Chapter 1
Chapter 1
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 1
Chapter Title: Prologue
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Uh-hyuk.
Anyway, the winner is Lee Soo-hyuk.
Uri-hyuk, Bit-hyuk, Dae-hyuk, King-hyuk, etc...
Soo-hyuk had many embarrassing nicknames.
And they were all names praising his brilliant exploits and achievements.
Earth, Murim World, Runeterra, Elfrado, Lukan...
People from countless worlds gathered at the tower. And among them, particularly among the notably lacking Earth players, there was one unrivaled existence.
In the grand competition where players from each world gathered and competed, Lee Soo-hyuk had never once let the championship slip away.
The strongest player.
The hero of Blue Eyes who wrote an undefeated legend.
Yet that legend was now fading away alongside Blue Eyes.
"Damn, I'm gonna die..."
Behind the half-shattered mask.
Soo-hyuk muttered as he leaned against the wall.
Who knew how many spears and swords were embedded in his body. He'd lost so much blood that his mind was starting to blur.
'You bastards...'
Looking around, all he saw were corpses strewn across the floor. Most were the enemies', but some—
'...I told you to run first. Why'd you have to be so stubborn.'
—were his comrades who had climbed the tower with him and crossed the line of death. They were Blue Eyes guild members.
For him, who had ascended the tower alone, they were among the few he could call friends.
Soo-hyuk called their names one by one in his mind.
'Min-jae...'
A corpse with a hole the size of a human head punched through its chest, likely struck directly by magic.
'Su-hun...'
The one whose both arms had been severed, who had died on his knees with eyes wide open—that was his name.
And—
'Ji-young...'
The one who had blocked in front of him and taken the incoming sword strike instead. Blood seeped out over the sword wound etched into the fallen body.
"Who asked you to die like that, you idiots."
Three were dead, and four others were still clinging to life by a thread.
Two of them looked like they could drop dead any second without immediate treatment.
'Can I save them...?'
As Soo-hyuk questioned himself, he shifted his gaze.
From within the mask, he unleashed a gaze filled with murderous intent, glaring at those responsible for all this.
The large coalition formed by players from the Murim World: Murim Alliance.
Prestigious guilds like Namgung Clan, Sacheon Tang Clan, Wudang, and Huashan belonged to it.
Along with numerous other players of unknown affiliation or identity.
But the most loathsome among them was none other than.
'Blue Zone and Kim Il-su.'
Blue Zone guild.
They were longtime allies who had joined the Hydra raid alongside Blue Eyes.
But they hadn't helped Soo-hyuk.
No, far from helping, they had ambushed him when he was poisoned by Hydra's venom and exhausted.
'Planned from the start. If they claim it happened during the raid, no one will suspect.'
Glancing back—
Soo-hyuk turned to the wall he was leaning against.
Hard, black scales.
The boss of the 8th-floor dungeon: the venom dragon Hydra.
Even now, he marveled at how he'd broken through it.
Everyone had said it was impossible.
And they had succeeded mostly thanks to Soo-hyuk and Blue Eyes.
If he made it out alive like this, everyone would say it.
As expected of Lee Soo-hyuk, the Master of Lightning.
But—
Somehow, surviving and returning seemed impossible.
When fatigue got this high, all sorts of problems cropped up.
Reduced resistance to poison was one of them. Damn it all—he needed treatment right now, not rest.
But in this situation, he couldn't even rest, let alone heal.
Clang—
He looked down at the sword gripped in his hand.
More than half of the blade had melted away from the poison.
The remaining half was jagged like a ragged saw.
Letting out a heavy sigh, he glared at those surrounding him with gleaming eyes.
Shock, surprise, relief...
"Why..."
Soo-hyuk locked eyes on one man amid the enemies sending him all sorts of looks.
"Why'd you do it, you son of a bitch."
His voice dripped with rage.
"Answer me, fuck!"
Exhausted and wounded or not, a lion was still a lion. His roar made the players around him hesitate.
Step.
Soon, one man stepped forward through them and responded to Soo-hyuk's question.
"We prepared a lot too."
A kind-looking man.
He was Blue Zone's guild master and Soo-hyuk's old comrade from Blue Eyes: Kim Il-su.
"Figured this was the only way to take you down. But damn, the others weren't pushovers. Tougher than we thought."
He said it with a sly smirk.
And Soo-hyuk couldn't stomach that expression on Kim Il-su's face.
"I'm asking why..."
He was too furious.
Was it the blood from his dying comrades soaking his feet?
Or the groans from his surviving comrades?
The reason didn't matter.
But Kim Il-su didn't answer Soo-hyuk's question.
"Ten years, Soo-hyuk."
As if he'd been waiting forever for this moment, he poured out his own words.
"I've been preparing for this day for ten whole years. So try to understand."
"Kim Il-su."
"Sorry it had to come to this. But don't regret it too much. You'll go down as a hero even in death."
"Haa..."
Soo-hyuk exhaled the breath he'd been deeply suppressing.
There was no reason to hold back anymore.
'Won't even give a reason till the end.'
No matter how he thought about it, it was strange. Blue Eyes and Blue Zone had been long-time allies.
