Chapter 154
Chapter 154
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 154
Chapter Title: Trauma of the Cosmic Laborer
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Joo-hyuk summoned all the summoned beings who had briefly visited the Infinite Prison just to show off, and granted them residence rights as well.
And then immediately released the summons.
Straight to White Tower Floor 17, without fail.
Including summoned beings, the dog, and the defector, a total of 11 people were hanging out here.
12 people, including Joo-hyuk.
Here, they weren't affected by the limit on simultaneous summons either.
It was like a waiting room.
Whether it was a random summon or a defector, just accept whoever comes and send them to the 17th floor.
They wait inside, and when Joo-hyuk summons them outside the 17th floor, they act for the duration of the manifestation period and then return.
Meanwhile, outside the White Tower, the limit on simultaneous summons applied.
Only up to 10 people.
Anyway, everything was possible in the waiting room.
External communication was possible, and even electronic devices worked without a code.
There was a residential complex, roads were laid, there was a parking lot, and they even built a swimming pool.
So, in a physical state, they could eat and drink, play games, chat, sleep more than watching TV, and do whatever they wanted.
Buildings, roads, and other infrastructure were copy-pasted.
Everything else was supplied by Razix from outside using his subspace backpack.
Appliances, food, even cars.
‘What would I have done without Razix?’
The all-purpose laborer, the ultimate worker Razix.
The very foundation of Joo-hyuk's party.
“Hoe!”
Razix, along with Hyol-rang, started cleaning, going in and out of this house and that, and also arranging furniture and daily necessities.
His cleaning skill was LSSR-grade, so the places he visited shone brightly,
Thanks to that, they spent each day happily playing.
They didn't even notice time passing.
Oh, peaceful white.
Today was also a peaceful White Tower 17th floor.
Everyone was amusing themselves well.
Spot!
Kosak, was running away in a fluster after messing around foolishly and probably provoking the Mad Demon again.
Papapap!
The Mad Demon was chasing Kosak with ferocious intensity.
Veronica was in a bikini, sunbathing on a sunbed, using the warm sunlight as her clothes, and Diarmat lying on a sunbed next to her, slurping down a mojito.
Next to them was Gyeon Dal-rae.
Piled high with books, reading elegantly.
Gobang, Bardin, and Jepetto had set out on the road a while ago, saying they were going to explore the 17th floor.
And Aliamari?
She had made one house her own and was immersed in the internet with a laptop and tablet.
While also brewing potions to supply to the Player Shop in her spare time.
It was a heaven and utopia for the summoned beings.
Joo-hyuk's heart was warmed too.
But this wasn't enough.
Copy more and paste more.
For that, securing high-grade magic stones was essential.
Because the highest-grade magic stones needed for resident registration also required refining high-grade magic stones.
“Summoner Bong.”
“Can't we refine nor-mas into high-mas?”
“Nor-mas? High-mas?”
“Abbreviations for normal magic stones and high-grade magic stones, sir.”
“Ah-ha!”
Then top-mas must be highest-grade magic stones.
“I already asked Mari. That ratio is also 1 to 1,000. You need to refine 1 ton of nor-mas to get 1 kg of high-mas.”
It wasn't like they had overflowing time.
“Oh dear, hearing that, it sounds incredibly inefficient, sir.”
“We only need to do the refining work to turn high-mas into top-mas.”
“I agree, sir.”
In that sense, shall we go mine some high-mas?
One good thing about White Tower Floor 17 being a waiting room.
“Recruiting personnel for high-mas mining. One tank, one laborer, multiple DPS.”
The summoned beings raised their hands, saying me, me.
“Hmm, the thief class is a bit...”
“I, I'll work hard, sir. I'll bandage myself too, sir. Please include me.”
“Well then.”
The 17th floor was a labor market.
“Noble tank Gobang, sub-tank Bardin, commoner DPS Kosak, Jepetto, cosmic noble Razix-nim and Hyol-rang, get ready.”
