The old man, contrary to any concerns, met with Hong Sung-jin in a soft atmosphere.
“Is the Main House comfortable? It’s been maintained since our ancestor settled here, but there have been quite a few who found it awkward due to its rustic facilities since olden times.”
[No, the facilities were really nice, and there were people who helped me a lot, so I had a really comfortable time during the break.]
“That puts my mind at ease.”
[Oh! I received a lot of help from Hwabyeogun. I learned the art of metallurgy from him, and I still use it well.]
“Hwabyeogun? That grumpy old man taught you techniques?”
[Ahaha… His speech was a bit rough, but he was very considerate, so I was able to keep up well.]
With some light snacks on the table, they brought up a topic that wasn’t too heavy.
There was no sign of him probing deeply into my past or pouncing on any flaws… Instead, he led the conversation with a gentle tone, which helped me relax quite a bit in response.
“Gop-hwa is a flame proud of being the best, but it can also be a ferocious fire that devours itself if one is not careful.”
Their conversation wasn’t just light banter. Sometimes they shared serious… and as it was now, precious advice.
“Among the ancestors of the clan, there have been many who were consumed by their own Gop-hwa. Therefore, those who manifest Gop-hwa must always prioritize mental discipline.”
– Whoosh!
“Yet, to think such Gop-hwa is this gentle…”
The old man’s weathered hand caressed the flame, gently cradling my Gop-hwa. Fire wrapped around his bare hand, but a disaster that would have made him scream did not occur.
His hand, igniting Gop-hwa for a lifetime, was not soft enough to burn, and my Gop-hwa had no desire to consume him at all.
“Each manifestor exhibits slightly different characteristics, but I’ve never seen one this gentle before.”
The flame flickered and danced. Its movement resembled a playful flirtation, and admiration sparkled in Hong Sung-jin’s eyes.
“How can this be called Gop-hwa? But the latent power indeed justifies that term—I truly find this child mysterious.”
Confirming the uniqueness of my Gop-hwa, he generously offered advice drawn from his own experience.
Valuable information that didn’t even belong to the original work or was not part of the intel from the 11th run poured out successively.
‘As expected of the grandfather of Yeonhwa…!’
Yeonhwa, who was beside me, had her eyes sparkling, secretly excited. Any worries about getting scolded had already faded away.
Hong Sung-jin was a very kind and caring grandfather…!
“Here, have more to eat.”
[Thank you.]
The bowl of snacks was pushed toward me. I gave a slight bow and picked one up to pop into my mouth. The taste was utterly bland, but it felt rude to refuse something offered to me.
– Munch munch
“Haha, you’re really devouring them.”
“Mm-mm.”
[………]
When such praises came intermittently, it tickled my throat awkwardly. Moreover, sitting right next to me, Yeonhwa’s over-the-top reactions made it feel even itchier.
Still, washing it down with tea made it manageable.
The sticky snack crumbled in my mouth. Upon analysis, it turned out to be honey-coated.
It would have been much better if I had savored it through taste rather than analysis, but that would be a bit of a gluttonous complaint, wouldn’t it? Aren’t I supposed to be grateful just to be alive?
‘……’
A sudden thought about taste and smell arose, but I managed to pry my gaze away.
Sensory sealing… or was it called the Curse of Loneliness? Thanks to the arrangements of the tower lords, the level of the curse had been diminished, and it could be weakened conditionally.
Yeonhwa was one of those exceptions.
In this gloomy world, Yeonhwa’s presence was clear. In the bleak air, the scent of Yeonhwa lingered, sometimes even teasingly…
“Ahem.”
“Is your throat dry? Here, let me.”
As I cleared my throat, Yeonhwa immediately tilted a teacup to my lips. Since my mouth was parched, I gulped down the lukewarm tea eagerly.
“Ahh…”
Just as I was washing my ticklish throat with the tea, a sudden gasp came from across the table. Curious, I looked over to see Hong Sung-jin staring at me with a look of disbelief, as if he had seen something unbelievable.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Ah… just…”
His reaction was far more astonished than when he marveled at my Gop-hwa—he looked as if he was struck by cultural shock, prompting Yeonhwa to squint at him in suspicion.
“I can’t believe it. Is it possible I’ve fallen into hallucination?”
Hong Sung-jin blinked and rubbed his eyelids. Whoosh! Even then, a faint Gop-hwa began to rise from his body.
Upon closer inspection, it seemed he was burning away any harmful substances that might have clung to him.
