Chapter 134
The recruitment division of the guild “Mercenaries” became chaotic due to a stream. The name of the streamer was Lee Suhyuk. He had just started his trial on the 6th floor.
“Isn’t there any budget left?”
The head of the recruitment division, Klamante, raised his voice urgently. Unfortunately, simply raising his voice didn’t magically create more points.
“We only have 10,000 points immediately available without additional approval…”
“That’s not nearly enough! Can’t you see? The minimum bid for these guys is 10,000 points!”
10,000 points. It was not a small amount. In fact, it was quite a substantial sum to be spent as a donation to a mere streamer. However, in this situation, 10,000 points was merely the baseline.
“Why not wait for an hour? By then, approval for 100,000 points could come through.”
“By that time, he’d be in the middle of the trial! Don’t you get it? Whether the donation is 10,000 or 100,000 points, if it gets buried, it’s worthless!”
Among the employees cowering under Klamante’s scolding, a brave individual stepped forward.
“Then how about we give up?”
“What?”
“I mean, do we really need to go to such lengths? He’s not even a ranker yet, and there are better players we could recruit under the same conditions, aren’t there?”
It wasn’t a wrong statement. In fact, the recruitment conditions offered by the Mercenaries to Lee Suhyuk were quite high. The annual salary was enough to recruit multiple rankers. Some team members even felt the budget allocated to recruit Lee Suhyuk was excessive.
But,
“You idiots.”
Klamante looked pityingly at his team members who shared the same thought.
“Can’t you see? This is the lowest his value will ever be.”
“What if it’s all hype?”
“Hype?”
Klamante scoffed.
“As far as I can tell, it’s the real deal.”
“What’s your basis for that?”
“He’s already on the 6th floor.”
Bang.
He slammed his palm on the desk with force, adding emphasis to his voice.
“It’s a new record, a new record for the fastest climb.”
“Isn’t it more important to climb the tower reliably than quickly? That’s something the real Lee Suhyuk himself has said.”
“Yes, that’s right. He did say that.”
Klamante sighed. He had forgotten that he was the only one here who had been interested in Lee Suhyuk from the beginning.
“That’s why I’m more surprised.”
“What?”
“Never mind, there’s no time to explain. If he doesn’t prove his worth, I’ll resign. Just get him here, no matter what.”
There was no room for persuasion in Klamante’s resolute attitude. However much they protested, there was no immediate solution.
“Even if we did it right away…”
Even at the fastest, it would take an hour for approval from above. By then, as Klamante said, the trial would begin, and the donation could easily be buried.
The team members hesitated, watching each other.
Seeing them, Klamante finally resorted to his last means.
“Use my personal money.”
It was the worst company.
『’Mercenary Guild’ has donated 50,000 points.』
『This is Mercenary Guild. We support streamer Lee Suhyuk. Please make sure to check your email.』
It was a concise and appropriate sponsorship message.
After the Mercenary Guild, Suhyuk wrapped up the sponsorships.
“That’s it for now.”
The intervals between incoming donations had noticeably lengthened. This was likely the last one for the day.
-Bro, what did you collect today…?
-How much did you make in such a short time, LOL
-For real, this is top-tier company stuff, honestly
-Look at the number of viewers;
In no time, his empty pockets had become full.
Moreover, the number of viewers had reached a new record, and he hadn’t even started his examination in earnest.
『Viewers: 39,120』
A number approaching 40,000.
Though it couldn’t compare to his ‘Bald Suhyuk’ stream, it was the first time he’d drawn in such a crowd.
He figured that once the trial began, the number of viewers would increase even more.
“Fifty thousand viewers is definitely possible.”
If he could record 50,000 viewers, the price of the advertisements on his videos would go up because that would place him into the so-called ‘top-tier’ category.
While 10,000 viewers were enough to survive as a streamer, 50,000 viewers meant success as a streamer.
“Everyone, thank you for all the support. I don’t know how I’d be able to repay you for this.”
-To repay them, you’ll have to join a guild.
-Exactly LOL
-Playing dumb, pretending not to know LOL
With the Mercenary Guild’s donation, Suhyuk headed towards the portal that would lead him to the trial site.
“In return, I’ll show you something you’ve been curious about in this stream.”
His steps were steady as he pretended not to see the chat.
One more donation came through as he walked.
『”SafeAsset” has donated 100 points.』
『Points secured~ LOL』
* * *
『You have paid 20,000 points.』
『Starting the examination on the 6th floor.』
With the message, his vision flickered.
His body floated, and gravity and sound disappeared. Everything morphed into minute particles and vanished, only to reassemble. He felt the examination had begun.
His vision gradually returned, and the surrounding landscape started to come into focus.
From his fingertips, the sensation returned to his body. He realized the wind was hitting his face and saw that the scenery around him was quickly passing by.
“Have you awoken?”
When he opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was a familiar blonde woman.
-Oh wow
-The goddess is here…
-Came back just to see this
-You too? LOL
Viola’s popularity had indeed not waned. She had been the key figure behind Suhyuk’s stream success.
As he looked around, clouds could be seen below. Suhyuk, startled, widened his eyes, and Viola explained.
“We’ll be arriving soon.”
He already knew their destination.
『The Trial – ‘Midgard’ begins.』
“……To Asgard.”
