Homunculi.
A high-end masterpiece that only high-level alchemists can synthesize.
Though they look like tiny humans, none of them possess intelligence or life of their own.
They are merely tools.
They move through the user's will and power.
Commands are issued through will.
And to carry out those commands, they require magic power—or internal energy.
That's right.
Homunculi consume energy.
Simple movements don't consume much.
But even slightly complex actions require a fair amount of energy.
Energy consumption.
A drawback?
No—it's an advantage.
An enormous one, at that.
This is the very core of homunculi.
Each individual moves by receiving the user's energy.
Naturally, they can also cast skills.
Juhyeok first stored all the homunculi in his inventory.
How convenient it was to carry them around like that.
He could just take out however many he wanted to move.
Since he was still a beginner, he decided to start with a sample—just 100.
Each was about the size of an ant, so even 100 of them didn't amount to more than a small handful.
Shall we begin?
The homunculi lined up in rows and columns.
"Move forward!"
The tiny homunculi moved their legs—tap tap tap tap!
"Right face!"
Tap tap tap tap!
"Left turn!"
Tap tap tap tap!
"Stand at attention!"
Tap!
Starting with simple commands like these.
"Bring me my smartphone."
Tap tap tap tap!
Like doing baton exercises, the homunculi carried the smartphone on their heads and brought it over.
They understood what Juhyeok wanted and ran errands accordingly.
Now, the highlight.
Juhyeok manifested his will.
Subtle, but—
With a faint sensation of internal energy draining away,
Woom—the 100 homunculi glowed red.
Blood Jade Steel Qi.
A skill deployed by 100 homunculi, each only 5 mm tall.
For the experiment, Kosak picked up a paving block.
How powerful would it be?
The homunculi imbued with Blood Jade Steel Qi ran toward the block and crashed into it.
Crack! Crunch crunch! Grrrk, grrrk—
The paving block shattered into pieces in an instant.
Clap clap clap clap!
The summoned beings applauded and cheered.
"Ooooo! Amazing."
"My lord! Splendid."
"An astonishing invention indeed. Calling her an LSSR alchemist still feels insufficient."
"Hoe!"
Even the Mad Demon was genuinely impressed.
"She's a foul-mouthed crazy elf, but even this old man must admire her. To create such an artifact…"
And it wasn't just Blood Jade Steel Qi.
What about movement speed?
He tested it with Shadow Step.
Spot! Pat! Pat! Pat! Pat! Pat! Pat! Pat…
The penthouse living room flashed with light.
Even though they were tiny, they could leap up to human head height.
A hundred homunculi using Shadow Step at once was truly a spectacle.
It could even be used simultaneously with Blood Jade Steel Qi.
"Not bad."
The internal energy consumption wasn't that high either.
Well, it was only 100, after all.
If he pushed himself, how many could he control?
A full-scale test would have to wait.
Lastly—
"Chaotic Origin Thunder Staff, Falling Lightning Pursues the Soul."
Pakchik! Pachichichichichichichichik!
A hundred tiny sparks filled the living room air at once.
"Eek!"
"H-huuh?!"
"Beautiful."
"Light!!!"
"Heh heh heh."
It was fantastical.
Like watching a miniature fireworks display.
As expected of an LSSR alchemist.
So what if she had social anxiety? So what if she typed harsh words online?
Now all that remained was to test it in the Tower.
To see if it was useful for hunting monsters.
"Orcs should be a good test."
For several days, he focused solely on repeated runs.
Raising his homunculus proficiency.
Inside the Tower—and in the real world—
Time passed.
Eventually, the number of homunculi Juhyeok could freely control reached about 3,000.
That still wasn't much,
But now, at last—
"I can finally pull my own weight."
Safely.
With just a snap of his fingers.
Korean Awakener Management Agency.
Jeon Gwang-il and Park Gyeong-su were in conversation.
"Did Gerald leave the country?"
"Yes. Yesterday he cleared the 71st floor of the America Western Tower and returned to the U.S."
"Truly an impressive player. He almost died, yet he jumped right back into conquest."
