Wimp's Strategy Guide to Conquer the Tower

Chapter 279 CHAPTER 278

The Daegu sinkhole wave defense ended in a decisive victory.

However, the Daegu temporary command headquarters was still abuzz with noise.

Reporters from all over the world had gathered, along with special delegations from various countries inquiring about holy weapons and the Mechanic Goliath combat golems.

Lee Min-seon handed out numbered slips to the observers like a restaurant hostess at a famous eatery, restoring order to the venue.

"I will now explain the holy weapons."

The venue quieted.

"Sales are possible, but our supply is limited. Therefore, we plan to conduct first-come-first-served reservations in the order of the number tickets."

Ah!

People groaned in dismay.

"Do not worry. While the principle is first-come-first-served, countries expected to face a sinkhole wave within 48 hours will receive priority sales."

The affected countries sighed in relief.

"As for the golems, you will need to wait a bit. We will notify you once a schedule is set."

The price of holy weapons was also decided.

Five hundred thousand dollars per unit.

Since they are rechargeable, the radiance batteries that attach to the weapons are sold separately for one hundred thousand dollars.

If a country buys one hundred units, that's at least fifty million dollars.

Extremely cheap.

On the other hand, a single Mechanic Goliath splitting combat golem costs one hundred million dollars.

Maintenance costs to be negotiated later.

Even so, the special delegations lined up.

Amidst all that, a marvelous global announcement rang out.

Up to the 85th floor.

Some among the delegations harbored doubts.

If the 90th floor was going to be cleared anyway, why prepare for wave defense?

They said the sinkholes would be sealed.

The monsters would disappear.

Nevertheless, countries decided to purchase the weapons.

They were needed for the Black Tower segments as well, and no one knew how the situation might change.

Nearly every country in the world put its name on the holy weapon reservation list.

However, there were two countries that did not even send special delegations to Korea.

First was China.

An emergency top-level meeting was held at the State Council in Beijing.

They too had watched the Daegu sinkhole wave defense live.

Following Chuncheon, it was another insane clear.

Not a single casualty.

Well, considering some bizarre, amoeba-like robot had suddenly appeared—

Just where in the world did that thing come from?

"I wonder if it's really okay to just sit still like this. Should we have sent a delegation after all?"

"If we send one now—"

"No. We're in a different position from other countries. They won't sell to us with money alone. We don't know what demands the Koreans might make."

Chairman Liang Fei agreed.

Back when Korea failed to clear the 61st floor and three sinkholes opened—

China had subtly provoked them by demanding the cession of Jeju Island.

Despite having ample capability, they had not helped.

Anti-Chinese sentiment must have reached its peak by now.

They would surely seek revenge.

And with unreasonable demands.

They might demand renegotiation of the exclusive economic zone in the West Sea.

Or an end to the Northeast Project.

Or to cut ties with North Korea.

To obtain the weapons, they would have to accept such conditions.

From China's perspective, that was absolutely unacceptable.

"It may be better to wait."

"Wait?"

"According to Korea's claims, the sinkhole waves will end soon."

"Hm."

That's right.

If the 90th floor is cleared, the sinkholes will be sealed and the monsters will disappear.

That was written in the official notice sent by Martial Law Commander Jeon Seong-il to all countries.

"Then what about the Black Tower undead sections?"

"With just a few weapons, wouldn't that be more than manageable? Large quantities might be difficult, but obtaining a few is trivial."

They could even naturalize players who already possessed holy weapons.

"Then let's wait."

The Standing Committee members smiled mockingly.

"Hehehe, having to hope that Bangjje clears the 90th floor—what an irony."

"Let's cheer him on. We'll just sit back and reap the benefits."

"Jiāyóu! Bangjje, jiāyóu! Hahahaha!"

A free ride.

That was China's decision.

Japan was no different.

At a bureaucratic meeting chaired by Prime Minister Kurokawa—

"Pressuring the Korean martial law command with the Liu Chenming kidnapping incident will be difficult. They haven't even blinked."

"Global public opinion is also unfavorable toward Japan."

"They're lining up countries with holy weapons right now."

"Waiting is the wisest option."

Prime Minister Kurokawa nodded.

