Chapter 33
The giant’s hand stretched forward. Within reach. The giant intended to grasp Suhyuk in its hand and crush his body.
But at that moment, a bolt of lightning had already been fired from Suhyuk’s hand.
Crack-!
A streak of yellow lightning flew and pierced the giant’s eye and head.
Rumble-!
Thunder roared. Yellow lightning enveloped the giant’s body. As if time had stopped, the hand reaching for Suhyuk halted.
The head, skewered by the spear, exploded, and scorched flesh fell to the ground.
– Did he really hit that?
– Crazy strong LOLOLOL
– One shot kill!
–I stayed for this moment sincerely
Suhyuk only started paying attention to the chat after concluding that it was over.
The reaction was explosive. The giant’s head had exploded. That enormous giant had been killed instantly with one hit.
Moreover, this was connected to Suhyuk’s iconic lightning trial. It would be strange if there was no reaction.
‘Is that…….’
The giant’s head, which exploded along with its eye. Inside was something yellow.
‘A jewel?’
Within the exploded giant’s head was a yellow jewel. A yellow stone, emitting a familiar magical power, shone brightly.
Soon, it slowly flew towards Suhyuk.
『You have defeated the “Seed of Lightning.”』
『You have cleared Stage 7 – Lightning.』
『You have leveled up.』 x 3
『Strength increased by 2.』
『Agility increased by 2.』
『Stamina increased by 3.』
『Focus increased by 1.』
『Magic increased by 1.』
『You have gained 5000 achievement points.』
『Item – “Heart of Lightning” obtained.』
A message indicating the end of the trial. And it identified the stone’s true nature.
‘Heart of Lightning? Is this it?’
Not the second lightning, but the Heart of Lightning. It was a name he’d never heard of before.
He had obtained various pieces of lightning, but it was his first time seeing the name “Heart of Lightning.”
Whoosh-!
A bright light emanated from the Heart of Lightning. The rumbling thunder vanished, and a brilliant halo enveloped Suhyuk.
It happened so quickly that he couldn’t resist or react.
“What is this?”
A mumble escaped his lips. He was sure the trial was over, but it seemed there was something more.
‘I’m really at my limit now.’
His fatigue was too high. He had used too much stamina to activate the Lightning Spear. If the trial were to continue from here…
Rumble.
From within the halo of light, something began to reveal itself at that moment. Just as it slowly found its color, as if emerging from behind misty clouds, it wasn’t a single entity.
No, it wasn’t an “it”.
It was “them”.
“What the…?”
Countless eyes peered down at him from the cloudy mist. They gazed upon him from above the clouds, sending various glances his way.
Bzzzt, bzzzt-.
Just meeting their gaze made his body tingle. It was his first time. Feeling so overwhelmed when facing something.
Those shadowy figures had varying sizes and shapes. Some were as small as ordinary people. Others had eyes so enormous that they seemed like giants straight out of mythology.
Gulp-.
He swallowed hard and opened his mouth.
‘What are yo—.’
Gasp-.
Suhyuk’s eyes widened.
No voice came out.
No, that wasn’t all.
『“■■■” is looking at you.』
『“■■■” is looking at you.』
『“■■■■” is looking at you.』
『…….』
Messages floated up one after another. Not a single name was readable. It meant they were existences that weren’t permitted to him yet, beings he couldn’t face at this point in time.
Rumble-.
An unseen force blocked them. Lightning and lightning descended from the sky, exerting oppressive power. The loud thunder made it feel like his eardrums would burst and tear apart.
Drip-.
In the end, blood flowed from his ears. Suhyuk’s eyes turned towards the figures obscured by the clouds.
‘What are you trying to say?’
Why have you appeared before me at this point in time?
It was almost simultaneous with that thought.
『Main Scenario: “Lightning” begins.』
『You can acquire hints in the village through the Heart of Lightning.』
With the message, the scenery shifted once again.
*
Whoosh-!
As the halo of light vanished, the surroundings returned to normal. Suhyuk’s gaze, as he scanned his surroundings, landed on the chat window.
– Excuse me? What are you doing?
『Lee Suhyuk has ended the stream.』
– The flower has bloomed~
— LOLOLOL Squid Game?
– Did he faint?
“……?”
The reactions were odd. The viewers talked as if he had just been standing there blankly. If they had seen the same thing as he did, it would have been incomprehensible.
They’d surely be making a fuss about the huge occurrence.
Which means…
‘They couldn’t see it?’
The dense clouds in the sky and the myriad of beings hidden within them. It meant that he was the only one who had faced them.
“I’m sorry. I might have fainted while standing.”
An insincere excuse. But there was no real reason to doubt it. After all, it was true that Suhyuk appeared to have fainted while standing.
– Again?????
– LOLOLOL LOL How many times have you fainted in a single trial?
– Suhyuk, you sweet baby… a bit of a wimp….
– Wimp LOLOLOL LOL
Fortunately, it seemed to have blown over well enough. Feeling relieved internally, Suhyuk glanced around.
The village visible in the distance was still embroiled in battle. Even though the boss-level giant was dead, the remnants of the giant tribe still remained.
But that wasn’t his concern. The remaining soldiers and knights could handle that much on their own.
‘It’s over.’
