Jeon Gwangil went out to Incheon International Airport.

Since the valued customers were finishing their business and leaving the country, he had to see them off.

“I’m relieved to hear you liked testing the holy sword.”

“To be honest, I didn’t like it that much.”

“...Pardon? What do you mean?”

“I rented it twice, and you didn’t even give me a discount. That’s disappointing.”

Director Antonio’s complaint, laced with dissatisfaction.

It didn’t sound like a joke. He sounded serious.

Disappointing, my ass.

Who tries to haggle down the rental fee?

He’d felt it for a while now, but Director Antonio was a real cheapskate.

Before this, he’d even tried to suggest a holy sword rental fee of one million dollars and left everyone dumbfounded.

Still, thanks to Player Gerald, they’d collected everything.

He seemed completely taken with the holy sword’s effect—

he threw a fit right in front of Jeon, insisting he had to rent it one more time, so how could anyone stop him?

“By the way, where did the holy sword’s owner acquire that item?”

“Who knows. They probably received it as a Tower reward. At least past Floor 50?”

“Hahaha, an incredible reward... If you clear at S++ rank, do you get an item like that?”

“How would I know? The holy sword’s owner isn’t an S++ clear record holder.”

There it was again—him fishing.

He’d been like that since yesterday.

Poking around to see if the Administration had identified who the S++ clear record holder was.

Of course, Jeon Gwangil didn’t bite.

“If that’s the case, Director Antonio, you can find the S++ clear record holder yourself and ask. And if you happen to learn who it is, please tell me too. We’re genuinely curious.”

Director Antonio was persistent.

“Then if an opportunity arises... would it be alright if I met the holy sword’s owner separately and offered my thanks in person?”

“Here at the airport? Your flight’s about to depart.”

“It’s a private jet. We can leave anytime.”

“Ah, I see. But the holy sword’s actual owner is extremely busy as well, so they only contact me by message. I’ll pass along your thanks for you.”

Antonio spoke with a faint smirk.

“Yes, yes. Please do.”

He had to be careful.

America was more dangerous than Japan or China.

If Bong Juhyeok’s identity became known, how would America respond?

They’d try to take him by any means necessary.

“Oh! Mr. Jeon, I’ve heard some good news...”

“...Good news?”

“You’ve been put up for promotion, haven’t you?”

“How did you—”

“I have ears. A lot of people tell me things here and there. Congratulations.”

“...Thank you.”

Fast, huh.

That’s America for you.

Right.

With the credit for the successful Floor 66 run, Jeon Gwangil had been placed on the promotion list.

He was expected to be appointed to the Deputy Commissioner position at the Administration, which had remained vacant.

“Next time, I suppose I’ll be seeing you as Deputy Commissioner.”

“Hahaha, that’s embarrassing. Well, you have your schedule, so please return safely. I have urgent work, so I’ll be going.”

“Yes. We’ll see each other in a few months.”

America was currently clearing Floor 67, where the undead Phantom Reaper appeared.

They had plenty of time, so they would try a few times, and then eventually come back.

They’d gotten a taste of the holy sword.

Like hell they wouldn’t come.

Anyway—two holy sword rentals.

A total of twenty million dollars.

Twenty-six billion won.

He wanted to tell Bong Juhyeok about this happy news, but Juhyeok was unreachable right now.

They’d talked ahead of time.

Juhyeok said he planned to meditate for two days.

It was common among Players.

For those who had to clear the Tower alone, the most important thing was maintaining their mental state.

Even ELITE TOWER CLIMBING TEAM members did all kinds of things to recover mentally.

Yoga, music, camping trips, working out like Nam Gaeun...

For Bong Juhyeok, it was probably meditation.

Don’t disturb him. Just wait until he called first.

*****

Gyeon Dallae sometimes referred to Cossack and Meatshield as “farmhands.”

But now an actual farmhand had arrived.

As soon as the tossing and greetings ended, Rajix started by cleaning the place.

“SQUEAK, lift your feet, lift your feet!”

Rajix rolled around, pushing a rag across the floor.

He couldn’t tell if Rajix was wiping the floor with the rag, or wiping the floor with his own body.

A home where a man lived alone wasn’t exactly spotless.

Unless you were a neat freak, at minimum, Juhyeok’s officetel belonged in the “pretty messy” category.

But it got organized in an instant.

So fast it felt like the house transforming was playing in triple-speed.

Rajix’s arms were short, so ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) he used tools.

He pulled a grabber from his backpack and began sorting things.

If he picked up something that wasn’t where it belonged and flicked it away, it somehow found its place on its own.

“Is that a skill too?”

