The prototype magic gun.
Even for Juhyeok, it was difficult to handle.
A gun's performance should be tested by someone who can actually shoot well.
So from the next floor onward, he left it to Sergeant Bae.
They only needed to see whether it worked.
She even weakened the mana output to match an ordinary player's level.
"Sergeant Veronica Caliber, I'll inject even less mana than the commander did."
The subsequent performance tests went as follows:
– 82nd floor: the giant serpent Apophis, using rotary saw-blade rounds.
– 83rd floor: the giant queen spider Arachroid, using wide-area incendiary rounds.
All were successful.
However, for ordinary players, it was still too much.
Some refinement would be necessary.
The operation was finicky, and users had to adapt to the vibration during mana injection and the recoil at firing.
No matter how much of a bullet-selling business it was, it still had to be usable with some effort.
In any case, all planned test firings of the magic gun were complete.
They had also confirmed the effects of each attribute-based round.
We can proceed with the rental business.
The method could be applied exactly the same way as when renting holy swords.
Players from each country would enter Korea and rent them through the Awakened Management Agency.
They'd receive the magic gun and ammunition, enter the Tower,
and return everything after finishing the raid.
But how much should I charge per bullet?
Honestly, he had already earned enough money.
Of course, more was always better—but this magic gun rental was meant to prevent Tower collapse, a matter of greater good.
Should I just charge at cost?
But the materials involved were no joke.
Special metals harvested from the Gigant, high-grade mana crystals, labor costs for their shut-in alchemist Mari, Mackenzie, and magitech engineer El…
Charging too cheaply wouldn't feel right.
He'd think it over slowly.
There was plenty of time.
After all, many countries still hadn't even cleared the 80th floor.
Besides, once enough mana-sealing scrolls were distributed and the Rune Necklace of Liberation issue died down…
Still, that's one less thing to worry about.
The giant-monster floors that were considered impossible to clear—
until now, the only option had been clearing other countries' Towers for them.
Now, simply renting out magic guns would suffice.
And so, today—
a total of three Tower climbs.
But he could still enter one more time.
Juhyeok decided to fill out a fourth.
The 84th floor.
A floor where superior mana ore veins existed.
Honestly, he wanted to see it.
He wanted to see where Rajiks had been mining superior mana and naturally occurring supreme mana.
So they entered the 84th floor, left Sergeant Bae, Gyeon-dallae, Mackenzie, and the Mad Demon to handle the Colossus Condor,
while Juhyeok went with Rajiks, Gobang, and Kosak to the icy cliff in the snowy field where the vein was hidden.
Rajiks rode on Gobang's shoulder.
Spapapat!
They finally arrived at the ice wall—and the hidden mine.
So this is it.
It was his first time here.
"Wow… what is all this?"
"I was shocked too the first time."
"It's dazzling."
Everything sparkled.
An enormous amount of mana crystals were embedded throughout the cave walls.
There was this much?
Soon after, Rajiks pulled out a matte platinum pickaxe from his subspace bag.
It looked like he was about to start mining.
So—what was LSSR-level mining like?
Rajiks raised the pickaxe high, swinging it back over his head.
Then—
"Hoe!"
Spit!
Crack!
Instead of striking the crystal-studded wall, he slammed the pickaxe into the ground.
"…Why?"
In that instant—
Crack-crack-crack—crrrrrrrrack!
A wave of energy burst out from the pickaxe, spreading in all directions.
Rattle-rattle-rattle!
The high-grade mana crystals embedded in the walls fell off on their own.
With a single swing, countless high-grade mana crystals carpeted the mine floor.
"Hoaaat!"
Ah!
The greatness of an LSSR miner.
Kosak picked up one particularly radiant stone and showed it to Juhyeok.
"Summoner Bong, look at this."
"Oh!"
It was naturally occurring supreme mana.
"This is a jackpot. Just this one alone must weigh over three kilograms."
Worth three permanent residence permits on White Tower Floor 17.
Or three shots of Sergeant Bae's sub-light-speed rounds.
"Such a precious thing—"
At that moment—
Shushushut! Shushushushushut!
"Huh?"
What was that sound?
He turned toward it.
It was Rajiks.
He was sweeping up the superior mana scattered across the floor.
How?
He simply stretched one hand forward, and the mana stones on the cave floor flew whoosh-whoosh straight into his subspace bag.
Shushushut! Shushushushushut!
Even the supreme mana Kosak was holding—
"Damn. Remote storage."
That's right.
He could now store items into subspace from a distance.
Before, Rajiks had needed direct contact.
This is insane.
Now they went in nonstop, even without touching.
This is like…
Only now did Juhyeok realize the secret behind LSSR Rajiks's cleaning prowess.
He had just watched him clean earlier.
Since Rajiks was always good at cleaning, he hadn't thought much of it.
