Among items, there are some that are prohibited from being taken overseas.
Usually tower materials like high-grade magic crystals, or runes and tickets that have a decisive impact on strategy, and tower reward items, and so on.
For now, it's the Rune Necklace of Liberation.
An item whose import and export are both prohibited.
Even mere possession is illegal.
The state bans it, but in reality they can't actually catch anyone.
Once a player puts it into their inventory, that's the end of it.
How are you supposed to find something that doesn't even get caught at airport security?
Transactions are simple as well.
Anytime, anywhere—meet up and take it out of the inventory, and it's done.
Of course, because bank records remain, people usually trade using coins or bearer bonds.
That's how Chinese-made Rune Necklaces of Liberation were spreading all over the world.
Japan was no exception.
The current tourism boom in Japan.
A black tower rising in the very center of Tokyo.
Taking a photo with the Tokyo skyline that includes the Black Tower and uploading it to social media spread like a fad.
The United States, Europe, Taiwan, China, Korea, and so on.
Countless tourists flocked to Japan to see the alien Black Tower in the city center.
Of course, among those tourists were players who secretly brought Rune Necklaces of Liberation hidden in their inventories.
A quiet bar in Ginza, Japan.
An old man sitting across from a rough-looking young man.
"It's here. Never been used even once."
A necklace placed on the table by the old man's hand.
"You're a player too, so you can check it, right?"
Nomura Daikinzo silently stared at the Rune Necklace of Liberation, then reached out to check its information.
For one hour, the player's abilities can be manifested even outside the tower, with a total of three uses.
"Is it Chinese-made?"
"Did you think it'd be Japanese-made? All Rune Necklaces of Liberation are Chinese."
Nomura is a yakuza.
At the same time, he is also a player.
And an unregistered one not listed in the national database.
Awakened while being a yakuza, he now manages a district of Shinjuku, Tokyo, as a leader.
"Do I have to return it after using it?"
"Not at all! As long as you complete the mission, the necklace is yours. Doesn't matter how many uses are left."
The mission was nothing other than a contract killing.
Just one person needed to die.
But the target was extremely tricky.
Almost impossible, really.
Even if one were to unleash their power.
Because the target was also a player.
And a very well-known one.
Someone you normally couldn't even approach.
"You know how hard it is to kill a player, right?"
"I do. Because they can run into the tower."
That's right.
No matter how dangerous the situation, they can just enter the tower.
Leaving you like a dog chasing a chicken, licking your fingers in frustration.
"But don't worry. We can tell whether the guy has used his daily entry chance or not."
Nomura pondered.
Killing a person wasn't difficult.
It was just that this wasn't an ordinary one.
"He might also have a Rune Necklace of Liberation."
"But isn't his level lower than yours?"
That was true.
The target's known level was 31 LV.
Meanwhile, Nomura's level was incomparably higher.
"Just succeed. We'll handle the cleanup. Then Shinjuku, Roppongi, Kabukicho, Asakusa—they'll be your territory. No, I'll hand over all of Tokyo to you."
"Hoo."
Honestly, Nomura was increasingly tempted.
It was difficult, but if he succeeded, the reward was certain.
The old man in front of him had the power to make it happen.
"What about a magic-sealing scroll? I heard that makes magic itself null."
"It's not in Japan yet."
"Are you sure?"
"Don't trust my word? Do you think we'd start something like this without doing prior research?"
Nomura nodded.
Right—he wasn't alone.
All he had to do was succeed.
They would take responsibility for everything after that.
"Fine. I'll do it."
"Kekekek, good thinking."
Contract accepted.
"We'll set the table. You just eat. How easy is that?"
"Understood."
Nomura didn't think for a moment that this job would fail.
Even if the target was wearing a Rune Necklace of Liberation like himself.
There was nearly a 30-level difference in base level.
There was no way he could fail.
The tower administrators know every single thing that happens in the tower.
Who climbed to which floor, whether a run succeeded or failed, and if it succeeded, what rewards were obtained.
Then what about outside the tower?
How do they grasp the real world?
The fastest way is to consume causality and read the consciousness of players who entered the tower.
They can't know every detail, but they can roughly grasp the major events currently happening outside the tower.
That's why, though very limited, they knew about the first Rune Necklace of Liberation incident in China.
An incident that began in Chongqing, China.
The death toll was over fifty.
Good.
At last, the seeds that were sown had sprouted.
Now a chain reaction would occur.
The Rune Necklace of Liberation was a kind of virus.
Once its effects were witnessed, no one could resist using it.
And indeed, that's what happened.
Starting from Chongqing, the use of Rune Necklaces of Liberation spread across all of China.
But then—
An engineer hesitantly reporting to the designer.
[ … Um, apparently something called a magic-sealing scroll has appeared.]
[Huh? What's that?]
[If we're not careful, the Rune Necklace of Liberation might be neutralized.]
What the hell?
[The Rune Necklace of Liberation is a tower item. It won't break until its usage period ends, and it also doesn't malfunction.]
[That is… … ]
The engineer continued explaining.
It doesn't interfere with how the Rune Necklace of Liberation works, but instead binds the magic manifested in the player's body afterward.
