Juhyeok was on the phone with Team Leader Jeon Gwangil.

“Belated, but congratulations on clearing Floor 63.”

Hahaha, thank you. It’s all thanks to Player Bong.

“What are you talking about? Player Nam Gaeun did well, that’s why. Still, her talent definitely looked better than Player Yoo Cheolmin’s, didn’t it?”

It’s always been like that. We were blind and poured everything into that bastard—reinforcement runes, whatever—and that’s why she never got to see the light. Of course, she still can’t compare to Player Bong.

“Since you brought up Yoo Cheolmin, I have to ask—was that guy living in our officetel too, by any chance?”

No. It was △△ Apartments in Cheongdam-dong, Seoul. The very top-floor penthouse.

Juhyeok had seen it in passing before, too.

Floor 30. A building made of a single tower.

A place where top-tier celebrities, third-generation chaebol heirs, and IT CEOs lived.

“Top-floor penthouse at △△ Apartments in Cheongdam-dong—wow! He lived somewhere nice. And after enjoying perks like that, he still naturalized to Japan.”

Even just thinking about that bastard still makes my blood boil.

“He must’ve abandoned everything in the apartment too, since he ran off in such a hurry.”

Yes. He only took valuables. It’s been such chaos that we haven’t even cleaned it out yet. If you’re interested in that apartment—

“Whoa, no. I’m satisfied with the officetel.”

Juhyeok chatted with Jeon Gwangil about this and that, then hung up.

“You heard where it is, right?”

“ATTENTION!”

“Go and bring back a few things he used. Something that won’t be noticeable if it disappears.”

“How about a remote control, sir? Bet it’s got a lotta hand-grease on it.”

“That sounds fine.”

“Deploying, sir.”

Sssrkt.

Assassin Cossack vanished with Stealth and Invisibility.

The door would be locked—could he open it?

If he couldn’t, he’d probably cut through the iron door and go in.

After sending Cossack, Juhyeok started getting ready to go out too.

When he went down to the first floor, an employee came out from the security office.

“Player Bong Juhyeok, are you going out?”

“Yes. I’m going to my parents’ place.”

“I’ll have the car prepared.”

“Thank you every time.”

“Hahaha, not at all. It’s our job.”

Juhyeok’s new parents’ place.

A new apartment he’d received as part of the Elite Team contract conditions.

Even if it was far below Yoo Cheolmin’s penthouse, it was still heaven and earth compared to where they used to live.

His family had finished moving.

Juhyeok entered after typing in the passcode he’d learned in advance.

“Wow! This place is nice. Ahem. That new-house smell.”

Madam Hong Geumja welcomed him.

“Welcome. Have you eaten?”

“No. I came to eat here.”

“Good. Sit down. I’ll set it out quick.”

His father, Bong Cheolsu, was home too.

He’d temporarily checked out of the hospital because he heard Juhyeok was coming.

“Dad, how’s your health?”

“Me? I’m just getting fatter and fatter. The bone’s almost fused. Feels like I’ll be able to get discharged soon.”

“Hehe, you know who that’s all thanks to, right? It’s because you’ve got such a good son.”

In that instant—

His father and mother’s expressions darkened.

“...Why? Did something bad happen?”

“What bad thing? We sent our child to a place of death, and now we’re thinking about living in comfort. That makes us feel so good, that’s why.”

“Come on, I’m totally fine. You know how much I’m climbing while taking care of myself.”

It was true.

Whenever he tried to hunt monsters, Cossack would frown, and Gyeon Dallae would cry—

Even yesterday, he hadn’t been able to touch a single troll hair.

“You know me, Dad. If something looks even a little dangerous, I pull out immediately.”

“That’s because you take after me.”

“And I’ve got a little of Mom’s genes mixed in too.”

“Is that something to brag about?”

“Yes.”

In that instant—

BANG!

A blood-relative bastard kicked the door open and barged in.

“I heard you’re here! Where are you? Bro, bro!”

“Quit bouncing around like a puppy.”

“Oh! You were eating? Anyway, bro, you’re ELITE TOWER CLIMBING TEAM too.”

“That’s right.”

“Then did you see Player Nam Gaeun’s face?”

“I did.”

I even hugged her, you bastard.

