[World Announcement: You have achieved an S+++ clear rating on Floor 87 of the Black Tower No.1 (Korea).]
Haru was a world of souls.
Souls were listening to the explanation of Jephet, the supreme summoner's summoned being and the liaison between Earth and the world of souls.
『… So in short, it means that he conquered two dimensions at the same time. My summoner—my master did.』
In the world of souls, the original method of communication was telepathy conveyed through intent.
Because of that, it felt far more vivid than exchanging sounds.
It was a way where the speaker's emotions were transmitted intact.
『Has there ever been someone like this? Someone who climbed the tower while trampling the administrators of two dimensions underfoot?』
『No.』
『There's no way there was.』
『That's right. He's the only summoner.』
『Even the administrators must be experiencing this for the first time—just like us.』
A fact everyone acknowledged.
Was it because the summoned beings were special?
But who was the one who selected those summoned beings?
Who was the one giving them orders?
And who was the one holding the decision-making authority over tower raids?
No matter how exceptional the summoned beings were, if the summoner was insignificant, they too would become insignificant.
『I also received a badge this time. Hahahaha! A sparkling, shining platinum badge—I'd love to show it to you, but there's no way.』
『…
Is that bastard here to communicate, or to brag?』
『Unfortunately, today is my last day.』
『Last day?』
『Actually, my dispatch assignment ended a while ago. I could receive residency rights again and enter the White Tower, but I kept coming out of a sense of sacrifice—for all of you.』
Sacrifice, my ass.
He probably just liked it because the souls showed interest whenever he talked about the outside world.
『Anyway, I'll be leaving, but soon there will be a random summoning. If you win the draw, what benefits will you receive?』
Benefits, huh.
『First, tremendous pride. Why did we sign the summoned-being contract? Wasn't it for the single-minded purpose of saving the world?』
That's right.
『But until now, it's been nothing but failure. We couldn't protect our summoners, and every world was completely destroyed. Our pride was shattered.』
That's true.
They had been steeped in defeat after repeated failures.
『But this time, success is visible. You can join the sacred ranks that save the world. We can fulfill our wish as well.』
Good.
I want to be summoned.
I want to be by his side.
『Needless to say, the employee benefits are amazing. Escape from the soul prison, permanent residence on the 17th floor of the White Tower—doesn't that say it all?』
Just imagining it was delightful.
『Lastly, I'll end by telling you one more piece of good news.』
Good news?
『The summoner has secured one skill cooldown reset ticket. What does that mean?』
Huh?
『Yes, this time it's two people. Look forward to it. Well then, I'll be off—』
[It's almost time for the summoner to call me… I've got a lot to do when I go. I'm a recognized summoned being now, after all. Hahahaha!]
No one even heard his farewell.
Two people could go out?
『So in the end, you're telling me to go, huh? It can't be helped. I'll go.』
『I should prepare. First impressions are important, after all.』
『I'll say goodbye in advance. Guys, take care—… no, never mind. I'll come back once before I get my residency rights.』
『Fine. Let's see who ends up going.』
The souls swelled with anticipation.
A skill cooldown reset ticket.
Didn't that mean the winning probability was doubled?
Earth No. 1,001—namely, the administrators of the Black Tower on the Earth where Juhyeok lived.
They had been bored for a while, but at the same time enjoying a tranquil peace.
At the very least, there had been no S+++ clear messages for upper-floor climbs.
But then?
[Huh!?]
An engineer flinched in surprise.
[What is it?]
[Th-the summoner has entered the Korean tower.]
[… What?]
He came back?
[Why?]
[I wouldn't know.]
He should've just stayed there.
Things had been quiet for a while, which was nice.
[Did he enter the tower to climb? Did he go up to the upper floors?]
[He's collecting leather. Also gathering herbs, and mining ore.]
[Ah… ]
What a relief.
So it wasn't an upper-floor climb.
[He's entered the 85th floor as well.]
[Gigant? He can't take that anymore, can he?]
[He's collecting the remaining debris after it self-destructed. Does he need metal?]