Dust got scrubbed clean off shelves, clothes scattered everywhere went into the washing machine, dishes in the sink got rinsed and placed into the dishwasher, trash went into the trash can, and all kinds of cardboard boxes, plastic bottles, cans, and glass bottles were sorted by type and tied up.

Gyeon Dallae marveled.

“Among all the farmhands I have seen, you are by far the best. How can you work so hard without even being told!”

After he finished everything, Rajix put both hands on his hips, puffed his chest out, and admired his own work.

“SQUEEEAK!”

He couldn’t hide the pride on his face.

There was no way applause wouldn’t come out.

CLAP-CLAP-CLAP-CLAP!

“Incredible, Mr. Rajix!”

“Splendid. Even granting you the title of Head Farmhand would still not be enough. Everyone must learn from you. I shall hold you in my arms.”

“SQUEAK?”

“He cleaned up everything Meatshield messed up. Cool. He’s a farmhand.”

“SQUEEEAK!”

Juhyeok had fallen for Rajix completely.

Mad Demon?

If you brought him around, he’d just wander outside talking about world conquest.

He’d threaten to kill teammates, too.

But look at diligent, well-reviewed labyrinth worker Rajix, round as a ball.

Was it even comparable?

Rajix was always considered among the top workers among labyrinth adventurers. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that taking Rajix along cut the hardship of labyrinth exploration by more than half. Cooking, laundry, setting up camp, gathering herbs, mining, tanning, repairing weapons... there was nothing he couldn’t do. However, during a labyrinth expedition, he was swallowed whole by the boss of the labyrinth’s ninety-third underground floor—Apophis, the Giant Serpent.

Even his background description proved his greatness.

But it was a shame.

From Floor 51, they would have to part ways.

Just earlier, Juhyeok had gathered separately with the summoned entities except for Rajix, and they’d whispered among themselves.

“Rajix is cute, but there’s not much benefit for Tower climbing. We’re not cleaning inside the Tower.”

“He is cute, but I agree. Keep him for thirty days, and when Random Summon occurs, it would be best to replace him then.”

“Rajix is cute. He works well. But he is weak.”

That was where everyone landed.

Bring him only through Floor 50.

For an S++ clear of Floor 51, they absolutely had to add one more damage dealer.

If it was magic-type or ranged, even better.

The basic framework of S++ clearing was mob-kiting.

Up through Floor 50, since the monsters were land-based, they could do it.

No matter how big or fast the monsters were, Meatshield in his enlarged form would lock down aggro, Cossack would dump damage like a lunatic, and Gyeon Dallae’s buffs would be poured on top—clearing would finish in the blink of an eye.

But from Floor 51, mob-kiting flying monsters was no joke.

Because they flew.

Even when they came down, they could keep hovering while harassing Players.

If things looked dangerous, they could fly away.

The worst-case scenario was a lighter person like Cossack or Gyeon Dallae getting snatched by a wyvern’s claws and dragged into the sky—Juhyeok was exposed to that danger too.

They had to clean up as fast as possible.

Which meant burst damage.

If it was magic-type or ranged, they could keep hitting even while the monsters were coming down and drain their strength early. And even just adding one more damage dealer made kiting four or five at once a quick job.

In the next Random Summon, they absolutely had to pull a damage dealer.

That was why, starting from Floor 51, the correct answer was removing Rajix.

Unless Trait enhancement happened one more time.

But that would be extremely difficult.

“For now, since a new member has joined, shall we go clear Floor 41?”

When Juhyeok brought it up—

“ATTENTION! Confident in S++! Just trust this SSR Cossack!”

“There is also SSR Meatshield.”

“I will always serve you with loyal devotion, Master.”

“SQUEAK!”

Rajix raised his short arms and answered too, but...

What was he going to do?

*****

[Entering the Black Tower (Republic of Korea), Floor 41.]

Starting from Floor 41, gigantic land beasts appeared.

The environment was a forest thick with short grass and trees.

[Floor 41 Mission: Kill 15 Ironclad Basilisks.]

Ironclad Basilisks.

A massive reptile that looked like a mix of crocodile and lizard.

The size was terrifying too.

A body length of about 7m to 8m.

If you met its eyes, your body froze.

Then it bit your head off.

The cause was a paralysis ray.

If you got hit, you couldn’t even run.

You had to block the paralysis ray.

A lot of Players died to it early on, but now items had been invented to respond to it, so it was comparatively stable.

But for Juhyeok?

A paralysis ray, my ass.

He had three SSR heroes.

Plus one macho man and one cute hamster.

“All right, all right—let’s clear fast and go eat together. Eat together! In that spirit, I’ll take three basilisks. Deal? Too few? I’ll take four.”

Cossack shook his head.

“Summoner Bong can’t.”

“No—why not again?”

