Chapter 150
Chapter 150.
Mike, world ranking 1st place.
Before Lee Ganghan appeared.
The world's attention was focused on him.
Possessing the SSS-grade trait 'Infinite Mana', he could unleash magic without any restrictions.
From the moment he became a player, he shattered all existing human records.
Moreover, he wasn't just exceptional in terms of traits.
He also gained popularity with his handsome appearance.
With his long red hair tied back, fair skin, and striking green eyes.
He instantly captivated the public's attention.
His TowerTube viewer count reached 1st place around the time he reached Gold tier.
Receiving full support from American corporations, he rose as an icon of the modern era.
When people worldwide thought of players, they thought of Mike first.
In America, there was even a joke that half the TV advertisements featured Mike.
'Yeah...... that was until the Heavenly Demon appeared.'
However, a month ago.
After Heavenly Demon Lee Ganghan appeared, Mike's ironclad position as the number one began to shake from its very foundations.
Of course.
Mike was still the world ranking 1st place.
And no one denied that he was a powerful player.
But.
'When people think of players now, the Heavenly Demon comes to mind.'
Because of a player who appeared from a small Asian country.
He never dreamed that his position as number one would be shaken.
Mike felt tremendous pressure watching Heavenly Demon Lee Ganghan become ridiculously strong in just one month.
From humanity's perspective, the Heavenly Demon's appearance was a blessing.
But from the number one's perspective, a formidable competitor had appeared who could definitely replace his position.
The only fortunate thing was.
That the Heavenly Demon didn't immigrate to America.
'President Alfred only looked for the Heavenly Demon.'
During the last presidential election, he pretended to be so friendly to take photos with Mike.
But when Lee Ganghan appeared, he paid no attention to him.
Didn't he cause all that commotion to recruit him?
Moreover, there were frequent rumors from the White House that President Alfred was dissatisfied, asking why Mike couldn't perform like that.
Recalling this.
"Hah......!"
Mike seemed to flare up with anger.
He threw the wine glass he was holding to the floor.
Crash!
The glass shattered into pieces.
"Clean it up!"
"Yes sir."
The bodyguards standing nearby.
As if accustomed to Mike's tantrums, their expressions didn't change at all.
They called someone to clean up the glass fragments on the floor.
While the servants cleaned up.
Mike poured wine into a new glass.
And recalled the content of Lee Ganghan's video again.
"Crazy monster bastard......"
A guy who just became Silver, claiming his Strength was 20.
Didn't he burn down the entire swampland?
The lasers he casually shot from his hands.
Looked stronger than any attack magic Mike could handle.
Wasn't this too much no matter what?
It would make sense if he did this after reaching Diamond.
But a low-level guy shooting such lasers left and right was absolutely ridiculous.
'In the end, the answer is becoming a Transcendent.'
Heavenly Demon Lee Ganghan, who seemed to be receiving a god's blessing with his entire body.
Maintaining this position with current abilities was impossible.
No, maintaining it was out of the question.
In reality, the Heavenly Demon had practically taken the number one position.
But if he became a Transcendent.
If he could possess strong power like alien race Transcendents.
He might be able to shake off that monster's pursuit.
And maintain this number one position.
For this purpose.
Didn't he make the big decision not to hand over the SSS-grade accessory to the government?
'Of course, that item...... compared to its grade, it's not very useful.'
Mike smiled bitterly, recalling the item he had handed over.
An accessory whose SSS-grade rating he couldn't understand.
Still, given its grade.
It was definitely something worth showing off with.
As he thought about the item he had handed over.
"Mike sir! The CIA has arrived in Korea."
His secretary entered the mansion and reported.
"Really? Then quickly hand over the item to that Heavenly Demon guy, and tell them to get his endorsement!"
"Yes. They say they'll meet with the Heavenly Demon soon."
That's fortunate at least.
Mike bit his nails while lost in thought.
