Meat tastes best when you eat it at a meat restaurant.

Grilling outside once in a while is fine too, but that’s mostly because of the vibe.

Luckily, there was a meat place nearby.

A premium Korean beef fresh ribs specialty restaurant.

Looking at the signboard outside—

100,000 won for 200g of fresh ribs.

‘...Mmm.’

It was a high-end place.

Sure, there were places that charged 150,000 won or 170,000 won, but this one wasn’t far behind.

Meatshield would probably devour over 10kg,

so we were starting at 5,000,000 won at minimum, weren’t we?

‘Did I pick somewhere too expensive?’

But if I turned around now, I’d have no face.

The summoned entities were already muttering “beef, beef” in excited voices.

‘Whatever!’

Why am I worrying about something this pointless?

How much money do these guys earn for me?

I walked into the restaurant.

No one looked at us strangely.

In a quiet, private floor-seating room—

“Meatshield, sit down slowly. Slowly. The floor might crack.”

After pressing the bell to call a server—

“...Um, could we get 20 servings of fresh ribs?”

“20 servings?”

“And 10 bottles of soda, and... hmm, 4 plates of raw beef too...”

“Yes, yes. Understood.”

Whew.

Clean order, successful.

I’d ordered food at restaurants before, but I’d never ordered this much.

‘20 servings, 4 plates of raw beef—this is a solid start, right?’

I even had my card in my hand in case they asked if I was really ordering that much or if I even had the money.

“That’s amazing. Summoner Bong, do you come to places like this a lot?”

“Hahaha. Not here specifically, but I used to go to similar places every single day.”

“Hehehe, that’s admirable. Eating that precious beef every day!”

Meatshield looked jealous, and Gyeon Dallae nodded with an expression that said, As expected!

As if I’d gone out to eat expensive beef.

I went to serve it and scrub grills.

I used to work part-time at a barbecue place.

Then I became a Player and quit.

“Heh! Eat a lot. I’ll grill the meat.”

Gyeon Dallae flinched in shock.

“You must not! How could Master volunteer for such toil? Lowly—no, please leave it to us.”

“I’m proud to say I grill meat better than anyone. So don’t say anything—just eat.”

“Even so...”

“It’s an order.”

“...I accept your august command.”

What do you take an ex–barbecue-place part-timer for?

While we chatted—

Slide.

The door opened.

Side dishes were set down, and charcoal came in.

And then the meat.

But—

‘Huh?’

What is this?

‘That’s not fresh ribs.’

Marinated ribs arrived.

I’d ordered 20 servings, but the portion was way smaller, too.

‘...What the hell.’

Starting with marinated meat is against the natural order.

Fresh ribs first, then marinated ribs—that’s the rule.

“Summoner Bong, why’re you like that? You look pale.”

“I ordered meat, but the wrong thing came...”

“Huh?! No way. Then what do we do?”

“I’m thinking.”

“But this looks tasty too. Mmm!”

Really?

Should I just eat it?

‘No.’

If they bring the wrong food, complaining is a customer’s legitimate right.

This isn’t being a jerk.

“I should call the server.”

“Right. If it’s wrong, you fix it. Show them who Summoner Bong is!”

“Please scold them sharply.”

Ding-dong!

When I hit the bell—

“Did you need something, sir? Would you like alcohol?”

“...No, it’s not that. I think the meat is wrong. Could you check—”

“Huh? One moment. Oh my—why did this come in here? I’m so sorry. I’ll swap it right away.”

Whew.

Second hurdle cleared too.

The correct meat arrived.

Meat sizzling on the charcoal grill.

It vanished the moment I put it down.

When Meatshield grabbed 5 pieces at once—

“You—this—mm, how could Meatshield take 5 pieces at once? Such greed is unpleasant to see, especially with Master Bong here—mmph!”

I shoved a wrap I’d already made into Gyeon Dallae’s mouth.

“Good, right?”

She nodded, chewing.

And Cossack—

“The Princess is right. That thing—its name is Meatshield, so it looks like it’s trying to fill its whole body with meat.”

So what?

