Chapter 4 - Chapter 4

Chapter 4

===================

Translated by Jinmu

Read more at hivetoons.org

===================

The next morning.

While leaving his house for his daytime convenience store part-time job, Joo-hyuk spoke on the phone with his father.

"Father, are you doing your rehabilitation diligently? Did your hip bone heal strongly?"

- As if it would heal easily. I spend half the day lying down. Why did you call? It's not like your house is far away, you should have just visited in person.

"I'm a little busy. Let's eat out together next time."

His family home was also in Seoul.

Two rooms, a kitchen, and one bathroom.

Joo-hyuk started living independently because the house was cramped.

There were two grown sons.

The brothers shared a room when they were young, but as they grew up, it was incredibly uncomfortable.

- Everything is fine, right?

"What could possibly happen? The problem is that I have no money. Sigh, it would be great if I awakened at a time like this."

Since he casually threw out a feeler.

- What would you do if you awakened? There's no way that 0.01% chance would find you, but even if it did... you wouldn't do it anyway!

"Pardon?"

- How could you enter a tower? You take exactly after me.

"......."

His father was concluding that Joo-hyuk wouldn't operate as a player.

It wasn't an incorrect judgment.

They knew each other better than anyone else.

"Well, you're not wrong, but."

- Stop having useless delusions and come home sometime soon. So I can see your face.

The reason Bong Joo-hyuk had the mindset of an ordinary citizen, a timid man, and prioritized safety above all else was somewhat of a family trait (?).

What about the other guy who inherited the exact same genes?

He called his younger brother, Bong Min-hyuk.

"...Anyway Min-hyuk, if you awakened, would you enter the tower?"

- Are you crazy? I'd absolutely never enter. I'm just going to spend the three months quietly and then give up?

"As I expected. You timid bastard."

- What about you, hyung? You're a timid man yourself.

"This punk?"

Then again, where would the paternal genes go.

- Anyway, just hold on a little longer. I'll graduate quickly and raise our family, and pay back the debt I owe you too, hyung.

"...You're certainly good with your words."

- I'm sorry. And thank you.

"Yeah, just study hard."

He also called his mom.

"Mom."

- Yeah, son, what is it?

"Is everything peaceful?"

- Yes. I'm doing well. Except I got fired from my company yesterday.

Huh?

"That doesn't sound like you're doing well... But why?"

- It was because of a nuisance customer bastard. He said he'd give me a good satisfaction rating if I cleaned up all the trash in his house, even the food waste. How could I stay still? Bam! I just rammed into him. That's why I got fired.

"Ahhh......."

- Don't worry. I'll find another job soon. Don't worry about us and just live a good life. And don't even think about sending money again.

His mom was reckless and brave.

A personality that couldn't stand it when she saw injustice.

That was why his father fell head over heels for her.

It was to the point where his father's greatest lifetime achievement was asking his mom out on a date.

'Hmm.'

His pride was hurt.

The shabbiness of his paternal genes.

'...Mom's genes must be mixed in me too. Yup! Absolutely.'

He was certain.

That was why he even entered the tower.

'Anyway, I should keep climbing.'

Coincidentally, his mom got fired from her job, so his family's source of income was blocked as well.

From what he had heard, the 1st to 5th floors were extremely easy.

'They said the mortality rate was 0%.'

A kind of tutorial, a practice game.

'I'll go up to the 5th floor and then.......'

If it was alright, he would keep going.

If not, he'd stop.

* * *

A convenience store part-time job during the day, working at a charcoal barbecue restaurant at night, and returning home to clear the tower with John Cossack.

This was the daily planner Joo-hyuk established.

The success of his plan depended on Cossack.

Therefore, he always had to be grateful.

His star ratings were always a perfect 5 stars as well.

"Loyal! I-I don't know what to do with myself, sir. To think you'd give such an inadequate person like me 5 points, sir."

"If I could give you 10 points, I would."

"Hehe, I am glad you are satisfied, sir."

"What should I do on the 2nd floor......."

"Do, sir? There won't even be any time for that, sir. It's a three-minute clear, sir."

"Hahaha, that's great."

"Hehehe, it is great, sir."

Now, then, before they started.

"Can I ask you a few things?"

"Oh my! Ask as much as you'd like, sir."

"I heard it when we first met, but you said you came from a place with a lot of people, right?"

"That is correct, sir. There is a large space, and we wait inside it, sir."

"Roughly how many?"

"Whoo, there's a lot, sir. There seems to be roughly over three hundred people, sir."

Over three hundred summonable gacha(?) characters.

That was a lot.

Though their ranks would all be different.

"If you want to go outside from there.......?"

"We go out if we receive a call, sir. Then we manifest with our physical bodies like this, sir."

The call must have meant summoning.

