Chapter 299

CHAPTER 299

Earth No. 1001, Japan, Tokyo.
Japan had been utterly ruined by the stubborn obstinacy of its right-wing factions.

Japan was the only country in the world without a Black Tower.
Japan was the only country in the world that could not produce ordinary magic stones or high-grade magic stones on its own.

The result was total chaos.
An economic crisis and international isolation.

Japan regretted it too late.
What was Tsushima, really?
After the Black Towers appeared, what was so special about giving and taking territory?

In the end, a cession treaty was signed.
And then—

Tzzzzzzzzzz!

Ding!

[World Announcement: The Japanese Black Tower has been regenerated.]

The Black Tower stood once more.

[World Announcement: There are currently no players affiliated with the regenerated Japanese-national Black Tower.]

[World Announcement: Please secure affiliated players to maintain the Black Tower.]

[World Announcement: If the required number of affiliated players is not met, awakening procedures for Japanese civilians will be initiated in 10 days.]

At long last, Japan recovered its Black Tower.
Player recruitment still remained, but—

Meanwhile, on Earth No. 843—

South Korea declared the lifting of martial law.
This happened after players’ external abilities had fallen to near–civilian levels.

The president announced his resignation.
A presidential election would soon be held.

Commander Jeon Seong-il also retired from the military.
He was now just an ordinary player.

But his influence remained immense.
He hadn’t even registered as a candidate yet, but he was already polling first.
Even if he ran as an independent, his victory was practically guaranteed.

He was being invited everywhere.
Debate programs, lectures, news panels, even variety shows.

That day, he appeared on the 9 o’clock news.
Jeon Seong-il came out wearing a suit instead of a military uniform.

“Former Commander Jeon Seong-il, now active as a player after retiring from the military, has joined us in the studio. How does it feel? We hear you’ve been very busy.”

“Hahaha. I wouldn’t say I have much to do, but suddenly becoming a civilian does feel a bit unreal.”

After the customary greetings—

“Recently, China and Japan have released another joint statement. They insist that dismantling the towers was too harsh and are strongly requesting restoration to the previous state…”

But Jeon Seong-il was firm.

“That will never happen. They did not keep their promises. Our response is only natural.”

The news anchor asked cautiously.

“Some say that demanding half of Mount Baekdu, Gando, and Tsushima Island was excessive…”

Heh.
Jeon Seong-il snorted.

“Did you forget that China demanded Jeju Island as the price for clearing the Undead Zone? And Japan—who secretly siphoned off our national players and sheltered Ryu Chenming, the one responsible for the South Korean sinkhole disaster?”

He spoke clearly and forcefully.

“Well, before the Black Towers, those demands would certainly have been excessive. Ceding territory? Unthinkable.”

The anchor nodded.

“But the world after the Black Towers is completely different. Especially after the sinkhole waves, territorial cession and border redefinition have become commonplace.”

That was true.
Such things were happening all over the world.

“China itself reset its borders with Vietnam in exchange for dispatching temporarily naturalized players, didn’t it? Taking is fine, but giving is not? That’s pure hypocrisy.”

“The will of the greatest player in the parallel universes is firm. Remember this well: the longer you delay, the higher the cost becomes. The cost has already increased enough. Negotiations under the original conditions are no longer possible.”

China would have to add Manchuria on top of Baekdu and Gando.
Japan would have to add several more islands on top of Tsushima.

The ratings for the broadcast featuring Jeon Seong-il skyrocketed.
Was there even a need to hold an election?
The presidency was all but decided.

Earth No. 1001, White Tower, 17th floor.
Spot!

Juhyeok entered confidently.
In one hand, he held the crystal core obtained from Earth No. 675, raised high.

For some reason, the bound summons burst into applause at his pride-filled expression.

Clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap!

Then they took a closer look at what he was holding.
Wait—what was that?
It looked familiar.

“… Um, Summoner Bong, could that be—?”
“That’s right. A crystal core.”
“Y-you can take that outside?”
“Yes. You’re looking at it right now.”
“Ah!”

