The Heavenly Demon Destroys the Tower - Chapter 13

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 13
Player Lee Gang-han.
From the tutorial onwards, he’d been breaking world records.
The man who’d carved a path through the maze map using extraordinary methods.
Still at the Iron stage as a Player, though.
Yet the strength he displayed was so exceptional.
That it seemed fitting for him to be called the Cheonma.
And yet.
“Grade E, you say…….”
How could a Grade E Player demonstrate such power?
Even with the precise measurement data attached to the report.
Shin Gyung-chul found himself unable to accept it readily.
Grade E Players had trouble breaking past Iron in the first place.
And even if they somehow clawed their way to the Iron grade through sheer effort and grit.
Most of them would hit a wall once they reached Bronze, the next tier up.
But this.
Lee Gang-han, who’d already achieved humanity’s record twice over, was Grade E?
“……I simply can’t bring myself to believe it. Wouldn’t you agree?”
“Yes, sir. There’s no record of even an SSS-grade Player defeating a Goblin Chieftain. So how could the Player who defeated that monster possibly be Grade E?”
“Exactly. Though it pains me to admit—I’ve lost to a Goblin Chieftain myself.”
“Ah. I wasn’t speaking of you, Director…….”
“I know. I know. You’re not the type to dance around things in that underhanded way.”
As the employee watched Shin Gyung-chul’s wry smile and began sweating profusely.
“And he refused to meet this evening as well?”
“Yes. He said he has something to do every night…….”
“Hm. I see…….”
Being turned down when he’d extended an invitation himself was novel.
Shin Gyung-chul found the notion oddly refreshing, then nodded.
There was no point pressing the matter if he didn’t want to meet.
“If he’s truly Grade E, it might feel burdensome for him.”
“Yes. After reviewing other Trait precedents, those with lower grades who exhibited powerful abilities often had usage restrictions.”
“Restrictions?”
“Yes. Limitations like being able to exert maximum power only for the first ten Tower entries. Conditional and time-limited Traits fell into this category.”
The conditions attached to a Player’s Traits varied so widely.
Some Traits displayed tremendous power only in the early stages after acquisition.
And after that, there were cases where the effects became ordinary.
If the Cheonma Body was truly Grade E.
Then this Trait too would likely lose its potency after repeated Tower entries.
“Understood. It’s unfortunate, but there’s nothing to be done. You worked hard despite it being Sunday. Go on home.”
“Yes, sir!”
The employees left for the day at their director’s order.
Shin Gyung-chul himself climbed into his car with a grave expression.
‘I was certain the Cheonma would naturally be a talent with an SSS-grade Trait.’
The Infinite Tower—its Score requirements had surged dramatically a year ago.
Even the United States, ranked first, had failed to meet its monthly Score targets, and as the Tower multiplied.
Subtle currents began stirring among nations that had been cooperating peacefully through FIPA.
Until now, because each country could handle its Score independently.
Player recruitment from other nations had proceeded only within acceptable bounds.
But a year ago, the situation changed.
The major powers began approaching Players through back channels with increasing frequency.
‘……Already, several people in our country have changed their nationality.’
South Korea had originally maintained stable Scores.
But once they cut support for Players, many fled the country.
And warning lights began flashing in Score management.
Korea, economically ranking among the developed nations.
Was now hemorrhaging talent as badly as economically struggling countries.
‘The political leadership still doesn’t grasp how critical this is. If incidents like the Phoenix Guild happen a few more times, Korea will be the first developed nation to collapse.’
Towers that appeared in South Korea last month numbered thirty-two.
With sixteen of them manifesting in Seoul alone, the damage had concentrated in the metropolitan region.
As if the Infinite Tower was deliberately targeting the most densely populated areas.
The invincible myth of Seoul real estate was being shattered, ironically, by the Infinite Tower.
Particularly in Gangnam’s apartment complexes, the luminous tower that flickered across the skyline
seemed to hint that once a thousand towers were built, it would start detonating from Gangnam itself.
“Director, we’ve arrived.”
“Good work.”
In the upscale residential neighborhood of Hannam-dong,
Shin Gyung-chul stepped out of his car and headed inside his home,
documents related to Lee Gang-han tucked under his arm.
‘Lee Gang-han… Even if he did get an E Grade, I should still keep watching.’
No matter that Lee Gang-han had been graded E — the power he’d demonstrated was genuine.
Shin Gyung-chul studied Lee Gang-han’s personal information carefully.
‘Mother missing, father on a business trip to the United States… There’s a real possibility recruitment offers could come from abroad.’
