Chinese State Councilor Wei Quan entered South Korea through unofficial channels.

He immediately visited the Korean Awakening Administration and met with Commissioner Jeon Gwangil.

His objective was to bring magic power suppression scrolls into China.

This absolutely had to succeed.

That was why, the moment Wei Quan met Jeon Gwangil, he raised the white flag and surrendered.

“I have come as a representative of the Chinese government. We will accept all conditions.”

The conditions were these:

the withdrawal of surveillance and oppression targeting ordinary Chinese Players,

the immediate release of illegally detained Players,

and asylum for Players who wished to defect.

Criminal Players, however, were excluded.

They had to pay for their crimes.

Jeon Gwangil thought it over.

He seemed to consider it for a moment, then—

“How many scrolls do you need?”

“For the first shipment, around 100 million.”

“Hmm.”

One hundred million scrolls meant 10 trillion won.

China really was China.

Even the base units were on a different scale.

“Would 100 million be difficult?”

“We can’t print them all in a short time, but we do have stock ready, and if the printing workers put in overtime... maybe one or two months?”

“Ah! Then exports are possible?”

In truth, the matter had already been discussed with Player Bong Juhyeok.

If possible, they intended to allow exports.

The Chinese government left a bad taste in the mouth, but letting the situation stay in chaos wasn’t an option either.

What if it interfered with Tower conquest?

The collapse of the Tower had to be prevented.

China wasn’t some isolated island nation. When you looked at the map, it was all one continent.

“How should we pay? In yuan? Or—”

He looked extremely desperate.

That was only natural.

With all of China’s public authority tied up dealing with liberated Players, how could the country function properly?

The economy was taking a massive hit.

Stock indices were falling, consumer confidence was shrinking, productivity was dropping, and foreign investors were pulling out—

“We can transfer the payment immediately. Just please deliver the goods quickly, even if it’s only the first batch.”

“It’s not about the money.”

“Then?”

“There’s somewhere I need final approval from.”

Even with full authority delegated to him, the final sign-off still had to come through.

Wei Quan looked troubled.

“Umm... please, as fast as possible...”

“For now, let’s treat this as a verbal agreement. Once the decision is finalized, we’ll be able to proceed immediately, so we’ll prepare the quantity in advance.”

“We’ll have aircraft standing by at Pyongyang Airport to transport the scrolls the moment they’re ready. Please, you must help us.”

“Yes.”

After parting with Wei Quan, Jeon Gwangil immediately went to White Tower Floor 17.

He needed final approval from Player Bong Juhyeok.

SPOT!

“Is no one here?”

White Tower Floor 17 was quiet.

All that stood there were towering Magnus Gigants—

Wait.

“Gigants? ... plural?”

What?

“...?”

Was he dizzy?

It wasn’t just one.

Gigants were lined up in three columns across the plaza of White Tower Floor 17, like soldiers awaiting battle.

One, two, three, four—

Fifteen in total.

“G-good heavens!”

It looked as if the Gigants had duplicated themselves.

Of course, that was impossible.

Player Bong must have brought them.

“... Haha.”

With a Gigant force like this, conquering Earth wouldn’t even be hard.

“I’ll come back later.”

He must be away conquering the Tower again.

“Exit.”

SPOT!

A Transcendent, Beyond summoned entity.

It didn’t even have a rank.

The term literally meant it had surpassed the system itself.

“They said the skill was registered...”

Then what did the Status Window say?

[Characteristic Skills]

: Designated Summon / Random Summon / Dismiss Summon / Transcendent (Beyond) Random Summon (1 use)

So that was it.

Transcendent—but random.

Which meant there were multiple transcendents.

He needed more information.

Would the summoned entities know anything?

“Everyone, come here.”

They gathered in a circle.

“Has anyone heard of a transcendent, Beyond summoned entity?”

Juhyeok explained the achievement reward he had just received.

Then—

“Hmm, I mentioned this once before, didn’t I? Remember?”

“... What did you say?”

“I said there were a few demigod-level monsters out there. Beings beyond rank, transcending the limits of humanity.”

“Ah!”

Now he remembered.

It had been a long time ago.

