Chapter 65
Chapter 65.
"Ah...... did she pass away?"
"Ah, yes. Our mother passed away 3 years ago. When she was alive, she was youthful-looking just like what Heavenly Demon lord said. People thought my mother and I were sisters."
"I'm sorry. I asked an unnecessary question."
At Shin Yuri's mother's age, she should still be in her prime.
I never thought she had passed away.
When Lee Ganghan felt sorry, Shin Yuri waved her hands dismissively.
"No, it's fine. It's already been 3 years. But why did you suddenly ask that question......?"
"I had a brief conversation with my father earlier, and he said that among the parents of Tower Syndrome patients, one parent is often surprisingly youthful-looking. So I wondered if that was the case with you, Miss Yuri."
"Ah, is that so? One parent being youthful-looking...... that's interesting."
When Lee Ganghan answered like that, omitting the demon-related story, Shin Yuri showed an intrigued reaction.
"Sister-in-law really didn't age. She looked exactly the same as when she first met older brother."
"Hmm...... when mother's health rapidly deteriorated, aging also progressed rapidly. I remember mother being heartbroken when she looked in the mirror."
"That's natural when your health deteriorates."
Shin Dongseok said that was natural, but.
'Did the demonic energy naturally leave her body before she passed away?'
Lee Ganghan, who knew the reason for her youthful appearance, thought so.
"But the most heartbreaking thing was that she passed away without us knowing what illness she had."
"I was shocked too. She passed away just 3 days after being hospitalized, right? But there was nothing particular found during the examinations."
"Yes. We should have gone to a different hospital then......"
Did she pass away without even knowing the name of her illness?
As they talked about this and Shin Yuri's expression became gloomy, Lee Ganghan spoke up.
"I brought up an unnecessary topic."
"No, it's fine. Thanks to your words, I was able to think about mother after a long time."
"Right. But it is interesting. I never knew there was such a commonality among Tower Syndrome patients."
"Exactly."
With that, the conversation came to an end.
Lee Ganghan closed his eyes on the airplane.
'Angels and demons...... today was really eventful.'
A grotesquely shaped eyeball angel.
And the story that his mother was probably a demon.
He had boarded the plane with a light heart to receive an item, but unexpected events kept happening one after another.
'The angel seemed favorable toward me, but I don't know its true intentions.'
The wing feather it gave him to use in the First Tower, and the head-shaped figure that popped out of the giant eye at the end were also concerning.
The angel was still too ambiguous to trust completely.
As Lee Ganghan lay there lost in thought with a troubled mind instead of falling asleep, the long flight eventually ended and the airplane was landing on the ground.
"We should have done some sightseeing in LA at least...... but we came straight back."
As Shin Dongseok expressed regret while getting off the plane, Shin Yuri said beside him.
"Come on. Heavenly Demon lord needs to accumulate scores in Korea. 15 billion won is at stake, you know?"
"Ah, right. If you climb towers in America, America's score goes up, right?"
"Yes. National Assembly member Joo Yongwan's side has been quiet lately...... but we still need to secure score acquisition to drive the nail in."
He hadn't been considering scores much because of what happened at FIPA, but as Shin Yuri said, to definitely enter the score ranking by the end of the month, he would need to consistently climb towers in Korea.
'Then I'll lightly do one tower and go to the First Tower.'
Lee Ganghan thought of tower climbing as lightly as taking a neighborhood walk.
Actually, clearing most towers didn't even take him 30 minutes, so a neighborhood walk might actually take longer.
"You really worked hard this time, Heavenly Demon lord."
"What did I do? The agent side worked harder."
"Oh my. What are you saying? Being connected to FIPA work-wise like this is a huge opportunity from an agent's perspective."
"I didn't know the high-nosed FIPA would provide such protocol."
"Is FIPA high-nosed?"
At Lee Ganghan's question, Shin Dongseok nodded.
"Yeah. FIPA receives considerable donations, plus...... FIPA's direct player guild is quite powerful."
"You mean Angels Wing? They all work hard going to countries with dangerous scores."
"Right. The loyalty of the members there is surprisingly high. Does FIPA treat them that well?"
"I've contacted some of the players there too, but they said they'd bury their bones in that guild. Usually, players of that skill level want to live comfortably in big cities."
