Chapter 49
Chapter 49
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 49
Chapter Title: The Miner's Pride
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As soon as they entered the 46th floor, Razix sniffed the air.
The thick scent of metal.
Without a doubt.
There was ore here.
The location was that large boulder over there.
'Hoeeeh!'
If I mine the ore and give it to the Summoner, he'd be very pleased, right?
Then I'll be recognized again.
When we first met, I thought I was going to be chased away.
Even now, just thinking about that time makes me feel like fainting.
I worked hard so that I would never be chased out again.
Thanks to that, I was able to secure a place.
And as a result, I've come to like it here more and more.
Especially the Summoner is even better.
He smiled at me even when I didn't come back with a full backpack, he eliminated my competitors, and he let me eat delicious carrots to my heart's content.
Carrots.
Just thinking about them makes my mouth water.
I've tasted carrots from various worlds, but the carrots from this world are the best.
That's not all.
The Summoner and my colleagues always call me by my proper name.
Not "hey," "you," "Razix," "Zix," "Ziggy"... but Mr. Razix.
It's so nice.
To be a worker who can be respected.
Razix had now become someone who couldn't leave this place.
His life's goal was to stay with the Summoner and his colleagues for a long, long time.
But a problem had arisen.
The skins I'd been stripping weren't turning into money anymore?
Because of that, the Basilisk hunt was also suspended.
This was a disaster.
The skins were useless?
He grew anxious.
I thought I had completely secured my place.
That was a misconception.
I was in danger of having my carrot-eating privileges revoked.
Then?
I had to give something else.
Fortunately, I found the answer on the 46th floor.
Metal was a precious commodity everywhere.
Of course, this place would be no different.
The Summoner would praise me again, right?
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
Chasing the scent of metal, he struck the rock.
Rock fragments scattered in all directions.
Thud-thud-thud, thud-thud!
Meanwhile,
Joo-hyuk just watched without a word.
The sight of a round, furry ball doing pickaxe work was a very unusual spectacle.
The rock fragments bouncing off the hard hat Razix was wearing.
So that's why he always wore a hat.
Not to be cute.
Well, above all else, safety is important.
"Huh?"
"Hoeng?"
'When did it end?'
He was so engrossed in watching that he didn't notice time passing.
Spot!
Joo-hyuk and the summoned beings returned to the vast living room of the penthouse.
"Hueeng…."
Razix made a sad face.
The reason was obvious.
"Couldn't fill the backpack again?"
"Yes... I couldn't even strip the exoskeleton."
He hurriedly took off his backpack and took out the ore; there seemed to be about five lumps.
Avoiding eye contact, Razix watched Joo-hyuk's reaction.
"I'm sorry."
"..."
"I'll work hard if we go in one more time. I'll fill the backpack completely."
Suddenly, he felt a pang in his heart.
There was a sense of shared hardship.
The other summoned beings seemed to notice the mood too and didn't say anything.
"No, that's enough for today. Let's rest. Don't even clean."
At Joo-hyuk's words, Razix seemed shocked, his eyes widening as he spoke tearfully.
"...Am I not needed anymore?"
What are you talking about?
"Who said you're not needed?"
Kosak, Gobang, and Gyeon Dal-rae each hurriedly chimed in.
"Who says a worker who even does mining ain't needed? I'd rather leave if anyone should."
"That's right. Kosak-nim is unnecessary whether he's here or not, but if Razix-nim isn't here, this great mansion will fall into ruin someday."
"Warrior respects Razix. Must stay here. If Razix disappears, warrior will be sad. Assassin can disappear right now for all I care."
"W-wait, I didn't mean it like that…"
Encouraged by his other colleagues, Razix's expression brightened considerably.
"See? Mr. Razix is the most needed person here, more than anyone else."
Razix was so happy his fur stood on end.
"Hoeng!"
Snorting through his nose, he placed both hands on his hips and made his uniquely prideful expression.
