Chapter 175
On the day of the Counter-Fight preliminaries.
A scandalous event erupted, causing a commotion in the tower.
『The Traitor of Blue Eyes, identity Revealed as Hwang Gyuseong? The Truth of That Day.』
『Hwang Gyuseong Subdued by an Old Star of the Murim World.』
『The Fallen Legend of Blue Eyes. The Downfall of a Corrupt Legend?』
『……』
Numerous articles surfaced.
Most of them delved into the secrets during the Hydra raid.
There had been a betrayal that day. This rumor had been circulating for some time.
Some unnamed individuals claimed it was Kim Ilsoo. However, no evidence emerged, and Kim Ilsoo neither made excuses nor provided explanations.
Because of this, some speculated that Kim Ilsoo had betrayed his old comrades and taken their place.
Yet.
『The Reason Behind Kim Ilsoo’s Silence.』
『Foolish Silence, or Loyalty.』
The silence Kim Ilsoo had maintained over the years was now being framed as a form of loyalty.
– Did he really just let it slide because they were true friends?
– Loyalty my ass 😂😂 Convincing the guy who collaborated with demons 😂😂
– Exactly 😂😂
– Guys gotta stick together!!!
Thanks to this, Kim Ilsoo’s recognition skyrocketed.
Of course, not all articles were about Kim Ilsoo and Hwang Gyuseong.
『The Legend of Blue Eyes Rises Again.』
One notably sensational headline article. The author was none other than Big Mouth.
Regardless of how much public attention was on Hwang Gyuseong, an article like this couldn’t go unnoticed.
『Main Text: Amidst the chaotic atmosphere, streamer Lee Suhyuk achieved remarkable results in the Counter-Fight. Although it was just the preliminaries, Lee Suhyuk…』
Big Mouth’s article focused on Lee Suhyuk’s exploits.
Indeed, had Hwang Gyuseong not emerged that day, the spotlight would undoubtedly have been on Lee Suhyuk.
– I watched it live, and it was insane 😂😂
– For real? I stopped watching halfway through
– Same 😂😂 ’cause there was something even more interesting?
Big Mouth’s intention was clear.
– Haha! Where’d the small fries go when the big shots were playing—
– ??? But isn’t Lee Suhyuk no small fry?
– When Hwang Gyuseong, Kim Ilsoo, and Jin Doha are in the game, it has to be Lee Suhyuk, not ‘2ndSuhyuk.’
– For real 😂😂
To restore the spotlight to its rightful place. And the role of doing so had always fallen to one streamer for a long time.
“Fal-hi! Hey folks, long time no see?”
Falcon Eye began his stream.
– Falcon Boss, you here?
– Lee Suhyuk extractor, hi
– Falcon Eye feeling down because of Hwang Gyuseong’s chaos, anyone agree? 😂😂
– ‘The Original’ lol
Lee Suhyuk’s specialist reviewer.
That had been Falcon Eye’s main content recently.
“Falcon Eye hater… What’s up with that nickname? Anyway, thumbs up for that comment. Yeah, this incident was kinda disappointing. The preliminaries were totally overshadowed because of it.”
Typically, Counter-Fight was the most anticipated content among players. Despite the unique nature of the preliminaries, they still attracted significant interest.
“So, even more so, the ‘Original’ here has prepared something really tasty this time.”
– 😂😂😂
– The ‘Original’ 😂😂
– He’s always been emphasizing that 😂😂
Falcon Eye started his stream on a cheerful note. It took some time for enough viewers to gather.
He spent the waiting time chit-chatting. Although some viewers pushed for the review, Falcon Eye skillfully managed their impatience.
After a while, more viewers joined in.
『’Tooth Grinder’ donated 100 points.』
『“A lot have gathered now, time to start?”』
40,000 viewers.
Falcon Eye waited until this point before starting the review in earnest.
“Well, as the title suggests, today’s stream will be another Lee Suhyuk review. But today’s stream will be from a different perspective.”
He suppressed the excitement welling up. No one anticipated this review more than Falcon Eye himself.
“Previously, I reviewed an outstanding rookie with excellent control… Today, it will be a review introducing a great ranker.”
With that, the review commenced.
Beep-.
On the screen appeared Lee Suhyuk facing off against Cha Minwoo.
Before the incident happened.
It was a match between streamer Lee Suhyuk and Cha Minwoo, who had long been touted as the next Lee Suhyuk.
– It was insane
– I watched until here
Since Hwang Gyuseong hadn’t shown up at the venue yet, many viewers had watched up to this point.
“For some reason, it appears they had made a promise before the match began. We don’t know why, but it worked out for us. We got to see this matchup.”
The video played. Pre-edited prior to the stream, it quickly skipped to the key moments.
Swoosh-.
Lee Suhyuk climbed the tower’s wall.
Following behind him was Cha Minwoo.
“The key to this fight is this. Fighting on flat ground is boring, right? Let’s raise the difficulty level!”
Even without using lightning, Lee Suhyuk’s skills vastly outmatched Cha Minwoo’s.
“Let’s replay the video to make it look as if it’s on flat ground. Doesn’t Cha Minwoo look foolish? He couldn’t properly locate Lee Suhyuk and flailed around. Even though he wasn’t moving all that fast.”
– I also thought this was strange
– Such a setup, isn’t it?
