novelraw Chapter 265 CHAPTER 264
Chapter 265 CHAPTER 264
White Tower, 17th floor elevator.
Its function was a dimensional transfer device.
Another floor—
a new dimension had been unlocked.
Where could it lead?
First, an emergency meeting.
He gathered the veteran summoned beings.
"Floor 6… the key issue is what world it's connected to."
"We won't know unless we go."
"It would be wise to discuss it beforehand."
"Agreed. Any world is fine, but if it's the main base, you must decide carefully."
"I agree."
"The main base is premature."
That's right.
Not the main base.
That place had a god.
The so-called God of Devouring.
What if he went and got eaten?
'There's no reason to charge in right now.'
If he rushed in blindly, he'd just end up choking on frustration.
How stifling would that be?
It was a sweet potato he'd have to eat someday—
but not now.
When the time came, he'd better bring a whole crate of refreshing soda with him.
Of course, there was no need to be scared in advance,
but even if he did go, the minimum conditions had to be met.
For example, upgrading all 355 summoned beings to the Rsss-al rank—or higher, if possible.
On top of that, at least ten Beyond Transcendent summons.
Honestly, if he was going to face a god, even that felt insufficient.
And beyond that, he'd need a reliable method to kill a god for good.
"Allow me to say a word."
"Go ahead, Strategist Zhuge Zilong Kosak."
"Preload!"
He cleared his throat briefly, then—
"Summoner Bong."
"Yes?"
"You must trust Godback."
"Hmm."
"That gentleman surely has a plan. He wouldn't send you to the main base without reason."
If that was the case—
"Godback himself likely needs to expand his influence further. Isn't this elevator floor opening because you completely conquered the Black Tower of our Earth?"
That made sense.
"Most likely, the 6th floor is connected to another parallel-universe Earth."
Juhyeok nodded.
They wouldn't casually open an elevator straight to the main base.
"This old man thinks the same. The 6th floor could be Earth No. 843."
"When we interrogated the controller, the 93rd-floor mission was actually the destruction of the dimensional energy storage of the Black Tower on Earth No. 843. Logically speaking, it makes sense that this is where it leads."
Really?
Then they should go.
As long as it wasn't the main base.
And Earth No. 843 was a world in the middle of collapse.
Let's save people.
He had the ability, didn't he?
Why leave it alone?
"Then if it's the main base, we retreat. If it's 843, we advance. Deal?"
"Deal."
"Agreed."
"Major Veronica Caliber will obey the commander's orders."
"Hooaah!"
First, the advance team.
Kosak, Gobang, Mad Demon, Gyeon Dallae, Rajiks, Major Veronica, Bardin, Mackenzie, Crackers.
Nine in total.
Including Juhyeok, ten.
The rest stayed on standby.
No need to bring many.
Only the elite.
They'd just check things out and come back.
Information gathering was essential.
The plan was to assess the situation thoroughly, then return and prepare properly.
Juhyeok boarded the dimensional elevator with the summoned beings.
When he pressed the newly activated 6th-floor button—
[You have selected Floor 6.]
[The current White Tower 6th floor has no owner.]
[Therefore, entry is possible after paying the operation cost. Proceed with payment?]
'Pay.'
[Operation cost: 10 kg of top-grade magic stones have been automatically deducted from your inventory.]
In an instant—
Swoooong!
The elevator began to vibrate.
Sshashashat!
Grrrrk!
With tremendous pressure—
Dududududu.
Wiiiiing.
Ding!
[The elevator has arrived at Floor 6.]
They had arrived.
When the doors opened, a plain white space with nothing in it came into view.
White Tower Floor 6, completely undecorated due to having no owner.
[The allowed stay duration is 24 hours.]
[If the stay duration is exceeded, you will be forcibly transferred via the elevator.]
[The owner of White Tower Floor 17 is granted temporary ownership of White Tower Floor 6 for 24 hours.]
[The owner's companions have also been automatically registered as temporary residents of Floor 6. Valid for 24 hours.]
