Homunculi.

A high-end masterpiece that only high-grade alchemists can refine.

They look like tiny humans, but none of them have intelligence, and they don’t possess life.

They’re just tools.

They can be moved with the user’s will and power.

With will, you issue commands.

And to carry out those commands, it needs magic power—or internal energy.

That’s right.

Homunculi consume energy.

Simple movement doesn’t take much.

But the moment the action gets even a little complicated, it starts draining a lot of energy.

Energy consumption.

Is that a drawback?

No. It’s an advantage.

A massive advantage, at that.

This is the core of what makes a homunculus a homunculus.

Each unit moves by receiving the user’s energy.

Naturally, it can cast skills too.

Juhyeok first stuffed all the homunculi into his Inventory.

And carrying them around was insanely convenient.

Keep them stored like this, then pull out only as many as you can control.

He was still a beginner, so as a preview, he started with just 100.

They were ant-sized, so even 100 of them wasn’t enough to fill a handful.

Alright.

Shall we begin?

The homunculi lined up in rows and columns.

“Forward!”

Then the tiny homunculi moved their feet—TAP-TAP-TAP-TAP!

“Right face.”

TAP-TAP-TAP-TAP!

“Left.”

TAP-TAP-TAP-TAP!

“Halt!”

TAP!

Starting with simple commands like that.

“Can you bring me my smartphone?”

TAP-TAP-TAP-TAP!

A homunculus brought his phone over, balancing it on its head like it was doing a wooden-sword exercise.

It understood what Juhyeok wanted and even ran errands to fetch it.

Now, the highlight.

Juhyeok manifested his will.

It was subtle, but—

With a faint sensation of internal energy slipping away,

VWOOOM—one hundred homunculi glowed red.

Blood Jade Energy.

A skill deployed by one hundred 5mm-tall homunculi.

For the experiment, Cossack had picked up a paving stone.

How strong was it?

The Blood Jade Energy homunculi went DUDUDUDU running over and slammed into the block.

CRACK! CRAAACK-CRACK-CRACK! GRK, GRRK,

The paving stone shattered into pieces in an instant.

CLAP-CLAP-CLAP-CLAP!

The summoned entities cheered and applauded at the sight.

“Ooooooh! That’s badass.”

“My lord! Excellent.”

“It is a tremendous invention. It would not be an exaggeration to call you an LSSR alchemist.”

“WAAH!”

Even Mad Demon sounded genuinely impressed.

“A foul-mouthed crazy elf, but even I can’t help but admire it. How did that one make a device like this?”

And it wasn’t just Blood Jade Energy.

What about movement speed?

He checked with Shadow Step.

SPOT! SPOT! SPOT! SPOT! SPOT! SPOT! SPOT! SPOT...

The penthouse living room flashed.

Even at that height, they could leap up to the level of a person’s head.

A hundred homunculi using Shadow Step at once was a true spectacle.

He could even deploy it at the same time as Blood Jade Energy.

‘Not bad?’

The internal energy drain wasn’t big, either.

Well, it was only 100.

If he pushed it, how many could he move?

A real test would come later.

Lastly—

“Primordial-Unity Thunder Rod. Thunderbolt Pursues the Soul.”

KRAK! KRAK-KRAK-KRAK-KRAK-KRAK-KRAK-KRAK-KRAK!

A hundred tiny sparks flooded the air in the living room all at once.

“Eek!”

“WAAAH?!”

“Beautiful.”

“Light!!!”

“Heh heh heh.”

It was fantastic.

It felt like watching miniature fireworks.

An LSSR alchemist, all right.

So what if she had social anxiety? Huh? She could swear a little on the keyboard. Big deal.

Now he just had to test it in the Tower.

See if it was useful for hunting monsters too.

“An orc should be a good test.”

For several days, he focused on repeated clearing.

Raising his homunculus proficiency.

Inside the Tower, and in the real world,

time passed.

And so the number of homunculi Juhyeok could control freely became about 3,000.

That still wasn’t much, but—

Only now, at last...

‘I can actually carry my weight.’

Safely.

Just by snapping his fingers.

*****

Korea’s TOWER PLAYER AWAKENING ADMINISTRATION.

Jeon Gwangil and Park Kyungsoo were talking.

