Juhyeok and Cossack, and the Barbarian Meatshield—three-man cooperative climb.

Yesterday was Floor 16. Today, Floor 17.

[Entering Black Tower (Republic of Korea) Floor 17.]

[Your physical abilities have been enhanced to match your level.]

[Traits and combat skills are available.]

“Ugh!”

Power flooded in.

Muscles bulging, mana surging, senses sharpening.

If Level 17 feels like this, what would it feel like past Level 30?

In the safe zone, I stretched, pulled out my adamant mace from my Tower-Only Inventory, and ZZZING! activated my Energy Barrier, then made sure my healing potions were in my pocket so I could grab them fast—

“Mr. Cossack, Mr. Meatshield, let’s move.”

“Yes, sir!”

“Meatshield goes.”

Floor 17 was a Goblin Warrior purge.

Intelligent monsters capable of strategic and tactical movement, armed with shields and swords, and wearing armor.

We went deeper inside.

[Floor 17 Mission: Kill 30 Goblin Warriors.]

The mission popped.

Thirty kills.

And at that exact moment—

STOMP-STOMP, CLACK-CLACK-CLACK-CLACK!

From three directions—front, right, and left—a Goblin Warrior unit appeared in neat ranks.

Thirty each, ninety total.

Almost a full company.

Orderly.

Swords and shields, wicker armor and helmets too—reeking of elite troops.

How did other Players clear this?

As soon as the Goblin Warrior unit appears, they retreat to the safe zone.

Then they wait a bit, and when they go back, the company has scattered, and the Goblin Warriors patrol in pairs of three. At that point, you lure them out in groups of three and kill them.

That process is extremely difficult.

If the number you lure isn’t three but six, you have to declare mission abandonment on the spot.

For ranged-type Players, it’s relatively easier.

They can use skills from far away, pick off one or two, and dash back to the safe zone.

But Summoner Juhyeok—

“Mr. Meatshield!”

“Summoner, you called.”

“You can handle them, right?”

“Kill ’em dead.”

“Wipe them out.”

With just those orders—

“KUUUAAAH!!!”

THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD!

The Barbarian Warrior Meatshield charged straight into the Goblin Warrior unit.

Goblins were under 1.5 meters tall at most.

Meatshield was over 3 meters.

Nothing but muscle, his whole body thick and packed.

And he was the monster who’d ripped heads off a super-beast hydra.

WHAM-WHAM-WHAM-WHAM!

Goblin Warriors turned into bloody paste and flew up into the air.

Weapons?

Didn’t even stick.

Armor?

Torn to shreds.

“Damn, that idiot Meatshield bastard—there are no words.”

“...”

It was no different than one K2 Black Panther main battle tank crushing ninety commuter bikes.

Strategy and tactics?

That only works when you’re at least in the same universe.

Assassin Cossack joined in, too.

[Notice: You have achieved Clear Rank S++ on Black Tower (Korea) Floor 17.]

[S++ Clear Reward: You are awarded a Platinum Badge.]

We kept running.

Next was Floor 18.

Floor 18 has Goblin Assassins.

Unbelievably, they use Stealth.

It’s a very low-level Stealth skill—if you focus, you can see them moving, slipping along.

In a way, it’s manageable.

If you can see through Stealth, they’re nothing.

But it’s never that easy.

Assassins are crafty.

Sometimes one Goblin Assassin pretends its Stealth broke to lure a Player, and then the one lying in ambush behind it launches a surprise attack.

On Floor 18, Cossack shined.

A man who’d made his name as an assassin.

“You’ve worked hard watching that idiot Meatshield bastard’s clear. I’ll show you what a classy clear looks like.”

Rookie Goblin Assassins?

He could kill them with his eyes closed.

John Cossack, showing what Stealth really is.

SLIP—

“Assassin disappeared. Coward. Bad guy.”

“...He’s not that bad of a person.”

“Okay. Assassin is good. I go help.”

THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD.

Meatshield lumbered forward, but all he did was scratch his head.

He couldn’t do anything.

Because he couldn’t see them.

Still, when he windmilled his arms wildly—

THWACK!

One lucky grab, and a Goblin Assassin became bloody paste in his hand.

“KEHK!”

Meanwhile—

SLICE, SLICE-SLICE!

The sound of Cossack’s blade.

The kill count climbing fast.

[Completion: Goblin Assassin 7/30]

Fast without sound.

Floor 17 was Meatshield’s stage.

Floor 18 was Cossack’s stage.

‘What am I doing?’

I mean, I hauled home an adamant mace for two million won, and I can’t even swing it once.

Floor 16, Floor 17, and now Floor 18.

I don’t really need to fight, but...

‘Should I try?’

Trusting my Energy Barrier.