Back when he still wasn’t confident he could conquer the Tower.

During the early climbs, when he kept worrying about whether it was possible to keep climbing without dying or getting injured—

that was when Cossack had said it.

“So transcendent summoned entities are unranked, demigod-level beings?”

“That would be right.”

“Where are they? In the world of souls?”

“I don’t know that either. There’s almost no known information. Even among us summoned entities, it’s more like a legend.”

A legend among legends.

Something they had only heard rumors about.

His heart pounded.

Did this mean he could summon a being close to a god?

But—

“Ten minutes is too short. And it’s one-time use.”

Then the Berserker spoke.

“The rank of the soul itself is overwhelmingly high, so it can only remain in this world for about ten minutes. Even ten minutes is a long time. If a demigod manifested, most Tower floors would be cleared instantly.”

Mackenzie added,

“That’s right. Is there anything that could oppose it? Even an Ancient Dragon Lord.”

“Ancient Dragon Lord?”

“The strongest kind of dragon. One that can’t be killed even with meteor summons. Yet even that dragon isn’t called a demigod.”

“Ah!”

Even a Dragon Lord didn’t qualify as demigod-level.

So if one appeared—bam.

However, Gyeon Dallae seemed to have a different opinion.

“However, we must be cautious. Transcendents may also transcend the Three ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) Principles of Summoned Entities.”

Huh?

That was true too.

If he summoned one, it might turn on him instead.

“I can’t use this lightly.”

He only had one chance.

And the risks after summoning were completely unknown.

He had to save it for a decisive moment—

for a situation where conquest seemed absolutely impossible.

With that settled, he moved on to the perk rewards.

Ten in total.

Summed up, they were:

1 Item Additional Acquisition Ticket,

1 guaranteed LSSR summon ticket,

1 rune to raise a summoned entity’s rank,

1 Tower Floor Intrusion Ticket,

2 Tower Clearing Mission Reset Tickets,

2 Multinational Tower Access Tickets,

and 1 summoned entity skill copy.

“... Wow.”

No Trait Enhancement Rune.

Even though it was a ten-pull.

That only proved how rare those runes were.

Still, one thing stood out—

“Skill copy?”

That was a good one.

Its value depended entirely on whose skill he copied.

“I got a perk that lets me copy one of your skills, so...”

Immediately, the summoned entities raised their hands.

“Take mine! Stealth—stealth!”

“Hmph! You already have Concealment Veil. How about Meteor Summon?”

“My lord! Learn Radiance! The people will worship you!”

“My talisman arts... are very versatile.”

“Veronica Caliber. A soldier needs marksmanship.”

“How about the dream domain? We could have sweet dreams together.”

“Learn Gigantification. You’d get taller.”

“WOOF! WOOF! WOOF!”

“AWOOOO!”

Ding!

<Mari>: Alchemy is great ♡♡

But—

“Thanks, but I’ve already decided.”

Juhyeok looked at Rajix.

“Can I copy one of our dimensional errand boy’s skills?”

“Huh?”

“I want to copy Subspace Backpack.”

“Huh?!”

Permission granted.

Let’s try it.

Ding!

[Perk: You may copy 1 skill possessed by a summoned entity.]

[Select a target.]

He selected Rajix, then tapped Subspace Backpack.

“... Copy acquisition?”

But—

[The summoned entity Rajix’s Subspace Backpack skill cannot be copied.]

“... What?”

It couldn’t be copied?

Why?

“Subspace Backpack can’t be copied.”

“... Figures.”

Rajix looked disappointed.

Unfortunate, but unavoidable.

Then—

“... Should I try Meteor Summon?”

[The summoned entity Mackenzie’s Meteor Summon skill cannot be copied.]

That too?

“Talisman Arts—”

[The summoned entity Gyeon Dallae’s Talisman Arts skill cannot be copied.]

The Berserker nodded as if he had expected that.

“Most likely, each summoned entity’s unique skills can’t be learned. Bardin’s Radiance, Meatshield’s Gigantification, and the like.”

That made sense.

Subspace Backpack wasn’t an ordinary skill anyway.

It could store things from Earth, items from the Tower, nuclear warheads, entire Gigants, even fire trucks.

