Chapter 86
Lightning Lord.
Suhyuk first acquired this skill long ago, around the time he conquered the 7th floor. During a continental war, the Earth team that Suhyuk belonged to was at a significant disadvantage.
Panthera and Murim had allied. Reversing the numerical disadvantage in a deathmatch was far from easy. Out of ten representatives, only Suhyuk and Kim Ilsoo remained for Earth.
“It looks pretty grim, doesn’t it?”
Kim Ilsoo, his face pale and exhausted. Surrounded by more than ten elite players from Panthera and Murim, each the top of their realms. In an almost hopeless situation, Suhyuk resorted to a desperate gamble.
“Let’s all die together.”
Boom-!
Crackle-!
With a thunderclap, lightning struck, and the magic-infused heart pumped fiercely, dispersing energy throughout his body.
For a moment, it felt as if someone had possessed him. When the next message appeared, Suhyuk thought it might not be an illusion after all.
『’Lightning Lord’ dwells in your body.』
Crackle, crackle-.
Standing before Golimaek, Suhyuk smiled beneath his mask at the familiar message. It was the same message as before. The energy, as if summoned from elsewhere, blazed fiercely throughout his body.
Lightning Lord.
The skill that represented him and elevated him to the top.
– Black color?
– Isn’t that the effect of ‘Lightning Lord’?
– ? No way.
– But the effect seems weaker than it should be.
Crackle, crackle-.
Black streaks mingled with the yellow lightning flowing through his body. Unfamiliar. Even now, it felt like an external force drawn into him.
As if—
‘As if a god had possessed me.’
Tss-.
Suhyuk took a cautious step forward. Careful not to rush, lest the overwhelming power make him charge like a maddened bull.
Seeing Suhyuk’s change, Golimaek drew upon his own power.
“Is this some kind of Lee Suhyuk mimicry? What is this…?”
In response to his gesture, the ground around him upheaved. Six rocky hands sprouted from Golimaek’s back like wings.
In awe of the spectacle, Suhyuk murmured, “You really gobbled up those kills, didn’t you?”
The viewers’ reactions weren’t much different from Suhyuk’s. Unlike the faint black lightning around Suhyuk, Golimaek wielded skills that could fill an entire lane.
Each hand could crush a full-grown man with ease. This indicated that Golimaek had significantly benefitted from his Diamond rank and numerous kills.
– My heart is pounding…
– That looks pretty powerful.
– Mission is going to fail miserably, lol.
Even with Lightning Lord, the faint black lightning around Suhyuk seemed minimal. Meanwhile, Golimaek’s skills were vast in range and lethal.
Golimaek was right. If Suhyuk had remained hidden in the forest for ambushes, he might have had a chance. But in a direct confrontation, victory seemed impossible.
At least, it appeared that way.
Crackle-.
With each step forward, Suhyuk’s hair stood on end, and his heart pounded fiercely.
『’Lightning Lord’ tests you.』
『’Heart of Lightning’ resists ‘Lightning Lord’.』
『’Lightning Lord’ penalty decreases by 30%.』
—
Thump, thump-.
The two hearts alternated their beats. Lightning Lord sought to overwhelm Suhyuk’s heart, increasing its output, and Heart of Lightning resisted, mitigating the penalty.
Furthermore,
—
『’Selfish Sacrifice lv6′ resists damage from ‘Lightning Lord’.』
—
The newly leveled-up skill, selfish Sacrifice, also served as a foundation to withstand Lightning Lord.
‘This is enough.’
Step-
He could do it. With this conviction, Suhyuk didn’t stop moving.
‘You learn your instincts while on the move.’
Pressing down with his heel,
Boom-!
Suhyuk’s body transformed into a bolt of lightning and shot forward. In the blink of an eye, the distance closed. Golimaek’s stone arms moved in response.
“Where do you think you’re going, you gnat!”
To his eyes, Suhyuk appeared as nothing more than an annoying gnat. Fast, but not powerful. But that was only in his imagination.
Crash-!
“…!”
The stone arm that collided with Suhyuk crumbled. Debris scattered into the air as the gap quickly narrowed.
“That… that can’t be…”
Something was wrong. Golimaek, reconsidering his strategy, retreated towards their base’s statue while swinging the remaining arms.
Bang-, crash-!
Boom-!
Rocks shattered, and black lightning flashed alongside the thunder.
Not only was fighting back futile, just buying enough time to reach the statue from Suhyuk in his current state was hard enough.
‘Is he really the Lightning Lord?’
Initially, Golimaek thought it impossible despite the black lightning. And why wouldn’t he?
This was merely the 4th floor. If reaching the 5th floor signified a seasoned, experienced player, the Lightning Lord was a technique once mastered by top-tier players.
The notion that such a technique would be replicated before him seemed absurd.
Crash-!
However, that absurdity was now real.
Shattering all the stones he conjured,
Thud-.
The retreating Golimaek’s back hit something. A gasp escaped as he turned to see what it was.
‘The statue.’
