The White Tower 17th Floor elevator.
We built it because Fairy Dallae's divination said it would be Great Fortune, but—
The cost was terrifying.
What? 10 kg of top-grade mana crystals for one round trip?
With the current market price, about 200,000 won per 100 g of refined mana metal,
and a ratio of 1 kg of top-grade mana crystals per 1 ton of refined mana metal—
That's about 200 million won per round trip?
They were really determined to skin us alive.
And it wasn't just about money.
Top-grade mana crystals were insanely valuable.
There were countless uses for them—things you never had enough of.
Permanent residence permits,
Veronica's near-light-speed rounds,
high-grade alchemical ingredients,
magitech item production…
Still, thanks to the achievement reward, one round trip was free.
We'd use it once.
If it really was amazing, maybe twice.
...
But what is that guy doing now…?
Shashat! Shashashat!
Kosak was performing flashy footwork in front of the elevator.
He pressed the external button, darted inside when the doors opened,
then blocked the doors from closing while standing in the middle,
and when they opened again, shashat!—he jumped back out.
"…Hey, what are you doing?"
"Safety inspection."
Ah.
Shashat! Shashashashat!
"So, is it safe?"
"So far, nothing's happened."
Seems fine, then.
He'd gone in and out repeatedly without issue.
Should I get on?
As Juhyeok moved toward the elevator, the summoned beings rushed in ahead of him.
"Hey, no cutting!"
"Sorry!"
"Let me go first!"
"I'm the elder."
"Ladies first."
"Ho-rat!"
These people, seriously!
So rude!
Of course, he knew why—they were worried something dangerous might happen to him.
In the end, he boarded last and took a look around.
It's spacious.
Like a freight elevator.
Probably enough room for over fifty people.
The interior looked exactly like a real elevator.
Mirrors, handrails, everything.
But on the wall with the floor buttons, there were only two:
17th floor and 1st floor.
Is the only place we can go the 1st floor?
At that moment—
I might run into other players.
Ding!
A message echoed in Juhyeok's mind.
[The elevator's current grade is Level 1.
Accordingly, the only unlocked White Tower floor is the 1st floor.]
Seriously, even elevators have grades?
[As the elevator grade increases, additional White Tower floors will be unlocked sequentially.]
What's so special that they had to lock the floors?
The 1st floor…
He'd always been curious about the other floors of the White Tower.
What were they connected to?
Juhyeok had been assigned a White Tower floor by the system—
the 17th floor connected to Earth.
If other floors worked the same way, then—
…they might be connected to other dimensions' players.
"…Should we not go?"
"Why?"
"I suddenly feel uneasy."
"Trust me. Whatever it is, I'll deal with it for you."
As if waiting for that cue, the other summoned beings chimed in.
"A warrior is the summoner's shield."
"This girl shall always guard the Young Master's side."
"Commander, VIP protection operation ready."
"Summoner, this old man—"
"I shall deploy absolute defense magic—"
"Light!"
"Ho-at!"
Ugh, so noisy.
I shouldn't have said anything.
He hurriedly pressed the 1st floor button.
[You have selected the 1st floor.]
[The current White Tower 1st floor has lost its owner.]
[Therefore, entry is permitted without the owner's consent.]
Ah!
So that's how it works.
Normally, you'd need permission to visit.
But what does it mean the owner "lost their rights"?
Did they die? Or were they stripped of ownership?
Just then—
Wooooong!
The elevator began to vibrate.
Shashashat!
Grrrrrk!
A terrifying pressure crushed down on their bodies.
"Rok!"
Ziiiiing!
Bardin's radiance flared, Mackenzie's barrier deployed, and talismans from Dallae clung to Juhyeok's body.
Shashashashash!
Drrrrrrrr!
It felt like his body was floating.
Then—
Whiing!
Ssssh.
Ding!
[The elevator has arrived at the 1st floor.]
We made it.
[Maximum stay duration: 24 hours.]
[If the stay duration is exceeded, you will be forcibly transported via the elevator.]
[The 1st floor owner is currently absent.]