He was sucking up dust and trash into subspace like this.
A vacuum cleaner.
Not indiscriminately sucking up everything, but selectively absorbing only what he wanted into subspace.
Then he could sort out the dust and trash later and dump them elsewhere.
Cleaning became trivial.
Juhyeok felt pleased.
He'd always felt bad watching Rajiks clean so diligently—
now that he knew Rajiks was doing it comfortably, it made him happy.
In the early days of Tower climbing, players' circumstances weren't very good.
Inside the Tower, they were superhumans wielding mana and slaying monsters.
But in reality, they were no different from ordinary people.
So they often became targets of crime.
To the point people said more players died outside the Tower than inside it.
But as governments actively stepped in to protect players, things changed.
Legal and institutional protections were established for them.
Among them, especially talented players were carefully managed directly by governments.
Guaranteed salaries, safe housing, personal guards.
The same applied to ordinary players.
Weren't they industrial workers bringing back a new resource—mana crystals?
They weren't as valued as state-sponsored players, but sufficient protections were put in place for them too.
However, the Rune Necklace of Liberation was a dangerous item that could nullify all those protections.
Once players were perceived as enemies of society, no one knew what might happen.
That was why governments around the world were desperate to secure mana-sealing scrolls.
The scrolls began to be distributed first to government agencies—
police stations, substations, fire departments…
Not only in South Korea, but also in North Korea.
Especially in regions bordering China.
Aside from China, things were still quiet.
For now, it was only happening inside China.
But there was one overlooked fact.
Players of a given nationality didn't have to physically be in their home country to enter their Tower.
For example, even if a player lived in the United States,
if their status window nationality was Chinese, they entered the Chinese Black Tower.
People knew this.
That was why border closures or banning Chinese nationals had little effect.
Eventually, the first Rune Necklace of Liberation incident outside China occurred.
In the United States.
A Chinese international student player studying in the U.S. on a student visa.
A fight broke out on a university campus.
It started as a simple argument, but as usual, escalated into a racial incident.
The Chinese student player possessed a Rune Necklace of Liberation—
an item he had received as rewards from occasionally entering the Chinese Tower while living abroad.
When the argument turned physical, the student immediately activated the necklace's effect.
However, he had no intention of killing anyone.
That was normal.
Players, after all, were ordinary people too.
Killing monsters was one thing—killing people was another.
The student's specialty was magic.
After liberating his power with the necklace, he went on a rampage in the dormitory, firing off fireballs.
American police responded immediately.
They tore a mana-sealing scroll, drained his power,
then subdued him lightly with a taser gun.
Run into the Tower?
It wouldn't matter anyway.
They could just wait until he came out.
The Chinese international student player who caused the incident was immediately detained in a player-only prison on charges of property damage and arson.
There were no casualties.
No deaths, no injuries.
Minister MacMillan and Director Antonio were extremely satisfied.
"That was close. What would've happened if we didn't have the scroll?"
"What else? There would've been a shootout. The liberated player would've resisted to the end."
Exactly.
Casualties would have been unavoidable.
A liberated villain firing fireballs—police would've opened fire immediately.
"Make sure you know this was all thanks to me."
"All of a sudden?"
"I moved fast and secured the scrolls early."
"Ah… right…"
"We were first with holy sword rentals too, weren't we? And the 80th-floor Dream Resistance Kit."
"That one was actually my initiative—"
"But I'm the one who got the budget through the White House."
Antonio snorted at MacMillan's self-praise.
"From now on, just keep an eye on Korea. If they try anything, raise your hand first. We'll do it together."
"Yes, of course."
Both MacMillan and Antonio knew.
All of this was thanks to the world's strongest player, Bong Juhyeok.
"Why don't you give Mr. Bong a thank-you call?"
"I tried. He didn't answer."
"Then at least call Director Jeon—"
"Already did."
In any case, the incident was neatly resolved.
What remained was—
"So what do we do with that student?"
"The investigation found that racial harassment was a major factor."
"Hmph."
"He'd been bullied regularly for being Chinese."
"Damn racists."
"Mitigating circumstances should be considered."
Mitigating circumstances.
Something to think about.
Even after liberating his power, the student player hadn't directly harmed anyone.
He only displayed force.
There was even evidence he waited for people to evacuate the dorm before rampaging.
That was why the charges were limited to property damage and arson.
"Should we naturalize him as an American?"
"…Huh? He's a liberated villain player."
"He made a mistake at first, but he didn't actually use skills on people. He seems to have self-control. We can manage him. Sending him back to China would be a death sentence."
MacMillan nodded.
"There's publicity value too. We can show that mana-sealing scrolls resolve problems peacefully."
"I'll reach out to him."
Thus, the American incident concluded as the first case of peacefully subduing a liberated villain player.