A flying carriage.
And the heavenly horse pulling that carriage.
Suhyuk, with Viola and Vigo, was on his way to Asgard.
‘The plot progresses quickly.’
Since he had chosen this path, there was nothing to complain about. In fact, he welcomed the disappearance of boring parts.
They flew for a while longer.
“It’s coming into view.”
Neighhh-!
As soon as Viola finished speaking, the heavenly horse neighed.
A world above the clouds.
A land so high and vast that humans could not fathom its reach.
“Asgard.”
The scenery of Asgard was nothing short of breathtaking.
Amazingly, another layer of clouds floated within this world above the clouds. The grass was lush, and the air was so clear it cleansed one’s eyes.
It was an ideal world.
Dazzlingly so.
“Different, isn’t it?”
Viola asked knowingly as Suhyuk momentarily lost himself in admiration.
“It’s the first time in 400 years that I’ve returned here.”
“Same for me, Lady Viola.”
Vigo, who echoed her sentiments, looked as if he was about to cry. He had followed Viola blindly for so long that his feelings couldn’t be much different.
“It must be quite poignant for both of you.”
“Indeed.”
Four hundred years.
Such a long span of time was hard to fathom. Viola, who returned to Asgard, had a face deeply imbued with emotion.
Just as Vigo did, Viola’s eyes moistened, but she quickly regained her composure and wiped her tears with the back of her hand.
“We should hurry. Things will likely get busy.”
She tightened her grip on the heavenly horse’s reins. Beyond the beautiful landscape, a high and massive wall came into view.
A towering fortress wall stretching out, as if marking the world’s boundary.
As Suhyuk viewed it, Viola spoke.
“That’s the Wall of Rasderikh.”
“What is its purpose?”
“What purpose? It’s just a wall. It divides the realms we live in.”
The heavenly horse gradually descended.
No matter how mighty the flying horse, it seemed it could not surmount that fortress wall.
“Asgard is divided into four major realms: Midgard, Jotunheim, Alfheim, and Valhalla, where I was.”
Midgard.
The name of the current test.
“This is Midgard, ruled by the gods of Asgard. A world where half-gods—neither gods nor giants—live together.”
“Half-gods?”
“Warriors like me.”
Seeing Suhyuk’s puzzled expression, Vigo added an explanation.
“Neither humans nor gods. Warriors born somewhere in-between.”
Vigo spoke of himself with a hint of bitterness in his eyes as he looked at his world.
“That’s me.”
As he said that, Vigo looked at the Wall of Rasderikh.
“If you head to Valhalla, I probably can’t accompany you. I’m not yet entitled to step foot there.”
Vigo’s way of addressing Suhyuk had changed.
Benefactor.
From their perspective, Suhyuk was nothing short of a lifesaver who helped them successfully complete a mission spanning hundreds of years.
It was their long-cherished wish, more precious than their own lives.
“Was our destination Valhalla?”
“Yes. After we get down, there is someone there who has an item similar to our benefactor’s.”
The one who had given the mission to Viola was seen in a cutscene.
A man whose face was half-covered, holding a hammer.
– Are we meeting the final boss so soon?
He was the young ruler of Asgard.
‘This quickly?’
It was strange.
It was too peaceful to be a trial.
Moreover, the trial’s name being ‘Midgard’ instead of ‘Asgard’ bothered him.
Suhyuk looked down at Midgard with perplexed eyes.
No matter how grandiose the words like Asgard or demi-god sounded, to Suhyuk, it just looked like an ordinary city.
A very peaceful city, no different from the human world.
‘It’s definitely not just a place to pass by.’
While pondering the direction of the trial, Suhyuk was lost in thought.
“Valhalla is further in.”
As if to correct his misunderstanding, Viola spoke up.
What Viola pointed to was a wall named Rasderikh.
A boundary crossing four worlds.
The world of Asgard Suhyuk imagined would probably be inside that wall.
“Why? Is it very different from what you expected?”
“Yes. Somehow…”
“This place is like that. After all, it’s the world of those unqualified.”
There was a look of pride on Viola’s face and in her voice as she spoke.
“Valhalla will be different.”
“I look forward to it.”
* * *
“You cannot enter.”
In front of the gate passing through Rasderikh.
Suhyuk and Viola were turned away, standing with the heavenly horse.
The gatekeeper wore armor with a wing-shaped engraving and held a spear twice his height, guarding the door.
– LOL
– Expected that
– If they just let you through, it wouldn’t be much of a trial~
– No way they’re letting you pass, haha~
Amidst the viewers’ jeers, Suhyuk shrugged his shoulders and turned the microphone.
“I expected this too.”
He hadn’t had high hopes from the start.
Meeting the ruler of Asgard immediately was something not even expected on the 8th floor.
However, Viola, unable to accept it, frowned and asked.
“Why?”
“Viola, you have been away from Valhalla for too long.”
“I received a mission. From Lord Thor.”
“We haven’t received any such message. All we know is that you have been living among humans for a long time.”
“Is that a crime?”
“You must have weakened. Spend more than 10 years purifying yourself in Midgard.”
The gatekeeper’s gaze turned to Suhyuk standing behind Viola.
“And of course, no matter what, humans are not allowed to enter this land.”