Chapter 23

Chapter 23

When a Synchronization phenomenon occurred in South Korea, where was the busiest place?

Guilds? The media? Corporations?

All wrong.

Ever since Towers rose across the entire world, there had been a command center that ran busily without a single day off all year round.

“The Synchronization phenomenon is starting!”

“Monitor everything happening there, and it doesn’t matter how minor it is, from beginning to end. Report all of it!”

The department civil servants avoided the most.

The department with the most overtime.

The department where each person received hundreds of millions in annual incentives.

The place that had achieved the Triple Crown of the public service world was none other than.

The Crisis Response Committee.

Due to the special nature of its work, it was one of the public offices that was always busy even under normal circumstances.

But the moment this incident occurred, it literally became a madhouse.

“What monster is appearing?”

“Undead Knights.”

“What kind of bullshit is that! Undead Knights? Didn’t you say a Bone Dragon was coming?”

“The Bone Dragon is the Boss Monster. When a Synchronization phenomenon occurs, other monsters come out too, don’t they?”

Undead Knights.

They were monsters that appeared in the 10th-floor range.

According to the assessment of Chosen, known for their outstanding skills, they were skeletons holding swords.

They were faster and stronger than Goblins, but slower and weaker than Fairies.

The Chosen’s overall assessment was, “Not a threatening monster.”

However.

“Uh... huh? Team Leader, I think you need to check this. The predicted number of Undead Knights appearing is not ordinary. One thousand... two thousand... five thousand? What is this?”

The graph displayed on the monitor shot straight upward.

The numbers surged, breaking through one high point after another.

After seeing the numbers updating in real time, Kang Han-seok’s complexion turned blue.

For example, say there was one piranha in a river.

One was fine.

Because it was not threatening.

But what if the number of piranhas was in the tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands?

From that point on, it was on a level that could be called a disaster.

Even if one was not threatening, if the number increased to an absurd degree, it was fair to say the ecosystem was finished.

“Is the observation equipment broken? If not, there is no way that could be true.”

This kind of incident was rare even in Korea... no, even after combing through the entire world.

Considering an equipment malfunction was a natural thought.

But reality was cruel.

“It’s not broken. It’s real.”

“........”

An answer no different from a death sentence.

Kang Han-seok’s blue face went white this time.

The color had drained from him so completely that his complexion was no different from a corpse’s.

“So, that’s only the Undead Knights, right?”

“It means both the Bone Dragon and the Undead Knights are coming out.”

“...This is driving me insane.”

It really was enough to drive a person insane.

A Bone Dragon and Undead Knights?

If it were one of the two, he would mobilize all of Korea’s resources and try to resolve it somehow.

But if both appeared?

‘Impossible.’

If it had been the old days when Seven Star was alive and well, perhaps things would be different.

There was no hope for Korea now.

To be blunt, there was no way to do anything.

“Ugh....”

Kang Han-seok tore open a packet of stomach medicine and poured it into his mouth in one go.

If this had been any ordinary day, Han-sol would have stopped him, asking whether he was trying to punch a hole in his stomach by eating stomach medicine like that.

Even she could not stop him this time.

Because she herself was on the verge of developing a stomach disorder she had never had before.

Tap, tap, tap.

A finger drummed against the desk at regular intervals.

By the time the finger stopped, Kang Han-seok had reached a conclusion.

“Make contact.”

“Pardon? With where, sir?”

“Where else? The countries that said they would support us with mercenaries. Contact them and tell them we accept that offer.”

“Are you serious, sir?”

“Do you think I’m joking in this situation?”

They had missed the time for negotiation.

‘If we know this information, that means they already know all of it too.’

The other side had made that judgment as well.

That was why they had made the proposal, calling them mercenaries or whatever.

“If it had been something we could resolve by ourselves in the first place, we could have raised it as a diplomatic discourtesy. Do you think those bastards did this without knowing that? In international diplomacy? They know too. They know this is something we cannot answer with our own hands.”

Now, they had no choice but to borrow their hands.

There was nothing they could do.

If they wanted to survive, they had to borrow even a cat’s paw for now.

“So what if we know those bastards are jackals constantly eyeing us? First, we have to save the country. Am I wrong?”

“Team Leader....”

“Do not worry. Even if someone has to take off their uniform, I will take full responsibility and do it myself.”

Kang Han-seok spoke with resolve.

It was around then.

[Pingkkyu Gyongdyu has defeated the Bone Dragon.]

[MVP: Pingkkyu Gyongdyu]

A system message appeared without any warning.

“Huh? What is this?”

