A Wimp's Strategy Guide to Conquer the Tower

[World Announcement: You have achieved clear grade S+++ on Black Tower NO.1 (Korea), Floor 87.]

The Infinite Prison was the world of souls.

Souls were listening to Jepetto, the supreme summoner’s summoned entity and the liaison between Earth and the world of souls, as he explained what had happened.

“...So in short, it means he conquered two dimensions at the same time. My summoner—my lord—did.”

In the world of souls, the original method of communication was telepathy conveyed through intent.

Because of that, it felt far more vivid than spoken words.

The speaker’s emotions were transmitted intact.

“Has there ever been someone like this? Someone who climbed the tower while trampling the Administrators of two dimensions underfoot?”

“No.”

“There’s no way there was.”

“That’s right. He’s the only summoner.”

“Even the Administrators must be experiencing this for the first time—just like us.”

It was a fact everyone acknowledged.

Was it because the summoned entities were special?

But who was the one who selected those summoned entities?

Who was the one giving them orders?

And who was the one making the final decisions in tower raids?

No matter how exceptional the summoned entities were, if the summoner was insignificant, they too would become insignificant.

“I also got a badge this time. Hahahaha! A sparkling, shining Platinum Badge. I’d love to show it to you, but sadly, I can’t.”

“...Is that bastard here to communicate, or to brag?”

“Unfortunately, today is my last day.”

“Last day?”

“Actually, my dispatch duty ended a while ago. I could receive Residency Rights again and return to White Tower Floor 17, but I kept coming out here out of pure self-sacrifice—for all of you.”

Yeah, right.

He probably just liked it because the souls got excited every time he talked about the outside world.

“Anyway, I’m leaving, but there’ll be a random summoning soon. And if you win the draw, what benefits do you get?”

Benefits, huh.

“First, tremendous pride. Why did we sign the summoned entity contract in the first place? Wasn’t it for the single purpose of saving the world?”

That was true.

“But until now, it has been nothing but failure. We couldn’t protect our summoners, and every world was completely destroyed. Our pride was shattered.”

That was also true.

They had been steeped in defeat after repeated failures.

“But this time, success is in sight. You can join the sacred ranks of those who save the world. We can fulfill our wish as well.”

Good.

I want to be summoned.

I want to stand by his side.

“Needless to say, the employee benefits are incredible. Escape from the Infinite Prison, permanent residence on White Tower Floor 17—doesn’t that already say enough?”

Just imagining it was delightful.

“Lastly, I’ll end with one more piece of good news.”

Good news?

“The summoner has secured one Skill Cooldown Reset Ticket. What does that mean?”

Huh?

“Yes, this time it’s two people. Look forward to it. Well then, I’ll be off—”

“It’s almost time for the summoner to call me... I’ve got a lot to do once I’m out there. I’m a recognized summoned entity now, after all. Hahahaha!”

No one even listened to his farewell.

Two people could go out?

“So in the end, you’re telling me to go, huh? Fine. I’ll go.”

“I should get ready. First impressions matter.”

“I’ll say goodbye in advance. Take care, everyone—... no, forget that. I’ll come back once before I get my Residency Rights.”

“Fine. Let’s see who ends up going.”

The souls swelled with anticipation.

A Skill Cooldown Reset Ticket.

Didn’t that mean the odds had doubled?

Earth No. 1,001—the Administrators of the Black Tower on the Earth where Juhyeok lived.

For a while, they had been bored, but at the same time, they had been enjoying a peaceful lull.

At the very least, there had been no S+++ clear announcements from upper-floor climbs.

But then—

“Huh!?”

An engineer flinched in shock.

“What is it?” 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

“Th-the summoner has entered the Korean tower.”

“...What?”

He came back?

“Why?”

“How would I know?”

He should have just stayed over there.

Things had been quiet for a while, which had been nice.

“Did he enter the tower to climb? Did he go up to the upper floors?”

“He’s collecting leather. Also gathering herbs and mining ore.”

“Ah...”

What a relief.

So it wasn’t an upper-floor climb.

“He’s entered the 85th floor too.”

“Gigant? He can’t take that anymore, can he?”

“He’s collecting the wreckage that was left after the self-destruction. Does he need metal?”

“I see.”

