Floor 80, where Diamat’s Copy existed.

For now, there were no summoned entities here who knew this place.

This was their first time on Floor 80 too.

They had heard bits and pieces from other souls, but said they could not remember the really important parts.

[Entering Republic of Korea Black Tower (NO.2) Floor 80.]

The environment was an ordinary forest.

A beautiful full moon hung in the night sky.

But after receiving the mission—

the moment he took one step forward!

“...Huh?”

The surroundings around Juhyeok changed.

“Suddenly?”

It was a familiar place.

The classroom of the high school he used to attend.

Students in uniforms, absorbed in studying.

Juhyeok was sitting in a desk chair.

It was the seat he had always sat in.

“It’s been a while.”

To be honest, it did not feel very good.

An unpleasant feeling was already washing over him.

What had his high school years been to Juhyeok?

Bullying and abuse.

Not only had he had no friends, he had been a loner who ate school lunch by himself.

But had it only been miserable?

There had also been happiness, like rain after a drought.

“Jinsuk.”

Oh Jinsuk.

The girl Juhyeok had had a crush on.

Of course, he had never even tried confessing.

She had been one of the rough kids.

A girl people called one of the school toughs.

Jinsuk, who wore a short skirt, dragged her slippers as she walked, and when she was bored would tap him on the head as she passed by.

“...But I still liked her.”

His heart had pounded at the sight of her smiling just a little after smacking him on the head.

But if one were to ask why he was suddenly thinking of Oh Jinsuk...

She was right in front of him.

Hair twisted up, the fine down on the back of her pale neck.

He knew just from the sight of her back.

Then suddenly!

Oh Jinsuk turned her head and looked back.

Then she smiled at him with her eyes.

“Juhyeok.”

“...Uh? Me?”

“Yeah. Want to go to karaoke after class?”

Karaoke?

Is she really talking to me?

SWISH!

Jinsuk moved in close.

Close enough that he could directly feel her breath.

“Let’s go sing together. We can dance too. You know I’m good at dancing, right?”

Of course he knew.

Jinsuk was always a regular in the school talent shows.

Aaaaah!

Their lips were way too close.

Close enough for him to catch a sweet scent.

“Should we buy some beer too? Oh, right, I get drunk after just one can. And when I get drunk, I start taking my clothes off anywhere.”

“......”

His heart pounded wildly.

He wanted to throw studying aside and run outside immediately, but...

‘No!’

A sense of dissonance rising from deep in his chest.

‘That can’t be right.’

Why would Oh Jinsuk, the most popular girl in school, the ultra queen bee, lose her mind and start talking to him?

More than anything, there was one huge thing that was off.

The scent coming from Jinsuk’s mouth was not something this sweet at all...

‘It reeks of stale cigarettes.’

Jinsuk.

If you don’t smell like cigarettes, then you’re fake.

And then he realized it.

That he was in the middle of climbing Floor 80.

‘Diamat.’

The culprit that had dragged him into an illusion.

‘Well, even if it was only for a moment...’

It made me happy to see you again, Jinsuk.

Now I need to get out.

“Sorry, Jinsuk!!!”

TSHHT!

Juhyeok swung and smacked Oh Jinsuk right on the head.

SMACK!

“Eek!!”

Huh?

What was that?

He could feel impact in his hand.

Was that actually real?

“Y-Young master!”

Holy shit!

It was Gyeon Dallae.

She had been struck on the head by Juhyeok’s hand and was staring at him with round eyes.

Oh no.

“A-are you all right?”

“I am perfectly unharmed. I was merely startled for a moment.”

That was a relief.

Good thing he had not hit her hard.

“But who might this Jinsuk be...?”

Hmm.

“S-she was just a classmate.”

“Ahh! Is that so?”

This was so damn embarrassing.

Anyway, it had to be the doing of Diamat, the Floor 80 boss, but he had fallen for it without resisting at all?

“How shameful.”

“Please do not blame yourself.”

“But...”

“Other than myself, Mad Demon, and Meatshield, everyone else is still in the dream.”

Huh?

So it was not just me?

Right then—

“HUURK! HUUUURK!”

THUDTHUDTHUDTHUD!

Right next to Juhyeok, Rajix was jabbing away with red eyes blazing, repeatedly slamming his pickaxe down.

