I burned it white.

I climbed like I’d lost my mind.

Tomorrow, I’ll be able to enter Floor 60.

After entering the wyvern section, I decided on this plan:

Once a day, clear an upper floor.

For the other entry, do a repeat-clear on the same floor to harvest leather samples.

That’s how we’d do it.

I wasn’t planning to peel a lot of hides.

We already had piles of basilisk leather.

We’d peel exactly one sheet each.

For the purpose of sending samples.

The rest of the time would go into gathering Magic Stones.

Juhyeok and the summoned entities had entered Floor 59 again and were peeling the hide off a single lightning wyvern.

But Rajix’s expression wasn’t normal.

He’d been like that since Floor 56.

“I-I’m sorry. S-Supply Officer.”

“SQUEAK!”

Rajix, sulking and pouting.

Veronica, apologizing to Rajix at attention.

Why are they acting like this?

It’s nothing.

The reason was that Veronica fired mana rounds to pull the wyverns, and she accidentally punched holes straight through their torsos.

From Rajix’s perspective, that was unacceptable.

Because the hide was damaged.

Even if we were only peeling one sample sheet.

“SQUEAK!... Only hit the head.”

“I-I will correct it!”

The reason Veronica was so flustered around Rajix—

she was a soldier too, so she knew exactly how terrifying a supply officer could be.

What does rank matter?

Your assignment is everything.

If you get on the bad side of the supply officer who procures most of your Magic Stone ammunition, your military life is over.

That’s why the one she watched most carefully after Commander Bong Juhyeok was Rajix.

It couldn’t be helped.

And as the commander, I couldn’t just sit back and watch.

“Sergeant Veronica?”

“Sergeant Veronica Caliber!”

“At ease.”

“At ease!”

And to Rajix—

“From now on I’ll tell her to only hit the head, so stop being mad.”

“SQUEAK. Okay.”

“And I’ll help you with the hide prep.”

“...It’s fine. I’ll do it all.”

“I want to do it. Me.”

Wyverns are annoying to peel clean because of the wings.

If you cut the wings off first, it peels much easier.

VVVMMMM...

A blood-red, translucent force shimmered around my fingertips.

This was Mad Demon’s Blood Jade Force.

My proficiency was still low, so I could only manifest it at the very tips of my fingers like this.

When I placed my fingertips against the base of the wyvern’s wing—

SHHHK!

It sliced clean through the wing joint like tofu.

“How is it? Clean, right?”

The first time I cut, the cross-section was rough, but after a few tries I got the hang of it.

Rajix looked satisfied too.

“SQUEEEAK?... That’s cool.”

“It’s nothing.”

Honestly, learning the skill makes things convenient.

It feels like I’m carrying a really sharp laser lightsaber.

What would Mad Demon think?

If he knew his legendary skill was being used for nothing more than dressing monster carcasses.

Well, is Blood Jade Force really that amazing?

Using it like this might be a lot better than using it to kill people.

“The samples... I should hand them over in the afternoon.”

Section Chief Lee Mina—no, Team Leader—would be coming.

It was still ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) hard to talk to her.

Not like with summoned entities.

*****

The next morning.

At last, the day to clear Floor 60 arrived.

I’ll finish it right away.

Strike while the iron’s hot.

The United Arab Emirates clear deadline only had five days left.

Just how on edge must the people there be?

I’d researched Floor 60 in advance.

If you do even a little legwork online, information comes together fast.

It’s a floor regular Players can’t clear alone without national-level support.

Honestly, that’s true for the entire flying-monster section.

The floors where regular Players can safely make a living through repeat-clears are Floor 40 and below.

Anyway, on Floor 60, you have to face a Wyvern Lord.

All you have to do is kill that one.

Not every type of wyvern appears.

But does the Wyvern Lord appear alone?

No.

A strange monster called a venom wyvern also appears alongside it.

Venom wyverns.

They feel like summons under the Wyvern Lord.

They’re the weakest wyverns that have appeared so far.

They aren’t even included in the mission completion conditions.

Melee or ranged—if you tap them, they die.

