Chapter 178
Chapter 178
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 178
Chapter Title: Worries Before the Trial
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The next day.
Fortunately, unlike his worries, Unhyang was full of spirit.
"I told you I have no interest, so get out already. We're busy preparing for the stream."
This was already the umpteenth time guild scouts had come looking for Soo-hyuk.
As she chased them off, Unhyang grinned while veins bulged on her fists.
"Not leaving? One... two..."
The guild scouts were no pushovers, one and all. Some among them were rankers or close to it.
But that didn't faze Unhyang in the slightest.
Bam-!
Regardless, she kicked the scouts who hadn't budged an inch.
No player capable of getting past her to reach Soo-hyuk would stoop to being a mere scout in the first place.
Cheongryang, watching from a step behind, spoke up.
"Did the Heavenly Demon really come by yesterday?"
Her expression was unusually grave.
Soo-hyuk sensed Cheongryang's reaction wasn't just because of the name Heavenly Demon.
"Seemed like he took an interest in me."
"Because of Lightning?"
"That too, probably. And because I'm that impressive."
It was a rather obnoxious thing to say, but Soo-hyuk believed it was the truth. There was no other reason for the man to seek him out.
But Cheongryang's follow-up question was unexpected.
Lowering her voice so Unhyang wouldn't hear, she asked,
"...You're sure he came for you and not Unhyang?"
Soo-hyuk's eyes narrowed at the question.
'So that's not the whole story from back then.'
Unhyang's past, revealed after the Thunder Sword's attack.
Cheongryang had claimed that was everything, but apparently not.
Still, he couldn't press her on why she'd held back. He'd decided just yesterday to wait for Unhyang to bring it up herself first.
"Yes. I'm certain."
"Well, then..."
Cheongryang wore a conflicted expression, unsure if it was good or bad.
Meanwhile, Unhyang brushed the dust off her hands after sending the scouts packing and returned to Soo-hyuk and Cheongryang.
"Flies are swarming lately, huh?"
"Can't be helped. Soo-hyuk's value has shot up that much."
Unhyang shot her a look that said, 'I wasn't asking you.'
Normally, Cheongryang might have backed off from Unhyang's growling glare, but she had a grievance.
"Why'd you go have fun without me yesterday?"
"Why drag you to a place that pricey?"
"What about Soo-hyuk?"
"You and Soo-hyuk the same?"
"Hey! We've been friends for years, and now..."
"Quit gambling, idiot."
They bickered like that for a while before Unhyang noticed Soo-hyuk donning his mask and asked,
"Oh, by the way, you okay?"
"With what?"
"Yesterday. You showed that guy your real face."
Unhyang referred to the Heavenly Demon as "that guy."
He wondered if she hesitated to even say the name, but he answered her question.
"He'd recognize me with or without the mask. That's the caliber of person he is."
'Just like before.'
In his previous life, Jin Ha-ryeong had seen through him even without the mask. The man could intuitively perceive the essence of a person, beyond mere faces or disguises.
Something only the Heavenly Demon could do.
Showing his face to someone the mask wouldn't fool anyway wasn't an issue.
"Besides, he's not the type to go blabbing about what I look like."
"You know him well?"
"No, not really..."
Searching for an excuse, Soo-hyuk quickly added,
"He's just that famous. Public enemy to all players. The strongest and worst of them."
In truth, everyone knew of the Heavenly Demon. He was an object of hatred not just in Murim but among all players in the tower.
The easiest answer to come up with on the spot.
But Unhyang's expression soured at his words.
"Yeah... figures."
"...?"
Soo-hyuk looked puzzled at her reaction.
Sensing the sudden dip in mood, Unhyang quickly reverted to her usual face.
"Anyway, let's get the stream started. Viewers are waiting."
After Soo-hyuk left for the trial.
Unhyang and Cheongryang sat facing each other at the table for monitoring.
Unlike when Soo-hyuk was there, shadows clouded Unhyang's face. Cheongryang sighed at her expression.
"See? Why go without me?"
"Is this about that?"
"Tch. Still got a mouth on you."
He tried lightening the mood with banter, but it wasn't that simple.
Crunch. Cheongryang popped a candy between her teeth and asked,
"How about we run again now?"
It had been some time since they fled Shinryeonseong. But their location was fully known to them now.
Staying put would surely bring Uncheon-geuk knocking again.
But.
"No."
Even knowing that, Unhyang's answer didn't change.
