotta plan thoroughly."
"…"
My resolve started to weaken.
I'd planned to take it easy.
I could already live comfortably as it was.
But with Kosak passionately spraying spit as he argued—
Well, fine. I'll hear him out.
Once other countries seriously start climbing the 60th floors, dust might turn into a mountain.
Spending money is fun, but saving it has its own appeal too.
"Alright. Let's do it. Kosak, you prepare the briefing materials yourself. You'll present them too."
"Yes, sir!"
The plan itself was obvious.
Make money using worker Rajiks's abilities.
First, let's try selling the Tower materials we've gathered so far.
See how much we can get for them.
But not through the Player Shop.
The materials Rajiks collected were clearly different from standard Tower reward materials at a glance.
The leather, for starters, was full hide—skinned whole from a single animal.
The herbs weren't dried either; they were fresh, living herbs.
And the quantity was enormous.
This alone would far exceed the amount of leather the Player Shop buys in an entire month.
We'd need to sell directly by contacting Team Leader Jeon Gwang-il.
Magic crystals had a fixed market price, so those could be handed over easily.
Even so, today was a rest day.
It was Sunday, and all the public officials were off.
Plus, the second conquest had taken a very long time.
After all that hardship, should we really exploit Rajiks, such a capable worker?
Round and chubby—just looking at him made me smile.
"Rajiks, let's keep climbing the Tower together for a long, long time."
"Hoeng!"
"Anything you want to eat?"
"Hoee… carrots?"
"Oh! Carrots."
Of course.
Hamsters mean carrots.
Gyeon Dallae dashed to the fridge and brought out carrots, cheese, and broccoli.
Crunch, crunch.
Sitting in the living room with his short legs stretched out, Rajiks munched on the carrot Gyeon Dallae had cut up for him with his tiny hands.
A walking lucky charm. A real blessing.
Sure enough, once you let go of greed, fortune comes to you.
LSSR Mad Demon?
Who was that again?
Did someone like that even exist?
Yesterday had been a storm of a day.
Twist after twist.
What I thought was trash turned out to be a jackpot, and what I thought was a jackpot turned out to be trash.
"So the Mad Demon was actually a Trash Demon."
The more I think about it, the angrier I get.
World domination? Kill all the people in power?
I regret it.
I should've logically countered him before dismissing the summon.
But what's done is done.
I can't summon him again.
A trait of a henpecked loser.
When it comes to debates or arguments, they often fail to refute the other person's logic, just stammer until it's over.
They think too much, and they're clumsy at turning those thoughts into words.
What does a loser who lost a debate do when they get home, before going to sleep?
They replay it all in their head.
If I'd countered like this, I would've won.
The foundation of his argument was weak—I should've pointed that out.
Next time, I'll definitely refute it this way.
Kicking the blanket in frustration, drowning in regret.
That's exactly what Juhyeok was doing now.
When the Mad Demon declared world domination with his own twisted logic—
What a joke. Does he think this is some simple martial world, like the rivers and lakes? This world is far more complex than that.
War?
Ridiculous.
Does he think people just fight like idiots with swords and spears?
Does he even know how many nuclear-armed nations exist on Earth?
There's one right to the north, for starters.
The world would be destroyed by nuclear war faster than the Tower collapsing.
No matter how mad he is, how the hell would he survive a nuke?
"Also, would killing a handful of people in power really let you swallow an entire country?"
Not a chance.
"Any nation unified that way is bound to fracture."
The only remotely plausible path would be unification by mutual agreement.
But even that is hard to realize.
"Even economic, security, and diplomatic unions between nations are constantly dealing with members arguing over whether to leave or stay."
And even if, by some miracle, a United Earth Federation were created, how would they decide which country sits at the center?
By voting?
As if that would work.
Only with a blade pressed to everyone's throat would it even be possible.
Maybe consensus could happen only when the Towers of the world collapse like dominoes and annihilation is right at humanity's doorstep.
Though by then, who knows if anything could still be saved.
Still, humanity has always overcome hardship and advanced.
After the Tower in India collapsed first, people didn't just sit around and watch.
