SPOT!

Juhyeok and Mad Demon exited the Tower.

Even after seeing it with my own eyes, it was hard to believe.

So this is why people say legend, legend.

I mean, even SSR is terrifying,

so would an LSSR really be handed out for free?

That was an easy five stars.

How could I give him only one star after seeing that?

That would be shameless.

Now that we’d cleared the Tower and come out, it was time for him to go.

Mad Demon looked at Juhyeok and said,

“Summoner.”

“Yes.”

“Do not overdo it. You do not have to climb. You can hide behind others, and no one will criticize you for it. If anything, they would applaud.”

“...”

He meant it kindly.

But telling me to just hide in the back...

“Someday, I will wait for the day I stand shoulder to shoulder with you. Even if not, call me anytime you crave a drink.”

SPOT!

And with that, Mad Demon vanished.

Mad Demon was full of madness the first time we met.

The second time, he reflected a bit, but the madness was still there.

The third time...

The mood was definitely good.

Even if his thinking hadn’t changed.

Still, I don’t plan to work with him yet.

More than anything, there’s no slot.

And in a few days, Random Summon would be available again.

Come to think of it, what do I do about Random Summon?

A tank, a melee dealer, a ranged dealer, a supporter, and an all-purpose worker.

It’s already a well-built team.

Should I pull someone, or not?

If one slot opens, I’ll do it then.

The most important condition is an open slot.

A summoned entity isn’t some ordinary summon like a spirit or a golem that can’t talk.

It’s a person meeting another person.

I’d experienced it before when I pulled Rajix.

There was no slot, I said sorry, I said I’d call him again later, and I sent him back.

I still remembered Rajix’s sad eyes.

The principle of Random Summon.

If Trait enhancement creates one more slot, then I’ll pull someone.

What if something happens later?

Wouldn’t it be better to pull in advance?

Well.

It might make the person hearing it feel bad, but I have a spare.

A reassuring reserve summoned entity—Mad Demon.

Thinking of it, I pulled up my Status Window Catalog. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

I selected Mad Demon’s name.

[Mad Demon’s Satisfaction Rating has been set to 5 stars.]

He more than deserved five stars.

He even got me an item reward.

Right. I should check the item.

I pulled out the still-warm ring that had just come into my inventory.

Information check.

<Tower-Only Ring of Departure.>

First of all, it’s Tower-only.

An item you can only use in the Tower.

And it’s a ring again.

Two rings.

One on the left hand, one on the right—wear them as a pair.

So what’s the description?

<Tower-Only Ring of Departure.>

Effect: Using the Tower’s network, when you exit, you can emerge near the Tower of a specified country.

Limitation: You must designate the Tower you will exit from in advance. If you do not designate it, you will exit at the location where you first entered.

Feature: Upon exit, you will appear within a 10km radius centered on the Tower, in a place with no people.

...

What is this?

Did I read it wrong?

The Tower’s network?

No matter how many times I rubbed my eyes, it said the same thing.

Being able to exit near a specified country’s Tower means...

It’s a travel ring?

Like, I enter in Korea and exit near the Tower in America.

Wormhole travel or something?

Even the item name is wrong.

This isn’t a Ring of Departure. It’s a Ring of Travel.

And for Juhyeok, who can use the Tower twice a day, the potential is insane.

It’s not even a one-time ticket. It’s a permanent-use item.

With this, there’s nowhere on Earth I can’t go.

Enter the Tower, go to Japan. Go to Italy. Go to the UK. Go to Australia. Even go to China—

Wait.

China.

Even if Cossack came back with the location where kidnapped Players were being held, I thought a rescue would be difficult.

Because of the physical distance. It’s ridiculously far.

But with this ring?

Getting to China would take a blink.

Funny.

A Ring of Departure drops on the floor Mad Demon cleared.

Everything clicks into place like gears.

Is this telling me to conquer the world?

No.

Don’t even think it.

I’ll use this ring well—for other purposes.

*****

The next morning.

Juhyeok summoned the summoned entities one by one.

Today was the scheduled day for Black Tower (Republic of Korea) Floor 62.

But the moment Cossack was summoned, he started grilling the others about what happened last night and explaining everything in detail.

Of course, it turned into chaos.

“Kidnapping!!! Ahh... this girl might faint again. How can they do something worse than beasts...!”

“The warrior is enraged. A human must not do such a thing.”

“Humans’ enemy is humans, sir.”

“Sergeant Veronica Caliber concurs with Cossack, sir. That is why my Magic Gun is more specialized in killing humans than monsters.”

“SQUEAK?!”

These guys getting angry is basically their job these days.

Even cute little Rajix.

“What are the rulers of this world even doing?”

Gyeon Dallae’s face flushed red.

“We must rescue them at once. And make China’s atrocities known to the whole world.”

