Chapter 147
Chapter 147
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 147
Chapter Title: The Ordinary Guy's Tower Conquest Method 147
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The Hartmann father and son.
They resembled each other in face and were similar in personality.
For starters, they were both talkative.
Nevertheless, Joo-hyuk listened to their conversation from the side without interrupting.
It was heartwarming.
It was beautiful.
What a lovely sight to see.
"I killed that assassin guild leader cleanly. Revenge is done."
"What about Emperor Calius?"
"Killed him once too, but it wasn't enough. I'm gonna go back and kill him one more time."
"If possible, don't kill him in one go. Slowly imprint the pain on him before he dies."
"Yes, sir."
The conversation going back and forth wasn't exactly beautiful.
"Father, since your soul has been liberated, why not try applying to be a Summoned Being?"
"A Summoned Being? Are you telling me to work at the same company as my son?"
"Yes, sir!"
"...If I get summoned, I'd be under you?"
"Isn't that obvious? If you join later, you're the newbie. Even if we're father and son, we must uphold the proper order."
Jeez, look at Kosak, talking nonsense again.
If you just open your mouth, it's all lies.
So, does that mean the old Heavenly Demon would be below him?
Anyway.
Since Mr. Hartmann is a Summoned Being,
'It's a bit awkward.'
How could one give orders to Kosak's father, telling him to do this and that?
"I appreciate the offer, but I must decline."
What a relief.
"Why is that?"
"I have to go find your mother."
"Ah!"
"It seems there's an afterlife, so I must try to find her somehow."
"When you find her, please give her my regards. Tell her I'm doing well. And that if things go well later, I might even visit her."
"Understood. I'll pass that on."
Please, let that happen.
"Oh right! It'd be best not to tell her that Father cut me in half with a single slash."
"..."
"Mother might kill you."
"..."
What?
Are you insane, Kosak?
How can you say something like that in this situation?
"...How was my swordsmanship back then?"
"At the time, I knew it was coming but couldn't dodge. But now, I can handle it. I'm a Swordmaster too. Kya kya kya kya."
"Really? Then let's have a spar."
Kosak chuckled.
"Are you confident?"
"Be careful. You wouldn't want to get cut in half and die again."
Like father, like son.
The two were exactly the same.
"I shall repay the favor."
"Come on in. I have something to show you."
"What will you show me?"
"The swordsmanship passed down through our family for generations. It's called the Hartmann Sword Style."
*Swish!*
Hartmann drew his sword with lightning speed.
*Clang!*
Kosak parried it with ease.
"Good. It's worth a spar."
"Being overconfident will get you into trouble."
"Don't look down on Lususual."
*Swish swish swish!*
The sword style grew fiercer.
Kosak kept retreating backward.
"Huh?"
"What? You said it was worth a spar?"
"...Are you trying to kill your son again?"
Hartmann's sword wavered for a moment.
*Clang-clang!* Kosak seized the opportunity and went on the offensive.
"Just kidding. Don't mind it."
Wow! Look at how wicked he is.
Does he really shake people up like that?
But that was Kosak's way of fighting.
Assassination, infiltration, reconnaissance, disruption, intimidation, plunder, the frenzied Swordmaster.
Perhaps because of that, Hartmann also let out a soft laugh as he faced Kosak.
"Come in."
"Yes, sir!"
*Clang-clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!*
The swords clashed back and forth.
Hartmann's sword style seemed fierce, but in reality, it wasn't.
It was instruction.
Repeating the same movements until they became familiar, then introducing another sword technique.
I think I understand.
A father's heart, wanting to pass down the family swordsmanship to his son before departing.
Did Kosak not understand that heart?
He diligently followed the sword style.
"Truly moving."
The Heavenly Demon approached Joo-hyuk and spoke.
"I agree."
"That assassin fellow also seems to be making a fuss, trying to ease his father's guilt unnecessarily."
Right.
The horrific tragedy of a father killing his own son.
'It's all in the past now.'
'It's something I can joke about without feeling anything.'
'So don't hold onto any guilt. Let's laugh. It's okay to laugh.'
He seemed to want to convey this sentiment.
So, Joo-hyuk, the Heavenly Demon, and Marie quietly watched the sword dialogue exchanged between the son and father.
However, the moment of parting was cruelly approaching.
Hartmann's body was gradually fading.
It seemed they knew it too.
They clashed their swords even more fiercely, more intensely.
Finally.
Hartmann stepped back, sheathed his sword, and then...
"Rian!"
"Ah, Father!"
"I must go now. Take care!"
"Uh, uh..."
*Poof!*
Hartmann vanished without a trace.
"Father..."
Kosak let his sword hang low as he swallowed his tears.
