The Republic of Korea’s tower-clearing progress, as announced to the world.

Tower NO.1 had reached Floor 76, and Tower NO.2 had reached Floor 74.

The Korean Awakening Administration now had two Collapse Countdown displays as well.

Tower NO.1 had about three years left on its collapse deadline, and Tower NO.2 had about two years left.

There was plenty of time.

The days of agonizing and burning with anxiety while watching a tower’s collapse deadline shrink away were over.

And was it just the tower collapse deadlines?

What about the flood of high-grade Magic Stones?

And the Republic of Korea’s greatest risk—

the escalation of tension caused by the division between North and South.

But the atmosphere had changed completely because of the Tower occupation.

Unification was right in front of them.

There was no phrase more fitting for the situation than a blessing in disguise.

Then what about the other countries?

They were all climbing into the upper floors one after another.

The United States had reached Floor 73.

Of course, it had only cleared the basic missions.

Russia, France, Norway, Saudi Arabia, and the other countries counted among the advanced tower-climbing nations had all entered the 70s too, climbing by clearing only the basic missions.

The basic missions were easy.

They were even easier than the undead section, whose clear difficulty had already dropped.

And on top of that, there was the lure of high-quality equipment, a wider variety of potions and elixirs, and high-grade Magic Stones.

In the past, because the collapse deadline didn’t stack, they would wait until the full six months had nearly run out before climbing, but now everyone piled up time by climbing the upper floors no matter what.

Before long, other countries might catch up to the Republic of Korea’s clearing progress.

No, they might even surpass it.

Did it matter?

It wasn’t like there was some special benefit for taking first place in tower clearing.

Still—

“Please tell each government to make a careful judgment about climbing Floor 80. I’m planning to take a break from upper-floor climbing for the time being too...”

Juhyeok spoke with Jeon Gwangil in the Awakening Administration’s materials warehouse.

“Floor 80? Is it that hard to clear?”

“I’m not sure, but... you saw what happened on Floor 70. Things like Kabalan’s Curse.”

“Ah!”

It was a perfectly reasonable hypothesis.

In other words, something similar to Kabalan’s Curse might happen on Floor 80 too.

“Yes, I’ll pass that along.”

Well, it was a floor they would have to climb eventually, but there was nothing wrong with being overly cautious.

Thinking about it, it was a little funny.

Back then he used to worry because they couldn’t climb the upper floors. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

Now he was worrying that they might go up too fast.

And who stood at the center of that change?

Jeon Gwangil said with a pleased expression,

“This is all thanks to Player Bong. Because you made it possible to sell items in the shop. If they gear up with reward items, the difficulty drops sharply.”

That was true, but modesty was a habit by now.

“Oh, come on. They’re still goods I’m selling for money. I’m always grateful that you handle sales on consignment through the Player Shop.”

He had turned over more items again this time.

He had called Rajix and piled up the items obtained from Floors 72 and 73 of the North Korea Black Tower to one side.

And it wasn’t just items.

He had also sent over the Mental Fortification Elixirs brewed by the shut-in alchemist for consignment sales.

Those were apparently the hottest sellers these days.

Because nothing was more important to a Player than mental resilience.

And not just for Players—ordinary people benefited from them too.

They cost 3 million won a bottle, and there weren’t nearly enough to satisfy demand.

“Japan also succeeded in clearing Floor 60 not long ago.”

“Already?”

Floor 60 was the floor where the Wyvern Lord and Venomous Wyverns appeared together.

“That was because of the poison-resistance items sold through our Player Shop.”

Well, if they had a way to deal with Venomous Wyverns, the Wyvern Lord itself was not especially difficult.

Of course, that only applied to talented Players.

“And an envoy sent by the Japanese prime minister’s office visited our Administration.”

He could already guess why.

If they had cleared Floor 60, then naturally the next step was breaking through the undead section.

“It seems they decided that holy water alone would not be enough. To ensure a certain clear, they also requested to rent a holy sword...”

Originally, Juhyeok and the Awakening Administration had agreed not to rent holy swords to Japan.

