Chinese State Councilor Wei Quan entered South Korea through unofficial channels.
He immediately visited the Awakening Management Agency and met with Commissioner Jeon Gwang-il.
His objective was to bring magic power suppression scrolls into China.
This absolutely had to succeed.
That was why, the moment Wei Quan met Jeon Gwang-il, he raised the white flag and surrendered.
"I have come as a representative of the Chinese government. We will accept all conditions."
The conditions he agreed to were these:
the withdrawal of surveillance and oppression against ordinary Chinese players,
the immediate release of illegally detained players,
and granting asylum to players who wished to defect.
However, criminal villain players were excluded.
They had to pay the price for their crimes.
Jeon Gwang-il pondered.
He seemed to think for a moment, then—
"How many scrolls do you need?"
"First, about 100 million."
"Hmm."
One hundred million scrolls meant 10 trillion won in Korean currency.
China really was China.
Even the base units were on a different scale.
"Is 100 million difficult?"
"We can't print them all in a short time, but we do have stock prepared, and if the printing workers work overtime… maybe one or two months?"
"Ah! Then exports?"
In truth, the matter had already been discussed with Player Bong Ju-hyeok.
If possible, they planned to allow exports.
The Chinese government left a bad taste, but leaving the situation in chaos wasn't an option either.
What if it interfered with Tower conquest?
The collapse of the Tower had to be prevented.
China wasn't some isolated island nation—when you looked closely, it was all one continent.
"How should we pay? In yuan? Or—"
He looked extremely desperate.
That was inevitable.
With all of China's public authority focused on dealing with liberated players, how could national administration function properly?
The economy was taking a massive hit.
Stock indices were falling, consumer sentiment was shrinking, productivity was dropping, and foreign investors were pulling out—
"We can transfer the money immediately. Just please deliver the goods quickly, even just the first batch."
"It's not about the money."
"Then?"
"There's a place where I need final approval."
Even with full authority delegated, the final sign-off still had to come through.
Wei Quan looked troubled.
"Umm… please, as fast as possible…"
"Let's make this a verbal contract for now. Once the decision is finalized, we'll be able to process it immediately, so we'll prepare the quantity."
"We'll have aircraft waiting at Pyongyang Airport to transport the scrolls immediately. Please, you must do this."
"Yes."
After parting with Wei Quan, Jeon Gwang-il immediately went to the 17th floor of the White Tower.
To receive final approval from Player Bong Ju-hyeok.
Spot!
"Is no one here?"
The 17th floor of the White Tower was quiet.
All that stood there were towering Magnus Gigants—
Wait.
"Gigants? … plural?"
What?
"…?"
Was it dizziness?
It wasn't just one.
Gigants were lined up in three columns in the White Tower plaza,
like soldiers waiting for battle.
One, two, three, four—
Fifteen in total.
"G-good heavens!"
It was as if the Gigants had self-duplicated.
Of course, that couldn't be the case.
Player Bong must have brought them.
"… Haha."
With a Gigant force like this, conquering Earth wouldn't even be a stretch.
"I'll come back later."
He must be away conquering the Tower for now.
"Exit."
Spot!
Transcendent, Beyond P-summoned being.
There wasn't even a rank.
The term literally meant it had surpassed the system itself.
"They said the skill was registered…"
What about the status window?
[Characteristic Skills]
: Designated Summon / Random Summon / Summon Release / Transcendent (Beyond) Random Summon (1 use)
So that was it.
Transcendent—but random.
Which meant there were multiple transcendent beings.
More information was needed.
Would the P-summoned beings know?
"Everyone, come here."
They gathered in a circle.
"Has anyone heard of a transcendent, beyond P-summoned being?"
Ju-hyeok explained the achievement reward he had just received.
Then—
"Hmm, I mentioned this once before, didn't I? Remember?"
"… What did you say?"
"I said there were a few demigod-level monsters out there, beyond rank, transcending the limits of humanity."
"Ah!"
