Juhyeok returned home again.
Thankfully, they had secured the nuclear weapon, but could they bring it back right away?
It would take quite some time before it could be prepared for use.
So Juhyeok decided to send Kosak.
For his LSSR-grade breakthrough.
They only needed to wait about two weeks.
The remaining physical badges numbered 27.
Nine badges were pinned to Kosak's chest.
Since 25 were required for a breakthrough, Juhyeok firmly placed the Wheel and 16 badges needed for a summoned person's grade breakthrough into Kosak's hands.
"Please come back safely. It's fine even if the breakthrough fails."
"… Yes, sir!"
Ah.
Not being able to see a founding contributor for two whole weeks.
Juhyeok rushed forward and hugged him tightly.
"Kosak, fighting!"
"Huk! P-please don't do this. My preferences are very firm."
"Good grief! I like women too, you know. Do you think I enjoy hugging a sweaty man?"
"Hehe."
A hug between men.
Isn't that just an expression of deep friendship?
And then—
"Kosak, dismiss summon."
Spot!
Now there were 11 badges left.
No more badge award ceremonies for a while.
'Well, I can just collect them slowly.'
Kosak's empty spot
was filled by the remaining summoned ones.
The Mad Demon, Gobang, Sergeant Bae, Bardin, Rajiks and Blood Wolf, and Jephet took turns commuting to North Korea.
And Diamat, who returned as an SR grade, handled the housework.
Whenever she had time, Gyeondallae put Diamat through mental discipline so intense it made his ears bleed.
Meanwhile, what about our stay-at-home alchemist, Aliamari?
She was in the middle of a conversation with Gyeondallae.
<: Mari>: The shockwave when it explodes will be no joke, and we'll have to worry about radiation too. I'm worried about you, Summoner.
: I'm jealous. I want to help too. Still, radiation is something I can deal with.
<: Mari>: Ah! Yes. We can modify a few of the basic models.
<: Mari>: Got it. I'll try to make as many as possible.
And so time passed.
Nearly two weeks went by.
"Hoa!"
Rajiks, returning from work in North Korea, came back with two tactical nuclear warheads stuffed into his subspace backpack.
Fully equipped with wireless detonation devices—
meaning they could explode at the press of a button.
Their operation should pose no problems.
When it comes to nuclear technology, isn't North Korea the first thing that comes to mind?
Even though they were tactical mini nuclear warheads,
their power exceeded that of the Hiroshima-class atomic bomb.
Two were enough.
Whether it was a super-giant monster, an ultra-super-giant monster, or even an ultra-ultra-ultra-multra giant monster,
they would melt away in an instant.
And another day passed.
Our People's Armed Forces Minister, whose status in the catalog had changed to summonable, finally appeared.
"Designated summon: John Kosak!"
Spot!
"Comrade Summoner! This Kosak has returned safely!"
At last, he had come back.
Having successfully broken through to the LSSR grade.
"Oh! L-S-S-R People's Armed Forces Minister comrade."
"I truly thought I was going to die. That mental reinforcement—no ordinary thing, that was."
"Oh my, LSSR-nim, even your exaggeration is LSSR-level. Hahahahaha!"
"Hehehehehe."
Name: John KosakGrade: LSSR (Legend Special Super Rare)Type: Assassin (Human)Manifestation Time Limit: 6 hoursSatisfaction Rating: NoneResummon Cooldown: 3 hours (Designated summon currently available)
Setting aside the modifiers,
he was a Swordmaster, no less.
Was he planning to carry on his father's legacy?
I liked it.
Though it was a shame that his manifestation time had been shortened.
It was about time to start preparing.
We didn't need that many people for the raid anyway.
The fixed members would be
the Mad Demon, Kosak, and Mari.
Rajiks would deliver the nuclear warheads to the 81st floor.
Veronica would lure Behemoth.
Gobang would install the warheads.
That should be enough.
Let's go.
We'll smash it to pieces—utterly and completely.
[Entering the 81st floor of the Black Tower of the Republic of Korea (No. 2).]
[Current mode: Hell Mode.]
We entered the 81st floor again.
Quick preparations.
We had already coordinated our movements in advance for today.
First, we moved forward to receive the mission.
Ding!
As the raid began, the very first thing Rajiks pulled out of his subspace backpack was...