“Calm down, Princess. Stop your pointless fussing.”

“What did you just say? Pointless fussing?”

“Know your place. Someone unqualified—”

“Y-you bastard!!!”

“Player Bong must permit it. The decision authority lies with Player Bong, sir.”

“...Oh my.”

Gyeon Dallae’s expression changed instantly.

She practically flew toward Juhyeok and bowed deeply.

“I am ashamed. Please scold this girl for her reckless foolishness.”

Actually, Juhyeok had been thinking since earlier.

Staring at the Ring of Departure on his hand.

What should I do?

Tower clearing is done by Players.

The problem is that each Tower has a nationality assigned to it.

Which expands it into an issue of national survival.

To prevent Collapse, every country has to mobilize every resource it has and clear its Tower no matter what.

Player development at the national level is a representative method.

No matter how much money it takes, they buy items, potions, Skill Runes, Trait enhancement runes, and invest in Players.

If that doesn’t work, they temporarily naturalize foreign Players to clear the Tower.

But China crossed the line.

Forced naturalization through kidnapping Players.

A selfish act of letting others die so they can live.

It’s not even comparable to Yoo Cheolmin’s overnight escape-naturalization to Japan through backroom maneuvering.

This is downright shameless.

How do they plan to bear that bad karma?

At the same time, part of me wondered if this was sticking my nose in where it didn’t belong.

Who am I? Just a Player.

All I did was awaken with a better Trait than others.

Am I the world police or something?

And my way of life has always been: if you see injustice, you endure it.

That’s my value system and my survival tactic.

But what if—even if I fail—there’s no risk at all?

Then maybe sticking my nose in once would be okay.

After thinking hard, Juhyeok finally spoke.

“Then let’s do it as safely as possible, and rescue as many as we can.”

“Yes, sir!”

As if he’d been waiting, Cossack connected a laptop and threw up a map on the TV.

“Player Bong’s right hand man, creative strategist, tactical genius, master of life-saving—Cossack will begin the briefing, sir.”

A briefing again?

“The kidnapped Players are being held at a place called Zhongnanhai in Beijing, China’s capital, sir. This is Seoul where we live, and this is Beijing, sir.”

Rajix raised a hand.

“SQUEAK?”

“Speak, Worker Rajix.”

“It’s too far.”

“Worker Rajix, an accurate point, sir.”

“SQUEAK.”

“It ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) is important to properly allocate the 7-hour summon time, sir. This operation’s success or failure depends on it, sir.”

There’s no need to overthink it.

“The most common way to go to China is by aircraft, sir.”

Click.

An image of an airplane appeared on the screen.

Then Gyeon Dallae raised her hand and asked,

“How are we supposed to board an airplane? We have no passports, and we must pass face and identity checks.”

“After sneaking in with Stealth, inside the cabin we can use a perception-interference talisman, sir.”

“Oh! Such a method exists?”

“As expected of the operations staff.”

“SQUEEEAK...”

Cossack smiled, twitching the corners of his mouth.

“All plans are in this head, sir. No matter what unexpected situation occurs, we adapt and push through, sir.”

CLAP CLAP CLAP CLAP!

Applause burst out.

“Then I will explain the details, sir. After taking a taxi to Incheon International Airport—”

Juhyeok shot his hand up.

“Ah, Player Bong, you don’t have to raise your hand—speak, sir.”

“Let’s stop and enter the Tower. We said we’d clear Floor 62 today.”

“Huh? Ah, the briefing isn’t finished yet, sir.”

“Enough. Prepare to clear.”

“...Y-yes, sir!”

An airplane, my ass.

Too much hassle.

There’s something faster.

*****

[Entering Black Tower (Republic of Korea) Floor 62.]

If Floor 61 was the tutorial section for undead, this place was the real starting line.

Mummies were bootleg undead.

It felt like they existed just to explain what dark aura was.

So even light-attribute items were enough to get past them easily.

But Floor 62 was different.

Dark zombies were tough, strong, and fast.

First, I should pick the Tower I’m exiting to.

The moment I thought that—

[Using the Tower-Only Ring of Departure.]

[Please designate the nationality of the Tower you wish to exit.]

China.

[There are 3 Black Towers in China. Please choose a number.]

I’d looked it up in advance.

The closest one to Beijing was Tower No. 1.

So—

 [Designated. Your next exit will be within a 10km radius of China’s Tower No. 1.]

Enter in Korea, exit in China.

And how do we get back to Korea from China?

Enter the Tower one more time and exit. Easy.

Then Floor 62 began.

The moment we left the safe zone—

[Floor 62 mission: Kill 15 dark zombies.]

Zombies appeared all over.

A darker aura than the mummies.

And fast movement.

“Grrk?”

“Ghk?”

“Kehk!”

No need for pulling.

