The moment an American Player stepped onto Floor 70, the world turned into hell.

The Curse of Average.

That sticky, wretched swamp.

If this curse continued, the world would undoubtedly perish.

The global average was only in the 50s. How were they supposed to match Floor 70?

They said killing the true version of Kabalan would solve it, but who knew where he was?

Consecutive Tower collapses.

Sinkholes appearing everywhere.

And the Tower monsters crawling out of them.

Korea had been hit especially hard.

It had once been considered a developed nation, but amid the Tower collapses and Sinkhole Waves, it could no longer pull itself together.

Those in power abandoned their homeland and fled to other countries.

Players who could use their powers in reality became villains and committed all kinds of crimes.

At least martial law had been declared, and things were normalizing thanks to Commissioner Jeon Gwangil’s efforts, but...

How were the neighboring countries doing?

China, which rivaled the United States for first or second place among advanced Tower-climbing nations.

Japan, with its solid Player base and excellent crisis-management capabilities.

Korea could not even compare to them.

The self-esteem of Koreans had crumbled.

A sense of defeat prevailed.

The despair of thinking they could accomplish nothing.

Resignation and acceptance.

The word “hope” had long since vanished from their minds.

But what was this?

A Republic of Korea national Player had conquered the Black Tower with extraordinary ability?

Starting from Floor 61, all the way to Floor 65.

It was a World Announcement that had rung across the entire Earth.

It was not a Tower Jumping Ticket either.

It meant some Korean Player had personally climbed the undead zone.

And they even said they would conquer Floor 70 within two days and end Kabalan’s curse.

└ It’s not a Tower Jumping Ticket, right?

└ Right. It’s completely different.

└ This is insane. Am I dreaming right now?

└ But if Korea conquers Floor 70, does that really lift the curse?

└ It means the true version was in the Korean Tower.

└ What if it doesn’t work? I’m so anxious I feel like I’m dying.

└ Same here.

Korean citizens were confused.

They could not make sense of it.

That was only natural.

Everything had changed overnight.

This feeling was a first.

Who would have thought Korea’s Tower conquest would become the world’s top concern?

Korea, now carrying the expectations of people all over the world.

It was so unfamiliar.

They did not know what to do.

They could only look forward to tomorrow.

Was it really going to happen?

They truly hoped it would.

But who was that Player?

They wished they could at least know the name.

***

The leaders of nations around the world were also watching the press conference through the television broadcast.

At first, they thought it was an address about defending against the Seoul Sinkhole Wave.

There were even rumors that it had been a Dark Wave.

An extremely rare occurrence where undead armed with dark aura crawled up from sinkholes.

Once it started, stopping it was impossible.

The human casualties went without saying.

Such a Dark Wave had occurred in the Republic of Korea.

But they had stopped it.

How on earth?

The neighboring countries were particularly sensitive in their reactions.

The Japanese Prime Minister’s Official Residence.

A bureaucrat meeting presided over by Prime Minister Kurogawa.

They, too, were watching Commissioner Jeon Gwangil’s briefing press conference.

What would be said?

Most likely, two things.

How they had defended against the Seoul Sinkhole Wave.

Or else...

“Won’t they say something about being selected for the 11th Kabalan curse?”

“The Curse of Average? What could they possibly say about that?”

“Well, they’ll probably ask for help. Beg us to send Level 61 Players or something.”

“Hmph! As if that would work. Even worldwide, Level 61 Players can be counted on one hand.”

Japan did not have any Level 61 Players either.

There was exactly one, but he had gotten there through loopholes.

He was not even Japanese by nationality.

They only kept him around because he was useful.

The press conference began.

As expected, it started with the announcement about the Seoul Sinkhole Wave.

So how had they conquered the Dark Wave?

Had they developed some new weapon?

But there was no particular mention of that.

They only announced the result: success.

“They are glossing over it.”

“So it seems.”

“Maybe there was no Dark Wave in the first place?”

“Ahem, but there was testimony that it was definitely dark aura.”

But right at that moment—

A person appeared beside Commissioner Jeon Gwangil {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} at the press conference, bound in rope restraints.

“Huh?”

“Gah!”

“Th-That guy?”

“N-No, why is he there?”

It was Liu Chenming.

A man publicly wanted in Korea.

Japan had accepted Liu Chenming’s asylum request.

