Chapter 12
‘Heavenly Demon’s Reign?’
It was one of the skills listed as a bonus reward after obtaining the Heavenly Demon Physique.
Later, when I looked into it, I found out it was a footwork technique.
‘It’s nice getting something every time I sleep, but…’
Yesterday, his lowest attribute rating of the Heavenly Demon Physique increased.
Today, he gained the “Heavenly Demon’s Reign” skill.
Just looking at the results, he was gaining skills even while sleeping—definitely a win.
But—
‘The constant injuries are starting to bother me.’
When he woke up yesterday, he still had wounds.
Today, there were no visible scars, but the video Jooyoung recorded showed the wounds forming and healing clearly.
So far, they healed, so it was fine.
But if he ever got a fatal wound… he might die in his sleep.
“I guess I’ll have to record myself sleeping every day now.”
“Yeah. Buy a proper camera. You definitely need to film it.”
Jooyoung yawned as he replied.
“Yaaawn… Anyway, I’m heading home. I’ve got to edit your video too.”
“Alright. Get home safe.”
“Oh right—are you going into the tower today?”
“Depends. If I’m still awake, I’ll go.”
“Ah… right, you might fall asleep.”
Kanghan nodded.
You could enter the Infinite Tower once every 24 hours.
But since he cleared a tower around his usual sleep time—8 PM—yesterday, today he probably wouldn’t make it in due to sleepiness.
‘Might be better to start entering in the mornings from now on.’
Otherwise, the timing would keep getting pushed, and he’d lose a whole day.
So Kanghan decided to start entering the tower in the mornings starting Monday.
“Oh, then why not go register as a player today? You could also exchange some TP.”
“It’s Sunday, though?”
“That place opens even on Sundays.”
He currently had 40,000 TP.
If he exchanged it all, he wouldn’t need to worry about money for a while.
“Yeah, might as well.”
Deciding to take care of some chores today, Kanghan left the house with Jooyoung.
“How much are you planning to exchange?”
“Thinking of doing all 40,000.”
“Wait, all 40,000?”
“Yeah.”
“Hmm… then it’s kinda wasteful not to be in a guild.”
If you exchanged through a guild, you got about 10% more TP.
10% of 40,000 TP was 4,000 dollars—about 5.2 million won.
That’s a big difference.
“If you go through my company’s guild, they might give you more… Ah, but don’t get involved with them. A different guild would be better.”
“Why?”
“Some parachuted manager treated players like office staff, really bossy. A bunch of players left, but that guy still hasn’t been fired.”
Jooyoung shook his head and confidently added,
“Yeah, definitely stay away from them.”
“Alright, alright. I won’t.”
“I’ll ask around and tell you if I hear of any good guilds.”
Jooyoung, who had zero company loyalty, offered to help Kanghan find another guild instead of promoting his own.
“Oh, and I heard the government is offering benefits to new players now. With your record, you’d get top-tier treatment. So register first.”
“Don’t I have to register anyway to exchange TP?”
“Oh yeah, true. If the exchange rate stays the same, wait on the TP exchange. A 10% bonus is huge.”
Kanghan nodded.
He didn’t urgently need the money.
So today, he’d just register and, if the rate stayed the same, exchange TP later through a guild.
“Alright. Take care. I’ll email you the edited video.”
“Cool. See you later.”
After parting ways, Kanghan arrived at a new building beside City Hall—The Tower Management Bureau.
Even though it was Sunday, the lobby was packed.
“This line is for player registration!”
“Right this way!”
The line for registration stretched long.
‘Awakening happened Friday, so Saturday and Sunday are probably the busiest.’
Kanghan had cleared the Beginner’s Tower on Friday.
Most others died once to the tutorial boss, got ambushed by goblins, revived, and tried again and again.
Exhausted by Saturday, they came to register on Sunday.
‘Guess I’ll have to wait.’
As he got in line, his tall figure made him stand out.
Soon enough—
Murmur… murmur…
“Huh?”
“Isn’t that the Heavenly Demon?”
“Wow, look at his body.”
People started recognizing him.
“Heavenly Demon? Who?”
“You don’t know? He’s the one who broke the tutorial record.”
“Oh… really? I just cleared the tutorial and woke up.”
“He’s gone viral on the community sites.”
“He even punched through maze walls…”
He’d only entered the tower twice.
But among players, or maybe because his video had spread widely, many already knew him as “Heavenly Demon.”
And then—
“Excuse me! Coming through!”
A staff member pushed through the crowd and stood before Kanghan.
“Are you Mr. Kanghan, the one who placed 1st in the tutorial?”
“Yes.”
“Please follow me.”
He led him to a counter with no people.
“What the heck? Is this special treatment?”
“They’re playing favorites already? We’re players too…”
Some grumbled.
But then someone noticed a sign—
“That’s for players with S-grade or higher traits.”
“I heard they do special testing there. That must be why.”
“Oh… well, he was 1st place, so I guess he’d be at least S.”
Once they learned it was for S-grade traits and above, the complaints died down.
‘Wait, my trait was E~SSS, though.’
Only players with S or higher traits could use that desk.
Was he even allowed to go?