But that was because the previous Japanese cabinet government had secretly arranged a stolen naturalization for Korea’s top Player.

The Japan of back then and the Japan of now were different.

Prime Minister Maeda, himself a former Player, had issued an official statement apologizing to Korea.

After getting burned that badly once, it seemed they had finally come to their senses.

Territorial disputes like Dokdo, economic conflicts, historical issues—Japan had stepped back and effectively surrendered on every matter.

“Would it be alright to rent it out?”

“Sure, go ahead.”

Holy water and holy sword together, with dark aura already heavily weakened.

Japan would soon start climbing at super speed too.

Just like the other countries.

In any case, renting out holy swords was very welcome.

It was money coming in.

‘Gotta earn while there’s money to be made.’

In truth, he had already recovered the money that had gone out when he bought the 61st-floor building.

Holy sword rentals were still happening, though less than before.

And then there was the money from the items sold through the Player Shop.

But that wasn’t all.

There were also basilisk and wyvern leather goods.

Production had increased dramatically, and the money flowing into Juhyeok had increased a great deal too.

Which meant—

“I’d like to purchase more buildings...”

“Is that so? What area should we look into for you? Gangnam? Seocho?”

“No. The location doesn’t matter. I just want to buy small, nice-looking buildings or country houses. Even if they’re in the provinces, that’s fine.”

“Understood. I’ll speak to the dedicated department.”

The reason he wanted to buy buildings was simple.

He wanted to copy and paste them into White Tower Floor 17.

Could he really just copy someone else’s building?

He would copy his own and paste it.

That was about the end of the business here.

“Oh, right! This is an item I picked up in the tower. Use it if you need it.”

“What? This is...”

As Juhyeok handed the Player Awakening Rune to Jeon Gwangil and explained the item information,

“I-it awakens an ordinary person into a Player?”

“That’s right. Though it also requires a Platinum Badge.”

“...A-a badge? D-do you mean this one I’m wearing?”

“Yeah. You consume the rune, but it says you need a badge too.”

“...”

“You already happen to have a badge, so maybe you should try using it yourself.”

Jeon Gwangil’s eyes wavered.

Player Awakening?

Me?

“If you don’t want to awaken, you can give it to someone else. Though you’d have to pass over the badge too.”

“...W-what’s the item worth?”

“Oh, come on, between us? It’s free. It’d be useless sitting with me anyway.”

What was the point of keeping it?

There was no one to give it to.

Jeon Gwangil had known about the existence of Platinum Badges for quite a while already, and he was even wearing one.

Family?

The only suitable candidate was his younger brother Minhyeok...

‘Would he even do it?’

A weak man and coward even worse than himself.

And he didn’t want to pressure him into it either.

If anything, it made the most sense for Jeon Gwangil to awaken.

After all, he was the Deputy Commissioner of the Awakening Administration—or rather, soon to be the Commissioner.

Commissioner of the TOWER PLAYER AWAKENING ADMINISTRATION.

What better justification could there possibly be than that?

*****

After finishing his business, Juhyeok came to the Namyangju villa.

From now on, it was time «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» to heal.

He summoned all the summoned entities at once.

Including Blood Wolf.

It felt satisfying.

Nine friends he didn’t have to pay friendship fees for.

How great was that?

It was fun just looking at their faces.

He held the badge-awarding ceremony too.

First, for the merit of sending Gyeon Dallae’s teacher Haeryeong to ascension, one badge for the Mad Demon.

“Ahem! My chest feels heavy. I can’t straighten my back.”

“There he goes again. If Mad Demon can’t straighten his back because of the weight, then our worker Rajix must be crawling around every day.”

“Shall I make you crawl around for real?”

“N-no, sir.”

Next, one badge for the Minister of the People’s Armed Forces of our Republic as well.

“Thank you, sir. Going forward as well, with the spirit of Juche revolution, I shall resolutely defend Summoner Bong. Long live Juhyeok!”

CLAP-CLAP-CLAP-CLAP!

“Oof, Mad Demon was right, sir. My back keeps bending.”

“...”

Of course Rajix couldn’t be left out either.

For the merit of discovering a high-grade Magic Stone vein, one badge.