The situation had changed strangely.

It said Pingkkyu Gyongdyu had taken down a Bone Dragon that had not even appeared yet.

‘Was he inside the Dungeon, perhaps?’

That could not be.

The observation team was regularly monitoring the Dungeon entrance.

There had been no report of anyone entering the Dungeon.

Moreover.

“Um, Team Leader. Wasn’t Pingkkyu Gyongdyu definitely climbing the Tower?”

Just as Han-sol said, until immediately before this, Pingkkyu Gyongdyu had been climbing the 14th floor.

But he killed the Bone Dragon?

That made no sense.

And the shocking events did not stop there.

“T-Team Leader, I think you need to look at this! The Undead Knights are starting to collapse.”

The scene was being broadcast live by drone.

The Undead Knights that had literally been “gushing out” began collapsing one by one, as if they had lost their egos.

It was the sort of thing that would make ghosts wail.

“...I do not have to resign, right?”

The most relieved person was Kang Han-seok.

He had miraculously come back alive after nearly becoming unemployed overnight.

Impossible events were happening one after another.

But he had already learned.

“Who else in South Korea would do something so ridiculous?”

No one but Pingkkyu Gyongdyu.

The things he had done so far had shocked the whole world.

This time was no different.

***

There was someone else who was bewildered by the system notification that appeared after the Bone Dragon was defeated.

[Pingkkyu Gyongdyu has defeated the Bone Dragon.]

[MVP: Pingkkyu Gyongdyu]

“.......?”

Kang Seong-jin, who had raised his weapon to begin the battle in earnest, could not hide his bewilderment.

Since the Synchronization phenomenon started, only three times.

That was the number of times he had swung his hammer at monsters.

For a car to start, it needed to warm up.

The same went for any machine.

A person’s body was like a machine too.

To move efficiently, warming up was essential.

But.

Before he could even warm up, the situation had ended.

“No, what the...?”

He learned for the first time.

When a person was bewildered, no words came out.

‘How?’

Pingkkyu Gyongdyu was definitely in the Tower.

That was a fact that would not change even if the sky collapsed.

But he had defeated the Bone Dragon that was about to appear due to the Synchronization phenomenon?

No, his direction was wrong from the start.

If he was going to have doubts....

“A bastard who has only just started climbing the 10th-floor range killed a Bone Dragon?”

That made even less sense.

The Bone Dragon itself appeared on the 15th floor.

Having faced it once before, he could say with confidence.

It was a monster one might or might not be able to kill only if they had enough skill to climb the Tower’s middle floors.

‘With this, it is certain that he is receiving sponsorship.’

A Chosen who had only just started climbing the Tower.

Killed a Bone Dragon alone?

That was not a matter of possible or impossible.

Because the assumption itself was a lie not worth discussing.

Grit.

“How dare he interfere with my path to China?”

This Synchronization phenomenon.

If he had only performed as planned, he could have built up achievements and naturalized as a Chinese citizen.

He had planned to discard the rotten lifeline and switch to another.

But the plan he had finally put together had become a mess.

“...Pingkkyu Gyongdyu, you are foolish beyond belief.”

Korea was already a sinking ship.

No matter how much he grew stronger by receiving sponsorship through his backing.

The end of a bastard who could not even judge that much was not worth seeing.

***

[You have defeated the Bone Dragon.]

Instant Kill, used after a long time.

Its effect was outstanding.

RUMBLE, CRASH!

Along with an intense noise like a lightning strike, the Bone Dragon that had maintained its form through necromancy collapsed.

As the Bone Dragon’s corpse fell beneath the canyon, it created an intense blast of wind.

How intense was it?

Enough to affect us even though we were quite far from the canyon.

“Ghhh.”

I stabbed the Wand into the ground and barely endured.

Poing had already fled into my arms long ago.

Around the time the blast of wind that had rushed up from the canyon below stopped.

“Hajin! The skeletons over there...!”

Poing shouted from where he was hiding in my arms.

The Undead Knights that had filled the canyon began losing strength and collapsing.

It was not just one or two.

The undead army, more than enough to destroy a country and still have power left over, collapsed one after another like dominoes.

Why all of a sudden?

“All the strings connected to the dragon were cut.”

“Strings?”

“Yeah, yeah. The dragon and the skull heads were connected to each other with strings. The moment Hajin went flash, all the strings were cut.”

There were strings?

I could not see them.

That did not mean it sounded like he was making it up.

I was human, but Poing was originally a monster that had lived in the Tower.

It would not be strange even if there were things only monsters could see.

“There were strings?”

