Juhyeok continued waiting for Rajiks in the White Tower.
All the summoned beings had gone out to the Pyongyang Black Tower site.
They said the order volume had piled up,
that there weren't enough hands,
that mass production of the Bracelet of Escape from Obesity had to be rushed.
It got to the point that even Mari—the shut-in alchemist with severe social anxiety—had been dragged out
to make chemicals for treating scroll paper and inks.
Spending time alone was fine.
He'd done it plenty in the past.
And as he waited like this—
Spot!
Director Jeon Gwang-il showed up.
"Welcome, Director."
"Oh, you're alone."
"Everyone's gone."
"Huh? Um—where to?"
"To the Pyongyang factory."
"…Ah."
They chatted for a while.
"We ran an experiment using another Rune Necklace of Liberation."
"What kind of experiment?"
"Resistance testing on high-level players."
The scroll had its limits.
The higher the mana, the stronger the resistance.
"Even players in the 70-level range experience the same mana-sealing effect. But the duration is shorter."
Compared to players in the 50s, it was less than half.
A twenty-level gap was enormous, after all.
Mackenzie had mentioned it before—
that S-class Awakened, 7-circle mages, and top-tier sword experts could ignore scroll magic.
"Even at the same level, it varies by individual."
"Is it talent?"
"Probably."
Time passed with idle conversation.
Jeon Gwang-il left again for work.
Juhyeok was alone again, waiting for Rajiks.
But when would that building light up?
It's peaceful, which is nice… but…
He was starting to get sleepy.
He nodded off, opened his eyes again,
and spent time drifting by—
Then, suddenly!
Hwaaaaaa!
"Oh!!!"
Juhyeok sprang up from his chair.
Light.
The top of the landmark building shone like a lighthouse.
"It's coming!!!"
Spapapat!
Juhyeok hurried to the building lobby.
It was descending.
The elevator was slowly coming down from the landmark's summit.
Why was it so damn slow?
Hurry up already.
Back when Rajiks was SSR, the Universe All-Purpose Laborer catalog entry had read:
A perfect description.
Loyal by default, more reliable than anyone, capable of anything, and a genius.
Then what would LSSR Rajiks be like?
"Hurry down. Hurry."
Wiiiiing!
Almost there.
And finally—
Ding!
The arrival chime rang.
Shrrrk.
The doors opened.
"Hoaa!!!"
A clear, refreshing hamster's mighty roar.
It was Rajiks.
"You're here!!!"
Rajiks saw Juhyeok too.
"Mr. Rajiks!"
The moment he saw him, Rajiks rolled over with momentum,
then boing! sprang up into the air in front of Juhyeok—
Whiriririt!
"Whoa!"
Spin—spin—spin!
Like a gymnast, he did five midair somersaults—
"Horat!"
Chak!
One knee to the ground, one hand on the floor, the other stretched back—
a hero landing.
"Oh my—our Universe Laborer!!!"
Grab!
"Hweht?"
Juhyeok pulled Rajiks into a tight hug and rubbed his face against him.
"Hweht! Huaaat!"
"Do you know how much I missed you?"
Only after fully satisfying himself did Juhyeok finally let go.
"Huaaa…"
"Hahahaha!"
Now he could see Rajiks properly.
There weren't major changes in appearance.
Even fluffier, glossier fur.
The same round head and body, stubby limbs.
If anything, he looked even cuter.
But the safety helmet had changed.
It used to be gold—now it was silvery white.
Not silver.
Matte, with a dignified sheen.
Wait… could this be…
Platinum.
Yes. Exactly like platinum.
Did he upgrade from gold tools to platinum tools?
What about the info?
Breakthrough success?
Name: Rajiks
– Grade: LSSR (Legend Special Super Rare)
Dimensional grand master!
Then that makes him… a Dimensional Laborer!
"Wait here a moment."
"Hoa?"
"I'll call you in a bit."
He couldn't enjoy this joy alone.
He had to tell everyone.
Juhyeok rushed outside and entered the Tower,
then used the Tower Exit Ring to jump to the Pyongyang Black Tower.
"Summoner Bong, you've arrived!"
"You didn't need to come out,"
"We'll handle all the work. The summoner should rest."
"Since you're here anyway, let's have a drink of Taedong River wild-berry liquor."
Kosak scolded the Mad Demon.