Now he remembered.
From very early on.
Back when he still wasn't confident about conquering the Tower.
During the early climbs, when he worried whether it was possible to ascend safely without dying or getting injured—
that was when Kosak had said it.
"So transcendent P-summoned beings are unranked, demigod-level?"
"That would be right."
"Where are they? In the spirit world?"
"I don't know that either. There's almost no known information. Even among us P-summoned beings, it's more like legend."
A legend among legends.
Something people had merely heard about.
His heart pounded.
Did this mean he could summon a being close to a god?
But—
"Ten minutes is too short. And it's one-time use."
Then the Berserker spoke.
"The soul's rank itself is overwhelmingly powerful, so it can only remain in this world for about ten minutes. Even ten minutes is long. If a demigod manifests, most Tower floors would be cleared instantly."
Mackenzie added,
"That's right. Is there anything that could oppose it? Even an Ancient Dragon Lord."
"Ancient Dragon Lord?"
"The strongest dragon. One that can't be killed even with meteor summons. Yet even that dragon is not called a demigod."
"Ah!"
Even a Dragon Lord didn't qualify as demigod-level.
So if it appeared—bam!
However, Gyeondallae seemed to have a different opinion.
"However, we must be cautious. Transcendents may also transcend the Three Principles of P-summoned beings."
Huh?
That was true too.
If summoned, it might turn on him instead.
"I can't use this lightly."
One chance only.
And unknown risks upon summoning.
This had to be saved for a decisive moment—
when conquest seemed absolutely impossible.
With that settled, he moved on to the perk rewards.
Ten total.
Summarized:
1 ticket for additional item acquisition,
1 guaranteed LSSR summon ticket,
1 rune for raising a P-summoned being's rank,
1 Tower floor intrusion ticket,
2 Tower mission reset tickets,
2 multinational Tower access tickets,
and P-summoned skill copy.
"… Wow."
No characteristic enhancement rune.
Even though it was a ten-pull.
That only proved how rare those runes were.
Still, one thing stood out—
"Skill copy?"
That was good.
Its value depended entirely on whose skill he copied.
"I received a perk that lets me copy one of your skills, so…"
At once, the P-summoned beings raised their hands.
"Learn mine! Stealth—stealth!"
"Hmph! You already have Concealment Veil. How about meteor summon?"
"Light!!! Learn Radiance! People will worship you!"
"My talisman arts… they're very versatile."
"Sergeant Veronica Caliber. A soldier needs marksmanship."
"How about the dream domain? Sweet dreams together."
"Learn gigantification. You grow taller."
"Woof woof woof!"
"Hoaaaah!"
Ding!
But—
"Thank you, but I've already decided."
Ju-hyeok looked at Rajiks.
"Can I copy one of our dimensional errand boy's skills?"
"Huh?"
"I want to copy the subspace backpack."
"Huh?!"
Permission granted.
Let's try it.
Ding!
[Perk: You may copy 1 skill possessed by a P-summoned being.]
[Select a target.]
He selected Rajiks, then tapped Subspace Backpack.
"… Copy acquisition?"
But—
[The P-summoned being Rajiks's Subspace Backpack skill cannot be copied.]
"… What?"
Not possible?
Why?
"Subspace Backpack can't be copied."
"… Figures."
Rajiks looked disappointed.
Unfortunate, but unavoidable.
Then—
"… Should I try meteor summon?"
[The P-summoned being Mackenzie's Meteor Summon skill cannot be copied.]
That too?
"Talisman arts—"
[The P-summoned being Gyeondallae's Talisman Arts skill cannot be copied.]
The Berserker nodded knowingly.
"Likely each P-summoned being's unique skills can't be learned. Bardin's Radiance, Gobang's Gigantification, and so on."
That made sense.
Subspace Backpack wasn't a normal skill anyway.
It could store Earth items, Tower items, even nuclear warheads, entire Gigants, fire trucks—nothing it couldn't hold.
