Chapter 24
The message wasn’t only sent to Suhyeok’s kit.
Viewers who had seen his stream the previous day and those who had subscribed all received the alert at the same time.
– He’s here!
– !!!!!
– I failed to be first, lol.
– Suhi! (Su-hyeok, hi)
– Suhi!
– Newbie, you’re late.
– Seeing how he’s wearing a mask, it seems today’s theme will be the same.
– Theme? That’s his real self.
The chat window rapidly filled.
He’d been told that the chat was most enthusiastic right after a stream started and was having a hard time reading all of the messages.
[‘Lee Su-hyeok, I love you’ has donated 1,000 points.]
[Oppa!!! I’ve been waiting!!! (Dangle)]
“Thank you for the thousand-point donation, ‘Lee Su-hyeok, I love you,’ but what does the ‘dangle’ at the end mean?”
– Ah… That’s…
– Lol.
– That’s, you know…
– I know what it is, but it’s hard to explain…
– It’s funny how everyone’s unable to explain, lol.
– The nickname made me think you were a girl, but your comment tells me otherwise, lol.
Su-hyeok looked confused as he read through the chat. “How do you know that person is a guy?”
– Lol.
– So cute, lmao.
– Is he the same person who was chopping down giants yesterday? Rofl.
[‘Dangling’ has donated 50 points.]
[He might not know, why tease him?]
– Look at that nickname, lol.
– Fact: Not even the one who donated told him.
– You’re worse, hahaha.
– You just want to tease him with donations, lol.
The atmosphere was quite cheerful.
‘Not bad.’ The viewers joking around in chat wasn’t a bad thing, especially since the main part of the stream hadn’t started yet. Actually, the viewers’ light atmosphere was welcome.
‘The number of viewers…’ Only three minutes had started, and he’d heard that you could more or less tell how the stream would go based on how many viewers you had at that point.
[Viewers: 628]
There were already more than 600 viewers, and the stream had only been up for three minutes.
‘This number multiplied by three is the average peak view count, so…’ Su-hyeok’s eyes, hidden behind his mask, widened. ‘1800?’
That was more than he expected, especially since it was only his second day of streaming. Of course, that number was just a hypothetical that hadn’t been reached yet.
[‘Mission Villain’ has donated 100 points.]
[What will today’s trial be? I need to set a mission.]
A viewer who, judging by the name, liked to set missions, asked about the contents of the trial. As more viewers gathered, more donations also arrived.
“I’m not sure. I guess we’ll have to find out once it starts.”
– Go, go, go.
– Giant slayer, let’s go~!
– If he dies, will the Lightning skill reset?
– If he dies, he’ll lose the acquired skill.
– Death would be a total disaster.
– Even if he dies, he’ll probably get it again by following the same route.
– What’s going to happen now?
The viewers’ urgency increased. Most wanted to see the new route, so it was only natural. That was also what Su-hyeok wanted.
“Alright.”
[The 2nd floor’s trial is starting.]
The surrounding scenery changed. His gaze sharpened, and his previously gentle tone became firm. “Let’s begin…”
[Stage 6 – ‘Legend’ is starting.]
* * *
Reaper Scans
Translator – SCM
Proofreader – ilafy
Join our discord for updates on releases!!
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* * *
Felius, Falcon, and a few other knights were gathered in one place, bringing the total to 10 knights. All of the forces from the nearby villages were there and had heard news of the giants’ leader being defeated.
“Is our benefactor not here yet?” Felius asked, clearly impatient.
According to the trial’s setting, Su-hyeok had not yet awakened.
Falcon shook his head. “It’s taking a while. Is the wound severe…?”
Felius sighed. He felt uncomfortable at the thought of having to rely on an outsider again, but they had no choice.
Of course, not all of the knights shared Felius’s thoughts.
“I’m skeptical. Did an outsider really do it?”
“Yeah… Didn’t they say he wasn’t even a knight?”
“It’s hard to believe that an outsider suddenly appeared and killed the leader of the giants by himself.”
Many of the knights doubted Su-hyeok. No, among the 10 knights, only Felius and Falcon believed in Su-hyeok.
They were knights, after all. They’d held their swords throughout their entire lives and obtained their titles after being recognized for their skills. That was why most of them looked down on swordsmen who had no titles.
“Felius, you might have been deceived,” one of them said.
“Are you sure it was the leader? Maybe it was an ordinary giant.”
The questions continued.
Felius answered each of their questions, looking troubled. He knew how stubborn and prideful knights could be. Even he, who was relatively young, had similar thoughts.
‘They won’t believe it until they see it for themselves.’ A question with a predetermined answer wasn’t a question. Instead of trying to persuade them with words, Felius waited for their benefactor, Su-hyeok, who had saved their village, to wake.
“S-Sir Felius!” The news they were waiting for arrived. “Our benefactor has awakened!”