“Yeah. They were connected all the way like puppet dolls.”

“That is the first I’ve heard of it.”

“That’s because Hajin didn’t ask.”

I had nothing to say.

Also, he was not wrong.

“From now on, it does not matter how minor it is. If there is anything strange, tell me immediately.”

“Yeah!”

Well, since I had warned him, it should be fine from now on.

Before I had even finished giving that warning, Poing opened his mouth.

“Hajin, I can feel something over theeere!”

Poing transformed his jelly-like body and pointed beneath the canyon.

More precisely, at the remains of the Bone Dragon.

‘I don’t feel anything.’

Was there something there?

I was not sure.

Still, this was Poing’s intuition, the same intuition that had discovered the connection between the Bone Dragon and the Undead Knights.

Even if I was being fooled, it was worth checking.

However.

‘It’s a bit far.’

It was too far to go all the way down into the canyon.

The canyon was far too huge, and by my estimation, it was a canyon that had held tens of thousands of undead.

Forget a day or two.

With my rotten stamina, it would easily take a week.

That did not mean there was no method at all.

After using Instant Kill, the remaining number of Blinks was one.

It was worth trying.

“We’re going down in one go, so hold on tight to me.”

“Yeah!!”

Along with a booming reply, Poing’s two arms wrapped around my neck like a muffler.

Tap. I leaped from a cliff whose slope was nearly ninety degrees.

WHOOOOOSH!

Along with the fierce wind speed.

I plummeted at a tremendous speed.

When I had seen it from above the canyon, it had been a distance I could not even gauge, but reaching the ground took only an instant.

Of course.

My body had no safety device whatsoever.

Not even a parachute.

Just before I hit the ground.

“Blink.”

[Using Blink.]

[Remaining Blink Count(□□□□)]

At the same time Blink activated, I landed lightly on the ground.

The acceleration of gravity had completely disappeared.

Physically speaking, it was an absurd phenomenon.

It was a simple trick that used a bug phenomenon from the game.

‘It’s easy to say.’

If my timing was even slightly off, I would die instantly.

It was a technique possible only because I had trained my proficiency with Blink to the extreme.

Well, putting minor things aside.

“Poing, can you find it?”

“Yeah.”

At my question, Poing fearlessly dug through the Bone Dragon’s remains.

Doing this in a mountain of pure white skeletons.

It felt like I was exhuming a grave.

While I waited, savoring that strange feeling.

Poing suddenly popped out from within the remains.

“I found it!”

“What on earth is that... huh?”

The moment I saw what was in Poing’s hand.

A dumbfounded sound slipped out of me without thinking.

[Dragon Bone]

-Bone of a Bone Dragon. Boasts outstanding magic affinity.

A very brief description.

Knowing the item’s true value, I could not help but be shocked.

‘No, this drops here?’

This was insane.

No, this was amazing.

I had hit the jackpot.

It was one of the items absolutely necessary to climb the Tower, and I had never dreamed it would drop here.

I had lucked out.

In Poing’s hand, there was not just Dragon Bone, but something else as well.

[Bone Dragon’s Core]

-Possesses dragon’s divinity.

A short description, just like Dragon Bone.

It was even shorter than Dragon Bone’s.

In terms of rarity alone, it was rarer than Dragon Bone.

Because even while playing the game until now, I could count on one hand the number of times I had obtained it.

So if asked whether it had as much value as Dragon Bone, well?

Unlike Dragon Bone.

‘I have no idea what it’s used for.’

How could I evaluate something when I didn't even know how to use it?

I had to know something before I could evaluate it.

Still, would it not be good to keep it for now?

It might become useful someday.

Though I could not imagine I would now learn the use of something that had remained a complete mystery even in the game.

It was when I was about to put it away for the time being.

“Hajin, can I eat this?”

“This?”

“Yeah, I can eat it!”

He was going to eat this?

Hmm, it did not seem like he was lying.

‘And he has no reason to.’

Rather than letting it rot in my bag without knowing its use, it would be better for Poing to use it.

After making that judgment and giving permission, Poing devoured it in one bite, as if he had been waiting.

[Rainbow Servant Slime is using Devour.]

[Absorbing Bone Dragon’s demonic nature.]

[Rainbow Servant Slime (Poing)’s level has increased.]

A system window no different from usual.

This time, it did not stop there.

[Rainbow Servant Slime (Poing) Lv45]

[Maximum level reached.]

Level 45.

Poing’s level had reached its limit.

I thought it would end there, but something completely unexpected occurred.

[Hidden condition achieved. Evolution available.]