episode_0272

Contrary to my concerns, my meeting with the old man, Hong Seong-jin, took place in a gentle atmosphere.

“Is your home comfortable? It’s where the ancestors settled down and has been there ever since, but there have been quite a few people who felt awkward because of the rough-hewn facilities.”

[No, the facilities were really good, and there were people who helped me a lot, so I had a really comfortable time during the vacation.]

“I feel a little better when you say it like that.”

[Ah! I also received a lot of help from Hwabyeokun. I first learned metallurgy skills from him and I still use them well.]

“Wall of Fire? That dirty old man taught you the technique?”

[Ahaha… Even though your speech was a bit rough, you were very considerate so I was able to follow along well]

A snack was placed on the table, and a light topic was brought up as the topic of discussion.

There was no sign of anyone asking me nagging questions about me or nitpicking and nitpicking.

Rather, he led the conversation in a gentle tone and with consideration for me. In that kind of atmosphere, I was able to relax quite a bit and answer.

“Gyeophwa is a flame that boasts of being the best, but it is also a vicious flame that can easily devour itself.”

And it wasn’t just simple conversation. Sometimes it was serious… like now, precious advice was even on the table.

“There are many cases where ancestors of the family were devoured by their own calamity. Therefore, those who manifest calamity should always prioritize mental cultivation.”

– Hururuk!

“But, how could such a monster be so gentle… ”

The old man’s hands, steeped in years, touched the flames that had burned him. The flames engulfed his bare hands, but no disaster occurred that would make him scream.

His hands, which had been burning with fire all his life, were not soft enough to burn with flames, and my fire had no intention of burning him either.

“Each speaker has a slightly different personality, but I have never seen such a gentle child before.”

Hwaruk! The flames danced and swayed. Hong Seong-jin’s eyes filled with admiration at the movements that seemed to flutter and flirt.

“How can this be called a calamity? However, the power within it is also correct to call it a calamity. It is truly a mysterious child.”

Having confirmed the uniqueness of my fear, he did not spare advice from his own experience.

A series of valuable information poured out that was not included in the original experience or the information obtained by raiding the family register in the 11th episode.

‘As expected, Yeonhwa’s grandfather…!’

Yeonhwa’s eyes, which were slightly open, sparkled as she stood next to him. Any worries that he might be persecuted had long since subsided.

Mr. Hong Seong-jin was a very kind and considerate grandfather…!

“Okay, eat more.”

[thank you]

A bowl of cookies was being pushed towards me. I nodded and picked up a cookie and put it in my mouth. It didn’t taste good, but I felt it was a bit much to refuse something that was offered to me.

– Slurp slurp

“Hehe, you’re eating so happily.”

“Hmm.”

[… … ]

Whenever I would hear compliments like that, I would feel awkward and my throat would itch. It would get even itchier because of Yeonhwa’s witty reaction sitting right next to me.

But since I was passing it with tea, it was worth passing.

A sticky candy crumbled in my mouth. Upon analysis, it turned out to be a candy pickled in honey.

It would have been much better if I had felt it with my sense of taste rather than analysis, but that would be just complaining from a full stomach. Shouldn’t I be grateful for being alive right now?

‘… … ‘

The thoughts about taste and smell that came to mind in an instant. I caught my gaze that was about to move on its own.

Sense Seal… No, it’s called the Curse of Loneliness? Thanks to the arrangements of the Tower Masters, the level of the curse can be reduced, and the curse can also be conditionally weakened.

Yeonhwa is one of those objects.

In this gloomy world, the appearance of the lotus is visible. The scent of the lotus lingers in the desolate nose, and occasionally, flesh is seen…

“Ahem.”

“Throat choking? Here, over here.”

As she coughed slightly, Yeonhwa immediately tilted the teacup to her lips. Since her mouth was dry at the time, she immediately gulped down the lukewarm tea.

“Uhh… ”

It was around the time when I was washing my ticklish throat with tea water.

Suddenly, I heard a gasp from the other side. I looked to see what it was, and the eyes of Hong Seong-jin, who had handed me the snack, were wide open as if he had seen something unbelievable.

“Why do you look like that?”

“Uh… Really… ”

Yeonhwa raised her eyebrows and asked again, her reaction twice as surprised as when she saw my painting earlier. It was as if she was experiencing culture shock.

“Wow… I can’t believe it even after seeing it. I’m starting to wonder if I’m hallucinating.”

Hong Seong-jin blinked and rubbed his eyelids with his hands. Whoosh! Finally, a faint shiver ran through his body.