'If the Heavenly Demon endorses me, I'll definitely win the Transcendent vote.'
The Chinese and Indian candidates.
In the end, they're just guys without proper skills relying only on population numbers.
Actually, even without the Heavenly Demon's endorsement, Mike had a high probability of winning.
But he wanted a 100% certain result.
'If I just become a Transcendent...... I can return to how things were before.'
After the Heavenly Demon's appearance.
The noticeably decreased TowerTube viewer count.
Moreover, the remaining viewers kept posting chats comparing him to the Heavenly Demon.
So Mike had turned off the chat window quite a while ago.
"By the way, what was that Heavenly Demon guy's Divine Power?"
"Currently it's 6. But if he gets 2 more accessories, it could rise to 8. His Agility and Stamina stats are also approaching 20."
"Really? He shouldn't reach Transcendent too quickly......"
As Mike anxiously chewed his nails.
The secretary watching him from the side sighed inwardly.
'Right now when alien races are invading, he's worrying about the Heavenly Demon becoming Transcendent too quickly.'
The Heavenly Demon said he would withdraw from the election if there were 2 Transcendents, so they could counter alien races more effectively.
But Mike, who would benefit from this, was worried about the Heavenly Demon becoming the second Transcendent.
'I didn't know he was this kind of person before......'
Before Heavenly Demon Lee Ganghan appeared, he maintained a solid first place position.
And showed many good sides, like doing a lot of charity work publicly.
But after Lee Ganghan's appearance, as Mike showed many petty aspects, the secretary felt disappointed.
"Are Agility and Stamina +1 items easy to get? Is Korea a wealthy country?"
"Yes. It's wealthy enough to obtain such items."
"Tsk...... Can't be helped. I need to quickly reach Transcendent and secure my position first."
Mike chewed his nails crunch crunch again.
'That's also a habit he developed after the Heavenly Demon appeared.'
Mike cursed while watching Heavenly Demon videos, asking what kind of thing that was.
Mike was drinking alcohol while chewing his nails, saying it made no sense.
'Once upon a time, other players showed such reactions watching Mike.'
Mike, who rose to world ranking 1st place through his SSS-grade trait 'Infinite Mana'.
The secretary who had served him for a long time.
Knew that Mike enjoyed watching 'Player Reaction Videos of People Screaming While Watching Mike's Tower Climbing'.
And every time he watched those.
[Losers...... if you lack ability, you should work harder. Isn't that guy also SSS-grade trait? What has he been doing until now?]
Mike would speak of 'effort' with a completely intoxicated face.
'After the tables turned, he never says that word at all.'
The secretary smiled bitterly.
Watching Mike curse at the Heavenly Demon's video, replaying it and asking what kind of thing that was.
'Will he regain some of his former self if he becomes Transcendent?'
Still, he had to continue serving him as secretary.
Rather than his current state, he missed the Mike who used to act magnanimous.
He hoped his boss would change a bit if he became Transcendent.
"Does that make sense?! Fucking Lee!"
Mike deliberately replayed the Heavenly Demon video again.
Crash!
Watching Mike break another wine glass.
'Sigh......'
He quietly sighed inwardly.
***
[Heavenly Demon sir! The CIA says they've arrived in Korea.]
"Ah. Did they bring the SSS-grade accessory?"
[Yes. They're asking if you can meet today, would the timing work for you?]
Lee Ganghan, receiving the call from Shin Yuri, nodded.
"Yes. That's fine. What time would it be?"
[If it's alright with you, Heavenly Demon sir, we're planning to schedule it for the evening.]
"Understood. Let's meet in the evening."
[Yes. Then I'll contact you again before coming to pick you up!]
After making the appointment and ending the call.
'There's some time left until evening.'
Lee Ganghan decided to enter Ten Thousand Demon Battle.
In the remaining time.
'I should try building the Slime Pond once.'