“Get me one autograph. I wanna take a picture too, but that’s probably greedy.”

“An autograph?”

“Why? You can’t? Guess you’re not that close. I mean, with you, would you even have managed to exchange words with Player Nam Gaeun?”

This little shit...

“Bring paper.”

“Here.”

Juhyeok scribbled his own signature across it in one stroke.

“...What are you doing right now?”

“My autograph.”

“No, what a waste of paper.”

“Just keep it for now. You never know. I might get even more famous than Player Nam Gaeun.”

“Bro, are you serious?”

“Yeah.”

What a dumbass.

How does he not know it’s the truth?

“Should I give one to Dad too?”

“What would he do with that.”

Mom shook her head no, no, no.

No—this is your son’s autograph!

Man, that stings.

“...Fine. I’ll get you Player Nam Gaeun’s autograph. How many do you need?”

Then—

“I want one too.”

Dad too—

“Son, I want ten, no, twenty.”

Mom too—

‘Haa.’

Nobody knows.

Just how amazing Bong Juhyeok, their macho-man son, really is.

I’m someone who pulled off thirty consecutive Floors at S++.

But what can you do?

I can’t even reveal it.

So I’ll just get their autographs.

Still, seeing my family doing well makes me happy.

The shackles of poverty have disappeared far, far away.

I should grab a day and show them what living in real comfort is.

※ ※ ※

After spending time at his parents’ place, Juhyeok returned to the officetel.

Beep, he opened the door and went in, and Cossack—who’d been watching TV—sprang to his feet.

“ATTENTION! You return, sir?”

“Yes. You already finished?”

“Mission complete, sir.”

“Oh! How did you open the door?”

“It was open, sir. Police were inside house too.”

“You didn’t get caught, right?”

“Who am I, sir? I SSR, sir. SSR!”

As expected—SSR Cossack.

Juhyeok took the everyday items Yoo Cheolmin used from Cossack and said,

“Sorry, but I think you’ll need to go back early today. I have something to do.”

“Yes, sir.”

He sent Cossack away with Dismiss Summon, opened the Status Window, and checked the Catalog.

[Catalog] : John Cossack / Dull Barbarian Meatshield of the Great Plains Tribe / Gyeon Dallae

After giving all three five-star Satisfaction Ratings—

“Designated Summon, Gyeon Dallae.”

[Gyeon Dallae has been designated summoned.]

“Master, to grant so many stars... I can only feel lost as to how I could ever repay such grace.”

Gyeon Dallae walked over with light steps and bowed as if she might float away.

Tomorrow, the plan was to clear Floor 31.

A mission to hunt a monster called a minotaur.

It was the large-monster section.

A new monster.

A cow-headed upright-walking half-man, half-bull creature.

They said it carried a giant axe around.

I wanted to face it.

It had been a long time since I’d used Shadow Step too.

At this rate, I might even forget how to use it.

Now, the one I needed to persuade wasn’t Cossack.

I had to persuade Gyeon Dallae—her.

She was a woman, but still a summoned entity.

So I didn’t feel much burden.

I’d studied and practiced a lot.

Dig into her weak points and strategize.

First, the justification for having to hunt the monster—

“Ahem. Princess Gyeon Dallae.”

“Speak, Master Bong.”

“I was born a man—if I can’t govern a nation and bring peace to the world, then at least I can’t be afraid of something as trivial as a monster, can I?”

“No. How could you say such a thing? Master Bong is a noble man who can certainly govern a nation and bring peace to the world.”

“What kind of noble man can’t even kill one monster?”

“...”

Gyeon Dallae couldn’t answer.

Even if she was a princess, she was still young.

If I couldn’t even persuade a middle or high schooler, how could I call myself a macho man?

So, with an extra gloomy expression—

“I have skills, I have plenty of defensive items, my level has gone up, but I can’t handle just one monster? Does that make any sense?”

“Th, that is not what I meant...”

“If someone calls me a coward, I’m at the point where I can’t even argue back.”

“...How could you say such a thing. This girl’s heart is being torn into a thousand pieces—ten thousand pieces.”

It was going well.

Next, the temptation operation.

“...The ice cream was good, right?”

“Yes?”

