Chapter 104
In a forest where light cannot penetrate, Cha Minwoo maintained a steady distance from his pursuers while taking a sip from the water he retrieved from his inventory.
“Phew, this is driving me insane.”
Even the act of drinking water required vigilance. It was a situation where enemies could spring out from anywhere at any moment.
Cha Minwoo glanced back at Hwiyung, who was following closely behind him.
“Are you sure you don’t need to return?”
“This kind of wound is nothing. I’m fine.”
“Except, that’s not just any wound.”
Squish—
Blood, darkened and dead, oozed from the wound on Hwiyung’s shoulder. Applying pressure to stop the bleeding was futile.
It wasn’t an ordinary wound.
“Damn… these filthy demon bastards…”
Cha Minwoo’s eyes blazed with anger.
He had suspected, but to find that the forest indeed harbored demon. They had ambushed Cha Minwoo, Hwiyung, and the Blue Zone players indiscriminately.
Players and demon inherently could not coexist.
The conflict had escalated, resulting in numerous injuries. It was unfortunate, but in some ways, they were lucky it wasn’t worse.
“Maybe…”
As Hwiyung used a skill to gradually heal her wound, she kept an eye on Cha Minwoo.
“The rumors might be true.”
“….”
Cha Minwoo remained silent. Initially, he dismissed the idea, but with the current circumstances, it was hard to deny.
Maybe, just maybe, a survivor from Blue Eyes could be here.
Step—
They moved deeper into the forest. Reaching a peculiar spot where a single beam of light pierced through the trees,
“Wait.”
Cha Minwoo, leading the group, raised his hand to halt them.
“… Stop.”
“Why?”
“Just stop. Ahead of us…”
“Ahead? What’s there?”
Hwiyung, curious, peeked over Cha Minwoo’s shoulder to get a better view of what lay ahead. In the middle of an otherwise empty forest, someone sat atop a felled tree.
‘What is that…?’
Swoosh—
It seemed as though that spot alone had a different color. A dark aura surrounded the man, repelling anyone from approaching.
Could he be a demon?
The feeling suggested so, but something told them otherwise.
In that case…
“You-”
Summoning his courage, Cha Minwoo, the group leader, took a step forward.
“Who are you?”
Swoosh—
The man’s head turned. Long, unkempt black hair and a thick beard. Despite his disheveled appearance, his eyes glinted with a fierce light.
‘Can’t breathe.’
Just standing in place felt suffocating. Hwiyung took labored breaths against the choking aura. It wasn’t just her. Everyone except Cha Minwoo showed the same symptoms.
Despite the man doing seemingly nothing, the pressure was overwhelming.
“Who am I?”
Swoosh—
“You come into my territory and ask that?”
Rising from his seated position, he turned his gaze towards Cha Minwoo. After scrutinizing Cha Minwoo’s face, the man tilted his head.
“You… I think I’ve seen you before.”
“Seen me?”
“Ah, Cha Minwoo, right? The streamer who used to imitate Suhyuk.”
Suhyuk. He referred to Lee Suhyuk, the legend, with familiarity. Moreover, for some reason, he knew about Cha Minwoo’s old concept of streaming as Lee Suhyuk.
Could he be a reasonable person to talk to?
A glimmer of hope appeared. This had to be resolved through conversation. If a fight broke out, he was certain they would all be annihilated.
“Have you seen my stream?”
“Yes. Back in the old days, before you joined that accursed guild.”
The man’s words were laced with hostility.
“Now that I think about it, that’s irritating.”
Shaa-.
The surrounding leaves began to wither and fall away.
“It means those bastards have come all the way here?”
“Ugh—.”
“Gah—.”
Several players at the back clutched their throats, struggling to breathe. Their bodies dried up, and their eyes bulged out. Cha Minwoo glared at the man in front of him.
It was clear that he bore them ill will.
‘Do we have to fight?’
Though he knew the answer, he couldn’t bring himself to step forward. It felt like death was staring him in the face.
Trying to overcome the feeling, he gripped his sword tighter.
“Calm down.”
Whoosh-!
The magical power that choked the air around them dissipated. As the members of the Blue Zone guild collapsed to the ground, gasping for air, the man turned to look at the unexpected intruder.
“Are you friends with these guys too?”
“Calling them friends would be a stretch; they’re more like my subordinates.”
“Subordinates?”
“Allow me to introduce myself. I’m Lee Wonjae, the vice guild master of Blue Zone.”
Lee Wonjae. He smiled as he looked at the man, whose brow furrowed at the introduction.
“Vice guild master?”
“Yes. And you’re Hwang Kyuseong, right?”
A hint of surprise flickered in the man’s eyes.
Simultaneously, Cha Minwoo’s expression turned to one of astonishment.
‘Hwang Kyuseong?’
He had been a long-time fan of Lee Suhyuk. As such, he knew quite a bit about the members of Blue Eyes.
Hwang Kyuseong. He was definitely one of the eight members of Blue Eyes.
“You came looking for me?”
“Yes. It took quite some time to find you.”
“Then you’ve come to the wrong place.”
Swoosh—.
Hwang Kyuseong’s hand reached towards Lee Wonjae.
“Unless you came here to commit s*****e.”
Whoosh—
A dark current surged towards Lee Wonjae, enveloping his body. Without attempting to dodge or drawing his weapon, Lee Wonjae crossed his arms.
