Barbarian warrior Meatshield.

Honestly, when the assassin got his medal first, I was secretly jealous.

Even though I wasn’t acting like a warrior, I still got petty.

It couldn’t be helped.

He definitely earned it.

But to pin a badge on me, too?

How grateful was that?

I’ll repay it with loyalty.

Dark-aura-enhanced skeletons.

They’re a nasty kind of enemy.

Hard bones, and they’re even holding weapons.

If you let your guard down, a blade slips right in and wrecks your body.

Even a body tougher than steel gets pierced.

That’s what’s terrifying about dark aura.

This is a section that needs evasive tanking—charging in blindly won’t do.

But Meatshield had no such thing as “evasion.”

“KUOOOAAAAAAH!!!”

A taunting battle cry.

Come on! I’ll take you all!

So the badge won’t be ashamed of me.

*****

Veronica rolled across the battlefield without a second to breathe.

She fired and withdrew in prone-sniping mode, sprayed in assault mode, and the moment something tried to close in, she swung the buttstock to make space... a whole catalog of tactical actions played out.

PA-SHUT! PA-SHUT! PA-SHUT!

The more medals, the better.

They were proof, as a soldier, that you’d been recognized by your commander.

And that’s how you became top priority for promotion.

Veronica’s regret from when she was alive wasn’t just that she never got to sleep properly.

Right before she died, she’d earned merit, but she died without a promotion.

A two-rank battlefield promotion had been basically guaranteed.

But in the end, she died a sergeant.

She never even got to see a staff sergeant’s insignia.

But if it was a badge...?

Couldn’t it fulfill the wish she never got to see through?

Gyeon Dallae, too, poured sweat as she devoted herself to the cleansing rite.

To be honest, compared to the overwhelming power of holy-attribute energy, her rite fell a little short.

Because it focused more on soothing the dead than suppressing them.

So while she could weaken the dark aura—an unclean energy—she couldn’t deliver a direct blow.

If, at this rate, a saintess or priest class got pulled on the next Random Summon...

She might get kicked out, never mind getting a badge.

At this point, she understood what Cossack and Rajix must have been feeling back then.

You had to prove your existence, nonstop.

Even if only to repay the Platinum Badge—proof of trust—bestowed by Master.

The shamaness Gyeon Dallae’s dance grew even more violent.

KWA-KWA-KWA-KWA!

Rajix, eyes bloodshot, dug into the ground like a madman.

If a spot smelled suspicious, he dug it up no questions asked.

Look at this, even now.

The warrior, the magic gunner, the shamaness, the assassin... they were all frantically killing skeletons.

Why were they going so fast?

At this rate, once the clear ended, the search would end immediately too.

They weren’t doing it on purpose, but...

Either way, they were basically enemies that got in his way.

“SQUEAK!”

He got another holy relic fragment.

And a ticket fragment, too.

The next badge is mine.

The higher the floors climbed, the more it would favor him.

He’d be able to dig up even more item fragments.

Cossack was slightly flustered.

No, what’s wrong with them?

Since when were they this hardworking?

They were carrying out the mission like people with no tomorrow, desperately.

And it wasn’t like their coordination was bad, either—absolutely not.

Meatshield pulled aggro, Veronica sprayed small rounds to deal wide-area damage, and Gyeon Dallae’s dance grew even more... limp and wavering.

The hunting was extremely efficient.

If anything, it ran more organically than before.

And Rajix?

Just looking at his face, you could tell.

Looks like he found something again.

The most threatening competitor here.

‘Haah, Rajix worker, can’t I make a living too?’

This won’t do.

I need to butcher harder.

At this rate, I won’t even get a whiff of a badge.

Left alone, Juhyeok.

He just stood there blankly, holding only the holy sword.

Why did I bring the holy sword?

What was I going to do with this?

Is it just for decoration?

It does look cool.

Radiance light is wrapping around my whole body.

‘Hmph...’

The party’s momentum changed.

Before they even did anything, the skeletons were already cracking apart and turning into ingredients for bone-broth stock.

Why is everyone like this?

Did you want badges that badly?

“Um...”

“Busy! Don’t talk to me, sir!”

“Meatshield?”

“KUUOOOAAAAAAH!!!”

“V-Veronica, Sergeant!”

“Skeleton approaching the front. Skull penetration. Damage accumulation sufficient. Requesting finishing.”

“...Princess?”

“Huh-OOI, HWOI, the western flower garden’s that way.”

What’s Rajix doing?

“SQUEEEAK!”

RROOOLL! KWA-KWA-KWA-KWA!

‘...’

Ah.

When I awakened as a Player, I thought I was finally done being a loner...

‘Guess I was wrong.’

If this isn’t exclusion, what is?

You want badges that badly?

You want to pin them on your chest that much?

Not happening.

I’m not making it easy.

I’ll make you beg on your knees for just one—

[You have succeeded in the Floor 63 mission.]

[Your level has increased.]

[Reward: Magic Stone 6.3kg]

[Notice: You have achieved Clear Rank S++ on Black Tower (Korea) Floor 63.]

