How to Clear the Loser's Tower 57
"It actually works."
"Told you it would. Hehehehe."
It wasn't just a matter of clearing the stage.
His level had gone up, he'd even pulled off an S++ clear using a multinational tower access ticket, and he'd received a badge on top of that.
Up until now, players could only challenge the tower of the country they belonged to.
So naturally, everyone thought that platinum badges could only be obtained from their own country's tower—in Korea's case, the Korean Black Tower.
Multinational access tickets had been seen as nothing more than support perks or a kind of overseas trip.
But it actually applied.
'That ticket… it's better than I thought?'
If that was true, then the floor numbers that granted perks would change from those ending in 5 and 0 to those ending in 4 and 9.
In other words, the next perks would be on the 64th and 69th floors.
And since he still had one more ticket, if he used that too, the ending digits would change again to 3 and 8.
But nothing was certain yet.
What if this was just receiving in advance the badge he was supposed to get on the 60th floor of the Korean Black Tower, but from the United Arab Emirates Black Tower instead?
In that case, they might say it was overlapping and refuse to give another badge.
In the end, the only way to know was to try clearing the 60th floor of the Korean Black Tower right now…
'Oh man.'
What caught Juhyeok's eye was Gobang's leg.
He'd been stepping in pools of poison, and it was a complete mess.
The skin had melted away, exposing the tendons underneath.
It made you wonder how he could even walk.
"Are you okay, Mr. Gobang? That looks like it really hurts."
"A warrior doesn't feel pain from injuries like this. It'll heal completely in a bit."
And that was actually true.
New flesh rapidly formed, the wounds healing at an incredible speed.
His regeneration alone was on a ridiculous level.
"What do we do? Go straight into the 60th floor of the Korean Black Tower?" Kosak asked.
"…"
"If we use the same method there, it'll work. This is all thanks to my brilliant strategy and tactics."
What a sneaky bastard.
He says he's not hurt and wants to go right back in.
Can't he see Gobang's melted calf?
"Hehehe, hehe… heh?"
Sensing something ominous in Juhyeok's gaze as he stared silently at him, Kosak glanced at Gobang's injured leg.
"Uh, maybe not today. T-tomorrow would be better."
Exactly.
Today's run ended here.
Make them go through that kind of pain twice in one day?
That's just cruel.
Let's at least check the perk.
Whether the United Arab Emirates Black Tower platinum badge counted or not.
Juhyeok opened his inventory.
After confirming he had sixty badges—
[Perk granted for accumulating 60 Platinum Badges.]
"Oh!"
They gave him a perk. The badge counted. Then…
[Perk: One (1) Ladder Climbing Ticket has been added to your inventory.]
"…What?"
Son of a bitch! You messing with me again?
Deputy Commissioner Jeon Gwang-il was meeting Lee Min-a, who had just been promoted to team leader, in his office.
"Team Leader Lee. Did everything go well yesterday?"
Every three or four days, Lee Min-a visited Juhyeok's home to collect tower materials.
She'd also been to the penthouse right after the S++ clear on the 59th floor.
"Yesterday, I met Player Bong and received tower ore and four wyvern full hides. He said he'd send one of each as samples, but since he left work right away, I couldn't put them in the tower materials warehouse."
"R-really?"
Truthfully, he'd been secretly expecting something.
Because Player Bong had started the wyvern section.
He had no worries at all about whether the clear would succeed.
He'd expected an S++ rating, and that's exactly what happened.
What Jeon Gwang-il had been hoping for was the hide.
Would they really be able to bring back wyvern hide?
Turns out, he didn't even need to worry.
"Let's take a look. Wyvern hide is something you rarely see even as a tower reward."
"Yes. I'll take them out one by one."
Whoosh!
From Team Leader Lee Min-ah's inventory emerged a deep black hide. Like the basilisk, it was a full hide—one solid piece.
Everything except the wings was intact.
An earth wyvern.
Compared to wyverns of other elements, it boasted exceptional defense, making it perfect for crafting player armor.
"Hahaha, impressive. Incredible."
"Are we passing this on to HG Fashion as well?"
"No. The Administration will purchase it. Earth wyvern hide isn't suitable for everyday items. It's better used for armor or bulletproof gear."
Next was the fire wyvern hide.
"Look at this. That red color—it's so pretty."
