The 100th floor of the Black Tower on Earth No. 675.
The conquest itself had not been difficult.
Breaking the barrier with the Judge’s Hammer bearing Yama’s imprint, entering the control room without bloodshed, making contact with the crystal core, dismissing the administrators, and even obtaining tower management authority.
It had all gone smoothly.
There had been some petty interference from the Black Tower, which led to a dispute over the conquest judgment, but in the end, the one that prevailed was the White Tower.
Rewards:
The twenty-first Trait Enhancement.
100 Platinum Badges.
So then—
542 total accumulated.
369 on hand.
20 traits.
I felt proud.
Well, to be honest, it fell just a little short of my expectations.
Still, it was a complete conquest.
“Made my heart race.”
“Same here.”
“I knew Whitedog would pull it off.”
“Hey now! Whitedog? Call him Teacher White.”
“Oh my, of course. Teacher White, come on down here, hehehe.”
Calling a being that might be a god “Whitedog”?
Anyway, I was overwhelmed with emotion.
It felt like just yesterday that I had been trembling in fear on the first floor.
Father, Mother.
The eldest son of the Bong family has reached the 100th floor.
Am I still a weak man now?
So many emotions collided.
Let me wipe away a few tears first.
*****
If people had still lived on this Earth No. 675, how happy would they have been?
They would have escaped extinction and moved on to a new beginning.
But there had to be a place like that somewhere.
A parallel Earth that had not perished yet, stubbornly enduring.
And if such a world existed—
If it, too, was facing extinction because of the Black Tower?
I’ll save it.
In the past, I never would have even thought such a thing.
Who was I to talk about saving the world?
But I had found a way.
And it was not even difficult.
Any world would do.
As long as it had a Black Tower.
If that tower was pushing the world toward extinction—
You just need to clear up to the 90th floor.
Then came the achievement reward.
Restoration of the world outside the Black Tower.
Earth’s magic density decreased, natural ecosystems recovered, monsters that had escaped the tower disappeared, and eventually even the holes created by tower collapse were sealed.
Overcoming extinction.
All that remained was finding parallel worlds in crisis.
Who would do it?
How?
The White Tower.
Teacher White, of course.
With the elevator that could move between dimensions.
Thanks to this complete conquest of the Black Tower, Teacher White’s power must have grown even stronger.
So if any surviving worlds existed, the elevator would find them.
“Shall we head out now?”
“Yes, sir!”
We had received everything we needed, so it was time to leave.
Just as I was about to call for our exit—
I paused and tilted my head.
“...Hm.”
Something felt off.
“What is it?”
“Feels like I forgot something.”
“Did you leave the gas valve on at home?”
“No, not that.”
There was definitely something...
Wait.
“Princess Gyeon Dallae?”
“Yes. Speak.”
“Complete tower conquest isn’t something just anyone can do, right? It’s an achievement.”
“Needless to say. It is truly a great achievement.”
Then why had it not appeared?
The achievement message, I mean.
Wasn’t that a bit much?
Suddenly—
Ding!
“There it is!!!”
[Great Achievement: You are the first player to completely climb a Black Tower.]
It appeared.
Not just a normal achievement.
A Great Achievement.
“Wasn’t that obvious?”
“Indeed. At the end of a great journey, the achievement must also be great.”
“And the reward will be great as well.”
[Great Achievement Reward (1) will be granted.]
Reward number one, in parentheses.
If it was numbered like that—
That meant there were at least two rewards.
Our Teacher White was the best.
What would it be?
Give me something amazing.
Something unimaginable.
[A one-time skill that allows you to summon a Transcendent summoned entity once has been registered in your status window.]
Oooooh!
“Transcendent Summon!!!”
This again.
I already had one saved from the achievement reward for subjugating a Celestial Archangel.
I had not even used it yet.
Add this one, and I now had two total uses.
And that was not all.
If I conquered the Black Towers of Earth No. 1,001 and received the same achievement again?
Three Transcendent Summons.
Maybe even four, if I was lucky.
The age of Transcendent Summoning had arrived.
I no longer had to rely only on Random Summon.
