Chapter 84
『’Lee Suhyuk’ has defeated ‘Lord’.』
『Lord: I’m done. Peace out.』
Liandry’s face hardened as he hunted neutral monsters and saw his teammate’s chat message.
Saying he’s done.
It was a clear declaration of trolling.
『Liandry: Why are you quitting just because you died?』
『Lord: I’ve been getting 2v1’d constantly. Is that my fault? Watch my back—』
『Liandry: What do you mean 2v1, you keep getting killed by a Bronze.』
『Lord: Yeah, forest diff~』
Pop-.
A vein bulged on Liandry’s forehead. As much as he wanted to argue back, he had nothing to say. The differences in their lanes were real.
But.
‘What am I supposed to do about it?’
No matter how he looked at it, he hadn’t done anything wrong. It was just that their opponent was too skilled.
‘Isn’t he supposed to be Bronze? What kind of skill is that? Is he really Lee Suhyuk or…?’
Not only the initial counterattack but also the subsequent strategies. After getting 2 kills, the opponent had relentlessly targeted one lane.
Lord, who then recorded 5 consecutive deaths, lost his mental composure and declared he was done. Even now, Lee Suhyuk continued to push the lane. He had managed to get 6 kills.
“Damn it…”
No matter how Bronze he was, if he kept racking up kills like that, he became hard to deal with. Especially when his team lacked one player, making it a 3v4 situation.
The game had already tilted in their favor. And this in just 10 minutes.
*
The game was overwhelmingly one-sided with one player down. The Forest of War map was designed that way. If there’s a player missing, it’s nearly impossible to win.
However, the missing player only sped up the game’s conclusion; it didn’t change the outcome.
Zap, buzz-!
Hidden in the forest.
Suhyuk moved stealthily, casting spears of lightning without revealing himself.
– Oh my, amazing.
– Watching this is so annoying, really.
There was no need for him to show himself. The forest’s terrain was perfect for hiding and throwing spears from a distance.
As a result,
“Damn it!”
“This game is so dirty!”
Suhyuk received the highest form of praise from the remaining three enemy players. One entire lane was completely devastated.
Noticing the situation, Suhyuk’s teammates joined in. The game ended in the blink of an eye.
『You have destroyed the enemy’s base.』
『The game is over.』
Boom-!
They destroyed the final statue in the lane and then the enemy base. The game took just about 17 minutes to conclude.
Had his teammates joined him sooner, it would have ended even faster.
– 17 minutes, wow.
– That’s half the time of a typical match.
– The other lane’s mental state broke down in 10 minutes, they just gave up lol.
Suhyuk relentlessly focused on one lane.
It wasn’t out of any special grudge. He just determined it was the best way to end the game quickly.
Indeed, after dying five times in a row, the enemy player seemed to think there was no hope and didn’t step out of the base again.
『You have earned 147 points.』
『Rank Up: Bronze 3 -> Bronze 2.』
『Leveled up, earning 2 stat points.』
『Strength increased by 1.』
『Agility increased by 1.』
Suhyuk’s eyes widened at the consecutive messages.
‘147 points?’
He had expected to earn a lot of points, but this was way more than anticipated. Typically, winning a match would net around 20 points, so this was about seven times the normal amount.
He thought earning about 100 points would be a lot.
– 147???
– Is this a bug too???
– Crazy lololol.
– Is he using hacks lololol.
A 17-minute match.
And seven times the normal points. Even with simple calculations, this meant he could earn points 10 times faster than an average player.
“Safety Asset?”
Suhyuk mentioned the first name that came to mind.
『’Safety Asset’ has donated 10 points.』
『Oh, come on, don’t joke around ㅡㅡ.』
It was the reaction Suhyuk had expected.
– Lololol.
– Safety Asset is crying lololol.
– It’s dangerous… Safety Asset’s wallet is in danger.
While gauging the viewers’ reactions, Suhyuk calculated how long it would take to achieve his goal.
‘I can’t keep earning this many points indefinitely.’
The reason he got 147 points was that his current rank was Bronze. As his rank increased, the points he would receive would likely decrease.
But even considering that.
‘If things go well…’
“If I don’t lose a single match, I could do it in five days.”
Five days. Assuming he didn’t lose a single match, it seemed possible. At that moment.
『’Safety Asset’ has donated 100 points.』
『Then how about an extra bet with me?』
Safety Asset presented another mission.
『’Safety Asset’ has registered a mission.』
『Forfeit all you’ve earned from me if you lose even one match. But if you achieve Challenger with a flawless record, 50,000 points.』
50,000 points.
It was the largest mission ever placed in Suhyuk’s stream. However, the risk of failure was equally high.
– Safety Asset is relentless.
– He’s trying so hard to reclaim his points, lol.
– Achieving a flawless Challenger rank isn’t realistic.
Suhyuk calculated the points he had received from Safety Asset so far and nodded.
