[Entering the 88th Floor of the German Black Tower.]
The Black Tower of Earth No. 675.
The summoner had arrived to hunt the Sand Dragon.
First, he took the Gigant out of Rajiks's subspace.
Grrrrrrrrrk!
At El's command, Gigant Unit No. 2 rose to its feet.
A sword in one hand, a shield in the other.
At the same time, a vast desert spread out before the Gigant.
Behind it stood Juhyeok and the summoned beings.
"… Wow."
They had already captured a perfect scene.
A colossal Gigant, sword and shield as one, standing tall atop the desert sands.
It felt like the opening shot of a giant robot movie.
"So this is a picture that actually works."
Just wait, Sand Dragon!
Of course, they weren't relying on the Gigant alone.
No matter how strong it was, it was still an 85th-floor monster.
Meanwhile, the Sand Dragon was an 88th-floor monster.
A gap of three floors or more.
If you put the two against each other barehanded, the outcome was obvious.
But the Gigant wasn't unarmed.
A demonic dragon's heart mounted in the magic sword.
A darkness-corrupted dragon heart mounted in the shield.
It was equipped with weapons created from two dragon hearts of similar attributes.
No—making weapons out of dragon hearts?
Was that even possible?
It was unprecedented across all dimensions.
Mackenzie, El, and the Mad Mage had confirmed it.
"In Nobu's world, a dragon heart is basically like a wish-granting jewel. Making a weapon out of one? That only happens in legends—like the Monkey King's Ruyi Jingu Bang."
"In my world as well, there has never been a case of forging weapons from dragon hearts. It's not just that they're precious—no one knows how to do it."
"Because researching it is impossible. Who's ever even touched a dragon heart? It's not some ordinary mana crystal."
Among materials that contain mana, the most representative are mana crystals.
Depending on their grade, the density, quality, and quantity of mana differ drastically.
Dragon hearts also contain mana.
You might imagine them as organ-like hearts, but that's not the case at all.
They looked like enormous uncut gemstones.
In a way, dragon hearts were similar to mana crystals.
Except the amount of mana they held was incomparably greater than even top-grade mana crystals.
However, dragon hearts had one drawback.
As El had said, they were extremely difficult to process.
To properly draw out the mana of a dragon heart, it had to go through multiple stages of refinement and processing—
and there were almost no people capable of doing that.
Naturally so.
In any world, how often would a person encounter a dragon in their lifetime?
Let alone a dragon heart.
Not even seeing one was the norm.
But among the summoned beings, there was someone who had handled a dragon heart.
The reclusive, socially anxious alchemist Aliamari.
Her background description said as much.
It stated that the elven alchemist Aliamari had been offered as a sacrifice to the ancient black dragon Cassiurus by her own kind when she was young.
The ancient dragon Cassiurus died before Mari did,
and after the dragon's death, she remained alone in the lair, continuing her alchemical research.
One of the items left behind when Cassiurus died was a dragon heart.
And not just any dragon heart—
that of an ancient dragon.
How dense and powerful must its mana have been?
That was why processing dragon hearts wasn't particularly difficult for her.
The result was the Gigant's sword and shield.
They drew out the full latent potential of the dragon hearts.
Of course, it wasn't just Mari's effort.
A 9-circle archmage, Mackenzie, and the magitech engineer, Dr. El.
Mackenzie reinforced the sword and shield with enchantment magic that had now reached a high level,
and El pushed the weapons' performance to the extreme using mana circuit designs.
The trinity of magitech engineering.
When the three came together, nothing was impossible.
Still don't get why this was such a big deal?
Here's a simple analogy.
It was like installing a compact nuclear reactor—
the kind used in nuclear submarines—into a sword and a shield.
Just as a nuclear power plant generates electricity,
they could now draw on the immense mana of the dragon hearts freely and without restriction.
Moreover, like nuclear radiation, dark demonic energy constantly leaked from the sword and shield.
They were perpetually exposed to a terrifying aura that no one could approach.
Cursed demonic weapons that couldn't be touched or worn.
Of course, that only applied to living beings.
Because the Gigant wasn't a living creature, it could wield them.