"Why, why did you have to leave in such a hurry! You should have seen Boss Vera in a bikini before leaving! Dad!!!"
Kosak's desperate cry,
His face was a mess of tears and snot.
"Sniff sniff sniff, I heard the Yangyang area on the East Coast is such a hot spot these days, but Father couldn't even go see it..."
After crying so sadly...
"Hmm."
As if it never happened, he abruptly stopped crying.
"Phew, being filial is tough. Was it the same for you, Summoner Bong?"
"..."
He received the basic reward and the confirmed reward.
What's next?
'Aren't they going to give me the S+++ rank conquest reward and the Platinum Badge?'
'So they are giving it.'
Satisfying.
It was an extremely perfect conquest, with an extremely clean reward.
World Notices usually sound when an S+++ rank conquest is achieved or a major event occurs in a Tower.
Today it was this.
[World Notice: An S+++ rank conquest of Black Tower NO.2 (South Korea)'s 81st Floor has been achieved.]
But the next day.
A somewhat strange World Notice echoed.
[World Notice: From now on, the use of thermonuclear weapons inside the Tower will be strictly restricted. Explosive reactions based on Earth's science, such as gunpowder or nuclear fission and fusion, will not occur.]
└ Crossbows are easy. Just pull, aim, and squeeze the trigger.
└ What about bows?
Who could have imagined it?
That a nuke went off inside the Tower.
However, there was one person who had an inkling.
Commissioner Jeon Gwang-il.
The person who helped build the super-sized shovel and the simple air-raid shelter was none other than him.
Due to the sudden World Notice about nuclear fission and fusion, inquiries came to the Korean Awakening Management Bureau as well.
Asking if they knew anything.
He had an idea, but how could he say it?
He had to say he didn't know.
Still, to confirm, he called Player Bong Joo-hyuk.
"Did a nuke really go off?"
"Yes, I blew away the colossal monster Titan Behemoth with exactly two shots."
"..."
It was astounding.
A real nuclear conquest.
"So, that's why the Tower's World Notice appeared?"
"Sigh, yes, that's why I'm so regretful. I went to all the trouble of making that big shovel and simple air-raid shelter... I wish I could have used them a few more times."
Then, where did Player Bong get the nuke from?
That was easy to guess too.
North Korea, of course.
If he asked for it, they had to give it.
Resistance would have been impossible.
Suddenly, Chairman Kim In-jung seemed pitiful.
"Oh! Did you level up a lot?"
"Yes, I'm level 23."
"Oh my! You're still such a low level. It would be so much easier if you just rode the bus. Honestly, I didn't even do much and I'm level 82, you know."
"...Uh, is that so?"
What was this?
Was he teasing me?
"Anyway, I'm on vacation... If you have time, come visit. I'm here at the East Coast beach."
He's definitely teasing me.
Even though he knew perfectly well he was busy, telling him to come visit.
After finishing the call with Commissioner Jeon Gwang-il, Joo-hyuk lay back on the sunbed and enjoyed the blue sea.
The Heavenly Demon was lying on the sunbed next to him, and behind them, a camper van was parked.
The camper van was for Marie's personal space.
What was she doing?
"Master, here..."
"Oh! Thank you, Jepetto."
Marie mixed a highball cocktail with the perfect ratio.
She gently placed it down through the crack in the camper van door, and Jepetto served it.
"Heavenly Demon, here you go too."
"Did you add an extra shot?"
"Yes, two shots."
What a fantastic vacation it was.
The feeling of drinking a cocktail mixed by the Lususual Alchemist while lounging on a sunbed on the sandy beach and gazing blankly at the sea.
Actually, the weather wasn't that great.
Perhaps because of the rainy season, the rain was drizzling down.
But this had its own charm too.
"No matter how much I think about it, it seems I was born lucky."
"Huh?"
"Summoner, being called forth by you is my fortune."
Oh,
How embarrassing.
"Before, I only experienced nuclear explosions outside the Tower. Who would have imagined I'd see one inside? Those administrator bastards must have been terrified. Just thinking about it is satisfying. Hahahaha."
I understand what he means.
The conflicts orchestrated by the Tower's meddling led to wars between nations, or monster floods due to Tower collapses.
Thus, nuclear weapons going off outside the Tower.
Destruction would have accelerated even more.
It must have been heartbreaking.
And he must have felt powerless.
"Sigh, what a shame. If I could have set off just three more inside the Tower, I'd have no regrets."
Joo-hyuk had similar thoughts.
It was such an easy conquest.
"They changed the rules just because they got hit by one nuke? Tsk tsk, petty bastards."
"That's right. The administrators are more 'Ordinary Guys' than I am."