There were countless attempts and efforts to climb unexplored upper floors.
"Thanks to that, not a single Tower on Earth has collapsed since."
And it'll stay that way going forward.
For a long time to come!
Who knows about a future that hasn't even arrived?
That's enough.
At least in my imagination, I delivered a magnificent rebuttal.
Feels refreshing.
A classic trait of a henpecked loser.
Always achieving a mental victory.
There is no defeat.
Erase it from memory.
Since I've secured my mental victory, I'll swing by my parents' place for a bit.
I messed around with the blood-summoned in the morning, then went to my parents' home in the afternoon.
Honestly, I felt a little guilty.
Their son was about to buy a penthouse, while my parents were living in a "small" forty-pyeong apartment.
I'll give them a lump sum later.
They'll probably refuse, but still.
Even giving a lump sum casually would be a problem.
Even between family members, gift taxes apply.
I'll get legal advice, cleanly sort out the tax issues, and then give it to them.
Man, money sure finds ways to leave my hands.
I punched in the front door password and stepped inside.
"Son! Son! Come here, quick!"
My father called out urgently.
Did something happen?
"What is it?"
"I went fishing near the Incheon breakwater a little while ago."
Fishing—my father's only hobby.
Even though he can't even properly clean the fish he catches, he goes diligently.
I'd sent him some allowance recently to buy a new fishing rod, and it seems he couldn't resist and went out right away.
"Take a look at this photo."
"…Whoa!"
A picture of him holding a red sea bream.
Just at a glance, it had to be over 80 centimeters.
"That's a monster."
"My personal best. Amazing, right?"
"You caught that from a breakwater?"
"I did. I thought my line was snagged on the bottom at first."
"What about the fish?"
"Your mom and I ate half of it as sashimi, and the rest is in the freezer."
Could it be the Fortune Department?
Looking closely at my father's face, his complexion was clearly better.
His hip joint also seemed fully healed.
So this is the effect of the Health Department?
"Oh, right! When did you buy that air purifier in the living room? I was just thinking of getting you one."
"Oh, that? Your mom—"
At that moment, my mom came out of her room.
"Why are you two talking about me? Were you badmouthing me?"
"Did you buy the air purifier? That one's expensive."
"I didn't buy it. I won it in a prize draw at the new mart nearby. After all these years, I finally won a prize—life sure throws surprises."
That settles it. Definitely the Fortune Department's effect.
My dad caught a monster red sea bream, and my mom won an air purifier.
Then what about my younger brother, Minhyuk?
Right on cue, he came out of his room.
Looks like he'd just finished gaming.
Minhyuk mainly plays FPS games—first-person shooters.
"Ha! Everything I shoot hits! Hyung, I think I'm a gaming god. I just spray and my kill count skyrockets."
"It's probably luck. You're usually terrible at games."
"Uh… is that so?"
Is that it for him?
"Anything else good happen lately? Like some unexpected stroke of luck?"
"Let's see… Ah! Now that I think about it. Yesterday—"
"Go on. What happened yesterday?"
"I was at the school library, trying to buy coffee from the vending machine, but I didn't have any change."
"And?"
"I was about to leave, thinking I'd get it next time, when a 500-won coin was just lying there next to the trash can."
"…"
"Isn't that insane luck? Anyway, I enjoyed my coffee."
Sigh. Poor bastard.
That's… really minor. Painfully minor.
"That's misappropriation of lost property. I'm reporting you."
"No way… it was just 500 won."
"Yep. Even small amounts count if you pick them up and use them."
"Seriously?"
"Look it up."
Minhyuk's face turned pale.
"If I go early tomorrow and put the 500 won back where it was, would that help?"
"How would I know?"
Knowing his personality, he'll definitely go back and return that coin to the exact spot.
Anyway, everyone seemed to be doing well.
The next morning, Monday.
Juhyeok sent a message to Jeon Gwang-il on his smartphone.
He said he was planning to visit the Administration and asked if he had time.
A reply came back instantly.
– I'll send a car right away.
Juhyeok waited in front of his officetel.
A moment later, screech—the car arrived.
"Please get in, Player Bong."