There was a reason Gerald was America's top player.
His mental recovery was incredibly fast.
Seen another way, that was an extraordinary talent in itself.
"He didn't say anything else?"
"He asked me to pass along his regards to Player Bong. He said he'd come back soon to repay the debt."
"And?"
"He said he was glad he could make up for the mistake he made on the 71st floor."
"What mistake?"
"No idea."
Commissioner Park Gyeong-su chuckled.
"Anyway, putting Gerald aside, shouldn't the U.S. government compensate Player Bong at least?"
"I already hinted at it. About what Player Bong wants."
"And what did you say?"
"Obviously, a Rune of Trait Enhancement."
"Good. That's far better than a bit of cash. Did you tell Player Bong?"
"Not yet. I'll only tell him once it's confirmed—we might not be able to get it."
It was a difficult item to obtain.
If he mentioned it in advance and it fell through, how disappointing would that be?
"That aside—your visit to the Blue House…?"
"Oh! That?"
Park Gyeong-su had attended an emergency cabinet meeting earlier that day.
The agenda was the rapidly changing situation in North Korea.
"What do I have to say? I just listened to an explanation of how things are unfolding."
"So what's the situation like?"
Commissioner Park Gyeong-su explained to Jeon Gwang-il what had been discussed in the meeting.
"…Haah, this is just unbelievable."
"I feel the same. It's something we've never experienced before."
How many players did Korea have?
Players whose status window nationality was listed as the Republic of Korea.
It used to be estimated at somewhere between seven thousand and ten thousand.
But that was old news.
The number was exploding.
No one even knew the exact count anymore.
And the reason?
South Korea was the nation that had conquered the true Kabalon.
As a result, item reward drop rates had skyrocketed.
The highest in the world.
On top of that, demand for high-grade magic stones kept increasing.
Just a week ago, high-grade magic stones were priced at double that of normal magic stones—now they had jumped to four times the price.
For those reasons, having "Republic of Korea" listed as one's status-window nationality had become the global dream.
The amount of high-grade magic stones being mined was overwhelmingly higher, and equipment items, new elixirs, and potions were appearing as rewards with notable frequency.
Prices had dropped somewhat thanks to player shops, but equipment items were still expensive.
A single throwing dagger started at 100 million won.
Yet in the Korean Black Tower, you could obtain them for free.
Because of this, naturalization requests flooded the Korean government and embassies.
But the Korean government wasn't accepting any.
So what was the alternative?
Was there another way to enter the Korean Black Tower?
There was.
Is only South Korea "Korea"?
North Korea is Korea too.
North Korea.
Different countries, but they shared the same Tower.
If South Korea wouldn't work, then North Korea.
Countries with North Korean embassies saw a flood of naturalization requests.
And the type of naturalization?
Short-term temporary naturalization.
Naturally, there was a price.
To be granted one month of temporary citizenship, applicants had to pay the North Korean government.
Even so, people lined up.
Because mining high-grade magic stones and acquiring equipment items could lead to a huge payout.
And since it was a status-window nationality change, there was no need to physically go to North Korea.
You could comfortably climb the Tower from your own country.
"The North Korean government is raking in money through citizenship sales. They're grinning ear to ear."
If only that money went to the North Korean people.
But that would never happen.
"So how much has the player count increased?"
"Hard to say. Apparently it's grown so much it's impossible to track."
"…That's insane."
It was only natural to be dumbfounded.
Had there ever been a case like this since players first began awakening?
"India, China, Southeast Asia, Eastern Europe, South America… Basically, every country with a North Korean embassy. It's spreading like a trend."
Then what about other countries?
Even if it was temporary citizenship, their players were leaking into North Korea—would they really stay idle?
Ironically, most imposed no particular restrictions.
Some even encouraged it.
Why?
Because it helped their economies.
Even if players temporarily naturalized as North Korean, the high-grade magic stones, byproducts, and items still had to be sold in their home countries.
Nothing really changed.
And what country would refuse high-grade magic stones that normally required clearing the 70th floor?
Moreover, most people requesting temporary citizenship were ordinary players.
