Shin Jungho had one reason for wanting to meet Lee Seoah.

The 63rd floor.

The new ranker of the Seoul Tower.

There was nothing to lose from being on good terms with someone like that!

Not just in Korea.

No matter where in the world one chose to live, connections were a power that could never be ignored.

He had originally wondered whether he could arrange a meeting with Lee Seoah regarding Tiamat’s Staff.

But the other side had reached out first, requesting a meeting, so there was no reason to refuse.

Especially since the person who would actually wield Tiamat’s Staff was none other than Lee Seoah herself.

Negotiating directly with the superhuman who would use the weapon was far smoother than having Han Donggeon relay messages back and forth.

Above all.

Lee Seoah was effectively the new number one of the Seoul Tower.

Given the terrifying speed at which she had been climbing, the rewards she had accumulated must have been substantial.

He had hoped to negotiate while her pockets were still full, and the meeting had been arranged at exactly the right moment.

Meeting Lee Seoah in person confirmed what he had sensed through various articles—she seemed like someone he would get along with easily.

Her personality was refreshingly straightforward, and her words carried no pretense, making conversation remarkably comfortable.

So he had thought he might be able to sell Tiamat’s Staff for a decent price.

She wasn’t offering to buy it.

Nor was she asking to rent it.

She was simply offering a Skill Enhancement Ticket as compensation for using it over the past ten days or so.

She was more……

generous than she looked, wasn’t she?

“You’re really giving me an item this precious just as a staff usage fee?”

Have you lost your mind, human?

Lee Seoah replied with an untainted, bright smile.

“It’s a weapon you treasured greatly. I know you only parted with such a precious weapon because of me.”

…Excuse me?

“You originally planned to keep operating in stealth, right? But you couldn’t stand by and watch Russia’s outrageous behavior, so you sent me such a valuable weapon. I truly don’t know how to thank you enough for what you’ve done!”

I just wanted to quickly get rid of a dead weight taking up space, you know?

“Actually, I’d like to give you more than this, but I have to challenge the top floor again in three months, so anything beyond this would be difficult. Could you at least accept this?”

This alone is more than enough, you know?

He had only been pretending to be a 60th-floor-level superhuman to hide his identity.

Just how far was this snowball going to roll?

Having already said certain things, Shin Jungho couldn’t bring himself to contradict her, so he decided to play along.

“…Thank you for understanding it that way.”

“See? I knew it! Look, Vice Vice Commissioner! I was right, wasn’t I!”

“Haha, so it seems. Anyway, please don’t feel burdened about accepting it. You’re a 60th-floor-level superhuman just like Superhuman Seoah, so wouldn’t a Skill Enhancement Ticket be exactly what you need?”

By that logic, Lee Seoah needed it just as much.

After all, she had cleared the 60th-floor boss and used that precious Item Acquisition Ticket to obtain a Skill Enhancement Ticket.

And she was going to hand that over to him?

She was generosity incarnate.

Shin Jungho praised her generosity deeply in his heart.

And with a show of reluctance, he accepted the Skill Enhancement Ticket from Lee Seoah.

Hmm.

Maybe maintaining the 60th-floor-level superhuman persona wasn’t such a bad idea?

“Oh right, I heard you obtained a Source Stone! Could I perhaps take a look at it?”

For someone who had given him a Skill Enhancement Ticket, letting her take a look was the least he could do.

“Wow! It’s so pretty! Which floor did you get this from? How many times did you have to clear it?”

It dropped on the very first try, actually.

“I got lucky.”

“Ah, I asked an awkward question, didn’t I? I’m sorry, I momentarily forgot that you’re operating in stealth.”

After that, the discussion returned to the staff.

Honestly, the Skill Enhancement Ticket more than covered the value of Tiamat’s Staff.

It was a weapon only Lee Seoah truly needed; neither he nor any other superhuman could make proper use of it.

There was exactly one person offering it and one person wanting it—so as long as the price was roughly right, what was there to bicker about and risk hurt feelings?

“Just give me whatever seems fair.”

I’m already more than satisfied with the Skill Enhancement Ticket.

“Do you really not need the staff?”

“I have a separate main weapon.”

Though that “weapon” was a person, not equipment.

“Ah, is that so! I was worried about what would happen if I broke it again while using it, so I’m relieved to hear you have a separate main weapon!”

The rental fee for Tiamat’s Staff was set at 3 billion won per month.

