Someone asks.
– What kind of person is the Master?
Who am I?
The man who made the President of the United States use the metric system—
…Well, that might be an exaggeration. It’d be more accurate to just say that I’m an EX-rank Awakened and a Summoner.
When I first heard that President Luigi casually used metric units in private conversations as a joke, I nearly spit out my drink.
At the same time, I was once again reminded of my own standing.
Maybe it’s because I personally cleared an S-rank Tower, standing face-to-face with its boss.
Or maybe it’s because I take some pride in having led the Panama Canal campaign without losing a single Hunter and bringing them all back alive.
…At the very least, there’s one thing I’ve made clear to the world.
“How does it feel to have transcended the laws of physics?”
“I think the goddess would know better than I do.”
Just as Kiharu, moving the mouse with their cat-like body while auto-farming in a game, had pointed out—people all over the world were coming up with their own theories about my abilities.
Summoning entities from inside a game.
By now, anyone in the know was already aware. It was an open secret.
Because of this, strange incidents began to happen.
In Korea, Blue Lightning—an S-rank Awakened—visited NPia Corporation and took pictures while playing the game himself.
In China, a government official personally visited a game company in Shanghai to deliver a plaque of appreciation.
But not everyone was thrilled about it.
Some found it deeply unsettling.
They saw the summoned beings acting like my subordinates, moving under my command.
Some even started bizarre rumors, claiming things like, “Master and his summoned servants must be inside Illinois, supplying it with mana.”
I had no intention of responding to them.
There were too many complex issues at play. Rather than waste my time addressing every conspiracy theory, I focused on clearing more S-rank Towers, proving my worth through action.
– Elaine live stream, please!!
For these kinds of people… I simply pretended not to notice.
And then, news broke that I had reverse-summoned Illinois from Panama and instantly re-summoned it to Crater Lake National Park.
– Damn, I want an ability like that.
It wasn’t just gamers who envied me.
Gamers were just fascinated by the idea that in-game entities had appeared in real life.
But some Hunters took it much harder, feeling genuine despair and frustration.
But what could I do?
I had awakened as EX-rank.
If anyone wanted to argue that I just got lucky, I’d simply tell them, “At the very least, I’m using my luck to protect humanity.”
“Partner.”
“Yeah?”
“Are you feeling overwhelmed by all this?”
“I was a little uneasy at first. But after seeing the dark web through Drei, my sense of reality pretty much disintegrated.”
I understood Kiharu’s concern, but I had already stared too deeply into the abyss.
“Didn’t the Goddess feel the same way? Seeing the limitless malice of humanity?”
“Unlike you, I observed from a distance. But you are still human, are you not?”
“Exactly. And because I’m human, I can accept the jealousy and resentment toward an EX-rank Awakened like me. I can let it go.”
To be precise, I had far more pressing matters to worry about than petty envy.
“So, I want to use the ‘Wish Authority’ for something other than drawing attention or showing off. I want to use it to erase the darkness that lurks within this world.”
Just to be clear.
“Kiharu. According to the records on the wiki, which Tower started collapsing first?”
“Panama Canal. By just a hair.”
“…I see.”
I won the bet.
I couldn’t shake the feeling that Elaine and Drei had deliberately held back the final blow so I could be the one to clear the Panama Canal Tower first.
But regardless, they told me that they would grant any wish I desired.
“This is how I want to use the Wish Authority.”
I explained my vision to Kiharu.
Kiharu let out a quiet laugh and moved the mouse.
“You know, someone might say you wasted your greatest opportunity.”
“I know. But if the right opportunity ever comes, I want to take it as a person—not because of some wish-granting ability.”
Some might call it a warped belief.
But at the very least, I had no intention of treating my summoned beings as mere tools.
“That goes for you too.”
“Wow. At this rate, are you planning to settle down in the Middle East?”
“…If I clear every S-rank Tower, I might as well propose a new law in the U.S.”
For example—
“A law stating that for every S-rank Tower cleared, polygamy is no longer illegal.”
“Huhuhu. Has this been discussed already?”
“No, not yet. I’m only telling you for now. First, we need to handle this problem.”
Click.
I tapped the keyboard, launching a special program that Drei had created just for me.
“Problem Solver Meta.”
* * *
[At that moment, in a public elementary school in Pennsylvania…]
“Teacher, will Master come visit us too?”
“Hmm. I suppose that depends on what the government decides.”