[Temporary entry and exit skills for White Tower Floor 6 have been registered for 24 hours.]
So much talking.
Long-winded, too.
'Yeah, yeah, got it.'
But where exactly was this?
'Which world is this connected to?'
Suddenly—
Ding!
[White Tower Floor 6 is connected to Parallel Universe Earth No. 843.]
"Oooooh!"
As expected—Earth No. 843.
A world in the midst of collapse.
Not the main base.
And now it even answered when asked.
Godback-hyung had really changed a lot.
"That is a relief."
"As expected of my favorite strategist, Kosak—my guess was spot on."
"Do you plan to conquer the Black Tower here as well?"
Of course.
The first objective was conquering the 90th floor of Earth No. 843's Black Tower.
That alone would stop the collapse.
'But before that, I need to take over White Tower Floor 6.'
Not temporary—permanent ownership.
That could take quite some time.
To operate comfortably, a forward base was necessary.
The summoned beings on White Tower Floor 17 couldn't be summoned directly on Earth No. 843.
They needed to be on White Tower Floor 6 to be designated-summoned outside.
'Can I take ownership here?'
[Acquisition is not possible. Qualification requirements have not been met.]
Huh?
Why?
[You are not a player of Earth No. 843. After acquiring nationality, you may enter the Black Tower and own a White Tower.]
'Hmm.'
Juhyeok was basically an alien here.
Rootless.
It made sense.
White Tower Floor 1, connected to Earth No. 675, had been inherited from its original owner, Max Kruger—so he'd gained nationality along with it.
Floors 2, 3, and 4?
Those worlds were already destroyed, so there was no need for acquisition.
Juhyeok's Status Window reflected this.
[Name]: Bong Juhyeok
[Affiliation 1]: Black Tower (Earth No. 1,001 – Republic of Korea)
[Affiliation 2]: Black Tower (Earth No. 675 – Germany)
He needed to acquire a third nationality.
On Earth No. 843.
'I guess I have to go outside first.'
[Earth No. 843 is currently under extremely strong Black Tower influence. White Tower intervention is difficult. Please proceed with caution.]
Why say it like that?
Don't scare me.
"I'm heading out."
"Please use a concealment barrier."
"And summon immediately if anything happens."
I was going to anyway.
Just check what kind of place it is, then come right back.
Kwa-kwa-kwang!
Scrape—skrrrk!
A fierce battle between tower monsters and humans.
Colonel Lee Min-seon of the Republic of Korea Awakened Forces Special Unit urged her subordinates on with a hoarse voice.
"Hold on just a little longer! Air support will arrive soon!"
Gangnam, Seoul.
Once the most prosperous district in Korea.
Now, a massive sinkhole ten kilometers in diameter had opened up.
Horrific tower monsters were crawling out from within.
It was a sinkhole wave.
Tower collapses occurring all over the world.
At first, only holes formed—nothing happened.
But as the number of sinkholes increased, monsters began pouring out.
At the beginning, it was goblins and orcs.
Manageable enough.
They were weak.
Even personal firearms were sufficient.
But as the collapse continued, the situation changed.
Monsters from the 30th floor appeared—
then those from the 40th floor.
The real problem was the flying monsters from the 50th floor range.
Griffins and wyverns of all kinds of attributes.
Once these appeared, the difficulty of a sinkhole wave skyrocketed.
High mobility, magical attacks, and overwhelming physical power to boot.
That was why the Awakened Forces' primary targets were flying monsters.
Their numbers had to be thinned out so that the fighter jets arriving soon could deal with them more easily.
"More incoming! Focus fire! Put away personal rifles! Use at least anti-materiel sniper rifles!"
In truth, even anti-materiel sniper rifles didn't deal much damage.
Kwa-boom! Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-boom!
Heavy weapons—anti-aircraft guns and surface-to-air missiles—roared to life.
"Deploy long-range-type players! Melee types, protect the long-range units!"
Skills imbued with players' magic power.
Shushut! Shushushushut!
