Nam Ga-eun reported to the Awakened Administration every single day.
To use the gym inside the Administration.
Her pre–tower climb routine consisted of strength training.
"Ugh—hup!"
She started light, with a 100-kilogram deadlift.
"Kyaaah!"
You couldn't rely on player level alone.
Only with solid base stamina could you fully maximize the level-application effects inside the Tower.
And since she also had to practice swinging a sword outside the Tower as well,
her class specialization was Swordsman.
Unlike Yoo Cheol-min, who had the All-Weapon trait, she could only use swords.
Still, having achieved trait enhancement, the variety of sword skills she could use was fairly broad.
Thud!
She set the barbell down.
"Hoo…"
She was currently climbing the 62nd floor.
Since it involved fighting undead, it was a mentally exhausting section.
On the 62nd floor, Dark Zombies appeared.
The zombies' Dark Aura corroded players with the power of darkness, leading them toward corruption.
The flow of magic power became restricted, strength weakened, the mind was gnawed away into lethargy, and even suicidal impulses could arise.
Dark Aura.
Enduring this was the only way to overcome the undead zone…
and it was anything but easy.
Especially for melee classes that had to fight undead up close.
But Nam Ga-eun never gave up.
If she were going to be crushed here, she wouldn't have become a player in the first place.
Steeling her resolve, she opened the lid of her tumbler filled with protein supplement and gulped it down.
Should I go shower?
I should wash up thoroughly and prepare to retry the 62nd floor.
She was about to head to the showers with her body soaked in sweat when—
"Huh?"
Something felt chaotic.
She could hear footsteps, shouting.
"What's going on?"
When she stepped out into the hallway, Administration staff were rushing about in all directions, looking stunned.
Was there a fire?
But the fire alarm didn't go off.
Just then, a familiar female employee passed by.
"Unni!"
Nam Ga-eun was outgoing and got along well with most people in the Administration.
That included Manager Lee Min-ah.
"Unni! Unni!"
"…Huh? Ga-eun? Sorry, I'm really busy right now."
"Then why is everyone so busy? Did something happen?"
Lee Min-a avoided her gaze and hesitated.
"Uh, well, that is…"
"Is it hard to answer? Between us?"
"…"
"Now I'm even more curious."
"Let's talk later. You'll find out anyway."
"Then tell me now. Unni, I'm Nam Ga-eun—Administration elite player, Plan B."
"Hoo…"
Lee Min-a let out a deep sigh.
Then she said,
"Yoo Cheol-min is missing."
"What? Why him? …D-don't tell me he died inside the Tower?"
"No. Missing, literally. He vanished last night while drinking at a club. We can't contact him at all."
Vanished… alone?
The representative player of the elite team had multiple close- and long-range bodyguards attached to him.
"Don't tell me he got wasted and entered the Tower from the club?"
Lee Min-a shook her head.
"Absolutely not. There's another reason."
"…This is strange. There's more to it. You know, don't you?"
"Haah, the truth is… here's what happened…"
Manager Lee Min-ah continued her explanation.
Nam Ga-eun's eyes widened.
"That bastard!"
With less than three months left on the 66th-floor conquest deadline, this was a disaster.
※ ※ ※
The Awakened Administration was thrown into complete chaos.
Yoo Cheol-min's disappearance from the night before.
In reality, it was judged to be a deliberate disappearance.
How did they come to that conclusion?
The place where Yoo Cheol-min vanished was a large club in Nonhyeon-dong, Seoul.
It was packed with people, but since it was a place he frequented, the security team didn't find it suspicious.
It was just another routine night—
and then he disappeared in an instant.
From a large private room where Yoo Cheol-min had been gathering people, drinking, partying, and having fun.
It was downright eerie.
They hurriedly reviewed the club's CCTV footage.
"He was disguised?"
"Yes. He changed clothes, wore glasses, even a wig. Because it was a dark club, we couldn't identify him at first, but here…"
"Damn it!"
Footage of Yoo Cheol-min captured in a relatively well-lit area.
The disguised Yoo Cheol-min could be seen leaving through the club's back door under someone's escort.
When zoomed in, it was unmistakable.
There was no sign of coercion whatsoever.
Yoo Cheol-min was smiling faintly, walking out in front, clearly taking the lead.
"So it was voluntary."
"That's what it looks like."
"Haah… this is the worst."
If only he'd been kidnapped—it would've been better.
Director Park Gyeong-Su suppressed his anger and asked Jeon Gwang-il,
"What about the National Intelligence Service? What did they say?"
Due to his importance, Yoo Cheol-min's protection was handled by the NIS.
"They said… even with ten mouths, they have nothing to say…"
"Who's asking for excuses? Find out where he went. Mobilize the entire NIS if you have to!"
