Chapter 101
Chapter 101
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 101
Chapter Title: Reinhardt's Grief
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Whoosh, roar—.
A fierce blaze rose higher than eye level.
Watching his son burn to charcoal within it, Reinhardt wore an expressionless face.
It wasn't that he didn't feel sad.
He simply couldn't grasp the reality of it.
"My goal is to catch up to you, Father."
Isaac.
His one and only son.
The boy who had left his side vowing to become a great Player had returned as a corpse.
"Wait for me. In twenty years, I'll surpass you."
That same confident kid.
A kid with more than enough talent to back it up...
Drip—.
Tears finally fell from Reinhardt's stoic eyes. A few Players he was acquainted with tried to approach to comfort him, but they were stopped.
He needed time alone.
"Isaac..."
It was utterly incomprehensible.
Why had his son returned in such a state?
When contact had suddenly been cut off, he'd brushed it off. Isaac had never been the type to keep in touch often; he wasn't particularly affectionate.
But in that time, Isaac had become a cold corpse.
"Has the culprit been identified?"
At Reinhardt's question, John, a Player from Golden Castle Guild, approached.
"I'm sorry. Not yet..."
"Why not?"
"No traces. Can't even tell if it was burns or a blade. The work looks professional."
"Professional?"
"Yes. Doesn't seem like a simple brawl..."
John trailed off, unable to finish. Saying more would mean implying it was someone with a grudge against Reinhardt—and that was no way to speak to a father who had lost his child.
Unfortunately, Reinhardt was quick on the uptake. He caught what John meant and nodded.
"I see. That could be it."
"Reinhardt."
"But don't focus solely on that angle. Investigate every possibility."
"...Understood."
John nodded.
He couldn't bring himself to say it. That it was most likely revenge from a Player with a grudge against Reinhardt.
Uttering those words might burden Reinhardt with guilt for life.
John bowed and left him to his solitude.
By the time the corpse had fully burned.
As the flames consuming his son gradually died down, Reinhardt had one thought.
'A grudge...'
Who could harbor one against him?
Plenty came to mind. To climb to his current position, he'd beheaded and crushed countless foes.
But Isaac was different.
A child just starting to climb the Tower wouldn't have accrued that level of enmity.
Then, a memory flashed through Reinhardt's mind.
"...Lee Soo-hyuk."
Isaac had mentioned it once.
"There's this guy here named Lee Soo-hyuk."
"Lee Soo-hyuk? What a jinxed name."
"Just the name. His skills are total trash. Total loser personality too."
"Bully him moderately. Don't make noise in Naju."
"Sure thing."
He'd thought it a trivial conversation, but because Isaac had brought up that name?
For some reason, the memory kept resurfacing.
'No way...'
Swish—.
Reinhardt pulled a kit from his pocket.
Lee Soo-hyuk was currently broadcasting.
Rescue.
A straightforward title.
Rescue connected to Valkyrie Viola's request. It seemed the other two Valkyries were in danger.
Crackle, crackle—.
Soo-hyuk gazed at the small campfire flickering inside the cave.
Exhausted from fleeing, Viola had healed Vigo and immediately fallen asleep. Whatever they did next, they needed to recover stamina first.
'Muspelheim, huh...'
How many enemies were there?
Viola had dodged giving a detailed answer.
Whether she saw no need to tell or simply didn't want to, he couldn't say.
Soo-hyuk didn't press further.
No rush.
No matter how many enemies, Viola's top priority was rescuing the other Valkyries. Nothing else could happen until that was done.
'Was a bit worried about the stream...'
Soo-hyuk smirked at the changed broadcast title.
'Good thing.'
Unhyang's title sense shone through.
It clearly separated rest time from trial segments and eased the pressure to interact.
Thanks to that, he could think deeply and rest without minding the viewers.
'Muspelheim.'
He'd only heard about them in stories.
A group led by the giant Surtr, forming a massive world of their own. A force standing in direct opposition to Asgard.
To think he'd already encounter Muspelheim's demons, alongside the Valkyries.
Of course, under normal circumstances, he might not have crossed paths...
'Can't just pass it by.'
Thunder's Heart was here.
