Prestige War Cafe.

Though known to the public as a private membership-based cafe.

In truth, wasn’t this place something like a secret base frequented by the power players who ruled Seoul…?

The thought lingered in Shin Jungho’s mind.

Just look at the faces gathered in this cafe.

First, the three who could be called Seoul’s new Three Emperors: Lee Seoah, Park Soyul, and Yoon Changdae.

Then, Han Donggeon, the Vice Vice Commissioner and second-in-command of the Superhuman Management Agency.

And finally, Bae Seunghoon, the Presidential Chief of Staff.

This was a gathering of figures who looked as though they should be deliberating matters of national security, all seated together to conduct a meeting…

So what on earth was he doing here?

Interestingly enough.

“Is it acceptable for this person to hear the contents of our meeting?”

When Chief of Staff Bae Seunghoon had posed that question in his direction.

“If that’s a problem, I’ll excuse myself.”

“I share the same opinion as Soyul unni—rather, Ms. Park Soyul.”

“Kuhaha, the man knows how to keep a secret, so there’s nothing to worry about. And for the record, if he steps out, I won’t be participating in this meeting either.”

“Without the Seoul rankers… wouldn’t the meeting itself be unable to proceed?”

All four people aside from Bae Seunghoon had actively supported his participation in the meeting.

Hah… Now he’d stamped his mark even on government officials.

Then again, they’d said the cafe was created for precisely that purpose, so perhaps it was serving its intended function after all?

And when he served Bae Seunghoon a coffee, the remark the man let slip after taking a single sip was something else entirely.

“Mmm… perhaps this is acceptable…”

Excuse me?

What did coffee have to do with sitting in on a meeting?

What made even less sense was that while he himself couldn’t fathom the reasoning, the other four were nodding thoughtfully and signaling their agreement with Bae Seunghoon’s words.

…Was this how differently the wealthy and powerful thought from ordinary people?

In any case, the meeting of five people plus one observer began in earnest.

There was a single agenda item.

Would they attempt to clear the 63rd floor of Seoul Tower?

The Grace of Evasion was already active, and now the Blessing of Growth had been triggered on top of it.

The rationale was that farming diligently on the highest possible floors during such a golden opportunity would help solidify Seoul Tower’s future standing.

Han Donggeon opened the proceedings as the meeting’s facilitator.

“As you are all aware, the higher you climb in the Tower, the significantly greater the clear rewards become. Source Stones alone, for instance, don’t appear until you reach the mid-60s rather than the early 60s. Therefore, with both blessings active simultaneously, now is precisely the moment to rake in items from the uppermost floors.”

Bae Seunghoon raised a counterargument.

“Are we not all familiar with the situation at the New York Tower, the only one in the world to have ascended to the 70th-floor range? They’ve been unable to manage it alone, forced to borrow national-level weapons and armor from neighboring countries each time.”

Han Donggeon pressed his case.

“That is precisely why farming is necessary. If national-level weapons such as the United Kingdom’s Excalibur, Greece’s Aegis Shield, or India’s Karna’s Armor were to emerge from the Seoul Tower, wouldn’t the benefits be truly immense?”

Bae Seunghoon seemed to imagine such a future for a moment before tilting his head in doubt.

“I acknowledge the Blessing of Growth as well, but whether its effects can reach that far is questionable. Government policy cannot be overturned as easily as flipping a fried egg.”

Han Donggeon nodded.

“I understand your position. However, the Grace of Evasion has only about a month remaining, which means we must continue our progression regardless. Furthermore, Chief of Staff Bae, you are well aware of the details regarding the Superhuman Management Agency’s trade of Affiliation Change Tickets with the United States. The United States is also hoping for Seoul Tower’s upper-floor progression. Rather than withholding cooperation and drawing their criticism, wouldn’t it be more beneficial for the government to have them owe us a favor at this opportunity?”

The debate between the two continued for some time.

Still, the momentum seemed to be shifting toward beginning the 63rd-floor progression.

Only then did Han Donggeon turn to ask the superhumans for their input.

“What are your thoughts, everyone?”

If the restriction on the 63rd floor had been lifted, only for the very superhumans who would be climbing it to feel hesitant, there could be no more awkward situation than that.