"Hoa!"
A huge, sturdy shovel made of tower metal.
It had taken quite a while to make at the Player Shop workshop.
Deputy Commissioner Jeon Gwang-il had helped, which sped things up.
Who was going to use it?
Gobang in his giant form, of course.
Who else would it be?
Pak pak pak pak!
Gobang worked diligently, digging into the ground with the giant shovel.
Sergeant Bae looked on in admiration.
"With Mr. Gobang around, building trench fortifications would be a piece of cake."
That was true.
The shovel was huge, and his strength was tremendous.
In no time at all, a large, deep square pit was formed.
Next.
Ssssss.
Rajiks pulled out a concrete structure from subspace, about three meters wide, long, and tall.
That's right.
A simple portable air-raid shelter.
Something we had prepared over the past two weeks.
A cube with thick concrete walls.
Both the inside and outside were covered with Gyeondallae's talismans and gold powder.
Steel plates containing lead had also been added.
It had been manufactured outside and brought in via the subspace backpack.
If it could hold a camper van, something like this was nothing.
"Hoaeee."
The plan was to place the portable air-raid shelter inside the pit Gobang had dug.
When Rajiks stretched his hand into the pit, the shelter slid in perfectly.
Leaving only the upper section with the entrance exposed, they filled the gaps completely with dirt, tamping it down so it wouldn't shake.
A perfect air-raid shelter, completed in less than ten minutes.
This was the part they had paid the most attention to over the past two weeks.
A nuke is a double-edged sword.
If it detonated on the 81st floor, it would endanger not only Behemoth, but themselves as well.
But now it was safe.
Except for Behemoth.
The real raid began.
Sss, sss.
Lastly, Rajiks took out two tactical nuclear warheads equipped with detonation devices.
"Good work, Mr. Rajiks."
"Hoaeee."
"I'll make sure our Mr. Rajiks gets his badge."
"Hoeng!"
Without Rajiks, a nuclear-explosion raid would have been nothing but a dream.
It was only possible because he was here.
"Come here. Let's have one hug before you go."
"Hoa...."
Our cosmic farmhand,
I hugged him tight—buried my face in his fluffy fur and rubbed my cheeks against it.
Then—
"Rajiks, dismiss summon."
Spot!
Rajiks returned after performing his role perfectly.
Now, it was time to install the nuclear warheads.
We had to lure the monster as far away from the portable shelter as possible.
For that, someone had to draw it out.
That job belonged to Sergeant Bae.
"Don't get hurt. Safety first! You know that, right?"
"Sergeant Veronica Caliber. I will carry out the orders as instructed."
And then—
she slid closer, pressing her body in tightly.
"W-why?"
"Please hug me too, like you did the quartermaster. I think my morale will rise."
"… Uh."
So suddenly?
"Sergeant Bae, I'll hug you instead. An LSSR hug. Your morale will soar to the sky."
"Yeah, shut up."
"Hoe?"
Why are you imitating Rajiks?
"Commander, please hurry up and hug me."
15
There was no helping it.
I stretched my waist back as much as possible and gently hugged her.
Squelch!
'… Eek?'
But I endured it, reciting a prayer in my head while patting her back.
"Thank you, Commander!"
It felt like I could hear a message saying:
Veronica's morale has increased by +10.
Dadadadak!
Veronica dashed forward using tactical movement.
Behind her followed the giant-sized Gobang, carrying one nuclear warhead on each shoulder.
Each warhead weighed about 200 kilograms.
But to Gobang, that was nothing.
At most, it was only 400 kilograms combined.
Veronica and Gobang.
They ran on for quite a while, and then—
Jiiiiiing!
Pajujuk!
Kwah-BOOM!
The large shell fired by Sergeant Bae struck the ultra-giant monster, Titan Behemoth, squarely.
"KRARARARARAK!"
After landing one heavy hit—
Pajuk! Pajujujuk! Pajujujuk!
She harassed it with rapid-fire small rounds.
Thud thud thud thud!
Behemoth chased after Veronica, leaving its territory.
Behind it, the giant Gobang followed while carrying the nuclear warheads.
While the warhead installation was underway, Juhyeok summoned the stay-at-home alchemist, Aliamari.
Spot!
As always, Mari was summoned crouched low with her head bowed.
