Juhyeok wasn't unaware of what Kosak was worried about.
His awakened trait was Summoning.
Rather than fighting directly, the summoning trait's combat style was one where the beings he called forth handled most of the player's combat power.
There was no need for him to fight personally.
That was especially true for Juhyeok.
He wasn't an ordinary summoner, but an Irregular.
If he pulled high-grade summons, or increased the number of simultaneous summons through trait-enhancing runes or perks, he could climb the Tower while practically goofing around.
'Still, I have to clear the 21st floor.'
From floors 21 to 25, orcs appeared.
In the early days of the Tower, this was a section where deaths piled up.
Back then, it was absolute chaos.
Suddenly, an enormous number of people went missing without any known cause.
Now, with high-performance items widely available and clear videos easy to find, almost no players died here anymore.
'Still, I should be careful, right?'
Even with his growing confidence, he had no intention of acting recklessly.
'Who do I think I am, anyway?'
Somewhere in a parallel universe, there had supposedly been someone with the same trait and skills as him.
In other words, Kosak's former summoner.
Had that person died because he was weak?
No—he must have been stronger than Juhyeok.
He would have been decked out in perks from head to toe.
And yet, he died.
The world he lived in was destroyed as well.
That was why Juhyeok understood Kosak's concern.
How could he not understand why Kosak kept sighing so deeply?
But still—I'm human too.
I just started getting a taste for being a real man.
And I just learned a new skill, so of course I want to try it out.
'If I persuade him, it'll be fine. The base rule is absolute obedience anyway.'
He summoned Gobang.
[Barbarian Warrior Meat Shield has been designated and summoned.]
Then he summoned Kosak.
[John Kosak has been designated and summoned.]
"…Chooong! Uh, I've arrived."
Why do you look so down?
His shoulders were slumped.
"Did something happen? Are you in a bad mood or something?"
"…."
Is this because I got an attack skill yesterday?
Kosak opened his lips and continued.
"…Learning an attack skill might turn out to be poison. Honestly, even on the 20th floor, I was uneasy. It was only because they were goblins,"
So that's it.
Getting the attack skill was the cause.
He thought Juhyeok would step forward again just to test it, and that it could be dangerous.
"I stayed quiet up to goblins, but orcs are a no-go. I apologize in advance. I'll commit a sin worthy of death. Activating Clause 3 of the Summoned Being Principles."
"…Huh?"
What?
That damned Clause 3?
The one that allows a summoned being's free will to manifest and disobey orders for the sake of the summoner's life?
"Uh…"
"This is the only way."
Stay calm.
As he'd experienced before, the scope of Clause 3 was broad.
At this rate, he might not even get to swing a mace once.
Even the S++ clear strategy, if you looked closely, was related to Clause 3.
Clear the floor before the summoner is put in danger.
And on top of that, stack platinum badges to draw out perks and strengthen the summoner.
It seemed Kosak thought Juhyeok's behavior had crossed the line.
He intended to eliminate the seeds of danger entirely.
"…Are you saying you're going to tie me up or something? With a butterfly knot?"
"How would we tie you? Gobang will just hold you securely, Summoner Bong. I'll handle the clear myself."
When Juhyeok looked at Gobang to ask if he really intended to do that—
"…."
Gobang quietly turned his eyes away.
You guys plotted this together.
"Come on, just let it slide this once. I'll take it easy from now on."
"I can't trust that."
Sharp.
Do you have eyes that can judge truth or something?
There was no choice.
He had to be sincere. Truly sincere.
Mind control.
He repeated it in his head.
Be careful next time. Extra careful.
Don't jump out recklessly.
Lay low.
Safety comes first.
Okay.
"Really! I swear on everything I have! I'll never go out first again."
"…Is that true?"
"But just standing around doing nothing is pointless, right? I'll only kill one. Carefully. Slowly. That should be okay, right?"
Kosak pondered.
"Just trust me once! Safety first! Prudence!"
And then—
"If that's what you insist… fine! But I'll guard you safely from the side. If a dangerous situation arises, I'll intervene immediately."
"Deal!"
"Choong!"
Phew.
What a relief.
Kosak's voice sounded firm again.
The persuasion had worked.
After taking into account levels, armor, skills, and everything else, Kosak judged that it was reasonably safe.
Juhyeok felt reassured too.
"Well then, shall we go?"
To the 21st floor.
[Entering the Black Tower of the Republic of Korea, 21st Floor.]
From the 21st floor onward, orcs appeared.
They were forest-dwelling, standard greenskin orcs.
Individually, they were stronger than goblins.
Their weakness—if it could be called one—was their slightly lacking intelligence.
"Orcs are stupid. Of course, they're probably still smarter than Gobang."
"I smarter than orc."
"Yes, yes. Shut it."
They might be dumb, but look at those bodies.
Muscle-packed from head to toe.
If an orc ever got its hands on him, his limbs would be torn apart, and he'd die without even getting a chance to use a healing potion.
It was a good call to limit himself to one kill.
"Anyway, Summoner Bong, make good use of Shadow Step. It's perfect for tricking orcs. They'll chase shadows until they wear themselves out."
