Chapter 174
Chapter 174
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 174
Chapter Title: Ordinary Guy's Tower Conquest Strategy
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Joo-hyuk unsummoned all the summoned beings and returned to the White Tower.
Two S+++ grades per day.
It was a highly satisfying conquest.
Floor 84 with a single lightspeed shot, Floor 85 with a mana electromagnetic pulse EMP.
"Conquest really is all about the right trick."
Feels so damn good.
How good? Overwhelmingly so, with zero risk—like a casual stroll up the local hillside spring."
"Truly impressive, right? A mana EMP, of all things."
When he asked Mackenzie beside him for his thoughts,
"Eh, not really... Magic has similar spells."
A lukewarm response.
Man, he's got a narrow mind.
Competitive as hell, too.
"Oh, really?"
"Better than mana EMP—Spell Power Binding Block."
"...Spell, what?"
Why are spell names so damn long?
"It's a magic spell that binds and seals the target's mana flow. You can even store it on a scroll like this for use."
Mackenzie pulled a rolled-up sheet of paper from his robe pocket.
"Ah... Yeah, yeah."
Magic scroll.
Probably something good.
Not sure if he'll ever get a chance to use one.
'El still hasn't woken up, huh.'
Suddenly!
"Summoner Boong!"
The moment Joo-hyuk appeared in the White Tower, Kosak came rushing over out of breath.
"Keep it short. Not Boong, Bong!"
"Yes, sir! Summoner Bongbong!"
"..."
Bongbong? What is this, a soda brand?
"Did you conquer Tower 2, Floor 85 too?"
"Yep. S+++ grade with the mana EMP—electromagnetic pulse. Ever heard of it?"
"Splendid work. As the People's Defense Minister Kosak of the Republic, this is truly a joyous occasion."
Defense Minister out of nowhere?
"I have a matter requiring your approval, Bong Summoner."
"What is it?"
"How about setting up mass-production facilities for bracelets and a Razix Goods manufacturing plant in the Republic?"
A factory in North Korea.
"Cheap labor, guaranteed perks through solid political ties—we could grow into the top megacorp."
"..."
Casually dropping "political ties" like that.
Well, makes sense.
He's the Defense Minister and North Korea's top power broker.
"What's President Jeong's take?"
"Wholeheartedly in favor."
"And Chairman Kim?"
"It's rice and meat soup for the Republic's people. No way he'd oppose."
"Where to build the factory?"
"How about the land around Pyongyang's Black Tower? No collapse risk, plenty of symbolism."
"Isn't that too big? We're just making bracelets."
Kosak turned serious.
"Just the start. Can't we work 'em hard once the factory's up? Golems don't die of overwork anyway."
Wow, this exploitative foreman.
True enough, though.
Golems don't overwork to death.
"...Fine. Go ahead and push it."
"At your service!"
Once an assassin, then a politician, now a businessman.
Kosak, master of reinvention.
In some ways, more impressive than Razix.
Anyway, is El okay?
They'd exited together, unsummoned, and entered the White Tower.
But she still wasn't moving...
He poked her, placed a palm on her smooth metal forehead.
Suddenly!
Creak!
El's head turned.
"Shit, you scared me!"
"My apologies."
"N-no, my bad."
Startled him good.
But at least she's moving.
"...Is your body feeling okay?"
"Major functions not fully recovered, but no issue with movement."
"Hm. Keep hitting that EMP, it'll strain the golem body."
"It's fine. Just a simple blackout."
Simple? Blackouts aren't simple.
El spoke casually to Joo-hyuk's worried look.
"Don't worry. It'll recover fully with time."
"Still, repeated hits aren't good. Find a way to neutralize mana EMPs."
Even a water gun hurts if shot hard.
"Only one mana EMP left anyway."
"Really?"
We won't be repeating Floor 85 often for a while.
No big deal.
It was better than her tanking EMPs repeatedly.
"I'll research countermeasures while crafting new ones."
"You better."
