How a Wimp Conquers the Tower 18
Juhyeok was in the middle of conquering the 25th floor.
Any player who had cleared the final section of the goblins on the 20th floor could handle the 25th floor without much difficulty.
The patterns were similar.
The real problem was the Orc Chieftain.
How to deal with that bastard—and the strategy and tactics to match—mattered more than anything else.
Of course, it was something Juhyeok didn't need to worry about.
Gobang and Kosak would take care of it on their own anyway.
Among orcs, the weakest were the Forest Orcs.
Small-framed, with attack power about on par with hop goblins.
The strongest were the Volcano Orcs.
They weren't to be taken lightly.
With blood-red skin and a faint aura of flames wrapped around their bodies, they burned everything they touched.
But to the barbarian warrior Gobang, they were nothing more than a hot pack.
Stomping around, when he ran into a Volcano Orc he'd grab it—crack!—and pull it into a warm, friendly hug.
"Chrrk?"
Crunch!
With a bear hug, he snapped its waist in half.
"…Isn't that hot?"
"Just look at Gobang's skin, ya see. Not even a scorch mark. Even if ya sear him with a gas torch, he'd go, 'Ah! Refreshing!'"
Well, he was a man whose body had endured the breath of a supermagic beast hydra…
"Uwooooo!"
Once he drew aggro like that, all the orcs charged straight at Gobang.
For the assassin Kosak to operate, it couldn't have been better.
"I'm going in too!"
"Fighting!"
Pap!
Papapap!
An SSR-rank Kosak.
His Shadow Step.
He was so fast you could hear the sound of air being torn apart.
And that wasn't all.
Blade Explosions detonating without pause, Shock Break, Dirty Ambush, Poison Dagger…
A dazzling array of skills unleashed by Kosak.
"Kuahahaha! This is SSR, ya see!"
Barely five minutes after the mission started, the battlefield on the 25th floor was already littered with orc corpses.
'Nice. SSR.'
Juhyeok started moving as well.
He was supposed to kill three, so he had to meet his quota.
Skill proficiency was a bonus.
'…Better skip the Volcano Orcs, right?'
He might get burned fighting them.
Easy targets like Forest Orcs or Desert Orcs were best.
Swat! Swash!
Juhyeok activated Shadow Step.
In an instant—
Papap!
Like a flash of lightning, John Kosak rushed over and positioned himself at Juhyeok's side.
"Hey! Why are you right next to me?"
"Don't worry, sir. I'll stay still."
Thorough. Absolutely thorough.
Still, there was no risk of getting hurt.
"Mixed-Origin Thunderbolt Staff—Falling Thunder, Soul-Chasing Strike."
Electric energy gathered around the mace.
Screee!
Crackle!
Wham!
"Keen!"
A Forest Orc died on the spot.
Its head was half-scorched by lightning.
Even though he hadn't used Falling Thunder, Soul-Chasing Strike that many times, it was steadily becoming more familiar in his hands.
"…One more?"
Nod.
Kosak nodded back.
Crackle!
Wham!
The Desert Orc went down in one hit as well.
It wasn't completely without danger.
An axe thrown by a Cave Orc flew rapidly toward Juhyeok.
Clang!
Before it even got close, the axe was struck by a dagger and sent flying away.
'Honestly, I could've taken that hit.'
As his level increased, the effectiveness of his energy shield had gone up too.
"Are you all right, sir?"
There he goes again, making a fuss.
What is this, raising a kid?
"I didn't even get hit."
"There might be psychological damage. Post-traumatic stress disorder."
"Come on, not even a little."
"…Hmm, why are you copying the way I talk?"
"Because it's fun."
"Is that so? Hehehehe."
"Hahahaha."
Juhyeok knew exactly why Kosak was making such a big deal.
Ignoring that would've been shameless.
Still, it was a bit burdensome.
What could he do?
He had to grow stronger.
So that Kosak could feel at ease too.
In truth, why was safety-first, self-preservationist Juhyeok able to rampage like this?
Because of reliable, dependable comrades.
Alone, it would've been impossible.
He wouldn't even have attempted to climb the tower.
To be honest, he was still scared even now.
It was basically borrowing someone else's authority.
Like a bullied middle schooler with older brothers in the high school judo club and boxing club.
Even at the very bottom of the food chain, the school delinquents wouldn't dare touch him.
If he told his brothers, they'd come running immediately.
That was exactly how it was now.
The Cave Orcs that had thrown axes at Juhyeok were being cut down by Kosak.
'…Kind of feel sorry for them.'
Let's kill a few more.
That should be fine.
It was almost over anyway—might as well pick up some scraps.
Juhyeok stayed strictly on the outskirts the entire time.
Picking off only the orcs that had fallen alone,
safely,
Crackle!
one by one.
Wham!
Rather than killing orcs for its own sake, his goal was to train Falling Thunder, Soul-Chasing Strike,
Crackle! Wham!
And then—
Ding!
