There's Someone I Like in This Room
That reminded me — I'd almost forgotten.
I called over to Park Soyun, who was placing the food order.
"Oh, right. Order something for Sinhye too."
"Ah, for the Heavenly Demon as well? Got it."
I snuck a glance at the Heavenly Demon.
A smile had formed at the corners of her mouth. She seemed quietly pleased that I'd thought of her.
Good. That should make the next training session a little easier.
Of course, I had my reasons. I'd been sparring with the Heavenly Demon regularly these days, and it was only getting harder. So I'd thrown in a little flattery.
We settled in with the delivery food and even filmed a mukbang.
The spread was endless — chicken, pizza, dumplings, tteokbokki, pasta, jokbal, bossam, and more. Too many dishes to count.
"Wait, you ordered this much?!"
"We've got a guest! Of course we need this much!"
From where I was sitting, she'd ordered all of it because she wanted to eat it herself. I was sure of it.
And sure enough, Park Soyun cleaned every last plate. It was genuinely amazing how that much food fit into such a small frame.
"You should start a mukbang YouTube channel. You'd blow up."
"Me?"
"Yeah, think about it."
"Hmm, okay."
After the mukbang, we went back to games.
"Hurry up and put your hand on the machine. Ready? There's someone I like in this room right now."
"No, there isn't."
Bzzzt.
"Ow! Why does this hurt so much?!"
"W-what? You have someone you like?! D-don't tell me—?!"
"No, I don't! This thing is totally fake!"
"Master… so you really do… me…"
"What are you talking about?!"
But strangely, the atmosphere grew a little… charged as we went on. I had no idea why co-streaming with Park Soyun always ended up like this.
Aside from that, though, it was a pretty fun collab.
Viewership hit thirty thousand by the end.
It was probably a big help for Park Soyun's channel too.
That should bring at least a thousand of her subscribers back.
"That was fun today."
"I had a great time too!"
"How about you, Sinhye?"
"…I enjoyed it as well."
Even the Heavenly Demon was satisfied. All things considered, it was a complete success.
"Alright, see you next time."
"Yeah. Next time I'll come to you. Make sure you invite me!"
"Got it."
A few more days passed.
Aside from streaming, it felt like I'd spent every waking hour training in martial arts. I'd never focused this hard on a single thing before.
With survival on the line, I didn't have a choice. The effort came naturally.
Oh, and I'd also learned a new footwork technique from the Heavenly Demon. It was called Swift Steps — a plain-sounding name for what she insisted was an exceptionally superior technique.
And she wasn't wrong. Using it made my body feel lighter, faster — the difference was unmistakable.
So I spent my time learning new footwork and grinding away. It was tough, but honestly pretty productive.
And then the day finally arrived.
The weekend we'd planned to enter the dungeon.
I'd announced the dungeon run to everyone again, and of course the press coverage was massive.
Maybe that was why—
Click-click-click-click—!!
"Get the shot!"
"It's Kim Sinhyeok!"
"Sinhyeok-nim!!"
The second I stepped out of the taxi, cameras swarmed me from every direction.
Even for a weekend at Namsan, it had never been this packed last time. But things were different now.
Reporters, YouTubers, streamers, my fans, superhumans who'd come just to watch — Namsan was a sea of people.
Maybe I shouldn't have said anything…
But I had to announce it in advance to take a legitimate break from streaming. No choice.
I shielded my eyes from the camera flashes and walked forward slowly. Behind me, the Heavenly Demon followed close — like a bodyguard.
"Heavenly Demon!"
"Heavenly Demon! Would an interview be possible?!"
"Sinhyeok-nim! Please, just one comment!"
"Sinhyeok-nim!"
"Heavenly Demon!"
"Kyaaa! Kim Sinhyeok!"
It was pure chaos. I felt like some kind of mega-idol.
Still, I couldn't keep ignoring them forever. In Korea, looking too arrogant never played well.
I stopped midway, took a breath, and spoke at a measured volume.
"I'll do a quick interview. But questions for me only — not the Heavenly Demon. If you want an interview, raise your hand."
The moment I finished, every reporter and YouTuber's hand shot up.
"Ah! Kim Yuseong from Hanbit Journal!"
"Park Junhyeok from Cheongun Times!"
"Jeong Minjae from Core Daily!"
"Kang Serin from Dungeon Scope!"
I picked the woman standing closest to the front. She'd raised her hand first.
"You — from Hanbit Journal."
"Ah! Thank you. Kim Yuseong, Hanbit Journal. Wood King Cheon Gangmok recently said that even if the Heavenly Demon looks strong, the outcome of a fight against him would be uncertain. What's your take on that?"
