Mackenzie Drornak, a 9-circle grand archmage, had his soul completely wrung dry.
There was no way he could continue the guide.
So he dismissed the summoning.
Back to the 17th floor of the White Tower.
He had come to the new home he had long dreamed of, but Mackenzie was in a terrible mood.
It felt like he was dying.
Even if this place was a paradise.
"Just rest for now. We'll go harvest some hides and come back."
"Mm, I'm sorry. I can't face the summoner."
"Hahaha, it's fine. Burning a few hides isn't a big deal."
Getting his weakness exposed had been the mistake.
It looked like the shock had been severe.
Honestly!
When ten people gang up on one, how could anyone endure that?
This was a merciless survival-of-the-fittest battlefield—
even a mad demon would get torn apart if they showed weakness.
In the end, despite being a 9-circle grand archmage, Mackenzie was excluded from the starting lineup and placed on the reserve list.
"If you go into that house over there, there's a TV, and the fridge has some simple food, so you won't be bored."
"Mmm, y-yes, understood."
Mackenzie replied in a dejected voice.
"And that house is where Ms. Mari lives, so if possible, don't get too close."
"… That foul-mouthed elf?"
"Well, she does swear a lot, but as long as you don't provoke her…"
"Would it be acceptable to have a conversation with her?"
"Oh dear, I'd rather not even let you talk to her. If you really want to, then use this…"
Juhyeok handed Mackenzie a tablet.
"This is…"
"Have you used one before?"
"Once, a very long time ago."
"Then you know how to use it."
"At least how to send messages."
Just in case, Juhyeok explained the basics anyway.
"Don't blame yourself too much. Just take it easy."
"…."
But his momentum was already broken.
It would take quite some time to recover.
The ornamental magic that was practically Mackenzie's identity didn't manifest at all.
Fireworks when bored, spotlight magic, showers of rose petals—
a man who used to act like the center of the world had been exiled to the fringes in an instant.
It was so pitiful to see.
Even Juhyeok felt his heart ache.
"Don't worry. I'll definitely call you when we climb the upper floors."
"Ah."
"Then I'll be off!"
"W-wait a moment—"
Spot!
15
Mackenzie was left alone.
The quiet 17th floor.
A landscape that felt like a small Earth town transplanted whole.
He slowly walked around, sightseeing.
He went into one of the houses in the residential area and watched TV.
He opened the fridge and cracked open a cold can of beer.
But it wasn't very fun.
Even with all five senses restored in a physical body, he had no appetite.
A suffocating feeling.
If only he could at least participate in the strategy for climbing the upper floors, he might be of some help—but for now, they were only doing repetitive runs.
"Hoo…"
What is this supposed to be?
He had come out with such big dreams.
What was the basic role of a summoned being?
To climb the tower together with the summoner and save the world, wasn't it?
But things had gone wrong from the start.
The very first button had been fastened incorrectly.
Suddenly, he thought of another summoned being in the same situation as himself—
an LSSR-ranked candidate who was also just waiting on the 17th floor.
He picked up the tablet and opened the messenger app.
The friends list appeared.
He changed his display name, tapped Mari in the friends list, and invited her to a chat room.
And then—
Grand Archmage Drornak: Knock knock? You foul-mouthed elf.
Ding!
Mari: @#%&! Who the hell are you? Bad luck already—why aren't you working? Did you screw something up?
Grand Archmage Drornak: That's about right. I got kicked out for my magic being too strong.
Mari: Ha! Attention-seeking bastard, I don't even need to hear the details. You only know how to light fires. What can you even do? #$&%$!
Grand Archmage Drornak: You're in a similar situation to me, aren't you?
Mari: Don't kid yourself. Do you think I'm the same as a jobless bum like you? Potion crafting, ultimate mana synthesis—
I'm the one the summoner trusts and relies on the most!
Grand Archmage Drornak: That's a bit—
Mari: Where do you get off talking back, you insignificant—$%@#!
