Chapter 11
Chapter 11.
'Tower No-777?'
A maze map SSS+ that's hard to obtain unless you're a flying race.
I broke through walls here to get a special reward.
But the reward is just a ticket to enter a tower.
Lee Ganghan was momentarily disappointed, then suddenly recalled the chat he had seen earlier.
'But didn't the viewers say that Iron Towers only go up to number 99?'
Iron grade towers only have numbers up to 99, so.
Attack methods are somewhat established, they said.
If the numbers only go up to 99, then what is 777?
'I should ask the Chief or people about this.'
Lee Ganghan thought so and received the special reward.
Then a message appeared following it.
[Opening clear rewards.]
[Level increases by 3.]
[You gain 20,000 TP.]
Clear rewards given every time you climb a tower to the end.
Ordinary players have to enter low-difficulty towers to reach the top, so.
Lee Ganghan was receiving clear rewards with an average probability of around 20% for the second time in a row.
'Easy to make money.'
I've already recovered half of the TP I invested in goblins, haven't I?
Just as he was grinning.
[All rewards have been received.]
[Logging out from Iron Tower No.31.]
With the message that all rewards had been received.
Lee Ganghan's body flashed with light.
Swoosh......!
He returned to his house again.
Kim Juyeong, who was tearing into chicken in the living room, looked this way with surprised eyes.
"I'm back. The chicken isn't cold, is it?"
"......Did you break walls to eat chicken?"
"I was too lazy to find the way. You know I'm directionally challenged, right?"
"Crazy bastard, really...... Eat. It's completely warm since I just got here."
Swish.
Just as Lee Ganghan sat down to eat chicken.
Bzzzzzt......
[The video of your real-time streaming has been saved in the 'Streaming' folder.]
A message appeared before his eyes as he returned to reality.
"The streaming video I did earlier gets automatically saved?"
"Did a message appear?"
"Yeah. Is this the hyper technology unique to the Tower of Infinity?"
"Channel creation rights cost 50,000 TP, so they should do at least that much."
While saying this, Kim Juyeong also explained about video editing and uploading.
"Look, look. If you go into TowerTube settings, there's a video extraction function. You send this to an editor, edit it, and upload it."
"Oh. You know it well."
"I do TowerTube editing as a side job after work."
"Really? Since when?"
"About 6 months now? After the Gangnam all-in investment failed and my father's mental state deteriorated to the point where he couldn't work anymore......"
He bought an apartment in Gangnam by scraping together everything including his soul.
But unfortunately, a tower.
And it was the Tower of Light that appeared there, so all his wealth flew away.
It seemed like Kim Juyeong's father knew in his head that he had to continue working, but his heart couldn't endure it.
So that's why he's working two jobs at night like this.
"Hey, then will you do mine too?"
"Yours?"
"Yeah. I'll pay you the market rate."
"Hmm. Originally, successful guilds have separate editing teams......"
"I can't join a guild."
"Ah, right. Got it. I'll work on it, so feel free to replace me anytime if you don't like it."
Lee Ganghan immediately extracted the video and sent it to Kim Juyeong's email.
"I'll edit it when I get home tomorrow."
"Okay. Take your time."
Having settled the TowerTube-related matters for now, Lee Ganghan.
Suddenly recalled the entrance ticket he had received earlier.
Tower No-777 entrance ticket.
Would Kim Juyeong have any information about this?
"Iron Tower No-777 entrance ticket? As far as I know, Iron Towers only go up to No.99."
"Right?"
"Yeah. But I think 777 appeared in Gold grade towers. When you get assigned there, a treasure vault appears."
While saying this, Kim Juyeong searched for 777 towers on TowerTube.
Soon, videos of people assigned to No-777 appeared.
[Oh, everyone! 777! It's 777!!!]
[Wow, I squandered my TP last time so things have been tough lately...... Now 777 appears just right!]
[Whoa. Did you see that just now? When I open the treasure chest, 10,000 TP gets deposited right on the spot.]