Then he picked up an ordinary stone that had come out of the ground.

“Hooeeeh, Trait Enhancement Rune, 3 badges...”

He was doing that.

As for Veronica—

“Mmmh. I’m not on night watch today. If you wake me up, I’ll kill you.”

She was lying sprawled out with a blissful smile, sleep-talking in her dream.

“Light!!!”

Bardin had both hands clasped tightly together and was praying while tears streamed down his face.

The vampire Jepetto was biting Meatshield’s forearm and trying to suck blood that had not even come out.

‘This is driving me insane.’

Apparently even the dog was dreaming.

Blood Wolf was chewing on a stick it had picked up somewhere as if it were a bone.

Then what about Cossack?

He was curled up and sleeping like a baby. What kind of dream was he having?

“...Dad.”

Ahhh.

I see.

It was his father.

How much must he have missed him?

His real father by blood.

Tears welled up, and Juhyeok’s nose stung.

It looked like he was talking to Hartmann in his dream.

“Dad, what do you think of Staff Sergeant Bae? Huh? She’s ordinary?”

Hmm?

“You’re saying Princess Dallae is way better? Then you’ve got no eye for women, Dad. You clearly don’t know much about our bouncy Staff Sergeant Bae. If you saw her fire a large round, you’d change your mind. I’ll show you what she looks like in a bikini real soon.”

Seriously.

“Oh, come on, daughter-in-law? Which one? ...Huh! Both of them? Aha! So a hero keeps three wives and four concubines? A harem sounds great. Heh heh heh heh.”

Cossack was having a wonderful dream.

“...I wish I could just fire off a shot.”

“Then fire one off right now.”

Before he knew it, Mad Demon had approached Juhyeok with a satisfied smile.

“As expected of the summoner. You woke first.”

“...Me?”

“Indeed. One cannot resist the dream domain cast by an incubus. What matters is how quickly one wakes.”

Ah! So it could not be resisted.

From what he heard, Princess Gyeon Dallae had awakened first of all.

The moment she was caught in the dream, she judged that it was not reality and opened her eyes. Then she saw Diamat’s Copy flying in, so she hurriedly threw a Demon-Repelling Talisman and drove it away.

“That’s scary.”

A tower floor boss of a completely different type.

“Shouldn’t we wake them up?”

“I already tried. But none of them moved at all.”

“Leave them be. In the dream domain, each one must overcome it personally.”

Tsk tsk, can’t they tell just by looking that it’s a dream?

“I sense the presence of that wanton bitch over there, so this old man shall fetch her.”

Then—

“Fairy maiden, remain by the summoner’s side.”

“Will you be all right?”

“Hmph! Do you think such petty witchcraft could dare invade this old man’s mind? And even if it could! You slow-witted ox! You come too.”

“Understood. The warrior goes too.”

SPOT!

The two vanished.

A moment later—

BOOOOM!

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

A deafening crash echoed across Floor 80.

“Kyaaaaak!”

He could hear a scream too.

“You damned monster bitch! How dare you!”

In the end, Diamat came being dragged back by the hair in Mad Demon’s grip.

‘So that was Diamat.’

A woman in an almost half-naked state.

Cute little horns on her head.

Black hair and black eyes.

She had wings and a tail too.

“It was a Succubus Queen. How could anyone resist the dream after that?”

Diamat looked at Juhyeok with pitiful eyes.

What am I supposed to do about that?

“The witchcraft was frightening, but physically it was weak. Well. I know not about the true one.”

Gyeon Dallae approached Diamat.

“So it was you. Let us have a little conversation together.”

She was activating the Tracking Talisman.

At this point, it was almost done already.

They had seen her appearance, and they had experienced her dream domain as well.

“Fairy Princess, are you done?”

“It is sufficient.”

“Then I shall finish it.”

CRRRRUNCH!

Mad Demon twisted Diamat’s neck.

[Kill Demonic Beast Lord Diamat (Copy) 1/1.]

[Reward: 80kg of Magic Stones / Diamat’s Eye.]

[Global Notice: You have achieved clear grade S+++ on Black Tower (Korea), Floor 80.]

There was a reward too.

Diamat’s Eye. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

But—

‘Ugh...’

It really was an eyeball.

A round, spherical eye.

‘Why are they giving me something like this?’

