After Rajix’s live performance in Tokyo,

the Maeda Cabinet in Japan also managed to chalk up a few achievements of its own.

The prime minister’s desperate struggle—holding out against the yakuza villain Player until the very end—

was broadcast vividly across Japan.

It struck a chord with the Japanese public, and his approval ratings rose.

The yakuza villain Player who caused the incident was captured and imprisoned.

Interrogation was scheduled to begin soon.

As a result, momentum grew behind calls to import mana-sealing scrolls as quickly as possible.

The Japanese ambassador to Korea met secretly with Commissioner Jeon Gwangil of the Korean Awakening Administration.

He opened the laptop he had brought with him.

“The Prime Minister wishes to speak with you by video, Commissioner. He is currently unable to move about freely.”

After the assassination attempt, Prime Minister Maeda must have had many matters to deal with.

First and foremost, identifying the «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» forces behind the plot.

Whether that would proceed smoothly was another matter.

“Yes, let’s do that.”

Using the video conference program in the commissioner’s office,

Prime Minister Maeda and Jeon Gwangil came face to face on screen.

The Japanese ambassador acted as interpreter.

— We need mana-sealing scrolls as soon as possible.

Maeda still had not recovered from the shock of the incident.

He had survived by a hair, but there was no guarantee something like that would not happen again.

— We will pay any price. Please supply them to us.

Jeon Gwangil looked reluctant.

“Sigh... I want to help, but those are being supplied sequentially to each country in order.”

The backlog was already enormous.

“If other countries learn that Japan received priority supply, they will not be pleased.”

— We do not need many. Just enough for front-line officers. Two hundred and fifty thousand sheets will be enough.

Two hundred and fifty thousand.

An amount the printing workers in Pyongyang could produce with a day or two of overtime.

“Hm. As you know, the Korean Awakening Administration does not manufacture mana-sealing scrolls.”

— Ah!

“We only handle distribution. Of course, I can relay the Prime Minister’s circumstances.”

— Then please convey it on my behalf.

Jeon Gwangil did not answer immediately.

Instead, he only looked steadily at Prime Minister Maeda through the screen.

For free?

If something went out, something had to come back.

It might seem petty to demand compensation,

but that was how ordinary transactions between nations worked.

Maeda realized that as well.

What should he offer?

— If we double the price—

“Money is not especially meaningful. This is a matter of trust.”

— Then... how about items? We will offer national-grade items as compensation.

“...Items? Items, huh—ah!”

As if something had just occurred to him,

Jeon Gwangil pulled a piece of equipment out of his inventory

and held it up to the laptop camera.

“This belongs to you, does it not? It seems to be a valuable item. I will return it.”

Maeda’s eyes widened in shock.

That was right.

The belt—the potion auto-injector.

The item that some strange furball had snatched during the battle at Tokyo Black Tower.

Why was it in the hands of the Korean Awakening Administration...?

— Could it be?

Only then did he realize.

That furball must have been connected to Korea’s top Player.

Come to think of it, he had heard that the top Player specialized in summoning.

Then had that top Player saved his life?

With a trembling voice—

— Please convey my gratitude to the top Player. I will repay this kindness without fail.

— And you do not need to return that belt. Please keep it.

“No, we should return it. It is not ours.”

In truth, magitech engineer El had already dismantled it and finished her research.

What use was there in keeping it?

They could reproduce it at any time.

And with even better performance.

“If you send someone over, we will return the belt immediately.”

Even after being offered the item back, Jeon Gwangil’s reaction remained lukewarm.

Prime Minister Maeda grew desperate.

At last, he held up a sheet of paper to the camera.

— This is the list of items stored in the Cabinet’s National Records Vault. Please choose whatever you want.

Jeon Gwangil glanced at the screen.

Tsk, it was in Japanese.

If you were going to show it, you could at least translate it into Korean.

With no other choice, he opened a translation app on his smartphone and scanned it with the camera.

Nothing special. If only there were a Trait Enhancement Rune.

Then—

Hm?

Something caught his eye.

They have that?

He recalled a past conversation with Player Bong.

They had once discussed which items would be most useful to him.

Among the items Player Bong had mentioned—along with a Trait Enhancement Rune—

there was one that easily ranked in the top five.