Anyway—
"Let's go! Go, go!"
Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!
The Gigant began striding deeper into the desert.
Ding!
The moment the mission appeared—
Boom!
Gigant Unit No. 2 versus the sub-dragon Sand Dragon.
At El's command, the curtain on the battle rose.
– Combat preparation command. Mana circuits activated. … Switch on!
Whoosh!
The blade of the magic sword was coated in an intensely dark black aura.
At the same time—
Wooooong!
A dark crimson aura formed around the shield as well.
Demonic energy and darkness shared the same essence.
Their effects differed only because of how they manifested.
The attributes of the demonic dragon's heart:
Destruction, violence, cruelty, mercilessness, oppression.
The attributes of the darkness-corrupted dragon heart:
Decay, corruption, pollution, weakening, confusion.
Swoosh!
Juhyeok's second Gigant—
the sword-and-shield warrior—charged at the Sand Dragon.
The Black Tower administrators of Earth No. 675.
[… Why the hell is that bastard here again?]
He had entered the 88th floor before, faced the Sand Dragon,
then deleted the entry record and left.
They had felt relieved back then.
Ah! So this is where he finally stops.
Right. No matter how amazing he was, the Sand Dragon was on another level.
Among Black Tower monsters, its physical capabilities alone ranked near the very top.
Unless you brought a nuke.
But they had patched the system so explosives wouldn't trigger.
No matter how they thought about it, there didn't seem to be any way to win.
And yet, the fact that he had shown up meant—
[Does he have a way to clear the Sand Dragon?]
[If he came, then he must.]
[What way?]
[How would I know…?]
Did he come just to test the waters?
Or had he cleared the 88th floor on another Earth?
[What's his level?]
[Still 88.]
Then that meant he hadn't cleared the 88th floor over there either.
[Looks like he's trying to climb the upper floors here.]
[He should clear his own Earth's Black Tower.]
[Exactly!]
[Let's at least watch how he plans to do it.]
A hologram display appeared.
After whispering among themselves—
a massive object emerged from a subspace inventory.
[… A Gigant?]
So that was what he was relying on?
[How many?]
[One.]
[… Just one?]
Was he planning to clear it with a single Gigant?
If he'd brought a hundred at once, there might've been a chance.
[Look. The Gigant is holding a sword and a shield.]
So what?
[Do you think having weapons will make a diff—]
Right then!
[Huh?!]
[What?]
[Is that—are you kidding me?]
The Gigant's sword was coated in black aura.
The shield as well.
A thick, oppressive dark aura.
[Don't tell me… ]
[Dragon hearts. He mounted hearts into the weapon. And the shield too.]
[The sword's from a black demonic dragon. The shield's from an undead bone dragon.]
[How did they do that? Was that even possible?]
[It's almost impossible.]
[But they did it.]
[For that to work, the pinnacle techniques of multiple fields would have to be mobilized.]
[Which ones?]
[Alchemy to process the heart, enchantment magic to reinforce the weapon so it can endure the heart's mana, and mana circuit designs to distribute energy throughout the weapon and shield— huh?]
Looking closely—
[They have all of that.]
[They had everything.]
[So they did.]
A mage, an alchemist, and a magitech engineer—all summoned beings.
Each a master of their field.
That was what he had been relying on.
Boom! Rumble-rumble-rumble! Thump! Thump!
The part El had devoted the most effort to when modifying Gigant Unit No. 2—combat mobility.
The original combat mana circuits were designed for barehanded fighting.
Now that it was equipped with weapons, those circuits had to be modified.
If it was going to wield a sword, it should at least imitate swordsmanship.
To implant swordsmanship mana circuits, advice from a swordsman knowledgeable in sword techniques was required.
Among the summoned beings, who used swords or knew sword forms?
"I never dreamed my first disciple would become a Gigant."
"A disciple, my ass. I just input a single basic form."
"A disciple is still a disciple."
"Then it's my disciple too. The shield technique circuits were based on mine."
Kosak helped input the Hartmann sword forms into the Gigant,
while Bardin handled the shield techniques.
Spot!
The battle began.
A massive Sand Dragon burst out of the desert sands.
It was slightly larger than the Gigant.
