Black Hole Dive and America's Secret Weapon

The Black Hole opened its massive maw.

Where? Deep in the Roas River.

The Black Hole sucked in not just the surrounding river water but the raging currents pouring down from upstream, like a giant drain.

The river vanished in an instant from that entire section.

The deep riverbed lay fully exposed.

"M-My God…!"

"A-Am I witnessing a miracle?"

The inhabitants of Lumentia couldn't close their gaping mouths.

There was no time to explain.

The Black Hole, having absorbed a set volume, snapped shut immediately.

"Master! Hop on! Hop on!"

"Your Holiness! Hurry!"

We leaped onto the magic carpet and took off right away.

Whooooosh──!

The riverbed rushed up at us at breakneck speed.

At the origin point of the pillar of light, a single necklace floated buoyantly.

And then the Black Hole sealed shut in a flash.

Kwaaaaa──!

"Master! The water's crashing in─!"

"Blessing of Light─!"

This was bad—one wrong move, and no barrier would save us from being crushed by the pressure and turned into fish food.

We were almost at the riverbed.

Yulia maneuvered the carpet into a sharp, nonstop U-turn, while Carmina grabbed my upper body to steady the center of gravity.

And me?

I stretched out my body and arms from the carpet, snatching the necklace─wait, what? Why won't it budge?

The necklace hung fixed in midair, as if resisting on purpose.

But who am I?

A walking bioweapon with every stat, strength included, breaking past 250.

Impossible is my motto—a dopamine guardian living life at lightning speed.

"Hup!"

I yanked it hard and pulled the necklace into my arms. Success.

Resist? Resist what?

Then we shot diagonally upward, dodging the massive wall of water surging from behind.

"Carpet─! Faster! Even faster!"

"Anyone who lets a single drop touch Your Holiness gets burned at the stake─!"

No need to nag.

She's already going full throttle.

After our desperate efforts, we barely escaped the rising water level.

Shwoooo──

Looking back, the Roas River flowed fiercely once more, as if nothing had happened.

Phew, that shaved ten years off my life.

We landed safely on the ground with the carpet intact.

Carmina and Yulia, catching their breath, lit up with excitement.

"Dopamine! Dopamine recharge! Let's go again!"

"Your Holiness, how about one more?"

These crazy allies.

We almost died, and they're already itching for round two?

"Let's do it right now."

As I momentarily lost my senses and reached for a cooldown reset ticket—

"The Traveler has retrieved the holy relic!"

"The relic recognizes a new god!"

"Ahh! A miracle parting the waters!"

The residents' cries snapped me back to reality.

I just can't get used to that fanaticism.

Too awkward—better take to the air.

Shwoong!

"Yulia, do you know anything about this necklace?"

"Geometric patterns on a round frame—I've seen it in texts. If memory serves, f***... um, back when that goddess existed, it amplified all the divine power she granted."

Wearer amplifies divine power.

But Yulia's current divine power had been replaced by system-granted strength.

It scaled with her bond to me.

A different kind of divine power altogether.

I had her try it on, just in case.

"No effect, Your Holiness."

"Thought it was a jackpot, but it's a dud."

As I handed it back with a sigh—

"Huh?"

"Something popped up!"

"An extra skill function?"

Not bad at all.

Item Transfer.

Was my luck tanked, or were the dimensional rifts just full of duds?

Lately, my hit rate was trash—I'd been chugging Pegasus blood nonstop.

'Including today, that means Item Transfer's locked for three days.'

If it were weekly or monthly, sure.

But three days? No big deal.

"Convert to Tower item."

Ding!

The effect was brief.

But potent.

"How many days is Heavenly Blessing's cooldown?"

"Normally four days."

Now I could enjoy triple Wisdom and Knowledge buffs every two days.

Yulia and I exchanged a glance.

Smack─!

A soul high-five passed between us.

I slipped the necklace on her immediately.

Ding! Ding! Ding!

And then—

"God has bestowed the holy relic upon the saintess!"