[The Mixed-Origin Thunderbolt Staff second form, "Falling Thunder in Profusion ," has been unlocked.]
Out of a total of three forms, the second form was now unlocked as well.
"…Wow!"
Lightning fell in profusion.
That is, many bolts falling together in a tangled mass.
'An AoE skill, huh.'
Juhyeok raised his hammer high.
In the distance, a Desert Orc that had separated from the group caught his eye.
Swat! Swat!
"Falling Thunder in Profusion."
Screee!
Pachijijijiji…!
A bolt of lightning split into five branches.
"Gueeek!"
This was fun.
It felt like he'd become Thor, the god of thunder.
'Should I kill more?'
Kosak shook his head firmly.
"Just because you unlocked a new skill doesn't mean you should get too excited."
Ah!
Having to read the mood of a blood-summoned subordinate who obeyed him absolutely.
How long was this going to last?
Irritation bubbled up.
Was he strong from the very beginning?
Did he come out of his mother's womb using Shadow Step?
"Mr. Kosak."
"Yes, sir?"
"I may be a wimp outside, but inside the tower, I'm more of a man than anyone."
"Yes, yes, but safety first comes before—"
"Safety first, my ass! Just wait until the Orc Chieftain shows up! I'll charge straight at him and smash his skull—"
That was when—
"Grrrrrr!"
Something big arrived.
A gigantic Orc Chieftain barged into the battlefield, wielding an axe as large as its own body.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Its entire body was covered in tattoos, tusks jutted out from its mouth, and its biceps were thicker than Juhyeok's torso.
'…Is that even an orc?'
Why is it so huge?
An overwhelming physique.
Even bigger than Gobang.
'Uh, uh…'
No matter how bold he'd gotten, that thing was impossible.
"You were saying something about smashing the Orc Chieftain's skull earlier?" Kosak asked cautiously, gauging Juhyeok's reaction.
"Hm, maybe I strained myself earlier. My lower back suddenly hurts. …I should just watch."
"Oh my! A man's strength comes from his lower back, you see. Please get some proper rest."
"If my back weren't hurting, I'd smash a chieftain like that in one hit."
"Of course! Do you think I don't know that? Just looking at something like that is bad for one's mental health."
For some reason, Kosak felt annoyingly smug.
The barbarian Gobang seemed to have spotted the Orc Chieftain. He threw his head back and let out a massive roar.
"Kuooooooh!"
Like a berserker.
The chieftain and Gobang locked eyes.
Without a word, they began stomping toward each other.
Crunch!
A contest of strength began.
But it wasn't even a contest to begin with.
"…Gk?"
Crack!
Both shoulders of the Orc Chieftain were crushed.
And then—
Papap!
The finishing blow from Kosak, shining with SSR rank.
Slash!
The head soared into the air.
[You have successfully completed the 25th floor mission.]
[Your level has increased.]
[Reward: 2.5 kg of Magic Stones.]
[Notice: You have achieved an S++ clear rank on the 25th floor of the Black Tower (Korea).]
[S++ Clear Reward: A Platinum Badge has been awarded.]
The 25th floor was wrapped up cleanly.
"Good work."
"Hehe, thank you."
Anyway, it was time to check the perks.
What came out this time would affect his elite team contract.
More perks, and tower climbing that kept getting safer.
"What would you like to eat today?"
"…Would tteokbokki be okay?"
"Are you sure? You can't handle spicy food."
"What's with that? I'm SSR now, SSR! Being bad with spice is a thing of the past."
"Is that so? Then I wish you luck."
Juhyeok ordered ten servings of tteokbokki.
Along with a refreshing drink.
"Eat as much as you want."
"Aren't you eating, Summoner Bong?"
"I'll eat a bit later."
Gobang started slurping down the tteokbokki.
Slurp, slurp.
"…Isn't it spicy?"
"Not spicy at all. It's just sweet."
"O-oh, really?"
Kosak stared at the tteokbokki, then gulped once, stared again, stared with eyes full of determination, picked up a single rice cake with his chopsticks and trembled while continuing to stare…
'When is he actually going to eat that?'
Let him be.
He'll eat it eventually.
Now then, let's check the perk.
Opening the tower-exclusive inventory and checking the badge—
[Upon accumulating 25 Platinum Badges, a perk will be granted.]
Come on, something good.
Please!
[Perk: You may select an Encore Perk.]
"What?"
An encore…?
[Available Encore Perks: Trait Enhancement, Skill Copy, Random Item, Blood-Summon Rank Enhancement.]
"Oh!"
So that's how it works.
Not some omakase encore sushi or anything—
What a windfall.
This was an absurdly easy choice.
Picking anything else here would make you an idiot.
'Trait Enhancement.'
[Your awakened trait has been enhanced.]
"Heh heh heh."
A grin spread across his face.
Tower climbing?
Piece of cake.
And safety was guaranteed too.
Let's see.
First, his level.
[Level]: 26 LV
His skills.
[Combat Skills]: Shadow Step / Mixed-Origin Thunderbolt Staff
And his trait.