[Is that so?]
Anyway, that was still gathering activity.
Well, with bracelets, scrolls, and all the things he had going on, he probably needed a lot of materials.
At that moment!
[Huh?]
[What is it? An upper-floor climb?]
[N-no, it's not that, but… um, that summoner's level is… ]
[What about his level?]
[He's level 88.]
[… Huh?]
Level 88.
That meant he had cleared the 87th floor.
[Our Black Tower's 87th floor—Undead Bone Dragon—hasn't been cleared yet, right?]
[Yes, it's uncleared.]
Then?
[On Earth No. 675… ]
[That's right. The Black Tower's 87th floor over there was taken.]
[Kyaa! That's delicious.]
A grin spread on its own.
Just imagining how badly those Black Tower administrators on Earth No. 675 must have been chewed out was exhilarating.
How is it?
Spicy, right?
It's only going to stay spicy from now on.
[Hahaha, haha, ha… ]
No.
They couldn't laugh.
[Hmm.]
Was this really something to laugh about?
If he took that one, it meant this tower's 87th floor could be taken too.
It couldn't be helped.
Let's assume the 87th floor was already taken.
Instead—
[The 88th floor was the Sand Dragon, right?]
[Yes, that's correct.]
It was something that normally couldn't be cleared… but assuming that would be taken too—
[Who's our 89th-floor contractor?]
[It's the Light Dragon Hasphus.]
A free-contract dragon recruited for tower defense.
[Where's the true body?]
[It's sleeping in the western U.S. tower.]
In the early days of tower creation, the U.S. had been the top tower-climbing nation.
[Tell it to stop sleeping and move to the Korean tower. South or north, either is fine.]
[Understood.]
[And warn it to be careful, since the summoner might come up soon.]
This was exhausting.
Why did he come back already?
He should've just lived on Earth No. 675.
Today as well, Korea was peaceful.
Even though two towers had appeared overnight, no one thought it was dangerous.
Because the top player was Korean.
As a result, North Korea was changing too.
The threat of war disappeared, and unification drew near.
Amid that, breaking news arrived.
L Oooooh! I've been waiting for this!
L Does that mean I won't gain weight anymore?
L Is the bracelet some kind of versatile item? You still have to put in minimal effort.
L I hope supply is sufficient this time.
L It'll probably be even harder to reserve by subscription.
L Why?
L Before, it was just Koreans competing with each other. Now the whole world is competing.
L Ah!
That was indeed the case.
After the article went out, media around the world treated the resumption of production of the Bracelets of Escaping Obesity as top news and showed keen interest.
And then another article.
L Hey, why sell to China?
L You have to sell. If China collapses, do you think we wouldn't be affected?
L Still, I don't like it.
L China will be stable now. No matter how villain liberation players rampage, one sheet of paper torn is all it takes.
L But is this also produced by Rajiks Trading?
L Isn't that obvious? They say it's the top player's company.
L Our top player's going to become an S+++ grade rich man. How much do you think they charged per sheet?
L I hope it was at least double.
An article speculating on the price paid for the scroll export soon followed.
L This is it! The reason they exported the scrolls to China!
L They should've just said so earlier. Mount Baekdu is definitely worth trading for scroll exports.
L Those Chinese always solve things by selling land whenever there's danger.
L Well, they've got plenty of land. And if you think about it, Mount Baekdu is kind of a border region anyway.
L So now all that's left is unification?
L Yeah. When will it happen?
L Don't tell me the North Koreans are going to stab us in the back—
The answer about the timing of unification came quickly.
Chairman Kim In-jung appeared on North Korean state television for the first time in a long while.
– Beloved citizens of the entire Korean Peninsula, Mount Baekdu has completely returned to the bosom of our people. Thus, it can no longer be delayed. On behalf of the people of the Republic, I hereby proclaim that we will enter full-scale unification efforts. –
It was broadcast live in South Korea as well.
