Chapter 188
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 188
Chapter Title: Ordinary Guy's Tower Conquest
70th floor boss.
Duke Cabalan, a high-ranking demon noble.
A name largely forgotten on Earth.
Why?
Because he'd become a weakened monster.
The Curse of Average that had swept over Earth from Cabalan.
There had been some conflict, but it passed smoothly.
The only tower that collapsed as a result was the one on Mount Fuji in Japan.
In truth, if the Curse of Average had persisted on Earth for a long, long time, it wouldn't have survived unscathed.
It was a good thing Joo-hyuk had quickly located and slain the real Cabalan with the help of his summoned beings.
Even now, a copy of Cabalan lurked on the 70th floor of Earth's Black Tower.
However, weakened as it was, any decent nation-backed Player could take it down easily with a holy sword.
But Max Kruger's world was different.
They couldn't overcome the wall and collapsed.
All that remained was the 1st floor of the White Tower and his legacy.
Does it feel good?
Well, getting these much-needed items... it'd be a lie to say it doesn't.
There's even a Trait Enhancement Rune.
But on the other hand, a heavy feeling in his chest.
How lonely must Max Kruger have been?
He couldn't even imagine.
Joo-hyuk bowed his head deeply, praying for the soul of Max Kruger as it crumbled to dust.
Suddenly!
Gyeon Dal-rae stepped forward.
Jingling her bells, she offered sincere condolences with a restrained dance.
"...You have done well. You have suffered greatly. Your heavy burden has finally lightened, so rest easy without worry, and be happy in the world beyond."
The summoned beings also bowed their heads, consoling Max's departed soul.
But?
'Huh?'
Acquire it?
'...'
45,179kg of high-grade stones—about 45 tons.
The acquisition cost specified in detail.
So this must be?
'The amount of high-grade stones Max Kruger used to build up the White Tower 1st Floor.'
There was a comms tower and a power plant here.
Those two alone cost about 30 tons.
The remaining 15 tons must have gone into buildings, roads, and such.
Tough choice.
What would he even do with this place?
He didn't particularly need the space.
'Well, still.'
It's just 45 tons.
He'd blown 50 tons building the landmark skyscraper on White Tower 17th Floor.
"Razix?"
"Hoeng?"
"How much high-grade mana stone do we have in subspace right now? Over 45 tons?"
"Hoeng, plenty. We have it."
Acquisition was possible.
What the hell, might as well buy it.
"Then stack some over there."
"Hoeng!"
Shhh, shhh, shh.
A massive pile of high-grade mana stones stacked up.
If Razix was a dimensional tycoon, then he was a dimensional conglomerate.
And a dimensional conglomerate needed some dimensional real estate.
'Acquire!'
The summoned beings were auto-registered.
Family, former Commissioner, President Jung, everyone.
'Whoa!'
An achievement and reward too.
Now visits to the 1st Floor were free.
A strange feeling.
Thanks to the elevator, he could travel between dimensions.
Not sure if it was a good thing yet.
'Should I call it the Dimensional Elevator?'
The more he thought about it, the more amazing it seemed.
Wait!
"When did I get that elevator as a reward?"
"From catching that one, right? The dream demon."
"Ah, right!"
Yeah.
Diarmat.
80th floor boss, right?
The achievement for converting and accepting surrender from a tower monster.
Come to think of it, one question.
If this was a parallel universe...
"Diarmat?"
"...Y-yes? Master?"
"Is there a Diarmat in this world's Black Tower?"
"Heavens, no. Of course not."
"Why? There's a Cabalan."
Diarmat answered with an aggrieved expression.
"Cabalan is a soul bound to the tower. Like a slave. That's why they copy him across dimensions, using him everywhere."
Then, slyly twisting her body,
"Whereas I'm a free contractor. I only signed a limited contract with Earth's Black Tower. There is No me in other dimensions."
Got it.
"Then who holds the 80th floor in this world's Black Tower...?"
"Some special existence. Qualified to contract with the tower."
"Like?"
"Eung, probably one of the demon lords like me."
"You're impressive too, Diarmat."
"Hehe, nothing compared to you, Master."
Sergeant V cut in snarkily at Diarmat's coquettish voice.
"But a free contract soul looks weaker than the tower slave Cabalan?"
Cabalan had the power to destroy a dimension, but Diarmat had just been hiding in China and got caught without doing much.
Meaning she seemed weak.
Diarmat bristled instantly.
"Oh? If I hadn't been found out, Earth would've been destroyed by now? By nuclear war between nations."
Sergeant V smirked coldly.
"But you were found out. And surrendered, begging for your life."
"That's because our Master is too amazing. You think I'm some cheap dream demon who'd surrender to just anyone?"
"You are cheap."
"Am not?"
A tense standoff.
Another rivalry match after Kosak and Mackenzie?
Better not interrupt.
They'd probably end up friends.
Anyway, thanks to the dimensional elevator, he'd gotten items and even owned the White Tower 1st Floor now.
Why acquire this place?
