Chapter 26
Su-hyeok went on a rampage on his stream, spreading lightning in every direction.
WHOOM—!
– ???
– What is he doing?
– I don’t know.
– Did he give up?
WHOOM—!
Rocks shattered, and dust flew everywhere. Golden light flickered in Su-hyeok’s eyes as he used more lightning.
Although it looked cool, it also looked totally pointless. He’d started shooting lightning without any sort of explanation, so the viewers’ reactions were natural.
‘That must consume a lot of Stamina,’ Un-hyang thought. Lightning wasn’t a skill that consumed Magic Power alone—it was a double-edged sword that also ate away at Stamina, continuously hurting the user.
Su-hyeok was shooting it recklessly without any apparent target.
‘Just why…?’
– Is he declaring a GG?
– Seems like it.
– That seems to be it.
– If he wastes lightning like this from the start, there’s no chance. It’s a skill you must use sparingly.
– Lee Su-hyeok (Fake)
The chat gradually turned negative, and Un-hyang even contemplated cutting the stream for a moment.
‘No. If I act here, streamer trust will also drop.’ No matter how lazy she was, she was still the manager in charge of the streamer. A hasty sanction from the manager could make viewer dissatisfaction even worse, especially when the cause was with the streamer.
Su-hyeok was a skill-based streamer, so cutting the stream would only reduce his viewers’ trust in him.
‘Let’s wait and believe in him.’
A few moments later…
“Haa…” Su-hyeok stopped for a moment, covered in sweat, and muttered, “I finally found it.”
* * *
Crack—
The last bolt of lightning shattered a rock. He’d been moving without stopping for quite some time, so he stopped for a bit to take heavy breaths and wipe the sweat from his forehead.
“Haa…” Having finished with his frantic use of the Lightning skill, he once again felt how effective Selfish Sacrifice was.
He looked at the debris of the broken rock and saw the thing that’d been attracting his lightning beyond it.
“I finally found it.” Su-hyeok grinned behind his mask. He’d used quite a bit of energy, but he felt that it was worth it.
“…?” Having loosened his focus a bit, the chat window became apparent.
– What?
– What?
– What?
– Is the show over?
– It seemed like he was possessed by a ghost for a moment, right?
– What did he find?
It looked like the viewers were confused and frustrated by his actions.
‘I guess I did too much without explaining anything.’ That was understandable. Since they were merely watching, they couldn’t feel the area like he could. He felt embarrassed when he imagined how he must’ve looked on stream.
[‘Beach Club’ has donated 10 points.]
[Su-hyeok 2.0, explain yourself!]
He’d have to tell them why he’d moved so erratically. “Mr. Beach Club, thanks for the 10 points. I must have looked strange. Just trust me and watch.”
– Hahaha.
– Just watch~
– Grandma trusts Su-hyeok…
Instead of explaining, Su-hyeok walked through the debris and cleared some of the rubble with his hands. He was tempted to use lightning to clear the rocks, but he needed to save Stamina. He wasn’t sure how much more of the trial there would be, after all.
Thud—
After he cleared the debris a bit, a rusty door with a height and thickness that were hard to measure appeared. The keyhole alone was the size of a man, so the door had to be huge.
– Huh?
– What’s that?
– Is that a door?
– Why’s the door so big?
– It seems to be a door for giants.
The viewers quickly understood Su-hyeok’s actions and realized he’d been using lightning to find that exact door. Naturally, their complaints dissipated.
However, there was a problem…
– How is someone supposed to open it?
– He doesn’t have the key.
– Just break it.
– Lol, yes, he should break it.
– How do you even break that?
Since he’d found the door, the trial was probably going to continue. Opening the huge door didn’t look possible, though. He didn’t have a key, after all, and breaking such a massive door didn’t seem feasible.
– Can you do it?
“It’s impossible.”
– Lol.
– The viewers who had hope are getting wrecked, lol.
– Bring the real Lee Su-hyeok back~
– Is this the end?
Su-hyeok turned his gaze from the chat and looked up at the door.
* * *
Reaper Scans
Translator – SCM
Proofreader – ilafy
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* * *
The colossal door looked like the entrance to a fortress, and nobody could guess how thick it was. If it were a door meant for giants to use, it would be impossible for Su-hyeok to break it unless he had his previous life’s strength.
‘Is this really the 2nd floor?’ The 2nd floor’s trial was supposed to be about finding traces of true giants. The giants attacking the villagers were insignificant compared to the real ones.
The giants Su-hyeok knew of were beings with godlike powers.
‘That father giant didn’t look ordinary…’ He raised his hand to the door and lifted his head. Although it wasn’t visible yet, he could instinctively feel it…
‘This is real.’ Why had something like that appeared on a 2nd-floor trial? Was it because he’d defeated Wolf Warrior Greg, because he’d killed the son of that other giant, which shouldn’t have been possible, or maybe…
– What are you doing?
