Chapter 5
Chapter 5.
10th floor of the Beginner's Tower.
In front of a massive iron door.
-Wow, already reached the 10th floor, crazy lol
-Summoned creature free ride is insane...
-For real, didn't even lift a finger lol
The viewers who had been watching Lee Ganghan do nothing since the 5th floor realized anew what it meant to get a free ride.
Especially the viewers who joined later:
-Is this person a summoner?
-But how is he dragging around a boss mob?
-Ah, is he taming monsters? Is his trait enemy taming?
-Looking at it, when he makes them bow, they go to some place called Ten Thousand Demon Battle?
They were mistaking Lee Ganghan for a summoner or tamer.
'Heavenly Demon Eternal, Ten Thousand Demons Prostrate, there was a reason it was an SSS-grade skill.'
As expected, choosing the skill at the very bottom was the right answer.
Lee Ganghan felt that his choice had been excellent and looked at the goblin troops.
50 goblins maintaining formation under the Goblin Chief's command.
Rather, it was more accurate to say they were watching the Goblin Chief's mood.
Still, it was quite a reliable unit.
'It was also good that my level went up automatically.'
When the goblins fought fiercely against each other, Lee Ganghan's level went up while he stood behind with his arms crossed.
Of course, perhaps because the goblins were too weak, or perhaps because he couldn't absorb the experience points from those 50 creatures, his level stopped growing at 8.
'I got a free ride, so I should accept this much.'
Since he had auto-hunted without lifting a finger, this much was understandable.
Meanwhile:
-Looking at the time, isn't this a new record? He came up in just 3 hours
-It would be a new record for the Beginner's Tower with goblins
-Right, the previous record was 6 hours 11 minutes set by Mike
-Wow, he cut it by more than half.
Whether news had spread that Lee Ganghan was setting a new record, the number of viewers had grown overwhelmingly compared to before.
'50,000 people? Do people really have nothing to do?'
Seeing the viewer count above the chat window hit 50,000, Lee Ganghan let out a hollow laugh.
Why are so many people watching a newbie climb?
However:
-How long has it been since a Korean prospect hit the 50,000 max? lol
-Right now foreign forums are going crazy, frustrated they can't get in
In fact, the channel's capacity was 50,000, so that was the limit.
The viewers wanting to enter were overflowing.
Lee Ganghan was a player breaking the current record of the Beginner's Tower, and by an overwhelming margin at that.
-Wow, there are people re-streaming this live broadcast too lol
-Heavenly Demon should quickly open a TowerTube channel
-But what's the Heavenly Demon's name?
-Don't know, he doesn't do any self-PR lol
-50,000 people gathered, how about doing some?
When players got the chance to appear on TowerTube as one of the 10 prospects, they usually introduced themselves.
Modern society is the era of self-PR.
They needed to introduce themselves here and show their abilities so that major guild corporations would make recruitment offers more easily.
"Self-PR... Name: Lee Ganghan. High school graduate, unemployed. 24 years old. That's it."
However, Lee Ganghan folded his fingers three times and chuckled, saying he had nothing to PR.
-No, not that kind of thing, you need to tell us about your stats and traits ㅡㅡ
-But a high school dropout reversed his life lol
-I'm jealous... Isn't this better than winning the lottery?
-If he keeps this ability, then yes.
The viewers were dumbfounded by Lee Ganghan's brief self-introduction.
'Well, I don't need to reveal everything.'
Lee Ganghan thought this way and moved forward.
"First, let's go clear the 10th floor."
With that, Lee Ganghan commanded the Castrated Goblin Chief.
"Now, try opening the door."
"Yes!"
Following that command, the Goblin Chief standing in front of the door pushed it, but:
"Heavenly Demon... the door won't open!"
"Not even with your strength?"
"Yes. It feels like pushing against a wall."
When the Goblin Chief said this with a troubled expression, the chat speed increased.
-??? What's this, the door opens fine normally
-For real, even players weaker than the chief easily open the final floor door
-Aren't we seeing a betrayal setup?
