A Wimp's Strategy Guide to Conquer the Tower

After executing the electric servant.

Rajix started sweeping and wiping down the spacious house like a fish that had finally hit water.

With the kind of determination that said they wouldn’t allow a single speck of dust.

The top-floor penthouse also had a small garden connected to the rooftop.

At some point, Rajix had already gone out there too, pulled a pair of gardening shears out of their backpack, and started trimming branches—

SNIP!

—then neatly shaping everything up.

Gyeon Dallae watched that scene with a pleased expression.

“It seems they are pleased, having risen in status.”

“...Huh? Risen in status?”

“Because they have become a mansion-house servant. Is that not the dream of all servants? This girl, too, is glad.”

Oh, that’s what she meant.

Well, compared to an officetel, a penthouse really was a “great house.”

And honestly, back in the day, Juhyeok had wanted so badly to become a servant for a major corporation... no, a great house.

“I thought you meant their rank went up. Like from R to SSR.”

“A servant cannot be measured by such paltry ranks. Look at those SSRs—Cossack and Meatshield.”

When he turned his head—

Meatshield was in the kitchen.

He seemed fascinated by the faucet that poured water automatically when you put your hand close, sticking his hand in and out over and over.

Cossack was sprawled sideways on a wide, expensive sofa, propping his cheek on his arm.

He was yawning with his mouth stretched wide while flipping TV channels from 0 to 999 at lightning speed with the remote.

Then their eyes met.

“No team dinner today?”

“...My, my. Tsk tsk tsk. Master, do you see? What use is SSR? He does not even know what a servant’s duty is.”

Cossack seemed to have adapted to the new house instantly.

“Of course we should have a team dinner.”

“Heh heh heh heh, as expected of Summoner Bong. We order delivery?”

“Come on. On a day like this, we can’t order delivery. We should do room service.”

He’d already thought it through.

A luxury apartment’s concierge services.

Just the basic monthly management fee was 3,000,000 won.

Places like this had their own restaurant system, and they even did breakfast service in the morning.

Of course room service was possible.

“From now on, team dinners are room service only.”

“YAHOO! Summoner Bong is the best!”

Juhyeok opened the service guidebook that had been placed on the living room table.

When he looked at the room service menu—

He couldn’t say a word.

He had no choice.

‘What kind of menu...’

The prices were insane.

30,000 won for a plate of organic vegetable salad, 60,000 won for a plate of pasta, 150,000 won for a plate of tenderloin steak—

And boiled eggs were 15,000 won each.

‘What, did a phoenix lay these eggs?’

Meatshield alone could eat 300 eggs.

And he could easily polish off 100 plates of steak.

“What’s wrong?”

“N-nothing. There just isn’t a menu item I like. And none of it looks tasty.”

THUD!

Juhyeok closed the guidebook.

“Ohhh, then we can’t order it. Food is super important. Even the Black Tower has a saying: you should eat first.”

“This time Cossack is correct. A servant’s food must be good for the work to be good.”

“I eat anything. Cheap. Lots.”

Juhyeok nodded, too.

“Let’s order delivery. It’ll taste way better.”

“YESSIR!”

Still, this house really did have everything.

He could move in immediately.

This apartment’s price was about 15 billion won.

Including acquisition tax and one year of management fees.

When he asked why it was so cheap—

He was told it wasn’t the real transaction price, but the officially assessed value.

Since the officially assessed value was a government-set price, they had no choice but to sell at that price.

He knew it was all excuses, but still—this was about the minimum he should accept.

Anyway, there was no need to drag this out.

Tomorrow, he’d immediately move out of the officetel.

And on top of that, he’d keep peeling basilisk hides diligently.

He didn’t know how much the hides would sell for, but he needed to secure inventory so he could hand them over immediately when they were needed.

And starting the day after he moved—

Juhyeok and the summoned entities ran repeat clears of Floor 45.

*****

HG Fashion’s Goyeonha visited the Tower Player Awakening Administration.

It had been three days since she’d received the offer to supply basilisk leather.

“Excuse me, Deputy Commissioner.”

“Welcome, CEO Goyeonha.”

They greeted each other, and then—

“So? Have you reached a conclusion on the leather’s value assessment?”

For the assessment, Goyeonha had taken the leather samples three days ago, and she’d even taken photos of the basilisk.

But—

“I’ll be honest. We couldn’t find an answer either.”

“Hm. It must be difficult to set a value.”

“But I ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) do have a proposal, and I’ll need to explain it first...”

“Yes. Go ahead.”

What kind of proposal was it?

“For example, with alligator leather, it usually takes leather from about three animals to produce one high-end bag.”

“For just one bag?”

“Yes. When you process alligator leather, you cut away all the parts that can’t be used as a product. There are quality differences, and above all, the pattern is important.”

“Ah! I understand what you mean.”

“Of course, a basilisk is several times larger than an alligator, and the patterns across its body are alive, so there won’t be that many parts that get cut away.”

Of course.

How could alligators and basilisks even be compared?

“We plan to use this leather to make products across three lines.”