A summoner again.
It had to be his doing.
[How many are there? If there are only a few, isn't it just a tempest in a teacup?]
[They're printing them. They've entered mass-production.]
[ … ]
Right.
That had been overlooked for a moment.
Magical Alchemy Engineering.
That damn trinity.
[They say the scroll's effectiveness has been proven in the United States. They easily subdued players using Rune Necklaces of Liberation. Without a single casualty.]
[ … ]
Rage surged.
For every move made, countermeasures came out far too quickly.
It was impossible to respond.
What to do?
Should the plan be scrapped?
That damn summoner.
So infuriating his head felt like it might burn white-hot.
[Maker, push more Rune Necklaces of Liberation.]
[But the causality… ]
[Do as I say. … Let's take this all the way.]
Fine.
Let's do it.
We'll see who wins.
The world of souls.
The wish of the souls living there is to be chosen by a summoner and escape this wretched infinite prison.
And, furthermore, to achieve complete liberation from their binding contracts.
『Isn't the random summoning schedule coming up soon?』
『Feels like it already passed.』
『Then who went out?』
『Who knows. Ever since the White Tower appeared, anyone who leaves never comes back.』
『Still, they always made sure to brag before leaving. The ones before did, and that attention-seeking mage bastard did too.』
『I guarantee it—if anyone here had been summoned, they'd have asked the summoner's permission and come back here to lord it over us.』
『Now that you mention it, yeah. How could they resist that?』
『If I'd been summoned, I planned to brag at least three times before getting my residency ticket.』
『But the fact that it's quiet means… Hey! That's worrying. What if random summoning isn't happening?』
『No way.』
『Could it be those administrator bastards again?』
『Hoo… isn't there anyone who can tell us what's going on outside?』
The souls were extremely anxious.
Worrying that something might have happened to the summoner.
Former player Maeda, the Prime Minister of Japan, was on his way in a bulletproof official vehicle to attend a special lecture at the University of Tokyo.
There was nothing particularly special about the lecture's content.
The duties and rights of Japanese players, future plans for tower climbing, Japan's fourth industrial revolution based on new resources like high-grade magic crystals, and so on.
In the process, he planned to express concern over the Chinese incident and announce the decision to introduce magic-sealing scrolls from Korea.
But his head was already throbbing.
Just thinking about how right-wing groups would swarm like wild dogs over this announcement.
Relying on Korea again.
Magic-sealing scrolls aren't necessary.
The civic consciousness of the Japanese people is the best in the world.
There will be no accidents caused by Rune Necklaces of Liberation.
Instead, thoroughly inspect tourists entering from China or Korea.
However, Prime Minister Maeda decided to push through head-on.
The right-wingers would nitpick him no matter what anyway.
'Tch, still unable to escape the ghosts of the past.'
Some things must be acknowledged.
Japan's bubble had completely burst.
The country currently leading global Black Tower raids was Korea.
Did he like Korea?
Of course not.
They were just pretending to be friendly for strategic reasons.
Doing everything they could to prevent the collapse of the Tokyo Tower.
'Criticizing everything without knowing anything…'
That was when it happened.
Clunk!
The car suddenly stopped.
… Huh?
Maeda felt something was off.
Why?"
There was no way the vehicle carrying the Prime Minister would stop mid-operation—especially not on an elevated roadway.
A bad feeling crept in.
The driver, secretary, and guards were all sitting still, taking no action.
"Hey? What do you think you're doing right now?"
No response.
"Could this be…?"
Prime Minister Maeda's judgment was quick.
Why did he wear a Rune Necklace of Liberation in the first place?
Because he feared an unexpected situation might arise.
Just like now.
And so he instinctively murmured:
'Liberation.'
In that instant!
Grrrk!
The car's roof split apart.
Thud!
A black spear pierced straight inside.
Maeda reflexively slammed his body against the side door and leapt out of the car.
Crunch! Crash!
But then—
Twinge!
Pain flared from his shoulder.
Puh-puh-puh-puh-thunk!
Even outside the car, black spears relentlessly targeted Prime Minister Maeda.
Maeda rolled across the elevated highway to evade them.
Thud! Thunk! Puh-puh-puh-thunk!
Thankfully, his vital points were spared, but Maeda's entire body was stained red with blood from the spear attacks.
But he didn't just sit there and take it.
He immediately pulled out a longsword—a tower reward item—from his inventory.
Clang! Clang-clang!
Slash, slash!
He counterattacked while retreating, and only then did he finally see his opponent clearly.
He didn't know who it was.
A killer, most likely.
One who had activated a Rune Necklace of Liberation.
Maeda's attacks shredded the mysterious assailant's shirt into rags as well.
And on the man's chest was engraved a terrifying oni tattoo.
"… Yakuza?"
That wasn't a fashion tattoo.
It was definitely a yakuza tattoo.
The man curled his lips into a fishy grin and spoke.
"You lied about your level. You bastard Prime Minister."
Of course he lied.
As Prime Minister, his personal information was classified.
Maeda's publicly known level was 31—but his real level was 45.
"You think you'll get away with this?"
