Chapter 52: What Happens When You Add a Knight to a Knight?

Darkness engulfed the sealed chamber.  

“Flicker, flicker.”

Illuminating the room was a single light bulb, swaying incessantly.  

As if deliberately dim, the faint light barely revealed a silhouette beneath it.  

The trembling glow revealed glimpses of the figure.  

A middle-aged man.  

A middle-aged gentleman with a neatly groomed brown mustache, wearing a peculiar monocle.  

He was a divine gentleman.  

His gaze fixed straight ahead.  

At the round table sat a group of people.  

Flicker!  

As the trembling light bulb shone on them one by one, a startling sight emerged.  

From the United States’ President Joel Morris to Russia’s Vlad Yakoblev, China’s Chairman Zhang Zhao, Japan’s Acting Prime Minister Naoki Sato, France’s President Shané Bellin, and the United Kingdom’s Prime Minister Vernon Hardy—all the leaders of the great powers were assembled.  

However, they stared blankly.  

“…”  

Like fools who’d lost their weapons, their vacant eyes fixated on the middle-aged divine gentleman.  

“So, how is the plan progressing?”  

At the middle-aged man’s question.  

“…As ordered, we are steadily applying pressure on him.”  

Joel Morris answered with vacant eyes.  

Even from that expression, one fact was clear.  

Astonishingly, this middle-aged divine gentleman was controlling the presidents of all these nations.  

“Good. Well done. Through your efforts, the grand design is nearing completion. Heh—heh—heh—.”  

The middle-aged gentleman emitted his characteristic laugh.  

This time, the results were satisfactory.  

Yet it was far too early to relax.  

“Keep working. Apply even more pressure on him so he ascends the Tower.”  

Their goal was to threaten and press Kim Si-won, forcing him to climb the Tower.  

“Understood.”  

“We will obey your command.”  

Make sure Kim Si-won ascends the Tower!  

The suggestion etched into their minds, the leaders withdrew from the room.  

Once they left, they would forget this meeting entirely.  

But the embedded suggestion—the threat and pressure to accelerate Kim Si-won’s climb—remained.  

Remembering only that, they would use every means and method at their disposal to fulfill it.  

After the leaders departed, only the middle-aged divine gentleman remained.  

Step by step, he moved forward.  

“Creak.” 

Following a hidden passage for some time, he finally arrived at another sealed chamber.  

Bubbling.  

A giant glass container filled with a transparent liquid stood there.  

Amazingly, living creatures breathed inside.  

Some immature, newborn-like specimens floated within.  

Bubbling.  

Others were fully grown adults, appearing ready to break free from the glass at any moment.  

The middle-aged divine gentleman stood before the mature specimen.  

“Not much time left now.”  

He reached out his hand toward the glass.  

Then, as if answering his words, a vibration echoed once, “Vrrrrrr!”

As he said, the day was truly drawing near.  

The day when the being who had reigned alongside him as a legion commander would awaken.  

But that was only part of the process.  

His true goal lay elsewhere.  

Step by step, he continued forward.  

Passing the glass container, he entered a separate space.  

“Whoosh—”

A gigantic block of ice radiated an intense cold, its crystalline form set before him.  

Even he dared not approach the ice.  

“Thump.” 

Heartbeat sounds echoed.  

And faintly visible within.  

A blonde, handsome man.  

“Soon, he shall descend.”  

Demon King?  

Hero?  

No.  

A transcendent being beyond all that.  

“And he shall rule over everything!”  

And only then would the time trapped in eternity return to its rightful place. 

*** 

I am not an Awakener.  

Therefore, I can move somewhat beyond the Tower’s constraints.  

[Kim Si-won of the Republic of Korea has cleared the Very Hard 36th Floor.]  

[Kim Si-won of the Republic of Korea has cleared the Very Hard 37th Floor.]  

[Kim Si-won of the Republic of Korea has cleared the Very Hard 38th Floor.]  

[Kim Si-won of the Republic of Korea has cleared the Very Hard 39th Floor.]  