Honestly, if the sinkhole waves disappeared, what could be better than that?

Japan's tower progress was in the late 50s.

They didn't urgently need holy weapons.

And by tomorrow or the day after, Korean players would clear the 90th floor anyway.

If that happened, the Hokkaido sinkhole would be sealed too.

They could gratefully accept the benefits.

"We just need to cheer them on—'Ganbare, Joseonjin player!'"

"Hahaha, ganbare Joseonjin!"

Japan also chose to ride Korea's free bus.

The next day.

Juhyeok quietly entered the 86th floor.

The floor where the Infernal Cataclysm Immortal Phoenix appears.

So a firefighting strategy?

Not a chance.

There was Mannyeon.

And Baek Danna as well.

First, Brigadier General Bae absorbed the ice attack generated by Baek Danna and pulled aggro.

"Launching large-caliber shell. Guidance system activated."

Pajujuk!

Sway!

Brigadier General Bae's dazzling dribble.

Pajujuk! Pajujuk! Pajujuk!

Sway! Sway! Sway!

After draining its strength with four consecutive large-caliber shells—

"Kyaaaaarrrrk!"

Mannyeon charged forward, spewing bone-chilling cold.

Tststststststst!

"Kyaaargh!"

The phoenix and Mannyeon collided.

Chiiiiiiiiik!

The meeting of flame and cold.

Of course, the phoenix was no pushover.

The title "Infernal Cataclysm" wasn't for nothing.

But Mannyeon was even more terrifying.

Just look at the name.

Mannyeon.

The power of ice crystals aged over countless years.

On top of that—

Ssssh!

Rajiks flew in riding Crackers and dropped several liquid nitrogen tanks.

Chiiiiiiik.

The flames quickly subsided.

The phoenix was completely annihilated.

[World Announcement: Republic of Korea Black Tower 86th Floor Cleared! A Korean-nationality player has cleared the Black Tower's 86th-floor mission with astonishing ability, achieving an S+++ rank.]

The 87th floor?

Even easier.

The floor where the Undead Bone Dragon appears.

"Light!!!"

The power of a flying holy knight.

Easily dispatched with a shield of radiance.

The 88th floor—Sub-Dragon Sand Dragon.

After a long time, the father of the Mechanic Goliath combat golems, Magnus Gigant, was deployed.

He cleaved the sand dragon cleanly in half with a demonic sword.

This was the power of a father with fifty children.

Now only the 89th and 90th floors remained.

Both were free-contract dragons.

On Earth No. 675, and on Earth No. 1001 as well.

"At last, the day of the 90th-floor clear has come."

"With this, our summoner will have saved three worlds."

"My lord! We are unstoppable. The momentum is with us—press forward!"

"Brigadier General Veronica Caliber! I will escort you!"

"Hoaaaah!"

But Kosak tilted his head.

"Honestly, I'm disappointed. I thought they wouldn't allow the 90th-floor climb. Are these administrators stupid? Or fearless? If it were me, I'd have already schemed something."

At that moment—

"Gal !!!"

Geon Dallae shouted angrily.

"Huh? … Why are you copying my way of talking?"

Her gaze was sharp.

"So you finally said it. Such a frivolous fellow. You've jinxed it. What shall we do now?"

"What, c-what are you saying?"

"Do you think I wasn't uneasy about the administrators' schemes? Even so, words have power. I held it in despite the bad feeling."

"..."

Kosak's eyes rolled around in panic.

"Have you never watched baseball? Who talks to a pitcher on a perfect streak? Everyone keeps quiet to avoid jinxing it."

"What does baseball have to do with tower raids?"

"How does it not?"

Hey, why are you two fighting?

And what's with jinxes?

Would staying silent prevent something from happening?

Would speaking make something fail?

It's all superstition.

Relying on shamanism isn't good.

"It's fine. What could possibly happen? Don't pressure Kosak too much. We're all trying to succeed here."

Geon Dallae still looked upset, but she closed her mouth at Juhyeok's words.

"Ahem!"

Feeling emboldened by Juhyeok taking his side, Kosak straightened up.

And then—

[Entering the Republic of Korea Black Tower, 89th Floor.]

