Prague, Czech Republic.
The executives of the black market guild gathered in one place for an emergency meeting.
What's done was done.
There was no turning it back.
"We have no choice but to clear the unconquered upper floors. That's the only way to minimize the losses."
"We have plenty of equipment, weapons, elixirs, and potions. Clearing the 71st floor won't take long."
It was the best possible course of action under the circumstances.
"The undead section isn't something to fear either. Even the infamous Death Knight got nerfed, didn't it?"
Guild Master Dmitri agreed.
They just needed to climb.
The newly created North Korean tower.
Even if its reward rates were lower than those of the Republic of Korea's Black Tower, simply reaching the 71st floor would grant the four-type gift set.
"If only we'd kept even a single Tower Jumping Ticket, we wouldn't be agonizing over this."
"That's my biggest regret as well."
In truth, they'd had many.
But after the Chinese government bought tickets and brazenly succeeded in climbing to the 71st floor, other countries that witnessed it rushed to buy them too.
Even though the prices were set extremely high.
If they'd known this would happen, they should've kept at least one.
Still, it was doable.
All the executives gathered here were players in their late 50s.
They also spared no expense, releasing items the guild had stockpiled in the black market.
From head to toe, they were fully equipped with tower reward items.
And that wasn't all.
Holy water, elixirs, potions—
Using the guild's organizational power, they bought everything that appeared on the market.
And so began the trial run.
The goal was to climb three floors within a single day.
First, a level 55 player cleared the 55th floor.
Then a level 56 player followed.
Next, a level 57 player.
The result: success.
And not just barely—it was extremely stable.
The money invested had clearly paid off.
At this pace, reaching the undead section wouldn't take long.
Was it okay to climb without the North Korean government's permission?
What was the problem?
Those guys had neither the authority nor the power to control tower climbing anyway.
At this rate, would there even be a reason to change nationality after a year?
The North Korean Black Tower was on track to become the property of the black market guild.
No matter how he thought about it, nothing could go wrong.
Dmitri was convinced of that.
Washington, D.C., United States.
Minister MacMillan carefully placed a Trait Enhancement Rune into a high-grade steel case filled with cushioning material.
One of the two Trait Enhancement Runes purchased from the black market.
"Just this single rock cost 9.5 billion dollars."
"It's something you can't get even if you have money. You should consider yourself lucky you managed to get one at all."
"I know. Anyway, good work."
Director Antonio shrugged.
"Do you know what the most expensive item is after Trait Enhancement Runes?"
"What is it?"
"Tower Jumping Tickets. Their prices are skyrocketing."
"They're that expensive?"
"They let you skip annoying sections. They're useless above the 71st floor, though."
Tower Jumping Tickets.
A representative item that had been re-evaluated.
Their utility was genuinely outstanding.
As long as a player somehow reached the 66th floor, that was it.
Use the ticket, and it was an elevator ride straight to the 71st floor.
"Surprisingly, a lot of countries have them. Before long, many nations will be reaching the 71st floor."
"…Do you think North Korea might have some too?"
"No chance. Even if they did, they would've sold them long ago. That government is always in a hurry to cash out any item they get."
"Tsk. They really are a bunch of lunatics."
"If only they'd spent that money on improving player—"
MacMillan agreed wholeheartedly.
The temporary naturalization business—it really was an absurd idea.
Then, as if something suddenly occurred to him—
"Oh! By the way, I heard something related to that from the CIA Director."
"What is it?"
"It seems the black market organization was deeply involved in this naturalized-player incident."
"Hm? The black market guild? The same place we bought the runes from?"
"Yes. They temporarily naturalized in North Korea to start a new business…"
MacMillan began explaining.
Listening, Antonio let out a hollow laugh in disbelief.
"Hahaha, they screwed it up before the business even got started."
"How many people do you think commissioned rejuvenation elixirs and disease-curing potions?"
Trait Enhancement Runes, whose drop rates had fallen sharply.
In their place, they'd planned to make new items the black market's main trade goods.
Rejuvenation elixirs.
Disease-curing potions.
The demand was enormous.
Please, just bring them!
