Meat tastes best when you eat it at a proper barbecue restaurant.
Grilling it outdoors once in a while isn't bad either, but that's mostly because of the atmosphere.
Luckily, there was a meat restaurant nearby.
A specialty hanwoo fresh rib place.
Looking at the sign outside—
₩100,000 for 200 grams of fresh ribs.
'…Hmmm.'
A high-end restaurant.
Sure, there were places charging ₩150,000 or even ₩170,000, but this one was hardly any cheaper.
Gobang would probably devour over ten kilograms by himself.
This would easily start at five million won, wouldn't it?
'Did I pick somewhere too expensive?'
But turning back now would be a blow to his pride.
The blood-summoned ones were already murmuring "beef, beef" in excited voices.
'Ah, whatever!'
Why am I worrying about pointless things?
Just how much money do these guys earn for me?
They went inside the restaurant.
No one looked at them strangely.
In a quiet floor-seating private room—
"Gobang, sit down slowly. Slowly. The floor might break."
Ding-dong! After pressing the bell to call the staff—
"Um… could we get twenty servings of fresh ribs?"
"Twenty servings?"
"And ten bottles of soft drinks, and… hmm, four plates of yukhoe as well…"
"Yes, yes, understood."
Whew.
Order placed cleanly.
The first hurdle was cleared.
He'd ordered food at restaurants before, but never this much at once.
'Twenty servings and four plates of yukhoe should be a good start, right?'
He was even holding his card in hand, worried they might ask if he really had the money for such an order.
"That's impressive. Summoner Bong, do you come to places like this often?"
"Hahaha, not this exact place, but I used to go to similar ones every single day."
"Hehehe, that's admirable. Eating such precious beef every day!"
Gobang looked at him with envy, and Gyeon Dallae nodded with an as expected! look in her eyes.
Did they think he used to eat this expensive meat every day?
He'd gone there to serve and wipe down grills.
He used to work part-time at a barbecue place.
He quit once he became an active player.
"Hmph! Eat as much as you like. I'll grill the meat."
Gyeon Dallae flinched in shock.
"That will not do. How could the young master volunteer for such menial labor? Something so base—no, please leave it to us."
"I pride myself on grilling meat better than anyone. So don't say anything and just eat."
"But still…"
"It's an order."
"Your solemn command… shall be obeyed."
What did she think a former barbecue part-timer was?
While they chatted casually—
Slide.
The door opened.
Side dishes were set down, and charcoal was brought in.
Then the meat followed.
But—
'Huh?'
What is this?
'This isn't fresh ribs.'
Marinated ribs had arrived.
They'd ordered twenty servings, but the portion was noticeably smaller too.
'Hmm…'
An awkward situation.
Starting with marinated ribs was against the natural order.
Isn't it common sense to eat fresh ribs first, then marinated ones?
"Summoner Bong, what's wrong? You look troubled."
"The meat we ordered seems to be wrong…"
"Gasp! That's terrible. Then what do we do?"
"I'm thinking."
"But this also looks tasty. Gulp!"
Really?
Should we just eat it?
'No.'
If food is wrong, complaining is a customer's rightful claim.
This isn't being a Karen.
"I should call the staff."
"That's right. If it's wrong, it should be corrected. Show them exactly who Summoner Bong is!"
"Please give them a proper scolding."
Ding-dong!
After pressing the bell—
"Did you need something, sir? Would you like some alcohol?"
"…No, it's not that. I think the meat is wrong. Could you check…?"
"Huh? Just a moment. Oh? Why did this come here? I'm so sorry. I'll change it right away."
Whew.
The second hurdle cleared as well.
The correct meat arrived.
Meat sizzling on the charcoal grill.
The moment it was placed down, it vanished.
When the barbarian Gobang grabbed five pieces of meat at once—
"You brute—hm, how can you take five pieces at once, Gobang-nim? Such gluttony is unsightly, especially with Young Master Bong present—mmph!"
Juhyeok stuffed a wrap he'd prepared in advance into Gyeon Dallae's mouth.
"Good, right?"
She nodded while chewing.
