Chapter 54
Chapter 54
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 54
Chapter Title: The 54th Floor
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Having completed the conquest of the 51st floor, Joo-hyuk and his party exited the Tower.
They had used both of their daily Tower entry opportunities... So now what?
What do you mean, what? There's plenty to do.
We have to hold a welcome party for the new member.
"Let's have a company dinner to welcome Ms. Veronica. Get the beef out of the fridge. Today, beer and soju are on the house... Huh?"
Gororong, gororong.
Veronica was already sprawled out on the living room floor, fast asleep.
"Whoa, she fell asleep the moment she came out. At this point, is she a sloth or something?"
"...Could be a panda or a koala."
The three great sleepers of the animal kingdom.
Veronica possessed sleep abilities worthy of inclusion among them. It was pitiful.
She should eat before sleeping. Knowing what she had so desperately craved before her death, he couldn't bring himself to wake her.
"She must have gone crazy from lack of sleep. It's best to let her sleep soundly."
"Still, it's better to eat first. Pandas eat bamboo before sleeping too."
"If we wake her for no reason, she'll throw a fit. You saw her earlier, right? Tsk tsk, her face is pretty, but her personality..."
"Huh? Pretty?"
"...Pardon?"
"You just said it."
"I said no such thing."
"You did."
"Ah, I see."
Kosak subtly slipped away, saying he was going to grill the meat.
Look at that.
If things go well, maybe they'll even start flirting or something.
'Wouldn't that be interesting?'
He wasn't sure if romance between Summoned beings was possible, but there was no reason it couldn't be.
When they were outside, they are, drank, slept, and did everything else.
Let's just have the company dinner. We'd leave Veronica's share for later, in case she woke up.
On the large dining table, sizzling beef was cooking.
Drinking, eating, laughing, talking...
It was a welcome party missing the guest of honor, but it wasn't the only day in the world. They could do it again next time.
Truthfully, Joo-hyuk found this situation endlessly fascinating.
He had lived his life up until now without a single proper friend. What company dinner?
He never even dared to hope he could laugh and chat with people like this.
For Joo-hyuk, being able to enjoy moments like this with his comrades was better than any success as a Player.
In fact, that was why he bought the large penthouse—to have fun together like this.
Right then!
'Gasp!'
In an instant, Veronica, who had been sleeping in the living room, vanished.
'...Where did she go?'
She had just been snoozing on the floor moments ago. She hadn't been Summon Released either.
But Gobang, who had been eating meat, pointed under the table with his finger.
"Sergeant, she's here."
Looking down, it was Veronica. This time, she was sleeping under the table. It seemed she had rolled over here from the living room.
The more he saw, the more amazing it was.
"Is it a sleep habit?"
"Hoehehe…."
"It seems she was drawn here by the smell of grilling meat even while asleep."
That seemed likely. Even in her sleep.
Sniff, sniff.
Her nostrils flared, and smack, smack, she licked her lips.
"It seems we must wake her and feed her."
Kosak stared intently at the sleeping Veronica. As if remembering something, he grinned and spoke.
"Summoner Bong."
"Yes?"
"Please wait a moment without waking her. I want to try something."
"What?"
Kosak gently placed a piece of beef on Veronica's parted lips. Sniff, sniff, her nostrils twitched.
Then her tongue slurped out! and swept the meat into her mouth.
Kosak sprang up and applauded.
"Amazing. Amazing! She ate while sleeping. I'm truly astonished."
It was more absurd the more he watched. Wait, she chewed meat while lying down asleep? Is this also a skill?
Seemingly fascinated, Kosak placed another piece of meat on Veronica's lips. Slurp, munch munch.
"Unbelievable. Would you like to try, Summoner Bong?"
"..."
Gobang, who had also been watching intently, swoosh, placed two chunks near her lips.
Slurp, slurp, munch munch, smack smack.
"Hoehehehe?"
Razix also seemed amazed. He broke off a piece of the carrot he was eating and, with an expectant expression, carefully placed it on Veronica's lips—slurp!
"Hoe, she ate the carrot too."
"Well done. Worker Razix, a balanced diet of meat and vegeta—"
Ptooey!
A piece of carrot suddenly shot out of Veronica's mouth.
"Hoeheek!"
Razix looked disappointed. She eats while sleeping, but her palate is still particular.
Anyway, the welcome party ended well. She ate even while sleeping, after all.
