This was our third time clearing Floor 64—ghouls.

And it was the fastest run yet.

Meatshield swung the human holy sword, Bardin, a few times, and before I knew it, it was over.

There really was such a thing as matchup advantage.

In front of Radiance, dark aura wasn’t even as threatening as candied fruit in sugar syrup.

[You have succeeded in the Floor 64 mission.]

[Reward: Magic Stone 6.4kg]

SPOT!

Back to Juhyeok’s penthouse.

Meatshield still hadn’t released Enlargement.

Bardin—the human holy sword—hung from Meatshield’s hand like a rag doll, limp and wobbling.

“You treacherous heathens. Stop humiliating me and kill me instead! Summoner, grant me the chance to die as a martyr with honor!”

“Radiance.”

“LIGHT!!!”

FWAAASH!

Radiance flooded the living room, turning it bright as noon.

Cossack stared at it with a genuinely regretful expression.

“Aw, what a waste.”

“Ah. Right. Guess I’ve gotten used to it.”

A waste of Radiance.

This wasn’t even an undead run—so I shouldn’t be popping it off wherever I felt like.

“Just a moment, please.”

SPOT! Cossack vanished—

TAP TAP TAP TAP!

—and a beat later, every light in the house clicked off.

Even so, thanks to Radiance, the room was still plenty bright.

“Gotta save on the electric bill. Now you can manifest Radiance.”

“...”

So the “waste” was the electric bill? Wicked. Absolutely wicked.

At this point, I almost felt sorry for Bardin.

Maybe this was the inevitable outcome from the start.

He’d charged in and started trouble the moment he arrived, with zero ability to read the room.

A fake lunatic.

Cossack was one thing, but Meatshield wasn’t exactly innocent either.

The way Meatshield swung Bardin around without even blinking...

“Should we send him back and just never summon him again?”

Meatshield answered coldly.

“If the Summoner commands it, the warrior will obey. But the warrior wants revenge. The Princess almost got hurt. He must pay for his sins with his body.”

Cossack backed him up.

“This guy ain’t a simple fanatic. The attempt on the Princess was calculated. Thoroughly.”

Calculated...

“You mean he targeted Princess Gyeon Dallae on purpose?”

“Yessir. The Princess is a non-combat supporter. Weak body, weak physical ability—she’s a summoned entity. If he’d jumped me or Meatshield instead, I could’ve understood it.”

Selective anger management issues, or what?

“And their attributes are similar. A holy knight or a shamaness—both are essential in undead sections. If he removes the Princess, he’s the only one left. His value goes up.”

I got it.

“So if he makes Princess Gyeon Dallae Summon Unavailable for a hundred days... then in this undead section, there’s only one person everyone can rely on?”

“That’s right. He takes the seat.”

And after that, he’d go on about conversion and repentance while making everyone’s life miserable.

“Mr. Bardin. Was that really your intention? Answer honestly. It’s an order.”

“...Summoner. What use is a witch, when a holy knight is here?”

It was enough to make my head spin.

A holy knight who claims to believe in a god, and—

“Summoner Bong, religion does not always place good and evil as its highest value. Most faiths prioritize belief itself above all else.”

Gyeon Dallae was right.

Even the backstory made that clear.

Lucius Bardin wasn’t an inquisitor so much as a murderer.

If the god Nigel truly valued good and evil, Bardin would’ve lost his holy power long ago.

And the Nigel papacy had only stood by at first—then disposed of him once public sentiment became a burden.

God or holy knight... same stew, same spoon.

“Huh? Summoner Bong, it’s getting dark.”

“Bardin, Radiance.”

“LIGHT!!!”

Meatshield lifted Bardin up high, like a torch.

“Ha! Now this is atmosphere.”

Human holy sword Bardin.

Now lighting fixture Bardin.

“You demon! How dare you—Bardin, apostle of the god Nigel—what do you take me for! You will be struck down by divine puni—”

“Shh!”

An LED bulb is talking?

“From now on, don’t say anything except ‘LIGHT!!!’”

“Mmgh! Mmgh! Mmgh!”

“Not even ‘mmgh.’”

“...”

Nice.

Multipurpose Bardin.

Honestly, it would be a waste to use him once and seal him away.

I’d planned to stop climbing after Floor 64, but... should we push to Floor 66?

It would probably help Rajix with fragment searching, too.

“Summoner, it’s getting dark.”

“Radiance.”

“LIGHT!!!”

So what did the summoned entities think...

“Should we climb Floors 65 and 66?”

“That seems acceptable. We have acquired a fine blade—letting it sit would be wasteful.”

“I agree. After using the weapon, the feel in the hand was better than expected.”

“Hey now, the climbing decision is always Summoner Bong’s call.”

“SQUEAK!”

“Staff Sergeant Veronica Caliber—just give the order. Certain victory!”

“Alright. Then let’s make full use of holy sword Bardin.”

Then what about the original holy sword?