“WAAH!”

CLAP-CLAP-CLAP-CLAP!

Rajix suddenly rolled around frantically in every direction.

“Worker Rajix.”

“WAAH?”

“Is it too heavy for you to stand?”

“WAAH!”

“Endure it. Only by bearing the weight of the badge can you be a true cosmic bald farmhand.”

“WAAAH!”

Unfortunately, Meatshield, Veronica, and Bardin were not recipients this time.

Blood Wolf was the same.

As for Gyeon Dallae, he would give her 21 all at once during the farewell ceremony.

She already had 4 pinned to her chest, so that made 25 total.

And finally, the highlight of the badge-awarding ceremony?

Naturally, it was the shut-in alchemist Aliamari.

Two Platinum Badges.

She more than qualified.

“Summoned entity Aliamari.”

Ding!

<Mari> : Yes♪♪月

“You are hereby awarded 2 Platinum Badges for completely annihilating the Twin Nine-Tailed Foxes and their subordinate foxes on Floor 76 with your explosive homunculi and overwhelming firepower.”

Ding!

<Mari> : Thank you. I’m really happy.

Then he opened the door to the camper where Mari was alone and quietly set down the two badges.

Swoosh.

A white hand came out and swiftly snatched up both badges.

CLAP-CLAP-CLAP-CLAP!

The badge-awarding ceremony was over.

Now the real party began.

They lit a fire, grilled meat, set up a simple screen to watch movies together, played games...

Time passed quickly.

And now it was time to send Gyeon Dallae off.

Juhyeok pressed the Summoned Entity Rank Breakthrough Rune and 21 Platinum Badges firmly into her hand and said,

“It’s okay even if the breakthrough fails. Just come back safely and in good health.”

Gyeon Dallae cried.

“This girl shall certainly succeed in her breakthrough and become a stepping stone upon the grand journey that you, my lord, walk.”

The other summoned entities said their farewells too.

“This warrior knows from experience. A breakthrough is no easy thing, but the Princess will succeed.”

“CERTAIN VICTORY! Congratulations on your promotion in advance.”

“Blessings upon the heathen shaman! O Light!”

“Return with your body whole.”

“WAAH.”

“I look forward to it. I shall hold my breath and wait.”

And then Gyeon Dallae was dismissed.

SPOT!

The farewell party was over.

A shame.

He wouldn’t get to see strict, serious, solemn Gyeon Dallae for two weeks.

“Starting today, noodle slurping is allowed again, sir.”

“This warrior will boil the ramen.”

“...Sergeant Ver, w-will you stay and have ramen?”

“You wanna die?”

One seat was empty now.

Time for the welcome party.

Was there any need to wait?

Might as well fill it with someone new.

“I’ll summon them right away.”

Would a proper person come out this time?

Then again, what did it matter who came out?

He was already used to it.

Wasn’t this his tenth summon already?

“Random Summon!”

FWAAAH!

A mass of light gathered.

FWAAAH!

The cluster of light merged into one.

POP! POP! POP! POP...

And then took form.

Who was it?

The gender appeared to be male.

At least from the outside.

Hair slicked back short and neat.

A pale face with not a trace of blood in it.

Bright red lips and eyes in sharp contrast.

A large black cloak draped over his back, and his overall appearance looked just like...

<Catalog: A master of flavor who dreams of becoming a gourmet vampire.>

Name: Jepetto

Rank: SSR (Special Super Rare)

Type: Vampire (Trueblood)

Manifestation Time Limit: 5 hours

Satisfaction Evaluation: None.

Resummon Cooldown: 3 hours (applies after dismissal)

‘...A vampire.’

Wait, vampires can be summoned too?

That was unsettling.

Beastkin and elves, sure, but...

The gourmet vampire noble Jepetto does not drink just any blood. Blood from humans whose souls remain unstained, pure and noble human blood—the taste Jepetto loves most.

Even so, he never killed humans, nor did he excessively suck their blood to turn them into thralls. Pure humans are extremely rare, so he first asked permission, then licked delicately and paid ample compensation. After all, he wanted to enjoy that taste for a long, long time.

