China's Black Tower (No. 3) Floor 71 has been conquered.
However, the level-71 Chinese player Bairung escaped after taking four types of gifts. He even slipped past China's newly appointed chairman, and although the Public Security Bureau and the People's Liberation Army are pursuing him, how are they supposed to find him?
If he changes his appearance with a Form-Shifting Ring, or uses the Rune Necklace of Liberation again, there's no way to track him.
Bairung will leave China no matter what.
Well, they just can't catch him.
After China, the countries closest to reaching Floor 71 were three:
South Korea, France, and the United States.
South Korea was nothing to worry about.
France was also in diplomatic negotiations with the Korean government.
Then what about the United States?
Minister Macmillan, Director Antonio, and the player Gerald had entered Korea to clear Floor 70.
"Gerald. After clearing Floor 70, you're going up to Floor 71, right?"
"…Is that not allowed?"
"There's no such thing as allowed or not. It's up to your will. Who could stop you?"
Gerald shrugged.
"Then what is it you want to say?"
"Items."
"Ah!"
The first gifts received upon reaching Floor 71.
"You can keep as many Rejuvenation Elixirs or Disease-Curing Potions as you want. You can drink them yourself, or sell them to someone if you like. But…"
Minister Macmillan paused for effect before continuing.
"The Rune Necklace of Liberation and the Form-Shifting Ring must be handed over to the government. Otherwise, things could get troublesome. This isn't a threat—it's a fact."
That was true.
They were dangerous items.
The moment a player possessed the Rune Necklace of Liberation, they could be branded as a dangerous individual.
The same applied to the Form-Shifting Ring.
It could even change one's appearance and body type.
Gerald hesitated.
They were items any player would covet.
But the risks that came with owning them were too great.
How could he stand up to the U.S. government?
It was far better to live the usual comfortable life of a player under American protection.
"Alright. I'll hand them over as soon as I receive the gifts."
"Phew."
"Good decision, Gerald."
Only then did Minister Macmillan and Antonio let out sighs of relief.
"Then when do we start the raid?"
"We entered today, so tomorrow—"
At that very moment!
[World Announcement: You have achieved an S+++ clear rating on Floor 71 of the Black Tower (Korea).]
"Ah…"
"Huh?"
"Hm."
By now, the world announcement wasn't even surprising.
In the past, global announcements were something only Korean players heard, but now they rang out frequently.
"There are three plus signs next to the S."
"Seriously, how do you even clear it like that?"
"Did he get the gifts too?"
"I'll ask the Awakening Management Agency."
Gerald was surprised as well, his pride slightly wounded.
"I'll clear Floor 68 of East Tower No. 1 today. Tomorrow Floor 69, the day after Floor 70. I'll finish in three days."
And so, the United States also began climbing.
A completion message for Korea's Black Tower appeared.
A world announcement that even ordinary citizens could hear.
And it was an S+++ rating at that.
Three pluses.
Deputy Director Jeon Gwang-il of the Korea Awakening Management Agency immediately summoned Team Leader Lee Min-ah.
"Deputy Director."
"Come in."
Clearing a new, previously uncleared upper floor granted a six-month collapse deadline—180 days.
On the large display in the agency lobby, the collapse deadline read 169 days. Player Bong Ju-hyeok had cleared Floor 70 about ten days earlier.
"Can you check the progress?"
"I already did."
The status window for Korea's Black Tower, which Lee Min-ah confirmed:
[Location]: Gangwon Province, Republic of Korea – Black Tower
[Completed]: Floor 71
[In Progress]: Floor 72
[Deadline]: 349 days 23 hours 51 minutes 48 seconds
"They've stacked. The existing 169 days plus another 180, for a total of 349 days."
Jeon Gwang-il clenched his fist.
"Good! Have the staff update the date on the lobby display and prepare a press release for the media."
"Yes."
"Oh, and the four items—let's say they're being stored by the agency on behalf of the state."
"Is Player Bong willing to hand them over?"
"No idea. I don't even plan to ask. But that's the safest place, isn't it?"
"Well… that's true."
Jeon Gwang-il felt relieved.
The extended collapse deadline.
Even if Floor 72 was cleared, another 180 days would be added on top.
Korea had become a blessed country.
All thanks to a single player.
Still, the issue of owning the Rune Necklace of Liberation or the Form-Shifting Ring could cause trouble.
