Chapter 37
At Ferius’s explanation, Suhyuk examined the Heart of Lightning in his hand. Gods and giants. Beings that vastly surpass human capabilities.
– Could this really be an item made to fight and defeat them?
– Yeah right, Unique LOL
At that moment, a chat message caught his eye.
– Seriously LOL No matter how grand it sounds, it’s still just a Unique~
– Have you ever seen an item’s grade lie??
– System >>> Ferius
– No matter what, this is a reward from the second floor, LOL
– If his words were true, it should be at least Legendary, right?
– If what he said was true, it could even be Mythic LOL
– Most of the chat was dismissing the item’s value.
But Suhyuk nodded.
‘They’re not wrong.’
It was correct. The system did not lie. That was an undeniable truth recognized by everyone in the tower.
The same applied to item grades.
Unique.
While it was a high grade, it was hard to fully accept Ferius’s words at face value.
‘If his words were true, this item would be rated at least Legendary, if not Mythical.’
Mythic-grade.
An item grade that even Suhyuk hadn’t obtained yet. Even in the current era, twenty years later, Mythical-grade items were exceedingly rare, countable on one hand.
‘I’ll keep it in mind.’
Regardless of the item’s value, Suhyuk didn’t let Ferius’s words go in one ear and out the other. At the very least, the item was indeed highly efficient in handling lightning.
The myths about lightning. The war between gods and giants. And the story of humans who fought against them.
These were stories worth remembering.
Moreover, while the viewers were unaware, Suhyuk had been assigned a scenario named “Lightning”.
This story was likely the beginning of that scenario.
Sure enough.
『You have unlocked the story of the forgotten humans.』
『You have passed all the trials of “Lightning”.』
After Ferius finished speaking, a message indicating the end of the trial appeared.
『Your accomplishment points have increased the skill level of “Lightning”.』
『Accomplishment Points: 17050』
『”Lightning lv1″ skill level has increased.』
『”Lightning lv2″ skill level has increased.』
『You have obtained “Lightning lv3”.』
“Oh-.”
Suhyuk made a small exclamation at the consecutive messages. He knew that the accomplishment points obtained from the Lightning trial would be used to enhance the Lightning skill levels.
But advancing by two levels at once was beyond his expectations. He hadn’t entirely ruled out such an outcome, but it was a highly satisfactory result.
‘This is more than I could have hoped to gain from the second floor. No, it’s much more.’
He had reached level 26 and obtained the Lightning. He had secured stats by achieving the Full Body Meridian Unlock at an early stage and found a means to counteract the penalties of the Lightning through the Heart of Lightning.
Additionally, he had elevated the Lightning skill level by two tiers in one go.
‘I’m satisfied.’
This was more than enough. He had fulfilled all the desires that seemed insatiable, extracting everything the trial had to offer.
Now, finally.
『Moving to the third floor.』
It was time to head to the next floor.
Whoooosh-!
Suhyuk’s body was momentarily engulfed in light. With all the trials on the second floor completed and the rewards finalized, there was no reason to remain any longer.
“Savior…?”
Ferius stood up in astonishment at the sight.
In the next moment,
Pop-.
Suhyuk’s figure vanished from the spot. Leaving Ferius standing alone, blinking bewilderedly.
“Uh…?”
*
Whoooosh-!
His vision whitewashed in an instant. With a sensation of floating, the world around Suhyuk changed. The white surroundings found color again.
Columns crafted from marble and pristine white walls appeared. Arriving in the temple at the heart of the village, Suhyuk blinked his eyes.
“Someone else has ascended.”
“A mask?”
“Is it a Lee Suhyuk cosplay?”
“That trend doesn’t seem to end.”
Players gathered in the temple glanced at Suhyuk. While it was common for players to succeed in climbing the tower and reach the third floor, the mask he was wearing undeniably drew attention.
– Finally, third floor
– Third floor hype
– Isn’t it “already” rather than “finally”?
– Oh right LOL It’s the third day of the stream today LOLOLOL
Third floor.
It was still considered part of the lower levels.
It suddenly felt real.
No matter how much he had obtained the Lightning and many rewards, he was just a player in the lower levels.
At that moment.
Ding-.
『IloveLeeSuhyuk has donated 1000 points.』
『Congrats on reaching the third floor. How do you feel?』
A substantial donation even though it wasn’t a mission. The viewer with the nickname IloveLeeSuhyuk. This was their second donation today.
“Thank you for the 1000 points, IloveLeeSuhyuk-nim. How do I feel? Hmm…”
He glanced around. The temple, open on all sides. Used as a sort of free market, countless players wandered in and out.
***
“E-excuse me.”
A hesitant voice seemed to reach his ears.
Kim Yerang.
Initially, she had been shy around him.
“I lost my party, and I was wondering… have you seen a person this tall?”
She stretched one arm high to indicate the height.
Choi Suhoon.
A guy standing nearly two meters tall.
***
‘It was here.’
A faint laugh escaped him.
It was right here, on the third floor, that he had first met Kim Yerang and other comrades.
Come to think of it, what would it have been like?
***
“I have.”
“R-really?”
“He went that way—.”
If at that moment, he had—
*
Suhyuk forgot where he was for a moment, reminiscing.
The third floor was where he had met Kim Yerang and his other companions. Meeting them had been a turning point.
He refocused, mindful of the viewers and curious gazes. He needed to gather information and prepare for what was next.
‘As expected, the third floor feels different.’
A new set of challenges awaited.
But first—
Suhyuk got ready to start exploring and engaging with the new environment.
—
“Just follow me. We’re heading in the same direction anyway.”
