On the fields of White Tower Floor 17, someone was running around.

Not even properly dressed, holding a handful of wildflowers in one hand, letting out bright, cheerful laughter.

“Wheee! Wheee!”

It was the Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Crystal.

Having obtained summoned status through Juhyeok, Ten-Thousand-Year—the Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Crystal—was simultaneously registered in the Catalog.

<Catalog: Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Crystal, Newly Born After Finally Regaining Freedom>

Name: Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Crystal

Rank: LSSR++ (Legend Special Super Rare++)

Type: Essence (Spirit Being)

It was far more impressive than expected.

Two plus signs after LSSR.

Which made sense.

A spirit being that had accumulated freezing energy for ten thousand years.

On top of that, it had shared the energy of enlightenment that Baek Dana consumed.

It had also been granted permanent Residency Rights on White Tower Floor 17.

Baek Dana had been in the middle of dressing her inside the house when she could not hold back and ran outside.

“Wheee!”

“Ten-Thousand-Year, put some clothes on.”

“What are clothes?”

“You wear this.”

“Okay! Wheee!”

Ten-Thousand-Year ran freely across the wide fields.

How happy must she be?

She finally had a body she could move by her own will.

“She’s completely gone wild.”

“But she’s cute.”

“She can finally move on her own. Does dignity really matter?”

“How stifling it must have been. A spirit with personality and spirituality, yet unable to speak or move by her own will.”

It was a relief that she was happy.

But there was a problem.

Perhaps because the body was new, she could not yet control her cold energy.

Everywhere she went, traces of ice were left behind.

Moisture in the air froze and fell in chunks around her body.

White frost footprints remained on the ground.

When she touched the surface of the reservoir Duyoksini had made—

CRRRRK!

It froze solid.

Duyoksini, the mildest-tempered among the summoned entities, frowned deeply.

“Farm. Sacred trees. Access prohibited. Risk of frost damage to crops.”

“Wheee!”

Innocent Ten-Thousand-Year.

Even though she had lived ten thousand years as an ice crystal, today she was no different from a newborn child.

This would not do.

At this rate, Duyoksini’s farm would turn into an ice field.

“Miss Ten-Thousand-Year! Come here!”

“Yeees!”

FWOOSH!

She ran over—

HUG!

And clung to Juhyeok.

Ah.

Cold.

Very cold.

He gently pulled her away.

“Ten-Thousand-Year, go easy on the cold.”

“Okaaay!”

SSSSH.

The cold energy faded from her body.

“And don’t go near that tree over there.”

“Okaaay!”

At least she listened well.

It felt like suddenly having a daughter before even getting married.

He felt satisfied.

It had been the right choice to accept her.

Even if the 100-day suspension of random summoning was a shame.

Come to think of it, he felt a little sorry for the souls waiting in the other world for random summons.

Things like this kept happening unintentionally.

...

“Um, Master.”

Jepetto spoke carefully, watching Juhyeok’s expression.

“Hm? Yes, Jepetto?”

“Um... before I take the Blood Crystal, could you send me on a dispatch assignment to the world of souls?”

“A dispatch?”

“Yes. I think the souls might feel frustrated.”

“Ah.”

Jepetto was still SSR.

They had been preparing for him to take the Royal Blood Essence—the Blood Crystal—hoping he might break through to LSSR without a breakthrough rune.

But he wanted to delay that and go on dispatch instead.

To tell the souls about Juhyeok’s recent situation.

“There’s no need to go. If you’re dispatched, you won’t be able to enter the White Tower for at least a month.”

“I don’t mind. More than anything, I want to go.”

Right.

He understood.

Rather than delivering news, there was probably another reason.

At least in the world of souls, Jepetto would be a social butterfly.

Here, surrounded by so many outstanding summoned entities, his presence was basically zero.

If that was what he wanted, Juhyeok would allow it.

“Hm. Alright, I’ll exile you then.”

“Thank you.”

“Not now. Later.”

“Yes, sir!”

And then—

SPOT!

Someone appeared in the White Tower.

“Huh?”

