Chapter 94
Half a day.
The time it took for Suhyuk to achieve Challenger and ascend to the next floor.
『You have achieved ‘Challenger’ rank.』
『Strength increases by 2.』
『Agility increases by 2.』
『Focus increases by 3.』
『Stamina increases by 2.』
『Magic increases by 1.』
『You have completed the trial of the 5th floor.』
『All stats increase by 2.』
A total of 20 stat points.
It felt like his limits had been raised significantly. There was no other place where one could gain such a high number of stat points in an instant.
A trial dedicated to securing stats. He thought that if Jung Yuhan had come a day later, the fight would have been much easier.
– Cleared in 3 days ㄷㄷㄷ (amazing)
– He’s insanely fast
– Safety first LOL LOL
– The mission was completed.
Originally a long-term mission that was supposed to be completed within a month, Suhyuk shortened the time to one-tenth.
There were two reasons it was possible. The first was that Suhyuk’s matches ended very quickly. And the second was that he gained an excessively high number of points in each match due to the difference in rank.
『Mission completed.』
『You have received 20,000 points from ‘MissionVillain’.』
『Mission completed.』
『You have received 20,000 points from ‘IloveLeeSuhyuk’.』
『Mission completed.』
『You have received 10,000 points from ‘NeverGiveUp’.』
『…』
『Mission completed.』
『You have received 100,000 points from ‘SafeAsset’.』
A string of mission completion notifications appeared.
Seeing the accumulated amount, even Suhyuk, who wasn’t easily surprised, was taken aback by the sum.
The 100,000 points in the last notification stood out the most.
‘How much is all this?’
Just as he was mentally calculating,
『You are moving to the 5th floor.』
Along with the message, his body was enveloped in light once again.
Whirr-!
His vision flickered, and the scenery around him changed. For a moment, he felt his body float and disappear, and then reappear, as his sight returned.
Colors filled the surroundings, and he stepped into another world.
Low-rise buildings. The streets were lined with stalls selling herbs, spices, and silk, with warriors wielding swords roaming around. The delectable scents of dumplings and sweets made his stomach growl almost instantly.
A familiar sight.
Suhyuk remembered spending quite a long time here. But now, it felt like walking into the jaws of a giant monster.
‘I’ve made it this far.’
The 5th floor.
Many people referred to this world as:
Murim (武林).
***
The stream ended early. Originally, there was no plan to stream today. Yet, Suhyuk started the stream out of sheer impatience.
His eyelids felt heavy. Feeling more fatigued than ever, Suhyuk trudged along with heavy steps.
‘Maybe I overdid it.’
He had used quite a lot of lightning during the fight with Jung Yuhan. Even with Selfish Sacrifice and the Heart of Lightning, using so much lightning in reality took its toll.
His fatigue was high, and his muscles were screaming for a rest. To be ready for tomorrow’s stream, he needed to rest now.
Thunk.
After walking for a while, he arrived at the location transmitted by Balhae through the kit—a grand guesthouse with a tiled roof.
Named Nebula Inn (星雲客棧), it was the most expensive guesthouse in the vicinity.
And in front of it, “Good evening! I’m Cheon Ryang, your manager for the day, Lee Suhyuk-nim.”
It wasn’t Un Hyang waiting for him, but someone else.
“My manager?”
“Yes. Un Hyang will probably arrive tomorrow. It takes some time to get here.”
Unless it was through completing a trial, moving between floors took a considerable amount of time. It seemed they sent another manager to bridge the time gap.
“Let’s get inside first. Or would you like to eat first?”
Now that he mentioned it, he was hungry. He had skipped breakfast and had used a lot of concentration taking the trials.
“Alright.”
“Is there any food you prefer? If not, I can recommend something since I’m from around here.”
“Sounds good.”
Being a player from the Murim realm wasn’t particularly surprising. His appearance, accent, and clothing made it clear.
‘Come to think of it, so is Un Hyang…’
He vaguely recalled hearing about it. She had started working as a manager following a friend who was in Balhae.
Cheon Ryang guided Suhyuk to the restaurant on the first floor of the guesthouse. The dishes he ordered were mainly fish and soup.
After placing the order, Cheon Ryang turned to Suhyuk.
“The fish dishes here are extraordinary. You’ll be amazed when you taste them.”
“I’m looking forward to it.”
“By the way, I should mention that I’m a big fan of your streams, Lee Suhyuk-nim. I’ve been following since day one with Un Hyang.”
Un Hyang might not be particularly quiet, but Cheon Ryang was exceptionally talkative. As Suhyuk blew on his tea, he found himself listening to Cheon Ryang’s work stories.
Fortunately, ‘He’s an interesting person.’
It turned out Cheon Ryang’s stories were quite amusing. Not only because the topic was about the streaming industry, which Suhyuk found intriguing, but also because Cheon Ryang had a natural knack for storytelling.
While waiting for the meal, Cheon Ryang chatted away, and Suhyuk chimed in occasionally. Then, suddenly,
‘Come to think of it…’
The situation itself felt unfamiliar to Suhyuk.
‘This is probably the third time I’ve had such a long conversation with someone.’
The first time was with Un Hyang. The second was with Schneider. But with Schneider, it was purely a conversation driven by mutual interests. In a personal context, Un Hyang was really the only one he had shared such a conversation with.
Suhyuk looked at Cheon Ryang’s face.
In that instant. A certain wicked thought crossed Suhyuk’s mind. Soon, the food was served.
Clink—.
As he picked up his chopsticks, Suhyuk asked his first question.