China was already an example.
If it became known that an individual—especially a player—possessed them, there would be an uproar.
Storing them with the agency would prevent unnecessary controversy.
In truth, the safest place for those items was with Player Bong himself.
Would he even need something like the Rune Necklace of Liberation?
The Awakening Management Agency's press release was distributed to news outlets.
And headlines exploded everywhere:
Ju-hyeok's group returned to the penthouse.
The first mission of the new Season 2.
He felt calmer than expected.
Maybe it was because he hadn't killed anyone directly, or because those people had been villains.
More than anything, the looks in the eyes of the villagers he had saved before leaving Floor 71.
He could feel it clearly.
Their gratitude.
'That's enough.'
If he had left the Pommel mercenaries alone, the villagers would have died instead.
Thinking about it again, he'd made the right choice.
Now, time to check today's rewards.
First, the weapon.
Effects: Increases Agility when equipped, increases critical strike chance, improves lightning-type skill proficiency, and on hit has a certain chance to cast an electromagnetic storm.
Special: Summons thunderbolts. Paralyzes enemies.
There was no tower-exclusive modifier attached.
Which meant the option effects applied in the real world as well.
'Perfect.'
A versatile weapon usable both inside and outside the tower.
He also received a Multinational Tower Access Ticket.
Tickets were always better in greater numbers.
Next…
Effect: Maintains a resolute mind. Unshaken by external influences.
Limit: Duration 10 minutes.
'Hmm.'
Does drinking it turn you into a macho man?
Guess I'll find out when I use it.
And then—
Effect: Upon consumption, imbues the power of radiance. When sprinkled, weakens the dark aura of the undead.
Limit: Duration 2 hours. Effective only inside the tower.
'This one's a bit…'
As the name suggested, holy water.
A potion specifically targeting the undead.
Could it be used as a substitute for a holy sword?
It seemed so.
If this started dropping in large quantities, he might have to shut down the holy sword rental business.
'Well, I've already made plenty of money with holy swords.'
Finally, the special reward.
It was about time something good showed up.
Ju-hyeok checked his inventory.
Even though some had been spent granting badges to summoned beings, the total acquired count of 81 hadn't changed…
[Special reward granted for accumulating 80 Platinum Badges.]
'Please be something good.'
[Special Reward: 1 Item Conversion Die has been added to your inventory.]
'…'
A die? What's this supposed to be?
He took it out of the inventory.
It was an actual die.
Soft, elastic, rubber-like material.
Much larger than a normal die, but still small enough to hold in one hand—a colorful cube.
[Roll the die. When the text written on the top face appears, the item will be converted accordingly. If you do not roll it within one hour, the opportunity will be lost.]
"Letters, huh…"
Each face had words written on it.
Six faces, so six possible outcomes.
Rejuvenation ElixirTower Floor Intrusion TicketStamina Increase ElixirMagic Power Enhancement PotionRune of Reviving Summoned BeingsGuaranteed-Rank Summon Ticket (one of SR, SSR, or LSSR)
"So now even things like trait-enhancement runes don't show up anymore."
How stingy.
What, do they think you can only get those through special rewards?
[Warning]
[Make sure to secure sufficient space before rolling the die.]
[If any part of your body touches the rolling die, or if any external force is applied, the die will be immediately destroyed.]
"So there are warnings too."
They were probably rules made to prevent exploits.
Otherwise, someone could go "Oops! My hand slipped," and nudge it with their hand—or even invisible qi—to force the desired face.
"That looks like a die, boss."
"Yes. I got it as a special reward."
Kosak said it with a grin.
"When it comes to dice, that'd be me, Kosak, ain't it? The gambler king, faster hands than eyes, a cardsharper who doesn't just lose a hand when caught lying—loses his head for real…"
Yes, yes. Of course there's nothing you can't do.
"Gonna roll it now, boss?"
"Guess I should."
"Tell me which item you want. When it's rollin', I can just lightly tap it from the side—"
Now it was obvious why those warnings existed.
People like Kosak were the reason.
"If it gets touched while rolling, it breaks. Even moving it with magic power or inner energy won't work. So step back. If we lose the reward because of some manipulation—"
"Huh? Ah, got it."
Thankfully, the penthouse living room was fairly spacious.
The summoned beings retreated to the edges of the room.
