Chapter 149
Chapter 149
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 149
Chapter Title: Stats Fall Short
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"The stats are falling short."
At Hawk's Eye's words, Big Mouth immediately shot back.
"Is there a particular reason you think that?"
His voice carried a hint of intrigue.
This was probably what Big Mouth was hoping for from this collab stream.
Unlike viewers just looking for spectacle and entertainment, he was the type to break down and analyze someone's playstyle.
"Look here. Lee Soo-hyuk is stepping back a few paces, right?"
"Is he?"
"Let me rewind the footage a bit. Keep an eye on both of their foot positions."
Hawk's Eye slowly rewound the video so Big Mouth and the viewers could see clearly.
Comparing a few minutes ago to now, their foot positions were definitely different.
Hawk's Eye's observation was spot on.
At a glance, the two seemed evenly matched, but in reality, Lee Soo-hyuk was gradually being pushed back.
He wasn't advancing and was opting for defense, retreating one step at a time.
"It's the obvious outcome. Overall, Lee Soo-hyuk is lacking in every aspect."
The viewers were understandably baffled by Hawk's Eye's explanation.
From the first review up to now, he'd been praising Lee Soo-hyuk non-stop.
The other streamers had done the same, but Hawk's Eye was a special case. He was famous for his sharp tongue from the start.
And now.
For the first time, he was criticizing Lee Soo-hyuk.
"Guys, we have to call out the facts. I told you, I've never been a fanboy?"
Ignoring the teasing from the viewers, Hawk's Eye continued the review.
"First, weapon skills. That's obvious. His opponent is Brunhilde, right? The leader of the Valkyries, who's wielded weapons for hundreds, thousands of years. How do you beat that with control alone? Even clashing blades with her is impressive."
Lee Soo-hyuk's control was already beyond praise.
Not just his handling of lightning, but every weapon technique, hand movement, and footwork had been art since his first broadcast.
"The problem is the stats. To me, it looks like he was trying to fight while conserving his lightning a bit?"
"Why's that?"
Maybe because it involved lightning? Big Mouth, who had been quietly listening, suddenly showed keen interest.
"Obvious. Everyone knows lightning drains stamina heavily. You can't keep spamming it forever, right?"
"True."
"So at first, he tried clashing while keeping lightning output at a level that wouldn't strain him."
But the result was as shown in the video.
Lee Soo-hyuk started getting pushed back bit by bit, then ramped up the lightning output to overpower Brunhilde.
"But that didn't work. He used lightning sparingly at first, then eventually pushed through with raw power."
The moment massive lightning burst from Lee Soo-hyuk's sword, Hawk's Eye paused the video.
"This fight deviated from Lee Soo-hyuk's initial plan. That's why it's disappointing."
"So that's what you meant by the stats falling short."
"Yes. It's only natural, really. Given how fast he climbed the tower, he probably hasn't invested time in separate leveling."
"No need to put it that harshly."
Hawk's Eye shook his head.
"Handling lightning skillfully is part of Lee Soo-hyuk's ability. In fact, that's his signature specialty that we all know."
Feeling the stream flowing smoothly, Hawk's Eye grinned.
He resumed the paused video and addressed the recent donor.
"Good point. That's exactly what I was about to highlight."
Anyone who'd watched Lee Soo-hyuk's live stream knew.
Where the highlight of this broadcast would be.
It was a scene any long-time fan would remember.
"Right here!"
Click.
It was the moment looking up at the tall spire.
Hawk's Eye paused the video dramatically.
"Lots of you remember this scene. You know, right? The interworld match between Pantera and Earth about 25 years ago."
For anyone who might not recall, Hawk's Eye played prepared footage.
"This is the first video you see at the Lee Soo-hyuk Memorial Hall. Riding lightning, raining it down from the sky—that battle."
"I remember it too. That's probably when Lee Soo-hyuk rose to an unrivaled position among players."
"No choice. It was shocking. Beyond belief."
Gliding through the sky on lightning, unleashing bolts—it evoked Zeus himself. The original Lee Soo-hyuk's match back then.
The fight lasted just 3 minutes.
Pantera's players, who tried fleeing or blocking, were wiped out before they could endure.
"Here's his interview from back then."
The feat of flying on lightning.