"Well, uh… the thing is… it's not just Yoo Cheol-min who disappeared…"
"Who else?"
Jeon Gwang-il hesitated, then spoke.
"Right after Yoo Cheol-min vanished, we checked his family home as well. His immediate family members are also unaccounted for."
"What about the police? Aren't they in charge of family protection?"
"Five police bodyguards were subdued by someone… they were tasered, beaten, tied up with cable ties, and found on the apartment rooftop. They're currently hospitalized."
"Heh."
A hollow laugh escaped him.
Is this really all the National Intelligence Service and the police of South Korea can manage?
He had a bad feeling about this.
Yoo Cheol-min's voluntary disappearance.
His family was gone too, and even the police assigned to protect them had been taken out.
…Don't tell me this is—?
At that moment—
Bzzzz!
Jeon Gwang-il's phone rang.
"It's the NIS. I'll take this."
"Go ahead."
Jeon Gwang-il answered the call and spoke with someone on the other end.
His expression steadily darkened.
"Are you certain? …Hoo. Yes, yes, understood."
After hanging up—
"It's Japan."
"…What?"
"Evidence has been found that Yoo Cheol-min and his family boarded a smuggling boat to Tsushima, Japan, early this morning. It seems that…"
Jeon Gwang-il grimaced, as if struggling to continue.
Then, at last—
"It appears to be for… naturalization."
"Damn it all!!!"
The bomb had finally gone off.
This was a national crisis—possibly worse than war.
"He ran to Japan?"
"It seems he lacked confidence in clearing the 66th floor. If he operates in Japan, he can start again from the 57th floor."
That made sense.
The Japanese Black Tower.
Even if you cleared just one floor every six months, that was 54 months—four and a half years of taking it easy.
"That traitorous bastard!"
How much effort had they poured into him?
To support the 66th-floor conquest, they had groveled everywhere, begging to acquire light-attribute items.
They had even fully mobilized diplomatic channels with their ally, the United States, to borrow 66th-floor conquest know-how and light-attribute gear.
And now all of it had come to nothing.
With his naturalization, Yoo Cheol-min's affiliation would soon change.
The Black Tower.
When the Tower first appeared and the existence of the status window became known,
people were puzzled.
The biggest mystery was the Affiliation field.
[Affiliation]: Black Tower (RUSSIA)
A country's name was boldly displayed in the status window.
Why include the nation at all?
The reason soon became clear.
A country's Tower could only be entered by players holding that country's nationality.
Koreans entered the Korean Tower, Americans the American Tower, Russians the Russian Tower.
Then what if someone changed nationality?
If a Russian player naturalized as an American and obtained U.S. citizenship?
[Affiliation]: Black Tower (USA)
The affiliation in the status window would change.
It didn't matter where the player was located.
Whether in Russia, Europe, or Africa—no matter where they entered the Tower, they would be taken to the Tower corresponding to the nationality listed in their status window.
And soon, Yoo Cheol-min's status window would become—
[Name]: Yoo Cheol-min
[Affiliation]: Black Tower (JAPAN)
[Level]: 66 LV
That was how serious this was.
It was like a world-class Korean soccer star—who had been the national team's striker and even won the EPL Golden Boot—
suddenly naturalizing as Japanese right before a Korea–Japan World Cup qualifier.
"First, summon all elite-team players. There might be others who followed Yoo Cheol-min to Japan."
※ ※ ※
The Prime Minister's Official Residence in Tokyo, Japan.
The place was packed with reporters.
A pre-announced press conference for Yoo Cheol-min's naturalization as a Japanese citizen.
In truth, the naturalization process could have been handled quietly.
It was, after all, poaching another country's player.
It wasn't something to boast about domestically, nor did it look good to flaunt it to the world as an achievement.
But the Japanese government boldly chose to go public.
They wanted to see South Korea thrown into chaos.
How entertaining would that be?
Total confusion, blame-shifting, power struggles—
At last, Yoo Cheol-min entered the press conference hall.
In a deeply solemn voice, he spoke.
"Today, I—Yoo Cheol-min—have left Korea and will now be active as a Japanese player. Accordingly—"
Click-click-click! Click-click!
Camera flashes exploded.
And so did Korean public opinion and the Korean media.
※ ※ ※
Juhyeok was once again diligently grinding a repeat mission on the 28th floor.
"Go. Algobang."
When Kosak pointed at a tree with his hand—
"UOOOOOOH!!!"
With a roar, the barbarian warrior Gobang charged forward and slammed into it headfirst.
KABOOOM!
The tree shook violently, as wildly as Juhyeok's reed-like heart.
"Mind your head, sir. Chestnuts might fall."
Under Kosak's escort, Juhyeok rushed toward the fallen chestnuts—or rather, the jungle trolls.
"Splintering Thunderbolt!"
BANG!
