2004.....

Gigantic Black Towers, appeared all over Earth.

At the same time, humanity’s awakening began.

Because of that, people came to vaguely understand.

Why those towers appeared, and how they had to respond.

Awakened humans are called “Players.”

It was a very appropriate name.

And even in 2024, twenty years later, the black towers still existed, and an extremely small portion of humanity was still going through the process of awakening.

※ ※ ※

Twenty-five-year-old Bong Juhyeok awakened this year.

Even though he didn’t want it at all.

[Bong Juhyeok, you have awakened.]

“···Uhh— holy shit, you scared me!”

It was early Sunday evening, in his one-room apartment, at the exact moment he was about to pick up a bite of the ramen he had just boiled and put it in his mouth.

“A, awakening?”

No way!

“What kind of bullshit is that?”

There was no way he misheard.

Please, let it be.

He sat there blankly for a long time.

Why me?

Some people even call awakening a blessing.

Because it’s luck better than winning the lottery—if you do well, you can grab a jackpot that flips your life upside down.

Of course, if you survive.

But not for Bong Juhyeok.

He’d never even dreamed of becoming a Player and going into the tower.

Even if it was a little hard, he wanted to live normally, more or less, without being greedy for anything big.

Bong Juhyeok was a weak man and a small-time citizen.

Even when he saw injustice, if he could, he avoided it.

He also avoided creating dangerous situations as much as possible.

Going into the tower was an extremely dangerous thing.

It wasn’t even known how many Players died every day from failing missions.

You could get torn apart by monsters and die, or freeze to death or burn to death in an extreme environment, die after being poisoned, or fall into a trap and get crushed to death, or starve to death because you couldn’t get out.

“Ugh! That makes my skin crawl.”

Was it really awakening?

The way to confirm it was simple.

Look at the status window.

You could call it up even outside the tower.

“S, status window!”

Then—

SHRRRK!

[Name] : Bong Juhyeok

[Affiliation] : Black Tower (Korea)

[Level] : 1LV.

[Trait] : Summoning (Simultaneous Summons : 1)

[Catalog] : Empty

[Trait Skills] : Designated Summon/ Random Summon/ Dismiss Summon

[General Skills] : Enter Tower (1 time per day)/ Tower-Only Inventory

[Combat Skills] : None

“Haa.”

It was definitely awakening.

Enter Tower meant exactly what it sounded like.

Tower-Only Inventory meant you could only put in and take out items obtained inside the tower.

But the trait...

“Summoning, huh.”

When you awakened, you were given a trait.

There were many kinds.

[Flame Magic] [Ice Magic] [Lightning Magic] [Martial Arts] [Herculean Strength] [Summoning] [Swordsmanship] [Spear Arts] [Archery] [Healing] and so on.

The Summoning trait was fairly well-known too.

Spirit Summoner, Familiar Summoner, Golem Summoner, Beast Summoner, and so on.

What kind of summoner was he?

Should he try using a skill?

“Random... summon.”

Why was nothing happening?

“Ah!”

He’d completely forgotten.

There was no way a skill would unfold somewhere that wasn’t the tower.

A Player’s level, trait, and skills were online—only valid inside the tower.

Offline, outside, you were no different from a normal person.

On the other hand, you could see system status windows and messages anytime, anywhere.

Like a game—that’s why awakened people were called Players.

Like how you could be Level 100 in a game and still be a pathetically weak human in reality.

So right now, no matter how much he used a skill, it wouldn’t even execute...

Right then!

[Beginning Random Summon.]

“Huh?”

WHOOOSH! SNAP!

It worked?

“W, why is this working?”

A skill was cast outside the tower.

And something appeared along with a cluster of white light.

He blinked and looked.

“A, a person?”

Is this for real?

A normal-looking Western man with reddish-brown hair, young-looking.

“Yessir. I’m a person, sir.”

“What the...”

A successful summon.

Not even in the tower—outside, where skill activation was supposed to be impossible—and he summoned a human.

“And a bite-grubber, too.”

“Sniff sniff, what’s this smell... oh! Ramen? Can I have one bite, sir?”

On top of that, a guy who begged for a bite.

※ ※ ※

Bong Juhyeok’s feelings were complicated.

No matter how he looked, it was a person.

His face, his behavior.