“Three lines...”

“A mid-to-low-priced line that people can access easily, a high-quality line where you need to make a big decision to open your wallet, and a high-end luxury line that nobody can buy casually.”

“So the leather quality will differ for each.”

“Yes. The high-end luxury line will include Rainbow Basilisk leather mixed in.”

Goyeonha lifted the teacup in front of her, wet her throat, then continued.

“So here’s what we came up with. Rather than paying money to purchase the raw material, how about we split the final product sales profits at an appropriate ratio?”

“Ah!”

It was a good idea.

In a situation where the leather’s value was difficult to set anyway, splitting the final profit was probably the easiest and most reasonable approach.

Goyeonha briefed Jeon Gwangil on her proposal.

They accepted what should be accepted, fixed what should be fixed—

And reached a conclusion.

First, they would create a new corporation and a new brand.

Brand name: Wildflower & Basili.

Then, from the total revenue of Wildflower & Basili products, they would subtract the costs of leather processing, the costs of making products from the leather, labor costs, distribution costs, equipment costs, marketing costs... everything.

And the production cost settlement would be audited by the Administration.

What remained after that was net profit after taxes.

“Let the Administration take 80% of the final net profit. How does that sound?”

80%—meaning HG Fashion would take 20%...

“Let’s do 95%. It’s net profit, not revenue.”

“Five percent is too—”

“You’ll sell other things too. And Wildflower’s brand value will rise as well.”

“We need something left over to invest in facilities...”

Jeon Gwangil tossed out a line casually.

“Wildflower & W.”

“...Pardon?”

What was he saying?

Wildflower & W?

“What do you think the W stands for?”

“Ah!”

“It might not be Wildflower & W. It could be Ilseong & W, or Daehyeon & W...”

Insane.

“S-so... you mean wyvern leather is possible too?”

“It’s absolutely possible. When wyvern leather comes in later, we’ll renegotiate the net-profit split ratio for Wildflower & Basili.”

Goyeonha answered instantly.

“Yes. We’ll take 5%.”

If you hesitated on something like this, you were an idiot.

And Ilseong & W, Daehyeon & W...

Just imagining it was horrifying.

Jeon Gwangil was satisfied as well.

If net profit was 1,000,000 won, the Administration—no, Player Bong—would take 950,000 won as the leather price, and HG Fashion would take 50,000 won.

HG Fashion wouldn’t have major complaints.

It was net profit distribution.

They’d develop items and sell them together, too.

For example, bundling clothing that matched a basilisk-leather bag.

They’d work to maximize profit on their side.

And he’d also thrown out the Wildflower & W bait.

“Is there anything else I can help you with?”

“There is one thing.”

“Tell me.”

“We processed the sample leather through a chemical treatment process. It took a little time, but as a product material, it was good enough.”

“That’s good.”

“But cutting and crafting it is too difficult. It’s only A4 size, but it doesn’t cut well with ordinary tools. So we need tools mixed with Tower metal. A lot of them.”

Tower metal.

It was as rare as leather.

Maybe even rarer.

Players received it here and there as ingot-shaped clear rewards, but honestly, it wasn’t even enough to make weapons.

“Understood. I’ll go ask the workshops. And as for the contract, we’ll write it after getting final approval from the Commissioner.”

“Yes.”

Now all that was left was making goods and selling them.

The only regret was that money wouldn’t come in right away.

They needed permission.

Goyeonha called it “the Commissioner’s approval,” but in reality, it was someone else’s.

*****

It was the fourth day of running only Floor 45.

Entering the Tower twice per day.

It sounded exhausting and time-consuming, but it wasn’t like that at all.

First of all, there was no need to worry about an S++ clear.

He’d already done it, and this was a repeat clear.

The amount of leather he could bring out in one run was 6 normal hides and 1 boss hide, for a total of 7.

Twice a day meant 14 total.

Once every two days, Section Chief Lee Mina would come and collect 28 hides into her inventory, and that was it—nothing hard about it.

If there was anything difficult in this process, it was meeting Section Chief Lee Mina. She talked so much he thought he’d die trying to answer her.

Anyway, he’d finished clearing and was resting at home when Jeon Gwangil called.

It was about the leather supply contract.

“Uh... I get 95%? Did they not call me a thief or something?”

Was HG Fashion’s CEO some kind of sucker?

“Well, I don’t have complaints. I’m grateful, if anything. All I have to do is supply leather.”

They’d sell leather products and split profits.

Ninety-five percent of net profit.

Money he earned while basically doing nothing.

“That’s perfect. And don’t forget—you take one hide each time you collect, as the Administration’s share.”

“What?”

Don’t peel leather?

“Why?”

Jeon Gwangil’s reasons for asking him to stop harvesting leather were twofold.

First.

The leather processing facilities weren’t complete yet.

So they couldn’t handle any of the incoming volume at all.

Second.

Scarcity.

If they piled up too much leather, its value would inevitably drop.

It was better to supply it like it was always slightly short.

Juhyeok agreed.