And in his hand was the empty heart from the Thunder Cave reward, like a tin can.
Too good to miss. No, he couldn't miss it.
Just climbing wouldn't cut it. Like getting the Lightning Heart beyond expectations in the 2nd floor trial, he had to exceed his best.
That was his role, and the picture viewers craved.
Clink—.
Soo-hyuk pulled out a pendant and gripped it.
A round, crude pendant.
The new reward: 'Warrior's Pendant'.
The viewers, quiet along with the calm atmosphere, reacted.
Checking new items was always fun content.
Perfect timing, thanks to Unhyang's title change, for quiet appreciation.
An item boosting stats by 4 total.
High utility, easy to wear as an accessory.
Positive viewer feedback.
Especially the stamina option pleased him.
'Perfect timing.'
He'd been needing a stamina booster. With that as his short-term goal, the Warrior's Pendant was spot-on.
Clink—.
He rehung the pendant around his neck.
Soo-hyuk slowly closed his eyes to sleep.
The next day.
"Thank you."
As they packed, Viola suddenly spoke.
"For helping."
Soo-hyuk had agreed to aid the Valkyrie rescue. It was the natural progression for Stage 2.
His skill was already proven by felling Vigo.
No, more than proven.
Vigo had gone down in one punch.
"Didn't you say my power is connected to you all?"
Accepting thanks passively wasn't just pure goodwill.
Soo-hyuk had his reasons.
"So, we travel together. To learn more about this."
Stage rewards mattered too.
But more crucially, the true nature of lightning.
"The first legend says lightning was used to exterminate giants."
"The second: gods and giants fought over lightning."
The two legends about lightning from Pelius.
Outlandish tales. But as time passed, they felt less like fiction.
Even now.
Asgard had sent Valkyries to hide Thunder's Heart, defying system constraints.
Muspelheim had dispatched demons to claim it.
Gods, demons, giants.
All coveted this power.
Pelius had called Thunder's Heart a weapon made for humans to fight them.
'What defeated me was lightning.'
Soo-hyuk didn't believe Kim Il-su had beaten him.
Lightning had killed him. His failure to master it was the true cause of death.
This time had to be different.
And for that...
"Not sure if I should say this..."
As Soo-hyuk pondered the trial ahead.
Vigo spoke up, his face and voice full of dissatisfaction.
"Honestly, I don't get it."
"What?"
"Why you're helping us."
Doubt lingered in Vigo's eyes.
"No reason to, right? To help us."
"Could be."
"Even if it might kill you?"
His words grew curt. Suspicion seeped in.
Soo-hyuk sighed.
Rewards would come automatically after Stage 2. But Vigo had no way of knowing.
So.
"Then let's make a deal."
Glancing around, Soo-hyuk pointed at something that had caught his eye since yesterday.
"How about that?"
"Pardon?"
Viola was startled as Soo-hyuk indicated her sword.
"My sword?"
"Yeah. That's a holy sword, right?"
"Yes. But how did you..."
"Obvious at a glance."
I've shattered a few holy swords myself.
Soo-hyuk swallowed the rest. Among all Tower Players, few had handled more holy swords than him.
To wield lightning, he'd gripped and shattered countless due to durability loss.
Now he could tell a holy sword from a regular one instantly.
"Even so, that's—"
"Vigo."
Viola stopped Vigo, who was veining his neck and glaring.
"It's fine."
"But Lady Viola."
"Take it. If it means saving my comrades safely."
He didn't know how vital a holy sword was to a Valkyrie. But to most swordsmen, a blade was as precious as a limb.
Yet Viola valued her comrades more.
Viola's expression sparked the heated reactions.
But what could he do? They needed a reason to trust first.
'One more reason to rescue the Valkyries.'
Time to switch swords anyway.
A Valkyrie's blade wouldn't be ordinary.
For wielding lightning, Soo-hyuk needed stamina—and a holy sword was essential.
But.
'Holy swords ain't cheap.'
Unlike unstable demon swords, holy swords fetched premium prices.
With his perpetually broke point balance, buying one was impossible.
Now, this trial offered the chance.
Soo-hyuk grinned beneath his mask.
'Jackpot.'