Grand Archmage Drornak: Hey, instead of that, how about we marginalized people—
Ding!
—Grand Archmage Drornak has been blocked.
"Damn woman."
….
She really knew how to dig into someone's heart.
Mackenzie was lonely.
Autumn was coming.
The next day, hide-collecting work continued.
Juhyeok entered the 17th floor of the White Tower.
Spot!
As soon as he appeared, summoned beings swarmed toward him.
The labor market was open.
"Recruiting for hide collection! One tanker, laborers mandatory… anyone else with time, raise your hand!"
Before he even finished speaking, summoned beings shouted "Me!"
Especially the newcomers, burning with motivation—
they wanted to catch the summoner's eye and earn some merit.
Mackenzie also bounced on his feet and raised his hand high.
He wanted to make up for his mistake no matter what.
But Juhyeok deliberately ignored him.
It wasn't to punish him.
It was for his own good.
If he made another mistake when the atmosphere among the summoned beings was already bad—
This time, he might get strung up upside down and mocked.
Juhyeok decided it was better for him to rest a bit longer and get a feel for things.
"…And, Mr. Jephet, Diamat, yeah, Blood Wolf too."
Mackenzie stared in despair, unable to believe it.
Now he was losing out even to a dog.
Spot! Spot! Spot!
People leaving the White Tower to do a full day's work.
Once again, silence fell over the 17th floor of the White Tower.
Mackenzie stood there alone.
After a long time thinking,
as if he had made up his mind—
'This won't do.'
Step by step, he walked toward the residential area.
He stopped in front of one house and said,
"Aliamari, elven alchemist, please help me."
Mackenzie spoke with sincerity.
"I want to restore my honor. My self-esteem has fallen so low I feel like I'm going insane."
But there was no response.
"I beg you. If it's you, there must be a way, right? I want to be of help to the summoner too."
Still silence.
"Hoo… at this point, I'd rather go back to the Infinite Prison—"
That was when it happened.
Daring!
A message notification rang from the tablet in Mackenzie's hands.
"…What?"
He hurriedly checked it.
Mari: Fine. I'll help you. I don't like it, but it's all for the summoner.
Tap tap tap.
Mackenzie quickly replied.
Grand Archmage Drornak: Thank you for giving me a chance. I'll become someone useful.
Mari: Do you know enchantment magic?
Grand Archmage Drornak: A little… it's not my specialty, but I learned a few to make artifacts as gifts for acquaintances.
Mari: Really? Then—
Swoosh!
Mari sent a link in the chat.
It was a news article.
He opened it and read.
—The global obese population has surpassed one billion, meaning one in eight people worldwide is obese… Childhood obesity is especially dangerous, even more so than adult obesity, and is a major cause of metabolic diseases such as diabetes and hypertension… Global pharmaceutical companies are racing to develop obesity treatments…
Obesity, out of nowhere?
Grand Archmage Drornak: Why this article? Did you gain weight?
Mari: What nonsense are you talking about! Have you ever seen a fat elf?
Then why obesity—
Mari: The summoner needs money right now. He has to buy high-grade mana stones.
…..
Grand Archmage Drornak: I know that too.
Mari: Give up on being recognized through tower-climbing strategies. No matter how hard you try, you won't beat Rajiks anyway.
Every word was true.
No wonder the other summoned beings called him a "space farmhand."
Mari: Make items and sell them.
Grand Archmage Drornak: What?
Mari: Use enchantment magic to make items that can treat or prevent obesity. Bracelets, necklaces—things like that.
Oh!
Mari: They'll sell extremely well. Obesity is a huge problem in this era. It's a prosperous world that hasn't collapsed. Just don't make them too effective—keep it moderate.
Enchantment magic.
Mackenzie also understood the principles and basic magical formulas.
'An enchantment artifact for treating obesity…'
Pop!
A lightbulb-shaped glow appeared over Mackenzie's head, like something out of an animation.
'I can do this.'
As long as there were enough materials.