-For real, need to be careful
Other players easily opened the door, but this burly chief couldn't, causing viewers to express doubt.
'If he's part of the Ten Thousand Demon Battle, can he even betray?'
Lee Ganghan looked at the struggling chief and then step, step, moved forward himself.
'If he betrays me, I'll just get some experience points.'
Honestly, even if the chief came at him with 50 goblins, he didn't think he'd lose at all.
As Lee Ganghan thought this and pushed the door:
Drrrrrr...!
The door that the Goblin Chief couldn't open easily opened.
'He couldn't open this?'
It pushed open lightly.
Lee Ganghan tilted his head and then swish, extended his finger toward the door.
"Now go in."
"Yes!"
Following Lee Ganghan's command, the Goblin Chief strode inside, but as he tried to cross the door:
Ting!
His body bounced back outside.
"Uh...?"
Unable to cross the door, the Goblin Chief blinked his eyes and tried to enter several times, but:
Ting! Ting!
His body kept bouncing back.
"Kiek! Kiiiiek!"
The Goblin Chief tried to get his subordinates to break through instead, but:
Ting!
The other goblins also bounced far away from the door.
-What's this?
-Summoned creatures can't enter?
-No, but last time I saw summoner players, they entered fine with their summons
-Yeah, spirit mages also summon all their spirits in advance and enter fully prepared.
Unlike other summoners, not a single goblin could pass through, causing viewers to express confusion.
-Got screwed for progressing with total free rides? lol
-No, does it make sense for a newbie to drag around 50 goblins in the first place? lol
-Right, right, there should be restrictions like this
-What about the final floor? Can't bring mobs lol.
And those who had been annoyed watching Lee Ganghan climb the tower with a free pass thought this was their chance and started attacking him.
Of course:
-But that guy is freaking strong...
-Yeah, he doesn't need to bring them lol
-Honestly, if Lee Ganghan had proceeded alone, he would have climbed faster.
The early viewers who knew Lee Ganghan's strength were dumbfounded by these reactions.
-lol what bullshit, no matter how strong a summoner is, without summons they're nothing
-Mike's record will be safe since he can't clear the 10th floor hehe
-Just gonna watch him die and leave
The later viewers who hadn't seen Lee Ganghan fight didn't believe this.
"I'll just go alone then. You guys wait here."
"Heavenly Demon, what about weapons...?"
"This is enough."
Step, step.
Leaving the goblins behind like that, Lee Ganghan entered with only a wooden stick.
As he went inside the door:
Swish...
The surrounding background began to change.
Marble was laid on the earthen ground, and in the empty lot where there was nothing, a large star-shaped gem floated up.
The star with brilliant colors flickered in various colors before settling on green.
And:
Flash...!
As the star sparkled:
['Hobgoblin Warrior' reveals itself.]['Hobgoblin Archer' reveals itself.]['Hobgoblin Rogue' reveals itself.]
Beyond the star, three Hobgoblin entities revealed themselves.
***
Hobgoblins.
An evolved, enhanced version stronger than regular goblins.
Though smaller than the Castrated Goblin Chief, they still had heights of 150-160cm with matching builds.
Equipped with decent metal armor and weapons, three Hobgoblins sent murderous gazes toward Lee Ganghan.
-Of all things, Warrior, Archer, Rogue lol
-Isn't this the most annoying combination?
-Yeah, the three hopeless brothers appeared
-How is a summoner supposed to beat this?
Among the viewers, those who joined later thought the game was over as soon as they saw the three Hobgoblins.
And rightfully so.
This combination was troublesome even for warriors who had grown well up to the 10th floor.
How could a summoner possibly beat them?
And when Lee Ganghan looked back and gestured toward the Goblin Chief, saying:
"Can't I make those guys submit?"
The chief beyond the door also said something in response.
However, his voice couldn't be heard at all inside.
With the door as the boundary, the inside and outside were completely cut off from communication.
-He's screwed lol -Right, too much free riding lol
-But why can't those goblins enter? Feels like they're blocked by a barrier?
-Well, it seems like the tower is giving freeloaders a hammer blow
-For real lol.
