As for Deputy Commissioner Jeon Gwangil, he was widely known inside the TOWER PLAYER AWAKENING ADMINISTRATION as the most textbook bureaucrat of them all.

And the achievements he’d stacked were no joke.

Launching the elite Player training project. Discovering talented Players like Yoo Cheolmin and Nam Gaeun. Establishing a research lab for Magic Stones and Tower materials. Recruiting craftsmen from all over the country and putting in motion facilities that could manufacture weapons and gear in-house...

On top of that—competent, rational, and a workplace superior with the stature of a leader.

That was why he was extremely popular among the staff as well.

A true model example of a successful civil servant.

But here?

“This is Mr. Cossack—one of our team’s powerhouses.”

“I-I’m Jeon Gwangil.”

“Hello, sir. Summoner Bong’s right hand, dependable loyal aide, master negotiator, creative strategist, tactical genius, guerrilla warfare grandmaster, top-tier life saver—yep, that’s me, Cossack. Ehehehe.”

“...Ah. Yes. Yes.”

It felt nothing like the HG Hotel.

Back then, he’d been chillingly terrifying.

Here, he was like a puppy wagging its tail like crazy.

Jeon Gwangil pulled out a business card and handed it over. Next was the giant.

“Our team’s tank—and our pillar.”

“I am the barbarian warrior who exists only for the Summoner. Meatshield. Call me Meatshield.”

“Ah... yes, I see... I’m Jeon Gwangil.”

At last, the meaning of Meatshield was revealed.

Did people realize?

That “Meatshield” literally meant meat shield?

The terrifying giant who had blocked bullets and crushed terrorists with one hand.

Jeon Gwangil handed over another business card.

“And this is Princess Gyeon Dallae—our team’s support.”

“Greetings. You labor greatly in service of the nation. I ask that you continue to support Master Bong with all you have, in every way.”

With dignity pouring off her, she didn’t feel like a metaphorical princess.

She felt like an actual princess.

So Jeon Gwangil politely took out his card to offer it—

“Thanks. This girl still has no business cards, so I will give you this instead.”

“Th-thank you.”

Jeon Gwangil received a sheet of yellow paper from Gyeon Dallae.

It looked like a talisman.

“Deputy Commissioner, this is really good stuff. A good-luck talisman. The effect is guaranteed, so keep it on you.”

A good-luck talisman?

He normally didn’t believe in superstition, but... Summoner Bong himself said the effect was guaranteed.

Jeon folded it neatly and put it into his wallet.

“And this is Staff Sergeant Veronica Caliber. She’s the star of today’s celebration—she got promoted.”

“N-nice to meet you.”

“You served?”

“Mm. I was a Marine.”

“Final rank?”

“Discharged as a sergeant...”

“Ah! You must’ve had it rough. Let’s do well from here on out.”

“...Yes. Yes.”

Jeon Gwangil was flustered.

Casual speech out of nowhere was one thing, but—

Skin-tight full-body tights that showed every curve so clearly he didn’t know where to put his eyes.

“Lastly, our team’s ace—our all-purpose housekeeper—Mr. Rajix, beastkin.”

ROLL-ROLL—THUD!

“Huh. Card, yes.”

The cute little creature stood proudly, thrusting out a tiny little hand.

Jeon Gwangil hurriedly handed over his business card.

That tiny hand snatched it up.

“...”

Ah.

Good lord—where in the world did a creature like this even come from?

Bright, sparkling eyes. A round little body. It even talked.

He couldn’t tell if it was a person or a hamster.

Now he understood what “beastkin” felt like.

“Tower ore, basilisk leather, wyvern leather—Mr. Rajix brings it all back.”

“Ah!”

“HUH-EHNG!”

Rajix put both hands on his hips, lifted his chin, and snorted like, That’s right. I’m that kind of guy.

Cute and capable.

Perfect, basically.

No wonder he was the ace.

“Alright, introductions are done.”

Done?

“Summoner Bong—um, the person Meatshield is holding over there is...”

“Oh! That’s Lucius Bardin. Right now, he’s serving as a holy sword.”

What kind of—

“...A-a holy sword?”

Then!

“As I thought—you too are a heretic. How can it be that beside the Summoner there is not a single faithful servant? You as well, one day, I will smash your skull with this flail and make you repent into the bosom of the Lord—”

“Dismiss Summon: Lucius Bardin.”

SPOT!

“Don’t worry about him. He’s a good person, but he got soaked in a cult and went a little crazy.”

“I-is that so?”

This was awkward.

He wasn’t going to criticize using a person as a tool, right?

No matter how fanatic... this was abnormal labor exploitation.

It could turn into a human rights issue.

Juhyeok quickly redirected the topic.

“Ahem. Let’s continue what we were doing. Staff Sergeant, forward.”

“Staff Sergeant Veronica Caliber.”

Alright. Time again.

This time, he couldn’t mess it up.

Juhyeok focused hard.