A Skill Cooldown Reset Ticket.

An item that removed the cooldown of trait skills or combat skills with reuse timers.

Jeon Gwangil casually mentioned the item from the list.

“A Skill Cooldown Reset Ticket. That is quite an interesting item.”

He did not openly ask for it.

— W-we will give it to you.

They understood each other perfectly.

And so, a few days later,

250,000 carefully packaged mana-sealing scrolls were loaded onto a ferry

and shipped from Busan Port to Fukuoka Port.

At the same time, the prime minister’s closest secretary departed for Korea, carrying the Skill Cooldown Reset Ticket.

The world of souls.

Jepetto arrived for his once-a-day shift as a dispatched agent.

『Greetings. I have come again today.』

『He’s here!!!』

『The vampire’s back? We were waiting!』

『Why are you late today?』

『Hurry up and tell us. What is happening now?』

Jepetto felt proud.

On White Tower Floor 17, he had been a summoned entity with no presence, overshadowed even by the Blood Wolves.

But here, he was incredibly popular.

Yes.

This was it.

A dispatch assignment really was bliss.

『The Summoner has decided to climb the upper floors to gather materials for elixir production.』

『Which floor?』

『The 86th floor.』

『Gasp! Good heavens! Already that far?』

『What about the monster? A monster on the 86th floor will not be ordinary.』

『A Superheated Cataclysm Phoenix.』

『What?!』

『That’s insane!』

『What’s so special about it?』

『Think of it as the Vermilion Bird from your world.』

『One of the Four Divine Beasts that guards the south? This is serious.』

『In my world too, phoenixes were national-disaster-level monsters.』

『Without a Silver Dragon’s Ice Breath or a 9th-circle ultimate freezing spell, it would be difficult.』

『Is there nothing like the Ice Crystal of the Northern Sea Ice Palace?』

『What kind of strategy does the Summoner have?』

The world of souls erupted into chatter.

So Jepetto explained the plan.

『Hahaha, hahahaha!』

『...I am at a loss for words.』

『I already knew it when they used nuclear weapons.』

『A firefighting strategy, huh. If it is Earth’s chemical technology, it might work.』

『Of course it will work. Just look at nuclear weapons. Is there anything that can withstand a nuclear weapon? Once Earth’s science is applied inside the Tower, it becomes unstoppable.』

『Spraying extinguishing agents and liquid nitrogen inside the Tower... incredible. Just imagining it is thrilling.』

『I really want to go out and meet that beastman laborer named Rajix.』

『Me too. What a dream team. If only I could be part of it—』

『Standing right beside the Summoner—that is this lady’s dream.』

『Come on, instead of this, let us cheer hard for our Summoner’s success. Go!』

『Go!』

『Fight!』

『Go!』

At the same time, condemnations of the new administrators poured out.

『Administrators, immediately cease your despicable schemes!』

『If you want to compete, do it inside the Tower! Stop fooling around outside it!』

『If you are going to behave like that, just quit!』

『Has causality collapsed, you bastards?!』

Once again, the world of souls burned hot.

The fire-suppression operation on the 86th floor.

They would show the phoenix the cold taste of Earth’s firefighting technology.

Thirty chemical fire trucks loaded with every kind of extinguishing agent were prepared on White Tower Floor 17.

In addition, more than one hundred large metal tanks

were filled to the brim with liquid nitrogen.

It cost a great deal of money.

But that was exactly what money was for.

That was also true of the donation to the Fire Agency.

And that was not all.

The potion-making ability of the homebody alchemist Mari also came into play.

First,

<Flame Resistance Elixir, Crafted by the Sage>

Effect: Greatly increases flame resistance for 10 hours upon consumption.

Each participant in the raid would drink one.

And next, offensive weapons capable of striking the phoenix directly—

<Cold-Attribute Damage Potion, Crafted by the Sage>

Effect: When thrown or directly injected, deals cold-attribute damage to the target.

These cold-damage potions were prepared in bulk.

To pour them into the fire-truck tanks?

No.

They were to be used as cold-potion injection bullets

fired from Veronica Caliber’s magic gun.

Each bullet had even a lowest-grade inventory magic circuit applied to it.

