For half a month, he did nothing but repeat the 15th-floor mission.
Waiting for the random summon cooldown to reset, grinding proficiency in the Shadow Step skill, experimenting with the energy barrier, and stockpiling magic stones to pay for combat equipment.
Aaaah!
One stone, four birds.
What an efficient plan.
Perfect—just perfect.
"Energy Barrier."
Zzzing!
A transparent, glass-like membrane wrapped around his entire body.
"Shadow Step."
Swish! Swa-swa-swish!
Juhyeok's figure moved in a zigzag.
Afterimages lingered in his wake.
It actually looked pretty impressive.
Anyone seeing it would think he was a fairly high-level player.
Juhyeok felt it too.
Do I have talent?
Yeah, right.
If he kept messing around on the 15th floor like this…
[You have successfully completed the 15th-floor mission.]
[You have leveled up.]
[Reward: 1.5 kg of magic stones]
[You are exiting the Black Tower of the Republic of Korea.]
Repeated conquest complete.
The problem was that it took less than ten minutes.
It ended before he could even try anything.
Shadow Step was one thing, but—
What about the energy barrier?
He had to test it somehow.
Should he ask Kosak to lightly stab him with a dagger?
"…What?"
"Please stab me. With a dagger."
"…Uuuhhh,"
Upon hearing the request, Kosak covered his mouth with his hand and staggered backward.
"W-why are you doing this to me, sir? If you don't like me, just beat me half to death instead. I-I won't do it again."
"No, I just want to see if the energy barrier works properly. Just stab me lightly."
"Kyaaaaaa! I didn't hear anything! I can't hear you! I hear nothing—!"
"…"
What is wrong with him?
What an overreaction.
It's not like he asked him to kill him—just to poke him a little.
No helping it.
He'd have to figure it out himself.
Time passed quickly.
The endless cycle of 15th-floor repeat missions.
The patterns changed every time, but since they were goblin laborers, it wasn't difficult.
Juhyeok practiced his skills.
On the other side, Kosak was slicing off the heads of goblin laborers.
He had to try something.
Just as he was thinking that—
"Huh?"
Between the tall grass, he spotted a goblin laborer crawling away in fear.
…Just one?
And it wasn't holding anything.
A loner. Unarmed. A worthless laborer.
"Hm."
A perfect chance to test the energy barrier.
What should he do?
He had to decide quickly.
Soon the mission would be over and he'd be kicked outside—
Ah, screw it.
Swa-swa-swish!
Using Shadow Step, Juhyeok blocked the goblin laborer's path as it crawled.
Thud!
Juhyeok's ankle collided with the goblin's head.
Thinking it had bumped into a tree, the goblin turned its head and tried to move another way—but thump! Blocked again.
It froze.
Only then did the goblin cautiously lift its head.
Juhyeok looked down.
The goblin looked up.
Their eyes met.
A brief silence passed.
And then—
"Kyaaak!"
The goblin clamped its yellow, sharp teeth straight onto Juhyeok's ankle.
Crunch! Crack!
"Ugh, fuck! You scared the shit out of me?!"
It bit my leg?
Bam!
Juhyeok kicked the goblin's head away with a full soccer kick.
"Keek!"
Whoooosh!
The goblin went flying straight toward Kosak, who was happily carving things up.
Kosak sliced it midair—slash!—cleanly.
"Nice pass! You play soccer or wha—, huh?!"
As if something suddenly occurred to him, John Kosak rushed toward Juhyeok with a shocked expression.
"Summoner-niiiim!!!"
Flailing his arms in panic,
"D-did you fight a g-goblin? What were you thinking? A-are you hurt anywhere?!"
"I'm fine."
It was true.
Even Juhyeok hadn't expected this much strength.
Sending a goblin flying with a single soccer kick—even if it was just a laborer.
Though he hadn't killed it.
Well, I am level 16.
And then there was the power of the energy barrier.
He'd clearly been bitten on the ankle, but it didn't hurt at all—his pant leg wasn't even torn.
All that remained on the ground were fragments of the goblin laborer's broken teeth.
"I told you again and again, didn't I? You mustn't be so brave."
"It was just one."
"One becomes two, two become three, and three become four."
"It was a weak laborer."
"A laborer becomes a scout, a scout becomes a warrior, and a warrior becomes a shaman."
"Please take good care of your precious body, Summoner Bong!"