Yeonhwa’s face crinkled in disbelief at the blatant display of Gop-hwa.
“My goodness, how ridiculous. What’s with that reaction?”
“Honestly, the sense of reality is still surreal. You, living side by side with a man… let alone such a charming child? That reckless, mad dog of a friend?”
“What, me…? How dare you say that about your granddaughter?!”
“So you’ve even refined your speech and conduct considerably. Your cursing has dropped, and there haven’t been any incidents of slapping people around. Do you even know how worried Yeonhwa was about who you might hit next at Shio-ram?”
“No! Don’t say it like that! People might get the wrong idea, thinking I’m just some violent girl who hits anyone!”
Yeonhwa, saying that, subtly glanced my way. She seemed worried that I might misunderstand her words. When I met her gaze, a wave of relief washed over her face.
Seeing that, Hong Sung-jin’s expression became even more shocked.
“…Phew, I can’t believe it. To be honest, when I first met you, I thought this girl might have been coerced into being here.”
“What do you even think of your own granddaughter?”
As Yeonhwa scoffed, she suddenly placed her hand gently on my head, tenderly ruffling my hair.
The touch made my whole body go weak…
“Ehheh…?”
…just at that moment, the thought of Hong Sung-jin sitting opposite me jolted me awake, making me flinch.
Regardless of the situation, this was our first meeting. I wanted to make a good impression and not show any embarrassing side of myself.
“Uh, n-no, wait…”
But my inner turmoil was lost on Yeonhwa, who continued petting me. Her affectionate touch, drenched in sweetness, caressed my hair.
[Wahhh… So happy.]
[Happy.]
“Uh, ehheh…”
It seemed I had accumulated enough energy, as her hand now moved across even more pleasing spots, melting me into pure bliss.
This was impossible to resist. My body went limp, and I leaned my head against Yeonhwa’s embrace. It was soft, and a pleasant aroma wafted around…
[Nice…]
“Nice…”
“Hehe.”
As I snuggled into her embrace, I saw Yeonhwa’s smile widen, puffing her shoulders out like she was showing off.
After a brief silence, Hong Sung-jin carefully opened his mouth.
“…Did you take some kind of drug?”
“You crazy, what are you saying?!”
Yeonhwa shouted back.
.
.
.
A little while later.
Coming back to my senses, I controlled the feathery wings of the sky that were trying to cover my face and bowed my head deeply.
[…I’m sorry for showing such a disgraceful side…]
I found it almost impossible to lift my head. I had aimed to give a good impression, but it felt like I had messed that up at the last moment…
“Not at all, it’s just that the sense of reality is surreal, but it looks nice.”
Hong Sung-jin waved his hand and took another sip of tea. With a careful observation, he truly seemed unaffected by what had happened.
Sighing with relief, I noticed Yeonhwa crossing her arms and opening her mouth.
“But seriously, did you just come to see my face? Isn’t there anything else you want to say?”
“Anything else to say…? I presume you’ve already heard most things from my daughter, haven’t you?”
“Even so, there could be things I haven’t heard.”
“Well… Ah, I see.”
Hong Sung-jin seemed to be recalling something and then exclaimed.
“I probably haven’t communicated enough about the tower’s matters.”
“The tower?”
Yeonhwa blinked, questioning as I slightly lifted my head too.
The tower was not a light topic to dismiss casually.
“As you all know, my partner and I have been leading the purification corps and have been traversing the demonic realm since last year. Recently, we discovered a tower.”
“Yeah, I heard. The untapped tower, right?”
‘An untapped one, huh.’
Listening quietly, I let out a deep sigh inwardly.
Deep within the demonic realm, there was an untapped tower—not just any, but one that matched the scale of the five towers in this world and the invading towers.
However, it’s not the only tower that appears in the demonic realm.
There are also smaller… dungeons that are barely worthy of being called towers, but sometimes the Tower of Necromancy shows up.
I was worried that the Tower of Necromancy might make an appearance around this time, but it seemed that the tower they discovered was indeed untapped.
“My partner and I entered the tower after much deliberation.”
“Eh? Really? You didn’t mention anything about this during the break?”
“At that time, we had just discovered the tower and were merely announcing its existence. Entering it came after considerable thought.”
Yeonhwa widened her eyes, clearly intrigued, as Hong Sung-jin shrugged and replied.
“Anyway, after a suggestion to at least check it out before retreating, we all went inside and realized it wouldn’t work, so we withdrew.”
“What was inside?”
Yeonhwa gulped down the tea and eagerly urged him for details. It appeared she found the topic of an untapped tower quite fascinating.