And the Shadow Step skill, too.

The more I use it, the more fun it gets.

I moved in the opposite direction from Cossack.

I was walking along, nice and slow—

SLIP!

‘Huh?’

TSHIK!

A goblin revealed itself behind me and stabbed a dagger toward my back.

“Shit! Fuck!”

It was a crisis.

I had to evade.

SWAT! SWAT-SWAT!

The moment I registered it, my body moved on its own.

Shadow Step.

I didn’t just run.

I came here to swing the mace at least once.

What was the most effective response?

A route drew itself in my head.

SWAT! SWA-WA-WA-SWAT!

Before I knew it, I’d taken the Goblin Assassin’s back—

and with my sturdy adamant mace—

WHOOSH!

CRUNCH!

Skull.

“Gk?”

The goblin got hit in a vital spot and flattened like a pancake.

At the same time, the kill count rose.

‘...I- it died?’

I killed it?

With a mace?

‘...Uh.’

It was my first time, so I was stunned.

But it wasn’t until Floor 18 that I finally got a monster kill with my own hands.

A truly monumental event.

No time for that.

Another Goblin Assassin appeared out of nowhere.

“Kikik!”

BOING!

A roughly 1.5-meter Goblin Assassin sprang up, aiming for my throat—

‘...This bastard.’

SWAT! SWAT! SWAT!

My new form—vanishing and reappearing like a blink—

I whipped around the goblin, turning its head to mush,

then—

WHOOSH!

CRUNCH!

Skull!

“Keck!”

Another kill.

‘Ah...’

My hands were shaking like crazy.

My chest thudded.

Adrenaline surged.

It was strange.

It wasn’t as bad as I thought.

‘One more?’

Another Goblin Assassin appeared right on cue.

SWAT! SWAT-SWAT!

My body reacted first.

Ah—

The world slowed down.

The goblin’s slashing looked like slow motion.

SWAT!

I took its back—

Skull!

CRACK!

“Gkii...”

It didn’t die in one hit?

Probably because I don’t have a proper attack skill.

Then—

WHOOSH!

CRUNCH!

Another blow.

Next?

No more?

But then—

[Notice: You have achieved Clear Rank S++ on Black Tower (Korea) Floor 18.]

[S++ Clear Reward: You are awarded a Platinum Badge.]

Looks like I landed the finishing blow.

I ended the mission myself.

‘...This is, honestly.’

Way too good?

‘How the hell...’

I’d done it, but I couldn’t believe it.

When I wanted to get behind the Goblin Assassin with Shadow Step, I went in exactly along the route I’d drawn in my head.

I dropped low, drilled into its blind spot, rotated my body, and naturally took its back.

Each time I changed direction, deep shadows lingered.

Smooth, fluid motion.

How long had I even been practicing Shadow Step?

‘Did I really do that?’

Across the way, I saw Meatshield and Cossack standing there in a daze.

One just stared at me blankly.

The other shook his head back and forth, letting out a deep sigh.

[You can challenge Floor 19.]

[Exiting Black Tower (Republic of Korea).]

※ ※ ※

Commissioner Park Kyungsoo’s office in Hannam-dong, Seoul.

Section Chief Lee Mina, a Player and an Administration employee, clenched her fist and shouted.

“A total notice popped. Floor 18—S++ clear success.”

“Excellent!”

“No hesitation. Looks like he prepared thoroughly.”

Commissioner Park Kyungsoo’s face reddened with excitement.

“Honestly, I want to blow it wide open. Shout it to the world—this is the man who’s been setting the Republic of Korea’s consecutive S++ clears through Floor 18!”

“Even as a joke, you can’t say things like that. Quietly, covertly, we need to support him without sparing anything so he can climb into the 60s.”

“I’m saying I’m proud.”

Now Bong Juhyeok wasn’t just some regular contractor.

He was a super-elite Player who needed even more delicate care than the elite teams.

“Tomorrow’s Floor 19?”

“Very likely, but I’d prefer he took it slower. The pace is too fast.”

“Hm... that’s true.”

And it wasn’t just the Administration.

The entire Republic of Korea was in an uproar.

Since it was a total notice going out to Players assigned to the Korean Black Tower, it spread to ordinary people quickly.

It even showed up on the 9 p.m. national news—

A new wind is blowing through the Republic of Korea’s Black Tower climb. There was a 20-day gap, but now we have a staggering 18 consecutive floors cleared at S++ rank—an unprecedented record, rewriting the history of tower climbing as we speak.

Players and ordinary citizens alike are astonished, and all eyes are on how far the record will continue. The mysterious Player is currently estimated to be Level 19...

Controversy is also growing around the identity of the S++ Player. The prevailing opinion is that this is an elite Player newly recruited by the Awakening Administration, but the Administration remains silent...