<Diamat’s Eye>

Effect: This is a material item.

So it was a material.

He could just hand it over to Mari.

Let’s postpone tracking Diamat’s True body until tomorrow.

He might need to use the Ring of Tower Exit anyway.

He also needed to prepare.

He had been this helplessly trapped even by the dream domain spread by a copy.

‘If it’s the true one?’

Even Gyeon Dallae, Mad Demon, and Meatshield could be in danger.

He would have to make preparations first, then go hunt it down.

 A shabby restaurant in Beijing, China.

Because it was close to Zhongnanhai, it was a place many Chinese government officials frequented.

It was famous for douzhi, a bean soup made from ground beans, and youtiao, fried bread sticks.

Originally it had been run by an elderly couple, but recently a woman in her thirties named Lingling had started helping out at the restaurant.

The food tasted good, of course, but there were also quite a few customers who came to see Lingling.

She was not strikingly, breathtakingly beautiful, but she had a smile that made people feel good, handled the hard restaurant work with ease, and was kind to customers.

That was why it was packed even in the early morning.

“Welcome.”

“Ah! Lingling, the usual.”

“Yes, please have a seat.”

A middle-aged man with more than half his hair gone sat down in a chair.

“Deputy Minister, you’re a little late today.”

“I came after having a huge fight with my wife at home. About our son.”

“Oh my? So that’s why you look so tired.”

Lingling wore a sympathetic expression.

“Was I? Anyway, the brat says he wants to study abroad in Korea, but how can I allow that? The atmosphere’s bad from every angle these days.”

Lingling smiled gently and patted the Chinese official on the shoulder.

“Everything will work out. Don’t worry.”

“Hahaha, thank you, Lingling. You’re the only one.”

Right at that moment!

[Global Notice: You have achieved clear grade S+++ on Black Tower NO.2 (Korea), Floor 78.]

“...Huh?”

“Ah!”

The global notice rang out without warning.

“This is driving me crazy. I hear it when I’m eating, I hear it when I’m sleeping. At this point it’s noise pollution. Don’t you think so too, Lingling?”

“That’s right. I think I’ve gotten used to it, and then a notice goes off and it still startles me every time.”

The people inside the restaurant all started muttering comments of their own.

“Floor 78, huh? Goddamn it! Here we go again today.”

“If it’s Korea’s second tower, is that North Korea?”

“Those North Korean bastards have it good. They won’t ever have to worry about Tower Collapse.”

“Are there really no talented Players among our great nation’s Players?”

“Forget tower-clearing, I wish we’d at least won the soccer match...”

“But wait, wasn’t Floor 76 the last one yesterday? Then why’s it starting from Floor 78? What about Floor 77?”

Global notices were heard by everyone.

Every single person on Earth.

Even those who were not Earthlings could hear them.

For example, Diamat, who had polymorphed into the Chinese woman Lingling.

‘Hmm, come to think of it, the consecutive S+++ clears stopped.’

It had skipped one floor.

The notice should have started from Floor 77, but the current global notice was Floor 78.

‘What was Floor 77 again?’

Lingling—no, Diamat—thought back on the Floor 77 mission.

‘There was nothing special about it.’

It was not difficult.

It belonged to the category of very easy missions.

Even the extreme difficulty was easy.

All one had to do was finish off a dying Sword Master bound in chains.

‘Well, I guess he must have made some kind of mistake.’

Anyway, it was a good sign.

He would not have received badges, and would be losing special benefits too.

And then there was Floor 79, the gateway to Floor 80.

The time attack mission that unfolded in the Baratheon Imperial Palace.

‘He won’t clear that either. Even if he can make it to the high-difficulty optional mission...’

The extreme difficulty would be absolutely impossible.

Kallios, the target of the clear, was hidden in one of the hundred rooms of the detached palace.

A maze and a time limit.

Until now, not a single Player had ever succeeded in clearing the extreme difficulty.

‘So he won’t get badges this time either.’

A slight smile leaked out.

At that, every customer in the restaurant stole glances at her.

Who could possibly resist the allure of the Succubus Queen?

This restaurant was visited not only by lower-level officials but sometimes by top-ranking officials of the Chinese Communist Party as well.

She would slowly seep into China’s ruling class.

And later, even bend the Chairman of China to her will.

