WSGCT Chapter 18

Juhyeok was in the midst of conquering the 25th floor.

Any player who had overcome the final goblin section on the 20th floor could conquer the 25th without much difficulty. The patterns were similar. However, the real challenge was the orc chieftain. How to deal with him – that was the crucial strategic and tactical consideration.

Of course, Juhyeok didn’t need to worry about this. Gobang and Kozak would handle it anyway.

Among the orcs, the weakest was the forest orc. Small in stature, with attack power on par with a hob goblin.

The strongest was the volcano orc. Not to be underestimated. With blood-red skin and a subtle flame aura, it burned everything it touched.

But to the barbarian warrior Gobang, they were mere hand warmers. He walked steadily, and when he encountered a volcano orc, he’d grab it and hug it affectionately,

“Cheurk?”

Crack!

Breaking its waist with a bear hug.

“…Won’t that be hot?” Juhyeok asked.

“Look at that bastard Gobang’s skin. Not even a singe. He’d probably say ‘Ah, refreshing!’ even if you blasted him with a gas torch,” Kozak replied.

Well, he did possess a body that withstood even the super-beast Hydra’s breath…

“Wooooh!”

As Gobang drew aggro like this, all the orcs rushed at him. It couldn’t be better for the assassin Kozak to operate.

“I’m going in!” Kozak shouted.

“Fighting!” Juhyeok cheered.

Whoosh!

Whoosh whoosh whoosh!

SSR-grade Kozak. His Shadow Step. It was so fast you could hear the wind tearing.

And that wasn’t all. Relentless blade explosions, shock breaks, vicious ambushes, poison daggers… Kozak’s dazzling array of skills.

“Kuhahaha! This is what SSR means!” he boasted.

Barely five minutes into the mission, and the 25th floor battlefield was already littered with orc corpses.

‘Nice. SSR indeed,’ Juhyeok thought.

He started to move as well. He’d agreed to take down three, so he had to meet his quota. Skill practice was a bonus.

‘…Better avoid the volcano orcs, right?’

He might get burned trying to catch them. Forest orcs or desert orcs would be ideal.

Swoosh! Swoooosh!

Juhyeok activated Shadow Step.

Suddenly!

Whoosh whoosh whoosh!

In a flash, Kozak appeared at his side, guarding him.

“Hey! Why are you sticking so close?”

“Don’t worry. I’ll stay still,” Kozak assured him.

He was thorough. Utterly thorough. Still, there was no risk of injury now.

“Primordial Thunderbolt Staff, First Form ‘Falling Lightning Soul Chaser'” Juhyeok intoned.

Electric energy enveloped the mace.

Swish!

Crackle!

Thwack!

“Keng!”

A forest orc perished on the spot. Its head half-fried by lightning.

Even though he hadn’t used Falling Lightning Soul Chaser many times, it was becoming more familiar.

“…One more?” Juhyeok asked.

Nod. Kozak nodded his head.

Crackle!

Thwack!

A desert orc went down in one hit too.

It wasn’t without danger. An axe thrown by a cave orc flew rapidly towards Juhyeok, but…

Clang!

The axe was deflected by a dagger before it could get close.

‘I could have taken that hit,’ Juhyeok thought.

As his level increased, the effect of the energy shield had also improved.

“Are you alright?” Kozak fretted.

What a fuss. Was he raising a child?

“I didn’t even get hit,” Juhyeok pointed out.

“There might be mental damage. Post-traumatic stress disorder.”

“Oh my, not at all,” Juhyeok replied, mimicking Kozak’s speech pattern.

“…Hmm, why are you imitating my way of speaking?”

“It’s fun.”

“Is that so? Hehehehehe.”

“Hahahaha.”

Juhyeok knew why Kozak was making such a fuss. He’d be shameless not to acknowledge it.

It was burdensome, though. But what could he do? He had to grow. So that Kozak could feel at ease.

In truth, why was Juhyeok, who prioritized safety and self-preservation, able to act so boldly? It was thanks to his reliable and dependable comrades.

Alone, he wouldn’t stand a chance. He wouldn’t have even attempted tower climbing.

Honestly, he was still scared. It was like the emperor’s new clothes.

For example, like a loser middle school student with older brothers in the high school judo and boxing clubs. Even at the bottom of the food chain, the bullies couldn’t touch him. If he tattled to his brothers, they’d come running immediately.

It was the same now. The cave orcs who had thrown axes at Juhyeok were being sliced up by Kozak.

‘…I feel a bit sorry for them,’ Juhyeok thought.

Let’s take down a few more. It should be fine now. The mission was almost over, might as well pick up some scraps.

Juhyeok played it safe, sticking to the periphery. Choosing only isolated orcs, Safely,

Crackle!

One by one.

Thwack!

More for the purpose of practicing Falling Lightning Soul Chaser than killing orcs,

Crackle! Thwack!

Then,

Ding!

