Mackenzie Dronak.
Mage Tower Lord of the Ruby Mage Tower, overflowing with a desire for recognition, an extremely extroverted 9-circle attention-seeking mage.
Yes.
Attention seeker.
A catalog title that fit him perfectly.
He proved it with his very first summon.
Darkening the living room, announcing his presence with miniature fireworks, then dropping two spotlights.
The show continued.
The protagonists were Juhyeok and Mackenzie.
Everyone else was just background.
Squeeze!
Mackenzie suddenly wrapped his arms around the stiffly standing Juhyeok.
The two spotlights merged into one.
At the same time, majestic background music began to play.
Ta-daaan! Tta-ja-ja-ja-jan… tta-jan!
A truly perfect stage.
Rose petals conjured by illusion magic covered the entire living room.
It was a breathtaking sight.
"Thank you! Truly, thank you! No—mere thanks are not enough, for you have pulled me out of hell!"
"Ah, yes, yes…"
"We are truly a match made in heaven. I felt it the moment we met. You felt it too, didn't you, Summoner?"
A match made in heaven is ni—
The heartfelt, powerful hug continued.
Unable to bear the sight any longer, the Mad Demon finally spoke.
"That damn attention-seeking bastard. I'm worried. Seriously worried."
Mackenzie turned a cold glare toward the Mad Demon.
"What? Jealous?"
"Jealous? As if I'd feel jealousy toward the likes of you."
"Then why are you picking a fight?"
"Let me say just one thing. If you pull that meteor-summoning bullshit outside the Tower again, you die by my hand."
...
Did he hit a sore spot?
Mackenzie's expression twisted instantly.
And then—
Fwoosh!
Flames roared up behind his back.
Pachik, pachichichik!
Electric sparks crackled from the tips of his bristling hair.
What is this?
It wasn't threatening.
It wasn't hot either.
It was merely a visual effect expressing his anger.
… He's a living anime character.
It seemed to be magic that manifested unconsciously in response to Mackenzie's emotional state.
"Damn it! Why bring that up?!"
Fwoosh! Pachichik!
"Don't get carried away. The moment you even show signs of summoning a meteor, your head will go flying."
"… Tch! You dare, knowing your place? You think that's possible?"
"When did I ever say I'd do it alone?"
"If not alone—"
In that instant—
Mackenzie realized there were others glaring at him as well.
Shooo!
Gobang enlarged his body through gigantification.
Shu-sho, shu-shushut!
Kosak stepped lightly, making wind noises from his mouth.
Ssht!
Gyeondallae slipped a talisman from her robes and looped it onto her finger.
Charruruk!
At some point, Aliamari's homunculus had wrapped itself around Mackenzie's lower body.
Psshhhk!
The visual flames behind him faded away.
The hair that had stood on end with sparks settled back down.
Gulp.
Swallowing once, Mackenzie spoke.
"… I haven't done anything yet."
"Looks like you might. So please, go ahead and cause trouble. Makes it easier to deal with you cleanly."
"Kill me? You think that's possible? The Summoner wouldn't just stand by."
"Rule Three, Clause Three!"
"… Fuck."
Swoooong.
Mackenzie's form dulled.
All the flashy visual effects vanished.
He simply turned dark.
As if painted over in black.
"Wow."
The more you looked, the more amusing he was.
A summoned being who displayed different special effects for every emotion—directly and vividly.
A true man-out-of-a-comic.
A rare one, indeed.
His background description had said:
His magic also boasts extremely flashy effects, conscious of people's attention.
So that's what it meant.
Even now, Mackenzie continued to darken.
Not metaphorically—literally black.
"Don't take Earth lightly. Especially here!"
"I'll say it again—never summon meteors outside the Tower."
"…"
"Answer!"
"… Got it."
Juhyeok simply watched.
It was entertaining, but it also felt like the Mad Demon and Mackenzie had some shared history.
They'll work it out themselves.
That aside—meteor summoning.
Was it even possible inside the Tower?
"Well then, since Mr. Mackenzie is now part of the family, the White Tower 17th-floor residency—"
"Wait a moment!"
Huh?
Mackenzie suddenly raised his hand.
Flaaash!
A shining radiance.
Spotlights descended again.
Ugh, how dizzying.
Dark one moment, shining the next.
"I have a request, Summoner."
Juhyeok already knew what it was.
