Chapter 166
Rumble—.
Rain fell from the dark clouds. The rain poured down thicker and faster than at first.
Swish—.
It felt like a scene from a movie. At least, that’s how Cha Minwoo felt at the moment.
In front of him stood Lee Suhyuk. Although he thought that streamer Suhyuk was just a fake and only a streamer mimicking the real Lee Suhyuk, Cha Minwoo’s emotions were different now.
Two building rooftops of similar height.
Cha Minwoo looked at Suhyuk waiting for him on the rooftop of the adjacent building.
‘He looks just like the real thing.’
His hair soaked in rain. His eyes. The mask that covers most of his face.
Everything felt uncannily familiar. Clearly different, yet he approached Minwoo as if he were real.
That’s why the desire to fight him had grown so strong.
‘Now is the time.’
The illusion that Lee Suhyuk seemed to have come back to life. Minwoo knew it could never be real, yet he didn’t want to escape this pleasant illusion.
He wanted to fight him while this illusion lingered as vividly as possible. He wanted to experience the thrill of meeting and competing with Lee Suhyuk and savoring victory.
‘I can win now.’
He knew it was a shameful thing to do. Regardless of skill or talent, he knew how short his career as a player was.
But that’s why it had to be now. He would soon go to a place far beyond Minwoo’s reach.
Thud—.
Cha Minwoo, who had subdued quite a few players on his way here, already gripped his unsheathed sword tightly.
“You really resemble the person I admire.”
Forgetting that the opponent in front of him was an active streamer, Minwoo opened up and shared his thoughts.
“And someday, I’m sure you will be that person. You have the talent for it.”
-Wow, such high praise.
-Insane.
-The whole world is a Lee Suhyuk fan, for real.
-Falcon Eye wins again, lol.
Everyone was aware of Cha Minwoo’s fanatic admiration for Lee Suhyuk. To that extent, Minwoo’s current words were the highest compliment he could offer.
“So, please, don’t disappoint me.”
“……Alright.”
Suhyuk listened to his words while watching the rain pouring down from the sky.
“I probably won’t.”
Rumble—.
As if to boost the excitement of their fight, the weather worsened. Boom, the sky lit up with thunder and lightning.
At that moment.
Flash—!
Cha Minwoo’s sword glinted as the building Suhyuk stood on split in half.
Rumble—.
The diagonally cut building slid apart. Minwoo’s eyes darted around, searching for Suhyuk who had been on the rooftop.
‘Where did he go?’
For a moment, something flashed and disappeared. The speed was so fast that Minwoo lost sight of his opponent.
In an instant, his eyes scanned swiftly, spotting the opponent who had gained some distance.
A tall spire reaching the sky.
“Is he trying to create distance?”
It didn’t seem like he was trying to escape. He was probably trying to secure a favorable position.
It was unexpected.
The Lee Suhyuk he had seen on streams had never fought by creating distance.
There was only one exception.
‘Is he planning to throw the spear?’
He had seen it in a video uploaded on the streaming channel.
During the trial of lightning, to defeat the final boss, Suhyuk had thrown the Lightning Spear from a distance.
Even though the giant had quickly closed the gap, making the spear strike from up close.
Even if the distance hadn’t been closed, the result would not have changed.
‘No chance.’
Whirr-.
Magic gathered at Cha Minwoo’s toes. As wings spread beneath his feet, his speed explosively increased in an instant.
Minwoo, flying like an arrow, violently leaped up the spire. The distance between him and Suhyuk shortened, and soon he was right behind Suhyuk.
‘I got him….’
Just as he thought he had caught up.
Swish-.
Tap-.
Suhyuk’s hand touched Minwoo’s chest.
‘… What?’
Bang-!
Blue lightning surged from Suhyuk’s palm, pushing against Minwoo’s chest.
Feeling a paralyzing shock, Minwoo was flung back and began to plummet. Hastily, he moved his hand.
Crash-.
Scrape-.
The sword pierced the spire’s wall, halting his fall. Judging by the pain in his chest, some of his ribs were probably cracked.
Understanding the situation wasn’t difficult.
It wasn’t that Suhyuk had moved faster.
‘He used my own speed against me.’
In his frantic attempt to catch up, Minwoo had overly increased his speed.
At the moment the distance closed, Suhyuk had naturally shifted direction and extended his hand.
It was, in other words, a battle of timing.
Whether Suhyuk’s hand would reach out first or his sword would pierce Suhyuk’s back first as the gap closed.
The issue was that, in this timing battle, he should have had the upper hand.
Crunch-.
It was only for a moment, but even this was enough to reveal that he had lost completely in terms of technique.
Suhyuk stood on the side of the spire’s wall.
Literally. He wasn’t clinging; he was standing sideways on the wall.
As if defying gravity itself.
“Is he planning to overwhelm me with technical skill?”
Standing on the wall was not particularly surprising.
As long as one could concentrate magic into the soles of their feet to support their body, standing on the wall wasn’t difficult.
However, fighting in that state was a different matter.
Taking irregular steps to maintain balance was challenging, but the hardest part was swinging a weapon while focusing all nerve and magic in one’s feet.
It was like drawing a circle with one hand and a star with the other.
Doing two entirely different things simultaneously wasn’t just twice but several times harder.
