Chapter 72
Before Suhyuk collapsed.
Even in his dazed state, the dragon’s voice was clear.
‘Realize my ass.’
Everything the dragon said annoyed him, possibly because of the pain.
Swallowing the Heart of Lightning had been an impulsive act driven by the thought that even if it was the wrong answer, he’d just crap it out anyway.
After all, he wouldn’t lose it because it had a non-tradable option.
The dragon’s voice gradually faded. Just as Suhyuk’s consciousness grew hazy to the point where he could no longer hear the loud voice.
‘Is this my limit?’
Crackle, crackle—
It felt like electricity, not blood, was flowing through his body. He no longer listened to the dragon’s voice. As curious as he was about what it was saying, he had other things to focus on now.
‘Almost there.’
Crackle, crack—
The Heart of Lightning, positioned near his chest, was absorbing the remnants of the thunder. The recharged power began pounding like a real heart. The Heart of Lightning started distributing energy throughout his body.
And at that moment.
Snap—
Something snapped in Suhyuk’s mind.
『The skill level of ‘Lightning lv3’ has increased.』
『The skill level of ‘Lightning lv4’ has increased.』
『You have acquired ‘Lightning lv5.’』
『The skill rank of ‘Lightning’ has risen to S-.』
*
His memory cut off halfway through. Judging by the fact that he was still inside the cave, it seemed he hadn’t died.
‘Did I pass out again?’
That was his first thought upon waking up. It wasn’t hard to figure out how much time had passed.
“How long was I unconscious?”
-About 30 minutes, I think?
-Exactly 32 minutes.
-Did he die again?
-For real, he’s always dying, lol.
‘Ittojuk.’
It was a term he saw for the first time.
“What does ‘Ittojuk’ mean?”
-It means ‘Lee Suhyuk dies again.’
-For real, ittojuk is science, lol.
“But I didn’t die…?”
-Did anyone say you really died?
-It just looks like you did, that’s all.
-Stop dying, Lee Suhyuk@@@
Suhyuk scratched his head in embarrassment. It seemed like he really had passed out a lot. The fact that such a ridiculous nickname had been born among his viewers proved it.
Still, he was relieved to see that a considerable number of viewers were still there. More than 5,000 viewers had stuck around watching him while he was unconscious.
“Sorry, everyone. You must have waited a long time.”
– Just an apology?
– Is “sorry” supposed to be enough?
Suhyuk knew they were just teasing, but he did feel genuinely apologetic for just brushing it off. His pride also kicked in.
“If it happens again…”
He pondered for a moment what he could do.
『’King of Stamina’ has donated 100 points.』
『If you black out again, will you do a face reveal?』
Suhyuk shook his head.
“That’s a bit much.”
– LOL
– Instant rejection, LOL
– The speed of that refusal is amazing, LOL
– He’s definitely ugly, I’m sure of it
There were some somewhat offensive misunderstandings mixed in, but it couldn’t be helped.
‘Not that it really matters.’
No one knew his face anyway. Despite that, he was reluctant to reveal it due to John Dale’s advice.
‘He said Suhyuk’s mysterious appeal comes from his hidden face…’
It was a reason he hadn’t considered himself, but it made sense. After all, John Dale’s job was analyzing streamers and viewers.
It was best to heed the advice of an expert in this area.
『’King of Stamina’ has donated 100 points.』
『Then collab with Mad Suhyuk?』
Another donation message. Suhyuk had seen Mad Suhyuk’s streams a few times. Coincidentally, Mad Suhyuk was also a top streamer under the same agency.
– Seriously…
– Mad LOL
– Sending him to the Destroyer, LOL
– There’s an assassin here!
“…?”
What kind of reaction is this?
‘Isn’t a collab a good thing?’
Mad Suhyuk was a major streamer. His average viewer count easily exceeded 50,000, sometimes even 100,000.
He was a star among streamers. Collaborating with Mad Suhyuk seemed like a great opportunity.
Then what was this reaction about?
‘No need to hesitate.’
It was better than revealing his face. More importantly, the viewers seemed to want it.
Suhyuk nodded.
“Alright. Let’s do that.”
– Ohohohohoho!
– Are we going to see fake Suhyuk on Mad’s stream? LOL
– No, we’ll see Mad on fake Suhyuk’s stream
– He’s not quite at Mad’s level yet; give it time.
The reaction wasn’t bad. Quite a few viewers seemed to be looking forward to it. Among them, there were some comments mentioning terms like “Destroyer King” and other things he couldn’t quite understand.
“I’ll wrap up the chit-chat here.”
Suhyuk stood up, his eyes shining once again.
“We haven’t finished the raid yet.”
Right.
The raid wasn’t over yet. This was the Thunder Cave. A dungeon that hadn’t been conquered in decades, known to be impregnable.
He couldn’t let his guard down. Even he was at risk this time.
‘How much fatigue have I recovered?’
Suhyuk checked his status.
『Status Window』
『Name: Lee Suhyuk』
『Affiliation: Earth』
『Level: 37』
『Strength: 38』
『Agility: 34』
『Stamina: 36』+2
『Focus: 31』
『Magic: 48』
『Fatigue: 71』
“…?”
Two things caught his attention.
Fatigue level: 71. A considerably high number. No wonder his body felt exhausted. He wasn’t in perfect condition.
Of course, it wasn’t so high that he couldn’t fight, but still. The other surprise was something else.
