The one and only Black Tower rising over Berlin.
The administrators of Earth No. 675's Black Tower had been on high alert as well.
The summoner from Earth No. 1,001.
That bastard would definitely show up to clear the Black Tower.
They had to stop the clear at all costs.
Assuming the summoner would be careless, they devised a plan—
that he would have to exit from the White Tower in order to enter the Black Tower.
Since meteors had been summoned, he would think Berlin was completely empty.
If they struck at that moment?
So they released monsters at the place where he would first appear—
the very spot where the meteor had been summoned.
They blanketed the area without gaps.
So that the moment he appeared, they could attack immediately.
If he unknowingly came out alone and even brushed past them, he'd die.
No matter how powerful he was outside, so what?
Before he could even shout the tower entry skill, stab—crack—and it'd be over.
But what happened?
When did that summoner bastard come out and enter the tower?
The 79th-floor clear was absurd as well.
A Magnus Gigant from the giant-monster tier?
Was that also part of his summoning ability?
There was no way a Gigant could be a summoned being.
A machine without a soul—how could it?
Did an error occur because the tower was newly generated?
Why was a monster meant to be on the 85th floor appearing on the 79th?
And slaughtering its own side at that?
No matter how they thought about it, they couldn't understand.
[Check. Is there a Magnus Gigant on the Berlin Black Tower's 85th floor?]
[It exists.]
[The pilot?]
[None.]
[…None?]
[According to the logs, the Gigant was replaced. Recently, too.]
[What?]
Replaced?
[The 85th-floor Gigant had already been replaced once before by the will of the tower. From an automatic Ego Gigant to a piloted type.]
[It changed again. It's automatic now.]
Tower monster replacement.
Of course, that could happen.
By the will of the tower, or when certain conditions were met.
But something that had already been replaced—again?
This wasn't common.
The most plausible guess—
A piloted type requires a pilot.
If so, something must have happened to that pilot—
At that very moment!
One conspicuous existence among the summoner player's party.
[W-wait. That golem over there looks familiar. Where have I seen it?]
[…Huh?]
[Hey! I told you not to say 'huh.']
[N-no, that golem—it's Magitech Engineer L.]
[W-what?]
Magitech Engineer L.
The administrators knew her.
She had been the pilot of the 85th-floor piloted Magnus Gigant.
A recycled soul chosen to compensate for the Gigant's stupid Ego intelligence.
She had originally been a summoned being.
But after losing her summoner and suffering severe soul damage beyond regeneration, she'd been seated as the pilot.
And now she was standing beside that summoner?
Had she regained her summoned-being qualification?
[S-surely not?]
They understood.
Tower soul departure.
Liberation, defection, restoration of qualification—whatever the case.
…
A system where, once conditions were met, the souls of the Black Towers of all worlds—no, all parallel universes—could depart.
Whether the soul was an original or a copy.
That meant Magitech Engineer L's soul had regained summoned-being status, departed the tower, and been chosen by that summoner.
[Fine. Let's say L's soul departed. But then what about that Gigant?]
[Did L build it? She is a magitech engineer.]
[As if a Magnus Gigant is something you can just whip up. Not a chance.]
The culmination of magitech.
There was no way a single engineer could pull that off.
[Even if it was built, how would they bring something like that? You think that fits in a pocket?]
[But it's right there.]
[Yeah, that's what I'm asking—why is it there?]
[I don't really know either…]
At that moment—
[…Huh?]
[…Huh?]
[…Huh?]
The forbidden word "huh?" spilled out repeatedly from the Earth No. 675 Black Tower administrators.
[T-this is insane!]
[Haha, hahaha...]
[Good heavens!]
Only now did they understand.
How that giant-monster Gigant had entered the 79th floor.
A shabby-looking hamster beastman.
A furry little laborer who usually rolled around near the summoner, digging the ground when bored.
That thing was retrieving the Magnus Gigant the moment the clear ended.
A subspace skill?
Even so—how could it handle something that big?
[What is that thing?]
