Free Web NovelJuhyeok took the elevator from the 6th Floor of the White Tower to the 17th Floor.
Bringing only Gyeon Dallae, Cossack, Rajix, and Mari.
The rest were at the White Tower working on Holy Weapon and holy-attribute weapon production.
Or resting, or having a drink.
With the decision to conquer Earth NO.843’s Black Tower, most of the summoned entities had relocated to the forward base on the White Tower’s 6th Floor.
Only two people remained on the 17th Floor.
Farmer Duu and Blood Wolf.
They were guarding the Seondo Tree and the World Tree.
“Summoner. Glad. Farmer Duu. Faithfully performing duty.”
“I’m sorry. We should go together.”
“You’re welcome. Seondo Tree. World Tree. Guarding faithfully.”
“Bark bark bark bark!”
“Yeah, yeah, our Rang has been working hard too.”
Mari went straight to the World Tree as soon as she arrived.
How much must they have missed each other while being apart?
Rajix also entered the warehouse to resupply, stuffing necessary items into his subspace backpack.
Juhyeok’s purpose for coming to the 17th Floor was to meet Director Jeon Gwangil.
He had left for Earth NO.843 without even talking to him.
So he had sent a message via smartphone and—
SPOT!
Director Jeon Gwangil entered the 17th Floor the moment the message was sent.
“Player Bong!”
His face was flushed red.
“Hello. Have you been well?”
“Haah, so nothing happened to you. You weren’t answering no matter how many times I called.”
It seemed he had worried a lot.
“I was in another world. I should have told you before I went.”
“Ah, do you mean Earth NO.675?”
“No, Earth NO.843.”
“...Excuse me?”
What was he talking about?
843?
Jeon Gwangil couldn’t make sense of it.
“So...”
Juhyeok explained the reason he had gone to Earth NO.843 and the situation there.
As the story progressed, Jeon Gwangil’s expression changed moment by moment.
Especially when he mentioned the three sinkholes that had appeared in South Korea on Earth NO.843, his expression became extremely serious.
“Please don’t worry too much. Things will normalize soon.”
“Yes, I have no doubt about that, but...”
Player Bong had gone there.
He had even obtained citizenship there.
Then conquering Earth NO.843’s Black Tower was only natural.
But knowing that the same Korea in a parallel universe was in such a state made him feel nothing but sympathy.
“Is there anything I can support you with?”
“Not yet. Kabalan’s curse has ended, the infrastructure is intact. Well, the Sinkhole Waves are still remaining, though.”
Jeon Gwangil nodded, then asked cautiously.
“Um, is that person called Jeon Seongil over there really identical to me?”
Cossack answered in his stead.
“Director Jeon, General Jeon, I thought they were twins. A DNA test would probably come out the same.”
“...I see.”
“But which is higher? Four stars or the head of the Korean Awakening Administration?”
“Hmm. I suppose a Martial Law Commander would be much higher?”
“Did our Director Jeon serve in the military?”
“...I was discharged as a corporal at the end of my service term?”
Cossack smirked slightly.
“Hah! Were you a civil defense soldier?”
The abolished civil defense soldier system.
It had now changed to public service.
“W-Well, even civil defense was a very difficult military service.”
“People who hear that might think you were special forces civil defense or something.”
“...I wasn’t special forces, but it was harder than active duty anyway.”
“Yes, yes, I’m sure it was.”
The same soul, but completely different paths.
This was why the environment you grew up in mattered.
“Anyway, I’d like to meet him too.”
“Not a chance. If two identical people meet, they die.”
“What?”
“So don’t even think about going near Earth NO.843. Video calls are possible, though. Any message you’d like to leave for General Jeon Seongil?”
A video call, really.
“Anyway, it’ll be hard for me to come here for a while. ...Nothing unusual has happened, right?”
“Yes, nothing has happened. Your family is doing well too.”
That was a relief.
Still, he should show his face to his family before leaving.
“And the Japanese election results are in.”
“Oh! Really? Did the Minhyeok Party win? Was Prime Minister Maeda given a vote of confidence?”
“...W-Well, they suffered a crushing defeat.”
Whoa!
“The Japanese right wing, the Liberal Party, has taken power. The cession of Tsushima has fallen through.”
Wow!
It wasn’t like he had wanted Tsushima Island.
But still, a right-wing government.
“And they’ve also demanded to resume discussions on the Dokdo issue.”
They were reversing all the decisions made under the previous Maeda administration.
“Hmph!”
Gyeon Dallae scoffed as if she had expected as much.