At the sudden question, Gyeon Dallae looked like she had no idea what I meant.

“There’s a place that sells ice cream I know well, and there are thirty different flavors.”

“Th, thirty flavors?”

“Strawberry, chocolate, cherry, cheese, yogurt, mint... ugh! There are so many I can’t even remember them all.”

Gyeon Dallae swallowed.

“You’ve never tried macarons, right? They’re a Western dessert—chewy and really sweet. And what about cake? Soft whipped cream that just—”

Gyeon Dallae was, in the end, a girl.

She was staring blankly at my mouth.

Right. The food that ensnares a girl isn’t a steaming bowl of soup and rice—it’s dessert.

“I’ll kill just five. I’ll uphold my dignity as a noble man, and Princess, you can eat as much dessert as you want—”

Gyeon Dallae hesitated, parting and pressing her lips together.

Then—

“Th, then just one...”

“Let’s do three! Cleanly!”

“...I am only worried you may be in danger, Master.”

“We have Cossack and Meatshield. And there’s your drum sound and bell sound too.”

“...”

Is she folding?

“Very well. This girl will follow Master’s will.”

“You’re promising.”

“This girl always keeps what she promises.”

Got her.

“I always keep my promises too. I brought what I said earlier. The belongings Yoo Cheolmin used.”

In an instant, Gyeon Dallae’s eyes turned icy.

“You speak of that pirate bastard?”

“Yes.”

Juhyeok handed her the plastic bag containing Yoo Cheolmin’s everyday items.

“Please wait just a moment. It will be over quickly.”

“Take your time. Slowly.”

Gyeon Dallae suddenly took a small silver dagger from her sleeve and cut her own finger.

“Huh!”

Doesn’t that hurt?

Bright red blood ran down from her hand.

“Hey, Princess! You said there wouldn’t be any harm!”

How much would that hurt?

Flustered, I pulled a bandage from the medicine box to put it on—

“It is fine. It does not even hurt.”

Then, with her other hand, she took the remote control from inside the bag.

Slash-slash-slash-slash!

Unknown drawings and symbols carved into the plastic surface in blood.

She packed them in, dense.

A moment later—

The drawings and symbols began to glow red.

“It is done.”

“...It’s simpler than I thought. Aside from the bleeding.”

“Sending karma—how could it compare to sending a killing curse? It is merely leaving it to the judgment of heaven.”

“Ah!”

“If the sin is light, it will end as light misfortune. If the sin is heavy, then great calamity will come.”

Fight on, Yoo Cheolmin!

I sincerely hope your sins aren’t that big.

Then Floor 31.

Slowly.

Tank, dealer, buffer—three-person formation.

Up to Floor 40, we can go safely.

There’s no need to use the Skill Cooldown Reset Ticket right now.

I’m going to climb slowly anyway.

No rush.

If I were in a rush, I would’ve used it immediately.

From Floor 41 onward?

When the cooldown comes back, I’ll pull one more.

If the new summoned entity’s grade disappoints, I’ll use the ticket and pull one more time.

That’s it.

‘Hmph. Perfect plan.’

If Trait Enhancement triggers once in the meantime, that would be icing on the cake.

They say there’s even a Trait Enhancement Rune—anywhere to get one?

※ ※ ※

A major broadcast station in Japan.

Yoo Cheolmin appeared as a guest on a special program.

They said that after naturalizing, Japan’s top Player would be appearing—ratings shot through the roof.

They even brought in an anchor who spoke Korean well, plus interpreters.

“Mr. Ryu, thank you for agreeing to this interview.”

“It’s nothing.”

After the formal greetings—

“We hear you plan to clear Floor 57 today?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“I understand there is still plenty of time left on the clear time limit.”

“Hahaha, that’s right. Even if I go slowly, there’s no problem at all. However—”

Looking smoothly into the camera—

“I wanted to send encouragement to our citizens, who have fallen into despair because of these trivial incidents lately.”

When his meaning was delivered through real-time interpretation—

“Amazing! As a fellow Japanese citizen, I’m proud.”

“Do not worry. Japan is safe. As long as I am here, a Tower Collapse will never happen.”

“My chest is swelling. Then when and where will you be clearing it?”

