Around the time Juhyeok faced the God of Devouring on the 100th floor—
that is, before Guigu was summoned into the Black Tower administration room.
The Immortal Realm.
Sword Immortal and Guigu were, as usual, discussing plans to establish an Immortal Realm Tower.
Since they'd decided to do it, they might as well build something similar.
How fun would that be?
Immortal players.
Grim Reaper players.
Dragon Palace administrator players.
Heavenly Army players.
Fairy players.
Clearing missions from the Immortal Realm Tower's 1st floor to the 100th floor, earning rewards like Dao cultivation, competing with one another.
And when someone set a top record, a message broadcast across the upper realms:
[Player Sword Immortal has cleared the Immortal Realm Tower ○○th floor with an EX+++ rating.]
Something like that.
The designer of the Immortal Realm Tower was Guigu.
A master of Qimen Dunjia, formations, and arrays—and the sharpest mind among the immortals.
Sword Immortal served as the construction site supervisor.
After all, no one had more drive than him.
"The core of the Immortal Realm Tower is mission design. We need to place appropriate monsters on each floor and vary the difficulty."
Sword Immortal nodded.
"So we need to restrict power."
"Whose? The monsters'?"
"No, the players'. They're too strong. This won't be fun otherwise."
…
True.
Even if limited to one climb per day, they'd clear it in 100 days.
"We suppress their power heavily starting from the 1st floor, then gradually release it with each ascent. On the 100th floor, we let them use about 30% of their strength and force them to make up the remaining 70% with items. That way, repeat runs make sense."
A good idea, but—
"The biggest problem is deciding who to set as the 100th-floor boss."
"Yeah. Honse won't cut it. And we can't use him anyway."
Honse could no longer be treated casually like before.
He'd risen to the ranks of the wealthiest across all upper realms.
"What about the Stone Monkey?"
"Hm… that guy too… would he even agree?"
"Should we ask Yama?"
"Are you trying to get us smote? One swing of that hammer and our skulls are gone."
So who could it be?
Sword Immortal pondered, then slapped his knee.
"What about that guy?"
"Who?"
"There's that one crafty, wicked bastard among the immortals, right?"
"You mean yourself?"
"N-no, not me."
"Huh? There's someone other than you?"
"… I mean the Demonic Immortal."
"Ohhh!"
The Demonic Immortal.
A human who attained immortality by comprehending demonic power.
One who harmonized the world and its energies through demonic means.
There are many paths to becoming an immortal.
By mastering the sword.
By using poison and hidden weapons.
By drinking.
By carpentry.
By reading.
By blacksmithing.
By staring blankly at the stars…
You could become an immortal by doing good deeds.
Or by doing evil deeds.
Immortals transcend good and evil.
Only harmony remains.
The same goes for immortal energy.
It blends with anything in the world.
"With the Demonic Immortal, he'd be more than suitable as a 100th-floor boss."
"Right? He's not even immortal-like—total bastard."
"And he's villain enough to justify it."
"Yama would probably jump in begging to be a player."
Guigu agreed—but then paused.
"Well… it's possible, if we solve one problem."
"Huh? What problem?"
"Where is that Demonic Immortal bastard? Can you even catch him?"
"Ah… right."
"He's been ostracized from the Immortal Realm and on the run for thousands of years. No one knows where he is. How do we catch him?"
That was the issue.
There was no Demonic Immortal in the Immortal Realm now.
"Is it impossible? Maybe some usable great demon—"
That was when—
Ts-ts! Ts-ts-ts-ts! Ts-ts-ts-ts-ts-ts!
A Qimen formation suddenly carved itself beneath Guigu's feet.
Sword Immortal jumped in surprise.
"What's this?"
"A Qimen teleportation array auto-activated."
"Why?"
"No idea. Someone's calling me."
"Hah! Who dares summon an immortal—"
Then it hit him.
"W-wait. Don't tell me—"
"I'll be back."
