Chapter 107
Chapter 107.
Angel Kael.
An angel with a grotesque appearance, having enormous eyes and six pairs of wings.
'It seemed like it was using light to determine whether something was a demon or not.'
When Lee Ganghan, the Heavenly Demon, touched the light and showed no reaction, remaining unharmed, the angel determined he wasn't a demon and became quite friendly. Didn't it even propose to sponsor him as a Guardian Constellation?
'I declined because accepting sponsorship would cause me to lose the Heavenly Demon Constitution.'
Not only did it give him the 'Flame Angel's Faded Sword', but it also provided a wing feather, saying it might be needed. The wing feather that seemed useful in the battle against Columbus ended up unused and is still stored in his inventory.
'Anyway, for now, I can consider it a friendly constellation.'
After recalling what happened with Angel Kael, Lee Ganghan slowly opened his mouth.
"That person... Well, I don't really have anyone in mind at the moment either."
Since he was told the matter about the angel was top secret, it wouldn't be appropriate to mention it even to Association President Shin Gyeongcheol. When Lee Ganghan said this:
"Is that so? Well, we'll find out when we meet tomorrow."
Shin Gyeongcheol nodded and changed the subject.
"Ah. And about the equipment you're getting from the Goblin Merchants... could you purchase as much as possible and sell it to us?"
"You mean the Human Race Exclusive equipment?"
"That's right. Regardless of C or D grade, the association will purchase them at market price for now. If the goblins have a lot of items, we might provide additional TP support."
Rather than having the association handle sales on consignment, they would buy the equipment directly. For Lee Ganghan, who was planning to purchase items in bulk and then sell them, this was very welcome news. And they would even provide TP support...
"Has the need for lower-grade equipment increased compared to before?"
At Shin Yuri's question, Shin Gyeongcheol nodded.
"Looking at the current player matching, it's 50% Occupation Towers and 50% regular towers. If you think you can't earn scores in Occupation Towers, you have to somehow earn scores in regular towers. The association is actively considering lending items to beginner players."
Because of the towers under Occupation Reservation, earning scores won't be easy, so the association plans to lend equipment to beginner players or lower-tier players who lack gear.
"That would definitely be helpful. Plus, thanks to the Heavenly Demon's roulette, item efficiency has increased... regular towers should have higher clear rates than before. But won't there be strong opposition from existing players? They need to sell items to make money, and the association would be interfering with that."
"Under normal circumstances, we couldn't do this. But right now, we're facing an unprecedented crisis. We need to push through even stronger policies than this."
Having felt a strong sense of crisis seeing the Occupation Reserved towers changing in real-time, Shin Gyeongcheol argued that this level of opposition must be endured.
"I don't know yet how many items the Goblin Merchants have, so I'll do more trading first and request TP support if needed."
"Understood."
Lee Ganghan finished discussing the Goblin Market matter and then said:
"Ah. And I obtained one B-grade equipment from the Black Market - would it be possible to dispose of this now as well?"
He decided to dispose of the 'Human Race Exclusive Hero's Spear' he had purchased from the Black Market.
"B+ grade? Good. I'll call the person in charge."
The item-related staff member who entered the meeting room looked at the item description and let out an exclamation of admiration.
[Human Race Exclusive Hero's Spear]
Grade: B (B+ when equipped by Human Race)
A long spear characterized by a sturdy spearhead and well-balanced shaft. A spear used by an unnamed human hero. When equipped by the race 'Human', thrusting speed and accuracy are greatly improved.
"The option that enhances when worn by humans is excellent. Plus, spears are popular weapons... this could fetch 1 million TP, maybe even more!"
1 million? This was bought for 50,000.
'That's 20 times the price!'
Originally, he expected about 10 times profit, but since it's equipment preferred by humans with good options, it inflated to this extent.
"Then let's dispose of it for 1 million."
Lee Ganghan handed over the spear on the spot and received the TP settlement. The Goblin Black Market had become a complete money-copying place.
'I should worry about whether the Goblin Merchants actually have items available.'
While thinking he should gather as much equipment as possible, he asked the staff member:
"I also have items dropped by Orcs this time - could you take a look at these as well?"
"Ah. I watched the broadcast too! You're talking about the equipment from that two-headed Warlord, right?"
"Yes. That's correct."
Lee Ganghan took out the three items obtained from the Orcs from his inventory: Orc Slaughterer's Twin Blades, Orc Warlord's Armor, and Earring Blessed by Shaman.
"Oh. Two S-grade items and an A-grade accessory...!"
The staff member who was initially pleased seeing the item grades had a subtle expression after noticing the equipment sizes were too large for humans to use.
***
"Could I test this equipment once?"
"Of course."
The staff member then placed his hands on the equipment. Although he was quite a large employee, the equipment used by the Orc Warlord was too big for him to handle.
"Ah... Since it's Orc Race exclusive equipment, there's no body type adjustment."
"Body type adjustment?"
"Yes. Originally, equipment changes size to match the user's body type. However, race-exclusive equipment like this doesn't adjust body type."
So race-exclusive equipment has good options but doesn't adjust body type for anyone except that race, while general equipment changes size appropriately for each race so everyone can use it. When Lee Ganghan nodded after hearing the explanation:
"I thought Orcs might be usable since they have similar body types to humans... but it seems the Orc Warlord had a large build, so the equipment size was modified accordingly."
