The next day.

I prepared to clear Black Tower (Republic of Korea) Floor 60 with the summoned entities.

The last clear before Rajix’s promotion.

Meatshield showed up in perfect condition, thankfully.

Yesterday’s wounds were nowhere to be found.

It’d be nice if I could get him a pair of boots or something, but I doubt there’s anything that fits.

My current level was 61.

Meaning I could also enter Floor 61.

But Floor 61 was on hold.

For now, I was entering Floor 60.

To see whether a Floor 60 S++ clear still applied at Level 61.

It was fifty-fifty.

At Level 61, Floor 60 might count as a repeat-clear.

‘Then I won’t get it.’

But for me, Black Tower (Republic of Korea) Floor 60 was still uncleared.

Since it was a different Tower from the one I’d entered yesterday, maybe it would apply separately.

‘Then I get it.’

[Entering Black Tower (Republic of Korea) Floor 60.]

Same environment. Same mission.

Same clear method.

The only difference was nationality.

“Let’s go.”

Venom wyverns appeared, along with the Wyvern Lord.

SPLASH SPLASH.

Meatshield churned through the poison puddles.

Ah... my chest felt heavy.

He was acting tough, saying a warrior doesn’t feel pain, but there’s no way he couldn’t feel it.

He was just enduring it.

I’m not clearing Floor 60 anymore.

This is the end.

Wyvern Lord hide?

Peeling that would be a hassle.

The entire area was poison puddles, so it wasn’t even an environment where you could do it.

And Wyvern Lord hide wasn’t anything special, either.

Its body was big, sure, but the color was a yellowish shit-brown.

It wasn’t beautiful like a Rainbow Basilisk.

Regular wyvern leather was already excellent, so that was enough.

Time passed.

John Cossack’s blade work, and Veronica’s second large mana round hit home.

“KEH!”

The Wyvern Lord collapsed and lay its body into a poison puddle.

Clear success.

Now, the badge...

‘Does it count?’

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

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

“Oh!”

Thank god.

The clear was recognized.

That made my Platinum Badges 61.

Even though it was a Floor 60 clear, I had one more now.

My next privilege was Floor 64—

POP!

We returned to the penthouse.

The moment we arrived, Veronica dropped dead asleep, Gyeon Dallae sat lightly on the sofa, Meatshield and John Cossack prowled around the fridge, and Rajix started cleaning.

Now it was time to send Rajix off.

We’d meet again after the promotion.

Meatshield had jumped up by at least two ranks with blessed enhancement.

From an egg to SSR.

‘Was the Summon Unavailable state four days?’

Rajix had a soul just as pure as Meatshield’s.

There was a very high chance Rajix would also trigger blessed enhancement.

“Rajix?”

“SQUEAK.”

“Take this.”

“...S-SQUEAK?”

I pressed the Summoned Entity Rank-Up Rune into Rajix’s hands.

“Go. I won’t enter the Tower—I’ll wait until you come back.”

“...SQUEEENG... Don’t clean either. I’ll go and come back, then do it. No electric servant. No.”

Rajix’s eyes welled with tears.

I gripped Rajix’s tiny, tiny hand and spoke.

“I’m absolutely not buying an electric servant. I’ll hold my breath and wait.”

“SQUEAK? Breathe.”

I was seriously excited.

What would Rajix come back as?

The backpack capacity would definitely get bigger, right?

Even after sending him off with Dismiss Summon, I was jittery.

Time passed, and I called up the Status Window.

[Catalog] : Rajix (Summon Unavailable)

Yes!

Summon Unavailable popped up, just like Meatshield.

Which meant blessed enhancement was in progress.

Now I just had to wait.

Wait for the Rajix who would return after rising two ranks.

Then—DING! A smartphone message alert rang.

A message from Team Leader Lee Mina.

I was planning to visit the Administration today.

So they’d come to pick me up.

‘The car number changed again.’

Security reasons, probably.

I stepped outside the apartment.

A heavily tinted car was waiting.

I opened the door and climbed in.

“Hello, Player Bong Juhyeok. Congratulations on clearing Floor 60.”

“...Ah. Y-yes.”

After that greeting, we didn’t say a single word the whole way.

Not until we passed the Tower Player Awakening Administration’s front gate and arrived at the materials warehouse. 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

There were two women in the party.

With Gyeon Dallae and Veronica, it was fine.

But honestly, I had nothing to say here.

It’ll get better. Someday.

The car arrived at the Tower Player Awakening Administration.

Two people were waiting at the materials warehouse.

Commissioner Park Kyungsoo and Deputy Commissioner Jeon Gwangil.

Come to think of it, this was my first time seeing Commissioner Park Kyungsoo.

Isn’t he one of those high-level people who even meets the President one-on-one?

“...H-hello.”

“Oh! Welcome. It’s our first time meeting. I’m Park Kyungsoo.”

We exchanged greetings, I heard thanks, and I got the whole “please take care of us” speech.

They said they were always sorry they couldn’t treat me better because they had to hide my identity.

They asked me to endure it just a little longer.

Well, it was what I’d wanted.

We talked, and Park Kyungsoo asked in a casual tone.

“Player Bong, there’s something I’d like to ask...”