"Old man, all you think about is booze whenever you get a chance? Do some work. Our shut-in alchemist is stuck alone in that building making ink and can't even enjoy her tablet hobbies."
"Kh-hm!"
Juhyeok grinned.
"There's someone I want to introduce."
"Who…?"
"Someone I like."
"Eh? D-don't tell me—it's your girlfriend?"
"A joyous occasion! The Bong family line can continue!"
"…Don't tell me it's Jinsuk. Dating is fine, but marriage is a no."
What are you even saying?
"She's not my girlfriend."
"Huh?"
"I'll call him."
He took a deep breath.
"Rajiks, designated summon!"
The summoned beings jumped in surprise.
"Eh?"
"Gasp!"
"Oh!"
"Ah…"
"Already?"
Rajiks? The real Rajiks?
And then—spot!
"Hoaaat!!!"
A fluffy ball of fur appeared, both hands raised.
"He's here!"
"Hoa—hoaeeeng!!!"
"Hoeng, manse!"
"He's not Hoeng anymore. He's Hoa-at now. His vocabulary's improved."
"Hahaha, welcome."
"My, I can't help but admire him. Such a dependable presence."
"Chief Supply Commander Veronica Caliber, reporting! Victory assured!"
Even the Blood Wolf, assigned as a guard dog for the Pyongyang Black Tower printing plant, rushed over.
"Grr-grr-grr!"
Tail spinning like a propeller, it charged at Rajiks.
"Hui?"
"Keee-ing!"
Lick, lick!
The Blood Wolf enthusiastically licked Rajiks's face.
"Alright, what're you doing? Time for a cheering toss."
And so Rajiks was flung high into the sky above the Pyongyang Black Tower.
"Horarararot!"
Our Dimensional Laborer wasn't scared of being tossed anymore.
He was enjoying it.
Spinning and flipping in the air.
Which raised the question—
how much had his actual abilities improved?
Even as SSR, rule-breaker Rajiks had terrified ordinary LSSR units.
Juhyeok was burning with curiosity, but—
What's the rush?
He could find out slowly.
Delicious things were meant to be savored.
White Tower, 17th floor.
A welcome celebration for Dimensional Laborer Rajiks.
All summoned beings attended, and even CEO Jeong Dong-hun was invited.
"Mr. Jeong, welcome. Has your magic improved much?"
"T-thanks to you, Master…"
Director Jeon Gwang-il couldn't miss this either.
He paused his work and came to the White Tower at Juhyeok's call.
"Oh! Director Jeon, I saw the press conference. Your eloquence was impressive."
"I heard it too! Our Awakened Management Agency stands with players! Incredible."
"Indeed, someone worthy of great deeds."
Jeong Dong-hun and Jeon Gwang-il congratulated Rajiks on his breakthrough.
They'd even prepared gifts.
Jeong Dong-hun handed one to Rajiks.
"Founder, this was custom-made. It should fit perfectly."
"Hua?"
Sunglasses perfectly sized for Rajiks's face,
with chains on the arms so they wouldn't slip off.
"Oooh! Charisma!"
"Hoeng!"
"He looks like a special secret agent."
"Hoa?"
"It suits the Chief Supply Commander perfectly."
Ding!
Rajiks puffed out his chest with pride.
Mackenzie cast a special spotlight spell on him.
Rajiks strutted around, shoulders raised.
The spotlight followed him, fireworks bursting overhead.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
"Hoaaaat!"
Rajiks shouted confidently, utterly satisfied.
"That's the walk of an LSSR."
"I'm so pleased I want to hug him."
"The helmet looks great too."
"Yeah, gold was too gaudy. Platinum's classier."
Let's prepare the party.
Chairs and tables first—
But suddenly, Rajiks raised a hand.
Pababababak!
In an instant, tables and chairs appeared,
with fully prepared dishes already set on top.
"Wow!"
"One-touch table setup!"
"This is what LSSR means!!!"
The feast continued noisily.
Rajiks rolling around, Mage Bae singing, Gyeon-dallae dancing—
And after the celebration ended,
what was the Dimensional Laborer's first task?
Cleaning, of course.
While Rajiks was gone breaking through, the 17th floor had become a mess.
He cleaned the residential area,
then the landmark building, the roads, the warehouses—
Last was magitech engineer El's workshop.
The dirtiest place of all.
"Huaaa-wa?"
After staring in shock at what looked like a landfill—
Roll, wipe. Roll, scrub.
He worked diligently.