"It has excellent insulation too. Wear it in winter and you'll be incredibly warm."
"So you can't wear it in summer."
"That's what the ice wyvern hide is for."
"Ah!"
The ice wyvern hide was pure white.
It gently emitted a cooling aura.
Then what about the lightning wyvern?
"If you wear this, will it give you a shock?"
"Doesn't seem like it when you touch it. But the shimmering blue color will probably make it popular."
Four types of wyvern hide.
Each with its own distinct characteristics.
That's why wyverns are such a big deal.
Then—
"Hm?"
While examining the hides, Deputy Commissioner Jeon noticed something strange on a wyvern head hide.
"…This."
Holes that looked like bullet penetrations.
Not just one, but more than ten.
"They look like bullet holes, right? Or arrows? Or magic?"
"Probably one of those."
Since wyverns are flying monsters, using ranged weapons wasn't strange.
Even melee players were required to carry pistols or crossbows for pulling.
But Player Bong Juhyeok, as he himself had said, had a summoning-type trait.
And yet, this incredibly tough hide had been pierced so perfectly?
What's more, the self-regeneration hadn't even healed the damage.
That meant it had taken massive damage.
"He's probably an elementalist. One who's enhanced his summons at least three times."
"If it's something that can fire arrows, then maybe wind-type or water-type."
"Yes. If it was Elaim or Silpherion, they might be able to pierce it."
If you enhanced the water spirit Undine three times, it became Elaim. If you enhanced the sylph Silphid three times, it became Silpherion.
"If he enhanced his trait, he would've summoned multiple spirits. One enhancement gives two, two enhancements give three."
"Yes. With an S++ clear, he would naturally have gotten trait enhancement runes as tower rewards at least once or twice."
Among summoning-type traits, elemental summoning was considered rare.
Of course, being an elementalist didn't automatically make S++ clears easy.
Controlling spirits was notoriously difficult.
Enhancing summon ranks wasn't easy either—even if you fed them runes, failures were common.
And there were many different types of runes as well.
Spirit Rank Enhancement Rune, Beast Rank Enhancement Rune, Golem Rank Enhancement Rune...
If only they knew for sure what kind of summon Bong Juhyeok had, they could at least provide support.
"Anyway, we'll be at the 60th floor soon."
"Whew… that's why I'm worried."
It was going to become a massive headache.
Back when it was below the 50th floor, it was still manageable.
Most countries were clustered in the late 50s, or around the 60th floor anyway.
But now?
Bong's climbing floor had risen above the overall national average.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say he'd become the guaranteed check for the Tower's conquest.
They wouldn't just leave him alone.
No matter what it took, they'd struggle desperately to uncover his identity.
And the Awakening Management Agency could never allow that to happen.
In that instant—
Bzzzt! Bzzzt!
A smartphone vibrated.
So did Deputy Commissioner Jeon Gwang-il's phone, and Team Leader Lee Min-a's.
What is it?
They answered the call.
"It's me. What is it… what?"
Jeon Gwang-il sprang to his feet.
"What. Say that again. Uh… r-really? Then why is a nationwide announcement message coming from that country? Y-you confirmed it? You're sure? Ah… o-okay."
This is bad.
My heart pounded hard, thudding violently.
I felt so dizzy I might collapse.
"N-no way. It can't be. It can't be."
They had to verify the facts immediately.
About an hour later, the news reached South Korea: the United Arab Emirates had cleared the 60th floor of the Black Tower at S++ rank.
Of course, with social media, it spread far faster than that—but fact-checking took time.
Breaking news exploded like a flood.
ㄴ Is it really naturalization?
ㄴ This is insane. I can't focus on anything all day.
ㄴ I took a half-day off today too.
ㄴ I have an acquaintance in the UAE—it's a festival there right now. Total chaos.
ㄴ Did they cave to an oil country's money bomb?
ㄴ They say it was a blank check—how much did they write on it?
ㄴ This is suffocating. Like choking on sweet potato.
ㄴ Fuck, where's my catharsis?
ㄴ Bin Sala stole it, didn't he.
ㄴ I'm done buying into national pride. Where am I supposed to get my fix now?
ㄴ I'm losing my mind—who the hell is it? If we don't know who it is, we can't even properly curse them out.
ㄴ South Korea's best player is Nam Ga-eun!
