Chapter 146
Footsteps echoed rhythmically through the vintage corridor.
Hwang Gyuseong followed behind Cha Minwoo. Outside the window, a pond with swimming carp and a fountain came into view.
“The world sure has improved a lot. Wonder how many points they splurged on this.”
Bang-!
Crack, crackle-.
With a light punch, the wall shattered, causing cracks to spread in all directions.
Cha Minwoo had lost count of how many times he had been surprised by this side of Hwang Gyuseong’s personality.
‘Is it refreshing, or just brute strength?’
Glance-.
Cha Minwoo cautiously glanced at Hwang Gyuseong, who was following as if nothing had happened.
‘Or maybe he’s just angry.’
The time they had spent together was by no means short. Lee Wonjae had assigned Cha Minwoo to monitor and accompany Hwang Gyuseong.
But throughout their time together, all he learned about him was his personality.
Fiery, wild, and at certain moments, chillingly rational.
It was Lee Wonjae who had summoned Hwang Gyuseong for the current situation.
“You’ve arrived?”
He was not waiting in the room but had come out to greet them.
Clearly, he had been eagerly waiting for Hwang Gyuseong.
“Come on in. It must have been a long journey.”
“I’m hungry.”
“I’ve prepared some refreshments inside.”
Lee Wonjae treated Hwang Gyuseong with great reverence, as if addressing a new guild master to replace Kim Ilsoo.
Inside, as Lee Wonjae mentioned, food had been prepared.
Most of it was snacks suited for conversation, but there was enough to fill one’s belly.
Crunch-.
As Hwang Gyuseong bit into a cookie, he sat on the ledge of the innermost bookshelf.
“Kill Kim Ilsoo, you say?”
His demeanor was arrogant yet natural.
A posture that only someone with immense confidence in their skills could display.
“It’s an appealing proposal. But how?”
“Hwang Gyuseong-nim, you must do it yourself.”
“You want to use me as a pawn? Fine by me. Knowing your motives puts me at ease.”
“We’ll set the stage for you.”
Hwang Gyuseong knew from the beginning. Lee Wonjae had chosen him because he needed a powerful shot to take on Kim Ilsoo.
“Calling you a pawn hurts. This is a fight where I lose if you fail.”
“Sucking up to me won’t win you any bonus points. Fine, go ahead and set up the stage. But until this starts, I need to be a dead man. You get that?”
“Understood. I will keep that in mind.”
A question mark appeared over Cha Minwoo’s face.
What did this mean? He had to be a dead man?
In fact, Hwang Gyuseong had indeed been like a dead man for over 20 years. While he had thought there must be a reason, this conversation revealed that it was Hwang Gyuseong’s own choice.
There was something between the two of them that he didn’t know. He wanted to ask but decided against it.
It was certain that even if he asked, it wasn’t a story he could get an answer to.
“Has the date been set?”
“It’s on the day the challenge starts.”
The festival that was now just around the corner.
Lee Suhyuk had prepared a special event for that festival.
“Let’s kill him there. Kim Ilsoo.”
* * *
Half a day had passed since the trial ended.
Upon arriving at the prepared lodging, Suhyuk was the first to fall asleep. The mental fatigue weighed heavily on his body, making it impossible to keep his eyes open.
Even when he woke up, Un Hyang and Cheon Ryang were nowhere to be seen.
They had clearly said they would arrive first.
『Un Hyang: Got delayed due to some circumstances. Please rest ^^』
A message sent with an unusual use of an emoticon.
It seemed something was truly up.
‘It better not be someone else again.’
The first thing that came to mind after receiving the message was the recent event. The martial artists from Divine Dragon Group who had come to take away Un Hyang.
Among them was even Cha Unhyeop, one of the members of the challenge. Although they managed to get through it somehow, Cha Unhyeop had returned alive that day.
If he had come back for Un Hyang….
But fortunately, his bad premonition was off the mark. However, it was true that someone had come.
“Reinhardt came?”
Suhyuk repeated Un Hyang’s words after she returned to the lodging. It was a completely unexpected name. He expected something to happen, but he didn’t imagine it would be because of Reinhardt.
“Why did that guy come looking for the manager?”
“Why else? It’s because of you, Suhyuk.”
Cheon Ryang’s tone had a slightly grumbling edge. Un Hyang quickly added some supplementary information, pinching his slightly protruding lip.
“A streamer’s affairs usually go through their manager. That’s the order of things.”
“This time, it wasn’t because of those matters, though.”
“What?”
Un Hyang’s eyes widened at Suhyuk’s words.
“Do you know what it’s about?”
“I have a hunch.”
“Then, that’s really….”
“Yes.”
There was no particular reason to hide it from the two.
“I killed him. Isaac.”
“Wow….”
Un Hyang’s hand went limp, and Cheon Ryang’s jaw dropped with a look of astonishment.
“Then did Reinhardt die in vain?”
The anger Reinhardt harbored, seeking to avenge his son, wasn’t a misunderstanding. The ones who misunderstood were Un Hyang and Cheon Ryang, who had unconditionally believed Suhyuk.
“Is there a reason why?”
“Because he tried to kill me.”
Just as simple as that. From Suhyuk’s point of view, that son of a gun deserved nothing less than death.
“So, I did the same to him.”
Suhyuk briefly explained the long-standing incidents. He hadn’t experienced them directly, but the memories of the bullying lingered. The provocations from their first encounter, and the eventual assault that crossed the line.
