Chapter 49 - Chapter 49

Chapter 49

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Translated by Jinmu

Read more at hivetoons.org

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The moment Rajix stepped into the 46th floor, he sniffed the air.

A thick metallic scent.

No doubt about it.

There was ore here.

The location was over there, at the large boulder.

'Ho-e-e!'

If I mine ore and bring it to the Summoner, he'll be delighted, won't he?

Then I'll be recognized again.

When we first met, I thought I was going to be driven away.

Even now, just thinking about that time makes me feel like I might faint.

He had worked hard, determined never to be driven away again.

Thanks to that, he managed to secure a place for himself.

And as time went on, this place became more and more dear to him.

The Summoner in particular.

Even when he didn't fill his backpack all the way, he smiled. He removed the competition, and let him eat delicious carrots to his heart's content.

Carrots.

Just thinking about it made his mouth water.

Among carrots from countless worlds, the carrots in this world were the best.

And that wasn't all.

The Summoner and the companions always called his name properly.

Not 'hey,' 'you,' 'Lajiks,' 'jiks,' 'jik-jik'... but 'Mr. Rajix.'

He loved it so much.

That he could be a worker who was respected.

Rajix, who had become someone who could no longer leave this place.

It was his life's goal to be with the Summoner and companions for a long, long time.

But a problem had arisen.

Word was that the leather he had stripped all this time wasn't making money?

And because of that, the Basilisk hunting had been suspended as well.

This was serious.

The leather was useless.

His heart grew anxious.

He thought he had fully secured his place.

But that had been a mistake.

Even the right to eat carrots was at risk of being revoked.

In that case?

He had to provide something else.

Fortunately, he had found the answer on the 46th floor.

Metal was a precious commodity in any world.

Surely it would be no different here.

The Summoner would praise him again, wouldn't he?

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

He followed the metallic scent and struck the rock.

Rock fragments scattered in all directions.

Tap-tap-tap, thud-thud!

Meanwhile.

Joo-hyuk just watched without a word.

The sight of a round, plump furball swinging a pickaxe was quite the extraordinary spectacle.

Rock fragments bouncing off the hard hat Rajix was wearing.

Ah, so that's why he always wore the hat.

Not to look cute.

Right, safety was important above all else.

[46th-floor mission succeeded.]

"Hm?"

"Ho-eng?"

[Announcement: You have achieved an S++ clear grade on the 46th floor of the South Korea (South Korean) Black Tower.]

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

[You may challenge the 47th floor.]

[You are exiting the South Korea (South Korean) Black Tower.]

'When did it even end?'

He'd gotten so caught up watching that he'd lost track of time.

Swoosh!

Joo-hyuk and the summoned entities returned to the spacious penthouse living room.

"Ho-e-eng..."

Rajix looked like he was about to cry.

The reason was obvious.

"You couldn't fill your backpack again?"

"No, and I couldn't strip the exoskeleton either."

He was looking down, averting his eyes from Joo-hyuk, pulling off his backpack and taking out the ore.

There seemed to be about five lumps.

"I'm sorry."

"..."

"If we go in once more, I'll work hard. I'll fill the backpack all the way."

His heart suddenly felt tender.

A sense of shared kinship too.

The other summoned entities also seemed to catch the mood and said nothing.

"No. Let's call it for today and rest. Don't clean either."

At Joo-hyuk's words, Rajix's eyes went wide as if shocked, and he said in a tearful voice.

"...Am I not, needed?"

What are you talking about?

"Who said you're not needed?"

Cossack, Gobang, and Gyeon Dal-rae all quickly chimed in.

"Who would say a worker who even does mining is not needed, sir? I'd sooner leave myself, sir."

"That's right. Mr. Cossack is unnecessary at best, but if Lord Rajix is not here, this great household will someday fall."

"The warrior respects Rajix. He must stay here. If Rajix were to disappear, it would make the warrior sad. The assassin could disappear this very moment and no one would feel a thing."

"Wa, wait, I didn't mean it that way..."

With the encouragement from the other companions, Rajix's expression brightened considerably.

