Chapter 88
The Next Day.
Jung Yuhan, a 7th-floor player, received a special mission from Blue Zone.
Bring Lee Suhyuk to them. The method didn’t matter—coaxing, negotiating, persuading. And if those didn’t work, force could be used. Whatever means necessary to bring Lee Suhyuk in.
‘From the vice guild leader himself.’
Step, step-
Walking somewhat lazily, Jung Yuhan descended to the 4th floor, hands in his pockets. Vice Guild Leader Lee Wonjae. While he didn’t have warm feelings towards the man, this task came directly from him.
It wasn’t something he could refuse.
“Should I consider this a vacation…”
Regardless of how promising a rookie Suhyuk seemed, being summoned for a 4th floor task didn’t sit well with him. It felt like a slight. Like he was fit for such lowly tasks.
Moreover, considering it a vacation didn’t quite sit right during such a crucial period for him.
“I was on the doorstep of the 8th floor…”
The 8th floor.
A dream for countless players. Reaching it meant earning the title of ranker.
From that point, players would be assigned rankings by a mysterious organization known as the Ranking Management Bureau, assessing their combat power, influence, and recognition.
Naturally, becoming a ranker exponentially increased a player’s value.
Yet, at this critical juncture, he was wasting time on such an easy task.
“Not happy about this at all.”
Stopping, he looked up at the building. A rather expensive lodging in the vicinity. Only rankers, or offspring of famous rankers, could afford such facilities.
“Well, isn’t he thriving.”
For a 4th-floor player to lodge in such a place…
He knew streamers earned good points, but seeing it firsthand made him envious. No matter how successful, he was still just a rookie who hadn’t progressed past the 4th floor.
Whir-
An automatic magic-stone door opened softly, welcoming Jung Yuhan. He scanned the luxurious hotel-like lobby for Suhyuk.
And then, “I just need to do it…”
A voice reached his ears. Someone was watching Suhyuk’s stream, sitting in a café in one corner of the lobby. But what caught his attention wasn’t the content of her eyes.
‘… She’s beautiful.’
It was her appearance. Long black hair flowing down to her waist, bright eyes, a sharp nose. Her skin was clear and white, coupled with a slender and well-proportioned body.
She embodied everything men would label as a ‘beauty’.
‘I get it now…’
Jung Yuhan indulged in an absurd thought.
‘I’m here to find my destiny.’
The decision didn’t take long. In fact, there was nothing to ponder. Jung Yuhan walked straight toward her.
While she was deeply engrossed in the stream, Un Hyang looked up at the pale man approaching her.
“Are you alone?”
A cliché pickup line. Having dealt with such situations numerous times, Un Hyang glanced at him before responding.
“I am, but I prefer being alone.”
“So, you’re saying you’re alone.”
Scrape-
Without hesitation, Jung Yuhan sat across from her.
“Then this means this seat isn’t taken.”
“Yes, so it’s best if you keep it that way—ownerless.”
“Come now…”
Jung Yuhan pulled out a business card from his pocket and handed it to her.
“Here, this is who I am.”
“You’re really pushing it…”
As Un Hyang sighed, her eyes caught the three letters in one corner of the card: “Blue Zone.”
Seeing Un Hyang’s reaction change for the first time, Jung Yuhan smirked.
‘Predictable.’
Being affiliated with a huge guild had its perks. The guild’s name became synonymous with one’s own, and that name usually commanded respect.
After a brief moment of staring at the card, Un Hyang spoke.
“You’re from Blue Zone?”
Jung Yuhan’s smirk grew wider. For an instant, Un Hyang felt an urge to wipe that smirk off his face.
“Yes, that’s right. So, are you interested now?”
“You have one minute.”
“One minute?”
“Yes, that’s how long you can sit there.”
Jung Yuhan looked taken aback. No one had ever reacted this way to his business card. His pride was wounded, but he couldn’t just walk away—Un Hyang’s appearance kept him glued to his seat.
“Why are you here?”
“I came for guild business, so it’s a bit sensitive to discuss.”
“Is that so? Then get up. We have nothing to talk about.”
“Wait, just a second.”
Hurriedly, Jung Yuhan continued speaking in response to Un Hyang’s firm words.
“It’s… related to the stream you’re watching.”
“This stream?”
Un Hyang looked puzzled as she asked.
“Yes. But is it really that entertaining? You seem engrossed.”
“It’s very entertaining. Extremely.”
“But isn’t he just someone stuck on the 4th floor?”
He subtly pushed his card forward, trying to imply that he was more significant than Lee Suhyuk.
“He’s only on his way up. He’ll get there soon.”
“That’s something no one can predict.”
Un Hyang raised an eyebrow at Jung Yuhan’s words.
“Do you dislike Lee Suhyuk? Even though you’re with Blue Zone?”
“Being with Blue Zone means I have to like him?”
“Blue Zone is the successor to Blue Eyes, after all.”
“That’s a bit of a misconception.”
Jung Yuhan scoffed. Blissfully unaware that his actions made Un Hyang’s expression harden once more.
“Blue Eyes. And Lee Suhyuk. Legends, right? I know. I looked up to them back in the day.”
“And?”
“But a lot of time has passed. The world has changed.”
Speaking as if he knew the absolute truth, Jung Yuhan began to raise his voice.
