It was a spectacular clear.

The entire jungle had gone up in flames.

Mackenzie collapsed from exhaustion.

And understandably so.

He had unleashed three terrifying large-area fire spells in rapid succession, draining his mana down to his very soul.

Everyone returned to the penthouse, but Mackenzie lay sprawled flat in the living room.

He pushed himself too hard.

He must have thought this was his chance.

So he had poured out every last ounce of strength he had and cast those spells.

All the blood summons were dismissed at once so they could rest comfortably in White Tower Floor 17.

SPOT!

SPOT!

SPOT!

After some time passed, Mackenzie recovered, got up in White Tower Floor 17, and—

"Good grief, clearing twice like that would kill a man. Still, you really worked hard."

"I-It was nothing."

"It was stronger than a nuclear explosion, you know?"

"How could it compare to a nuke? It was nothing more than trivial fireplay. Hahaha."

He said that, but Mackenzie was clearly elated by Juhyeok's praise.

Naturally, the spotlight shone on him again.

The other blood summons continued showering him with compliments.

"That was blazing hot! A real man's fire, a real man!"

"Well done. ...Shall we have a drink together tonight?"

"Mackenzie, you've earned great merit. I have very high expectations for you going forward."

"Let's keep going together. Heave-ho!"

Mackenzie responded in kind.

"Heave-ho!"

At last, a proper reevaluation.

His heart finally felt at ease.

At the same time, confidence slowly welled up.

What was it Mari had said again?

That he wouldn't be acknowledged through climbing clears?

Acknowledged?

He was acknowledged.

Turns out he could do it.

This was just the beginning.

True, fire magic wasn't suited for leather-harvesting clears, but in mass-destruction missions like Floor 83, he was unrivaled.

He had firmly secured his spot.

He wouldn't be sidelined anymore.

"By the way, what were you making when you were summoned earlier?"

Mackenzie grinned.

Come to think of it, he had one more contribution to show off.

"An artifact."

Juhyeok tilted his head.

Just what kind of artifact was it?

He had been so absorbed in it that he hadn't even noticed being summoned.

"What kind?"

"To contribute, even a little, to our household finances, I made a product we can sell on the market."

With that, he pulled two bracelets from his robe.

"Introducing—the Weight-Loss Bracelet!"

Ta-da!

With music playing, the bracelets floated gently into the air.

One was silver, the other a dark grayish-black.

Both slowly rotated in midair, sparkling brilliantly.

Mackenzie had even gone so far as to add special effects to the artifacts he made himself.

"Wear it on your wrist, and it stabilizes your body's balance and boosts metabolism, helping you lose weight gradually!"

He sounded like a home-shopping host.

"Is it expensive because it's made of orichalcum? Not at all!"

The darker bracelet popped forward.

"This one is made of adamant. There's almost no performance difference compared to orichalcum."

Adamant was the most common of tower metals.

The White Tower warehouse was full of it.

"And since normal Magic Stones are enough to produce the effect, production costs are low, making it very affordable."

Impressive.

As expected of a 9-circle mage.

"...You're saying we should sell this on the market?"

"Yes. As a health bracelet. No need for pharmaceutical approval."

It was a solid plan.

It might even make more money than the leather business.

"There is one drawback, though."

"What is it?"

"Since it uses normal Magic Stones, the enchantment only lasts about three months."

That was even better.

It meant people would have to buy a new bracelet every three months.

How many obese people were there worldwide?

An astronomical number.

It wasn't just about losing weight.

Diabetes, hypertension, cholesterol... people would get healthier.

It was practically saving lives.

The problem was—

We need to be able to mass-produce them...

Mackenzie seemed aware of that too.

"The bracelet bodies can be custom-manufactured externally and brought in bulk."

Enchanting them wasn't difficult.

As long as the body had slots for Magic Stones and engraved grooves for the powder.

"What if someone copies the formula exactly?"

"Drawing the formula alone won't make it work."

The key was high-purity Magic Stone powder refined by an alchemist.

And, most importantly, the enchantment spell that activated the formula.

Without those two, it wouldn't work at all.

Then should they commission the bodies from a player workshop?

Place the order there and bring them in—

Just then—

"WAAH..."

Rajix timidly raised a hand.

"Yes?"

"Bracelets... I can make them. WAAH."

"I can make lots. WAAAH!"

Right.

One of Rajix's skills included Blacksmithing.

He had even repaired the holy sword before.

"You can really mass-produce them?"