Low defense, slow movement.

But the problem starts after they die.

A dead venom wyvern falls to the ground, melts as it is, and turns into a liquid state of deadly poison.

The poison liquid doesn’t get absorbed into the ground.

It pools on the surface, forming puddles.

Poison puddles.

One forms for every venom wyvern you kill.

The funny part is, they don’t even need to be attacked—sometimes they ram themselves into the ground and create poison puddles all over the place on their own.

If you step in one?

You get poisoned, and your body melts.

It’s deadly poison.

Chugging a healing potion does nothing.

How do you avoid stepping in the poison puddles?

Even if you detox, you just get poisoned again.

You’re saying, “Then don’t step in them”?

You can’t.

Because the battleground is extremely narrow.

Think of a gourd-shaped canyon.

The clearing site is surrounded by cliffs on all sides.

The area you can move around in is about half a school athletic field.

You have no choice but to step in poison puddles.

In this situation, the ones who shine are nationally supported elite Players.

They pack their inventories full—stuffed—of gear that resists poison, then go in to clear.

If you’ve made it this far, talent is talent, but under national support you’ll also have gone through Trait enhancement at least twice.

With that kind of backing, you ignore the poison puddles made by venom wyverns and focus on burning down the Wyvern Lord as fast as possible.

That’s why, even in advanced Tower-climbing countries, there aren’t more than one or two Players who can clear Floor 60.

So... shall we head in?

Juhyeok summoned the summoned entities.

“ATTENTION!”

“Victory!”

“SQUEAK!”

SNAP— Cossack’s salute, awkward and sloppy.

SNAP— Veronica’s textbook, regulation salute.

SNAP— Rajix’s short arms that don’t even reach his eyebrows, delivering a tragically funny salute.

“Uh...”

Do I have to return this? Whatever. I don’t know.

SNAP—

Juhyeok saluted back quickly.

“At ease.”

Only then did Cossack, Rajix, and Veronica lower their hands.

“I’m here, Summoner.”

“Master. Did you rest well last night?”

At least Meatshield and Gyeon Dallae were still normal.

“Today we’re entering Floor 60. Black Tower (United Arab Emirates).”

“When do you intend to clear Black Tower (Republic of Korea), Your Grace?”

“Can’t we take our time with that?”

What’s Korea in a hurry for?

And if it’s Floor 60, I have to think about privileges again.

Even if I don’t do a fortune ritual, I should enter the Korean Black Tower with a reverent heart.

But then—

“Summoner Bong. I have a proposal.”

“What is it?”

“I prepared a briefing, so please review and approve it.”

“...A briefing?”

This guy—did he get addicted to briefings?

“...Fine. Do it.”

“Yes, sir!”

Cossack was thrilled the moment I gave permission.

He drew pictures, had the other summoned entities demonstrate, and explained it at length—

“...Are you serious?”

“Yes, sir!”

“This is possible?”

“Yes, sir!”

“And everyone agreed?”

“Yes, sir!”

I’m going insane.

It’s not like we’re going to Floor 60 to film some transforming-combining hero show.

“Can’t we clear it the normal way? Like always—just melt it with firepower.”

“Of course we can. But it hurts real bad. We all hurt.”

...That’s true.

And I’m always sorry about that.

“Isn’t it better if only one person hurts?”

“...?”

“Meatshield.”

“Wow. You sneaky little—”

“Yes?”

Unbelievable.

Cossack really is as crafty as it gets.

“It’s not just me. Our lovely worker can also end up dying a miserable death while supplying ammo in a poison puddle.”

“...Hmmm.”

Rajix could be in danger?

That can’t happen.

“And if we use this method, there’s no attack delay.”

Now that’s... something.

“Do we do it?”

In my head, imagining the clear is absurd, but—

“Okay. Let’s do it the way the briefing says. Then shall we enter?”

“Heh heh heh. Feels like we’re going on a trip overseas.”

“It is an overseas expedition clear, so yeah.”

Juhyeok took out the Multinational Tower Access Ticket (One-Time Use).

The use method was, as always, tearing it.