“Even in two different parallel worlds, Japan is still Japan.”
How could it be any different?
There were even identical souls with only one character different in their names.
“Young Master.”
“Yes?”
“Japan has done something outrageous, so how about showing them some mercy?”
The mercy Gyeon Dallae spoke of.
He knew what it meant.
“They’re very bad people. Sinkholes appeared and they went around poaching players.”
That was Japan on Earth NO.843.
“Would Japan here be any different? They actually did the same thing.”
She was right.
Come to think of it, they had done the exact same thing.
“The stress from Japan is no joke. Just look at Director Jeon Gwangil’s face right now.”
Why Director Jeon?
His face looked fine?
“On the other hand, what about Martial Law Commander Jeon Seongil’s face?”
Aha.
“Commander Jeon Seongil looks much older. How viciously must Japan on Earth NO.843 have acted for him to have aged so severely?”
Poor Martial Law Commander Jeon Seongil.
While Director Jeon Gwangil over here looked so young.
Juhyeok was starting to get angry too.
“So they’re very bad people? Both there and here.”
“That is exactly what I am saying. Please show them mercy.”
“Please make a decision.”
Director Jeon Gwangil too.
“I’ll contact our allied nations in advance. Actually, the US has been wary of the Japanese election results as well.”
Everyone seemed to be in favor.
Well, he should comply.
It wasn’t like he was causing a collapse to create a sinkhole.
It was a good thing, wasn’t it?
***
Their Earth, Earth NO.1001, was a fully conquered Tower.
Juhyeok was essentially the administrator.
So when entering the Black Tower Control Room on the 100th Floor, the five daily entry limits didn’t apply to him.
It meant he could enter and exit the 100th Floor as many times a day as he wanted.
He could exit whenever he wanted too.
Juhyeok made contact with the Crystal Core placed in the center of the control room.
Menus scrolled up.
Among them, he selected Tower Dismantling.
Tower Dismantling.
A function to safely eliminate a Tower from the reverse world.
However, not all Towers could be dismantled.
Towers where the 100th Floor had been conquered.
In other words, Towers connected to the control room could not be dismantled.
Out of all 146 Towers worldwide on Earth NO.1001, this meant all except South Korea’s No.1 Black Tower could be dismantled.
Juhyeok selected the Tokyo Black Tower in Japan.
Then.
[Would you like to dismantle Japan Black Tower from the reverse world?]
He had honestly been curious.
What would happen if he dismantled it?
...Dismantle.
[Dismantling Japan Black Tower.]
He had done it.
He had simply shown mercy, as Gyeon Dallae had said.
A pristine Japan without a Black Tower.
May they now be completely freed from the suffering of the Black Tower.
They wouldn’t be able to mine high-grade Magic Stones anymore, though.
Of course, other Tower byproducts too.
The small ball Juhyeok had launched.
The aftermath was enormous.
***
Earth NO.1001.
The Black Tower in downtown Tokyo, Japan.
As always, it was Japan’s premier landmark and tourist attraction.
Especially after the threat of the Black Tower’s collapse had disappeared, the number of tourists visiting had been increasing day by day.
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that the foreign currency earned from Black Tower tourism was what fed the citizens of Tokyo.
The spots with the best views of the metropolitan skyline combined with the Black Tower were the hottest locations, with people lining up to take photos.
The surrounding land prices had also skyrocketed beyond belief.
It was always packed with people.
The surrounding restaurants and bars did so much business they were always full.
Then one day.
Today too, tourists were taking photos with the Black Tower as their backdrop.
Suddenly!
CRRRRZZZZT!
The Black Tower flickered like a malfunctioning TV screen.
“Huh?”
“Gasp!”
“What?”
“W-Why is the Tower doing that?”
“C-Could it be c-collapsing?”
And then,
CRRRRZZZZT! CRRRRZZZZT! CRRRRZZZZT!
It flickered wildly.
SPOT!
Then vanished without a trace.
...It vanished?
Really?
That massive Tower had disappeared?
The tourists had stopped taking photos and were just staring blankly at the sky.
The nearby merchants could only blink in bewilderment.
What on earth just happened?
Where did the Tokyo Tower go?
Right at that moment!
Ding!
A World Announcement rang out.
[World Announcement: Japan Black Tower has been dismantled.]
[World Announcement: Japan is now completely free from the threat of Black Tower collapse.]
The Japanese government and citizens were horrified.
The Tower had vanished.
The Black Tower in downtown Tokyo, no less.
Was this a good thing?
It was not.
