The moment an American player stepped onto the 70th floor, the world turned into hell.
The Curse of Mediocrity.
A sticky, vicious swamp.
If this curse continued, the world would inevitably be destroyed.
When the global average was in the 50s, how were they supposed to match 70 floors?
They said it would be fine if the true Kabalon were captured, but who even knew where he was?
Continuous tower collapses.
Sinkholes forming everywhere.
And tower monsters pouring out from within them.
Korea, in particular, was devastated.
It had once been considered a developed nation, but the tower collapses and sinkhole waves left it reeling.
Those in power abandoned their homeland and fled to other countries.
Players who could use their powers in the real world became villains, committing all kinds of crimes.
At least martial law had been declared, and thanks to Commander Jeon Seong-il's efforts, things were gradually stabilizing.
But what about neighboring countries?
China, a tower-climbing powerhouse that rivaled the United States for first and second place.
Japan, with a solid player base and excellent crisis-management capabilities.
Korea couldn't even be compared to them.
The pride of Koreans collapsed.
A sense of defeat permeated everything.
The despair that nothing could be done.
Giving up and resignation.
The word "hope" had long since vanished from people's minds.
But what was this?
A Korean-nationality player had conquered the Black Tower with astonishing ability?
From the 61st floor to the 65th.
World announcements echoed across the entire planet.
It wasn't a tower jumping ticket.
It meant that some Korean player had personally climbed the undead section.
And they said they would clear the 70th floor within two days and end Kabalon's curse.
L It's really not a tower jumping ticket, right?
L Yeah. Totally different.
L I'm confused. Am I dreaming right now?
L But if Korea clears the 70th floor, does the curse really get lifted?
L They said the true original was in the Korean tower.
L What if it doesn't work? I'm worried to death.
L Me too.
The Korean public was bewildered.
They couldn't get their bearings.
It was only natural.
Everything had changed overnight.
This feeling was new.
Korea's tower conquest becoming the center of global attention.
Korea receiving the world's expectations all at once.
It felt incredibly unfamiliar.
They didn't know what to do.
They could only wait for tomorrow.
Could it really happen?
They desperately hoped it would.
But who was that player?
They wished they at least knew the name.
Leaders of countries all over the world were watching the press conference live on TV.
At first, they thought it was an address about defending the Seoul sinkhole wave.
There had even been rumors that it was a Dark Wave.
An extremely rare wave where undead clad in dark-attribute aura crawl out of sinkholes.
Once it happens, stopping it is impossible.
Needless to say, casualties would be catastrophic.
And such a Dark Wave had occurred in Korea.
Yet they had stopped it.
How?
Neighboring countries reacted especially sensitively.
At the Japanese Prime Minister's residence, a bureaucratic meeting chaired by Prime Minister Kurokawa.
They were also watching Commander Jeon Seong-il's briefing.
What would he talk about?
Two possibilities.
How the Seoul sinkhole wave was defended.
Or—
"Won't he address being selected for the 11th Kabalon curse?"
"The Curse of Mediocrity? What could they possibly say about that?"
"Well, probably asking for help. Begging us to send level-61 players or something."
"Hah! Would that even work? There are barely any level-61 players in the entire world."
Japan didn't have a level-61 player either.
There was exactly one, but he had reached that level through exploits.
And he wasn't even Japanese by nationality.
They only kept him around because he was useful.
The press conference began.
As expected, it started with the announcement about the Seoul sinkhole wave.
So how did they deal with the Dark Wave?
Had they developed some new weapon?
But there was no special explanation.
They merely announced that it had been a success.
"They're glossing over it.""
"That's how it looks."
"Maybe there was no Dark Wave to begin with?"
"No way. There were testimonies saying it was definitely dark-attribute aura."
Then, at that very moment—
A man appeared beside Commander Jeon Seong-il, bound tightly with ropes.
"Huh?"
"Gasp!"
"Th-that guy?"
"No, why is he there?"
It was Ryu Chenming.
A man wanted nationwide in Korea.
Japan had accepted Ryu Chenming's asylum.