“Ah! Anytime. And Commissioner, you can speak casually to me.”

“Hahaha, I can’t do that. Should you judge a person by age?”

“Mm.”

I’d rather judge by age.

At that position, I don’t even care if you’re an old-fashioned hardass.

“Forgive my rudeness, but Black Tower (United Arab Emirates)... was it really not you, Player Bong?”

I knew this question would come.

When he called yesterday, the ladder privilege had scrambled my brain, so I’d brushed it off vaguely.

“To be honest, there isn’t anyone among the United Arab Emirates Players who could do that. No—if you look at the whole world, I can’t think of anyone other than you, Player Bong.”

Commissioner Park Kyungsoo sounded convinced I was the one who cleared it.

“If it’s difficult for you to answer...”

“Yes, it’s a bit difficult. It’s hard for me to say.”

A vague answer.

I didn’t say yes or no.

That should be enough for him to get it, right?

“Ah! I’m sorry. I overstepped.”

“Not at all. If the chance comes later... hmm. Then I’ll explain it in detail.”

Park Kyungsoo waved his hands.

“Oh, it’s fine. I’ll never ask again.”

There was a reason I couldn’t say it clearly.

If I said I cleared it, I’d have to talk about the Multinational Tower Access Ticket, too.

But I only had one ticket left.

And it was already reserved.

Also, the privileges I could get going forward were limited.

At most, once on Floor 64.

Floor 69, I’d have to clear slowly.

Who knows when I’d ever get a ticket like that again—maybe never.

Unless more dropped.

So I let it slide.

‘At least they’re not asking who Meatshield is.’

Even if they did, I wouldn’t tell them.

“Right. I have something I want to ask the Administration for.”

“Please say anything. If it’s something we can handle, we’ll do it.”

At Park Kyungsoo’s glance, Lee Mina pulled out a notebook and got ready to write.

“Could you help me buy some land around the capital region? Somewhere quiet in the mountains would be nice.”

“The mountains, not a busy area?”

“Yes. Somewhere with as few people as possible. A place where I can set up a few containers.”

“We’ll look into it.”

I’d been holed up at home with the summoned entities too much.

Sometimes you need a villa where you can go outside and enjoy nature.

And one more thing.

“I want to gift my parents some money. About 10 billion won. Handle the taxes and all that.”

“That’s possible. If you leave it to a law firm, they’ll take care of everything.”

I should be a good child, too.

That was everything.

Just as I was thinking about heading out, my eyes caught the scene inside the warehouse.

“Hmm. Looks like a lot of basilisk leather is gone?”

“HG Fashion took it. They’re planning to reveal prototypes soon, so the showcase date has been set.”

“Really?”

That was good news.

Now I could peel not just ore, but leather in earnest.

Once Rajix got promoted, Subspace Backpack would definitely get bigger.

Now I just needed to go home and rest.

Later, if I got bored, I could invite people over and hang out.

*****

HG Fashion.

The showcase date was tomorrow.

CEO Goyeonha and the design team and the leather technicians pulled an all-nighter and completed prototypes using basilisk leather.

First up: bags.

From there, they planned to diversify into wallets, shoes, and more.

For the mid-to-low priced line, they set the price between 5 million and 10 million won.

They used only basilisk leather that was lower quality, or had simple, faint patterns.

Even then, it was far better than crocodile leather.

And since it had its own self-restoration ability, if you bought one, it was a bag with durability that would last forever unless you got sick of it.

Second: the high-quality luxury line.

The smallest started at 40 million won.

Made only with high-quality leather.

If it was “a bit big,” it crossed 100 million.

Finally, the high-end luxury line.

The baseline started at 300 million won.

They put the most care into the design.

Because Rainbow leather was used as point accents here and there.

Were the bag prices too expensive?

Would they not sell?

Not a chance.

The most expensive high-end line would sell the ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) best.

They’d sell out immediately because there wasn’t enough stock.

Big spenders who couldn’t buy them would howl.

“Let’s proceed with the showcase exactly like this.”

“Should we start selling at the same time?”

“Only take reservations. Limited quantity.”

“How many... our production facilities aren’t complete yet, so it’ll be tight to meet volume.”

“Only as many as we can make. No need to push ourselves. Even other brands take over a year if you order a bag. We need to take it slow, manage quality, and make them properly.”

What mattered was scarcity.

It had to become a luxury item you couldn’t buy even if you opened your wallet.

There was no plan for mass production.

Even if they wanted to, they couldn’t.

Because they had to make them purely by hand, using tools made of Tower metal.

The showcase would be: ten mid-to-low priced bags, six luxury bags, and two high-end bags.

They sent invitations to famous celebrities.

They also planned a simultaneous live broadcast on YouTube.

Goyeonha was already excited.

What kind of reactions would people have when they saw these bags?

It was obvious.

Even she wanted one, and she was the CEO.

“Oh, right. Make two more high-end bags and send them to the Administration. One for men, one for women.”

“Yes. We’ll send them right after the showcase.”

You had to stay in the good graces of the person supplying the Administration with leather.

Since they didn’t know whether that person was a man or a woman, they’d make both.

────────────────────────────────────

────────────────────────────────────