Even now, watching him inhale ramen like a starving ghost—

“SLURP, ha— SLURP! Hoo— it’s been a while, so it’s spicy, sir.”

Tempura udon was spicy?

“Do you usually eat it spicy, sir? I like the mild taste, sir.”

A bite-grubber, a spice wimp, too—

SLURP, SLURP!

And he still ate it like that.

It was bizarre.

He couldn’t make sense of it at all.

Why did a summoning skill succeed outside the tower?

And a human, at that?

Juhyeok checked the status window.

First, the trait.

A message surfaced.

[Summons Humans and Demi-Humans.]

[Summonable range: R Rank (Rare), SR Rank (Super Rare), SSR Rank (Special Super Rare), up to LSSR (Legend Special Super Rare).]

[The Summoner and the Summoned can communicate smoothly under any circumstances.]

From Rare to Legend Special Super Rare.

This wasn’t even a character gacha.

That wasn’t all.

[The Summoned observes the Three Principles.]

“Three Principles?”

[1. The Summoned protects the Summoner’s life as the highest priority.]

[2. The Summoned absolutely obeys the Summoner’s commands.]

[3. If Principle 1 and Principle 2 conflict, Principle 1 is set as the highest value.]

“Hm.”

Then what was the identity of that guy chugging even the broth straight from the pot?

In that moment—

DING!

Another status window opened.

Not his— the summoned person’s.

<Catalog : The Insane Assassin of the CRUEL ASSASSIN GUILD>

Name : John Cossack

Rank : SR (Super Rare)

Type : Assassin (Human)

Manifestation Time Limit : 6 hours

Satisfaction Rating : None.

Resummon Cooldown: 3 hours (applies after Dismiss Summon)

When he stared at it, a background story appeared too.

John Cossack was a guild member who was considered dead weight inside the CRUEL ASSASSIN GUILD. In other words, he was insane. However, his mission success rate was 99%, and he even achieved the feat of successfully assassinating a 5-circle dark mage. His end was a single failure. He died miserably trying to assassinate the empire’s strongest sword master.

At the same time, scenes flashed through his mind.

As if his past was playing like a movie.

Brief, but vivid.

John Cossack hiding his body with stealth, striking from behind, and severing the target’s head.

“This is crazy.”

He was definitely an assassin.

Not a shred of hesitation about killing people.

He cut throats, chopped heads, without restraint.

But.

“....”

He thought he understood why it said he was insane.

The sight of him tying something like a ribbon knot onto the head he’d cut off.

“A present or something?”

He decorated the severed head with a pretty bow-shaped ribbon.

“...Or he made it easier to carry.”

And then his end.

A white-haired knight’s sword splitting him—upper body and lower body—clean apart.

As a result, John Cossack died.

“So you’re saying I summoned a dead ghost?”

He looked exactly like a person.

For now, he should talk to him.

“Mr. Cossack?”

“Yep!”

“Where did you come from?”

“I don’t know either, sir. ...Anyway, it’s a place with a ton of people, sir.”

Not people—ghosts—probably.

Heaven? Or hell?

“Could you stand up for a second?”

“Got it, sir.”

The assassin John Cossack sprang to his feet.

He listened well.

Was it really absolute obedience?

“If you’re done eating ramen, clean up the pot and the bowl. Wipe the table too.”

“Yes, sir!”

Not a word of complaint.

How far did it go?

“Mr. Cossack.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Are you really obeying what I say?”

“Unconditionally, sir!”

“Th-then... e-even if I told you to pull your pants down?”

John Cossack, who’d been wiping the table with tissues while sitting, suddenly jumped up.

“I will, sir.”

He took ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) his pants off on the spot.

Swinging.

Western guy, after all.

It was pretty big.

“...Put them back on.”

“Yes, sir!”

It looked like the summoner’s command came before shame.

“Um... Mr. Cossack, do you know what the tower is?”

“I sure do, sir! Are you thinking of starting a tower climb, sir?”

“I haven’t decided yet.”

“Just give the order anytime, sir. I’ll do my best to assist you, sir.”

This was driving him insane.

Why was this happening?

Right then!

BANG BANG BANG BANG!

Someone pounding on the apartment door.

“Bong Juhyeok! You in there? Open up, now.”

Damn it!

Someone came.

And he knew who it was.

Debt collectors.

Come to think of it, he’d forgotten the interest payment date.