Cheon Ryang’s response after hearing the story was straightforward.
“He really was someone who deserved to die.”
Un Hyang, standing next to him, nodded in agreement.
“If you had told the same story, would Reinhardt have backed off?”
“Absolutely not.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“I know him, a little.”
Reinhardt was a ranker who had participated in the confrontation events from long ago. And during that time, Suhyuk had clashed with him multiple times.
Whatever transpired between Suhyuk and Isaac probably wasn’t of interest to him.
“Seems like you’ve watched a lot of streams.”
Of course, the two people who didn’t know this could only think so.
Finished with his explanation, Suhyuk took a sip of tea and looked at Un Hyang’s face.
He felt a bit sorry for seemingly dragging her into the mess, but he couldn’t hold back his curiosity.
“Was it difficult to handle him?”
“Pfft.”
Thinking the conversation had ended, Un Hyang spewed tea onto Suhyuk’s face as he took a sip.
With his face drenched, Suhyuk wiped away the moisture with one hand.
“Oh, um… sorry…”
“It’s okay. Was my question that tough?”
“It’s not that… it just came suddenly…”
“Wait, isn’t that a dishcloth?”
Un Hyang was obviously flustered, to the point where she’d grabbed a dishcloth instead of a handkerchief to wipe Suhyuk’s face.
‘Looks like there’s something there.’
It did feel a bit strange.
He had researched extensively about Reinhardt. Since he had killed Isaac, Suhyuk considered Reinhardt an inevitable opponent he would have to confront sooner or later.
Despite the silly nickname Reinhardt earned after losing to Suhyuk, he was not someone to be underestimated.
Considering the length of time he had been active as a ranker, it was even longer than Suhyuk’s own. The accumulated knowledge and experience over that period made him an exceptional swordmaster.
No matter how skilled Un Hyang was, even matching Cha Unhyeop, facing Reinhardt would not have been easy.
‘Seems she doesn’t want to talk about it.’
This time, she brought a proper towel instead of a dishcloth. Wiping his face, Suhyuk decided not to pry any further.
Just as he had his own secrets, she likely had hers as well.
“How about we talk about work?”
Cheon Ryang hastily changed the subject.
Suhyuk, who also wanted to move on, put down the towel and pretended not to notice, nodding in agreement.
“Sure.”
“In conclusion, this stream was a huge success.”
She had prepared beforehand, turning on the screen to show the data.
“The peak number of viewers surpassed 90,000, with an average of 60,000 viewers. And even that number was constantly on the rise.”
“The collaboration stream was truly effective.”
The only difference between this stream and the last was one thing.
It was the collaboration with “Bald Suhyuk”.
From that point on, the attention to Suhyuk’s stream changed significantly.
“The collaboration with Bald Suhyuk was a success, and the trial themes were perfect. The process and results speak for themselves.”
Everything was perfect except for one thing. There was something lacking in this stream. And that something was very important to Suhyuk.
“The only regret is the profit…”
It was the revenue from the stream.
“Honestly, from Balhae’s perspective, it doesn’t matter much. The donation money goes entirely to Suhyuk.”
“That’s true.”
“Of course, that’s Balhae’s perspective, not mine.”
Although Un Hyang was an employee of Balhae, she was currently the person who rooted for Suhyuk’s success more than anyone else. The main reason Suhyuk was streaming was for points.
“If you add up the small missions, it’s not bad. Sure, the donation money is less than the last stream, but still.”
“That’s because we gave up on the biggest mission.”
The spontaneous scenario to stop Bergelmir’s seal appeared while Suhyuk was in the middle of a mission. In terms of points alone, it was right to safely take the trial of Valhalla. But that was absolutely impossible.
No matter how urgently he needed points, it wasn’t worth shaking the direction of the trial.
“Thanks to that, the stream stayed true to the content of the trial. That’s why it received such positive feedback.”
Cheon Ryang showed a message from the company.
It was a message about signing a new contract. Below it was the detailed content of the contract.
“The advertising rates have increased several times. We also got a major advertisement.”
“A major advertisement?”
“It’s a brand called Saint Lorek. They mainly manufacture equipment used by rankers.”
Ranker-level meant Suhyuk’s current status. Players who reached the 7th floor were generally grouped as rankers.
“You’ve heard of them, right?”
“No way I wouldn’t have.”
Saint Lorek was a brand known even when Suhyuk was actively playing. They supplied equipment in large quantities while maintaining decent quality.
“I’m not quite pleased.”
An advertisement would mean having to use their items directly in the stream. But Suhyuk had no intention of taking trials using mass-produced equipment.
“The advertising rate is 600,000 points.”
Suhyuk’s eyes widened at that amount.
600,000 points.
It was a considerable sum to just let go.
“…They certainly are generous, being a big corporation.”
“Take your time to think about it. There’s still plenty of time.”
For Balhae, the advertisement was also an opportunity not to be missed. Unlike donations, advertisements were split between Balhae and Suhyuk.
The 600,000 points lingered in Suhyuk’s mind. While pondering, he came up with a good idea.
“By the way, can we use that advertisement in content other than the trial?”
As long as he used the items in the stream, it shouldn’t be a big issue.
“Other content? It shouldn’t be impossible… Have you already decided on the next content?”
“Yes.”
He had planned the content long before, not just recently.
A festival made by players with blood.
“The Tournament.”
The preliminaries for the Tournament were imminent.