As for Veronica, who was sprawled out snoring, they picked her up and leaned her against the wall.
"Alright, here goes."
With a light flick—whoosh! Thump!
Because it was rubber, the die bounced off the living room floor.
Thump, thoong! Thump! Thump! Thump…
It was surprisingly elastic.
Honestly, it was like a spring.
Thothoong! Thump! Thooom! Thoong! Thumpthumpthumpthump!
The bounces kept getting higher.
It bounced like crazy.
Almost hitting the ceiling.
It even ricocheted sideways, smacking into the wall and changing direction.
"It's like a super ball."
"Yeah."
When is it going to stop?
The direction was unpredictable.
The bouncing speed kept increasing.
Then—thooong! Thung-thung!
"Huh?"
The die shot toward Rajiks.
At this rate, someone was going to get hit by it.
"Wait!"
The warning suddenly came to mind.
If the die touched a body—
"Gasp!"
This was bad.
"Rajiks, laborer—move! If it touches you, the die will break!!!"
Rajiks flinched in shock at Ju-hyeok's shout.
"Huh?"
He rolled away in a panic.
Thoong! Thumpthumpthumpthump!
The die chased after Rajiks as he rolled.
"Huhhh?"
Rajiks' eyes went wide.
"Move, move!"
"Aaaah, chief laborer…"
"Hang in there, worker!"
"Light be with you!"
"You barely have any presence these days—if you break the die too, you're done for!"
"Huhhhheeeek?"
Roll, roll, roll.
Rajiks madly rolled around the living room in a full lap to avoid it.
That was the only way.
The speed it bounced and flew was lightning-fast.
"…What is this, a guided missile?"
"It's a super-ball homing die missile."
Thooong!
The die made another huge bounce.
"Oh? It changed direction."
"Damn it!"
"Oh—oh my!"
This time, it was headed for Gyeon-dallae.
"Princess!"
"Kyaaaaah!"
The die chased after her as she fled.
"N-no!"
That crazy die bastard.
At that point, it was basically a suicide bomber.
Was it deliberately trying to touch someone and erase the reward?
"Kiyaaah!"
A shrill scream rang out.
So close—just barely not touching.
Then, in an instant—
Shraaaak!
She slid and dove under the dining table.
"Oh!"
That worked?
Then—
"Everyone, get to your rooms and close the doors!"
But would such a cunning die just let that happen?
Thooong! An ominous bouncing sound.
The easiest target here—
Who else?
"Gobang!!!"
"G-gah! It's coming for this warrior."
"Damn it!!!"
Gobang panicked.
He froze, unable to move, paralyzed by fear.
That was when—
"A warrior does not submit."
He lay flat in the living room—
And grabbed!
He lifted the massive sofa and covered himself with it.
"Y-your foot! Your foot's sticking out!"
Shoop! His foot slipped under the sofa.
Thooong!
The super-ball die slammed into the spot where the foot had been, then bounced up.
That was way too close.
"Hey! You cheap-ass die bastard!!!"
Right then!
Thooong!
"…Holy hell!"
Was this die actually alive?
Now it was Ju-hyeok's turn.
"I-I'm sorry, okay? My bad."
A quick apology did nothing.
The die kept chasing him.
Spot! Spapapapap!
Ju-hyeok's shadows scattered across the living room.
"It's following! R-right—no, left—aaaaah!"
Veronica, who had been asleep, jolted awake.
"Sergeant Veronica Caliber! Is it my turn for guard duty?"
Thooong!
"Huh? Sergeant! Move!"
"…Did I mishear something?"
"Don't get hit by the die!!!"
"Kyaaaah!"
Thooong!
It was pure chaos.
Ju-hyeok and the summoned beings fled in terror from a tiny little die.
"Get away! Why is it coming for me?!"
"Aaah! It's coming!"
"I said go to your rooms!"
"The die's blocking the way! This bastard's not a normal die!"
"Dodge!"
"Kyaaak!"
"Huhhheeeek!"
Thooong!
The cursed super-ball homing die.
It went after Kosak—
"I-I was wrong! Please forgive me—hihiiiik?"
Thooong!
Then it went after Bardin—
"My lord! Please spare this servant!"
"How am I supposed to spare you?!"
Thooong!
Even the sound of it bouncing was pure terror.
"Eek?!"
