Chapter 1 - Chapter 1

Chapter 1

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Translated by Jinmu

Read more at hivetoons.org

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2004.

Massive black towers, known as the Black Towers, appeared all over the world.

At the same time, the awakening of humanity began.

Through this, they vaguely came to understand.

Why that tower appeared, and how they should respond.

Awakened humanity is called "Players."

It was a very fitting designation.

And even in 2024, twenty years later, the Black Towers still existed, and a tiny fraction of humanity was still going through the process of awakening.

* * *

Bong Joo-hyuk, currently twenty-five years old, awakened.

Even though he did not want to at all.

[Bong Joo-hyuk has awakened.]

"...Uh, damn, you startled me!"

It was early Sunday evening, just as he was about to take a bite of the instant ramen he had just cooked in his studio apartment.

"A-Awakened?"

My goodness!

"What nonsense?"

Perhaps he heard incorrectly.

He desperately hoped that was the case.

He stared blanksly for a long time.

Why me?

Awakening is sometimes called a blessing.

It is considered luck greater than winning the lottery because, if you do well, you can achieve the jackpot of a completely turned-around life.

Of course, that is only if you survive.

But this was not the case for Bong Joo-hyuk.

He never even dreamed of becoming a player and entering the tower.

Even if life was a little difficult, he just wanted to live a mediocre, ordinary life without any grand ambitions.

Bong Joo-hyuk was a timid man and an ordinary citizen.

Whenever he saw injustice, he avoided it if possible.

He also avoided creating dangerous situations as much as possible.

Entering the tower was an extremely dangerous endeavor.

It wasn't even known how many players died each day from failing missions.

They could be torn to shreds by monsters, freeze to death in harsh environments, burn to death, die from poison, be crushed after falling into traps, or starve to death unable to escape.

"Oof! Just thinking about it gives me the chills."

Is it really a true awakening?

The method to verify it was simple.

He just needed to look at his status window.

This could be summoned even outside the tower.

"S-Status window!"

Suddenly.

Whoosh!

[Name] : Bong Joo-hyuk

[Affiliation] : Black Tower (South Korea)

[Level] : 1 LV.

[Trait] : Summoning (Simultaneous Summoning: 1)

[Catalog] : Empty

[Trait Skill] : Designated Summoning / Random Summoning / Return Summoning

[Universal Skill] : Enter Tower (Once a day) / Tower-Exclusive Inventory

[Combat Skill] : None

"Sigh."

It was definitely an awakening.

Enter Tower meant exactly what it said.

Tower-Exclusive Inventory meant he could only store and retrieve items obtained from inside the tower.

But his trait was.......

'It's Summoning.'

Awakening bestowed a trait.

There were several different types.

[Fire Magic] [Ice Magic] [Lightning Magic] [Martial Arts] [Superhuman Strength] [Summoning] [Swordsmanship] [Spearmanship] [Archery] [Healing] and so on.

The Summoning trait was also quite famous.

There were spirit summoners, phantom beast summoners, golem summoners, demonic beast summoners, and so on.

What kind of summoner was he?

Should he try using a skill?

"Random... Summoning."

Why did nothing happen?

"Ah!"

He completely forgot.

There was no way a skill would activate in a place that wasn't the tower.

A player's level, traits, and skills were only valid online, meaning inside the tower.

Offline, on the outside, they were no different from ordinary civilians.

On the other hand, the system status window and messages could be viewed anytime and anywhere.

It was just like a game, which was why awakened individuals were called players.

Just like a person who was over level 100 in a game but was incredibly weak in reality.

No matter how many times he tried to use a skill right now, it wouldn't even activate.......

Right at that moment!

[Commencing Random Summoning.]

"Huh?"

Whoosh! Paf!

It seemed to be working?

'W-Why does this work?'

A skill had been cast outside the tower.

And along with a cluster of white light, something appeared.

He blinked his eyes and stared.

"A-A person?"

Is this real life?

It was an ordinary-looking Western man with auburn hair and a youthful appearance.

"That's right. I'm a person, sir."

"What in the......."

He actually succeeded in a summon.

He summoned a human outside the tower, where skill manifestation was supposed to be impossible.

"Sniff sniff, what is this smell... Oh! Ramen? Do you mind if I take a bite, sir?"

And it was someone asking for a bite on top of that.

* * *

Bong Joo-hyuk had complicated feelings.

Looking at him again, he was definitely a person.

Both in appearance and behavior.

Seeing him devour the ramen like a starving ghost right now proved it.

"Slurp, sss, slurp! Hah, it's been so long since I ate this, so it's spicy, sir."