Spot!

Good.

Entry successful.

See? Nothing happened.

'So what's the mission?'

Dragon subjugation, for sure.

The 89th floor would be an adult dragon, the 90th an ancient dragon.

'Where is it?'

At that moment—

Ding!

Did the mission appear?

[An error has occurred in the system.]

"…What?"

[Broadcasting a world announcement to Earth No. 843 under administrator authority.]

"What?"

[World Announcement: The 89th-floor overseer, the Evil Dragon Partalon, has withdrawn from the Black Tower.]

[World Announcement: Due to the withdrawal of the Evil Dragon Partalon, mission generation for the 89th floor is impossible.]

[World Announcement: For the time being, mission generation for the 89th floor has been indefinitely postponed, and ascension to the 90th floor is also impossible.]

Wow, look at these bastards.

[World Announcement: We ask for your understanding and will strive to normalize the system as soon as possible.]

So this is how they're playing it?

"Those sons of bitches! They kicked the ladder away?"

Kosak rushed over to Juhyeok, swearing loudly.

"Those filthy bastards! We need to protest!"

"Where are you going?"

"…The White Tower?"

Right.

Where did our godly Baek go?

It was quiet.

No voice at all.

Come to think of it, he'd said this place was under very strong Black Tower influence—be careful.

"Our fairy princess was right. We got jinxed. Totally jinxed."

And whose fault is that?

Whip!

Juhyeok shot Kosak a sharp glare.

"I told you over and over—watch your mouth."

"Uh… th-that is…"

"Do you think Princess Dallae would've kept quiet for no reason? Huh? She's a shaman. A shaman! Koreans are supposed to believe in shamanism, right? Huh?"

"..."

Juhyeok's sudden shift in attitude.

Kosak cornered.

The attacks kept coming.

"I always knew that mouth of yours would bring trouble someday."

"You think you're so smart?"

"We were worried too. But we didn't say it out loud."

"Can't you tell just by looking?"

"Hoaah!"

In an instant, Kosak became public enemy number one.

"Uh, um, I—I was just worried."

"Sigh. Lord Kosak, what's spilled can't be gathered back. Please reflect."

"…Yes, sir."

Tsk, tsk.

Still, what do we do about this?

"Fairy Princess, what should we do now? Doesn't look like we can get help from Whitey either."

The demotion of godly Baek to "Whitey."

"We must capture the Evil Dragon Partalon."

"And how would we know where he is?"

A free-contract dragon is one that crossed over from another dimension.

If he returned to his own dimension?

We'd never find him.

"Humbly, may this girl venture a guess?"

Oh, humbly, she says.

She's a shaman among shamans—Great Shaman Geon Dallae.

"First of all, the dragon likely did not terminate the contract. It merely says 'withdrawal.'"

Juhyeok had heard that too.

"Also, I've heard that free-contract souls can withdraw from the tower. Just look at the succubus Diamat."

The memories came back.

We'd even gone all the way to China to hunt that succubus.

"The difference is that the succubus left behind a copy, allowing the 80th floor to be cleared. But the dragon…"

It didn't leave behind a copied soul?

Crackers added an explanation.

"I've made contracts too. I included a clause forbidding soul copying. And tower withdrawal is possible with administrator permission."

Hmm.

Then maybe—

"Tower withdrawal must have been authorized by the administrators. So the contract wasn't terminated…"

"Which means the Evil Dragon Partalon should be here, on Earth No. 843."

"Ha!"

"He's likely hiding in secret. Like the succubus. We must kill him so the 89th-floor overseer monster can be replaced."

But how?

How do we find him?

Geon Dallae's tracking divination?

That wouldn't be easy.

Diamat had left a copy, making tracking possible.

They'd interrogated the 80th-floor copy to learn the appearance and soul trace.

But Partalon?

All we knew was his name.

"Tracking divination has its limits."

Then?

"The entire world must join forces and search. By any means necessary."

Juhyeok nodded.

There really was no other way.

"First, we'll inform Commander Jeon Seong-il."

All they could do was trust the Black Tower spy-reporting spirit of the people of Earth No. 843.

It would take time.