And it didn't even take long.
One pass—clean.
Shine!
Even a gloss remained where he'd passed.
Truly the cleaning skills of an LSSR laborer.
Juhyeok found himself absorbed, watching Rajiks clean.
It was satisfying—
watching filthy chaos transform into neatly ordered space.
This is what healing feels like.
Even the magitech engineer El was standing there absentmindedly, holding a strange rod-like object.
A rod?
Why was he holding that?
Probably because he was afraid Rajiks might mistake it for trash and throw it away, so he kept it in his hands.
Wait.
That thing looks familiar.
Is that… a magic gun?
That's right.
It was a magic gun.
It looked similar to the one Sergeant Bae used back in the SR days—an old-model magic gun.
"El, is that a magic gun by any chance?"
"Yes. I made it for giant monster raids."
It was a loaner magic gun.
He'd mentioned before that he was planning to make one so other players could challenge the 81st floor.
"This is an early prototype."
"Does it use mana crystal bullets as well?"
"No. The ammunition is specially made."
As he said that, he opened a wooden box in the corner of the workshop.
…
"These are the bullets. The attribute applied differs depending on the type of monster."
"Oh!"
"This one is a delayed-penetration drill round magic gun—specialized for the 81st-floor Behemoth. It burrows into the body and detonates inside."
What about the 82nd floor?
"Floor 82 uses rotary saw-blade rounds. Apophis's hide is relatively weak in certain areas. The bullets are small, but the rotation shreds it."
And the 83rd?
"Wide-area incendiary rounds. Special bullets enchanted with fire-element magic by Mackenzie. We burn everything."
Floor 83 had the queen spider and her brood, so burning them made sense.
In any case, there were three types of bullets in the box.
"We haven't finished research yet, so we haven't made it, but for the 84th-floor Colossus Condor, we plan to use venomous stinger rounds."
Venom, huh.
With an alchemist around, making poison wouldn't be hard.
"Could you handle the 85th floor too?"
"Yes. I'm thinking of making EMP bombs in bullet form."
As expected of a magitech engineer.
He'd already whipped up three types of elemental ammunition.
"The special metals, components, and mana circuits we obtained from the Gigant helped a lot. Honestly, without Rajiks, it would have taken far longer."
He was humble too.
"Mind if I try holding the magic gun?"
"By all means. But it's a prototype, so it's very lacking."
It felt quite heavy when he picked it up.
"There's no guidance function. Adding that would take an enormous amount of time."
It stirred memories.
His difficult days in the military came back to him.
What was Juhyeok's military service like?
Surprisingly decent.
Thanks to years of survival instinct, his ability to read the room was well honed.
He had an exceptional sense for such things.
"Can I try firing it?"
"Yes, I'll set up a target."
"Let's not use a target—let's fire it in actual combat. Starting from the 81st floor."
Should he gather everyone?
A Tower raid after a long time.
The goal: a live test of the prototype magic gun.
Juhyeok assembled the summoned beings.
Did they need a lot of people just to test a prototype?
Only the necessary ones.
The rest stayed behind to guard the Pyongyang Black Tower factory.
Kosak, Gobang, the Mad Demon, Sergeant Bae, Mackenzie, Gyeon-dallae, magitech engineer El—and Rajiks.
[Entering the Republic of Korea Black Tower (NO.1), Floor 81.]
Mission accepted.
[Floor 81 Mission: Defeat 1 giant monster, Behemoth.]
[Time Limit: 15 hours]
A massive bear-like creature.
A quadrupedal giant land monster.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
The ground shook with every step it took.
It was huge—no matter how many times you saw it.
Should he try hitting it?
"Do you have any experience using a magic gun?"
"Don't you just aim and pull the trigger?"
El nodded.
"That's correct. However, magic guns are fired using the user's mana. The total mana output affects the power as well. If you grip the handle and inject mana—"
Ah.
So you needed mana.
That's why it was called a magic gun.
"You'll probably find it hard to hit. It's fine if you miss—"
Kosak suddenly cut in.
"Hey now, are you underestimating our military-trained Summoner Bong?"
That's right.
Who do you think you're looking at—this proud, discharged Korean serviceman?
That thing was huge.
It felt like even a rough shot would hit.
"He's Private First Class Bong, known for perfect accuracy! Didn't he even get a reward leave for marksmanship?"
"Hoa?"
…
Why make things up?
That just adds pressure.
