The next afternoon.

Juhyeok went back to the Tower Player Awakening Administration’s Player Shop.

He’d agonized over it all night.

Should he really do this, or not?

Since he’d already jumped in, maybe it wasn’t a bad idea to at least confirm whether he had any talent.

To be honest, he thought he understood why he could do this.

Monsters were scary.

Not just their looks—one wrong move and you could lose your life.

But the more he ran into them, the fear died down a lot.

And every time his level went up, his combat ability went up /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ too, plus perk rewards, plus reliable teammates.

Juhyeok’s timidity came from difficulty with people.

The fear people give you and the fear monsters give you are different by nature.

You don’t have to read a monster’s heart.

What does it matter what a monster thinks of you?

You don’t have to act while watching a monster’s mood.

Are you going to be friends with a monster?

It’s not like you have to worry about what it likes, what it hates, because you want to get close to it.

It’s not like you have to type a message, wonder how the other person will take it, write and delete it, weigh special characters and emojis.

It’s not like you have to wonder why the “1” won’t disappear, or why the “1” disappeared but they left you on read.

Monsters were simple.

Scary, sure, but once you met them, the relationship was just: smash their skull.

Is climbing the tower a social life?

No!

That was why, in the tower at least, he could shake off his timidity.

He could do it.

A tough guy of the Black Tower.

If he wanted to do this properly, just an Energy Barrier wasn’t enough.

The higher the floors went, the harder monsters would hit—if he got cocky and relied on the barrier alone, he could get his nose broken for real.

‘Where was the place that sells shields... ah. There it is.’

Used with the Energy Barrier, it was a perfect fit—synergy, too.

‘Still... why are there so many people today?’

The first time he came, there hadn’t been a single customer.

Players shopping for items here and there.

‘Buy it fast and go home.’

On the way to the armor shop,

Juhyeok remembered Cossack’s advice from yesterday.

You’ll start finding battle fun.

You’ll gain confidence.

And the danger will rise in proportion.

Every word was right.

And yet it was a contradiction.

He was scared, but he still wanted to fight again.

Life was funny.

Who would’ve guessed he’d change like this?

His father would be horrified, his brother would gape.

‘I’ve grown a lot.’

That timid weak man.

A life philosophy built on living thin and long.

It was too late to turn back.

Right now, Juhyeok’s head was packed full of that short fight with the Goblin Assassin.

‘I want to do it again.’

He understood why Cossack worried.

Cossack had said he’d had a previous summoner.

But that summoner had died.

Cossack had probably witnessed it with his own eyes.

Guilt for failing to protect the previous summoner.

A hardened resolve to protect this summoner no matter what.

So maybe when he sensed something dangerous, he overreacted.

‘I want to follow him when I can, but...’

He was sick of living timid.

A chance to change.

‘Why can’t I be confident?’

From now on, he’d be different.

Spread his wings wide—go from weak man to tough guy.

Yeah!

Yesterday’s Juhyeok was gone.

There was only today’s Juhyeok.

He walked up to the armor shop with a brave, confident stride.

“Welcome. Player, tell me what you’re looking for.”

“...Yes?”

A shop clerk.

And of course it was a female clerk.

“Um, I, uh, over there, th-that is...”

“Hohoho. If you don’t know the equipment name, you can just point with your finger.”

“Sh-shield...”

“Oh my? You’re looking for a shield. Want me to pick one for you?”

“...Y-yes, yes.”

God, I can’t make eye contact.

Tough guy, my ass.

“How about this? A large square shield made of an orichalcon and sectonium alloy. Big, right? It has a self-repair function too, so there’s no need to fix it.”

“...H-how much?”

“Just one hundred million won. As you know, we’re basically only charging material cost.”

“Uh, th-that’s... too heavy for me, and t-too expensive... I mean, if that’s all there is, I guess I don’t have a choice, but...”

I’m going insane.

Why can’t I talk?

“Aha! Then this is just right. A round hand shield made with an adamant and sectonium alloy. It’s small so it’s light, and it also has a self-repair function.”

Oh!

That’s perfect.

A circular shield, a little over 30 centimeters across.

A small hand shield you used by sliding one arm into the handle.

He liked it instantly.

It matched the mace so well it might as well have been a set.

“...How much?”

“Forty million won.”

“I-in installments...”

“Of course. We can also deduct it from your Magic Stone sale proceeds.”

“...I’ll take it.”

“Yes!”

Installments were paid through a palm-recognition device.

BEEP-BEEP!

He finally bought it.

Now the pairing was complete.

Mace in the right hand.

Hand shield in the left.

‘Paying off the installments will take time, but...’

Whatever. He’d pay it off soon.

Still, talking to a shop employee was way harder than dealing with goblins.