"Please dismiss my summon right now."
Just as expected.
"Give me about ten hours. It's tight, but I need to go boast as quickly as possible."
Understandable.
A soul starving for attention and recognition wouldn't miss a chance to brag.
But how much bragging does he plan to do if even ten hours is tight?
There was no helping it.
He had to grant the wish.
"Alright, I'll do that. Go boast to your heart's content."
"Thank you! Hahahahaha!"
Mackenzie floated up into the air.
Wiiiiing!
Nine glowing circular rings spun endlessly around his entire body like hula hoops.
Special effects whenever possible.
No idea how he'd be inside the Tower, but he was definitely an entertaining person.
"Mackenzie Dronak, summon dismissed."
"Hahahahaha!"
Pop!
And so, Mackenzie returned to the Infinite Prison the moment after being randomly summoned.
Anyway, now that he was gone—
"Wasn't that a bit harsh? He's still a Legend-rank, talking about killing him and all."
"Not at all! He's the kind who could snap at any moment. Let your guard down, and who knows what disaster he'll cause."
Really?
He seemed like a decent person.
Someone who expressed his emotions instantly and vividly through special effects, no less.
Ding!
: If he does anything stupid, I'll blow him up with a homunculus.
Even Mari seemed extremely wary.
"A man who enforces Rule Three, Clause Three with such strange justification… stay strong, Summoner."
"This warrior will keep a close watch by your side."
"You must not lower your guard even for a moment."
Says who?
They'd all forgotten their tadpole days after turning into frogs.
Let's go meet Commissioner Jeon Gwang-il.
There were a few things to ask him.
Ah! Mr. Rajiks's badge ceremony still needs to happen.
That could wait until everyone gathered later.
China was being swept by a storm of chaos.
A bombing terror attack at the Continental Crisis Management Headquarters.
It was an extremely serious incident.
The earlier deaths of the former chairman had all been explained.
Lin Chaoming—heart attack.
Wang Yuan—killed by Bailong.
But the recent deaths of Chairman Liu Zhao and the Standing Committee members remained a complete mystery.
The motive, the method, the suspects… even the bodies were never found.
All the dead were leaders of China's political factions.
Their absence ignited power struggles everywhere.
And that wasn't all.
Chinese players' dissatisfaction boiled over.
In truth, Chinese players' treatment ranked near the bottom globally.
Within China, they were constantly treated as punching bags.
That was despite China having the largest number of players.
In this incident as well, under the pretext of hunting terrorists, public security forces swarmed them—forcing inventory inspections, interrogating alibis during the explosion, probing for "anti-Communist sentiments," harassing players day after day.
State-sponsored players had it somewhat better.
But discrimination against ordinary Chinese players was severe.
They could no longer endure it.
They decided they couldn't just take it anymore.
Thus, centered around several players, the tentatively named "Chinese Player Association" was formed.
They recruited members through social media and rapidly expanded their influence.
The Association's first move:
Immediately halt the current oppression of players.
If their demands were not accepted, they warned that they would refuse to sell high-grade magic stones to China—and would even consider halting Tower climbs entirely.
Did the Chinese government accept their demands?
Not a chance.
The Chinese government designated the Chinese Player Association as a rebel organization, announced strict investigations and punishment, and immediately began hunting down the leadership.
At this rate, could Tower progression even continue properly?
Of course, if they focused only on state-sponsored players, collapse could be avoided.
The real issue was the resources extracted from the Tower.
Warning lights flashed in China's Tower materials market.
Ordinary Chinese players refused to climb the Tower.
Even those who did refused to sell high-grade magic stones to the government.
The conflict grew more severe by the day.
Meanwhile, other countries outside China?
The paradigm of science was changing.
In the 70th floors of the Black Tower, humanity faced a revolution.
All driven by high-grade magic stones reshaping industry across the board.
The Black Tower was no longer seen as a nuisance but as a treasure vault.
As long as collapse could be avoided, wasn't the Tower just a mine for high-grade magic stones?
But not everything was smooth.
The identity of the 80th-floor boss, revealed by the Korean Awakening Management Agency:
Nightmare, the Nightmare Steed.
An extremely dangerous monster.
A skill that puts players to sleep.
Once trapped in dreams, players could do nothing and would be killed.
Staying awake was essential.
So what was the countermeasure?