– We will dismantle the armistice line that split the waist of the Korean Peninsula and immediately withdraw the People's Liberation Army stationed there. Furthermore, we will open inter-Korean railways and roads, integrate currencies for economic unification, hold general elections for the North Korean People's Assembly, and additionally… –
An official and comprehensive declaration of unification.
Followed by announcements of an inter-Korean summit and working-level meetings.
It felt like a dream.
Unification was right in front of them.
Both North and South Korea were in a festive mood.
Just a year ago, missiles were being fired, propaganda leaflets scattered, insults exchanged, and they were like sworn enemies.
There was no country opposing unification.
Not China, not Japan, not the United States, not Russia.
And as if to celebrate the declaration of unification—
Tower No. 1.
[World Announcement: You have achieved an S+++ clear rating on Floor 87 of the Black Tower No.2 (Korea).]
The next day was Tower No. 2.
For two consecutive days, S+++ clear announcements echoed across the world.
Juhyeok returned to Earth No. 1,001.
He collected leather, mined ore and gathered herbs, and to commemorate the unification declaration, he cleared Floor 87 of both the South and North Korean Black Towers one after the other.
No Dragon Heart dropped on the 87th floor of the Black Tower on our Earth.
All that came out were a small amount of low-grade mana crystals and mid-grade mana crystals.
'They dropped Dragon Hearts just fine on Earth No. 675.'
Even if it had been eroded by darkness—
we cleared it twice, and not a single one dropped?
'Is it because there's only one tower over there?'
That was probably it.
With only one tower, the probability would naturally be higher.
On the other hand, there were as many as 146 towers here,
so the probability might be that much lower.
'Hmm, that just gives me another reason to raid the Black Tower on Earth No. 675 more often.'
Then I'll just do it.
But first, finish the work at hand.
Outside, things were extremely noisy with unification preparations in full swing.
Meanwhile, the 17th floor of the White Tower was bustling with a different kind of work.
Juhyeok and the summoned beings were fully absorbed in painting the Gigants.
Each of them held a paintbrush, coating the Gigant's massive body.
Jephet had joined in as well.
After finishing his long dispatch assignment, he received residency rights again from Juhyeok and returned to the 17th floor, but—
"Hey! That part is blue, not red! What kind of vampire can't even understand simple instructions?"
"If you don't feel like working, go crawl into some corner where you won't be seen and sleep like a bat!"
The poor Jephet got scolded the moment he arrived.
He had been bragging about how loved he was every day in the world of souls.
All summoned beings except Mari participated in the painting work.
The Gigant's body was so enormous that it consumed a huge amount of paint.
Painting itself wasn't difficult.
These summoned beings were anything but ordinary people.
After El maneuvered the Gigant into a lying position, they painted the front armor.
Once it dried, they flipped it over and painted the back. The work went quickly.
However, there were two Gigants to paint in total.
One was Gigant Unit No. 2, and the other—
"Uh, Mr. Kosak?"
"Yes?"
"What are you doing right now?"
"We're doing interior work on our display Gigant."
"I know that, but why are you writing letters on its back?"
"Aha! Advertising. We gotta promote our company far and wide."
Everyone already knew without any advertising.
"If we just show it, that's a waste. We can't even charge an entrance fee, so we should at least advertise, right?"
"...."
What Kosak was writing across the Gigant's back:
And even—
This was driving me crazy.
He was writing so carefully that I couldn't even tell him to erase it.
"…Don't write any ad slogans on the front."
"Yes, sir!"
"And don't write anything at all on Unit No. 2."
"Yes, sir."
The reason for preparing a display Gigant—
the hype from the insane combat footage of our dear Gigant Unit No. 1 still hadn't cooled down.
Showing it on a large screen made it even more intense and immersive.
Requests came in not just from Korea, but from all over the world,
asking to screen it in their own theaters.
And anticipation for a sequel.
Would the Gigant wield a 60-meter-long sword?
That wasn't all.
Rumors spread that a colossal shield was also being produced, and people went even wilder.
Perhaps because of the public's interest, production of the sword and shield accelerated.
The Gigant equipment was being manufactured at a steel mill in Pohang.
Every top-tier technician from across the country was mobilized there.