It was around the moment he was checking Lee Gang-han’s home address
when a voice called out from within the residence: “Father, you’re back?”
A woman of striking beauty emerged from the depths of the house.
Her face was radiant and refined.
Shin Gyung-chul’s expression brightened immediately at the sight of her.
“Yu-ri? Didn’t you say you were on a business trip?”
“It finished faster than expected. The contract went through smoothly.”
Shin Yu-ri — Shin Gyung-chul’s only daughter,
who ran the Player agent firm GLASS,
had become the most prominent female CEO in her twenties in the country.
Beyond her position as a young executive, her glamorous appearance rivaled that of a celebrity,
and combined with being Shin Gyung-chul’s daughter,
she commanded the recognition of a major entertainment figure throughout South Korea.
Of course, Shin Gyung-chul
often thought, ‘At such a young age, she should enjoy life more. Working so hard at business… it pains me.’
Seeing his daughter return from a business trip even on Sunday stirred a sense of pity in him.
He received enormous sponsorship from the state and corporations,
and he himself climbed the tower and earned substantial TP.
He wished his daughter would simply enjoy the money he’d earned rather than chase herself ragged with work.
“You’re not working too hard, are you? You should date a bit while you’re young.”
“You were commuting on Sundays yourself.”
“This month’s Awakening Day was last Friday. Normally I do rest on Sundays.”
“Ah. Did you notice anyone remarkable?”
“Why? Planning to sign them?”
“Even if we did, we wouldn’t offer a contract to a beginner already.”
Shin Gyung-chul chuckled at this
and set a stack of documents on the table.
“There was someone remarkable — goes by the name Cheonma.”
“Cheonma…?”
At the mention of Cheonma,
Shin Yu-ri’s expression shifted subtly.
“Yes. This Player with the alias Cheonma set a new record this time. I thought they’d at least grade SS, but apparently they came out as E Grade. It was quite big news, actually — you didn’t see it?”
“No, I was sleeping on the plane… Uncle mentioned a remarkable Player had appeared.”
Shin Gyung-chul sighed with a hint of regret.
“Remarkable indeed — they defeated a goblin chieftain.”
“They defeated a chieftain?”
“They did. But the measurement came back E Grade, so… the staff suspects it might be a time-limited ability.”
“Ah, that’s unfortunate.”
Yet Shin Yu-ri’s eyes gleamed with interest.
On a face that bore the fatigue of a long flight,
curiosity now filled every trace.
“But why Cheonma?”
“You don’t know what Cheonma means? Well, it refers to—”
“Oh, I know that. I read some wuxia novels when I was younger.”
Shin Gyung-chul found himself recalling old memories at her words.
His daughter, who never read books except for schoolwork, had suddenly one day
begun buying wuxia novels in large quantities.
‘It must have been around the time the tower appeared and people were suffering from Tower Syndrome…’
When Shin Gyung-chul recalled the time his daughter had fallen ill,
“No, I’ll watch the video myself and check.”
Shin Yu-ri went back into her room.
Bang!
Not long after, she burst back out.
“Father!”
“Hmm?”
“Can you give me some information on this person? Where he lives, his phone number, anything!”
Her face flushed crimson, her eyes gleaming.
The weariness that had clung to her complexion from the long flight had vanished without a trace.
‘I barely watched it for a few minutes, but Player Lee Gang-han’s video impressed her that much?’
His daughter was so mature that she rarely asked him for anything.
Now, after so long, she was asking for his help with something, and Shin Gyung-chul wanted to grant her every wish—but.
“Yu-ri, I can’t do that. I’m the director of the association. How could I leak someone’s personal information?”
He was a man who kept his public and private matters strictly separate.
“Really? There’s no way?”
“No way.”
……
Whoosh!
Shin Yu-ri tried to sneak a look at Lee Gang-han’s file without a word.
“Ah-ah. I said no, didn’t I?”
Slip.
Shin Gyung-chul flipped Lee Gang-han’s file over before she could see it.
“If the association director’s daughter obtained someone’s private information without permission and made contact… do you understand how dangerous that would be?”
“……I understand.”
At her father’s firm stance, Shin Yu-ri seemed ready to give up.
“But…… his name is Lee Gang-han, twenty-four years old. He’s worked frequently at a distribution center. He took the Player test at the Yongin branch. That’s information everyone else knows anyway, isn’t it?”
“That’s…….”
“I’ll look for him based on this information. That’s fine, isn’t it?”
She spoke of finding Lee Gang-han’s whereabouts on her own,
rattling off several facts.
“Even if you do manage to find Lee Gang-han that way, what exactly are you planning to do?”
