Chapter 17
As soon as I got home, I washed up, roughly dried my hair, and collapsed onto my bed.
"Phewww."
It had been a day that left me far more mentally exhausted than physically.
Clearing Floor 5, finding a hidden piece, and running into that deranged skeleton, too.
"I really thought I was going to die."
It was shocking enough that a skeleton could move, but the sinister aura that thing gave off was something else.
When it shoved its face toward me and muttered incomprehensible things, I prayed to every god I could think of.
‘If my bluff hadn’t worked.’
I didn’t even want to imagine it. But it was clear that thing had realized from the start that I was bluffing.
That reaction said it all.
"I still have a long way to go."
I’d known for a long time that I could die in the Tower at any moment.
But it had never felt real.
Up until now, I’d climbed the Tower by absolutely crushing Nightmare difficulty without hitting a single wall.
But that skeleton, the Heavenly Demon Bone, was different. That monster could kill me whenever it wanted.
As easily as twisting a child’s wrist. As effortlessly as crushing a bug underfoot.
But it hadn’t.
I didn’t know why. Maybe it had simply been a whim, or maybe it wanted something from me.
Judging by how readily it handed over the mask, the latter seemed more likely. But one thing was certain: I’d survived today purely through luck.
Clench!
My fist tightened before I knew it.
To think I’d placed my life entirely in someone else’s hands and was now relieved that I’d survived by pure luck.
"…How humiliating."
Unbearably so.
"Uh, um."
After muttering to myself, I suddenly came to my senses.
I should’ve been grateful just to be alive, and instead I was swallowing my anger over how humiliating it was?
‘As I thought, the trait affects me even outside the Tower.’
It wasn’t just warping my way of thinking inside the Tower. It was slowly soaking into my thoughts in everyday life, like clothes getting damp in a drizzle.
‘If that’s the case…’
What would happen in the end?
If I eventually surrendered everything to the Heavenly Demon trait, would I still be able to call myself ‘Lee Jian’?
"Hmm."
Enough philosophical soul-searching for now.
There was no point worrying already about some distant future that hadn’t even arrived yet.
'The important thing is always the present.'
So it was better to focus on something more productive.
Come to think of it, my encounter with the Heavenly Demon Bone hadn’t been the worst experience of my run up the Tower as Heavenly Demon Lee Jian.
"Well, it’s not like I got nothing out of it."
The spoils I’d gained in exchange for a little humiliation were quite substantial, weren’t they?
Demon Emperor’s Mask.
A Unique-grade item with an extraordinary name, found in the hidden stage, Heavenly Demon Cave.
And its effect was none other than…
"It blurs other people’s perception of you."
Perception reduction.
Roughly speaking, if it continuously applied an effect like a fourth-tier hypnosis spell, that would be an incredibly powerful effect even for a Unique-grade item.
"I did a quick test, though."
On my way home, I ran a brief test to find out exactly how this vague description worked.
The method was simple.
‘All I have to do is watch how other people react.’
My destination was a convenience store.
Since it might be a little disruptive, I went in when there were as few customers as possible.
"Welcome."
The clerk greeted me without a trace of enthusiasm.
I casually picked up a can of beer and headed confidently to the counter.
"……You have to be at least 19 to buy this."
The clerk glanced back and forth between me and the beer, then spoke calmly.
"Oh, I’m an adult."
I was a full-fledged adult, after all.
Of course, looking as young as I did now, nobody would ever believe it.
"Sigh. Kid, are you filming a YouTube video or something?"
As expected, they didn’t believe me. The clerk looked utterly fed up.
‘Figures.’
So far, this was exactly the reaction I’d wanted.
"Put it back quietly before I call the police."
The clerk frowned, their voice laced with irritation.
"Yep."
I obediently nodded, returned the beer to its place, and left the convenience store.
After that.
'One, two, … ten seconds. Good.'
After counting to ten in my head, I took the Demon Emperor’s Mask out of my inventory and hung it from my waist.
Ready. Time to head back in.
Ding!
"Welcome."
When I opened the door and went in, the clerk greeted me with the same lifeless words as before.
I barely acknowledged the greeting and headed to the alcohol section again, picking up the same beer as before.
"I’d like to pay."
I deliberately set the can down on the counter with a clatter, and the clerk’s gaze landed on me.
A tense moment. Would it work?
"That’ll be 4,500 won."
The clerk stared at me for a moment, then spoke in an even tone.
"Oh, yes."
I took out my card and quickly inserted it into the reader. Now, if I could just get through the payment without a hitch…
"Excuse me."
The clerk spoke again.
"Y-yes?"
Wh-what was it? Had the Demon Emperor’s Mask already worn off?
"Would you like a bag?"
"N-no, I’m fine. Have a nice day."
"Yes, you too. Goodbye."
Fortunately, my fears had been unfounded. I stammered a little in surprise, but the clerk didn’t seem to think anything of it.
Ding!
I left the convenience store with the beer.
It was the first beer I’d bought myself since getting this body.
"Hah."
It works.
And now, back to the present.
Pssht!
"Ahhh!"
I opened today’s spoils and took a victorious sip.
The cold beer, after so long without one, seeped into my very being.
'I don’t know exactly how it works, but…'
The clerk probably saw me as old enough to buy beer without anything seeming strange.
That was a very satisfying result.
"If I have this…"
A life where I’m rich but nobody knows my face might really be possible.
And was that all I’d gained today? Of course not.
"Heh heh."
I took a skill book out of my inventory.
A designated skill book, no less!
A lottery ticket with a guaranteed win, letting you learn a specific skill for certain.
Of course, its value could vary wildly depending on the skill.
"There’s no way this isn’t worth a fortune."