A heavy hitter right out of the gate.
I thought for a moment, then went with the truth. With the Heavenly Demon standing right next to me, false modesty wasn't an option.
If I downplayed her, she'd immediately start ranting about how that wasn't true.
I could already picture it.
"Hmm, I disagree. I think the Heavenly Demon would win."
"Ah — so she wins for sure? Is that how we should take it?"
"I wouldn't say for sure, but I think the odds are very high."
"Thank you!"
One question down.
Hands shot up again.
I picked whoever raised their hand first this time too — a sharp-looking woman who seemed like she'd ask something pointed.
"Kim Arin from Core Issue! Han Yurim, leader of the idol group Lovely Day, has expressed interest in you, Kim Sinhyeok. What's your response?"
I hadn't seen that one coming. I was a little thrown.
Then I saw the Heavenly Demon's expression darken. It felt like silent pressure to answer carefully.
Somehow she seemed more invested in this question than the first one.
I shook my head immediately.
Normally I'd deflect something like this with a polite non-answer. But under the Heavenly Demon's pressure, the blunt truth came out before I could stop it.
"First I've heard of it. Sorry, but I'm not particularly interested."
The Heavenly Demon's face brightened. She nodded with a look of clear approval.
Come on. Master or not, meddling in your disciple's love life is a bit much…
She was probably just worried that dating would get in the way of martial training.
"Next — the gentleman in the blue dress shirt."
"Song Hyeonseok from KCN Superhuman Broadcast. So, about…"
I was partway through answering the reporters' questions when—
Screech.
A massive black van pulled up at Namsan. The kind of vehicle A-list celebrities rode around in.
The doors opened, and a mountain of a man stepped out with three people who looked like his entourage.
Namsan erupted. Of course it did — given who had just arrived.
"It's Cheon Gangmok!"
"Wood King Cheon Gangmok!"
There he was — the Wood King, Cheon Gangmok, the man constantly being compared to me these days.
He's huge.
This was my first time seeing him in person.
Everything about him was oversized — his frame, his face, his eyes, his nose, his mouth. All of it. Especially those massive arms and thighs.
Yeah, he looks strong, alright.
Until recently, he'd been called the strongest superhuman in Korea. Of course he'd be strong.
The Heavenly Demon, though, didn't look the least bit tense. She gave him a single glance, then let out a faint, almost mocking smile. That was it.
"Sinhyeok-nim? Your answer, please!"
"Ah, right. What was the question?"
"I asked which superhuman you've been keeping an eye on lately."
"Ah — a superhuman I've been watching lately…"
Something felt off, though.
Normally, everyone would have swarmed Cheon Gangmok by now. The questions would have been flying. That was how it used to go.
But not today.
Only a handful of reporters approached him. Even the Cyber Wreckers — just two of them.
Cheon Gangmok had been completely sidelined.
All because of me, of course. It bothered me a little, but I pretended not to notice and kept the press conference going.
Then Cheon Gangmok's booming voice cut through everything.
"Ah! A new goal? Great question! Today, I plan to challenge the 60th floor!"
"The 60th floor?!"
"What?!"
"Did he say the 60th?!"
Every reporter's attention snapped toward him.
Quite a few of them, interest piqued, started drifting his way.
"You're really challenging the 60th floor today?"
"Yes! That's the plan!"
Clearing the 60th floor wasn't something you took lightly.
Any country that had cleared floor 60 or higher was considered a superhuman powerhouse. Korea's record had always stopped at 59.
And now Cheon Gangmok was declaring a 60th-floor challenge with total confidence. Of course the cameras would flock to him.
He seemed to enjoy the attention. His expression said as much.
Then our eyes met.
Cheon Gangmok smiled at me deliberately — a provocative, challenging grin. He clearly saw me as a rival.
I turned my head away. He wasn't on my level. Rivalry with him wasn't even on the table.
An A-rank, seriously?
Technically A+, but same difference to me.
Anyway, things were already getting interesting.
I could already guess what the articles would say.
They'd pit me against Cheon Gangmok and write up a storm.
And if he actually cleared the 60th floor in this climate?
It would get even louder. The whole country might go wild. And the comparisons to me would be endless.
That was probably exactly what he was after. Showing up today of all days made that pretty clear.
But there was one thing he didn't know.
The second I drop my video, this whole thing is over.
I planned to upload footage again. And the moment it went live, it would be massive.
Even if Cheon Gangmok cleared the 60th floor, it wouldn't matter.
I was that confident.
And why wouldn't I be…
Because I'm going in myself.