Upon observation, it was discovered that it was burning any harmful foreign matter that might have been attached to its body.

Yeonhwa’s face crumpled at the blatant cowardice.

“Oh my, I can’t believe it. What kind of reaction is that?”

“Actually, it still doesn’t feel real. When I was alive, you came with a man by your side… and a child like this? That crazy, troublemaker?”

“What, you… big! Why would you say something like that to your granddaughter?”

“Your words and actions have really, really become more refined. You swear less, and there has been no news of you beating up people or causing trouble. Do you know how worried your daughter-in-law was about who you would hit in the cradle again?”

“No! Don’t say weird things! You’ll misunderstand! If someone sees me, they’ll think I’m a bitch who catches anyone and beats them up.”

As she said that, Yeonhwa glanced in my direction. Her expression seemed worried that there might be a misunderstanding. When I met her eyes, relief came over Yeonhwa’s face.

Hong Seong-jin’s face was even more shocked when he saw Yeon-hwa’s appearance.

“… Phew, I can’t believe it. In fact, when I first met him, I thought that maybe he was being threatened.”

“What on earth do you think of your own granddaughter?”

Huh- Yeonhwa, who had just laughed, suddenly put her hand on my head and gently stroked it.

My mind and body naturally become turbulent…

“Ehehehe… ?”

… At that moment, I suddenly remembered the presence of Hong Seong-jin sitting across from me and shivered.

Whatever it was, this was our first meeting. I tried to show my good side by being quiet, but now I didn’t want to show my crazy side.

“Yeah, uh, no, okay, wait a minute… ”

But, contrary to my feelings, Yeonhwa’s hands did not stop. Her hands, dripping with love like honey, swept through my hair.

[Ugh… ugh, happiness]

[happiness]

“Ugh, ehehe… ”

Now that my inner strength had been built up, my body began to melt as my hands stroked each more pleasant spot.

This is irresistible. My body melted and I leaned my head against Yeonhwa’s embrace. It was soft and smelled good…

[good…]

“Okay… ”

“Huh.”

Yeonhwa smiled when she saw me holding her tightly in her arms. Then she straightened her shoulders as if showing off.

Hong Seong-jin, who had been silent for a moment, carefully opened his mouth.

“… Did you use any drugs?”

“What the hell are you talking about!”

Yeonhwa shouted loudly.

.

.

.

After a while.

After coming to my senses, I lowered my head, trying to control the wings of the sky that were trying to cover my face.

[… I’m sorry for showing you such a bad side…]

It was hard to raise my head at all. I tried my best to make a good impression, but I felt like I was being eaten up in the end…

“No, it was nice to see the unrealistic beggar.”

Hong Seong-jin waved his hand and took a sip of the tea he had brought out again. When I observed him closely, I saw that he had an expression on his face that seemed to really not care.

As he felt a little relieved, Yeonhwa, who had her arms crossed, opened her mouth.

“But did you really come here just to see my face? Don’t you have anything else to say?”

“I have a separate story to tell… You must have heard most of it from your daughter-in-law, right?”

“There may still be things you haven’t heard.”

“Hmm… Oh, I see.”

Hong Seong-jin, who seemed to be recalling his memories for a moment, let out an exclamation.

“The story about the tower may not have been conveyed properly.”

“Top?”

Yeonhwa, who had been asking in a calm manner, blinked. I also slightly raised my head as I was about to go down.

Top. It wasn’t a light topic to just ignore.

“As you all know, I have been leading the purification unit and have been wandering around the Demon Realm since last year, and I recently discovered the tower.”

“Yeah, I heard. You said it was an unconquered tower?”

‘It’s not an attack.’

I quietly listened to the story and sighed deeply inside.

There is an unconquered tower in the depths of the Demon Realm. It is not just any average tower, but a tower of similar standards to the five towers of this world and the invading tower.

But that’s not the only tower that appears in the Demon Realm.

There are also small dungeons that are embarrassing to call towers, but at some point, a command tower will appear.

I was worried that the Command Tower might have been revealed around this time, but it appears that the tower that has been discovered has not been conquered.

“After much thought, I entered the tower.”

“Huh? Really? I didn’t hear anything like that during the vacation?”

“At that time, we had just discovered the tower and were the first to announce its existence. The position was a decision we made after much thought.”

When Yeonhwa asked with her eyes wide open, Hong Seongjin shrugged his shoulders and answered.

“Anyway, everyone went up to the top with the idea of trying to get in before withdrawing, but decided it wouldn’t work, so they withdrew.”

“What was inside?”