"WAAH!"

"Our handyman really can do anything."

"WAAH."

"Let's start by setting up a workshop."

Producing bracelets in a factory inside the White Tower.

Didn't that mean they could churn out items without the tower-exclusive label?

Watching this, Mackenzie felt bitter.

Rajix could do blacksmithing too?

There really was nothing Rajix couldn't do.

An all-purpose worker. A cosmic super-handyman.

Mackenzie decided to give up on beating him for now.

Rajix held the undisputed number-one position.

So Mackenzie set his sights on number two.

Being second was good enough.

After all, that still put ten people beneath him.

Meanwhile, Juhyeok was thoroughly satisfied.

With good people around him, everything progressed smoothly and quickly.

Still, confirmation was necessary.

It wasn't that he didn't trust a 9-circle mage, but—

We need to test whether it really works.

It could be mistaken for pseudoscience.

Germanium bracelets, negative-ion generators, hexagonal water, electromagnetic-wave-blocking stickers...

On ordinary people, not players.

At that point, Cossack spoke up.

"Give one of the two to me."

"Huh?"

"I know a severely obese person very well. Perfect test subject."

"Ah!"

Juhyeok knew exactly who he meant.

"He needs to stay healthy. At least until North and South are unified."

Perfect.

Give one to Chairman Kim Injung for testing.

And the other?

...

One person came to Juhyeok's mind.

Someone he likewise wanted to stay healthy and run his company for a long time.

I'll give it to CEO Jung Donghoon.

That aside, he couldn't just let this pass.

"Grand Archmage Mackenzie Dronak!"

"Hm? Why—"

"Step forward."

"Uh... d-don't tell me?"

Juhyeok pulled a Platinum Badge from his inventory.

"Hyuk!"

Mackenzie rushed over and stood at attention.

"You have excellently defeated Giant Queen Spider Arachroid on Floor 83 and contributed to the operating funds of White Tower Floor 17 through the creation of the Weight-Loss Artifact. In recognition of these merits, you are hereby awarded a Platinum Badge."

At the same time, grand background music played.

Ta-da—ta-ra-ra-ran!

BANG! BANG!

Small fireworks burst in midair.

Mackenzie puffed out his chest.

The Platinum Badge gleamed brilliantly.

CLAP CLAP CLAP CLAP CLAP CLAP CLAP!

The blood summons congratulated him sincerely.

"All right, let's party."

Let's enjoy ourselves to our hearts' content.

And then—

"Mackenzie, do you drink?"

"I can drink like a fish."

Yes!

Another drinking buddy.

Sure, they were two old men—but so what?

Grill meat, swim in the pool, sunbathe, watch movies for those who wanted to.

Pour. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

Juhyeok poured the first drink for today's star, Mackenzie.

"Oh my, I'm truly honored."

Then for the Mad Demon as well.

Pour.

With three people drinking together, the alcohol tasted even better.

He didn't even need side dishes.

Mackenzie was happy.

Praise from the summoner, a badge, and even a drink poured by his own hand.

Wasn't this qualification enough?

He felt like at least number three now.

He had to firmly secure his position as number two.

So who did he need to surpass?

The Mad Demon?

No.

He had heard stories.

When the Mad Demon first appeared, he had badly displeased the summoner and barely gotten summoned at all, stuck with the lowest rating.

The Mad Demon wasn't a threat.

He could beat him easily.

That princess fairy...

She used mysterious talisman arts, but she wasn't his equal.

Nor the brute-strength barbarian warrior, the foul-mouthed elf who never left his room, or the flashy gunmage.

That left one person.

The assassin, Cossack.

The guy who clung to the summoner during every clear, shamelessly buttering him up.

He was the summoner's confidant—and the current number two.

Mackenzie had to surpass Cossack.

Only then could he claim the position of number two: cosmic archmage, right below the cosmic super-handyman.

But how could he put that man beneath his feet?

He couldn't match Cossack's smooth talking.

While he was deep in thought—

"B-Bong Summoner."

Cossack came running over from the pool, dripping wet.

"What is it?"

Grinning broadly, he leaned in and whispered.

"Did you meet Jinsuk?"

Juhyeok flinched.

What?

How did he know?

"Don't tell me—"

He snapped his head around and looked at Veronica Caliber.

She lowered her head and avoided his gaze.

It was Veronica Caliber.

"I heard everything from Veronica Caliber."

"...I-It was just a coincidence."