Oh my, he's cute. So cute.
"Shall we rest and eat some carrots? I ordered organic ones, and the vegetable drawer in the fridge is packed."
But Razix shook his head vigorously.
"I won't eat carrots."
"Then what do you want to do?"
"I want to go in one more time. I want to fill the backpack completely."
"I said you can rest...."
"No?"
"Uh..."
No, is there a ghost among his ancestors who died from not working enough?
Gyeon Dal-rae sidled up and whispered.
"Your Highness, please do as he wishes. Lord Razix is a servant to the very marrow of his bones."
"..."
There was no choice.
"Alright, let's go in one more time. Go and fill the backpack completely."
"Hoeng!"
And so, a repeat conquest of the 46th floor.
This time too, Joo-hyuk stood beside Razix and watched him work.
Kosak, Gobang, and Gyeon Dal-rae, to ensure Razix's smooth work, didn't kill the scorpions but lured them here and there, just buying time.
Clangclangclangclang!
Breaking the rocks, a shiny metal-mixed ore would occasionally get caught on the pickaxe and pop out.
Then he'd pick it up and put it in the backpack.
How hard must it be.
Breaking rocks, picking up ore.
He had to do two jobs by himself.
"I'll pick up the ore for you."
"Hoeh? No. It's hard."
"I need to do at least this to feel at ease."
"Hueng..."
Razix was at a loss, but he had to follow if the Summoner said so.
The method of putting ore into the backpack was simple.
Just bring it close to the backpack, and the ore would slide in automatically.
It kept going in.
It must be quite heavy.
Clangclangclangclang!
Razix focused solely on mining the ore.
It didn't matter if the scary scorpions came or not.
If the Summoner was pleased, he was fine with dying while mining ore.
On the other hand, Joo-hyuk was only worried about Razix.
'He's working too hard.'
He'd get sick at this rate.
Joo-hyuk also kept picking up the ore Razix mined and was putting it into the backpack.
There was no choice.
If he didn't help Razix, who would?
Then, in the midst of it.
Thud!
An ore chunk got stuck at the backpack's opening and wouldn't go in any further.
The end?
Finally filled it up.
For some reason, Joo-hyuk had an even happier expression.
"Yes! It's done. Done! Now let's go home and rest. What are you doing? Hurry up and let's finish the conquest and get out."
The other summoned beings also looked as if they'd been waiting.
"Yessir! It's our turn now. Leave it to us."
"We'll finish quickly."
"I'll shake my bells, so Kosak-nim and Gobang-nim better earn your keep."
"Princess, please provide the rhythm."
Razix's expression was extremely bright.
Could working be that enjoyable?
"Heh,"
"Oh my, look at that sweat."
"Heheheh,"
Anyway, as long as he was happy. Whether he worked or played.
Well, it might be good to continue like this for a while.
Helping Razix.
The mission was also completed.
Spot!
They exited the Tower.
The ores were taken out of the backpack.
Large and small ckunks, over 70 in total.
Compared to skins, their volume was much smaller.
It seemed Razix's backpack was calculated by weight, unlike a Player's inventory.
The ore chunks were small in size, but each one was quite heavy, perhaps because of the mixed metal.
'What kind of metals were these?'
Looking closely, they were different colors.
The pitch-black metallic substance mixed with the rock looked like adamantite, the silvery one was orichalcum, and the yellowish one was sectonium.
'Anyway, they all come out at once.'
Among them, adamantite seemed to be the most plentiful.
He stored the mined ore in an empty room.
The quantity was still small.
It would be better to collect them and hand them over all at once.
But making him work every single day wasn't right either....
Let's just climb.
To the 49th floor.
Then, for the first conquest, we can let Razix rest.
Tower climbing began.
Up to the 49th floor was quick,
And then ten days of repeated conquests.
Additionally, not much time remained.
For checking the 50th-floor special reward and the Random Summon cooldown.
Korea was peaceful.