Just who is this guy, really?
I know he's loyal, but his whole vibe is way too bootlicking.
If this were the Joseon Dynasty and he were a eunuch, he'd probably have been showered with the king's favor.
"Alright, I'll be careful."
And so, for another half month, he did nothing but repeat missions.
His skill proficiency increased, and his stash of magic stones kept growing.
A whopping 22.5 kg—worth 11.25 million won if sold at market price.
Should I finally check out the Player Shop at the Administration?
To visit the Administration, he first had to notify a staff member.
Either the employee he'd met when signing the contract, or the one in charge of collecting magic stones.
There were only two people Juhyeok knew.
Team Leader Jeon Gwang-il and Section Chief Lee Min-ah.
The choice was obvious—Jeon Gwang-il.
Meeting a man was easier than meeting a woman.
So he sent a message saying he wanted to visit the Player Shop.
A short while later, his phone rang.
"Hello?"
—Ah! Player Bong. You'd like to visit the Player Shop?
"Yes, that's right. Can I come now?"
—I'll send a staff member immediately.
"There's no need for that. I'll just take a taxi."
—No, that won't do. This is a benefit all standard contractors receive. You can also sell your magic stones directly at the shop.
"…Mm, alright. I'll wait."
What? They even send cars for regular contractors?
Seriously?
Well, this level of special treatment—I'll accept it coolly.
※ ※ ※
The number of players in South Korea is estimated at around 7,000.
It might be even fewer.
Despite the government having contracts with nearly all players, they can't state an exact number.
That's because of unregistered players, players whose qualifications were revoked, and players who have already died—making the numbers fluctuate constantly.
Unregistered players are unknown, so they're excluded outright.
As for qualification revocation, if a player doesn't challenge the Tower for three months, the system itself is deleted.
The government only finds out a few months later.
Because such players no longer produce magic stones.
The government then terminates the player contract and withdraws subsidies or special benefits.
Then there's player deaths.
Most deaths occur during unrepeated climbing missions.
Naturally, the higher the floor, the greater the danger.
But does that mean repeated missions are safe?
Not at all!
Even if the mission is the same, the patterns are never identical.
In monster subjugation missions, the location and number of monsters can change.
In trap-clearing missions, the placement and types of mechanisms differ every time.
Juhyeok had experienced this even while repeatedly clearing the 15th floor.
Thinking, I've done this once, it'll be easy, and charging in carelessly could get you killed on the spot.
Even abandoning a mission requires running all the way back to the Tower entrance or a safe zone and formally declaring withdrawal.
You die while running away.
Over the past 20 years, the number of players who have died in Korea alone is in the thousands.
When players die?
They're recorded as missing persons.
Because their bodies can't be recovered.
Given this situation, the state makes efforts to ensure player safety and encourage magic stone production.
One such measure is the Player Specialty Shop.
The shop is located in the basement of the Awakened Administration building in Hannam-dong.
Equipment and weapons are sold at cost price for materials, making them cheap—but still expensive.
After riding in a car with a staff member, Juhyeok arrived at the Awakened Administration.
Team Leader Jeon Gwang-il was waiting for him at the main entrance.
"Welcome, Player Bong."
"Sorry for troubling you."
"Not at all. Please follow me."
The Player Shop was located underground.
But it wasn't a place just anyone could enter.
"Let's register you first. There's a separate procedure required to enter the Player Shop."
It wasn't anything complicated.
A palm vein scan to verify identity.
Scan your hand against a glass panel, and that was it.
Beep!
"From now on, you can visit and use the shop anytime without calling ahead."
"Yes. Thank you."
"…Would you like a guided tour of the shop interior?"
"No, I'll look around on my own."
"Hahaha, very well. After purchase, home delivery is also available, so feel free to take your time."
Come to think of it, it had been a very long time since he'd been to an offline store like this.
He could count the times on one hand.
He'd only shopped online.
Talking with staff—
Not easy.
But since he'd worked up the courage anyway.
Juhyeok placed his hand on the vein-recognition glass panel at the shop entrance.
Beep-beep!
"Oooh…"
The interior was quite extravagantly decorated.
Employees were stationed around selling goods—but there wasn't a single customer.
Even considering how few players there were, this was strange.
Why was no one here?
Is it because it's expensive after all?
This was where the elite teams had it good.
They got their equipment items for free.
Let's start with the magic stone sales booth.