Although his nationality was Korean, so they could not send him into Japan’s Black Tower, his value in defending the Hokkaido sinkhole alone made him worth keeping.

The fact that Japan had granted him asylum was top secret.

They had disguised him as a fisherman, brought him through Busan Port to Tsushima, then from Tsushima to Fukuoka. They had smuggled him in so secretly that no one could have known.

Yet he had been captured?

When exactly?

“This makes no sense. He was at home just yesterday.”

“Could it be fake? They must have grabbed some random person and disguised him as Liu Chenming.”

“Go check immediately. Find out whether Liu Chenming is there or not.”

Then came the address.

The Republic of Korea Awakened Forces Special Operations Team’s declaration of Floor 61 conquest.

“Ha!”

“How ridiculous.”

“Those lowly Koreans, and yet...”

It was absurd.

If they had that capability, why had the Korean Black Tower collapsed?

Not a chance in hell.

Were they not on the verge of collapse at any moment anyway?

Just then—

Ding!

“Hm?”

A World Announcement rang out.

What was the content...?

[World Announcement: Republic of Korea Black Tower Floor 61 conquest successful! A Republic of Korea national Player has cleared the Black Tower Floor 61 mission...]

“What?”

Prime Minister Kurogawa shot up from his seat in the meeting room.

The other high-ranking officials could only gape.

“...What?”

“Floor 61...”

“C-Conquered?”

They could not believe it.

But they had no choice but to believe it.

A World Announcement.

They had all heard it.

Floor 61 of the undead zone, which should have been impossible for Korea, had been conquered.

It came up as breaking news on the Japanese broadcast covering the press conference.

Everyone was flustered by the sudden World Announcement.

Right at that moment—

“Prime Minister, Cabinet Intelligence Office agents just went to Liu Chenming’s residence and finished checking.”

“...And?”

“He has vanished completely without a trace. They said the living-room panoramic window had been cut out, so it seems...”

It was indeed Liu Chenming.

Liu Chenming, who had been in Japan, was now there.

And then?

Ding!

[World Announcement: Republic of Korea Black Tower Floor 62 conquest successful! A Republic of Korea national Player has...]

“...Ah.”

Now Floor 62.

“Could it be a Tower Jumping Ticket?”

“N-No. The method and content are completely different. There is no way a World Announcement would ring out for that.”

That was right.

It was entirely different.

It did not stop there.

Announcements continued ringing at intervals of about ten minutes.

All the way to Floor 65.

“How on earth did they do this?”

“I will look into it.”

“Investigate thoroughly.”

***

Chinese Chairman Liang Pei and the Standing Committee members were also watching the press conference.

Of course, they heard the World Announcement too.

“This is baffling. For something like this to happen so suddenly...”

Korea had been a small nation that could not even reach the toenails of a great power.

They had been groveling, heads bowed, offering to hand over Jeju Island if only China would conquer Floor 61 for them.

Yet now they had climbed to Floor 65.

In just one day, no less.

They also knew it was not a Tower Jumping Ticket.

“Five times in one day. Is this also a Player’s Trait skill?”

“That is most likely the case.”

“Who could it be?”

“We are gathering intelligence. We should know soon.”

Five times a day was one thing.

What was even more surprising was that the conquered floors were the undead zone.

Floor 65 in particular was where the Dullahan appeared.

A notoriously difficult floor.

Even if one conquered it, it would take at least ten hours.

“...Only ten minutes?”

How was this possible?

“It appears they possess items specialized against undead.”

“Hmm.”

That was right.

That had to be it.

There was no other explanation.

In fact, China also had three sinkholes.

During the initial Kabalan curse, China’s conquest progress had been challenging Floor 62 of the undead zone.

But in the end, they could not overcome Floor 62.

China had three Towers.

If they were cursed and failed to conquer, all three would collapse in a chain reaction.

What were they to do?

They had five Players at Level 62, but not a single one could surpass the Floor 62 barrier.

Then intelligence came in.

There was a talented Player in Taiwan.

A Level 59 warrior Player with a light-attribute Trait.

So they secretly made contact and brought him over.

Through threats, persuasion, and every method they could employ.

It was practically kidnapping.

Back then, there were no Sinkhole Waves yet, so Players could not use their abilities in reality.

When they provided him with light-attribute items at great expense, the compatibility was excellent, and he rapidly climbed to Floor 62.