Her role was to stay inside the shelter, take out the defense-type homunculi, and prepare for any unforeseen danger.
But then—
Slide.
The summoned Mari quietly set several potion bottles down on the ground.
"These are?"
"Oh! Is it because of the radiation?"
Mari drew letters on the ground with her finger, scritch scritch.
Yes.
"Does it work?"
Scritch scritch.
It does. It purifies any kind of energy coming in from outside.
"How did you even know about radioactive material…?"
I've experienced a nuclear explosion before too. In another world—outside the Tower, of course.
Ah!
Right.
She had said there were many worlds similar to Earth's civilization.
"You drank it too, right, Mari?"
Scritch scritch.
I did.
To the Mad Demon and Kosak, who were standing nearby blankly—
"Have one bottle each. It blocks radioactive substances."
"So you've got tricks like this. Thanks, alchemist."
"What does it taste like? Strawberry would be nice."
Gulp gulp.
As for the roles of the Mad Demon and Kosak?
In case Behemoth somehow survived,
their mission was to finish it off completely—cut off its last breath.
Honestly, was that even possible?
How could it survive a nuclear explosion?
Still, you never know.
That's why the two strongest damage dealers among the summoned ones were kept close.
Pajuk! Pajujujuk!
Veronica continued her tireless luring operation.
Juhyeok kept waiting,
watching through binoculars,
until enough distance had been created.
A moment later—
Piyung! Pang!
The signal flare Veronica fired burst in the sky.
It was the sign that enough distance had been secured
and that the nuclear warheads had been installed near Behemoth.
Objective achieved.
Then—
"Dismiss summon: Veronica. Dismiss summon: Gobang."
Spot! Spot!
Sergeant Bae and Gobang also returned safely.
Clang!
Juhyeok opened the shelter door, entered together with the Mad Demon, Kosak, and Mari, then shut it.
Thud!
'Now, any moment…'
He took out the wireless detonation device.
Chrrrrrrrr.
The defensive homunculi above their heads appeared one after another.
Chachak! Chachachachak!
They spread densely throughout the inside of the shelter.
At the same time—
Swoong, swoong, swoong, swoong, swoong…
One shield barrier per homunculus.
They transformed into tiny soap-bubble-like forms.
Their role was shock absorption.
You could say the entire shelter was filled with cushioning material.
Truly perfect.
Layers upon layers—threefold, fourfold—of tightly wrapped protective barriers.
Jiiing.
Juhyeok activated his energy defense barrier as well,
and at the same time circulated the energy of Heaven–Earth Unity Art.
Detonate immediately.
Let's go! The people's nuclear fire flavor!
Click!
He pressed the detonator—
KWA-KWA-KWA-KWA-KWA-KWA-KWA-KWA-KWA-KWA—BOOOOM!!!
A nuclear explosion erupted with a terrifying roar.
The inside of the shelter shook violently.
Yet, no real impact could be felt.
Koo-kung! Drdrdrdrdr—
Meanwhile, right beside Juhyeok, Mari was trembling—shiver shiver.
'Is she scared?'
From behind, Juhyeok gently wrapped his arms around her.
Flinch!
Mari's body trembled even more intensely.
I've hugged a lot of people today.
Rajiks, Veronica—and now Mari too.
Thump-thump!
Her loud heartbeat echoed clearly.
It felt like a nuclear warhead had gone off inside Mari's heart.
In any case, inside the shelter,
Juhyeok, Mari, the Mad Demon, and Kosak were all perfectly fine.
Even though two tactical nuclear warheads—each stronger than the Hiroshima atomic bomb—had detonated.
The administrators had been watching the entire raid process in real time, from the very beginning.
From the moment Rajiks pulled a shovel out of his subspace backpack.
They were dumbfounded.
A shovel?
[What is that? Are they planning to beat Behemoth to death with a shovel?]
[They're digging.]
[Why are they digging?]
[Are they trying to make a trap or something?]
[Dropping an ultra-giant Behemoth into a trap? Haha. No way.]
Next came the concrete structure.
[A house?]
[Looks like they're planning a prolonged battle.]
[It's only two hours—what prolonged battle?]
[Anyway, that laborer really carries all sorts of things around.]
[He's more capable than expected.]