Crackle—crackle—!
A bolt of lightning split into five branching streams.
Once more!
BANG!
He also used the Pursuing Thunderbolt skill from time to time.
Since jungle trolls lived in trees, they weren't very large.
Instead, they were nimble and quick.
But who would've thought?
That even jungle trolls could one day fall from trees.
This hardly even counted as a strategy run.
It was far too easy.
"Oof! The feel of it is electrifying."
Rubbing his hands together obsequiously, Kosak spoke up.
"Hehehe, are you satisfied, sir?"
"My chest finally feels a bit clearer now. It feels like my true macho nature is coming back. I'm in a great mood."
"Oh my! Being too macho won't do. You must restrain yourself."
"Is that so? Hahaha!"
"Hehehe."
Since it was a repeat mission and there was no chance of getting an S++ rank, they took it slow.
They cleared one tree, rested until his magic power recovered, then moved on to another.
[You have successfully completed the 28th-floor mission.]
[Reward: Magic Stones 2.8 kg]
The reward was only magic stones.
Repeat missions rarely gave good rewards.
Even so, the total magic stones he had accumulated so far exceeded 30 kilograms.
He earned 15 million won.
What should I do with the money?
What else?
Buy land.
Buy a building.
Then retire later and live off it.
"Let's have a company dinner. A team dinner."
But Kosak shook his head side to side.
"No need to worry so much about dinners."
"Why not?"
"That pig bastard Gobang eats way too much."
"Come on, you can't do him like that. He worked hard body-slamming trees."
"That was his job to begin with. He always whines and fishes for sympathy too, that punk. Huh? Why you staring at me with those big eyes? How dare you glare at Sss-sir—"
Gobang, sniffling yet still talking back.
"I don't eat much. I eat little."
"Bullshit. Absolute bullshit. How is that 'little'? You inhale a whole pizza like it's a pack of Oyes."
Juhyeok had no choice but to step in.
"Alright, alright. No matter how much you eat, my bank account won't dry up. So—"
And then—
Ding!
A notification popped up on Juhyeok's smartphone.
Thinking it was just another loan ad or illegal gambling message, he glanced at it—
"…Huh?!"
When Juhyeok flinched, Kosak jumped too.
"You startled me! What is it?"
"Th-that is…"
He showed the phone.
"Huh? A notice for an all–Elite Team player meeting? What is this? And it's today."
It looked like an emergency meeting.
Judging by how suddenly it was scheduled.
"Haah… I hate meetings."
"…Yes?"
"They're going to make me talk. In front of all those people."
"How many attendees?"
"Dunno. About 150, maybe?"
"Hmm. This is bad. Very bad."
"Isn't there a way to skip it?"
"I'll think about it."
Juhyeok and Kosak pondered deeply.
"What if you call and say you're sick?"
"I don't know if that'll work. It says mandatory attendance, no exceptions."
"Then I'll go to the Awakened Administration and start a fire during the meeting. That'd stop it, right?"
"Are you insane? You're a summoned entity. You want to start a fire just to skip a meeting?"
"I can really do it. Just enough smoke to trigger the fire alarm—"
"Oh…!"
Right then—
Bzzzz!
The phone rang.
"Call coming in."
"Shh!"
After silencing him, Juhyeok answered.
"Hello?"
— This is Jeon Gwang-il. I have something to discuss.
Ah, so he was going to tell him to attend the meeting.
"Oh, so I really have to go to today's emergency meeting—"
— You don't need to come.
…Huh?
What a relief.
No need to start a fire.
— Instead, I'd like to meet you separately. Just the two of us. Something serious has happened.
Meeting Team Leader Jeon Gwang-il wasn't difficult—they'd met plenty of times.
But something serious?
"What kind of serious?"
— It's embarrassing for me to say myself, but you'll probably see it on TV soon.
"Oh, okay. I'll go then. Where?"
— I can't leave my post. Let's meet at the Administration. I'll send a car.
He didn't know what was going on, but since he was heading to the Administration anyway, he could sell off some magic stones and the items in his inventory.
How much would the items fetch?
He hoped for around 50 million won.
But seriously—what the hell was happening?
If it might be on TV…
Click.
Juhyeok turned it on.
Breaking news filled the screen.
"…Huh?"
Was this real?
Not a movie? Not a prank show?
But no matter how long he watched, it was real.
Every channel said the same thing.
The world was in an uproar.
Yoo Cheol-min naturalized as Japanese?
What kind of insane nonsense—
"Holy shit! That pus-filled plague rat of a bastard!"
No matter how much of a beta male he was, even he wouldn't pull something like that.
"Traitor. Backstabber. Cowardly loser."
Should he just unleash Kosak?
Let him get a taste of Sss-sir?
He doesn't know what a head-ribbon is, does he?