The Black Tower is alien.
It is a structure imbued with an energy that never originally existed on Earth—mana.
From Earth's perspective, the Tower is no different from an external virus, bacteria, or an imperialist invader.
Sure, it contributes to scientific civilization and economic development through the new energy material known as magic stones—but compared to the danger the Tower poses, that contribution is insignificant.
Once a Tower rises, it cannot be removed.
The only thing that can be done is to prevent its collapse.
Although the Black Tower stands on Earth, it is in truth a separate space.
A place governed by rules unique to the Tower.
That is why entry requires permission.
Only a small number of awakened players are allowed to climb the Tower's floors, complete missions, and bring back magic stone rewards.
Does that mean players are completely free?
No.
They too must obey rules.
For example, limits like entering only once per day.
The inventory ability is another example.
A player's general-purpose skill—Inventory—always carries the qualifier "Tower-exclusive."
Only items that originate from the Tower can be stored inside it.
Earth-made items cannot enter the inventory.
There are a few exceptions.
Clothing, shoes, or small items that can be held in one's hand or placed in a pocket may be carried in as personal belongings.
Because of these rules, bringing weapons of mass destruction from Earth into the Tower was impossible from the start.
They cannot be classified as personal belongings, nor can they enter the inventory.
And yet—what is this?
The administrators of Earth No. 675's Black Tower still could not accept what had happened.
[… Nuclear weapons detonated? How?]
A nuclear explosion itself is nothing special.
During past world wars on Earth No. 675, how many nuclear weapons had humans fired at each other?
The number of humans killed by nuclear weapons might even exceed those killed by Tower monsters.
But this time, the explosion didn't occur outside.
It detonated inside the Tower.
A violation of the Tower's rules.
Something that should never have been possible.
And yet, the method was perfectly legitimate.
A summoned being, called forth through the summoner player's unique trait, had brought nuclear weapons in from the outside using its own inherent skill.
[That hamster beastman… what exactly is that thing?]
They hadn't even been this shocked when Magnus Gigants were taken in and out.
After all, those were Tower-made entities.
They had simply thought, So the subspace is enormous.
But this—
[Should we add clauses to the system banning gunpowder reactions and nuclear fission/fusion? We can implement it immediately once they exit.]
At the engineer's suggestion, the Black Tower designer of Earth No. 675 paused to think.
[More importantly, is there any way to sanction that beastman laborer?]
[At present, we can't touch him. Even the system can't interfere with a summoned being's innate skill.]
Right.
If that were possible, such a skill would never have existed in the first place.
[Then there's only one option. A patch banning gunpowder reactions.]
It was humiliating.
Unable to retaliate, they were reduced to whining, "Next time, don't hit us with that—it really hurt."
[… Fine. Start the patch as soon as they exit.]
[Understood.]
That aside—
[Have you found a free contractor for the 89th floor?]
With the destruction of the demonic dragon Karatos, the 89th floor's overseer position was vacant.
For now, it had been replaced with dragon-tooth soldiers made from dragon bones.
[We're currently negotiating with a suitable dragon.]
[Hurry. He might reach the 89th floor.]
[We can probably take our time. Clearing the 86th floor should be difficult enough.]
[True. Nuclear weapons won't work on the Phoenix. As the highest-ranked fire elemental, detonating a nuke would only make it stronger.]
Still, it felt like he might even clear the Phoenix.
If he succeeded on the 86th floor, then the 87th and 88th would likely fall quickly.
Suddenly, a thought occurred.
Had he cleared the Phoenix on Earth No. 1,001?
[… Still no contact with the administrators of Earth No. 1,001?]
[Yeah. They're not answering.]
Damn it.
Those bastards.
But there was nothing they could do.
Earth No. 675 and Earth No. 1,001—
Even though both were Black Tower administrators, they governed different domains.
Their goals aligned, but they weren't in a superior–subordinate relationship.
They weren't close, either.
And there was no obligation to cooperate.
In truth, they were competitors.
It would be lucky if they weren't laughing behind their backs.
[… Sigh.]
A long sigh escaped.
How had they ended up with such a disaster?
[At least we've bought some time. Let's focus on ways to block his ascent.]
Right.
Even if the Phoenix could be defeated, it would likely take an enormous amount of time.
From what they'd observed so far, none of the summoner's subordinates possessed ice-based abilities capable of extinguishing the Phoenix's flames.
The last remaining Black Tower in existence.
It needed to be completely collapsed as soon as possible.
If only that player could be killed.
Only then could the project resume.
[How large will his reward be?]
[We put too much on the scale. If he'd died on the 85th floor, it would've been quietly resolved—but that didn't happen.]
The reward would exceed what was originally contracted.
Do they really have to watch him revel in it?
Better not to look at all.
[… Turn off the hologram feed.]
Click.
On the 85th floor, the aftereffects of the nuclear explosion had yet to settle.
The mission was complete, at least.
"It's probably still hot outside, right?"