RIIIP!

[You have used a Multinational Tower Access Ticket (One-Time Use).]

[Please state the country name and floor number of the Tower you wish to enter.]

“Black Tower (United Arab Emirates), Floor 60.”

[Entry requirements have been met. Would you like to enter now?]

“Enter.”

SPOT!

[Entering Black Tower (United Arab Emirates), Floor 60.]

At last, we entered another country’s Tower.

I didn’t feel anything special.

Just because it’s another country doesn’t mean the Tower environment would change.

“Victory! Commencing the Wyvern Lord extermination operation!”

“ATTENTION! Just trust me, Cossack. Heh heh heh.”

“SQUEAK! Heh-heh-heh.”

“Please take care of yourselves.”

“Trust me, everyone. I’ll protect you.”

Leaving the safe zone—a narrow corridor—we stepped into a space spread out in a circle like an arena.

[Floor 60 Mission: Defeat 1 Wyvern Lord.]

[Time Limit: Within 12 hours.]

[Completion Requirements: Wyvern Lord 0/1.]

From the far-off sky, the Wyvern Lord flew in together with hundreds of venom wyverns.

SHHHK—

Meatshield enlarged his body.

He kept growing.

He got enormous.

Just like we’d rehearsed, we formed up.

First, Cossack climbed onto Meatshield’s right shoulder.

Veronica onto the left shoulder.

Rajix?

He got on his shoulders.

With his short legs, he clamped Meatshield’s neck tight, and with his short arms, he hugged Meatshield’s head.

His puffed-up butt.

Rajix’s lethal back view, fully exposed.

This was the four-stage transformation-and-combination of summoned entities.

A sneaky concept by Cossack, built entirely on Meatshield’s sacrifice.

Juhyeok and Gyeon Dallae climbed up onto the cliff.

To avoid the poison puddles.

We couldn’t join the fight, but buffs and cheering were still possible.

“Hang in there!”

Well... I should at least cheer.

What else can I do?

Clear start.

CLINK-CLINK-CLINK-CLINK-CLANG!

The moment Gyeon Dallae violently shook her bells—

PAP! PAP! PAPAPAPAP!

Veronica, on Meatshield’s left shoulder, opened fire with her magic gun.

THUD-THUD, THU-THUD-THUD! THU-THU-THU-THUD!

Venom wyverns fell like rain.

Poison puddles formed everywhere.

The key to this clear was Meatshield.

Without directly colliding with the Wyvern Lord, he maintained a certain distance and dragged it in circles.

SPLASH SPLASH,

stepping into poison puddles without a care, constantly drawing aggro with nonstop provocation skills.

The ground?

So what if you step on it a bit?

If this were a role-playing game, he’d get excluded from loot distribution—

But Meatshield’s regeneration is absurd.

A body hardened by Diamond Skin.

Almost completely poison-proof.

Cossack, the sneaky bastard, crossing back and forth between Meatshield’s right shoulder and the Wyvern Lord’s back, dealing damage.

Veronica, comfortably unloading her magic gun from Meatshield’s left shoulder.

Rajix on his shoulders, squeaking as he supplied Magic Stone ammo to Veronica.

Our dependable Meatshield.

An SSR barbarian meatshield.

A blade juts out from his right hand, and bullets fire from his left.

A transforming-combining robot with perfect self-supply.

It looked ridiculous, but in reality there wasn’t a single ounce of delay in the offense.

If aggro drifted, he’d just throw a punch and keep the provocation going.

“This works.”

It was real.

The schemer demon king—sneaky Cossack’s plan—played out exactly as intended.

And in the end—

[Wyvern Lord defeated 1/1]

[You have succeeded in the Floor 60 mission.]

[Your level has increased.]

[Reward: Magic Stones 6 kg]

Easy.

With this method, even Black Tower (Republic of Korea), Floor 60—

That was when it happened.

[Notice: You have achieved a clear rank of S++ on Black Tower (United Arab Emirates), Floor 60.]

“Huh?”

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

“...I got a badge.”

You can get it in another country’s Tower too?

