Chapter 67
“So I had to make it clear. This is what happens if you think you can just hitch a ride.”
Lee Suhyuk’s voice echoed beyond the screen. John Dale, watching the stream with great interest, burst into laughter.
“Pffft! Hah, hahaha!”
“Team Leader?”
The startled staff turned to look at John Dale. They had worked together for quite some time, but she had never seen him laugh so heartily.
What was so funny?
After laughing for quite a while, John Dale gradually composed himself and spoke.
“Ahh, sorry about that. He’s just something else, this guy.”
His laughter wasn’t just for amusement. It was a mix of incredulity, astonishment, and a sense of relief.
Lee Suhyuk’s statement was unnecessary. Even with the donation question, he could have easily dodged or mixed in a bit of a lie.
He could’ve said he didn’t expect this outcome or blamed it on the lack of skill of the players who were left behind.
Either way, he would have faced criticism. Some would blame Suhyuk for the deaths of the players who joined his raid.
But Suhyuk didn’t take that route. Instead, he did the opposite. He took it head-on.
‘He’s not foolish enough to be unaware of the impact of his words.’
John Dale hadn’t observed Suhyuk extensively, but he had been impressed by him several times. And that was not only as a player but also as a streamer.
‘Every action and answer is planned.’
His guts were unbelievable. To deal with the leeching players in such a decisive manner from the get-go. Just to be sure, John Dale called Un Hyang.
-Team Leader. I’m busy, don’t—
“This is regarding Lee Suhyuk, so don’t hang up.”
Anticipating that she would hang up to watch the stream, John Dale hurriedly mentioned Lee Suhyuk’s name. This way, even Un Hyang, with her capricious nature, wouldn’t hang up right away.
-… What is it?
“I just want to ask one thing. Did you tell Lee Suhyuk about the community post?”
-Yes, I did.
Un Hyang answered without asking which post he was referring to. Given the content of the stream, it could only be about the Thunder Cave bus party recruitment post.
“Really? So, was this planned with you?”
-What planning? Where would he have the time for that? If you’re going to say nonsense, I’m hanging up.
Click.
And with that, Un Hyang ended the call.
“Always so courteous.”
It hardly felt like the attitude of a subordinate, but John Dale had grown used to it by now.
In any case.
“So, it was all his idea.”
Nodding, John Dale focused back on Suhyuk’s stream.
“Then we also need to make an effort.”
“An effort?”
“You saved the community post, right?”
“Yes. Of course.”
“Good. Well done.”
An experienced staff knows to keep evidence in situations like these. John Dale smiled, cracking his fingers tired from working all night.
“Let’s show them. Let’s show Lee Suhyuk that he has a strong company behind him.”
***
The Odman Kingdom raid party.
While waiting for the door to open, they began their raid into the Thunder Cave and were first faced with the pack of Lightning Wolves.
Howl, howl—!
Howl—!
The wolves lunged at them with fierce growls. Paul Rimen, alongside his comrades, began cutting down the wolves. The players from the Odman Kingdom were all elites.
Each one handpicked by the Blue Zone, proven players on the third floor.
However.
“Schneider!”
Schneider, who should have taken the lead and been the first to move, remained motionless. He simply impaled any Lightning Wolves that lunged at him.
“Are you protesting because I joined your raid?”
Crash—!
Paul Rimen’s massive greatsword shattered the heads of the charging Lightning Wolves. Paul Rimen was the replacement card the Blue Zone had brought in to substitute for Schneider. Though he might not be Schneider’s equal, he was undoubtedly a skilled warrior.
But without Schneider’s help, the raid party was bound to suffer casualties.
“Schneider—!”
Finally, Paul Rimen stopped fighting and approached Schneider. Then.
“Damn, you’re annoyingly loud.”
Don Zhao, who was battling Lightning Wolves nearby, said irritably.
“If you don’t understand, just watch quietly. Don’t interfere.”
“What? Interfere?”
Paul Rimen’s anger now turned towards Don Zhao.
“Defending him just because he’s on your side—.”
“Found it.”
“What…?”
Not understanding Don Zhao’s words, Paul Rimen followed his gaze back to Schneider.
What had he found?
When he turned to look, Paul Rimen’s eyes widened.
‘A throwing spear?’
Schneider, who had seemed dazed just moments ago, was now holding a javelin, pulling back his arm.
Howl, howl—!
A Lightning Wolf charged at Schneider. Even as the swift wolf bore down on him, Schneider didn’t blink, keeping his aim steady.
And the next moment.
Thwack—!
The spear in Schneider’s hand flew.
Boom—!
A hole exploded through the Lightning Wolf’s body. Despite the impact, the spear continued in a straight line. The target was the smallest wolf within the pack.
Thud—!
Schneider’s spear punctured the wolf’s head perfectly.
Howl—?
Growl, growl—.