"I see. Even Dongseok wouldn't find this easy to use."
Shin Gyeongcheol mentioned his younger brother Shin Dongseok while watching. Although Shin Dongseok was quite built, compared to the two-headed Orc Warlord, he had a smaller frame, so using this equipment would be difficult.
"The item options are good, but both the sword and armor seem usable only by players with builds over 2 meters tall."
"Then it won't be easy to sell directly through the association."
"Yes... Originally, S-grade armor could aim for up to 10 million TP, which is unfortunate. Body type adjustment is especially important for armor."
Moreover, the twin blades were too large, and the earring only had Strength +1 and health recovery speed increase options when worn by Orcs, making it useless for humans.
'I should try selling this at the Black Market.'
The Orc Race exclusive equipment would be hard to find buyers for on Earth. It seemed better to hand it over to Goblin Merchants.
"Understood. Then it seems difficult to find buyers among people, so I'll have to dispose of it separately."
"Yes... If you can't dispose of the equipment, you could also hand it over to Goblin Merchants you occasionally encounter in Gold-grade or higher towers. They pay low prices but they do buy them."
The item assessment staff member, who had only come to appraise items and didn't know about the Goblin Black Market, kindly explained about disposing items to Goblin Merchants.
'So that's how they obtain items.'
Goblin Merchants have quite a wide range of activity. As Lee Ganghan was thinking this:
"Ah. And... Heavenly Demon, if you don't mind, could I get an autograph!"
The staff member, having prepared who knows when, took out a pen and paper and bowed deeply.
"An autograph?"
"Yes. I'm actually... a devoted believer of Heavenly Demon Eternal, Ten Thousand Demons Prostrate!"
"No way, you actually did that...?"
Non-Face-to-Face Worship. Even while receiving it, he wondered who would do such a thing, but here he was seeing someone who actually did it.
"Yes! I, I have a photo too!"
The employee proudly showed his phone screen, which displayed:
[JJH0107 has worshipped the Heavenly Demon.]
A TowerTube chat message was enlarged and set as his wallpaper.
'This person is for real.'
Not only did he perform Non-Face-to-Face Worship, but he also set this as his phone wallpaper. There was a reason he called himself a 'devoted believer.' Lee Ganghan opened his mouth:
"I've actually never given an autograph before."
"Ah, right. I heard about that SNS story too... Then, could you perhaps just write 'Heavenly Demon' in Chinese characters?"
Heavenly Demon.
'That's not difficult.'
Actually, the character for demon 魔 is a bit complex to write, but since Yoo Doa had it engraved large on her chest, he had a clear recognition of that character.
"Understood. Then."
Lee Ganghan took the pen and swish swish, quickly wrote Heavenly Demon in Chinese characters, then asked:
"What's your name?"
"It's Jang Junho!"
He added the message 'To believer Jang Junho' at the bottom of the paper.
"Ooh... Thank you!"
"Not at all, you even bowed to me."
"I can do it now too!"
"Ah. It's fine, not right now."
When Lee Ganghan stopped employee Jang Junho, who looked ready to bow at any moment:
"Ah, understood..."
He straightened his half-bent body with a disappointed expression, then said:
"Still... I absolutely wanted to say this! Heavenly Demon Eternal, Ten Thousand Demons Prostrate!"
He didn't bow, but he delivered the full message.
"Ah. Yes... thank you."
This was the first time seeing such an enthusiastic believer in real life. As Lee Ganghan scratched his cheek:
"Manager Jang Junho, now that you've got your autograph, you should go."
"Ah, yes. Understood...!"
After Association President Shin Gyeongcheol sent Jang Junho away, he shook his head.
"Goodness, Manager Jang Junho never once asked me for an autograph... I heard he's thorough about separating public and private matters, but apparently that doesn't apply when facing the Heavenly Demon."
"Is that so?"
"Indeed. You should be careful too - once he starts bragging about that autograph, autograph requests will flood in."
As Shin Gyeongcheol, who had been Korea's most popular player, gave this advice, Shin Yuri bit her lips beside them, then said:
"Heavenly Demon, I'm available right now too. Heavenly Demon Eternal, Ten Thousand Demons Prostrate - I can do it right away!"
"Ah. It's fine. The Association President is here, so what..."
"I'll start doing Non-Face-to-Face Worship daily without missing a day!"
She seemed to have developed some strange competitive spirit with Manager Jang Junho, stepping forward to offer worship.
"Yuri, do you need an autograph too? Should Dad give you one?"
"I don't need it! I just felt like I was falling behind in my devotion as a believer! Ah, but that doesn't mean I don't want the Heavenly Demon's autograph. Please don't misunderstand, Heavenly Demon!"
"Sigh..."
Shin Gyeongcheol let out a deep sigh at his daughter's behavior and beep, turned off the meeting room monitor.
"Sorry for calling you busy people here early in the morning. I'll let you know immediately if there's new information, so go home and rest today."
"Yes. Understood."
On the way home after finishing business at the association, Lee Ganghan was examining items in his inventory when he thought:
'Come to think of it, a whole week passed while I was trapped in the Heavenly Demon Sacred Blood Formation.'
If this much time had passed, the entry opportunity for the First Tower should have recharged too, right? Lee Ganghan checked the First Tower's Seal in his inventory.
Entry Opportunity [1/2]
The entry opportunity had been recharged to 1 use.