It was a neighboring country close to Korea.

If she waited for an opportunity and dropped even a single nuke on the city that bastard lived in—

Right then!

Another notice was heard.

[Global Notice: You have achieved clear grade S+++ on Black Tower NO.2 (Korea), Floor 79.]

Diamat’s eyes widened.

‘...What?’

Floor 79?

How had that happened?

‘He found the emperor and killed him within ten minutes?’

How?

What method had he used?

Maybe he was cheating.

But cheats should have been blocked starting in the seventies.

And that was not all.

After some time passed—

[Global Notice: You have achieved clear grade S+++ on Black Tower (Korea), Floor 80.]

[Global Notice: The Demonic Beast Lord Diamat (Copy) has been extinguished on Floor 80 of the Republic of Korea Black Tower (NO.2).]

Diamat had no choice but to freeze in place while carrying food.

‘...He made it all the way to Floor 80?’

Even her own copy had been killed.

He really was a crazy summoner, just as expected.

The hand holding the tray trembled.

Even if it was only a copy, once one was caught in the dream domain, it should not have been easy.

‘W-what if he comes looking for me?’

No.

He would never find her.

The world was vast.

How would he ever know she was hiding in China?

 Three floors in one day.

And all of them cleared at S+++ grade.

Naturally, an uproar broke out.

└ Floor 80!!!

└ So he killed Diamat. Is it over now?

└ It’s a copy. Not the true one.

└ So there’s no special benefit this time?

└ Hard to say. Maybe something will happen when the true one gets caught.

└ What about the Floor 81 climbing gift? There’s that four-item set, right?

└ You won’t know until someone actually climbs it.

└ But why did Floor 77 skip the S+++?

└ Must’ve been a hard floor.

└ How hard was it?

└ No idea. Only the top Players would know.

└ Somebody go ask already.

The Korean Awakening Administration was just as curious.

Just what kind of floor was Floor 77?

That was why Jeon ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ Gwangil called Juhyeok.

It looked like he was very curious.

“Player Bong, it’s me.”

“Ah! Commissioner, you’ve been busy lately, right?”

“Haha, not at all. Compared to you, Player, I’m basically loafing around. Right! Did you find any clues about Diamat after going up to Floor 80?”

“Well, I’m not sure yet, but I think I’ll need to climb it a few more times.”

“Could it be that the Demonic Beast Lord Diamat is some particular type of...”

Juhyeok explained in detail what Diamat had looked like on Floor 80.

And the fact that it was a demon that dug into human consciousness and made people dream, which meant clearing it would be difficult unless you had an exceptionally strong mind.

“Then the true Diamat too?”

“Yes. It’ll seduce people in their dreams.”

“...That’s bad. Ordinary people would be bewitched without fail.”

“We have to catch it as fast as possible.”

It was a completely different type from every floor boss they had faced until now.

In truth, its physical force had been ordinary.

Well, even without exceptional talent, it was the kind of thing any Level 80 Player could kill.

The problem was the dream domain Diamat cast.

How many people could break out of that?

“And this may be an awkward question, but how exactly did Floor 77...”

“Ah! Floor 77?”

So he was asking because the S+++ clear grade had been skipped.

He should explain it in detail.

“It’s difficult. Really difficult. Especially the final extreme-difficulty optional mission, where you duel the Ruined Sword Master...”

“A-a Sword Master?”

“That’s right. He was genuinely terrifying. If you tried to duel him, you’d just die. Even my team members underestimated him, rushed in, and all came running back.”

“Ah!”

“So spread it widely to every government in the world. Tell them they must absolutely never attempt the extreme-difficulty mission on Floor 77. The moment they start it, they’ll die.”

“Yes, understood.”

Actually, the truth was the opposite.

Once one killed Gillian, Leader of the Alto Island Prisoners, in the high-difficulty mission, Sword Master Hartmann was easy as pie.

He was someone who had weakened after falling into a heart demon. One skill hit would probably send him off.

And just leave it there for Players to clear him?

He was Cossack’s father.

There was no way he could allow that.

Anyway, he was planning to catch Diamat tomorrow.

Before that, he would enter Floor 80 and experience the dream domain a few more times.

He needed to build up immunity.

That way, even if he got caught in it, he would come to his senses quickly.