This wasn’t a matter of steadily clearing one floor per month—it was a high-speed ascent.

Even for rankers, it could amount to a considerable burden.

Above all, having only Lee Seoah from the Superhuman Management Agency climb would be problematic as well.

At least three rankers needed to hold the uppermost floors—both for appearances and for genuine peace of mind.

Park Soyul was the first of the three rankers to speak.

The problem was that she posed a question rather than an answer.

And directed it at none other than Shin Jungho.

“Jungho! What do you think would be the best approach?”

At Park Soyul’s beaming question, the attention of the other four snapped toward him at once.

Three with curious eyes.

One with a bewildered expression, wondering what was going on.

Shin Jungho was initially somewhat flustered, but…

If anything, he welcomed it.

He’d been thinking it would be better to push through at least the 70th floor himself.

That way, he could crack open more Random Boxes.

That way, he could farm more Source Stones.

Or at the very least, if other superhumans obtained them, he could trade for them.

Shin Jungho walked right up to the table where the five were gathered and stood before them with confidence.

Then, addressing the influential figures of Seoul and Korea who looked up at him, he asked:

“May I share my opinion?”

Lee Seoah and Han Donggeon were naturally on board.

After all, he was essentially a ranker of the 60th-floor tier himself, so his participation in the meeting was not strange in the least.

He was simply a stealth superhuman whose identity they were keeping hidden.

Park Soyul, who had posed the question, responded with an amused smile as a matter of course.

She’d asked out of curiosity about how he’d react, but to think he’d step forward this boldly?

Truly, this man Shin Jungho shattered her expectations every single time.

In the best possible way, of course.

Yoon Changdae, also aware of Jungho’s identity, was always ready to listen.

Lastly, Bae Seunghoon felt the most bewildered in this situation.

Wait—a mere barista was about to voice his opinion at a meeting discussing matters of national importance?

Yet the sight of him standing before Seoul’s three top superhumans and even the Presidential Chief of Staff himself without a shred of intimidation left quite a strong impression.

Interesting.

What on earth was he about to say?

Driven by pure curiosity, he responded on behalf of the group.

“Yes, would you please go ahead and share?”

As if he had been waiting for that very response, Shin Jungho gave a light nod and stated his opinion.

“I believe we should climb.”

…That’s it?

After all that anticipation, the content was utterly disappointing.

But hadn’t someone once said you should listen to the very end of what a person says?

As if reading Bae Seunghoon’s mind, Shin Jungho added one more line.

“When you consider Mirinae.”

It was a loaded statement.

Why on earth would he bring up Mirinae, whose identity remained unknown to anyone, in this situation?

“Could we hear a more detailed explanation?”

Shin Jungho answered calmly.

“Mirinae has currently completed climbing up to the 55th floor. He will reach the 63rd floor before long.”

“…And?”

“If Mirinae were to violate the government’s prohibition order and clear the 63rd floor anyway, how would the government respond?”

Bae Seunghoon’s pupils dilated sharply.

Mirinae, whose identity no one knew.

And he was asking what they’d do if Mirinae defied the government’s prohibition?

By principle, they would have to designate him a criminal, condemn him publicly, and take him into custody.

But the moment they did such a thing.

Seoul Tower would.

Korea would.

Lose Mirinae—that rising star, no, that sun.

If Mirinae expressed a desire to leave, whether to the United States, Japan, the United Kingdom, or anywhere else.

Everyone would welcome him with open arms.

Of course, whether Mirinae would actually defy the prohibition or not was anyone’s guess, especially given that no information about Mirinae had been disclosed yet.

If Mirinae recklessly charged through the 70th floor all on his own, it would essentially mean the birth of a new Swordmaster Kim Taemin.

And if that were possible, it would be remarkable in its own right.

Even Kim Taemin had struggled to clear the 60th-floor range alone and had required the assistance of Park Soyul and Yoon Changdae, yet this implied Mirinae could climb relentlessly on his own.

It was a point that struck at the very heart of the current discussion.

Bae Seunghoon had been planning to engage in some diplomatic tug-of-war and gradually concede…

To think his position would be sunk in a single blow like this.

If he wanted to argue, he certainly had more points to make.