"Yeah. I'll be fine. As long as you die."
Flash!
The yakuza—no, the killer—lunged at Maeda in an instant.
Slash! Spurt-spurt-spurt-spurt!
Clang! Clang-clang-clang!
Driven back repeatedly by the savage long-spear attacks infused with magic power, Maeda retreated step by step.
It wasn't enough.
Both had activated Rune Necklaces of Liberation, but the bastard's level was higher.
What's more, the escort vehicles that had been following hadn't unloaded their guards.
Meaning this was a premeditated trap.
Nomura found it strange as well.
He had clearly inflicted fatal wounds, yet the man still hadn't collapsed.
The bleeding had even stopped, and the wounds were closing.
'He didn't even drink a healing potion… an item?'
One without the "tower-exclusive" designation?
That seemed to be the case.
As Maeda's belt flashed with a red glow, the wounds on his body healed.
"Damn it!"
Whoosh!
Nomura charged, spear in hand.
Maeda focused his mind to the extreme.
He had to dodge.
If he stayed here, he would die.
Step!
Twisting his body quickly, Prime Minister Maeda fled.
Endure.
Endure, and you live.
Even if the bastard's level was higher than his, he still had a way to endure.
His greatest treasure.
The belt he was wearing right now.
Thanks to it, he'd gained fourteen levels in a short time.
But where to run?
A crowded area would be best.
That's when he spotted it—the Black Tower rising in central Tokyo.
'There. I need to go there.'
His destination was the Tokyo Black Tower.
Tokyo's top tourist attraction.
Which meant the largest concentration of people.
Maeda ran frantically.
Nomura chased close behind.
White Tower, 17th floor.
Juhyeok was in the middle of a phone call with his younger brother, Minhyuk.
— Hyung! He was a spy?!
Haah, this little punk!
"I told you before. I'm on good terms with Chairman Kim."
— That's the problem! You shouldn't be close. Unification's still a long way off.
"Shut up! I'm hanging up!"
But then a call came in from his mother as well.
— Son, you're not meeting strange people these days, are you? I trust you… right?
"Haah!"
In the end, Commissioner Jeon Gwang-il stepped in.
"Yes, yes, ma'am. The government is fully aware of the situation. That's right. So there's no need to worry."
Thanks to that—
— I knew it. This man was trembling over some National Security Law violation, making a bigger fuss than our son.
That's right, Mom.
I've got your blood in me, after all.
Unlike Dad.
Sure enough, things got resolved once a high-ranking official stepped in.
"Thank you."
"Hahaha, it was nothing."
It was lucky Commissioner Jeon was nearby.
Well, he'd been dropping by whenever he had time lately anyway.
Since he was already here, they also talked about the large-scale plan for the 80th floor.
"If things go well, I think we might come up with a strategy for floors 81 and above—the giant-monster zone."
"… What? How?"
"It's hard to explain in detail, but you remember borrowing the holy sword for the undead zone, right?"
"Yes, of course."
"Similar to that, there's a weapon currently in development. If it succeeds, we might be able to take down giant monsters…"
"Oh."
"It's still just at the planning stage, so please don't mention it elsewhere."
"Ah, understood."
The bait had been dangled.
All that remained was for the magic engineer, El, to finish the improved magic firearm.
Then—
Ding!
A notification sound rang from Jeon Gwang-il's smartphone.
He checked the message, tilted his head, then tapped the YouTube link in the text—
And his eyes went wide in shock.
"Gasp!"
"What is it? Something happen?"
"Hmm."
He showed the smartphone to Juhyeok.
"Apparently, two liberated players are fighting in the city."
"Really? Where? China?"
"Japan."
Japan?
Juhyeok looked at the phone.
With the Tokyo Black Tower in the background.
A man in a suit wielding a longsword, and another wielding a long spear, grotesque tattoos flashing through his torn clothes.
"Wow! Look at that tattoo. Is he yakuza?"
"Probably…"
"But I've seen this guy somewhere before."
"That's Japan's Prime Minister—Prime Minister Maeda Kenji."
"Ohhh, the Japanese Prime Minister, the Prime Minister—… what?"
What the hell is this?
"The Japanese Prime Minister and a yakuza are fighting each other."
"… Is this an AI deepfake video?"
"No, it's real."
Unbelievable.
The Prime Minister and a yakuza?
The feeling was like—
King Kong vs. Godzilla.
Superman vs. Batman.
Alien vs. Predator.
Exactly like something straight out of a Japanese anime or live-action movie.
Except it was actually happening.
In the middle of Tokyo.
"X-idiots got into a fight."
To some, it was X-idiots.
"That belt the Japanese Prime Minister is wearing… it's a magic engineering item. And the latest version at that. It'd be nice to disassemble and study it."
To others, it was research material.
"It looks like an automatic potion injector. The item probably has a lowest-grade inventory magic formula engraved into it. It's not my specialty, but if we disassemble that belt, we could at least figure out the magic circuitry…"
Figures a Prime Minister would be carrying something good.
It'd be nice to borrow it later so magic engineer El could study it.
Anyway, all sorts of crazy things were happening.
So—who would win?
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