Puh-buk! Pububububuk!
"Kyaaah!"
"Kak!"
"Krararakh!"
Thududududuk!
Wyverns and griffins struck by shells, missiles, and long-range player skills came crashing down!
"Stay sharp! Don't hold back your magic!!!"
Colonel Lee Min-seon of the Awakened Forces Special Unit shouted until her throat nearly tore.
They had to hold the line, no matter what.
Normally, sinkhole waves occurred at ten-day intervals.
Each wave lasted a full day.
If they could successfully defend for just 24 hours, they bought themselves ten days.
And during those ten days, they had to focus on conquering the 61st floor of the Daejeon Black Tower.
Only then could they escape being a selected nation.
The Curse of the Kabalon Mean, triggered by the Eastern U.S. Tower.
Its targets were nations with poor tower-climbing progress.
In selected nations, the collapse timer of their Black Towers accelerated until eventual collapse.
Korea had been selected three times in a row.
And in the end, they failed to stop it.
As a result, the Chuncheon Black Tower in Gangwon Province collapsed.
Then the Daegu Black Tower formed—and that too collapsed.
The third time?
It was Seoul.
A Black Tower emerged in Seoul.
From the moment it formed, there were already massive casualties.
When a tower regenerated, it erupted without warning.
Chuncheon and Daegu were relatively far from city centers, so the damage had been limited.
But Seoul was right in the heart of the city.
They only needed to conquer the 61st floor—but they couldn't.
It was beyond them.
In the end, the Seoul Black Tower collapsed as well.
The Gangnam Three Districts and surrounding areas were blown open into a sinkhole of unfathomable depth.
And thus, three massive holes appeared across South Korea.
Shock, terror, and despair.
When there was only one sinkhole, they could concentrate firepower and hold the wave.
But with three, military firepower was spread thin.
Air support wasn't smooth either.
Fighter jets were damaged or shot down during wave defense, steadily reducing numbers.
No resupply. No repairs.
At present, there were almost no civilians left in Seoul.
They had evacuated in advance and scattered across the country.
With Seoul paralyzed, the entire nation was paralyzed.
Even so, administrative functions were barely preserved, preventing total anarchy.
At that moment—
Screeeeeee!
"Support has arrived!!!"
Fighter jets.
At last, F-17s, F-36s, and attack helicopter squadrons reached the Seoul sinkhole.
Papapapat!
Missiles were launched at wyverns and griffins.
"We focus on ground monsters! Just hold for one more hour! The wave is almost over!!!"
Even then, relentlessly—
ground monsters continued climbing up the sinkhole walls.
Goblins, orcs, trolls, ogres, minotaurs, basilisks.
There was no end to them.
The soldiers were growing exhausted.
There was variation, but sinkhole waves averaged 24 hours.
A full day of monsters pouring out.
Regular soldiers alone couldn't stop it.
Awakened players had to be deployed.
A world where the boundary between the tower and reality had vanished.
Players who could use tower magic and skills in the real world.
Their physical abilities surpassed ordinary humans, and even injuries could be healed with potions.
Items could be used freely as well.
Tower-exclusive or otherwise.
Now, the number of awakened players was synonymous with national power.
The more, the better.
It made escaping the Curse of the Mean—and collapse-timer selection—much easier.
Even if a tower collapse occurred, it could still be contained.
That was the case for China and India, where player numbers were high relative to population.
For these reasons, the world was in a full-scale war to recruit players.
Nations were indiscriminately naturalizing players, regardless of level.
But the number of players was extremely limited.
When one nation gained, another lost.
Which side was Korea on?
Painfully, it was the one losing.
And the one taking them—was Japan, right next door.
Japan was relatively lucky with the Curse of the Mean.
Other countries had three, five—some even over ten sinkholes and were completely destroyed.
Japan had only one.
The Hokkaido sinkhole.
When it regenerated, it was in Osaka.
They only needed to block the Hokkaido hole.
Relatively easy to manage.
And Japan's unconquered upper tower floors weren't that high.
