Chapter 15 - Chapter 15

Chapter 15

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Translated by Jinmu

Read more at hivetoons.org

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He had an introverted personality ever since he was a child.

It was like that in daycare too.

Daycare was also a wild jungle, a world where the strong preyed on the weak.

If a stronger child snatched away a toy he was playing with, he would just quietly watch.

He could just play with a different toy, after all.

It was the same during elementary school.

It got slightly worse.

Poverty was the problem.

Shabby clothes, worn-out shoes, a tattered bag... plus the rumor that he lived in the oldest, most dilapidated villa in the neighborhood.

Back then, terms like "villa beggar" or "rental beggar" were prevalent among elementary school students.

There were hardly any kids who wanted to be his seatmate.

He was a loner in middle school too.

Since it was during puberty, his timid personality became even more severe.

Well, it wasn't particularly uncomfortable though.

Because he had no desire to intentionally make friends anyway.

This atmosphere continued into high school as well.

He ate school lunches alone too.

Being ostracized came equipped as a default.

In short, the life of an outsider.

He was afraid of the very act of trying to change something.

If only he persevered and let things slide... living like that was sufficient.

He had chosen the easy path.

Smoothly, without causing any incidents or accidents, living a slender but long life.

However, after his awakening.

A crisis arrived in Joo-hyuk's life.

To face those terrifying tower monsters head-on?

He was even going to fight them?

He, who couldn't even make eye contact with school bullies?

It was something he couldn't even have imagined.

A great upheaval shaking the direction of his life.

To think such a day would come.

Monsters were not humans.

They couldn't even speak, could they?

There was no fear deriving from relationships.

They were no different from game quest mobs.

Merely targets to be utterly crushed to receive rewards.

Swat! Swawawat!

Currently, the most prominent figure on the 20th floor battlefield at this moment was Joo-hyuk.

Craaack!

Goblins having their skulls crushed by the Adamant mace he wielded.

However, the problem was they wouldn't die in one hit because he lacked weapon skills.

It didn't matter.

If they didn't die after getting hit once, he just had to hit them one more time.

Craaack! Swat! Smash!

Cossack had said it.

That courageous summoners die quickly.

It was correct.

Wasn't there a proverb that said, 'The nail that sticks out gets hammered down.'

He wanted to stop too.

He should return to his original mindset and live cautiously.

Safety first, thorough self-preservation.

How had he lived his life all this time?

Could it change overnight like this?

However, he could not stop, at least for this moment.

The satisfaction he could solely feel when a skill landed properly.

The thrilling sensation transmitted to his hands when crushing a goblin's skull.

The kill count rose terrifyingly fast.

Cossack didn't stay still either.

To the Barbarian Warrior.

"Gobang! Protect Summoner Bong, sir. And if that Hobgoblin bastard appears, that guy is the first priority."

"Got it. Will absolutely protect summoner. Kill Hobgoblin."

With that, Cossack also stuck closely to Joo-hyuk.

It was a chaotic melee situation.

They didn't know where a blind attack might fly in from.

Although Shadow Step was playing its role effectively, it couldn't evade every single attack.

If it hadn't been for the Energy Shield, he would have been struck by several poison darts.

Ting-ting-ting, ting-ting!

He was relieved for now because he had the shield.

However, as it blocked attacks flying in from the front, back, left, and right, the shield's thickness was gradually wearing thin.

'But it's still immune to anything around the 20th floor.'

The problem was the shamans' curses.

They absolutely had to block those.

Whenever a shaman entered Cossack's field of vision, he would eliminate that guy first.

'Are we still far from 100?'

It felt like they had killed enough.......

It was then.

"Kuwaaaaaaang!"

A roar shaking the battlefield.

The boss of the goblins.

'It's here.'

The tall idol of the goblins who were sad because of their short legs, their ultimate evolutionary tech tree.

The Hobgoblin had finally revealed its figure on the 20th floor battlefield.

It was time to end it.

"Gobang!!"

Barbarian Gobang answered.

"Kueeeeeeeek!!"

Thump, thump, thump, thump.......

Barbarian Warrior Gobang charging madly towards the Hobgoblin.

Cossack also cast Shadow Walker, Shadow Step, to its extreme.

Joo-hyuk tried to move as well, but.......

Kaaaaa-boom!

Gobang's massive fist landed squarely on the Hobgoblin's crown.

A sound resembling an exploding bomb.

"Kekhk!"

Simultaneously, Cossack's sharp dagger pierced through the Hobgoblin's eye and scrambled the bastard's brain.

Stab! St-st-stab!

The Hobgoblin expiring the moment it appeared.

The cooperative attack of the Barbarian Warrior and the Assassin.

Even a Twin-Headed Ogre wouldn't be able to withstand it if done like this.

Much less a mere Hobgoblin?

[All types of goblins 100/100, Hobgoblin 1/1]

[You have succeeded in the 20th Floor Mission.]

[Your Level has increased.]

[Reward : 2kg of Mana Stones]

[Reward : Tower-Exclusive Healing Potion (5)]

'Dammit, I was one step too late.'

Cossack smiling with satisfaction.

