The 80th floor, where a copy of Diamat existed.
For now, there were no summoned beings who knew this place.
It was their first time reaching the 80th floor as well.
They had heard bits and pieces from other souls, but said they couldn't remember the truly important parts.
[Entering the Black Tower of the Republic of Korea (No. 2), 80th Floor.]
The environment was an ordinary forest.
A beautiful full moon hung in the night sky.
Then, after receiving the mission—
The moment he took a single step forward!
'…Huh?'
The surroundings around Juhyeok changed.
'All of a sudden?'
It was a familiar place.
A classroom from the high school he used to attend.
Students in school uniforms, focused on studying.
Juhyeok was sitting at a desk.
It was the seat he always used to sit in.
'It's been a while.'
To be honest, it didn't feel very good.
An unpleasant feeling was already creeping up.
For Juhyeok, his high school days were—
Bullying and harassment.
He had no friends, and he ate lunch alone, a complete loner.
But was it nothing but misery?
Like rain after a drought, there had been moments of joy too.
'Jinsuk.'
Oh Jinsuk.
The girl Juhyeok had a crush on.
Of course, he'd never even dared to confess.
She was one of the "wild" kids.
A girl commonly called an iljin.
Short skirt, dragging her slippers around, and whenever she felt bored, she'd casually tap the top of his head as she passed by.
'…Still, I liked it.'
When she smiled slightly after hitting his head, his heart would pound like crazy.
So why had he suddenly thought of Oh Jinsuk?
Because—
She was standing right in front of him.
Her hair rolled up, the soft white fuzz along the nape of her neck.
He knew it instantly, just from her back.
At that moment!
Oh Jinsuk turned her head and looked back.
Then she smiled at Juhyeok with her eyes and said,
"Juhyeok."
"…Uh? Me?"
"Yeah. Wanna go to karaoke after class?"
Karaoke?
Is she really talking to me?
Swish!
Jinsuk stepped closer.
Close enough that he could feel her breath directly.
"Let's go sing together. Dance too— you know I'm good at dancing, right?"
Of course he knew.
Jinsuk was a regular at the school talent shows.
Ahhh!
Their lips were way too close.
Close enough that he could smell her sweet scent.
"Should we grab a beer too? Ah, geez, I get drunk off just one can. And when I'm drunk, I start taking my clothes off anywhere."
"..."
His heart was pounding wildly.
He wanted to ditch studying right now and run outside with her—
But…
'No!'
A sense of wrongness bloomed in his chest.
'There's no way.'
Why would Oh Jinsuk, the most popular girl in school, the ultra queenka, talk to someone like him?
More than that, there was one glaring inconsistency.
From Oh Jinsuk's mouth came not a sweet fragrance like this—
'It smells like stale cigarette smoke.'
Jinsuk.
You without the smell of cigarettes are fake.
That's when he realized it.
He was climbing the 80th floor.
'So it's Diamat.'
The culprit behind this illusion.
'Well, even if it was just for a moment…'
I was happy to see you again, Jinsuk.
Time to break free.
"I'm sorry! Jinsuk!!!"
Thwack!
Juhyeok swung his arm and smacked Oh Jinsuk on the head.
Smack!
"Eek!!"
Huh?
What just happened?
He felt impact in his hand.
Don't tell me that was real?
"Y-Young Master!"
It was Gyeon Dallae.
Her eyes were wide as she stared up at him, having been struck on the head by Juhyeok.
Oh no.
"A-Are you all right?"
"I am perfectly fine, milord. I was merely startled."
Thank goodness.
It would've been bad if he'd hit her hard.
"B-But who is this Jinsuk you speak of…?"
Uh…
"S-She was just a classmate from back then."
"Oh! I see, then?"
How embarrassing.
Still, this had to be the work of Diamat, the 80th-floor boss—yet he fell for it without resistance?
"That's mortifying."
"Please do not blame yourself."
"But…"
"Except for myself, Lord Gwangma, and Lord Gobang, everyone else is still trapped in their dreams."
Huh?
So it wasn't just him?
Just then—
"Hoek! Hueeek!"
Thud thud thud thud!