That could go out strictly for rentals.

Of course, it still needed repairs.

For the customers.

Well, I wouldn’t be using that weapon anymore, so I should put it away.

Juhyeok spoke quietly.

“Dismiss Summon: Lucius Bardin.”

SPOT!

I could just pull him out again next time.

If I was going to use him, I should use him carefully—properly, with Tower-Only Healing Potions prepared.

“Let’s head out. Shopping—ready to spend some money?”

“Haah... shopping... this maiden is deeply nervous.”

“Princess, take whatever you want. I’ll pay for everything.”

“The warrior only needs a tracksuit.”

“Come on. At least get a suit. Put on something proper.” 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

“May I buy combat gear?”

“We’ll go for a military look. Something you can wear over the enhancement suit.”

And then—

“Rajix...”

“SQUEAK?”

This was the hard one.

What do you even buy for him?

First, he needed outdoor clothes.

Something that could cover a hamster beastkin body properly.

“Do you have anything like work clothes?”

“SQUEAK. I do.”

Rajix rummaged through the Subspace Backpack and pulled out clothing.

Overalls.

They looked exactly like miner’s workwear.

“You had clothes? Then why didn’t you wear them this whole time?”

“They’re uncomfortable to move in. SQUEEEAK!”

“Ah.”

That made sense.

If it was uncomfortable, not wearing it was the correct choice.

“Just wear it today when we go out.”

“SQUEAK... okaaaay.”

*****

Juhyeok and the group walked down the street.

Too many people for a taxi.

I really needed to buy a car soon.

Since it was downtown, the department store wasn’t far.

Thanks to the perception-interference talisman, nobody paid us any attention.

It would be a little different when we had to deal with staff face-to-face inside, but... so what?

From the outside, we were just an ordinary Korean high school girl, a foreign worker, tourists, and a morbidly obese child.

We finally arrived.

The weak man’s department store carpet-bombing began.

We grabbed whatever we saw, and we swiped whatever we grabbed.

This too, that too.

Clothes, shoes, hats, all kinds of accessories—if it fit and we liked it, we bought it, no questions asked.

It got to the point where our hands couldn’t hold any more shopping bags.

Whenever it started getting annoying, I’d head to the restroom with Rajix, the morbidly obese child, and—

“Put this away.”

“SQUEAK!”

—stuff it into the Subspace Backpack.

Then back to shopping.

After repeating that a few times, even shopping started to wear me down.

I should send the summoned entities back, go home, rest a bit, then summon them again.

We still needed a fourth run.

Juhyeok and the summoned entities walked out of the department store.

And right beside it, a smartphone shop caught my eye.

An Apple Store.

‘Should I stop in there too?’

I’d heard the new iPad had come out.

There was a time when owning one had been a literal dream.

Back then I didn’t even have the money to imagine it—now?

“Want to wait here? Or you can come in with me.”

“I will wait outside. I can see clearly through the glass.”

“Go handle your business.”

Juhyeok went inside.

In the past, I couldn’t even bring myself to speak to the staff.

Now I could walk in and talk like a human being.

Reliable summoned entities waiting outside for me.

And enough money to buy every item in the store in one go.

What was there to be ashamed of?

Just say “Give it to me,” pay in full, take it, and leave.

“Um...”

“Yes, how can I help you?”

“The latest pad is out, right? I want to buy it.”

“Yes. Just tell me which model you’d like.”

Exactly as expected.

Conversation flowing like water.

“iPad Pro. Thirteen-inch. Two terabytes. Black. Wi-Fi plus cellular. Six of them.”

“...Six?”

The staff member froze for a second.

“I have people to give them to.”

“And payment?”

“Card. One payment.”

Juhyeok handed over the card.

“Understood. I’ll process that for you.”

Aaaah.

It felt like I’d become a billionaire.

BEEP-BEEP-BEEP-BEEP-BEEP. Approved.

Of course it was approved. My limit was basically nonexistent.

“May I have your name?”

Why ask my name? Did the payment fail?

It might have.

Six units alone was 18 million won.

“...Bong Juhyeok.”

The staff member clasped both hands to the mouth and shouted.

“Everyone!!!”

Suddenly? What—

‘...Ah. Wait. Don’t tell me—’

I’d heard about this.

When you buy something, the staff...

“May I have your attention, please.”

No. No, no, no—

“Customer Bong Juhyeok has paid in full for six of our latest iPads! Please give him a round of applause!”

CLAP CLAP CLAP CLAP! WHIIIIISTLE!

Applause. °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° Whistles.

Juhyeok’s face went red like a radish. I wanted to die on the spot.

‘...Ugh.’

I couldn’t lift my head.

At least ask first before doing that.

Outside the glass, the summoned entities watched.

“Our Summoner gets applause from people.”

“SQUEEEAK!”

“As expected of Summoner Bong. People are only now recognizing greatness.”

“An awl in one’s pocket is bound to show itself, after all.”

