The control room of the dimensional energy storage facility.

The Controller was dumbfounded.

They had lifted the flight ban?

They had even permitted nuclear detonations?

It was horrifying.

A nuclear explosion had actually gone off inside a restricted zone.

KWA-KWA-KWA-KWA-KWA-KWA-KWA!

RUMBLEEEEE—

The shockwave was strong enough to reach even this place.

It was a nightmare.

The first—and worst—incident in the history of the Black Tower.

That Summoner bastard.

A mere human, not even a god.

No, how had they allowed him to grow this far?

[You useless morons!]

The administrators of the Black Tower on Earth No. 1001 bore an enormous share of the blame.

If they had reported this to headquarters earlier, it could have been handled at the beginning.

Of course, the greater responsibility lay elsewhere.

With the White Tower.

But no matter how much support the White Tower had provided, this still should never have happened.

[That damned petty god.]

That petty god had ultimately succeeded in its investment.

It had gone all in on the Summoner of Earth No. 1001, and it had paid off.

As a result, its influence had expanded tremendously, severing the chains of restriction placed over this forbidden zone.

Even the main god at headquarters could not stop it.

Because the petty god’s logic was more valid.

It even conformed to causality.

In any case, the immediate crisis had to be overcome.

By a stroke of luck, the Summoner’s current mission was to destroy the dimensional energy storage facility on Earth No. 675.

But what about the next mission?

The mission area connected to the 93rd floor?

It would undoubtedly be the dimensional energy storage facility on Earth No. 843.

The precious resource that had to be sent to headquarters might be lost.

Just like now, he would ride that green dragon.

Stuff nuclear warheads into a subspace backpack.

Fly swiftly through the sky and drop nukes wherever he pleased, like bird droppings.

[W-what should we do?]

If the dimensional energy storage facility on Earth No. 843 were destroyed, the consequences would be catastrophic.

In corporate terms, it would be no different from imminent bankruptcy.

A way to overcome this crisis?

There was only one.

[The Archangel. The Archangel has to arrive.]

With the combat forces currently available to the control room, there was absolutely no way to stop that Summoner.

[Haaah......]

The Controller gnawed at fingernails.

At this rate, he might even storm this place.

Eventually, the White Tower would assign him a mission to destroy the control room itself.

I don’t want to die.

An immortal body granted by god.

But immortality only meant not aging. External attacks were another matter entirely.

Should I run?

But where?

At that moment, a staff member in the control room reported in an excited voice.

[C-Controller! A dimensional transmission has arrived from headquarters!]

[What?]

A message from headquarters.

Could it be?

[... What does it say?]

[The Archangel will arrive in approximately one hour.]

[Ah!]

Thank goodness.

God had not abandoned them.

[Whew.]

A sigh of relief.

[We’re saved. Now we only have to wait.]

[Hahaha! Those who endure are the ones who win.]

That was right.

There was hope now.

One hour.

They only had to hold out until then.

Even if not on the 92nd floor, the Summoner would definitely die on the 93rd.

Then everything would return to normal.

After eliminating the Summoner, they could rebuild the dimensional energy storage facility on Earth No. 1001 and begin siphoning energy again.

That was how this would end.

Because the Archangel was coming.

After firing a courtesy nuke, the green bomber headed straight for the mission area.

They detonated several more nukes along the way.

Whenever they spotted a dense cluster of monsters—

“Mr. Rajix.”

“Hoat!”

So spirited.

To the enemy, he was a merciless angel of death.

To allies, he was a reliable dimensional farmhand.

SHOOOOOOO—

POP-POP-POP-POP!

RUMBLEEEEE—

Could the ground monsters even endure that?

They were pulverized by shockwaves and melted by heat.

Whenever things got boring, they dropped another one.

They had plenty of nukes.

If anything, leftovers would be a problem.

There was also another key member.

The green dragon.

The green bomber, Crackers.

What would we have done without our defector hero?

Rajix’s subspace nuclear drops were only possible thanks to Greeny.

At the same time, a slight sense of guilt crept in.

Wasn’t he overworking Crackers?

He was a high ancient dragon, after all.

“... Mr. Crackers.”

“Yes, Summoner.”

“It must be tiring, carrying us around like this.”

“Hahaha. Not at all. You are the one who saved me, Summoner.”

Saved him?

“Didn’t you pull me out when I was about to be bound to the Black Tower by the administrators’ scheme? I have not regretted defecting even once. In fact, the world of the White Tower is wonderful.”

That made sense.