Consecutive nights of overtime and shift work.
Fast and sturdy.
To cover the production process of the sword and shield, reporters from across the nation—no, from around the world—flooded into Pohang.
How could we ignore such reactions?
So Juhyeok decided to reveal the real Gigant to the public first.
Time passed.
Finally.
Spot!
Commissioner Jeon Gwang-il entered the 17th floor of the White Tower.
"The sword and shield are fully completed. The inspection process is finished as well. They turned out sturdier than expected."
Yes!
The project was completed a full week ahead of schedule.
Truly the Korean spirit.
Fast, fast, fast.
"Give everyone involved in production a 100% bonus."
"Understood."
Late at night, Juhyeok went to the steel mill in Pohang.
It was quiet, since all employees had already gone home.
"Rajiks designated summon."
"Ho-e!"
"Load them in."
Sssssh, sssssh—
He stored the finished sword and shield, then returned to the 17th floor.
Now came enchantment and mana circuit application by the trio of master artificers, along with reinforcement work.
A Dragon Heart from a demonic dragon went into the sword.
A Dragon Heart eroded by darkness went into the shield.
Mari had already finished processing them through alchemy.
Slots were made in the sword and shield to insert the Dragon Hearts, along with grooves for embedding top-grade mana crystals.
Enchantments and mana circuit work were completed quickly.
They had already researched, discussed, and finalized blueprints through the group chat.
Dragon Hearts, the mid-grade mana crystals used in forging the sword, and the top-grade mana crystals slammed into the enchantment work.
Demonic tongues and eyes, phoenix feathers—how much money was all this worth?
Self-repair, durability enhancement, cutting power enhancement, weight reduction enchantments, on–off switch circuits.
Everything that could be added was added.
And so, two painted Gigants stood tall at the center of the White Tower.
One was Gigant Unit No. 2, wielding a sword and shield.
The other was a display Gigant, painted but holding nothing.
"It's moving."
"My nose is tingling."
"This maiden wishes to witness its might soon."
"Let's go hunt the Sand Dragon right away."
But before that—
"Dr. El, Rajiks dimensional farmhand."
"Yes!"
"Yes, Summoner."
"Let's put the Gigant on display."
Before sunrise, Juhyeok set out with Kosak.
Their destination was Yeouido Park.
Arrangements had been made beforehand, so the park was under strict control.
All streetlights and illumination were turned off.
Commissioner Jeon Gwang-il came out to greet them.
"Player Bong,"
"Hello, Commissioner. Where's the spot?"
"Over there… everything's ready."
Yeouido Park was much smaller than before,
but there was still enough space to display one Gigant.
"Rajiks designated summon."
"Hoeng!"
Rajiks appeared and smoothly unloaded the beautifully painted Gigant.
Ssssssssssh!
Then—
"El designated summon."
The moment he appeared—
– Activation command. Activation method input. Stand-up execution.
Grrrrrddddd!
The display Gigant lifted its massive body by itself.
Finally—
– Activation command. Activation method input. Execute preset motion for 10 seconds every hour.
Grrrrk.
As if acknowledging the order, the display Gigant raised its arm.
Would it be fun to just stand there motionless?
It needed to move occasionally.
The lower body would remain fixed—only the upper body would move.
"How long will the fuel last?"
"It'll operate without issue for a year. The motions are extremely simple."
Fuel consumption would be minimal.
All it did was move its head or raise an arm—it didn't even walk.
People would love it.
The real thing was far better than any movie.
Once daylight came, it would catch people's eyes.
Some might already be watching.
"Alright, let's head back."
The work finished far faster than expected.
Even before the random summoning cooldown returned.
'That changes the schedule.'
We'll hunt the dragon first.
Random summoning comes after.
At last, Juhyeok and the summoned beings entered the 88th floor of the Black Tower on Earth No. 675.
The administrators noticed immediately.
[Huh?]
[… ]
[The summoner's here.]
[Again?]
[Fuck!]
Please leave.
Go back to your own neighborhood.
Can't you just not come here?