Still, I’ll need to keep summoning, though.
Even if it took time, I had to rescue everyone in the world of souls.
And then—
Ding!
[Great Achievement Reward (2) will be granted.]
There really were two.
The second Great Achievement reward.
[The cooldown of the player’s Random Summon skill has been removed.]
Huh?
What was removed?
Did I hear that right?
[From now on, all souls in Sector S-17 can be summoned consecutively without restriction.]
What did that mean?
[Great Achievement Reward (3) will be granted.]
Again?
[Catalog registration limits have been removed. You may register an unlimited number of summoned entities.]
Juhyeok stood there, mouth agape.
I did ask for something unimaginable, but—
Be careful what you wish for.
Wow. What does this even mean?
Random Summon used to have a 30-day cooldown.
Now that it was gone, I could summon continuously.
Everyone in the world of souls.
And yet, the summoned entities were not overly shocked.
They looked moved, yes, but they also looked as if they had expected this.
“You knew?”
“We believed it would happen someday. But not like this...”
“The contract said so from the beginning. If we helped the summoner save the world, our souls would be fully liberated.”
Ah.
Now that they mentioned it, I remembered.
Soul liberation.
In truth, removing the Random Summon cooldown alone would not have changed much.
Even if 1,000 summoned entities were registered in the Catalog, what would that change?
Because of the simultaneous summon limit, the number I could actually bring along was extremely limited.
When others climbed towers with their summoners, the remaining summoned entities had no choice but to wait in the world of souls.
It was the same thing.
Nothing really changed—
Except for a wider range of choices.
But—
“White Tower Floor 17 was a masterstroke.”
Right.
That place was the liberation zone.
A world where they could live with real bodies.
Residency Rights could be granted without limit.
Soul liberation only truly gained meaning when paired with residence on White Tower Floor 17.
But there was one thing I was curious about.
The name used for the world of souls.
Sector S-17.
A symbol and number.
What did that mean?
The world of souls wasn’t just one place.
If I had to guess, Sector 17 was a region assigned solely to Juhyeok.
It was obvious.
The number was 17.
Sector division actually made sense.
There could be other players with summoning traits in other parallel worlds.
They would need to perform Random Summon too.
If Juhyeok summoned everyone, other summoners would be left twiddling their thumbs.
“How many souls are in Sector S-17? I heard before that it was over 300.”
Back during awakening, when Cossack had been summoned for the first time, I had heard that number.
“I don’t know the exact figure, but it should be around that.”
“Yes. Judging from thought-based communication among us, it’s probably over 400.”
So the number of souls in Sector S-17 was between 300 and 400.
At most, it would take a day or two to summon them all.
And with unlimited Catalog registration, Catalog Expansion Tickets were no longer needed.
“This is fate. Marching a grand legion to the main base to subjugate the Black Tower’s Outer God.”
“Uh...”
“And my life’s turning around too.”
Turning around?
“I jumped straight from last place in the popularity vote to the upper ranks.”
“...”
That was true.
If there were 300 people and he was ranked fifteenth, that was top tier.
Anyway—
Forming a grand legion.
This was not a joke.
It could really happen.
What if Trait Enhancements continued without limit?
For example—
Like that.
A legion of ten thousand summoned entities might be possible.
A summoned division.
Of course, Trait Enhancement probably would not go that far.
But still.
Let’s go home.
I wanted to try Random Summon right away.
Summon, summon, summon.
Free them all.
*****
Preparations for Random Summon began.
I hurried as fast as possible.
First, I entered the White Tower, opened the owner menu, and granted Residency Rights.
A generous 400 of them.
Even that took quite a while.
I also made a plan to ensure efficient summoning.
Finally, everything was ready.
Juhyeok was in the penthouse.
Some summoned entities would assist with the summoning here.
The rest waited on White Tower Floor 17.
Will consecutive Random Summon really work?
Normally, it should have been impossible due to Mannyeon’s summoned-entity registration penalty, but now even that penalty was gone.
Well, let’s start.
First, just one.
“Random Summon!”
[Initiating Random Summon.]
