Chapter 25
“…The true formula of the Heavenly Demon Divine Art?”
[Yes. The true form of the Heavenly Demon Divine Art is only passed down to the direct descendant of the Heavenly Demon and the shrine maiden of the cult. Learning it will bring you one step closer to mastering the true Heavenly Demon Divine Art.]
He hadn’t expected anything useful from her, so he’d asked without much hope. But hearing that she’d teach him the true formula made Kanghan blink.
If it was something that could improve his Heavenly Demon Divine Art, it sounded great.
“But even if I hear it, will I understand? I only got the skill through the system.”
Kanghan only knew basic Chinese characters like most average Koreans. Even if she taught him the real martial arts formula, he doubted he’d understand it. After all, his current use of the Heavenly Demon Divine Art was just activating a skill granted by the system.
[You really don’t know anything? But the energy of the Heavenly Demon Divine Art is deeply rooted in your body.]
“I just activate the skill. I know nothing about martial arts.”
[Hmm… I’ll tell you the formula anyway. If you still don’t get it, I’ll give you personal lessons, so don’t worry.]
“You know how to use the Heavenly Demon Divine Art?”
[To some extent.]
How could a shrine maiden, supposedly a symbolic religious figure, know how to use it?
Kanghan looked at her suspiciously.
“You’re not secretly the Heavenly Demon or something, right? How can a shrine maiden know that much?”
[No way! How could a shrine maiden become the Heavenly Demon? I’ve been bound to the tower with the role of passing down the art to the next Heavenly Demon. That’s how I learned.]
“Really?”
[Yes. I wish I were the Heavenly Demon, honestly.]
With that, the shrine maiden brushed off the suspicion and began to recite.
[Then, I will now recite the true formula of the Heavenly Demon Divine Art…]
[In the beginning, there was no distinction between righteousness, evil, and the demonic…]
The grand formula started with something as vague as “the beginning of time.”
‘What the heck is she saying?’
Even though she explained it all in Korean, none of it made sense to Kanghan.
He had never practiced martial arts before, so all this talk about energy and demonic forces meant nothing to him.
Just then—
[Learning the true formula of the Heavenly Demon Divine Art…]
A system message appeared in front of his eyes.
‘Me?’
He didn’t understand a thing, but it said he was learning it.
Was the system interpreting it for him automatically just by hearing?
‘This tower system… is amazing.’
After listening to the formula for quite some time—
[You have heard the true formula of the Heavenly Demon Divine Art.]
[The growth potential of “Heavenly Demon’s Body” has increased to EX rank.]
[You can now train the Heavenly Demon Divine Art to its limit.]
More messages popped up.
‘EX?’
When Kanghan checked his status window in surprise, the rank of his Heavenly Demon’s Body, originally between D and SSS, had changed to:
Trait: Heavenly Demon’s Body (Rank: D~EX)
‘So this raised its growth potential…’
Just hearing the formula improved his growth potential that much.
While it didn’t make him immediately stronger, it gave him greater potential in the future.
‘If I get all this from something I didn’t even understand, I’ll take it.’
This shrine maiden ghost, who at first seemed useless and clueless, had actually given him something amazing just by reciting the formula.
As Kanghan’s opinion of her went up—
[The Heavenly Demon’s Body will no longer disappear upon death outside of the “First Tower.”]
[However, upon death, its current rank will decrease by one.]
[If the rank drops to F upon death, the trait will be lost.]
Ding.
A message appeared, making Kanghan frown.
‘Wait… The Heavenly Demon’s Body could disappear if I died before?’
People had looked down on him because his trait rank was shown as E. They assumed it was temporary and would disappear soon.
And now it turns out there really was a penalty for low rank: if he died, it could vanish.
‘If I had died by falling off that treasure vault map… I could’ve lost it.’
The Tower of Infinity encouraged challengers not to fear death, offering revival. Kanghan had run around without much worry, even risking falling to his death.
But if his trait could disappear, that carelessness could’ve cost him everything.
‘And some tower floors start with unavoidable deaths.’
There were floors where players died against overwhelming enemies before starting over from floor 1.
If Kanghan faced such a floor again, he’d have to survive no matter what—otherwise, his rank could fall.
“Still, hearing the true formula was worth it. I wouldn’t have known this otherwise.”
[Any issues?]
“I just found out that dying affects the Heavenly Demon’s Body.”
[Ah, yes. A Heavenly Demon who loses is no longer a Heavenly Demon.]
She said it casually, like it was obvious.
[But still, I’m amazed. You understood the true formula and applied it right away.]
“I didn’t understand anything. The system did it for me.”
[Huh…? But if you had zero understanding, the system support shouldn’t have worked…]
The shrine maiden tilted her head.
[Well, I guess it’s a good thing! Not like I know how the system works.]
She soon gave up on figuring it out.
“Anyway, thanks. I learned a lot about the Heavenly Demon’s Body, so I take back what I said earlier.”
[You really hurt my feelings, you know. You asked me all the things I couldn’t know and then called me clueless.]
“I didn’t say you were clueless… Anyway, now what? Are you leaving?”
[What?]
“You’re done telling me the formula, right? Isn’t that why you were here?”
The shrine maiden shook her head vigorously.