Not elite players carefully cultivated by their governments.
Governments only needed to worry about their state-sponsored players.
A handful of well-trained players was enough to defend against Tower collapse.
"Haah, fuck… I can't help but swear. Someone else does the hard work, and some random bastard makes the money."
At Park Gyeong-su's profanity, Jeon Gwang-il gave a bitter smile.
How were they supposed to stop it?
One Tower, two governments.
Honestly, it made his blood boil—but since it wasn't directly tied to Tower collapse, they had to endure it.
Unless they wanted war.
"Forget that headache. What about the gift the UAE Crown Prince bin Salah entrusted to us?"
"Oh! That?"
"Is it still in storage?"
"Yes, it's being kept safely."
The recipient was Gobang.
In other words, Player Bong Juhyeok.
"When will you deliver it?"
"I'm meeting him tomorrow."
"Good. In any case, keep up the good work."
Twenty years had passed since the Black Tower first appeared.
Which meant it had been twenty years since players began awakening.
During the first few years after the Tower's appearance, players were free.
There were no government agencies or policies in place to manage them in the real world.
Magic stones, Tower byproducts, and items brought back by players were traded freely.
Supply was far lower than demand, so early Tower rewards sold for exorbitant prices.
Given that situation, what happened?
Players became targets of crime.
Since they couldn't properly use their powers in the real world,
They were kidnapped, tortured into surrendering all items in their inventories, or outright murdered.
Countless crimes emerged targeting players and Tower byproducts.
Existing gangs, drug trafficking rings, unethical corporations, and terrorist groups all got involved.
Players banded together in response.
They formed guilds and clans, hired bodyguards, secured safe locations, and climbed the Tower together.
Later, after experiencing the nightmare of Tower collapse and as magic-stone research advanced and governments began managing players at a national level, things improved.
Once states intervened, most criminal organizations targeting players were wiped out.
Private guilds and clans faded into history.
However, one organization still remained.
A distribution guild formed by players in the past to handle magic stones and items.
It had been created early in Tower history to protect player rights and ensure smooth trade.
Every player did business with that guild.
Because it was safe and guaranteed anonymity.
That distribution guild was still alive and well in 2024.
It was the Black Market Guild.
The world's largest distribution organization for Tower byproducts and items.
They typically brokered or sold goods directly through the deep web or dark web.
But over time, it had deviated from its original purpose.
Originally meant to oppose criminal organizations, the Black Market Guild itself had become a criminal syndicate.
Governments around the world had long known of its existence.
Yet they couldn't touch it.
It was so vast that guild members existed in every country.
Some of the world's top national players were even guild members.
A complete purge was impossible.
Even if you caught someone and interrogated them, the trail ended there.
Following the tail led nowhere.
After all, governments themselves secretly traded through it.
"Guildmaster, the United States has contacted us about purchasing Runes of Trait Enhancement."
"America… Antonio?"
"Yes. Based on the assigned identification number, it's Antonio."
The man called the Guildmaster smirked.
"They're planning to feed it to Gerald."
"That seems likely. They want to buy two if there's enough stock."
"Two, huh."
Runes of Trait Enhancement.
An item that had dropped in significant quantities early on, only to later have its drop rate reduced to rock bottom.
"How many do we have?"
"Only three left in stock."
"And their offer?"
"They want to buy two at five billion dollars each."
"Tell them that's laughable—one hundred billion per rune… hmm."
He paused briefly.
"If they buy two, give them a 5% discount. Make it 190 billion dollars."
"Yes."
This was a good chance to offload the remaining Runes of Trait Enhancement.
The world had changed.
And with it, new business models were needed.
"How's the temporary naturalization process for our guild members?"
"Completed. They're currently inside the Tower, clearing floors."
The new business was simple.
Securing items without Tower-specific restrictions.
Especially the Necklace of Liberation, the Ring of Form Transformation, rejuvenation elixirs, and disease-curing potions.
They were entry gifts for the 71st floor, but also dropped as rewards for clearing floors above 71.
Purchase requests through the black market were exploding.