“Father, you know about my Player Trait, don’t you?”
When Shin Yu-ri mentioned her own Trait,
Shin Gyung-chul’s expression hardened visibly.
‘So that’s why she’s been so fixated on meeting Lee Gang-han…… it must be because of her Trait.’
Shin Gyung-chul, who understood his daughter’s Trait well,
could not bring himself to stop her from looking for Lee Gang-han privately.
“But don’t you think connecting him to your Trait is jumping to conclusions?”
Shin Gyung-chul said this out of an abundance of caution.
“No.”
Shin Yu-ri’s face held a peculiar certainty.
“It’s not a leap.”
She spoke firmly.
“If I meet him, I think the clue to understanding my Trait will unravel.”
Sigh.
Shin Gyung-chul exhaled slowly.
He couldn’t fathom why she held such conviction,
“……Just don’t cause Player Lee Gang-han too much trouble.”
He couldn’t stop his daughter from looking into it herself.
That much was beyond his authority as a father.
When Shin Gyung-chul spoke those words,
“Yes, Father.”
Shin Yu-ri bowed respectfully to him,
“I’ll look into it myself from now on.”
and left the room.
* * *
The next day.
‘The portal didn’t open yesterday either.’
Lee Gang-han rewound the footage on the camera he’d bought yesterday, watching himself sleep.
Lee Gang-han thrashed in bed as before, crying out in his sleep.
Unlike what Kim Ju-young had captured on camera, no portal materialized.
‘Maybe it’s because I didn’t enter the tower yesterday.’
Lee Gang-han had slept straight through after returning from buying the camera, his schedule thrown into disarray.
Now that he’d start entering the tower each morning, he wouldn’t have to deal with this kind of timing mess anymore.
With that thought, he finished preparing to enter.
Just as he was about to step in.
[Will you use your Iron Tower No-777 Entry Ticket?]
A message appeared asking if he wanted to use the ticket.
‘Better use this now while I can.’
If he put it off and ranked up to Bronze, it might become unusable.
It made sense to claim the reward while he had the chance.
Lee Gang-han tapped yes.
[Infinite Tower, Stage 2.]
[Entering Iron Tower No-777.]
[First human to ever enter Iron Tower No-777.]
[Tower Reward acquisition increased by 100%.]
‘Double rewards. Not bad.’
Would this make the payouts closer to what he got from the Gold Tower?
Lee Gang-han grinned as he crossed the threshold into the tower.
According to the video he’d seen before, this was definitely supposed to be the Treasure Chest-opening stage.
Since he had confidence in his strength, he’d crack them open quick.
With that in mind, as he stepped into the tower, his eyes widened at what lay before him.
“……What?”
A brilliant blue sky and pristine white clouds stretched out endlessly.
And beneath Lee Gang-han’s feet stood the peak of a sheer cliff.
Carefully, he peered down.
Below the precipice, an abyss so deep he couldn’t see the bottom came into view.
If he fell from here, he’d die instantly for certain.
‘Hold on—777 wasn’t supposed to be a treasure vault?’
The lucky number seven repeated three times, too.
Just as Lee Gang-han was scanning the cliff face carefully to see if any Treasure Chests were hidden there.
Floating gently…….
Above the pristine clouds.
Treasure Chests began appearing one by one.
[Entering the Treasure Vault of Heaven.]
[Avoid the Guardian’s attacks and claim the treasures!]
‘Guardian’s attacks?’
Barely had the message finished.
Wheeee——!
A massive arrow plummeted from the sky with a piercing shriek.
Bang!
A colossal arrow crashed into the cliff peak.
‘So that’s what they meant.’
Once Lee Gang-han dodged the first arrow.
What had embedded itself at the top of the cliff was an enormous arrow radiating pale white light.
The arrow, larger than Lee Gang-han’s own body.
Flickered ominously, flash after flash……!
Even after striking the ground, it continued to gleam with an ill omen.
Cheonma Shatters the Tower (Serialized)
Author │ Yeom Bi
Publisher │ Kim Ju-hyung
Published by │ J Plus Media Co., Ltd.
Marketing │ Han Jae-hyuk
Address │ 204, 288 Digital-ro, Guro-gu, Seoul (Guro-dong, Daelung Post Tower 1st)
Email │ [email protected]
Website │ www.jayplemedia.com
ⓒ Yeom Bi 2025
※This work is published by J Plus Media Co., Ltd. in accordance with a contract with the copyright holder. No part of this content may be used in any form or by any means without permission from the publisher and author.

Violation of these terms may result in criminal or civil legal liability.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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