In the past, it would have charged in recklessly, knocked the Gigant over, and attacked to its heart's content.
Wooooong!
But the ominous aura radiating from the sword and shield made the Sand Dragon hesitate.
It realized it too.
The presence of a Dragon Heart.
After wavering for a moment—
"Kuaaaak!"
Whirl—!
The Sand Dragon spun its massive body like an arrow and launched a body slam.
Twisting its left foot to the side, Gigant Unit No. 2 narrowly avoided the charge, then immediately smashed the Sand Dragon's head with its shield.
Boooom!
"Whoa? Look at that footwork! Is that the Mad Old Man's movement technique?"
"That's right. This venerable one put his spoon in as well."
"Wait, how many masters does that thing even have?"
"There was nothing for a warrior to teach."
"Of course not. Gobang, you overlap with the Gigant's role."
"Which is why this warrior is depressed."
Poor Gobang.
"Don't worry. That thing's fuel efficiency is terrible, so we can't use it often."
"That's right. If we run the Gigant recklessly, we'll bankrupt the household. Gobang only needs a few slices of beef, right?"
Even the Mad Mage chimed in.
"The Gigant itself isn't strong. It's the weapons made from twin Dragon Hearts that are terrifying—weapons we can't even wield."
A demonic sword wrapped in black aura.
A shield shrouded in dark energy.
All kinds of ominous, impure forces.
Wouldn't even monsters be affected by them?
Just approaching them was enough to cause influence.
Any living being, without exception.
Perhaps because of that, every time the shield was raised, the Sand Dragon flinched and hesitated.
Seeing this, the summoned beings nodded.
From the first clash, the outcome was clear.
"It'll be an overwhelming victory."
"We can rest easy."
"That sand lizard bastard's finished."
"Let's end this quickly."
As the battle progressed, the gap in power became increasingly obvious.
The Sand Dragon sensed it too and tried to burrow into the sand to escape.
But Gigant Unit No. 2 didn't allow it.
Grab!
It yanked the dragon's tail and dragged it back out.
"… Ku, kuaaeeek!"
Bang! Thud! Thud-thud-thud-thud!
Blocking the Sand Dragon's desperate attacks with the shield while counterattacking at the same time.
Each time, the dragon's movements grew slower.
The curse of the dark aura was slowly gnawing away at its body.
What if there had been no shield?
They probably wouldn't have been able to push it this far.
"The shield's effect is more than sufficient."
And the magic sword?
"When the opportunity comes, we'll finish it."
El issued the combat command to the Gigant.
Gigant Unit No. 2 firmly gripped the 60-meter greatsword in one hand.
After forcefully shoving away the Sand Dragon's snapping jaws with the shield—
Zzzzing!
A chilling black aura gathered around the greatsword.
Slash! Slshshshsh!
Hartmann Sword Art, First Form, unleashed from the Gigant's hand.
"Father!!! Are you watching?! Hartmann Sword Art—Gigant-style!"
Shrrrkkk!
Thud!
The Sand Dragon's head fell.
The terrifying base size and mass of the greatsword, the demonic energy of the Dragon Heart, and the attack power and cutting force amplified by enchantments and mana circuits.
[Sub-dragon Sand Dragon defeated 1/1]
[You have successfully completed the 88th-floor mission.]
[Your level has increased.]
It was more anticlimactic than expected.
The reward?
[Reward: Hardened Sand Dragon Heart / Top-grade mana crystals 2 kg]
"Did the reward drop? Is it a good sword?"
Hard to say if it was good.
"Another Dragon Heart."
"Another Dragon Heart?"
"Yes. Another Dragon Heart."
It was good that items dropped well.
But hardened?
'When is a proper Dragon Heart going to drop?'
And what was he supposed to do with a hardened one?
When Juhyeok glanced at Mari, who was crouched off to the side—
Scratch, scratch, scratch.
– I heard Sand Dragon hearts are normally like that. Their mana is sealed. They're extremely difficult to process.
A Sand Dragon Heart with sealed mana.
That was probably why it couldn't use magic.
[World Announcement: You have achieved an S+++ clear rating on Floor 88 of the Black Tower (Germany).]
