<The Tower of the Namhan Man: Strategy Guide 23>
Nam Ga-eun commuted to the Awakening Management Bureau every day.
To use the gym facility within the bureau.
Her pre-tower climbing routine consisted of strength training.
“Hup!”
She began with a casual 100kg deadlift.
“Woooh!!!”
Player levels alone couldn’t be relied upon.
A robust physical foundation was essential to maximize level-based enhancements within the tower.
She also needed to practice sword techniques outdoors.
Her class specialization was swordsmanship.
While Yoo Cheol-min possessed the All-Weapon Mastery trait, she could only wield swords.
Still, through trait enhancement, her sword-based skills had become remarkably versatile.
Clang!
Setting down the barbell,
“Phew,”
She was currently tackling the 62nd floor.
A mentally exhausting stage requiring constant combat against undead.
The 62nd floor spawned dark zombies.
Their Dark Aura eroded players with corrupting shadow energy.
Magic movement became restricted, physical strength diminished, mental fortitude crumbled into lethargy, and even suicidal urges emerged.
Dark Aura.
Surviving this was mandatory to clear the undead section... and it was far from simple.
Particularly for melee classes forced into close-quarters combat.
But Nam Ga-eun refused to quit.
If she faltered here, she’d never have become a player to begin with.
Steeling herself, she chugged protein shake from her tumbler.
‘Shower time?’
A thorough wash was needed before reattempting the 62nd floor.
As she moved toward the showers, sweat-drenched,
“Hm?”
Something felt chaotic.
Footsteps and shouts echoed nearby.
“What’s happening?”
In the hallway, bureau staff scrambled like panicked ghosts.
A fire?
‘But no alarms sounded.’
Spotting a familiar female colleague:
“Unnie!”
Nam Ga-eun’s extroverted nature made her universally liked at the bureau.
Manager Lee Min-ah was no exception.
“Unnie! Unnie!”
“...Oh? Ga-eun. Sorry, I’m swamped.”
“That’s why I’m asking! Did something happen?”
Lee Min-ah averted her eyes, hesitating.
“Well, you see...”
“Can’t tell me? After all we’ve shared?”
“...”
“Now I’m doubly curious.”
“You’ll find out soon enough anyway.”
“Tell me now. I’m Nam Ga-eun—the bureau’s elite Player Plan B!”
Sigh
Lee Min-ah exhaled deeply before confessing:
“Yoo Cheol-min’s gone missing.”
“What? Why? Did he... die in the tower?”
“No. Vanished. Disappeared alone at a club last night. No contact since.”
Alone?
The elite team’s star player had entire squads of close and long-range guards.
“You think he drunkenly entered the tower from the club?”
Lee Min-ah shook her head.
“Impossible. There’s more.”
“Hmm... Spill it, unnie. You know something.”
Sigh
“Truth is...”
As Manager Lee explained, Nam Ga-eun’s eyes bulged.
“That traitorous bastard!”
With under three months until the 66th floor deadline, this was catastrophic.
※ ※ ※
The bureau erupted into chaos.
Yoo Cheol-min’s disappearance last night wasn’t accidental—it was planned.
How did they know?
The venue was his regular Seoul club in Nonhyeon-dong.
Though crowded, security hadn’t suspected anything—until he vanished mid-party.
From his VIP lounge where he’d been drinking with entourage...
He’d ghosted. Literally.
Club CCTV revealed everything.
“A disguise?”
“Yes. Changed clothes, glasses, wig. Hard to spot in dim lighting, but here...”
“Goddammit!”
Clearer footage showed Yoo Cheol-min—disguised—exiting via back door with escorts.
Body language confirmed it:
No coercion.
He strode ahead, grinning confidently.
“Voluntary departure.”
“Appears so.”
“Worst-case scenario.”
Kidnapping would’ve been preferable.
Bureau Chief Park Kyung-soo growled at Jeon Gwang-il:
“NIS’s response?”
The National Intelligence Service handled Yoo Cheol-min’s security.
“They’re speechless...”
“Excuses won’t find him! Mobilize every resource!”
“Sir... it’s not just him.”
“Who else?”
Jeon Gwang-il hesitated.
“His entire family disappeared. Their police guards were tasered, beaten, and zip-tied on a rooftop. Hospitalized now.”
“Pathetic.”
Chief Park scoffed.
“This is our NIS and police?”
Yoo Cheol-min’s willing disappearance.
Missing family. Neutralized guards.
‘This can’t be...’
Bzzzt!
Jeon Gwang-il’s phone rang.
“NIS calling.”
“Answer.”
The conversation drained Jeon’s complexion.
“Confirmed?... Understood.”
Hanging up:
“Japan.”
“...What?”
“Yoo Cheol-min’s family boarded a smuggling ship to Tsushima at dawn. Likely...”
Jeon grimaced before finishing:
“...seeking naturalization.”
“GODDAMMIT!!!”
The bomb detonated.
A national crisis surpassing war.
“He defected to Japan?”
“Probably lost confidence in clearing our 66th floor. Japan’s tower starts at floor 57.”
Makes sense.
Japan’s Black Tower.
Clearing one floor every six months bought 4.5 years of leisure.