There was practically nothing it couldn’t hold.

“So copy doesn’t mean everything can be copied.”

If even that were possible, it would be too overpowered.

Honestly, as long as Rajix was around, there was no need for Juhyeok to learn it himself anyway.

“Ordinary combat skills should still be possible. I recommend learning a barrier spell,” said Nobu.

“I agree. Self-defense comes first. Barrier magic or an energy shield would make you much safer.”

“I agree as well,” said the girl.

Mackenzie smiled contentedly and spoke.

“Although this mage specializes in fire magic, barrier magic is also quite useful. Go ahead and learn it.”

Juhyeok agreed.

If he learned barrier magic, he could use it not only on himself but on others as well.

[Skill acquired: Barrier Shield.]

[Barrier Shield has been registered in the Status Window.]

And in the Status Window:

[Combat Skills]: Shadow Step / Chaotic Soul Thunder Staff / Blood Jade Steel Aura / Ice Spear / Barrier Shield.

That wrapped up today’s schedule.

“All right! Let’s hold the badge-awarding ceremony—”

But—

“Ah, no need for badges. Just keep them.”

“Indeed. Please conserve the badges.”

“It’s time to reconsider how badges are used.”

“WAAH!”

Juhyeok understood why they were reacting like this.

The path to Transcendent, Beyond Summoning had opened.

For now, it was single-use, but more chances might appear in the future.

However, the summoning cost was 30 Platinum Badges.

That was why they wanted to save them.

That’s nonsense.

Compared to some unknown transcendent being, the summoned companions beside him right now were far more important.

“Everyone gets one.”

All thirteen of them.

Even Blood Wolf and the dog got one.

As a result, from 80 remaining badges, minus 13—

67 left.

“Oh! I should go outside and summon Jepetto too.”

He planned to tell him about the conquest of Earth No. 675’s Black Tower and give him a badge as well.

The next day, Juhyeok met Commissioner Jeon Gwangil, who had come to White Tower Floor 17.

“Player Bong.”

“Welcome.”

“You weren’t here yesterday.”

“Ah... I was climbing the Tower a bit.”

In another world.

Detonating nuclear weapons.

Ten of them, no less.

I should tell him, depending on the situation.

They already knew most things about each other.

There was no reason to keep it secret.

After first discussing how magic sword production was progressing, Jeon Gwangil explained the contract for exporting magic power suppression scrolls to China.

“A total pre-order of 100 million scrolls. They may order more depending on circumstances.”

“Ah, right.”

“That’s about 10 trillion won. Should we accept payment in yuan, or dollars—”

Ten trillion won in sales, all at once.

An enormous amount.

But maybe because his sense of money had gone numb lately, it didn’t feel all that huge.

Besides, he already had plenty of money.

So—

“Could we receive something other than money?”

“Something else...?”

What could that be?

What was the most representative thing possessed by the neighboring People’s Republic of China?

Population, natural resources—

and vast territory.

Land.

Nice.

Let’s take land.

Better yet, let’s make it a permanent transfer through a state-level treaty.

“For example, land.”

“Ah!”

“Try asking for the Chinese side of Mount Baekdu. That seems reasonable.”

At present, half of Mount Baekdu belonged to North Korea and half to China.

Commissioner Jeon nodded as well.

“You mean transferring all of Mount Baekdu fully to North Korea?”

“Yes. It’ll all be unified anyway.”

It was a good idea.

Chinese special envoy Wei Quan was still in Korea for the final contract negotiations.

“Understood. I’ll sound them out.”

“If that doesn’t work, add a few more conditions. Priority reservations for magic guns, or even an offer of Tower conquest assistance.”

That would be more than enough.

They wouldn’t be able to refuse.

There was precedent.

Since the appearance of Black Towers, land transfers between countries had become fairly common.

The same thing happened during the temporary naturalization agreement between China and Russia in the past.

In exchange for Russian Players simultaneously conquering three Chinese Towers, the Chinese government ceded part of Heilongjiang Province to Russia.

Half of Mount Baekdu was a fair deal.

It was even smaller than the land they had given to Russia.

He had to secure it no matter what.

I’ve gotten pretty bold lately.

