Negotiations between the designer and the summoner player.
In the end, the contract was concluded with only soul release placed on the scales.
A result somewhat different from what the administrators had initially expected.
Just how high would the difficulty rise?
[Isn't it a bit ambiguous with only soul release? Of course, it'd be a nightmare for ordinary players, but for the Earth summoner, it's a little…]
[If he'd added just one more, there'd be no need to worry.]
[He gave up incredibly fast. He even called himself a coward and put himself down.]
[He may look stupid and timid on the surface, but he's a sly one. There's a reason he's the top player.]
[It might've been better not to contract at all.]
[No. In my judgment, this is enough. That's why we contracted.]
[Is that so?]
[The equivalent-exchange weight of soul release is far greater than a trait-enhancement rune or a catalog expansion ticket.]
[That's true, but…]
[And it's the 81st floor. It was never an easy place to begin with. With the difficulty spike from equivalent exchange, if they rush in carelessly, they'll pay a tremendous price.]
[I agree. Even if they don't die, the damage will be severe. Some of the bound summons won't make it out unscathed.]
[Right. And as that happens, his mentality will crumble.]
[The Earth summoner is extremely vulnerable in that regard. Once his solid pillars start disappearing one by one, even luck won't be able to help him.]
[A mentally broken summoner player—now that's something to look forward to.]
[This is what a true trial looks like.]
The administrators were convinced beyond doubt.
The 81st floor could never be cleared.
The contract was finalized.
An increased difficulty, but a guaranteed reward worthy of it.
In truth, there was something to rely on.
The reason this cowardly, low-value man had signed the contract.
Kosak's already-scheduled rank breakthrough.
When that happened, the overall strength of the bound summons would unquestionably rise.
Before sending Kosak off, they planned to test the waters first.
Was this a mission they could clear now, or should they wait until Kosak returned two weeks later?
"Shall we go?"
"Yes, sir!"
"This old man is ready as well."
Just in case, Mari was left unsummoned.
They might need her help later.
[Entering Republic of Korea Black Tower (No. 2), Floor 81.]
They entered.
And then—
[Due to the contract, the difficulty level of Republic of Korea Black Tower (No. 2), Floor 81 will be changed to Hell Mode.]
Hell Mode.
Infernal difficulty.
"…Hmm."
Suddenly, he regretted signing the contract.
Should he undo it?
[If the clear is successful, the difficulty of Republic of Korea Black Tower (No. 2), Floor 81 will revert to Normal Mode.]
It wasn't permanent.
A temporary difficulty increase to obtain Hartmann's soul release.
Succeed, and it returns to normal.
Fail, and it stays in Hell Mode until someone clears it.
If things went wrong, even North Korea's Tower No. 2 might collapse.
And even if it collapsed and a new Tower formed, the 81st floor would likely remain Hell Mode.
[Have you confirmed the contract conditions?]
Ah, whatever.
It'll work out somehow.
"Confirm."
[The contract has been executed.]
[The mission for Republic of Korea Black Tower (No. 2), Floor 81 has been changed.]
[Upon mission completion, Hartmann's soul will be released from the Tower's binding.]
A guaranteed reward.
Perhaps that's why it was announced in advance.
So what exactly was the mission?
Just how bad was Hell Mode?
Juhyeok continued walking.
A vast grassland.
And faint mist rising here and there.
Ding!
[81st Floor Mission: Defeat 1 Colossal Beast, Titan Behemoth.]
[Time Limit: Within 2 hours.]
[Completion Condition: Colossal Beast Titan Behemoth 0/1]
"...."
What the hell was this now?
A colossal beast, Titan Behemoth?
"The name alone sounds ominous…"
And the time limit was extremely short.
Only two hours.
Well, they were already here—might as well poke it and see.
Combat preparations began.
Energy barrier, Blink Ring, a shield pulled out, and the mission shared with the bound summons.
"The environment seems fine. Flat terrain, not hot or cold."
"Yeah."
It wasn't perfectly flat.
"Over there, beyond the fog, there's a large mountain."
A bald, gently sloping mountain.
But—
"Hm, where exactly is this Behemoth supposed to be?"
"Somewhere on the grasslands, I suppose."