Thanks to magitech engineer El dismantling and studying the potion auto-injector belt,

she had succeeded in researching the inventory magic circuit engraved on it.

An inventory magic circuit was similar to a Player’s inventory.

Substances made on Earth—such as firefighting chemicals—could not be placed inside it.

Only items made from materials originating in the Tower could.

In other words—liquids like the cold-damage potion Mari made.

Each bullet could hold a considerable amount of liquid.

If it hit, the target would effectively be drenched in about 500 liters of potion.

Thus, all preparations were complete.

On White Tower Floor 17, a departure ceremony was held.

The summoned entities participating in the raid numbered eleven:

Cossack, Meatshield, Gyeon Dallae, Rajix, Mad Demon, Veronica Caliber, Bardin, Mari, Diamat, Mackenzie, and El.

Among them, Rajix wore a custom-made firefighter helmet and uniform crafted by CEO Jeong Dong-hun.

“Huh?”

He looked extremely cute.

“Let’s enter.”

All equipment was stored in Rajix’s subspace backpack.

The summoned entities were called in from the penthouse.

Enter.

[Entering Republic of Korea Black Tower (NO.1) 86th Floor.]

The Black Tower administrators heard the clamor from the world of souls as well.

[Heh! Shout all you want.]

Causality?

Did they truly think the administrators acted without understanding it?

Everything was within calculated tolerances.

It might be a little excessive, but it would not become a major problem.

Fools. Do you think I do not know the former administrators?

But then—

[Designer, the Earth Summoner has entered Republic of Korea Black Tower (NO.1) 86th Floor.]

[What?]

That damned bastard.

He just kept climbing without end.

At this rate, he would hit the 90th floor in no time.

Wait—

[If it is the monster on the 86th floor...]

What was it again?

[The Hellfire Cataclysm Phoenix.]

That one?

[Among the Summoner’s forces, is there a frost mage or any yin-cold Murim practitioner?]

[None. There is an alchemist, but at best that means cold potions.]

[Tsk.]

Then he would not clear it.

The Hellfire Cataclysm Phoenix was a top-tier fire elemental spirit.

It stood on par with an Elemental King.

How were they supposed to extinguish that fire?

[This will fail.]

[High probability.]

[Project a hologram of Republic of Korea Black Tower (NO.1) 86th Floor. I want to watch their failure with my own eyes.]

Perfect timing.

I will relieve some stress while watching the Summoner crash and burn.

86th floor.

Mission: Defeat the Superheated Cataclysm Phoenix.

Strategy: fire suppression.

A nuclear strategy worked—so why would a firefighting strategy not work?

They would show the phoenix the harsh side of Earth’s firefighting technology.

Why was the phoenix such a difficult calamity beast?

Because water alone could not extinguish its flames.

At minimum, you needed the authority of the Water Elemental King Elaheim.

Or the Ice Breath of a silver dragon of wyrm-class or higher.

Alternatively, a 9th-circle ice mage pouring out wide-area spells like Blizzard, Frozen Storm, or Frost Nova.

Only then could you barely extinguish it.

But what if thirty chemical fire trucks sprayed extinguishing agent at the same time?

The raid began by drawing the phoenix toward the fire trucks.

Naturally, Veronica Caliber took on the role of drawing aggro.

Rajix deployed thirty chemical fire trucks across the flat ground.

SSSK, SSSK.

The formation was the Crane Wing Formation.

Magnificent.

Was this not the very formation Admiral Yi Sun-sin had used to crush the Japanese invaders?

Lure the phoenix into the fire-truck Crane Wing, trap it, then unleash a synchronized volley.

Drench it completely in extinguishing agent.

This was the authority of Earth’s firefighting science.

Extinguishing-agent breath.

Extinguishing-agent Blizzard.

“Summoner Bong, I still have thirty chemical fire trucks at my disposal. Fire safety at all times—whether asleep or awake.”

Get ready.

On top of that, Gyeon Dallae plastered talismans all over each fire truck.

Blessings upon the fire trucks!

She even performed a ritual prayer for good measure.

“Veronica Caliber?”

“Veronica Caliber, ready.”

“Everyone, to your positions!”

Each person took charge of two or three fire trucks, ready to fire at once.

Veronica Caliber completed the pull and regrouped.