[Cell Regeneration]
[You can learn the healing skill Cell Regeneration.]
Cell Regeneration.
Just as the name suggests, it’s a healing skill that rapidly regenerates cells.
A precious skill that only priests and specialized healing mages can use!
But with a designated skill book, Awakened people from other classes can learn it without restrictions.
"But I can’t use it."
The problem was that this didn’t apply to me.
Cell Regeneration.
It was the perfect skill for a solo player like me, so I’d tried to learn it right away, even giving up the chance to make a fortune.
[The energy of the Heavenly Demon Divine Art (天魔神功) rejects the energy of healing.]
That was the inexplicable message that appeared, rejecting my attempt to learn it.
'No, why are you rejecting it?'
Hadn’t I been happily chugging down low-level healing potions and using healing magic all this time?
And now, when I tried to learn a healing skill, it suddenly rejected me? It made absolutely no sense.
"What are you, a picky little kid?"
I tried a few more times after that, but got the same result.
I had no choice but to give up on learning the skill. I’d have to sell it, plain and simple.
Still, it was a designated healing skill book, the kind where you could name your price. Making a fortune was practically guaranteed.
"Oh, right."
As I sipped my beer, a fact I’d forgotten suddenly came to mind.
"I need to post proof in the gallery."
What had been the reason I climbed the Tower today in the first place?
Of course, clearing Floor 5 was important, too.
But the main goal was to post on the gallery and prove that I was really an Awakened person!
And get satisfying revenge on the bastards who’d buried me with lies and incitement, even though I was an innocent user!
"I’ve got video, too."
The footage recorded by the drone was pretty good.
My figure wasn’t very clear because of the distance, but that was actually a good thing.
Besides, it had captured the overwhelming sight of me charging alone into a hundred goblins and mercilessly slaughtering them in vivid detail.
Anyone who watched it would have to be impressed.
"But now that I’m about to do it, it feels like this could get way out of hand."
Over the past few days, I’d realized that the name Heavenly Demon had gained far more weight than I’d expected.
If I posted proof outright on the Wizard Gallery, there was a good chance the place would be flooded with anonymous users and trolls.
"Hmm."
I did want to give those bastards who’d buried me with lies a good slap in the face.
But I didn’t particularly want to see the Wizard Gallery get blown to pieces.
"Right, I’ll do it this way."
After a brief moment of thought, I started typing and quickly wrote up a post.
[Awakened proof, read this link]
I also tossed the Wizard Gallery’s head mod a link to the post I’d just written.
"That’s everything I needed to do."
Let’s call it a night.
***
Awakened Gallery.
A den of anonymous users and trolls, running wild with no moderator in sight. In that place where normal gallery use was impossible, someone suddenly dropped a post claiming to be the Heavenly Demon.
[Title: I’m the Heavenly Demon]
[Heavenly, Demon]
(Rough video of goblins being slaughtered on Nightmare Floor 5)
I’m not Chinese. I’m a high school girl who’s completed military service.
I LOVE KIMCHI.
[Comments]
?????
What is this?
Is this bastard for real?
ㄴ The video looks real, though?
Is that Nightmare Floor 5? The one Super and Maestro had to pull a whole circus act to clear?
ㄴ Looks like it. Is there any other floor where goblins swarm out like that besides Nightmare Floor 5?
Is it fake?
ㄴ If someone put this much effort into a fake, they deserve credit.
I’m the Heavenly Demon, and this post is a lie.
ㄴ The opposite of ‘this post is a lie’ is ‘that post is true,’ lmao.
ㄴ Blocked.
Naturally, people didn’t believe it.
After all, how many attention seekers had claimed to be the Heavenly Demon?
And not a single one of them had ever managed to prove they were the real Heavenly Demon.
This time, they’d put in a little more effort, but it probably wouldn’t be any different.
[Title: Hey, that looks real?]
[Anonymous]
Heavenly Demon cleared Floor 5 in 30 seconds.
The video shows them cutting down the goblins and taking the Goblin Centurion’s head in exactly 30 seconds ㄷ
Even if it’s fake, how could it look this natural?
[Comments]
So it’s real?
ㄴ Yeah. I didn’t believe it either, so I just checked the rankings.
ㄴ Looks real? Seriously, it was a 30-second clear. And the video quality is oddly amateurish for a fake.
One or two people added their opinions, and a full-fledged analysis of the video began.
A juicy piece of bait had dropped in the wee hours of the morning, when everyone had nothing better to do. Naturally, they were going to tear into it with relish.
[Title: That’s not fake. I analyzed the video]
[Anonymous]
It looks like this was filmed with a commercially available magitech drone.
I know because I supply parts to the company that makes these drones. When you film with one, the file retains the date and time.
If you look at the video file attached to the post claiming to be the Heavenly Demon, the date and time are still there, right?
Now look at when the news broke that the Heavenly Demon got an SSS clear on Floor 5. The times are pretty close.
So that wasn’t a fake. It was filmed and posted by the real Heavenly Demon.
[Comments]
Upvote for the analysis.
So the real Heavenly Demon is Korean, and what’s more, a self-proclaimed high school girl who’s completed military service?
ㄴ At this point, that seems the most likely.
ㄴ Believe the theory that the Heavenly Demon is Chinese vs. believe the theory that the Heavenly Demon is a high school girl who’s done military service, fucking lol.
The more people dug into it, the more credibility the shoddy-looking video gained.
Just as public opinion was clearly beginning to swing toward the person in the video really being the Heavenly Demon…
An incident occurred that put the final nail in the coffin of the already boiling discussion.
[This post has been deleted.]
The original post suddenly vanished without a trace.
[Title: What?]
[Title: ???]
[Title: Is this real?]
The entire community erupted—not just the Awakened Gallery.