How much time had the clear taken in total?
Exit the White Tower's 1st floor, look at the Black Tower, check its progress, enter the tower.
Deactivate the concealment shroud and summon the summoned beings.
Conversation with them—about 1 minute.
Taking the Gigant out—about 1 minute.
Standing it up and equipping the H-beam—about 1 minute.
Moving to the mission area—about 1 minute.
Clearing the Cerberuses—about 3 minutes.
And then—
Immediately after the clear.
[Hell Gatekeeper Cerberus defeated 80/80]
[79th-floor mission cleared.]
[Reward: Magic Stones 2.9 kg / High-Grade Magic Stones 7 kg]
L issued commands to the Gigant.
Activation command, input operation mode, execute prone crawl.
At the same time—
"Hooooeeek!"
Ssssss—
Rajiks began quickly stuffing the Gigant back into subspace.
Since it wasn't a summoned being, the Gigant absolutely had to be taken along.
After doing it about three times, Rajiks had grown skilled, and the entrance had widened too.
Normally, when a mission completion message, S+++ rank judgment, and exit message appear, the intervals between them are fairly long.
That's why, back during the Rainbow Basilisk hide-harvesting clear, even after the completion message appeared, they still skinned it, stored it, cheered, applauded—everything.
The Gigant steadily vanished.
It was going in very smoothly.
It snagged once briefly in the middle, but—
"Horat!"
Swoosh!
"Oh! It all went in."
"It's getting faster."
"Soon we'll be able to go ssht, swoosh."
Now it was time to exit.
Was the concealment shroud's cooldown back up?
Well, use it or not—it didn't matter.
What was scary about going outside?
It's only scary when you go out alone—this time they were all going together.
"No S+++ clear judgment popped up."
Probably because of the level difference.
[Exiting the German Black Tower.]
Spot!
Instantly—
"Grrr!"
"Kyaaak!"
"Kuooooh!"
"Kerk!"
Monsters surged toward Juhyeok's party like a tidal wave.
Zing! Energy defense barrier activated.
Swoooong! Mackenzie's barrier shield.
Chrrrr! Gyeondallae's talismans fluttered.
Swoooosh!
Gobang strode forward boldly.
His body enlarged, and the Massacre Earthquake Giant Hammer slung over his shoulder grew massive as well.
Whirr—!
He raised the hammer high overhead and smashed it straight into the ground.
Boom!
All kinds of monsters shattered apart.
Crack-crack-crack-crack-crack—
The ground split open ahead.
An artificial earthquake created by the hammer.
Rumbleeeee!
The earth collapsed, burying monsters together with it.
Using the Massacre Earthquake Giant Hammer Juhyeok had given him for the first time, Gobang wore a deeply satisfied smile.
How is it?
Good weapon, right?
No need to drag Bardin in, yeah?
Let's stop with the "human holy sword."
You can't exactly grab and swing a Holy Knight of Lerssal, can you?
Elsewhere, Mackenzie unleashed wide-area flame magic, Sword Master Kosak swept the battlefield with his speed, and Alchemist Won-sa and the Mad Warrior shot down every flying monster they saw.
And Rajiks?
Roll, bounce! Spin—!
Roaming freely across the battlefield, absorbing magic stones with his vacuum-cleaner ability and skinning hides as he went.
Reassuring.
Alone, maybe—but together, there was nothing to fear.
Still, that was a good warm-up outside the tower.
Time to stop, right?
"Entering Berlin Black Tower, 80th floor."
Spot!
The Earth No. 675 Black Tower administrators could only watch.
There was nothing they could do.
The trash mobs they'd released were no match.
Just warm-up exercises—like now.
So how do they kill them?
Of course, there was a way.
Original free-contract souls of overwhelming power from the 90th floors and above.
They could do it.
They'd tear them to pieces.
But for now, even that was impossible.
Why?
Because the tower had regenerated.
So the original free-contract souls that had been in the real world were forced back into the Black Tower and bound there again.
Inside a single tower.