The atmosphere was anything but normal.
Whether South Korea had a lot of time left to clear the Black Tower or not, hadn't they basically had their top player stolen right in front of their eyes?
Furious people swarmed the Agency website and paralyzed the forums.
On the Blue House public petition platform, more than a hundred related posts went up.
And in the middle of all that—what about Juhyeok?
Juhyeok was on the phone with Jeon Gwang-il.
"No, Deputy Commissioner. It's not naturalization. I've never even been to the UAE embassy. I haven't acquired citizenship either."
He'd asked whether Juhyeok had naturalized to the UAE.
It was a misunderstanding anyone could make.
"The UAE Tower? W-well… I guess someone did it. And did it very well."
It'd be simple if he revealed the existence of the multinational tower access ticket—but he didn't want to.
They didn't drop often, and he only had one left now.
And contractually, he had to use it on the UAE's 61st floor.
"I'm not going anywhere. South Korea's Black Tower 60th floor? I'm scheduled to clear it tomorrow, so don't worry—just wait."
Naturalization, my ass.
I'm busy enough to die.
He hung up and checked the message floating in his mind again.
[Privilege: You receive one (1) Ladder Game Pass (single-use) in your inventory.]
"Seriously."
What? A ladder?
Of all things—a ladder?
Even spinning the roulette had made him sweat bullets.
'Things are going great, and then it hands me something weird once in a while.'
[Use your finger to tap the number written on the pass. When you tap it, the ladder game begins. If you don't tap within 1 hour, the opportunity disappears.]
First, let's see what the ladder looks like.
A hologram video popped up in front of his eyes.
'I knew it.'
Eight vertical lines were drawn with wide spacing.
Each line had a number.
From 1 to 8.
At the very bottom—where you end up after going down the line—were the prizes.
200 kg of magic stones, a rune to increase a summonee's rank, 50 kg of sectonium, a Heavy Strike skill rune, wyvern leather armor, 100 healing potions, a multinational tower access ticket (one-time), and lastly, a trait enhancement rune.
'At least there's no "nothing."'
But the horizontal rungs between the number and the prize weren't visible.
They were obscured like fog.
If you chose a number, the rungs would probably reveal themselves.
In that case, nobody would know where the path would lead.
He narrowed his eyes, trying to see if any rungs showed through…
'Tch. Can't see a damn thing.'
The best outcome was the trait enhancement rune.
Second-best was the summonee rank enhancement rune.
He didn't need anything else.
…Well, the multinational tower access ticket wouldn't be bad either, I guess?
Juhyeok copied the ladder's shape and all the prizes exactly onto a sheet of paper about the size of a wall calendar.
He wanted to show the summonees too what kind of bullshit this "privilege prank" really was.
"So you're sayin' you can't see how the horizontal lines are drawn at all in the middle?"
"Yeah."
"Damn, if we're unlucky it's magic stones."
"Kosak, you pick one. Which number do you think is good?"
"How 'bout 7? Lucky seven."
That actually didn't sound bad.
"A summoner is a man. A man picks number 1."
Right.
Man among men.
What did Gyeon Dallae think?
"On the far-right, beneath line number 8, lies the trait enhancement rune I have long dreamed of."
"Yes."
"But what if there are no horizontal lines between the lines, and it simply goes straight down—a plain vertical ladder?"
That was a fair point.
People used that kind of trick all the time.
But would they really pull that kind of prank here?
What about Rajiks?
"…Huek?"
Trembling, he avoided eye contact.
Don't ask him. How about Veronica?
"Hrrrk… smack smack… zzz…"
Of course. Just let her sleep.
Putting all the opinions together: a man picks 1, lucky 7, and if it's rigged then 8 where the trait enhancement rune sits.
1, 7, 8.
But Juhyeok decided he wasn't choosing any of those.
Don't listen to the summonees.
If their pick doesn't win, someone's getting bullied for it.
If you're Korean, you pick 3.
"I'm going with 3. Let's finish this fast."
This damn ladder.
Give me anything.
'You think I'm gonna get scared like I did with the roulette?'
No chance.
He'd go in bold.
He'd accept it coolly.
He pulled the Ladder Game Pass out of his inventory.
Then he pressed the number 3 written on it, and the pass—pop!—vanished.
[You selected 3.]
[The ladder game begins.]