First reason: to honor Max Kruger.
His legacy, right?
Should preserve it.
And second...
"Hey, Mackenzie."
"Yes?"
"You can summon a meteor, right? As big as possible."
"Where to drop it."
"Outside on the 1st Floor."
"Given time, what's impossible?"
"Yeah, let's try it."
Those damn monster bastards.
Couldn't kill them all, but at least he'd get some payback.
The world connected to White Tower 1st Floor.
It was Already ruined, overrun by monsters everywhere.
Joo-hyuk reappeared in the skyscraper he'd just left.
First, summon the summoned beings.
Spot! Spot! Spot! Spot...
And they witnessed it too.
A world where the boundary between tower and reality had collapsed.
"Heh heh heh."
"They all came out."
"Truly horrific."
"Whew, hard to even look at."
"Hoeng."
Joo-hyuk felt the same.
Wiping them all out might make him feel a bit better.
"Just smash 'em in one go."
"Meteor summon is easy enough, but I'm worried about the summoner's safety."
"It's fine. Dodge before it hits."
"Understood. Beginning."
Step one.
Create the meteor in his mental universe.
Takes about an hour to complete step one.
Mackenzie formed hand seals with both hands and entered meditation.
His solemn, serious expression.
Eyes gently closed, he looked the part of a grand archmage.
Aaah.
9th Circle Archmage Mackenzie.
Show us your power.
You've been overlooked a lot.
Especially by Kosak.
Time to flatten his nose this time.
An hour passed quickly.
Next, step two.
Summon the mental universe meteor into the real sky.
But.
"This is where it gets dangerous. To form the meteor, I must artificially draw in this world's mana."
"The resulting mana flow could alert monsters to our presence and draw attacks."
The Mad Demon reassured him.
"Don't worry. Can't we protect one puny mage?"
"When did I worry about myself? It's the summoner."
"Aww, Old Man Mac, obviously Summoner Bong is priority one. Wouldn't care if you died."
"...Fine. Here I go."
Mackenzie raised both hands to the sky.
Woooong!
Swirling mana.
Rrrumble rumble rumble!
With the boundary between tower and reality crumbled, dense mana filled everywhere.
The intangible power gathered, forming a massive flow, then shot skyward at Mackenzie's gesture.
Mana condensing.
At the top of that sky, beyond the atmosphere.
Right then!
"Krararak!"
"Kyaaak!"
"Kuak!"
Sensing something, monsters swarmed the skyscraper.
From the sky: wyverns, griffons, ice banshees.
Pew pew pew pew!
Sergeant V's mana gun spat fire.
Shhrrrr!
Gyeon Dal-rae's talismans scattered like petals.
Ziiing!
Magitech Engineer El fired destruction beams from his eyes.
Diarmat cast Dream Realm.
Plop plop, wyverns and griffons dropping.
On the ground, terrestrial monsters went berserk, charging the building.
They climbed the walls toward the rooftop.
Hmm.
This was more dangerous than expected?
"Warriors, head down."
"Gobang follows, this bard."
"This old man joins too."
"Me too."
Gobang, Kosak, Mad Demon, Bardin dropped from the building to the ground.
Thud!
Battle erupted.
Gobang was wielding Bardin after ages,
Papapapak!
Land monsters struck and sliced by Bardin.
Swordmaster Kosak and Mad Demon's crescent qi swept the monsters.
Amid it all, Mackenzie's step two meteor creation continued.
A star-like twinkling point appeared far in the sky.
As time passed, Mackenzie's face paled.
Cold sweat beading.
Wanted to wipe his face, but...
Meteor creation was mana-intensive.
A small one would be quick.
Low power too.
But this one seemed pretty big.
If it hit,it would do so with tremendous power for sure.
Kwabang! Papak! Pew pew! Pewshew!
The summoned beings fought fiercely.
On the building.
Below the building.
For the summoner's safety and Mackenzie's meteor success.
Tense.
He knew their abilities, but there were too many monsters.
Just hold out an hour? Easier said than done.
Right then,
"Uoooooooh!!!"
Giant Gobang's mighty roar echoed through the ruined city.
A taunt cry.
"Oh boy."
The battlefield atmosphere shifted.
Monsters surged toward giant Gobang like waves.
Not just ground, air too.
Summoned beings' firepower concentrated around Gobang.
Joo-hyuk frowned.
He Pitied the struggling Gobang and the Bardin in his hands.
The more he watched, the worse it looked.
How do you fight holding a person?
'Why use taunt skill...'
Probably to protect him and Mackenzie.
Drawing all attacks to himself.
A surge of emotion, almost tearing up.
Couldn't leave it like this.
He had one Grade Breakthrough Rune left, so he should upgrade Bardin ASAP.
And for Gobang...
'Need to give him a weapon.'
Conveniently, one had appeared.
Anyway, time passed.
Finally!
"Kuh!"
Step two complete.
Mackenzie lowered his hands and collapsed to the ground.
"Hahk, hahk, haa..."