[We need to prepare. They might come again tomorrow. Who was guarding the 80th floor?]
[The Lord of Deception, Gremory.]
Gremory.
[Can Gremory handle them?]
But no one could answer.
What did it mean that Magitech Engineer L had joined them?
It meant that bastard had climbed at least to the 85th floor of Earth No. 1,001's Black Tower.
This was bad.
Very unsettling.
At this rate, the road to the 85th floor was a highway.
With someone hauling around a Gigant—could they really not stop him?
[For now, summon Gremory on the 80th floor. We'll put our heads together—]
[Huh?]
[Damn it! Why 'huh' again?!]
[He just entered the 80th floor.]
What?
Two tower entries in one day?
[What kind of insane bastard is that!]
Just how many floors is he planning to climb?
[Entering German Black Tower, 80th floor.]
The 80th floor had a boss.
This one would too.
The monster on the 80th floor in Juhyeok's world?
It was the defector hero—
the Nightmare Lord, Diamat.
"Master? Why are you staring at me?"
"Just because."
"Hehehe."
Diamat twisted his body and grinned foolishly.
"T-t-there, using your skill again."
"I didn't use anything?"
"If that smile and those movements that enchant people aren't a skill, then what are they?"
"T-that just happens instinctively, without me realizing it."
"Don't make excuses, you sly thing."
"Then what about Alchemist Won-sa?"
"I didn't use a skill."
"Your very existence is a skill, though?"
"That, I admit."
They're fighting again. Again.
Anyway—
"Diamat, the 80th floor here is also a free-contract soul, right?"
"Yes, ma'am. I'm not sure if it's an original, but it's probably a lord."
What kind of bastard would it be?
If it were similar to Diamat, would a defection contract also be possible?
In any case, it'd be better not to bring out the Gigant.
Fuel would be a waste.
The 80th-floor environment was ordinary.
Kindly enough, a stone-paved road had been laid out, and following it led to a small cabin.
Ding!
[80th Floor Mission: Defeat the Monster Lord Gremory (Original).]
[Completion Time Limit: 15 hours.]
Just like Diamat—a Monster Lord.
But—
"It's an original."
"An original?"
"Yes, an original."
"If it's an original…"
"Should we bring out the Gigant?"
"No, rather than that…"
At that moment—
Creak.
The cabin door opened, and someone stepped out.
"Oh? At last…"
It was a young woman.
Was she Gremory?
She looked very innocent.
Not so much pretty as cute.
Warm.
A textbook gentle face.
Looking at her made a smile form naturally.
You even felt fondness.
Even the urge to protect her.
Because of that, Juhyeok realized
the type of the 80th-floor lords.
"So that's how it is."
Not much physical power, but specialized in other areas.
Lords equipped by default with mental attack skills like fascination or charm.
Diamat had been the same.
In fact, Juhyeok was nearly immune to charm-type mental attacks.
Why?
Just like moments ago—
How many times had Diamat subtly tried to use skills to gain Juhyeok's favor?
Only to get caught and scolded by the summoned beings.
He hadn't really blamed her.
Wasn't it a Nightmare's instinct?
Skills unconsciously leaking toward the opposite sex.
Thanks to that, he'd experienced so many charm effects that he'd built resistance.
Not perfect—his heart still wavered like a reed—but still.
"You're the one who's finally come to free me."
"…Free you?"
"Yes. Free me from the tower."
Gremory continued with a sorrowful smile.
"Sigh… I really didn't want to be a tower monster. I was tricked by the Administrators into this."
Tsk.
"It was a flawed contract from the start. I foolishly signed without even reading the terms properly. As a result, I was bound to the tower for countless, endless years."
Contracts really must be handled carefully.
"Please, free me."
Pitiful.
Gremory's face was filled with desperation.
Tears welled in her eyes.
Well, he should help.
If you thought about it, Gremory was a victim too, wasn't she?
Helping her was only natural.
"How would I free you? Would you defect?"
"…Defect?"
"Yes. Come to me."
