The negotiation between the designer and the summoner Player.

In the end, the contract was concluded with only soul liberation placed on the scale.

A result somewhat different from what the administrators had expected at first.

Just how far would the difficulty rise?

[Isn’t it a bit ambiguous with only one soul liberation? Of course, it would be a nightmare for an ordinary Player, but for Earth’s summoner, it’s a bit...]

[If only he had placed just one more thing on it, there would’ve been nothing to worry about.]

[He gave up awfully fast. He even belittled himself, calling himself a coward.]

[He may look stupid and timid on the outside, but he’s a sly bastard. He’s not the strongest Player for nothing.]

[It might have been better not to make the contract at all.]

[No. In my judgment, this is enough. That’s why I made the contract.]

[Is it?]

[The equivalent-exchange weight of soul liberation is far greater than a Trait Enhancement Rune or a Catalog Expansion Ticket.]

[That’s true, but...]

[And it’s Floor 81. It wasn’t going to be easy in the first place. Add in the difficulty increase from equivalent exchange, and if he rushes in carelessly, he’ll pay an enormous price.]

[I agree. Even if he doesn’t die, the damage will be severe. A few of his summoned entities won’t make it out intact.]

[Right. And once that starts happening, his mental state will collapse.]

[Earth’s current summoner is extremely vulnerable in that area. If those reliable pillars around him disappear one by one, even luck won’t be able to save him.]

[A summoner Player having a mental breakdown... now that’s something to look forward to.]

[This is what a true trial looks like.]

Floor 81 could absolutely never be cleared.

The administrators did not doubt it for a second.

The difficulty had risen, but so had the guaranteed reward to match it.

To be honest, he did have something to rely on.

The reason this cowardly weak man had signed the contract.

Cossack’s already-scheduled rank breakthrough.

That meant the total combat power of the summoned entities would improve no matter what.

Before sending Cossack off, he planned to test the waters first.

Whether it was a mission that could be cleared now, or whether he should send Cossack away and do it two weeks later.

“Shall we go?”

“Yup!”

“This old man is ready as well.”

Just in case, he had not summoned Mari.

He might need her help.

[Entering Republic of Korea Black Tower (NO.2) Floor 81.]

He entered.

And then?

[By contract, the difficulty level of Republic of Korea Black Tower (NO.2) Floor 81 will be changed to Hell Mode.]

Hell Mode.

Hell difficulty.

‘Hmm.’

All of a sudden, I’m regretting making that contract.

Should I back out now?

[If the clear is successful, the difficulty of Republic of Korea Black Tower (NO.2) Floor 81 will fall back to Normal Mode.]

So it wasn’t permanent.

A temporary increase in difficulty in exchange for receiving the reward of Hartmann’s soul liberation.

If he succeeded, it would go back to normal.

If he failed, it would remain stuck in Hell Mode forever, until somebody cleared it.

If things went badly, North Korea’s second tower might even collapse.

And even if it collapsed and a new tower was generated, Floor 81 would probably still remain in Hell Mode.

[Have you confirmed the contract conditions?]

Eh.

Something’ll work out somehow.

‘Confirm.’

[The contract has been carried out.]

[The mission of Republic of Korea Black Tower (NO.2) Floor 81 has been changed.]

[Upon mission completion, Hartmann’s soul will be liberated from the tower’s bondage.]

A guaranteed reward.

That was probably why it was telling him in advance.

So what was the mission?

Just ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) how bad was Hell Mode?

Juhyeok kept walking.

A vast grassland.

And fog rising in a faint haze.

Ding!

[Floor 81 Mission: Kill 1 super-colossal monster Titan Behemoth.]

[Time limit for completion: within 2 hours.]

[Completion condition: super-colossal monster Titan Behemoth 0/1]

“......”

No, what the hell is this now?

A super-colossal monster Titan Behemoth?

‘That name doesn’t sound ordinary.’

And the time was extremely short too.

Just 2 hours.

Well, since we’re already in here, let’s at least poke at it.

Preparations for battle began.

Energy barrier, Blink Ring, he pulled out a shield too, and shared the mission with the summoned entities.

“The environment is acceptable. The terrain is flat, and it is neither hot nor cold.”

“It is.”

It wasn’t a perfectly flat plain, though.

“There’s one big mountain over there past the fog.”

A bald mountain with a gentle slope.

But then?

“Hmmm, and where exactly is this monster called the Behemoth?”

“It’s probably somewhere out on the plains.”

“Or maybe we have to climb that mountain.”

Since it had the modifier “super-colossal,” that had to mean it was very large.