Kosak joined in too.
"The princess is right this time. That guy—looks like he's trying to turn his whole body into meat. A real meat shield."
So what?
If you don't spend money at times like this, when will you?
A two-billion-won annual income, mana stone sales, and on top of that, ten billion won deposited regularly from the Administration just for renting out the Holy Sword—and that's before charging other countries too?
He could buy an entire hanwoo farm.
"All right, if you talk here, you lose. Instead of talking, eat meat. Look at Gobang—he hasn't said a word and is just stuffing meat into his mouth."
It was practically mechanical.
He even grabbed undercooked meat and gulped it down.
"Meat is fine even if it's undercooked. I digest everything."
Like hell that's fine.
That's just because he's a barbarian warrior.
They kept ordering.
Gobang—the true meat shield—ate at terrifying speed.
It was almost embarrassing how often they pressed the order bell.
Before long, they'd passed seventy servings.
That was when the restaurant owner came over with an uneasy expression.
"Um… you've ordered a lot of meat, so…"
There it is.
He'd been waiting for this moment.
Juhyeok slapped his card down on the table.
"We'll settle a partial bill now. You can charge more in advance if you want."
"Oh! Thank you very much."
Flex!
So this is the joy of spending money.
As they kept eating, the meat started to run out.
They kept changing the menu.
Ribeye, tenderloin, rib finger meat, hanger steak, marinated ribs…
Even that wasn't enough, so meat was being rushed in from other restaurants and wholesale suppliers.
And it was still not enough?
No—why are they eating this much?
They had already blown past the expected budget.
"Uh… are we ordering again?"
"…Are we eating too much?"
Kosak looked visibly disappointed.So did Gobang.So did Gyeon Dallae.
How could he stop now?
Before coming, he'd told them to order freely.
Screw it. I don't care anymore.
"…T-Then to hell with it! L-Let's bankrupt the restaurant! Order more!!!"
With trembling hands, he pressed the bell.
"Awesome! That's so cool!"
"As expected of such a bold and magnanimous young master."
Even then, Gobang kept stuffing himself relentlessly.
That day, the four of them consumed about 150 servings of meat.
Because each menu item had a different price, the total came out to 12.68 million won.
No matter how fun spending money was, 12.68 million won was too much.
The restaurant owner even handed over his business card and asked them to come back again next time they filmed a mukbang for YouTube.
A YouTube mukbang, my ass.
Would there even be a next time?
Next time, they'd have to go somewhere cheaper.
After finishing the meat, they went for a walk, had dessert, then hit a coin karaoke room and sang.
By the end, Juhyeok was the most excited of all.
When was the last time he'd gone out and had fun with people like this?
Never. Not even in the past.
It was time to head back.
Each blood-summoned being had a slightly different remaining time, so he dismissed them all in a dark, deserted area.
Juhyeok returned to the officetel alone.
He pulled a cap low over his face and tapped his card key against the entrance scanner.
Beep! He went inside.
An elite player coming and going alone without guards was unthinkable—but not a single security guard noticed him.
They simply saw him as one of the residents.
Among them were probably police officers or Administration personnel too.
CCTV?
That only gets checked after an incident happens.
'Damn, this is nerve-wracking.'
It felt like he was a spy.
Like the protagonist of an espionage movie.
'Home really is the best.'
After eating and drinking that heavily, tomorrow would start with clearing the 33rd floor as soon as he woke up.
And the next day—
"We ate meat, so let's get moving."
"Strength! I've got strength to spare!"
"I shall repay this favor with all my might."
"The meat warrior has arrived."
Good grief—
Just look at their faces.
Beef grease was practically dripping off them.
※ ※ ※
The Awakening Administration was busy from early morning.
Deputy Director Lee Mina and Team Leader Jeon Gwang-il were anxiously waiting for Player Nam Gaeun to exit the 65th floor.
She'll clear it without trouble again this time, right?
In three days, the long-awaited 66th-floor raid would take place.
That was right.
The 66th floor was next.
The schedule had been moved up.
There were about two months left now.
