Chapter 80
After arriving on the fourth floor, Suhyuk briefly ended his stream. He had met the conditions to level up the Selfish Sacrifice skill and needed to visit the new accommodations arranged by Balhae.
Arriving at his new lodging, Suhyuk stood in front of the building, admiring it for a moment.
“Looks expensive.”
It was a tall building that seemed newly constructed. Expensive materials had been used, and statues lined the entrance, making it look almost like a small castle.
It definitely looked pricey. It was a stark contrast to the lodgings he had been using previously.
Click-.
“What are you doing out here instead of coming in?”
The door swung open quickly, and Un Hyang came out to greet him. Un Hyang had arrived early at the lodging.
“Just taking a look around.”
“Here? It’s nice, isn’t it?”
“Yes. Quite so.”
This level of luxury was something Suhyuk could only dream of in his previous life. As Suhyuk wondered about the sudden upgrade, Un Hyang added an explanation.
“It’s because you’ve grown in stature, Suhyuk.”
“Stature? You mean my stream?”
“Yes. You’re now a proper mid-tier streamer. One with significant growth potential.”
Suhyuk’s position had changed rapidly. Not long ago, he was a newbie who had just started streaming. Now, he was a mid-tier streamer with tens of thousands of viewers.
Moreover.
“The company is anxious. They’re worried you might up and leave for one of the large guilds.”
Given Suhyuk’s potential for both growing his stream and possibly transferring to another guild, Balhae Entertainment had to use various methods to keep him.
Step by step.
Suhyuk entered the lodging with Un Hyang. The lobby had a ceiling that seemed at least 10 meters high, with a fountain at the center.
There was a tea zone for drinking tea and a dining area for breakfast. It felt like stepping into a grand hotel.
“How about a cup of tea? On the company’s tab, of course.”
Un Hyang said this as he ordered a large amount of coffee and desserts. The company funds were flowing out. Suhyuk, who also ordered a cup of coffee, felt a bit uneasy.
“The change in treatment is so abrupt, it’s almost overwhelming.”
“Hey, it’s all paid for with the money you’ve brought into the company.”
“I don’t feel like I’ve earned that much yet.”
“You will soon. The company wouldn’t do anything unprofitable.”
There was truth in his words. Suhyuk’s video channel was growing rapidly, and even now, the view counts were rising. It was clear that the video of him clearing the Thunder Cave would gain significant popularity.
“There are already three ads on Suhyuk’s videos. That’s a sign your popularity is growing quickly.”
“Ads, you say?”
“Yes. There are also direct advertisement offers wanting Suhyuk to feature their products. The recent challenge seems to have boosted your popularity even more….”
“Challenge?”
Suhyuk raised his eyebrows as if he didn’t understand, to which Un Hyang responded with a puzzled look.
“Haven’t you watched Falcon Eye’s stream?”
“I have.”
“Falcon Eye said if anyone could replicate Suhyuk’s feat, he’d give them 100,000 points, remember?”
Indeed, he had said that. At the end of his stream. It was mentioned almost as a joke, but Falcon Eye wasn’t someone to make promises he didn’t keep.
And streamers, knowing this.
“It seems that has become quite trendy these days.”
It was known as the ‘Lee Suhyuk Challenge’.
***
On the fifth floor, there was a streamer named Deroro.
He was a streamer who, on average, recorded about 5,000 viewers. He was neither particularly successful nor a failure as a streamer.
He earned a decent income from donations, and although slowly, he was steadily advancing up the tower.
In the midst of this. Deroro started an intriguing new content.
“I’m going to try the Lee Suhyuk Challenge.”
The Lee Suhyuk Challenge had begun spreading like a trend among streamers. It was only natural for streamers, often struggling for new content, to take an interest in a new challenge.
They could stream new content, and if they succeeded, earn up to 100,000 points. Not attempting it would be foolish.
Moreover…
– Now that I think about it, there’s Deroro LOLOLOL
– Doesn’t he have a skill similar to flying?
It didn’t matter what skill you used. You just had to perfectly replicate the move.
“The practice target will be the trial dummy in the testing grounds.”
What difficulty level?
“Level 1.”
– Level 1 LOLOLOL LOL
– Utterly despicable…
– So you’re just gonna slash a stationary target LOLOLOL
– Deroro! Shame on you!!
Despite the audience’s taunts, Deroro shrugged his shoulders.
“My pride isn’t worth 100,000 points.”
– True, true LOLOLOL
– Deroro’s pride? You could buy that for 100 points.
– Indeed LOL
– Deroro stared at the dummy in front of him.
With a sword in hand, he focused his concentration.
‘I am a player on the fifth floor.’
No matter how remarkable Lee Suhyuk was, he was just a player who had barely passed the third floor. In contrast, Deroro had two years of experience on the fifth floor.
What Lee Suhyuk could do, he could do as well. Furthermore, the opponent wasn’t a Thunder Knight but a mere dummy.
‘I can do this.’
He temporarily forgot about the stream.
-The purpose of the stream was just to record evidence of the challenge’s success. For now, succeeding in the challenge and securing 100,000 points was the priority.