A former nobody casually talking about swallowing up the territory of a major power.

“Oh! And I’m planning another fire-suppression conquest—could you prepare the necessary materials?”

“Fire-suppression conquest... where exactly?”

South Korea’s two Towers had already been cleared up to Floor 86.

Other countries’ Black Towers were still far behind.

“There’s another Tower to clear. I detonated about ten nukes, but it wasn’t nearly enough. Those bastards are nasty.”

“... Pardon?”

What on earth?

“Nukes? You mean the nukes I’m thinking of?”

“Yes! Those nukes.”

Jeon had heard that Player Bong once killed a super-colossal monster with a nuclear weapon, but—

“You’re saying nuclear weapons can now be used inside Towers? Weren’t they prohibited?”

“They’re prohibited on Earth No. 1,001 by the administrators, but Earth No. 675 hasn’t been patched yet.”

“... What?”

Jeon Gwangil looked utterly stunned.

Earth No. 1,001?

Earth No. 675?

“How that happened is—”

Juhyeok explained how he had crossed into another world.

He also explained the existence of beings called administrators.

Jeon’s face filled with shock.

Dimensional travel, other worlds, ruined Earths, and the Black Towers that existed there.

But the most shocking fact of all—

“Ad-administrators?”

There were beings managing the Towers?

And Juhyeok had met them three times already?

Both here and there?

“... What kind of bastards are they?”

“I don’t know. Nothing’s been revealed. Not their identities, not their goals.”

Juhyeok shook his head and continued.

“All I know is that they’ve been contacting me and constantly interfering with Tower conquests.”

Jeon felt chills all over his body.

The truth was so overwhelming that he didn’t know how to react.

“Is this classified?”

“Not at all. You can make it public. Whether people believe it is another matter.”

“Ah...”

After a brief silence—

“You must have suffered a lot. You’ve really been through hell...”

“Hey, what suffering? I had a blast blowing off steam this time.”

With that, Juhyeok turned on the nearby laptop.

“Want to see some nuclear explosions?”

“Y-you recorded them?”

“Of course I did.”

He connected the laptop to a large monitor and played the footage.

“The ones you see there are super-colossal monsters. Titan Behemoth, Giant Serpent Apophis, and the Demonic Arachnoid.”

“... M-my god!”

Their size was jaw-dropping.

If an ordinary Behemoth was a chihuahua, then Titan Behemoth was an elephant.

The others were no different.

How do you even fight that?

And yet it had been conquered.

A Gigant controlled by Player Bong advanced, carrying ten medium tactical nuclear warheads like grenades—one in each hand.

It closed in—

FLASH!

KABOOOOOOOOOM!!!!

And then darkness.

“Hahaha...”

“Impressive, right?”

“Yes... truly... incredible.”

It wasn’t the nuclear explosion that was incredible—

it was Player Bong Juhyeok himself.

The more you watched him, the more unbelievable he became.

On this Earth, and on another Earth as well.

He was breaking every scheme and every obstruction the Tower administrators threw at him.

“By the way, shall we release a video?”

“The nuclear explosion?”

“No, not that.”

The nuclear footage would not be released.

The source of the bombs alone made it far too sensitive.

“The footage we recorded earlier—our Gigant clashing with the Behemoth.”

The heroic performance of Magnus Gigant Unit No. 1, smashing the Behemoth into pulp.

“Ah, that one?”

Jeon had already seen it.

“Yes. We’ll upload it to the Korean Awakening Administration’s YouTube channel.”

Poor Magnus Gigant Unit No. 1.

It deserved to be remembered forever—

as a victorious conqueror that crushed a Behemoth.

Was it silly to anthropomorphize an inanimate object?

Some people cried when they scrapped their old cars.

A Gigant that had carried ten nuclear warheads and completed its mission magnificently deserved at least that much honor.

Time passed.

After Juhyeok crossed into another world and cleared the 86th-floor fire-suppression mission in Earth No. 675’s Black Tower—

a video appeared on YouTube.

The title:

<In Memory of Our Friend, Magnus Gigant Unit No. 1>

Description: Watch this badass footage from its lifetime.

The response was explosive.