"W-wait! I'll come too—"
Spot!
Guigu vanished.
"Damn it!!!"
Sword Immortal's shout echoed through the Immortal Realm.
Other immortals rushed over.
"What is it? Did the Immortal Realm collapse?"
"Nothing happened."
"What's with the fuss this time?"
Sword Immortal replied with a bitter smile.
"Guigu got summoned. To Hero Bong's world."
What?
Hero Bong's world?
The paradise flowing with milk and honey?
"Why Guigu?"
"That old man can barely lift a spoon."
"Anyone can get summoned now, huh."
"I could do better."
"Where did Guigu disappear from? Here?"
"Why are you digging the ground?"
"You never know. Might punch a hole."
"Move aside. I'll try too."
"Me too."
They all rushed forward—but they knew.
There was no way it would work.
They were just trying.
Black Tower, 100th Floor.
The crisis had passed, but just thinking about it made Juhyeok shudder.
What if Sword Immortal or the Great Sage Equal to Heaven had been summoned instead?
They were excellent at smashing things—but this wasn't a problem solvable by brute force.
They might have survived.
Both could tear space apart and escape via dimensional travel.
But the tower's total collapse would've been unavoidable.
And with it, simultaneous sinkhole waves.
Earth No. 843 would've been destroyed.
The right transcendent had arrived at the right moment.
Immortal Guigu.
Woooong, woooong, woooong, woooong!
The enraged God of Devouring from another dimension radiated violent pressure after his plan failed.
Even so, Guigu was relaxed.
With a mocking look, he glanced at the hologram.
"What, bastard? So what?"
Woooong, woooong, woooong, woooong!
"You've really eaten a lot. You've got everything—full divine power buffet? You should've collapsed on your own ages ago."
Woooong, woooong, woooong, woooong!
"How's that bastard who handed you the power of harmony doing? Tell him this is all he's capable of while wandering the worlds—and that I'll come find him sooner or later."
Pop!
The hologram vanished.
"Tch."
Juhyeok was curious.
Someone gave power to the God of Devouring?
And Guigu seemed to know who.
'Who is it?'
The restraining force on him had disappeared.
"Um, Immortal Guigu?"
"Oh! Hero Bong, speak."
"You said someone gave power to the God of Devouring earlier. Who was it?"
"Hm."
Guigu thought for a moment.
"Not certain—but most likely the Demonic Immortal."
The Demonic Immortal?
An immortal of demonic power?
"As you felt, that God of Devouring wasn't built on a single power. Countless divine powers were mixed together—some even mutually antagonistic."
Juhyeok knew.
There was holy power, demonic energy, dimensional energy…
No wonder 'devouring' was in the name.
"That can't end well. Conflicting divine powers clash, repel, devour one another—eventually, boom."
"Ah!"
"But there is a power that can embrace such conflicts and harmonize them."
He understood.
"Immortal energy."
So that was it.
He was the same.
Internal energy, tower magic, Dragon Heart energy, Netherworld energy, holy power—all mixed together, yet immortal energy fused them.
"Then did the Demonic Immortal create the God of Devouring? Or get devoured?"
"Hard to say."
Guigu scratched his cheek.
"That bastard isn't the type to get eaten. Lending power seems more likely."
Lending power?
"That's how immortals are. They'll do anything for personal amusement. Just look at Sword Immortal."
… Fair.
"But Sword Immortal knows his limits. He keeps to the line. That Demonic Immortal doesn't. He's got no line. Totally unhinged."
I see.
"If it's fun, he wouldn't blink even if the world ended."
Guigu's guess that the Demonic Immortal was involved.
What a mess.
"That's why I finally understand why the Immortal Realm got tangled up with you, Hero Bong."
Juhyeok had wondered about that too.
In the end, it was fate and causality.
If the Demonic Immortal was involved over there, an immortal had to be involved over here.
"Anyway, Summoner—come closer."
"Yes?"
"Aren't you going to touch the Crystal Core?"
