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Chapter 169

Choi Yu-Seong thought to himself.

‘The Godfather must have reached the entrance of the second floor by now.’

The Godfather was a man destined to climb the Tower of Heaven alongside Kim Do-Jin. He was also the leader of the Demon King Worshipers, and one of the oldest non-human races in this world known as the ‘Ancient One’.

In the original novel, he and Kim Do-Jin had climbed up the Tower of Heaven together, showing great camaraderie. However, as soon as they discovered each other's true identity and realized they held irreconcilable beliefs, they had chosen different paths.

The problem was that, because of this, Kim Do-Jin had missed his chance to take the Godfather's life during their fight in the Tower. As a result, three Demon Kings would descend upon this world at once.

‘Kim Do-Jin's growth was certainly accelerated during his climb with the Godfather.’

In other words, their relationship had been a catalyst for Do-Jin’s growth, but their connection had also brought bad luck.

This was why Yu-Seong had made such a clear choice in the Tower of Heaven.

‘I can serve as the catalyst for his growth myself.’

In fact, Yu-Seong possessed just as many secrets and knowledge through the original novel as the Godfather did. However, it was also true that he didn't know all of the Godfather’s true secrets. Nevertheless, Yu-Seong certainly knew enough to be of help in Do-Jin's growth.

‘In the first place, it was because of his desire to compete against the Godfather that Kim Do-Jin was able to grow through him.’

If that was the role he had to play, then Yu-Seong was confident that he could fulfill it. After all, Kim Do-Jin, the returnee and protagonist of the original novel, had the most potential to succeed in climbing the Tower of Heaven. It would never be easy to walk shoulder to shoulder with Kim Do-Jin in a place like this.

‘No. I've already done things that I thought were impossible back in the outside world.’?

In fact, recalling the fate of Choi Yu-Seong in the original novel, his current worries were rather insignificant. Above all, Yu-Seong was now convinced by one thing.

‘For some reason, Kim Do-Jin is greatly fond of me.’

This was not a lighthearted comment to make. In fact, it was safe to say that Do-Jin had developed a deep friendship with Yu-Seong, enough to choose to be with him despite his preference for acting alone.

Yu-Seong began thinking of using Do-Jin’s fondness to his advantage.

‘If possible...that can possibly erase all the grudges against the Choi family.’

Perhaps getting Do-Jin to give up on revenge would be several times more difficult than keeping up with his growth. In the original novel, he was a character fueled by his deep anger toward the Choi family.

However, this world was no longer a novel.

‘Since so much has already changed, maybe it's possible to achieve this.’

Therefore, Yu-Seong did not believe that his current situation was entirely negative. Just like the relationship between the Godfather and Do-Jin in the original novel, he and Do-Jin could become close friends who could kindle a competitive spirit between them.

‘Although I feel a bit scared and anxious, I'm confident that I can handle this challenge. This is especially true when I consider the potential rewards.’

Yu-Seong suddenly remembered Kim Woo-Gon, who he had left behind on the second floor of the Tower.

‘Come to think of it, the Godfather will definitely recognize the Magic Total Pill since it's his own creation. Although, he wouldn’t be able to know the details of the contract.’

The Demon King Worshipers were a massive trans-dimensional organization. As the leader of this organization, would the Godfather recognize Kim Woo-Gon who was one of the executives of the Korean branch? If he did, he might investigate why Kim Woo-Gon was being cursed by the Magic Total Pill and may even end up killing him.

Yu-Seong had no real need to concern himself with this matter.

‘But if Kim Woo-Gon survives…’?

Woo-Gon would relentlessly pursue the traces of the Godfather and the Demon King Worshipers, and follow Yu-Seong at all costs. This would be the most ideal situation for Yu-Seong.

‘As Kim Woo-Gon becomes more active, the scope of the Demon King Worshipers' activities will narrow.’

Woo-Gon's abilities were quite formidable, especially with the return of his ancient relics. This was assuming that an absolute being like the Godfather, members of the Hexagram, or the Twelve Dark Kings would not appear. Anyways, he was one of the S-rank hunters in the outside world.

‘I don't need to worry too much about Kim Woo-Gon. If things go well, it'll be a gain, and if not, I won't lose anything.’

"Are you sure we're heading in the right direction?" Do-Jin asked as he led the way through a dense forest path with no sunlight.

"Yes, I'm sure. Just trust me."

Starting from the Tower of Heaven's third floor, which could be considered the true beginning of the Tower, each person was assigned a task according to their entry space and they had to solve it accordingly.

For reference, the mission that Yu-Seong and Do-Jin were currently assigned to was as follows:

<The 3rd floor of the Tower of Heaven>

Purpose of the mission:

1. Find the forest girl.

2. Escort the forest girl to her hometown.

Mission failure conditions:

1. The death of the forest girl.

If the mission is successful, proceed to the next floor and receive rewards based on the outcome.

If the mission fails, all abilities will be reset, and you will be returned to the 1st floor.

Its description was long, but the mission could be simplified into one sentence.

‘The mission is to search for the girl and escort her, and failure will result in the entire Tower collapsing.’

Although the mission was in its early stages, it carried a high risk with a potentially substantial reward.

Luckily, the first stage of the mission, finding the forest girl, was relatively straightforward. Additionally, Yu-Seong had been fortunate enough to receive a useful random skill reward from the second floor.

‘The Pursuit Skill.’?

As its name suggested, this skill had the ability to read the traces of the opponent left on the ground or on the object.