He hurried to the entrance.

Time to go home.

Going home was resting.

But then—

“Hello.”

A man spoke to him.

Who?

“You’re a Player, right? Haha, I’m a Player too.”

Of course.

Anyone who could come here was either a Player or an Administration employee.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Choi Hoseok.”

The man suddenly offered a handshake.

Refusing would be rude, so Juhyeok took it.

“...Bong Juhyeok.”

“Hahaha, Juhyeok. I come to the shop every day, and I’d never seen you before, so I thought I’d get familiar with your face.”

“Ah, yes, yes. This is my second time.”

“I see. If you don’t mind me asking, what floor are you on? I’m climbing in the 30s.”

High level.

“...Um. I’m in the teens.”

“Ah, so you haven’t been a Player for long. If you run into anything hard while clearing, ask me. I’ll answer anything.”

He was pretty kind.

His face looked open and friendly—he seemed like a good guy.

Probably an extrovert by nature.

That’s why he could be so smooth with a stranger.

“Ah, not yet.”

“Really? Then ask anytime. I’m here often. Hahaha.”

“Yes, yes.”

“Then see you!”

Choi Hoseok waved and disappeared.

An insider’s fearless ability to break into people’s lives.

Seeing it up close was honestly impressive.

‘He probably has a girlfriend, too.’

Jealous.

※ ※ ※

Since he was out anyway, he decided to handle dinner before going home.

He planned to rest from climbing today.

There were only a few places he’d go when eating alone.

Fast food, or soup-and-rice places.

He stopped by a soup-and-rice place near home.

A steaming bowl of pork soup and rice—he dumped in chives, salted shrimp, chili paste, and perilla powder like crazy, and wiped it clean.

By the time it got dark, Juhyeok came home.

He washed up simply, then—

“Status Window.”

[Name] : Bong Juhyeok

[Affiliation] : Black Tower (Republic of Korea)

[Level] : 19LV

[Trait] : Summoning (Simultaneous Summons: 2)

[Catalog] : John Cossack / Barbarian Meatshield

[Trait Skills] : Designated Summon / Random Summon / Dismiss Summon

[General Skills] : Enter Tower (1/day) / Tower-Only Inventory

[Combat Skills] : Shadow Step

He felt pleased.

When did he climb this far?

Level 19—he could challenge Floor 19.

Alright. Time to start the persuasion work.

Juhyeok pulled the mace and the round hand shield out of his Tower-Only Inventory and held one in each hand.

Then he gave both John Cossack and Meatshield a 5-star Satisfaction Rating from the Catalog list and—

“Designated Summon John Cossack.”

[John Cossack has been designated and summoned.]

“Salute! Thank you for the five stars—uh, uuuuh...”

Juhyeok standing there, proud, with mace and shield.

Eyes burning with resolve.

John Cossack realized it before Juhyeok even spoke.

He collapsed to the floor—

“Huuugh... you really...”

Summoner Bong’s appearance was an expression of faith.

A declaration that he meant to do this properly in the tower.

“D-do you really have to do this?”

“I’ll be as careful as I can.”

“My summoner said that too.”

“Don’t worry. I’m a weak man—if it gets hard while climbing, I’ll abandon immediately.”

Cossack wiped tears with the back of his hand.

“Promise me. No charging in at the front.”

He sounded so desperate.

Juhyeok put the mace and shield back into his Tower-Only Inventory, then grabbed Cossack’s hand tightly with both of his.

“...I promise.”

“If it’s hard, escape by sacrificing me and Meatshield.”

“Um... okay.”

“If possible, it’s better to sacrifice that Meatshield bastard than me.”

That depended on the situation.

“Are we doing it right now?”

“No. Starting tomorrow.”

“Then I’ll go watch TV or—huh?”

At that moment!

John Cossack suddenly tilted his head.

Then, with a cold expression—

“Summoner Bong.”

“What?”

“Do you have anyone you’re on bad terms with?”

“Bad terms? Of course not. I’ve never done anything that would make people hate me.”

“Someone is outside. Killing intent is overflowing.”

Killing intent?

Who?

Just then—

RATTLE, RATTLE,

the sound of the doorknob turning.

Like someone was forcing it.

“...Hide first.”

“Yes, sir!”

SLIP—

Cossack vanished.

And—

ZZZING!

A transparent Energy Barrier wrapped over Juhyeok’s body.

Finally—

CLICK!

The door opened.

“Hi? Hehehehe.”

“...What are you doing? Why are you here—no, how do you know where I live?”

“I had a rough time tailing you.”

Juhyeok clenched his fist.

※ ※ ※

Choi Hoseok, a Level 33 Player, was interested in something other than climbing the tower.

His other job was, in his own words, an item broker.

