After Rajiks's live Tokyo performance,
the Japanese Maeda Cabinet also managed to chalk up some achievements of its own.
The prime minister's desperate struggle—standing his ground against the yakuza villain player until the very end—
was broadcast vividly across Japan.
It struck a chord with the Japanese public, and his approval ratings rose.
The yakuza villain player who caused the incident was captured and thrown into prison.
Interrogations were scheduled to begin soon.
As a result, calls to import mana-sealing scrolls as quickly as possible gained momentum.
The Japanese ambassador to Korea met secretly with Commissioner Jeon Gwang-il of the Korean Awakened Management Agency.
He opened a laptop he had brought with him.
"The Prime Minister wishes to speak with you via video, Commissioner. He's currently unable to move freely."
After the assassination attempt, Prime Minister Maeda must have had a lot to deal with.
First and foremost, identifying those behind the plot.
Whether that would go smoothly was another matter.
"Yes, let's do that."
Using a video conferencing program in the commissioner's office,
Prime Minister Maeda and Jeon Gwang-il came face to face on screen.
The Japanese ambassador acted as interpreter.
— We need mana-sealing scrolls as soon as possible.
Maeda was still shaken by the incident.
He had survived by the skin of his teeth, but there was no guarantee something like this wouldn't happen again.
— We'll pay whatever it takes. Please just supply them to us.
Jeon Gwang-il showed reluctance.
"Sigh… I want to help, but these are being supplied sequentially to each country according to order."
The backlog was enormous as it was.
"If other countries find out Japan received priority supply, they'll be unhappy."
— We don't need many. Just enough for frontline officers—250,000 sheets would be enough.
Two hundred and fifty thousand.
That was an amount the Pyongyang printing workers could churn out with a day or two of overtime.
"Hmm. As you know, the Awakened Management Agency doesn't manufacture the mana-sealing scrolls."
— Ah!
"We only handle distribution. Of course, I can relay the Prime Minister's situation."
— Then please do convey it on my behalf.
Jeon Gwang-il didn't answer right away.
Instead, he simply looked steadily at Prime Minister Maeda through the screen.
For free?
If something goes out, something must come back.
It might seem petty to demand compensation,
but this was how normal transactions between nations worked.
Maeda realized it too.
What should he offer?
— If we double the price—
"Money isn't very meaningful. It's a matter of trust."
— Then… how about items? We'll offer national-grade items as compensation.
"…Items? Items, huh—ah!"
As if something had occurred to him,
Jeon Gwang-il pulled out a piece of equipment from his inventory
and held it up to the laptop camera.
"This belongs to you, doesn't it? It seems like a valuable item. I'll return it."
Maeda's eyes widened in shock.
That's right.
The belt—the potion auto-injector.
The item that some strange furball had snatched during the Tokyo Black Tower battle.
Why was it at the Awakened Management Agency…?
— Could it be?
Only now did he realize.
That furball must have been related to Korea's world-top player.
Come to think of it, he had heard that the top player's specialty involved summoning.
Then had the top player saved his life?
With a trembling voice—
— Please convey my gratitude to the Top Player. I will repay this kindness without fail.
— And you don't need to return that belt. Please keep it.
"No, we should return it. It's not ours."
In truth, the magitech engineer El had already dismantled it and finished her research.
What use was keeping it?
They could reproduce it anytime.
And with better performance.
"If you send someone over, we'll return the belt immediately."
Even with the item offered back, Jeon Gwang-il's reaction remained lukewarm.
Prime Minister Maeda grew desperate.
At last, he held up a sheet of paper to the camera.
— This is the list of items stored in the Cabinet's National Records Vault. Please choose whatever you want.
Jeon Gwang-il glanced at the screen.
Tsk, it was in Japanese.
If you're going to show it, at least translate it into Korean.
With no choice, he opened a translation app on his smartphone and scanned it with the camera.
Nothing special. If only there were a Trait Enhancement Rune.
Then—
Hm?
Something caught his eye.
They have that?
He recalled a past conversation with Player Bong.
They had discussed which items would be most useful to him.
Among the items Player Bong had mentioned—along with the Trait Enhancement Rune—
there was one that easily ranked in the top five.