He returned to his senses when he saw the chat. Right… There was no point in speculating—he just had to solve the problem in front of him. First, he needed to open the door.
– Are you leaving?
– It seems that he needs to find a key.
– Is there time to do that? The father giant looked very angry.
Even at that moment, the giant’s father was approaching the village to avenge his son, so there didn’t seem to be time to find a key. Fortunately, contrary to the viewers’ concerns, he didn’t need to find a key separately.
“I have a key.” He already had the key. ‘This keyhole…’ He gathered magic in his hand and formed it into a golden lightning bolt. Looking at the keyhole, his eyes shone. ‘It’s the perfect shape for lightning.’
BZZT—
[‘Lightning’ has activated.]
[‘Selfish Sacrifice LV3’ resists the damage from ‘Lightning’.]
It was different from when he shot lightning everywhere to find the door—he focused his attention and added a sharp edge to the lightning. As he continued to concentrate, the condensed lightning gradually grew.
– Again?
– Lightning, please!
– Is that the key?
– Is that really…?
There was no need to answer—he just needed to show them.
His arms felt like they were burning from the condensed electricity. It was his first time creating such powerful lightning with that body. Even with Selfish Sacrifice, creating a key big enough to open the door was no easy task.
‘I have to open it with one shot.’ He couldn’t use something like that several times. Rather than trying to conserve his strength and failing, it was better to finish it in one go, even if it took a bit more effort.
He made the lightning even bigger.
– Go, Su-hyeokmon!!!
Just as someone posted that chat, Su-hyeok shot his condensed lightning into the keyhole.
BOOM—!
BZZT—!
A bright light burst out, momentarily bathing the area in golden light as thunder echoed around him. The light in the keyhole gradually faded and didn’t last long.
‘So this is the best I can do for now.’ It was definitely powerful. A 2nd-floor player being able to use such an attack was unbelievable, but still, it wasn’t enough to satisfy him.
He understood that there was nothing he could do about it. After all, he wasn’t that Lee Su-hyeok anymore. His Lightning skill was still fragmented, and his stats were lacking. The road ahead was a long one.
‘Still, this much…’ It should’ve been enough for the keyhole.
WHOOM—
The door slowly opened, the ground shook as if an earthquake were happening, and the huge space on the other side of the door was revealed.
‘The 6th stage, ‘Legend’.’ The strand of the Lightning skill hidden within Millennium Mountain was the key to the stage. ‘This wasn’t a mountain in the first place. It was meant to hide the door.’
Su-hyeok looked up at the peak of the mountain, far above the clouds. Just what was inside that mountain? He knew it had something to do with the Lightning skill’s legend, but he thought there could be more to it.
– Something big is coming.
– Badump, badump.
– Let’s go~
Thud—
As if responding to the viewers’ reactions, Su-hyeok slowly walked through the wide-open door. The inside was dark, with no apparent ceiling in sight. As soon as he fully stepped inside, the door slammed shut, and the area lit up.
Creak—!
BOOM—!
[You’ve entered ‘The Lightning’s Path’.]
* * *
Meanwhile, back in the village barracks, all of the knights were gathered, and none looked happy.
“Can that man really obtain the lightning strand?” Old Knight Dale asked.
Felius nodded. “He’s going to be able to get it. I’m sure of it.”
After sending Su-hyeok, there was only one thing they could do: prepare for a full-scale battle against the giants. It would be their final attempt to stop the giants from rampaging in their country.
“Your faith in him is remarkable.”
“He already proved himself once. There’s no need to doubt anymore.”
“Is that so?” Dale nodded. The stranger kept his face covered, and he wasn’t even a knight. What kind of power could he have?
Felius was an exceptionally talented young knight. There must’ve been a reason for his belief. Maybe he would really be able to obtain the lightning strand from the legend.
“L-lightning or not, we’re all going to die…” A trembling soldier muttered. It wasn’t nearly cold enough for such shaking. “Y-you don’t know… Wh-what kind of power that giant has…” The man was a survivor from the village the giant had swept away.
He wasn’t wrong. Although the lightning strand was something that appeared in legends, that giant was also a legendary being. Even if that stranger got the lightning, could he defeat the giant?
Thud—
Felius walked toward the scared soldier. It seemed the man hadn’t eaten properly for days, and his face was gaunt.
“Even so, we can’t just give up like this, can we?” Felius asked. Many people were still left in the village. All of those who’d fought the giants and escaped were there as well.
They couldn’t just give up—they had to hold onto whatever hope they had.
“Don’t be too scared. Let’s have some hope. The young hero is acting for us, even without a reward waiting for him.”
Thanks to Felius’ comforting words, the soldier’s trembling slowly went away. “O-okay…”
“S-sir!” A messenger ran in from outside the barracks and urgently delivered a piece of news. “H-he’s here!”
BOOM—!
The ground shook in the distance.
Felius’s pupils shook.
____