Players all beaming with joy.
777 Towers all had golden backgrounds.
Dozens of giant treasure chests were spread all over the floor.
It seems you get 10,000 TP each time you open a treasure chest.
People's eyes went crazy as they opened the chests.
[Ah, only a 5 minutes time limit...... So disappointing.]
[The chests are quite heavy so they don't open right away. It's 10,000 TP each time you open one!]
[Still, I'm making 200,000 TP and leaving. You don't need to donate today. Hehe.]
[Wow, clear rewards on top of this......? This is insane, really.]
Looking at the videos, 777 Tower was no different from a bonus stage.
You make money and clearing is guaranteed.
It was no different from killing two birds with one stone.
"Looking at it, they seem to make an average of 200,000...... If I have 3 tickets like that, it's really a jackpot, right?"
"But these people are Gold, right? Iron Tower No-777 might have pretty meager rewards."
"Well, that would make sense, right? If Iron made that much money, everyone would have become players."
The rewards themselves would be more meager than Gold.
But still, considering you'd also get clear rewards, the tickets looked decent.
'I should try using them right away tomorrow.'
Just as Lee Ganghan was thinking this.
'Ah......'
Suddenly, intense drowsiness washed over him.
***
[Heavenly Demon's Shocking Current Status]
[Let's Learn New Attack Methods for Maze Maps]
[Can You Really Break Walls with Fists? Gold Experiments]
└Another fake video? What wall breaking ㅡㅡ
└There's a full video on TowerTube ㄱㄱ
└ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ No way, walls broke that easily?
└Several players are already trying the challenge but it's not working ㅋㅋ
"Wow, the wall-breaking video is quickly becoming popular too."
As soon as Lee Ganghan's play ended.
While Kim Juyeong was watching the Tower of Infinity community heat up.
"What time is it now?"
"Now? 8:45."
"I'm suddenly sleepy. , I guess this is my limit......"
Lee Ganghan was already half-asleep, just nodding his head, nod nod.
Seeing this, Kim Juyeong scratched his head.
"Weren't you sleeping late yesterday?"
"Today I was only in the tower for an hour, so maybe that's why I can't fight off sleep......"
"So sleeping time really gets pushed back by however long you're in the tower."
Kim Juyeong curiously calculated the time.
Then gestured for him to quickly go to his room.
"Hurry up and go in to sleep. I'll eat a bit more and sleep in the living room."
"Hey, if you're going to sleep over, can you film me?"
"......You want me to film you screaming?"
"I got injured while sleeping yesterday."
"Injured?"
"Yeah. No one broke in but I strangely got injured, so I want to film it once. My phone doesn't have enough storage to film with."
"Sigh...... Change that piece of junk phone first."
He said that but still.
Went into Lee Ganghan's room and set up the filming angle.
"If you make a fuss and break it, you're buying me the latest phone, right?"
"Got it."
"Oh, really? Go ahead and break it, hehe."
Lee Ganghan chuckled and lay down on the bed.
Then powerful drowsiness came over him.
Irresistible sleepiness.
Before closing his eyes, he checked the clock one last time.
'Just past 9 o'clock......'
Maybe because he was only in the maze tower for an hour this time.
His sleeping time was pushed back by only an hour compared to usual.
The tower and this strange sleep pattern.
What kind of relationship could there be?
As Lee Ganghan fell asleep with such questions.
"Ah. But what do I do without a phone......?"
I guess I should watch TV.
Kim Juyeong scratched his head looking for the remote.
Unable to find it anywhere, he looked toward Lee Ganghan's room.
'Is it in that guy's room?'
I should quickly go get just the remote.
As drunk Kim Juyeong staggered and opened Lee Ganghan's room door.
"Uh......?"
Above the lying Lee Ganghan.
A blood-red portal was floating.
'What, what is this? Why is there suddenly a portal......'
He had often seen Lee Ganghan scream loudly and toss and turn while sleeping until now.
But this was the first time seeing a portal floating like this.