FIPA's direct guild, Angels Wing.
'Are those players also connected to angels?'
Both the name and the story about the members' high loyalty seemed to be related to angels.
'Well, I probably won't be involved with them for a while anyway.'
Lee Ganghan thought so and parted ways with Shin Yuri's group before entering his house.
The inside of the house looked the same since he hadn't been away for long.
'There's not much to unpack, so I should start right away.'
So Lee Ganghan entered a tower.
[Tower of Infinity Stage 12.]
[Entering Bronze Tower No.73.]
[Entering the land where undead lie in ambush, 'Cemetery'.]
[Defeat the undead rising from the cemetery and climb to the next floor!]
No.73.
He was matched to the commonly called 'Cemetery' map.
***
The dark 'Cemetery' map.
As Lee Ganghan entered there.
-Wow, look how diligent Heavenly Demon is ㄷㄷ
-Didn't I just see news that he returned home and he's playing right away?
-Still, he went all the way to LA, shouldn't he rest a bit?
Comments from viewers quickly filled the chat window.
"That's why I'm going to clear it quickly. It won't take long."
-Kiya today will also be under 30 minutes
-Heavenly Demon Tube that you can't watch if you're a bit late ㅋㅋ
-When you reach Bronze, play time usually exceeds 5 hours on average...
-That won't happen with Heavenly Demon ㅋㅋ
At his words that he'd finish quickly, viewers predicted today's broadcast would also end within 30 minutes.
'If it's undead monsters, Heavenly Demon Eternal, Ten Thousand Demons Prostrate probably won't work either...... I should level up the goblins a bit.'
'Goblin Black Market' could be upgraded when the goblin average level reached 30.
Although there was a Goblin Training Ground, since he hadn't had goblins participate in combat much recently, there were still quite a few levels to raise to reach an average of 30.
'I should leave the lower floors to the goblins.'
When Lee Ganghan opened Ten Thousand Demon Battle to summon goblins, Paaaaat......!
A goblin horde appeared in orderly fashion from the red portal.
"Heavenly Demon Eternal, Ten Thousand Demons Prostrate!"
And the goblin chief standing at the front bowed deeply as soon as he saw Lee Ganghan.
"Thank you for summoning us! Heavenly Demon lord!"
"Yeah. I couldn't summon you recently because the timing wasn't right. This is an undead map, so level up a bit."
"Understood!"
The goblin horde at the front lines showed delighted expressions at Lee Ganghan's command.
-Ah, goblin level-up time?
-But aren't goblins useless? Time to abandon them ㅎㅎ
-One chief does look strong though ㅋㅋ
-That chief also dissed goblins saying they're useless anyway ㅋㅋㅋ
Viewers posted comments asking why he was raising goblins, but.
"There's content that opens when goblin levels are raised."
After Lee Ganghan said that, he quietly stood back and watched the goblins fight.
As the goblin legion walked across the black earth, Kurururu......!
The ground rumbled, and skeletons began rising one by one.
"Kikik......! We can't handle them one-on-one. You guys! Three per skeleton!"
"Understood! Chief!"
The goblins began combat by basically surrounding each skeleton 3:1.
-3:1 against skeletons...
-Goblins are really useless ㅋㅋㅋ
-But watching them fight fiercely is like watching a jjapbae battle ㅋㅋ
-Without the chief, they would have been beaten by 1st floor undead already?
Goblins vs undead.
The battle between the two proceeded with the goblin legion's advantage, but this was possible because the goblin chief was playing a major role in the middle.
Without the chief, more than half of those goblins would have become corpses by now.
'They're really becoming useless in combat.'
Is that why goblin-related facilities were so cheap in Ten Thousand Demon Battle?
Lee Ganghan crossed his arms while watching the two forces engaged in fierce combat.
He wanted to just go and sweep them away, but to achieve an average level of 30, he suppressed that urge and waited quietly.
-Jjapbae fights are fun for a moment but not anymore...
-Real ㅋㅋ
-What item did the Heavenly Demon lord receive from FIPA?
-Oh, let's do an item reveal ㅋㅋ while the goblins are fighting
The item selection that proceeded in secrecy at FIPA.