Magic stone sales.
Seven million won earned from clearing floors 1 through 15.
On top of that, selling the 22.5 kg of magic stones obtained from half a month of repeated 15th-floor runs—
"We've confirmed 22.5 kg. At current market price, that's 11.25 million won. Once it's sold to a buyer, the money will be deposited into your account within three days."
"Uh, um—can I use it here right away?"
"Of course. If you make a purchase, it'll simply be deducted from the amount you'll receive later."
"Yes, yes."
Time to shop.
Though not a particularly fun time.
Let's buy quickly and go home.
Weapons…
The weapon display corner.
Blue-gleaming sabers, long greatswords, short daggers, staves, spears, bows—even handguns.
"Is there something you're looking for?"
"…Ah, no. Nothing in particular. I'm just browsing for now."
"If you have any questions, feel free to ask anytime."
It really was hard to strike up conversation with staff you'd just met.
At least it was a male employee—that helped.
If he was curious, he had to ask.
"Can all of these be taken into the Tower?"
"Yes, as long as you carry them on your person. You can also place them in your inventory."
The Tower-exclusive inventory only accepts items obtained from within the Tower.
But why do these go into the inventory in the first place?
Because they're made from magic stones and Tower metals.
Metals produced within the Tower.
From the 30th floor onward, the rewards become much greater.
Metals that do not exist on Earth are obtained in ingot form.
The base reward is 3 kg, and if the clear goes well, you can receive up to 10 kg.
The types of metals include adamant, orichalcum, sectonium, and more.
If equipment is made using such metals and magic stones, it can be stored inside the Tower-exclusive inventory.
Which is why it's extremely expensive.
The cheapest weapon costs 20 million won per piece.
And there are plenty that cost far more than that.
Even so, these are items sold to players at material cost only.
If you bring the materials yourself, they'll even craft them for free—no labor fee.
"Players are exempt from blade weapon permits as well. Firearms, however, can only be rented. And entry is restricted to designated locations."
Naturally.
No matter how special players are, you can't just hand out guns freely.
Besides, firearms have their limits.
They can sometimes be useful in the early 20s, but in the 30s, bullets don't even penetrate.
They're both ranged weapons, but bows and crossbows still work.
Because there are skills that use bows.
Guns, on the other hand, have no compatible skills.
So what should he choose?
He needed at least one weapon.
Not so much to attack monsters, but for self-defense.
Something that would let him smash a monster's head and run if things got dangerous.
"Huh?"
One item caught his eye.
A dull, dark metal club.
A weapon commonly known as a mace.
That looks useful.
He asked the employee and tried gripping the handle—it had a good center of balance and wasn't too heavy.
I like it.
Bladed weapons honestly felt burdensome.
How was he supposed to slash and stab something that moved?
He couldn't even clean a live fish.
Good.
A club was perfect.
"How much is this?"
"Oh, that's an adamant-metal mace. The price is… hmm, 2 million won."
"…What?"
Two million won?
Did he hear that wrong?
"It's, uh, a returned item due to customer remorse."
"…."
Suspicious.
The base price should be 20 million.
Wait—could it be…?
Team Leader Jeon Gwang-il's face flashed through his mind.
Sending a car just because he said he was visiting the Player Shop, no other customers in sight once he arrived, and now an adamant weapon costing only 2 million won.
You didn't need things spelled out.
Thanks to his timid personality, he'd always prided himself on being sharp about this kind of thing.
What should I do?
Call him over and ask them to sell it at the proper price?
Or…
I'll just buy it.
Like an innocent, clueless customer who knows nothing.
If he didn't know, then there was nothing to take responsibility for.
"Wow! That's really cheap. I'll take it."
"Would you like it packaged?"
"No, I'll put it straight into my inventory."
Alright—weapon acquired. So what next?
But now that he was actually here, there wasn't all that much he wanted to buy.
※ ※ ※
Park Gyeong-su, Director of the Administration, asked Jeon Gwang-il,
"So? Did Player Bong start shopping smoothly?"
"Yes, he did."
"No other customers, right?"
"No. We sent out messages telling all other players that the shop is closed today."
One more thing.
"And the prices?"
"I told the staff in advance to apply a 90% discount. I figured he wouldn't accept it if it were free."
"Well done."
Hopefully it turns out to be a fruitful shopping trip.
That way, he'll finally start climbing the 16th floor.