“You said you’re friends with the other manager?”
“Un Hyang? Yeah, we’re friends.”
Cheon Ryang nodded, his gaze fixed on the steaming fish stew.
“Since when?”
“How long has it been now? We’ve been sticking together like glue since we were this high. Back then, she was taller than me.”
Their relationship went back a lot further than Suhyuk had expected. The height Cheon Ryang indicated with his hand was that of a very small child.
Well, ‘She did say she was a fan of mine 20 years ago.’
It made sense that she was older than she appeared. Exceptional players no longer aged, making it meaningless to guess their age by their appearance.
But that wasn’t what Suhyuk was curious about.
“What kind of…”
Hesitating for a moment, Suhyuk continued.
“What kind of person was she?”
“Un Hyang?”
Cheon Ryang’s expression subtly changed. He seemed hesitant to answer. Eventually, he set down his chopsticks and asked.
“Why do you ask?”
“She saved me yesterday.”
Suhyuk recounted how Un Hyang had taken down Jung Yuhan with a single move.
“She’s definitely not an ordinary person. Not by a long shot.”
Un Hyang’s prowess was anything but ordinary. If she started as a ranker, it would certainly cause a stir. And there was another thing.
“With her looks and skills, she could have been a successful streamer herself, don’t you think?”
Un Hyang was very pretty.
Exceptionally so.
Even just being beautiful could guarantee a successful stream. With Un Hyang’s level of skill, it wouldn’t be surprising if she quickly amassed tens of thousands of subscribers.
Both Un Hyang and Balhae Entertainment must know this. Understanding Suhyuk’s point, Cheon Ryang chuckled.
“That’s a streamer’s perspective.”
“I am a streamer, after all.”
“Is that so? From my point of view, it seems like you’ve just dipped a toe in the water.”
This time, it was Suhyuk’s turn to pause with his chopsticks.
“Your heart is always elsewhere. Isn’t it?”
The comment hit home. To Suhyuk, being a streamer was a tool for revenge. It was like a whetstone to sharpen his blade.
Cheon Ryang’s remark about him just dipping a toe in the water, though blunt, wasn’t entirely wrong.
‘He’s perceptive, just like John Dale.’
More insightful than he had expected. Though he had a witty demeanor, Cheon Ryang was far from lightweight. Cheon Ryang seemed to deliberate.
“If that’s the reason…”
By the time the steam was starting to fade from the food,
“That…”
“No, it’s alright.”
Just as Cheon Ryang began to speak, Suhyuk stopped him.
“It’s better to hear it from her directly. Seeing you hesitate makes it even clearer that I should.”
To understand what kind of person Un Hyang was, and why she insisted on being a manager despite her skills.
Being curious but hearing it from someone else’s mouth rather than directly from the person herself was indeed discourteous. If she chose not to speak, waiting until she was ready was the right thing to do.
And Suhyuk’s words brought a smile to Cheon Ryang’s face.
“Hehe—”
“I wasn’t planning to tell you anyway.”
Cheon Ryang resumed eating with his chopsticks.
“It won’t take long, either way.”
“What do you mean?”
“You’ll hear it directly. Or you’ll find out.”
While the part about hearing it directly made sense, the part about finding out was vague. Cheon Ryang’s words were unclear and somewhat ambiguous.
It seemed like Cheon Ryang had no intention of continuing the same topic, as he shifted the conversation while munching on the fish dish.
“By the way, the lower floors are quite noisy right now because of that. The clearing got trashed in yesterday’s fight.”
The confrontation between Suhyuk and Jung Yuhan had left the clearing in ruins. Jung Yuhan’s skill blocked sound and presence, but not the aftermath of the battle.
“That’s for them to handle. Should we be worried about it?”
Suhyuk didn’t see it as a big deal.
Even if this incident got out, it would harm Blue Zone more than him. In fact, it might even tarnish Blue Zone’s image, which wouldn’t be a bad thing for him.
Of course, there was no way this incident would leak.
‘Fights between players happen often. Even if it gets out, they’ll make sure to cover it up.’
The events on the 4th floor were no longer his concern. John Dale had concluded negotiations, and his job now was to keep moving upwards.
Seeing Suhyuk’s reaction, Cheon Ryang didn’t bring up the matter again. There was no point dwelling on something the streamer wasn’t concerned about.
There was something else to discuss.
Cheon Ryang asked, “Do you have any content in mind for this time?”
Content. It was the biggest concern for streamers. Repeating the same stream wouldn’t satisfy the viewers. While high-ranking players had some leeway, on the 5th floor, something distinctive was necessary.
However, Suhyuk had no intention of wasting time on content.
“I don’t have anything special in mind, but…”
So, with Suhyuk feeling pressed for time, there was only one type of content he could consider.
“How about ‘Marathon’?”
TL’s Corner:
Marathon!!!!
The term used is 켠김에 왕까지, which has the literal translation is “To go all the way to the king.”
The meaning is:
켠왕 is a Korean acronym made from the TV show “켠김에 왕까지”
켠 is the verb 켜다 meaning “turn on” (e.g.
“turn on a stream”)
켠 김에 is 켜다 + ~(는) 김에. ~(는) 김에 means “while doing …”
Therefore 켠 김에 means “while you are streaming”, “while you are at it”
왕까지 is 왕 + 까지 which means “until king” or in a game context “until final boss”
Therefore 켠 김에 왕까지 means “streaming until reaching the final boss”
source: /questions/7257065
I chose to translate it to marathon, since he won’t be stopping until he reaches the final boss.