Skill Cooldown Reset Ticket.
An item that removes the cooldown of trait skills or combat skills that have reuse timers.
Jeon Gwang-il casually mentioned the item from the list.
"A Skill Cooldown Reset Ticket. That's quite an interesting item."
He didn't openly ask for it.
— W-we'll give it to you.
They understood perfectly.
And so, a few days later,
250,000 carefully packaged mana-sealing scrolls were loaded onto a ferry and shipped from Busan Port to Fukuoka Port.
At the same time, the Prime Minister's closest secretary departed for Korea, carrying the Skill Cooldown Reset Ticket.
The World of Souls.
Jephet arrived for his once-a-day shift as a dispatched agent.
『Greetings. I've come again today.』
『He's here!!!』
『The vampire's back? We were waiting!』
『Why so late today?』
『Hurry up and tell us—what's happening now?』
Jephet felt proud.
On the 17th floor of the White Tower, he had been a summoned being with no presence, overshadowed even by blood wolves.
But here, he was incredibly popular.
Yes.
This was it.
A dispatch assignment was bliss.
『The Summoner has decided to climb the upper floors to collect materials for elixir production.』
『Which floor?』
『The 86th floor.』
『Gasp! Good heavens! Already that far?』
『What about the monster? On the 86th floor, it won't be ordinary.』
『A Superheated Cataclysm Phoenix.』
『What?!』
『That's insane!』
『What's the big deal?』
『Think of it as the Vermilion Bird from your world.』
『One of the Four Divine Beasts guarding the south? This is serious.』
『In my world too, phoenixes were national-disaster-level monsters.』
『Without a Silver Dragon's Ice Breath or a 9th-circle ultimate freezing spell, it'd be tough.』
『Is there nothing like the Ice Crystal of the Northern Sea Ice Palace?』
『What kind of strategy does the Summoner have?』
The World of Souls erupted into chatter.
So Jephet explained the plan.
『Hahaha, hahahaha!』
『…I'm at a loss for words.』
『I already knew when they used a nuclear weapon.』
『A firefighting strategy, huh. If it's Earth's chemical technology, it might work.』
『Of course it'll work. Just look at nuclear weapons. Is there anything that can withstand a nuke? When Earth's science is applied in the Tower, it's unstoppable.』
『Spraying extinguishing agents and liquid nitrogen inside the Tower… incredible. Just imagining it is thrilling.』
『I really want to go out and meet that beastman laborer named Rajiks.』
『Me too. What a dream team. If only I could be part of it—』
『Standing right beside the Summoner is this lady's dream.』
『Come on, instead of this, let's cheer hard for our Summoner's success. Go!』
『Cha!』
『Go!』
『Cha!』
『Go!』
At the same time, denunciations of the new administrators poured out.
『Administrators, immediately cease your despicable schemes!』
『If you want to compete, do it inside the Tower! Stop fooling around outside!』
『If you're going to act like that, just quit!』
『Has causality collapsed, you bastards?!』
Once again, the World of Souls burned hot.
The 86th-floor firefighting operation.
They would show the phoenix the cold taste of Earth's firefighting technology.
Thirty chemical fire trucks, loaded with all kinds of extinguishing agents, were prepared on the 17th floor of the White Tower.
In addition, over a hundred large metal tanks
were filled to the brim with liquid nitrogen.
It cost a lot of money.
But that was exactly what money was for.
The donation to the Fire Agency too.
And that wasn't all.
The homebody alchemist Mari's potion-making abilities came into play.
First,
〈Flame Resistance Elixir, Crafted by the Sage〉
Effect: Greatly increases flame resistance for 10 hours upon consumption.
Each participant in the raid would drink one.
And then, offensive weapons capable of directly striking the phoenix—
〈Cold-Attribute Damage Potion, Crafted by the Sage〉
Effect: When thrown or directly injected, deals cold-attribute damage to the target.
These cold-damage potions were prepared in bulk.
To pour them into fire truck tanks?
No.
They were to be used as cold-potion injection bullets fired from Sister Veronica Caliber's magic gun.
Each bullet had even a lowest-grade inventory magic circuit applied.