‘Magic is 48?’
The stat, which had been 36, had risen by a whopping 12 levels.
It was almost burdensome. With most of his other stats lingering in the 30s, Magic had nearly reached 50, causing serious imbalance.
Moreover, the skill level of Lightning had increased.
He had gained too much. Meanwhile, his endurance hadn’t improved, and his fatigue was high.
‘This is good, but…’
Thinking about balance gave him a headache. With his Magic stat surging ahead on its own, the destructive power might increase, but the sustainability could decrease.
However, there was one thing he looked forward to.
‘Heart of Lightning.’
Thump, thump—
A small stone nestled near his heart. This stone, which felt almost like a real heart, was a tool for humans to handle thunder.
*
Crackle, crackle—
Heat flowed from Suhyuk’s fingertips after launching the spear. In the distance, he noticed Schneider’s stunned face.
‘I blocked it.’
Having deflected the knight’s sword, Suhyuk clicked his tongue in disappointment. He wanted to sever the arm holding the sword, not just deflect it.
In the last moment, the knight twisted his sword to block the attack.
‘He has excellent reflexes to react to a surprise attack. He’s fast too.’
Was that really Ferius?
Images of “Loserrius” came to mind. Back then, he struggled to take down even a single giant.
Now, Ferius emitted an aura fierce enough to slay not just giants but even the leader of the giant tribe.
Step—
Suhyuk approached Ferius and Schneider, both of whom were eyeing him intently. Up until a moment ago, Ferius, who had been fighting Schneider, now gave him no particular attention since Suhyuk’s arrival.
“Why are you so late?”
Schneider’s reaction to Suhyuk’s arrival was ambiguous, not clearly expressing whether he was pleased or annoyed.
“I dozed off for a bit.”
“Dozed off?”
“Something like that.”
He didn’t want to openly admit he had passed out, so he gave a roundabout answer. Schneider, tilting his head at the response, picked up the spear that had fallen to the ground and spoke.
“He’s not an easy opponent.”
“Seems that way.”
“I’ll keep my distance and support you from behind like before. I don’t have—”
Crackle—
Mid-sentence, Ferius’s sword flew towards Schneider’s neck.
Clang—
He barely managed to block it with the shaft of his spear. If he had been a little slower to react, his head would have been taken off.
But.
Crack—
The strong impact caused a crack in the already worn spear shaft.
Crackle, crackle—
For some reason, Ferius, who had never shown such power before, raised his sword once more.
Boom—
“Ugh…”
His body trembled as a numbing sensation spread through his entire body. Both the spear and the hand holding it seemed precarious.
Schneider had faced Ferius several times before, but he had never experienced this level of output.
‘Was I not the final opponent?’
Even without this extra strain, he was already exhausted.
Clang—
In the end, the spear broke. His eyes widened in shock as his frozen body refused to move.
“Stay back.”
Flash—
Another surge of electricity burst forth.
Clang—
Ferius’s and Suhyuk’s lightning collided, scattering in all directions.
Crackle, crackle—
The two swords clashed. The heavy sensation in both hands made Suhyuk’s eyes gleam. He couldn’t hold back. He quickly realized that this was not an opponent against whom he could conserve his strength.
Therefore—
『‘Lightning’ is initiated.』
『‘Heart of Lightning’ is activated.』
『‘Selfish Sacrifice Lv5’ resists the damage from ‘Lightning’.』
Now was the time to unleash his full power.
Crackle—
Electricity poured out from the tip of his sword. Thanks to his increased Magic and the upgraded skill level, it was incomparable to before. The burden on his stamina would be significantly greater, but—
‘I can manage it.’
For some reason, the anticipated strain was not as severe as he had feared.
Buzz—
Suhyuk’s sword swung towards Ferius. Ferius met the attack head-on, showing no intention of dodging.
Clang—
Crackle—
The two swords clashed, sending out bursts of electricity in all directions. Schneider, who was nearby, raised one arm to protect himself. Even the remnants of the scattered electricity were enough to put most players’ lives at risk.
Boom, boom—
Clang—
Each clash of the swords echoed with the sound of thunder, and the discharged electricity struck and shattered the cave walls. Schneider watched the battle between Suhyuk and Ferius with wide eyes.
‘What happened in such a short time?’
It had only been a few days since he had fought Suhyuk. Despite being taken down by a single strike of the Lightning Spear, Schneider had thought that he could put up a decent fight if they were to clash again.
Even now, he was sure that belief wasn’t entirely wrong.
But still.
‘His speed might be because of new shoes, but…’
Boom!
A player capable of releasing such massive electricity couldn’t be the same as any other player on the third floor.
‘What did he obtain here?’
It felt like Suhyuk had become a completely different person in that brief period. And Suhyuk felt the same about himself.
‘This feels new.’
Was it because of the Heart of Lightning within him?
It felt different from simply using thunder as a skill. The sensation of being able to freely draw on the thunder circulating through his body like blood. And that feeling was not an illusion.
Suddenly, the dragon’s words came to mind. At the time, he had been too flustered to focus on anything but the noise.
‘It really was a treasure.’
The difference between merely carrying it and using it properly was this significant.
What would it be like if he were in perfect condition? How much thunder could he unleash then?
As this anticipation made him increasingly excited—
“It really is you.”
Sss—
Ferius, who had retreated a distance, spoke with glowing eyes from within his helmet.
“It’s been a while, savior.”