Chapter 79
After a day of rest. Suhyuk resumed his trial and stream.
– Su-hi!
– Su-hi!
– Baby Suhyuk, hey hey
– He’s grown up way too fast for a baby
– What is he eating to grow so big? ㄷㄷ
– It’s our points, of course
From the start, the chat was bustling. Although it was just text, Suhyuk felt as if his ears were already noisy. At first, it was a bit dizzying.
But now he had gotten quite used to it and even found it enjoyable.
‘The viewers…’
Barely five minutes had passed since the stream started. Suhyuk, having exited the Thunder Cave and returned to the mercenary guild, glanced at the viewer trends.
『Viewers: 6,890』
Almost 7,000 viewers.
The trend was much faster than before. At this rate, surpassing 10,000 viewers was almost a certainty.
‘It must have been a hot topic.’
Clearing the Thunder Cave. He’d heard that it stirred quite a buzz in the community. Moreover, swiftly getting rid of players trying to ride along the previous day also seemed to have contributed to the hype.
“You don’t need to worry about public opinion. Fortunately, it passed smoothly.”
“Really? I thought it would take a bit more time.”
“The team leader acted quickly. It seems they dug up those guys’ past actions and tipped off the victims.”
A conversation with Un Hyang from their meal the previous day. Suhyuk suddenly remembered the presence of Balhae Entertainment behind him.
‘I was ready to be criticized for a while though.’
It was better to get criticized a bit than to keep being dragged by those kinds of people. Besides, eventually, public opinion would side with him even if he was criticized at first.
He had committed to it thinking that way. But inwardly, he had braced himself for a period of criticism. It was a relief.
As a streamer now, Suhyuk didn’t want the chat to be noisy for other reasons.
‘Today, my past stream segments were supposed to be uploaded.’
Suhyuk, who initially thought having a company was neither here nor there, had to rethink.
‘They’re doing good work.’
Managing public opinion, providing advice and information about the stream, generating additional revenue streams, etc.
While he couldn’t speak for other companies, Balhae Entertainment surely played its role as a partner well.
Shortly after.
Suhyuk officially started his stream, turning on the microphone.
“Su-hi.”
Suhyuk waved his hand. It was a very stiff greeting.
– What’s with the tension? LOLOLOL
– Even if it’s fake, try a bit harder, man…
– It’s so dry, I can’t feel anything from this stream.
Suhyuk awkwardly opened his hand in response to the viewers’ reactions.
“Su… Su-hi?”
– Awkward…
– This is the first time I’ve been so cringed out from two words.
– Just do it normally.
“Yes. Let’s do that.”
His quick agreement filled the chat with laughter. And soon, the viewers noticed Suhyuk’s location.
– Broadcasting from the Mercenary Guild?
– Looks like he’s going to settle accounts right away
– Going to get his achievement points and move on
The third-floor trial involved completing requests for the Mercenary Guild and accumulating achievement points. The required achievement points to move to the next floor was typically 10,000.
However, sometimes performing exceptionally well on high-difficulty requests allowed one to earn more than 10,000 achievement points.
And the Thunder Cave clearing request was the highest difficulty among the Mercenary Guild’s requests.
“Yes, that’s right. I’ll settle the accounts and move on immediately.”
– Oh!!!
– Loving the fast progression
– Fast? This should’ve been done two days ago, smh
– Wonder how much he’ll get
The viewers were eager to see how many achievement points Suhyuk would get for clearing the Thunder Cave. Probably half of those who joined the stream immediately after hearing the alert were curious about that.
“I’ll be settling accounts in five minutes. It seems like not many people have joined yet.”
Today, he had even set a specific stream title.
The title was ‘Thunder Cave Request Settlement’. It was Un Hyang who had suggested it.
Saying that it would help gather viewers quickly, Un Hyang insisted on having a title today.
“In the meantime, I’ll take some questions.”
– How many hours do you plan to stream today?
– What did you do during your break?
– Are you going to start the fourth floor right away?
Among the various questions, Suhyuk answered the last one that caught his eye.
“I plan to start the fourth floor immediately. My goal is to clear it in the shortest time possible.”
– As expected ㄷㄷㄷ
– This guy is always serious about his trials
– He’s definitely going to set a new record
Most of Suhyuk’s viewers watched to see how he handled the trials.
On the second floor, he obtained the Lightning, and on the third floor, he cleared the Thunder Cave. Once could be a coincidence, but successfully doing so twice in a row meant the next time was even more anticipated.
『’CivilDefense’ has donated 100 points.』
『But doesn’t that mean Schneider will also accumulate points? You did clear it together.』
In response to the donation message, Suhyuk nodded.
“Yes, I think so. Achievement points will probably vary based on contributions.”
– Wow
– Schneider is going to move up right away too
– If he amassed points for 10 years, that’s going to be amazing
– Nah, his points reset every time he dies in the Thunder Cave LOL
For ten years, Schneider had been fixated on the Thunder Cave. Whenever the Thunder Cave opened, he attempted the challenge, and during the off times, he leveled up and honed his skills.
However, having failed the Thunder Cave dozens, if not hundreds, of times, Schneider had no remaining points.