But why did he bring that here?

“Everyone, gather up. Something important has come up.”

When the summoner called for assembly, all the bound summons gathered in the plaza.
What kind of important matter was it?

“You all know that I’ve obtained full administrative authority over the Black Towers, right?”

Of course they did.

“That’s all thanks to Lord Guigok. So in that spirit, let’s give him another round of applause.”

Clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap!

Then Juhyeok explained everything that had just happened.

“… So I regenerated Japan’s tower and was browsing through the menus, when—what the hell? There was a tower relocation menu just sitting there.”

Tower relocation?

“You see this crystal core I’m holding?”

The bound summons turned their eyes to the core.
Some had seen it before.
Most had not.

“It’s been fully initialized for tower relocation. You can think of this small core as containing an entire Black Tower. The Black Tower of Earth No. 675.”

And?

“I plan to plant this in Earth No. 1—the hidden world of the Black Tower’s main base. And I will manage that tower personally.”

Murmurs spread.
The bound summons looked at one another with wide eyes.

Planting a Black Tower?
In the main base, no less?
Then what happens?

This can’t be—

“Yes. That’s right. A counter-invasion. An eye for an eye.”

Silence fell.
Everyone was processing Juhyeok’s words.

Tower admin authority.
Hidden menus.
Tower relocation.
Initialization.
Planting a Black Tower in the enemy’s main base for a counterattack.

Insane.
Absolutely insane.

Only now did they fully understand.

The bound summons felt their chests swell.
They were veterans—people who had challenged towers with different summoners in different worlds.

And every time, they had failed.
Towers collapsed one by one.
Sinkhole waves erupted everywhere.
Their summoners died.

But their current summoner?

Not only had he fully conquered the Black Towers of three worlds—
he was now planning a counter-invasion.

Could this work?
And if it did… how sweet would that victory be?

“Before that, there are some settings we need to decide. I need your advice on how to configure the Black Tower.”

Kosak shot his hand up.
His eyes were bloodshot, burning with excitement.

“I—I have a question.”
“Go ahead.”
“A-are monsters also inside that core?”
“Of course. Once the tower is planted, they’ll be generated automatically using dimensional energy.”
“Th-then, among the admin authorities… is there a right to arbitrarily replace tower monsters?”

Why wouldn’t there be?

“There is.”

He’d experienced it himself.

“What about free contracts? Bringing in monsters from outside and deploying them.”

Free contracts?
That one he wasn’t sure about.

“Hold on. Let me check.”
“Yes, sir!”

Juhyeok carefully reviewed the descriptions of the hidden tower menus again.
There were strict rules governing tower difficulty and monster placement.

From Floors 1 to 70: fixed missions, fixed difficulty.
Tutorial zones, basic tower monsters, the Undead Zone, and even Kabalon—
everything was copied wholesale into the tower.

But from Floor 71 onward, restrictions were lifted.
Missions and monster placement could be freely adjusted using dimensional energy.

Free-contract monster deployment was allowed.
The problem was that beings eligible for free contracts were rare.
At minimum, they had to be Demon Realm lord–class nobles or dragons.

“From Floor 71 and up, free-contract monster deployment is possible.”
“Oh! Really?”
“There are two methods…”

One allowed soul copying.
The other did not.

Allowing soul copies was the most common method.
The being could participate directly, and their soul would also be copied.

That’s how Demon Realm lords usually did it.
Like Diamat.

Disallowing soul copies?
The monster fought players alone.

Dragons were the prime example.
Only a single individual existed in the Black Tower.

“If a no-soul-copy contract monster gets overlapping missions, what happens?”

For example, if an ancient dragon alone handled Floor 90, and players from multiple countries tried to challenge Floor 90 at the same time?

Crackersus answered.

“They fight in order of arrival. Later entrants get a waiting number and stand by.”
“Like a famous restaurant?”
“Exactly. But this has never happened before. Who even reaches Floors 89 or 90?”
“Hm. Understood.”