If you’re not spending money here, where are you spending it?

I’ve got a 2 billion won salary, magic stone sales, and on top of that, the Administration deposits 1 billion won into my account like clockwork as the holy sword rental fee—and if we start charging other countries holy sword rental fees too?

I could just buy a Korean beef ranch.

“Alright, alright. If you talk here, you lose. Instead of talking, eat meat. Look at Meatshield. He isn’t saying a word—he’s just stuffing meat into his mouth.”

It was downright mechanical.

He even grabbed undercooked pieces and swallowed.

“Meat is fine even if it’s less cooked. I digest everything.”

Fine, my ass.

That’s only because you’re a barbarian warrior.

I kept ordering.

True to his name, Meatshield—Meatshield ate a ton.

So fast it almost felt rude to keep pressing the call button.

Before I knew it, we’d passed 70 servings.

Then the owner came over with an anxious expression.

“Um, you’ve ordered a lot of meat...”

I was wondering when he’d show up.

I’d been waiting for this moment.

I slapped my card down and held it out.

“Let’s do a partial payment. You can charge more in advance.”

“Oh! Thank you!”

Flex!

So this is the fun of spending money.

As we kept eating, the restaurant started running low on meat.

We kept switching the menu too.

Ribeye cap, tenderloin, rib finger, skirt steak, marinated ribs...

Even that wasn’t enough, so they started hauling meat in from other shops and wholesalers.

And it’s still not enough?

No—why are you eating this much?

We’d already blown past my budget.

“Uh, um... do we order more?”

“...Are we eating too much?”

Cossack looked disappointed. Meatshield too. Gyeon Dallae too.

How could I stop here?

I’d already told them to order like crazy before we came.

Screw it.

“...S-So what! L-Let’s bankrupt this place! Order more!!!”

With trembling hands, I pressed the bell.

Ding-dong.

“Hell yeah! So cool.”

“As expected of such a bold Master.”

And Meatshield, even in the middle of all this, just kept shoving meat down.

That day, the 4 of us ate about 150 servings of meat.

Maybe because the price varied by menu, the total came out to 12,680,000 won.

No matter how fun spending money was, 12,680,000 won was too much.

The owner even handed me his business card and said to come back again next time I filmed a YouTube eating stream.

A YouTube eating stream, my ass.

Would I ever come back?

Next time, I’m picking somewhere cheaper.

After we finished the meat, we went for a walk, ate dessert, went to a coin karaoke booth and sang.

Later, I was the one getting more and more excited.

When was the last time I’d gone out like this and played around with people?

Recently? Never.

Even in the past? Never.

Time to go back.

Each summoned entity had different time differences, but in a dark place with few people around, I dismissed them all.

I returned to the officetel alone.

I pulled a cap down low, pressed my card key to the front entrance reader—

BEEP!—and went in.

An elite Player coming and going alone without bodyguards should be impossible, but not a single guard noticed.

They just thought I was one of the residents.

Some of them were probably police or Administration employees too.

CCTV?

That’s something you look at after an incident happens.

‘Oh, damn. I’m shaking.’

It felt like I was a spy.

Like the protagonist of an espionage movie.

‘Home really is the best.’

After eating and drinking like that, tomorrow I’d clear Floor 33 the moment I woke up.

And the next day.

“Now that we ate meat, let’s move.”

“ATTENTION! I’ve got strength pouring out of me!”

“I will repay your grace with all my spirit.”

“The meat warrior has arrived.”

Good lord.

Look at his face.

Beef fat is practically dripping—dripping.

*****

The Tower Player Awakening Administration was busy from the morning.

Section Chief Lee Mina and Team Leader Jeon Gwangil were anxiously waiting for Player Nam Gaeun to exit Floor 65.

She’ll pull it off again without pushing herself too hard, right?

In 3 days, the long-awaited Floor 66 clear would happen.

That’s right.

Floor 66 soon.

The schedule was moved up.

The remaining time was about 2 months.

With the holy sword, there was no need to rush.

But they decided to clear Floor 66 as quickly as possible anyway.

Why?

