Chapter 141
Chapter 141
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 141
Chapter Title: The Ordinary Guy's Tower Conquest Method 141
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The 80th floor, where a copy of Diamat existed.
First of all, none of the summoned beings knew about this place.
This was their first time on the 80th floor too.
They had heard things from other souls here and there, but they said they couldn't remember the truly important parts.
The environment was an ordinary forest.
A beautiful full moon hung in the night sky.
But then, after receiving the mission...
The moment he took a single step!
'...Huh?'
The environment surrounding Joo-hyuk changed.
'Suddenly?'
It was a familiar place.
A classroom from the high school he used to attend.
Students in uniforms immersed in their studies.
Joo-hyuk was sitting in a desk chair.
It was the seat he always sat in.
'It's been a while.'
Honestly, he wasn't in a very good mood.
A sense of discomfort was already washing over him.
What was Joo-hyuk's high school days like?
Bullying and harassment.
A loner who had no friends and ate lunch alone.
But was it just suffering?
There was joy, like a drop of rain in a drought.
'Jin-sook.'
Oh Jin-sook.
The female student Joo-hyuk had a crush on.
Of course, he never even tried to confess.
She was a bit of a troublemaker.
A so-called "iljin" female student.
Jin-sook, who wore a short skirt, dragged her slippers around, and would occasionally tap his head as she passed by when she was bored.
'...But I still liked it.'
His heart would pound at the sight of her smiling slightly after hitting his head.
If you ask why he specifically thought of Oh Jin-sook...
She was right in front of him.
Her hair tied up, the fine down on her pale nape.
He could tell just from the back.
Suddenly!
Oh Jin-sook turned her head and looked back.
Then, winking at Joo-hyuk, she said:
"Joo-hyuk-ah."
"...Huh? Me?"
"Yeah, wanna go to karaoke after class?"
Karaoke?
Is she really asking me?
Swish!
Jin-sook came close.
Close enough to feel her breath directly.
"Let's go sing. We can dance too, you know I'm a good dancer, right?"
Of course he knew.
Jin-sook was a regular at the school talent show.
Ahhh!
Her lips were so close to his.
Close enough to smell a sweet scent.
"Should we buy some beer too? Ah, I get drunk after just one can, you know. When I'm drunk, I just take my clothes off anywhere."
"......"
His heart pounded.
He wanted to ditch studying right now and go outside...
'No!'
A sense of incongruity was blooming in a corner of his chest.
'That can't be.'
Would the ultra-popular queen bee Oh Jin-sook really be crazy enough to talk to him?
More importantly, there was one glaringly inconsistent fact.
What came from Oh Jin-sook's mouth wasn't this sweet scent...
'...it should smell of stale cigarettes.'
Jin-sook.
You're fake if you don't smell of cigarettes.
Then he realized.
That he was in the middle of climbing the 80th floor.
'It's Diamat.'
The culprit inducing these illusions in him.
'Well, it was brief, but...'
It was nice to see you again, Jin-sook.
Now he had to break free.
"I'm sorry! Jin-sook!!!"
Thwack!
Joo-hyuk smacked Oh Jin-sook's head right then and there.
Slap!
"Kyaa!!"
Huh?
What's going on?
He felt the impact in his hand.
Could she be real?
"M-my lord!"
Gasp!
It was Gyeon Dal-rae.
The woman whose head was hit by Joo-hyuk's hand, her eyes wide open.
Oh no.
"A-are you okay?"
"I am perfectly fine, my lord. I was merely a bit startled."
That's a relief.
It's a good thing he didn't hit her hard.
"But, who is this Jin-sook...?"
Hmm.
"She... she was just an old classmate."
"Ah! I see?"
How embarrassing.
Anyway, it was clearly the work of the 80th floor boss Diamat, but to fall for it without any resistance?
"That's embarrassing."
"Do not blame yourself, my lord."
"But..."
"Except for myself, Gwang-ma-nim, and Gobang-nim, everyone else is still within their dreams."
What?
So it wasn't just him?
At that moment.
"Huek! Hoohehehehek!"
Bang bang bang bang!
Right next to Joo-hyuk, Razix was repeatedly striking the ground with a pickaxe, his eyes bloodshot.
Then he picked up a simple rock from the ground.
"Hoohehe, Rune of Specialization Enhancement, three badges..."
He was muttering like that.
Veronica was...
"Mmmph, I'm not on guard duty today. I'll kill you if you wake me up."
...lying down with a happy smile, sleeping and talking in her sleep.
"Light!!!"
Bardin was clasping his hands together, tears streaming down his face as he prayed.
The vampire Jepetto was biting Gobang's forearm and sucking blood that wasn't even there.
'This is driving me crazy.'
Even the dog seemed to be dreaming.
Hyeolrang was chewing on a twig he'd picked up somewhere as if it were a bone.
Then what about Kosak?
He was sleeping curled up like a baby. What kind of dream was he having?
"...Dad."
Ahhh!
I see.
It was his father.
How much must he have missed him?
His biological father, connected by blood.
Tears welled up, his nose tingling.