[Therefore, the White Tower 17th floor owner is granted temporary ownership of the White Tower 1st floor for 24 hours.]
Meaning, for 24 hours, this place belonged to Juhyeok.
[The owner's companions have also been automatically registered as 1st floor residents. Valid for 24 hours.]
The summoned beings became temporary residents as well.
[Temporary White Tower 1st floor entry and exit skills have been registered for 24 hours.]
They even gave him skills.
Now I see why the round-trip cost was so expensive.
Srrrk!
The doors opened.
"…Wow."
"Holy—"
"Hmm."
"Oh!"
"Hahaha."
A city spread out before Juhyeok's eyes.
They were at the city's edge, the outskirts.
Low-rise buildings, no more than five stories, lined both sides of the road.
Between them ran streets, with communication towers and power plants visible.
Yes.
It was very similar—
to Juhyeok's White Tower 17th floor.
But people…
There didn't seem to be any.
A silent, desolate city.
Cars were scattered along the roads, coated in white dust—
no idea if they'd even start.
The city itself seemed quite small.
At most, about the size of a military parade ground.
"Is there really no one here?"
What about inside the buildings?
Quick on the draw, Kosak opened a door first.
Shashashat!
Veronica, Bardin, and Gobang followed.
"All clear. No one here."
"Veronica Caliber confirms safety."
"Light!!!"
Juhyeok entered as well.
Nothing.
Completely empty.
A chill ran down his spine.
He stepped back outside.
"Let's head deeper into the city."
"Yes!"
"The warrior will lead."
The inner city wasn't any different.
A bleak, lifeless atmosphere.
A city that had died from neglect.
"You don't sense any signs of life, right?"
"None. Not a single living aura registers in this old man's perception."
"…Yeah."
But then—
Shsh! Shashashat!
Kosak was causing a commotion ahead—
running into buildings, out again, up to rooftops, back down—
Even Mackenzie wasn't to be outdone, flying with 'Strict Guard' floating above his head,
then landing, ziiing! rushing to Juhyeok to cast barriers.
What is wrong with them?
There's a limit to overreacting.
The Mad Demon shook his head.
"Don't mind those fools. There's no need to understand them. You'll only waste your energy."
Veronica added—
"Should I shoot them?"
Click!
...
She looked serious.
"…Please don't. It would hurt."
Eventually, they reached a large plaza in the distance.
Same thing here.
No people—no traces of people having lived here at all.
Were they all dead?
Or were there never any to begin with?
They searched the entire city.
Nothing but buildings—like a movie set.
Then a memory flashed through Juhyeok's mind.
The message he'd heard upon arriving.
[Temporary White Tower 1st floor entry and exit skill registered for 24 hours.]
He checked his general skill list.
[General Skills: Tower Entry (4/day) / Tower-exclusive Inventory /
White Tower 17th Floor Entry & Exit (Unavailable) /
White Tower 1st Floor Entry & Exit (Valid for 24 hours)]
If there's no one inside, maybe there are people outside?
He had the skill.
"Shall we go outside?"
The summoned beings' expressions darkened.
They could enter the Black Tower together—but here, Juhyeok would have to go alone.
That was why, even on Earth, he couldn't enter the tower directly from the 17th floor.
He always exited to the penthouse first, summoned everyone, then entered.
If something happened while he was alone…
"Summoner, is it truly necessary to go outside?"
"The Mad Demon speaks wisely."
"That's right. Please don't go."
"Ho-e."
He understood their concern.
But his curiosity was unbearable.
What kind of world lay beyond the White Tower 1st floor?
Earth? Or another world?
What kind of people lived there?
"If it's dangerous, I'll come right back. Or summon you immediately."
"…Hmm."
"…Sigh."
What could possibly be dangerous?
"Then I'll just step out—"
"W-wait a moment."
Rustle.
Slap, slap, slap!
Dallae plastered talismans all over Juhyeok's body.
Ziiing!
Mackenzie deployed a barrier.
Magitech engineer El fastened a belt around Juhyeok's waist.
"I copied a belt we acquired earlier. It's an automatic potion injector. I've fully stocked it with healing potions."