Yeonhwa, who had gulped down the tea, urged me to answer with an excited expression. It seemed that the story about the tower, and especially the unconquered tower, was quite interesting.

I was the same way. I perked up my ears to make sure it was the same as the original tower.

Hong Seong-jin continued speaking with a sly laugh at the sight of the two of us.

“The inside of the tower was… similar to a dungeon. It was very large. The sky was filled with clouds of all kinds, and within the clouds, thunder rumbled so loudly that the sound was muffled. Below that, there were many monsters that controlled the thunder attribute.”

“Brain attribute monster?”

“Yeah, there were really quite a few from the beginning. There were so many that it felt like the sky and the ground were covered with monsters. I tried to get as much information as possible by going in, but I thought I wouldn’t be able to get out if I went any deeper, so I just left.”

“Hmm… ”

“It wasn’t just the quantity. The hierarchy was also high, and the 3rd rank seemed to be quite a large number.”

“Hehehe… C’mon, ahem! What kind of a den is that?”

3rd Tier. In the current situation where Tier 1 practically does not exist, this is the monster in the most dangerous tier after Tier 2.

Yeonhwa, who was stroking her chin and imagining the inside of the tower, was startled when she heard that there were many things that could come out as alpha entities in a level 1 dungeon.

“That’s why we came out too. Later, we might have brought the kids from Changhae and Taesan and gone in, but we judged it to be dangerous with the power at the time.”

“It was worth coming out. Then are you going to join us later?”

“Well, there isn’t much information about the tower to begin with. I don’t think I’ll be able to get in anytime soon.”

The conversation was interrupted for a moment.

Yeonhwa seemed to have something to think about, and Hong Seongjin also quenched his thirst with tea, perhaps because he had been talking for so long.

I also had a lot to think about.

‘It looks like it’s the exact same tower as the original.’

A sky filled with clouds of all kinds, thunder that rings incessantly, and monsters with thunder attributes filling the inside of the tower.

This description is consistent with the original, unconquered tower in the Demon Realm.

The 8th round ended with me leaving midway through the attack, and the 11th round ended with me finally attacking the tower and obtaining the wishing ticket.

At the time, I thought it was just another tower. It had a gimmick where you could push in incredibly powerful monsters and if you cleared it, you would be given a wishing ticket.

But Ariel said it wasn’t that kind of tower.

‘To become a top player, you must meet certain conditions.’

The 11th time, he did not meet the conditions to become the Tower Lord. So instead of becoming the Tower Lord, the Tower processed the stored power into the form of a wishing ticket and transferred it.

‘Hmm…’

I rolled my head for a moment.

The 8th attempt was strictly speaking a failure.

But they had the power to conquer the tower.

The compatibility was right and I had some free time.

Because they have the same brain attribute, their effects are halved, but the 8th round specializes in long-range sniping. If there was enough time, it could have used guerrilla tactics to take out all the monsters on the tower.

But in the end, I couldn’t conquer it. It was because of the cold tower lord who descended just as the end was in sight.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, a cold tower appeared from the mainland. It was obvious that if we left it alone, the mainland would be finished, so we hurriedly came out of the tower.

He then engaged in a fierce battle with the Tower of Cold and was stabbed in the back by Baek A-rin and died.

‘…The top lord must be qualified.’

The 11th time was not eligible.

Didn’t I qualify for the 8th time?

I don’t know. Unfortunately, I died on the 8th try without being able to conquer the tower, so I didn’t get the answer.

‘… Baekariiin… ‘

This was an episode where I could have grown more if I hadn’t been betrayed…

A thought suddenly occurred to me and I pout.

* * *

“Huh?”

– Boom!

“Oh no! What the heck! Why did you suddenly stop?”

Baek A-rin, who was walking along a street lined with street vendors on both sides, suddenly stopped walking.

Her friend who was following her from behind banged his head and grabbed his forehead, but she paid no attention and looked around.

“What the heck? What the hell happened?”

His friend, who had been playfully grumbling at him, blinked and asked.

Baek A-rin tilted her head, her eyebrows furrowed.

“Ugh… No, I suddenly felt like I got stabbed by something.”

“Ah, that’s because someone cursed at you. What kind of grudge have you been holding?”

“Resentment? How good of a person am I?”

“We were all abandoned. This is the Red and White team without the Red and White. Do you know how we felt when we were abandoned as soon as we arrived at Shiba Shiyoram?”

“Ahaha, sorry sorry~ I can’t help it~”

Baek A-rin shrugged her shoulders, but then looked around, feeling a faint prickling sensation in her back.