“Did Gerald leave the country?”

“Yes. Yesterday he cleared America’s West Coast Tower Floor 71 and left for the United States.”

“He really is an incredible Player. He nearly died, and he jumped right back into clearing.”

There was a reason Gerald was America’s top Player.

Mental recovery that fast.

When you thought about it, that was an insane talent too.

“Nothing else to say?”

“He asked me to pass along greetings to Bong. He said he’ll be back soon and repay the favor.”

“And?”

“He said he was happy to make up for a mistake he made on Floor 71.”

“What mistake?”

“How would I know?”

Commissioner Park let out a small laugh.

“Anyway, Gerald is one thing, but shouldn’t the U.S. government compensate Bong at the government level?”

“I dropped a hint. About what Bong wants.”

“What did you tell them?”

“Trait Enhancement Runes, obviously.”

“Good. That’s better than a few percent of money. Did you tell Bong?”

“Not yet. I’ll tell him once it’s definite. They might not be able to get it.”

It was hard to obtain.

If he told Bong early and it fell through, how disappointed would Bong be?

“By the way—about your visit to the Blue House...”

“Huh? That?”

Park Kyungsoo had attended today’s emergency State Council meeting.

The agenda: the rapidly shifting situation in North Korea.

“What would I even say? I just listened to an explanation of how things are moving.”

“What did they say the situation is?”

Commissioner Park explained what had been discussed to Jeon Gwangil.

“...Haah. This is unbelievable.”

“Same. This is something we’ve never experienced before.”

How many Players did Korea have?

Players whose Status Window nationality was the Republic of Korea.

He thought it was roughly between 7,000 and 10,000.

But that was old news.

The number was exploding.

They didn’t even know the exact count.

Why?

The Republic of Korea was the country that cleared True Kabalan.

As a benefit, its item reward probability increased dramatically.

The highest in the world.

And demand for high-grade Magic Stones kept rising.

Just a week ago, high-grade Magic Stones were only double the price of normal Magic Stones.

Now they’d jumped to four times.

For that reason, having “Republic of Korea” as your Status Window nationality had become every Player in the world’s dream.

The amount of high-grade Magic Stones mined was also far higher, and it wasn’t rare for equipment items, new elixirs, and potions to show up as rewards one after another.

Prices had dropped because of Player shops, but equipment items were still expensive.

A single throwing dagger started at 100 million won.

But in Korea’s Black Tower, you could get them for free.

Because of that, naturalization requests flooded the Korean government and embassies.

But the Korean government wasn’t accepting naturalizations.

So what was the alternative?

Was there another way to enter Korea’s Black Tower?

There was.

Was South Korea the only Korea?

North Korea was Korea too.

North Korea.

Different country, but a nation that shared the same Tower.

If South Korea wouldn’t work, then North Korea.

In countries that had a North Korean embassy, naturalization requests poured in.

What kind of naturalization?

Short-term temporary naturalization.

Of course, it came at a price.

In exchange for being allowed one month of temporary naturalization, you had to pay the North Korean government.

Even so, people lined up.

Because mining high-grade Magic Stones and obtaining equipment items could make you rich.

And because it was a Status Window nationality change, there was no need to go to North Korea in person.

You could climb comfortably from your original country.

“The North Korean government is raking in money through naturalization sales. Their mouths are probably split into grins.”

If that money went to North Korean citizens, it would be great.

But there was no chance of that.

“How much did the Player count increase?”

“Who knows. They said it’s so many it’s impossible to even grasp.”

“...That’s insane.”

They couldn’t help being thrown off.

Since Players began Awakening, had there ever been a case like this?

“India, China, Southeast Asia, Eastern Europe, South America... basically every country with a North Korean embassy is like that. It’s spreading like a trend.”

Then what about other countries?

Even if it was only temporary naturalization, their Players were leaking to North Korea—would they just sit still?

Ridiculously enough, there were no major restrictions.

Some countries were even encouraging it.

Why?

Because it helped the economy.

Even if Players temporarily naturalized to North Korea, they still sold the high-grade Magic Stones, byproducts, and items to their original home countries.

Nothing really changed.

If anything, what country would turn down high-grade Magic Stones—something you normally needed to clear Floor 70 to get—suddenly becoming available?