Since they had the Holy Sword, there was no urgent need to rush.
Still, they decided to clear the 66th floor as soon as possible.
Why?
The repeated failures at Japan's Black Tower 57th floor played a big role.
The fact that the culprit was Yoo Cheol-min gave them a bit of schadenfreude, but seeing and hearing the despair of the neighboring country firsthand made it impossible to remain unaffected.
Public anxiety was rising in Korea as well.
The political world wanted it resolved quickly.
And Director Park Gyeong-su's bold declaration—that it would be handled within a month—also contributed.
After long deliberation, they made their decision.
Clear it early and buy six months of time.
By then, Player Bong Juhyeok should be able to enter the 60th floors with ease.
Coincidentally, the U.S. side had contacted them about renting the Holy Sword.
The plan was to clear the 66th floor quickly, secure six months, and then begin full-scale Holy Sword rental operations.
All rental fees would go straight into Bong Juhyeok's account, but the sweet additional benefits extracted through negotiations would belong to the state.
Those might be even more valuable than money.
For all these reasons, an early 66th-floor raid was decided.
Now all that remained was for Player Nam Gaeun to finish clearing the 65th floor.
"Do you think it'll be possible without the Holy Sword once Player Bong enters the 60th floors?"
"Look at Yoo Cheol-min. Even a scrub like that cleared up to the 65th floor without the Holy Sword. The U.S. player Gerald Watson made it to the 66th."
"Ah!"
"Do you really think Player Bong is less talented than Gerald Watson?"
"Not a chance. Absolutely not."
"That man is an anomaly. Just by equipping a few light-attribute items, he'd probably jump straight to the 70th floor. A player who cleared the Black Tower with 32 consecutive S++ ranks…"
Suddenly—
Lee Mina froze with a blank expression.
"Wait a second."
"What?"
"Team Leader, that's wrong."
"…What?"
Wrong?
What part?
"It's not 32 consecutive clears."
"What are you talking about? Everyone knows he cleared it 32 times in a row—ah!"
Right.
Lee Mina was a player.
Which meant—
"…It updated again?"
"Yes. Just now, the record changed to 33 consecutive S++ clears."
"…Hmm. Right. I was wrong."
"Either way, the fact that he's an anomaly is accurate."
At that moment—
Fwoooosh!
A mass of light gathered—
Pop!
Nam Gaeun appeared.
It had only been six hours.
"Tadaa!"
Holding the Holy Sword in one hand and flashing a V-sign with the other, Player Nam Gaeun smiled brightly.
Though she looked a bit tired.
She pulled a healing potion from her inventory and drank it.
"Phew… I feel alive again. Burp!"
After letting out a refreshing burp—
"Today was a bit tough."
"…Then should we postpone the 66th floor?"
"I said a bit. Just a bit!"
Still, she said it was tough—it made them feel sorry for her.
If only they could've enhanced her traits one more time.
"Let's push just a little more."
"Yep!"
Anyway, it was a success.
"PR team, prepare the press release. Start editing the body-cam footage."
The next raid was Korea's Black Tower 66th floor.
Clearing just this one would buy them six full months.
※ ※ ※
Most countries, including South Korea, do not force contracts on players.
Everything is left to individual choice.
Elite contracts or standard contracts alike.
Not only is coercion illegal, but forced methods can also backfire.
However, there was a country that compelled players to raid towers through conscription.
That country was India—the first nation whose tower collapsed.
Blinded by the mana stones produced by the tower, the Indian government lured players, detained them in one place, and sent them into raids.
If they resisted, they were beaten with batons or clubs.
Under such conditions, there was no way to fight back.
Even if you entered the tower and exited, you came out in the same place.
At first, it worked.
Mana stone production surpassed even China's.
But there was no way the players were ever going to receive proper compensation.
They were lucky if they got three meals a day.
And the result?
Indian players either died to monsters inside the tower—or committed suicide themselves.
Because that was the only way out.
Newly awakened Indians hid the fact that they were players.
At the same time, they fled to other countries.
Naturalizations happened en masse.
To Pakistan, Malaysia, Europe, China, Japan—and even to South Korea.