It seemed best to let things cool down a bit.
Then Rajiks said,
"Ho-e."
Sssh, ssssh.
He pulled several bottles from his subspace backpack.
"Hm?"
Fire Resistance Potions.
Leftovers from preparing for firefighting-type missions.
If they drank these, they could probably go outside.
"Give one to me. I'll try going out first."
Kosak gulped down the potion, unlocked the bunker door, and opened it.
Whoosh!
A wave of heat rushed inside.
"Ah! Hot—hot—hot—!"
Kosak slammed the door shut.
"I almost got burned."
Still too hot.
Watching this, El said,
"I'm a golem. Heat won't bother me. I'll go."
"Then why didn't you say so earlier?"
"I thought you looked confident going first."
"..."
Just then—
Scratch, scratch, scratch.
Mari wrote something on paper and handed it to Juhyeok.
— I'll send out homunculi infused with frost potions first ♥JJJ
Frost-potion homunculi?
When did she even make those?
Scratch, scratch.
— You said before that we didn't have any ice-attribute summoned beings, so I thought this might help a little… They should cool the outside sufficiently ♡♡
He remembered saying that once.
They had tanks, melee DPS, ranged DPS, holy, fire, support—everything except ice.
"Oh man, I'm really glad I brought you along, Mari."
At the praise, Mari bowed her head shyly.
Then—
Shrrraaaaa—
She sent the frost homunculi outside the bunker.
Splash!
They sprayed the frost potions they carried, rapidly lowering the outside temperature.
Now it was time to go out.
El led the way.
"It should be fine now."
Behind him followed Bardin, Mackenzie, Kosak, Rajiks, and finally Juhyeok.
It was still hot—but bearable.
Juhyeok looked toward the distant site of the nuclear blast.
Desolation.
A massive crater gaped in the ground, like the impact of a meteor.
Then—
The guaranteed rewards?
At that moment—
Ding!
[Guaranteed rewards are being distributed.]
Anticipation surged.
After all, they'd gone all out.
[1 Trait Enhancement Rune has been added to your inventory.]
One, to start.
Next—
[5,000 tons of high-grade magic stones have been awarded.]
"Huh?"
That's more than promised.
The contract was for 3,000 tons—an extra 2,000 tons added.
But then a question arose.
How are they delivering that much?
At that moment—
Ziiing!
A transparent, door-like opening appeared in the sky.
Tuduk, tududuk, tududududuk—
Sparkling, shining stones poured down endlessly.
"Wow!"
So that's how they do it.
"Hoaaaat!"
Thud, clang, whirr!
Rajiks flipped into the air.
Using his vacuum-like subspace storage, he began absorbing every single falling high-grade magic stone without missing a speck.
"As expected of our dimensional farmhand!"
"That suction power is insane."
"Practically a black hole."
"A summoned being you can trust."
"No wonder he's number one."
Then—
[1.5 tons of top-grade magic stones have been awarded.]
"Ooooh!"
Even the top-grade stones exceeded the promise.
A full 500 kilograms extra.
Do you have any idea what this means?
1.5 tons of top-grade magic stones means 1,500 White Tower residency passes, materials for magic sword enchantments, and enough supply to fire Master Be's sub-light rounds without ever worrying about shortages.
High-grade or top-grade—it didn't matter.
Rajiks stored everything into his subspace backpack.
Now, the only remaining reward was the badges.
An S+++ clear was guaranteed.
The contract specified 20.
Don't you dare try to withhold them.
Ding!
[World Announcement: Black Tower (Germany) 85th Floor Clear Rank — EX.]
"… Huh?"
Did I hear that wrong?
EX rank?
Then the reward—
[EX Clear Reward: Platinum Badges ×20 + 30, total 50 awarded.]
"—What?!"
What is this?
20 plus 30? An extra thirty?
They're just handing them out like candy?
"Fifty!!!"
"Huh? Fifty what?"
"Platinum badges."
"W-What?! For real?"
"Do I look like I'm joking?"
Unbelievable.
So there was a rank higher than S+++.
Honestly, it made sense.
There was nothing ordinary about this clear.
One giant Gigant and three ultra-giant monsters were erased in a single strike.
"Let's do a triple cheer."
"Of course. Long live—!"
"Long live!"
"Long live!"
"Long live Rajiks!"
"Long live Gigant Unit No. 1!"
"Long live Juhyeok!"
And then—
"For our Unit No. 1 Gigant, who burned bright and departed—let us observe a moment of silence."
The summoned beings mourned together with Juhyeok.
Farewell, my first Gigant.
We'd received everything we were owed.
A perfectly satisfying clear.
I even felt grateful to the administrators.
But gratitude is gratitude.
And grudges are grudges.
Raising the difficulty to Extreme Hell Mode—fine.
But adding no mid-mission withdrawal?
"Those bastards."
"Utterly despicable."
"Hora!"
These 675 administrators were worse than the ones from our Earth.