Regular and elite Players were pumped up, too.

All of a sudden, the Republic of Korea’s Magic Stone output was surging.

Regular Players who’d been thinking about quitting started climbing again, and even those who’d settled into low floors tried ascending to new ones.

Elite team Players were no different.

Jealousy, competitiveness, and pride.

We’re the elite team getting full national support—why can’t we do it?

Internet boards lit up.

Nothing but S++ talk.

└ 18. It’s 18.

└ Honestly, when no notices went off for two weeks, I thought it was over. Dead, or quit.

└ How far does it go? Maybe not Floor 20, but Floor 30 feels tough.

└ I’ll bet the guy who says it stops at 20 in the comments below—his balls.

└ I’m a woman. And I think it’ll keep going into the 30s.

└ But seriously, who is that person? Elite, right?

└ If it’s not elite, who else? That’s why they’re hiding it. So another country doesn’t snatch them.

Player BJs who streamed on video platforms joined in, too.

Usually regular contractors in the Level 30 range, showing their faces on stream.

Alright, this is Floor 18. The most recent floor where the S++ record was set. Do you see that faint shape passing by that tree? Yeah, that’s an assassin. I’ll catch one.

└ Bro, you’re Level 35—what are you doing on Floor 18?

└ Do you not know what Floor 18 is like?

└ Why don’t you try Floor 35 again? I’ll toss a donation if you do.

└ Like hell. I tried 35 and barely managed to declare abandonment in the safe zone.

The reaction was explosive.

Now everyone cared about one thing.

Floor 19, infamous for being mentally brutal?

Floor 20, nicknamed the first talent detector?

Could someone really clear that stretch—hard to even pass—while still keeping an S++ record?

※ ※ ※

Meanwhile,

The mood in Juhyeok’s studio apartment was not so great.

Assassin John Cossack, with distant eyes.

“Fwwwooooh...”

He kept sighing like the ground was about to collapse.

“Haaaah...”

What is his problem?

‘Did I do something wrong?’

Whether Cossack sighed or not,

Meatshield was peeling open the boxes on ten large pizzas and dumping them into his mouth one after another like candy.

“Tell me. What did I do wrong?”

“Um, ah, th-that,”

Cossack hesitated, wavering on whether to speak, then finally opened his mouth.

“...Too fast.”

“What is?”

“The speed at which you realize your talent.”

“Huh?”

Did I mishear?

What nonsense.

“Realize my talent—who? ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ Me?”

“Who else but Summoner Bong?”

This is ridiculous.

“Me... I have talent?”

“Yesss.”

A timid weak man?

“Come on. That’s a joke.”

“If Summoner Bong doesn’t have talent, who does?”

“I-I think you’re mistaken—”

“You felt it earlier when you used the skill, didn’t you? Even for me, it’s hard—such a beautiful Shadow Walker—no, Shadow Step.”

Was it that good?

Hard to accept.

But even Meatshield of the Great Plains—

“Our summoner. Flash-flash. Hits good.”

Even with them hyping me up, it still didn’t feel real.

Cossack continued in a pleading voice.

“If you realize your talent this early on the low floors, it’s a problem. You’ll start finding battle fun. You’ll gain confidence. And the danger rises in proportion. Being brave is dangerous.”

“I-I know that too...”

“If you’d started wrapped up in, like, ten perks, maybe, but haaaah... this is too fast.”

“...”

“We promised from the start. Safety first. Self-preservation!”

Right.

We did.

But why did we?

This is going in a completely different direction than what I first decided.

I must’ve lost my mind.

Still—

‘Talent, huh.’

I remembered it vividly.

The thrill of a successful skill.

The feel of my first hunt.

‘It’s weird.’

Cossack had always insisted—

If the summoner gets brave, it becomes poison.

I understood it and agreed.

So I’d held back as much as possible.

‘But...’

Now I felt a little differently.

That pleasure of climbing the tower, already born inside me.

If I’d never tasted it, sure.

But once you’ve seen it...

Cossack, opening his mouth with anxious eyes.

“Summoner Bong, from now on you will not move an inch, and you will hide behind Meatshield back there. Promise me.”

“...”

“You level up even if you just sit still. All you have to do is wait until you get ten perks.”

“...”

“Huh? Why, why aren’t you answering?”

“...”

“Answer me?”

“...”

“D-don’t tell me...”

“...,”

“Oh, oh! What do we do? You’ve gotten a taste of it. You’ve gotten a taste, this is bad.”

Meatshield snorted with a grin.

“Assassin cries. Looks stupid.”

“Shut up! You lump of meat that can’t tell up from down, you little bastard!! I’ll boil you in a pot!”

My head was a mess.

I’ll rest tomorrow.

Think it through first.

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