Fried udon ramen is spicy?

"Do you normally eat spicy food, sir? I prefer mild flavors myself."

He asked for a bite and couldn't handle spicy food.

Slurp, slurp!

He was eating well despite complaining.

It was bizarre.

He had no idea at all.

Why did a summoning skill succeed outside the tower?

And a human at that?

Joo-hyuk checked his status window.

First was his trait.

Then a message popped up.

[Summons humans and demi-humans.]

[The summonable range covers R Rank (Rare) (Rare), SR Rank (Super Rare) (Super Rare), SSR Rank (Special Super Rare) (Special Super Rare), and LSSR (Legend Special Super Rare) (Legend Special Super Rare) Rank (Legend Special Super Rare).]

[The summoner and the summoned entity can communicate smoothly under any circumstances.]

From Rare to Legend Special Super Rare.

It wasn't like drawing random characters in a gacha game.

That wasn't all.

[The summoned entity adheres to the Three Principles.]

'Three Principles?'

[1. The summoned entity prioritizes the protection of the summoner's life above all else.]

[2. The summoned entity absolutely obeys the summoner's commands.]

[3. In the event of a conflict of interest between the first and second principles, the first principle is determined as the highest priority value.]

'Hmm.'

If so, what was the identity of that human drinking the broth straight from the pot, the summoned entity?

At that moment!

Ding!

Another status window opened.

It was the status window of the summoned entity, not himself.

〈Catalog: The Insane Assassin of the Cruel Assassination Guild〉

- Name : John Cossack

- Rank : SR (Super Rare)

- Type : Assassin (Human)

- Manifestation Duration : 6 hours

- Satisfaction Rating : None

- Resummon Cooldown : 3 hours (Applied after unsummoning)

As he stared quietly, a background story also appeared.

- John Cossack was a troublemaker within the Cruel Assassination Guild. In short, he was insane. However, his mission success rate was 99%, and he even achieved the astonishing feat of successfully assassinating a 5-circle dark mage. His end came with a single failure. He died miserably while attempting to assassinate the empire's strongest Sword Master.

At the same time, scenes flashed through his mind.

He could see his past like a movie.

It was brief but vivid.

John Cossack hiding his body in stealth to ambush from behind and cut off his target's head.

'Crazy!'

He was definitely an assassin.

He had not a single hesitation when killing a person.

He slashed and severed necks without holding back.

However.

'.......'

He thought he knew why people called him insane.

The sight of him tying a ribbon knot on the severed head of the person he had just killed.

'Was it supposed to be a gift?'

He decorated the severed head he had just chopped off with a pretty butterfly ribbon.

'...Or maybe he made it easier to carry by the ribbon.'

And then came his end.

His upper and lower body were sliced apart by the sword of a grizzled, white-haired knight.

Ultimately, John Cossack died.

'Are you telling me I summoned a dead ghost?'

His appearance was indistinguishable from a living person.

He decided to talk to him first.

"Mr. Cossack?"

"Yep!"

"Where did you come from?"

"I have no idea, sir. ...Anyway, it's a place with a ton of people, sir."

It was probably a place with a lot of ghosts, not people.

Heaven? Or Hell?

"Could you stand up for a moment?"

"Got it, sir."

The assassin John Cossack abruptly stood up.

He listened well.

Was it really absolute obedience?

"Once you're done eating the ramen, please clean up the pot and bowl. Wipe the table too."

"Yes, sir!"

He had no complaints whatsoever.

Just how far did the limits go?

"Mr. Cossack."

"Please speak, sir."

"Are you genuinely going to obey my words?"

"Unconditionally, sir!"

"Even if... I, I told you to pull down your pants?"

John Cossack, who was sitting and wiping the dining table with a tissue, suddenly stood up and said.

"I'll pull them down, sir."

He immediately took off his pants.

Sway, sway.

As expected of a Westerner.

It was quite large.

"...Please put them back on."

"Yes, sir!"

It seemed his summoner's command took priority over his sense of shame.

"Um, Mr. Cossack, do you know what the tower is?"

"Of course I know, sir! Do you plan on starting your climb up the tower, sir?"

"I haven't decided yet, but."

"Just give me the order anytime, sir. I will do my best to assist you, sir."

This was driving him crazy.

Why was this happening?

Right at that moment!

Bang, bang, bang, bang!

The sound of someone knocking on his studio apartment door rang out.

"Bong Joo-hyuk! You're inside, aren't you? Open the door quickly."

Damn it!

Someone had arrived.

Furthermore, he knew exactly who it was.

The debt collectors.

