The Gigant was not the main body.
The true body was elsewhere.
Inside the Gigant's cockpit slept El, the magitech engineer, struck by Diamat's Dream Domain.
She wasn't large.
About the early 160-centimeter range in height?
Her body, like the Gigant's, was made of silvery metal.
She wore no clothes.
No hair at all—completely bald.
A slender face, thin lips, neat eyes, a straight, high nose.
Judging from her overall appearance and build, she seemed female.
There was a name tag.
Along with the descriptor: "Soul damaged by profound loss."
If so, there should be a background description as well.
The mad berserker raised his hand, reddened by blood-jade battle energy, and asked Juhyeok for permission.
"Summoner, allow this old one to deal with it. It seems the clear will only be recognized if this one is killed."
But Juhyeok didn't answer.
"If we don't kill it now, achieving an S+++ clear may be difficult. Just give the order."
" … "
Haah.
How was he supposed to kill her?
He had already seen the background description.
The summoned ones were startled.
Juhyeok explained the magitech engineer El's background.
"So the magitech engineer who once existed in the world of souls… was this person?"
"I see…"
"Haah, what a truly tragic life."
"No wonder… I didn't feel like killing her."
That was right.
It was unbearably pitiful.
How could he kill her after knowing all this?
He wanted to save her.
Magitech engineer El had, in truth, been a summoned one from the world of souls. When she was alive, she had an intense obsession with magitech research. To continue that research, she transferred her soul into a golem body and devoted herself to study for hundreds of years. El died due to a war with neighboring nations—killed by enemy forces—and after death, she accepted a summoned-one contract. Even in death, she wanted to continue researching magitech.
Later, El was chosen by a summoner from Earth No. 442. Though it was a world already headed toward ruin, El and her summoner climbed the unchallenged upper floors of towers across the globe, striving to save the world. During that time, she was happy. The summoner trusted and relied on El, and El gave everything for him in return.But destruction could not be avoided. In the end, the summoner died before El's eyes. Forced back into the world of souls, she went mad. Her soul collapsed; she could no longer maintain a summoned-one contract. Eventually, she lost all memories from her time as a summoned one and was subjected to soul recycling. Her soul was copied countless times, and now her role was that of the pilot of the Black Tower's Floor 85 giant golem—Magnus Gigant.
His chest felt like it was tearing apart.
El wasn't a monster.
She had been a summoned one from the very beginning.
A pitiful being—her memories lost, her soul copied and reused, reduced to a tower monster.
"…She was a summoned one."
"What?"
"Huh…!"
"What are you saying…?"
"…."
He wanted to strip away the shackles of being a tower monster.
Is there no way?
Magitech engineer El was completely different from the bound souls he'd encountered in the Tower so far.
Gyeondallae's teacher Haeryeong and Kosak's father Hartmann had been chosen as tower monsters from the start.
That was why they could be freed from the Tower through liberation.
And what about Diamat, standing right here?
She was a succubus queen—the lord of dream demons—who had entered into a contract with the Tower administrator based on free will and became a floor boss herself.
Because of that, she suffered a rank-drop penalty and was freed from the Tower through defection.
But El's essence was different.
She had originally been a summoned one.
A soul later bound by the Tower.
Whether liberation or defection was even possible—he didn't know.
Huff… huff…
El slept peacefully, knowing nothing.
The more he looked at her, the more pitiful she seemed.
Without thinking, Juhyeok raised his hand and gently stroked the head of the golem body housing El's soul.
Swipe.
His palm made contact with El's head.
"…So smooth."
Twitch!
El's sleeping body trembled slightly.
At the same time—
Ding!
[Would you like to restore the soul of magitech engineer El using 5 Platinum Badges and recover her summoned-one qualifications?]
"…Huh?"
[Once El's summoned-one qualifications are restored, she can be immediately recruited into the Catalog.]
"Oh…"
[If El's summoned-one qualifications are restored and she is recruited into the Catalog, a penalty will be applied to the player.]
"Eh?"
Five Platinum Badges was one thing, but—
A penalty?
What kind?
[The penalty for restoring El's summoned-one qualifications and recruiting her into the Catalog is a suspension of random summoning for 100 days.]
"…That's it?"
He thought it'd be something serious.
It was nothing.
El was dreaming.
A happy dream—one she hadn't had in a very long time.
So long, in fact, that she wondered if she'd ever dreamed before.
Come to think of it, she didn't even know why she was here.
She remembered her life as a magitech engineer.
She also remembered the war—and her death.
Her current self was the pilot of Magnus Gigant.
Move the Gigant and kill the players climbing Floor 85.
That was the only mission she could recall.
Still, there was one other memory.
A single scene and a single phrase she could never forget.
A person whose face she couldn't see—only a silhouette—placing a hand on her head and stroking it.
Just recalling the silhouette made her heart feel warm.
And every time that person stroked her head, they said the same thing.
— So smooth. Feels nice.
That was the dream she was having now.