The pack of rampaging Lightning Wolves began to react differently. The bloodthirsty wolves started to hesitate and scatter.
Then.
“Good boys.”
At Schneider’s command, they began to settle.
“Sit.”
Growl, growl—
Whimper, whine—
The chaos was swiftly quelled. Schneider’s team lowered their weapons, preparing for the next move.
In contrast.
Paul Rimen and the new team members looked bewildered.
“What the….”
Paul Rimen stared in astonishment at the Lightning Wolves laying flat on the ground.
“I’ve dedicated ten years to the Thunder Cave.”
Schneider, who had approached him, started speaking.
“You know nothing about the Thunder Cave. Neither does the guild leader.”
Step, step—
As he slowly passed by, Schneider met his gaze.
“If you’re smart, I recommend turning back. It’s better than having your mediocre skills shattered and losing the confidence you’ve built up.”
Swish—
Schneider’s words hung in the air as he walked past Paul Rimen. He looked further inside the Thunder Cave, a place he had become all too familiar with.
‘Not far now.’
Countless attempts that couldn’t be numbered. Today would be the day to see the end.
‘Or so I hope.’
Imagining the depths of the Thunder Cave yet unexplored, Schneider’s eyes gleamed.
‘Lee Suhyuk.’
*
Suhyuk took a short break to recover his condition. During this time, he engaged with his viewers.
He had grown quite accustomed to chatting with them. While most of the conversations were trivial and useless, he found them surprisingly enjoyable.
“A girl I keep in touch with? Hmm… my manager?”
“Does my face resemble Bald Suhyuk? How does he look?”
“… Manager-nim, could you please mute, no, just ban that viewer?”
Time flew by as he engaged in these small conversations. Occasionally, donations came in, making the time spent feel far from wasted.
In fact.
‘I think interacting with viewers generates more donations.’
While the amounts were small, the frequency was high. Donations ranged from 10 points to several hundred points. However, the number of viewers had not increased significantly.
『Viewers: 8101』
Eight thousand.
It was a considerable number, but still far from reaching ten thousand again.
‘I’ll need to continue the raid to hit ten thousand viewers again.’
The rest period had been substantial. His condition and stamina were fully restored. This would suffice. As Suhyuk got up and began to move, the atmosphere in the chat shifted from casual interaction to anticipation.
– Is he going now?
– Finally setting off.
– Let’s raid like crazy~
Step, step—
Suhyuk’s footsteps echoed in the cave. There were no more annoying leeches. Suhyuk continued the raid, hunting the monsters that appeared.
Sizzle—!
Boom—!
He unleashed lightning bolts and activated his magic sword. The deeper he went, the more numerous and powerful the monsters became.
‘I heard the difficulty was high, but…’
After several more hunts, Suhyuk understood why the Thunder Cave had such a notorious reputation.
‘Why is something like this on the third floor?’
No matter how he thought about it, this was not a dungeon fit for the third floor. It was only due to Schneider’s exceptional abilities that any progress had been made; without him, no one would have dared to raid it.
This dungeon was indeed unusual. Which made it all the more intriguing.
‘Schneider said it was up ahead.’
As he spoke less and continued the hunt, delving deeper into the cave. He finally saw it.
‘There it is.’
Not far off, the next stage of the cave came into view.
A gate.
A rather large and heavy stone door. Unadorned and simply marking the midpoint of the dungeon.
***
“The first step in raiding the Thunder Cave is the hunt. Nothing special about it. Just kill all the monsters you encounter, including the Lightning Wolves.”
Just as Schneider had said. So far, the Thunder Cave’s challenges, irrespective of difficulty, were straightforward. A typical dungeon setup. The approach changed starting from behind that door.
“I got up to that point pretty quickly as well. It took about three years. And then I faced that door.”
“The door?”
“Yes. And that’s when I realized—the real Thunder Cave begins beyond it.”
***
Suhyuk approached the door and extended his hand.
Thud—
While it was quite heavy, it wasn’t something a player who had reached the third floor couldn’t budge.
Suhyuk pushed the door open and stepped inside.
『’You have entered Thunder’s First Chamber.’』
“From there on, you only need one person. Well, you planned to solo this anyway, so it doesn’t matter for you.”
『’The Trial of Thunder begins.’』
The door opened, revealing the interior. Brighter than the path he had come through. The inside was so brightly illuminated, it hardly seemed like a cave.
As he read the message, Suhyuk shifted his gaze to the walls. Just as he had been told. The walls were covered with countless frescoes.
“It took me over five years to get through there.”
Looking at the frescoes, Suhyuk recalled Schneider’s words.
“How long will it take you?”
Rustle—
The paintings began to move as if they were alive. In that instant.
Step—
Suhyuk, who had been slowly observing the inside of the door, fully stepped into the chamber.
『’Determining the eligibility for Thunder.’』