How a Weak Man Clears the Tower – Chapter 54
After finishing of the 51st floor,
Juhyeok and his party exited the Tower.
They had already used up their two daily entry chances into the Tower… so now what?
What do you mean, what now?
There was something to do.
They had to hold a welcome party for the new member.
"Since it's also a welcome party for Ms. Veronica, let's have a get-together. Take the beef out of the fridge. Today, beer and soju as much as you want— huh?"
Gororyong, gororong—
Veronica was already sprawled flat on the living room floor, fast asleep.
"Whoa, she fell asleep the moment we came out. At this point, isn't she basically a sloth?"
"…She could be a panda or a koala."
One of the three great sleepers of the animal kingdom.
Veronica clearly possessed sleep skills worthy of belonging to that group.
It was kind of pitiful.
She should at least eat before sleeping.
Knowing exactly what Veronica had yearned for so desperately before her death, no one could bring themselves to wake her.
"Looks like she went crazy from lack of sleep. Better let her sleep properly."
"Still, it's better to eat and then sleep. Even pandas eat bamboo before sleeping."
"If you wake her for no reason, she'll flip out. You saw it earlier, didn't you? Tsk tsk—pretty face, but that personality…"
"Huh? Pretty?"
"…Yes?"
"You just said it."
"I didn't say that."
"You did, though?"
"N-no, I didn't."
Kosak slipped away under the pretense of going to grill the meat.
Oh, really now.
At this rate, weren't those two starting to have something going on?
This could get interesting.
He didn't know whether romance between summoned beings was possible, but it wasn't impossible either.
Once they were outside, they ate, drank, slept—did everything, after all.
Let's just have the get-together.
They could save Veronica's portion in case she woke up later.
On the large dining table, beef sizzled as it cooked.
They drank and ate, laughed and chatted…
It was a welcome party without the guest of honor, but today wasn't the only day.
They could always do it again later.
In truth, Juhyeok always found moments like this amazing.
Up until now, he'd lived without a single proper friend.
A get-together? As if.
He'd never even expected to be able to laugh and chat with people like this.
More than succeeding as a player, being able to enjoy moments like this with his companions made him happier.
Honestly, this was why he'd bought such a spacious penthouse in the first place.
And then—
Gasp!
In an instant, Veronica, who had been sleeping in the living room, vanished.
"…Where did she go?"
She'd been snoring away on the floor just moments ago.
She hadn't been unsummoned either.
Then Gobang, who was eating meat, pointed under the table with his finger.
"Female sergeant, she's here."
Looking down, there she was.
This time, Veronica was sleeping under the dining table.
It seemed she had rolled over here from the living room.
The more you looked, the stranger it got.
"Is that a sleeping habit?"
"Hoeee…."
"She was probably drawn here by the smell of grilled meat, even in her sleep."
That seemed right.
Even while sleeping—
Sniff, sniff—
Her nostrils flared.
Smack, smack—she even licked her lips.
"I think we should wake her and let her eat."
Kosak stared at the sleeping Veronica for a moment. Then, as if an idea had occurred to him, he grinned.
"Master Summoner."
"Yes?"
"Please don't wake her. Just wait a moment. There's something I want to try."
"Try what?"
Kosak gently placed a piece of beef on Veronica's lips.
Sniff, sniff—her nose twitched.
Then her tongue flicked out—lick!—and swept the meat into her mouth.
Kosak jumped up and clapped.
"Incredible. Incredible! She ate while sleeping. I'm seriously amazed."
The more he watched, the more absurd it felt.
She was chewing meat while lying down asleep?
Was this a skill too?
Finding it fascinating, Kosak placed another piece of meat on her lips.
Lick, munch munch.
"It's unbelievable. Master Summoner, would you like to try too?"
"…"
Gobang also watched quietly, then—
Slip.
He placed two chunks near her lips.
Lick, lick, munch munch, smack smack.
"Hoeeeehe?"
Rajiks also looked intrigued.
He snapped off the carrot he had been eating and, with a face full of anticipation, carefully placed it on Veronica's lips.
Lick!
"Hoe—she ate the carrot too."
"Well done, worker Rajiks. Meat and vegetables should be balanced—"
Ptooey!
Suddenly, a piece of carrot shot out of Veronica's mouth.
"H-Hoeek!"
Rajiks looked crushed.
She might eat in her sleep, but her tastes were very clear.
Anyway, the welcome party ended well.
She did eat, even if she was asleep.
As time passed and it was time to return, Juhyeok didn't wake Veronica.
Just like that, still asleep, she was unsummoned and disappeared.
13 days remaining until the collapse of the United Arab Emirates Tower.
To properly use a multinational Tower access ticket, you must meet the qualifications.