"Huh? Why is the Summoner an 'Ordinary Guy'? You're a true 'Superior Man' among superior men."
"Oh my, you flatter me. Hahaha."
"Hehehe!"
Anyway, even in the rain, the Summoned Beings were having fun at the beach.
Razix, with his short limbs, was swimming in the shallow sea.
Gobang, Kosak, and Bardin formed a trio of three, grabbing anyone they caught and throwing them into the sea.
Kosak had fulfilled his wish.
Veronica in a bikini, Gyun Dal-rae in a bikini, even Diarmat in a bikini.
Ahhh!
He didn't know where to look.
So he wore sunglasses even though it was raining.
Well, the men were no less impressive.
Were Summoned Beings ordinary people?
Gobang, Bardin, Kosak.
All had broad shoulders, bulging chests, clearly defined abs, and firm thighs and buttocks.
Physiques that made passersby turn their heads without fail.
Even Joo-hyuk, as a fellow man, thought they looked great.
But then, Jepetto, who was grilling meat, asked Joo-hyuk a question.
"Hey, isn't the sucubuss the youngest member? But why is she playing while I'm..."
"...Just grilling meat, you mean?"
"Uh, well, it's not that I have any complaints, but..."
"Let's just consider it the punishment for not being able to wear a bikini."
"Ah!"
Jepetto accepted it surprisingly easily.
Though a vampire, his innate nature was that of an innocent Summoned Being.
Anyway, should I jump into the sea soon?
"Heavenly Demon, aren't you coming too?"
"If an old man recklessly joins in when young people are playing, he'll be perfectly set up to be called a grumpy old man."
Well then,
Let's go!
To the sea.
"Summoner Bong, you're coming to swim!!!"
"My Lord! I shall serve you."
"Please come quickly. We've been waiting."
"Sergeant Veronica Caliber, combat swimming ready."
"Huehehehe!"
It's true, setting off one big explosion made him feel lighthearted.
He had many worries lately, but it seems they all vanished along with the nuke.
Somehow, the vacation ended.
They couldn't just play at the beach every day,
So?
They had to work too.
They needed to reach the 81st floor of Tower No.1 as well.
Thanks to liberating Mr. Hartmann's soul, it seemed an S+++ rank conquest of Tower No.1's 77th floor was possible.
The ultra-high-difficulty optional mission was changed to eliminating the serial-killer Swordmaster Jor'Dik, so that should be taken care of by Kosak.
However, he didn't feel like working right away.
The aftereffects of the vacation still lingered, so he'd adjust to daily life first and then...
Joo-hyuk came to the White Tower's 17th floor.
Then, a menu appeared.
[Basic] [Placement] [Grant Residence Right] [Resident List]
He had already fiddled with all the basic settings, so next was Placement.
The core menu for constructing the city on the White Tower's 17th floor.
The Placement sub-menu had two options.
<Copy>
Copies up to 100 object items. Can be used outside as well. Does not cost anything.
<Paste>
Pastes and places the copied objects. Costs high-grade magic stones proportional to height, volume, and value.
Previously, he had asked Commissioner Jeon Gwang-il to purchase a few small, well-designed buildings or country houses in rural areas with cheap real estate prices.
And whenever he had time, he went there and steadily copied them.
Now, it was time to paste the copied buildings here.
It was just like a game.
A simulation screen showed a miniaturized building, and locations on the ground where pasting was possible were marked in green. Then?
He moved it around to fix the location, and then...
'Paste.'
'Proceed.'
*Snap!*
A real country house appeared in the previously empty space.
"Wow!"
He went inside to check.
There was no furniture or household items at all.
It was in the state of a brand-new house just after construction.
He could decorate it later.
'The first resident must absolutely be Razix.'
That way, she could use her subspace backpack to bring furniture or electronic appliances here.
Anyway, a single house standing alone looked lonely.
Paste, paste, paste, paste...
The high-grade magic stone cost consumed varied according to size.
20 kg, 25 kg, 30 kg, 40 kg...
A small housing village was quickly created.
He also paved asphalt roads.
1 kg per 10 meters.
He kept connecting them, and
Ah! He also needed to install parking lots for each house.
The White Tower's 17th floor.
It was truly a wondrous space.
If this continued, wouldn't it become a self-sufficient world of its own?
Of course, there were limitations.
Residents.
The cost for residence was 1 kg of supreme-grade magic stones.
So, the people who could enter this place were extremely limited.
Well, it's not like many people would come in anyway.
If Earth didn't perish, this place would just be a simple villa.
And one more thing.
The elevator.
From now on, he needed to secure 1,000 tons of high-grade magic stones.
When would he ever mine that much?
Would he even be able to install the elevator?