A middle-aged man stood there awkwardly, wearing a fishing bag, his face full of fear.

“...Dad?”

His dad had entered the White Tower.

The original weak man himself.

“O-oh, Juhyeok.”

“Did you come to go fishing?”

“Yeah. Staying home got boring.”

“Good timing... but the reservoir’s frozen.”

The reservoir Ten-Thousand-Year had frozen earlier.

It still had not melted.

Suddenly, his father looked at the frozen reservoir and brightened.

“That’s even better.”

“Huh?”

“We can do ice fishing.”

True.

Ice fishing had its own charm.

“And besides fishing, I wanted to have a drink of makgeolli with my friend Duyoksini.”

“Ah!”

“Your mom made some seafood pancakes too, so I brought them.”

Sounds delicious.

Pancakes with makgeolli.

At that moment, Mad Demon approached quietly.

“Master Bong.”

“...Y-yes? Me?”

Bong Su-cheol looked at Mad Demon in surprise.

He was still scared of Mad Demon.

Even though he was friends with Duyoksini, a farmer with three legs, six arms, and four eyes.

Understandable, though.

“This ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) old man wonders if he might share a drink of makgeolli with Master Bong...”

An invitation to drink together.

Mad Demon seemed to want to befriend him.

After a brief hesitation, Bong Su-cheol nodded.

“W-well... sure, then together—”

“Hahaha! Thank you. As expected, Master Bong is broad-minded.”

“Yes, yes. Anyone who wants to drink, come along.”

“This mage as well...”

Then Mad Demon said,

“Ten-Thousand-Year.”

“Yes?”

“Could you chill this makgeolli a little? Just enough to make slush ice.”

Baek Dana quickly stepped in.

“I’ll do it.”

“...The Young Palace Mistress herself?”

“Anytime. Alcohol, water, food—I’ll cool it nicely for you.”

In truth, Baek Dana had begun feeling a sense of crisis.

Her role was starting to overlap with Ten-Thousand-Year’s.

She needed to do something to stay in the summoner’s good graces.

SWISH.

The makgeolli bottle became lightly frosted.

Thus, Juhyeok’s father went off to drink quietly with Duyoksini, Mad Demon, and Mackenzie.

Now what?

He had listed a gaming laptop in today’s auction, so the result could be checked tomorrow.

Was there really nothing to do?

There was.

Drink the Elixir of Enhancement Mari had carefully made.

I wonder if it’ll hurt.

You see it in martial arts novels.

Someone eats a divine medicine, writhes in agony, muscles twisting, bones cracking, until he passes out.

That’s scary.

Better ask Mari.

Ding.

<Mari>: I made it so it absorbs slowly over time₩* It won’t hurt♪

That was a relief.

Mari would not lie.

He trusted her.

“Any other precautions?”

<Mari>: You’ll get very sleepy. You should sleep deeply, so take it somewhere safe♡

Somewhere safe...

Where was safer than White Tower Floor 17?

More specifically, the landmark’s summit—the closed-door cultivation site for rank breakthroughs.

Never thought I’d use that place myself.

Since he had thought of it, he would take it now.

When Juhyeok said he was heading to closed-door training at the landmark’s summit, the summoned entities rushed over.

“I’ll stand guard.”

“I’ll stay by your side.”

“Veronica Caliber, perimeter security ready.”

“Hooah!”

What, is this a life-or-death situation?

“I’m going up alone. If you insist on waiting, wait in the lobby.”

“But—”

“Don’t come up.”

They had all done it alone themselves.

Even Rajix had climbed up bravely on his own.

Closed-door cultivation was meant to be done alone.

Thus, Juhyeok reached the top of the building.

I copied and pasted it while drunk, but...

It really was well built.

Useful in many ways.

And the view was great.

He could see all of White Tower Floor 17 at a glance.

Roads stretching in all directions.

A plaza with a Gigant and dragon corpses.

Residential areas surrounding it.

Duyoksini’s farmland.

His father and the summoned entities drinking makgeolli together.

Ten-Thousand-Year still laughing as she ran across the ice field.

The landmark’s summit was furnished cozily like a home.