This was bordering on overprotection.
I'm not a three-year-old kid, you know.
Still, he accepted it.
He knew they were worried.
"The moment you step out, call us. Anyone!"
Alright. Let's go.
Juhyeok spoke slowly and clearly.
"Exit White Tower 1st floor."
Spot!
Outside the 1st floor.
He was finally out.
"Where am I?"
It felt like a rooftop.
Anyway, should I summon someone?
"Mad Demon, designated summo—uh…"
Juhyeok stopped mid-sentence.
Because of what lay before his eyes.
"W-What is this…?"
What entered his field of vision was a gloomy sky.
Thick, pitch-dark clouds hung low.
But that wasn't why he was shocked.
Something was flying.
A lot of things.
Flap, flap.
"…My god!"
Wyverns and griffins flapped through the air in swarms, and higher still, a colossal beast—Colossus Condor—glided leisurely alongside ice hawks.
The sky was blackened by them.
Was this the Black Tower?
No way.
This was outside the White Tower's 1st floor.
The world connected to it.
Most likely—another dimension.
Suddenly!
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
The rooftop shook violently.
He stepped closer to the railing and looked down.
"Insane!"
Living beings moved through the ruined city below.
"Kyaaaah!"
"Kuuoooh!"
"Kraek!"
"Kiaaa!"
They were all monsters.
Goblins, orcs, basilisks, trolls, ogres… and behemoths.
Giant queen spiders had spun webs across entire blocks, and Apophis revealed its massive body from beneath the underground.
That wasn't all.
Zombies wandering the streets, ghouls, skeletons, dullahans, specters… death knights.
A grotesque horde of undead.
Only now did he realize it.
This was a world where the boundary between the Tower and reality had collapsed.
And this was just one region.
If the entire world looked like this—
"Hah…"
It was over.
Completely and utterly ruined.
Let's go back.
There was nothing more to see.
"Enter White Tower, 1st floor."
Spot!
"Summoner!!!"
"Haa… this girl was worried."
"Why didn't you summon us immediately?"
"Ah, my heart almost dropped into my stomach!"
Juhyeok told the summoned beings what he had seen outside.
Their expressions darkened.
The atmosphere grew heavy.
The world had fallen, and only the White Tower's 1st floor remained.
This place could not be destroyed.
Juhyeok had been told as much when he received the White Tower.
[It will never collapse. It exists permanently.]
What good was permanence
when the home world was gone?
It left a bitter taste.
If this was Earth's future… what then?
Then—
"Yong?"
Where did that one go now?
"Mr. Rajiks?"
Don't tell me—
"Has anyone seen Rajiks?"
"…Huh? He was right there a moment ago."
"Looks like he went into that building."
"Ah!"
A rather old-fashioned building stood at the front of the plaza.
Tsfit!
Juhyeok rushed inside, the others following close behind.
The interior looked like a government service office lobby.
Where did he go?
"Mr. Rajiks!!!"
"Hoe!"
Upstairs?
They went up the stairs and found him.
"Good grief, wandering off by yourself again!"
At the end of the hallway, Rajiks was trembling, pointing into a room with his tiny hand.
"I told you not to do that… huh? Ah!"
What Rajiks was pointing at was a person.
More precisely, a corpse.
Not fully decomposed—dried into a mummy-like state.
A dagger was embedded in its chest.
Suddenly—
Ding!
[You have encountered the legacy of the 1st floor owner.
Would you like to connect to the memories he left behind?]
"…Huh?"
What now?
This person was the 1st floor owner?
So that's why there was no owner.
Because he was dead.
Memory connection…
Like viewing a summoned being's background?
Perfect timing.
A chance to resolve his questions.
"Connect."
At once, the environment changed.
The memories of the 1st floor owner unfolded before him.
His name was Max Kruger.
A player from Germany, the strongest nation in his world.
Germany—not the United States.
This was definitely a parallel world.
Similar to Earth, yet different.
Max Kruger was not only Germany's greatest player but the world's greatest.
His specialty was close combat—Hammer Mastery, wielding a massive hammer.