"But why the satisfaction rating?"

"The better the rating, the more various benefits we receive, sir. For example, manifest duration, rank promotion, or the opportunities to receive calls increasing, which goes without saying, sir."

"Aha!"

He would figure out the details slowly.

Let's enter the tower.

The important thing was safety first.

The greedier you became, the shorter your lifespan.

[Entering the 2nd floor of the South Korea Black Tower.]

The mission?

[2nd Floor Mission : Eliminate 10 Crafty Fatty Maggots.]

[Completion Time Limit : Within 2 hours.]

[Completion Condition : Crafty Fatty Maggots 0/10]

[Failure Condition : Death or Mission Abandonment]

This time it was swift maggots.

"I will finish this quickly and escort you home, sir."

"Should we eat some fried chicken today? Some beer too......."

"Thank you, sir."

Splash! Thunk! Boom! Splash! Thunk! Boom! Splash! Thunk! Boom.......

[You have succeeded in the 2nd Floor Mission.]

[Your level has increased.]

[Reward : 200g of Mana Stone]

[Notice : You have achieved the clear rank S++ for the 2nd floor of the Black Tower (South Korea).]

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

'This is crazy, truly crazy.'

Entering meant an S++.

Wait, is it okay for it to be this easy?

It was way too fast.

'I could probably go in and come out before going to my part-time job in the morning.'

Since tower re-entry wasn't based on 24 hours but operated on a daily basis like regular gaming quests.

And so, the next morning.

[3rd Floor Mission : Eliminate 10 Ice Cold Fatty Maggots.]

[Your level has increased.]

[Reward : 300g of Mana Stone]

[Notice : You have achieved the clear rank S++ for the 3rd floor of the Black Tower (South Korea).]

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

The 4th and 5th floors were exactly the same.

The Mana Stone rewards were 400g and 500g.

He also continued to receive Platinum Badges.

A total of five badges lined up neatly in a corner of his inventory.

'Just where in the world is this used.......'

In that instant!

[You have collected 5 S++ Rank Platinum Badges.]

It popped up.

'Is there something?'

[A special privilege is granted for accumulating 5 Platinum Badges.]

[Privilege : Awakening Trait Enhancement.]

"Oh!"

Trait enhancement.

"Status window."

[Name] : Bong Joo-hyuk

[Affiliation] : Black Tower (South Korea)

[Level] : 6 LV

[Trait] : Summoning (Simultaneous Summoning: 2)

[Catalog] : John Cossack

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

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

[Combat Skill] : None

It stood out clearly.

Simultaneous Summoning 2.

'Does this mean I can carry around one more person?'

To think breaking records would be this good.

He would be even safer now.

Even though John Cossack completely dominated all by himself right now.

'If I use Random Summoning, one more person.... Ah, right.'

The cooldown, reusable waiting time.

He still had over 20 days left to use Random Summoning again.

'I should wait until then and call another one so the three of us......."

No wait.

'I won't participate in combat, so it'll just be the two of them.'

This was an absolute honey pot.

He should take it easy from now on.

Until the Random Summoning cooldown was over.

He was climbing tomorrow as well.

Let's not hesitate and go up.

To the 6th floor.

* * *

Hannam-dong, Seoul, South Korea.

The Tower Player Awakening Management Agency.

Director Park Kyung-soo was sweating profusely from his hands with a nervous heart as he waited for the tower's server-wide notice message.

When would it ring today?

Morning, afternoon? Evening? Or late night?

Although the timing varied, it was definitely the same person.

Because they were climbing in order.

A server-wide message, meaning a notice.

Only players affiliated with that respective tower could hear it.

That was why a multitude of players had gathered in the office.

After a brief moment passed.

"Gasp!"

"...My word!"

"Again?"

Director Park Kyung-soo asked urgently.

"D-Did the notice pop up?"

"Yes, it's an S++ Rank clear on the 6th floor of the Black Tower (South Korea)."

"Haha......."

An S++ Rank clear notice popping up for six consecutive days.

Just who could it be?

'It's definitely someone who recently awakened.'

Ranks were only calculated correctly if a player at the appropriate level for the floor cleared it.

Meaning, only a level 6 player could set a record on the 6th floor.

'The highest record we know of right now is an A Rank, but,'

This was the first time they learned there was something above it.

And that a server-wide notice popped up if it was S++.

Just who in the world could it be?

An owner of tremendous talent.

If the 7th floor, 8th floor, 9th floor, 10th floor, and all future cleared floors were S++ Rank.......

They definitely had to find them.

They had to find them and manage them with special care.

With one wrong step, they could be snatched away by another country.

What happens if they get taken away?

If you change your nationality, your tower affiliation changes.

For example.