‘Well, I guess he’ll still get enough to surpass 10,000 points. That guy too.’
『Viewers: 11,829』
As more time passed, the speed at which viewers increased gradually slowed down. Feeling that he had waited long enough, Suhyuk started moving and spoke up.
“Alright, let’s go settle the accounts.”
Step by step.
Suhyuk headed towards the settlement counter of the Mercenary Guild. At the counter, a bearded mercenary was sitting with a bored expression, propping his chin up.
“Mercenary badge and completion certificate.”
Yawning as if everything was a hassle. Suhyuk handed over the two items he requested.
Swoosh-
“Hmm…”
The mercenary’s eyes grew wider and wider as he checked the mercenary badge and completion certificate as usual.
“Otherworlder, E-rank… Thunder… Cave…?”
An entirely mismatched combination. As the mercenary looked up at him, Suhyuk handed over another document.
“Here.”
It was a recommendation letter. Upon checking it, the mercenary looked utterly bewildered.
“Just… just a moment, please.”
His tone towards Suhyuk changed. Suddenly fully awake, the mercenary stood up and disappeared somewhere, only to return five minutes later.
“It’s confirmed. The Thunder Cave was truly cleared….”
“Then please sign here. Right here.”
Tap, tap-
As Suhyuk tapped the completion certificate, the mercenary hurriedly picked up a feather pen. The moment the signature was completed was also the moment the settlement was finalized.
Scratch, scratch-
As the signature was completed.
“Here it is.”
The moment Suhyuk received the completion certificate back from the mercenary.
『You have completed the request ‘Thunder Cave Clearance’.』
『You have earned 300,000 achievement points.』
– 300,000?
– That’s insane LOLOLOL
– They gave him 30 times the passing requirement ㄷㄷㄷ;;
Honestly, it’s deserved.
300,000 achievement points.
Since Suhyuk thought he could get anywhere from 100,000 to 500,000 points, it was exactly in the middle.
Neither disappointing nor entirely satisfying. The real deal started from here.
『You have met the conditions.』
『Would you like to end the trial?』
Having no intention to linger like Schneider, Suhyuk made his decision immediately.
“Of course.”
It was a tense and exciting moment.
‘The stats are important, but… I hope they give a lot of points too.’
After this mission, Suhyuk had secured a considerable number of points. But unfortunately, he was still slightly short of the next goal of 160,000 points.
『Current Points: 146,612』
About 14,000 points remaining.
If possible, Suhyuk hoped to secure all the necessary points this time.
Soon after.
『You have passed the trial of the Kingdom of Conrad.』
『You have achieved 300,000 achievement points.』
『You have leveled up.』
『You have leveled up.』
『Your level…』
『…』
『You have earned 29,000 points.』
As the rewards appeared, Suhyuk cheered inwardly.
‘It worked.’
His level increased by 6 stages, and he gained 29,000 points. Considering that he had been experiencing a rapid increase in magic and felt the need for more stats, the level up was the best reward he could have received.
Moreover, he could now increase the level of Selfish Sacrifice. This significantly compensated for some of the drawbacks of the Lightning.
‘The imbalance in stats can be overcome with Selfish Sacrifice and the Heart of Lightning. Plus, gaining four points in stamina…’
Although he would need to trial it in practice to be sure, it felt like he had reached a stable point. At that moment, the final message continued.
『Moving to the 4th floor.』
Whirrr-!
*
The sensation of blinking and then the world reappearing. The feeling of the surroundings changing and the air and sounds around you feeling different was always mysterious.
The 4th floor.
Having arrived in the new world, Suhyuk looked around at the scenery.
Chirp, chirp-.
The pleasant sound of birds filled the air. The sky was blue, and beautifully shaped clouds floated by. In the distance, there was a tall, towering castle.
Surrounding it were buildings in an old European style, lined up side by side. Flowers intertwined with splendid architecture, and people’s faces were bright without a hint of worry.
A beautiful world, as if on a vacation. This was the world of the 4th floor, Elassium.
‘The place where most players end up stopping.’
Hence, the name ‘The World Where Dreams Stop’.
In this fairy-tale-like world, many players forget their dreams. The ambition to take trials, climb the tower, become rankers, and enjoy wealth and honor.
Even the mission given when they first entered the tower, to prepare for ‘the event that will begin someday’.
‘An event that will begin someday…’
Suhyuk was lost in thought, reminiscing about when he first entered the tower.
“『You have been chosen by the tower.』
Ascend the tower and prepare for ‘the event that will begin someday.’』”
Suhyuk was not the only one who heard this message. Every player who ascended the tower heard the same message. This was the reason all players initially started climbing the tower.
However.
‘When exactly is that day coming?’
Unlike when he first began, Suhyuk no longer climbed the tower because of that message. He climbed it to take revenge on Kim Ilsoo and to find the comrades who might still be alive.
And other players were the same, having forgotten that initial goal. The peaceful scenery unfolded before his eyes.
‘Everyone has forgotten the warning they heard back then.’
Suhyuk interpreted that message as a warning. If you do not prepare for that day, something terrible could happen. Therefore, you must climb the tower.
No.
You must conquer it.