* * *
The soldier’s voice reached Su-hyeok’s ears. Everyone who was listening through his ears and mic also heard it. “To be more precise, I didn’t wake up, but the next stage started.”
– Hahaha.
– Was there a need to nitpick?
– Well, but it’s true.
– So the setting is that you wake up when the next stage starts?
Su-hyeok’s words weren’t heard by the soldier nearby. That was thanks to something else his manager had advised him on.
“You can adjust the microphone channel by performing a saved motion so only viewers can hear it.”
That way, he could communicate with the viewers during the trial. Although he wouldn’t be able to use it when the trial was at its climax, it was quite useful when things were idle.
“Please, come in.” Following the soldier’s guidance, Su-hyeok entered the command tent. Inside, about 10 knights were gathered for a meeting. Some were familiar, like Falcon and Felius, but the others he was seeing for the first time.
After reading the general atmosphere, Su-hyeok spoke to his viewers. “Neither Falcon nor Felius seem to have much influence, since they’re positioned at the very end.”
“So they were nobodies…” he mumbled.
– Lol, ‘Nobodies’.
– There are a lot of knights.
– Where did they all crawl from?
– Did Nobodies have his home taken?
– Everyone naturally started talking about Nobodies like it’s a person, lol.
The hierarchy among the knights was apparent at a glance: from the old knight, who subtly commanded the atmosphere and was positioned in the center, to Felius and Falcon, who were closest to the tent’s entrance.
“Is that really the hero who killed the giants’ leader?”
“He doesn’t look that strong…”
“His build is pretty small. Maybe those two saw wrong.”
“It’s also suspicious that he’s wearing a mask.”
Even if they were whispering among themselves, they were inside an enclosed tent. It wasn’t pleasant to hear, but it was impossible not to.
“It seems they don’t believe I killed the boss. No, maybe they don’t want to believe it?” Su-hyeok privately shared his thoughts with the viewers. “They’re quite arrogant.”
– Lol.
– Kingrrogant.
– It seems that he just laughed.
– Look at that confidence, lol.
Su-hyeok looked at the knights. Seeming amused, he said, “Why did you call me?”
The sixth stage of the trial started inside the tent, so lengthy conversations were unnecessary. Just because they didn’t believe him didn’t change the things he’d already done.
If he’d achieved something out of desire for a title, it might have been different, but since that wasn’t the case, it really didn’t matter. From his perspective, the knights around him seemed different.
‘Is changing their perception of me part of the trial?’ Maybe it was a hint on what he needed to do.
“Hmm. First, I must thank you. I’m Dale.” The old knight with a white beard sitting in the center spoke. “On behalf of the entire city, let me express my sincere gratitude…”
“Didn’t you come from the other villages?” Su-hyeok asked. “How are things?”
Dale furrowed his brow in anger after being interrupted.
Regardless, Su-hyeok voiced his complaints to his viewers. “There’s too much talking. What a waste of time.”
– Hahaha.
– Hey, let’s proceed with things quickly, lmao.
– Fast Forward ON!
– On! Hahaha.
Was it thanks to the viewers wanting things to go faster? Dale managed to control himself and began speaking. “We were all trampled…”
“Trampled?”
“Yes, by ‘that guy’.”
– There it is, ‘that guy’.
– Who’s that?
– I don’t know.
– What the heck? You acted as if you did.
– It’s almost a rule. If the word ‘that’ is mentioned, it’s a strong opponent.
Dale continued. “He showed up after you killed the giants’ leader. I have no idea where someone like him came from.”
“Is he more dangerous than the giants’ leader?” Su-hyeok asked.
“Don’t you already know? We call them giants for convenience, but they were merely remnants of the old giant race.”
Su-hyeok also knew the general lore of the giants, which was why Dale’s next words shocked him.
“He’s different. He’s close to a true giant. I can’t believe there are still some left…” Dale lowered his head, recalling the destroyed village.
– ???
– A true giant???
– Why’s that appearing?
– He seems to be exaggerating.
– If he’s telling the truth, how’s one supposed to hunt it?
The difficulty had suddenly increased.
Whether he was a real giant or not could only be confirmed in person, but it was clear that the opponent was entirely above what Su-hyeok had defeated earlier.
‘Is this really meant to be cleared?’ He knew the route had changed after he killed the giants’ leader, but the level of difficulty was above what could be easily overcome on the 2nd floor.
“You want me to take him down?” Su-hyeok asked.
“What?” Dale smirked.
The other knights thought similarly to him.
“You’re too confident.”
“We’re the ones asking, but still…”
“He must be saying it out of ignorance. Let’s be understanding.”
Annoying comments surrounded him, but Su-hyeok let them go in one ear and out the other.
Felius, who’d been quietly observing, spoke up. “There’s an ancient legend that has been passed down in this country…”
Right, that was the name of the stage.
“Somewhere, at the top of Millennium Mountain…”
Swoosh—
Felius recalled how Su-hyeok had broken through the giants and said, “There’s said to be a strand of lightning.”
____