"You heard? Mr. Rajix, you are the most needed person of all."

Rajix's fur practically bristled with joy.

"Ho-eng!"

He puffed out breaths from his nostrils and, placing both hands on his hips, formed his signature expression of overflowing confidence.

Good gracious, he's so cute. So cute.

"Why don't we rest and eat some carrots? We got a whole load of organic ones, they're piled up in the refrigerator vegetable drawer."

But Rajix shook his head from side to side.

"I don't want carrots."

"Then what would you like to do?"

"I want to go in once more. I want to fill the backpack."

"You can rest, I'm saying..."

"Is that not allowed?"

"Well..."

What, does he have the spirit of an ancestor who died from overwork haunting him?

Gyeon Dal-rae quietly approached and whispered.

"Young Master, please do as he wishes. Lord Rajix is a servant to his very bones."

"..."

Can't help it.

"Alright, let's go in one more time. Go there and fill the backpack all the way."

"Ho-eng!"

And so, the 46th-floor repeat clear.

This time again, he stood beside Rajix and watched him work.

Cossack, Gobang, and Gyeon Dal-rae, rather than killing the scorpions, spent their time luring them here and there to buy time so Rajix could work without interruption.

Clang-clang-clang-clang!

Breaking apart rocks, ore mixed with glinting metal would catch on the pickaxe and come out.

He'd pick it up and into the backpack it went.

How tiring it must be.

Breaking rocks and picking up ore.

He was essentially doing two tasks by himself.

"I'll pick up the ore for you."

"Ho-e? No. It's tiring."

"It makes me feel better if I can do at least this much."

"Ho-eng..."

Rajix didn't know what to do, but if that's what the Summoner wished, he had to comply.

The method of putting ore in the backpack was simple.

Just hold it near the backpack's opening and the ore would slide in automatically.

It kept going in.

The ore must be quite heavy.

Clang-clang-clang-clang!

Rajix focused solely on mining ore.

Whether the terrifying scorpions came or not, it didn't matter.

He was willing to die mining ore if it made the Summoner happy.

Meanwhile, Joo-hyuk could only worry about Rajix.

'He works too hard.'

He'd get sick at this rate.

Joo-hyuk kept picking up and picking up the ore Rajix mined and putting it in the backpack.

He had no choice.

If not him, who would help Rajix?

And then.

Thump!

An ore lump stopped at the backpack's opening and wouldn't go in any further.

Done?

The pack was finally full.

For some reason, Joo-hyuk's expression was even more pleased.

"Yes! Done. Done! Let's go home and rest. What are you doing? Let's clear and get out quickly."

The other summoned entities had been waiting.

"Yes, sir! Our turn, sir. Leave it to us, sir."

"I'll finish it fast."

"I'll shake my bells, so Cossack and Gobang better earn their keep."

"Please do it in a fast gayageum rhythm, Princess, sir."

(T/N: The gayageum is a traditional Korean string instrument. The "휘모리" rhythm is the fastest pace in traditional music. Cossack is requesting a very upbeat rhythm.)

Rajix's expression was so bright.

Could working really be that enjoyable?

"He-e."

"Oh my, look at that sweat. Just look."

"He-e-e."

Well, as long as he was happy. Whether he worked or played.

It would be good to continue like this for now.

Helping Rajix along.

The mission was complete too.

Swoosh!

They exited the tower.

The ore pulled from the backpack.

About 70 or more pieces of varying sizes.

The volume was much smaller than the leather.

Rajix's backpack seemed to measure capacity by weight rather than by volume, unlike a player's inventory.

The ore lumps might be small, but with metal mixed in, each one was considerably heavy.

'What kind of metal is all this?'

Looking closely, each was a different color.

The material mixed into the rock had pitch-black metallic qualities that looked like adamantite, the silver appeared to be orichalcum, and the yellow was sectorium.

'Anyway, they all come out at once.'

Among them, the adamantite seemed the most plentiful.

The mined ore would be stored in the spare room.

The amount was still small.

Better to stockpile and hand everything over at once.

But there was also something to be said about not working them every single day.

Why not just climb the tower instead.