Fwoosh—
The blazing dark aura clung to Lee Wonjae like flames. Although he wasn’t immediately incinerated or disintegrated, the pain etched across his face was unmistakable.
“What the… What are you doing?”
“I didn’t come to fight.”
Lee Wonjae brushed off the black aura clinging to him, meeting Hwang Kyuseong’s eyes.
“I have a proposal. I think you’ll change your mind once you hear it.”
Twitch—
A vein on Hwang Kyuseong’s forehead twitched violently. His brows furrowed in deep thought. But only for a moment.
“Fine, I’ll listen. Think of it as your last words.”
“It won’t be my last words.”
Undeterred confidence.
“What I want is to kill Kim Ilsoo, whom you despise so much.”
*
After finishing their meal, while others were relaxing, Suhyuk began to move alone. Unlike Viola, who was comfortably resting, Suhyuk had felt an unsettling chill ever since stepping into Belveim’s mansion.
It felt as though he had stepped into the heart of a dungeon. And it didn’t take long for him to understand why.
‘It’s not just a feeling.’
If it were merely a sensation, he wouldn’t be going to such lengths. Had that been the case, he would be searching for demons outside rather than wandering around the mansion.
The problem was, ‘The Heart of Thunder is close.’
The Heart of Thunder, supposedly taken by the demons, was felt somewhere within this mansion. Its presence was unmistakable; it was in the deepest part of the mansion’s underground.
While carefully traversing the corridors, Suhyuk received a sudden donation message.
『’ILoveLeeSuhyeok’ has donated 1000 points.』
『Where are you going?』
A rare donation. The amount wasn’t small, and the donor was a well-known big player in Suhyuk’s streams. Although avoiding interaction, Suhyuk eventually responded.
“I smell something fishy.”
He turned on his mic and answered the donation.
-Oh, he’s actually responding.
-As expected of the boss.
-That was quick! LOL
-Couldn’t resist 1000 points LOL
Was it because he interacted after a long time?
With more viewers, the chat was scrolling at a blistering pace.
『Viewers: 19,210』
The stream was nearing 20,000 viewers.
Two Valkyries appeared in this trial, and encountering the demon from Muspelheim was a rarity even in top-tier trials.
Naturally, the interest level was high. Although focused on the trial, Suhyuk was gratified that the stream was running smoothly.
『’MissionVillain’ has donated 1000 points.』
『What, you only respond to donations starting from 1000 points? Are you not doing any missions if you don’t communicate today?』
At another large donation, Suhyuk shook his head.
“No, it’s not that I won’t do it at all… Instead, I’ll only accept missions that won’t interfere with the trial.”
-Missions that won’t interfere with the trial: Fighting naked
-Missions that won’t interfere with the trial: Kissing Viola
-Mission suggestions anyone? Where’s KingAsset anyway?
The mention of missions set the chat ablaze.
There hadn’t been many opportunities for missions in this trial.
The first stage ended quickly with Vigo’s defeat, and the second stage’s specifics were still unclear.
『‘SafeAsset’ has registered a mission.』
『LOL Alright then, head out and kill all the demons, and I’ll give you 100,000 points.』
And, inevitably, ‘that’ viewer returned.
-What???
-Is this the same…
-‘That’ flag?
-This is insane LOLOLOL
Hunting hundreds of demons? Another impossible mission.
But who was the viewer making this promise?
With a 0% success rate, SafeAsset was renowned on the Players channel for consistently failing missions.
However,
“…This one is a bit much.”
Even Suhyuk was stumped by this mission.
Whether it was capturing a wolf warrior or defeating a giant chieftain, there was always a thread of hope. But slaying hundreds of demons was an insurmountable task, no matter the strategy.
『SafeAsset has registered a mission.』
『Then kiss Viola for 50,000 points.』
What sort of mission was this?
‘They really want me to fail spectacularly.’
It seemed SafeAsset’s goal was to disrupt his trial. Attempting such actions here would ensure failure.
“…This is impractical.”
-LOLOLOL Impractical indeed LOLOLOL
-Prepare for the Valkyrie lip thief!
-Dare to steal Olra’s kiss and see LOL
-Can SafeAsset finally win?
The mission wasn’t feasible, leaving Suhyuk disappointed as he continued down the stairs.
Step, step—
After descending several floors,
“Huh?”
“Vigo?”
He encountered Vigo, ascending the staircase.
“Where are you going?”
“What about you?”
“I asked first.”
Admitting that he was searching the basement due to suspicions about Belveim was tricky. Vigo would likely side with the Valkyrie. Surprisingly, Vigo was of a similar mindset.
“I was heading to Belveim.”
“To Belveim? Why?”
“Why else? You pointed it out earlier.”
An unexpected response. Suhyuk had assumed Vigo would naturally trust the Valkyrie, but he was listening to Suhyuk’s concerns.
“It’s not just today that I found things odd.”
“Then?”
“It’s been a long time. Quite a while perhaps. Unlike Elaine or Viola who focused on the mission, Belveim lived almost like an actual human.”
An actual human. Suhyuk sensed this wasn’t meant as a compliment. It implied that Belveim’s interests lay in fulfilling personal desires rather than protecting the Thunder Throne.
“But doubting just because of that felt like a betrayal to a Valkyrie…”
“Repent or justify it later.”
Swish—
Suhyuk indicated the stairs leading to the basement.
“Right now, let’s confirm things first.”