“I’m proud of you, Commander. We should applaud too.”

“Clap with gusto!”

Applause was contagious.

People walking by stopped and clapped.

Even people on a passing bus clapped through the windows.

That day, Juhyeok almost passed out from unbearable humiliation.

*****

CEO Jeong Donghun of Ilseong Apparel didn’t care what happened in China.

Kidnapped Players escaping?

Rumors that China’s top leader had fallen ill?

None of it mattered.

His peaceful life was the thing under threat.

Jeong Donghun received a summons from his uncle—Chairman Jeong Seongtae of Ilseong Group.

After his father and mother died in an unexpected accident, Jeong Donghun had been left alone.

And in a conglomerate family, as everyone knew, there was no blood or tears when money was on the table.

Relatives took away Ilseong Trading—his father’s share—and left him only Ilseong Apparel, a clothing and fashion company.

Trading, construction, heavy industry, electronics, semiconductors... those were Ilseong Group’s core.

Compared to them, the fashion affiliate was the smallest of the bunch.

Even so, Jeong Donghun had been fine.

The Ilseong name still made it one of the top fashion companies in the Republic of Korea.

And unlike his cousins, he had almost no ambition and little greed.

He just wanted to keep things stable. Nothing more.

Fortunately, his employees were competent, and sales were rising.

Jeong Donghun wanted an easy life.

Ilseong Apparel alone was enough. What more was he supposed to want?

Then lightning struck.

In the chairman’s office, Jeong Donghun faced his uncle Jeong Seongtae.

“Tsk tsk tsk. Pathetic.”

“During the Administration meeting, I was away at the New York fashion show...”

“Shut up! Is that an excuse? You run overseas every chance you get.”

Honestly, overseas was comfortable.

Nobody knew him there. No one to read. No eyes to fear.

“You didn’t even know HG Fashion built a leather processing plant in the Republic of Korea?”

“...I knew, but.”

“And you still didn’t put it together?”

It had been strange, to be fair.

Leather processing was a pollution-heavy industry.

Regulations were brutal.

The purification facilities alone cost a fortune.

On top of that, you had to endure constant government oversight.

In terms of efficiency, it was far better to import leather already processed in developing countries.

That was exactly what Ilseong Apparel had been doing.

“I—I’m sorry.”

“Gah!”

The truth was, Chairman Jeong Seongtae hadn’t been any different.

When HG Fashion’s Goyeonha announced a launch showcase for a new brand, he’d only snorted.

What were they going to sell, bags?

Then he learned what “Basili” meant.

And his head started spinning.

Commercialize basilisk leather?

Was that even possible?

Leather materials from the Tower were extremely rare.

There wasn’t enough even to make Players’ armor.

So unless Tower leather rewards started pouring out in absurd quantities, mass production should have been impossible.

And yet HG Fashion did it.

Even now, the bags were impossible to buy.

The entire world had gone insane.

Celebrities. Famous politicians. CEOs of massive corporations.

Everyone frantic, unable to secure even one bag.

And with that, HG Group’s standing rose across the board.

Even the sales of its other affiliates shot up.

Only then did Chairman Jeong Seongtae understand.

This wasn’t “just bag business.”

“So what are you going to do?”

“...Our management situation isn’t in danger right now, but I’ll come up with countermeasures.”

“Countermeasures? Are you going to go into the Tower yourself and peel basilisk leather off with your own hands?”

“...”

Jeong Seongtae clicked his tongue.

The more he looked, the more pathetic his nephew seemed.

A thorn in the eye.

Exactly like his father.

“I-I’ll go to the Administration directly and—”

“Enough. Take this!”

THUD.

A folder slammed onto Jeong Donghun’s lap.

“This is...”

“I got information from a trustworthy source. A Player who’s highly likely to be the supplier of basilisk leather.”

“What?”

Jeong Donghun tore it open.

Personal information spilled out across the pages.

Bong Juhyeok... an ELITE TOWER CLIMBING TEAM contract Player.

“Go talk to him. Secure a leather supply contract.”

“I’ll try. I’ll ask the Administration and—”

“Idiot! You think they’ll let you? Meet him secretly. This is your last chance. If you fail, I’ll take everything you have.”

Jeong Donghun’s vision went black.

Meet an elite Player secretly?

That was dangerous.

If you contacted an elite Player without permission, would the Administration stay quiet?

The Tower Player Awakening Administration in the Republic of Korea had enough power to cut down a mere fashion CEO with a single stroke.

Jeong Donghun wasn’t stupid.

He understood exactly what his uncle was doing.

‘He’s trying to drive me out.’

To take even Ilseong Apparel—the last thing I had left.

And honestly, the information itself sounded suspicious.

Did it even make sense?

A twenty-five-year-old man... the supplier of basilisk leather?

“Are you doing it or not?”

“...I’ll do it.”

Maybe that was fine.

Maybe it would be easier to throw everything away and live quietly somewhere, far from all of this.

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