"Hmm."
Gremory hesitated for a moment.
"All right. I'll defect. Do I just go to you, Player?"
She walked lightly toward Juhyeok.
"Please take my hand. Together, we—"
But at that moment!
"Cut the bullshit, you lying sack of crap."
"…What?"
Diamat, who had been hiding behind Gobang, stepped forward.
Gremory's eyes widened in shock.
"Ah! Um… Diamat. Why are you here?"
"Am I not allowed to be?"
Diamat sneered.
"Summoner, don't believe her. She's the type who lies the moment she opens her mouth."
Is that so?
"And actually, she's not even a woman."
Huh?
"She's a man. Dangling bits and all."
That was unexpected.
"I knew it. Look at those trapezius muscles. Do those look like a woman's?"
"…True."
"A trickster demon. There's no need to accept something like that as a defector."
"Indeed. Compared to that thing, Diamat is a fairy."
Gyeondallae added,
"This girl shall reveal the true form of that demon with the Immortal Mirror."
In an instant—
Flaaash!
The bronze mirror emitted light.
At the same time, Gremory's true form was revealed.
There was no trace of that innocent face.
A protruding jaw, eyes split wide.
From thin red lips, a long tongue flicked out.
"It is false. A cunning demon whose insides are rotten to the core."
Yikes!
Disgusting.
Gremory panicked.
"N-no! That's not true! I'm not lying! The player is being deceived by that nightmare bitch! I truly—"
But Gyeondallae was merciless.
"It is false."
Diamat too.
"A lie."
Alchemist Won-sa as well.
"Alchemist Veronica Caliber. Deception tactic."
So that's it.
"U-unfair! Please spare me! Please… ahhh, please, I—I beg you, believe me—"
Well then.
"Defect right now."
"…Huh?"
"If you defect, you become one of us. Your stats will drop significantly, though."
Gremory's face lit up.
"…!"
"I'll do it! Defection! I'll defect to the player! Defection! That's fine, right?"
But there was only silence from the system.
With Diamat, it had been different.
'The original 80th-floor boss Diamat has requested defection to the player based on the free will granted to her.'
That message had appeared.
But for Gremory's request—nothing.
No response at all.
"Gremory, please speak sincerely."
"O-okay. I'll defect. I swear loyalty."
Silence.
"One last time. Don't lie."
"Yes, yes. I, Gremory, sincerely swear to the player. I desire defection. Please accept me."
Still silence.
Amazing. Truly amazing.
All lies.
Diamat snorted.
"You see? Lies as easily as breathing. Her entire existence is a lie. She's beyond saving."
Gremory's face twisted.
Shrrrk!
Wings burst from her back, her mouth split to her ears, sharp fangs sprouted, and a crimson tongue jutted out.
"Damn it! If that's how it is, I'll fight you fair and square! I'll kill all of you right here! Come on, bastards!"
Tssh!
Gremory fled into the air.
Wow.
Even the escape was a lie?
"…Alchemist Won-sa?"
"Alchemist Veronica Caliber!"
Click!
The magic gun was chambered.
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz…
The barrel glowed white-hot.
With a tremendous backblast—
Boom!
Gremory's fleeing body exploded midair.
Pshyuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!!!
The near-light-speed round's firing sound came afterward.
[Monster Lord Gremory (Original) defeated 1/1]
[80th-floor mission completed.]
[Reward: 80 kg Magic Stones / Gremory's Tongue.]
"…Hmm."
Why give me the tongue?
Gross.
I'll hand it over to Marie, the shut-in alchemist.
Ding!
[The original Monster Lord, Gremory of Deception, has been destroyed.]
[From now on, the German Black Tower's 80th-floor boss Gremory will be replaced with a copy.]
[Achievement: You are the first to defeat the original Monster Lord Gremory of Deception.]
[Achievement rewards granted.]
[You may now enter the tower up to 5 times per day.]
Hey!
The number of entries increased again.
Why do they keep giving me this?
At this rate, won't it hit ten?