Then does the Global Notice ring?

And what about privileges?

*****

The Supreme Federal Council of the United Arab Emirates.

With five days remaining until their Black Tower collapse, Crown Prince Abdul bin Sala attended the council meeting with Player Omar Hassan.

A hearing and final ruling were scheduled.

The crime of handing over the Trait enhancement rune without an official contract.

The crime of placing the United Arab Emirates in danger of a Tower Collapse as a result.

“Crown Prince Abdul bin Sala. Do you admit your guilt?”

“I cannot admit it.”

“Just as we’ve heard. Arrogant to the end.”

“A pity. You were so bright as a child.”

Even so, Abdul bin Sala maintained a proud posture.

“Will you insist to the end that you did nothing wrong?”

“It was nothing more than loyalty, for the sake of the nation.”

“Hah!”

The stripping of his position as crown prince and his overseas exile were already decided outcomes.

The emirates outside Abu Dhabi had secretly been waiting for a chance like this.

It was a federation of seven emirates, but in practice, the one who ruled the United Arab Emirates was Abu Dhabi.

The gap in national power was simply too enormous.

So the other six emirates, Dubai included, had been aiming to reduce Abu Dhabi’s influence and seize control of the United Arab Emirates themselves.

With things having come to this, the King of Abu Dhabi—the King, President, and de facto ruler of the United Arab Emirates, Sala Mohammed bin Aziz—did not even attend the council meeting.

Abdul bin Sala looked resigned, but he wasn’t actually giving up.

He had staked everything on Meatshield.

All he needed was for that man to turn the situation around.

But his heart was still restless.

Would he truly keep his promise?

“This will make the ruling easier. Isn’t that right?”

“Let’s decide quickly. We must make an external announcement, and we also have the temporary naturalization contract.”

The Supreme Federal Council of the United Arab Emirates had decided to sign a temporary naturalization contract with Saudi Arabia.

The King of Dubai moved proactively.

The price would still be enormous, but—

one of the conditions of the Saudi contract was the ousting of Crown Prince Abdul bin Sala.

How could they not be furious? A Trait enhancement rune that would’ve rolled in just by sitting still had been handed off to the wrong place.

“Then let us gather everyone’s opinions and deliver the ruling. Crown Prince Abdul bin Sala has leaked valuable national assets outside the country.”

Abdul bin Sala closed his eyes slowly.

Does it end like this?

“This is an unscrupulous crime tantamount to treason. Therefore, as of today, the Supreme Federal Council resolves to exile Abdul bin Sala from the United Arab Emirates—”

In that instant—

“Gasp!”

Player Omar, sitting right beside the crown prince, sprang to his feet and shouted.

“What are you doing? Shouting in the middle of a ruling?”

“Th-That’s...”

“Are you saying you oppose the crown prince’s exile?”

With a trembling voice, Player Omar Hassan spoke.

“T-The Black Tower (United Arab Emirates), Floor 60...”

“What about the Tower? Is it collapsing right now?”

“I-It was just cleared. The Global Notice rang.”

“...What?”

“And it was an S++ clear rank...”

What kind of nonsense was that?

All of a sudden?

It made no sense.

He was saying something that would be exposed instantly—

Unless...?

The council chamber fell silent.

Then—

the attendants present at the Supreme Federal Council began showing smartphones and whispering into the attendees’ ears.

Faces changed in an instant.

Reporters and high-ranking officials who had come to observe leapt to their feet as well.

Everyone started calling somewhere, bustling in chaos.

The meeting room turned into a madhouse, but not a single person stopped it.

And then—

“I-It’s true. A Global Notice. Every Player affiliated with the United Arab Emirates heard it.”

“...We have confirmed the S++ clear record for Black Tower (United Arab Emirates), Floor 60, and we have also confirmed the Tower progression status.”

Murmurs rippled through the room.

Everyone wore stunned expressions.

Not just a clear, but an S++ clear rank?

This isn’t Korea.

Only then did Abdul bin Sala smile faintly and speak.

“Continue with the ruling. What crime did I commit?”

Of course, no one could answer.

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