It seemed he was talking to Hartmann in his dream.
"Dad, how's Ms. V? Huh? She's ordinary, you say?"
Hmm?
"You say Princess Dal-rae is much better? You have no taste, Dad. You must not know much about our bouncy Ms. V. Your mind would change if you saw her firing a large-caliber round. I'll show you her in a bikini soon."
Good grief.
"Oh, my daughter-in-law? Which one? ...Gasp! Both? Aha! So heroes can have three or four wives? A harem is good. Hehehehe."
Kosak was having a nice dream.
"...I wish to tear him apart."
"Tear him apart right now."
Gwang-ma had approached Joo-hyuk with a satisfied smile.
"As expected of the Summoner. You awoke the fastest."
"...Me?"
"Indeed. The Dream Domain spread by a succubus is impossible to resist. What matters is how quickly one awakens from it."
Ah! So it was irresistible.
Listening to the story, it seemed Princess Gyeon Dal-rae was the first to awaken.
The moment she was caught in the dream, she judged it wasn't reality and opened her eyes. Seeing the copy of Diamat flying towards her, she hurriedly shot a Byeokmabu to chase it away.
"That's scary."
A completely different type of tower floor boss.
"Shouldn't we wake these people up?"
"I already tried. But they wouldn't budge."
"Leave them be. One must overcome the Dream Domain by oneself."
Tsk tsk, can't they tell it's a dream just by looking?
"I sense the presence of that wicked wench over there. I shall go fetch her."
With that.
"Princess, you stay by the Summoner's side."
"Are you sure you will be alright?"
"Hmph! How dare such petty sorcery even think of invading this old man's mind? Even if it did! You stupid bear! You come with me too."
"Got it. The warrior will come too."
Spot!
The two disappeared.
A moment later.
Boom! Crash! Bang!
Wham! Pow! Bang bang bang!
Deafening noises echoed through the 80th floor.
"Kyaaaah!"
A scream was heard too.
"Damnable monster wench! How dare you!"
In the end, Diamat was dragged over, her hair grasped by Gwang-ma.
'So that's Diamat.'
A woman in a near-naked state.
Cute little horns on her head.
Black hair and black pupils.
She had wings and a tail too.
"She is a Succubus Queen. No wonder you couldn't resist the dream."
Diamat looked at Joo-hyuk with pitiful eyes.
What are you looking at me for?
"Her sorcery is fearsome, but her physical power is actually weak. Well. I don't know about the original."
Gyeon Dal-rae approached Diamat.
"So it's you. Let's have a little chat."
She activated the Tracking Talisman.
The work was almost done anyway.
They had seen her form and experienced the Dream Domain.
"Fairy Princess, is it done?"
"It is sufficient, my lord."
"Then I shall dispose of her."
Crunch!
Gwang-ma twisted Diamat's neck.
There was also a reward.
Eye of Diamat.
But?
'Ugh...'
It was literally an eyeball.
A round, spherical eye.
'Why would they give me this?'
So it's a material.
He could just hand it over to Ms. Mari.
Let's postpone tracking the original Diamat until tomorrow.
They might need to use the Tower Exit Ring anyway.
They needed to prepare too.
If they fell for the Dream Domain spread by a copy so helplessly...
'What about the original?'
Gyeon Dal-rae, Gwang-ma, and even Gobang could be in danger.
They needed to prepare countermeasures before going to capture her.
A shabby restaurant in Beijing, China.
A place close to Zhongnanhai, frequented by many Chinese government officials.
It was famous for its soybean milk, douzhi, and fried bread, youtiao.
Originally run by an elderly couple, a woman in her 30s named Lingling had been helping out at the restaurant for some time now.
While the food was good, there were also quite a few customers who came to see Lingling.
She wasn't exceptionally beautiful, but she had a smile that made people feel good, handled the tough restaurant work skillfully, and was kind to customers.
So even early in the morning, the place was packed.
"Welcome."
"Ah! Lingling, the usual, please."
"Yes, please have a seat."
A middle-aged man, more than half bald, sat on a chair.
"Deputy Director, you're a bit late today."
"I had a big fight with my wife at home. Over our son."
"Oh my? So that's why you don't look well."
Lingling wore a pitying expression.
"Was it that obvious? Anyway, my son says he wants to study abroad in Korea. How can I let him? The atmosphere is not good for various reasons."
Lingling smiled warmly and patted the Chinese government official's shoulder.
"Everything will be fine. Don't worry."
"Hahaha, thank you, Lingling. You're the only one for me."
Right at that moment!
"...Huh?"
"Ah!"
The world announcement rang out abruptly.
"This is driving me mad. It rings while eating, it rings while sleeping. At this point, it's noise pollution. Right, Lingling?"
"That's right. Just when I think I've gotten used to it, the announcement startles me every time."
People inside the restaurant also buzzed with comments.
"The 78th floor? Damn it! Here we go again today."
"Korea's Tower No. 2? Is that North Korea?"
"Those North Korean bastards must be happy. They won't have to worry about the tower collapsing."
"Are our great nation's players really that lacking in talent?"
"Forget tower conquests, I wish they'd at least win a soccer match..."