“That Judas!”
They’d sacrificed so much for him—
Begged allies for light-attribute items, traded 66th-floor strategies with America.
All wasted.
Naturalization would shift his affiliation.
The Black Tower’s rules were absolute:
[Affiliation]: Black Tower (RUSSIA)
When towers first emerged, players noticed their status screens’ nationality tags.
Why countries?
Soon understood:
Only a nation’s citizens could enter its tower.
Koreans to Korea’s, Americans to USA’s.
Change citizenship?
[Affiliation]: Black Tower (USA)
The affiliation in the status window will change.
No matter where the player is located—whether in Russia, Europe, or Africa—entering a tower will always place them in the tower corresponding to their status window nationality.
And soon, Yoo Cheol-min’s status window will also change...
[Name]: Yoo Cheol-min
[Affiliation]: Black Tower (Japan)
[Level]: 66LV
This is how it will change.
To grasp the magnitude of this, imagine a world-class Korean soccer striker—a national team player and EPL top scorer—defecting to Japan right before a World Cup qualifier against Korea.
“First, assemble all elite team players. Some might’ve followed Yoo Cheol-min to Japan.”
※ ※ ※
The Prime Minister’s Residence in Tokyo, Japan.
Reporters packed the venue.
The pre-announced press conference for Yoo Cheol-min’s nationality switch.
The process could’ve been discreet—poaching another country’s player isn’t exactly honorable.
Not something to trumpet domestically or globally as an achievement.
Yet the Japanese government boldly publicized it.
They craved the spectacle of Korea’s meltdown.
Chaos, blame games, power struggles—how entertaining!
Yoo Cheol-min finally entered the press room.
With rehearsed composure:
“Today, I, Yoo Cheol-min, leave Korea to compete as a Japanese player. In this regard—”
Clickclickclickclick!
Camera flashes erupted.
So did Korea’s media and public outrage.
※ ※ ※
Joo-hyuk grinded through the 28th-floor repeat mission.
“Go, Algobang.”
Kossak pointed at a tree.
“UOOOOOH!!!”
The barbarian warrior Gobang headbutted the trunk with a roar.
KOOONG!
The tree shook wildly, mirroring Joo-hyuk’s restless heart.
“Mind your head. Chestnuts are falling.”
Guarded by Kossak, Joo-hyuk charged at the fallen “chestnuts”—jungle trolls.
“Thunderfall Strike!”
BOOM!
ZZZZT!
Five lightning branches split the air.
Again!
BOOM!
He interspersed Thunder Pursuit skill casts.
Jungle trolls, being tree-dwellers, were small but agile.
Who knew they’d ever fall from their perches?
This mission barely qualified as a challenge.
“Wow! That tingling satisfaction!”
Kossak rubbed his hands, bowing obsequiously.
“Hehehe, satisfied?”
“Feels like my inner alpha’s waking up. Refreshing.”
“Tsk! Don’t overdo the machismo. Restrain yourself.”
“Really? Hahaha!”
“Hehehe.”
With no S++ rank possible in repeat missions, they paced themselves—clear a tree, rest for mana, repeat.
[28th-floor mission completed.]
[Reward: 2.8kg Magic Stone]
Only magic stones ever dropped here.
30kg collected so far—15 million won earned.
‘What to do with the cash?’
Buy land.
Buy buildings.
Retire early and live lazy.
“Let’s feast tonight!”
Kossak shook his head vigorously.
“No need for lavish dinners.”
“Why?”
“That pig Gobang devours too much.”
“C’mon, he worked hard headbutting trees.”
“That’s his damn job! Always whining for sympathy—see those puppy-dog eyes? How dare he guilt-trip Ssusal?!”
Gobang mumbled defensively:
“I eat modestly. Very little.”
“Bullshit! You inhale whole pizzas like they’re Oreos!”
Joo-hyuk intervened:
“Easy. However much he eats, my wallet can handle—”
Ding!
A phone notification.
Expecting spam, Joo-hyuk glanced—then froze.
“...Huh?!”
Kossak jumped.
“You startled me! What?!”
Joo-hyuk showed his screen:
“Elite team emergency meeting today? Seriously?!”
Mandatory attendance. 150 participants.
“Ugh, I hate speeches in crowds...”
“Any escape?”
They brainstormed:
“Fake illness?”
“No exceptions allowed.”
“Set off the fire alarm?”
“Are you insane?! A summoned being arsonist?!”
Bzzzt!
A call interrupted them.
“Hello?”
“Jeon Gwang-il here. Skip the meeting.”
Relief washed over Joo-hyuk—no pyrotechnics needed.
“Meet me privately instead. Serious matter.”
En route to the Management Bureau, Joo-hyuk pondered selling his magic stones.
Click.
He turned on the TV.
Breaking news flooded every channel.
“...Huh?!”
Real footage—not a prank.
Yoo Cheol-min had defected to Japan.
“That traitorous pus-bag!”
Even Joo-hyuk’s “hardened man” persona recoiled.
“Backstabbing spineless worm!”
Should he send Kossak to teach him respect?
Make him regret disrespecting Ssusal’s ribbon?