When his concentration peaked.
“Challenge!”
Shouting energetically, Deroro dashed quickly towards the dummy.
『’Feather Step’ has been activated.』
『Movement speed increases by 20% for 5 seconds.』
『Air time increases by 100% for 5 seconds.』
Feather Step. It was one of the skills Deroro could use. While it didn’t allow for stepping on air like Sky Walk, it increased air time and movement speed, making it a fairly high-tier skill.
Thanks to this skill, Deroro could attempt the Lee Suhyuk Challenge.
‘With a longer air time, this should be…’
Woosh—
Reaching the dummy, Deroro pushed off the ground with force and leaped high. Up to this point, things were good. At this rate, he could decapitate the dummy in one swift motion.
However.
‘I need to… flip my body…’
The difficulty spiked when he tried to flip his speeding body upside down. Pointing his feet towards the sky wasn’t easy. No, flipping the body wasn’t the only problem.
The balance wavered. His inverted vision made it difficult to see the target properly. Moreover, swinging the sword with maximum force from such a position was challenging.
***
“Uh, uh, uh?”
In the end, his steps got tangled.
Crack-
Deroro’s sword cut off not the neck but the top of the dummy’s head.
Thud-
Failing to maintain balance due to the forceful swing, Deroro fell to the ground, unable to land properly.
“Ugh-!”
Deroro grimaced in pain as he landed hard on his backside.
– LOLOLOL LOL
– LOLOLOL LOLOLOL
– Is he doing slapstick comedy? LOLOLOL
– Fail like Deroro!
The viewers mocked him, the consequence of his failure. The moment he failed to cut off the dummy’s neck, the challenge was over. He only had one chance.
Feather Step could only be used once per day.
Though he could try again without the skill…
“This is insane.”
Deroro didn’t have the nerve to do that.
“How did he do it?”
*
If it were just about cutting, anyone could do it. But cutting precisely from an inverted position after a leap, and then landing properly, was a different story.
Occasionally, someone would appear who could cut the dummy’s neck while inverted. The issue was the landing.
“How are you supposed to land from this?”
“I can flip, but landing is the problem.”
“Guys, landing on your head counts, doesn’t it? Come on… Oh, no recognition?”
Many streamers attempted it, but no one succeeded. Even if they managed to cut the dummy’s neck accurately, landing was the problem.
It wasn’t a matter of having enough stats. This was more like a stunt, unrelated to stats.
Finally.
They reached one conclusion.
“You can’t do this without Sky Walk.”
“Is Nimble Thief’s Footwear a good item? That’s Blue Eyes’ relic, right?”
“If I had that, I could do it too.”
The Nimble Thief’s Footwear.
And the skill embedded in that item, Sky Walk. They concluded that without that skill, the challenge couldn’t be completed.
And at that moment.
『’Lee Suhyuk’ has started streaming.』
*
– ???
– What’s with the sudden Lee Suhyuk stream?
– Two streams in one day? Rare indeed
– Su-hi!
The unexpected stream delighted the viewers. By now, many regular viewers eagerly awaited Suhyuk’s streams.
Moreover.
『Lee Suhyuk attempts the Lee Suhyuk Challenge. ps. Barefoot.』
The stream title was incredibly intriguing. After Falcon Eye’s stream, the Lee Suhyuk Challenge spread rapidly. Now, Lee Suhyuk himself was attempting the challenge.
Without the Nimble Thief’s Footwear. Barefoot.
“Su-hi. Hello, everyone.”
With a simple greeting, the stream began.
“This stream will be short. I need to start challenging the fourth floor again from tomorrow.”
– Still good. At least we get to see this
– The title is super interesting
Suhyuk then showed where he was.
“I’ll be challenging the level 5 of the virtual trial grounds. This challenge seems to be trending here these days.”
– Trending for just two days now
– It spread quickly though
– But everyone was doing it on level 1
The practice virtual trial grounds have different levels of difficulty for the dummies. From the level 1 dummies that just stand still, to the sturdier and faster-moving ones.
Suhyuk was challenging the 5th level dummies, which could move faster than most players in the lower floors.
“Who can’t hit a stationary target? That’s no fun.”
– LOLOLOL LOL
– Look at the cockiness LOLOLOL LOL
– They couldn’t even do that though
Un Hyang had recommended this content.
“Even without the donations, it would make for a great video, wouldn’t it?”
“Of course, that’s if you succeed.”
She seemed to be suggesting what she herself wanted to see.
‘That’s why her ideas are better.’
Un Hyang was Suhyuk’s best fan. She often boasted about being his fan for a long time, and both her tone and expression showed just how deep her fandom was.
Because of this, she could come up with content ideas that the audience wanted to see. She was a fan herself, after all.
“This content is a kind of fan service.”
Recalling Un Hyang’s words before starting the stream.
“No need to give missions today.”
Suhyuk spoke in a different manner than usual.
Yes.
Today’s stream wasn’t about earning points through missions. What he was about to show briefly was.
“Because I’m going to succeed anyway.”
This is Lee Suhyuk.
It was a kind of showmanship to demonstrate just that.