Crackers was enjoying the full benefits of White Tower welfare.

He was also a content maniac—movies, dramas, variety shows, documentaries, everything.

When he had no work, he was always holed up somewhere staring at a tablet.

He said he no longer needed any other entertainment.

His only regret was discovering this world so late.

“Don’t you ever want to go back to your homeland?”

“I do not even want to go near it.”

“Still...”

“I was a half-dragon, and if I had stayed there, I would be dead by now. I signed a contract with the Tower in the first place to escape the world I lived in.”

Ah.

Right.

That was true.

In any case, thanks to the green dragon Crackers, this comfortable strategy had become possible.

“Should I give you a Platinum Badge or something?”

“Uh, haha. Well, that’s a bit—”

“If you don’t want it—”

“No! I-it’s good. I would like that.”

Crackers knew very well what a Platinum Badge meant.

Wearing one meant receiving the Summoner’s recognition.

Even Diamat, a fellow defector, had one.

Having one and not having one made an enormous difference.

Badges were the greatest source of pride among veteran summoned entities.

You know what this is?

It’s proof that the Summoner recognizes me.

Therefore, they were objects of envy.

And now, one was being given to him.

Of course he had to accept.

“Where should I put it?”

“On my ear, like an earring...”

“Can I pierce it?”

“Yes!”

Juhyeok carefully pushed the badge into Crackers’s earlobe.

“Th-thank you.”

At that moment—

Baek Dana, who had been watching silently, spoke up.

“Um, Summoner.”

“Yes?”

“I think you once said you would give me a badge too.”

“... Ah!”

He had forgotten.

Now that she mentioned it, it did ring a bell.

“Sorry. I’ll put it on now.”

Then—

“Kkyaruk?”

Mannyeon also came over and boldly thrust out her chest.

Well, sure.

Mannyeon too.

They were twins. If one got it, the other should too.

They were not the only ones eyeing the badges.

Gulp.

The seven rookie summoned entities swallowed dryly, unable to take their eyes off them.

They had their own plan.

Join the vanguard and earn major merit inside the Tower.

Have that merit recognized and wear the Platinum Badge—the symbol of a “trusted summoned entity”—on their chests.

From intern to full employee.

They waited for battle to break out.

They would prove their worth with everything they had.

But what was this?

Green bomber.

Nuclear drops.

They had heard about nuclear attacks back in the world of souls, but...

Seeing it in person was insane.

No wonder the administrators had broken the rules and violated causality.

“The existing summoned entities were just riding the bus.”

“Yeah. The dimensional farmhand and the dragon did everything.”

“What seniors? They don’t do anything.”

“With this kind of setup, even a rare rank could do it.”

“You don’t even need twenty-two people.”

“Then why did I even come? At least someone should get hurt so I can cast healing.”

“Shh! Someone will hear.”

Someone did hear.

Twitch.

Cossack’s ears pricked up. He had been eavesdropping on the rookies.

He snorted disdainfully.

“So that’s what you’ve been thinking all this time? Elder Gwang heard it too, didn’t he?”

“Of course.”

“Elder Mae too?”

“They were rather loud.”

“The warrior heard it as well, and he’s not happy.”

“Strictly speaking, it is not entirely wrong.”

“Hmph.”

Cossack looked displeased.

He turned his head and spoke to Juhyeok.

“Summoner Bong.”

“... What is it?”

Was he angry because he had heard the gossip?

Was he about to give another mental-education lecture?

“Please land for a moment. I’ll personally kill a few. Lately, I’ve been feeling like I’ve only been eating rice and doing nothing.”

Oh!

Juhyeok’s eyes gleamed.

That was not a bad idea.

His own hands had been itching too.

What was the point of leaving the Judge’s Hammer unused?

You had to use it often to keep the feel.

“Let’s land for a bit.”

FLAPFLAP.

Crackers slowly descended toward the ground.

“KYAAAH!”

“KRAAAK!”

“GRRRRRR.”

Monsters instantly swarmed in.

“I’ll go first!”

SPOT!

Cossack dashed forward.

WHIIIING!

SLASH! SLASH!

Under the grandmaster’s aura blade, monsters were cut apart like sheets of paper.

Meatshield charged in alone as well.

THUD! THUD! THUD! THUD!

He strode forward—

Grab!

Seized a monster—

RIP!

And tore it in half.

“I am the Summoner’s meat shield!!!”

The Mad Demon?

He casually strolled through the air with his hands clasped behind his back, using airborne stepping.

