The Gigant was not the main body.

The true body was elsewhere.

Inside the cockpit of Magnus Gigant slept El, the magitech engineer who had been struck by Diamat’s Dream Domain.

She wasn’t large.

She was around 160 centimeters tall.

Like the Gigant, her body was made of silvery metal.

She wore no clothes.

She had no hair at all—she was completely bald.

A slender face, thin lips, tidy eyes, and a straight, high nose.

Judging by her overall features and build, she seemed to be female.

There was a name tag.

Along with the descriptor: “whose soul has been damaged by profound loss.”

If that was the case, then there should be a background description too.

Mad Demon raised the hand still glowing red with blood-jade energy and asked Juhyeok for permission.

“Summoner, allow this old one to deal with it. It seems the clear will only be recognized if this one is killed.”

But Juhyeok did not answer.

“If we do not kill it now, getting an S+++ clear may become difficult. Just give the order.”

“...”

Haah.

How was he supposed to kill her?

He had already seen the background description.

The summoned entities were startled.

Juhyeok explained Magitech Engineer El’s background.

“So the magitech engineer who once existed in the world of souls... was this person?”

“I see...”

“Haah, what a truly tragic life.”

“No wonder... I didn’t feel like killing her.”

That was right.

It was unbearably pitiful.

How could he kill her after learning all that?

He wanted to save her.

Magitech Engineer El had originally been a Blood-Summoned One from the world of souls. While she was alive, she had been obsessively devoted to magitech research. To continue that research, she transferred her soul into a golem body and spent hundreds of years immersed in study. El died in a war against neighboring nations, killed by enemy forces, and after death, she accepted a Blood-Summoned One contract. Even in death, she wanted to continue researching magitech.

Later, El was chosen by a summoner from Earth No. 442. Though that world was already heading toward ruin, El and her summoner climbed the unexplored upper floors of Towers all across the globe, trying to save it. During that time, she was happy. The summoner trusted El and relied on her, and El devoted everything she had to him in return.

But destruction could not be avoided. In the end, the summoner died before El’s eyes. Forced back into the world of souls, she went mad. Her soul collapsed, and she could no longer maintain a Blood-Summoned One contract. Eventually, she lost all memories from her time as a Blood-Summoned One and was subjected to soul recycling. Her soul was ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) copied countless times, and now she had ended up as the pilot of Magnus Gigant, the giant golem on Black Tower 85th Floor.

His chest felt like it was being torn apart.

El was not a monster.

From the very beginning, she had been a Blood-Summoned One.

A pitiful being who had lost her memories, had her soul copied and reused, and had been reduced to a Tower monster.

“...She was a Blood-Summoned One.”

“What?”

“Huh...!”

“What are you saying...?”

“...”

He wanted to strip away the shackles binding her as a Tower monster.

Was there no way?

Magitech Engineer El was completely different from the bound souls he had encountered in the Tower so far.

Haeryeong, Gyeon Dallae’s teacher, and Hartmann, Cossack’s father, had been chosen as Tower monsters from the start.

That was why they could be freed from the Tower through soul liberation.

And what about Diamat, who was standing right here?

She had been the Succubus Queen, the lord of dream demons, and had entered into a contract with the Tower administrator of her own free will, becoming a floor boss.

Because of that, she had suffered a rank-drop penalty and had been freed from the Tower through defection.

But El’s nature was different.

She had originally been a Blood-Summoned One.

A soul that had later been bound by the Tower.

Whether soul liberation or defection was even possible for her—he didn’t know.

Huff... huff...

El slept peacefully, knowing nothing.

The longer he looked at her, the more pitiful she seemed.

Without thinking, Juhyeok raised a hand and gently stroked the head of the golem body housing El’s soul.

His palm brushed against El’s head.

“...So smooth.”

Twitch!

El’s sleeping body trembled faintly.

At the same time—

Ding!

[Would you like to use 5 Platinum Badges to restore Magitech Engineer El’s soul and recover her Blood-Summoned One qualification?]

“...Huh?”

[Once Magitech Engineer El’s Blood-Summoned One qualification has been restored, she can be immediately recruited into the Catalog.]

“Oh...”

[If Magitech Engineer El’s Blood-Summoned One qualification is restored and she is recruited into the Catalog, a penalty will be applied to the Player.]

“Eh?”

Using five Platinum Badges was one thing, but—

a penalty?

What kind?

[Penalty: Random summoning will be disabled for 100 days.]

“...That’s it?”

He had expected something serious.

It was nothing.

El was dreaming.

A happy dream—one she had not had in a very long time.

So long, in fact, that she wondered whether she had ever dreamed at all.

Come to think of it, she didn’t even know why she was here.

She remembered her life as a magitech engineer.

She remembered the war too—and her death.

Her current self was the pilot of Magnus Gigant.

Move Magnus Gigant and kill the players climbing the 85th Floor.

That was the only mission she could remember.

Still, there was one other memory.

A single scene and a single phrase she could never forget.

Someone whose face she could not see—only a silhouette—placing a hand on her head and stroking it.

Just remembering that silhouette made her heart feel warm.

And every time that person stroked her head, they always said the same thing.