"So copying doesn't mean everything works."
If even this were possible, it would be far too easy.
Honestly, as long as Rajiks was around, there was no need to learn it anyway.
"Ordinary combat skills should be possible. I recommend learning a barrier spell," said Nobu.
"I agree. Self-defense is best. Energy shields and barrier magic would make you much safer."
"I agree as well," said the girl.
Mackenzie smiled contentedly and spoke.
"Although this mage specializes in fire magic, barrier magic is also quite useful. Go ahead and learn it."
Ju-hyeok agreed.
If he learned barrier magic, he could apply it not only to himself but also to others.
[Skill acquired: Barrier Shield.]
[Barrier Shield has been registered in the status window.]
And in the status window:
[Combat Skills]: Shadow Step / Chaotic Soul Thunder Staff / Blood Jade Steel Aura / Ice Spear / Barrier Shield.
That wrapped up today's schedule.
"All right! Let's hold the badge awarding ceremony—"
But—
"Ah, no need for badges. Just keep them."
"Indeed. Please conserve the badges."
"It's time to reconsider how badges are used."
"Hooeeeh!"
Ju-hyeok understood why they were reacting like this.
The path to Transcendent, Beyond Summoning had opened.
For now it was single-use, but more chances might appear in the future.
However, the summoning cost was 30 Platinum Badges.
That was why they wanted to save them.
'That's nonsense.'
Compared to some unknown transcendent being, the P-summoned companions at his side right now were far more important.
"Everyone gets one."
All thirteen of them.
Even the Blood Wolf and the dog got one.
As a result, from 80 remaining badges, minus 13—67 left.
"Oh! I should go outside and summon Jepet too."
He planned to tell him about the 675th Earth Black Tower conquest and give him a badge as well.
The next day, Ju-hyeok met Commissioner Jeon Gwang-il, who had come to the White Tower.
"Player Bong."
"Welcome."
"You weren't here yesterday."
"Ah… I was climbing the Tower a bit."
In another world.
Detonating nuclear weapons.
Ten of them, no less.
'I should tell him, depending on the situation.'
They already knew most things about each other.
There was no reason to keep secrets.
After first talking about how the magic sword production was progressing,
Jeon Gwang-il explained the contract regarding exporting magic power suppression scrolls to China.
"A total pre-order of 100 million scrolls. They may order more depending on circumstances."
"Ah, yes."
"That's about 10 trillion won. Should we accept payment in yuan, or dollars—"
Ten trillion won in sales at once.
An enormous sum.
But perhaps because his sense of money had dulled lately, it didn't feel all that large.
Besides, he already had plenty of money.
So—
"Could we receive something other than money?"
"Something else…?"
What could that be?
What was the most representative thing owned by the neighboring People's Republic of China?
Population, natural resources—and vast territory.
'Land.'
Nice.
Let's take land.
Better yet, permanent transfer through a state-level treaty.
"For example, land."
"Ah!"
"Try asking for the Chinese portion of Mount Baekdu. That seems reasonable."
Currently, half of Mount Baekdu belonged to North Korea and half to China.
Commissioner Jeon nodded as well.
"You mean transferring all of Mount Baekdu fully to North Korea?"
"Yes. It'll be unified anyway."
It was a good idea.
Since Chinese special envoy Wei Quan was still in Korea for final contract negotiations.
"Understood. I'll test the waters."
"If that doesn't work, add a few more conditions. Priority reservations for magic guns, or even offering Tower conquest assistance."
That would be more than enough.
They wouldn't be able to refuse.
There was precedent.
Land transfers between nations had become quite common since the emergence of Black Towers.
The same thing happened during the temporary naturalization agreement between China and Russia in the past.
In exchange for Russian players simultaneously conquering three Chinese Towers, the Chinese government ceded part of Heilongjiang Province to Russia.
Half of Mount Baekdu was a fair deal.
It was even smaller than the land given to Russia.
He had to secure it no matter what.
'I've gotten pretty bold lately.'