“This is an interesting bet.”
It was worth attempting. Avoiding such a bet neither fit his personality nor the nature of his stream.
“Let’s do it.”
Suhyuk smiled beneath his mask.
Thanks to the mission, what he thought would be a boring trial on the 4th floor had become increasingly amusing. Beyond the time constraint, he couldn’t afford to lose a single match.
Moreover, this was a team battle rather than an individual one. He had to bear the burden of any mistakes made by his teammates.
With the bet accepted,
『’Safety Asset’ has donated 100 points.』
『Let’s see what happens.』
Before the next game began, safety Asset sent another ominous message.
*
Streamer Water Moth was a Panthera native named Dedarra.
He averaged about 50 viewers. Even though he had been streaming for quite some time, he hadn’t gained much viewership due to lacking any remarkable qualities.
His main reason for continuing to stream was simply to scrape together some living expenses.
“Today, I will definitely reach Diamond, my friends.”
Water Moth’s rank was Platinum 1. He had been stuck on the 4th floor for over three years.
“No, seriously, I will hit Diamond today. Don’t believe me? Okay. No stream end until I hit Diamond.”
– As if you’re not going to drop.
– A one-day Diamond isn’t really a Diamond.
– This guy belongs in Platinum.
– You won’t make it.
Despite the troublesome chat messages, he couldn’t afford to shut down the stream. He needed to occasionally receive donations to sustain his livelihood.
‘If it weren’t for this crappy stream, I would’ve hit Challenger long ago.’
The stress from streaming was immense.
Challenger.
Achieving it would elevate him to the 5th floor, where more skilled players resided. With that, even if he couldn’t join a major guild, he might secure a decent guild’s sponsorship.
‘Just endure until then.’
While thinking this,
『Search complete.』
The search for the match was completed, and the new game began.
‘Please. Please, let me get good teammates this time.’
Water Moth clasped his hands in prayer.
The 4th floor’s gameplay was said to be half luck, indicating the importance of team support. Like any other player, water Moth experienced wins and losses depending on his team.
The map was the commonly used Forest of War. Following this, the teams and enemies were sorted.
『Thorbik: Platinum 1』
『Lee Suhyuk: Silver 4』
『Dedor: Platinum 1』
『Donkey: Diamond 4』
『Golimaek: Platinum 1』
『…』
Names and ranks were displayed clearly. Despite being at the tail end of the spectrum, there were two Diamond-ranked players due to the high average rank.
Among them, however, one player stood out due to vastly different rank.
“Silver? Lee Suhyuk?”
Both the rank and name instantly caught his attention. As a streamer himself, water Moth knew Lee Suhyuk.
“Is it really him?”
Whoosh-.
Water Moth was transported to the Forest of War. He glanced around to see the faces of his teammates.
Then he spotted a familiar mask. In an instant, water Moth’s face lit up.
‘This could be a jackpot video.’
Although his viewership was low, water Moth edited his own videos and posted them on the Players’ Channel. Most were clips of games he had carried, leading his team to victory.
The view count was typically in the hundreds, at most a thousand.
‘With Lee Suhyuk’s current fame, this should easily get tens of thousands of views. Maybe even more.’
His joy was short-lived, though.
‘Wait, should I be happy about this? No matter how good Lee Suhyuk is, having a Silver teammate makes things tough.’
The stat difference between Silver and Platinum was double. No matter how exceptional Lee Suhyuk’s control was, it seemed almost insurmountable.
While having a famous streamer on the team was exciting, losing the game wasn’t.
‘Well, this game’s a bust…’
At that moment.
『’Safety Asset’ has registered a mission.』
『10,000 points if you lose the match.』
An unexpected mission popped up.
Water Moth’s eyes widened.
He hurriedly addressed his viewers through the microphone.
“Safety Asset, are you serious about this mission?”
『’Safety Asset’ has donated 100 points.』
『Of course, I am. Once a mission is registered, that’s it.』
There was no denying it. Once a mission was registered, it couldn’t be retracted. From now on, it was one of two outcomes.
Either succeed in the mission and pocket the 10,000 points.
Or fail the mission and get nothing.
And this mission was far simpler compared to any Water Moth had received before.
– This is basically telling you to throw the game, lol.
– Intentionally losing is going too far.
– Fake Suhyuk’s viewers might terrorize you for that, though?
The game involved lanes and farming. Winning required both player control and growing through hunting and farming.
But having an empty spot in the team created an imbalance in growth. For this reason, having one player fall behind often decided the game’s outcome.
Of course, intentionally making the team lose would earn rightful criticism.
“Gentlemen,” Water Moth suppressed his glee.
“You just need to try your best and not intentionally lose, right?”
Water Moth made up his mind. While the game was important, one game wasn’t worth 10,000 points.
“I’ll do my best. Let’s go!”
With that amount of points, he wouldn’t have to worry about points for a while and could focus on the game.