FWAAAAASH!
A mass of light rose up.
Then—
POP!
A person appeared.
“Gasp!”
He met Juhyeok’s eyes, then pointed at himself with trembling hands.
“D-Did I get summoned?”
“Yes. Welcome.”
“Waaaah! Hooray!!!”
<Catalog: Mid-rank Escort of the Central Plains Silver River Escort Agency>
Name: Wang Chunbok
Rank: R (Rare)
Type: Warrior (Human)
A native of a martial world.
From the same world as the Mad Demon?
Well, he was only Rare, but—
Did rank really matter?
Just escaping the world of souls was satisfying enough.
“To think such fortune would come to me. Thank you. I, Wang Chunbok, will devote my very bones and flesh to you, Summoner—”
At that moment—
“Mr. Chunbok.”
“Yes, yes?”
“My name is Jepetto. You know who I am, right?”
“Ah! Vampire Lord! Rank 2 among the summoned entities, the one who commands the assassin Cossack as a subordinate—”
Hmm.
Just what had Jepetto been saying in the world of souls?
SSSS—
Cossack glared at Jepetto with sharp eyes.
Flinch!
Avoiding his gaze, Jepetto hurriedly pulled Wang Chunbok along.
“...Please be quiet and come this way, Mr. Chunbok.”
“Ah! O-Okay.”
Led by Jepetto, Wang Chunbok approached the desk where El was seated.
“Stand there.”
Then Mackenzie snapped a full-body photo with the camera connected to her laptop.
Next, El spoke.
“Name.”
“Pardon?”
“Name!”
“Wa—Wang Chunbok.”
“Class.”
“Escort. A martial artist by origin.”
“Rank?”
“Rare.”
After the brief personal details were recorded, Gyeon Dallae handed Wang Chunbok his Residency Rights.
“This is...?”
“Residency Rights.”
“Uh, um... c-could I receive it later?”
“Why? Planning to go back to the world of souls and brag?”
“Hehe, yes.”
“No need for that. Take it.”
“Ah, no—”
Cossack exploded.
“Are you disrespecting Princess Gyeon Dallae, current popularity rank 4?! Take it!”
“Yes, yes.”
“A rookie with no discipline! Huh? For reference, I’m popularity rank 15!”
Wang Chunbok accepted the Residency Rights.
Then—
SSSS—
His name was engraved.
Finally—
“Wang Chunbok, Dismiss Summon.”
SPOT!
That completed the summoning process.
There was no helping it.
This was how it had to be done.
Catalog registrations might exceed 300 people.
How could I remember every name and face?
I would summon them once and then forget.
Having a Catalog roster with names and faces would make things easier.
Designated Summon later would be much simpler.
Anyway, that was finally one down.
Second Random Summon.
Would it work?
[Initiating Random Summon.]
It worked.
Consecutive summoning.
The cooldown really was gone.
FWAAAAASH!
POP!
A person appeared in the living room, dressed in red, flamboyant robes.
He looked around with a dazed expression, then spotted Juhyeok.
“Oh! Are you the summoner?”
“Welcome.”
“Kuahaha! At last, this one has arrived on Earth!”
A booming laugh echoed through the living room.
<Catalog: The Cruel and Merciless Iron-Blooded Emperor of the Kazan Empire>
Name: Billion Kazan
Rank: LSSR (Legend Special Super Rare)
Type: Emperor (Human)
His Imperial Majesty had arrived.
And as LSSR, no less.
“Summoner, worry no more. Now that I am here, conquering the tower is as good as done, is it not?”
He sounded confident.
Reassuring, even.
“Then let us settle the hierarchy. Where is the Mad Demon? Step forward at once! If I am to stand at the summoner’s right, it is only fitting that I trample you first.”
Oh boy.
What do we do about this?
“This old man is right here, you mad emperor.”
Whip!
Kazan snapped his head toward the voice.
“Hah! You? Still as deranged as ever! Well, after taking a few hits, you’ll come to your senses—”
His eyes met the Mad Demon’s.
“Uh... um.”
“So? How many hits were you planning to land?”