Right next to Juhyeok, Rajiks was swinging his pickaxe nonstop, eyes blazing red.
Then he picked up an ordinary-looking stone from the ground and muttered,
"Hoeeeh, Rune of Trait Enhancement, three badges..."
Like that.
As for Veronica—
"Mmm… I don't have night watch duty today. Wake me up and I'll kill you."
She was sprawled out, muttering in her sleep with a blissful smile.
And Bardin—
"Light!!!"
Hands clasped tightly together, tears streaming down his face as he prayed.
The vampire Jephet bit into Gobang's forearm, sucking at blood that didn't even come out.
'This is driving me insane.'
Looks like even dogs dream.
The Blood Wolf was chewing on a branch it must've picked up somewhere, gnawing on it like a bone.
Then what about Kosak?
He was curled up, sleeping like a baby—what kind of dream was he having?
"…Dad."
Aaaah!
So that's it.
His father.
How much must he have missed him?
They were connected by blood, after all—his real father.
Tears welled up, his nose stinging.
It seemed he was talking with Hartmann in his dream.
"Dad, how's Chief Bay? Huh? You say she's just average?"
Hmm?
"You say Princess Dallae is way better? Father, your eyes are failing you. You must not really know our bouncy Chief Bay—if you saw her fire those large-caliber shells, you'd change your mind. I'll even show you what she looks like in a bikini soon."
Good grief.
"Oh come on, daughter-in-law? Which one? …Huh! Both of them? Aha! So a hero gets three wives and four concubines? A harem's great! Hehehehe."
Kosak was having a wonderful dream.
"…I almost want to smack him."
"Go ahead and smack him."
At some point, Gwangma had approached Juhyeok, wearing a satisfied smile.
"As expected of a summoner. You woke up the fastest."
"…Me?"
"Indeed. The dream domain spread by a nightmare demon cannot be resisted. What matters is how quickly one awakens."
Ah!
So it really couldn't be resisted.
From what he heard, Princess Gyeon Dallae had awakened first.
The moment she was caught in the dream, she judged it wasn't reality and opened her eyes—just in time to see the copy of Diamat flying toward her, so she hurriedly fired off the wall-breaking spell and drove it away.
"That's frightening."
A completely different type of Tower floor boss.
"Shouldn't we wake the others?"
"I already tried. They didn't budge at all."
"Leave them. The dream domain must be overcome by one's own will."
Tsk tsk. Can't they tell at a glance it's a dream?
"I sense the presence of that wicked wench over there. This old man will go fetch her."
And then—
"Fairy maiden, stay by the summoner's side."
"Will you be all right?"
"Hmph! Do you think such petty sorcery could dare invade this old man's mind? Even if it did! You foolish lout! You come along too."
"Understood. This warrior will go as well."
Spat!
The two vanished.
Moments later—
Kwakwakwang!
Puh-bang! Bang bang bang!
Deafening explosions echoed throughout the 80th floor.
"Kyaaaah!"
A scream rang out as well.
"Damn you, you monster bitch! How dare you!"
In the end, Diamat was dragged back, her hair seized tightly in Gwangma's grasp.
'So that was Diamat.'
A nearly naked woman.
Small, cute horns on her head.
Black hair, black eyes.
She had wings—and a tail as well.
"She was a Succubus Queen. No wonder dreams were impossible to resist."
Diamat looked at Juhyeok with pitiful eyes.
What are you looking at me for?
"Her sorcery was frightening, but her physical strength was weak. Well, that's just the copy—who knows about the real one."
Gyeon Dallae approached Diamat.
"So it was you. Let us have a little talk together."
She activated the tracking unit.
At this point, it was practically done.
They'd seen her appearance, and they'd experienced the dream domain.
"Fairy Princess, is it done?"
"It is sufficient."
"Then I'll take care of it."
Crunch!
Gwangma twisted Diamat's neck.
[Demon Lord Diamat (Copy) defeated 1/1]
[Reward: 80 kg of Demon Mana Stones / Eye of Diamat]
[World Announcement: Black Tower (Korea) 80th Floor cleared with Rank S+++]
There was a reward.
The Eye of Diamat.