"Or maybe we need to climb that mountain."
With the modifier colossal, it had to be huge.
Then it should've been visible the moment they entered.
Don't tell me they had to find it?
A hide-and-seek–style mission?
Was this a kind of time attack too?
Given the fog, it certainly felt that way.
Just then—
Boom!
"Hm?"
A sound echoed across the 81st-floor grasslands.
Boom!
"…Huh."
The ground shook like an earthquake.
Boom!
"It's here."
"Where?"
"Not sure, but the sound seems to be coming from the mountain."
The mountain.
Boom!
The mountain.
Boom!
The mountain…?
"…Uh."
Juhyeok doubted his own eyes.
Boom!
Was what he was seeing actually real?
The other bound summons froze as well.
"My goodness."
"That is…"
"Hoe?"
"Th-this is insane!"
"…Come on. That's cheating."
"Heh heh heh."
It was a mountain.
No—it looked like a mountain, but it was a monster.
Boom!
The colossal beast, Titan Behemoth.
Boom!
The bald mountain was moving.
As it drew closer, its true form became unmistakable.
A quadrupedal monster shaped like a bear.
Its exact size?
It was a mountain!
"…Can we kill that?"
And within two hours, at that.
No one answered.
After a moment—
"This old man will go test it. See if aura even works."
Spot! Papapapat!
The distance was enormous.
The Berserk Demon rushed toward Titan Behemoth at incredible speed.
Compared to Behemoth, he looked like a mere speck.
Ziiing!
The Berserk Demon gathered crescent-shaped aura.
Tspirit!
He hurled it at Behemoth.
Slash!
Something was cut.
But—
"KRRRAAAAAAAAACK!!!"
Boom boom boom boom boom!
Behemoth stomped the ground violently in rage.
Even from far away, the ground bucked.
Spapapapat!
The Berserk Demon returned to the group and said,
"I could injure it. Barely sliced its hide."
But—
"Time is the issue. Defeating it within two hours is impossible."
That seemed to be the case.
Its size was so absurd it made you wonder how it even walked.
The Berserk Demon's attacks were little more than a sting.
Like poking it with a needle.
Sure, if you kept poking long enough, it might eventually die—but—
"Also, the only bound summons capable of even fighting it are me, Sergeant Be, and Lady Dallae."
Close combat was impossible.
How were they supposed to get close?
The moment they did, they'd be crushed flat.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
As if the wound meant nothing, Behemoth wandered around aimlessly.
For now, there was no solution.
"…Let's withdraw."
Juhyeok pulled a Tower Mission Reset Ticket from his inventory.
As he held it—
[Would you like to use a Tower Mission Reset Ticket?]
[Upon use, you will automatically exit, the mission on this floor will be reset, and your entry record will be deleted.]
Meaning the floor would return to an unchallenged state.
If they cleared it again with an S+++ rank, they could even earn a Platinum Badge.
Assuming it was even possible.
Rip!
[You have used a Tower Mission Reset Ticket. Exiting the Tower.]
Spot!
Juhyeok and the others returned to the penthouse.
"Whew…"
"Haa…"
"..."
"Hooeh…"
"Kiiiing…"
Everyone looked grim.
That level of difficulty…
Juhyeok felt the same.
Even now, his heart was still pounding.
The original mission must have been to defeat a normal Behemoth.
But because Tower soul release had been placed on the scales, the modifier Colossal Titan must have been added.
"…If we had put a trait enhancement rune on the scales too, what do you think would've happened?"
"Hard to say. At the very least, it probably would've gotten even bigger… or faster…"
"Or the time limit might've been reduced even further."
And this was already the result of putting just one thing on the scales.
Even so—
No matter how you looked at it, how were they supposed to kill that thing within two hours?
"Sergeant Be."
"Sergeant Veronica Caliber."
"If we hit it with three heavy shells in succession?"
"Hm… we might be able to halt its advance, but I don't think we'd deal any meaningful damage."
That was true.
Even heavy artillery had its limits.
In terms of Earth weapons, maybe equivalent to a 155mm shell?
"You'd need nuclear weapons to kill it."
"With the explosive power of a nuke… if only we could detonate one on the 81st floor."