An elementary school in the United States.
Instead of focusing on their lesson, the students were glued to the government’s official YouTube channel, where a newly uploaded video was playing.
“Wow!!”
“The ship is sliding sideways!!”
It was the Illinois’ Panama Canal Raid.
Footage from drones and Hunters’ body cams had been swiftly edited and released to the public, shocking audiences worldwide.
“Teacher! How can a battleship go down a waterfall like that?!”
“It’s the power of magic.”
“Wow! Magic! That’s amazing!”
The children cheered at the mention of magic, while the teachers could only let out hollow laughs, feeling as if everything they had learned about physics and common sense was crumbling before their eyes.
Gravity should have been pulling everything downward. And yet, the battleship was gliding sideways along the surface as if it were perfectly natural.
[Aaaaargh!]
[Damn it! Shoot down the ghosts!!]
If just watching the footage was this shocking, how must it have felt for those who actually experienced it firsthand?
Though most of the Hunters shown in the footage had operated in the Western United States rather than the East or Midwest, their reactions inside the Panama Canal S-rank Tower spoke volumes.
Everyone watching, whether outside observers or those fighting within, could feel the sheer intensity of the battle.
“Wow! Drift!”
Even if an ordinary S-rank Hunter party had gone in, would they have been able to clear the dungeon?
Not only had they managed to pinpoint the teleportation formation leading to the next battlefield, but during the boss battle, they continuously bombarded the enemy with long-range artillery strikes, preventing it from retaliating.
“If it weren’t for Illinois, the Panama Canal Tower would still be standing, right?”
“Of course. That thing, Cleone, was flying freely through the air—who else but Illinois could have taken it down?”
Even the young children watching TV understood.
Without Master’s Illinois, not only would the Tower have remained, but clearing it might have been impossible altogether.
Regardless, the Tower had been conquered.
The United States had taken another step toward safety.
Even if two S-rank Towers in the Western United States had already been cleared—
“Alright, everyone, let’s get back to our books—”
BOOOOM!
Before the teacher could even finish speaking, a massive explosion erupted.
“LOCKDOWN!!!”
Instinctively, the children ducked under their desks, while the teacher, despite staggering from the shockwave, rushed to lock the door and pull down the window blinds.
“W-What…?”
Screams echoed from the hallway.
Some of the children, gasping in panic, clenched their fists as they realized the severity of the situation.
The teacher quickly made the sign of the cross before darting toward the window, peeking through the blinds.
“!!”
And that’s when they saw it.
This wasn’t some ordinary news headline situation.
This was something straight out of the Tower Era’s darkest nightmares.
“B-Break!!”
Even from the elementary school, they could see the Tower.
It wasn’t an S-rank Tower, but an A-rank Tower, looming over an industrial complex, was shaking violently.
And something was spilling out of it.
Kkaaaaaaah!!
Dozens of monstrosities.
Grotesque creatures with jet-black hair, elongated limbs, and spider-like movements, their twisted bodies measuring several meters in height, began crawling out of the Tower and plummeting toward the ground.
“A-Ah…”
The teacher felt despair sink in.
If this were an active shooter, Hunters would have intervened quickly.
But a Tower Break?
Only Hunters could stop the beasts pouring out.
And right now, there were no Hunters in Pennsylvania strong enough to stop them.
Even if an S-rank Hunter from Washington was dispatched, how long would it take for them to arrive?
“Oh, God… If you truly exist, please… help us…!”
Before the teacher could even finish their prayer—
FLASH.
A brilliant blue light flickered.
BOOOOOOOOM!!!
Something infused with pure blue mana struck the descending beasts.
A massive explosion erupted, obliterating every monster in an instant.
“……!!”
For a moment, it seemed like the shockwave might shatter the classroom windows.
But instead, the blast wasn’t physical—it was made of mana.
“What… is this…?”
* * *
“…So it works after all.”
I had been caught off guard by the sudden Tower Break, but thankfully, the system functioned successfully.
“What should I even call this? A magic ICBM?”
I hadn’t destroyed the Tower itself, but every monster that spilled out had been erased, their HP instantly dropping to zero.
“H-Haha.”
From the West Coast to the East Coast…
“At this point, even I don’t know what’s going on anymore.”
But one thing was certain.
‘Illinois, you are the best.’
Choosing to summon Illinois instead of any pretty girls—that was definitely the right decision.