"Ah-ha!"
"I found some hidden menus. Did you know about them?"
Hidden menus?
"No, I didn't."
"I figured. They're not easy to find. I'll show you."
Juhyeok stepped closer to the Crystal Core.
As for the deceased summons?
They didn't interfere—just sat there, watching with fascinated expressions.
"Place your hand here and circulate your immortal energy."
Following Guigu's instructions—
Grip!
The moment Juhyeok grasped the Crystal Core—
Ding!
[Contact with Black Tower Crystal Core 1/1]
[Final mission completed.]
[You have made contact with the Black Tower Crystal Core of Earth No. 843.]
[Partial administrative authority of the Black Tower has been transferred to the player.]
'The mission completes now?'
Of course.
Immortal Guigu had touched it first, but he wasn't a player or a deceased summon.
Only when Juhyeok himself made contact would the mission count.
[World Announcement: Republic of Korea Black Tower 100th Floor Cleared! A Korean-nationality player has cleared the 100th-floor mission of the Black Tower with astonishing ability, achieving an EX-rank evaluation.]
The world announcement went out.
[EX Clear Reward: 200 Platinum Badges awarded.]
Oh!
That's a lot.
Come to think of it, he should've started receiving these from the 95th floor.
There's a five-level gap.
So why hadn't they given them before?
Obviously, because they were planning to cheat and eliminate him anyway—no intention of paying out.
Ding!
Another notification followed.
'What now?'
[Additional EX Clear Reward: 30 Trait Enhancement Runes have been delivered to the Tower-exclusive inventory.]
Yes!
Bonus rewards.
Let's see—
Trait Enhancement Runes, the quantity—
"Gasp!"
"Why so surprised, Hero Bong?"
"N-No, it's nothing…"
Did I see that wrong?
Thirty?
Really?
They're giving all of these?
The backlash of causality is ridiculously sweet.
"Alright, focus. There are more important things."
More important than that?
Thirty of them!
Trait enhancement runes!
That means simultaneous summoning up to sixty!
But first, listen to Immortal Guigu.
Rewards can wait.
Juhyeok held the Crystal Core and circulated his immortal energy.
Zzzzing!
Energy flowed into the core—
But—
"… Hm."
What?
Where are these hidden menus?
"It looks the same."
The existing administrative permissions were unchanged.
"You don't just inject energy blindly. You have to reroute paths, like hacking a computer—"
Guigu explained, but Juhyeok understood none of it.
"Tch. It'll be faster if I guide you directly."
Guigu placed his palm on Juhyeok's back.
"Remember this. First, sharpen your immortal energy like a needle and poke this side. Yes, like that. Then detour and re-enter from here—"
Juhyeok circulated his immortal energy exactly as Guigu guided him.
Then—
Fwaaa!
Hidden administrator menus flooded into his mind.
"… Oh."
Tower mission and sinkhole wave difficulty settings.
Tower environment control authority.
Administrator replacement.
Mission reward ranges.
Tower regeneration.
Tower relocation.
Dimensional energy mining status.
Tower self-destruction.
Tower division and deployment.
And more.
'All this existed?!'
Looking closely, most of these consumed massive amounts of dimensional energy.
No wonder they'd been locked.
Dimensional energy was precious to them.
'There's even tower regeneration…'
Deleting a tower was simple.
But regenerating one consumed dimensional energy.
And tower self-destruction.
A full suicide system.
Abandon the Black Tower and annihilate the world.
If it hadn't been stopped, he wouldn't be standing here.
'Dimensional energy status?'
Completely full.
The Black Tower functioned as a temporary storage as well.
That's why administrators could extract only the portion allocated to them.
"So that's how it was."
"Heh heh. Petty bastards. What were they so afraid of that they hid the menus?"
True administrative authority.
He hadn't known.
They'd hidden this much.
As expected of an immortal.
If Immortal Guigu hadn't come, he would've learned nothing.
"Immortal Guigu."