Modern scientific weapons couldn't be brought into the Tower.
Well, they could be used.
More precisely, it wasn't that they couldn't be used—it was that they couldn't be brought in.
Of course, among Earth's thermal weapons, there were some that could be taken into the Tower.
The most representative example was a handgun.
Anything classified as a personal belonging.
Something you could hold in your hand or tuck into your waistband and enter with.
But thermal weapons larger than a handgun couldn't be classified as personal belongings.
That was why pistols were mainly used to pull monsters.
"What about the shut-in alchemist's bomb homunculi?"
"We already used them all before. They're making more, but we'd need a massive quantity. A lot."
They'd need enough homunculi to blanket an entire mountain just to deal any damage.
And how long would it take to make that many?
More importantly—
They wanted to end this run overwhelmingly again.
Without anxiety.
With peace of mind.
"If it were nuclear weapons, it feels like we could get a decisive result…"
No matter how big Behemoth was, how could it withstand a nuke?
But—
"There's no way to bring them into the Tower… huh?"
Wait.
Why wouldn't there be?
Juhyeok quietly looked at Rajiks.
"Hoeh?"
All the bound summons turned their gazes toward Rajiks at once.
At the same time, they all realized it.
"Oh!"
"That's right!"
"Of course. With our laborer's backpack, we could bring them in."
"You can fit an entire camper van in that subspace backpack."
"If it's a cosmic farmhand, it should be possible."
"As expected of our quartermaster. Even supplying nuclear weapons."
"Hoeee~"
Rajiks's backpack had no restrictions.
Tower items, outside-Tower items—anything could be stored and taken out freely.
But there was still a problem.
Bringing them in was one thing, but—
"Where do we even get nuclear weapons?"
Even with money, individuals couldn't obtain them.
They were extremely dangerous.
Strategic national weapons.
Sure, if you really tried, it might be possible—but you'd get mistaken for a terrorist.
"What if we ask Commissioner Jeon Gwang-il?"
"Korea doesn't have nuclear weapons."
"What about the U.S.? If we talk to Secretary Macmillan—"
No way.
"It's a nuclear weapon. No matter how close you are, there's no way they'd hand one over to a private individual—huh?"
Wait.
Why wouldn't there be a way?
Juhyeok slowly looked at Kosak.
"…Huh? Why are you looking at me?"
"We had our proud Democratic People's Republic Minister of the People's Armed Forces, didn't we?"
"Uh… ah? Ah-ha!"
Kosak seemed to realize it too.
"I'll show Behemoth the people's nuclear fire, I will! Just give the order!"
That was right.
South Korea didn't have nukes—but North Korea did.
"I'll depart immediately!"
"No. Let's all go together while we're at it."
"Yes! Long live Juhyeok!"
They'd just grab a few.
Stuff them into Rajiks's subspace backpack.
The direction of the strategy was decided.
Behemoth would be cleared with nuclear weapons.
Pyongyang, North Korea.
Chairman Kim In-jung was inside an underground bunker.
Because the Minister of the People's Armed Forces, Kosak—who protected him—was away.
China's movements had been unsettling lately.
From China's perspective, the growing closeness between South and North Korea was hardly welcome.
Pressure was coming from all sides.
They might even send assassins.
China's economic support had been cut off long ago.
But that didn't matter.
Support was coming from South Korea instead.
The Kaesong Industrial Complex had reopened, food supplies were flowing in, and large-scale construction projects were planned.
Honestly, it was a good thing.
Being grabbed by the collar and dragged along like this was strangely reassuring.
The problem was his personal safety.
Would he survive even after the unification process ended?
He wished he could at least get a promise.
Not from Kosak—
But from the South Korean player Kosak served.
He wanted to live.
He didn't care about this kind of power he couldn't even protect.
He just wanted to spend out his natural lifespan peacefully in warm Jeju Island in the South, and die of old age.
Suddenly—
Clack!
The steel door of the underground bunker opened automatically.
The only one who entered like that was—
"K-Kosak, comrade!"
"Hey there, Chairman Kim. You've been doing well, I see!"
But he wasn't alone.
"Greetings. Do you remember me?"
"Uh… y-yes."
How could he not?
