Chapter 10
The Castrated Goblin Chieftain.
Feared by beginner players for ten years, known as the Newbie Slayer,
he suddenly vanished from the Beginner’s Tower…
Because of Kang Han’s decision.
And then—
“Ten-thousand-year glory to the Heavenly Demon!!! Everlasting prosperity to the Myriad Demons!!!”
Now a Unique Being, the goblin chieftain kept bowing nonstop,
even though Kang Han told him to stop.
Unlike before,
one of the three horns dangling from his groin glowed faintly.
As soon as Kang Han gave him the horn,
it automatically equipped without a separate process.
“Stop bowing. Let’s get to clearing this place.”
“Yes…! I’ll summon the goblins!”
“Alright.”
The chieftain finally stood up.
Fwoosh!
Opening a portal on his own, he summoned all the goblins.
“I’ll command the troops to find a way through the maze. Please allow me to lead them!”
“Sure. Good luck.”
It was better than going alone.
Fifty goblins spreading out would find the way much faster.
As soon as Kang Han gave permission—
Whoosh! Whoosh!
The goblins marched in perfect formation and disappeared into the maze.
“Wow, trying to brute-force the maze with sheer numbers, huh?”
“I feel bad for those of us who had to find it alone…”
“They’re moving way faster than before.”
“Is it the horn’s effect?”
‘They are faster.’
Unlike the goblins in the Beginner’s Tower,
these ones moved with speed and coordination.
The chieftain said they could grow with their new territory.
This must be part of it.
‘They’ll probably find the exit faster now.’
But contrary to Kang Han’s expectation…
none of the goblins came back.
“Did they get lost?”
“I can track their trail. Once even one reaches the exit to the second floor, we’ll just follow its path.”
“Alright. Let’s wait, then.”
“Yes! I’ll do my best to earn an A rank!”
A…?
Kang Han, who got an SSS+ rank before, felt a bit disappointed.
“Maze Tower is known for being stingy with scores lol.”
“A rank might be a stretch, even with 50 goblins.”
“Honestly, even C is decent here.”
“It’s a bonus level. Just clearing it is good.”
Judging from chat,
even getting an A rank in the Maze Tower wasn’t easy.
“I got an SSS+ last time when I got your horn, you know.”
“Ah! So that’s why you received such a reward!”
“So it’s rare?”
“Indeed. Getting SSS means outscoring even non-human races.”
“Non-human races?”
Non-human races, found in towers above Gold rank,
were usually hostile toward humans.
Getting matched with them in a tower was basically a death sentence.
To outperform even them and get SSS?
That was no joke.
‘So that reward really was a big deal.’
Kang Han nodded,
looking at the goblin chieftain with newfound respect.
“You sure know a lot. Did you climb towers too?”
“Well… I did… and—&$%!$!”
The chieftain tried to speak honestly,
but all that came out was a beep-beep-beep sound.
Even though his mouth moved, no sound came out.
“What the…?”
“Why’d he stop?”
“There are two ways to drive someone crazy: One, never finish your sentence. Two—”
“TWO WHAT?”
“You’re doing it again like that goblin!!”
“Ughhh lolol”
The viewers were frustrated… until—
Boom!
The chieftain exploded like a popped balloon.
“…What? Did he just die??”
“He didn’t have to blow up, did he?”
“No wonder he looked so serious earlier.”
“Is it spoiler protection? Like, if they talk too much, they die?”
“So the Tower literally nukes spoilers.”
His entire body blown apart.
Three horns clattered to the floor,
and one shattered as his body began regenerating.
“Kieeek! You think you can silence me with this? I will still tell—! &&$!%$”
And again,
the chieftain exploded before finishing his sentence.
Another horn gone.
Regenerating again,
only the horn Kang Han gave him remained.
He shut his mouth.
“Hey, don’t say anything. You’ll break the one I gave you too.”
“Ah… y-yes! Understood!”
Clearly desperate to protect that last horn,
his face brightened.
“Oh! They’ve found the exit!”
One of the 50 goblins apparently found the way.
The chieftain began guiding the path.
‘That’s convenient.’
Kang Han wasn’t good at mazes.
The goblins made it much easier.
Still, if this only scored an A…
“How do other non-human races get SSS here?”
“Some of them… can fly.”
The chieftain pointed up at the maze walls.