[World Announcement: Therefore, all players affiliated with Japan Black Tower have had their nationality revoked.]
[World Announcement: They must acquire new nationality within 30 days.]
[World Announcement: If nationality is not acquired, player qualifications will be revoked.]
This was the worst.
They were ruined in a completely different sense from a Tower collapse.
***
Japan on Earth NO.1001.
After Juhyeok had achieved the feat of fully conquering the Black Tower’s 100th Floor.
In Japan, the parliament had passed a vote of no confidence against the cabinet due to the Tsushima national land cession incident, and the cabinet had dissolved the parliament.
And so a general election was held.
The Minhyeok Party led by former Prime Minister Maeda.
And the Liberal Party led by right-wing leader Arai Kenji.
The outcome had already been decided.
Young voters who still didn’t show up to vote.
Middle-aged and elderly voters who still couldn’t forget past glory and cast their ballots for the right wing.
The Minhyeok Party suffered a crushing defeat.
The Liberal Party, back in power in less than a year.
The new cabinet’s direction was clear.
Let’s restore the pride of Great Japan.
Cede Japanese territory to a former colony?
Not a chance.
Prime Minister Arai Kenji’s cabinet raised their glasses.
They were intoxicated with victory, celebrating their regime recapture.
That is, until the Black Tower in downtown Tokyo was dismantled.
The moment the World Announcement rang out, it disappeared.
In an instant.
Then came another World Announcement.
Nationality revocation for all players affiliated with Japan Black Tower.
Encouragement to acquire new nationality within 30 days.
All of Japan was shaken.
Not just the political world, but players and ordinary citizens too.
Prime Minister Arai Kenji of Japan was furious.
“Damn it!”
“Damn Koreans!”
“We can’t just sit here.”
“We must immediately protest...”
“We need to issue a statement right away...”
But Korea was one step ahead.
Director Jeon Gwangil of the Korean Awakening Administration appeared on TV news.
“We congratulate Japan on the dismantling of its Black Tower. Japan no longer needs to worry about the threat of Tower collapse. From Korea’s perspective, we’re quite envious.”
He delivered a teabagging statement.
“Please don’t worry about high-grade Magic Stones. The neighboring country of Korea is willing to export them at reasonable prices.”
Blatant mockery.
“Furthermore, our Korean Awakening Administration plans to provide opportunities for Japanese players who have lost their jobs to acquire Korean nationality. Permanent naturalization is a condition, and we will arrange residences in North Korea, which will soon be unified...”
Director Jeon Gwangil’s address.
Honestly, this could potentially backfire.
Sure enough.
US President Lloyd’s position was announced.
Prime Minister Arai Kenji was full of anticipation.
The US and Japan were in a solid alliance, after all.
They would at least express concern and sympathy for Japan in this unprecedented situation.
That Japan was pitiful.
That this was too much.
Additionally, they would feel threatened by Korea’s Bong Juhyeok.
It had been confirmed that he possessed the power to bring down a nation.
They would definitely keep Bong Juhyeok in check.
Then Japan would take the lead in the anti-Bong Juhyeok resistance.
This was Prime Minister Arai Kenji’s thinking.
President Lloyd stood before the media.
What was the message?
“The United States wholeheartedly supports Top Player Bong Juhyeok’s decision.”
What?
“Japan should calmly accept the Black Tower dismantling.”
This was...
“If conflict arises from this matter, the United States will not stand idly by.”
The US went even further.
“An attack on Player Bong Juhyeok is an attack on the United States, and if this principle is ignored, we will retaliate with full force.”
The European Union issued a similar statement.
Don’t touch whatever Bong Juhyeok does.
If he did something, there’s a reason for it.
Accept it gracefully.
The Japanese government was flustered.
Not a single country took their side.
...H-How did this happen?
Prime Minister Arai Kenji was dumbstruck.
So were the cabinet officials.
They had touched something they shouldn’t have.
They would have been better off just handing over Tsushima Island.
What’s so important about that tiny island?
The Japanese right wing finally realized reality.
But it was already too late.
***
Former Prime Minister Maeda felt empty.
He had worked so hard for Japan’s revival, yet it was the citizens who had ultimately brought Japan to ruin.
Even if they were a people who feared change... wasn’t this basically seppuku?
They still couldn’t figure out who they should side with?
What was so precious about that tiny Tsushima Island?
Everyone was just stupid.
They had fallen for the right wing’s division tactics and propaganda and made the worst choice.
The Japanese stock market was still plummeting.
Foreign capital was steadily withdrawing from Japan as well.
He had to make a decision too.
For the future.