Wasn't there an item, like the holy sword that had been key in the undead zones?
Of course there was!
On the Korean Awakening Management Agency's homepage,
a huge banner appeared the moment you entered.
An item scheduled to be sold in the Player Shop soon—
a Dream Resistance Kit for clearing the 80th-floor boss, Nightmare the Nightmare Steed.
The package consisted of one bottle of Sage-Manufactured Sleep Control Elixir and one Exorcism Talisman.
Two items per set.
Price: one million dollars per set, tax included.
A product sold exclusively to state-sponsored players.
After all, it was the 80th floor.
Ordinary players couldn't even reach it.
The moment the banner went up, preorders flooded in.
Nearly every country currently clearing the 70th floors contacted the Awakening Management Agency.
The United States called directly—Director Antonio himself.
— Hello, former Commissioner.
"Haha, have you been well, Director?"
— I'm always free, you know. That aside, you must be busy, former Commissioner. You need to level up as a player, and you still have commissioner duties to handle.
"At this point, I'm almost regretting awakening as a player."
— Hahaha, you're exaggerating. With talent like yours, too.
Talent, my ass.
Anyway, he wanted to reserve the Dream Resistance Kits.
"How much do you need?"
— Let's start with thirty sets. Will that be possible?
"It'll be possible, but you'll have to wait a bit. We're only taking reservations for now."
— I can wait as long as needed.
"I'll make sure yours are prepared with special care."
— Oh! By the way, about the Pyongyang terror attempt.
"… Yes? Why bring that up?"
— There's a rumor that China was behind it.
"Well, I wouldn't know. The North Korean government probably does."
— Then it's not connected to the Beijing explosion either?
"I told you already—I don't know anything. And that, too, is something the Chinese government should clarify."
— Ah! Yes, yes. Understood.
"Then we'll end it here."
Click!
Commissioner Jeon Gwang-il hung up the phone.
"Who are you trying to fool?"
Of course, Jeon Gwang-il already knew.
He knew who the Beijing Continental Crisis Management Headquarters explosion was connected to.
The United States probably knew as well.
But they would never truly find out.
Nor should they.
Honestly, seven deaths weren't enough.
No matter how powerful those people had been.
Those damn Chinese bastards.
If it were up to him, he would've blown up the entirety of Zhongnanhai.
At that moment—
Daring!
A smartphone notification rang out.
He checked it.
"Oh!"
It was from Player Bong.
— I'm thinking of visiting the Awakening Management Agency today. Is the timing okay?
Of course it was okay.
He'd cancel every schedule if needed just to meet him.
Jeon Gwang-il hurriedly replied.
— Please come whenever it's convenient for you. I'll be waiting.
The Infinite Prison.
The sorrow of those left behind.
Being unsummoned was already painful enough.
「I swear I'm not lying—I was just shouting heave-ho! over and over. And then suddenly? I felt my body floating, my five senses coming alive. When I opened my eyes, there was an old man who looked like the Mad Demon, a hamster beastman, and a magic-empire gunmage standing right there…」
…
…
…
「My first impression of Earth's Summoner was… how should I put it? A soulmate of my soul? Two sides of the same coin? Opposite poles of a magnet? You all know it, right? The truth that extremes resonate with each other.」
『…』
『… White Tower?』
『You didn't go in there?』
『If I accepted the residency pass, I wouldn't be able to come back here. So I asked him to dismiss the summon right away. I wanted to at least say goodbye to you all.』
[Go.]
『Hurry up and go!』
[Shut up.]
『Enough already.』
『Tch, it's unbearable—just get lost.』
『Fuck you, bastard.』
『What's wrong with all of you? I shouted heave-ho so hard whenever you prayed. And look—it worked! Hahahahaha!』
That damned attention-seeking mage.
The souls were driven insane.
They had to listen to his bragging for a full ten hours.
And when time finally passed—
In the now-quiet world of souls, stilled by envy, jealousy, disappointment, and rage, someone sent a telepathic message.
『… Hea—』
At the same time—
[—ve.]
『Hea—』
[—ve.]
『Hea—』
『—ve.』
The voices weren't loud.
But they were desperate.
At the Korean Awakening Management Agency's Tower Materials Warehouse,
Juhyeok met with Commissioner Jeon Gwang-il.
They'd been too busy lately, only speaking by phone.
"Player Bong, it's been a while."
