How a Weak Man Clears the Tower – Chapter 55
Ten days remain until the collapse countdown of the United Arab Emirates Tower.
Even if the Tower collapses, there will be no casualties.
After experiencing the terror of the Mumbai Tower collapse, people would have already fled the collapse zone by then.
But what about the massive sinkhole?
What if a hole over 10 kilometers in diameter opened up in the UAE?
It had to be stopped—no matter what.
If we assume the clear fails, this is the kind of message UAE players would hear in ten days.
[Notice: Progress in clearing the United Arab Emirates Black Tower is insufficient.]
[Notice: Tower collapse countdown has been activated.]
[Notice: The countdown will stop if the uncleared upper floors are successfully cleared.]
[Notice: Time remaining until Tower collapse: 23:59:59.]
There was no intention of letting it reach the countdown.
The clear would be finished before that.
By calculation, including today, it would take six days at most.
It was even possible to clear two floors in a single day.
That would mean the global announcement would ring twice in one day.
Which would cause another uproar.
There was no rush.
One floor per day was more than enough.
[Entering the Republic of Korea Black Tower, 55th Floor.]
The final section of the griffon zone.
[55th Floor Mission: Defeat 50 griffons of any type and 1 Peacock-Feather Storm Griffon.]
[Time Limit: 12 hours.]
[Completion Conditions: All griffon types 0/50, Peacock-Feather Storm Griffon 0/1.]
The boss, the Peacock-Feather Storm Griffon.
Its tail was large, beautiful, and lush—like a peacock's feathers.
But it was dangerous.
Its ultimate attack was its tail-feather assault.
From the sky, it scattered feather-spears toward the ground, carpet-bombing the area where players stood.
This wasn't easy to dodge.
The feather-spears fell densely, without gaps.
The raid began.
Griffons filled the sky, flying everywhere.
Veronica boldly targeted one flying through the very center of the flock.
Crash!
The griffon recognized Veronica.
Then the one beside it, the one next to that, and the one following behind—
Adds, adds.
Five descended in an instant.
But Veronica pulled the trigger again toward another group.
Crash!
Five more, staggered by timing.
Crash! Rattatat! Rattatat—
Small mana rounds fired in rapid succession.
Not a single shot missed.
But the mana-stone ammo was consumed quickly.
"Supply Officer Rajiks!"
Reload.
"Hoeng!"
Rajiks dashed out eagerly.
Rorororor—
During repeated clears, the main Tower material they'd gathered had been ore.
But after summoning Veronica, Juhyeok had asked Rajiks to increase the ratio of mana stone collection.
All for supplying ammunition to Sergeant Veronica Caliber—the mana-stone-devouring monster.
Clang clang, jingle-jang, clang clang, jingle-jang.
Boom boom, dum-dum-boom, boom boom, dum-dum-boom.
Sharp drumbeats and ringing bells.
As they neared the ground, the griffon flock fell into confusion under Gyeondallae's debuff.
Like pigeons pecking at feed, they settled densely onto the ground.
Gobang snapped their necks one by one as if they were pigeons, while Kosak danced through them with a dagger gleaming with sword energy.
At the same time, Veronica's pulling began again.
Gyeondallae's debuff.
Gobang and Kosak's close-range assault.
It didn't take long to summon the 55th-floor boss, the Peacock-Feather Storm Griffon.
"Kyaaaaargh!"
The massive griffon spread its peacock-like feathers wide and appeared leisurely in the distant sky.
Veronica assumed a seated firing stance.
Bzzzzing!
Her magic rifle glowed white-hot.
Baaajujuk!!!
"Kiiiek!"
Struck solidly in the torso, the Peacock-Feather Storm Griffon descended—
And at the same time, thududududuk! Brilliant feathers turned into spears and rained densely onto the ground.
Gobang expanded his body and wrapped Kosak, Gyeondallae, and Veronica in his arms.
Juhyeok pulled Rajiks close and activated an energy barrier.
Of course, not a single feather-spear flew anywhere near Juhyeok.
He was outside the attack range from the start.
After all, he was a rear-line commander.
He didn't go to dangerous places.
Once the feather storm subsided, Veronica fired another large mana round.
Baaajujuk!!!
Boom!
The Peacock-Feather Storm Griffon had taken two large mana rounds.
There was no way it could endure that.
It staggered down and barely managed to land—
Pop! Pop! Pop!
Kosak leapt onto its head using Shadow Step.
Stab! Stab!
He blinded both eyes with his dagger.
Then Gobang, enlarged through gigantification, grabbed the boss's head as it entered a near-death state and twisted it a full turn.
Crunch—!
[Notice: You have achieved an S++ clear rank on the 55th floor of the Black Tower (Korea).]
[S++ Clear Reward: You are granted a Platinum Badge.]