“Looks like it touches the ceiling, but if you look closely—there are gaps.”
“Ah, I see.”
There were tiny gaps near the top.
“Why even leave holes if you want a proper maze?”
“Flying races can just skip everything lmao.”
“Rigged tower…”
While Kang Han stared at the ceiling gaps—
“The exit is usually in a straight line from the entrance. So flying straight across is fastest.”
“Every floor?”
“Probably, yes.”
So the exit was just on the opposite end from the entrance each time.
Kang Han knocked on the stone wall.
Solid, but thinner than expected.
‘Hmm…’
Just then—
“We’re here!”
They arrived at the portal to Floor 2.
“Wow, that was fast.”
“Goblins are carrying hard lol.”
“This might get higher than A rank.”
As the viewers adjusted their expectations…
Bzzzzzz—
“Huh?”
Only 10 goblins made it through.
Same number that met up with the chieftain earlier.
“Wait what?”
“Where’d the rest go?”
“They’re still lost in the maze?”
“Don’t summons auto-follow you between floors?”
“That’s what I thought… weird.”
The chieftain, panicked, counted heads—
Thud! Thud!
Then bowed his head to the floor.
“I-I’m sorry, my lord! I thought they’d follow automatically…!”
“They must still be stuck inside.”
“Y-yes, I believe so…!”
“Don’t worry. I was going to try a different method on this floor anyway.”
“Different…?”
Kang Han walked forward—
stood before the wall.
The exit was directly opposite the entrance.
If not for the maze and the high walls, it wasn’t far.
The walls were solid, yes—
but not too thick.
Kang Han smiled.
‘I don’t just hate getting lost…’
Following the chieftain was fine,
but it still felt frustrating.
Why make a maze just to waste time?
‘I could just break it.’
Thud!
His punch left a dent.
“What is he doing?”
“Don’t tell me he’s punching through the wall.”
“There’s no way.”
“Wait, it actually dented??”
“Guess that’s not quite enough.”
Kang Han grinned—
“Heavenly Demon Arts.”
[Skill: ‘Heavenly Demon Arts’ activated.]
The familiar surge of strength exploded through his body.
Thud!
Cracks spread across the wall.
Still not enough.
Unfazed, Kang Han kept punching.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Over ten punches—
[Skill: ‘Heavenly Demon Fist’ activated.]
The red energy swirled around his fist—
BOOOM!
The stone wall shattered.
“There we go.”
Now wide enough for even the 2-meter-tall goblin chieftain to pass.
Kang Han smiled and stepped to the next wall.
He had 10 minutes of Heavenly Demon Arts left.
BOOM! BOOM!
Explosions echoed as he made his own path.
“WHAT IS THIS GUY??”
“He’s actually breaking the walls??”
“Heavenly Demon OP confirmed.”
Even the chieftain was stunned into silence.
Kang Han turned back.
“Hey, once I clear it, the rest stuck in the maze can come too, right?”
“Yes… that’s correct.”
“Then let’s dig through. Let’s go.”
So Kang Han punched his way up.
At first, even with his power, it took several hits.
But then—
‘Hmm. Maybe like this?’
His punches grew sharper.
The red energy thicker.
And by the time he reached the 10th floor?
One punch = shattered wall.
“He’s getting even stronger??”
“Flying races are overpowered? Nah, this guy is the cheat code.”
“He’s really going all the way like this??”
“Here we are.”
“…Yes.”
He reached the 10th floor
just as the skill ended.
[Heavenly Demon Arts has ended.]
[Skill: ‘Heavenly Demon Fist’ leveled up to ★1.]
A small upgrade message popped up.
Kang Han looked around.
No glowing star gem like before.
Just an empty final floor with a blue portal waiting.
“No star gem this time?”
“That was only in the tutorial.”
“You almost never see those in real towers.”
‘Guess I’ll finish this.’
Kang Han entered the portal.
[Iron Tower No. 31 – Results Calculated]
[Cleared within 1 hour.]
[New record for ‘human’ race.]
[Top 10% clear time among all races.]
[Clear Rating – SSS+]
[Rewards based on rating.]
[Exceeded SSS – Extra bonus reward granted.]
‘SSS+ again, huh.’
What reward this time?
Hopefully something he could equip.
Then—
[Received: 3 Entry Tickets to Iron Tower No. 777]
Three golden tickets appeared in his inventory.