"Don't worry. I'll only kill one, so trust me."
"Yessir."
After equipping themselves in the safe zone first—
"Wait just a bit. Let's practice exactly ten times before we go."
"Let's practice before we go.
The run won't start until the mission appears, anyway."
"You can practice a hundred times if you want."
Juhyeok held a shield in his left hand and an adamant mace in his right.
Skill: Honyuan Thunderclap Staff, First Form — Falling Thunder, Soul-Chasing .
Wooooong!
Mana concentrated into the mace.
The First Form was a simple vertical strike.
But its speed and force were anything but simple.
Swaeek!
Crackle!
The mace fell like a bolt of lightning.
'Is this right?'
Once more.
Swaeek!
Crackle!
He swung it around five or six times like that, but—
"Hm."
Something about it felt unsatisfying.
Seeing that, John Kosak spoke up.
"Without a target, can you really practice properly?"
"Right? I guess I'll have to try it in real combat—"
"Still, jumping straight into live combat would be reckless. A skill only shows its effect after sufficient mastery."
"Then what should I do?"
"There's a way."
Kosak turned his head and looked at the barbarian Gobang.
"Gobang."
"Speak, assassin."
"Kneel for a moment."
"A warrior does not kneel to just anyone."
"Not to me—kneel to Summoner Bong."
"…I kneel."
Thud!
Juhyeok's eye level was now almost the same as the barbarian Gobang's.
And then, a thought flashed through his mind.
He felt it.
"…Uh."
No way. You're not thinking—
"Now! Here we have a practice dummy, Gobang. Go ahead and smash him as hard as you can."
"…"
Haaah.
Has he completely lost his mind?
"You're telling me to hit Mr. Gobang?"
"Isn't it good? Even if you hit him with full force, he won't get a scratch. Perfect for practice."
"…"
"I'm very frail, you see… hehe."
Then even the barbarian Gobang said,
"Summoner, you may strike. I do not feel pain."
"Did you hear that? He says it's fine, so just hit him ten times and let's start."
"…"
I'm going insane.
Kosak telling me to hit him, and Gobang saying it's fine to be hit.
They're both the same.
Juhyeok's choice?
Not even worth thinking about.
"Let's go accept the mission."
"Ah—no, just ten hits—"
"Shh! If you keep this up, I'll charge in by myself, you know?"
"Yes sir! I'll shut up."
Shortly after leaving the safe zone—
[21st Floor Mission: Defeat 30 Forest Orcs.]
[Time Limit: 4 hours.]
"Shall we begin?"
"I'll take the front!"
"I'm going too."
Juhyeok stayed behind.
He said he'd only kill one, so he had to keep his promise.
Krrch! Kuek! Krking!
Forest orcs poured out in droves, letting out strange cries.
He remembered something he'd seen on YouTube.
A video where another summoner-type player cleared the floor by summoning a golem.
'Was that player level 30 back then?'
While he was recalling that, the forest orcs were being swept away.
At this rate, it'd be over without him killing even one.
Pick quickly.
In that instant!
One forest orc was separated from the group and left alone.
'That one's just right…'
Juhyeok met Kosak's eyes.
Can I take that one?
Nod.
Kosak nodded.
"Okay!"
Swash!
Using Shadow Step, he closed the distance in a flash—
"Guek?"
Swat! Swat! Swat!
He confused it with several afterimages, got behind it—
Swaeek!
He smashed the mace down on its crown.
Crackle!
Crunch!
"Kiiii—"
With a jolt of electricity and a crushed skull, it collapsed.
"Oh!"
Easy.
Way too easy.
'One more?'
No.
He felt a piercing gaze boring into the back of his head.
If Clause 3 activated, it'd be a disaster.
[You have completed the 21st Floor mission.]
[You have leveled up.]
[Reward: 2.1 kg of Magic Stones.]
[Notice: You have achieved an S++ clear rating on the Black Tower (Korea), 21st Floor.]
[S++ Clear Reward: You have been awarded a Platinum Badge.]
The next day, during the desert orc subjugation mission in a wasteland-type terrain, he killed just one again.
[Notice: You have achieved an S++ clear rating on the Black Tower (Korea), 22nd Floor.]
On the 23rd floor, in a pitch-dark cave filled with traps, he killed just one cave orc during the subjugation mission.
[Notice: You have achieved an S++ clear rating on the Black Tower (Korea), 23rd Floor.]
On the 24th floor, on land where crimson lava flowed, he barely managed to kill a single volcanic orc.
[Notice: You have achieved an S++ clear rating on the Black Tower (Korea), 24th Floor.]
'Tsk.'
Only killing one at a time was really unsatisfying.
But for now, he had to build trust.
And now—the long-awaited 25th floor.
After resting for about a day—
'Should I hand over some runes while I'm at it?'
Since Gobang and Kosak were always together, he hadn't been able to give out items.
So the next day, Juhyeok summoned only Kosak.
"Choong! I'm here."
"Good to see you."
"Didn't you say today was a rest day?"