Still, that was just gathering.

Well, with bracelets, scrolls, and all the other things he was making, he probably needed a huge amount of materials.

At that moment—

“Huh?”

“What is it? An upper-floor climb?”

“N-no, not that, but... that summoner’s level is...”

“What about his level?”

“He’s level 88.”

“...Huh?”

Level 88.

That meant he had cleared the 87th floor.

“Our Black Tower’s 87th floor—the Undead Bone Dragon—hasn’t been cleared yet, right?”

“Yes. It’s still uncleared.”

Then—

“Earth No. 675...”

“That’s right. The Black Tower’s 87th floor over there was taken.”

“Kyaa! That must sting.”

A grin spread across its face all on its own.

Just imagining how badly the Black Tower Administrators on Earth No. 675 had been chewed out was exhilarating.

How does it feel?

It hurts, doesn’t it?

And it’s only going to get worse from here.

“Hahaha, haha, ha...”

No.

They couldn’t laugh.

“Hmm.”

Was this really something to laugh about?

If he had taken that one, then this tower’s 87th floor could be taken too.

It couldn’t be helped.

Let’s assume the 87th floor was already gone.

Instead—

“The 88th floor was the Sand Dragon, right?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

It was something that normally could not be cleared...

but if they assumed that floor would be taken too—

“Who’s our contractor for the 89th floor?”

“It’s the Light Dragon Hasphus.”

A free-contract [N O V E L I G H T] dragon recruited for tower defense.

“Where’s the true body?”

“It’s sleeping in the American West Coast Tower.”

In the early days of tower creation, the United States had been the top tower-climbing nation.

“Tell it to stop sleeping and move to the Korean tower. South or North, either is fine.”

“Understood.”

“And warn it to be careful, since the summoner might come up soon.”

This was exhausting.

Why had he come back already?

He should have just lived on Earth No. 675.

Today as well, Korea was peaceful.

Even though two towers had appeared overnight, no one believed they were dangerous.

Because the top player was Korean.

As a result, North Korea was changing too.

The threat of war had disappeared, and unification was drawing near.

Amid all that, breaking news arrived.

L Oooooh! I’ve been waiting for this!

L Does this mean I won’t gain weight anymore?

L A bracelet isn’t some all-purpose cheat item. You still have to put in a minimum amount of effort.

L I hope supply is enough this time.

L It’ll probably be even harder to reserve through subscription now.

L Why?

L Before, it was just Koreans competing with each other. Now the whole world is competing.

L Ah!

That was indeed the case.

As soon as the article went out, media around the world treated the resumed production of the Bracelets of Escaping Obesity as major news and showed enormous interest.

Then another article appeared.

L Hey, why are they selling them to China?

L They have to. If China collapses, do you think we won’t be affected?

L I still don’t like it.

L China’s going to stabilize now. No matter how much villain liberation players rampage, all it takes is tearing one sheet of paper.

L But are these made by Rajix Trading too?

L Isn’t that obvious? They say it’s the top player’s company.

L Our top player’s going to become an S+++-grade rich man. How much do you think they charged per sheet?

L I hope it was at least double.

Soon after, another article came out speculating on how much China had paid for the scroll export.

L This is it! This is why they exported the scrolls to China!

L They should’ve just said so earlier. Mount Baekdu is absolutely worth trading for scroll exports.

L Those Chinese really do solve everything by selling land whenever they’re in danger.

L Well, they’ve got land to spare. And if you think about it, Mount Baekdu’s basically a border region anyway.

L So now all that’s left is unification?

L Yeah. When’s it happening?

L Don’t tell me the North Koreans are going to stab us in the back—

The answer came quickly.

Chairman Kim Injung appeared on North Korean state television for the first time in a long while.

—Beloved citizens of the entire Korean Peninsula, Mount Baekdu has fully returned to the embrace of our people. Therefore, this can no longer be delayed. On behalf of the people of the Republic, I hereby proclaim that we will begin full-scale unification efforts.—

It was broadcast live in South Korea as well.

—We will dismantle the armistice line that split the waist of the Korean Peninsula and immediately withdraw the Korean People’s Army stationed there. Furthermore, we will open inter-Korean railways and roads, integrate currencies for economic unification, hold general elections for the North Korean People’s Assembly, and in addition...—

It was an official and comprehensive declaration of unification.