The repeated failures on Black Tower (JAPAN) Floor 57 had a lot to do with it.

Since the one failing was Yoo Cheolmin, a part of them felt it served him right, but when you see and hear the despair of the neighboring country with your own eyes and ears, how could you stay unaffected?

In Korea too, public anxiety rose.

Politicians wanted it handled quickly.

And Park Kyungsoo’s bold claim that he’d handle it within a month also played a role.

So after long discussion, they decided.

Clear early and buy 6 months.

By then, Bong Juhyeok would have enough time to enter the 60s.

Right then, the U.S. side asked about renting the holy sword.

Their plan was to clear Floor 66 quickly, buy 6 months, and then start the holy sword rental business in earnest.

All rental fees would go straight into Bong Juhyeok’s account, but the sweet interests they could extract through negotiations beyond that would belong to the state.

It might even be more profitable than money.

For all those reasons, an early Floor 66 clear was decided.

Now they just needed Player Nam Gaeun to finish clearing Floor 65.

“Once Bong Juhyeok enters the 60s, could he do it without the holy sword?”

“Look at Yoo Cheolmin. Even a trashy punk like that cleared up to Floor 65 without the holy sword. Player Gerald Watson in the U.S. cleared up to Floor 66—”

“Ah!”

“Do you think Bong Juhyeok is less talented than Gerald Watson?”

“Not a chance. Absolutely not.”

“That man is beyond the standard. If he equips just a few light-attribute items, he could probably jump straight to the 70s. A Player who cleared Black Tower with 32 consecutive S++—”

In that moment—

Lee Mina’s expression went blank.

“Wait.”

“What?”

“Team Leader, that’s wrong.”

“...What?”

Wrong?

How?

“It’s not 32 consecutive.”

“What are you talking about? The whole country knows he’s at 32 consecutive—ah!”

Right.

Section Chief Lee Mina was a Player.

So that meant—

“...It popped again?”

“Yes. A 33rd consecutive S++ clear record just popped.”

“Mm. Yeah. I was wrong.”

“Either way, the fact that he’s beyond the standard is accurate.”

In that moment—

Whooooosh!

A cluster of light gathered,

SPOT!

Nam Gaeun appeared.

It had only been 6 ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) hours.

“...Ta-da!”

Player Nam Gaeun beamed brightly, holding the holy sword in one hand and making a V-sign with the other.

But she also looked a bit tired.

She pulled a Tower-Only Healing Potion from her Inventory, drank it, and—

“Whew, I feel alive—burp!”

After a satisfying burp—

“Today was a little hard.”

“...Then should we postpone Floor 66?”

“I said a little hard. A little!”

Even so, if she said it was hard, it made you feel bad for her.

If only we could strengthen her Trait one more time...

“Just hang in there a little more.”

“Yup!”

Anyway, she succeeded.

“PR team, prepare the press release, and start editing the bodycam footage.”

The next clear was Black Tower (Republic of Korea) Floor 66.

If they cleared this, they’d gain 6 months.

*****

Most countries—including the Republic of Korea—do not force contracts on Players.

It’s left purely to individual will.

Whether it’s an elite-team contract or a regular contract.

It’s also prohibited by law, and coercive methods could backfire.

But there was a country that forced Players to clear the Tower through conscription.

India—the first country whose Tower collapsed.

Blinded by the Magic Stones that came out of the Tower, the Indian government lured Players in, confined them in one place, and threw them into clears.

If they resisted, they beat them with clubs or sticks.

Then there was nothing they could do.

Even if they entered the Tower and exited, they were right back there.

At first, it worked.

Magic stone production surpassed China’s.

But there was no way the Players would receive proper compensation.

They were lucky if they got 3 meals a day.

The result?

Indian Players died to monsters inside the Tower—or killed themselves.

Because that was the only way out.

Newly Awakened Indians hid the fact that they were Players.

At the same time, they fled to other countries.

Countless naturalizations happened.

To Pakistan, Malaysia, Europe, China, Japan, even the Republic of Korea—

The number of Players kept dwindling.