—So smooth. Feels nice.

That was the dream she was having now.

And even though she could wake up, she didn’t want to.

She only wanted to keep dreaming.

Who was that person?

Why did she long for them so deeply?

Then—

El felt it.

Someone was stroking her head.

And—

...So smooth?

Ahh...

What was this feeling—both happy and painful?

Her heart pounded.

She could guess what had happened.

It was probably a player.

Someone who had come to clear the 85th Floor.

And she—she had a duty to kill players.

But she had failed.

Just before she could kill them, she had lost consciousness.

She must have been subdued.

The cockpit hatch had been opened.

Just kill me.

That was fine.

Living was exhausting anyway.

But then—

“...Huh?”

FWAAAAASH!

A warm energy seeped into her chest.

W-what is this?

Her mind cleared.

Ahh... right. So that’s what it was.

Now she understood.

Who she had originally been.

I was a Blood-Summoned One.

Forgotten memories came rushing back.

At first, they were tangled together, but slowly they began to settle into place.

The summoner she had met in the dimension called Earth No. 442.

The time they had spent together trying to save that world.

It had been joyful.

And it had also been heartbreaking and tragic.

Two conflicting emotions— 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

because in the end, he had died.

That’s right.

Her summoner was gone.

His world had been destroyed, so his soul must have vanished as well.

As her sense of self returned, her mind became clearer and clearer.

It was time to wake up.

El slowly opened her eyes.

A man stood before her.

...Who?

He was not her former summoner.

The feeling was very similar, but he was a completely different person.

Then—

“Would you like to join us?”

“...What?”

A sudden, completely unexpected offer.

What should I do?

El could not answer easily.

She understood who he was and what he wanted.

And just by looking at the people standing around him, she could tell.

All of them were Blood-Summoned Ones.

And all of them looked happy.

Should she take this summoner’s hand?

Could she protect this person to the very end, this time?

Could doing that wash away even a little of the regret and pain carved into her soul?

El made her decision.

Then she slowly opened her mouth.

“I...”

Juhyeok willingly accepted the penalty.

She was a tragic soul—a former Blood-Summoned One who had been turned into a Tower monster.

As a summoner, he had a duty to restore her qualification.

And in exchange, random summoning would be disabled for one hundred days.

That was nothing.

A hundred days was just over three months.

It would pass quickly.

First—

the Platinum Badges.

Since her whole body was made of metal, there was nowhere to pin them.

So he carefully set five badges on top of her body.

FWAAAAASH!

The five badges melted into her as though being absorbed and vanished into El’s body.

[Restoring the soul of Magitech Engineer El.]

[Magitech Engineer El’s Blood-Summoned One qualification has been restored.]

[Would you like to recruit Magitech Engineer El into the Catalog?]

Juhyeok paused before answering.

He should ask for her opinion too.

Of course, if he chose to recruit her, the system would immediately register her in the Catalog.

For now, he would wait until she woke up.

Not long after, she opened her eyes.

Juhyeok met Magitech Engineer El’s gaze.

She seemed to understand the situation too.

After all, her soul had been restored, and her qualification as a Blood-Summoned One had returned.

“Would you like to join us?”

“...Pardon?”

El fell silent for a moment, and then—

“I... yes. I want to join you.”

“Great. You made the right choice.”

Done.

Recruit.

[Magitech Engineer El has been registered in the system Catalog.]

[Random summoning is disabled for the next 100 days.]

[Magitech Engineer El has left the Tower and returned to the world of souls.]

[Designated Summon will be available in 3 hours.]

So she was returning to the world of souls for now.

“See you in a bit.”

“...Yes.”

SPOT!

Magitech Engineer El vanished.

At the same time—

[Due to Magitech Engineer El’s departure, all giant monsters on Black Tower 85th Floor have been converted from Piloted Magnus Gigants to Autonomous Magnus Ego Gigants.]

Autonomous Magnus Ego Gigants, huh.

Did that make it a little easier?

Hopefully.

Oh, right.

What about the clear?

Ding!

[Giant Golem Magnus Gigant 1/1]

[You have successfully completed the 85th Floor mission.]

[Level Up!]

[Reward: 85 kg of high-grade Magic Stones.]

A clear message appeared too.

But there was no S+++ clear result.

It had probably taken too long.

Well, did that really matter?

He had returned a misplaced Blood-Summoned One to where she belonged.

There was nothing to regret.

At that moment—

[Achievement: You are the first to restore the soul of a Blood-Summoned One bound to the Tower and recover their qualification.]

[Achievement reward granted.]

[The manifestation duration of all Blood-Summoned Ones has been extended by 3 hours.]

An achievement too.

With White Tower Floor 17, it was almost a meaningless reward, but still—

time in the real world mattered too.

Anyway, time to get ready.

In three hours, it would be welcome-party time.

He should prepare her Residency Rights too.

Black Tower Control Room

[... ]

[... ]

[...]

The administrators fell silent.

No one spoke.

In the end, it had finally happened.

The realization of the magic-magitech-alchemy trinity.

This is insane.

All they could do was sigh in disbelief.

It had been inevitable.