"That's true, but… ah! By the way, I picked this up on the way here. Take it."
"Yessir? Is it an edible sword?"
"No. Take a look."
As if it were nothing—casually—Juhyeok flicked a Rune of Summoned Being Rank Advancement toward Kosak.
The moment he caught it, Kosak's pupils shook.
"Uh—uh—uh…!"
He brought it close to his eyes, even tried biting it—
And then, in an instant!
"Huuuh?! Wh-what is this? R-rank enhancement?!"
"Nice, right? You like it?"
"Y-you're really… g-giving this to me?"
"Yeah."
"…Amazing. A rank increase—this is moving."
Is it really that good?
"I'm truly happy. Now I can protect Summoner Bong even better."
Well, he looked happy at least.
"Are you starting the rank-up now?"
"No, sir. Rushing it is dangerous. I need to prepare myself mentally. I'll do it after I return."
So it's not something you can just do anytime.
"Then I'll see you after you rank up tomorrow?"
"Yes, sir!"
He'll handle it fine on his own.
"Since you're already here, why don't you relax a bit?"
"Then I'll watch some TV—"
With practiced ease, Kosak turned on the TV with the remote.
Juhyeok was bored too, so he watched together.
Clickclickclickclick!
The channels flipped way too fast.
"Let's just watch one. Just one!"
"Hmm, there's something I was watching—I'm looking for a rerun."
"You can just watch the replay."
"Isn't that expensive?"
"What are you saving that money for? Just watch the replay already—huh?"
That was when—
"W-wait a second!"
Juhyeok pointed at the TV screen.
"What is it?"
"Go back one channel."
"Yes, sir."
"Back—more—stop!"
It was a terrestrial news broadcast.
A woman with a red headband was being interviewed by a reporter.
A very familiar face.
'…Mom?'
It was Juhyeok's mother, Hong Geum-ja.
But why was she on TV?
※ ※ ※
Hong Geum-ja was holding a one-person protest in front of the headquarters of Jinsammul Water Purifier Co., Ltd.
She held a placard with slogans like Opposition to unfair contract termination, Improve treatment of purifier maintenance workers, and Stop corporate abuse of power.
She had told her family she was going out to look for a job, but the place she came to every single day was the water purifier company's headquarters.
She simply couldn't stand it.
Her contract had been unfairly terminated.
She'd visited a home to replace a purifier filter, and on her way out the customer told her to take out the food waste and do the recycling—does that make any sense?
Hong Geum-ja had a different personality from her husband or son.
She confronted things head-on.
She said she wasn't there to run errands—she was there to do purifier maintenance work.
But the company told her to apologize to the customer.
Apologize, when she'd done nothing wrong?
And in the end, the result was contract termination.
That was why she started the solo protest.
It had already been over ten days.
Broadcast stations and media outlets didn't seem interested in covering it.
The company probably blocked them.
During that time, company executives had passed by her spot, pretending not to see her, their eyes full of mockery.
Hong Geum-ja bit her lip hard.
She would never give in.
At that very moment—
"Are you Ms. Hong Geum-ja?"
A neatly dressed man in a suit appeared in front of her as she protested.
He handed her a business card.
"And who are you?"
"Thank you for your hard work. I'm Attorney Lee Chang-seok from Park & Kim Law Firm."
A lawyer?
And from Park & Kim, no less.
The top law firm in South Korea.
Famous not only for representing major corporations, but also for handling state-owned enterprises—especially for providing legal counsel and representation to players at the request of the Awakening Administration.
What did it mean for a lawyer like that to appear here?
Hong Geum-ja stiffened and said,
"Is the company trying to sue me or something? Go ahead and tell them to do it. I won't back down."
"Hahaha! Not at all. It's the opposite."
"…What?"
"Please file a formal lawsuit against Jinsammul Co., Ltd. Our law firm will represent you free of charge."
"…W-what?"
The lawyer's words were completely unexpected.
Had she misheard him?
It was absurd.
If this wasn't a scam, it made no sense.
"Please don't worry. This isn't a scam. It's part of a project to support the socially disadvantaged. Most law firms do things like this… If you come to the company with me, you'll understand soon enough."
Hong Geum-ja stood there, dazed.
"Um… I don't really understand what's going on…"
"Do you have a phone? You can record this here. We'll make it a verbal contract."
She truly had no idea what was happening.
No matter how she looked at it, it didn't seem like a scam.
What should she do?
Should she accept?
"Please trust me. I'll stake my reputation on it. And I promise—we will win."
She hesitated for a long time.
Fine. She'd come this far—might as well go all in.
"Alright. I'll leave it to you."
"As expected, you're decisive. Then…"
Attorney Lee Chang-seok snapped his fingers.
"Shall we start with the media push?"
"…Excuse me?"
In that instant—
Reporters and broadcast cameras surged toward Hong Geum-ja.
"When you answer reporters' questions, it's fine to be long-winded. They'll edit it later. Tell them everything—the unfair treatment you've suffered. Don't leave out a single thing."
Hong Geum-ja had no choice but to nod.