A way to halt the Gigant while dodging unscathed.
She'll figure it out.
LSSR magitech engineer and all.
Anyway, day's work done.
"Head home and rest. That blackout's gotta leave you dizzy—recover slowly."
"I'm a golem. Rest means nothing to me."
And then,
"Off to the workshop to plan mass-producing the Obesity Escape Bracelet... Huh?"
El halted mid-step.
"Wha—huh..."
She stood frozen, staring one direction.
"What?"
A crack appeared on El's usually expressionless face.
Shock, disbelief, astonishment.
"I-is this still Black Tower Floor 85?"
"No way."
"Then why are those here?"
What El pointed to: the five mana core engines Razix had hauled to the workshop.
Did she see wrong?
Things that shouldn't be here.
Blackout aftereffect hallucination?
No.
Neural systems were fine.
El's mouth hung open in confusion.
Those mana core engines couldn't be extracted from Floor 85.
"Ah, you're talking about those."
"Y-yes. How...?"
"Our worker Razix brought 'em."
"H-how?!"
Better to demonstrate.
Joo-hyuk summoned Razix cleaning White Tower Floor 17.
"Razix."
"Hoee!"
The ultimate worker hamster rolled over quickly at the summoner's call.
"Put those in your sub-space."
"Hoee!"
Shh, shh, shh...
The five giant golem mana core engines vanished one by one into Razix's sub-space backpack.
"Now take 'em out."
"Hoee!"
Shh, shh, shh...
"That's how he brought 'em."
"..."
See?
Feel the power of our Razix?
"Razix's nickname is ultimate worker. He can haul pretty much anything from inside the tower."
"..."
"Mines ore, skins hides, finds magic stone veins and hauls high-grade ones..."
"..."
Insane!
This possible?
...It is, since they're here.
El recalled the assassin's self-intro yesterday.
Ranked second, after the worker.
Now she got it.
Why the physically weak Razix—feebler than a dog—ranked first.
His ability.
It defied system rules.
Terrifying.
A rule-breaker reshaping tower conquest.
Not just a few mana core engines.
Everyone knew: conquer a floor, it resets instantly.
Ego Gigants respawn intact.
Five engines per run.
'Floor 85's a mana core engine factory now.'
As long as the Black Tower stands.
"How is this possible?"
"Beats me."
Wait.
"Could you bring a whole Gigant?"
"Dunno. Size issue..."
Razix's mysterious sub-space.
But limits exist.
Item size.
RVs are fine.
Dump trucks and buses too, he said.
But Gigant was building-sized.
"Even one arm would be iffy."
"Shame."
The whole Gigant? Game over.
"Right? But major parts, disassembled, should fit."
El's face lit up.
Major parts.
Mana circuits, mounted weapons, golem joints, etc.
That's plenty.
"Razix is SSR-grade now; hit LSSR, maybe arms or legs too."
"Ah!"
El's face filled with awe again.
SSR.
A hamster worker defying system laws is just SSR?
"I'm sending him to breakthrough soon. I'm curious how far he'll go."
"M-me too."
Joo-hyuk felt bittersweet saying it.
Honestly hated sending Razix off.
"So, what can you do with mana core engines?"
"Culmination of magitech. Self-powering too. Runs golems on magic stones, powers magitech gear, applicable everywhere."
Generates, supplies energy, powers golems.
Damn impressive.
"Complex design, rare metals, materials, precision processes—even I couldn't make one, but this easily..."
One question.
"Can you make golems?"
"Takes time, but yes. With a few more core parts."
Nice.
Hit it again tomorrow, repeat.
El needs rest after blackout today.
El headed to the piled mana core engines.
Left her to inspect alone.
Now, tally up.
Tower 2: S+++ Floor 84—two badges, one high-grade mine.
Floor 85.
Tower 1 failed S+++, but Tower 2 succeeded—two badges.
Total badges: 142.
Real items: 46.
One perk too.
What?