SWISH! SWISH-SWISH-SWISH!

Dozens of crescent-shaped sword energies ground the monsters to pieces.

Flesh scattered in every direction.

Bardin flew through the sky on wings of radiance.

Target acquired—then a rapid dive.

SHWAAAAK!

The radiant shield smashed into a monster’s head!

CRUNCH!

Veronica Caliber’s magic rifle also spat fire.

Selector set to full auto. Ammunition downsized.

BRRRRRT!

RATATATAT!

Small-caliber rounds were more than enough.

A hit turned them into rags.

SCRABBLE-SCRABBLE-SCRABBLE!

Aliamari’s explosive homunculi shone as well.

Monsters had eyes and noses.

The homunculi slipped inside through those openings and detonated from within.

BOOM-BOOM-BOOM! BOOM-BOOM!

Diamat and Jepetto’s joint attack.

Diamat deployed a dream domain to paralyze the enemies for a moment, and Jepetto instantly extracted the monsters’ bodily fluids with blood mist.

What about Crackers?

ROAAAAAR!

A terrifying breath of toxic fluid.

The monsters could not even twitch. They melted on the spot.

Mackenzie also shone with wide-area fire magic.

White extreme-flame fire rain.

Fire Storm.

Hellfire.

FWOOSH! FWOOSH!

A choking stench of smoke rose, and all that remained were chunks of charcoal.

The ice-attribute Baek Dana and Mannyeon ran innocently among the monsters.

That alone was enough.

Just getting close made the monsters crack as they froze solid.

Gyeon Dallae occasionally threw talismans to support the allies, Elle hurled mana bombs, and Rajix wandered around sniffing, wondering whether there was anything worth picking up.

And the rookies?

To be honest, they knew it themselves.

Compared to the seniors, they were extremely weak.

So they banded together.

A seven-person party formation.

Tank, melee DPS, mage, ranged attacker, healer.

A well-balanced composition.

They could handle one monster.

But when two more joined, making three—

“R-retreat!”

“Kyaaaah!”

“Saintess, heal! Heal!”

“What are you doing? Peel that one off me first so I can even cast a heal!”

“Damn it! My arrows won’t stick!”

“Chain Lightning—aaaargh! Sword Demon! Block them!”

“Even I... can’t keep up.”

The situation deteriorated rapidly.

Disarray.

Their formation collapsed.

Magic did not work.

Swords would not go in.

Arrows did not pierce.

How were they supposed to kill something like this?

At this rate, they might actually die here.

“Kyaaaaaah!”

Another one joined.

Three were already too much, and now four?

This was the end.

Even if they died, they would drift as souls on the 17th floor of the White Tower...

But how could they endure that humiliation?

Then—

WHIRRRRR!

A dull black wooden hammer flew in an arc.

THUD!

The moment it struck the monster’s body—

“Gueeeeeek!”

With a scream, the monster’s flesh collapsed.

Who was it?

Who had helped them—

“... Summoner?”

The hammer that had finished off the monster returned to Juhyeok’s hand.

...

Again.

WHIRRRRR!

THUD!

And again—

WHIRRRRR!

THUD!

In an instant, three monsters were taken down.

Summoner Bong Juhyeok.

“Are you okay? That was scary, right?”

No one could answer.

Like mutes who had swallowed honey, they merely lowered their heads.

Aaaah!

A summoned entity receiving help from the Summoner?

How could they lift their heads?

They should have just died.

Was there any greater humiliation?

Only then did they realize.

They were not just ordinarily weak.

They were absurdly weak.

So weak that they needed the Summoner’s protection.

“Did you feel it? The gap in perspective.”

“Eh, I still had a little hope.”

“Serves you right. Getting help from the Summoner?”

“Hoaaat!”

“Truly pitiful. However, take this as a lesson and an opportunity for growth.”

The rookies had no excuses.

What could they possibly say in this situation?

Juhyeok and his group took to the sky again.

No more close combat.

Why bother when there was an easier method?

He was worried about the rookie summoned entities.

They were still hanging their heads, dispirited.

Tsk. I guess I’ll have to give each of them a bit of guidance.

Starting with the Lesseal summoned entities.

Those below that could come after they raised their ranks.

The green bomber flew for quite a while.

Several hours of flight.

Then, at last, a structure came into view.

“It’s a pyramid. Only one.”

Along with the monsters guarding it.

“What should we do?”

“Deal with it using nukes.”

That was the plan anyway.

“Mr. Rajix?”