Grand Archmage Drornak: Do you have tower metal?
Mari: There's a warehouse over there where Rajiks stores supplies.
Grand Archmage Drornak: Mana stones?
Mari: Same warehouse. Don't ever touch the high-grade ones—use only regular mana stones.
Grand Archmage Drornak: Understood. One more thing—I need refined mana stone powder. Can you make that with alchemy?
Mari: I'll make it.
Grand Archmage Drornak: Thank you. I'll never forget this favor.
Mari: I'll say this again—don't misunderstand. I'm not doing this because I care about you.
Mackenzie immediately began developing the artifact.
An artifact to treat or prevent obesity.
Since it might require many formulas, it would be better to engrave them on a large bracelet rather than a small ring.
'A magic formula to promote metabolism is essential…'
Scratch, scratch, scratch.
Mackenzie sketched rune formulas and patterns on the tablet with a stylus.
'It'd be good to include a purification function that removes waste from the body, and while we're at it, detoxification magic and an appetite-suppression function too, right?'
If it succeeded, it wouldn't strain the body—no, you'd actually become healthier while losing weight.
In truth, enchantment magic like this was harder than it looked.
Combat-oriented magic formulas were far easier by comparison.
But he was a grand archmage.
A full-fledged 9-circle mage.
It wasn't just effort—you needed innate magical talent to pull this off.
His mind spun rapidly.
The blueprint was already forming.
Mackenzie went to the materials warehouse on the 17th floor of the White Tower and took out an orichalcon ingot.
"Fire Hand."
Whoosh!
With his heated hands, he melted the ingot, stretched it out, and quickly formed a bracelet. Then he engraved magical formulas into the inner surface in intaglio.
He would set a regular mana stone in place as a substitute for a gemstone, pack refined mana stone powder into the engraved grooves, and finally chant the enchantment spell—only then would a complete artifact be born.
Of course, it would take several failures along the way.
He wasn't an enchantment specialist, after all.
Still, Mackenzie grinned.
For the first time, he felt like he had found his true usefulness.
If he could make this properly, no one would dare look down on him again.
The space farmhand would envy him, the assassin would gape in astonishment, the mad demon would seethe with jealousy, and the summoner would wear a satisfied smile.
Inside the dark warehouse—
Pop!
At last, a spotlight spell manifested—one meant for Mackenzie alone.
Today as well, Juhyeok climbed the Black Tower.
Entering the tower three times a day.
Once for Apophis, once for a basilisk, once for a wyvern.
Sometimes he skipped Apophis and ran the wyvern twice instead.
He gathered a lot.
Quite a substantial haul.
This should be more than enough.
But lately, Mr. Mackenzie had been quiet.
He hadn't come out of the White Tower's 17th-floor warehouse.
When Juhyeok asked Mari, she said he was making some kind of artifact.
An item, all of a sudden?
Items were practically lying around underfoot in that warehouse.
Well, maybe he was just killing time because he was bored.
Today, Juhyeok planned to go out for the first time in a while.
He wanted to get the Apophis hide appraised.
He could've asked Commissioner Jeon Gwang-il to handle it for him, but he decided to go himself.
He needed to see the face of CEO Jung Dong-hun, the man running Rajiks Trading.
Pretending not to know and passing by wouldn't sit right with him.
When you thought about it, wasn't that man basically family too?
He didn't go alone.
At the summoned beings' insistence, Veronica accompanied Juhyeok as his escort.
Instead of her combat tights, she wore ordinary clothes.
Though even "ordinary" clothes became extraordinary when Ms. Bae wore them.
Together, Juhyeok and Ms. Bae rode a car to his own 61-story building on Gangnam-daero.
The first floor housed the lobby, a café, a bank, and a convenience store.
Above that were restaurants, hospitals, pharmacies, various company offices, and even a museum and an art gallery.
Rajiks Trading's headquarters occupied the very top floors.
How would CEO Jung Dong-hun evaluate the Apophis hide?