As he sat down with that question in mind—
“We’ll run a detailed scan for you, Mr. Kanghan.”
The staff member looked at him with interest and pulled out a golden scanning device.
It had a lens at the top, a space to insert your hand, and a screen above.
‘Is this the detailed scanner?’
Looked pretty high-tech.
Following the instructions, Kanghan inserted his right hand.
Beep! Beep!
The device beeped, then:
[Trait Grade: E]
[Not eligible for detailed examination.]
The screen displayed that message.
The staff member assisting him muttered without thinking:
“…Huh? E?”
* * *
Most people are naturally curious about what trait grade someone received.
Especially a player like Kanghan, who set a new record.
So everyone nearby had been quietly listening.
“E?”
“Huh? Is that a mistake?”
“How could it be E?”
People were shocked.
The Heavenly Demon, who crushed a goblin chieftain and punched through maze walls, only barely passed the lowest trait grade?
“Ah, I-I’m so sorry. I blurted out the result without meaning to…”
The staff member looked panicked.
Trait grades were supposed to be confidential.
But the result was so shocking, he accidentally said it aloud—and now it was spreading fast.
However—
“It’s fine. It happens.”
Kanghan didn’t mind.
‘It did say E~SSS. Guess it only shows the current grade.’
He’d started with F and had grown to E.
So the scanner probably only read the current tier.
Even though his power in the Tower felt way above E…
‘If E is already this strong, what happens when I hit SSS?’
With that thought, he stood up.
Since his result was E, he figured he should go back and stand in line like the others.
“Should I get back in line, then?”
“Ah, excuse me—but are you sure your trait is E? The scan result might be wrong…”
Compared to Kanghan’s calm attitude, the staff member seemed more shocked.
“Yes. It says E right now.”
“No way…”
He had defeated a chieftain, tamed monsters, and shattered walls with his fists—how could he be E?
‘I was D and couldn’t even survive…’
This staff member had awakened with a D-grade trait: [Strength +2].
He gave the Tower a try, but quit after repeatedly dying.
If Kanghan was E… then he should’ve been stronger than this guy?
“Then I’ll get going.”
“W-Wait! Can we scan you one more time?”
Kanghan turned to leave, but the staff stopped him.
“I should get in line.”
“If the result’s the same, I’ll handle the process here. Since we made you wait, it’s the least we can do…”
“Well, alright.”
As Kanghan sat back down, the staff checked the scanner thoroughly and said,
“Please try again.”
Once again, Kanghan placed his hand inside—
[Trait Grade: E]
[Not eligible for detailed examination.]
Same result.
“Unbelievable…”
“It’s real. Can I register now?”
“Y-Yes! Please fill out this form…”
The staff handed him a form that read:
[Specially Managed Player Registration Form]
“…What’s this special management thing?”
“Oh, um… Sorry, that’s the wrong one! You’re a general player. I got confused earlier and prepped this by mistake. I’ll get the right form!”
This staff member really made a lot of mistakes.
Kanghan nodded and glanced over the form briefly.
Free luxury apartment, base allowance of over 3 million won per month, additional pay for tower entry…
‘And a 110% TP exchange rate? Special management sounds pretty good.’
There was a restriction like “No overseas travel for 6 months,” but before he could read more, the staff quickly swapped the forms.
“Please fill this one out.”
“Okay.”
Scribble, scribble.
Kanghan filled in his personal info and trait grade and handed it over.
“Here’s your registration card.”
The card had his photo on it—probably taken by the scanner earlier.
He stood up after receiving it.
“General players get a 100% exchange rate, right?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“Alright.”
Just as Kanghan was about to leave—
“Ah, um…”
“Yes?”
“We assumed you’d be a Specially Managed Player, so we contacted the Bureau Director…”
Tower Management Director—Shin Kyungchul.
Even Kanghan had heard of him.
‘He’s Korea’s top SSS-grade player.’
He rejected offers from America and China and stayed in Korea.
He even became a bureau director, earning massive respect from other players.
“But I’m just a general player.”
“Still, since you broke a record… the Director would be happy to meet you. He’s free at 7 PM. We’ll arrange a car. Would that be okay?”
“7 PM?”
Kanghan shook his head.
“Sorry. I can’t.”
“…Excuse me?”
“I have something I do every night, so I can’t meet in the evening. Just let him know I’m fine not meeting.”
He always passed out by 8 PM.
No way he could meet someone at 7 PM and still make it back.
Rather than looking like a fool in front of the Director, it was better not to go.
Kanghan bowed politely.
“Thanks for your help.”
Without looking back, he left.
“He turned down the Director?”
“Guess he really is just an E.”
“A record-holder being a regular player… what’s going on?”
“Could it be a system error?”
“I’ve never heard of that happening…”
People whispered and gossiped as he walked away.
‘They’ll calm down eventually.’
With his usual calm face, Kanghan left the building.
He figured he’d go buy a camera to record his sleep.
* * *
Meanwhile, at the main Tower Management Bureau in Yongsan, Seoul—
“…Player Kanghan is E-rank?”
Director Shin Kyungchul frowned after receiving the urgent report.