A former nobody casually devouring the land of a major power.
"Oh! And I'm planning to do another fire suppression conquest—could you prepare things?"
"Fire suppression conquest… where exactly?"
South Korea's two Towers up to floor 86 had already been cleared.
Other countries' Black Towers were still far off.
"There's another Tower to clear. I detonated about ten nukes, but it didn't quite satisfy me. They're really nasty bastards."
"… Pardon?"
What on earth?
"Nukes? You mean the nukes I'm thinking of?"
"Yes! Those nukes."
Jeon had heard that Player Bong once killed a super-colossal monster with a nuclear weapon, but—
"You're saying nuclear weapons can now be used inside Towers? Weren't they prohibited?"
"They're prohibited on Earth No. 1,001 by the administrators, but Earth No. 675 hasn't been patched yet."
"… What?"
Jeon Gwang-il looked utterly stunned.
Earth No. 1,001? Earth No. 675?
"How that happened is—
Ju-hyeok explained how he crossed into another world.
He also explained the existence of beings called administrators.
Jeon's face filled with shock.
Dimensional travel, other worlds, ruined Earths, and the Black Towers there.
But the most shocking fact of all—
"Ad-administrators?"
There were people who managed the Towers?
And Ju-hyeok had met them three times?
Both here and there?
"… What kind of bastards are they?"
"I don't know. Nothing's been revealed. Not their identities, not their goals."
Ju-hyeok shook his head and continued.
"All I know is that they've been contacting me and constantly interfering with Tower conquests."
Jeon felt chills all over his body.
The truth was so overwhelming that he didn't know how to react.
"Is this classified?"
"Not at all. You can make it public. Whether people believe it is another matter."
"Ah…"
After a brief silence—
"You must have suffered a lot. You've really been through hell…"
"Hey, what suffering? I had a blast relieving stress this time."
With that, Ju-hyeok turned on the nearby laptop.
"Want to see nuclear explosions?"
"Y-you recorded them?"
"Of course I did."
He connected the laptop to a large monitor and played the footage.
"The ones you see there are super-colossal monsters. Titan Behemoth, Mega Mutant Apophis, Demonic Arachnoid."
"… M-my god!"
Their size was jaw-dropping.
If a normal Behemoth was a chihuahua, the Titan Behemoth was an elephant.
The others were no different.
'How do you even fight that?'
Yet it was conquered.
A Gigant controlled by Player Bong advanced, holding ten medium tactical nuclear warheads like grenades—one in each hand.
It closed in—
Flash!
KABOOOOOOOOOM!!!!
And then darkness.
"Hahaha…"
"Impressive, right?"
"Yes… truly… incredible."
It wasn't the nuclear explosion that was incredible—it was Player Bong Ju-hyeok himself.
The more you watched him, the more astounding he became.
On this Earth, and on another Earth as well.
He shattered every scheme and obstruction thrown at him by the Tower administrators.
"On that note, shall we release a video?"
"The nuclear explosion?"
"No, not that."
The nuclear footage would not be released.
The source of the bombs alone made it far too sensitive.
"The footage we recorded earlier—our Gigant clashing with the Behemoth."
The heroic performance of Gigant Unit No. 1, smashing the Behemoth into pulp.
"Ah, that one?"
Jeon had already seen it.
"Yes. We'll release it on the Awakening Management Agency's YouTube channel."
Poor Gigant Unit No. 1.
It deserved to be remembered forever—as a victorious conqueror crushing a Behemoth.
Is it silly to anthropomorphize an inanimate object?
Some people cry when they scrap their old cars.
A Gigant that carried ten nuclear warheads and fulfilled its mission magnificently more than deserved such honor.
Time passed.
After Ju-hyeok crossed into another world to clear the 675th Earth Black Tower's 86th-floor Immortal Phoenix fire suppression mission—
A video appeared on YouTube.
The title:
Description: Watch this badass footage from its lifetime.
The response was explosive.