"Haha, how have you been? Have you leveled up much?"
"Well… I haven't had time to enter the Tower."
"That's a shame!"
If he could, Juhyeok would've loved to enter the Tower together and carry him through it.
But Tower-clearing rules required solo play, so there was no easy way.
They talked about many things.
Supplying Dream Resistance Kits for the 80th floor,
methods for clearing the giant-monster zones beyond the 81st floor,
Tower material distribution, and more.
"Commissioner."
"Yes."
Jeon Gwang-il already knew almost everything about him.
For that reason, Juhyeok figured it was time to tell him about the 17th floor as well.
There were things to confirm.
"I have a place I was allocated."
"Allocated? An apartment? Where—"
"The White Tower, 17th floor."
"… Pardon?"
What did that even mean?
Was there an apartment called the White Tower?
"It's easier to show you than explain it. If you're not busy…"
"Ah—n-no, I'm not busy."
"Then here. Take this."
Juhyeok took out a sheet of paper from his inventory and handed it to Jeon Gwang-il.
Issued on the White Tower's 17th floor.
Unlike the permanent residency card, the one-day trial pass was thin paper—so fragile it could tear easily if mishandled.
It didn't cost much either.
Just 1 kg of high-grade magic stones.
Jeon Gwang-il looked confused as he took the paper.
In that instant—
Tszzzt!
Letters were engraved onto the paper.
What?
— White Tower Visitor: Jeon Gwang-il
At the same time—
Ding.
A message rang out in his mind.
[A temporary skill has been registered to your universal skills.]
"… Uh."
Jeon Gwang-il's eyes widened.
His status window had changed.
This was something Juhyeok had long been curious about.
When summoned beings were given residency passes, they fully moved in.
Then what about players?
What happened if players were given passes?
"Do you feel any changes?"
"I—I do."
"What kind of…?"
"There's an added entry in my universal skills…"
Jeon Gwang-il's status window now read:
[Universal Skills]:
Tower Entry (once per day) / Tower-Exclusive Inventory / White Tower 17th Floor Entry & Exit (valid for 24 hours)
For players, it registered as a skill.
Since it was a one-day trial, it lasted only 24 hours.
"Would you like to try entering?"
"Where? The 17th floor?"
If he was told to do it, he would.
He was curious anyway.
Jeon Gwang-il quietly invoked the skill.
White Tower 17th Floor Entry.
Instantly—
Spot!
The environment changed in the blink of an eye.
Just moments ago, he'd been inside the Awakening Management Agency's warehouse.
This is… the White Tower?
It had to be.
He'd entered via a system skill.
"… Wow."
His mouth hung open, unable to close.
Houses stood throughout the area.
Asphalt roads stretched between them.
In the distance, something resembling a communications tower stood tall,
and beside it were buildings whose purpose he couldn't even guess.
My god.
How is this a Tower?
At that moment—
"Hoe?"
Someone appeared—no, a beastman.
Rajiks stood before him, riding a massive red dog.
"Ah, h-hello."
"Hoeeng!"
"Woof woof!"
Rajiks wore a card necklace on his chest like an ID badge.
A glance revealed the words: White Tower 17th Floor Residency Pass.
Even the dog wore a small card necklace around its neck.
So Rajiks has a residency pass… the dog too…
Meanwhile, he only had a one-day trial pass.
"Hoeeee."
Rajiks gestured for him to follow.
Jeon Gwang-il hurried after the red dog.
Now that he thought about it—
his body felt full of energy.
It seemed player abilities worked inside the White Tower as well.
Soon, he saw a group of people gathering in the distance, chatting in a small cluster.
"Oh! Former Commissioner!"
"Welcome."
"You received a residency pass as well?"
Jeon Gwang-il showed them the scrap of paper Juhyeok had given him.
"… It's not a residency pass. Just a one-day trial."
"Tsk tsk, I see. We have permanent residency passes."
They proudly displayed the plastic cards hanging from their necks.
"You'll need constant effort from now on. Permanent passes aren't given to just anyone."
"Well, perhaps one day."
"Ehh, residency passes aren't handed out so easily."
"The former Commissioner isn't just anyone, though."
"Still feels like he's a bit short."
"Hoe!"
Jeon Gwang-il felt strange.
Almost like he was being left out.
A permanent residency pass…
What would it take to get one?
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