I felt the same. I needed to confirm if it was the same tower as in the original work, so I perked up my ears.
Seeing the both of us like this, Hong Sung-jin chuckled lightly before continuing.
“The interior of the tower… was similar to a dungeon. It was vast. The sky was a mix of clouds, and amidst the clouds, thunder rumbled to the point of distortion. Monsters that wielded lightning extensively filled the space beneath this rumbling.”
“Thunder monsters?”
“Yes, there were an incredible number of them from the very entrance. It seemed like the sky and ground were completely covered in them. We tried to venture as far in as possible to gather information, but we decided to exit, fearing we might get trapped deeper inside.”
“Hmm…”
“It wasn’t just the abundance; they were all of a high tier, and I noticed quite a few were tier three.”
“Whoa… what kind of maze is that?”
Tier three. In a situation where tier one monsters practically didn’t exist, these were some of the most dangerous monsters right after tier two.
Thinking about it, if there were numerous tier one alpha-type monsters that might be found in a first-grade dungeon, it left me stroking my chin, imagining the tower’s interior, while Yeonhwa gasped in horror.
“And so, we made our exit. If we ever choose to take in some allies like Chang-hae or Taesan for a serious dive, that’s another matter. For our current strength, we deemed it too dangerous.”
“Smart call. So, are you planning to enter again with a united force?”
“Who knows? There isn’t much information regarding the tower in the first place. What’s certain is that it won’t be feasible to enter anytime soon.”
After a brief pause in conversation, it seemed both Yeonhwa and Hong Sung-jin had their thoughts brewing, and needing to wet their throats, they took a sip of tea.
I too had a plethora of thoughts racing through my mind.
‘Looks like it’s the same tower as in the original.’
A mix of clouds swirling in the sky and the thunder that continuously rang out, filled with monsters powered by lightning.
This matched the description of the untapped tower that existed deep in the original demonic realm.
The 8th run ended without achieving the goal and was cut short, while the 11th run finally cleared it to gain the wish-granting ticket from the tower.
Back then, it seemed like just any old tower that housed incredibly strong monsters, bestowing a wish ticket upon clearing.
However, Lady Ariel said that tower wasn’t just that.
‘To become the tower lord, certain conditions must be met.’
The 11th run did not meet those conditions to become a tower lord. So it transferred its stored power instead in the form of wish tickets.
‘Hmm…’
I took some time to think.
The 8th run was strictly speaking a failure.
But they had the potential to conquer the tower.
They had the compatibility as well and were quite confident.
As lightning attributes, they might cancel out each other’s effects but the 8th run specialized in long-distance sniping. Given the time, it could have deployed guerilla tactics to take out all the tower’s monsters.
Ultimately, they couldn’t clear it. Right around the time they were figuring how things were wrapping up, the lord of the Tower of Eternal Winter suddenly appeared.
The lord of the Tower of Eternal Winter appeared without warning from the mainland. Knowing that if they left it alone, the mainland would perish, they scrambled out of the tower.
Engaging with the lord of the Tower of Eternal Winter, they ended up getting stabbed in the back by Baek Ahrin and died.
‘…Tower lords must have the qualifications or they can’t.’
The 11th run lacked qualifications.
Did the 8th run lack qualifications too?
I had no idea. After all, the 8th run couldn’t even tackle the tower and met their end before finding the answer.
‘…Baek Ahrin…’
If only I hadn’t been betrayed, I could have grown much further in that run…
As I mulled over that thought, my lips threatened to pout.
*
“Huh?”
– Bang!
“Ah! What’s going on? Why did you suddenly stop?”
Baek Ahrin, walking down the street with stalls on either side, suddenly halted.
Her friend, coming from behind, bumped her head and rubbed her forehead, but she ignored it, looking around curiously.
“What’s going on? Did something really happen?”
Her friend, who had been grumbling playfully, blinked in surprise and asked.
Baek Ahrin narrowed her eyes, tilting her head slightly.
“Hmm… No, it’s just that I felt like I was being poked suddenly.”
“Oh, that’s probably someone cursing you. What kind of grudge are you carrying around?”
“Grudge? How could I be anything but a good person?”
“We left you behind! We’re the abandoned Hongbaek team here. Do you think we feel okay about being deserted as soon as we arrived at Shio-ram?”
“Aha, sorry, sorry~ That couldn’t be helped, right?”
Baek Ahrin shrugged her shoulders while still somewhat perplexed by the lingering sensation poking her back.
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