At least, there were no problems with Tower climbing.
But the situations in the neighboring countries were completely different.
Japan.
Yu Cheol-min ultimately failed to recover his shattered mental state.
To the point of trembling and refusing to even enter the Tower.
So, he was stripped of all the benefits he received upon naturalization and was chased out to a small Japanese city with his family.
In the end, the Japanese government's choice was to sign a temporary naturalization contract for a Player with the United States.
A U.S. government-affiliated Player, climbing in the early 60s, became Japanese for a month.
No one knew how much Japan paid the U.S. in return, but it must have been at least several dozen times the rental fee for the Holy Sword.
The situation in another neighboring country, China, was even worse.
The fire had landed on their feet.
The conquest of the 59th floor was right around the corner.
But despite kidnapping so many Players, they ultimately failed.
It seemed the collapse countdown was about to begin.
If one couldn't be stopped, three would collapse in succession.
Eventually, China's choice, like Japan's, was a temporary naturalization contract.
Actually, the 59th floor was an ambiguous climbing level.
The current global average climbing level was 55.
The number of countries that had conquered the 59th floor could be counted on one hand.
The U.S., Korea, Russia, the U.K., France, Germany, Norway, and Saudi Arabia.
Beyond the 60s, only Korea and the U.S. remained.
Actually, even Korea and the U.S. should have controlled their floor progression.
One floor every six months.
Step by step.
But how could they stop Players from entering the Tower and conquering as they pleased?
Without even knowing who, when, or which floor was being conquered.
Having too many talented Players was also a problem.
In the past, in the U.S., there was even an incident where three unconquered upper floors were conquered simultaneously within a single month.
Korea had experienced it too.
Now, because the floors were quite high, such incidents didn't occur.
Also, with the state actively intervening, it became possible to control.
But they couldn't rest easy.
An unknown Player could suddenly appear anywhere and recklessly attempt to climb unconquered upper floors without any control.
Anyway, from China's perspective, there wasn't a suitable place to request temporary naturalization.
The U.S. already had a professional Player temporarily naturalized in Japan, and asking Korea would hurt their pride, so they had no choice but to beg Russia.
They had to pay an enormous price for a month of temporary naturalization.
They even demanded land, causing part of Heilongjiang Province to become Russian territory.
A new border was drawn.
It was a humiliating disgrace for China.
Even though they managed to overcome the crisis thanks to it.
In the midst of this, the Crown Prince of the United Arab Emirates entered Korea through Incheon Airport.
Awakening Management Bureau.
Bureau Chief Park Kyung-su and Deputy Chief Jeon Gwang-il were having a conversation.
"Chief, about Crown Prince Abdul bin Sallah? Didn't you say you were meeting him today?"
"I'm scheduled to meet him this evening, with the President."
"Do you happen to know what the matter is? For the Crown Prince to suddenly visit Korea."
"Look at this first, it's a document passed on from the National Intelligence Service."
Bureau Chief Park Kyung-su placed the document on the table.
Had the mastermind behind the elite Player kidnapping attempt been uncovered?
He opened the document... but no.
"In Abu Dhabi..., a terrorist attack?"
"Yes, just three days ago."
"This is the first I've heard of it. Isn't this an incident that wasn't even on the news?"
"The UAE government controlled the reporting. Over ten Players were killed in an explosion at once."
"...What?"
Jeon Gwang-il read the document carefully.
"Insane! Karim Zahid is also dead?"
"A tragic affair. Moreover, over ten state-managed Players above level 50 also died."
Karim Zahid.
A nationally fostered Player challenging the 60th floor of the UAE's Black Tower.
How much effort had the UAE put into raising him?
A Player raised by sweeping up all the trait enhancement runes that appeared on the market.
The UAE was the biggest culprit in making trait enhancement runes disappear from the market.
Because they fed them indiscriminately to their talented Players.