Also, the people requesting temporary naturalization were usually ordinary Players.

Not elite Players the state invested in and nurtured.

Governments only had to care about their nationally nurtured Players.

With just a few well-trained Players, you could defend against Tower Collapse as much as you wanted.

“Haah, fuck. I can’t not swear. The bear does the hard work, and some other bastard makes the money.”

Jeon Gwangil gave a bitter smile at Park Kyungsoo’s curse.

How were they supposed to stop it?

One Tower, two governments.

Honestly, it made his blood boil, but it wasn’t directly related to Tower Collapse, so they had to endure it.

Unless they wanted a war.

“Forget the headache. About the gift the Crown Prince of the United Arab Emirates entrusted us with.”

“Ah! That?”

“Is it still in the warehouse?”

“Yes. It’s being stored properly.”

The recipient was Meatshield.

Meaning Bong Juhyeok.

“When will you deliver it?”

“I’m meeting him tomorrow.”

“Yeah? Anyway, keep up the good work.”

*****

It had been twenty years since Black Towers were created.

So it had been twenty years since Players began Awakening.

For the first few years after the Towers appeared, Players were free.

There weren’t government agencies or policies to manage them yet.

Magic Stones, Tower byproducts, and items Players brought out were traded naturally.

Supply was nowhere near demand, so early Tower rewards sold at extremely high prices.

With a situation like that, what happened?

Players became targets of crime. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

Because they couldn’t properly use their power in the real world,

they got kidnapped, tortured until they were forced to hand over everything in their Inventory, or outright murdered.

Countless crimes sprang up targeting Players and Tower byproducts.

Existing gangs, drug trafficking organizations, unethical corporations, and even terrorist groups joined in.

Players banded together in response.

They formed guilds and clans, hired bodyguards, found safe locations, and climbed the Tower.

Later, they experienced the nightmare of Tower Collapse, Magic Stone research developed, and nations began managing Players at a national level, improving things.

Once nations intervened, most criminal organizations that targeted Players were wiped out.

Private guilds and clans vanished into history as well.

But there was one organization that still endured.

A distribution guild formed by Players in the past for Magic Stones and item circulation.

In the early days of Tower climbing, it was created to protect Players’ rights across countries and facilitate smooth trade.

Every Player traded through that distribution guild.

It was safe and anonymity was guaranteed.

Even after twenty years—in 2024—that distribution guild still existed.

The Black Market Guild.

The world’s largest distribution organization for Tower byproducts and item trading.

Usually, it brokered goods or sold them directly through the deep web or the dark web.

But now, it had changed from its founding purpose.

Opposing criminal organizations had been the original goal, but now the Black Market Guild itself was a criminal organization.

Governments around the world had known about its existence for a long time.

But they couldn’t touch it.

It was so vast that it had members in every country.

There were even guild members among some nations’ top Players.

A sweep was impossible.

Even if you caught one person and interrogated them, the trail ended there.

And even if you grabbed that trail, it was the same.

Especially when governments themselves were secretly trading through it.

“Guildmaster. The United States contacted us saying they want to buy Trait Enhancement Runes.”

“The United States... Antonio?”

“Based on the assigned identification number, it’s Antonio.”

The man called the Guildmaster gave a small, amused snort.

“They’re trying to feed it to Gerald.”

“That’s likely. They said if there’s stock, they want to buy two.”

“Two.”

Trait Enhancement Runes.

In the early days of Tower creation, quite a lot poured out, but at some point the reward probability dropped to rock bottom—a representative item like that.

“How many do we have?”

“Only three in inventory.”

“What price did they offer?”

“They want to buy two at five billion dollars each.”

“Tell them not a chance. Ten billion dollars each... hmm.”

He paused for a moment.

“If they buy two, give them a five percent discount and set it at nineteen billion dollars.”

“Yes.”

Take this chance and unload the Trait Enhancement Runes.

The world had changed.

It was time for a new business plan to match it.

“What about the temporary naturalization work for our members?”

“Completed. They’re inside the Tower clearing now.”

The new business was none other than securing items without the “Tower-only” modifier.

Especially the Liberation Rune Necklace, Ring of Appearance Transformation, Rejuvenation Elixir, and Potion of Disease Treatment.