They couldn’t process it or cash it out right now anyway, so continuing to harvest would only drag down the value.

He gathered the summoned entities and relayed what Jeon Gwangil had said on the phone.

“I knew it would be so. In the end, only our worker Rajix suffered for it. How stifling Master’s heart must be—this girl can only feel pity.”

As she said that, Gyeon Dallae glared at Cossack.

“You said money should be pouring into the account? I, too, desire that desperately. Yet the money has been bound up. There is not even a promise of when it will be converted to cash.”

“HNGH!”

“And how will you take responsibility? The time spent working is a waste. We should have mined Magic Stones and sold those instead.”

“SQUEAK?”

“When you did your briefing, you were so confident—yet you do not even know how production, distribution, and sales function.”

“SQUEEEAK!”

Cossack’s face turned bright red.

He kept darting glances at Juhyeok, begging for help.

Since he was the one who had approved the briefing.

Honestly, it wasn’t some huge mistake.

It just meant the money would come in late.

If they waited, it would come eventually.

It was just that Gyeon Dallae, who had been looking for any chance to bite at Cossack’s mistakes, saw her opening and tore in.

Still, Cossack’s desperate eyes as he got cornered—

How could Juhyeok ignore that?

“Alright, alright. It’s already done, so stop. Since we’re here, should we just sprint to Floor 50? Starting tomorrow, we’ll begin clearing Floor 46.”

“G-good. I agree.”

Cossack answered like he’d been waiting for it.

“Don’t worry. I’m SSR—Summoner Bong’s right-hand man, loyal confidant Cossack. I’ll finish it at S++.”

“Nice. That’s reassuring. Tomorrow we start Floor 46. But! We’ll only do Floor 50 when the Random Summon cooldown comes back.”

As if remembering something, Cossack lifted a hand and asked.

“...Um, are we doing a b-briefing?”

“No. Don’t.”

“YESSIR!”

Gyeon Dallae and Meatshield agreed as well.

“As expected of Master’s wisdom. This girl also agrees.”

“The warrior agrees too. Tell me. I do.”

Then—

“SQUEAK?”

Rajix also shot their hand up high.

“Go ahead, worker Rajix.”

“Peel scorpion exoskeleton?”

Well, what should he do?

Exoskeletons would need processing too.

But they could at least take a few as samples.

“Peel just one or two. We don’t need a lot.”

“SQUEAK, yesss.”

And so, the push into the uncleared upper floors was decided at once.

*****

[Entering Black Tower (Republic of Korea) Floor 46.]

Floors 46 to 50 were the giant scorpion section.

Each floor had a different scorpion attribute.

The environments were all the same.

Bald mountains with not a single blade of grass dotted the landscape, the flatlands were all desert, and here and there were boulders the size of houses.

What kinds of scorpions would appear?

Venom came standard, and the attribute was decided by what kind of venom it was.

Nerve-paralysis venom, bleeding venom, hallucination venom, acid venom—

And a King that had all of those venoms.

This was the section that consumed the most healing potions.

Depending on how many potions you had secured, the outcome of the clear split sharply.

[Floor 46 Mission: Kill 15 Paralysis Scorpions.]

[Time Limit: Within 13 hours.]

[Failure Condition: Death or mission abandonment.]

There was venom in the tail, and venom in the pincers.

It even spat venom-mixed saliva from its mouth.

“Scorpion bastards spit—PTOO, PTOO. If you get hit, you get paralyzed. If you get paralyzed, you can’t move. So...”

“So I should sit this one out?”

“As expected, you’re smart. Summoner Bong is a genius.”

“I can’t do that. And what about Meatshield and Cossack? Getting paralyzed is the same for you.”

“Paralysis venom doesn’t work on Meatshield. Look at that stupid-thick skin. And I’m an expert on venom. Even if I get hit, I can drive it out easy.”

Gyeon Dallae nodded.

Rajix nodded too... and then—

ROLL.

Rajix, sorrowful for having no neck.

“...Fine. We’ll see.”

Let’s see whether I can move or not.

Clear start.

SKITTER-SKITTER-SKITTER, SCRAAAPE—

A blue giant Paralysis Scorpion appeared, raising its pincers and tail.

Meatshield really didn’t flinch at venom.

The scorpion’s spit drenched his entire body, but instead of being paralyzed, he moved even faster.

Meatshield tore off the scorpion’s pincers and used them to club its head—

WHAM!

Cossack hid atop Meatshield like a slick bastard, avoiding the venom, then the moment an opening appeared, he snatched the last hit and finished it.

Gyeon Dallae’s buffs were steady as ever.

But then—

“Huh?”

Rajix—did they vanish again?

If they got splashed with venom—

Right then, Juhyeok turned his gaze.

And there Rajix was, holding a pickaxe, moving their short arms furiously as they chipped away at a huge boulder.

Then they picked up a chunk about twice the size of an adult fist from between the stones and shoved it into their backpack.

He had a pretty good guess what it was.

“Ore?”

The scorpion section.

There was more to gather than just exoskeleton shells.

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