If we hadn't brought ten nuclear warheads, we would've been trapped in the Tower with no escape.
How do we get revenge?
We can't exactly punch administrators.
But there is one way.
By clearing the Tower in a way they never even imagined.
And if we add another EX-rank clear on top of that?
If we clear it even faster than on Earth… it might work.
"As soon as we get back, prepare for the 86th-floor fire suppression raid and return immediately."
"Yes, sir!"
"I'll prepare at once."
Scratch, scratch.
— I'll help too, with frost homunculi ♥♡』月
"Thank you, Mari."
[All guaranteed rewards have been distributed.]
[Black Tower (Germany) 85th Floor difficulty has reverted to Normal Mode.]
[Exiting the Black Tower (Germany).]
Spot!
Juhyeok and the summoned beings returned to the White Tower, 1st Floor.
The other summoned beings—who had been anxiously waiting—burst into applause the moment they saw him return safely.
Clap clap clap clap clap clap clap!
After hearing what happened on the 85th floor—
"Those bastards should be boiled alive."
"Do not be lenient simply because the rewards were generous. They must be punished."
"This warrior wonders where the administrators live."
"Same here. Anyone know their address?"
"Would such a thing exist?"
"Hoaat!"
An EX-rank clear.
Everyone had executed their role flawlessly—this was the best possible outcome.
Kosak had secured North Korea.
That's why acquiring nuclear weapons had been effortless.
Rajiks didn't even need mentioning.
Without him, this strategy wouldn't have existed.
El piloted the Gigant.
Mackenzie, Bardin, and Mari protected everyone inside the bunker.
Each of them fulfilled their role perfectly.
Now then—let's settle accounts.
"Rajiks, take out 1.5 tons of top-grade stones."
"Hoaat!"
Shrrrraaaash!
A cascade of top-grade magic stones poured out.
Blindingly radiant.
So beautiful it hurt the eyes.
We wouldn't need to worry about top-grade stones for a long while.
Next—the Trait Enhancement Rune.
No reason to wait.
Gulp.
Including catalog summons and the defector Diamat—thirteen total.
Simultaneous summon capacity: 13.
Perfect.
Clean.
Mari rarely needed to be summoned anyway, so there was effectively one spare slot.
When's the next random summon?
Still a long way off.
Hopefully the magic sword would be finished by then.
A new summon for upper-floor clears.
When a dragon appears—slash with the magic sword.
Finally, the platinum badges.
We received 50 this time.
Previously accumulated badges: 150
Physical badges: 30
Now?
Add 50.
Total badges: 200
Physical badges: 80
I opened my inventory to confirm—and then—
Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding!
[Platinum Badge total 155 reached. Special reward granted.]
[Reward: Multinational Tower Access Ticket ×1 added to inventory.]
[Platinum Badge total 160 reached. Special reward granted.]
[Reward: LSSR Guaranteed Summon Ticket ×1 added to Tower Inventory.]
"… Huh?"
[Platinum Badge total 195 reached. Special reward granted.]
[Reward: Tower Mission Reset Ticket ×1 added to Tower Inventory.]
[Platinum Badge total 200 reached. Special reward granted.]
[Reward: Item Bonus Acquisition Ticket ×1 added to Tower Inventory.]
"Holy—!"
What are these rewards?!
"M-Madness!"
Of course—these weren't ordinary badges.
They were official Platinum Badges earned from Tower floor clears.
"This is insane."
Once before, I'd gotten 50 platinum badges from a lucky random box.
But those didn't count toward cumulative totals—no special rewards.
They were fine for boosting summoned beings' ranks, but that was it.
These were different.
An Extreme Hell Mode mission strengthened by an equal-exchange contract with the 675 administrators.
Nuclear detonation → EX-rank clear.
20 promised + 30 bonus.
Badges earned through legitimate completion.
Of course the special rewards applied.
And they triggered ten times.
"This is crazy."
Special reward messages kept firing as items flooded my inventory.
"Wow… thank you so much."
I love you.
Extreme Hell Mode.
Then—
[Achievement: You are the first being in the entire universe to reach a cumulative total of 200 badges.]
"… Oh my."
This can't be real.
An achievement?!
My mind was reeling.
Thank you. Truly overwhelming gratitude.
Cumulative badges: 200
Not Korea-first.
Not world-first.
Universe-first. That's me.
[Achievement reward granted.]
If it's universe-first, the reward should be special, right?
[A one-time skill allowing the summoning of a Transcendent (Beyond) Summoned Being has been registered to your status window.]
[Summoning a Transcendent (Beyond) Summoned Being requires 30 Platinum Badges.]
[The one-time Transcendent (Beyond) Summon skill will be deleted after use.]
[The manifestation duration of the summoned Transcendent (Beyond) Being is 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, it will be forcibly dismissed.]
A Transcendent—Beyond—Summoned Being?
Consume 30 Platinum Badges to use it?
What is this supposed to be?
…Did they just hand me an instant-kill button?