After that, they easily conquered whenever they were caught by the Curse of Average.

But Floor 66.

The Dark Specter.

This one was the problem.

A flying undead monster.

Its dark aura was powerful too.

As a close-combat light warrior, it was a difficult monster to deal with.

Still, they kept sending him into the Tower.

Hoping that if he kept throwing himself at it, he would figure something out.

Then one day.

The Taiwanese forced-naturalization Player who had entered Floor 66 for practice did not return.

Death inside the Tower.

His death was kept secret.

And then China was selected for the 11th curse.

At this rate, their three Towers would simultaneously collapse again.

It was a major crisis.

They were in checkmate.

Amid all this, a request for temporary naturalization came from Korea for Floor 61 conquest.

Korea wanted Jeju Island, which had optimal conditions as a refuge.

What if this Korean Player conquered up to Floor 66?

“We must bring them over. Even if we have to kidnap them.”

But the problem was this.

“We cannot approach carelessly. The situation is different from back then.”

That was right.

When they had brought over the Taiwanese Player, the barrier between the Tower and reality still existed.

In other words, it was a time when even high-level Players were no different from ordinary people.

And now?

The restrictions had been lifted.

Tower abilities could be used as-is.

“Their level must be very high. Physical suppression may be difficult.”

“Do not worry. Are we planning a one-on-one duel? We need to move systematically.”

“That is right. Numbers always win. If we simply send twenty people in the late Level 50s...”

“And do we not have plenty of experience with this?”

Chinese Chairman Liang Pei nodded as if in agreement.

Well, forced Player naturalization was not exactly something they had done only once or twice.

Honestly, were all five of China’s top Level 60-plus Players even Chinese?

Except for one, they had all been brought over from elsewhere.

It would be the same this time.

***

Earth NO.843 Black Tower Administration Office.

An emergency had been declared here too.

The sudden World Announcement.

They had not intended this.

There was no such process in the Black Tower system.

A Republic of Korea national Player with extraordinary ability? S+++ grade conquest?

Even the engineer responsible for the system did not know the cause.

Why had such a message...

[...C-Could it be?]

[Engineer, do you have something in mind?]

[Could it be White Tower interference?]

[Why would the White Tower come here... wait!]

A thought suddenly flashed through their mind.

[Pull up the hologram recording of the Republic of Korea Black Tower Floor 61 that was just conquered.]

[Yes.]

A moment later.

FLASH, FLASH, FLASH!

The hologram appeared.

[Gah!]

[What the fuck!]

[Damn it!]

They knew the moment they saw it.

Why?

There were over twenty humans on Floor 61.

Who else could it be?

[...A Summoner?]

[It is definitely that Earth NO.1001 bastard.]

[How did that son of a bitch...?]

The Summoner had come.

To Earth NO.843.

He had acquired nationality and was brazenly conquering the Black Tower.

[Rumor has it he can do it five times a day.]

[Yes, and apparently very quickly too.]

[So he will only reach Floor 65 today?]

This was bad.

Tomorrow would be Floor 70.

A thought suddenly struck them.

[H-Hey, is the Kabalan on Republic of Korea Black Tower Floor 70 the true version?]

[...Yes, it is.]

[Why?]

[Because it was designed that way from the start.]

[Goddamn it!]

This was bad.

If he kept climbing like this, it was obvious he would conquer it.

[Can we relocate the true version Kabalan? To a different national Tower?]

[I-Impossible. We would have to completely wipe the system for that, and there is no time now.]

[What if we expend causality?]

[That still would not work instantly. It might be possible if the Tower collapses and regenerates.]

[Damn.]

In other words, there was no way.

They could only watch helplessly as the true version was conquered.

What to do?

The only thing they could do was...

[There is a Sinkhole Wave scheduled for Korea, right?]

[Tomorrow.]

[Send all the undead monsters. Death Knights and Liches too.]

And.

[Also transmit a dimensional dispatch to headquarters. Tell them he has appeared on Earth NO.843.]

This was all they could do.

***

Juhyeok conquered up to Black Tower Floor 65 and returned to White Tower Floor 6.

It had been so easy he could yawn.

Bardin had done everything by himself.

So next time, he decided to exclude Bardin.

“My lord! Please rescind your command. How can you exclude this humble servant?”