“Need to protect Rajix. Look! How cute is he!”

“SQUEAK?”

“If you rush out and get killed by a monster, what then? Summoner Bong, you protect Rajix.”

Now he was using Rajix as an excuse to block him from combat?

“Then Mr. Cossack can watch Mr. Rajix.”

“Come on, if I’m tied up, what about our S++ clear?”

“...”

Gyeon Dallae added,

“I also wish to protect Mr. Rajix, but I must shake the bell. Master, please take on this weighty duty.”

They were really terrible.

He’d clearly said he’d participate starting from Floor 41.

“What, should I call Mad Demon one more time?”

Honestly, Rajix did worry him.

What if he died to a basilisk, the way he’d been swallowed by a giant snake?

A weak, weak hamster worker—

he absolutely had to be protected.

But then, thinking about it—

was this how the summoned entities felt when they looked at him?

“...Hmph.”

No way.

“I’m a talented macho man.”

Anyway, for today, he’d step back.

Because he was worried about Rajix.

The clear began.

Gyeon Dallae’s bell-buff.

Meatshield, grown huge, grabbing a basilisk’s tail with one hand and slamming it down.

Then Cossack’s finish.

He stabbed a dagger into the basilisk’s head and stirred its brain to mush.

Paralysis ray?

It had no effect at all.

Because Gyeon Dallae’s buff neutralized the paralysis ray and also slapped debuffs on them to weaken them.

The kill count climbed in an instant.

Ah...

Juhyeok wanted to join the fight too.

Wasn’t he Level 41?

And he’d just received a special item set—he couldn’t even try it once.

But it couldn’t be helped.

If he wanted to protect cute worker Rajix—

“GASP!”

Where did he go?

Rajix had vanished in an instant.

Juhyeok spun his head, scanning the area.

“He was right next to me a second ago.”

Right then!

From the corpse of a dead basilisk, he spotted a white ball of fur.

“...When did he get over there?”

SPOT!

He sprinted to the spot where he’d seen the furball, using Shadow Step, but—

“...He vanished again.”

Seriously—he was unbelievable.

A speed those tiny legs could never produce.

Did he have teleportation or something?

“SQUEEEAK!”

He heard it.

When he turned his head—

“...Hahaha.”

This time, the furball was spotted under a tree on the opposite side.

“What in the world...?”

He had no idea why Rajix was jittering around like that.

He ran again, but he was already too late.

The furball kept getting spotted everywhere.

Then he saw how he was moving.

He was rolling.

“Oh! So that’s how he moves.”

ROOOOLL— ROOOOLL—

He was so fast Juhyeok couldn’t keep up.

Well, his body was round as a ball. Of course rolling would be much faster than walking on short legs.

Anyway, while he was just chasing him around—

[Ironclad Basilisk Kills 15/15]

[You have succeeded in the Floor 41 Mission.]

[Your level has increased.]

[Reward: Magic Stone 4.1kg]

The clear ended.

As expected, the reward was just Magic Stone.

[Notice: You have achieved an S++ Clear Rank on Floor 41 of the Black Tower (Korea).]

[S++ Clear Reward: You will be awarded a Platinum Badge.]

SPOT!

Juhyeok and the summoned entities returned to the officetel.

“Good work.”

“You worked hard.”

“Thanks to you, Summoner, it ended well.”

“...”

Good work, my ass.

He didn’t even get to test the set items.

But then—

“SQUEEEAK...”

Rajix was sniffling, tears in his eyes.

...Why was he crying now?

“Are you hurt?”

“SQUEAK, no.”

“Then why are you crying?”

“The clear ended too fast.”

“Isn’t that good?”

“I could only gather this much. I’m so sorry. SQUEAK.”

Gather?

Rajix rummaged through his tiny backpack and pulled something out.

THUD!

A single enormous sheet of Ironclad Basilisk hide.

“...H-hide.”

“A whole hide.”

How did he bring that?

It wasn’t a mission reward.

Even if you got rewards, they didn’t hand out whole hides like that.

They’d throw you a little scrap of leather, if anything.

Next—

THUD-THUD!

Magic Stones that looked like they weighed at least 20kg.

“...”

And then—

RATTLE-RATTLE-RATTLE!

An uncountable number of unknown grasses.

“...Herbs?”

The herbs you received as mission rewards were usually a few dried sprigs.

These were fresh—like they’d just been picked.

How?

Earlier, Rajix said “gather.”

“So these aren’t reward items...”

He gathered them inside the Tower?

“That was possible?”

No.

If gathering inside the Tower had been possible, there wouldn’t have been shortages of materials.

Juhyeok realized something.

“I underestimated him.”

The worker’s ability.

All of a sudden, little Rajix looked bigger than Meatshield.

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