The summoner of Earth 1001—

what kind of monster was he?

Was there any way to stop him?

Now they understood how the previous administrator must have felt.

Being in the same position made it painfully clear.

They wanted to stop him even if it meant violating causality.

[Haa...]

[Hoo...]

[Hmm...]

After some time had passed, the Engineer asked the Designer:

[Why did you recycle the Blood-Summoned One’s soul? Was it really necessary...?]

[Because of the Tower’s difficulty. The Ego Gigant had problems.]

[What kind of problems?]

[The Gigant’s raw performance was excellent, but... it was stupid.]

[Ah!]

[Even in the ancient Magic Empire, Gigants were initially designed as Ego-types, but they were later all converted to piloted types. The difference in mobility between piloted and Ego-types is like heaven and earth.]

To increase the difficulty, even the giant monsters on the 85th Floor had been converted into piloted types.

And it had worked.

They really had become harder.

Of course, that had led to the worst possible outcome.

[Maker, what are the projected future results?]

[The pinnacle of magitech is weaponry powered by mana. Equipment comparable to Earth’s scientific weapons can be created, provided mages and alchemists assist.]

[Usable inside the Tower?]

[Yes. They can even be stored in inventories.]

Magic, magitech, and alchemy.

Items created using the user’s mana:

mana guns, mana cannons, mana shells, mana electromagnetic pulses, mana tanks.

Imagine those being usable inside the Tower—and stored inside inventories.

From the administrators’ point of view, it was a nightmare.

[The giant-monster zones up through the 84th Floor may become easier...]

Not just summoners, but even ordinary players might be able to climb into the eighties—

if they wielded mana weapons.

[But wouldn’t the 85th Floor still be difficult? Even with mana weapons, Gigants have countermeasures.]

[That has changed, hasn’t it?]

[What?]

[The 85th Floor monsters are Ego Gigants now.]

[Ah!]

[Ego Gigants are stupid. They cannot respond proactively.]

[Then?]

[They’ll blunder around until they’re eventually blown apart by mana bombs—assuming the magitech engineer mass-produces them.]

[... ]

Terrifying.

The magic-magitech-alchemy trio working together.

Forget the eighties.

It would all burn.

They would have to make their stand in the nineties.

Or in the real world.

By the way, they had distributed the Runes of Liberation in massive quantities—

when would the results begin to appear?

Conflicts spreading into civil wars, civil wars spreading into international wars.

That was how it should go.

White Tower Floor 17

The news spread to all the Blood-Summoned Ones:

A magitech engineer had been recruited from Black Tower 85th Floor.

And in three hours, she would be registered as a new resident on White Tower Floor 17.

The summoner was currently waiting at the penthouse outside to welcome her.

White Tower Floor 17 bustled as everyone prepared for the new arrival.

Red carpets were rolled out.

Colorful balloons were inflated and released.

Banners with welcome messages were hung up.

But 9-circle Archmage Mackenzie Dronach wore a slightly displeased expression.

“This isn’t fair.”

“Why are you whining again, old man? Go pop some balloons or something.”

“This welcome ceremony is excessive. You should have rolled out a red carpet for me too.”

“Ha. Typical attention-starved mage.”

“What’s wrong with wanting attention?”

Then Gyeon Dallae spoke.

“She was a Blood-Summoned One who lost her summoner, suffered damage to her soul, and was turned into a monster by the Tower. Can she truly be treated the same as us? Just imagining how much she must have suffered breaks my heart.”

Mackenzie Dronach nodded.

“I agree. She was a pitiful soul. But now that the summoner has saved her, celebration and welcome are only proper.”

Cossack chimed in.

“That’s right. She’s not pitiful anymore. I’ll take good care of her. The truly pitiful ones are the souls still stuck in the world of souls, waiting for random summons.”

That was true enough.

They might have been the real victims.

“Hmm.”

“Tsk.”

“She probably thought she was finally getting out this time... only to be stuck there for another hundred days.”

A somber mood settled over them.

“Anyway, now that a magitech engineer has joined us, what should we do first?”

“What is there to think about? Mass-produce the bracelets.”

“Indeed. That’s the most urgent matter.”

“Just imagining bracelets rolling down a conveyor belt one after another makes me ecstatic. Hehehe.”

“Same here. Hahaha.”

The Blood-Summoned Ones were thrilled by the thought of mass-producing obesity-escape bracelets with the help of a magitech engineer.

“Where should we build the factory? Here on White Tower Floor 17?”

“That depends on Summoner Bong, but I don’t think building it outside is a bad idea.”

“Right. Even with automation, packaging and distribution will still require a lot of manpower.”

“Outside where?”

“North Korea would be ideal. Easy to manage and easy to secure.”

At that moment—

SPOT!

Two figures appeared on White Tower Floor 17.

One was Juhyeok.

The other was a golem.

“Ohhh!”

“Welcome! Walk the red carpet!”

“Welcome!”

“The factory manager is here!”

“Start the conveyor belt!”

“Production target exceeded—welcome!”

“WAAH!”

“Applause!”

CLAP CLAP CLAP CLAP CLAP!

White Tower Floor 17 filled with thunderous applause.