Now it was Juhyeok's time.
Even if you're going to keep climbing, you should still check your privileges first.
He had already completed his trait enhancement.
There was still plenty of time left on the next random-summon cooldown.
So the privilege reward didn't feel quite as desperately important as it once had.
Well, it would be nice if a Summoned Being Rank-Up Rune dropped.
Promote our Supply Officer Rajiks and pin an SR insignia on him.
But getting too obsessed with privileges wasn't very macho.
Check it coolly.
He didn't even perform a ritual.
He'd already used it twice—now it was stale.
What ritual? A ritual?!
How undignified.
"Please, please…" Begging who, for what?
Like a true Tower macho man, he opened his inventory—
Even if it was a privilege he didn't want, he'd accept it magnanimously, without complaint—
"Confirm!"
[With the accumulation of 55 Platinum Badges, a privilege is granted.]
What is it?
Hurry up and give it to me.
A privilege item would be fine, a Summoned Being Rank-Up Rune to promote Rajiks to SR would be even better, and trait enhancement would be an ultra-ultra-jackpot.
[Privilege: You may copy one skill possessed by a summoned being.]
[Please select a target.]
[Targets: John Kosak / Savage Meat Shield / Gyeondallae / Rajiks / Mad Demon]
"Hm."
Is this good?
"…It's good."
It was really good.
One usable skill was worth more than ten items.
Just look at Shadow Step, which he'd copied from Kosak before.
So then—which of the five should he copy from?
Too many options…
Juhyeok absolutely hated having too many choices.
Ugh, it gave him a headache.
He preferred someone else deciding for him.
That was why he wore the clothes his mom bought him, and why he always went to the same hair salon.
Last time the skill-copy privilege appeared, it was a blessing that the options were limited.
There had only been Kosak, after all.
But now?
Kosak, Gobang, Gyeondallae, Rajiks, Mad Demon, Veronica Caliber.
Let's take a look one by one.
First, Kosak.
[Kosak's accumulated star rating is above average.]
[Selection range expanded.]
[List: Blade Explosion, Shock Break, Dirty Ambush, Poison Dagger, Disruption, Stealth, Invisibility, Polymorph, Lockpicking, Pickpocketing, Mugging, Kidney Stab, An Offer You Can't Refuse…]
…What is this guy?
The further down it goes, the more it turns into straight-up crime skills.
Next, Gobang.
[Savage Meat Shield's accumulated star rating is above average.]
[Selection range expanded.]
[List: Diamond Skin, Rapid Regeneration, Gigantification, Mocking Roar, Unbreakable Spirit, Iron Skull, Silent Taunt, Last Stand, Shockwave, Crushing Grip…]
A tank through and through.
Sorry, but no.
He might want to be macho, but getting beaten up for a living wasn't his thing.
Next, Gyeondallae.
Her accumulated star rating was also high, so there were many options.
[List: Bell of Encouragement, Bell of Weakening, Bell of Confusion, Drumbeat of Fighting Spirit, Talisman Arts, Blade Walking, Fortune Reading, Casting Misfortune, Casting Karma, Majesty, Scolding…]
He didn't want to become a clapping shaman.
What about their reliable worker, Rajiks?
[List: Subspace Backpack, Leather Gathering, Mining, Tanning, Herb Gathering, Blacksmith Repair, Survival Cooking, Cleaning, Camp Construction…]
As expected, skills specialized entirely for labor.
And Veronica's list?
[Veronica Caliber's accumulated star rating is above average.]
[Selection range expanded.]
He hadn't summoned her many times, but he'd consistently given her five stars.
[List: Magic Rifle Marksmanship, Mana Round Focus, Speed Step, Fade Mana Round, Mana Round Enhancement, Mana Round Barrage…]
Other than Speed Step, everything was tied to magic rifles.
Even if he learned them, he probably wouldn't be able to use them.
He didn't even have a magic rifle.
Finally…
[Mad Demon's accumulated star rating is the lowest.]
[Selection range is extremely limited.]
"Hm."
Mad Demon.
Two summons, two one-star ratings—no surprise he was rock bottom.
Did that mean there were no skills to copy at all?
Fortunately—
[List: Blood Jade Gang Qi ]
There was one.
Just one, but still.
Choosing an R-grade skill over SSR was obviously rational.
And yet—decision paralysis struck again.
Learn it or not?
This required careful thought.
Learn it?
To properly use Blood Jade Gang Qi, he'd have to fight barehanded.
Covered in blood and flesh…
And even if he learned it, there was no guarantee he could display power anywhere near Mad Demon's level.
Then don't learn it?
But not learning it wasn't exactly wise either.
Honestly, if not now, then when?
Mad Demon might be insane, but what did the skill do wrong?