He only needed to call the necessary personnel.
Before, he would just call everyone and have them play at home, but now he didn't have to do that.
It was a bit shabby to call it a market now because the numbers were small, but what if more people increased later?
Joo-hyuk came out of White Tower Floor 17.
And then designated summon.
Spot! Spot! Spot...
Today's climbing goal was mining high-grade magic stones.
He was mining alternately at Tower 1, Tower 2, and the 76th floor, but the veins were gradually drying up.
The veins didn't reset like item treasure chests either.
They would soon be depleted.
He needed to secure another tower before that.
Anyway, let's go in.
The place to mine high-mas today was none other than.
Spot!
A valley like a landscape painting background.
Floor 76, where the energy of nature was concentrated, a sea where streams of qi gathered, and for that reason, high-grade magic stones were found in vein form.
‘Are there any other floors like this?’
That's when it happened!
‘Huh?’
Someone was there.
Not a monster.
He had experienced this situation before.
“Huh?”
“Hmm.”
“Again?”
“This bastard!”
“Seems like he's gotten a taste for it.”
One person standing in front of the party.
Like a hologram image.
“...Administrator?”
That's right.
But it felt subtly different from when they met before.
[That's correct. Nice to meet you.]
Nice to meet you?
[Because I'm a new administrator. All the previous administrators have been fired, you see.]
Ah...
I knew this would happen.
They deserved to be fired.
[The former administrators overstepped their authority severely. The superiors were aware of it too. ...Hoo, the infinite world, the souls are really angry.]
Of course they're angry.
Especially since random summons were halted due to probability manipulation.
It seemed the previous protest and Kosak's showing off had been effective.
By the way, what happens when administrators get fired?
[They will pay an appropriate price. The Black Tower will be normalized.]
Oh! That's good.
[So, before restoring the reward probabilities, I'd like to provide compensation for the damages incurred during that period.]
‘Compensation?’
Wow, what a windfall!
[First, I apologize on behalf of the former administrators for their misconduct.]
Oh, no need to apologize.
But what's the compensation?
[Special compensation. You will receive it when you conquer Republic of Korea Tower 1, Floor 82.]
What?
Instantly, Kosak flared up angrily.
“Hey, you bastard! Are you pulling tricks again, talking about scales of equivalent exchange? Trying to subtly raise the difficulty.”
[Tricks? What do you take me for now? I swear. There will absolutely be no change in difficulty.]
“And if you're lying?”
[I am a pure and flawless soul who cannot lie. I was born that way from the beginning.]
Pure and flawless?
‘Does he think he's an angel or something?’
[...]
‘For real?’
[Anyway, the difficulty of Floor 82 remains the same. Well, it might be slightly harder than Floor 81, but that's the rule of the tower—it gets tougher the higher you go.]
The 80s floors were the giant monster section.
No wonder Behemoth appeared right from the start. But if they get even larger as you go higher...
“Excuse me, before that, there was a world notice saying explosive reactions based on Earth science like gunpowder or nuclear fission and fusion wouldn't occur, right?”
[Yes, that's correct.]
“Is there any chance that notice could be canceled during the normalization process?”
[That can't happen. It's a legitimate regulation that doesn't violate causality. Gunpowder, nuclear fission, and fusion reactions will continue to be prohibited.]
Tch, why not just lift it.
[Instead, I've prepared compensation you'll like. The guaranteed rewards are an enormous amount of high-grade magic stones, a catalog expansion ticket, and 1 random rune.]
Oh!
Three rewards at once.
Just hearing it makes me feel good.
And finally, a catalog expansion ticket is coming.
Meaning random summons will resume soon.
“What do you mean by an enormous amount of high-grade magic stones?”
[To the extent they won't even fit in your inventory. Probably at least 10 tons? Since you've received a White Tower floor, you probably need it most right now.]