Nevertheless.
“You think I can’t do it?”
Cha Minwoo did not shy away from the provocation.
Thud-.
He planted his foot against the wall and stood up. He pulled out the sword he had embedded in the wall and slowly walked towards Lee Suhyuk.
Perhaps he felt the stage was set, as he no longer ran away.
“Do you think fighting this way gives you an advantage?”
As a technician, Cha Minwoo had confidence in himself.
“If you can do it, I can do it too. Who do you think you’re dealing with?”
He acknowledged his deficiencies in techniques. However, it was not a situation to despair over.
As proof, Cha Minwoo caught up to Lee Suhyuk.
The fact that he caught up to him using lightning was evidence that, at least in terms of physical ability or magical power, he was superior.
‘Lee Suhyuk’s weakness is his lack of experience.’
No matter how much of a genius someone was, there were things that could not be overcome.
And that was time.
“We don’t have much time.”
Lee Suhyuk was also conscious of the time.
“I’m sorry, but I can’t engage with you for long.”
“That’s not for you to dec—”
In the midst of speaking.
Thunk-.
Lee Suhyuk took a step closer to Cha Minwoo.
For the first time, he narrowed the distance between them. The tension heightened, and golden lightning emanated from Suhyuk’s body.
Boom, the sound of thunder echoed. For the first time, he heard the sound of lightning properly, not through a video.
However, there was no leisure to get lost in admiration.
Crackle-!
“……!”
Before he knew it, his opponent was rushing right before his eyes. No, he was hurtling forward.
His body moved before his mind, blocking with his sword. The sound of swords clashing was drowned out by the thunder.
‘When did he…?’
Swoosh-.
Again.
His opponent disappeared from before his eyes. Fortunately, he could discern the direction this time.
At the last moment, he saw where the tip of his foot was heading.
‘To the left….’
However,
Thunk-!
A jolt struck Cha Minwoo’s right side, causing his body to stagger. Although the direction was wrong, the preparation had prevented him from being blown away like before.
‘It was clearly on the left, wasn’t it?’
Such occurrences continued.
He thought it was above when it was below, and below when it appeared from above.
Cha Minwoo, who had been watching his movements closely, belatedly realized his mistake.
‘It’s not his foot.’
If it were merely his footwork, he wouldn’t have been wrong.
But the stage they were fighting on was not flat ground, it was the wall of a steeple.
‘He’s utilizing the height.’
He accelerated using the force of falling downward.
Feigning a jump upward, he moved his foot and dropped downward, circling behind him.
In this situation, he had a few more things to worry about.
Whether Lee Suhyuk was running or falling, jumping up or just pretending to move upwards.
And predicting attacks while thinking about all that was several times more difficult than fighting on flat ground.
“This is ridiculous.” he muttered.
It felt less like a fight and more like watching a magic trick. Suhyuk was using optical illusions to make it seem like he was performing magic.
His sense of direction started to fade. What had seemed to be on the right just moments ago no longer seemed reliable.
It was confusing.
It felt less like combat and more like a game of cat and mouse.
‘Where is he now?’
He squinted his eyes to make sure he could see his opponent, who had momentarily stopped attacking. There was a reason why another strike had not come yet.
Crackling-!
This time, it was behind him.
An immense power emanated from the top of the spire. Even from quite a distance, the electromagnetic force was strong enough to make his skin tingle.
He turned his head to visually confirm the sight.
It was ten bolts of lightning created by Lee Suhyuk.
They all poured down on Cha Minwoo’s body at once.
Boom-!
A shower of lightning bolts rained down upon him.
There was no room to dodge. The only option was to unleash the most powerful skill to block and withstand the attack.
Humming-.
The tip of Minwoo’s sword vibrated.
The vibration, which seemed like it would split the sword apart, gathered at the sharp blade. When he swung it with all his might, it collided with the lightning, creating a deafening noise and waves of impact.
Crack-!
Humming-, crackling-.
The residual lightning bolts, which he couldn’t fully block, enveloped his body. However, he could endure that much.
The real problem was what came next.
Crackling-.
More bolts of lightning gathered in the sky.
Having shown his skill, Suhyuk now seemed intent on overpowering him with sheer force, as bolts of lightning rained down relentlessly.
‘What is this?’
Surely, his opponent should have been struggling by now.
Even the flawless-looking Lee Suhyuk should have been running short on time and naturally had a lower level. Hence, there should have been weaknesses due to his insufficient stats.
But what is this happening now?
‘It’s no contest.’
In this brief skirmish that lasted less than five minutes, the outcome had been decided.
Whether it was technique or force.
Nothing could compare.
“I’ve shown you everything I could.”
His eyes, visible through the mask, seemed to say, ‘So you should keep your promise.’
Suddenly, a “What if?” thought crossed Minwoo’s mind.
Maybe this was all a show of Suhyuk’s showmanship just to match his level.
‘Is there a chance I could win?’
Thud-.
A chilling sound rang clearly in his ears.
He felt the cold but hot sensation of metal in his chest.
He saw the blade piercing his heart, a small, sharp dagger thrown by Suhyuk, hidden within the countless bolts of lightning.
Seeing it, Cha Minwoo thought, ‘…Wake up from this dream.’