[S++ Clear Reward: Awarding a Platinum Badge.]

‘It’s over.’

[You may challenge Floor 64.]

[Exiting Black Tower (Republic of Korea).] 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Let’s just do repeat clears.

I should peel some hides.

Tower Player Awakening Administration.

Commissioner Park Kyungsoo and Deputy Commissioner Jeon Gwangil sat facing each other, talking.

“...Honestly, if it weren’t you, I never would’ve believed it.”

“Same here. If you only hear it in words, how could you believe it?”

“Control? The hardest part for Players with the Summoning Trait is their summons... hmm, should I call them summoned entities? Anyway—was there any issue controlling them?”

“No. At least, not so far.”

Jeon Gwangil recalled what he’d seen back then.

The white man who appeared the moment Bong Juhyeok shouted “Summon.”

When Jeon told him, as you can see, this is the situation, he said they also needed to bring Meatshield—and vanished in an instant.

The giant called Meatshield was the same.

With his massive body, he protected Bong Juhyeok and smashed the terrorists to pieces.

“At a single word from Player Bong, they moved in perfect unison. What is there to control? They just handled everything on their own.”

“Seriously! Summoning people? And people who speak Korean?”

It was absurd. Human summoning.

Fine—let’s say it’s possible.

People summon spirits, golems, beasts... so summoning people might be possible too.

But it hadn’t happened inside the Tower.

It happened in the real world.

Meaning, Bong Juhyeok was a Player who could use Tower abilities even in reality.

If that fact got out...

“It’ll be chaos.”

This wasn’t a simple problem.

He could be classified as dangerous in an instant.

“He’s not some villain, or criminally inclined, is he?”

“Not at all. Sure, I’m the only witness, but why do you think Player Bong revealed his ability? It was to save Player Nam Gaeun and everyone else.”

“...You’re ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) not wrong, but.”

If he’d been rotten at heart, or purely selfish, he would’ve run away alone.

He had the ability to do that.

“But will other people think that way?”

Humanity shared a common enemy: the Black Tower.

In theory, they should show unity, consideration, solidarity—yet that was just an ideal.

Competition between nations only grew harsher.

They didn’t hesitate to do petty, unethical things.

Just look at China kidnapping Players.

“Hoo... the secrets keep piling up. I can’t even see the right response anymore. Feels like my head’s going to explode.”

Watching Park Kyungsoo grow troubled, Jeon Gwangil carefully made a suggestion.

“How about this?”

“What?”

“Player Bong’s summons—no, the summoned entities—aren’t they people, in the end?”

“They are.”

“Then we treat them as people.”

“Hm?”

“We make them citizens of the Republic of Korea.”

Park Kyungsoo went blank for a moment, processing the meaning—then suddenly sat up straighter.

“Citizens of the Republic of Korea?”

“We just have to hide that they’re summoned entities, don’t we? Even if their identities come out later, people will only know they’re Players with Republic of Korea nationality.”

“Uh...”

“Player naturalization falls under the Tower Player Awakening Administration. We can create brand-new identities seamlessly.”

That was true.

Making an identity wasn’t hard.

It wasn’t like they’d never done naturalization work—they’d done a ton of it.

Players were national assets by definition.

Elite Players climbed uncleared Towers.

Regular Players supplied Magic Stones and Tower materials.

If a foreign Player requested naturalization, unless they were criminals, they accepted them unconditionally.

They’d naturalized plenty recently, too.

Defector Players who crossed over from North Korea, asylum Players from politically unstable countries, immigrant Players who came because they liked Korea.

A new start as a Korean.

The past got washed clean.

Player Bong’s summoned entities were the same.

What was the problem?

They were people.

“That’s... no, that’s a very, very good idea.”

“I’ll meet Player Bong and propose it.”

“Yeah, yeah. Just don’t push too hard—be careful.”

In that moment—KNOCK KNOCK.

With the sound of knocking, Section Chief Lee Mina entered the office.

“Section Chief, welcome. What is it?”

“Black Tower (Republic of Korea) Floor 63 was just cleared at S++ rank.”

“Ah, I see.”

“I contacted him separately. He said he’ll clear Floor 64 tomorrow and then return the holy sword for safekeeping.”

“Understood.”

They’d talked about it before.

He’d said he’d go through Floor 64 and then rest for a bit.

“He could go up to Floor 66.”

“Then wouldn’t the public get anxious? They’d start fearing they don’t know when Floor 67 will be cleared.”

It was true they had to match the Time Limit.

They had to use the six-month clear limit efficiently.

“Which country’s reservation is next for the holy sword?”

“Russia.”

“Hm. I don’t trust those bear bastards.”

“Don’t worry. They won’t be able to try anything.”

The holy sword had already become a global public asset.

If it disappeared, or got damaged beyond repair, the entire world would obviously rise up.

Unless some lunatic terrorist showed up and decided, you die and I die too.

That was why, at the national level, they vetted everything thoroughly and only rented it to each country’s top Player.

“And after Russia?”

“Saudi Arabia.”

“Saudi Arabia should be fine. Maybe they could even rent it twice...”