[No! I don’t want to leave! Please let me stay and guide you!]
“Guide?”
[Yes! That’s my original role.]
Guide, huh?
She didn’t seem to know much earlier…
‘Still, let’s hear her out.’
He had no information about the First Tower or Heavenly Demon Valley. Any clue would help.
“Alright. Guide me.”
Once Kanghan gave permission—
[Thank you!]
The ghost bowed deeply.
[First… let me tell you why you were chosen as the Heavenly Demon.]
She finally began the full explanation.
“You’re telling me why I was chosen?”
[Don’t you want to know why you became the Heavenly Demon?]
“Well… yeah, I was curious.”
He had passed the test among 1,000 candidates in Heavenly Demon Valley.
But why he was brought here in the first place remained a mystery.
And suffering from “sleep disorder” for ten years also seemed connected to this place.
[The reason is to conquer the First Tower.]
“The First Tower…? Is this the cause of the Tower of Infinity from ten years ago?”
[I don’t know the details either. Much of the information is restricted to me. But judging by the name, isn’t it a fair guess?]
She wasn’t sure but said the guess made sense.
“So if I clear this, will the Earth’s Tower incident end?”
[Possibly. However…]
She pointed to the ground.
[There are incredibly powerful beings waiting below this First Tower… Even you must prepare thoroughly before going down.]
“Down?”
[Yes. We’re currently on the top floor.]
“Oh? That’s interesting. We always climbed in the Tower of Infinity, but this time we go down.”
Makes sense, being the first tower. It’s different.
As Kanghan nodded, she pointed to each of the portals around.
[After passing the Heavenly Demon Valley test, four training halls were prepared for you: Strength, Agility, Endurance, and Magic. You can raise your stats up to 13 in those.]
13? When 10 was Olympic level, 13 would be superhuman.
But…
“13, huh… I thought 10 was the max. How do you know it goes up to 13?”
[With precise measurement, guides like me can check. May I touch you for a moment?]
“Go ahead.”
Kanghan agreed, and she touched his arm.
A shiver ran up his forearm, and then—
Strength: 17.5
Agility: 17.1
Endurance: 17.4
Magic: 7
All stats were over 17.
[Wha…? All three are over 17?!]
The ghost looked shocked.
[How did you reach 17? Even with all those deaths… that’s four points over the limit!]
“Uh… I don’t feel like I’m that strong. Healthier than average, sure, but 17?”
[Anything over 13 is beyond human limits. Your real body likely couldn’t manifest that power before.]
Then her eyes flashed.
[But after becoming a player and gaining the Heavenly Demon’s Body, you were able to handle it. Right?]
“Yeah… I thought it was just the trait making me stronger.”
[Still, it’s amazing. 17… What kind of training did you go through to reach that?]
“Hmm… Beats me.”
The training rooms were supposed to cap at 13.
If all three stats were over 17, who knew what kind of hellish training he had endured?
“Guess I’ll find out myself.”
[Will you be alright?]
“Why?”
[‘Over 999 deaths’ is just what the system shows. In reality, you died far more than that. Are you sure you can face it now?]
“That’s exactly why I need to go while I’m conscious.”
The memory she showed him—Kanghan had mindlessly entered the training rooms and kept dying.
If that started 10 years ago…
Then 999 deaths was just the minimum.
‘Whatever happened in there… I need to find out.’
As he made up his mind—
[Heavenly Demon… may I come with you? I haven’t been able to enter without your permission.]
The shrine maiden asked.
“Sure. Let’s go. Strength training first?”
As he walked toward the northern portal labeled “Strength Training Hall,” she floated up onto his shoulder.
Once they stepped through—
[You have entered the Strength Training Hall.]
A small room, about the size of a studio apartment.
Kanghan stood there, confused.
‘How do I train for strength here?’
There were only dirt walls on all sides except the ceiling.
Just as he wondered—
[Beginning Strength Training.]
[Difficulty Setting – Impossible]
Suddenly, the system displayed “Impossible” as the difficulty.
Rumble…!
A massive boulder began to fall from above.
Was this…
‘Are they telling me to hold up that giant rock?’
Such a brutish method of training.
Kanghan frowned and prepared to activate his skill.
“Demon Go—”
He intended to use the Heavenly Demon Divine Art.
Given the “impossible” difficulty and the fact that his past self died here countless times, he knew his normal strength wouldn’t cut it.
But just as he started—
[Don’t use your skill…!!!]
A scream echoed from one of the walls.
“Huh…? Shrine maiden?”
[That wasn’t me! Wh-What? There’s another ghost here?!]
Even she was startled.
The voice tone was different from hers, too.
But the voice…
‘It sounds… familiar…’
Just as Kanghan felt a strange sense of déjà vu—
[Please! Don’t use the skill! You have to die, Kanghan!]
The woman inside the wall urged him to die instead of using his skill.
She even called him by name.
And when she said his name—
“…No way…”
His eyes trembled for the first time.
At first, he didn’t recognize the voice.
But the way it called “Kanghan”…
It was a voice deep within his memories.
And then—
[Kanghan! This is for your sake!!!]
When his name rang out again—
“…Is that… Mom?”
He realized exactly whose voice it was.