He acquired usable items and sold them to people who wanted them.

How did he get items?

By clearing the tower?

Yeah, right.

You took them from the guy who had them.

First, he searched for prey at the Player Shop.

He didn’t pick just anyone.

He picked the ones who looked easy.

The kind of loser who’d probably been a bully’s errand boy back in school.

And today, he found a perfect one.

A guy who’d freak out if you just put a blade to him.

And it was a jackpot.

That bracelet on the guy’s wrist.

That was an item.

Even at a glance, it didn’t look ordinary.

He’d approached on purpose, friendly, even shook his hand.

While shaking, he studied the wrist carefully—like he thought, it was an item.

And if that bracelet didn’t have the modifier “tower-only”?

He could name any price he wanted.

Even if it did, it didn’t matter.

The guy had said it himself—he was clearing in the teens, so at best he was Level 10-something.

Even if he were Level 50 or 60, so what?

Outside, he was just a civilian.

So the moment Bong Juhyeok left, Hoseok tailed him on a motorcycle.

He followed the taxi, watched him even while he ate at a restaurant, and finally learned where he lived.

As long as it wasn’t an elite team, it was fine.

If you messed with them, the country would come after you.

Then you were fucked.

But he wasn’t.

An elite team wouldn’t live in a dump like this.

When there was no one around—

CLICK-CLACK.

He picked the lock with a master key.

Then he went in, holding the pistol he’d pulled from inside his coat.

In a world like this, getting a gun wasn’t even hard anymore.

And it had a suppressor—he could fire and nobody would know.

“Hehehehe.”

A laugh came out on its own.

The guy was still wearing the bracelet.

He probably had gear in his inventory too.

First, torture and threats to make him spit it out.

Killing came after that.

Dump the body in the tower and it was over.

Funny enough, a Player’s corpse went into the Tower-Only Inventory.

Because the Player belonged to the tower.

“Don’t make a sound! If you even squeak, you get a bullet in your head.”

Juhyeok’s eyes went wide at Hoseok’s threat.

“Take off the bracelet and open your inventory. You see this gun? It’s suppressed, so it won’t even be loud. If you don’t like the gun, I’ve got a knife too. I’ll slice you up like sashimi.”

No.

Why would he say that...

That was basically suicide.

“Decide. You want to endure torture? Or you want to live and lay the items out nice and clean?”

Please.

Juhyeok’s hands and feet shook.

His heart hammered.

This was an extremely dangerous situation.

Him?

No way.

He had an Energy Barrier.

The dangerous one was Choi Hoseok.

So—

“Hoseok.”

“Shh! Stop talking and open your inventory! Take the bracelet off too.”

“...It’s not too late. Put the pistol away and go home, and you won’t die. I promise.”

“What the hell are you saying? You want me to put a bullet in your knee for real?”

Ah.

It was over.

Choi Hoseok was already dead.

His head would be cut off, and a ribbon tied into a butterfly knot.

But what about the corpse?

What would he tell the police?

That was when—

SLIP,

something pale slid across his vision.

‘...Huh?’

Suddenly the pistol vanished from Hoseok’s hand.

“W-what?”

Hoseok blinked, confused.

Where did the gun go?

He’d been holding it—

In the next instant—

CRACK!

A burst of agony in the back of his head.

“Kek!”

What?

‘...F-fuck, there was another one?’

There’d only been him in the room.

His consciousness blurred.

Choi Hoseok pitched forward and collapsed.

THUD!

Juhyeok stared, shocked.

What kind of reversal was this?

‘He didn’t kill him?’

SLIP—Cossack appeared.

Ah.

How could an assassin be this reliable?

Juhyeok had asked him not to kill, and he’d carried it out this cleanly.

“You did amazing! That was awesome, Mr. Cossack—subduing him without killing him!”

“...Yes?”

“Hahaha! Knocking him out—seriously, praise. Five stars is way too stingy. I want to give you fifty points—no, five hundred.”

“Hehehe, i-is that so?”

Behind Juhyeok’s back, Cossack quietly slid the neck-cutting dagger and the ribbon for the butterfly knot back into his coat.

Originally, he’d knocked him out first so blood wouldn’t splash in Summoner Bong’s room—then he was going to lay down plastic or newspapers on the floor and do the work.

“I-I will carry this bastard out and get rid of him—”

“Just leave him. We can call the police.”

“N-no need. I can carry him outside and leave him far away...”

“It’s fine. Reporting is the easiest.”

Cossack glanced at the collapsed Choi Hoseok with an expression of regret.

A bastard who dared try to kill Summoner Bong.

He had to die.

He had to get his head cut off and decorated with a pretty ribbon.

What did it matter if some blood splashed?

He should’ve just cut him instead of knocking him out.

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