But right now, they were solidifying a cooperative framework—if anything, this was hardly the time to sharpen blades against one another.

Above all.

Such flimsy excuses were unlikely to work on a man like Shin Jungho anyway.

Bae Seunghoon offered a bitter smile and surrendered.

“I see. So there was a reason the coffee tasted exceptional after all.”

He’d managed to draw the desired reaction from the government official, but.

Shin Jungho still couldn’t understand how the taste of coffee was connected to the current situation.

Had Park Soyul slipped some kind of drug into the coffee?

…Nah, surely not.

It was around the time the meeting was leaning toward lifting the prohibition order.

Bae Seunghoon checked an urgent report that had just come in and let out a wry smile.

“Everyone, I suggest you all watch the TV news right now.”

When they turned on the cafe’s large TV and tuned it to the news channel, they immediately understood what had prompted Bae Seunghoon’s reaction.

“— India’s Kolkata Tower has reportedly completed the 70th-floor clear? What is the current situation in India?”

“— Yes, following New York, Kolkata has become the second in the world to clear the 70th floor, and the city is currently swept up in a festive atmosphere. What’s remarkable is what the Indian government has officially disclosed regarding what changes upon breaking through the 70th floor, the Intermediate Zone. Namely, starting from the 71st floor, Source Stones can be used to delay a tower’s Collapse Deadline by 30 days. Accordingly, the Indian government has announced they will purchase Source Stones from anyone at 100 billion won per stone.”

Source Stones… had that kind of ability?

He’d assumed that since their mana content was at least 10,000 times greater than Magic Stones, they would only be worth about 10 billion won in terms of price.

Yet India had already called 100 billion won per stone.

Moreover, other nations were expected to break through the 70th floor before long, which meant the competition to buy Source Stones would only intensify.

…This was no time to be playing around in the 50th-floor range.

Bae Seunghoon turned to the superhumans, who each wore stunned expressions, and cheered them on.

“The government is placing its trust in you all! I earnestly urge you to begin your high-floor ascent and mine as many Source Stones as possible! Fighting!”

As expected.

It was a swift about-face befitting a Presidential Chief of Staff.

* * *

A new directive had been set.

For himself.

And for Mirinae.

It was time to resume the high-speed ascent and rejoin the Seoul rankers!

…Though he’d been planning to do exactly that anyway.

And so, he challenged the 56th floor.

Once again, he and Clara set out to find runes, while Maya and Lea surveyed the battlefield and took on the task of clearing nearby monsters.

Vines, wooden pillars, boulders—whatever obstructed the sealed rune rocks posed no hindrance to Clara whatsoever.

Kwaang!

Hwarureuk!

Huaaaang!

She only fell behind Lea and Maya in terms of instantaneous destructive power.

Clara’s combat prowess was nothing to scoff at either.

…She just consumed that much more Magic Stone, that’s all.

Seusyasyasyasyasyasyasyasyasyasyasyasya-

Tiring-!

Rune seal unsealing—cleared in a single attempt.

He’d tried it a few times himself on the 52nd and 53rd floors, but quickly declared surrender, convinced it would be harder than proving E=mc².

Indeed, a person should focus on what they do best.

And what was it that he did best, you ask?

Meteor Summoning, of course.

Kwaaaaaaang!

Clean and simple, like this.

56th-floor clear—complete!

[Notice: Mirinae has cleared the 56th floor of Tower 25 in the shortest time.]

[Amazing Achievement accomplished!]

[As a special reward for the Amazing Achievement, 1 Random Box has been provided.]

“My Lord! It is now time for your golden hands to work their magic!”

“It seems the loot fortune of the entire universe is converging upon Your Highness at this moment.”

“Pull something good, Boss! Uh… huh? W-wait, am I not even allowed to cheer?”

Gathering the earnest energy of all three.

Peong!

[Acquired 1 Source Stone.]

Yes!

This was justice!

A reward worth a staggering 100 billion won had popped out.

“As expected! The Random Box is a divine artifact meant for my Lord alone!”

“Ah, Your Highness’s supreme virtue has finally begun to shine!”

“…This actually works?”

Shin Jungho smiled with satisfaction, pocketed the Source Stone, and headed for the Dimensional Room.

The Spring of Life.

This time, I’ve chosen you!