Of course he needed it.
And what about the random rune?
“Can I receive a Trait Enhancement Rune as a reward?”
[If you're lucky.]
He was confident.
When it came to luck, wasn't he Bong Joo-hyuk?
Did he get here by skill?
He got here by being good at gacha.
[Ah! There's also a hidden mission. With similarly enormous amounts of high-grade magic stones and 1 random rune as rewards.]
Huh?
A hidden mission?
And the rewards are good too.
[Since there happens to be someone here who has a connection with the giant monster guarding Floor 82.]
A connection, you say.
Who could that be?
[Of course, you don't have to complete the hidden mission if you don't want to.]
Tch, what are you talking about!
He'd clear both the basic mission and the hidden mission.
Wait,
By any chance...
“Does the same reward apply to other towers' Floor 82? For example, Tower 2 or towers of other nationalities...”
[That can't happen. It's absolutely only Republic of Korea Tower 1, Floor 82. And the special compensation is limited to once.]
Tsk.
If you're going to give it, give it generously.
Actually, he didn't expect it anyway.
[I'll be going now. I will never appear before you again in the future. I wish you good luck.]
Joo-hyuk carefully waved his hand.
Goodbye.
Don't go too far.
The new administrator chuckled at that sight.
[Don't relax. While I am an administrator responsible for operating the tower, I am also an existence that gives trials to players.]
‘I don't like trials.’
[I will do my best within the authority I possess. Please do your best too. Well, you'll despair at Floor 90 anyway.]
‘...’
If you're going to leave, just leave, why do you have to curse on your way out.
Making people feel bad.
Compensation for the former administrators' overreach.
And probability normalization.
They said you'd get it if you conquer Floor 82.
Returning to White Tower Floor 17 and telling all the summoned beings about the conversation with the new administrator.
“Hoho, a random rune, that's decent compensation.”
“The fact that a catalog expansion ticket is guaranteed is also very welcome news.”
“It's the giant monster section, but it shouldn't be too hard, right?”
“It'll probably be harder than Behemoth, but they said they wouldn't touch the difficulty.”
“The problem is the hidden mission.”
“Yes, sir! They said one of us has a connection with the Floor 82 monster, sir. The mission is probably related to that, sir.”
“If it's the giant monster section, perhaps...”
Gyeon Dal-rae glanced at Gobang.
“...if a fully mature super-monster Hydra appears.”
Maybe.
Gobang's theme floor.
The one they met in the super-high-difficulty mission on Floor 72 was an incomplete, unfinished necromancy Hydra.
A mature Hydra would also qualify as a giant monster.
That thing might appear.
“This warrior doesn't care. It's actually what I wanted. I'll tear off all nine heads.”
Strong confidence.
As expected of the LSSR barbarian warrior Gobang.
Let's go see first.
Republic of Korea Tower 1, Floor 82.
The place with a one-time special reward.
The random rune is one thing, but the basic reward is also something to look forward to.
A truly enormous amount of high-grade magic stones,
And twice at that.
They said at least 10 tons.
Then this is the chance to use it.
An item received as a special perk and stored in the inventory.
<Item Acquisition Ticket>
📍 Effect: If used before completing a tower mission, you can receive between 2x to 10x more item rewards.
⏰ Limit: Does not apply to tickets and rune items.
Let the high-mas reward multiply by 10.
That would be a jackpot.
Okay, okay, good. Very good.
If we complete both the basic mission and the hidden mission and receive rewards.
Two chances to receive enormous amounts of high-grade magic stones, two chances to receive random runes, and a catalog expansion ticket.
Get the expansion ticket, increase the catalog list, and immediately summon new summoned beings.
Anyway, what's the environment of Floor 82?
First, it's dark.
Feels like entering a large cave.
Feels like underground, beneath the earth.
‘We met the super-monster Hydra in a cave too, right?’
What if it's a mature one?