It was the rank-breakthrough site, after all.

Bathroom, shower, bedroom, living room—everything except electronics.

Spotless, thanks to the diligent dimensional farmhand.

First, a shower.

Purification was basic courtesy.

After bathing, he ate the celestial peach he had brought.

Gyeon Dallae said it carried harmonizing energy that enhanced medicinal effects.

Finally, sitting on the bed, he carefully drank the Elixir of Enhancement.

Slowly, without spilling.

Gulp, gulp.

He drank it all in one go.

Strawberry flavor.

Mari even cared about the taste.

Is it working?

She said it’d make him sleepy.

He lay down and waited.

Hmm.

When would the drowsiness hit?

Nothing felt different.

Maybe he should try sleeping deliberately.

Juhyeok closed his eyes. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

Then—blink!—he opened them again.

What?

She said it would make him sleepy.

But instead, his mind felt clearer and clearer.

Strength overflowed through his body.

Was something wrong with the potion?

Then—

Growl.

He was hungry too.

Is there something to eat?

Juhyeok got up from the bed and walked to the refrigerator in the corner of the cultivation room.

He grabbed the handle and opened it—

BANG! CRUNCH! CRACK!

“Huh?”

The refrigerator door had been ripped clean off.

The door panel was in his right hand.

“What the hell...?”

Was the refrigerator some cheap secondhand junk?

It was not made of cardboard.

Wait.

No.

The refrigerator itself was perfectly fine.

Could this be...?

Juhyeok lifted the broken refrigerator with one hand.

FWOOSH!

It came up far too easily.

“Whoa!”

Only now did he realize.

It was because of the Elixir of Enhancement.

The effects had kicked in immediately after drinking it.

Juhyeok stirred the internal energy within his body.

Blood Jade Force—activated.

UUUUUNG!

A vibrating energy surged, and a red, blazing force condensed over his entire body.

“Hahahaha!”

The force was thick and vivid.

Power overflowed.

The internal energy he learned from Mad Demon.

The player’s innate mana.

The Elixir of Enhancement.

And the harmonizing effect of the celestial peach.

Multiple energies had fused together.

He punched into the air.

SHUSH! SHUSH! SHUSH!

Explosive sounds rang out as the air split apart.

Taking off his shirt and standing before the mirror—

Thick chest muscles.

Sharply defined abs.

Holy shit... is this really my body?

Even fear seemed to vanish.

At this level, wasn’t he a real man now?

Confidence surged.

It felt like he could do anything.

Then—

Time to climb.

To the 91st Floor.

Now I can finally pull my weight, huh?

Of course, if it got dangerous, he would run.

With this sudden jump in ability, even running would be much faster.

While I’m at it, Shadow Step—

SPAPAT! TSUPAT! SSUPAT!

Almost on the level of a blink spell.

If he ran, who could catch him?

Extremely satisfied, Juhyeok left the closed-door training room and went downstairs.

The summoned entities would find it strange.

Why had he come down right after going up?

As expected—

“Gasp!”

“Oh!”

“Ah!”

“Hoho.”

“Hooah!”

The summoned entities jumped in surprise.

But then—

“S-s-s-Summoner Bong!”

Cossack’s face filled with emotion.

“Summoneeeeeer Bong!!!”

DUDUDUDUDUK!

He charged over at terrifying speed.

Hey—what’s with this guy?

Why the sudden fuss?

“I missed you!!!”

Missed me, my ass.

It hasn’t even been that long.

He even spread his arms wide, trying to hug him.

...

Ugh, gross.

Juhyeok instinctively pushed the charging Cossack aside with one hand.

WHIRR!

BOOOOONG!

“Ghk!”

Pushed by Juhyeok’s palm—

KWAAANG!

Cossack slammed into the wall.

“...Oh.”

The summoned entities’ eyes went wide.

Clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap!

They even applauded in admiration.

“Nice shot!”

“Excellent.”

“Well done.”

“A truly refreshing shove.”

“True energy moves on its own in response to will. You’ve reached the stage of Intent-Energy Integration.”

“Hooaaaa...!”

