Chapter 28
“11th floor?”
Aside from the special rank-up trials with no floor limits, the Infinite Tower had a strict rule across all ranks:
10 floors were the maximum.
As players rose in rank, each floor’s world grew larger and more complex, with extra conditions added to maps.
But no matter what, the number of floors always ended at 10.
But now… 11th floor?
“Well, since it’s come to this, I have to check it out for myself.”
Since he had already wasted an SSS+ reward by getting matched with the same “Forest Path” tower again, Kang Han was determined to find out what lay beyond.
With that, he collected his clear rewards:
[Opening Clear Rewards…]
[Level increased by 2.]
[You have earned 32,000 TP.]
“That’s 2,000 TP more than last time.”
Probably because the stage level had gone up by one. Not a bad bonus.
“If I don’t spend TP in Ten Thousand Demon War (Manmajeon), I’ll be rich in no time.”
Still, it was worth investing TP there since strengthening Ten Thousand Demon War would ultimately improve his own abilities.
“Tomorrow, I’ll run the tower and contact Yuri to exchange some TP.”
He returned home after that quick climb with Karana, which took less than 30 minutes.
After finishing up TowerTube video management, Kang Han checked his channel stats—and blinked in surprise.
“…The elf video passed a million views?”
That emergency “Elf Special” video Ju-young had edited and sent in a rush—how did it spread so fast?
“It’s an ELF! A real elf!!”
“An elf that talks to humans?!?”
“Why is she mimicking orcs though?”
“Not gonna lie, I kinda like it :)”
“Can we get her to Japan too?!”
“His trait is about to expire anyway lol.”
“Even if it does, please keep showing the elf…”
Even foreign comments were auto-translated and streaming in real-time.
“Guess the spotlight really is back.”
Back when he was ranked 1st in the tutorial world, everyone paid attention.
Then he got slapped with an E-rank, and everyone lost interest.
But now, thanks to the elf, public attention had returned—in just a week.
“But wait, if I got a million views, shouldn’t TP be calculated too?”
Considering how expensive Ten Thousand Demon War upgrades were, Kang Han looked into how TowerTube handled TP payouts.
Soon, he found it:
[TowerTube Payout Policy]
-
Race: Human
-
Infinite Tower Entry Experience: Beginner
-
Cross-race viewers can’t access beginner channels.
-
External ads are not allowed.
-
Payout rate: 0.001 TP per view
-
Current TP cap per video: 1,000 TP
-
Higher ranks raise the max payout per video
-
Settlements are made at the end of the month
0.001 TP per view… About 1.3 Korean won per view.
Even if you hit a million views, you could only get 1,000 TP per video.
“No wonder high-rank players plaster ads all over their gear.”
Diamond-tier players often had corporate logos on their clothes or weapons.
Now it made sense—you couldn’t rely on view counts alone for income.
“Still, at least the elf video hit the cap.”
Thanks to Karana, new viewers were checking out his older videos too.
So his total payout at the end of the month might be pretty decent.
“Alright, I’ll count that as a future bonus…”
He closed the TowerTube settings and checked his phone.
Still no reply from his father.
“He must be busy. I shouldn’t just wait for his message—maybe I should check Mom’s stuff in the bedroom.”
There might be some clue in her old belongings.
But when he entered the room, all he found was a thick layer of dust.
“…Nothing.”
Nothing stood out.
“Maybe the voice and face were just a trick to confuse me… not actually related to Mom.”
No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t believe his ordinary mother was connected to the first tower.
He left the room, shaking his head.
“But if I don’t get dragged into the first tower anymore… how does sleep work now?”
His “sleeping sickness” made him sleep 12 hours a day, always going to bed around 8 p.m.—except when tower delays interfered.
Today, based on that pattern, he should start getting sleepy around 8:30.
“Still… I woke up at 12 p.m. Something’s changed.”
Ever since leaving Cheonma Valley, he felt different.
His forced connection to the tower’s blessing had also broken.
Maybe his condition had changed?
“Guess I’ll just wait and see like usual.”
He cleaned up the house, went grocery shopping, and waited.
When 8 p.m. came…
“I’m not sleepy at all.”
Usually, he’d start nodding off way before now, but this time, nothing.
Even after 8:30, he felt completely awake.
“Maybe I’ll get sleepy at 12:30? I woke up at 12, after all.”
If the 12-hour cycle was still in effect, that would make sense.
He decided to pass the time.