They were Floor 71 entry gifts, but they could also drop as rewards when clearing Floors 71 and above.

Purchase requests through the black market were exploding.

You name the price.

With Trait Enhancement Rune inventory running low, these would become the black market’s primary future goods.

So where did you go to get them?

Countries that had finished clearing Floor 70.

Which meant Black Towers where you could enter Floor 71.

Korea, China, France, and the United States.

Among them, which had the highest reward probability?

Obviously Korea.

Not just Korea—North Korea.

If you temporarily naturalized to North Korea, your Status Window nationality became the Republic of Korea.

Every member of the Black Market Guild temporarily naturalized to North Korea.

And so the current nationality of the Guildmaster and Deputy Guildmaster was also the Republic of Korea.

There was no need to worry about rewards.

Most Black Market Guild members were early-Awakening Players.

They’d lived as Players for nearly twenty years—meaning they were the most elite members.

Korea’s Black Tower had become the Black Market Guild’s item supply line.

*****

Juhyeok lay stretched out on the sofa.

He’d trained way too hard these past few days.

So he didn’t want to do anything.

And he didn’t have to do anything.

CRUNCH, CRUNCH!

Cossack chewed popcorn.

All by himself.

‘Should I eat some too?’

He could just send a few homunculi to the popcorn bag—

“Uh-huh? Thieves, is it!”

—then they’d lug it over one by one.

It looked just like ants carrying ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) food.

No need to lift a finger.

If he just sat there with his mouth open, they’d drop pieces in one by one.

TUK-TUK-TUK-TUK.

CRUNCH, CRUNCH.

“Nice and buttery.”

“...Are you the ant king, sir?”

“Call me the Homun King.”

Even changing TV channels was easy.

If the homuns climbed onto the remote and took one running step—

TOK!

The screen changed.

Gyeon Dallae watched that with worry.

“...Master Bong.”

“What is it?”

“I worry this will become a habit and you will grow lazy. You must move your body yourself.”

There was nothing he could do.

He was already lazy.

Still, if he had to make an excuse—

“Moving our homuns is training too. Do you know how hard this is?”

“It does not appear difficult, which is why I speak.”

“It’s harder than it looks.”

“...Is it?”

Haah. Our Princess and her nagging.

There was someone who slept all day, and she didn’t say a word.

But she kept picking at him.

Just then, news came on the TV.

The hottest issue these days.

The North Korea temporary naturalization explosion.

Temporary naturalization as a workaround to clear the Republic of Korea Black Tower with its higher reward probability.

People really were clever.

How did anyone even think of that?

It wasn’t like they were parasites or anything, but—

“Did anything like this happen in other worlds?”

“Not in my memory, sir. Before that, the world ended, sir.”

“Usually, they could not overcome Kabalan’s curse.”

Would something go wrong?

He couldn’t help worrying.

What did Mad Demon think?

He should summon Mad Demon and ask.

“The System will not stay still. Not once you have reached Floor 71, even if it might have at low floors.”

Right.

From Floor 71 onward, even Tower Jumping Tickets were blocked.

“Will there be sanctions?”

“I do not recall clearly, but there will likely be sanctions.”

“Like what?”

“For example...”

It was then—

[Global Notice: Player overcrowding has occurred in a specific country.]

“Huh?”

A Global Notice out of nowhere.

Overcrowding?

[Global Notice: To resolve the concentration of Player population, a new Black Tower will be constructed.]

What the—

Was this a new city development announcement?

[Global Notice: The Republic of Korea Black Tower has been divided.]

[Global Notice: A Black Tower for the nationality of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea has been newly established.]

In that instant—

KRRRRRUMBLE...

A tremor that reached even the Seoul penthouse.

[Global Notice: The starting uncleared climbing floor for the newly established Democratic People’s Republic of Korea Black Tower has been set to Floor 55, the lowest cleared floor of Earth’s Black Towers.]

[Global Notice: We support the climbing of upper floors by Democratic People’s Republic of Korea Players.]

[Global Notice: For the next year, Players with the nationality of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea will be unable to move their Status Window nationality.]

“Wow.”

This was absurd.

Now even the Tower had been split into North and South.

Anyway, once again, the world was turned upside down.

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