And though she could wake up, she didn't want to.
She just wanted to keep dreaming.
Who was that person?
Why did she long for them so deeply?
At that moment—
El felt it.
Someone was stroking her head.
And—
…So smooth?
Ahh…
What was this feeling—both happy and painful?
Her heart raced.
She could guess the situation.
It was probably a player.
Someone who had entered to clear Floor 85.
And she—she had the duty to kill players.
But she failed.
Just before killing them, she lost consciousness.
She must have been subdued.
The cockpit hatch had been opened.
Just kill me.
This worked out fine.
Living was tiresome anyway.
But then—
"…Huh?"
Hwaaaah!
A warm energy seeped into her chest.
W-what is this?
Her mind cleared.
Ahh… right. That's how it was.
Now she understood.
Who she had originally been.
I was a summoned one.
Forgotten memories surged back.
At first, they were jumbled—but slowly, they organized themselves.
The summoner she met in the dimension called Earth No. 442.
The time they spent together trying to save the world.
It had been joyful.
And also heartbreaking and tragic.
Two conflicting emotions—
because he had ultimately died.
That's right.
Her summoner was gone.
His world had been destroyed, so his soul must have vanished as well.
As she regained her sense of self, her mind grew clearer.
It was time to wake up.
El slowly opened her eyes.
A man stood before her.
…Who?
He wasn't her former summoner.
The feeling was very similar—but he was a completely different person.
Then—
"Would you like to join us?"
"…What?"
A sudden, unexpected offer.
What should I do?
El couldn't answer easily.
She understood who he was and what he wanted.
Just by looking at the people standing around him, she could tell.
All of them were summoned ones.
And they all looked happy.
Should she take the summoner's hand?
Could she protect this person to the very end, this time?
Could doing so wash away even a little of the regret and pain etched into her soul?
El made her decision.
And slowly, she opened her mouth.
"I…"
Juhyeok willingly chose to accept the penalty.
She was a tragic soul—once a summoned one, turned into a tower monster.
As a summoner, he had a duty to restore her qualifications.
In exchange: a 100-day suspension of random summoning.
That was nothing.
One hundred days was just over three months.
It would pass quickly.
First—
the Platinum Badges.
Her entire body was made of metal, so there was nowhere to pin them.
So he carefully placed five badges on top of her body.
Hwaaaat!
The five badges melted as if soaking in, disappearing into El's body.
[Restoring the soul of Magitech Engineer El.]
[The qualification of Blood-Summoned One for Magitech Engineer El has been restored.]
[Would you like to recruit Magitech Engineer El into the catalog?]
Juhyeok paused before answering.
He should ask for her opinion too.
Of course, if he chose to recruit her, the system would immediately register her as part of the catalog.
For now, let's wait until she wakes up.
Soon after, she opened her eyes.
Juhyeok met the gaze of Magitech Engineer El.
She seemed to grasp the situation as well.
After all, her soul had been restored and her qualification as a Blood-Summoned One had returned.
"Would you like to join us?"
"… Pardon?"
El fell silent for a moment, then—
"I… yes. I want to join you."
"Great! You made a good choice."
Done.
Recruit.
[Magitech Engineer El has been registered in the system catalog.]
[Random summoning is disabled for the next 100 days.]
[Magitech Engineer El leaves the tower and returns to the World of Souls.]
[Designated summoning will be available in 3 hours.]
So she's returning to the World of Souls for now.
"See you in a bit."
"… Yes."
Spot!
Magitech Engineer El vanished.
At the same time—
[Due to the departure of Magitech Engineer El, all Black Tower 85th Floor giant monsters have been converted from Piloted Magnus Gigants to Autonomous Magnus Ego Gigants.]
Autonomous Magnus Ego Gigants, huh.
Did it get a little easier?
Hopefully.
Oh, right! What about the mission clear?
Ding!
[Giant Golem Magnus Gigant 1/1]
[You have successfully completed the 85th Floor mission.]
[Level up!]
[Reward: Upper-Grade Magic Crystals × 85 kg]
A clear message appeared as well.
But there was no S+++ rank clear judgment.
Probably because it took too long.
Well, does that really matter?
He returned a misplaced Blood-Summoned One to where she belonged.
There was nothing to regret.
At that moment!
[Achievement: You are the first to restore the soul of a Blood-Summoned One bound to the tower and recover their qualification.]
[Achievement reward granted.]
[The manifestation duration of all Blood-Summoned Ones has been extended by 3 hours.]
An achievement too.
With White Tower 17th Floor, it's almost a meaningless reward, but still—
time in the real world matters too.
Anyway, let's prepare.
In three hours, it's welcome-party time.
Better prepare the permanent residency permit as well.
Black Tower Control Room
[ ...… ]
[ ... ]
[ ... ]
The administrators fell silent.
No one spoke.
In the end, it finally happened.
The realization of the Magi-Tech-Alchemy Trinity.
This is insane.
They could only sigh in disbelief.
It was inevitable.