No matter the price, they'd buy them all.
"It's chaos in the U.S. too. Wealthy elderly people are practically drooling."
"Even President Lloyd has his eye on the rejuvenation elixir. The man's getting up there in age."
But the business failed spectacularly.
And nationality changes were impossible for a year.
"Well, they won't just sit around doing nothing."
The black market guild.
Its core members were players.
They had skill. They had experience.
Of course they would look for countermeasures.
"I know. They'll climb. They already are."
"Already?"
"According to information that came in today, the North Korean tower's progress has reached the point where the 57th floor has been cleared."
"Hm, three floors a day… Those wouldn't be players nurtured by the North Korean government."
"Right. It's the black market players doing the climbing."
North Korea had absolutely no control over climbing its own tower.
All it could do was sit back and watch.
What would happen if this continued?
The black market guild could become one axis of power within North Korea.
But there was one lingering question.
"Do you think the North Korean government knows? That the black market guild was involved in this temporary naturalization?"
"They probably do. You think those guys don't have ears?"
"This is suddenly getting interesting. How the North Korean government will respond."
MacMillan nodded with a bitter smile.
Truly a dynamic East Asia.
Incidents and accidents never ceased.
China, Japan, and now North Korea.
"Anyway, when are you planning to go to Korea?"
"As soon as possible. I've already arranged it."
This Trait Enhancement Rune was meant for Player Bong Juhyeok.
A special gift prepared to build rapport with him.
The American benefactor who saved Gerald.
Thanks to him, both the Eastern Tower and the Western Tower had been climbed to the 72nd floor.
He'd also provided a warning that the basic mission on the 73rd floor—hunting Chimera Hounds—would be much harder than before.
Player Bong Juhyeok was a pioneer who shared information about floors he had already cleared in advance.
All future information about unconquered upper floors would come from him.
How could they not be grateful?
A mere 9.5-billion-dollar rune?
Compared to what he had done—and would continue to do—it was dirt cheap.
Juhyeok was in a car on the way to the Awakened Management Agency.
An appointment that had been scheduled in advance.
On the way, sitting in the car with Deputy Director Jeon Gwang-il—
"Um… nothing's wrong, right?"
"You mean the North Korean Black Tower?"
Something big had happened, so it would've been strange not to ask.
"Yes. That. Is there anything else?"
Jeon Gwang-il let out a short sigh before answering.
"Phew… for now, we simply don't have enough information. North Korea is such a closed society."
That figured.
Even the government wouldn't have any magic solution.
Juhyeok was the same.
Well, until yesterday he'd briefly thought about just seizing the tower outright—
—but considering the backlash that would follow, that didn't seem right.
Still, when he thought about the possibility of the North Korean tower collapsing, or about the North Korean players being oppressed, his resolve wavered again.
"The National Intelligence Service is working jointly with U.S. intelligence agencies to assess the situation, but it's going to take some time."
"…Right."
"If it's the U.S., they should be able to figure things out quickly. If there are any changes, we'll contact you right away."
You really don't have to.
The more I know, the heavier the burden gets.
Why did I even ask?
"Oh! Since we're talking about the U.S., Minister MacMillan will likely be entering Korea soon as an unofficial special envoy."
"…Is he coming to see me?"
"Yes, that's right."
That's a pretty high-ranking person.
A U.S. cabinet minister, no less.
He doesn't need to come personally.
It's kind of a burden to meet him.
Well, if he comes with both hands full of something substantial, maybe I could shut my eyes and meet him.
"I heard he's bringing a handwritten letter of thanks from President Lloyd of the United States, in gratitude for rescuing Player Gerald."
"..."
A handwritten thank-you letter?
No, come on.
A letter? A letter?!
Are they trying to settle it with that?
From a country that literally prints dollars, couldn't they just throw in, say, three hundred million dollars cleanly?
What's with the letter?
A phone call would've been plenty.
Then a thought suddenly occurred to him.
"By the way… no one contacted Mr. Kosak or Princess Gyeondallae, did they?"
"Uh, ah, no, they didn't?"
They did, didn't they?
Jeon Gwang-il's flustered expression said it all.