Even Cossack, who had been embedded in the wall, came running back—

SPAPAPAP!

“Whew, guess an elixir really is an elixir. Thought I was going to punch straight through the wall. Hehehe.”

...Is he really okay?

“Um... sorry. I didn’t mean to—”

“This Cossack is deeply moved. To see such a transformation.”

Is that so?

“It was worth waiting.”

“This old man feels relieved at last. I was worried sick.”

“Even the homebody alchemist must have been anxious.”

What?

“It hasn’t even been an hour.”

“Yes?”

“I checked the effect and came right back down.”

“What are you saying? It’s been a full week since you entered closed-door training.”

“...What?”

A week?

“Seven days passed?”

“Yes!”

Did I fall asleep when I closed my eyes?

I opened them right away.

“...Time really flew.”

“That’s right. We wanted to check on you, but Elder Mad Demon said not to approach during closed-door training.”

“This old man stopped them. Careless interference could disrupt the flow of energy.”

I see.

That explained why he was starving.

“Young master, even to this girl, your achievement looks extraordinary.”

“Ah, well. A little.”

“You’ve grown stronger. This old man can finally rest easy.”

“That’s right. No more getting beaten up wherever you go.”

“Hey, not that much.”

Gotta stay humble.

No matter how strong I got, could I really compare to the summoned entities?

Anyway, now that I had taken the Elixir of Enhancement, it was time to start my real job.

Tower climbing.

“Shall we start preparing to climb the 91st Floor?”

“We obey your command.”

We were planning to climb Earth’s Black Tower.

We had already confirmed that stepping onto the 91st Floor caused no immediate issues.

First, though—

The dimensional auction house.

Travelers had probably been waiting for items.

I had not listed anything for a full seven days.

That was basically lost profit.

This time, should I list that?

The multiverse.

Worlds as numerous as grains of sand on a beach.

Yet worlds that actually had dimensional travelers were only a tiny fraction.

Just a handful of sand.

And even among those worlds, not every traveler could use the auction house.

Simply traveling was not enough.

You had to establish meaningful achievements in the dimensions you visited.

Exterminate monsters.

Save large numbers of lives.

Contribute academic knowledge or technology that advanced civilization.

Only then did you gain auction house access.

After that, travelers exchanged goods through auctions, mutually developing their civilizations.

Even auction houses had tiers.

Not all dimensional travelers were equal.

Old veterans.

And newbies who had only recently qualified.

The difference between them was stark.

Their financial power was not even comparable.

No matter what items newbies listed, veterans would not even bid.

At most, they would bid once, cancel, and toy with them.

Why list a Dragon Heart?

Just go kill one and extract it yourself.

But recently, a storm had swept through the auction house.

A storm brought by a novice traveler from Earth.

Earth goods.

Luxury wristwatches.

Tablets.

Various foods and alcohol.

Even laptops.

And then, suddenly, no more listings.

Why?

It had stopped like this before.

Did the Earth traveler die?

Or lose interest in auctions?

Anxiety spread.

Veteran travelers stared obsessively at the auction boards every day.

But the last item listed seven days ago—a laptop—was the end.

Travelers who failed to win bids beat their chests in regret.

If only they had pooled all their top-grade Magic Stones back then...

Aaaah.

Trying to control prices had ruined everything.

And then—

Game Console: Play Switch OLED Handheld Console, 128GB

(Large quantity of games stored)

Starting bid: 1,000 kg of top-grade Magic Stones

The long-awaited Earth item appeared.

And it was something new.

“Gasp!!!”

The Great Sage Lumos sprang to his feet.

“A-at last.”

Former Martial Alliance Leader Geum Cheolmyeong cheered.

“UAAAAAAH!”

Former Emperor Joseph raised his arms in triumph.

Immediately, bidding became even fiercer than before.

Veteran dimensional travelers threw caution aside, spending recklessly.

TAP TAP TAP TAP! TAP TAP TAP TAP TAP TAP!

Less than an hour later—

Current bid: 1,054,078 kg of top-grade Magic Stones

It had already surpassed one million.