"Yes?"
"How long can you stay here?"
"A week should be no problem."
"You're not busy, are you?"
"Not at all. Going back to the Immortal Realm, I wouldn't have much to do anyway."
Perfect.
He'd treat him with utmost hospitality.
But first—exercise tower authority.
Business before pleasure.
—
About thirty minutes earlier.
When Juhyeok entered the 100th floor.
At the Daejeon Joint Chiefs Headquarters briefing room.
Commander Jeon Seong-il was fielding questions from reporters.
"Then does that mean the tower collapse deadline will be deleted after the 100th floor is cleared?"
"That is the core event. Tower climbing without collapse anxiety."
Murmurs filled the room.
"Is the event applied automatically? All at once?"
"No. It's manual. Intervention by someone with tower administrative authority is required."
"Then—"
"Yes. Soon, the strongest player of the parallel universe, who will completely clear the 100th floor, will obtain that authority."
Collapse deadline deletion was manual.
Which meant—
"Does that mean certain nations' towers could be excluded from the collapse-deadline deletion?"
"Hmm. That's possible."
"If so, which nations would be excluded—?"
"Well, that's difficult to answer right now."
Even without an answer, everyone knew.
But let's confirm.
"Would the excluded nations be China and Japan—"
At that moment—
Ding!
[World Announcement: The strongest player of Parallel Universe Earth No. 1001 has entered the Black Tower's 100th floor on Earth No. 843.]
"Ah!"
"Oh!"
"… Huh?"
"Entry notice?"
"What about the clear?"
Then—
[World Announcement: Due to the intrusion of a player from another world, the Black Tower self-destruction system will be activated.]
What?
Did we hear that wrong?
Self-destruction?
[World Announcement: One minute after system activation, all Black Towers on Earth No. 843 will temporarily collapse. Afterward, tower monster waves will be deployed from every sinkhole.]
...
The briefing room fell silent.
Not a single person spoke.
Even after hearing the self-destruction message and the one-minute countdown began—
Everyone just stared blankly.
This is Daejeon.
There's a Black Tower here.
The Joint Chiefs Headquarters is within the collapse radius.
In one minute, this place collapses.
Maybe all towers worldwide will too.
Can we escape in one minute?
No.
Impossible.
What kind of catastrophe is this?
Minds went blank.
What could anyone even say?
And Jeon Seong-il?
He looked just as stunned.
He'd never heard of such a process.
Something must have gone terribly wrong.
Perhaps a scheme by the administrators to stop Summoner Bong's 100th-floor clear?
Is this how it ends?
No.
Summoner Bong would find a way.
He always does.
So—
"Everyone, do not panic. The self-destruction will not occur."
"W-What do you mean? Ten seconds left! Are you certain?"
"Yes. I'm certain."
"Damn it! The world's about to end and you're spouting nonsense—"
At that very moment—
Ding!
[World Announcement: The self-destruction system has been halted.]
"… I told you. It won't happen."
Silence persisted.
But the Black Tower stood intact.
"Whew."
"Hm."
"Ha…"
"My god."
"Hahaha."
Sighs echoed throughout the room.
Then came the astonishing EX-rank clear announcement.
It's over.
Still uneasy, reporters and staff checked their phones.
"You heard the world announcement too? Scared the hell out of you? Same here."
"The tower's fine, right? It didn't collapse?"
"Yeah, no idea why."
"Probably just a freak incident."
They were safe.
No tower anywhere in the world had collapsed.
As people began speaking again in relief—
Ding!
[World Announcement: The collapse deadline for the Black Tower of Korea on Earth No. 843 has been deleted. The tower will no longer collapse even if the clear deadline is exceeded.]
Jeon Seong-il smiled with satisfaction.
"It has begun. A gift from the strongest player of the parallel universe to our world. From now on—enjoy yourselves."
The long-awaited message.
Collapse deadline deletion.
And it didn't stop there.
More announcements followed in succession.
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