The 8th floor opponent that he thought was swampland, but turned out to be the Slime King.
Unfortunately, it barely escaped, so he didn't receive the subjugation reward.
But just discovering it and receiving the installation reward was an unexpected bonus.
'Just from the name, I have no idea what kind of facility it is.'
Once he builds it, he'll be able to discover its usefulness.
Lee Ganghan thought so.
'Hmm...... should I also build the Elf Territory?'
He recalled Elf-related terrain that he couldn't afford before due to lack of TP.
Because of the noticeably expensive land prices compared to other races.
Wasn't he secretly relieved when Karana resided in the Orc Shaman's Altar?
But now he was financially well-off enough.
Building it once seemed like a good idea.
[Would you like to enter the Heavenly Demon Divine Sect?]
[Currently, Heavenly Demon sir can stay for 3 hours.]
When he tried to enter the Heavenly Demon Divine Sect.
Whether the +1 Divine Power increase was applied, the time he could stay increased from 2 hours to 3 hours.
'But it is strange, isn't it? The accessory effect should only apply when entering towers.'
The Arena Promising Player Bracelet was a special case item that applied even in reality.
But other accessories were just decorations with no effect when worn.
So among players who returned to reality, very few continued wearing accessories.
If they lost or had them stolen, the loss would be enormous.
So right now, the additional Strength effect wouldn't be applied either.
And the Divine Power +1 effect shouldn't normally apply to Ten Thousand Demon Battle either.
'Should I try taking it off once?'
When Lee Ganghan removed the ring.
[Currently, Heavenly Demon sir can stay for 2 hours.]
The time immediately decreased to 2 hours.
'Hmm...... I don't understand the application mechanism.'
Well, if it increases time, that's good for him.
Then he should fully equip accessories before entering Ten Thousand Demon Battle.
Lee Ganghan made that judgment and properly entered Ten Thousand Demon Battle.
Then.
Ding.
[You possess the installation 'Slime Pond'.]
[Would you like to install the 'Slime Pond'?]
Installation-related messages immediately appeared.
[Install the 'Slime Pond' at your desired location.]
[Installation costs vary depending on location.]
The Ten Thousand Demon Battle map appeared before his eyes.
'Installing this toward the outskirts makes installation costs cheaper.'
Installation costs at the central area where the Sacred Fire was located: 2 million TP.
But moving toward the outskirts, installation costs decreased to 1 million.
Considering that most installations so far were cheaper the closer to the center.
The Slime Pond definitely felt opposite.
'Then I can build it on undeveloped land.'
As Lee Ganghan pondered where to place the Slime Pond.
Sparkle, Sparkle.
Among the various buildings shown on the map.
The Goblin Black Market was faintly glowing.
'What's this?'
Was it telling him to install it nearby?
Swoosh.
When Lee Ganghan brought the Slime Pond near the Goblin Black Market.
['Goblin Black Market' and 'Slime Pond' can interact.]
[Would you like to install the 'Slime Pond' at this location?]
A message appeared saying the Slime Pond and market could interact.
'What does the Slime Pond have to do with the market?'
Market and pond.
An unexpected combination.
He couldn't think of any connection between Goblins and Slimes either.
Still.
'Let's build it.'
Rather than just building it in an outer vacant lot.
It would be better to connect related installations.
Lee Ganghan spent 1 million TP to construct the Slime Pond.
And to examine what kind of installation this was, he opened a portal and moved there.
"Oh...... this is indeed a Slime Pond."
"For a slime pond to suddenly appear...... is this even possible?"
All the Goblin merchants at the market seemed to have come out to look.
They gathered around the Slime Pond, watching it with curiosity.
"Do you know what this facility does?"
When Lee Ganghan asked the Goblin merchant.
"Of course we know."
"Most of the stolen goods we brought are obtained from here."
The Goblin merchants pointed to the pond.
Telling him this was a place to obtain 'stolen goods'.