The White House promoted it heavily.
The entire arrest process, clearly captured on CCTV, was released worldwide.
The real effect of the Mana-Sealing Scroll was now unmistakable.
China could only stand there in shock.
They subdued him that easily?
米
With the magic gun performance tests complete,
and mass production of the mana-sealing scrolls in full swing,
the printing factory ran smoothly even without interference.
The only work left for the summoned beings was supplying special scroll paper and mana ink.
Even that could now be done in bulk, since Rajiks had returned.
Juhyeok went alone with Kosak to the Pyongyang Presidential Palace
to meet Chairman Kim In-jung.
They planned to start full-scale business operations in North Korea.
At the very least, he should meet in person and say a few words.
It wasn't uncomfortable.
They already knew each other, and Kim In-jung was one of the few who clearly knew Juhyeok's identity.
"You've made a wise choice. One warm word from the master makes the servant dance."
"…He's still the supreme leader of North Korea. Calling him a servant is a bit much."
"You spared the man who tried to kill you. That's a promotion if anything."
Upon arrival, they met Chairman Kim In-jung, who was stiff with tension.
"Th-the greatest player comrade, w-welcome."
"It's been a while. I'm always grateful that you allowed us to build factories in North Korea."
"N-no, not at all. Use anything you like. I'll even vacate the presidential palace if needed."
"Oh come on, the palace—maybe after reunification."
"W-we'll complete reunification swiftly!"
Hmm.
Why had such a nice person caused trouble before?
Launching missiles and all that.
Juhyeok sat on the sofa.
Behind him stood Kosak, hands clasped politely.
"Kosak, you should sit too."
"Much obliged, but I'm fine standing. Hehehe."
Chairman Kim grew even more nervous.
Seeing the terrifying Minister of the People's Armed Forces fawning like that—
I need to be careful.
One wrong word and he could lose his head.
"Ah, by the way. While touring the Pyongyang Black Tower factory, I noticed something."
"Please speak."
"We're short on labor. We'll need more people going forward."
"Do not worry. I've issued a full mobilization order."
"No, that won't be necessary. How about bringing soldiers from frontline DMZ units to work gradually—"
"Ah!"
"I'll hire them all. At Korean-standard wages."
Why DMZ soldiers?
There's no reason for war.
"A brilliant idea, greatest player comrade! I'll act immediately."
Labor problem solved.
"I always feel indebted… if there's anything you want, just say it."
"Nothing. My only wish is to live a long life."
"Haha, you will."
"R-really?"
"Of course. Unless you suddenly fall ill."
Gulp.
Kim In-jung swallowed dryly.
A warning.
Fail to stay in line, and he'd be eliminated.
A "sudden illness" could only mean one thing—
heart attack, stroke—fatal conditions.
A frightening man.
Cruelty hidden behind a gentle face.
And behind him stood the Minister of the People's Armed Forces, staring coldly without expression—
a silent message that any funny business meant instant death.
"I-I will work diligently with selfless devotion."
"Haha. I look forward to our cooperation."
Kim In-jung jumped up, raising both arms.
"Juhyeok man—"
"Wait."
"Yes?"
"Don't do that."
No "Juhyeok manse."
Just hearing it made his skin crawl.
Kosak, on the other hand, looked disappointed.
Still, it ended well.
No matter how cooperative, talking face-to-face with North Korea's supreme leader was no easy task.
At least some goodwill had been exchanged.
"Then I'll be going—"
At that moment!
Bzzzt.
Juhyeok's smartphone rang.
Who is it?
It was his father, Bong Su-cheol—
on a video call.
South and North Korea had long been connected through communication networks,
ever since the Pyongyang branch of the Korean Awakened Management Agency was established.
North Korean players could freely use SNS and online forums.
"I'll take this call for a moment."
After excusing himself—
"Yes, Dad. What's up?"
—Just calling to see your face… everything okay? The world's been chaotic lately with all this liberation business.
He must be worried because of the China incident.
In the end, the only people who truly worried about him were family.
Well—aside from the summoned beings.
"I'm fine. Who do you think I am? Your son. If something's dangerous, I don't even go near it."
—I know, but still… where are you right now?
"In Pyongyang, North Korea."
—…What?
"I'm at the Presidential Palace meeting Chairman Kim In-jung."
On the screen, Bong Su-cheol's face went blank.
—That's impossible.
Juhyeok turned the phone to show Kim In-jung's face.
"Elder comrade! I am Kim In-jung. Pleased to meet you."
—Gah!
Bong Su-cheol nearly jumped out of his skin, then stammered—
—T-treason… v-violation of the National Security Act…
"…What?"
What treason?
Click.
The call ended.
It seemed his father was extremely shocked.
Well, Chairman Kim wasn't exactly an ordinary person.
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