Up to the 49th floor.

Then the first clears could be used to give Rajix a rest.

Tower climbing began.

Getting to the 49th floor was quick.

And then ten days of repetitive clearing.

On top of that, it was almost time.

The 50th-floor privilege confirmation and the Random Summoning cooldown reset.

* * *

Korea was peaceful.

At least when it came to tower climbing, there were no issues whatsoever.

But the situation in the countries on either side was completely different.

Japan.

Yoo Chul-min had ultimately failed to recover his broken spirit.

He was too terrified to even enter the tower without trembling.

Because of that, all benefits received upon naturalization were stripped, and he was driven out with his family to a small city in Japan.

In the end, what Japan chose was a temporary naturalization contract with the United States for a player.

A US government-affiliated player climbing in the early 60th-floor range became Japanese for one month.

No one knew how much Japan poured into America in return, but it was presumably at least tens of times the Holy Sword rental fee.

The other neighboring country, China, was in an even worse situation.

Fire had come knocking at their doorstep.

The 59th-floor clear was right around the corner.

But despite kidnapping so many players, they had ultimately failed.

At this rate, the collapse countdown would begin.

Once one failed to be blocked, three would fall in succession.

China's choice in the end was also a temporary naturalization contract, just like Japan.

In truth, the 59th floor was an ambiguous number.

The current global average floor count was the 55th.

Countries that had cleared the 59th floor could be counted on one hand.

The United States, South Korea, Russia, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Norway, and Saudi Arabia.

Above the mid-60th-floor range, only South Korea and the United States existed.

In fact, both South Korea and the US should have regulated their floor counts.

One floor every six months.

Gradually and methodically.

But how do you stop players from going into the tower and clearing freely?

When you don't even know who is going in, when, and up to which floor.

Even an abundance of talented players was a problem.

There had even been an incident in the United States in the past where three unattempted upper floors were cleared at once in a single month.

Korea had experienced the same.

Now the floors were high enough that such things didn't happen.

And with governments actively intervening, it had become possible to regulate.

But it was impossible to be complacent.

A player of unknown identity could appear out of nowhere and recklessly attempt an unchallenged upper floor without any floor count regulation.

In any case, China had no suitable country to request temporary naturalization from.

The United States already had a professional player temporarily naturalized in Japan; approaching South Korea would hurt their pride; and in the end they had no choice but to beg Russia.

For one month of temporary naturalization, enormous concessions had to be made.

They even demanded land, resulting in part of Heilongjiang Province becoming Russian territory.

A new border line was drawn.

It was an utterly humiliating defeat for China.

Even though they had barely managed to scrape through.

Amid all this, the UAE Crown Prince entered South Korea through Incheon Airport.

* * *

The Awakening Management Agency.

Commissioner Park Kyung-soo and Deputy Commissioner Jeon Kwang-il were in conversation.

"Commissioner-nim, Crown Prince Abdul Bin-Sala, then? You said you'd meet him this evening."

"I'm planning to meet him this evening, together with the President."

"Do you happen to know what it's about? For the Crown Prince to suddenly visit Korea."

"Look at this first. It came from the National Intelligence Service (NIS)."

Commissioner Park Kyung-soo placed a document on the table.

Had the mastermind behind the attempt to abduct the elite players been uncovered?

He unfolded the document, but... it was not that.

"In Abu Dhabi... a terrorism attack?"

"Yes, just 3 days ago."

"First I've heard of it. Isn't this a story that hasn't even made the news?"

"The UAE government clamped down on the press. About 10 players were killed all at once in an explosion."

"...Yes?"

Jeon Kwang-il read the document carefully.

"My God! Karim Zahid is also dead?"

"It's a tragic thing. Furthermore, the 10 or so players at level 50 and above managed by the state also died together."

Karim Zahid.

The nationally cultivated player who was challenging the UAE Black Tower's 60th floor.

How much effort had the UAE put into raising him?

They had swept up every Rune of Trait Enhancement that appeared on the market and fed them to this player.

The UAE had been the biggest culprit behind why Runes of Trait Enhancement had disappeared from the market.