"Don't stick to me!"
"Then where should I go?"
"I don't know either!"
Thooong!
Because of a single die, Ju-hyeok and the summoned beings scattered in utter panic.
Afterimages of shadow-stepping filled the living room.
Rajiks rolling nonstop across the floor.
Bardin trembling behind the living room curtains, hiding in fear.
Gobang lay completely still under the sofa.
Thooong!
Shashashashak!
Veronica crawled low across the living room floor in a lightning-fast prone advance.
The warnings—
Do not let it touch your body.
Do not apply external force.
Thooong!
Those simple lines turned the penthouse living room into a battlefield.
Thooong!
Noise between floors? Is that really the problem right now?
Then finally—thooouuung!
It bounced high once more—
And then—
Plop!
As if nothing had happened, it stuck flat to the floor.
"…"
Was it over?
It seemed so.
"Phew."
"Haa…"
"My goodness."
"What kind of die even does that…?"
They checked the top face of the die.
"Huh?"
"It's a ticket?"
"It's a ticket."
"A guaranteed-rank one?"
That was right.
A ticket that guaranteed one of SR, SSR, or LSSR.
In the next instant—
Fwoooosh!
The die vanished in a flash of light.
In its place lay a single red slip of paper.
"Hm."
It was a ticket, sure, but…
"What rank?"
If it was only an SR guaranteed summon ticket, that was basically a dud.
At minimum, it had to be SSR.
Gulp—Ju-hyeok swallowed his dry saliva and picked up the ticket to check its information.
The result was—
[You have obtained an LSSR Guaranteed Summon Ticket.]
"Gasp!"
What the hell?
He checked again.
"…LSSR! A Legend dropped!"
Ju-hyeok threw both arms into the air.
"Kyaaah! Awesome!"
"My congratulations."
"The warrior is pleased as well."
"Hoeeeeee!"
"My lord! O light!!!"
"Commander, congratulations on reinforcing your forces."
But then—
"…Is that really good?"
"Yes?"
"Someone decent will come, right?"
"…Uh, w-well… who knows."
Thinking about it calmly, it might not be something to celebrate just yet.
You wouldn't know until you opened the box.
'Surely it can't be another madman like before… right?'
What about the random summon cooldown?
[Random Summon cooldown remaining: 19 days 12 hours 45 minutes 15 seconds.]
'Still a long way to go.'
The next day.
After discussing it with the summoned beings, Ju-hyeok decided to challenge Floor 72.
The mission structure and reward system on Floor 71 yesterday—
It really had changed enough to be called a new beginning.
Missions were divided into basic, additional optional, high-difficulty, and extreme-difficulty.
'It seems clearing just the basic mission counts as completion.'
The additional missions appeared to affect rewards and clear-rank evaluations.
Then what about Floor 72?
Would it follow the same structure?
Would humans be the mission targets again?
He would find out soon enough.
He still hadn't used the Tower Conquest Mission Reset Ticket.
Even if something truly disastrous happened, he could nullify it once.
And so, Ju-hyeok—
[Entering Floor 72 of the Black Tower (Republic of Korea).]
Spot!
It was dark.
Not a single ray of light.
"O light!!!"
Bardin instinctively manifested radiance, illuminating the surroundings.
It was a stone-sealed chamber.
It felt like an underground stone vault.
A corridor stretched out ahead.
Presumably, stepping through it would trigger the mission.
"Shall we go?"
Ju-hyeok and his group moved into the corridor.
And then—
[Floor 72 Basic Mission: Defeat 30 Necromancer's Dungeon Chimeras.]
The mission appeared.
At least the basic mission target wasn't human.
[Floor 72 Additional Optional Mission: Defeat 10 Dungeon-Enhanced Chimeras.]
The optional mission as well.
[Floor 72 High-Difficulty Optional Mission: Defeat 5 Dungeon-Annihilation Chimeras.]
Even the high-difficulty one.
But then—
[Floor 72 Extreme-Difficulty Optional Mission: Defeat 8th-Circle Necromancer Norma + α.]
The final mission was a human.
And what was that "plus alpha"?
[Completion Condition: Dungeon Chimeras defeated 0/30]
[Time Limit: Within 11 hours.]
'Necromancer Norma…?'
She was the mentor of that bitch they killed yesterday—Kate.
'So this is a linked mission.'