If a player whose [Affiliation] was Black Tower (South Korea) moved to Japan and changed their nationality, it would become [Affiliation]: Black Tower (Japan). Just like that.

'...Absolutely not!'

It was an occurrence he didn't even want to imagine.

'We need to start by gagging the South Korean affiliated players.'

He wasn't sure if it would work well, but still.

'I hope they call us soon.'

In order to properly operate as a player, you had to register with the Management Agency.

They would probably call soon.

* * *

The tower climbing proceeded smoothly without a hitch.

"Today is the 8th floor, right?"

"Yes, sir!"

The 1st to 5th floors were the tutorial, and the 6th to 10th floors were the section where you took off your beginner tag.

"Let's do well. I should slowly join......."

"No, sir! We don't do it together; I will do it alone, sir!"

"Umm, but if you run into a dangerous situation, Mr. Cossack......."

"Oh my, that shouldn't happen, but if it does, please just curse at me from behind, sir. It would be because I'm stupid, sir."

He didn't know if this was okay.

Yesterday was the 7th floor.

The mission was to break through a horde of monsters and pull out a flag located on a high hill.

It was far too simple.

The monsters couldn't handle Cossack's lightning-fast speed.

As expected of an S++ Rank and a Platinum Badge.

What about the 8th floor?

When they entered the tower.

[Mission : Eliminate 10 Red Thorn Frog Warriors.]

Swamp terrain where your feet sank deeply.

And frog warriors.

Even though their size was small, they were terrifying.

Unlike the maggots or larvae they had faced until now, they possessed mouths and long tongues.

Fortunately, they didn't have teeth, but.......

In truth, they didn't even have a chance to observe them closely.

Papapat!

John Cossack took zigzag steps as he sprinted at a terrifying speed.

Swish!

Whoosh!

The tongue of a Red Thorn Frog Warrior flew towards Cossack.

Slash!

The long tongue was severed in the middle.

Vwooom!

Cossack's dagger lengthened due to Sword Aura.

Slash! Slaslash! Slaslashlash!

Chunks of frog flesh fluttered wildly in all directions.

Those bastards couldn't handle John Cossack's Sword Aura.

Stabstabstab! Stabstabstabstab!

"Gyagul, gyaagul......."

Squirt!

Flop!

[You have succeeded in the 8th Floor Mission.]

[Your level has increased.]

Since he cleared the 8th floor, he was level 9.

[Notice : You have achieved the clear rank S++ for the 8th floor of the Black Tower (South Korea).]

[Reward : A Platinum Badge is awarded as a reward for the S++ Rank record.]

[Reward : 800g of Mana Stone]

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

Spat!

He was back in Joo-hyuk's studio apartment.

"Excellent work today as well, sir!"

"I didn't do anything, what do you mean excellent work."

"Entering the tower itself is the hardest job, sir. Once you enter the tower, I will do everything, sir."

Taking the effort basically meant just entering the tower.

"Anyway, it is easy. Since it ends so quickly like this."

Of course, it wasn't him doing it but Cossack.

"Even so, you must not let your guard down, sir. The higher you go, the harder it will gradually become, sir. Especially starting from the late 10th floors, you cannot estimate them easily, sir."

He was right.

He absolutely could not let his guard down.

Joo-hyuk knew this well too.

Was it because he was strong?

It was thanks to Cossack's abilities.

People needed to know their place.

That was how you lived a long, long life.

In any case, today was an under three-minute clear too.

Should he give Cossack a gift since he worked hard?

He pulled out 50,000 won from his wallet.

"Since there's still a lot of time left, go outside and play before you return. Eat some delicious food, just make sure you don't cause any accidents."

"I cannot, sir!"

"Why not?"

"I cannot leave Summoner Bong's side, sir. I will just watch TV at home, sir."

"Hmm."

The principle of absolute obedience didn't apply to this either.

It was probably because of the 1st principle.

The one dictating him to prioritize the summoner's life above all else.

"Shall we order some fried chicken?"

"Ooooh! That sounds great, sir!"

He opened a delivery app and ordered a fried chicken.

'Let's look at the rewards.'

First, the new reward, the Tower-Exclusive Healing Potion.

Just as the name suggested, it was exclusive to the tower.

He couldn't use it in reality, and he himself had no reason to use it anyway.

'I can just give it to Mr. Cossack.'

By the way, what should he do with these Mana Stones?

The total accumulated amount up to now was 3.6kg.

Even so, it was just a handful.

They were rocks, but they were dense, so their volume was small compared to their weight.

'I made 1.8 million won.'

That was if he sold them.

What good were they if he just kept them stored in his inventory?

He needed to monetize them.

However, selling Mana Stones.

This was a problem he really needed to think hard about.

In fact, a task far more difficult than climbing the tower awaited Joo-hyuk.