Although his nationality was Korean and he couldn't enter Japan's Black Tower, he was still valuable just for defending the Hokkaido sinkhole.
The fact that Japan had accepted his asylum was top secret.
Disguised as a fisherman, they had secretly brought him from Busan to Tsushima, and from Tsushima to Fukuoka.
Yet he was caught?
When?
"That's impossible. He was at home until yesterday."
"Could it be a lie? They probably dressed someone up as Ryu Chenming."
"Go check immediately. See if Ryu Chenming is still there."
Then came the next statement.
The Republic of Korea Awakened Corps Special Operations Team declaring the conquest of the 61st floor.
"Hah!"
"Ridiculous."
"Those insignificant Joseon bastards—"
It was absurd.
If they had that kind of capability, why had Korea's Black Tower collapsed in the first place?
It was utterly impossible.
They were people who wouldn't be surprising to see wiped out at any moment.
Then—
Ding!
"What?"
A world announcement rang out.
What did it say…?
[World Announcement: Republic of Korea Black Tower 61st Floor Conquered! A player of Korean nationality has cleared the 61st floor of the Black Tower with fantastic ability ...]
"What?"
Prime Minister Kurokawa jumped to his feet.
Other high-ranking officials could only gape in shock.
"… What?"
"The 61st floor…?"
"C-cleared?"
They couldn't believe it.
But they had no choice but to believe.
It was a world announcement.
Everyone heard it.
The undead section of the 61st floor—utterly impossible at Korea's level—had been cleared.
Japanese broadcasts covering the press conference also flashed breaking news.
Everyone was flustered by the sudden world announcement.
Then—
"Prime Minister, cabinet intelligence agents just confirmed Ryu Chenming's residence."
"… And?"
"He's gone without a trace. The living-room window overlooking the view was cut open. It seems—"
It was him.
The Ryu Chenming who had been in Japan was there.
And then—
Ding!
[World Announcement: Republic of Korea Black Tower 62nd Floor Conquered! A player of Korean nationality has ...]
"… Ah."
Now it was the 62nd floor.
"Could it be a tower jumping ticket?"
"N-no. The method and details are completely different. A world announcement wouldn't trigger like this."
That's right.
It was completely different.
And it didn't stop there.
With about ten minutes between each, announcements continued—up to the 65th floor.
"How on earth did they do it?"
"Investigate."
"Make sure it's thorough."
Chinese President Liang Fei and the Standing Committee members were also watching the press conference.
Of course, they heard the world announcements too.
"This is troublesome. For something like this to happen so suddenly…."
Korea had been a small country that couldn't even reach the heels of a great power.
A country that once bowed its head and begged, offering Jeju Island in exchange for help clearing the 61st floor.
And now they were at the 65th floor.
In a single day.
And not with a jumping ticket.
"Five climbs a day… could this be a player-trait skill?"
"That's very likely."
"Who is it?"
"We're gathering information. We'll know soon."
Five times a day aside.
What was even more shocking was that the cleared floors were in the undead section.
The 65th floor even spawned Dullahans.
A notoriously difficult floor.
Even if you could clear it, it took at least ten hours.
"… Only ten minutes?"
How was this even possible?
"They seem to possess items specialized against undead."
"Hm."
Yes.
That had to be it.
There was no other explanation.
In fact, China also had three sinkholes.
During the early days of Kabalon's curse, China attempted to clear the undead section at the 62nd floor.
But they ultimately failed.
China had three towers.
If they were cursed and failed a conquest, all three would collapse in succession.
What could they do?
They had five level-62 players, yet none of them could overcome the wall of the 62nd floor.
Then they received intelligence.
There was a talented player in Taiwan.
A level-59 warrior with light-attribute traits.
So they secretly contacted him and brought him over.
Through threats, persuasion, and every means imaginable.
It was practically kidnapping.
At the time, there were no sinkhole waves yet, so players couldn't use their powers in the real world.
After pouring huge sums of money into providing light-attribute items, their synergy worked well, and they rapidly climbed to the 62nd floor.
After that, whenever the Curse of Mediocrity struck, they cleared it with ease.