“Hoeng!”

SHOOOOOOOT!

KWA-KWA-KWA-KWA-KWA-KWA-KWAANG!

RUMBLE-RUMBLE-RUMBLE......

[Dimensional Energy Storage Facility destroyed 1/1.]

Mission complete.

Was that not too easy?

Even if it was only one.

Ding!

[All Dimensional Energy Storage Facilities have been destroyed.]

[You have completed the second stage of the Great Journey Toward Completion.]

[Rewards have been distributed.]

[An Upgrade Rune Bundle for summoned entities has been delivered to the tower-exclusive inventory.]

Huh?

Upgrade runes?

And a bundle?

Meaning more than one.

Yes, yes. Great.

Very great.

It was the item he needed most at the moment.

In some ways, this was even better than Trait Enhancement Runes.

[Returning to Republic of Korea Black Tower (NO.1) Floor 92 on Earth No. 1001.]

SPOT!

Juhyeok and the summoned entities were transported together to the 92nd-floor waiting room.

Ding!

[World Announcement: You have achieved clear grade EX on Republic of Korea Black Tower (NO.1), Floor 92.]

[EX Clear Reward: Platinum Badges x32 (2 + 30).]

Thirty-two.

Nice.

Let’s see what other perks there are.

Next?

The 93rd floor.

What was the point of dragging this out?

Earth No. 1001 too.

Full speed to Floor 100.

So they exited.

Then re-entered the Black Tower.

SPOT!

[Entering Republic of Korea Black Tower (NO.1) Floor 93.]

[93rd-Floor Mission: Great Journey Toward Completion – Third.]

[Do you accept the third stage of Great Journey Toward Completion?]

“Accept!”

SPOT!

The third stage.

The environment was similar to before.

The mission?

[Main Mission: Destroy Dimensional Energy Storage Facilities.]

[Time Limit: None.]

[Completion Condition: Dimensional Energy Storage Facilities destroyed 0/145.]

“Again?”

“D.E.S.F. destruction.”

D.E.S.F.?

“What’s that? ... Don’t tell me it’s short for Dimensional Energy Storage Facility?”

“That’s right. I, Cossack the Alchemist of Abbreviating Everything, declare it so.”

Either way, the third stage was the same mission.

The first was destroying 146 D.E.S.F.s.

The second was destroying one.

Now—

“One hundred forty-five.”

“One less than our Earth.”

“Come to think of it, Earth No. 1001 originally had 145, didn’t it? It only became 146 after one more appeared.”

That was right.

At first, there had been 145.

Because of the temporary naturalization surge, the Tower had branched off and a new one had regenerated, making it 146.

Then—

“Is this another parallel Earth’s D.E.S.F.s?”

“Seems so.”

“I wonder which Earth number this is.”

Gyeon Dallae answered heavily, her expression dark.

“Does the number matter? The painful truth is that there exists a parallel Earth being invaded by the Black Tower.”

Juhyeok agreed.

How many people were dying or suffering because of the Black Tower?

It was heartbreaking.

“How many Earths are these bastards invading, anyway?”

How far had this place been cleared?

It was not in the middle of collapse, was it?

He wanted to help.

Before it followed in the footsteps of Earth No. 675, something had to be done.

There would be a way.

There was even a dimensional-transfer elevator...

But first, he had to fully clear the Black Tower of Earth No. 1001.

In the end, the White Tower’s influence would grow.

Then maybe they could find a way.

“For now, let’s break them.”

“Yes!”

At that moment—

FLASH!

“... Huh?”

From the sky, like distant outer space, a massive pillar of light descended.

“What is that?”

KWA-KWA-KWA-KWA-KWA-KWA-KWAAAAK!

It looked like a waterfall of light.

What?

All of a sudden?

KWA-KWA-KWA-KWA-KWA-KWA-KWAAAAK!

It was not normal.

They could feel an immense flow of energy.

Moments later—

POOF!

The pillar vanished in the blink of an eye.

And where it had struck—

“Someone is there.”

“It looks like a human form.”

“It has wings.”

“... An angel?”

Yes.

It resembled an angel.

The angel they had seen in the heavenly realm.

Then—

An Archangel.

“So we finally meet.”

Juhyeok waved at the Archangel.

Hi, Archangel.

Nice to meet you.

Should he deal with it using C?

Transcendent Summon?

Great Sage Equal to Heaven fur?

Full Catalog All-Element Summon?

Or all of them?

This was hard.

He had so many countermeasures, it was difficult to choose.