Then it should have been visible the moment they entered.

Did they seriously have to find it and kill it?

A hide-and-seek type mission?

Was this some kind of time attack too?

Looking at the fog, it did seem that way.

Right then!

THOOM!

“Hm?”

A sound rang out across the grasslands of Floor 81.

THOOM!

“Uh...”

Even the ground shook with it, like an earthquake.

THOOM!

“It’s appeared.”

“Where?”

“Well, sounds like it’s coming from over by that bald mountain.”

The mountain.

THOOM!

The mountain.

THOOM!

The mountain?

THOOM!

“...Huh.”

Juhyeok doubted his own eyes.

THOOM!

Was what he was seeing actually real?

The other summoned entities froze too.

“My God.”

“That...”

“WAAH?”

“Th-there’s no way!”

“...Come on, that’s cheating.”

“Heh heh heh.”

It was a mountain.

No, he thought it was a mountain, but it was a monster.

THOOM!

The super-colossal monster Titan Behemoth.

THOOM!

The bald mountain was moving.

As it came closer, its shape became clear.

A quadrupedal monster that looked something like a bear.

Its exact size?

I’m telling you, it’s a mountain!

“...Can we kill that?”

And within 2 hours, at that.

No one said anything.

A moment later—

“This old man will go take a look. See whether my qi blade works on it.”

SPOT! PFFT-PFFT-PFFT!

The distance was enormous.

Mad Demon rapidly closed in on the Titan Behemoth.

Compared to the Behemoth, Mad Demon looked like a tiny speck.

ZIIIIING!

Mad Demon launched a crescent qi blade.

TSHHT!

At the Behemoth.

SLASH!

The sound of something being cut.

But—

“KRRRRAAAAAAAAGH!!!”

THOOM-THOOM-THOOM-THOOM-THOOM!

The Behemoth stomped the ground violently as if enraged.

Even at that distance, the shock made their bodies jolt.

SPAPAPAPAT!

Mad Demon ran back toward the group and said,

“I was able to wound it. Barely enough to cut its hide.”

But—

“The issue is time. Defeating that thing within 2 hours is impossible.”

That seemed right.

It was so absurdly huge that it felt physically impossible for it to even be walking around.

Mad Demon’s attack was nothing more than a slight sting.

At the level of poking it with a needle.

Sure, if you kept poking it, it would die eventually.

“And it seems the only summoned entities capable of fighting that thing are this old man, Staff Sergeant Bae, and Fairy Dallae.”

Melee was impossible.

How were you supposed to get close to that thing?

The moment you did, it would step on you and send you to the next world.

THOOM! THOOM! THOOM!

As if the wound from Mad Demon meant nothing at all, the Behemoth wandered around here and there.

Anyway, for now there was no solution.

“...Let’s get out.”

Juhyeok pulled a Tower Clearing Mission Reset Ticket out of his inventory.

The moment he grabbed the ticket in his hand—

[Would you like to use the Tower Clearing Mission Reset Ticket?]

[If used, you will automatically exit, the mission of the applicable floor will be reset, and your entry record will be deleted.]

That meant it would become an uncleared floor again, as if he had never entered it yet.

If he challenged it again and recorded an S+++ clear, he could receive Platinum Badges too.

Assuming it could be cleared at all.

RIIIIP!

[You have used the Tower Clearing Mission Reset Ticket. Exiting the tower.]

SPOT!

Juhyeok and the others returned to the penthouse once more.

“Phew.”

“Haa.”

“......”

“Wue.”

“Kkiiing.”

Everyone looked grim.

A difficulty level like that.

Juhyeok was the same.

His heart was still pounding.

The original mission had probably been to deal with an ordinary Behemoth.

But because a tower soul’s liberation had been placed on the scale, it had gained the modifier super-colossal Titan.

“...What do you think would’ve happened if we’d placed a Trait Enhancement Rune on the scale too?”

“Who knows. If I had to guess, it would’ve gotten even bigger, or faster...”

“Or the time limit might have gotten even shorter.”

And that was with only one thing placed on it.

Still, no matter what—

How were they supposed to kill something that big in 2 hours?

“Staff Sergeant Bae.”

“Staff Sergeant Veronica Caliber.”

“What if you slammed three large rounds into it in a row?”

“Hm. It might be enough to stop its advance, but I do not believe it would inflict meaningful damage.”

Right.

Even large rounds had limits.

In terms of the firepower of Earth weapons, maybe around the level of a 155mm artillery shell?

“We’d probably need a nuclear weapon to kill it.”