But the 66th floor—
The dark-attribute Specter.
That monster was the problem.
A flying undead monster.
Its dark-attribute aura was extremely powerful.
Because it was a light-aspected melee warrior, it was a monster that was very difficult to hunt.
Even so, they kept sending him into the tower.
Hoping that if he kept throwing himself at it, he would eventually find a way.
Then one day.
The forcibly naturalized player from Taiwan entered the 66th floor as practice—and never returned.
Death inside the tower.
His death was kept secret.
And then China was selected for the 11th curse.
At this rate, all three towers would collapse simultaneously once again.
It was a great crisis.
A dead end.
In the middle of that, a request for temporary naturalization came from Korea, asking for help with clearing the 61st floor.
In return, they demanded Jeju Island, which had optimal conditions as an evacuation zone.
But what if Korea's player managed to clear even the 66th floor?
"We have to bring him in. Even if we have to kidnap him."
But there was a problem.
"We must not approach recklessly. The situation is different from back then."
That was right.
When they brought the Taiwanese player over, the boundary between the tower and reality still existed.
In other words, no matter how high-level a player was, they were essentially no different from an ordinary person in reality.
But now?
The restrictions were lifted.
They could use their tower abilities exactly as they were.
"His level must be extremely high. Subduing him by force may be difficult."
"Don't worry. Are we planning this as a one-on-one duel? We'll move as an organization."
"…."
"That's right. Numbers always win. Just send twenty players in the high 50s."
"And we have plenty of experience, don't we?"
Chinese President Liang Fei nodded in agreement.
Well, forcibly naturalizing players wasn't exactly new to them.
Honestly, were all five of China's top-tier level-60-plus players even Chinese?
All but one had been brought in from elsewhere.
This time would be the same.
Black Tower Control Room, Earth No. 843.
An emergency had broken out here as well.
The sudden world announcements.
They hadn't intended this.
There was no such process in the Black Tower system.
A Korean-nationality player, astonishing ability? S+++ rank conquest?
Even the engineer responsible for the system didn't know the cause.
Why were these messages appearing…?
[ … D-don't tell me? ]
[Engineer, did something come to mind?]
[Could it be White Tower interference?]
[Why would the White Tower come here—wait!]
A sudden realization struck.
[Pull up the recorded hologram of the recently cleared 61st floor of Korea's Black Tower.]
[Yes.]
Moments later—
Pabababat!
A hologram appeared.
[Hah!]
[Holy shit!]
[Damn it!]
They knew the moment they saw it.
Why?
There were more than twenty humans on the 61st floor.
Who else could they be?
[… Summoned beings?]
[It's definitely the bastard from Earth No. 1,001.]
[How did that asshole—?]
The summoner had arrived.
On Earth No. 843.
He had acquired nationality and was openly conquering the Black Tower.
[The rumor says five times a day.]
[Yes. And extremely fast.]
[Then 65 floors today?]
This was bad.
Tomorrow would be the 70th floor.
Then, a sudden thought surfaced.
[W-wait. Is the Kabalon on Korea's 70th floor the true original?]
[… That's correct.]
[Why?]
[Because from the initial design—]
[Dammit!]
This was a disaster.
If he kept climbing like this, it was obvious the true original would be conquered.
[Can't we relocate the true Kabalon? To another nation's tower?]
[I-it's impossible. We'd have to completely wipe the system. There's no time.]
[What if we consume causality?]
[Even then, it won't work instantly. It would only be possible if the tower collapses and regenerates.]
[Damn it.]
There was no solution.
All they could do was watch helplessly as the true original was conquered.
What should they do?
The only thing they could manage—
[There's a sinkhole wave scheduled for Korea, right?]
[Tomorrow.]
[Send all undead monsters. Death Knights and Liches too.]
And—
[Send a dimensional communiqué to the main base. Tell them he's appeared on Earth No. 843.]
That was all they could do.
Juhyeok cleared up to the 65th floor of the Black Tower and returned to the 6th floor of the White Tower.
It was so trivial he felt like yawning.
Bardin did everything by himself.
So next time, Bardin would be excluded.