At the same time, the hidden part burst into view.
So how were the rungs laid out?
"…Huh?"
The rungs were everywhere—dense and packed.
So many it made his head spin.
"Goddamn it!!!"
And then—
"Corporal Veronica Caliber! Is it your turn for sentry duty?"
At Juhyeok's shout, the sleeping Veronica jolted upright.
"…You don't have to stand watch. Sleep."
"T-thank you."
Zzzzz…
What a life.
At last, it started.
A red dot blinked, then slowly began sliding down the line.
Juhyeok took a pen and traced the red dot's path on the paper exactly as it moved.
"Is it going down like that?"
"Yes."
"Ah… my heart trembles."
People crowded in around Juhyeok, watching closely to see where the pen would go.
A red dot runs down along the third line.
It meets a horizontal line and turns.
It goes down, then turns again.
Back and forth.
No matter what, it has to reach the far right end.
There's a rune for trait enhancement over there.
"No—go right. Why do you keep going left?"
"I'm just following along, you know."
"Can't you force it to turn?"
"This young lady is soft-hearted—I can't bear to watch, Your Grace."
"Oooh, it's turning, it's turning! Turn right!"
"Yeah, let's go, let's goooo! Let's gooooo!!!"
"S-Staff Sergeant Veronica Caliber! Preparing for duty!"
"…Don't get up. Go to sleep."
"H-huek!"
"Uh-huh, good. Keep going right…, huh? Why the other way again?"
"Aaah! Y-you can't go there!"
"Hooeeng."
"Ohhh! It turned again."
"Yeah. The vibes are good."
"Just keep going that way."
"I'll change the direction by force. Uup!"
"You little punk! Why are you doing gigantification in the living room?!"
"Coming straight doooown…."
"Huh? Why left again?"
"Uwaaaaaa!"
"Ah, this young lady is about to faint."
"No!!!"
"Staff Sergeant Veronica Caliber! I misspoke, sir!"
"Just sleep already!"
"I-it's down. All the way down."
"That isn't it. Ack!"
"T-turn it. Change direction."
"I told you, I'm not the one doing it!"
"Left is a no-go! That's a magic crystal!"
"Fuuuuuck!!!"
"Clackaaack!!!"
"Staff Sergeant Veronica Cali—…."
Freeze!
It reached the very bottom. Juhyeok's ballpoint pen stopped too.
"Huh?"
"Wha—?"
"Oh!"
"Ah!"
"Hooee…"
And the item there was….
"A rune for summoned-person grade enhancement?"
"It's an enhancement rune."
"I-is it a good pick?"
It's a good pick.
Not the best possible result, but the second-best.
Phew.
Anyway, we pulled it off.
"Rajiks worker!"
"Huek!"
"Are you ready for your promotion?"
"…Hooeeng?"
Ssal.
Or ss-sal—
I'm really curious.
About the changed Rajiks, that is.
Deputy Commissioner Park Gyeong-su arrived at the Awakening Management Agency and went inside while getting bombarded by reporters' questions, packed tightly in formation at the entrance.
"Commissioner! Is the S++-rank clear-record holder Ghostfire?"
"Is it permanent Ghostfire, or temporary Ghostfire?"
"If it's temporary Ghostfire, does that mean there was a backroom deal with the UAE?"
"Please answer."
"The public wants to know."
"Where are you going, Commissioner? Commissioner!"
Commissioner Park Gyeong-su's face was rigid.
He strode quickly to Deputy Commissioner Jeon Gwang-il's office and threw the door open.
"S-so what happened?"
"It's not Ghostfire, they say."
"…Really?"
"Yes. I confirmed it myself. They're in the penthouse right now, and they're scheduled to clear the 60th floor tomorrow."
"Hah… took ten years off my life."
Park Gyeong-su walked to the sofa and dropped into it.
All the strength drained out of his body.
Still—thank god it isn't Ghostfire.
I thought my heart was going to stop.
Then, suddenly—
Bzzzzzt! A phone call came in.
"Is it the President?"
"Yeah. What do I tell him?"
"I… I don't really know either…"
If we say "Don't worry," it'll sound like we already know who the S++-rank clear player is. If we pretend we don't know, we'll look incompetent.
"Haa…"
What choice do we have?
We just have to keep our mouths shut until we hear the message about tomorrow's 60th-floor clear.