[S+++ Clear Reward: You are awarded 2 Platinum Badges.]
But the raid wasn't over yet.
This was only the first run.
After exiting the tower, Juhyeok immediately decided to repeat the 88th-floor raid.
The first clear was for the S+++ rating.
The second clear?
"Master of aerial filming, human drone camera roaming earth and sky, even rough shots become masterpieces, staunch realist rejecting CG, artistic soul blooming in the Black Tower—Director of Photography Mackenzie, deploying."
"..."
Mackenzie held an expensive camera with an ultra-high-definition image-stabilizing gimbal instead of a smartphone.
His face was full of pride.
As a cinematographer, not a mage.
Had he quit being a wizard?
Whooosh!
Mackenzie ascended into the sky to film.
Then Rajiks.
After choosing a suitable spot—
Roll, clack!
"Hoeng!"
With lightning-fast hands, he pulled out a makeshift tiered viewing stand assembled from parts in the subspace bag.
It had been prepared in advance.
So they could sit comfortably and watch.
A large monitor was installed on the side as well.
Juhyeok sat in the viewing stand.
The other summoned beings followed and took their seats.
"Dimensional farmhand, caramel popcorn and cola, please."
"This maiden would like butter-grilled squid."
"The warrior will grill meat over there."
"You brought chicken, right?"
"No soju or beer?"
"The cooler should be packed full."
"Ho-e!"
"This old man shall enjoy a refreshing drink."
All preparations were complete.
Ready to watch, eat, and enjoy.
Second round of the repeated raid.
The Gigant advanced with sword and shield.
The battle began.
Bang! Thud-thud-thud!
Just with its shield alone, the reliable Unit No. 2 was already driving the Sand Dragon into a corner.
"Good job!!!"
"Hmmm, as expected of a Gigant—the transition between movements isn't smooth."
"That's still respectable. Pour me another somaek."
"Don't you have hands? Or feet?"
"I'm a lightweight, I don't drink. Boss Summoner's glass is empty."
"Oh dear, that won't do."
"Master, have some side dishes too. I'll feed you. Ah! Say ah—"
"You wench! How many times did I tell you not to use skills!"
"… Everything's a skill to you."
"The shield techniques are fairly satisfactory."
"Of course. They're the Lesseal Holy Knight shield techniques."
"Dr. El, please don't finish it too quickly."
"I'll try to drag it out as much as possible."
They needed the footage to be as long as possible.
There had to be enough content to release it publicly.
But they couldn't drag it out too much either.
Damn summoners.
What in the world were they doing?
This was humiliation.
They were being toyed with.
[This is absurd.]
[These bastards…]
Was this a picnic?
At some point, the summoner had even set up a viewing stand, sitting there drinking and eating while chatting.
[How arrogant!]
[Just how lightly do they take us?!]
To top it off, that mage bastard was filming the Gigant–Sand Dragon fight with a camera.
Rage surged up.
Was tower climbing a joke?
It couldn't be.
It must not be.
Yet to that guy, it seemed like nothing more than a game.
After laughing and chatting for a long while, and clearing the Sand Dragon yet again,
only then did he pack up and leave.
[… It seems we need to prepare countermeasures.]
[What about the 89th floor? Did you sign a contract?]
[We did. It's adapting right now.]
Originally, the demonic dragon Karatos was in charge of the 89th floor.
Now its heart was embedded in that Gigant's sword.
But they had contracted a new dragon in time.
As the new supervisor of the 89th floor.
[A demonic dragon?]
[Not fully. It's in the process of becoming one.]
[Original attribute?]
[Green.]
Then they needed to summon the free-contract dragon of the 89th floor to the control room and explain the summoner in detail.
They had mentioned it during the contract, but still.
Right then!
[Huh?]
[What?]
[He climbed to the 89th floor immediately.]
[What?!]
Right after exiting?
[… You told the new 89th-floor free-contract dragon about the demonic sword and dark shield, right?]
[There was no time. We only just learned about it ourselves.]
Once inside the tower, intervention was against the rules.
[Damn it!]
Suspiciously diligent bastard.
Doesn't he know what a break time is?