—
What if he had just given directions and ended it there?
‘If I had, maybe everyone would still be alive.’
Images of his fallen comrades flashed through his mind. Even as he squeezed his eyes shut to avoid the unwanted memories, the desire to see them again lingered.
For a brief moment. When he reopened his eyes, he was still standing in the place where he had first met Kim Yerang.
– So what are your thoughts on this?
The chat urged him for a response, having noticed his prolonged silence. The soft nostalgia hardened into resolve. Back from the past, he returned to reality.
Suhyuk answered the viewer’s question, expressing exactly how he felt.
“It feels like… coming home.”
– Home???
– No way, didn’t expect that answer
– LOL How can you call it home when you just arrived LOL
– Told you he’s the reincarnation of Lee Suhyuk!
The reactions were as expected. No matter how impressive his trial results were, Suhyuk was just a player who had barely ascended to the third floor.
Not even close to being a ranker or a mid-tier player. So, for a newly ascended player to talk about home was laughable.
-『Manager』 Everyone, please maintain polite chat~
At that moment, Un Hyang’s chat message appeared, and the audience’s reactions began to simmer down.
Suhyuk sensed it.
-Now was the perfect time to end the stream.
But before that—
“Oh, right.”
There was one announcement left.
“I’m going to do a co-stream with Falcon Eye this evening.”
– Falcon Eye???
– No wonder he was hyping you up LOL
– But honestly, it’s worth the hype
– I learned about this stream from his stream LOL
— 222222
Recently, Falcon Eye had been doing a lot of streams related to Suhyuk. In fact, a significant number of viewers had tuned into Suhyuk’s stream through Falcon Eye’s streams.
“For that reason, today’s stream ends here.”
– ????
– Ending the stream like this?
– Even if it’s a short one, this is just absurd
『A9Monstrophe has been banned from chatting by the manager.』
-『Manager』 Polite chat ^^
The sudden announcement of the stream ending ignited the chat once more. In such situations, escaping was the best course of action.
“See you all on Falcon Eye’s stream.”
『Lee Suhyuk has ended the stream.』
Having hastily ended the stream, Suhyuk lifted his head. Then, he addressed the man approaching him.
“What is it?”
The man had short blond hair and was dressed in a brown suit. He took out a business card from his holder and handed it over, displaying his name and affiliation.
“John Dale from Balhae Entertainment.”
Suhyuk took the card and examined it.
Balhae.
The MCN company he belonged to. Moreover, he had heard of John Dale through Un Hyang.
“That old… uh…”
“Pardon?”
“Nothing. I’ve heard a lot about you. Nice to meet you.”
Old fart. Geezer.
Those were the terms Un Hyang often used to refer to the team leader of the manager department.
“Un Hyang is on her way up now. As you know, moving between floors takes a bit of time, unlike simply climbing the tower…”
He said “as you know”, but the additional explanation implied he thought Suhyuk might not be aware of such nuances.
No matter how talented, in John’s eyes, Suhyuk was just a player who had recently reached the third floor, so it wasn’t surprising he didn’t expect Suhyuk to understand everything.
“There’s something I need to discuss with you. Shall we move to a different location first?”
*
Suhyuk and John Dale headed to a nearby café. Two cold coffees were served. After quenching his thirst with coffee, John Dale began to speak.
“Normally, I would have relayed this through Un Hyang, but I wanted to meet you personally. I was curious. It’s the first time Un Hyang has praised a player so much.”
“The first?”
“Well, there was one before. Lee Suhyuk of Blue Eyes, a somewhat old player…”
Trailing off, John Dale asked, “You know, right?”
A look that said there’s no way you wouldn’t know. Not just because they shared the same name. Even after 20 years, the name Lee Suhyuk was a legendary one.
“I know. Lee Suhyuk.”
It felt strange every time he heard his own name. And it came with a peculiar sense of discomfort. For a clear reason.
‘The reason my name is still passed down is partly due to Kim Ilsoo’s influence.’
The video of Kim Ilsoo from the memorial commemorating him. That’s what came to mind.
Blue Zone needed a hero.
Kim Ilsoo was someone who knew his own limits. He understood that he could never become Lee Suhyuk.
No.
No one could become Lee Suhyuk, either in that era or this one. So Kim Ilsoo made his choice. To build a nation on Lee Suhyuk’s dead body, whom he had killed, and to fill his coffers by selling that name.
“Un Hyang originally respected only that one player. According to her friends at the company, she was a huge fan.”
“A fan of mine?”
“Excuse me?”
“No, no. A fan of the old Lee Suhyuk.”
As Suhyuk hastily corrected himself, John Dale nodded.
“That’s correct. But it seems that strict friend of ours has recently taken a liking to a new player. Coincidentally, it’s you, who has the same name.”
The flattery made Suhyuk fiddle with his coffee cup. While pondering how to drink it, John Dale’s question caught him off guard.
“By any chance, are you interested in the guild called Blue Eyes?”
For a moment, the eyes behind the mask changed. Noticing the subtle shift in expression, John Dale flinched.
“You seem to be interested.”
“Why do you ask?”
“Well… actually, the reason I wanted to meet you separately is because of this.”
Tick-tick-tick-.
John Dale hurriedly tapped on his tablet and showed the screen to Suhyuk.
“A tournament starting on the third floor in five days…”
Seeing the screen, Suhyuk’s eyes widened.
In the picture.
He saw a very familiar object.
“A relic of Blue Eyes. It’s the prize offered by Blue Zone.”
TL’s Corner:
Blue Zone making its move, for real??