[Primordial Thunderbolt Staff, Second Form ‘Falling Lightning Shower’ has been unlocked.]

Two out of three forms now unlocked.

“…Wow!”

Lightning shower. Meaning multiple bolts falling mixed together.

‘An area-of-effect skill, huh.’

Juhyeok raised his hammer high. He spotted a lone desert orc that had broken away from the group.

Swoosh! Swoosh!

“Falling Lightning Shower.”

Swiiish!

Crackle crackle crackle…

Lightning split into five branches.

“Kueeek!”

This was fun. He felt like Thor, the god of thunder.

‘Should I take down more?’

Kozak shook his head.

“You shouldn’t get too excited just because you unlocked a new skill.”

Ah! To think he had to mind the feelings of a summonee who absolutely obeyed him. How long would this go on?

He felt a surge of annoyance. Was Kozak strong from the start? Did he come out of his mother’s womb using Shadow Step?

“Mr. Kozak.”

“Yes?”

“I may be a wimp outside, but inside the tower, I’m as much of a tough guy as anyone.”

“Yes, sir, but safety first is still the priority-“

“What safety first! Just wait till the orc chieftain shows up! I’ll charge right in and smash his skull-“

Just then.

“Grrrrrr!”

Something big had arrived. The massive orc chieftain burst onto the battlefield, wielding an axe as big as himself.

Thump thump thump thump!

His body covered in tattoos, tusks protruding from his mouth, biceps thicker than Juhyeok’s torso.

‘…Is this really an orc?’

Why was it so huge? An overwhelming physique. Even bigger than Gobang.

‘Uh oh…’

No matter how much guts he’d grown, this was too much.

“What were you saying earlier about smashing the orc chieftain’s skull?” Kozak asked slyly, watching Juhyeok’s reaction.

“Hmm, did I pull something earlier? My back suddenly hurts. …I’ll just watch.”

“Oh no! A man’s strength comes from his back. You should rest,” Kozak said sympathetically.

“If only my back didn’t hurt, I’d take down that chieftain in one blow.”

“Of course! How could I not know that? Just looking at something like that is bad for your mental health.”

Kozak was getting a bit annoying.

The barbarian Gobang, having spotted the orc chieftain, threw his head back and roared loudly.

“Kuooooh!”

Like a berserker.

The chieftain’s and Gobang’s eyes met. Without any signal, they both lumbered towards each other.

Wham!

They began a test of strength. But it was no contest from the start.

“…Kueek?”

Crunch!

The orc chieftain’s shoulders were crushed.

And then.

Whoosh whoosh whoosh!

The SSR-grade Kozak moved in for the finish.

Slash!

A head flew into the air.

[You have successfully completed the 25th floor mission.]

[Your level has increased.] 

[Reward: 2.5kg of magic stones]

[Notice: You have achieved an S++ grade conquest on the 25th floor of the Black Tower (Korea).] 

[S++ Conquest Reward: A Platinum Badge is awarded.]

Another clean finish on the 25th floor.

“Good work,” Juhyeok said.

“Hehe, thank you,” Kozak replied.

Now to check the special benefit. What came out this time would influence the elite team contract. Increasing special benefits, increasingly safer tower climbing.

“What would you like to eat today?” Juhyeok asked.

“…How about tteokbokki?” Kozak suggested.

“Can you handle it? You can’t eat spicy food, right?”

“Why are you like this? I’m SSR, SSR! Being weak to spice is old news.”

“Oh really? Good luck with that.”

Juhyeok ordered 10 servings of tteokbokki. Along with cool drinks.

“Eat as much as you like.”

“Aren’t you eating, Summoner Bong?”

“I’ll eat later.”

Gobang dug into the tteokbokki.

Slurp, slurp.

“…Isn’t it spicy?” Juhyeok asked.

“Not at all. It’s just sweet,” Gobang replied.

“R-really?”

Kozak stared at the tteokbokki, gulped once, stared again, looked at it with determination, picked up a piece with his chopsticks while trembling, and kept staring…

‘When is he going to eat at this rate?’ Juhyeok wondered.

Let’s leave him be. He’ll eat eventually.

Now, let’s check the special benefit. He opened his tower-exclusive inventory and checked the badges.

[Special benefit awarded for accumulating 25 Platinum badges.]

Please be something good. Please!

[Special Benefit: Encore Special Benefit selection is available.]

“What?”

Encore meant…

[Selectable Encore Special Benefits are Characteristic Enhancement, Skill Copy, Random Item, or Summonee Grade Enhancement.]

“Oh!”

So that’s what it was. It wasn’t some omakase encore sushi, but… What a windfall!

An easy choice. Only a fool would pick anything else here.

‘Characteristic Enhancement.’

[Your awakening characteristic has been enhanced.]

“Hehehe,” Juhyeok chuckled.

Tower climbing? A piece of cake. And he could ensure his safety too.

Let’s see. First, his level?

Skills too.

[Combat Skills]: Shadow Step / Primordial Thunderbolt Staff

And his characteristic.