I am free to ascend the Tower without restriction.  

And that freedom has become the driving force behind my rapid climb of the monthly rankings.  

Very Hard is a difficulty that grants significant additional points to the monthly ranking.  

But to clear nine floors within one hour?  

That’s a resounding blow to the complacent United States, which was already confident in its top position.  

Thus, taking advantage of their brief lapse in vigilance, I reclaimed the number one spot in the monthly rankings.  

[Special benefits are activated for the Republic of Korea, who has achieved 1st place in the monthly rankings.]  

A miracle achieved in just one hour.  

A change in rank no one had predicted.  

[The Republic of Korea, holding 1st place in the monthly rankings, will receive a 25% increase in all random stats for one month until the rankings reset.]  

[The Republic of Korea, holding 1st place in the monthly rankings, will receive a 25% enhancement to all random traits for one month until the rankings reset.]  

[The Republic of Korea, holding 1st place in the monthly rankings, will receive a 50% increase in all rewards for one month until the rankings reset.]  

The benefits for ranking first were enormous—beyond any weekly reward.  

A 25% boost to all stats and traits, plus a 50% increase in rewards.  

Until now, the United States had monopolized this benefit.  

As they had held the top spot since the beginning of the upheaval, they alone enjoyed these benefits, which helped them climb the Tower rapidly.  

But today, after fifty years, that position was retaken.  

And by none other than the small eastern nation of the Republic of Korea, which had attracted no attention.  

Most would focus on the difficulty reduction caused by the stat and trait boosts.  

But what I aimed for, what I considered most important, was not the increase in stats or traits.  

It was the Purge Ticket in my hand.  

‘This nullifies the penalty of the Purge Ticket.’  

Unlike before, the ticket’s information had changed slightly.  

[Purge Ticket: Allows you to Purge a floor of a dungeon previously cleared with 3 stars or higher and obtain limited rewards.  

*Resources obtainable through Purge Tickets are limited to tickets.  

*The probability of obtaining tickets through Purge Tickets is fixed at 70%.]

Originally, the chance to obtain ticket-type items from a Purge Ticket was only 20%.  

Extremely low odds.  

So even if I used a Purge Ticket, the chance of coming up empty was high.  

That’s why I had avoided using Purge Tickets strategically.  

I had saved them for this moment.  

Knowing the monthly ranking benefits, I waited to use the 50% increased reward to boost my chances.  

And finally, that moment had arrived.  

“Screeech.”  

I tore the ticket.  

[Purge Ticket effect activated.]  

[Currently, Purgeable floors are 1–39.]  

[Which floor would you like to purge?]  

An effect that allowed me to Purge previously cleared floors of 3 stars or higher and obtain ticket-type items.  

I had cleared up to the 39th floor, all with 3-star ratings, making the Purge Ticket applicable.  

Originally, Purging the highest floor, the 39th, would be ideal.  

But.  

‘No.’  

Considering cost-effectiveness, the 30th floor was the best choice.  

Why?  

Currently, the 30th floor was the only place that gave the most Purge Tickets as rewards.  

Also, I had cleared it on Blood Sea difficulty, so I could obtain as many as three tickets each time.  

Of course, with only a 20% chance, I would eventually use up all tickets.  

But now it was different.  

With the 50% increased rewards for holding first place in the monthly ranking, the efficiency of Purge Tickets had risen dramatically.  

So there was no reason to hesitate.  

[Purging the 30th floor.]  

[You will receive rewards for the Blood Sea difficulty you cleared.]  

Using the Purge Ticket.  

Flash!  

Light gathered near my feet, coalescing into a single form.  

It was a bundle.  

A leather pouch commonly seen on the Gritia Continent.  

“Swoosh.”  

I untied the cord sealing the pouch.  

“Plop.”

Something dropped out.  

[Purge Ticket (2)]

[Exile Ticket (1)] 

[Shield Ticket (1)] 

[Knight Summon Ticket (Malice Greg)]

The 70% gamble paid off.  