"Because of streamer Lee Soo-hyuk?"
"Obviously."
"You don't have some sense of duty for this. Don't tell me it's fan love? If that's it, you're really insane..."
Cheongryang clamped her mouth shut after blurting out harsh words in frustration.
"...Forget I said that. Anyway, quit being stubborn."
"Ryang-ah."
At Unhyang's soft call of her name, Cheongryang's eyes trembled.
Again.
Whenever she called her name so gently, Cheongryang couldn't push her anymore.
"I'm really the happiest I've ever been lately."
"Happy?"
"Yeah. For real."
Cheongryang thought back. Had Unhyang ever said something like that?
No need to ponder long. It was the first time.
"Makes sense? Got a streamer who made enemies of all Murim for my sake. A friend who worries about me before herself. I've got so much now, I feel like I have to be happy."
"...I'm anxious."
"Don't worry too much. I'm not going back."
Unhyang reassured her, making clear it wasn't resignation but resolve.
"And I'll protect you both. No matter what."
In that moment, Cheongryang realized Unhyang had made up her mind.
Right then, she was not just a streamer's manager but a martial artist once more.
The genius who retired from Murim had returned.
'What about me...'
'What can I do?'
In front of the trial gate to the 8th floor.
Soo-hyuk paused before the towering portal piercing the sky, Unhyang's face coming to mind.
'Hope she's okay.'
She'd seemed precarious somehow.
She'd been holding up fine before meeting the Heavenly Demon, but his appearance had clearly shaken her.
Uncheon-geuk and Shinryeonseong were daunting enough foes. But if the Heavenly Demon got involved, it changed everything.
He was a giant who could make a group like Shinryeonseong feel like children.
'...No point dwelling on it.'
Soo-hyuk shook his head.
Most of his worries boiled down to one thing: his own lack of strength.
Shinryeonseong, Lee Hyo-min, Heavenly Demon, Kim Il-su, Blue Zone...
These problems couldn't be solved without more power.
Right.
As Jin Ha-ryeong had said, he was just a fledgling sparrow now.
What he needed to do now was simple.
Climb higher, faster.
-1st
-111111
-Suhyuk~
-Fast as always lololol
-Missed you so much~
Viewers flooded in right after the stream began.
His subscribers had grown, and the stream now rivaled major streamers in scale.
From thousands to ten thousand.
Once viewers gathered in minutes, he kicked off properly.
"Hey everyone, been a while."
-Wasn't it recent?
-Stop slacking on streams?
--_-
-You've changed!!!
"Oh, right."
Even on tournament day, he'd called it "been a while." He hadn't meant to skip, but viewers weren't the understanding type.
The first donation of the stream today.
"Was a bit tired. Ran nonstop prepping for the tournament. But results were good thanks to it."
-Agreed
-Yeah x2
-Totally
-Was awesome lolol
Everything proved itself in results. This break too.
If qualifiers had flopped, the backlash would've been huge, but most viewers were satisfied with Soo-hyuk's achievements.
"Speaking of which."
"Forgot to settle up before logging off last time."
Misc missions including the big Safe Asset one.
He'd rushed off chasing Hwang Gyu-seong and ended the stream without claiming the piled-up donations.
-Whoa how much is that
-Money-hyuk forgets this?
-SafeAsset sobbing lololol
The amount was staggering. Hard to believe he'd overlooked it.
He must've been tunnel-visioned back then.
A barrage of message windows.
And as the alarms ended, a familiar nickname popped up again.
-lololololol
-Just two letters lololol
-Laughter explosion lololol
He'd lost the bet with Soo-hyuk again. Never won once, stakes kept rising, but he persisted.
Soo-hyuk had pegged him as reckless at first.
True to SafeAsset, absurd missions every time. Time to quit, surely.
'What does this guy even do?'
But that sum made dismissing him as mere foolhardy tough.
Million points on a single mission? How many could drop that casually?
"Thanks for the 10 points, SafeAsset."
Soo-hyuk teased him deliberately. SafeAsset replied with another curse donation.
Words aside, he was grateful. To him and every viewer who'd donated via missions.
Without them, amassing this much would've taken far longer.
Points ballooned geometrically per level.
And as it devoured them, Selfish Sacrifice grew ever more potent.
'One more step.'
The better he wielded Lightning, the stronger its backup needed to be. Step by step, he'd close in.
On Kim Il-su. And on Hyo-min, held by him.