"Is there such a thing as coincidence in this world? It's all destiny."

What nonsense?

Destiny my ass!

"...The world's smaller than you think. We just happened to run into each other."

But Cossack kept grinning as he went on.

"So, how was it, seeing Jinsuk in person?"

"...She's worse than Veronica Caliber."

"Of course she is! Who can beat Veronica Caliber? If you set your standards by her, you're doomed."

"...That's true."

And it wasn't just Veronica Caliber.

There was Diamat, a former succubus.

There was Gyeon Dallae, who had recently been promoted to a fairy and grown noticeably more mature.

There was Mari too—born an elf, even if he hadn't gotten a good look at her face yet.

"In that sense, how about seriously dating Jinsuk?"

"W-What kind of nonsense is that—"

"I'm not saying you should marry her. I'm against Jinsuk becoming the madam too. Still, you're a man—shouldn't you at least try dating once?"

To be honest, he had already dated her.

Married her too.

Had five kids.

Sent them to kindergarten, watched them graduate, get jobs, and even saw his grandchildren.

Of course, all of that was in his imagination.

That aside—

Who was giving him dating advice right now?

"Well, even so, I don't really want advice from a lifelong virgin."

"Oh my, Summoner Bong, you didn't know? I'm incredibly popular."

What?

"When I show up in downtown Pyongyang, women cry rivers and shout, 'Comrade Minister of the People's Armed Forces!' while charging at me. They beg me to hold them. I can't even walk forward."

It didn't sound like a lie.

But where did he get off bragging like that?

Should he just dismiss him right now?

"Should I get Jinsuk's phone number for you?"

"For crying out loud! Do I look like I'm in a position to date right now? Huh? Do you know how much I have to do? Huh? I have to decorate Floor 17, climb the upper floors, plan the mass production of weight-loss bracelets—my head is already spinning!"

"...S-Sorry."

It wasn't like he didn't want to date.

The problem was that his standards had gotten way too high, and whenever he tried talking to women, his inherent small-timer instincts kicked in and he froze up.

It wasn't that he wouldn't—

He couldn't.

Damn it. You ruined the mood.

Juhyeok glared at Cossack with his eyes alone.

The perceptive blood summons would never miss this golden opportunity.

They swarmed in, pointing fingers at Cossack.

"How ridiculous. Acting like some kind of dating expert."

"As if he's popular. Women just chase him because he's the Minister of the People's Armed Forces."

"Has he ever even dated? Ending every sentence with '-smda' and '-imda'—who'd like that?"

"He's asking to get beaten. Really asking for it."

"The warrior finds the assassin pathetic."

"We should've done random summons instead of expanding the Catalog."

"Yeah. He'd have been deleted already."

"This is the perfect chance to sew Cossack's mouth shut. He's the root of all evil."

"Sew it shut? Just stuff a grenade in it and blow it up."

"WAAAH!"

"WOOF! GRRR!"

Cossack was completely at a loss.

"N-No, that's not what I meant—"

Rolling his eyes around, he desperately tried to explain ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) his way out of it, but there was no chance.

Juhyeok stayed silent.

He deserved it.

Just then—

Ding!

A message arrived on the tablet.

He checked it lazily.

It was from Mari.

Not sent to him directly—she had asked him to pass it on to Cossack.

"Ugh..."

The kind of curses you could barely even say out loud.

He had to show the man himself.

"Cossack?"

"Y-Yes?"

"This is a message from Mari. Please read it."

Cossack seemed to sense what it contained.

"...Do I really have to?"

"Here."

He squinted and read the message on the tablet.

"...Ugh."

Cossack shut his eyes tightly.

From beginning to end—it was nothing but abuse.

"Punishment is required."

"Please show him an example."

"This might be a good chance to behead Cossack and see where he stays during the 100-day summoning ban."

Cossack was completely overwhelmed.

Gulp.

Watching this, Mackenzie swallowed hard.

The alcohol sobered him up instantly.

The once-undisputed number-two blood summon plummeting into the abyss over a single slip of the tongue.

He was being torn apart far worse than Mackenzie ever had been.

Should he be happy about this?

No way.

He himself could end up like Cossack at any time.

He had experienced it before.

This place was a demon's den.

Do well a hundred times, mess up once, and you'd be paraded around and torn to shreds.

Walking on thin ice.

He had to stay sharp.

Forget ambition.

Number two?

As long as he didn't slip down the ranks, that was already a win.

At that moment—

SPOT!