“Lee Suhyuk is an old hero. He was remarkable in his time, but now there are players far greater than him.”
Time held immense power. Twenty years had dulled Lee Suhyuk’s achievements. In today’s era, many had surpassed his legacy by reaching the 9th floor.
Among these high-rankers was Blue Zone’s guild leader, Kim Ilsoo.
“And you mentioned Blue Zone being the heir to Blue Eyes?”
Jung Yuhan paused dramatically. As if revealing an important secret, he repeatedly made eye contact with Un Hyang before looking around.
But.
“Enough of that act. What is it you actually want?”
Un Hyang had no time for his theatrics. She was deeply connected to Lee Suhyuk’s legacy—not just Blue Zone’s name or title.
For a man infatuated with a woman, secrets didn’t exist.
“This is confidential, but…”
Jung Yuhan hesitated momentarily before continuing.
“Well, whatever. Everyone will find out soon. There’s an article coming out.”
“An article?”
Un Hyang’s ears perked up. At first, she thought he was merely an annoying scout trying to lure Lee Suhyuk. But now, she felt she might hear something far more intriguing.
“Yes. It’s big news related to Blue Eyes.”
“What is it?”
“One of them is alive.”
Them.
His words were laced with hostility. And it soon became clear why.
“They’ve allied with the demons.”
Bang-!
The door to the dormitory slammed shut. Practically thrown out, Jung Yuhan’s face bore a confused expression. Despite laying out his cards, Un Hyang’s reaction hadn’t shifted one bit.
“Yes, I heard you. Oh, look at the time. It’s been more than a minute.”
With that, Un Hyang paid no further attention to Jung Yuhan. She seemed almost angry. Watching her return her focus to Lee Suhyuk’s stream, Jung Yuhan felt a surge of bewilderment.
‘What’s her deal?’
Momentarily forgetting his original mission, he fixated on the image of Un Hyang in his mind.
“She’s… incredibly attractive.”
That Night.
Suhyuk finished his stream of the day.
“It’s quite late.”
Broadcast time: 14 hours.
One hour less than the previous day, but the mental fatigue remained unchanged.
‘Maybe I shouldn’t have had that drink.’
The casual drinking session with Un Hyang had unexpectedly stretched long. Initially, he intended just to have a quick drink before bed, but they ended up drinking more than planned.
Likely due to the topics and atmosphere of their conversation. He could’ve used his magic to purge the alcohol from his system, but this time he didn’t.
For some reason, he wanted to relish the slight intoxication.
– Already at Diamond 2;;
– At this pace, he could reach his goal by tomorrow?
– The speed is insane;
– Is the undefeated run really possible?
Diamond 2.
The rank Suhyuk had reached in two days.
An unimaginably rapid ascent. And this was possible due to Suhyuk’s unique approach to matches.
– He’s breaking the opponent’s spirit at a rate of one per two games, lol.
– Seriously ruthless.
– He relentlessly crushes one lane, lol.
By completely breaking down one lane, he forced opponents to give up on the match. With that gap created, the match quickly concluded. Suhyuk would then destroy the statues and charge the enemy base.
A unilateral and repetitive pattern. Even though his performance was outstanding, not all viewer reactions were positive due to its monotonous nature.
But Suhyuk’s focus wasn’t just on entertaining — he had a goal, and he was relentless in pursuing it.
– It does feel like I’m watching a replay on loop.
– True that.
– But it’s fun when unexpected missions pop up, lol.
– While the pace was rapid, the repeated strategy made some viewers find the stream monotonous.
However, For some reason, the number of viewers hadn’t decreased; instead, it had slightly increased compared to the previous day.
『Viewers: 14,903』
Approximately 15,000 viewers.
As many viewers left due to boredom, new viewers joined. Consequently, the number of subscribers grew faster than before.
‘Subscribers at 60,000.’
Finding out why the viewer count had surged wasn’t difficult.
– I thought it was just good editing, but he’s really that skilled, lol.
– No kidding, the fight against Schneider was real.
– Lee Suhyuk’s challenges are legit in real matches.
Edited videos had started uploading. Seeing the viewers’ reactions, Suhyuk grew curious.
‘What kind of editing did they do…’
He couldn’t check last night because he had streamed and drank until late. It seemed like he should check it out when he returned to the dorm.
“That’s all for today’s stream.”
– Already?
– He’s been on for 14 hours, though.
– Let him go.
– Just tuned in, bummer.
Suhyuk consoled his disappointed viewers with a final remark.
“I’ll be back tomorrow. See you soon.”
– Got it, okay.
– Then it’s acceptable.
– Su-bye~ (short for Suhyuk, bye)
– Su-bye~ (not a curse word)
With those final farewells,
『’Lee Suhyuk’ has ended the stream.』
The second stream from the 4th floor concluded.
Step—.
Dragging his tired body, Suhyuk headed from the trial grounds back to his dorm. Late hour. On his way back to the dorm. The midnight sky was pitch-black, and the streets were silent without a soul.
Except for one person.
“Being a streamer doesn’t seem that easy, huh.”
A man sat on a nearby bench, arms crossed, as if he had been waiting. He stood up and greeted Suhyuk.
“Care for a chat, junior?”
Jung Yuhan.
He waved at Suhyuk.