"My lord! Please withdraw that order! How could you possibly exclude me?"
"What's so fun about playing with the kids? Just walking forward makes the undead melt away."
"See how simple it is? Conquest must be efficient."
It wasn't efficiency—it was waste.
"Don't worry. We have a lot to do today. Be prepared for overtime."
"Oh! Just give the order."
In truth, tower conquest was important, but there was something just as important—perhaps even more so.
Sinkhole wave defense.
If they failed that, conquering the tower would be meaningless.
Tomorrow, the Chuncheon sinkhole wave was scheduled.
If a Dark Wave—undead crawling out—occurred there?
With the current abilities of Earth No. 843's players, they couldn't stop a Dark Wave.
If it happened, Juhyeok himself would have to move.
Of course, sending just Bardin would be enough.
But how could he keep responding personally to every sinkhole wave?
And it wasn't just Korea that had sinkholes.
So he came up with an idea.
Let the players become self-reliant.
"Dimensional errand boy."
"Huh?"*
"Take out the weapon items."
"Huh?!"
Shk—shshshshshshshk!
A massive pile of weapons stacked up on the floor.
"Alright. Enchant all of these. Make them sacred items saturated with holy power."
Mass-produced holy weapons.
They were incredibly easy to make.
After all, the facilities of the White Tower's 17th floor had been fully replicated here, including the integrated workshop center.
Dwarves modified the weapons.
Mages enchanted them.
Magitech engineers installed elemental attributes.
Alchemists applied coatings.
Why was this possible?
Because of the Radiance Generator Bardin and the Holy Water Producer—the Saintess.
Bardin's radiance was absorbed as an attribute and stored in mana circuits.
Then, after enchanting with holy water produced by Saintess Dorothy, they finished it off with an alchemical coating.
Holy-attribute equipment was being mass-produced.
Who would receive it?
Naturally, the Korean Awakened Corps.
They hadn't done this on Earth No. 1,001.
There was no need back then, and the technology hadn't been sufficient either.
The work began.
Mackenzie and the other mages said—
"Engrave increased attack power against undead."
"Add mental fortitude too. That's the key."
"The magitech factory chief will handle the Radiant Flame attribute device."
"Add tracking magic, self-destruct enchantments, and disable functions immediately if lost."
"They're consumables anyway. After a few uses, they'll be spent."
"Still do it. There will definitely be bastards who try to steal them."
Then came radiance absorption.
The attribute absorption device created by Ellie was greedily siphoning Bardin's radiance.
"Light!!!"
"More, more."
"L-light!!!"
"You're doing great. Keep going. More!"
Bardin was being drained by the machinery.
"… Hah, hah. I'm getting tired. Let's rest a bit—"
Kosak snapped.
"Enough! What do you think you're doing? A holy knight must never lose their heart!"
"N-no, that's not what I meant—"
"Have you forgotten when our workshop was in your hands, being swung around?"
"… Um."
"Back then, didn't you enjoy the pain? Perverted human holy sword Bardin! Just because you've got wings doesn't mean your perversion disappears."
"Embrace the pain. That is the true origin of the perverted human holy sword."
How would they make holy water?
You just infused purified water with holy power.
Take a bowl of clean water.
Put your hand in it and spread holy power.
Done.
But it took a long time.
It wasn't as simple as dipping your hand in and out.
You had to bind the holy power with the water molecules.
"It's too slow. Output is nowhere near enough."
"B-but—"
"Look at senior Bardin. He's shitting himself."
So Kosak devised a drastic measure.
"Fill a bathtub with water and get in. Then release holy power with your whole body. Boil it down like making bone broth."
The muscular Saintess Dorothy asked cautiously—
"Completely naked?"
"Absolutely not. Don't ever do that. Our Summoner Bong will be traumatized. Keep your clothes on."
"Don't slack off."
The workshop ran nonstop.
An all-night operation.
At first, it was a bit clumsy, but once they got into sync, items were produced one after another.
It looked like they could issue one holy-type weapon to almost every member of the Awakened Corps.
This was the true power of the Integrated Workshop Center.
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