“Geez, what’s so fun about playing with kids? The undead melt just from you walking around.”

“Is that not convenient? Conquest should be efficient.”

It was not efficiency.

It was waste.

“Don’t worry. There’s a lot of work to do today. You should prepare for overtime.”

“Oh! Just give me the order.”

Tower conquest was important, but there was something equally important. No, perhaps far more important.

The Sinkhole Wave conquest.

If they could not stop this, Tower conquest was pointless.

The Chuncheon Sinkhole Wave defense was scheduled for tomorrow.

What if a Dark Wave—undead—crawled out there too?

Currently, the Players of Earth NO.843 could not stop a Dark Wave.

If it happened, he would have to step in himself.

Of course, sending Bardin alone would suffice.

But how could he keep worrying about every single Sinkhole Wave?

Korea was not the only place with sinkholes.

So an idea occurred to him.

Let’s foster self-reliance in the Players.

“Dimensional Servant.”

“Eep?”

“Take out the weapon items.”

“Eep!”

FWISH, FWISH FWISH FWISH FWISH FWISH FWISH!

Various weapons piled high on the ground.

“Now, we’re going to enchant all of these. Into sacred objects brimming with holy power.”

Mass-production-type holy weapons.

They could be made quite easily.

Since he had replicated the White Tower Floor 17 facilities here, they had a Comprehensive Workshop Center.

Dwarves modified the weapons, mages enchanted them, magical engineers attached attributes, and alchemists performed the coating.

Why was this possible?

Because of Radiance Generator Bardin and Holy Water Maker Saint Dorothy.

They would absorb Bardin’s Radiance through attribute absorption and store it in mana circuits.

Then they would enchant the weapons using the holy water Saint Dorothy produced and finish them with alchemical coating.

Holy-attribute equipment would be mass-produced.

Who would receive these?

The Republic of Korea Awakened Forces, obviously.

He had not even done this on Earth NO.1001.

There had been no need, and they had lacked the technology at the time.

Work began.

The mages, including Mackenzie, got to work.

“Inscribe attack-power enhancement for undead combat.”

“Steadfast Mind too. That’s the key.”

“The Radiance Flame attribute device will all be handled by the magical engineering factory chief.”

“Add location-tracking magic and a self-destruct enchant too, so the functions can be disabled immediately if they are lost.”

“They’re just rechargeable items anyway. The functions will run out after a few uses.”

“Do it anyway. There will definitely be people who try to steal them.”

And then came Radiance absorption.

The attribute absorption device El had created was steadily draining Bardin’s Radiance.

“Light!!!”

“More, more, more.”

“L-Light!!!”

“You’re doing great. Keep going. More, more!”

Aaaagh!

Bardin, his Radiance being extorted by mechanical devices.

“...Huff, huff. I’m getting tired. Perhaps if I rest for a bit...”

Cossack snapped angrily.

“Gah! What are you trying to pull? The Holy Knight has lost his original spirit!”

“N-No, that is not it.”

“Have you forgotten when you were held and swung in our Meatshield’s hands?”

“...Mmm.”

“Back then, you actually enjoyed the pain, didn’t you? Perverted Human Holy Sword Bardin! Having wings doesn’t make your perverted nature go away.”

“...”

“Enjoy the pain. That is the original spirit of the Perverted Human Holy Sword.”

How was holy water made?

By pouring holy power into clean purified water.

Set out a bowl of water.

Dip your hands in and spread holy power.

Done.

But it took a long time.

It was not finished by simply dipping one’s hands in and taking them out.

The water molecules had to be bonded with holy power.

“Too slow. The production volume is pathetically low too.”

“B-But...”

“Look at Senior Bardin. He’s giving it his all.”

So Cossack devised a special measure.

“Fill a bathtub with water and get in. Then emit holy power with your whole body. Steep it like boiling beef-bone broth.”

The muscular Saint Dorothy asked while glancing around nervously.

“With all my clothes off?”

“Absolutely not. Please don’t do that. Our Summoner Bong-nim would be traumatized. Keep your clothes on when you get in.”

“...”

“And no peeing.”

The factory ran without rest.

Overnight work was in progress.

There was some fumbling at first, but once they got in sync, items were completed one after another.

It seemed they could supply one holy weapon to almost every member of the Awakened Forces.

This was the power of the Comprehensive Workshop Center.