Come to think of it, he had completely forgotten about the interest payment date.

They were truly diligent, coming all the way here on a Sunday.

Yes, he had borrowed a little money.

A whopping ten million won.

He needed to get the money for his father's surgery after he slipped on ice and fractured his hip, his younger sibling's university tuition, and the deposit for his current studio apartment.

Ordinary financial institutions wouldn't lend him money, so he got it from a more accessible lending company.

He thought he just needed to work hard and pay it off quickly.

However, he had already paid over five million won in interest alone.

The principal amount remained the exact same.

He honestly knew it was a foolish thing to do.

But what could he do?

Even if he went back to that time, he would have made the same choice.

"Joo-hyuk! Let's just see your face. I just need to check if you're doing well!"

There was no helping it.

"Mr. Cossack."

"Just give me the order, sir. I will go cut that bastard's head off, sir."

This person was going to cause a massive incident.

"That's not what I meant. Stay perfectly still and hide over there where they can't see you. Keep your mouth shut tightly, and don't make a sound."

"...M-May I breathe, sir?"

"Yes."

"Phew, that's a relief, sir."

Joo-hyuk opened the door.

Three employees from the lending company entered the hallway.

"Bong Joo-hyuk, you look perfectly fine? Since the interest wasn't deposited, I thought you were sick or something."

"I'm not sick. I completely forgot. I'm sorry. I'll transfer it right now."

Joo-hyuk opened the banking app on his smartphone and sent the money.

"Good job. Anyway, you're not allowed to get sick without my permission either. You need to work hard and earn money."

"Yes, yes."

"If you're in a hurry, you could even detach and sell an organ. How about one of your kidneys? Should I connect you with a broker?"

Sigh, damn it!

Should he just go through with it?

He was even an awakened person now.

"What's up with that? That look in your eyes? You might even hit me if you stay like that."

"......."

"Be careful. If you don't want to die without anyone knowing."

Even a player was simply an ordinary civilian on the outside.

"...I will do my best to repay it. The principal as well."

"Hehe, you can take your time paying back the principal. Let's do well, alright?"

The debt collectors from the lending company closed the door with satisfied smiles and left.

"Sigh."

The world was a difficult place to live in.

Anyway.

"You truly stayed hidden quietly."

"You ordered me to do so, didn't you, sir."

"......."

Absolute obedience was indeed quite powerful.

Still, if those guys had posed an actual threat, he probably would have helped, right?

Exhaustion suddenly washed over him.

Awakening, human summoning, a visit from debt collectors.

His mind was a complex mess.

It was beyond his capacity to handle so many things rushing at him all at once.

He also had to make a decision.

Should he climb the tower, or try to live quietly as if nothing had happened?

A timid man like Joo-hyuk would normally choose the latter, but.......

It wasn't a problem he needed to determine right this instant.

He had to go to work tomorrow as well.

"What should I do now, sir?"

What should he do?

Should he send him back by unsummoning him?

"I'm not sure. What would you like to do? If you want to return, I can send you off......."

"Then, may I watch some TV, sir? It has been a long time since I've seen this as well."

He seemed to know what a TV was, much like the ramen.

Did these things exist when Cossack was alive?

Regardless, there was no reason to refuse.

"Yes, go ahead and watch."

Joo-hyuk turned on the TV with the remote.

"Thank you, sir! I'll watch a few dramas, sir."

He flopped down onto the mattress.

He was exhausted, truly exhausted.

His eyes closed themselves.

It was an undeniable fact that he had awakened anyway.

As for his remaining questions, he could just try casting the summoning skill again later.

Thinking itself was exhausting right now.

Bong Joo-hyuk immediately fell asleep.

Just how much time had passed?

A sound he heard in his sleep.

[John Cossack has been unsummoned.]

He left.

He should just go back to sleep.

* * *

Bong Joo-hyuk woke up from his mattress at the sound of his alarm.

It was early morning.

'Was Mr. Cossack unsummoned?'

He wasn't seen anywhere.

The TV was still turned on.

He should wash up and brush his teeth.

Right at that moment!

The morning news flowing out from the TV.

- Last night, a grotesque murder occurred at the office of Smile Cash, an illegal private lending company. Three people died, all discovered with their severed heads. The shocking truth is that the severed heads of the deceased were decorated into the shape of red ribbon butterfly knots.......

Pause!

Bong Joo-hyuk stopped brushing his teeth and hurriedly approached the front of the TV.

Smile Cash was the lending company he borrowed money from.

But a murder?

'What is this? Did I mishear?'

Ribbon.

And a butterfly knot.

'Don't tell me?'