A 60th-floor-level superhuman climbing diligently for a month could earn 3 billion won on a bad month, and over 10 billion when loot luck was on their side.

In other words, she was essentially offering to hand over more than half of her monthly earnings every month……

Was this really okay?

His modest citizen’s economic sensibilities were crumbling to pieces.

Well……

The other party wanted it that way……

And the more money he had, the better, right?

Once the discussion was more or less wrapped up, he asked about something he had been curious about.

“If you don’t mind me asking, could you tell me how you’ve been clearing the tower so far?”

He knew that Lee Seoah had been on a record-breaking clear streak.

But he was genuinely curious whether simply changing weapons could make that much of a difference.

“Of course! Shall I start from the 50th floor?”

Lee Seoah shared her clearing strategies without hiding a thing.

And only then was Shin Jungho able to solve one of the mysteries that had been eluding him.

The 50th-floor boss floor.

The Skill Acquisition Ticket obtained from clearing it.

From it, she had obtained a skill that countered monsters in the 50th-floor range.

And that was what had enabled her high-speed ascent through the 50th floor as well.

Sure enough.

It all came down to skill power for superhumans, didn’t it?

And if anyone could vouch for that.

He could guarantee it with full confidence!

They got along better than expected, and time flew by.

“Superhuman Seoah, I think it’s time we should be going.”

“Ah, it’s already gotten this late! I’m sorry, I must have gotten carried away talking since it’s rare to meet another 60th-floor-level superhuman.”

…Should he really climb to the 60th floor soon?

“I heard some good stories too. I’d love to chat again sometime, if you’re open to it.”

“Oh! I was thinking the same thing! Then could we exchange numbers for the future?”

Wow.

Being a superhuman really did pay off.

The Superhuman Management Agency’s poster girl and current number one ranker of the Seoul Tower was asking for his contact information first.

“Of course.”

After finishing his business with Lee Seoah, it was Han Donggeon’s turn.

“Here is the Monster Lure Scroll you requested.”

True to its name, it was an item that lured monsters.

When the scroll was used, monsters would prioritize attacking the scroll.

And once the scroll was damaged, its effect vanished instantly.

It might seem like an unnecessary item for superhumans who were too busy fleeing from monsters.

But it was actually quite popular, rivaling even the Return Ticket in demand.

Walking around with a Monster Lure Scroll active was a novel form of suicide, of course.

But one could use the scroll by firing it attached to an arrow.

Or attach it to a remote location and then strike at the monsters from behind.

However, once a monster was attacked, the lure effect would break.

And there was the restriction that it only worked on monsters below the 40th floor.

In any case, the foundation for challenging the 31st floor was now in place.

Doing business with the Superhuman Management Agency was certainly a great help when it came to acquiring special items like this.

And so ended his second meeting with the Superhuman Management Agency.

What he sold this time was about 200 Magic Stones in total.

That came to 11 boxes, but with three people carrying them, loading was finished in no time.

“Let me carry more! I can handle more!”

Because Lee Seoah alone was carrying a whopping four boxes at a time.

With Shin Jungho and Han Donggeon each carrying one box, they managed to load everything in just two trips.

Watching Lee Seoah, Han Donggeon found himself seriously wondering whether he should ask her to be his assistant going forward.

* * *

About two weeks had passed since he broke through the 30th floor.

During that time, he had been experimenting with the Meteor Summoning skill in various ways, trying to figure out how to take down the griffins on the 31st floor and earn an Amazing Achievement.

The newly unlocked galaxy, Copios Crumble.

This one also had strong random tendencies, so it didn’t always produce the desired result—which was the problem.

Fortunately, he had managed to obtain an item through the Superhuman Management Agency that would solve this.

[Monster Lure Scroll]

– Lures monsters below the 40th floor.

– The lure effect disappears instantly if the scroll is damaged.

He planned to use this to achieve an Amazing Achievement on the 31st floor, no matter what.

“Lea, don’t push yourself too hard.”

“If I can lay down my life for my Lord, there would be no greater honor!”

The key to this operation was Lea’s role.

She would draw the aggro of every griffin in the center of the battlefield.

Then, after using Summon Release, he would immediately rain meteors down on them.

“Maya, are you ready too?”

“I shall do my utmost to fulfill Your Highness’s grand vision.”

Good.

All preparations were complete.

Now all that remained was execution!