"To my knowledge, the UAE Black Tower's 60th-floor conquest deadline has about 20 days left. But with Karim Zahid and the level 50 Players all killed in the explosion..."
"A horrific incident."
Indeed.
Not only the Tower Players, but the mid-level Players who could support them had also disappeared.
"No, how on earth did they handle security?"
"Security was the problem. One of the guards was an Islamic extremist. That too was revealed right after the incident."
It sent shivers down his spine.
Thinking about it, it wasn't someone else's problem.
Because outside the Tower, Players were no different from ordinary people, so such an incident could easily happen in Korea too.
A similar incident almost happened not long ago.
"He must have come to Korea to request temporary naturalization. Still, Player Nam Ga-eun is out of the question. Absolutely not."
"Of course. But the UAE seems desperate. They're begging us to allow it, saying they'll restore it immediately after the conquest."
Each country's top Player is not a candidate for temporary naturalization.
The U.S. also separately trains and operates professional naturalization Players.
Because dual citizenship is not permitted.
A Player can only enter the Tower of a single country.
There's even a theory that ordinary people with dual citizenship couldn't awaken at all.
What if they temporarily naturalize and then, acting crazy, don't restore the citizenship?
How many actual cases like that were there?
The temporary naturalization business was also something only a powerful nation could do.
"The U.S. professional naturalization Player is in Japan, Russia contracted with China, and the U.K., France, Saudi Arabia, and Norway don't have Players dedicated to temporary naturalization either, so they must be in a bind. It's understandable they came to Korea."
"They must have judged that we're relatively free, having most recently succeeded in conquering the 66th floor."
The UAE Black Tower is located near an oil field.
If the Tower collapses, the oil field won't be safe either.
Although magic stones are sufficiently fulfilling their role as an alternative energy source, oil is still a precious resource.
Bureau Chief Park Kyung-su looked around for a moment, then quietly whispered as he opened his mouth.
"Actually, the UAE's desired target isn't just Player Nam Ga-eun; there's one more."
"Are you talking about Section Chief Lee Min-ah? Absolutely impossible. She's also in the middle of climbing the 60th floor, and even if she were qualified, we can't send her."
Section Chief Lee Min-ah was also not a candidate for temporary naturalization.
She was the Bureau's Plan B.
You could say she inherited the role of the former Player Nam Ga-eun.
"Not Section Chief Lee Min-ah."
"Then who?"
"The Player who recently recorded consecutive S++ grade conquests up to the 49th floor."
"Ha!"
Has the UAE gone mad?
"No, without even knowing who it is..."
Of course, Park Kyung-su and Jeon Gwang-il knew, but,
"The UAE side seems to believe Korea has identified the S++ Player."
"Even if we knew, temporary naturalization is out of the question."
Player Bong Joo-hyuk's current floor: 49.
He would have to climb 11 floors in under 20 days,
But for him, that wouldn't be difficult at all; he'd probably climb them in 11 days.
"We must flatly deny any knowledge. We can't give them even a hint of an opening."
"Why are you like this? Do I look like the kind of person who would do that?"
"Hahaha, I always trust you, Chief."
Bureau Chief Park Kyung-su chuckled and continued.
"Still, let Player Bong Joo-hyuk know that such an incident occurred. It will break in the media soon anyway."
"Yes, I was planning to meet him today."
"Oh! How's the leather business going?"
"About that..., there's been a setback."
"What is it?"
"A shortage of leather cutting and processing tools."
Basilisk leather must be cut with a knife made from Tower metal.
If you force-cut it with equipment, it's not that you can't cut it, but the leather gets damaged.
Most importantly, delicate processing becomes impossible.
Sewing itself is impossible.
"The workshop doesn't have spare metal?"
"They're already tight on making weapons,"
"Importing is difficult too?"
"Yes, they probably don't have enough to make their own equipment either."
Jeon Gwang-il was also worried.
It was a business Player Bong Joo-hyuk had entrusted to him with faith, and it was already creaking from the very start.