"They asked for the location of the North Korean Presidential Palace, didn't they?"
"Well, th-that is…"
"Or maybe the schedule of the Supreme People's Assembly?"
"..."
Jeon Gwang-il couldn't answer.
The truth was, they had contacted him.
He'd even handed over his business card at the badge-awarding ceremony before, so they had his number.
But he'd been told to keep it absolutely secret from Player Bong, so he hadn't mentioned it.
"They told you not to tell me."
"…Mm."
"Whether you tell them or not is up to you, Deputy Director, but you know what happened in China and Japan, right?"
"…Yes."
"They're good people, but sometimes even I can't stop them."
Jeon Gwang-il flinched.
Player Bong was right.
Why else would those people be asking for such information?
There might be a bloodbath at the North Korean presidential palace.
But that terrifying Mr. Kosak had been insisting, citing some 'Three Principles, Article Three' or something, that he absolutely needed the information—
Just then, the car arrived in front of a large warehouse.
Perfect.
Time to change the subject.
"Player Bong."
"Yes?"
"We're here. You can get out now."
"This is…"
It wasn't the materials warehouse he usually visited.
"This is a reserve warehouse. We call it Warehouse No. 2. It was built in case the main warehouse filled up. There are no partition walls, so it's much more spacious."
I see.
But why Warehouse No. 2?
"As I mentioned before, the gift entrusted by Crown Prince bin Salah of the United Arab Emirates has been stored in Warehouse No. 2."
Ah! He remembered hearing about that before.
But what kind of gift was it?
Jeon Gwang-il walked up to the massive steel door of Warehouse No. 2.
After the security system scanned his fingerprints and retinas—
Rrrrnk—the door slid open.
At the same time, the interior of the warehouse came into Juhyeok's view.
"…Huh?"
What the—
It's a parking lot?
It looked like they'd been using the empty warehouse as a parking garage.
Anyway, all the cars parked inside were incredible.
Were these what elite players drove around?
"These are all the gifts."
"…."
Did I hear that wrong?
The parked automobiles—no, supercars.
In short: insanely expensive, and hard to buy even if you had money.
"…All of these are gifts?"
"Yes."
Holy crap!
Stay calm.
Control your expression.
If you look too happy, you'll seem shallow.
Seven cars in total.
McLaren, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Porsche, Bugatti—
and on top of that, a Rolls-Royce and a Bentley.
Come to think of it, he remembered joking with Kosak about Bentleys during their class-reunion banter.
"All registrations are complete. Insurance is fully covered as well. The keys are all inside. You can drive them right away."
"…I see."
No, really—this is unbelievably generous.
Now he was a holy sword holder, a building owner, a major shareholder, and now a supercar owner.
"And there's this as well."
Deputy Director Jeon Gwang-il pressed the button on the Bentley's trunk.
It slid open smoothly, revealing an aluminum briefcase inside.
It looked anything but ordinary.
It felt like opening it would reveal stacks of cash.
But what lay inside wasn't cash.
"…Watches?"
Wristwatches encrusted with dazzling jewels.
Even a rough count showed well over ten of them.
"I looked into it—these aren't just ordinary watches. They're all limited editions. I believe even this one alone is worth over a billion won. This one is two billion, and this one here is three billion…"
Ahhh…
Crown Prince bin Salah.
What a magnanimous, alpha of alpha men.
All he did was help conquer a single tower.
And toss over a couple of tower reward items.
And he gives gifts like this.
It's not about the money.
It's the thoughtfulness that's touching.
The UAE is way better than the U.S. Much more decisive and bold!
From now on, the United Arab Emirates is the big brother.
"Please tell Crown Prince bin Salah for me: if he ever runs into difficulties with tower conquests, I'll resolve them immediately."
"Understood."
After receiving such gifts, how could he just sit still?
"It would be difficult to take all the cars at once, so you can just use this place as a parking garage and slowly, whenever you have time—"
"Wait."
That won't be necessary.
He'll take them all at once.
"Rajiks, designated summon."
Spot! With a flash, he appeared.
"Hoaeeeh."