“There’s no need to drag it out. I’ll go right now, here.”

“Oh!”

This broadcast had been planned by the Kawaguchi cabinet government.

Yoo Cheolmin’s hunger for recognition and the Kawaguchi cabinet’s intent to raise approval ratings matched perfectly.

So they decided to air everything live—from Enter Tower to exit, and then the bodycam release afterward—every step of a successful clear.

A program planned as a full ten-hour live broadcast.

While Yoo Cheolmin cleared Floor 57, singers and celebrities would perform until the clear was finished.

In between, they’d also play highlight footage of his successful clear back when he was Korean—Black Tower (Korea) Floor 57.

When Yoo Cheolmin cleared Black Tower (Korea) Floor 57, his record had been about eight hours.

His level had gone up since then, so he’d be much faster.

It should take about five hours.

They couldn’t watch the actual clear footage in real time, but once he exited the Tower, they planned to immediately link the recorded bodycam ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) and broadcast it across Japan.

With this show, the Kawaguchi cabinet—whose approval ratings had fallen—would come back from the brink.

It truly was a perfect plan.

“Then I’ll be back.”

The moment his words fell, the audience, anchor, panel, and staff all erupted into cheers and applause.

Yoo Cheolmin smiled, pleased.

‘Yeah. This is it.’

Applause he hadn’t felt in a long time.

Lately, Korean bastards had swarmed his SNS account and poured out mockery and hateful comments—

But the truth was, there had been a time when things were good even in Korea.

When he joined the ELITE TOWER CLIMBING TEAM and surged ahead faster than anyone up the Tower, the Korean people cheered for him too.

He was treated like a hero, and on top of that, he got a salary he’d never even touched in his life, a wide Han River-view apartment, a good car—he even received immunity.

When he committed a drunk hit-and-run, they stepped in and smoothed it over. When he got arrested by the police for punching a room-salon hostess because she said she wouldn’t go to a second round, the law firm the Administration hired handled it.

He committed petty crimes like that often, but none of it remained on record.

It had been such a good time.

If there’d been even a sliver of possibility to clear Floor 66, he wouldn’t have naturalized at all.

Well, it was the same here too.

When he signed with Japan, he made sure to specify privileges of non-arrest and immunity for crimes.

‘Should I enter now?’

But right then—

‘Huh?’

Yoo Cheolmin tilted his head.

Because something felt off.

A tingling in both hands, and his head hurt a little too.

‘Is my condition bad?’

I’ll go and then rest well afterward.

Floor 57?

What’s hard about it?

The only issue is how much time I shave off.

I just need to go and come back quickly—

It’s a floor I cleared successfully at Level 57.

And through countless repeat missions, I’d learned the patterns.

Now he was Level 66.

When you enter the Tower, your physical ability isn’t adjusted to match the floor—it’s adjusted to match your level.

There’s no way I fail a mission nine floors below!

Spot!

It was a live broadcast.

In an instant, Yoo Cheolmin vanished from the TV screen.

The moment he disappeared, the anchor spoke.

“To all Japanese citizens watching, please gather all your strength and send it to Mr. Ryu.”

Japanese singers came out and sang, chanting, “Ganbare, Mr. Ryu!”

In between, footage of Yoo Cheolmin’s exploits played too—

Had about an hour passed?

In that instant—

Fwoooosh!

A cluster of light gathered inside the broadcast set.

No way.

Only an hour had passed—did he clear it already?

Papat!

Yoo Cheolmin reappeared, as if he’d exited the Tower.

But something was off.

A look of clear embarrassment was plastered across his face.

The anchor hurried over.

“Mr. Ryu... th-the clear...?”

Yoo Cheolmin let out a long sigh—

Then pulled out a Tower-Only Healing Potion from his inventory and gulped it down.

“It must’ve been a pretty tough fight.”

“...Fuck!”

“Pardon?”

Yoo Cheolmin turned and walked out of the set.

“Mr. Ryu! Mr. Ryu! Wh-where are you going?”

He didn’t answer.

In the end, the broadcast was cut.

An animation started playing on the TV screen instead.

And a few hours later—

Breaking news began popping up across Japan.

<Player Yoo Cheolmin fails to clear Japan’s Black Tower Floor 57.>

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