Though calling it a gamble was hardly accurate—the odds were much higher.  

And what I gained from that gamble was no small matter.  

A total of seven tickets.  

Of course, the other tickets were valuable too, but the most notable was.  

‘Purge Ticket.’  

Using one Purge Ticket had earned me two more.  

Sure, there was a 30% chance of failure, but barring very bad luck, this was undeniably ticket duplication.  

Clearly, the Tower and its system had not anticipated clearing Blood Sea difficulty.  

Otherwise, they wouldn’t have left such a loophole enabling ticket duplication.  

But I had discovered that loophole.  

Like exploiting a currency duplication bug in a game.  

And not using this bug would be foolish.  

“Screech, screech!” 

I tore more Purge Tickets.  

What was originally only three tickets multiplied into dozens, even hundreds in no time.  

Tickets for nation attacks and defenses, which were hard to obtain for some, multiplied as if by magic.  

‘Curious.’  

Watching the ever-increasing tickets, a question arose.  

Tickets could be enhanced.  

As I’d seen before, Shield Tickets, when repeatedly enhanced, gained an effect that reflected external attacks.  

If I managed to enhance past the already rare chance, even stronger effects would be added.  

Then what about Knight Summon Tickets?  

Through repeated attempts, I had secured a fair number of Knight Summon Tickets.  

But they were mostly.  

“Knight Summon Ticket (Malice Greg)”  

“Knight Summon Ticket (Malice Greg)”  

“Knight Summon Ticket (Malice Greg)”  

Almost all the same type.  

That was likely because the knight I faced on the 30th floor was Malice Greg.  

However, the system forbade summoning multiple copies of the same Knight, meaning multiple Malice Gregs.  

[The same Knight cannot be summoned multiple times.]  

‘What if I enhance a Knight Ticket?’  

What kind of change would occur if I enhanced this ticket?  

With that question lingering.  

I attempted to enhance the Knight Ticket in my hand—the Knight Summon Ticket for Malice Greg, former head of the Malice Family.  

***

Inside the Gerald R. Ford-class Aircraft Carrier.

Colonel Clint Dempsey, captain of the Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carrier sailing along the eastern coast of the Republic of Korea.  

“How much longer must I wait?”  

He was frustrated with the sluggish current situation.  

The opponent?  

Not Russia, a Cold War rival, nor China, which was currently on the rise.  

He was forced to tread carefully with a mere small eastern country, the Republic of Korea.  

Did that make any sense?  

He knew they had won the war against Japan.  

But Japan was nothing more than a wild beast of Asia, hardly deserving to be called one of the Four Powers.  

‘New York has been reduced to ashes. To destroy this arrogant monkey is the true way to uphold American dignity,’ thought Colonel Clint Dempsey, a man with typical white supremacy views.  

The news that New York had been devastated—and by this eastern monkey—filled him with rage.  

If given orders, he intended to turn Korea into the same ruin as New York.  

And then.  

“Deployment approved.”  

At last, the order came down.  

“I’ve been waiting for this.” Colonel Clint Dempsey cheered at the decision from above.  

“From now on, let’s show those arrogant eastern monkeys the power of America!”  

“Splash!”  

The Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carrier, the strongest force, surged forward without hesitation, cutting through the waves.  

But before they could set foot in the Republic of Korea.  

“Boom!”  

A roaring sound echoed throughout the entire carrier.  

On the deck, reminiscent of an airstrip.  

Facing the harsh sea wind head-on, one figure stood resolute.  

The rune symbols engraved on his worn armor.  

“Vroom!”  

They glowed.  

His half-white hair whipped in the wind.  

With a massive greatsword planted firmly on the deck, he stared forward.  

“By my lord’s command, Malice Ahman will annihilate the enemy forces!”  

The aura of a venerable veteran radiated from him—Malice Ahman.  

The first Knight and progenitor who revived the Malice Family, he emanated hostility toward the aircraft carrier.