Moreover, wasn't Blue Zone founded by Kim Il-su, who had once been a guildmate? That's why their names were similar.
That's why they had trusted him.
Yet he had shattered that alliance.
What exactly did they gain from betraying Blue Eyes like this?
But two things were certain right now.
First: I'm poisoned.
Second: Survival looks unlikely like this.
'...Won't last long anyway.'
Unlike his grim thoughts, Soo-hyuk didn't show it on the surface.
They didn't know his exact fatigue level. They just vaguely assumed he was a total wreck.
Hydra poison coursing through him, dozens of holes punched in his body—but he wouldn't lose in spirit.
Survival was off the table anyway.
"You know it too, right?"
—But he had no intention of dying quietly.
"Never said it myself, but there's this phrase."
As he spoke, Soo-hyuk glared into Kim Il-su's eyes.
"Uh... hyuk."
—Anyway, the winner is Lee Soo-hyuk.
For a brief moment.
Kim Il-su's eyes trembled, and his foot instinctively stepped back.
That was enough.
Seizing the split-second opening, he accessed his inventory and pulled out one item in a flash.
A large, fan-shaped item gleaming with colorful hues.
"That's—"
Kim Il-su's eyes widened in recognition of the fan.
But it was too late.
"Still any uses left?"
"Plenty left, you bastard!"
Gripping the Feather Fan in one hand, he spat the words rapidly and gritted his teeth.
'Wanted to make it out alive together if possible...'
Exactly four surviving guild members, excluding himself!
"Blow them away, Feather Fan!"
The moment his shout burst forth, a storm raged from all directions, hurling the four guild members off in different directions.
This was a gamble for Soo-hyuk.
No guarantee he could save his critically wounded comrades, but it was the only option.
"Ch-chase them!"
The Namgung Clan head startled and yelled.
Murim Alliance players moved to pursue the directions they'd flown.
But before they could.
"You lot have to play with me."
A voice yanked at their feet.
"You know damn well who's gonna win anyway."
Absurd words.
Look at his state—dozens of spears and swords embedded, Hydra poison slowly devouring his body.
Opponents were top-tier players led by Kim Il-su and Blue Zone.
No matter that it was Lee Soo-hyuk, there was no path to survival.
But for some reason.
That fierce shout didn't feel like mere bravado.
Crackle—!
['Master of Lightning' manifests.]
[Fatigue high.]
['Master of Lightning' duration limited.]
[Fatigue rises to 96.]
As if none of that mattered, Soo-hyuk burned through his last dregs of stamina.
Flash—!
A single bolt of lightning plummeting from the sky.
Miraculously tinged black, it struck down atop Soo-hyuk's head.
The bolt was puny. Normally, when he used this skill, the entire visible area would be engulfed in electricity.
But a difference in size didn't change the skill's essence.
"Master of Lightning!?"
"He still has the strength for that?"
"Crazy bastard..."
The enemies hesitated and fell back, while Soo-hyuk took another step forward.
"None of you are going anywhere."
Battle-ready once more, Soo-hyuk gripped the spear lodged in his abdomen.
Squelch—
The spear that had pierced muscle and torn organs was yanked free.
A burst of pain enough to make him black out, massive bleeding. A message popped up: Fatigue at 97.
But—
"This'll do for a weapon."
Click.
Thud.
Instead, Soo-hyuk ripped off the mask covering his face and bared eyes blazing with fighting spirit.
"Let's take it to the end."
Thus, wielding the spear still slick with his own blood as a weapon.
Soo-hyuk began his final battle.
Boom—!
A consciousness submerged in slumber slowly floated upward.
A drifting soul. Soo-hyuk recalled his final battle before death.
'...About half, I guess.'
He'd figured survival was impossible anyway. So he'd burned his remaining mana and stamina for one last stand.
Half were left.
In other words, half had died by his hand.
Kim Il-su's face was half-melted. He probably wouldn't die, but that scar would never fade.
'Should I be happy about that?'
He felt he'd done well given his state, yet regret lingered.
Especially Kim Il-su—that bastard, he really wanted to take down.
If he hadn't blacked out when fatigue hit 100 at the last moment, it surely would've happened.
'Weird, huh. Dead, but still thinking and all.'
Obviously, it was his first time dying, so the sensation was alien.
His eyes saw nothing. Pure darkness unlike any he'd known since becoming a player with superhuman sight.
His other senses were gone too.
No sound, no touch. All five senses, always razor-sharp, had vanished.
Only one thing remained.
His thoughts, floating adrift somewhere.
'Stuck like this forever? Its own kind of hell...'
Soo-hyuk grimaced.
A foul stench hit him.
Like shoving his nose into an old dumpster.
"Gonna puke... Huh?"
The words slipped out unbidden.
With them, he realized he was frowning.
He had a body.
So why couldn't he see anything?
Sensations trickled back into his hands and feet. Soo-hyuk bolted upright.
And in that instant.
Clunk—
Clang—
The lid covering his head crashed to the floor, revealing the place he'd been in to his eyes.
A dumpster.
Crawling out from within, Soo-hyuk muttered.
"...Is this hell?"