Their Black Tower progress stood at the 57th floor.
Even if hit by the Curse of the Mean again, they could resolve it quickly.
Korea, on the other hand, had three holes.
And due to certain unfortunate circumstances, they had to clear the undead zone—Floor 61.
An undead zone was notoriously difficult.
Which was safer?
Obviously Japan.
There was no helping it.
Awakened players naturally preferred the safer option.
And so they migrated to Japan in droves.
In short, it was a vicious cycle.
Korea's awakened players steadily declined, while Japan's steadily increased.
'Those bastards…'
Colonel Lee Min-seon herself had received an offer from Japan.
She refused—but many of her fellow awakened officers had accepted.
In any case, with air support arriving, they finally had a moment to breathe.
The number of monsters emerging from the sinkhole had noticeably decreased.
If it ended like this, they'd gain ten days.
Then they'd have to succeed in conquering the 61st floor of the Daejeon Black Tower.
But right then—
Wooooooong!
A surge of magical flow rippled through the entire sinkhole.
Colonel Lee Min-seon, who had been catching her breath, sprang to her feet.
An ominous aura seeped out from the sinkhole.
Goosebumps erupted across her skin.
A chill ran through her.
Her legs trembled.
Cold sweat streamed down her back.
'Don't tell me…'
She knew what this phenomenon meant.
If she was right, it was catastrophic.
The worst possible scenario of a sinkhole wave.
"…A Dark Wave?"
There was no doubt.
And indeed—
"Undead! Undead monsters are coming up!"
"Damn it!"
Why do you think the word "dark" was added to the wave?
Because undead appeared.
Aaaaaah!
The thing that must never happen—had happened.
The sinkhole defense line would inevitably be breached.
Undead armed with dark auras.
Zombies, ghouls, skeletons, dullahans.
And worst of all—
"Specters! F-fall back!"
"Aaaagh!"
Flying undead specters.
Ethereal monsters impossible to kill with physical force.
Once those spread, it was over.
That was how Australia fell.
Due to undead legions, specters, and phantom reapers, all living beings there were wiped out.
'…Is this the end?'
Even a hundred fighter jets couldn't stop it.
And the undead would spread in all directions.
Korea would fall just like Australia.
Colonel Lee Min-seon felt all strength drain from her body.
Even now, undead were clawing their way out of the sinkhole.
Awakened players were already being eroded by dark auras without even making contact.
Lee Min-seon was no exception.
A wave of corruption swept over her.
Despair, helplessness, mental collapse, surrender to life itself.
She had to run.
She wanted to flee.
But her feet wouldn't move.
'Then I'll just…'
Lee Min-seon drew her personal pistol from her waist.
Click!
She chambered a round and raised it to her temple—
That was when—
Hwaaaaah!
A brilliant mass of light flooded the sinkhole perimeter.
"Huh?"
The corrupt aura vanished as if washed away.
Her mind gradually returned to clarity.
"…What is this?"
And then—
Whiriririt!
A single figure flew by on two vast, beautiful wings.
Lee Min-seon doubted her eyes.
Wings?
"A-an angel?"
Was she hallucinating from the dark aura?
In that instant—
"Light!!!"
Hwaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!
The radiance intensified even further.
The undead were melting.
Sloughing off in streams.
Clap, clap, clap, clap, clap.
Juhyeok smiled in satisfaction and praised Bardin.
"For my lord—light!!!"
Hwaaaaaaaaaah!
Paladin Bardin was going berserk.
He had slain a high angel and reached the transcendent tier.
"Our Bardin really is reliable—guess those wings help."
"That's a Radiance Searchlight. It's practically civilian massacre level. I almost feel sorry for the undead."
"The warrior will join as well. Grant permission. I wish to earn merit."
Gobang looked like he'd been itching to move.
How had he held back this long?
"If you want to go, you should go."
Do whatever you want, Gobang.
"Major Veronica Caliber!"
Of course—Major Veronica too.
READ MORE CHAPTERS HERE-https://beastnovels.com