They could name any price.
With Rune of Trait Enhancement stock depleted, these would become the black market's main products going forward.
Where would one have to go to obtain these items?
Countries that had cleared up to the 70th floor.
In other words, Black Towers that allowed entry to the 71st floor.
Korea, China, France, and the United States.
Among them, where were the reward rates the highest?
Obviously—Korea.
More precisely, North Korea.
If you temporarily naturalized to North Korea, your status-window nationality became the Republic of Korea.
The entire Black Market Guild temporarily naturalized to North Korea.
As a result, the current nationality of both the Guildmaster and Vice Guildmaster was the Republic of Korea.
There was no need to worry about actually receiving rewards.
Most Black Market Guild members were early-awakening players.
With nearly twenty years of player experience, they were elite veterans.
The Republic of Korea's Black Tower had effectively become the Black Market Guild's item supply hub.
Juhyeok sprawled out across the sofa.
He had trained far too hard over the past few days.
So now he didn't feel like doing anything.
And he didn't have to.
Crunch, crunch!
Kosak was munching on popcorn.
All by himself, no less.
Should I have some too?
So he sent a few homunculi to the popcorn bag.
"Hey? Thieves!"
They each lifted a kernel and carried it over—yo-heave-ho.
It looked just like ants carrying food.
No need to use his hands.
If he just lay there with his mouth open, they dropped the popcorn in one by one.
Tap tap tap tap.
Crunch, crunch.
"Nice and savory."
"…Are you the Ant King or something?"
"Please call me the Homun King."
Changing TV channels was easy, too.
If the homunculi climbed onto the remote and did a little running jump—
Click!
The channel changed.
Watching this with concern was Gyeondallae.
"…Young master."
"Yes?"
"I worry that if this becomes a habit, you may grow lazy. You must move your body yourself."
There was no helping it.
He was already lazy.
Still, if he had to make an excuse—
"Moving our homunculi around is training too, you know. Do you have any idea how exhausting this is?"
"It does not look difficult, which is why I say so."
"It's harder than it looks."
"I wonder."
Sigh. Princess-level nagging.
There was someone who slept all day, yet no one said a word to Captain Bae.
Just then, the news came on TV.
The hottest topic lately.
The surge in North Korea's temporary naturalization.
A workaround to conquer the Republic of Korea's Black Tower with its increased reward rates.
People really were clever.
How did anyone even think of that?
Well, it wasn't like they were parasites or anything.
North Korea happily cashing in on citizenship sales was annoying, but—
"Did something like this happen in other worlds too?"
"Not that I remember. Back then, the world ended before that."
"Usually, people failed to overcome the Curse of Kabalon."
Would things really be okay?
It was only natural to worry.
What did the Mad Demon think?
He summoned him to ask.
"The system will not remain idle. That may not matter on the lower floors, but once they reach the 71st floor…"
Right.
From the 71st floor onward, even Tower Jumping Tickets were blocked.
"Will sanctions come down?"
"I don't remember clearly, but there was probably some kind of sanction."
"Like what?"
"For example—"
That was when it happened.
[World Announcement: A player overconcentration phenomenon has occurred in a specific nation.]
"Huh?"
A sudden world announcement.
Overconcentration?
[World Announcement: To resolve player population concentration, a new Black Tower will be constructed.]
What was this—an announcement for a new city?
[World Announcement: The Republic of Korea's Black Tower has been divided.]
[World Announcement: A Black Tower affiliated with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea has been newly established.]
In that instant—
Rumble, rumble…
Vibrations reached even the Seoul penthouse.
[World Announcement: The starting uncleared climbing floor of the newly established Democratic People's Republic of Korea Black Tower has been set to the Earth Black Tower's lowest cleared floor—Floor 55.]
[World Announcement: We cheer on the upper-floor ascent of players of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.]
[World Announcement: For the next year, players with Democratic People's Republic of Korea nationality will be unable to change their status-window nationality.]
"Wow."
It was absurd.
Now even the Tower itself had been split between North and South.
In any case, once again, the world was thrown into chaos.