Thanks to magitech engineer El dismantling and studying the potion auto-injector belt,
she had succeeded in researching the inventory magic circuit engraved on it.
An inventory magic circuit was similar to a player's inventory.
Earth-made substances like firefighting chemicals couldn't enter it.
Only items made from materials originating in the Tower could.
In other words—liquids like the cold-damage potion made by Mari.
Each bullet could contain a considerable amount of liquid.
If hit, the target would effectively be drenched in roughly 500 liters of potion.
Thus, all preparations were complete.
On the 17th floor of the White Tower, the departure ceremony was held.
The summoned beings participating in the raid numbered eleven:
Kosak, Gobang, Gyeondallae, Rajiks, Gwangma, Sister Veronica, Bardin, Mari, Diamat, Mackenzie, and El.
Among them, Rajiks wore a custom-made firefighter helmet and uniform crafted by CEO Jeong Dong-hun.
"Hoe?"
He looked extremely cute.
"Let's enter."
All equipment was stored in Rajiks's subspace backpack.
The summoned beings were called from the penthouse.
Enter.
[Entering Korea Black Tower (NO.1) 86th Floor.]
The Black Tower administrators heard the souls' clamor as well.
[Heh! Shout all you want.]
Causality?
Did they really think the administrators acted without understanding it?
Everything was within calculated tolerances.
It might be a bit excessive, but it wouldn't become a major problem.
Fools. Do you think I don't know the former administrators?
But then—
[Designer, the Earth Summoner has entered Korea's No.1 Tower, 86th floor.]
[What?]
That damned bastard.
He just keeps climbing without end.
At this rate, he'll hit the 90th floor in no time.
Wait—
[If it's the monster on the 86th floor…]
What was it again?
[The Hellfire Cataclysm Phoenix.]
That one?
[Among the Summoner's forces, is there a frost mage or any yin-cold Murim practitioner?]
[None. There is an alchemist, but at best that means cold potions.]
[Tsk.]
Then he won't clear it.
The Hellfire Cataclysm Phoenix is a top-tier fire elemental spirit.
On par with an Elemental King.
How are you supposed to extinguish that fire?
[This will fail.]
[High probability.]
[Project a hologram of Korea's No.1 Tower, 86th floor. I want to watch their failure with my own eyes.]
Perfect timing.
I'll relieve some stress while watching the Summoner crash and burn.
86th floor.
Mission: Defeat the Superheated Cataclysm Phoenix.
Strategy: Firefighting suppression.
A nuclear strategy worked—why wouldn't a firefighting strategy?
They would show the phoenix the spicy side of Earth's firefighting technology.
Why is the phoenix such a difficult calamity beast?
Because water alone cannot extinguish its flames.
At minimum, you'd need the authority of the Water Elemental King Elaheim.
Or the Ice Breath of a wyrm-class or higher Silver Dragon.
Alternatively, a 9th-circle ice mage pouring out wide-area spells like Blizzard, Frozen Storm, or Frost Nova.
Only then could you barely put it out.
But what if thirty chemical fire trucks sprayed extinguishing agents simultaneously?
The raid began by pulling the phoenix toward the fire trucks.
Naturally, Sister Veronica took on the role of pulling aggro.
Rajiks deployed thirty chemical fire trucks across the flat terrain.
Sss—sss—ssss—sss—ssss—
The formation was the Crane Wing Formation.
Magnificent.
Wasn't this the very formation Admiral Yi Sun-sin used to crush the Japanese invaders?
Lure the phoenix into the fire-truck Crane Wing, trap it, then unleash a synchronized volley.
Drench it completely in extinguishing agent.
This was the authority of Earth's firefighting science.
Extinguishing-agent breath.
Extinguishing-agent Blizzard.
"Summoner Bong, I still have thirty chemical fire trucks at my disposal. Fire safety at all times—sleeping or awake."
Get ready.
On top of that, Gyeondallae plastered talismans all over each fire truck.
Blessings upon the fire trucks!
Even performed a ritual prayer for good measure.
"Sister Veronica?"
"Sister Veronica Caliber, ready."
"Everyone to your positions!"
Each person took charge of two or three fire trucks, ready to fire immediately.
Sister Veronica completed the pull and regrouped.
Juhyeok himself took charge of three.