Gasping so hard he could barely speak.
"I-it's... done."
A voice near death.
"...Good work."
Won't ask again.
"Drop it quick."
"Yes. But you must evade before it falls."
"Why?"
Wanted to watch it hit.
"When the meteor nears the ground, massive mana turbulence swirls. Mana distortion prevents spells, martial arts, or skills."
Ah!
Right, dangerous then.
Without skills, summoned beings couldn't fight.
Battle ongoing now.
"Drop it and bail."
Finally, the last incantation.
9th Circle Archmage Mackenzie's mouth slowly opened.
"Shatter all that exists on land and sky. O Reaper of Destruction, descend!"
⟨ Meteor ⟩
The archmage's incantation.
Flash!
A twinkling light far in the sky.
Impact point: here.
How powerful would it be?
Couldn't check now.
Would have to come back later.
First, release the summoned beings fiercely battling on the ground.
Spot! Spot! Spot...!
Rooftop summoned beings too.
Spot! Spot! Spot...!
Finally.
The last one left, Joo-hyuk.
"Enter White Tower 1st Floor."
Spot!
All vanished.
Earth No. 675.
A world past apocalypse, confirmed destroyed.
Demon Dragon Karatos, in charge of Black Tower 89th Floor, was flying to Berlin, Germany.
He'd sensed unusual mana fluctuations there.
Refined human mana, not monstrous feral mana.
Still living humans?
Then he'd reap their souls.
Demon Dragon Karatos.
Dragons were beings of harmony and balance originally.
But ignoring their mission to pursue power and desire corrupts them into demon dragons.
Blood Dragon Karatos became a demon dragon right upon reaching adulthood.
Corruption?
What's wrong with an intelligent being seeking greater power for higher realms?
So he freely contracted with a being that could grant greater power.
The Black Tower manager of Earth 675.
Truth be told, he'd never used his power once while the tower stood.
The humans here perished at just the 70th floor hurdle.
And now, with tower-reality boundary collapsed.
The real Karatos burst from Black Tower 89th Floor to hunt human souls.
But it wasn't enough.
Too many humans dead from the war.
Plus competitors, so not many souls for him.
But humans still alive.
Even emitting mana detectable from afar.
Spot!
Demon Dragon Karatos appeared on a Berlin skyscraper.
Once the world's greatest metropolis, now unrecognizably ruined.
"...Hmm, strange. They were just here."
No doubt.
There were Traces of fierce battle.
Innumerable monsters swarmed here.
And there were lingering echoes of various mana signatures.
"Quite a few too. At least 10."
Players for sure.
Humans tenaciously clinging to life in a doomed world.
Their souls must weigh heavy.
Tempered by hardship and adversity.
How sweet would they be?
Right then!
Sweeeee!
A sound hit Karatos's ears.
"Hm?"
From the sky?
Karatoss turned to look up.
'...A shooting star.'
A meteor with a long fiery tail.
Still so far it was only barely visible.
'Where's it falling?'
Karatoss fixed on the falling meteor.
Something was off.
Its size no joke.
Direction too.
If it hit here...
"Hmph!"
Karatoss scoffed.
So what if it fell?
He'd Teleport away.
But where'd the humans go?
Did they Hide here, come out again?
Meanwhile, the roar grew louder.
Sweeeeeeee.
But!
"...Huh?"
Suddenly the air grew heavy.
Like being pressed by a massive weight.
Rrrrrumble rumble...
Fierce mana flows were swirling violently.
"N-no way?"
Karatoss finally realized.
That meteor wasn't ordinary.
A meteor materialized in reality from mana.
"...Meteor?"
Panicked Karatos.
What the hell?
Why a Meteor here out of nowhere?
Ultimate spell in a destroyed world?
"Th-this isn't the time."
Evade.
Direct hit from that meteor, even he wouldn't survive.
"Teleport!"
Shwooo... Fssshhh...
"Gasp!"
He was in Big trouble.
The Spell was not working.
It's huge.
Immense mana condensed.
If it was a Normal meteor or nuke, he'd teleport easy.
But this magic-formed giant meteor's mana distorted the surroundings.
That size, takes a 9th Circle archmage hours of work.
'A 9th Circle mage on this Earth?'
Suddenly!
Kwaboom!
Meteor exploded in midair, fragments raining.
"In-insane!"
Kukukuku!
Split fragments crashing to ground.
Kwaboom! Kwakwakwa boom!
The biggest chunk still heading here.
Karatoss couldn't budge.
An ancient demon dragon maybe, but him, freshly an adult...
Thus, in the ruined city where Joo-hyuk and summoned beings vanished.
The horrific meteor impact shockwave erupted.
Kwakwakwakwakwakwakwa!
Swallowing everything that moved.
Walking on ground, flying in sky.
And Demon Dragon Karatos, standing dazed.
"...N-noooo!!!"
Kwakwakwakwakwakwakwa!
The intense meteor shockwave swept the city.
The dragon body, said to be the strongest, was torn apart like paper.