They even came on a Sunday—hardworking, really.

Yeah, he borrowed money.

Ten million won.

His father’s surgery costs after he slipped on ice and fractured his hip, his younger sibling’s university tuition, and the deposit for this place.

Since normal financial institutions wouldn’t lend to him, he went to a lender that was at least easier to access.

An illegal private lender.

He thought if he worked hard and paid it back fast, that would be it.

But he’d already paid over five million won in interest alone.

The principal was still untouched.

Honestly, he knew it was something stupid he’d done.

But what was he supposed to do?

Even if he went back to that time, he would’ve made the same choice.

“Juhyeok! Let me see your face. I’m just checking you’re doing okay, that’s all.”

He had no choice.

“Mr. Cossack.”

“Just give the order, sir. I’ll go cut that bastard’s head off, sir.”

This guy was going to cause a disaster.

“That’s not it. Hide somewhere you can’t be seen and don’t move. Keep your mouth shut, don’t make any noise.”

“...C-can I still breathe, sir?”

“Yes.”

“Whew, that’s a relief, sir.”

Juhyeok opened the door.

Three employees from the lender stepped into the entryway.

“Bong Juhyeok, you’re fine, huh? Interest didn’t come in, so I thought you might be sick or something.”

“I’m not sick. I forgot. I’m sorry. I’ll transfer it right now.”

Juhyeok opened his bank app on his smartphone and sent the money.

“Good. Anyway, don’t you dare get sick without my permission. Work hard and make money, got it?”

“Yeah, yeah.”

“If you’re desperate, sell an organ or something. How about a kidney? Want me to connect you to a broker?”

Haah, fuck!

Should he just do it?

Now that he’d awakened and all.

“What? That look. You wanna hit me?”

“...”

“Watch it. Unless you want to die without a trace.”

Even if you were a Player, outside you were just a normal person.

“...I’ll do my best to pay it back. The principal too.”

“Heh heh, you can pay the principal slowly. Let’s do well, okay?”

The lender’s collectors closed the door and left with satisfied smiles.

“Haa...”

Living in this world was hard.

That aside—

“You really hid quietly.”

“That’s what you ordered, sir.”

“...”

Absolute obedience really was strong.

Still, if those guys had made an actual threat, he would’ve helped, right?

All at once, exhaustion rushed over him.

Awakening, summoning a human, debt collectors showing up.

His head was a mess.

When so many things crashed down on him at once, he didn’t have the capacity to handle it.

And he had to decide.

Should he climb the tower, or should he live quietly like it was nothing?

Weak man Juhyeok would choose the latter, but...

It wasn’t something he had to decide right now.

He had to go to work tomorrow, too.

“Then what do I do now, sir?”

What should he do?

Should he dismiss the summon and send him back?

“I don’t know. What do you want to do? If you’re going back, I’ll send you—”

“Then can I watch TV, sir? It’s been a while for this too, sir.”

He seemed to know what TV was, and ramen too.

Were those things that existed when he was alive?

Anyway, there was no reason he couldn’t.

“Sure. Watch.”

Juhyeok turned on the TV with the remote.

“Thank you, sir! I’ll watch a few dramas, sir.”

Juhyeok flopped down onto the mattress.

Tired, so tired.

His eyes closed on their own.

Awakening was clearly a fact.

If he was curious about anything else, he could just cast the summoning skill again.

Right now, even thinking itself felt hard.

Bong Juhyeok fell asleep quickly.

How much time passed?

A sound came through his half-sleep.

[John Cossack has been dismissed.]

He left.

Just keep sleeping.

※ ※ ※

Bong Juhyeok woke up on the mattress to his alarm.

It was early morning.

“Mr. Cossack got dismissed, right?”

He wasn’t anywhere.

The TV was still on.

He should wash up and brush his teeth.

Right then!

Morning news flowed from the TV.

Last night, a grotesque murder incident occurred at the office of the illegal private lender SmileCash. Three people are confirmed dead, all discovered with their throats severed. The shocking fact is that the severed heads of the victims were decorated in the shape of a red ribbon bow—

He froze.

Bong Juhyeok stopped brushing mid-stroke and hurried to the TV.

SmileCash was the lender he’d borrowed money from.

But a murder?

“What? Did I hear wrong?”

A ribbon.

And a bow.

“Don’t tell me...”

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