And soon.
Sssss......
Lee Ganghan's body seemed to float up, then got sucked into the portal.
And as soon as he disappeared, the portal vanished simultaneously.
"What, what?"
Am I too drunk right now?
Kim Juyeong washed his face in the bathroom and went back to Lee Ganghan's bed.
But his friend who had been sucked into the portal still showed no sign of appearing.
"Uh...... This is really absurd."
As Kim Juyeong, now completely sobered up.
Was pulling his hair not knowing what to do.
Paaaaat......!
The portal opened again.
Lee Ganghan's body fell onto the bed.
Unlike when he was sucked in earlier, his whole body was now covered with wounds.
'He said he got injured while sleeping yesterday...... So this was why?'
The clothes he was wearing were fine.
But from his face to his exposed arms and legs.
Lee Ganghan was covered with deep cuts.
No, rather than wounds, the blood had already stopped, leaving scars like those of a veteran warrior.
'This is pretty serious.'
Looking at the body that seemed to have been tortured for a long time, Kim Juyeong frowned.
Sssss......
The scars all over Lee Ganghan's body began returning to normal.
His body recovered instantly as if nothing had happened.
'......Am I dreaming too, right now?'
Did I drink too much because you bought me liquor?
Even while filming this scene with his phone.
Kim Juyeong couldn't believe his own eyes.
The series of events that happened to Lee Ganghan was.
Incredibly bizarre.
Then.
"Uuuuu...... Uaaahhh......!"
When Lee Ganghan suddenly started screaming on the bed.
Rather, Kim Juyeong felt relieved then.
'He's back to his original state.'
Loud enough for neighbors to complain.
Lee Ganghan who used to scream in agony when sleeping.
That sound was never something you could get used to no matter how often you heard it.
But still, compared to the strange phenomenon of entering and exiting a blood-red portal, it was much better.
'I should sleep too.'
Putting the phone that was filming back in its original place.
Kim Juyeong lay down on the living room sofa.
There was still some alcohol left.
But maybe because he saw Lee Ganghan get sucked into a portal and come back out.
His taste for alcohol had completely disappeared.
And the next day.
'No injuries today.'
Lee Ganghan, who woke up from sleep, greeted the morning in a refreshing mood.
No injuries like last time, and his condition was at its peak.
'The injuries last time were strange.'
He thought so until then.
"You bastard, you woke up early...... Hey, yesterday was amazing."
When Kim Juyeong, with a face worn out from fatigue, played the recorded video.
His expression hardened immediately.
"......What is this? Why is there a portal?"
"How would I know if you ask me that?"
"It's not some fake video made with AI, is it?"
"Hey, you bastard. I'm too busy drinking to be making fake videos."
Well, it's too elaborate for a fake video.
Lee Ganghan watched the video of himself being sucked into the portal and coming back out with surprised eyes.
The time it took from being sucked into the portal to popping back out was roughly 1 hour.
'It's also 1 hour from entering here to coming out.'
This was the 1 hour of playing in the tower.
And it was similar to the time his sleep was delayed.
'And yesterday, the Heavenly Demon Constitution grade definitely went up......'
Heavenly Demon Constitution whose minimum point rose from F~SSS to E~SSS.
Lee Ganghan checked his trait with a hardened face.
But this time, the trait grade stopped at E~SSS.
It didn't seem like the grade went up by one each day.
'Still, the Heavenly Demon's abilities and this situation...... are definitely connected.'
The blood-red portal.
This was very similar in color and appearance to the portal.
That appeared when Lee Ganghan summoned the Goblin Chief in the Ten Thousand Demon Battle.
This couldn't just be a coincidence.
'Should I read the skill description again?'
When Lee Ganghan thought so and opened the skill window.
Ding.
['Skill - Heavenly Demon Reign Step' has been acquired.]
In the skill window.
A message about a newly added skill appeared.
Heavenly Demon Reign Step, a skill he definitely hadn't obtained until yesterday.
It appeared after he slept and woke up.