But—
'Ugh…'
It was literally an eyeball.
A round, spherical eyeball.
'Why would they give something like this?'
〈Eye of Diamat〉
Effect: Material item.
So it was a crafting material.
He could hand it over to Mari.
They'd postpone tracking down the true Diamat until tomorrow.
They might have to use the Tower Exit Ring anyway.
Preparations were needed.
They'd been completely helpless against even the copy's dream domain.
'If it's the real one…?'
Gyeon Dallae, Gwangma, and Gobang could all be in danger.
They needed countermeasures before going after her.
A shabby restaurant in Beijing, China.
Because it was close to Zhongnanhai, many Chinese government officials frequented the place.
It was famous for douzhi, a fermented soybean drink, and youtiao, fried dough sticks.
Originally run by an elderly couple, a woman in her thirties named Lingling had started helping out at the restaurant some time ago.
The food was good, but quite a few customers also came just to see Lingling.
She wasn't exceptionally beautiful, but her smile put people at ease. She handled the tough restaurant work skillfully and treated customers kindly.
As a result, the place was packed even early in the morning.
"Welcome."
"Oh! Lingling, the usual for me."
"Yes, please have a seat."
A middle-aged man with more than half his hair gone sat down on a chair.
"Deputy Director, you're a bit late today."
"I had a big fight with my wife at home. About our son."
"Oh my? Is that why you don't look so well?"
Lingling wore a sympathetic expression.
"Is that so? Anyway, the boy wants to study abroad in Korea. How could I allow that? The situation's bad in so many ways."
Lingling gently patted the government official's shoulder with a warm smile.
"Everything will work out. Don't worry."
"Hahaha, thanks, Lingling. You're the only one I've got."
At that very moment!
[World Announcement: Black Tower No. 2 (Korea), 78th Floor cleared with Rank S+++]
"…Huh?"
"Ah!"
A sudden world announcement rang out.
"This is driving me crazy. I hear it while eating, I hear it while sleeping—at this point it's noise pollution. You think so too, Lingling?"
"Right? Just when you think you're used to it, an announcement goes off and startles you."
People inside the restaurant muttered among themselves.
"78th floor, damn it! It's starting again today."
"Korea's No. 2 Tower—does that mean North Korea?"
"Those North Korean bastards have it good. Their tower probably won't collapse."
"Do we really lack talent among our great nation's players?"
"Fine, clearing towers is one thing, but couldn't they at least win a soccer match…?"
"But yesterday the last one was the 76th floor, right? Why does it start at 78? What about the 77th?"
World announcements were heard by everyone.
Without exception, if you were human.
Even if you weren't human, you could still hear them.
For example—Diamat, polymorphed into a Chinese woman named Lingling.
'Hmm, come to think of it, the streak of consecutive S+++ clears was interrupted.'
They skipped a floor.
The announcement should've rung from the 77th floor, but this one was for the 78th.
'What was on the 77th floor again?'
Lingling—no, Diamat—recalled the mission on the 77th floor.
'There was nothing special about it.'
It wasn't difficult.
It was a floor that belonged to the very easy category.
Even the ultra–high-difficulty option was easy.
All you had to do was deal with a dying Swordmaster, bound in chains.
'Well, maybe they made a mistake or something.'
In any case, it was a good development.
They probably didn't even get a badge, and they'd be losing out on special benefits too.
And then there was the 79th floor—the gateway to the 80th.
A time-attack mission unfolding inside the imperial palace of the Baration Empire.
'They won't manage this one either. Even if they can do the high-difficulty optional mission…'
The ultra–high-difficulty option would be absolutely impossible.
The target, Kalios, was hiding in one room out of a hundred rooms in the separate palace.
A maze, and a time limit.
Up to now, not a single player had succeeded in clearing the ultra–high-difficulty version.
'Looks like they won't be getting a badge this time either.'
A faint smile leaked out.
At that, every customer in the restaurant stole glances at her.
Who could possibly resist the allure of a Succubus Queen?
This restaurant wasn't frequented only by low-ranking officials—members of the highest echelons of the Chinese Communist Party also visited from time to time.