Watching this, some viewers' mockery grew, but:
"It doesn't work? Then what."
Lee Ganghan himself just scratched his head and:
"I'll have to kill them."
Swish!
He charged toward the Hobgoblins.
The distance closed in an instant.
"Kiek...!"
Before the Hobgoblin Archer could nock an arrow to the bowstring:
Crrrunch...!
The helmet of the Hobgoblin Warrior in front was dented by a single strike of the staff.
"These guys are a bit tougher."
They don't burst in one hit like goblins.
As Lee Ganghan grinned and thrust his staff once more:
Crack!
The Hobgoblin Warrior's head was crushed just like that.
"Kii...?"
Seeing the warrior die instantly, as the remaining rogue and archer were momentarily stunned, the wooden staff moved in succession.
Crrrack!
Then, the Hobgoblins' heads were smashed one after another.
"Is this really the end?"
Swish.
As Lee Ganghan shook off the blood on his staff:
-???
-What?
-Shit, wasn't he a summoner? Why is he so strong???
Question marks overwhelmingly appeared in the chat.
-Told you he's strong multiple times, idiots lol
-No, but it doesn't make sense logically???
-The chief was bowing calling him Heavenly Demon from the start, why didn't you believe it ㅡㅡ
-Heavenly Demon? Wasn't that just something he made him do?
They thought the worship calling him Heavenly Demon was just concept play.
'Seeing once is better than hearing a hundred times, that saying didn't come from nowhere.'
Lee Ganghan chuckled and looked around.
With the three Hobgoblins dead, a portal appeared beyond.
It felt like entering there would clear this Beginner's Tower.
'But isn't there anything to take?'
Still, having conquered the 10th floor, isn't there some reward?
Lee Ganghan searched thoroughly, but there was nothing to see except the star floating in the air.
-What's he doing? Not finishing
-Ah, looking for rewards?
-He's like a newbie at times like this lol
-If you enter the portal, they automatically calculate and give you rewards.
"Ah, I see."
Lee Ganghan nodded and looked at the goblin army beyond the door.
Despite subduing the Hobgoblins, the goblin horde still couldn't enter inside.
'I cleared it, so why can't they enter?'
Is it because of that gem star?
Lee Ganghan approached the star and tried to reach out, but:
[Access is impossible.]
Bzzzzt!
Sparks flew in the air, and the star's appearance quickly faded and disappeared.
-Nothing happens if you touch that anyway, you can't even touch it in the first place
-Yeah, it's just a symbol of the tower, quickly go to the portal for rewards
-There's still time left for the record lol, but no need to waste time.
Watching Lee Ganghan's newbie behavior, viewers gave advice.
Perhaps because impatient Koreans had gathered, the majority opinion was to proceed quickly.
"Wait, let me test something."
Lee Ganghan gestured to the goblin horde again, but they still couldn't enter inside.
'Even with the star gone, they can't enter.'
What's the problem?
Lee Ganghan tilted his head and tried to go outside, but:
Thud!
As if blocked by an invisible wall, he couldn't go from inside to outside either.
'Hmm... I should clear it for now.'
Since there was nothing more to do here, Lee Ganghan finished his exploration and approached the exit portal.
Then:
Swoooosh!
The chat window disappeared, and several message windows appeared before his eyes.
[Calculating Beginner's Tower - 1 performance...]
[You have subjugated the tutorial boss 'Castrated Goblin Chief'.]
[You cleared the tower as 1st place among beginners.]
[You achieved a new clear time record for the 'Human' race.]
[You subdued Hobgoblins within 10 minutes.]
[Clear Evaluation - SSS+]
[Clear rewards will be given proportional to the evaluation.]
[Exceeding SSS grade evaluation, additional special rewards will be given.]
'Oh. Special rewards.'
Lee Ganghan's eyes sparkled as he read the message.
Since they called it special, they'd give something good, right?
But that expectation was short-lived.
['Castrated Goblin Chief's Horn' obtained.]
With the following message:
'...Horn?'
Lee Ganghan's expression hardened.