Kabalon, designed as the 70th-floor boss of the Black Tower in France.
One original body and 144 copies.
There is a difference between the original and the copies.
Starting from basic physical abilities, the absolute amount of dark demonic energy, even the rank of the soul.
In short, the copies are avatars of the original, created by borrowing the power of the Tower.
In terms of ratio, about 70% of the original's abilities?
So they're degraded versions—imitations.
But right now, he was in a descended state.
Even if the body was an avatar, the soul was the real Kabalon—himself.
He believed he could more than handle mere adventurers climbing the Tower.
Even if that adventurer was a Dimension Summoner—a dimensional summoner.
If only the Dimension Summoner was dealt with, Earth would be finished.
A chain collapse of the Towers would be absolutely unavoidable.
Honestly, he never expected it to be this fast.
He thought it would take at least two years before he encountered the Dimension Summoner.
But suddenly, the Tower opened all the way up to the 70th floor.
It opened far sooner than expected.
It was a golden opportunity.
The Dimension Summoner wouldn't be complete yet.
A chance to eliminate him before he could grow.
That was why he spread a curse.
If possible, he wanted to directly curse the Tower belonging to the country the bastard was affiliated with, but that was impossible.
Originally, curses of the average type were applied randomly.
In any case, the bastard would definitely come to the 70th floor.
At the current stage, the only one capable of clearing the 70th floor was the Dimension Summoner.
And at last, he faced him.
To be honest, when he first encountered the Dimension Summoner through ritual sharing with his avatar, he was a little surprised.
The souls accompanying him.
They were no pushovers.
Every single one of them was a hero-grade existence.
All six of them, at that.
And this was still only the 70th floor.
Still, he thought he had it in the bag.
One of the six was a useless beastkin laborer.
If he assumed the shrine maiden support would be neutralized by barriers…
That left four actual combatants.
An assassin, a barbarian warrior, a Mage Empire ranger, and a paladin of a forgotten god.
The Dimension Summoner himself was nothing.
He immediately descended into his avatar.
No matter what, he would target the Dimension Summoner.
After all, he was a pathetically weak human.
But this situation now?
Since when did a legendary-grade existence appear?
Had he already succeeded in summoning one?
Kabalon couldn't regain his composure.
With an avatar's body, he couldn't face a legendary-grade being.
Even with the original body, it would've been difficult.
His soul had already taken damage.
'C-Cancel the descent…!'
But he couldn't escape.
It was the worst possible situation—completely unforeseen.
The Rune of Trait Enhancement is not an item you save.
When you get one, the right move is to use it immediately.
And so—
It ended up like this before even entering the 70th floor.
Well, it was a god-tier move.
[The soul of the original Demon Realm Duke Kabalon descends into the body of Copy Kabalon.]
The moment this message appeared, the Mad Demon was summoned.
The light that usually accompanied the summoning was drowned out by "Bardin's Light!!!", and by the time the summoned Mad Demon grasped the situation—
That was why he remained calm even when the Mad Demon talked about killing him or not.
My big brother was here—what was there to be afraid of?
The overwhelming divinity of the Mad Demon.
A public enemy of the martial world, the most vicious in the Jianghu, seas of corpses and rivers of blood.
The man who had fought for seven days and nights straight in a one-versus-three battle against the Martial Alliance Leader, the Lord of the Four Sovereigns, and the Cult Leader.
I'd mentioned it before.
The way to deal with demonic energy.
Crush it with even stronger demonic energy.
One of Kabalon's wings had already been torn apart by the Mad Demon.
And now, the remaining wing as well.
Riiip—!
"Kghaaaaa!"
Even at the horrific scream, the Mad Demon didn't so much as blink.
"Tsk, tsk. You can't even endure this much pain, yet you're the one in charge of the 70th floor?"
Bzzzzing!
The Mad Demon shoved his hand, thickly coated in crimson blood-jade energy, straight into the wound where the wing had been torn off.
"Guhhhhhh…"
Kabalon writhed, his eyes rolling back.
Escape. He had to get out.
That was the only thought left in his mind.
But—
"Oh no, where do you think you're running off to?"
Wooooong! Thick demonic energy surged from the Mad Demon's body.
"Did you really think I'd let your soul escape?"
After pressing down on Kabalon's shoulders and forcing him to his knees,
the Mad Demon grabbed the horn on his forehead and—crunch—ripped it out.
"Ggghhhh…."
Even in that state, he didn't die.
Because the Mad Demon hadn't permitted him to.
As the horn was torn out and Kabalon's demonic energy leaked away, the Mad Demon replenished it through his head.
A cruelty more terrifying than any demon's—that was the Mad Demon.
"We still need to finish our conversation. How dare you say you'd do something to my summoner?"