Three simultaneous summons.
If he counted himself as participating in combat, that meant climbing with a total of four people.
A privilege beyond privilege.
Of course, this system applied to all players with summoning traits.
Team play instead of solo play—and with trait enhancement, the number of simultaneous summons increased.
But they all had limitations.
Was controlling summons easy?
They weren't overwhelmingly strong since their power scaled with the player's level, they had no free will so every command had to be issued manually, and the resulting mental fatigue was severe.
And that wasn't all.
If you lost control of a summon, there was even the risk of it going berserk.
Once berserk, you had to dismiss it.
If you weren't careful, you could even be attacked by your own summon.
Being a summoner didn't mean life was all honey and cream.
The drawbacks were very real.
In contrast, Juhyeok's summons were fundamentally different.
True people with overwhelming power and abilities that seemed to know no limits.
All he had to do was say, Let's start the mission, to Kosak and Gobang—and that was it.
'Now then… what about the random summon cooldown…?'
About eighteen days or so.
Time would pass quickly enough.
'An elite team contract should be fine.'
At the very least, he wouldn't end up disappointing people.
'Now…'
All that remained was to discuss it with his family.
But right at that moment—
"Gkuaaah! Hrrrp! Hrrrp!"
Kosak was twisting his entire body and crawling across the floor.
His long tongue, turned bright red, lolled straight out of his mouth.
"The assassin will die soon."
"Ghk—ghk!"
"We should abandon this one and summon someone else."
"Sh, shut up! W-water…!"
Juhyeok twisted open a bottle of soda and shoved it into his hand.
"Tsk, tsk. I knew this would happen."
Does ranking up magically turn someone who can't handle spice into a spice braggart?
'Wait.'
What if every time Kosak acted annoying, he fed him something spicy?
It wouldn't even violate Clause Three, so he'd have to obey.
But—
'No! How could someone do that?'
He wasn't a psychopath.
※ ※ ※
Juhyeok's family home.
For the first time in a while, the whole family had gathered.
He bought some premium Korean beef and brought it home.
Though poor, they were a close-knit family, so even after finishing the meal they sat together, chatting boisterously.
"Once I hired a lawyer, the company suddenly started calling me too—the same people who'd ignored me completely before."
"What happened to those people? The clients who dared to bully our mom? I saw on the news that reporters even showed up."
"Oh, don't even get me started. Turns out the husband in that household is a high-ranking government official. It became a huge mess. They keep calling nonstop just to apologize to me."
"Dear, don't ever accept their apology. This is the perfect chance to teach them a lesson so they won't bully others again."
The first topic was Mom's lawsuit.
The conversation then moved on.
"I'm getting admitted tomorrow. They say the room is a VIP room."
"Huh?! Dad, can I sleep there too? I'll take care of you. It's close to my school anyway."
"No. I'm more comfortable when your mom is by my side."
"Wow! If it's a VIP room, it'll be nicer than our house."
Then came Minhyuk's story.
"Getting a scholarship is nice and all, but it's only for one semester."
"Because of your grades?"
"Hyung! I'm good at studying. I couldn't get a full scholarship, but I've been on a half scholarship."
"Then why?"
"I'm taking a leave of absence next semester and going to the army."
"Oh!"
Come to think of it, he was that age now.
"Oh, right! How about you, hyung? …You're still working part-time? I wish you'd find a stable job."
"Minhyuk's right. Once I'm done with rehab, I'll start looking for work too. You should use this chance to study for employment."
"Our eldest son, you've suffered a lot. Now live for yourself. Once the lawsuit is over and we get compensation, our household will loosen up a bit too."
Juhyeok hesitated for a moment.
How should he bring it up?
It was practically a bombshell announcement.
At times like this, the straightforward approach was best.
"You remember how I hinted at something before, right?"
He paused briefly, then—
"I awakened. I'm active as a player."
His family stared at him wide-eyed, as if he'd just said something absurd.
"You're joking without even turning on the blinkers."
"You mean a game player?"
"Hyung. Have some fruit."
He had no intention of revealing the S++ clear.
He trusted his family, but the fewer people who knew, the better.
Juhyeok reached into his inventory and thud! pulled out a chunk of magic stone.
Thud! An adamant-metal mace.
Thud! An alloy round hand shield.
As he did so, he continued speaking.
"You see? Magic stones, the weapons I use. I've earned some money clearing the tower."
There was no way they couldn't be shocked.
Things were popping out of thin air right in front of them.
"Oh."
"T-this is…?"
"…"
Then came the decisive line.
"The Awakening Management Agency wants me to sign an elite contract… haah, this damned talent of mine really wears a person out."
Shock rippled through the room.
His father's mouth fell wide open.
Minhyuk covered his mouth with both hands.
His mother looked at Juhyeok with a complicated expression.
"I've become a real man now. From here on out, please refrain from calling me timid or a wimp in front of me."
Juhyeok's expression was dead serious.