"Hehehe, excellent work, sir."

Though he was acting cheeky.

"You both worked hard. Thank you truly for protecting me."

"Loyalty!"

"Protect. Summoner."

[Notice : You have achieved the clear rank S++ for the 20th floor of the Black Tower (South Korea).]

[S++ Clear Reward : A Platinum Badge is awarded.]

Another S++ record this time as well.

Which made 20 Platinum Badges.

He wondered what the privilege would be?

"I hope a Trait Enhancement appears again, sir."

"Is that so?"

"Yes, sir! Do a random summon, pull at least an SSR rank, and we'll proceed leading a party of 3, sir. It will become even safer, sir. Just thinking about it puts me in a good mood, sir."

"...Hmm."

Would anything be better if that actually came out?

[You can challenge the 21st Floor.]

[Exiting the South Korea Black Tower.]

* * *

At that time, subtitles appeared at the bottom of every TV channel.

Since it was a matter people were exceedingly eager to know about, it immediately appeared as terrestrial breaking news the moment the server-wide notice was confirmed.

Then it would spread nationally, no, globally.

The Management Agency also wished to avoid such a situation, but how could they silence the mouths of thousands of players capable of hearing the notice.

Consequently, Director Park Kyung-soo's worries deepened.

"Sigh, a 20 consecutive floor record is great, but... it'll be troublesome if too much attention is focused on him."

"Indeed. We cannot enforce a media blackout either."

"We mustn't! They might catch on that we know the identity of the record holder."

He was fraught with worries.

On top of that, the item robbery incident occurred recently as well.

There was no guarantee such an incident wouldn't happen again.

"How did... have you looked into Player Bong's family's situation?"

"I cautiously enquired around."

Team Leader Jeon Kwang-il placed a thick file folder on the desk.

"This person is Player Bong's father, Mr. Bong Soo-chul. He suffered a hip fracture from a slipping accident on an icy road a few months ago, and is currently undergoing rehabilitation after surgery."

"Oh dear, bones don't heal well when you get older."

"Yes, so he still has difficulty moving around and rarely leaves the house."

"What is a method we can use to provide support?"

"How about introducing him to the rehabilitation center at the nation's top hospital? Free of charge, naturally."

"Good! Proceed with it."

Next was Player Bong's brother.

"His younger brother. His name is Bong Min-hyuk, currently a college freshman. He's scheduled to enlist in the military soon."

"That's well-timed. Providing him with a scholarship benefit would be simple."

"Correct."

Lastly.

"This is Player Bong's mother, Madam Hong Geum-ja."

"What does she do?"

"She worked as a coordinator for a water purifier company but is currently unemployed."

"Hmm, did she quit voluntarily? Or......."

"It appears her contract was forcibly terminated by the company after a conflict with a demanding customer exhibiting abusive power dynamics."

"Oh my!"

Jeon Kwang-il spoke in a hushed tone.

"The person we must pay the most attention to is Madam Hong Geum-ja."

"Huh? The reason?"

"She has the strongest voice in the family. She possesses a fierce personality, so her husband and sons can't even squeak around her."

"Oh! Is that so?"

But there was a problem as well.

If she had a fierce personality.......

"Approaching her too forcefully might result in the opposite effect."

"I am well aware. We must be careful."

"Have you formulated a plan?"

"Yes."

"Then execute it. Because we will spare no support whatsoever."

The Awakening Management Agency dealing with players.

They possessed a broader scope of authority they could exercise than any other national organization.

Especially if it involved Elite players.

If a direct approach wasn't effective, they would detour.

And, by doing so, secure the Elite contract.

* * *

Knock, knock, knock.

The sound of someone knocking on Joo-hyuk's front door.

Cossack and Gobang's eyes glinted.

"A d-delivery has arrived, sir. I smell it, sir."

"Delivery."

"Shush! Go over there and hide so you can't be seen."

Joo-hyuk opened the front door and stepped out.

This time, instead of using a delivery app, he placed an order directly with a local Chinese restaurant.

Because the quantity he had to order was substantial.

"12 servings of sweet and sour pork, 12 bowls of jajangmyeon, is that correct?"

"Y-Yes, it's correct."

"You ordered quite a lot. Are you having a feast today?"

"Uh, yes, yes."

"I figured you might be, so I threw in 1 serving of fried dumplings as a free service."

Wasn't 1 serving of fried dumplings as a free service too stingy?

"...You didn't have to."

"Hahaha, please enjoy your meal and order from us again. You know, right? That our Shinsinru is the most delicious among the Chinese restaurants in the vicinity."

He had never heard such a thing.

He received the food, set it down, and checked but.

'No... coupons?'

There wasn't a single one.

What the. This!

He couldn't ask what happened either.

Because having putting up with it and letting it slide whenever a grievance arose was how he lived his life up until now.

Actually, it would be a problem even if he had coupons.

He hadn't used them even a single time.

It was incredibly difficult for him to make a phone call to say he would order using coupons.

So his drawers were full of various unused coupons.

Well, he wasn't going to use them anyway.

...No, he couldn't use them.