– There we go again, setup trash-talker
– Exactly 😂😂 No way Cha Minwoo would rig this 😂😂
When viewed with the video turned sideways, it appeared much more bizarre.
The fight seemed less about how amazing Lee Suhyuk was and more about how Cha Minwoo was flailing by himself.
“The key is the feet.”
Falcon Eye paused the video for a thorough review analysis.
“If you look closely here, you’ll see Lee Suhyuk’s toes turning to Cha Minwoo’s right. But.”
Click.
In the resumed video, Suhyuk was moving in the opposite direction.
“How is it? It’s the opposite, right?”
-Wow? It really is!
-I didn’t even consider the foot positioning
-How did that happen?
To the bewildered viewers, Falcon Eye continued his explanation.
“Of course, it had to be this way. We manually rotated the video, but in reality, these two are fighting while clinging to a wall. As such, the variable of gravity, something we usually don’t even consider, multiplies by hundreds.”
Falcon Eye’s speech quickened, a habit that surfaced when he was excited.
“Lee Suhyuk managed to freely utilize speed and sense of direction. While we comfortably rotated the video, Cha Minwoo’s senses must have been in disarray. A previously fast opponent suddenly seemed slow, a slow opponent seemed fast, and one he thought moved to the side appeared on the opposite side!”
He spoke more steadily than usual, with a quicker speed. Falcon Eye might have been a reviewer with a bias towards Lee Suhyuk, but there wasn’t a bit of falsehood or exaggeration in his reviews.
“This is the pinnacle of control. It’s not just about handling weapons well or using magic proficiently… his instincts are simply crazy.”
-Okay… take a breath
-Wow, he’ll pass out at this rate
Despite the viewers’ pleas, Falcon Eye showed no signs of calming down.
“Just based on this part, I was certain. I thought this segment would be the highlight of today’s stream.”
Since the review wasn’t over, that was a given.
“But it wasn’t. In fact, what I thought would be the highlight seemed trivial.”
A lengthy introduction.
It was around this time that Hwang Gyuseong swept through the tournament hall, causing the preliminary matches to fall into disarray.
Due to that, the spotlight on Lee Suhyuk’s stream and the preliminary rounds faded.
Falcon Eye knew the best way to restore that spotlight.
“Let’s all just appreciate the rest together.”
It was simple.
Just watching it together.
That exceptional and fantastic match.
* * *
The match was one-sided.
Lee Suhyuk, who climbed the spire, rained down lightning from above.
He dominated the sky, overwhelming everything on the ground below like Zeus, the great heaven’s god from mythology.
Everything was astonishing.
Producing such potent lightning continuously. Accurately finding participants who appeared as tiny as ants from the tall spire. The precision in hitting them — everything seemed mystical.
-Gosh…
-It’s a one-man show, oh my
-How’s this even possible?
-Seriously, can he reach 1000 kills?
In no time, he surpassed 500 kills. Such a count was awe-inspiring, yet Lee Suhyuk wasn’t stopping.
For viewers who missed the stream due to the incident, their interest piqued belatedly. The battle with Cha Minwoo was now a distant memory.
As the video neared its end.
Click.
As usual, Falcon Eye paused the video mid-way.
-Huh?
-Oh no, here we go again
-I knew this would happen, lol
“Much as I want to rewatch till the end, as you know, this isn’t my video.”
The primary purpose of the review stream was to promote Lee Suhyuk’s stream.
“Now everyone knows, right? If you want to see the full version, it should be uploaded by now, so go watch it.”
-Okay, okay
-It’s up now
-Really? Heading right over
Viewers decreased rapidly. The count that had exceeded 50,000 dropped by 10,000 in an instant.
Though many viewers left, there were still quite a few remaining. They aimed to watch Falcon Eye’s review till the end instead of the disappearing video.
『’Maechori’ has donated 1,000 points.』
『Maechori of today… No, what’s the overall review?』
Falcon Eye’s overall review was often referred to as “Maechori”. So much so that some viewers specifically tuned in for this segment.
To the extent that a video titled “Falcon Eye Maechori Compilation” was made separately.
“Overall review? Let me think, overall review….”
Falcon Eye pondered. He never prepared in advance for any review. Following a broad framework, natural reviews always led to the overall review.
But this time was different. After watching such a magnificent match, what review could he give?
“Today’s overall review is….”
After a not-so-brief deliberation. He uttered a review of a different nature than usual.
“Things seem noisy because of what happened at the tournament. I saw the articles too. Talks about the fall of the Blue Eyes or the end of a legend….”
He’d deliberately avoided bringing this up. Falcon Eye believed Lee Suhyuk, who should’ve been the focus due to that incident, was overshadowed.
Nevertheless, when thinking about how to wrap up the stream, he couldn’t help but mention that incident.
No.
“My opinion is different. It’s not over yet.”
Not just Hwang Gyuseong, but all the legends led by Lee Suhyuk and the Blue Eyes.
“I’ll dare to say.”
He voiced a thought he had kept hazy and unspoken for a long time.
“This marks the beginning of a new legend.”
People said that yesterday marked the end of a legend. The remaining Blue Eyes legend faced demise, and thus, a sacred legend was branded with betrayal.
However, some viewed that day from an entirely different perspective. That day wasn’t just about the fall of a legend; it was also the day a new legend was born.