"Bi, damn it, you— you will definitely— d-die…."
"Keh-heh-heh, you're just a guy guarding the 70th floor. What do you think you can do to me? You sure are confident."
The Mad Demon grinned and continued.
"While I'm at it, I'll play with your soul a little. Until you learn to behave."
Woooooong!
The Mad Demon's hand, shrouded in dark crimson demonic energy.
A scream burst from Kabalon's mouth.
"GraaAAAAAAH—!"
No—rather than a scream, it was closer to sobbing.
"…Lord Bond Dimension Summoner."
"Yes?"
"I'm scared."
"…He's on our side."
"Still scary. Look at Rajiks. He might piss himself any second."
Rajiks was trembling violently.
Tsk, tsk. Why even look at that?
I lightly covered his eyes.
Kosak was right.
Even if he's on our side, scary is still scary.
We should serve him well going forward.
Give him five-star ratings every time.
With his wings torn apart, the horn on his forehead ripped out, Kabalon crawled across the arena floor.
But worse than anything was the pain inflicted directly on his soul.
Without changing his expression, the Mad Demon followed behind him and—crunch!—stomped down and shattered his ankle.
"Now that I think about it, there's no need for interrogation. I can guess where the real one is."
Huh? He knows without interrogating him? How?
"You dared to set a trap without knowing your place and target my summoner? You must've thought that if I disappeared, you could ruin this world."
Flare!
Flames ignited in the Mad Demon's eyes.
"Because only my summoner can fully conquer the Tower of the World. Isn't that right?"
Crack!
He stomped down and broke the remaining ankle as well.
"Hrk! Ugh— uuuugh…!"
Juhyeok nodded unconsciously.
Kabalon knew exactly who he was.
He clearly mentioned a trap as well.
"Still, we should confirm it."
Swoosh. The Mad Demon turned his gaze toward Kosak.
"Assassin, do what you were going to do."
"…Y-yes?"
"Didn't you say you'd interrogate him to find the real one?"
"I-it's not me. He'll do it."
Kosak casually shoved Bardin forward.
"Hm. Are you the Holy Sword?"
"Y-yes, I am."
"How will you interrogate him?"
"With the unique ability of a heretical inquisitor—to discern truth and falsehood—"
"Oho."
The Mad Demon smiled in satisfaction.
"Good. Ask him this: whether the real Kabalon is hiding in the Black Tower of our summoner's nationality. Ah! His original nationality. Korea."
Juhyeok was shocked. The meaning of those words was—
'That bastard…'
The boss of the Korean Black Tower's 70th floor—Kabalon—was the real one?
Targeting him?
An enraged Bardin stepped forward.
"Cunning demon, is your real body located in the Korean Black Tower's 70th floor?"
"Keugh, you think I'd answer—"
Grab!
The Mad Demon seized Kabalon's head as Bardin radiated holy light.
"Light!!!"
"Aaaaaaagh!"
"Answer me! Is your real body in the Korean Black Tower?!"
"…N-no. I'm not there."
Bardin shook his head.
"False."
Then—
"As expected. You were in Korea."
The Mad Demon grabbed Kabalon by the hair and lifted him to eye level.
"You planned to dig a trap and wait on the 70th floor of the Korean Black Tower."
Kabalon remained silent.
He said nothing.
But everyone there knew.
Silence was affirmation.
The Mad Demon looked at Juhyeok with a gentle smile and spoke.
"Summoner."
"Yes."
"Now pass judgment. What shall be done with him?"
Juhyeok thought carefully.
Then—
"If we kill this copy, can we deal with the real one too?"
"Unfortunately, no. The soul of the descended real body will return to the original. Only the French Black Tower will be cleared."
"…So the real one is only in the Korean Black Tower?"
"Correct."
Then killing this one would be pointless.
The Curse of the Average wouldn't be lifted.
'So we have to clear the Korean Black Tower's 70th floor.'
What should we do?
Clearing a nation's tower isn't something an individual can decide.
"Summoner, I am bound by a prohibition and cannot speak of the 71st floor, but I can tell you something about clearing the 70th."
"Ah… what is it?"
"The 71st floor is a new beginning. When you clear the 70th floor, restrictions related to conquering the 71st will be lifted."
A new beginning.
Juhyeok had experienced it himself.
At 70 cumulative badges, he received a start package perk for the 71st floor.
"Since you'll have to clear the 70th floor anyway, advancing in advance isn't a bad idea. Of course, the final decision is yours, Summoner."
"Hm."
Let's leave and think it over.
Since we decided not to clear France's Black Tower 70th floor, we'll abandon the mission here.
We'll head out, have a modest celebration, and since merits were earned, hold a badge-awarding ceremony too.