"Whoa, you came personally."
"Isn't a car the perfect place for a conversation?"
The reason Jeon Gwang-il came himself:
Meeting one-on-one in an office-like setting would draw too much attention.
Meeting like this was actually better.
"Player Bong, congratulations on conquering the 41st floor with an S++ rating."
"Haha, it was nothing."
"Looks like the meditation worked?"
"It worked tremendously. Far beyond expectations."
Thanks to that, I pulled Rajiks.
The Mad Demon, though—that was unexpected.
"If you'd like, I can also arrange a yoga instructor for you. A young female instructor around your age—she's very good at teaching."
That's too much pressure.
What if we start with yoga, end up making eye contact, get married, then have kids, look for kindergartens, send them to school, marry them off, become a grandfather with grandkids—
Did I go too far in such a short time?
Besides, I barely even meditated properly.
Yoga, my ass.
"Yoga won't be necessary."
"Hahaha, understood."
First, down to business.
"Is there a spacious place inside the Administration? Preferably somewhere without people."
"There is. We have a materials warehouse inside the Administration—no one can enter freely. It's where we store magic stones and Tower materials."
Perfect timing.
I can take them out there.
Before long, the car arrived at the Administration.
After going inside and heading toward the back of the building, there were guards again, just like at the main gate.
It seemed to be in front of the special materials warehouse.
When Jeon Gwang-il lowered the driver's window and showed his ID and face, the barrier and steel gate rose simultaneously.
The car entered the warehouse.
Soon after, the steel gate and barrier closed again.
Juhyeok got out of the car with Jeon Gwang-il.
"But what exactly is this about?"
"I'm here to sell some material items."
"Ah!"
Jeon Gwang-il's eyes sparkled brightly.
If Player Bong Juhyeok was selling materials, they wouldn't be ordinary ones.
If they were, he'd have gone to the Player Shop.
"Shall we take a look?"
"How large is the quantity?"
"There aren't many pieces, but each one is quite big."
"Then please take them out over here."
That was when it happened.
Swoooosh!
A massive object forced its way out of thin air.
Its appearance was almost… like a monster?
"Aaaah!!!"
Completely panicked, Jeon Gwang-il screamed and collapsed backward onto the ground.
"Oh dear, I'm sorry. I should've warned you beforehand."
"Uh—what?"
Jeon Gwang-il's legs were still trembling.
Looking again, it really did look like a monster.
And an enormous one at that.
But he felt like he'd seen it somewhere before.
Shorter snout than a crocodile, but a massive head, dark black bumpy skin—at a glance…
"Th-that's an Armored Basilisk, isn't it?"
"Oh! You know your stuff."
"I've only ever seen it in videos, so…"
Why was this here?
It lay limply, clearly dead.
Even if it was dead, a Tower monster appearing in the real world?
The thing he brought to sell was a monster?
"Impressive, right?"
"Huh? Ah—y-yes."
"This is a whole basilisk hide. Peeled clean, like shedding skin—just the leather."
"Ohhh!"
So it was leather.
A full hide.
That explained it.
No—actually, that didn't explain anything at all.
No matter how you look at it, even if it's leather… wait, could it be?
"Is this an S++-grade reward?"
"…You could say that."
Only then did Jeon Gwang-il relax, stepping closer to examine it carefully.
"I've never seen anything this big before."
"Can you sell it?"
"Well… pricing it will be difficult. There's no precedent."
"Hm."
That was true.
Even leather received as player conquest rewards is usually no bigger than a seat cushion.
You gather several pieces to barely make a pair of combat boots; gather more, and maybe you can make one leather armor.
But a whole hide?
How many sets of armor could come out of something like that?
"I'll take everything out. Please sell it however you see fit."
"…Everything?"
Meaning there was more.
"There are seven Armored Basilisk full hides in total. And there are herbs too—they'll probably need refrigeration."
"…"
Juhyeok began taking out the hides and herbs from his inventory.
Magic stones as well.
Items kept slipping out of the air one after another.
"What in the world…?"
Jeon Gwang-il's mouth kept opening wider and wider.
It didn't close again for quite some time.
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