After hearing everything, Kosak grinned.

What now?
What scheme was he cooking up this time?

“Summoner Bong.”
“Yes?”
“I’m quitting being a bound summon starting today.”
“… Excuse me?”

Did I hear that wrong?
A resignation?
This guy?

“Y-you traitor! How dare you!”
“Betrayal? I knew it would end like this.”
“Always talking about being second-in-command—he’s finally lost it.”

“A warrior shall take the traitor’s life!”
“I’ll kill him. One sub-light shell is all it takes.”
“Hoooooah!”

The bound summons erupted in accusations.
Yet Kosak didn’t even blink.

“For what reason, exactly?”
“I’m FA now.”
“… FA?”
“Free agent. I, Kosak, want to become a free-contract tower monster.”

“….”

Juhyeok could only gape in disbelief.
Seriously?
So you’re saying you want to enter the tower in place of a monster and fight players?

Are you insane?
What kind of nonsense is that?

“The Black Tower was made by the main-base bastards anyway. They know the Black Tower better than anyone.”

True.

“If nothing changes, we’ll just get steamrolled. If we don’t use free-contract deployment, the ones in charge of Floors 89 and 90 will just be dragons. They’ll clear it at light speed.”

That… actually made sense.

“The hardware belongs to the main-base bastards, but the software has to be rewritten by us. Only then can we give them shock and awe.”

Wow.
Smart, Kosak.
Every word was right.

But still—
how is a bound summon supposed to become a tower monster through an FA contract?

“Just try it. Make the contract offer.”

Is there even a menu for that?

“… There is one.”

Under the detailed options for replacing a floor overseer, there was a Free Contract Proposal.
There were standard contracts—one allowing soul duplication, one forbidding it.

But—

“Will this even work?”
“How would we know? It might.”

Even if it worked, there would be countless problems.
Summoning, tower placement, manifestation limits.

And once you become a tower monster, you’re stuck in the tower.
Sure, you can leave—but still.

Too many restrictions.
Impossible.
No way.

Besides, isn’t dual employment forbidden at any workplace?
Well, it was obviously not going to work—but since he wanted it so badly, let’s try.

…

“I bet 500 won it won’t work.”
“Accepted!”

Juhyeok selected the no soul duplication standard contract.
At the same time, he pictured Kosak as the target.

Ding!

[You have proposed a free contract for tower floor defense to
Assassination, Infiltration, Reconnaissance, Disruption, Intimidation, Plunder, Frenzied Swordmaster, John Kosak.]

What?

“… What the hell?!”

It worked?

“Good. I accept.”

[Free contract for tower floor defense has been concluded with Frenzied Swordmaster John Kosak.]

[To ensure smooth tower floor defense, the free-contract target is granted expanded free will and authority.]

“Yes! From now on, I’m a monster!”

Juhyeok stood there, mouth hanging open.

Ding!

[Achievement: You are the first to allow dual employment for a bound summon and conclude a free contract as a tower floor defense overseer.]

… That’s an achievement?

Unbelievable.

The achievement was tied to the White Tower.

It wasn’t showing itself, but this meant it had either foreseen this situation—or was watching it unfold.

Are you insane?
Whitey? Lady White? No—Lord White God, seriously?

[Achievement rewards granted.]

[A Resurrection Rune is pre-issued to ensure the bound summon’s safety, preventing death inside the tower.]

[If a free-contract bound summon suffers fatal damage inside the tower, the summon will be forcibly canceled, and a 10-day summoning ban penalty will be applied.]

In the middle of all that, Kosak held out his hand to Juhyeok.

“What?”
“Give me the 500 won.”
“….”
“Signing bonus. I’m gonna buy snacks.”

What snacks can you buy with 500 won?
You couldn’t even get a bag of shrimp crackers.

“Summoner Bong—no, Administrator Bong of the Black Tower.”
“Uh, yes?”
“As an FA recruit, I’d like to say a word. Considering my social standing and abilities, I believe I should be the final boss of Floor 99.”