Then an accident occurred. The Vampire Lord abducted the human he had been caring for, drank that human’s blood, and corrupted the victim into a low-ranking vampire demon. Jepetto became enraged. It was a human he had cherished dearly. So he rebelled. Naturally, he failed, and as punishment, the Vampire Lord tore out his heart and killed him.

“Master?”

“...Yes, yes.”

Even if he was a summoned entity, it was still creepy when a vampire suddenly addressed him.

“Thank you for summoning me. In that spirit, I have a request...”

“Go ahead.”

“Would you be willing to bestow your blood upon me, Master?”

“...Huh?”

My blood?

“Master, you are a person of nobler soul than any human I have ever met. If I were to taste your blood, it would be the honor and joy of my lifetime, as well as the supreme experience of a true gourmet...”

“...”

That felt strange.

The vampire Jepetto longed only for the blood of a human with a pure soul.

Which meant he was saying Juhyeok was one too.

Did that count as a compliment?

Right then—

“You crazy vampire bastard!”

Tspt!

“Huh?”

THUD!

“Keeeeek!”

Cossack’s dropkick exploded into Jepetto’s face.

“What? What did you say you were gonna do with Summoner Bong’s blood?”

Crash!

Jepetto went flying and tumbled across the ground from the kick.

At the same time, Bardin rushed over, grabbed him by the hair, lifted him up, and manifested Radiance.

“Die, demon bastard! O Light!”

“Kyaaaak!”

ZZZZT!

Jepetto’s body burned under the Radiance.

Veronica didn’t hold back either.

“The thing I hated most during military life was bloodsucking mosquito bastards like you!”

THUD! THUD! THUD!

She smashed the butt of her magic gun into his face over and over.

“Here, bite me too, then.”

Meatshield shoved his forearm at Jepetto’s mouth.

“Let’s see whether you can pierce the skin, or whether those reed-like fangs of yours just snap.”

The Mad Demon spoke in a chilly voice.

“Just don’t kill him. That would be too easy. We have plenty of time, so let’s beat him slowly.”

[Mari] : That @$#& bastard, I ought to shove a homunculus up his asshole and blow it up!

“Kill him!”

“Pull out his fangs!”

“Blood Wolf, bite him!”

“BARK BARK!”

“WAAAH!”

“H-hey, worker Rajix, go easy with the pickaxe. You’ll put a hole in his head.”

“Mari’s homunculus is here. Spread this bastard’s ass open.”

Vampire Jepetto was receiving a brutal initiation.

But then—

Ding!

[You have used Random Summon 10 times.]

Oh!

[The Catalog roster has reached its maximum of 10 entries.]

‘An achievement?’

[...A Catalog Expansion Ticket is required to register an 11th summoned entity.]

‘...Huh?’

[If an 11th Random Summon is performed without expanding the Catalog, the oldest entries on the roster will be deleted in order.]

‘What the hell is that supposed to mean?’

So the Catalog roster only went up to 10 people?

If he summoned one more, existing entries would be deleted.

And who would be the oldest entry?

Their Minister of the People’s Armed Forces, of course.

‘Haah, fuck.’

He had thought it was an achievement, but it turned out to be a limit.

A curse slipped out of him on its own.

Of course, there was no way he would ever summon an eleventh without an expansion.

Even so, just imagining Cossack being deleted from the roster made anger surge up inside him.

‘Is this another one of the tower’s tricks?’

[Catalog]: John Cossack / Barbarian Meatshield / Gyeon Dallae / Rajix / Mad Demon / Veronica Caliber / Lucius Bardin / Blood Wolf / Aliamari / Jepetto - Cannot add more entries.

‘...Well, that is a lot.’

Then again, endlessly summoning without limit would break the balance too.

If he just sat around for a year, the number would go up by 12.

There was no way the tower would simply allow that.

‘More importantly, where do you even get a Catalog Expansion Ticket?’

Judging by the item type, it would obviously come from a perk reward.

‘Well, is there really a problem?’

Until an expansion ticket showed up, he just had to refrain from using Random Summon.

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