"Ahh! It purged the wicked goddess's aura and reborn as a new divine treasure!"

"Faith and salvation be upon us!"

That dizzying fanaticism again.

Getting worse by the day.

With a somewhat bewildered expression, I surveyed the crowd below before turning back to my two allies.

"There are more relics buried like this in Lumentia, right?"

"Yes, Your Holiness. At least dozens."

"What about Nosferatu?"

"Tons of treasures vanished from history! Probably buried somewhere."

Oh ho.

Lumentia and Nosferatu now had bonus content beyond restoration.

Free DLC?

After that, we flew the carpet to an unrestored zone and dropped today's meteor.

Kwaaaaaang──!

We flew to each Tower and purified them.

Day 10 of restoration today.

Considering my growth, I could wrap this up in a week.

Then I could recruit the next ally.

That's when I spotted a monster standing dazed beyond the purified zone's barrier.

'Black Ogre.'

Four meters tall. Massive club.

A hulking musclebound beast.

Not just here on Lumentia.

The most common monster in Earth's infested zones too—equivalent to a level 50 S-rank Awakener.

"It looks so weird!"

"Worse than kobolds or goblins—zero booze value."

Do monsters have personalities?

Anyway, matching its vicious appearance—

Black Ogres were one of the main culprits preventing nations from reclaiming territory.

With tens of thousands to millions per zone.

'No issue for me, though.'

One meteor wipes out hundreds of thousands.

I'd confirmed Earth's Towers could be purified too, whenever that happened.

Time to start planning Korea's reclamation.

When I had spare time later?

'Might as well think ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠beyond Korea.'

US Advanced Command Situation Room.

Awakener Management Agency.

Tower Climbing National Research Institute.

Tower Climber Tactical Training Center, etc.

All the heads of US Tower-related organizations were gathered.

Satellite footage displayed on the monitors.

The massive split screen showed Tartarus in Korea, China, and Japan respectively.

The one stalled at Jeju Island.

The one wrecking Beijing.

The one heading to Tokyo.

Deputy Director Elliot spoke first.

"A global notice went out for the Sudden Trial, but our agency suspects Japan might have used a tactical item."

The research director followed.

"Agreed. We have tactical items with similar functions, so it's plausible."

Everyone nodded, exchanging heated opinions.

"But the situation feels off. Only Korea dodged the misfortune—layers of improbable luck."

"Some variable Japan couldn't prepare for?"

Korea's tactical item use was off the table.

Why? In Tower history, tactical items never appeared outside top-3 rewards. Not once.

Elliot summed up the debate.

"Two main possibilities."

First.

"Pure Sudden Trial, and Korea alone got blessed by probability."

Second.

"Japan used a tactical item, plus some unknown variable."

And the prime suspect for that variable?

"The Hitchhiker."

Silence fell.

Everyone pondered deeply.

Record-breaking climber.

Lykan slayer in one second.

Prime suspect for holy water supply.

Now with trial-interference powers too?

"……."

"……."

Impossible.

Unless he's a god.

Yet they couldn't dismiss him as the variable.

"If only a talent like the Hitchhiker had appeared in the US."

"Worth 100 S-ranks, or more in strategic value."

"If we knew who, we'd promise riches—but not a scrap of intel."

Sighs mixed with envy and regret.

Why no such Awakener in America?

Elliot shifted the mood.

"Regrettable he's evading our nets, but irrelevant. America stays number one regardless."

True enough.

America had a secret weapon.

An undisclosed S-rank class.

Supreme Alchemists, the Burnbraun brothers.

Twins who Awakened to the same class.

Their key product?

Score Potions.

Astronomical production costs, but worth every penny.

Unlike climbing, steady scores with just materials.

Thus, national budgets stocked plenty from past rounds.

But things changed with the Hitchhiker's emergence.

They'd been dumping potions on cooldown to match Korea.

Stocks halved already, but no stopping now.

Sunk costs aside—

The moment they fell to second.