Then came announcements of an inter-Korean summit and working-level meetings.

It felt like a dream.

Unification was right in front of them.

Both North and South Korea were in a celebratory mood.

Just a year ago, missiles had been flying, propaganda leaflets had been scattered, insults had been exchanged, and the two sides had been like mortal enemies.

There was no country opposing unification.

Not China, not Japan, not the United States, not Russia.

And as if to celebrate the declaration of unification—

Black Tower NO.1.

[World Announcement: You have achieved clear grade S+++ on Black Tower NO.1 (Korea), Floor 87.]

The next day, Black Tower NO.2.

[World Announcement: You have achieved clear grade S+++ on Black Tower NO.2 (Korea), Floor 87.]

For two straight days, S+++ clear announcements rang out across the world.

Juhyeok returned to Earth No. 1,001.

He collected leather, mined ore, and gathered herbs, and to commemorate the declaration of unification, he cleared the 87th floor of both Korean Black Towers one after the other.

No Dragon Heart dropped on the 87th floor of the Black Tower on their Earth.

All that came out was a small amount of low-grade Magic Stones and mid-grade Magic Stones.

‘They dropped Dragon Hearts just fine on Earth No. 675.’

Even if it had been eroded by darkness—

they had cleared it twice, and not a single one had dropped.

‘Is it because there’s only one tower over there?’

That was probably it.

With only one tower, the probability would naturally be higher.

On the other hand, there were as many as 146 towers here,

so the probability might be that much lower.

‘Hmm, that just gives me another reason to raid the Black Tower on Earth No. 675 more often.’

Then I’ll just do that.

But first, finish what’s in front of me.

Outside, things were deafeningly busy with the preparations for unification.

Meanwhile, White Tower Floor 17 was bustling with a different kind of work.

Juhyeok and the summoned entities were fully absorbed in painting the Gigants.

Each of them held a brush and coated the Gigants’ massive bodies.

Jepetto had joined in as well.

After finishing his long dispatch duty, he had received Residency Rights again from Juhyeok and returned to White Tower Floor 17, but—

“Hey! That part’s blue, not red! What kind of vampire can’t even understand an instruction that simple?”

“If you don’t feel like working, then go crawl into some dark corner and sleep like a bat where nobody can see you!”

Poor Jepetto got scolded the moment he arrived.

He had spent every day in the world of souls bragging about how beloved he was.

All the summoned entities except Mari took part in the painting work.

The Gigants’ bodies were so enormous that they consumed a massive amount of paint.

Painting itself was not difficult.

These summoned entities were anything but ordinary.

After Elle maneuvered a Gigant into a lying position, they painted the front armor.

Once it dried, they flipped it over and painted the back.

The work moved quickly.

However, there were two Gigants to paint in total.

One was Gigant Unit No. 2, and the other—

“Uh, Mr. Cossack?”

“Yes?”

“What are you doing right now?”

“We’re doing interior work on the display Gigant.”

“I know that, but why are you writing letters on its back?”

“Aha! Advertising. We’ve got to promote our company far and wide.”

As if anyone didn’t already know.

“If we’re going to put it on display, letting it stand there bare is a waste. We can’t charge admission, so we should at least advertise, right?”

“......”

What Cossack was carefully writing across the Gigant’s back was this:

And even—

This was driving me crazy.

He was writing so carefully that I could not even bring myself to tell him to erase it.

“...Don’t write any advertising copy on the front.”

“Yes, sir!”

“And don’t write anything at all on Unit No. 2.”

“Yes, sir.”

The reason for preparing a display Gigant—

the excitement over the overwhelming combat footage of Gigant Unit No. 1 still had not cooled down.

Projected on a huge screen, it felt even more intense and immersive.

Requests had come in not only from Korea, but from all over the world,

asking to screen it in their own theaters.

And then there was anticipation for the sequel.

Would the Gigant wield a 60-meter-long sword?

That was not all.

Rumors spread that a gigantic shield was being produced as well, and the public excitement went even wilder.

Perhaps because of that level of interest, production of the sword and shield accelerated.

The Gigant equipment was being manufactured at a steel mill in Pohang.