Yu-Seong did not have a lot of information about the forest girl, but if he thought of her as a young girl, pursuing her with the Pursuit Skill would not be too difficult. Therefore, Yu-Seong was confident in taking charge of the first stage of the mission himself.

‘As expected, I’m lucky in drawing lots.’

After all, Yu-Seong had obtained a useful skill from the random draw on the second floor that could be used on the third floor right away.

Soon, in the dark forest, Yu-Seong was able to find a brown-haired girl lying unconscious in a clearing. Looking at the girl, who appeared to be around seven years old, he told Do-Jin, "See? I told you to trust me."

As Yu-Seong looked at Do-Jin proudly, a message appeared.

Progress 1: Find the forest girl. Completed!

"Hmm..."

Oddly enough, Yu-Seong couldn’t tell whether Do-Jin was satisfied or not. After breathing out slowly, Do-Jin stopped walking towards the girl. Instead, his sword flew through the gap in the trees beside the clearing.

Clang-!

Something stirred and leaped away, quickly disappearing into the dense forest darkness. Although the movement was too indistinct to identify, it resembled that of a wild animal.

"I missed it," said Do-Jin.

"Wow, you make mistakes too," said Yu-Seong.

"It was just bad luck. It happens sometimes," snorted Do-Jin.

Ignoring him, Yu-Seong approached the girl first. The brown-haired girl was dressed in ancient Western clothes. Despite her unkempt appearance and runny nose, her chubby cheeks and round nose made her look fairly cute.

"She’s not already hurt anywhere, is she?" Yu-Seong cautiously said as he took out the Green Wind Spirit Cat.

Suddenly, the girl opened her emerald eyes to look directly at Yu-Seong. She exclaimed, "Dad…?!"

"...What?" Yu-Seong was confused and taken aback by the girl’s unexpected words.

The girl slowly turned her gaze to Do-Jin, who had returned after retrieving the sword he had thrown between the trees. With a puzzled look, she said, “...M…Mom?”

"What nonsense. This mission has failed, Choi Yu-Seong," Do-Jin commented.

“Stop, you… You crazy!"

If it wasn't for Yu-Seong's quick intervention to prevent Do-Jin's sword from falling on the girl's neck, it would have been a dangerous moment for the mission.

***

The girl's name was Emma. It didn't have any special meaning, and her memories were a bit hazy. Nevertheless, Emma seemed to recognize Yu-Seong as her father for some reason.

‘It's like how animals instantly imprint on the first being it lays eyes on.’

It was quite an interesting thing. After all, this space was a temporary zone created for the mission in the Tower. In other words, Emma, who existed here, was not a real living being.

‘She's rather like an NPC character in a game.’?

Was it because the novel had become reality? Or was it because the Tower of Heaven was a space created by the power of the gods?

Aside from recognizing Yu-Seong as her father at first sight, Emma was somewhat cute and playful like a little girl. At times, she would hold Yu-Seong's hand as they walked towards her hometown. Other times, she would throw tantrums and demand to be carried.

Meanwhile, she always made a somewhat peculiar expression towards Do-Jin. Whenever she saw him, Emma would purse her lips and look glum for some reason. Even when Yu-Seong carried her on his back, she would ask unexpected questions that left him at a loss for words.

"Do I not have a mom?" Emma questioned.

Do-Jin, who was walking next to them, said in a low voice, "Your mother is waiting for you at home."

"So only dad came?"

"Well, yes, that's how it turned out. “

“Then, what about mom?"

"She's preparing warm food and waiting for you at home, Emma. Don't worry too much," said Yu-Seong.

In fact, he quickly came up with some excuse after hearing Do-Jin’s words.

"Oh...!"

Thanks to that, Emma's emerald eyes sparkled and a bright smile appeared on her face.

"Mom makes very delicious strawberry pie. Oh, I'm hungry. I'm hungry and sleepy."

"Then take a nap. I'll wake you up when we arrive."

"Dad, do you know the way?"

"You told me earlier."

Although Yu-Seong didn't fully understand Emma’s childlike way of explaining, it was not a big problem for him. He could occasionally take a long time at a clearing that appeared if he was lost or got tired.

"Then I'll take a nap for a little while. Wake me up later…dad."

After uttering those words, Emma fell asleep with a soft snore.

Do-Jin swiftly moved his body and slashed the neck of the monster hiding in the forest. The blue blood splattered onto the tree as he quickly sheathed his sword.

Turning to Yu-Seong, Do-Jin said, "It's been following us since earlier on. It must be the one we missed at the beginning."

"And you managed to endure for such a long time?"

"There's no need to expose a young child to bloodshed," replied Do-Jin.

When Yu-Seong looked at him with a dumbfounded expression, he said, "I hope you don't perceive me as a callous individual devoid of emotions, incapable of shedding blood or tears.”

In fact, Yu-Seong already knew that Do-Jin would bleed if he got hurt.

‘But in the original novel, he never cried.’

However, Yu-Seong had initially thought that this person who had returned from another world might have had a damaged emotional state akin to that of a psychopath. That appeared to not be the case.

Come to think of it, it wasn't really strange.

‘His fondness towards me is one example…’

Although he was a bit crooked, if Do-Jin was really a psychopath with no emotions, it would be impossible for him to display such emotions.

‘Perhaps… That might be the reason why his anger runs even deeper.’

If he had truly been a cold-blooded individual without emotions, Do-Jin could have utilized reason to overcome any emotional impulses. However, Yu-Seong now realized that he might not have known as much about Kim Do-Jin as he previously thought.