Lee Soo-hyuk had shown similar scenes a few times after, but nothing as groundbreaking as in Pantera.
The reason was in the interview.
Difficult and inefficient.
Not everyone, but many treated Lee Soo-hyuk's words as gospel. Even those who wouldn't believe streamer Lee Soo-hyuk had to accept the original's.
It was the expected, anticipated question.
Hawk's Eye beamed as he answered.
"Exactly, that's what you'd think! Of course. Flight skills are rare, but is it worth all the fuss?"
Flight-related skills were rare. But not impossibly so.
In that sense, Lee Soo-hyuk's sky flight might not seem that impressive.
But.
"Lightning isn't a flight skill to begin with, is it?"
Half the viewers got it, half didn't.
Hawk's Eye elaborated.
"Think about it. You acquire a fire skill. Can you use it for movement? Or attack with a flight skill?"
"Exactly. Now you get why Lee Soo-hyuk called it hard? He's using a skill of a completely different nature in an entirely novel way."
Even as he explained, Hawk's Eye was still amazed.
Anyone else, maybe not—but Lee Soo-hyuk was the top player.
"I saw you say in a video once."
During the review, Big Mouth asked in an intrigued tone.
"That purely in terms of talent, he's better than the original."
"Yeah, I did."
"Still think so?"
At Big Mouth's question, Hawk's Eye's eyes sparkled briefly.
This single question showed why Big Mouth was the top issue-focused streamer.
He knew better than anyone what the public craved.
And in this content, it was the comparison between the two geniuses sharing the name Lee Soo-hyuk.
"Isn't it obvious?"
And one more thing.
"So, do you think streamer Lee Soo-hyuk can shine in the next interworld match?"
The interworld match.
The grand festival of top players where streamer Lee Soo-hyuk would participate.
"Perfect timing for my final verdict."
"The verdict?"
"Yeah. It ties in too well with that question."
Ding.
With that, Hawk's Eye paused the playing video.
Right after Soo-hyuk rode lightning up the spire, defeated the enemy, and rescued Viola.
Just as the stream's highlight was about to begin.
The viewers, immersed in the footage, naturally rebelled. With Big Mouth's collab, viewership had surpassed 50,000.
"Full video's on Lee Soo-hyuk streamer's channel. Edited version too."
It was a predictable routine by now.
Hawk's Eye's stream doubled as promotion for Lee Soo-hyuk's.
Viewers who hadn't watched would surely give in to curiosity.
Grumbling chats flooded in, but Hawk's Eye pressed on with his final verdict regardless.
"Performance in the interworld match? No one can predict it. It's our festival, but the stars are all rankers."
Hawk's Eye's take mirrored public opinion.
Rankers vs. non-rankers.
They seemed worlds apart.
"But as the original Lee Soo-hyuk review specialist..."
"His lightning control is perfect. Beyond belief. Expecting more from his other controls is unreasonable."
As if he'd prepared his lines, Hawk's Eye continued fluidly.
"He won't look totally pathetic. Personally, I think streamer Lee Soo-hyuk's skill rivals most rankers."
Won't look totally pathetic.
That alone was high praise. No matter the talent, Lee Soo-hyuk was just a quasi-ranker fresh on floor 7.
But.
"Still, the physical gap is unavoidable. Yeah, stats."
The issue remained stats.
For some reason, he handled the stamina-draining lightning effortlessly, but he lagged behind other rankers in raw stats.
"Time will fix it, of course. But not right now. So, mid-tier performance. That's my prediction."
"If..."
Even Big Mouth hesitated, knowing it was a far-fetched hypothetical.
"What if he miraculously overcomes it by then?"
"A miracle?"
"Yeah. Miracles happen sometimes."
Hawk's Eye nearly reflexively said no such thing happens, but closed his mouth.
Normally, yes—but not now.
In a corner of his mind, faintly.
He sensed that tiny miracle twinkling.
'A miracle...'
The reason was simple.
Because he was Lee Soo-hyuk.
"If that miracle truly happens..."
His very existence was a miracle.
He'd shown such flawless form, it felt like the real Lee Soo-hyuk reincarnated.
If he.
Truly overcame his one fatal flaw.
"Then we can't call him fake Soo-hyuk anymore."
Preliminaries wouldn't even be an issue then.