Simultaneous summons of 3. If he participated in combat himself, he could climb with a total of 4.

Talk about special treatment. Of course, this applied to all players with the summoning characteristic.

Team play was possible instead of solo play, and with characteristic enhancement, the number of simultaneous summons increased.

But they had their limitations too. Was it easy to control summons? They weren’t much stronger than the player’s level, had no free will so every command had to be specified, and the mental drain was severe.

That wasn’t all. If you lost control of your summons, there was a risk of them going berserk. If they went berserk, you had to release the summon. You might even be attacked by your own summons if you weren’t careful.

Having the summoning characteristic didn’t mean it was all sweet. It had clear disadvantages.

In contrast, Juhyeok’s summons were different from the start. Real people with tremendous power and abilities, beyond any limit.

He just had to say “Let’s start the mission” to Kozak and Gobang, and that was it.

‘The random summon cooldown is…?’

About 18 days. Time would fly by.

‘I can sign the elite team contract now.’

At least he wouldn’t disappoint people.

‘Now…’

All that was left was to discuss it with his family.

But just then!

“Keueoeoek! Heureureup! Heureup!”

Kozak was writhing on the floor, crawling. His long, reddened tongue hung out of his mouth.

“Assassin about to die,” Gobang commented.

“Keuk, keugeuk!”

“Now we throw this one away and summon someone else.”

“Sh-shut up! W-water…”

Juhyeok opened a bottle of the cool drink and handed it to him.

“Tsk tsk, I knew this would happen.”

Did he think he could handle spice just because his grade went up?

‘Wait a minute!’

What if he fed Kozak spicy food whenever he did something annoying? It wouldn’t violate the 3rd principle, so he’d have to obey…

But,

‘Nah! How could I do that to someone?’

He wasn’t a psychopath after all.

***

Juhyeok’s family home.

The whole family had gathered after a long time. He had specially bought some Korean beef to bring home.

Though poor, they were a harmonious family. Even after finishing their meal, they sat together, chatting boisterously.

“You know, after I got the lawyer, the company started contacting me. Those people who had been ignoring me all this time,” his mother was saying.

“What happened to those people? The customers who dared to mistreat our mom? The news showed reporters barging in,” Minhyeok asked.

“Oh, don’t even mention it. Turns out the husband of that household is a high-ranking government official. It’s been chaos. They’ve been calling non-stop to apologize to me.”

“Honey, don’t accept their apology. This is a chance to teach them a lesson so they won’t mistreat others,” his father advised.

The first topic was his mother’s lawsuit.

The next story was:

“I’m scheduled to be admitted tomorrow. Get this, they say the room is a VIP suite.”

“Wow! Dad, can I stay there too? I’ll take care of you. It’s close to my school anyway.”

“No way. I need your mother by my side to be comfortable.”

“Wow! A VIP room must be better than our house!”

Then Minhyeok’s story:

“Getting the scholarship is great, but it’s only for one semester.”

“Because of your grades?”

“Bro! I study well. I might not get a full scholarship, but I’ve always had at least half.”

“Then why?”

“I’m taking a break next semester to enlist in the military.”

“Ah!”

Come to think of it, he had reached that age.

“Oh right! How are you doing these days, bro? …Still doing part-time jobs? I hope you find a stable job.”

“Yeah, Minhyeok’s right. I’m going to look for a job once my rehab is over, so you should study for employment too.”

“Our eldest son, you’ve had it tough. Now live for yourself. Once the lawsuit is over and we get compensation, our family will be much better off.”

Juhyeok pondered for a moment.

How should he broach the subject? It was almost like dropping a bomb.

In times like these, the direct approach was best.

“Remember when I hinted at something before?” he began.

After a brief pause, he continued:

“I’ve awakened. I’m active as a player.”

His family’s eyes widened in disbelief, as if he’d just spouted nonsense.

“You’re making jokes without even blinking,” his father said.

“Are you talking about being a game player?” his mother asked.

“Bro, have some fruit,” Minhyeok suggested.

He planned to keep his S++ conquests secret. He trusted his family, but the fewer people who knew, the better.

Juhyeok casually pulled out a chunk of magic stone from his inventory.

Then, just as casually, he produced his adamant metal mace.

And the alloy round hand shield.

As he did this, he continued speaking:

“Can you see them? The magic stone and the weapons I use. I’ve earned some money conquering the tower.”

How could they not be shocked? Things were popping out of thin air.

“Whoa.”

“Th-this is?”

“…”

Then came the decisive statement:

“The Awakened Management Office wants me to sign an elite contract… Sigh, this talent of mine is really exhausting.”

It was a bombshell.

His father’s mouth hung open.

Minhyeok covered his mouth with his hand.

His mother looked at Juhyeok with an inscrutable expression.

“I’ve become a real tough guy now. From now on, please refrain from calling me timid or a wimp in front of me.”

Juhyeok’s expression was utterly serious.