And the Deputy Commissioner was watching, too.

So what if the reinforced suit was thin?

He pinched lightly with just his fingernails—

“Come on! Grip tight! You kept saying ‘manly, manly’ when you were out cracking monster skulls.”

“Hey, I slipped, okay?”

As if they’d been waiting, Gyeon Dallae and Meatshield piled onto Cossack.

“What manner of manners did you learn? How dare a mere servant raise his voice to Master Bong? Must you taste a slap to come to your senses?”

“Assassin, tone it down. Keep it up and you’re getting flicked.”

“...Sorry, sir.”

That’s why Gyeon Dallae and Meatshield were the best.

A person needed some seriousness in their soul.

Not nonstop clowning around.

Juhyeok refocused. He grabbed only the fabric.

His finger sank in with a soft, squishy feeling, but he ignored it, pinched, and clipped it on—

“Done!!!”

“Oh! Well done, sir. Your finger control is art, sir.”

“Th-thank you. CERTAIN VICTORY! Veronica Caliber will devote her entire body for the Commander’s infinite glory.”

Watching this, Jeon Gwangil wore a face that said he had no idea what was happening.

Is it really that good?

It was just a metal badge. Nothing special.

A small silver rectangle.

But Veronica’s eyes were shimmering with tears of emotion...

And everyone watching looked jealous.

Now that I look... they all have one each.

That cutie Rajix even had three badges pinned to the backpack on his back.

Jeon Gwangil studied the badge closely.

“HUH-EHNG!”

Rajix smirked like, You don’t have one of these, do you?

Jeon Gwangil felt his mood sour for a split second.

What the hell. It’s just a badge.

This wasn’t the time.

The ceremony looked done, so he needed to bring up why he’d come.

“Player Bong Juhyeok.”

“Yes?”

“I have something to discuss...”

“Oh! I totally forgot. What is it?”

Jeon Gwangil began explaining.

From the bizarre document that claimed the holy sword’s real owner... to the route it had traveled... to how they had resolved it...

And also what Commissioner Park Kyungsoo had said when he went to see Chairman Jeong Seongtae of Ilseong Group.

On top of that—his dissatisfaction with HG Fashion messing around with leather products, and how this time, instead of being played, they should directly take over a company.

There was even a suitable company.

Ilseong Apparel, which would soon be separated as an affiliate split.

They’d be receiving close to 90% of the shares for free, so all Juhyeok had to do was decide.

Management?

He didn’t need to step in personally.

CEO Jeong Donghun would handle everything. And so on.

But Juhyeok’s face crumpled into a troubled frown.

“...This is overwhelming.”

“I’m sorry. I tried to keep your identity hidden, but then that bizarre document suddenly appeared.”

“No, not that.”

“Then what?”

“The shares. How am I supposed to take that for free?”

“Ah!”

“Can’t I just... keep supplying leather like I’ve been doing...”

That was when the summoned entities cut in, one after another.

“Master Bong, accept it. You possess more than enough right to do so. Simply rule.”

“I agree, sir. What’s the point of Rajix the worker’s face, sir? He skinned leather like that, and some random people took all the profit. From now on, Summoner Bong should take it all, sir.”

“HUH-EHNG!”

Jeon Gwangil also worked hard to persuade him.

“They’re right. You should own the company.”

“Taking someone else’s company by force is...”

“It’s not taking by force. It’s saving it. If we let it go like this, CEO Jeong Donghun will be driven out unjustly. Consider it saving a person—please acquire it.”

A company...

Juhyeok couldn’t decide easily.

He was scared he might be making things too big.

But as a weak man always did—if people inflated him from the side, he puffed up like a balloon.

“...Should I try it?”

“Do it, sir!”

“You must do so.”

“Summoner, it would be good.”

“HUH-EK!”

Yeah, fine.

“It’s happening!”

“YES! The beginning of Bong Corporation, sir.”

“A joyous event. Our finest servant, we must skin leather diligently.”

“Huh-eeeh!”

Then suddenly—

Gyeon Dallae’s expression hardened, and she spoke like a blade.

“However, there is something we cannot let pass.”

“What...”

“The trickery of those treacherous Japanese. Master Bong, entrust it to this girl. I will seize this chance and teach them a proper lesson.”

What was she going to do—start slapping people again? Or carry someone off?

“I’ll go, sir. Who do you think I am, sir? Even the Prime Minister of Japan, I can make him suffer a forced brain hemorrhage without a soul knowing, like China’s top leader—huh?”

...Huh?

Did he hear that wrong?

“What did you just say? You did what to China’s top leader?”

“...Yes, sir? I didn’t say anything, sir.”

“You did.”

“Uh—th-that... while rescuing the kidnapped Players, sort of on the side...”

Juhyeok knew it.

That damned Summoned Principles, Article Three had triggered again.

“No. Another incident? The Mad Demon’s got nothing to be criticized for. You’re basically a Little Mad Demon. Little Mad Demon.”