Especially with Sergeant Bae's sparkling eyes watching.
Carefully aiming at the Behemoth,
he injected mana through the handle—
Ziiiiing.
Ugh.
Aiming alone was fine, but trying to inject mana at the same time made the barrel shake violently.
Still…
He put strength into his index finger.
Click!
Bajujujuk!!!
In that instant—
"Gah!"
A massive recoil.
The muzzle jerked sharply upward.
Shwaaaaak!
The delayed-penetration drill round tore through the air.
But it flew far past the Behemoth's head, shrinking into a distant dot.
It missed by such an absurd margin that the Behemoth didn't even realize it had been attacked.
It didn't even look this way.
"H-home run."
"…"
At Kosak's flippant comment, the summoned beings shot him a murderous glare.
Ahhh.
How embarrassing.
"That's…?"
Sergeant Bae immediately grilled El.
"You handed a weapon without proper zeroing to the commander?"
"She's right. The gun is at fault."
"Ridiculous. With the barrel shaking that much during mana injection, even I couldn't hit."
"At the very least, it needs a laser sight."
Even Kosak, who'd joked about a home run, quickly joined in.
"That Behemoth's at fault too. If the Summoner fires personally, shouldn't it shove its head into the shot?"
"I'll hold its head still."
"Hoat!!!"
El nodded calmly, expression unchanged.
"This is my fault. It's a defective product."
"As long as you know."
"An LSSR magitech engineer making such a gun and offending the summoner's feelings."
"El, conduct self-criticism! Otherwise I'll convene a people's tribunal under my authority!"
Please stop.
This is getting even more embarrassing.
"…I'll try once more."
Gulp.
He swallowed.
Aim, then inject mana.
Ziiiiiiing.
Drdrdrdrdr.
The magic gun vibrated violently.
It was hard to control.
Even as a level 86 player.
Gulp!
Focus. Focus harder.
He recalled training with a pebble balanced on the barrel.
Bajujujuk!!!
Shwaaaaak!
Paat!
Recoil again.
The round barely missed the Behemoth's head.
"Ah!"
"So close."
"It was the wind. The aim was correct."
"Huaaa…"
Wind, my ass.
What is this, a golf ball?
Still, it was better than before.
The Behemoth stopped moving and glared this way.
Should he keep shooting?
There was no quitting now.
This time, he'd hit.
He had his pride.
Hang in there, PFC Bong.
Ziiiiing!
Bajujujuk!
Shwaaaaak!
Thud!
"Gruik?"
This time, a direct hit to the Behemoth's torso.
That's it!
"I am Reserve PFC Bong Juhyeok!!!"
Then—
Boom!
A small explosion erupted inside the Behemoth's body.
Kweeeeeek!
The Behemoth screamed in pain.
Redemption!
"Deadshot Bong Snake!!!"
"You've got the zero now."
"Truly a sharpshooter."
"Hahaha, splendid."
Clap clap clap clap clap!
Whew. At least he saved face.
Suddenly, a thought.
What about Sergeant Bae?
"Want to try?"
"Sergeant Veronica Caliber, reporting. I'll try."
"The zero's off, so you might miss."
"That's fine."
Sergeant Bae took the prototype magic gun.
The enraged Behemoth was charging straight at them.
Boom boom boom boom!
She braced the gun against her shoulder.
No careful aiming.
Mana injection was instant.
The barrel didn't vibrate at all.
She fired immediately.
Ziiing!
Pashuk!
Recoil?
Negligible for her.
No wobble.
Thud!
The round struck the Behemoth squarely in the knee.
A moment later—
Boom!
Delayed detonation.
Thud!
The Behemoth collapsed.
The difference was clear.
She fired effortlessly.
She hit effortlessly.
"Well now, Sergeant Bae, you've got no sense."
"Wasted experience."
"Showing off your shooting skills?"
"Ever play soccer in the army? If your superior's the striker, you're supposed to miss on purpose."
Still, for most players, handling this magic gun would be difficult.
The vibration during mana injection made it hard to control,
and the recoil was brutal.
"I'll remake it."
El reflected seriously.
But Kosak said—
"It's fine. You made it well. Good job, magitech engineer."
"Why?"
"Wasn't it made to be loaned out to other players?"
That was true.
"Just sell ammo. If it doesn't hit well, more ammo gets sold."
A merchant mindset to the bone.
Still, Kosak was the only one worrying about my wallet.