Time passed and it was time to return, but Joo-hyuk didn't wake Veronica. And so, she disappeared, Summon Released while still asleep.
Time remaining until the UAE Tower collapse: 13 days.
The multinational Tower usage ticket could only be properly used if you met the qualifications. You couldn't climb floors higher than the user's level.
After climbing to the 59th floor of the Korean Black Tower, he'd proceed to the 60th floor of the UAE Black Tower. So today was the 52nd floor.
52nd floor, Level 52. His strength had increased commensurate with Level 52, and his mana was full enough to use Shadow Step all day.
Time to get moving. The special reward item was taken, but he still had the mace and buckler he bought when starting as a Player.
A real man didn't blame his tools. Gobang fought well barehanded anyway.
Commencing conquest preparations. Today, Veronica Caliber was also Summoned while asleep.
"Preparations complete... Ah!"
Veronica, who had been inspecting her magic rifle, cried out with a flustered expression.
"Is there a problem?"
"C-Captain! Ammunition exhausted. Failed to self-resupply. I apologize. I will rectify this."
Ammunition? It needed ammo? He hadn't realized.
"What kind of bullets?"
"Magic stones are required. The magic rifle loads magic stones as live rounds. Normally, we extract them from monster corpses for self-resupply, but yesterday we finished too quickly..."
"Is that so?"
Why worry when the magic stone tycoon is right here?
"Where do you load the magic stones?"
"You just pour them all in here."
Veronica removed the cover on the upper part. Now he understood why the rifle was so bulky. The interior of the magic rifle was completely hollow.
If you poured magic stones in here, it could easily hold at least 5 kg.
"Mr. Razix."
"Hoehng?"
"You have some magic stones stored, right?"
"Hoe, yes. Many."
"Give them to the Sergeant."
Razix opened his backpack. He pulled out and poured a steady stream of magic stones.
"How's that?"
"P-Plenty."
"What about reloading during combat?"
"Possible. Reload time is very short."
"Then Mr. Razix, if you sense Veronica needs ammo, supply her with magic stones immediately."
"Hoehng!"
Veronica also added,
"If ammunition is exhausted, I will raise my left arm and signal Supply Officer Razix."
"Shoot to your heart's content. Don't conserve ammo."
"Victory is assured!"
How many shots could she fire with one full load like this?
"Two shots for large magic rounds, two hundred shots for small magic rounds. Single-shot and burst fire are possible."
Two hundred small rounds. Two large rounds. Roughly a hundredfold difference in power.
"If you keep putting magic stones in, can you just fire away regardless of large or small rounds?"
"There is no limit to burst-firing small rounds. However, large rounds are limited to two shots."
"Even if magic stones are replenished?"
"Large rounds put a strain on the magic rifle. After firing two shots, you must wait one hour before firing again."
A sort of cooldown. That's fine. The small rounds alone are powerful enough. Plus, she said she could just fire away.
52nd Floor Mission
📍 Objective: Defeat 15 Steel-Beak Obsidian Griffons.
⏰ Time Limit: Within 14 hours.
❌ Failure Condition: Death or mission abandonment.
The 52nd floor also went smoothly. Veronica's pulling, damage reduction, handover to Gobang, and Kosak's finishing touches.
At this point, it felt less smooth and more monotonous.
Of course, unexpected situations did occur.
"Squad members, can I hand over two at once?"
"Go ahead. Even if ten come at once, it's fine."
"Roger! Good luck. I hope the Princess stays focused too. Be careful, as aggro might shift."
"Do not worry."
Pazuk! Pazuk! Pazuk!
But three, not two, descended.
Gobang stepped in front of her.
"It's three. Riflewoman, fall back."
"No! I'll handle one."
Zzziiiiing!
Veronica's magic rifle glowed white-hot. Assuming a prone firing position, she carefully aimed and then—
Brazuzuzuk!!!
A massive large magic round struck the body of a Soaring Talon Griffon directly.
Bwoom!
The griffon, helplessly struck by the large round, plummeted. Simultaneously, the kill count increased. One shot was enough.
But the aggro of the remaining two was still locked.
Pazuzuzuzuzuk!
After suppressing their descent with burst fire, Veronica rolled away, tumbling out of range.
The remaining two that chased her—
"Where do you think you're going!"
Gobang grabbed both their necks at once, and Kosak severed their life force with a dagger imbued with sword energy, stabbing their vitals.
"Hoe... That was cool."