[Even so, he's still just a non-combat personnel.]
And then—
at last, the two nuclear warheads revealed themselves.
[Huh?]
[W-what?]
[… What is that?]
[It looks like… a nuclear weapon.]
[Why is that coming out of a backpack?]
[Who knows?]
It was a cheat.
The final tech tree of modern Earth's scientific weapons.
A powerful bomb that generates enormous energy through nuclear fission,
burning and destroying everything, even altering the shape of the terrain itself.
The administrators stared with their mouths agape.
Then they snapped back to their senses.
Because they finally realized what those people were trying to do.
Digging the ground, placing a concrete structure, one person luring Behemoth, another following with bombs in hand—
[On the 81st floor… a nuke?]
[S-stop them! We can't let them clear it like this! Take away the nuclear weapons!]
[U-um, th-that's not possible. We can't intervene during an active raid.]
[Then change the rules! Make it so nuclear fission can't occur in the Tower!!!]
[That would take a long time.]
[Stop talking and do something, anything.]
But it was already too late.
KWA-KWA-KWA-KWA-KWA-KWA-KWA-KWA-KWA-KWA—BOOOOM!!!
[We're screwed.]
On the 81st floor, across the vast grasslands,
enormous mushroom clouds rose into the sky.
Not one—but two of them.
[...…]
[...…]
[...…]
Everyone fell silent.
Did this even make sense?
A nuclear detonation inside the Tower?
It was absurd.
Of course curses came spilling out.
[You fucking—…!]
[...]
[Damn it!]
[Trial? A trial? You call this a trial? Fuck!!!]
What?
Break the summoner's mental state?
Instead, it was the administrators' minds that were collapsing.
They fell into panic.
Something utterly unimaginable had happened on the 81st floor.
All because of that beastman laborer.
[Haah… how could a mere laborer do this?]
[We focused only on the Mad Demon and Mari. Overlooking the abilities of the other summoned beings was our mistake.]
[Is there any way to restrain the abilities of the beastman laborer?]
[Th-that's impossible. We could change the Tower's rules, but…]
[...]
The administrators stood dumbfounded.
They had never seen such a deranged strategy before.
Kukukukuku.
The shockwaves gradually subsided.
So what happened to Bald Mountain?
I mean the ultra-giant monster, Titan Behemoth.
Was it still alive?
The Mad Demon opened the shelter hatch on the ceiling.
Whoosh!
Heat from the explosion poured in.
'This is bearable.'
Juhyeok and the others stepped out of the shelter.
They surveyed the area again with binoculars.
Far away, where Behemoth had been, there was nothing left.
Only two mushroom clouds remained in the distance.
'When is the clear message going to appear?'
It seemed the system was unable to make a judgment.
Well, it made sense—
there had never been a raid like this before.
At that very moment!
[Ultra-Giant Monster Titan Behemoth 1/1]
[You have succeeded in the 81st-floor mission.]
[Your level has increased.]
[Reward: 81 kg of High-Grade Magic Stones]
Oh! Finally, the mission success judgment.
Of course.
Whether you kill it with a nuke or stab it with a sword,
as long as Behemoth is dealt with, it's a success, right?
[Guaranteed reward is being distributed.]
Let's see?
[The soul release procedure of Hartmann, affiliated with the Tower, has begun.]
'Yes!'
[Hartmann's soul has been summoned to the 81st floor.]
Spot!
He appeared.
Hartmann—the same man who had been dying in chains on the 77th floor—now appeared on the 81st floor in a perfectly fine state.
Seeing him like this, it was obvious.
He looked exactly like Kosak.
"… Father?"
"Rian."
"Do you recognize me?"
"How could I not?"
"And… uh, th-this place is…"
Hartmann nodded with a warm smile.
"I understand everything now. That this place is the Tower, that I am a bound soul, that I will soon be freed—and everything you have done."
Then Hartmann looked at Juhyeok
and slowly bowed his head.
"Thank you."
A heartfelt expression of gratitude.
He stayed like that for quite some time.
After a moment, he lifted his head and looked at Kosak.
"Rian. Come here. Let me hold you."
Kosak walked over without a word.
Grab!
The two embraced each other tightly.
Ah…
Did something get in my eyes?
Radioactive fallout or something?
The tears just kept coming.
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