This old man had given him days of trouble.
People poured into the bunker one after another.
Men and women of various ages.
The bat-man he'd met before, a woman with a massive gun slung over her back, a huge man, a Westerner in armor wielding a flail.
"Hey. Supreme enemy leader. I'm Sergeant Be."
"Nice to meet you. I'm Gobang."
"Repentant lamb! O light!"
And then—
Srrrrk.
A fairy drifted through the air like a ghost.
"I am Gyeondallae. I serve the young master."
And even—
"Hoek!"
"Grrr!"
A cute hamster-man and a large dog baring sharp fangs.
But the truly important person stood elsewhere.
At the center of them all stood a young man.
Kim In-jung knew instinctively.
This is him.
"Hello, Chairman. I'm Bong Juhyeok."
That Juhyeok of all the "Long live Juhyeok" chants.
"N-nice to meet you. I'm Kim In-jung."
The person he needed to impress the most.
Just look.
At everyone else's attitude.
They surrounded Bong Juhyeok from all sides, protecting him reverently.
"…Please, have a seat."
Kim In-jung hurriedly offered his own seat.
"Oh, no need to stand up. Please stay seated. I can sit anywhere."
That caused an uproar.
"That won't do. The young master must take the seat of honor. Only then will order be maintained."
The fairy stopped him.
"Commander, please sit here."
The female soldier called Sergeant Be pulled out a chair.
"Hoe!"
The hamster-man wiped the chair meticulously with a microfiber cloth he pulled from somewhere.
The rest took positions to Juhyeok's left, right, and behind him.
Gulp.
Kim In-jung swallowed hard, tense to the extreme.
"Chairman, I hear you've been having a hard time lately…"
"Eh? Ah! B-because of China."
"Tsk. I don't know why they keep meddling in other people's business."
Juhyeok frowned.
And then—
"Just give the order. I'll take the Chinese president's head and bring it back tied with a ribbon."
"Send this old man. I'll bury him without anyone knowing."
"Sergeant Veronica Caliber—I'll put a hole right through his forehead."
Even Jephet, who'd been watching the room, raised his hand eagerly.
"Me! Me! Master, please send me! I'll handle it quietly—that's my specialty!"
Desperately trying to appeal to Juhyeok.
A chance to earn merit.
He'd adapted by now.
If he earned the master's favor, maybe he could get a badge too.
But did the other bound summons let that slide?
"How dare a rookie butt in?"
"Learn to read the room."
Kosak growled fiercely.
"You damn vampire bitch, getting too full of yourself already. You've barely been out here and under you there's only Diamat's sorry ass. Got it?"
Kim In-jung's head was spinning.
Just because Bong Juhyeok frowned slightly, everyone was volunteering to deal with the Chinese president.
All desperate to earn merit.
Ah…
He was nothing here.
The true leader was right here.
Meanwhile, Juhyeok brought the situation under control.
"Alright, alright, calm down. There's something more urgent than China right now. Let's handle priorities first."
Then he turned to Kim In-jung.
"I have a favor to ask."
"A-anything you say!"
"I need nuclear weapons. Could you give me a few?"
"…Pardon?"
"I'll pay for them."
What did he just ask for?
Did he hear that right?
"N-nuclear weapons, you say?"
"Yes. I don't need the missiles. Just the warheads."
"Uh…"
Kim In-jung stood there, dumbfounded.
At a loss for words.
Seeing that, Kosak exploded in anger.
"Chairman! Does the Republic need nuclear weapons right now?"
"Th-that's not what I meant—"
"Didn't you say you'd pay for them? Sell the nukes and let the people of the Republic eat white rice and meat soup!"
"...."
In that instant—
Sssaaat!
A terrifying killing intent sharp enough to flay flesh filled the air.
The Berserk Demon whispered with a sinister smile.
"Shall I make the decision easier for you?"
Only then did Kim In-jung snap back to his senses.
In this situation, what use were nuclear weapons?
They truly had become utterly pointless.
"I-I'll give them to you."
"I'll pay a fair price."
"No need at all. Take them for free."
"Oh my, how grateful I am."
Nuclear weapons acquired!
After learning how to use them, they'd set them off on the 81st floor.