Every top-tier technician in the country had been mobilized there.

Consecutive nights of overtime and shift work.

Fast and sturdy.

To cover the production process of the sword and shield, reporters from across the nation—no, from around the world—flooded into Pohang.

How could they ignore that kind of reaction?

So Juhyeok decided to reveal the real Gigant to the public first.

Time passed.

Finally—

SPOT!

Commissioner Jeon Gwangil entered White Tower Floor 17.

“The sword and shield are complete. Inspection is finished as well. They turned out sturdier than expected.”

Yes!

The project had been completed a full week ahead of schedule.

Truly the Korean spirit.

Fast, fast, fast.

“Give everyone involved in production a 100% bonus.”

“Understood.”

Late at night, Juhyeok went to the steel mill in Pohang.

It was quiet, since all the employees had already gone home.

“Rajix Designated Summon.”

“WAAH!”

“Load them in.”

SSSSSH, SSSSSH—

He stored the completed sword and shield, then returned to White Tower Floor 17.

Now came the enchantment work, the mana circuit application by the trio of master artificers, and the reinforcement process.

A Dragon Heart from a demonic dragon went into the sword.

A Dragon Heart corrupted by darkness went into the shield.

Mari had already finished processing both through alchemy.

Slots were made in the sword and shield for the Dragon Hearts, along with grooves for embedding top-grade Magic Stones.

The enchantments and mana circuit work were completed quickly.

They had already researched, discussed, and finalized the blueprints in the group chat.

Dragon Hearts, the mid-grade Magic Stones used in forging the sword, and the top-grade Magic Stones slammed into the enchantment work.

Demonic tongues and eyes, phoenix feathers—how much money was all of this worth?

Self-repair, durability enhancement, cutting power enhancement, weight reduction enchantments, on-off switch circuits.

Everything that could be added was added.

And so, two painted Gigants stood tall at the center of the White Tower.

One was Gigant Unit No. 2, equipped with a sword and shield.

The other was the display Gigant, painted but holding nothing.

“It’s moving.”

“My nose is tingling.”

“This maiden wishes to witness its might soon.”

“Let’s go hunt the Sand Dragon right away.”

But before that—

“Dr. Elle, Rajix dimensional farmhand.”

“Yes!”

“Yes, Summoner.”

“Let’s put the Gigant on display.”

Before sunrise, Juhyeok set out with Cossack.

Their destination was Yeouido Park.

Everything had already been arranged in advance, so the park was under strict control.

All the streetlights and surrounding illumination had been switched off.

Commissioner Jeon Gwangil came out to greet them.

“Player Bong.”

“Hello, Commissioner. Where’s the spot?”

“Over there... everything is ready.”

Yeouido Park was much smaller than before,

but there was still enough space to display one Gigant.

“Rajix Designated Summon.”

“WAAH!”

Rajix appeared and smoothly unloaded the beautifully painted Gigant.

SSSSSSSSH!

Then—

“Elle Designated Summon.”

The moment she appeared—

“Activation command input. Activation method input. Executing stand-up.”

GRRRRRDDDDD!

The display Gigant lifted its massive body by itself.

Finally—

“Activation command input. Activation method input. Execute preset motion for 10 seconds every hour.”

GRRRRK.

As if acknowledging the order, the display Gigant raised its arm.

Would it really be any fun if it just stood there motionless?

It needed to move once in a while.

The lower body would remain fixed, and only the upper body would move.

“How long will the fuel last?”

“It will operate without issue for a year. The motions are extremely simple.”

Fuel consumption would be minimal.

All it did was move its head or raise an arm.

It did not even walk.

People were going to love it.

The real thing was far better than any movie.

Once daylight came, it would inevitably draw attention.

Someone might already be watching.

“All right, let’s go back.”

The work finished far faster than expected.

Even before the random summoning cooldown had returned.

‘That changes the schedule.’

We’ll hunt the dragon first.

Random summoning comes after.

At last, Juhyeok and the summoned entities entered the 88th floor of the Black Tower on Earth No. 675.

The Administrators noticed immediately.

“Huh?”

“...”

“The summoner’s here.”

“Again?”

“Fuck!”

Please leave.

Go back to your own neighborhood.

Can’t you just stay away from here?