There are four LSSR summoned beings.
Game over.
The enlarged Gobang lifted the shining Bardin like a torch.
“Light!!!”
Whoosh!
The surroundings became blindingly bright.
Joo-hyuk and the summoned beings advanced into the underground cave.
A large cavern appeared ahead.
A space wide and high enough for a giant monster to run around in.
Then, ding!
A mission appeared.
Floor 82 Mission: Defeat 1 Giant Snake Apophis.
📍 Time Limit: Within 15 hours.
⏰ Completion Condition: Giant Snake Apophis 0/1
‘...It's not the super-monster Hydra?’
Apophis,
Sounds familiar.
And then,
Shassassassa...
The giant snake Apophis crawling out from one side of the dark cavern.
So huge it was much thicker and longer than a KTX train.
Slurp, sluuurp.
The size of the tongue flicking out of its mouth was like an Amazon boa.
“...It is big.”
“But it's about the same as Behemoth, sir.”
“That's right. This warrior can handle it.”
“Shouldn't be too difficult.”
Suddenly!
Ding!
Floor 82 Hidden Mission: Summoned Being Razix's Revenge Against Giant Snake Apophis.
📍 Completion Condition: Razix must inflict damage equal to at least 10% of Apophis's total HP 0/10%
‘...What?’
It was Razix?
“Ah!”
Now I remember.
The cause of Razix's death.
He was eaten by a giant snake Apophis in an underground labyrinth.
Probably for that reason, the hidden mission's content.
The condition is Razix taking revenge on Apophis.
He must inflict at least 10% damage on it.
Of all people, it had to be Razix.
A non-combat laborer class.
‘Will it work?’
Joo-hyuk glanced at Razix.
But,
‘Huh? Where did he go?’
He was right next to me just now.
Then Gyeon Dal-rae pointed with her finger.
“Over there...”
Razix was in that corner.
Head pressed against the floor, trembling pitifully.
“...”
Seems he's too scared to even look at Apophis.
Couldn't even make eye contact.
He looked like he had severe trauma, PTSD, post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms.
In that state, he has to inflict 10% of Apophis's total HP damage.
Aren't reptiles, snakes, the natural predators of rodents?
Moreover, it was the very creature that swallowed him whole in one bite.
His heart ached.
Could force him to fight in this situation?
Joo-hyuk agonized for a while.
And soon made a decision.
‘I'll give up the hidden mission.’
He couldn't force him.
It's too heavy a burden for Razix.
Release the summon and tell him to rest on the 17th floor...
‘No.’
Would running away solve anything?
Razix's trauma would remain forever.
The conquest or reward wasn't the problem.
“I'll reset the mission for this Floor 82 too.”
“...Huh?”
Fortunately, there was still one more Tower Conquest Mission Reset Ticket left.
“Good judgment, sir. The reward is a shame, sir. It's a one-time opportunity.”
“The important thing isn't the reward. That kind of thing—getting it or not doesn't matter.”
A trivial snake bastard that's just big dares to be our ultimate worker's trauma?
Unbearable.
He couldn't tolerate it.
It wouldn't be enough even if we skinned it and sold it as bags.
Or maybe brewed snake wine.
The new top priority.
Overcoming Razix's trauma.
“He can do it.”
“That's right, sir. Laborer Razix isn't to be underestimated, sir.”
“This maiden also believes. Would the title of ultimate worker be given lightly?”
“The combat rations given by superior Veronica Caliber, the supply officer, won't go to waste.”
“This old man will help too. The summoner's words are correct. The reward isn't the problem. We need to overcome the ghost of the past.”
Everyone believed in Razix.
“Apophis will appear in Tower 2 too. Let's practice hard against that one and conquer Tower 1 where the special reward is.”
Joo-hyuk took the ticket out of his inventory.
Squeak!
And so, Razix's Trauma Overcoming Project began.
The training ground was Tower 2, Floor 82.