As the number of players steadily declined,
how could the unchallenged upper floors ever be cleared?
In the end, the Mumbai Tower collapsed.
Only then did the Indian government cry too late! and revoke conscription, granting players freedom and fair compensation—but by then, it was already over.
Yet there was still a country that maintained forced conscription.
North Korea.
How was that possible?
Because North Korea had no tower.
North Korean players were affiliated with South Korea's Black Tower.
For a country that proclaimed itself a sovereign state, this was a massive blow to national pride.
But North Korea turned that into an opportunity.
Defending against tower collapse was South Korea's responsibility anyway—they could just ride along.
Why bother climbing the unchallenged upper floors?
The South would take care of everything.
South Korea had no real way to stop it.
There was no way to prevent North Korean players from entering the Korean Black Tower.
Any mana stones obtained as rewards by North Korean players naturally became state property.
Those who obeyed were rewarded with Party official positions and medals.
Those who resisted were thrown into collective labor camps and forced to produce mana stones.
So what did newly awakened North Korean players do?
Defect—of course.
A small number fled to South Korea, but the majority crossed into China.
So what about China?
Its system was largely similar to other countries.
Players who operated freely in the private sector, and players supported and cultivated by the state.
But there was also another type of player.
Forced naturalization players.
The Chinese government never acknowledged their existence.
Inside a lavish room decorated in brilliant gold,
a man sat in a chair reviewing documents.
Emaciated, with an expression utterly devoid of humanity.
Anyone dealing with him had no choice but to be extremely cautious.
"Vice Director. You summoned me."
The man called Vice Director casually tossed a bundle of documents to his subordinate.
"These are…?"
"A list of players affiliated with Korea's elite teams."
"What? H-how did you obtain this—"
"And what good would it do you to know?"
"S-sorry."
The Vice Director pulled a cigarette from a red pack, flicked it—click—and lit it.
Hoo.
He exhaled a cloud of gray smoke.
"Pick a suitable one and bring them in. Focus on players capable of clearing the 59th floor, or those recently contracted. Exclude anyone whose name is already well-known."
"Yes!"
"As always, leave absolutely no evidence behind. The motherland will deny you."
"Yes, sir!"
The subordinate snapped to attention and left.
Xiao Jun, Vice Director of China's Special Intelligence Bureau, didn't even spare him a glance.
China's tower progress stood at clearing the 58th floor and challenging the 59th.
Only 48 days remained until the deadline to clear the unchallenged upper floors of the Black Tower erected near the megacity of Shanghai.
If they failed to clear the Shanghai Tower, the worst-case scenario would unfold.
The remaining two towers would collapse one after another.
And then three new towers would appear elsewhere.
However, among the players managed by the Chinese state, there was no talent capable of clearing the 59th floor.
It had been that way since the Wyvern section on the 56th floor.
At this desperate crossroads, what was China's choice?
Naturally—naturalization.
But even naturalization came in different forms.
Voluntary naturalization.Temporary naturalization.And forced naturalization.
They approached talented foreign players and offered terms—
and if negotiations failed, they dispatched elite intelligence teams to take them.
Mongolia, Laos, Cambodia, Nepal, Bhutan, African nations…
Players from countries weaker than China were the usual targets.
Forced naturalization—no, kidnapping.
It worked.
They fought their way up from the 56th floor and eventually reached the 59th.
But from the 59th floor onward, progress stalled.
Even the talented players they had brought in couldn't overcome that wall.
So recently, South Korea was added to the list of target countries.
Honestly, they should have been included much earlier.
They had watched Japan's mistake.
It was laughable.
A mocking chuckle escaped Vice Director Xiao Jun's lips.
"We won't do something as stupid as Japan. Naturalizing them openly? Of course they ended up humiliating themselves."
Players were nothing more than civilians.
Kidnap them, torture them a few times, soothe them afterward, stamp the citizenship papers, and throw them into the tower.
In Xiao Jun's view, it was the most effective method.
And if it got exposed?
Who would dare touch China?
Unless it was Russia—or the United States.