You cannot climb floors higher than your level.
After clearing up to the 59th floor of the Korean Black Tower, the next destination was the 60th floor of the United Arab Emirates Black Tower.
So today was the 52nd floor.
[Entering the Republic of Korea Black Tower, 52nd Floor.]
[Physical abilities have been enhanced to match your level.]
[Traits and combat skills are available.]
Floor 52, Level 52.
His strength had increased to match Level 52, and his magic power was so abundant he could maintain Shadow Step all day long.
Time to get moving.
His special privilege items had been confiscated, but he still had the mace and buckler he'd purchased at the start of his player career.
A real man doesn't blame his weapons.
Gobang fought just fine with his bare hands.
Raid preparations began.
As always, Veronica Caliber was summoned while still asleep.
"Operation prep is complete— aaah!"
Veronica, who had been inspecting her magic rifle, cried out with a flustered expression.
"Is something wrong?"
"C-Commander! I'm out of ammunition. I failed to self-resupply. I apologize. I will correct this."
Ammunition?
You needed ammo for that thing?
"What kind of bullets?"
"I need mana stones. Magic rifles load mana stones as live rounds. Normally, I extract them from monster corpses for self-supply, but yesterday ended too quickly…"
"Is that so?"
And here they had a mana-stone tycoon—what was there to worry about?
"Where do you load the mana stones?"
"Right here. You just put them all in."
Veronica removed the upper cover.
Now he understood why the rifle was so bulky.
The inside of the magic rifle was completely hollow.
You could easily pour in five kilograms' worth of mana stones.
"Rajiks."
"Hoeng?"
"You've stockpiled mana stones, right?"
"Hoe, yes. Lots of them."
"Give them to the sergeant."
Rajiks opened his backpack.
Mana stones poured out in a clatter.
"How is it?"
"I-it's more than enough."
"Reloading during combat?"
"It's possible. Reload time is short."
"Then Rajiks, if it looks like Veronica needs ammo, resupply her immediately."
"Hoeng!"
Veronica also added,
"When I run out of ammo, I'll raise my left arm to signal Supply Officer Rajiks."
"Fire as much as you want. Don't conserve ammo."
"Certain victory!"
Once fully loaded like this, how many shots could she fire?
"Two shots for large mana rounds, two hundred shots for small mana rounds. Single-shot and automatic fire are both possible."
Two hundred small rounds.
Two large rounds.
Roughly speaking, about a hundredfold difference in power.
"If we keep replenishing mana stones mid-fight, can you keep firing both large and small rounds nonstop?"
"Small rounds have no limitation even with automatic fire, but large rounds are limited to two shots."
"Even if mana stones are replenished?"
"Large rounds put a heavy burden on the magic rifle. After firing two shots, it requires one hour before it can be fired again."
A kind of cooldown. No problem.
Even small rounds packed plenty of punch.
And she could spray them freely.
[52nd Floor Mission: Defeat 15 Steel-Beaked Jet-Black Griffons.]
[Time Limit: 14 hours.]
[Failure Conditions: Death or mission abandonment.]
The 52nd floor went smoothly.
Veronica's pulling, shaving down HP and handing them off to Gobang, then Kosak delivering the finishing blow.
At this point, it was less "smooth" and more "routine."
Of course, unexpected situations still happened.
"Squad members, is it acceptable if I hand off two at once?"
"Go ahead. Even ten at once would be fine."
"Roger! I wish you luck. Princess, please stay focused as well. Aggro may shift, so be careful."
"Do not worry."
Crash! Crash! Crash!
But instead of two, three descended.
Gobang stepped forward, blocking Veronica.
"Three of them. Magic gunner, fall back."
"No! I'll handle one."
Bzzzzing!
Veronica's magic rifle glowed white-hot.
She carefully aimed in a seated firing stance—
Baaajujuk!!!
A massive large mana round struck the body of the Steel-Clawed Griffon head-on.
Boom!
Hit by the large mana round, the griffon plummeted helplessly.
At the same time, the kill count increased.
One shot was enough.
But the aggro of the remaining two was still active.
Pajujijijik!
After suppressing their descent with automatic fire,
Veronica rolled away, tumbling out of the battlefield.
The remaining two that chased her—
"Not so fast!"
Gobang seized both of their necks at once.
Kosak stabbed their vital points with a dagger infused with sword energy, cutting off their breath.
"Hoe… that was cool."
Rajiks said, eyes wide.
He seemed taken by the sight of Veronica firing one huge shot and then rolling away.
"Worker Rajiks, I'm cool when I fight too. Did I ever tell you I once walked down from the sky?"
"Hoeek? Th-that's dangerous. Summoner-nim is cool even if you just stay still."
Exactly.