From the very beginning of his awakening, his talent was recognized.
The government trained him intensively.
Floor by floor.
He climbed the Tower steadily.
Whenever things grew difficult, the government provided immediate support.
One by one.
He consumed no fewer than twenty Trait Enhancement Runes.
Twenty enhancements.
With that power, he tore through the Tower.
Small monster zones.
Medium terrestrial monsters.
Flying monsters.
Undead zones.
And finally—
Max Kruger's world encountered the 70th-floor boss, Kabalon.
The Curse of the Average.
The beginning of a horrific nightmare.
Conflict between nations above and below the global average.
That conflict escalated into war.
And everywhere, Tower collapses followed.
Even so, Max did not give up.
Crossing Europe, Asia, and the Americas—
temporarily changing citizenship when necessary, or using multinational Tower access tickets—
he did everything possible to defeat the true Kabalon of the 70th floor.
Along the way, he obtained an item called the Tower Domination Declaration Loudspeaker.
He used it.
As an achievement reward, he was granted a White Tower.
The price was that the war only intensified further.
"…He acquired the White Tower the same way I did."
After unimaginable hardship, he finally defeated the true Kabalon.
He reached the 71st floor, earned the four-gift set reward, and unlocked access to superior mana crystals.
But it was already too late.
The Tower collapse progressed beyond control.
Human wars continued amid the chaos.
Nothing could be done.
Thus, the boundary between the world and the Tower collapsed.
Monsters poured out of the Tower like a flood.
At the same time, countless creatures emerged from uncleared upper floors.
Especially the giant beasts.
The world fell in an instant.
Max Kruger retreated into the White Tower.
There was nothing else he could do.
If only he could register residents,
perhaps he could have lived here with others.
But that required superior mana crystals.
Even daily trial passes or monthly leases only unlock as achievement rewards after registering permanent residents.
The final scene—
Max Kruger plunging a sharp dagger into his own heart.
End.
[Memory connection with 1st floor owner Max Kruger has been terminated.]
The feeling was awful.
He had indirectly experienced the destruction of an entire dimension
and witnessed a player who chose death.
And there was something else he learned.
You don't need a Summoning trait to obtain a White Tower.
If you succeed using the Tower Domination Declaration Loudspeaker,
the nationality of a foreign Black Tower changes.
That's an achievement.
And as an achievement reward, a White Tower is granted.
It seemed anyone who accomplished such a feat was eligible.
In any case, the world ended, and Max Kruger was left alone.
He climbed the Tower desperately, mined superior mana crystals,
used the Authority of Creation—Copy and Attach—to build this place,
dreaming of a day when people would live here together.
But that hope was never fulfilled.
In the end, he chose death.
If only I'd met him before he made that choice…
I could have helped him.
Maybe on another floor of the White Tower…
on the 2nd or 3rd floor…
I might meet a living owner?
Just then—
Ding!
[Due to the memory connection, you have acquired the right to inherit Max Kruger's legacy.]
Legacy?
[Max Kruger's legacy will be transferred to the Tower-exclusive inventory.]
At the same time—
Sssssssss…
Max Kruger's corpse began to crumble into dust.
"…Huh?"
Messages flooded in one after another.
[Legacy: 25 Multinational Tower Access Tickets added to Tower-exclusive inventory.]
[Legacy: 3 Combat Skill Runes added to Tower-exclusive inventory.]
[Legacy: 152 kg of Superior Mana Crystals added to Tower-exclusive inventory.]
[Legacy: 843 Healing Potions added to Tower-exclusive inventory.]
[Legacy: Land-Devastating Earthquake Gigantification Hammer added to Tower-exclusive inventory.]
[Legacy: 2 Restore scrolls added to Tower-exclusive inventory.]
And then—
[Legacy: 11 Tower Conquest Mission Reset Tickets added to Tower-exclusive inventory.]
Finally—
[Legacy: Trait Enhancement Rune added to Tower-exclusive inventory.]
…What in the world is all this?
READ MORE CHAPTERS HERE-https://pokemon-translation-2.myshopify.com/