He hoped it had real commercial value.
Before that—
"Copy."
He copied the 61-story building.
It'd be nice to paste it into the White Tower.
A building purchased with trillions of won—
it would make more than a suitable landmark for the White Tower.
But how much would the paste cost?
'Don't tell me it's something like a hundred tons of high-grade mana…'
That would be a problem if it was too expensive.
"Ms. Bae, shall we go in?"
"Yes! Commander!"
"…Um, rather than commander, just call me Juhyeok."
"Understood. Certain victory!"
Juhyeok entered the building.
To reach Rajiks Trading's headquarters, you had to pass through an unmanned access gate at the end of the lobby, and you needed an access card.
'I can just call him.'
He already had the contact info.
He dialed the number and called CEO Jung Dong-hun directly.
"Hello, are you CEO Jung Dong-hun?"
—Uh, yes, yes. Excuse me, but who is this…?
"My name is Bong Juhyeok. I'm currently in the first-floor lobby of Rajiks Trading."
There was a brief silence.
Then, through the phone, frantic sounds rang out—thud! crash!—followed by:
—Eek?! J-just a moment, please! Aaaah, I'll run down right away!
The CEO of Rajiks Trading, really…
'He feels a bit… light.'
Well, whatever.
Juhyeok waited, strolling around the lobby and looking around.
Then, suddenly—
A strong perfume scent drifted from the side.
And then—
"…Juhyeok?"
Someone called his name.
Juhyeok turned his head.
A young woman with long straight hair, tight jeans, and a white shirt came into view.
"Huh?"
He'd seen her somewhere before.
Who was she again?
His eyes fell on the employee badge hanging from her neck.
—Rajiks Trading, General Affairs Department: Employee Oh Jin-sook—
"Oh my? That really is you, Juhyeok. Fancy running into you here."
"J-Jin-sook… is that you?"
Oh Jin-sook.
The girl he'd had a crush on in high school.
That Jin-sook was standing right in front of him.
In reality, not in a dream.
Memories came flooding back.
She'd been part of the tough crowd, but not extreme—just the kind who liked to have fun.
She'd teased him, asking why he was so timid for a guy, lightly tapping his head a few times as she passed by.
That was how his crush had begun.
But it was all in the past now.
Sure, she'd shown up in his dreams a few times—but still.
Yet here he was, meeting Jin-sook in real life.
And she worked at Rajiks Trading, of all places.
She probably hadn't gone to college due to her grades.
Maybe she'd gotten in through a high-school graduate special recruitment?
"Wow, you seem a lot taller now. And you look more handsome too."
"…R-really?"
Well, thanks to the martial arts taught by the mad demon, he had grown taller and his skin had improved.
"So what brings you here? Getting coffee?"
"Uh, I-I'm here to meet someone."
"Who? Ah! That woman over there? Is she your girlfriend?"
"No, she's not my girlfriend."
Just then—
Ms. Bae leaned close behind Juhyeok and whispered softly into his ear.
'Commander.'
"What is it?"
'That woman… is she Oh Jin-sook?'
'Uh, yes.'
Ms. Bae glanced Jin-sook up and down.
Snort.
'Tch. Nothing special.'
'…Shh! She might hear you.'
Still, Juhyeok almost nodded in agreement.
Honestly, she really wasn't anything special—
at least compared to Ms. Bae.
Who could beat Ms. Bae?
Thanks to her, Juhyeok's standards had shot through the roof.
Even if an idol group's center showed up, he wouldn't bat an eye.
Even the succubus Diamat couldn't compare.
"But you've really changed, Juhyeok. I might not have recognized you if we just passed by."
You too, Jin-sook.
That rough, flashy vibe from high school was gone.
'…But do you still smoke?'
You do.
You should quit.
You need to think about your health too.
Juhyeok's sense of smell was sharp.
After all, he trained in martial arts.
The stale cigarette odor mixed with her perfume made his high school memories feel even more distant and wistful.
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