Could the uncleared upper floors ever be cleared?

In the end, the Mumbai Tower collapsed.

Only then did the Indian government realize, “Oh no,” revoke conscription, and pay Players freedom and fair compensation—but it was already too late.

And yet, there was still a country that kept forced conscription.

North Korea.

How was that possible?

North Korea had no Tower.

North Korean Players were affiliated with Black Tower (Republic of Korea).

For North Korea, which claimed to be a sovereign nation, it was humiliating.

But North Korea turned it into an opportunity.

The South would handle defending against Tower Collapse, and they could just ride along.

Why climb uncleared upper floors?

The South would do it all anyway.

And the South had no real way to stop it.

They couldn’t exactly block North Korean Players from entering Black Tower (Republic of Korea).

Any Magic Stones a North Korean Player earned as rewards, of course, belonged to the state.

Those who obeyed were elevated with Communist Party cadre positions and medals, and those who resisted were thrown into group detention camps where Magic Stones were squeezed out of them.

So what did newly Awakened North Korean Players do?

Of course—they defected.

A small number crossed into Korea, and most crossed into China.

Then what about China?

It operated almost like other countries.

Players who acted freely in the private sector, Players supported and fostered by the state.

But there was also another type of Player.

Forced-naturalization Players.

The Chinese government never acknowledged their existence.

A room decorated in flashy gold.

A man sat in a chair, reviewing documents.

A gaunt body, and a face so expressionless you couldn’t even feel a trace of humanity.

So anyone dealing with him had no choice but to be extremely careful.

“Vice Director-General. You called for me.”

The man called Vice Director-General tossed a bundle of papers to his subordinate.

“This is...?”

“A list of Players in Korea’s ELITE TOWER CLIMBING TEAM.”

“...What? H-How did you get this—”

“What would you do knowing that?”

“I-I’m sorry.”

Vice Director-General Xiao Jun pulled a cigarette from a red pack.

Click—he lit it,

then exhaled a pale plume of smoke.

“Pick an appropriate one and bring them here. Focus on Players who can clear Floor 59, or ones who signed contracts recently. Exclude the ones whose names are widely known.”

“Yes!”

“As always, leave no evidence. The motherland will deny you.”

“ATTENTION!”

The subordinate saluted and left.

Vice Director-General Xiao Jun of China’s Special Intelligence Department didn’t even spare him a glance.

China’s Tower climbing progress was Floor 58 completed, challenging Floor 59.

With only 48 days left until the deadline for clearing the uncleared upper floors of the Black Tower built near the major city of Shanghai.

If they failed to clear the Shanghai Tower, the worst-case scenario would unfold.

The other 2 Towers would collapse one after another.

And 3 Towers would appear somewhere else.

But among the Players managed by the state, there was no talent capable of clearing Floor 59.

It had been that way since the Floor 56 wyvern section.

So in a desperate crisis, what did China choose?

Naturally, a naturalization policy.

But there were many kinds of naturalization.

Voluntary naturalization, temporary naturalization, and forced naturalization.

They approached talented foreign Players and presented conditions, and if negotiations fell through, they sent an elite intelligence team to bring them in.

Mongolia, Laos, Cambodia, Nepal, Bhutan, African countries...

Most of the targets were Players from nations weaker than China.

Forced naturalization—no, kidnapping.

It worked.

They surged upward from Floor 56 and reached Floor 59.

But from Floor 59 onward, progress stalled.

Even the Players they’d brought in for their talent couldn’t break that wall.

So recently, they added Korea to the list of kidnapping targets.

Honestly, they should’ve added it sooner.

They watched Japan’s mistake too.

It was absurd.

Vice Director-General Xiao Jun muttered with a sneer.

“We won’t do something stupid like Japan. Naturalize them out in the open? That’s why they get humiliated.”

A Player was nothing more than a civilian.

Kidnap them, torture them a few times, soothe them a little, make them stamp the nationality acquisition paperwork, and throw them into clears. Done.

To Xiao Jun, it was the most effective method.

What if they got caught?

Who would dare touch China?

Unless it was Russia or the United States.

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