“With the explosive force of a nuke... if only we could detonate one on Floor 81.”

Modern scientific weapons could not be used inside the tower.

No, they could be used.

More precisely, the issue wasn’t that they couldn’t be used—it was that they couldn’t be brought inside.

Of course, among Earth’s firearms, there were some items that could be taken into the tower.

A representative example was a handgun.

Anything judged to count as a personal belonging.

Something you could carry in your hand or tuck into your waistband and enter with.

But any firearm larger than a handgun could not be judged a personal belonging.

That was why handguns were used for pulling monsters.

“What about shut-in alchemist bomb homunculi?”

“She used them all before. She says she’s making more, but we’d need numbers. A whole lot.”

It looked like they would need enough homunculi to blanket an entire mountain before they could deal meaningful damage.

And when was she supposed to make all that?

On top of that, the most important thing.

He wanted to clear this one overwhelmingly too.

Without his heart in his throat.

With peace of mind.

‘A nuclear weapon feels like it could produce results.’

No matter how huge the Behemoth was, how was it supposed to endure a nuke?

However— 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

“There’s no way to bring one into the tower... huh?”

Wait!

Why am I saying there isn’t?

Juhyeok quietly stared at Rajix.

“WAAH?”

The other summoned entities all turned their eyes toward Rajix too.

At the same time, they all realized it.

“Oh!”

“That’s right!”

“I see. Our worker’s backpack should be able to carry it.”

“That subspace backpack can fit an entire camper van.”

“If it’s our cosmic bald farmhand, it should be possible.”

“As expected of our Supply Officer. To think you can even supply a nuclear weapon.”

“WAAAH.”

There were no restrictions on Rajix’s backpack.

Tower items, outside items—it could put in and take out whatever it wanted.

But there was still one remaining problem.

Bringing it over was possible, but...

“Where do we even get a nuclear weapon?”

Not something a private individual could acquire even with money.

It was also extremely dangerous.

A national strategic weapon.

Well, if he really tried, it might not be impossible to get one, but then he’d get mistaken for a terrorist.

“What if you ask Commissioner Jeon Gwangil?”

“Korea doesn’t have nuclear weapons.”

“The United States, then? If you ask that Secretary MacMillan...”

Come on.

“It’s a nuclear weapon. No matter how close we are, there’s no way they’d give a private citizen a nuke... huh?”

Wait!

Why am I saying there isn’t?

Juhyeok quietly stared at Cossack.

“Huh? Why’re you looking at me, sir?”

“We had our proud Go Sageuk, Minister of the People’s Armed Forces comrade, right here.”

“Uh, uh... ah? Aha!”

It looked like Cossack had realized it too.

“This comrade shall show the Behemoth the people’s nuclear fire flavor. Just give the word!”

That was right.

Korea didn’t have them, but North Korea did.

“We’re leaving right now!”

“No. While we’re at it, let’s all go together.”

“Loyal! Long live Juhyeok!”

Let’s go carry off a few.

Stuff them into Rajix’s subspace backpack.

The direction of the clear had been decided.

The Behemoth would be cleared with a nuke.

Chairman Kim Injung was in an underground bunker.

Because Go Sageuk, the Minister of the People’s Armed Forces who protected him, was absent.

Lately, China’s movements had been anything but normal.

From China’s perspective, there was no way it would welcome the cozy relationship developing between South and North Korea.

Pressure was coming in from everywhere.

They might send assassins.

China’s economic support had already been cut off long ago.

Well, that part didn’t matter.

Support was coming from South Korea instead.

The Kaesong Industrial Complex had reopened, food was being supplied, and large-scale construction projects were being planned soon.

Honestly, it was a good thing.

It was actually more comfortable this way, being dragged forward by the collar like this.

The problem was the guarantee of his own safety.

Would he really survive even after the unification process was over?

He wished he could at least get a promise.

Not from Go Sageuk, but from the South Korean Player that man served.

He wanted to live.

He didn’t care if he had to let go of this power he couldn’t even protect.

He just wanted to live out his natural lifespan as an ordinary man in warm southern Jeju Island, then die in peace when his time came.

At that moment—

CLACK!

The steel door of the underground bunker opened automatically.

The only person who opened it and entered like that was—

“C-Comrade Go Sageuk!”

“Hey, Chairman Kim. Looks like you’ve been doing all right, huh.”

But he wasn’t alone.

“Good to see you. Do you remember this exalted one?”

“Uh, yes, yes.”

How could he not?

He had suffered for days because of that old man.