He could just use his homunculi.
In the distance stood the volcano.
The phoenix flapped its wings above the crater, likely its nest.
The heat was intense enough to be felt even from here.
Spot!
Sister Veronica advanced.
Papapapap!
She closed the distance in an instant with rapid forward movement.
Zzzzing!
She aimed her magic gun.
This wasn't her usual gun.
The latest model could fire ice bullets through elemental absorption—
But since there was no frost mage, elemental absorption wasn't possible.
So she used an older model that required pre-made ammunition.
She loaded cold-potion injection bullets.
Each bullet, enchanted with inventory magic circuits, held an enormous volume of cold liquid.
Pshhhk!
Sploosh!
The bullet struck the phoenix's body.
Paaht!
Its flames dimmed.
A hole briefly opened in the phoenix's flame body before quickly refilling with fire.
"Trrrrraaaaa!!!"
The Superheated Cataclysm Phoenix shrieked.
Whooosh!
It charged straight at Sister Veronica.
But she didn't panic.
She retreated slowly with tactical footwork.
Another shot.
Zzzzing!
Pshhhk!
Sploosh!
Paaht!
"Trrrrrk!"
The phoenix went berserk, flapping its wings wildly.
Retreat, reload, fire—pshhhk!
Retreat, reload, fire—pshhhk!
Retreat, reload, fire—pshhhk!
Aggro was secured.
The phoenix's attention was completely locked on Sister Veronica.
Just as it reached the center of the Crane Wing formation—
"Go!!!"
Juhyeok shouted.
All chemical fire trucks fired simultaneously.
Fwooooooosh!
An overwhelming torrent of extinguishing agent poured down on the phoenix.
These weren't hose-fired.
Each truck had mounted dispersal cannons—just aim and press the button.
"Drown it!!!"
About 100 liters per second per truck.
With 30 trucks, that was 3,000 liters per second.
The sky itself was swallowed by foam.
There was nowhere to escape.
Had it ever experienced anything like Earth's chemical substances?
Superheated Cataclysm?
So what?
"Don't stop! Keep firing!"
The phoenix struggled to rise, but the relentless barrage of extinguishing agent left it completely disoriented.
Then—
"Let's go, dimensional farmhand."
"Hoe!"
Mackenzie and Rajiks flew high into the sky using flight magic, positioning themselves above the phoenix.
Rajiks opened his subspace.
Ssssh!
"Hoet!"
Whoooosh!
A massive metal tank dropped directly onto the phoenix's head.
Tzpit! Tzipipipit!
Gwangma followed up with crescent-shaped sword aura slashes.
Rrrrrrip!
The tank was sliced apart just before touching the flames.
And at the same moment—
BOOOOOOM!
Liquid nitrogen gushed out in torrents.
Was it just one tank?
Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!
They kept falling.
Too many to count.
Each tank was sliced midair by Gwangma's aura, dumping enormous quantities of liquid nitrogen.
BOOOOM! BOOOOM! BOOOOM!
Even pure water would've gone out under this.
"It'll go out! But even extinguished fires must be checked again!!!"
The effect was exactly as expected.
"Trrr… trrrrk… trrrr…"
With chemical extinguishing agent and a liquid nitrogen shower—
Ding!
[Superheated Cataclysm Phoenix 1/1]
[86th floor mission completed.]
[Level up!]
[Reward: Phoenix Ash / Phoenix Feather]
[World Announcement: Black Tower NO.1 (Korea) has achieved S+++ rank on the 86th floor.]
[S+++ Clear Reward: 2 Platinum Badges granted.]
The administrators were horrified.
They had never even imagined such a strategy.
[M-madmen!]
[How is that even possible?!]
[Using fire trucks on a phoenix?]
Fire trucks.
Did that make any sense?
Especially that laborer—
the hamster beastman, Rajiks.
[Isn't his very existence a violation of causality?]
[We shouldn't be the ones normalizing the Tower—the Summoner should!]
But their protests were meaningless.
No matter what, even administrators couldn't interfere with a summoned being's inherent skills.
The administrators' stress only continued to skyrocket.
READ MORE CHAPTERS HERE-https://pokemon-translation-2.myshopify.com/