'Should we pin one on the Mad Demon as well?'
Not sure if he'd like it.
ㄴ Kabalon, you fucking bastard!
ㄴ Honestly, 70 floors is too much. Even my midterm average isn't 70.
ㄴ Average my ass—he's trying to collapse the Tower.
ㄴ Tower Jumping Ticket clears—now that's thinking outside the box.
ㄴ Right. You can just skip the hard floors.
ㄴ What about the next floor? Tickets aren't infinite.
ㄴ Using them recklessly is poison. Supply's limited too.
ㄴ In the end, it's no different from temporary naturalization. It only buys time.
ㄴ Korea? What's there to worry about?
ㄴ Right. Nam Gaeun is more than enough.
ㄴ Don't get complacent. You know where the top player is right now.
ㄴ Damn! He's a real hero. You guys raise the average—I'll go kill Kabalon.
ㄴ But even if he goes up to the French Tower's 70th floor, it'll just be a copy anyway, right?
ㄴ Well, wouldn't he have gone because there's a way?
ㄴ I'm here to pay my respects to Japan. My deepest condolences.
ㄴ Could I get a bowl of yukgaejang?
ㄴ Let's at least chip in condolence money, humanely speaking.
Japan was, quite literally, in mourning.
Tower collapse, tower creation, and the death of the prime minister.
All of that happened in a single day.
And as if that weren't enough, Japan was designated a 3rd-curse target nation.
After Prime Minister Kawaguchi died due to the Tokyo Tower's creation, the acting prime minister leading the cabinet was Chief Cabinet Secretary Usuda.
Usuda had also been at the prime minister's residence that day, but survived by a hair's breadth.
Presiding personally over a meeting of senior Japanese officials and party leaders, he spoke.
"We must activate every diplomatic channel. We cannot afford two collapses."
"We know that. But by what method?"
"We cling to the United States."
"That will be difficult. Even players specializing in naturalization are fully booked."
"If Russia…"
"There's also Norway."
"Or Saudi Arabia again…"
Usuda clicked his tongue inwardly.
A country conspicuously absent from their discussion.
Korea.
They were consciously avoiding even speaking its name.
"What about Tower Jumping Tickets, like China?"
Tower Jumping Tickets?
Usuda let out a deep sigh before responding.
"Hoo… tickets—can we even get our hands on them?"
"I heard there are still some countries that have them…"
"I looked into it too. After China's announcement, they're in severe shortage."
That was true. The prices had skyrocketed.
They weren't even appearing on the market anymore.
Normally a dirty trick that shouldn't be used in proper clears, but in a crisis, they were more than sufficient as a way to buy time.
"…Wouldn't paying a sufficient price work?"
"And then what? Can we clear the 60th floor? The 61st? The 62nd, 63rd… are we going to clear them all with jumping tickets?"
At that point—
"I will personally visit Korea. We'll accept all conditions and request an inter-national mutual defense treaty against tower collapse."
An inter-national mutual defense treaty against tower collapse.
A far better option than temporary naturalization or jumping tickets.
Yet no one opened their mouth.
"…"
"Why is no one saying anything? Isn't this what you all wanted? You were all hoping someone else would step up."
He'd hit the nail on the head.
Putting a bell on the cat.
As a Japanese politician, bowing one's head to Korea?
That would be the end of one's political life.
Well, if the Chief Cabinet Secretary stepped up, that would be fine.
He'd take all responsibility upon himself.
"Then it's decided. Let's end the meeting here."
But would Korea accept?
France.
President Macheron was in an emergency meeting at the Élysée Palace.
Originally, the plan had been to bind Player Bong Juhyeok to French nationality.
They were already in contact through the French embassy in Korea.
But in the midst of all that, France was designated a 3rd target nation.
They'd thought achieving the average would spare them.
They wanted them to climb even higher?
Who was supposed to clear the 70th floor?
The situation had changed.
In the end, there was only one person they could trust.
The player who had just cleared the French Black Tower's 69th floor with an S++ rank.
"In the current situation, binding Player Bong Juhyeok's nationality would be the worst possible choice. It would only backfire."
Exactly.
If he were in France, maybe—but—
How could they possibly force tower climbing on a player who was in Korea?
"The moment Player Bong Juhyeok feels even a hint of displeasure, France is finished. Before even suggesting naturalization, we must show utmost courtesy and win his goodwill."
President Macheron agreed.
Among all players in the world, the only one capable of clearing the French Black Tower was Bong Juhyeok.
"Then what do we do?"
"We send a special envoy first. Don't approach Bong Juhyeok directly—go through the Korean government."
"Let's do that."
And so, the French special envoy delegation departed for Korea.
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