One after another, they filed into the bunker.

People of all ages and both sexes.

That bat-man he had met before, the woman with the huge gun slung on her back, the giant man, the Westerner in armor holding a flail.

“Hey there, enemy-leader boss. I’m Staff Sergeant Bae.”

“Good to meet you. Meatshield.”

“Repentant lamb! O Light!”

And then—

Sliiide.

A fairy maiden drifted forward through the air like a ghost.

“I am Gyeon Dallae. I serve my young master.”

And on top of that—

“Hoek!”

“Grrr...”

A hamster-man with a cute look and a large dog baring sharp teeth.

But the one who truly mattered was someone else.

The young man standing at the center of all of them.

Kim Injung knew it at once.

This was him.

“Hello, Chairman. I’m Bong Juhyeok.”

The Juhyeok from Long live Juhyeok.

“N-Nice to meet you. I am Kim Injung.”

The one he had to look best in front of here.

Even now, just look at them.

At the attitudes of the others.

They were surrounding Bong Juhyeok on all sides, protecting him with utmost devotion.

“...Please, sit here.”

He hurriedly gave up the seat he had been sitting in.

“Oh, no need to get up. Please stay seated. I can sit anywhere.”

And the place erupted.

“That will not do. Young master must sit in the seat of honor. Only then will discipline be set right.”

The fairy maiden objected.

“Commander, please sit here.”

The servicewoman called Staff Sergeant Bae pulled out a chair for him.

“WAAH!”

The hamster-man enthusiastically wiped down the chair with a microfiber cloth he had pulled out from somewhere.

And the rest arranged themselves to Juhyeok’s left and right, and behind him.

Gulp.

Chairman Kim Injung swallowed dryly and tensed up.

“Chairman, I hear things have been rough for you lately...”

“Huh? Ah! B-because of China.”

“Jeez. Why do those bastards keep meddling in other countries’ business?”

Juhyeok frowned.

And then—

“Just give the order. I’ll cut off the Chinese chairman’s head and tie it up with a ribbon.”

“Send this old man. I’ll bury him where neither rat nor bird will know.”

“Staff Sergeant Veronica Caliber. I will put a hole through his forehead.”

Even Jepetto, who had been reading the room, suddenly raised his hand high.

“Me! Me! Master, send me. I’ll handle it quietly and come back. That’s my specialty.”

Jepetto was desperately appealing for Juhyeok’s favor.

A chance to earn merit.

He had adapted somewhat by now.

He wanted to be doted on by his master too and earn himself a badge.

But did the other summoned entities have any intention of letting him?

“A newbie dares butt in?”

“Learn to read the room.”

Cossack snarled viciously.

“You vampire bitch, you’ve really gotten too big for your britches, huh? How long has it even been since you came out? Beneath you there’s nobody but that girl Diamat. Got it?”

Kim Injung was losing his mind.

The moment Bong Juhyeok frowned, everyone started volunteering to go deal with the Chinese chairman.

They looked desperate for a chance to earn merit.

Ahhh.

He was nothing.

The real supreme leader was here.

In the middle of it all, Juhyeok brought the situation under control.

“All right, all right, calm down. We’ve got something more urgent than China right now. Let’s deal with priorities first.”

Then he turned to Kim Injung.

“There’s something I need to ask of you.”

“An-anything at all, just say the word!”

“I need nuclear weapons. Could you give me a few?”

“...What?”

“I’ll pay for them.”

What did he just ask for?

Had he heard wrong?

“D-Do you mean nuclear weapons?”

“Yeah. I don’t need the missiles. Just the warheads.”

“Uh, uh...”

Kim Injung looked completely bewildered.

He had no idea what he was even supposed to say.

At that sight, Go Sageuk suddenly barked at him furiously.

“Chairman comrade! Does this republic have any need for nuclear weapons right now?”

“Th-that’s not what I—”

“And didn’t he say it ain’t free? He said he’d pay! Sell the nukes and let the people of the republic eat white rice and meat soup!”

“......”

At that instant—

Saaaaa.

A terrifying killing intent, sharp enough to flay flesh.

Mad Demon whispered with a sinister smile,

“Shall I make this decision easier for you?”

Only then did Kim Injung come to his senses.

In the current situation, what use were nuclear weapons?

It was true—they had become completely useless.

“I-I’ll give them to you.”

“I’ll make sure to pay well.”

“No need. Please take them for free.”

“Oh, that’s incredibly generous of you.”

Nuclear weapons, acquired!

Once they learned how to use them, they would try detonating one on Floor 81.