“Hahaha. I’m looking forward to it too. Player Bong will like that.”

They could rent it three times, even. As long as the rental fee got wired.

And since it was two people...

Two copies of naturalization paperwork should do it, right?

It’s not like there are more.

*****

Juhyeok’s penthouse.

Laughter bloomed everywhere.

Normally, as floors went up, the difficulty was supposed to rise—but it got easier instead.

“Hehehehe, did you see? I’m Summoner Bong’s right hand, sir.”

“It can’t be helped. This young lady is Master’s left hand.”

“A warrior is the Summoner’s dependable right leg.”

“Huh? Then what am I, Sergeant Veronica?”

“I’m my commander’s burning heart.”

“...That’s a bit.”

“And Rajix worker?”

“SQUEAK, I’m Summoner’s nose.”

“Nostrils, sir?”

“But I smell things. SQUEEEAK!”

Then he rolled all the way up in front of Juhyeok.

SHHHK!

He spilled something out.

Rune and ticket fragments.

This many?

Looks like he really dug like crazy.

“SQUEAK!”

Should I try matching them?

Slide, slide.

Same pieces clicked together, mismatched ones didn’t react—and then, suddenly!

FWAAASH! Light flared.

[All fragments have been combined.]

[You have obtained the item Multinational Tower Access Ticket.]

“Oh!”

Finally, a complete item came out of the fragments.

He earned merit again. Do I give him a badge or not?

“SQUEAK. I’ll work even harder.”

RROOOLL.

Before I could even think it through, Rajix rolled off over there.

Like he decided this level wasn’t enough to earn a badge.

Well... if he completes one more, I should give him a badge.

At this rate, Rajix might practically monopolize the badges.

Tomorrow we clear Floor 64, and after that I’ll return the holy sword for safekeeping.

They said the holy sword reservations are backed up.

And there’s also the event scheduled for Floor 64.

The perk.

It’s normally on Floor 65, but with the Multinational Tower Access Ticket, it got pulled forward by one floor.

‘I’ll see what comes out.’

And Random Summon.

I still hadn’t decided whether to do it.

It might be good to discuss it with the summoned entities.

Anyway, after Floor 64, what should I do? There’s a lot of time left.

‘Feels like I can finally start going out for real.’

Of course, not alone—together with the summoned entities.

Right now, I didn’t even have bodyguards.

Sharp-eyed Deputy Commissioner Jeon Gwangil had pulled them all.

I could move around freely.

I didn’t even need a perception-interference talisman.

Meatshield evolved, so in his normal state his height wasn’t even 2 meters.

Cossack had a skill that let him change the shape of his face freely.

Gyeon Dallae, if she went out, looked like an ordinary high school girl.

Veronica would look like a foreign tourist.

Only Rajix worried me, but...

‘Should I go department store shopping?’

Buy a few outfits.

But there’s something I’m curious about.

“Princess.”

“Speak, please.”

“If you’re wearing real-world clothes and get dismissed... when you show up next time, do you appear wearing those same clothes?”

“That is correct. It is as though the last appearance is automatically saved. And once you come outside, changes are applied automatically.”

So it doesn’t disappear.

One more thing.

“You said when you’re dismissed, you go to the world of souls, right?”

“That is correct.”

“What kind of place is it? And what do you summoned entities look like there?”

“I shall speak only within the range permitted to this young lady.”

Gyeon Dallae began explaining point by point.

“It is a place so vast you cannot even imagine it. There, we exist only as souls—spirit bodies.”

Spirit bodies. Ghosts.

They were already dead, after all.

“Everything becomes a concept. The items I possess, the clothes I wear—perhaps it would be easiest if you think of it like computer game data.”

Game data...

Tower clearing really is like a game.

That’s why awakened people are called Players.

“Can you meet each other there? I mean, us summoned entities.”

“Well... it is so vast. Of course, if you wished to find someone, you could. But is there any need to do so?”

If we get summoned, we’ll meet anyway.

Anyway, it comes down to this.

When summoned entities are dismissed, they return to the world of spirit bodies saved in the state they were in right before dismissal.

When summoned again, that spirit body materializes and manifests in a form no different from a human.

Got it.

Then it’s time to enjoy it.

This abundant world of Earth.

“Let’s pick a day and go out.”

“S-Should we eat beef, sir?”

“No. Shopping. The department store... let’s buy a few outfits.”

“A warrior hates shopping. But if the Summoner says go, I go.”

“Ah, I like it, sir. I’ll dress sharp.”

Just in case.

“Put on a perception-interference talisman each. Rajix, you’ll be okay too, right?”

“Rajix worker will look like an extremely obese child.”

“SQUEAK?”

The holy sword rental fees will start coming in one after another soon, so I should spend hard instead of pinching pennies.

Blowing money—yeah, I really wanted to try that at least once.

Come to think of it, it’d be good to have a way to get around, too.

With this many people, taxis are awkward.

‘Should I buy a car?’

I have a license.

Got it near the end of my service in the army.

‘A van would be right. Something like a 15-seater.’

Better to have room, since I don’t know how many more people I’ll end up with.

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