The most formidable ally any player could have. With it nearby, there was no way Suhyuk could get closer.
“I’m saved…”
But there was something he didn’t know.
Thunk-.
Suhyuk had been defeating enemies while ignoring statues long before using Lightning Lord.
“Ugh…”
Golimaek’s throat was pierced. The remaining stones around him fell lifelessly to the ground, drained of power.
“There’s one thing guys like you always misunderstand.”
Zing-.
The statue’s head turned towards Suhyuk.
“You place all your bets on flashy effects, but can’t even properly utilize a single skill you have.”
Buzz-.
Just before losing consciousness. Golimaek saw the statue lock onto its target and was convinced the fight would end in a draw.
‘You’re dead too, after all.’
Even if the statue killed Lee Suhyuk, the kill would credit him. The statue would count its final target’s defeat as a kill for the last enemy player that it battled.
Zing-.
The statue’s eyes began to emit a deadly beam.
‘He can’t dodge while he’s stabbing me…’
And at that very moment,
Swoosh-.
Suhyuk’s eyes rolled back.
Two messages appeared almost simultaneously.
『’Lee Suhyuk’ has ended ‘Golimaek’s’ kill streak.』
『’Lee Suhyuk’ has defeated ‘Lee Suhyuk’.』
*
– Wow, he actually did it?
– So it counted as a self-kill, lol.
– The opponent must be crying, lol.
But seriously, that was badass; bulldozing through without dodging anything.
In the black void. Suhyuk waited to rejoin the game. He had died. While most die 4-5 times in a single match, this was Suhyuk’s first death in this life.
He had managed to survive several close calls before now.
『’Safety Asset’ has donated 100 points.』
『Damn… I should’ve bet on a no-death Challenger mission.』
– Such an annoying guy.
– All this trouble was due to him.
– And his premise was flawed.
“If you had, I wouldn’t have taken on this gamble.”
Suhyuk’s death was due to Lightning Lord. This wasn’t reality but a trial. And in the 4th-floor trial, a single death had no significant consequences.
This was the perfect opportunity to test Lightning Lord. He pushed its output to the limit, testing his boundaries before dying.
And the result.
‘More stable than I expected.’
Even achieving the skill itself would have met his expectations. But thanks to Heart of Lightning, the output was more than 50% stronger than anticipated.
Selfish Sacrifice’s penalty suppression was also substantial.
‘My path isn’t wrong.’
There were moments during his streams when he had doubts. Is this truly the right path? Was he over-relying on the Selfish Sacrifice skill?
This experience confirmed his choices. Broadcasting was the right decision. Suhyuk’s eyes sparkled.
“Safety Asset.”
Time passed.
“I will protect the mission reward you placed.”
『You have resurrected.』
The black scenery reverted to its original color. The resurrection point was at the allied base. It was time to win the match.
***
The game was turning for the worse. Dedor, who had been staring at a black screen for most of the match, chewed on his nails in anxiety.
‘This is driving me crazy.’
He had over 15 deaths. At some point, dedor had started deliberately dying to the enemy.
He had to.
‘Are we going to win at this rate?’
『’Lee Suhyuk’ has defeated ‘Siniel’.』
The kill messages kept appearing faster than he could die. All of this was happening because of a single person, Lee Suhyuk.
‘What the hell is that idiot Golimaek doing? He can’t even make use of his kills!’
They were a player down on their team. Moreover, the enemy team had players he had been feeding kills to. It should have been an unlosable situation.
However, the longer the game went, the more the momentum shifted to the other side. Eventually, the tipping scales completely shattered.
『’Lee Suhyuk’ has defeated ‘Golimaek’.』
『’Lee Suhyuk’ has defeated ‘Johan’.』
『’Lee Suhyuk’ has…』
Three consecutive messages popped up. The long respawn timer meant Dedor had to sit and wonder what was going on.
“Did he seriously just take down three on his own…?”
– Lololol, a triple kill!
– Lee Suhyuk is doing a one-man show, for real.
– I knew he was good, but not this good…
– It’s ugly, uninspiring, and he’s failed the mission…
The viewers’ mockery made Dedor’s head feel like it was about to explode from stress.
Right.
At this rate, it wasn’t entertaining, inspiring, and he wouldn’t earn any points. But no matter what he tried, he couldn’t make his team lose.
『Thorbik: Thanks for the carry.』
『Donkey: Huff… Suhyuk, any chance you’d consider duoing with me?』
“…?”
Dedor’s eyes widened, seeing his teammates’ chat messages. It seemed like the game was nearing its conclusion. And indeed, Lee Suhyuk had taken down three players just moments ago.
“This is insane—!”
Unable to contain his frustration, dedor swore.
Over 500 viewers had tuned into his stream just to watch him fail.
At that moment, a whisper arrived from Lee Suhyuk.
『Lee Suhyuk: If I couldn’t handle scum like you, I wouldn’t have started this mission.』
Dedor felt a chilling sensation as Suhyuk continued.
『Lee Suhyuk: Even if you want to lose, you can’t.』