There was no guarantee another skill-copy privilege would ever appear again.
As Juhyeok frowned in deep thought, the summoned beings each chimed in.
"Young Master Bong, learn Talisman Arts. At first, your mastery will be low and the effects modest, but it will improve with practice."
Not a bad suggestion.
"Eh, talismans are meh. Stealth or Invisibility is better. Sneaking around the Tower makes things way safer."
Also reasonable.
"I recommend Diamond Skin or Rapid Regeneration. If your body is tough, you don't die easily."
What about Rajiks?
"Hoeng, you don't need to learn mine. I'll do all the work."
Right.
If you take Rajiks's job away, he gets mad.
The look on his face when Electronic Farmhand Ro-Chung was executed—still vivid.
And Veronica?
"Zzz… goro-ron."
Nodding off.
Sleeping very well.
So what did they think about copying Mad Demon's skill?
When he casually brought it up—
"…Mad Demon's Blood Jade Gang Qi, you say? Ah… this one is frightened. Please, restrain yourself."
"N-no way. Absolutely not. It's blood. Blood. The word 'blood' is in the skill name. Gives me chills."
"Summoner, it's fine not to learn it."
"Hoe-ee…"
"Kuul, kuhl, hrrrp! Smack smack."
All opposed.
No helping it.
After carefully considering everyone's opinion—
"Alright. I'll learn Mad Demon's skill."
A weak man's trait.
He's timid—but when it comes to rebelling, he does it.
To show that he's not someone to be taken lightly either.
What's wrong with this? This is who I am.
I won't just be dragged along obediently the way you want!
"…"
"…I see."
"Haa."
"Hoeng."
Faces full of concern.
He knew what they were worried about.
If he learned the skill, he'd want to try it out.
That would eventually lead him to participate in combat—
And that could become dangerous.
[Skill: Blood Jade Gang Qi has been acquired.]
[Blood Jade Gang Qi has been registered in the status window.]
Skill: Blood Jade Gang Qi
Description: Emits formless energy to weaponize the body. Power increases according to the user's magic power at their level. As proficiency increases, the range over which hardened energy can be applied to the body expands.
"…Status window?"
[Name]: Bong Juhyeok
[Affiliation]: Black Tower (Republic of Korea)
[Level]: 56 LV
[Catalog]: John Kosak / Savage Meat Shield / Gyeondallae / Rajiks / Mad Demon / Veronica Caliber
[Trait Skills]: Designated Summon / Random Summon / Unsummon
[General Skills]: Tower Entry (2 times per day) / Tower-Exclusive Inventory
[Combat Skills]: Shadow Step / Honwon Byeokryeok Staff / Blood Jade Gang Qi
Seeing his status window packed like this made his chest swell with pride.
He'd try out Blood Jade Gang Qi later inside the Tower.
He wasn't planning to fight monsters directly just yet, but he could at least train and raise its proficiency.
Tower entry was twice a day.
With two runs per day, there was plenty of time to practice.
Now came the wyvern section.
On the 56th floor, Earth Wyverns.
57th floor, Flame Wyverns.
58th floor, Frost Wyverns.
59th floor, Lightning Wyverns.
And on the 60th floor—unusually—no standard wyverns at all, only Venom Wyverns and a Wyvern Lord.
He'd push straight through.
All the way to the 59th floor.
For the first time in a while, the media poured out coverage.
Being a reporter in Korea really was easy.
There were new headlines every single day.
ㄴI told you, didn't I? Korea—no, the world's top player. Who is it?
ㄴBut seriously, can he clear the wyvern section too? That sounds rough.
ㄴLol, plenty of forum users said that before disappearing.
ㄴDon't underestimate the defense of the 56th-floor Earth Wyverns. Takes forever to kill even one.
ㄴWasn't that Yoo Cheol-min's clear video you watched?
ㄴNam Gaeun said the same thing too.
ㄴSo what? They're completely different kinds of players to begin with.
Just as the forums were heating up—
ㄴOh!
ㄴHuh?!
ㄴWhat is it?
ㄴIt's up.
┗ㄴAgain?
ㄴLet's gooo!
A global announcement rang out to players affiliated with South Korea.
As if wyverns were no different from griffons.
[Notice: You have achieved an S++ clear rank on the 56th floor of the Black Tower (Korea).]
9 days remaining until the collapse of the United Arab Emirates Tower.
[Notice: You have achieved an S++ clear rank on the 57th floor of the Black Tower (Korea).]
8 days remaining.
[Notice: You have achieved an S++ clear rank on the 58th floor of the Black Tower (Korea).]
7 days remaining.
[Notice: You have achieved an S++ clear rank on the 59th floor of the Black Tower (Korea).]
6 days remaining.
He kept running forward without stopping.