Juhyeok himself took charge of three.

He could simply use his homunculi.

In the distance stood the volcano.

The phoenix flapped its wings above the crater, which was likely its nest.

The heat was intense enough to be felt even from here.

SPOT!

Veronica Caliber advanced.

PATPATPATPAT!

She closed the distance in an instant with rapid forward movement.

ZIIING!

She aimed her magic gun.

This was not her usual gun.

The latest model could fire ice bullets through elemental absorption—

But since there was no frost mage, elemental absorption was impossible.

So she used an older model that required pre-made ammunition.

She loaded cold-potion injection bullets.

Each bullet, enchanted with an inventory magic circuit, held an enormous volume of cold liquid.

TSHHT!

SPLASH!

The bullet struck the phoenix’s body.

Its flames dimmed.

A hole briefly opened in the phoenix’s flaming body before quickly filling again.

“TRRRRRAAAAA!!!”

The Superheated Cataclysm Phoenix shrieked.

FWOOSH!

It charged straight at Veronica Caliber.

But she did not panic.

She retreated slowly with tactical footwork.

Another shot.

ZIIING!

TSHHT!

SPLASH!

The phoenix’s flames dimmed again.

“TRRRRRK!”

The phoenix went berserk, flapping its wings wildly.

Retreat, reload, fire—TSHHT!

Retreat, reload, fire—TSHHT!

Retreat, reload, fire—TSHHT!

Aggro was secured.

The phoenix’s attention was completely locked onto Veronica Caliber.

Just as it reached the center of the Crane Wing Formation—

“Go!!!”

Juhyeok shouted.

All thirty chemical fire trucks fired at the same time.

FWOOOOOOOSH!

An overwhelming torrent of extinguishing agent poured down on the phoenix.

These were not hose streams.

Each truck had a mounted dispersal cannon—just aim and press the button.

“Drown it!!!”

About 100 liters per second per truck.

With thirty trucks, that meant 3,000 liters per second.

The sky itself was swallowed by foam.

There was nowhere to escape.

Had it ever experienced anything like Earth’s chemical substances?

Superheated Cataclysm?

So what?

“Do not stop! Keep firing!”

The phoenix struggled to rise, but the relentless barrage of extinguishing agent left it completely disoriented.

Then—

“Let’s go, dimensional farmhand.”

“Hup!”

Mackenzie and Rajix flew high into the sky using flight magic and positioned themselves above the phoenix.

Rajix opened his subspace.

SSSH!

“Hup!”

WHOOOOOSH!

A massive metal tank dropped directly onto the phoenix’s head.

Mad Demon followed up with crescent-shaped sword aura slashes.

SHWAAAAK!

The tank was sliced apart just before touching the flames.

And at the same moment—

BOOOOOOM!

Liquid nitrogen gushed out in torrents.

Was it only one tank?

THUD! THUD! THUD! THUD! THUD!

They kept falling.

Too many to count.

Each tank was sliced apart in midair by Mad Demon’s sword aura, dumping enormous quantities of liquid nitrogen.

BOOOOM! BOOOOM! BOOOOM!

Even pure water would have been enough to put it out under that.

“It will go out! But even after a fire is extinguished, you still have to check it again!!!”

The effect was exactly as expected.

“TRRR... TRRRRK... TRRR...”

With chemical extinguishing agent and a shower of liquid nitrogen—

Ding!

[Superheated Cataclysm Phoenix 1/1]

[86th Floor mission completed.]

[Level up!]

[Reward: Phoenix Ash / Phoenix Feather]

[World Announcement: You have achieved clear grade S+++ on Black Tower NO.1 (Korea), Floor 86.]

[S+++ Clear Reward: 2 Platinum Badges have been granted.]

The administrators were horrified.

They had never imagined such a strategy.

[M-madmen!]

[How is that even possible?!]

[Using fire trucks on a phoenix?]

Fire trucks.

Did that make any sense?

Especially that laborer—

the hamster beastman, Rajix.

[Is not his very existence itself a violation of causality?]

[We should not be the ones normalizing the Tower—the Summoner should!]

But their protests were meaningless.

No matter what, even administrators could not interfere with a summoned entity’s inherent skills.

The administrators’ stress only continued to skyrocket.