"But yesterday's 76th floor was the last one, right? Yet it's starting from the 78th floor? What about the 77th?"
The world announcement is heard by everyone.
Without exception, if you're an Earthling.
Even if you weren't an Earthling, you could still hear it.
For example, Diamat, who had transformed into a Chinese woman named Lingling.
'Hmm, come to think of it, the consecutive S+++ conquests were interrupted.'
They skipped a floor.
It should have rung from the 77th floor, but the current world announcement was for the 78th.
'What was the 77th floor again?'
Lingling—no, Diamat—recalled the mission for the 77th floor.
'Nothing special about it.'
It wasn't difficult.
A floor belonging to the very easy missions.
Even the ultra-high difficulty is easy.
You just have to deal with a Swordmaster bound in chains, on the verge of death.
'Well, they must have made some mistake.'
Anyway, it's a good phenomenon.
They probably didn't get the badge either, meaning they suffered a loss in special privileges too.
And the 79th floor, the gateway to the 80th.
A time-attack mission unfolding in the imperial palace of the Baratian Empire.
'That one shouldn't be possible either. They might be able to do up to the high-difficulty choice mission...'
But the ultra-high difficulty would be absolutely impossible.
The conquest target, Calios, is hiding in one of the 100 rooms in the detached palace.
A maze and a time limit.
So far, not a single player has succeeded in conquering the ultra-high difficulty.
'They won't get the badge this time either, it seems.'
A slight smile leaked out.
Then, all the customers in the restaurant stole glances at her.
Who could possibly resist the allure of a Succubus Queen?
This restaurant was visited not only by lower-level officials but also by the highest-ranking cadres of the Chinese Communist Party from time to time.
Slowly, she would infiltrate the Chinese power structure.
And later, even bend the Chinese President to her will.
Korea is a close neighboring country.
If she waits for an opportunity and drops a nuke or two on the city where that bastard lives?
Just then!
Another announcement rang.
Diamat's eyes widened.
'...What?'
The 79th floor?
What happened?
'Did they find and kill the emperor within 10 minutes?'
How on earth?
They might be using cheats.
But cheats should be blocked from the 70s floors onward.
That wasn't all.
After some time passed.
Diamat had no choice but to stop dead in her tracks while carrying food.
'...All the way to the 80th floor?'
Even her copy was killed.
Truly befitting of a mad Summoner.
The hand holding the tray trembled uncontrollably.
Even if it was a copy, getting caught in the Dream Domain shouldn't have been easy.
'What if... what if he finds me?'
No.
He'll never find me.
The world is wide.
How would he know I'm hiding in China?
Three floors in a day.
And all of them S+++ rating conquests.
Naturally, it caused an uproar.
The Korean Awakening Management Bureau was equally curious.
What on earth was the 77th floor like?
So a call from Jeon Gwang-il came to Joo-hyuk.
He seemed very curious.
"- Player Bong, it's me."
"Ah! Bureau Chief, you must be busy these days?"
"- Haha, not at all. Compared to you, Player, I'm just lazing around. Oh! Did you find any clues about Diamat after climbing to the 80th floor?"
"Well... It's not certain, but I think I'll have to go up a few more times to know."
"- By any chance, what type of being is the Monster Lord Diamat...?"
Joo-hyuk gave a detailed explanation about the Diamat he witnessed on the 80th floor.
He also explained that she was a demon that invades people's consciousness and makes them dream, so it would be difficult to conquer unless one had an exceptional mentality.
"- Then the original Diamat also...?"
"Yes, she'll probably bewitch people in their dreams."
"- ...That's a big problem. Ordinary people would be mesmerized without fail."
"We have to catch her as soon as possible."
A completely different type from the floor bosses encountered so far.
Honestly, her physical power was ordinary.
Well, it was a level that any level 80 player could defeat even without talent.
The problem was the Dream Domain cast by Diamat.
How many people could break free from that?
"- And this might be a difficult question, but what about the 77th floor...?"
"Ah! The 77th floor?"
So he heard they skipped the S+++ rating conquest.
He should explain in detail.
"It's difficult. Really difficult. Especially the final ultra-high difficulty choice mission is a confrontation with a ruined Swordmaster..."
"- A, a Swordmaster?"
"That's right. It was truly terrifying. You'd just die if you fought. My team members also looked down on him and charged in, then all ran away."
"- Ah!"
"So please spread the word widely to governments around the world. Tell them never to attempt the 77th floor ultra-high difficulty mission. That they'll die the moment they start the mission."
"- Yes, I understand."
Actually, it's the opposite.
If you just defeat the high-difficulty mission target, the Althom Prison boss Gillian, then Swordmaster Hartmann is a piece of cake.
He's a gentleman weakened by heart demons; one skill would send him on his way.
Just let players conquer it like that?
He's Kosak's dad.
He absolutely couldn't leave him like that.
Anyway, he planned to catch Diamat tomorrow.
Before that, he would enter the 80th floor and experience the Dream Domain a few more times.
He needed to build up immunity.
So that even if he got caught, he could regain his senses quickly.