She would slowly seep into China's power structure.
And eventually, she would even take control of the Chinese president.
A neighboring country right next to Korea.
If she waited for the right opportunity and dropped a nuke on the city where that man lived—
Just then!
Another announcement rang out.
[World Announcement: Black Tower No. 2 (Korea), 79th Floor cleared with Rank S+++]
Diamat's eyes flew wide open.
'…What?'
The 79th floor?
What was going on?
'They found and killed the emperor within ten minutes?'
How was that even possible?
Were they using cheats?
But cheats should have been blocked starting from the 70th floors.
And that wasn't all.
After some time had passed—
[World Announcement: Black Tower (Korea), 80th Floor cleared with Rank S+++]
[World Announcement: Demon Lord Diamat (Copy) has been annihilated on the 80th Floor of the Black Tower No. 2 (Korea).]
Diamat froze mid-step while carrying a tray of food.
'…They made it to the 80th?'
Even her copy had been killed.
Truly worthy of being called a mad summoner.
The hand gripping the tray trembled violently.
Even a copy's dream domain shouldn't have been easy to deal with.
'W-What if they come looking for me?'
No.
They'll never find her.
The world is vast.
How could they possibly know she was hiding in China?
Three floors in one day.
And every single one cleared with an S+++ rank.
Naturally, chaos erupted.
└ 80th floor!!!
└ Is it over now that Diamat's dead?
└ It was just a copy. Not the real one.
└ No special perks this time?
└ Who knows, probably need to kill the real one for anything special.
└ What about the 81st-floor ascent reward? That four-piece set thing.
└ You won't know until you get there.
└ But why did they skip S+++ on the 77th floor?
└ Must be a really hard floor.
└ How hard does it have to be?
└ No idea. Only the top player would know.
└ Someone go ask him.
The Korean Awakener Management Agency was just as curious.
Just how bad was the 77th floor?
That was why Jeon Gwang-il called Juhyeok.
He clearly couldn't contain his curiosity.
— Player Bong, it's me.
"Ah! Director, you've been busy lately, haven't you?"
— Haha, not at all. Compared to you, I'm practically just eating and resting. By the way! Did you find any clues about Diamat on the 80th floor?
"Well, I'm not entirely sure yet. I think I'll have to climb a few more floors to know for certain."
— If I may ask, what kind of entity is the Demon Lord Diamat…?
Juhyeok explained in detail what he had seen of Diamat on the 80th floor.
A demon that invaded people's consciousness and made them dream—and how difficult it was to clear unless one had exceptional mental fortitude.
— Then the real Diamat would also…?
"Yes. She'll probably bewitch people inside their dreams."
— …That's bad. Ordinary people would be completely enthralled.
"We need to take her down as soon as possible."
She was an entirely different type from every floor boss they'd encountered so far.
In terms of raw physical power, she was ordinary.
In fact, even without special talent, any level-80 player could kill her.
The real problem was the dream domain Diamat cast.
How many people could escape from that?
— And this may be an awkward question, but about the 77th floor…
"Ah! The 77th floor?"
It seemed they were wondering why the S+++ clear had been skipped.
Might as well explain it properly.
"It's difficult. Really difficult. Especially the final ultra–high-difficulty optional mission—it's a fight against a crippled Swordmaster…"
— A S-Swordmaster?!
"That's right. He was terrifying. If you fight him head-on, you'll just die. Our team underestimated him and rushed in, then ended up running away."
— Ah!
"So spread the word to governments around the world. Tell them never to attempt the 77th-floor ultra–high-difficulty mission. The moment they start it, they'll die."
— Yes, understood.
In truth, it was the opposite.
If you just killed Gillian, the Altos Island prison boss from the high-difficulty mission, dealing with Swordmaster Hartmann was child's play.
He was weakened after falling into inner demons—one skill would be enough to finish him.
Let players clear it freely?
When it was Kosak's father?
There was no way he'd allow that.
Anyway, the plan was to hunt Diamat tomorrow.
Before that, he'd enter the 80th floor a few more times and experience the dream domain again.
He needed to build up resistance.
That way, even if he got caught, he'd snap back to his senses faster.
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