Former Prime Minister Maeda picked up his smartphone and dialed a number.
“Yes, Director Jeon Gwangil, it’s me.”
The decision he had made.
“I would like to request naturalization from the Korean government. I don’t care where my residence is. Yes, there is fine too. Also! It’s not just me alone. I have many players to bring... Ah! Thank you.”
Naturalization to Korea.
There was no other choice.
Japan would only become more isolated.
Its downfall was clearly visible.
It wasn’t just Maeda.
Japanese players were emigrating overseas in droves.
What should Japan do to survive?
Side with Korea.
So they could at least conquer the Tower and mine high-grade Magic Stones.
But would that even be possible?
Probably not.
Absolutely not.
***
After dismantling Japan Black Tower.
Juhyeok stopped by his family home briefly.
“Oh! Son! To such a humble place... have you been well?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“I’ve been busy protecting a parallel universe.”
“...Which number this time?”
“843.”
“Oh my, our son, busy traveling between 675 and 843. Everywhere except home.”
“...”
Juhyeok chatted leisurely with his family.
The topic was Earth NO.843, the parallel universe.
He suddenly became curious.
Were their father and mother there too?
“If we assume I exist there too, I would have definitely married your mother.”
“Oh! True love!”
“Hmm, it’s more like survival instinct. The certainty that sticking close to your mother means living well.”
Aah! The foundation of being a weak man.
His father.
He had chatted with family and eaten dinner.
Now it was time to head back.
To save Earth NO.843, the parallel universe.
Before getting on the elevator, he said to Jeon Gwangil.
“I’ll be going now. If anything happens, you can contact Duu.”
“Yes, take care.”
“Do you have any message for Commander Jeon Seongil?”
“Hmm, I made a video letter. Could you deliver it for me?”
“Oh, of course. Please give it to me.”
He also received the smartphone that Director Jeon Gwangil handed over.
Now to take the elevator to the 6th Floor.
Then he went outside and met Martial Law Commander Jeon Seongil.
“Ah! Y-You’re back?”
Jeon Seongil’s expression was one of relief.
He must have been anxious.
Worried that he might not return.
“Nothing happened, right?”
“Nothing major, but there’s chaos everywhere. Because of the holy attribute, the Holy Weapons...”
Demands were pouring in from various countries.
Please sell us the weapons.
“Hmm. I told you before that once we complete the 90th Floor, a Sinkhole Recovery Event will trigger, right?” freeweɓnovel.cѳm
“Yes, I’ve conveyed that to all the governments.”
Time-wise, it would be finished in four days.
“And they’re still requesting that many weapons?”
“Would Holy Weapons only be used for undead defense? They need to break through the undead sections in the Black Tower too. And Tower reward items themselves are rare goods.”
That was true.
They would need to break through undead sections to get high-grade Magic Stone rewards too.
“I’ll run the factory harder, so Commander, please set priorities and take orders.”
“Understood. I’ll try to get the highest prices possible.”
“I heard currency values have dropped lately...”
“The dollar has actually risen. Because people believe there’s no way the US will fall.”
Well, if the US falls, the whole world falls.
Good.
They would sell for dollars.
“And I’ve also prepared a military supply warehouse at the Joint Chiefs of Staff Headquarters.”
“Really? Then I’ll install a logistics transfer warp gate.”
“...Ah, yes.”
He really was a carbon copy of Director Jeon Gwangil.
Quick and reliable work handling.
Juhyeok went to the military supply warehouse.
He extended his hand to install the gate.
BZZZZING!
A three-meter-tall oval transparent membrane appeared inside the warehouse.
“From now on, you’ll be able to send and receive goods through here.”
“I-Is that so?”
Jeon Seongil’s eyes wavered with uncertainty.
He probably didn’t understand what was what yet.
He would get used to it once things started going back and forth.
“Then I’ll be heading off to conquer the 71st Floor.”
“What? It’s late.”
“I need to finish quickly. I need to reach the 90th Floor before I can rest easy and take it slow.”
Tomorrow, another Wave defense was scheduled.
After Seoul and Chuncheon, it was the Daegu Sinkhole Wave defense.
Starting at 12 noon.
He would finish up to the 75th Floor today, then conquer up to the 80th Floor by tomorrow morning.
Then move to Daegu.
He needed to observe the Daegu Sinkhole Wave too.
The other undead weren’t a concern, but...
The problem was the Lich.
Holy Weapons alone made it very difficult to kill that thing.
If only that one could be dealt with, he would breathe easier.
Well, he would find a solution soon enough.