"W-welcome, Lord Rajiks."
"Hoae!"
Rajiks waved at Jeon Gwang-il in greeting.
"Mr. Rajiks, you remember those things we looted— I mean, received—before, right?"
The treasures from the necromancer dungeon on the 72nd floor of the American tower, which they'd stormed while rescuing Gerald.
"Take everything out over here."
"Hoeng!"
Ssssshh!
Items piled up in another corner of the warehouse.
"For these ones, give one each to our elite players for free. Consider it a gift from the heart."
"Oh, th-there's really no need—"
"And Mr. Rajiks!"
"Hoae?"
"You know the mango juice, right? Take that out too."
Ssshh!
A large water jug filled with yellow liquid was placed on the warehouse floor.
Jeon Gwang-il tilted his head.
Is that really mango juice?
Then why put it in something like that…?
"It's a mental fortification potion."
"A, a potion?!"
"Before our elite players enter the tower, have them each down a paper cupful in one go. The effect is pretty good. I've tried it myself."
Then Juhyeok leaned in and whispered softly to Jeon Gwang-il, who was standing there blankly.
"This one doesn't have a tower-exclusive label. Deputy Director, you should drink a cup whenever you're thirsty too."
"Gasp!"
Every time he met Player Bong, Jeon Gwang-il's heart nearly dropped out of his chest.
He might need to take a calming pill just to meet him.
A potion that wasn't tower-exclusive.
Something incredibly rare.
Hard to even see, let alone obtain.
And there was this much of it?
Still, would there even be any left for him?
For players, mentality accounted for more than half of their overall capability.
It should go to the elite players.
Juhyeok was in a great mood.
He hadn't expected anything coming here.
Now, all that was left was to load up the cars.
"Mr. Rajiks, store the cars. Leave that Bentley over there out."
He'd drive the Bentley himself.
Ssshh, ssshh, ssshhh—
The supercars disappeared one by one into subspace.
Even at that sight, Jeon Gwang-il said nothing.
When adorable Lord Rajiks touched the supercars, they vanished.
There was nothing surprising about it.
What was so shocking about stuffing a few cars into a bag?
Prague, Czech Republic.
At the black market guild headquarters, Dmitri and his guild members advanced at full speed toward the 70th floor.
The next day, and the day after that as well.
At last, they reached the undead section.
Dmitri was confident.
They would break through quickly.
Starting with the 61st floor.
Dark Mummies—the weakest among the undead.
A section said to be clearable even without holy water for most players.
Dmitri didn't drink holy water either.
A close-combat build, he equipped sword and shield and charged at the Dark Mummy—
"…This is insane!"
Dense dark aura.
Just getting close made his head spin.
He hurriedly chugged holy water.
I heard this was supposed to be easy…
Wasn't the dark aura supposed to be weakened?
Don't tell me this is what "weakened" looks like?
It was only the 61st floor!
Still, he managed to kill it.
After a bloody battle that cost him three bottles of holy water.
Now he was worried about the 62nd floor's Dark Zombies.
Far stronger and faster than Dark Mummies.
The next day, Dmitri entered the 62nd floor.
"…Hmm."
The moment he arrived, he realized it.
This is going to be rough.
Even after drinking holy water in advance and wrapping his entire body in radiant power, it was the same.
Ten bottles of holy water, full elixir buffs, and chugging potions—
Only then did he barely succeed.
But Dmitri's confidence was utterly shattered.
Even if he died and came back to life, the 63rd floor seemed impossible.
The undead section of the North Korean Black Tower.
It was completely different from other towers.
There was no time to question why.
If they couldn't clear the North Korean tower, they might end up twiddling their thumbs for a year.
They urgently needed countermeasures.
The guild alone couldn't handle this.
There's no choice.
What they needed now was cooperation with the North Korean government.
Either borrow a holy sword at the national level, or formally request assistance with the conquest.
North Korea or South Korea—either way, it was Korea.
The same people.
First, I'll have to make contact with someone on the North Korean government side.
At this point, Dmitri still didn't know.
He was gravely underestimating the North Korean government.
And that—
Was a massive mistake.