Razix said, his eyes wide. He seemed impressed by Veronica's act of firing a big shot and then tumbling away.
"Worker Razix, I look cool when I fight too. Did I mention I once walked down from the sky?"
"Hoehek? D-Dangerous. Summoner is cool even when standing still."
Right. Razix really is a worker with good judgment.
Anyway, Veronica Caliber. Perhaps because her past life was a soldier, every movement was disciplined and efficient. Especially her appearance when firing burst fire from a standing position, relentlessly pounding small rounds into the griffons...
But there was also a drawback. The cost-effectiveness wasn't as good as expected. Magic stone consumption was high.
Gobang and Kosak only needed to be fed, but...
When Veronica raised her left hand, Razix, who seemed to have been waiting, dashed out.
Degururururu,
"Hoehehehe!"
Rrrip. He opened his backpack and supplied magic stones.
"Thank you, Supply Officer Razix."
"Hoehehehe…"
Razix, appointed as the supply officer, was participating on the front lines of battle.
'Then I should join in soon too...'
Joo-hyuk took out his mace and buckler. Seeing this, Veronica came running over, out of breath.
"You must not go forward."
"Why?"
"You could be hit by stray bullets flying from behind. In war, more people die from friendly fire than from enemy fire."
She's like this too. Why are the excuses so varied?
"Then what about Kosak and Gobang?"
"Hmm, Kosak is cunning enough to dodge bullets, and Gobang would probably be unfazed even if hit."
"...What if I ordered you, Sergeant?"
"I will recite the Three Principles of the Summoned. One! A Summoned being shall prioritize the Summoner's life above all..."
"Ahh, fine."
Those damn Three Principles.
"Also, if the Captain goes out personally, who will command? A commander should not move recklessly."
"Command, my foot."
"I must have misheard."
Commander, she says. Is sitting idly in the rear also commanding?
'Hmm...'
Thinking about it calmly, she wasn't wrong. In fact, it was perfect real-world logic. If you're a commander, you're supposed to laze around in the rear.
Anyway, the 52nd floor also,
The next day as well.
And the day after that as well.
The United Arab Emirates was a federation. While the main power lay with the Supreme Federal Council, the most influential among them, the King of Abu Dhabi, could be considered the de facto ruler of the UAE.
Crown Prince Abdul Binsala Abu Dhabi was under house arrest at his residence. All external activities were prohibited. It was practically like being imprisoned.
That happened as soon as he returned to Abu Dhabi from Korea. Was it because of the failed temporary naturalization contract? Far from it! A mere contract failure couldn't be the cause of exile. Especially for a Crown Prince.
The cause was the Trait Enhancement Rune. The item he was supposed to give as a condition for the temporary naturalization contract of a Player with Saudi Arabia. The crime was handing it over to an unknown assailant.
All he received in return were two Tower reward items and a verbal promise to conquer the 60th and 61st floors. Since he had to bear full responsibility for that, Binsala was exiled to his home.
Moreover, he was on the brink of being stripped of his Crown Prince status. Was it just status deprivation? Eventually, he would be expelled from the UAE. And then likely eliminated by a killer.
A banished Crown Prince alive would be a burden to the future power structure. There was only one way to turn the tables. That man he met at the hotel. If he conquered the 60th floor of the UAE Black Tower for him.
Then he could escape his exiled state and wield power even stronger than before.
Suddenly! Knock, knock.
A retainer knocked and entered the room where Binsala was confined.
"How did it go?"
"Today, the 54th floor of the Korean Black Tower was conquered with an S++ grade."
"I see."
Four consecutive days of climbing. Honestly, he had been doubtful, but now he was convinced.
Gobang. The enigmatic Player who could exert power beyond his abilities inside the Tower, even in reality. Gobang was undoubtedly the record holder for S++ grade conquests of the Korean Black Tower.
Conquering floors 51 to 54 consecutively over four days was also to keep his promise to him. How bold he was to simply hand over the extremely rare Tower reward weapons and shield as gifts.
The Omani Player, equipped with that gear, had already climbed two more floors, reaching Level 29. If Gobang conquered the 60th floor as promised?
'I must definitely go to Korea.'
Prepare a gift bundle that's not lacking. He had to meet Gobang again somehow. He needed to maintain a continuous relationship with him.
The fact that Gobang was a creepy, chilling person wasn't even a problem. Perhaps the fact that he had made an acquaintance with such a person was actually fortunate.