Even at the press conference that followed, Lee Ganghan hadn't revealed what he received.
However.
'I'll have to keep using the sword anyway, so I'll just reveal its appearance.'
While the wing feather was difficult to reveal due to its connection to 'angels', the sword should be fine to reveal as long as he didn't reveal the item name.
Thinking so, Lee Ganghan took out the 'Flame Angel's Faded Sword' from his inventory.
-???
-What's that old sword?
-Don't tell me FIPA made all that fuss to give this? ㅡㅡ
-Wow, that's too much. Isn't this insulting Heavenly Demon?
-Insulting Heavenly Demon is... insulting South Korea...!
-When will Heavenly Demon immigrate? ㅋㅋㅋ
-Don't say unlucky things ㄴㄴ
Viewers were disappointed seeing the sword Lee Ganghan took out.
That was understandable, since it looked completely worn out and had cracks here and there on the blade.
They couldn't help but think FIPA had made all that fuss just to give such an item.
"I chose this myself. And despite its appearance, this is A+ grade."
Lee Ganghan, who couldn't talk about the angel, defended them to some extent, but.
-Hul ㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-That thing is A+? Are you crazy? Didn't FIPA scam you?
-Don't you remember Heavenly Demon lord that the goblin chief's horn was S grade?
-You received a sword worth less than the horn attached to that thing now ㅡㅡ
-FIPA should immediately prepare a new sword, seriously
Public opinion continued to burn with comments like 'is that even a sword?'
'The evaluation is harsh. I wonder if the Spirit of Heavenly Sword will be the same?'
It seems like it would have good compatibility with the Spirit of Heavenly Sword though.
As Lee Ganghan thought so and summoned the spirit, Paaaaat......!
A red portal appeared behind him, and a sword of light emerged from it.
Then the spirit's face popped out from the sword.
"Chief Disciple...... did you get a sword? The Sacred Fire's firepower is insufficient right now...... I can't stay in this state...... huh?"
The Spirit of Heavenly Sword was talking about insufficient firepower, as if the Sacred Fire's power still wasn't fully charged.
"Huh? Huh?"
Suddenly pulling its body out of the sword, it flew to the sword Lee Ganghan was holding at lightning speed.
"What, what's this sword...... where did you get it......?"
"I received it as a reward."
"Uwaaaa...... this is crazy......!"
Swish, Swish.
Gone was the tired look from before.
The Spirit of Heavenly Sword circled around the sword with sparkling eyes.
"C-can I really enter here......?"
"Why isn't this place too shabby?"
"Shabby? This is like an imperial palace......!"
Swoosh!
As the Spirit of Heavenly Sword entered the sword, Flash!
Intense light spread in all directions from the sword.
Then.
"Kiiiik?"
"Huh, the undead......!"
Whooosh......!
The undead horde instantly began burning.
-Huh? Why are the undead like that?
-They're instantly killed as soon as the light touches them?
-What, it's not just a crappy sword?
-Isn't it because of the spirit?
-But the spirit is super excited ㅋㅋㅋ
-Not the usual lazy look ㅋㅋ
Just by the Spirit of Heavenly Sword entering the sword, all the undead on the 1st floor burned up from that light alone.
[Wow...... this sword is really the best...... How can such a sword exist......]
"Why are you so excited when it's broken?"
[Even in its broken state, it's so good...... I can restore it in my style...... Haaa...... Haaa...... You're mine......]
The Spirit of Heavenly Sword was more excited than ever inside the angel's sword.
"Let's go up, everyone."
"Yes!"
Lee Ganghan went up to the 2nd floor with the goblin horde after the enemies disappeared.
"I won't interfere now. Hunt well."
He ordered the goblins to level up again, but Flash......!
As the angel's sword flashed again, Whooosh!
The undead burned up as soon as they rose.
[Haaa...... amazing......]
"Hey, the goblins need to level up. Stop burning them."
[Amazing...... amaazing......]
The Spirit of Heavenly Sword was so pleased with something that it kept flashing the sword and interfering with hunting.
Finally, when they reached the 7th floor.
[Haaa...... I...... got excited unlike myself......]
The Spirit of Heavenly Sword stopped flashing.