Until then, they'd have to endure by defending against sinkhole waves.

In truth, the entire world had been waiting for today.

The day an unnamed Korean player would clear the 90th floor and end the sinkhole waves.

They waited desperately.

Praying to hear the world announcement of the 90th-floor clear.

The raid began at the 86th floor.

A lightning-fast clear up to the 88th.

But then—what was this?

A world announcement exploding at the 89th floor.

Something about the Evil Dragon Partalon?

That tower missions couldn't be generated?

People were thrown into shock.

Then what happens now?

Wasn't anyone going to explain?

In the midst of this, a public address by Korea's Martial Law Commander Jeon Seong-il was announced.

People around the world gathered in front of their TVs.

"You must have been very surprised. But this was entirely foreseeable."

Jeon Seong-il began calmly.

"The time has come. I will now reveal the truth about the Black Tower administrators—and the main base."

Administrators? The main base?

"What happened is this."

Jeon Seong-il began explaining in detail, with a firm tone.

He had once mentioned the purpose of the Black Tower before.

Back then, he'd only given a brief outline.

That the Black Tower was a tool of an alien invasion force.

That they were intentionally trying to collapse the tower.

Now, he revealed everything.

Starting with the main base, the administrators, dimensional energy, and more.

And the reason why this situation had occurred.

"…That is why we are certain the Evil Dragon Partalon is hiding on Earth. We must capture him to ascend the 90th floor, and only by clearing the 90th floor can the sinkhole waves end."

People weren't particularly shocked.

The phase of believing or not believing had already passed.

In a world where even parallel universes exist—

Why wouldn't alien gods trying to invade Earth be believable?

A reporter raised a hand.

"But what if you can't find him?"

"We will not assume failure. We will find him. Until then, we must endure by defending against sinkhole waves."

"Ah!"

Murmurs rippled through the crowd.

Another question followed.

"But even if you find him, there's still the problem that he's a dragon who escaped from the 89th floor, correct?"

"That is correct."

"A legendary being. He must be on a completely different level from any monster encountered so far. Can you really capture him?"

"That part is easy."

"…How can you be so sure?"

Jeon Seong-il smiled confidently.

"Why do you think he's hiding?"

"…Pardon?"

"Because he's afraid of our top player. If he's caught, he dies."

Then he turned on the large wall-mounted TV behind him.

"For reference, our Earth's top player's trait is [Summon]."

Summon?

"He calls forth absolute beings from various dimensions and fights alongside them. Like a hero-summoning gacha game."

What kind of nonsense—

"He can also summon dragons. Of course, dragons on our side. Far stronger than an evil dragon."

More and more—

"From now on, you will watch what our top player, along with summoned dragons and absolute beings, has accomplished in other parallel-universe Black Towers."

Click.

The screen lit up and the footage began.

A Black Tower.

But an environment no one had ever seen before.

Likely an unchallenged upper layer.

As time passed, people's eyes widened.

Is that a movie, or real footage?

The astonishing feats of absolute beings.

Milky-white aura blades.

Crescent-moon energy.

A female soldier in a suffocatingly perfect firing stance.

Talismans flying.

White-flame magic.

A giant of colossal size.

Winged angels.

An ultra-colossal gigant dozens of times larger than golems.

That wasn't all.

Nukes were detonating.

Inside the Black Tower.

Dozens of them.

Kwakwakwakwakwak!

A dragon flew at terrifying speed, dropping nukes like bird droppings.

What is this?

This is how you clear a tower?

At first, people were just dumbfounded.

But gradually, hope began to sprout in their hearts.

If that footage was real, then it was trustworthy.

Those people would save this Earth.

Just supplying holy weapons and splitting golems already proved it.

They could do it.

They could endure.

"In the end, we will win. Because we have the top player. So believe. What matters now is defending against the sinkhole waves."

People weren't really listening to Jeon Seong-il's words.

Their eyes were glued to the massive TV screen.

But even so, there were two countries that couldn't afford to smile.

Countries that had tried to free-ride and reap the benefits without lifting a finger.

Countries that couldn't secure holy weapons or golems.

Countries that didn't even make it onto the reservation list.

China and Japan.