1001 Earth's summoner—
what kind of monster is he?
Is there even a way to stop him?
Now they understood how the previous administrator must have felt.
Being in the same position made it painfully clear.
They wanted to stop him even if it meant violating causality.
[Haa…]
[Hoo…]
[Hmm…]
After some time passed, the Engineer asked the Designer.
[Why did you recycle the Blood-Summoned One's soul? Was it truly necessary…?]
[Because of the tower's difficulty. The Ego Gigant had problems.]
[What kind of problems?]
[The Gigant's raw performance was excellent, but… it was stupid.]
[Ah!]
[Even in the ancient Magitech Empire, Gigants were initially designed as Ego-types, but they later switched them all to piloted versions. The difference in mobility between piloted and Ego-types is like heaven and earth.]
To increase the difficulty, even the 85th Floor giant monsters were converted to piloted types.
It worked.
They really did become harder.
Of course, that led to the worst possible outcome.
[Maker, what are the expected future results?]
[The pinnacle of magitech is weaponry powered by mana. Equipment comparable to Earth's scientific weapons can be created—provided mages and alchemists assist.]
[Usable inside the tower?]
[Yes. They'll even fit into inventories.]
Magic theory, magitech, and alchemy.
Items created using the user's mana:
mana guns, mana cannons, mana shells, mana electromagnetic pulses, mana tanks.
Imagine those being usable inside the tower—and stored in inventories.
From the administrators' perspective, it was a nightmare.
[The giant monster up to the 84th floor might become easier…]
Not only summoners, but even regular players might climb into the 80s—
if they wield mana weapons.
[But wouldn't the 85th floor still be difficult? Even with mana weapons, Gigants have countermeasures.]
[That's changed, hasn't it?]
[What?]
[The 85th floor monsters are Ego Gigants now.]
[Ah!]
[Ego Gigants are stupid. They can't respond proactively.]
[Then?]
[They'll fumble around and eventually get blown apart by mana bombs—assuming the magitech engineer mass-produces them.]
[ ...… ]
Terrifying.
The Magi-Tech-Alchemy trio working together.
Forget the 80s.
Let it all burn.
They'd have to make their stand in the 90s.
Or in the real world.
By the way, they had distributed the Runes of Liberation in massive quantities—
when would the results appear?
Conflicts spreading into civil wars, civil wars into international wars.
That's how it should go.
White Tower, 17th Floor
News spread to all Blood-Summoned Ones:
a magitech engineer had been recruited from Black Tower's 85th Floor.
And that in three hours, she would be registered as a new resident on the 17th Floor.
The summoner was currently waiting in the outside penthouse to welcome her.
The 17th Floor became busy preparing for the new arrival.
Red carpets were rolled out.
Colorful balloons inflated and released.
Banners with welcome messages were hung.
But 9-circle Archmage Mackenzie Dronach wore a slightly displeased expression.
"This isn't fair."
"Why are you always complaining, old man? Pop some balloons or something."
"The welcome ceremony is excessive. You should've at least rolled out a red carpet for me."
"Ha, typical attention-seeking mage."
"What's wrong with wanting attention?"
Then Gyeondallae spoke.
"She was a Blood-Summoned One who lost her summoner, had her soul damaged, and was turned into a monster by the tower. Can she really be treated the same as us? Just thinking about how much she suffered breaks my heart."
The Mad Mage nodded.
"I agree. She was a pitiful soul. But now that she's been saved by the summoner, celebration and welcome are only right."
Kosak chimed in.
"That's right. She's not pitiful anymore. I'll take good care of her. The truly pitiful ones are the souls still in the World of Souls, waiting for random summons—yo-heave-ho style."
True enough.
They might be the real victims.
"Hm."
"Tsk."
"She must've been certain she'd finally get out this time… only to be stuck for another 100 days."
A somber mood fell.
"Anyway, now that a magitech engineer has joined us, what should we do first?"
"What's there to think about? Mass production of bracelets."
"Indeed. That's the most urgent issue."
"Just imagining bracelets rolling out one by one on a conveyor belt makes me ecstatic. Hehehe."
"Same here. Hahahaha."
The Blood-Summoned Ones were thrilled at the thought of mass-producing obesity-escape bracelets thanks to the magitech engineer.
"Where should we build the factory? Here on the 17th Floor?"
"That depends on Summoner Bong, but I think building it outside isn't a bad idea."
"Right. Even with automation, packaging and distribution will need a lot of manpower."
"Outside, where?"
"North Korea would be optimal. Easy to manage and secure."
At that moment!
Spot!
Two figures appeared on White Tower 17th Floor.
One was Juhyeok.
The other was a golem.
"Ohhh!"
"Welcome! Step on the red carpet!"
"Welcome!"
"The factory manager's here!"
"Start the conveyor belt!"
"Production target exceeded—welcome!"
"Hooooeeeee!"
"Applause!"
Clap clap clap clap clap clap!
The 17th Floor filled with thunderous applause.