The conquest of South Korea's Tower 2 Floors 84 and 85, announced worldwide.
The monsters' identities revealed via video.
Floor 84.
The massive Frozen Colossus Condor gliding high in the sky, summoning countless ice lances for attack and defense.
Floor 85.
The building-sized Magnus Ego Gigant erupting from underground, bipedal yet freely mobile.
Players worldwide watched the videos—not just Korea.
Same reaction everywhere.
Floor 84 or 85—no, from 81 on—impossible monsters.
Harder than undead sections.
There was only one who could: Korea's, no, the world's top player.
Pyongyang, North Korea.
Chairman Kim In-jung read reports from the Chinese embassy.
China's mood soured.
China Player Association was openly defying the government.
Thier heads were swollen.
Individuals challenging the state?
Of course, he knew from reports.
Liberation Rune Necklaces were dropping in bulk.
Foolish thinking.
Liberation Runes weren't omnipotent.
Three uses max, one-hour duration.
Then what?
Nearly all Chinese players were under government watch.
To prevent funny business.
Would watched players sit idle?
They'd resist.
Conflict was deepening.
It made high-grade magic stone buys tough.
Prices were up, supply down.
Chairman Kim In-jung buying bulk high-grade stones from regular Chinese players, per that man's orders gripping his lifeline.
Sent to Awakening Management Bureau's Pyongyang branch, then smuggled to Seoul by their players.
The Trouble was than now they were short of targets.
Incompetence meant they'd be discarded.
Fall from Defense Minister Kosak's grace? Gone in a blink.
Why hard?
Cerebral hemorrhage or heart attack—easy cover.
'Damn Chinese bastards.'
Was it just the government?
Players were the same breed.
China was an eternal foe to the Republic.
Suddenly!
Bang!
Kosak burst in.
"Comrade K-Kosak!"
"Hey, Chairman Kim. Looking healthier.Is the Bracelet working?"
"Y-yes. I've lost a ton of weight."
"Good. Don't forget the favor."
Kosak lounged on the sofa, leg crossed.
"But about those high-grade magic stones..."
Kim In-jung's heart sank.
Here it comes.
"S-sorry. Chinese players won't sell high-grades... We are way short of the quota. F-forgive me."
"What's the reason?"
Kim showed Kosak the embassy report.
"Liberation Rune Necklaces, huh."
"Just starting. They could hit the Republic and the South too."
Kosak smirked.
"Worried liberated players'll cause trouble?"
"J-just in case."
"It's No issue. Relax."
"G-got it."
"Even 100 Chinese player bastards charging in? No sweat."
"Naturally."
Then,
"Anyway, halt high-grade purchases."
"Wha—"
"It's not your fault. There is no more need."
"Ah!"
Relief.
A Lifeline was extended.
"Official notice is coming—prepare yourselves."
"What?"
"Do you know Razix trading?"
Of course.
Maker of his Obesity Escape Bracelet.
"They will make big investments in the Republic soon. Razix will be blessing the people."
"Th-thank you."
Kim welcomed it.
South firms were sending plans, but it was small scale.
They didn't trust the NK gov yet.
Talks started, then got scrapped often.
Razix major investment?
There aws no reason to refuse.
"If Razix trading enters NK every bit of support will be given."
Kosak smiled satisfied.
"They need land first."
"Pyongyang prime spots are ready."
"Good, but in the Black Tower central are—2 million pyeong."
"The B-Black Tower area?"
"Yep. We need people for the groundwork. Razix Trading will provide the funds."
"Understood."
Razix trading would soon have a base in North korea.
Unification? Land values would soar—So they'd buy now.
"Kaesong complex, Wonsan resort, Sinuiju too..."
"Say the word. All revolutionary perks will go to Razix Trading."
"Kekeke, perfect. Easy does it—so there is no backlash."
"No worries. Joo-hyuk forever!"
"Joo-hyuk forever!"
Thus, Razix Trading's Pyongyang entry was sealed.