They had been indiscriminately feeding them to their own talented players.

"As far as I know, the UAE Black Tower's 60th-floor clear deadline had about 20 days remaining. But with Karim Zahid and all the mid-level players wiped out in that explosion..."

"It's a horrific thing."

Indeed.

Not only the tower players, but the mid-level players who could support the core had vanished too.

"How on earth was their security handled?"

"Security was the problem. One of the bodyguards turned out to be an Islamic extremist. That was discovered only after the incident."

It sent a chill down the spine.

When you thought about it, this was not someone else's problem.

Outside the tower, players were no different from ordinary people, so something like this could easily happen in Korea too.

Not long ago, a similar incident had nearly occurred.

"They would have come for a temporary naturalization request. Even so, Player Nam Ga-eun is out of the question. Absolutely impossible."

"Of course. But it seems the UAE is truly desperate. Pleading to be allowed, saying they'd restore everything immediately once the clear was done."

The top player of each nation was not a candidate for temporary naturalization.

Even the United States cultivated dedicated naturalization players separately for this purpose.

Because dual nationality was not permitted.

Players could only enter the tower of a single country of citizenship.

Even normal civilians with dual nationality apparently couldn't awaken at all or so the story went.

After temporary naturalization, what if the naturalization was revoked out of bad faith and the original nationality wasn't restored?

How many such cases had there actually been?

Even the temporary naturalization business was only possible for countries with sufficient power.

"The US naturalization specialist player is in Japan, Russia has contracted with China, and the UK, France, Saudi Arabia, and Norway don't have a dedicated temporary naturalization player either, so they must be in a bind. Their coming to Korea makes sense."

"They'd have decided Korea was relatively at ease, having most recently cleared the 66th floor."

The UAE Black Tower was located near an oil field.

If the tower collapsed, the oil field would not be unaffected either.

Mana Stones served sufficiently as an alternative energy source, but oil was still a precious resource.

Commissioner Park Kyung-soo glanced around for a moment, then leaned in and whispered.

"Actually, beyond Player Nam Ga-eun, there is one more target the UAE is after."

"Are you referring to Officer Lee Min-ah? Absolutely not. Officer Lee is also in the process of challenging the 60th floor, and even if she were eligible, we cannot send her."

Officer Lee Min-ah was also disqualified for temporary naturalization.

She was the Awakening Management Agency's Plan B.

She could be seen as having inherited the role once played by Player Nam Ga-eun.

"It is not Officer Lee Min-ah."

"Then who?"

"The player who most recently recorded consecutive S++ grade clears up to the 49th floor."

"Ha!"

Was the UAE out of their mind?

"But they don't even know who it is..."

Of course, Park Kyung-soo and Jeon Kwang-il knew.

"It seems the UAE side believes that Korea has identified who the S++ player is."

"Even if we did, temporary naturalization is out of the question."

Player Bong Joo-hyuk's current floor count was the 49th.

He needed to climb 11 floors within 20 days.

That would be absolutely no challenge for him. He would likely climb all 11 within 11 days.

"We must absolutely deny any knowledge. We can't even give them a foothold to probe further."

"What kind of person do you think I am? You think I'd do that?"

"Ha ha ha, I always trust the Commissioner."

Commissioner Park Kyung-soo let out a quiet snort and continued.

"Still, let Player Bong Joo-hyuk know that something like this happened. Word will break in the press soon enough anyway."

"Yes, we were scheduled to meet today anyway."

"Oh! How is the leather business going?"

"That... a snag has come up."

"What is it?"

"The leather cutting and crafting tools are in short supply."

Basilisk leather had to be cut with a knife made from tower metal.

It wasn't impossible to force a cut with other equipment, but the leather would be damaged.

Above all, fine craftsmanship was impossible.

Even stitching itself couldn't be done.

"Aren't there spare metals at the workshop?"

"They're already pressed thin just making weapons."

"Can't import it either?"

"Yes, they'd barely have enough for their own equipment."

Jeon Kwang-il was also worried.

Player Bong Joo-hyuk had trusted and handed over this business, and it was already stumbling right from the start.