“….”

Kosak lifted his chin proudly and bragged to the other bound summons.

“Final boss of the Black Tower. The myth of free-contract tower monsters. Player butcher. Exploitative 500-won contract. Is this acceptable? Even so, I stop all climbers. Rewards? Come and take them if you can. Earth No. 1, holes everywhere! Sinkhole specialist. Human tunneling machine. That’s Kosak!”

That was when—

The Mad Demon, who had been watching the contract process in a daze, spoke up.

“S-Summoner… I apologize, but this old man will also… resign as a bound summon.”

… What?

“Please release me as a free contract as well. I shall take responsibility for Floor 99.”

Oh, come on.

“Brigadier General Veronica Caliber! I hereby retire! Please grant me a free contract as a reservist.”
“I, the green aircraft Crackersus, will take Floor 90 as customary—”
“Master! Me! Diamat will take Floor 80!”
“This mage shall replace the immortal phoenix on Floor 86.”
“Kyaaa!”
“Summoner! Mannyeon wants to go free contract too! Me too!”
“My lord! Though it is presumptuous, this humble one also—”
“Woof woof woof woof!”

This was insanity.

Even Blood Wolf wagged his tail and volunteered.
And then—

“Hoooeeek!!!”

What?
Rajiks too?

Wait—why is a dimensional porter volunteering to be a monster?
Blocking with cuteness?

“… Hmm, dimensional porters are actually scary.”
“Why?”
“If he dumps Magnus Gigant and Mechanic Goliath split golems out of subspace, it’s over.”

… True.

He could flood an entire floor with split golems.

“Hohak!”
“No nukes. We’d all die.”
“… Heuh.”

It wasn’t just the veterans.
Even the rookies raised their hands.

“Summoner, please let me do it too!”
“I’ll work hard!”
“My hand too!”
“I’ll beat up the main-base players!”
“I’ve always dreamed of being a tower monster!”

Thankfully, Gobang said nothing.
That was normal.

A bound summon has dignity.
How could one willingly become a lowly tower monster?

Did none of them think at all?

“A warrior shall take the lowest—Floor 71. No one shall pass. The other free contractors will just suck their thumbs.”

Aaaaah.

“On second thought, I should take Floor 71. If Gobang is there, players won’t even get to see the tower.”
“No, this old man will take Floor 71.”
“Brigadier General Veronica Caliber, I—”
“Kyaa?”
“Summoner, Mannyeon says she’s taking 71. I want to go too.”

This was spiraling out of control.

Earth No. 1—or the Primordial Earth.
The Supreme Council of the Three Dimensional Travelers.

“What agenda is it today? We’re busy exploring parallel Earths.”
“The god has issued a prophecy.”
“A prophecy?”
“What kind?”
“That the summoner from Earth No. 1001 has an extremely high probability of invading our world soon.”
“Oh.”
“So it’s finally…”

The AI god’s prophetic ability—
a prediction combining mathematical probability, statistics, and divine power.
It had never been wrong.

“How do we respond? The bound summons he brings aren’t trivial.”
“First, we’ll produce additional archangels. Combat angels will also converge on Terra City.”
“Again?”

“We’ll deploy a force field over the entire city.”
“A force field?”
“Nuclear fission and fusion prohibited.”
“Ah!”

The dimensional travelers nodded.

So far, two ultimate weapons of the summoner were known.

Transcendent summoning—and nukes.
Bound summons would carry nukes in their inventories and detonate them.
How much damage had that caused?

But once the force field was deployed?
At least within Terra City, nukes would be useless.

Transcendent summoning?
Not a problem either.
Its manifestation time was extremely short.

They would mobilize the army.
Deploy Grade-1 superhumans.

“Well, no need to worry.”
“Hahaha. I hope that summoner comes soon.”
“Yes. He’s going to die anyway.”

The three dimensional travelers weren’t worried at all.

Why?

This was the main base.