“...S-sorry, sir.”

“Master Bong, Mr. Cossack has committed no wrong. It was all ordered by this girl. Please kill him.”

“The Deputy Commissioner is right here! He heard everything! You want to see me get arrested?”

Jeon Gwangil’s mouth hung open.

These people rescued kidnapped Players?

And the stroke that had killed Chairman Lin Chaoming in China a few days ago was... intentional?

Nervously, Juhyeok asked carefully.

“Am I getting arrested?”

“Pardon?... W-why?”

“You know—what you just said about China’s chairman...”

“I... don’t know what you mean. I didn’t hear anything.”

“A-ah... r-really?”

“Anyway, congratulations on forming your company.”

Jeon Gwangil’s lightning-fast survival instincts.

Cossack nodded, satisfied.

“Truly an impartial official, sir. You think you won Deputy Commissioner by rolling dice, sir? Praise, sir.”

“A warrior likes someone who reads the room. Saving you was worth it.”

Gyeon Dallae joined in.

“Though we support Master Bong within these walls, supporting him outside is important as well. Consider the distribution of merit and reward—and bestow a badge upon the Deputy Commissioner, too.”

A badge?

“No, who am I to—someone far above me—”

Jeon Gwangil quickly said.

“No. If you give it to me, I will gratefully accept it.”

“...Really?”

“I mean it. I want it.”

“...”

Pinning it wasn’t hard, but...

And so another badge ceremony began.

Gyeon Dallae recited Jeon Gwangil’s merits.

“Deputy Commissioner Jeon Gwangil: you have supported Master Bong with sincere devotion, greatly contributing to smooth Tower clearing and world peace. Therefore, a badge is hereby bestowed upon you.”

The badge pinned to his chest.

Jeon Gwangil lowered his head and admired the shining badge.

This is strange.

Like receiving a presidential commendation.

He didn’t know why, but somehow, it made him feel good.

*****

The next day.

Juhyeok summoned the summoned entities again.

They’d played hard yesterday, so today they had to climb the Tower.

Floor 66 clear.

The target was the undead, large flying monster: Specter.

When the undead monster Specter of Black Tower Floor 66 was first revealed to the world through the bodycam footage of America’s top Player, Gerald Watson, people fell into despair.

Because it was nothing like the types of undead monsters that had appeared up to now.

Specter’s defining trait was its size.

It was absurdly huge.

And it was a flying undead.

Physical attacks didn’t work.

And for a monster that size, it even spewed a wide-range aura of darkness.

Even so, somehow, they managed to bring it down.

Gerald Watson cleared it with only three days left on the Collapse Countdown, barely making it—using almost the full fifteen hours.

But that was only ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ possible because it was Gerald.

The world’s top Player, armed with the magic swordsman Trait and light-attribute items.

How were they supposed to kill that thing?

Even the United States had forced it down.

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say Tower Collapse was inevitable.

Then a holy sword appeared.

That was practically a miracle.

The difficulty of Specter—previously believed impossible—plummeted straight down.

But for Juhyeok, the holy sword’s real owner, it was something he didn’t even need.

Because he had Bardin—something even more effective.

[Entering Black Tower (Republic of Korea) Floor 66.]

Specter?

If he only cared about getting S++, it would actually be easier than Floor 65.

Ignore the raw physical presence—its pattern was simple.

He accepted the mission.

[Floor 66 Mission: Kill 10 Dark Specters.]

[Time Limit: within 15 hours.]

“Let’s kill them fast and get out. We’ve gotta do the second clear too.”

No matter how gigantic a Specter was, could it really endure against two SSR summoned entities wielding holy-attribute weapons?

And with Gyeon Dallae’s buffs layered on top—

“LIGHT!”

“Attribute absorption.”

From the distant sky, Specter swooped down, flying on an aura of darkness so thick it looked like ink.

Holy-attribute bullets fired in succession from Veronica’s magic gun.

THUNK! THUNK-THUNK!

The Specter’s body burst into holy flame where it was hit.

By the time it crashed down to the ground, it was already at death’s door.

Meatshield finished it by swinging the Bardin holy sword.

“LIGHT!!!”

WHAM! WHOOSH!

“Holy crap.”

One down already? Did that take thirty seconds?

“What do I do, sir?”

“I don’t know. Cheer?”

“FIGHTING, SIR!!!”

He had to do something, at least.

[Notice: You have achieved a Floor 66 Clear Rank of S++ in Black Tower (Korea).]

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

[You may challenge Floor 67.]

[Exiting Black Tower (Republic of Korea).]

SPOT!

Juhyeok’s penthouse.

Floor 66—cleared at S++ as well.

Now there wouldn’t be any upper-floor climbing for a while.

He’d just do repeat clears and peel leather.

To enter the 70s, he still had more than two years.

Until then, he could slowly increase the number of summoned entities, enhance his Trait, and prepare.

What—something huge was going to happen?

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