“W-Well, that is... a misunderstanding—”
“Doesn’t sound like one.”
The moment Emperor Kazan faced the Mad Demon, he knew.
Strong.
So strong he could not even read his aura.
“How did you become this strong...?”
“How? Thanks to the summoner, of course. What else could it be?”
“...Ah!”
No good.
He could not deal with the Mad Demon.
Then—
“I suppose I should test myself against the assassin. I hear Jepetto had a hard time because of him.”
That was when—
SPOT!
Cossack appeared right in front of Emperor Kazan.
“What?”
“Gah!”
“What did you say you’d do to me?”
“A misunderstanding—”
“Want to die? Daring to challenge popularity rank 15?”
“Go over there and get your picture taken.”
“Ah—understood.”
Even Kazan shrank before Cossack.
“Um, Lord Kazan, over here.”
“Oh! You must be Jepetto. Yes, you’ve worked hard—ugh.”
Gulp.
His throat swallowed on its own.
“Is something wrong?”
“N-No, nothing...”
The Vampire Lord was no pushover either.
That Jepetto, who had been calling everyone big brother and big sister in the world of souls, was this strong?
“This is insane.”
Kazan stood before Mackenzie.
“Don’t close your eyes for the photo. Chest out.”
“...Yes.”
This was ridiculous.
Even Mackenzie, the attention-seeking mage, was someone whose strength he could not gauge.
Wasn’t LSSR the highest rank?
Then why were these people this strong?
Strong enough that she was no match for them.
“Here are your Residency Rights.”
“Th-Thank you.”
The shrine maiden in front of him was the same.
The weight of her charisma surpassed his own.
“Hierarchy or not... I should just quietly do as I’m told.”
He was the weakest here.
One wrong move, and he would be utterly humiliated.
Meanwhile, Juhyeok cast consecutive Random Summon again.
Only two so far.
Let’s hurry and pull more.
*****
A peaceful day in the world of souls.
Souls conversed using mental waves.
『Do you think the summoner can really conquer the tower?』
『He’s the strongest summoner in history. I think we can believe this time.』
『By the way, the Random Summon suspension penalty still hasn’t been lifted, right?』
『It should be about time... but since Jepetto hasn’t come back, we can’t know what’s happening outside.』
『I just hope nothing bad happens.』
『Same. Even if the tower climb fails, I just want him to stay safe.』
『Still, I wish someone would get out. Even if they come back just to brag.』
Many souls were determined to be summoned this time.
Quite a few had already let go of hope.
Their only wish was for the summoner to survive for a long, long time.
Then someday, their chance would come too.
『As long as he lives. Just live.』
『Right. Then we win.』
『I feel the same. For the summoner’s sake, I can give up my turn.』
『Haha, exactly. Let the one most useful to the summoner go first.』
『Saintess, among us, who’s actually useful?』
『Wouldn’t Emperor Kazan be best? Arrogant, but charismatic.』
『Hmm. Kazan! You think so too?』
But there was no reply.
『...Kazan?』
『Where did he go?』
『He couldn’t have gone anywhere. A soul can’t—huh?』
『Huh?』
『Don’t tell me—』
Emperor Kazan, the chattiest of all souls, was gone.
『Hahaha, Random Summon.』
『It’s finally started.』
『If we wait a bit, he’ll come back to brag.』
So the souls waited.
For Emperor Kazan to return and boast.
For him to share news of the outside.
But time passed, and passed again.
Kazan did not return.
Not even to brag?
『Strange. If Kazan got out, he wouldn’t stay quiet. Right, Saintess?』
Silence.
『Saintess?』
Silence.
What was going on?
『Saintess, where did you go?』
『Did she get summoned too?』
『Skill reset?』
『Maybe?』
But it was not just the emperor and the saintess.
One by one, souls kept disappearing.
『Another one’s gone.』
『How many is that now?』
『More than ten, at least, that I know of.』
『Ten vanished at once?』
『That can’t be explained by a skill reset ticket.』
They kept disappearing.
Even in the middle of conversation.
『What the hell is going on?』
The soul that had just said this vanished as well.