It was a truly amusing state of affairs.

A macho man who crushed monsters in the tower.

A neurotic coward who couldn't even claim his rightful rights in reality.

"Snnnf! The smell of jajang, it is marvelous, sir. Gobang, you have never eaten this, right?"

"Slurp!"

Saliva cascaded down Barbarian Gobang's mouth like a waterfall.

"Here, please eat first. I have something to check."

As if they had been waiting, the two hastily removed the packaging.

Now! The anticipated moment had arrived.

Joo-hyuk checked the sparkling Platinum Badges in his tower-exclusive inventory.

[A privilege is awarded for accumulating 20 Platinum Badges.]

'What will it be?'

[Privilege : A Random Box is awarded.]

'Eh?'

The privilege is... a Random Box?

What exactly was it?

Feature : 3 items attainable from the tower are randomly generated.

Types : Mana Stones, roughly 10 types of indigenous tower herbs, 3 types of tower metals, over 50 types of tower monster leathers... Potions, Elixirs, Weapon Items, Armor Items, Accessory Items... Combat Skills, Level-Up Rune (up to 5LV), Tower Jumping Ticket (up to 5LV, 5 Floors), Skill Cooldown Reset Ticket, Trait Enhancement Rune, Summoned Entity Rank Ascension Rune, Multinational Tower Access Ticket, Guaranteed Rank Summoning Ticket (One of SR, SSR, LSSR (Legend Special Super Rare) (Legend Special Super Rare)).

'Why is there so many?'

Mana Stones, herbs, or metals were undesirable.

The same went for weapons or armor.

'Level-Up Rune' only increased the level regardless of the climbing floor.

'Tower Jumping Ticket' allowed skipping climbing floors while simultaneously increasing the level, but who would want that?

The Level-Up Rune was vastly superior.

'Multinational Tower Access Ticket' presumably granted access to clear other countries' towers.

The best among them was probably that one.

'Guaranteed Rank Summoning Ticket (One of SR, SSR, LSSR (Legend Special Super Rare) (Legend Special Super Rare)).'

What if an LSSR (Legend Special Super Rare) (Legend Special Super Rare) Guaranteed Ticket appeared?

He could essentially climb the tower lying down.

Let's hope for something realistic.

Accessory Items, Elixirs, Combat Skills, Skill Cooldown Reset Ticket, Trait Enhancement Rune, Summoned Entity Rank Ascension Rune.

'It said 3 items would come out, right? Maybe there's a possibility.'

Joo-hyuk opened the box.

Open!

Ding!

[10kg of Mana Stones have been awarded.]

'...Dammit.'

Still, he earned 5 million won.

The second one?

[Skill : Hunwon Thunderclap Staff Acquired.]

[Hunwon Thunderclap Staff has been registered in the Status Window.]

"Oh!"

This was fantastic.

The final one?

[A Summoned Entity Rank Ascension Rune has been awarded.]

'...Jackpot.'

He was intending to unleash a barrage of curses if he received a bunch of useless items.

A Summoned Entity Rank Ascension Rune.

Did it even need explaining?

The problem was.

Should it be Gobang?

Or Cossack?

Ay, there's no need to agonize over it.

Considering the number of meals they shared together.

It had to be Cossack.

'...Wait, didn't Mr. Gobang eat more meals?'

Anyway, since Gobang was with them right now, he should summon him alone later to give it.

Because Mr. Gobang might get upset.

Then what about the skill?

It was a rather Wuxia-esque skill name.

Skill : Hunwon Thunderclap Staff

Description : Infuses the power of a thunderbolt into a blunt weapon. It consists of 3 forms in total and is of the growth type.

This was excellent.

A skill he precisely needed.

Moreover, it was a growth type.

[The 1st Form of the Hunwon Thunderclap Staff, 'Thunder Falling Pursuing Soul', has been unlocked.]

Instantly, the method to utilize the form unfolded within Joo-hyuk's mind.

'Shall I try it?'

Taking the mace out of his tower-exclusive inventory, he swung it from top to bottom, but.......

"Pfft."

Let alone a thunderbolt, it didn't even make a whooshing sound.

Because the application of skills and levels was blocked outside.

When he didn't even possess any mana.

He had no complaints.

If players could wield power in reality just like inside the tower, the world would turn into a total mess.

A world where bastards like Choi Ho-seok would run rampant.

'Let's try using it inside the tower.'

Cossack widened his eyes at Joo-hyuk suddenly swinging his mace out of nowhere.

"Summoner Bong, sir, why are you suddenly swinging your mace, sir?"

"Ah! I received a skill as a privilege."

"...I-Is it perhaps an offensive skill, sir?"

"Yes, it's called the Hunwon Thunderclap Staff, they say it's a growth type."

"Oh my."

Cossack grew restless.

It was inevitable.

An offensive skill, the Hunwon Thunderclap Staff.

He knew just by looking at Summoner Bong's face.

An expression eager to use the skill.

He would charge forward towards the monsters.

Then he'd be in more danger.

'Sigh.......'

Why couldn't he have been given a defensive or escape-oriented skill instead?

Cossack's worries only deepened.