Spapat!

[You have entered the 31st floor of Tower 25.]

= Objective: Defeat 30 Griffins.

= Time Limit: 4:00:00

# Remaining Monsters: Griffin (30)

# First Clear Reward: 31 Magic Stones

# Amazing Achievement Condition: First attempt, clear within 20 minutes

# Amazing Achievement Reward: 1 Random Box

# Bonus Reward Obtained: Summon Limit Break Ticket (Bound) x1

A bonus reward had been drawn.

And a highly desirable one at that!

The Summon Limit Break Ticket was exactly what broke through the growth ceiling of a Summoned Beast when its development had stalled.

Using it wouldn’t immediately make the summoned beast stronger, but it would shatter the glass ceiling that had been blocking it, opening the path for further growth.

He had already been planning to clear the 31st floor anyway.

But seeing the bonus reward made his motivation surge even higher.

“Lea!”

Shin Jungho activated the Monster Lure Scroll and handed it to Lea.

“I’m off!”

Lea tucked the scroll against her chest and dashed forward like the wind.

“Maya, provide support too!”

“Understood.”

Maya too mounted her wooden staff and quickly chased after Lea.

The 30th-floor range where griffins appeared was a vast wasteland.

Not a single tree in sight—just a barren terrain with sparse patches of weed-like grass.

Unlike the slime section, there were no collapsed building ruins.

But countless rocks of various sizes littered the ground, so even here, dropping a Megastrum meteor would likely send debris flying right at them—a proper meteor show up close.

Not that he had any intention of doing that without Lea, of course.

{Lea! You need to go deeper!}

Having Telepathy certainly made communication much easier.

Though he couldn’t hear her responses, there was no real inconvenience in commanding her while watching the map.

A moment later, Lea encountered a griffin for the first time.

The distance was so great that it only looked like two dots briefly coming together and then separating.

Would enhancing the Quest Insight skill let him observe the battlefield more clearly?

The standard approach to clearing griffins was to pull them one at a time from a distance.

Griffins had a very long aggro range and weren’t the type to stay still, so during combat, two or three would often get tangled up together.

But right now, Lea was running with the Monster Lure Scroll tucked against her chest, so from the very start, the surrounding griffins charged at her in a frenzy.

{Go a little deeper!}

It seemed like nearly all 30 griffins had already gathered, but they were too close to his position.

The Meteor Summoning he planned to use this time had a very wide area of effect, so it was crucial to be as far away as possible.

Still, seeing Lea moving at high speed, she seemed to be safe for now.

In fact.

# Remaining Monsters: Griffin (28)

Even while being simultaneously attacked by a dozen or so griffins, she had managed to take some of them down.

{That’s enough! Just hold out a little longer there!}

She had created enough distance.

The problem was that while the griffins were drawn to the lure scroll, they weren’t the type to stay still, so they were still spread out widely around Lea.

Every time a griffin plummeted from the sky like lightning, his heart clenched.

But Maya was nearby and had agreed to send a signal if things got truly dire, so he had to consider the situation still manageable.

# Remaining Monsters: Griffin (27)

Lea had taken down another one in the meantime.

It would be wonderful if Lea could handle the rest on her own, but nearly five minutes had already passed.

An hour would be one thing, but 20 minutes was too much for Lea alone.

But deploying Maya as well carried too much uncertainty.

He watched the map intently, and finally, a formation emerged where the griffins were clustered together.

{Maya! I’m going!}

Shin Jungho signaled Maya and immediately activated the Meteor Summoning skill.

Guoooo-

Three galaxies unfolded in his mental world.

His choice this time was, naturally, Copios Crumble.

Entering Copios Crumble, the vast cosmos he had seen countless times before spread out before him.

Unlike Alpha Core, he couldn’t distinguish the sizes of the lights here.

He simply had to leave it to luck and hope the right size would be selected.

Please.

Let’s get it done in one shot!

Without wasting any time, Shin Jungho immediately selected a meteor cluster.

Far above in the sky, a massive black hole tore open.

And from within it, ‘meteors’—plural—began to pour down.

Like countless shooting stars raining down from the heavens!

Copios Crumble, newly unlocked after enhancing the Meteor Summoning skill.

It was not a single massive meteor.

But dozens of smaller meteors.

Hundreds.

Perhaps even thousands, tens of thousands.

A galaxy of a vast meteor shower, summoning them all at once.