"Our chain of first-place bonuses breaks."

Bonuses? Increased S-A rank emergence rates.

Stacking every first place.

Why America boasted sky-high high-rank ratios per capita.

"Can't let it break."

"Lose first, and all bonuses vanish."

They talked big, but no real anxiety showed.

They had faith.

Elliot placed something on the table.

Thud.

"Got upper approval to bring it temporarily. This is America's trump card."

Extreme difficulty—only one ever produced.

The Burnbraun brothers' masterpiece.

America's treasure.

Greed and anticipation gleamed in their eyes.

"Perfect at three minutes to round end."

"Hitchhiker can't counter. Even saving climbs, one entry won't hit a million."

"Entry reset tickets? No issue. Recent clears take at least five minutes. Impossible in three."

God's hand indeed.

America couldn't lose.

Sole variable?

Tartarus subjugation rewards.

But no big deal.

"Research says Tower points probability under 3%."

"Even if points, Korea can't take down Tartarus anyway."

Could demand info from China/Japan too.

But untrustworthy.

"Would they share? More likely feed us fakes to use us."

"Dozens of precedents."

US-China-Japan relations were toxic.

As complaints flew about Sino-Japanese schemes, the director smirked slyly.

"Anyway, East Asia's trio is clearly struggling with Tartarus. Perfect timing for US intervention."

Snap!

An aide placed a black iron case on the table.

Click! Click!

Locks disengaged swiftly.

A pair of metal gauntlets appeared.

The director declared confidently.

"You've waited long. R50 Project's first complete product."

R50 Project.

US's massive budget sink since Towers appeared.

Aimed at crafting gear to boost Awakener skill firepower.

"Ooh! Finally!"

"Looks magnificent!"

Heated reactions.

The director grinned, continuing.

"As you know, Tower gear has limits. Reinforcement caps out, slot restrictions per body part."

But.

"R50 finals are different. Outside-Tower items, treated separately. Can't store in inventory or take inside due to mana stones and real-world metals."

From the start.

"Not for climbing."

R50—Retake50.

Reclaim all 50 states from monsters.

Beep!

Footage played on the monitor.

An Awakener in metal gauntlets.

Blasting a beam to vaporize a Black Ogre in an infested zone.

"Holy... Black Ogre that easy?!"

"Insane firepower amp."

The director's grin widened.

"Level 50 S-rank combat Awakener baseline. Factoring cooldowns and overheat cooling—one day max Black Ogres culled: "

Breathless silence.

"20."

Gasps everywhere.

Then thunderous applause.

20.

Small number, but revolutionary on Earth.

Tower-exterior monsters stronger than innards.

S-ranks needed all day for one.

Clap clap clap──!

"With Awakener special forces, 3-4 years per small zone."

Applause unrelenting.

All envisioned the global storm R50 would unleash.

"Territory reclamation—every nation's dream. The world lines up before America again. Sell gear, dispatch teams—whatever strategy fits."

Cheers swelled.

Holy water? Potion hoarding fail?

Damage done.

But momentum unbreakable.

America had multiple plans.

Korea thirstiest for land.

This card would dominate negotiations.

Elliot smiled triumphantly.

The next day.

Korean Agency VIP Reception Room.

Elliot said confidently.

"—So, intel for Korea first. America intends to support Korean reclamation with multiple special teams—prioritizing over our own territory. Gear for global sale? Much cheaper for you."

In exchange, America wanted.

"Hitchhiker intel. End the bleeding war. America first, Korea second—locked."

Carmina, hidden in Cha Minhyuk's shadow.

I, sensing via link, let out a hollow laugh.

Three years for a small zone?

Please—rivers and mountains change.

'What'd he ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠come peddling?'

Total snake oil salesman.

Should've ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠left the door locked.

Chase him out, sprinkle salt.

And conquer the world with this gear?

'No chance.'

Wrecking? My specialty.

Fun last time too.

"This proposal—"

Then Cha Minhyuk fixed Elliot with a chilling glare and spoke.