The humanoid undead sprinted at us the moment they saw the party, eyes full of hostility.

Gyeon Dallae’s cleansing rite began.

The drumbeat and bells of the ritual rhythm, and a mournful song.

The zombies’ dark aura thinned, and their movements slowed at the same time.

THUNK! THUNK! THUNK!

Veronica started dealing damage in a standing firing stance.

Small mana rounds struck the dark aura.

Then pierced through it and sank into the body.

“Kehk!”

Meatshield roared and charged into the zombie pack.

Cossack stuck close behind him.

It’s definitely harder than the mummies.

And it’ll only get harder.

Will Gyeon Dallae’s cleansing rite still work in the late 60s?

With the holy sword, I’m not too worried, but—

Rajix is... huh?

ROLL ROLL ROLL.

What?

It’s our first clear—what is he even trying to find?

“Rajix!”

“SQUEEENG...!”

What if he gets grabbed by a zombie?

SPOT! SPOT! SPOT!

I chased after Rajix with Shadow Step.

ROLL ROLL—

Rajix rolled fast.

The moment we entered, there was a smell.

The same smell from the holy sword.

Holy power.

Here?

He grabbed a golden pickaxe and dug excitedly—

“SQUEAK!”

And finally, something came out.

A tiny piece of wood.

It looked like trash at a glance, but—

“SQUEEEAK...”

No doubt.

A fragment of a holy relic with holy power still lingering.

Its original form was probably something like a statue.

A fragment of a holy-attribute item.

If we gather a few more, repairing the holy sword will be possible.

The Summoner will be happy.

Rajix felt a little relieved.

Soon, the Summoner might summon someone new.

His slot could be threatened.

He had to prove his value without rest.

And then, he would steal the right-hand position from the assassin.

That was Rajix’s grand ambition.

Imagining himself briefing proudly in front of the Summoner made him feel very good.

SQUEAK.

He carefully placed the relic fragment into his Subspace Backpack.

Juhyeok arrived late and asked him,

“What did you find?”

“Yes.”

“Something good?”

“Yes.”

At that moment!

[You have succeeded in the Floor 62 mission.]

[Your level has increased.]

[Reward: Magic Stone 6.2kg]

Already over?

[Notice: You have achieved an S++ clear rank for Black Tower (Korea) Floor 62.]

[S++ clear reward: A Platinum Badge will be awarded.]

“Alright, good work. And when we go outside, don’t be too surprised.”

The summoned entities tilted their heads like they had no idea what I meant.

[You may challenge Floor 63.]

[Exiting Black Tower (Republic of Korea).]

SPOT!

Juhyeok and the party exited the Tower.

*****

China has three Towers.

One is near Shanghai, another is east of Xi’an City, and the last is in mountainous terrain west of Beijing.

Of these, the Shanghai Tower is the most dangerous.

It’s close to a major city, so half of Shanghai falls within the collapse zone.

Xi’an is an old ruin-city itself.

If it collapses, the material damage will be enormous.

The Black Tower west of Beijing is relatively better off.

It rises in the middle of rugged mountains, and it’s about 40km away from Beijing.

So considering sinkholes are usually 10km in diameter, Beijing falls outside the collapse range.

SPOT!

The party appeared on a mountainside where the Beijing Black Tower was clearly visible.

“Huh?”

“Gah!”

“Mmph.”

“Ah!”

“SQUEAK?”

The summoned entities startled.

“Waaah..., this isn’t the penthouse, sir! We’re in the mountains, sir! What’s going on, sir?!”

“SQUEEENG...!”

“M-Master! Where even is this...?”

“The warrior is flustered.”

I let out a short laugh and said,

“This is China.”

“...Huh?”

“If you go about 40km east from here, it’s Beijing.”

“Ah, our Player Bong is so funny, sir. Your sense of humor is outstanding, sir. Hehehehehe.”

“I’m serious.”

“...Huh?”

When I explained the Ring of Departure effect in detail—

“Oh!”

“As expected.”

“Incredible.”

“SQUEAK!”

“Commander! Congratulations on securing combat mobility.”

Cossack looked extremely excited, too.

“East from here is Beijing, sir?”

“I don’t really know which way is east, west, south, or north...”

“I know, sir.”

He stared hard in one direction.

Then—

“Please allow me to go to Beijing for a moment.”

“Are you going to rescue them right away?”

“No, sir! We need reconnaissance first, sir. I will only confirm, sir.”

“Still, it’ll take time.”

“I will return from Beijing after work, sir.”

“Then... go ahead.”

SPOT!

The moment I finished speaking, Cossack disappeared.

With his steps, an hour to Beijing would be more than enough.

Now what?

Let’s jump into the 40s and skin some basilisks.

Even without Cossack, it’s enough.

When we exit, we’ll set it to the penthouse.

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