Someone appeared on White Tower Floor 17.

"Oh! Former Director!"

"The monthly tenant is here."

"WAAH!"

It was Commissioner Jeon Gwangil.

These days, he visited once or twice a day without fail.

Juhyeok had sold him a monthly pass.

"Um... did I come at a bad time?"

"No, not at all. You came at just the right time, Commissioner Jeon!"

Cossack quickly ran over to greet him.

Thankfully, the barrage of criticism stopped thanks to Commissioner Jeon Gwangil's arrival.

Juhyeok welcomed him as well.

"Welcome. Come over and have a drink."

"...Uh, I have to drive later."

"Just call a designated driver."

Another drinking companion joined.

There were four people around the table now.

The atmosphere steadily improved.

And the alcohol went down easily.

A pleasant buzz crept in.

The Mad Demon had taught him how to circulate inner energy to dispel drunkenness, but he didn't feel like doing that.

Why waste good alcohol sobering up?

Even if he passed out from drinking.

Commissioner Jeon Gwangil seemed to be in good spirits too.

"Gentlemen, I'll mix you a perfect somaek."

"Hahaha, civil servants are good at mixing those."

"You've worked hard—for the country, and for cleaning up after our summoner."

"It's only natural, sir."

Commissioner Jeon Gwangil was now completely at ease with the blood summons.

Seeing that made Juhyeok feel proud.

This drink really hits the spot today.

All thanks to private White Tower Floor 17.

Juhyeok looked around with distant eyes.

The space he was building.

His city.

Something felt slightly missing.

Wasn't there something symbolic—something to represent this place?

Suddenly, he remembered the 61-story building on Gangnam-daero that he had copied when visiting CEO Jung Donghoon.

A one-trillion-won building.

He had bought it and barely even visited.

I already copied it anyway.

It would be nice to paste it over there.

Should I try it?

[The cost to paste this structure is 50 tons of high-grade Magic Stones. Proceed?]

50 tons.

That was a lot.

Converted to market value, it was over 100 billion won.

Do it or not?

Decorating Floor 17 was one thing, but he was also planning to build an elevator.

Installation cost: 1,000 tons of high-grade Magic Stones.

He currently had just over 200 tons.

Honestly, I'm curious.

Where would the elevator take him?

Another parallel universe?

Or just vertical movement within the White Tower?

But if I spend 50 tons here...

The elevator would be delayed.

Was it worth pasting it?

Why not? When have I ever acted based on "value"?

Fifty tons—he'd earn it back in no time.

Who was he, after all?

Wasn't he the alpha male of the White Tower?

Juhyeok's blood surged.

His chest swelled.

"Oh dear, Mad Demon, your glass is empty."

...

"Alcohol poured by Commissioner Jeon tastes especially good."

"Hahaha, then I'll pour you another."

"What about me?"

"Mackenzie, I'll pour for you right away."

Let them drink.

Juhyeok suddenly stood up and staggered forward.

He raised his hand, gauging the position.

"Pasting it now!"

What was he talking about?

Everyone stopped drinking and stared at Juhyeok.

"Rise up! Heave-ho!!!"

That was when—

WOOOOONG!

The ground of White Tower Floor 17 began to vibrate.

CLANK! CLACK!

Because it was so massive, the lower section attached first.

CLACK-CLACK-CLACK! CLACK-CLACK!

Like something erupting from underground, a skyscraper shot up into the sky.

A building.

In the once-empty, flat space, a gigantic building was being erected out of nowhere.

The blood summons froze, staring blankly at the unbelievable sight.

What... was that?

They knew about copying and pasting—but this?

Shiver.

Commissioner Jeon Gwangil's hands trembled as he poured a drink for the Mad Demon.

Glug-glug.

The Mad Demon didn't even notice that his glass was overflowing.

Ding!

A question-mark visual effect popped up above Mackenzie's head.

Cossack, Meatshield, Gyeon Dallae, Bardin, Veronica Caliber, Jepetto, Diamat, Rajix, Blood Wolf—

And even Mari, peeking out with only her eyes from behind a window.

"...Huh?"

"Holy—"

"M-My goodness."

"T-That is...?"

"Hahaha..."

"Insane."

"Wow."

It was a spectacle.

This wasn't magic.

It was creation.

Power comparable to a god's authority.

PA-PA-PA-PAT!

And so, on White Tower Floor 17, a copied version of a 61-story building worth 1.2 trillion won came into existence.