Rajiks really was good at judging people.
Anyway, Veronica Caliber.
Perhaps because she'd been a soldier in her previous life, every movement she made was disciplined and efficient.
Especially when firing in bursts—standing and pouring small rounds mercilessly into the griffons—
But she had a downside.
Her cost-efficiency was worse than expected.
Mana stone consumption was enormous.
Gobang and Kosak only needed to be fed.
When Veronica raised her left hand, Rajiks dashed out as if he'd been waiting for it.
Rorororor—
"Hoeee!"
Clatter.
He opened his backpack and resupplied her with mana stones.
"Thank you, Supply Officer Rajiks."
"Hoeee…"
Rajiks, assigned as a supply officer, fighting on the very front lines of battle.
"Then I guess it's about time I join in too…"
Juhyeok took out his mace and buckler.
The moment Veronica saw that, she hurried over in a panic.
"You must not advance to the front."
"Why not?"
"You could be hit by bullets coming from behind. In war, more people die from stray shots fired by allies than from enemy fire."
She too, huh.
What a wide variety of excuses.
"Then what about Kosak and Gobang?"
"Hmmm. Kosak is slippery enough to dodge bullets, and Gobang looks like he wouldn't even flinch if he got hit."
"…What if I give you a direct order, Sergeant?"
"I will recite the Three Principles of the Summoned. First! A summoned being must place the summoner's life above all—"
"Alright, that's enough."
Those damned Three Principles.
"And if you personally go out front, who will command the battlefield? A commander must not move rashly."
"Command my ass."
"I must have misheard, sir."
A commander, huh.
Is squatting in the rear and doing nothing really command?
"Hm…"
Thinking about it calmly, she wasn't wrong.
If anything, it was perfect realism.
If you're the commander, lazing around in the back really is how it's supposed to be.
Anyway, the 52nd floor also—
[Notice: You have achieved an S++ clear rank on the 52nd floor of the Black Tower (Korea).]
The next day as well—
[Notice: You have achieved an S++ clear rank on the 53rd floor of the Black Tower (Korea).]
And the day after that—
[Notice: You have achieved an S++ clear rank on the 54th floor of the Black Tower (Korea).]
The United Arab Emirates is a federal state.
While ultimate authority lies with the Supreme Federal Council, in practice the King of Abu Dhabi—who wields the greatest power—effectively rules the UAE.
Crown Prince Abdul bin Sala of Abu Dhabi was confined to his residence.
All external activities were prohibited.
It was no different from being imprisoned.
As soon as he returned to Abu Dhabi from Korea, that was his fate.
Was it because the temporary naturalization contract failed?
Not a chance!
A mere contract failure could never be grounds for exile.
Especially not for a crown prince.
The real cause was the Rune of Trait Enhancement.
An item he was supposed to hand over as part of the temporary player naturalization deal with Saudi Arabia.
Instead, he had given it to an unidentified stranger whose identity he didn't even know.
And what had he received in return?
Two Tower reward items and a verbal promise to clear the 60th and 61st floors for him.
Because he had to bear full responsibility for that decision, bin Sala was confined to his home.
On top of that, he was on the verge of losing his status as crown prince.
Losing his title wasn't even the end of it.
Eventually, he would be expelled from the United Arab Emirates altogether.
And then he'd be eliminated by an assassin.
A deposed crown prince remaining alive would be a burden to the next ruling power.
There was only one way to turn the tables.
The man he'd met at the hotel.
If that man cleared the 60th floor of the United Arab Emirates Black Tower, everything would change.
Then he could escape his exile and wield even greater power than before.
At that moment—
Knock, knock.
A retainer knocked and entered the room where bin Sala was confined.
"How did it go?"
"Today, the 54th floor of the Republic of Korea Black Tower was cleared with an S++ rank."
"I see."
Four consecutive days of climbing.
To be honest, he'd had his doubts.
But now, he was certain.
Gobang.
A mysterious player who could exert power in the real world that surpassed even his abilities inside the Tower.
Gobang was undoubtedly the holder of the S++ clear records of the Korean Black Tower.
Clearing from the 51st to the 54th floors consecutively over four days was proof that he intended to keep his promise.
And how magnanimous had he been, casually gifting extremely rare Tower reward weapons and a shield?
The player Omar, who entered the Tower wearing that equipment, had already climbed two more floors and reached Level 29.
If Gobang truly cleared the 60th floor as promised…
"I must go to Korea no matter what."
With a generous bundle of gifts prepared.
He had to meet Gobang again, somehow.
Maintaining a long-term relationship with him was essential.
The fact that Gobang was a chilling, spine-tingling man wasn't even a problem.
In fact, being acquainted with someone like that might be a stroke of luck.