There was nothing more he needed to do. All that was left was to go down to the village and check the remaining rewards as the message had indicated.
Additionally—
“Oh, right.”
Aside from the trial, there was something else to settle.
“We still haven’t finished calculating, right?”
The happiest moment since starting the stream. It was time to tally the mission funds.
『Mission completed.』
『You received 3000 points from “SafeAsset.”』
『Mission completed.』
『You received 3000 points from “IloveLeeSuhyuk.”』
『Mission completed.』
『You received 1000 points from “MakeHimDoIt.”』
『Mission completed…….』
Messages flowed in rapidly.
Such delightful messages. Because the missions were challenging, the amounts pledged were substantial, and many viewers had set missions for him.
Thanks to that—
『Points held: 40120p』
He finally surpassed 40,000 points.
‘Yes.’
Suhyuk’s eyes sparkled.
The next point threshold needed to level up his “Selfish Sacrifice” skill was exactly 40,000. It was a close call, but he had managed to surpass it.
– Now go to the village
– Check the Heart of Lightning too.
Once the tallying was complete, curious viewers began to urge him to continue. To check the rewards, go back to the village, and gather clues for the ongoing trial.
To ascend to the third level, there were quite a few remaining tasks.
However—
“I’m a bit tired….”
Suhyuk decided it was time to end the stream.
“I’ll be back next time. See you.”
– ……?
– Right now?
– Wait a minute
– No way, damn it
Ignoring the urgent chat messages that were quickly popping up.
『Lee Suhyuk has ended the stream.』
Thus ended Suhyuk’s second stream.
*
After stopping the trial and returning to his dormitory, Suhyuk collapsed and fell asleep immediately.
Though there had been no physical shocks, the mental fatigue from the trial had been accumulating.
The next morning, after resting well, Suhyuk had breakfast in the dormitory and then went down to the café on the first floor to check the community reactions on the Players Channel.
▶Summary of Suhyuk’s Second Day Broadcast◀
『1. Passed the Path of Lightning. Obtained the Lightning Spear.
Blew the giant’s head off. Acquired the Heart of Lightning. Further rewards yet to be determined.
ps. Ended the stream abruptly.』
– Summary is on point
– Not much compared to the first day
– Clearly didn’t watch the stream
– ROFL just hit the spear
– If you saw it live, you’d get it
– ? All he did was throw a spear
– Over 100 comments and more than 10,000 views.
Though it hadn’t made it to the top trending posts, it was still garnering quite a bit of attention. It seemed that many people were interested since the trial was related to lightning.
“Is this going well…?”
“It’s going great.”
Clink-.
A teapot and a cup were placed in front of him. When he looked up, Un Hyang was standing there with a triumphant face.
“And tremendously so. Ah, may I sit?”
“By all means.”
With Suhyuk’s permission, Un Hyang sat down with a bright smile. She continued speaking while lifting her teacup.
“Did you know that the highest viewership yesterday surpassed 3,000?”
“3,000?”
He didn’t know. When Suhyuk shook his head, Un Hyang asked as if she had expected it.
“You didn’t know because you were focused?”
“…….”
Suhyuk averted his eyes awkwardly. It was true that as a contracted streamer, he hadn’t been paying attention to the stream.
“I’m sorry.”
“Pardon? No, it’s nothing to be sorry about. I intended to praise you, actually……”
Un Hyang stammered, unsure of what to say. Her original intention was not to criticize Suhyuk.
“Getting over 3,000 peak viewers on just the second stream is incredible. Plus, the stream content was highly engaging, so it’s promising.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. And the timing of cutting off the stream was perfect.”
Just as the trial ended and he was about to check the rewards.
Suhyuk had ended the stream at precisely that moment.
“Fortune seems to favor you as well……”
“So they’ll tune in next time to see the continuation.”
“Pardon?”
Un Hyang’s eyes widened at Suhyuk’s words. As she reacted, Suhyuk picked up the last sausage on his plate and continued speaking.
“It’s the most curious moment, right? Even for me. Having just overcome a difficult trial, it’s natural to anticipate the rewards.”
It’s a common precept. Though no one had instructed him, and even if they had, cutting the stream at that moment took considerable guts.
“So you did it intentionally?”
Suhyuk nodded.
“I plan to check the rewards in the next stream. That way, I can provide a more genuine reaction without having to act.”
Hearing his explanation, Un Hyang blinked repeatedly in surprise. Not only did he time the stream end intentionally, but his approach to prepping for the next stream was also impressive.
‘That man was worrying over nothing.’
John Dale, who had been concerned about Suhyuk as a streamer. It appeared his concerns were unfounded.
Suhyuk had a knack. Not just as a player, but also as a streamer. Although during the trials, he sometimes forgot his role as a streamer, from Un Hyang’s perspective, it wasn’t a flaw.
He was fulfilling his role wonderfully.
That being said.
“I’ve got a gift for you.”
As the streamer’s partner, they also needed to deliver results befitting Suhyuk’s efforts.
“A gift?”
“Would you mind turning on the stream? Search for ‘Falcon Eye.’”
A gift while streaming?
Puzzled, Suhyuk tilted his head but began operating the kit as instructed.
“It should be live right now.”
『Entering “Falcon Eye’s” stream.』