Reading community posts:
[Cheonma still hasn’t lost his power.GIF]
└“Damn, I was gonna upload that first…”
└“Bro when does he actually lose his power lol”
└“80 years later, apparently”
└“U.S. gonna offer him a billion dollars at this rate lol”
[In the tower, elves kidnap orcs]
└“It’s not kidnapping, it’s rescue, okay?”
└“Uhh… right? It’s rescue?”
└“Cheonma told the elf to use orcs wisely, lol”
At 1 a.m., he finally stood up from his desk.
“…Whoa.”
He was still wide awake.
When was the last time he stayed up like this?
“…Wow.”
He slipped on some slippers and walked out to a convenience store.
“Is this what the night feels like?”
He stared at the streetlights, dazed.
“75,200 won.”
“Yes.”
He returned home, arms full of snacks and alcohol.
“So this is… nighttime.”
Pour…
Drinking quietly, he got lost in his thoughts.
The sleep sickness that controlled him for 10 years had vanished just like that.
Even though he was awake, it didn’t feel real.
“Weird… no matter how much I drink, I’m not getting drunk.”
His mind was getting sharper, not fuzzier.
He stared blankly at his room and thought:
“…The sun’s up.”
That day, for the first time in his life—
he pulled an all-nighter.
* * *
After his first all-nighter, even with alcohol, Kang Han felt…
“I feel… great?”
Surprisingly fresh.
Maybe because his stamina was 17?
His body didn’t feel the slightest bit tired.
He felt like he could stay up for another day if needed.
“Still, I should try to sleep normally starting tonight.”
He had enjoyed the thrill of freedom.
But now it was time to reset his schedule.
He waited for tower entry time.
“‘In the beginning, there was no division between good and evil…’”
While waiting, he unconsciously muttered parts of the True Heavenly Demon Technique.
Even though he’d been drinking all night, he could still recall every word clearly.
“Now that I have time, maybe I should try practicing this?”
He could only memorize the chant for now.
But maybe next time in Cheonma Valley, the ghost priestess could teach him how to train with it.
Until 12:30, he continued reciting:
“…Descendants, pull down the heavens and become one. That is the Heavenly Demon’s duty.”
He finished the entire chant.
“Still can’t believe I memorized all that…”
Time passed, and at 12:30, he entered the tower.
[Infinite Tower Stage 5.]
[Entering Iron Tower No.4.]
“Nice.”
Thanks to Karana’s quest, it was Forest Path again.
-He’s alive again today
-??? Why is it Forest Path again?
-Anyone ever get the same map 3 times in a row?
-Honestly, I like watching the orc kidnappings lol
-Still wish we saw him clear different towers…
People were surprised, but Kang Han just smiled.
“Hello, yes, I survived again. We’ll be collecting orcs today too, just like yesterday~”
It was his third time in the same map.
And since it was an easy one, he cleared it in no time.
-Bro’s blazing through it lol
-Even Stage 5 can’t stop Cheonma
-If he’s not on a timer, he’s basically perfect
-He IS on a timer though, right??
-If not, every player should just give up their traits lmao
-For real. It’s so broken…
After sweeping the tower:
“Good work.”
“Chiiik… thank you. We collected over 30 orcs today.”
He said goodbye to Karana and finished the stage.
[Clearing Iron Tower No.4…]
[Cleared within 1 hour.]
[Subdued over 10 orcs.]
[Encountered hidden NPC ‘Half-Elf Karana.’]
[Clear Rating – SSS+]
Just like last time.
[Special reward granted for SSS+ performance.]
[Special reward already claimed for this tower.]
[No special reward granted.]
Same disappointing message.
But then—
[SSS+ rating achieved 3 times on the same map.]
[Would you like to ascend to the 11th floor of Iron Tower No.4?]
…A prompt to enter the 11th floor.
-Bro I just finished lunch and it’s already over??
-That was too fast, wtf
-Guess I’ll just rewatch the uploaded video…
It had only taken him 20 minutes to clear it.
Late viewers were disappointed.
“I’m not done yet,” Kang Han said with a smirk.
“I’m going to the 11th floor.”
He pointed upward with his finger.
-???
-11th floor??
-Dude, that doesn’t exist.
-Cheonma’s trolling again…
Everyone thought he was joking.
“Watch closely.”
FLASH!
Kang Han—and Karana beside him—were enveloped in light and vanished.
[Notice: Player ‘Kang Han’ has become the first human to reach the 11th floor.]
[Tower: Iron Tower No.4]
A system-wide notification lit up across the world.
