Chapter 19
Chapter 19
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 19
Chapter Title: Frenzy and Jealousy
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"Kyaaak! I sent it, I sent it! What do I do!"
John Tail's room.
That is, in the management team leader's office, Unhyang was screaming and jumping around wildly.
As if she'd completely forgotten where she was and who was around her.
"Hey, Unhyang. Calm down. Calm down a bit..."
"Keep this up and you'll wreck the team leader's office!"
John Tail shouted, staring at the deeply cracked walls of the team leader's office.
Just moments ago.
Unhyang, after sending a DM to streamer Lee Soo-hyuk, had punched the wall and caused the cracks.
"Hey, you! What love letter did you send? Why are you making such a huge fuss?"
"Kyaaak!"
"Damn it! Hey, try to stop her. The office is gonna get smashed!"
"What am I supposed to do to stop her? Even if there were a hundred of me and the team leader, we couldn't!"
Unhyang had once been a promising star of the Murim World. She was no mere entertainment company employee—she was someone even rankers from major guilds would struggle to restrain.
"Why is someone like that working as a manager..."
In the end, John Tail had no choice but to watch her rampage for a while.
After the dust from the cracked walls finally settled...
Unhyang calmed down.
John Tail sighed and checked the reactions on the Players community.
Lightning's symbolism was powerful.
The skill that defined Lee Soo-hyuk. If one could just obtain it, stardom was guaranteed both as a streamer and a player.
That was why numerous streamers and guilds alike were desperate for it.
And yet.
'No wonder no one got it. It was this.'
Defeat the Giant Tribe chieftain.
No one had even dreamed of attempting it.
But even now that the method was revealed, no one would dare challenge it.
This was a trial only Lee Soo-hyuk could pass.
No.
'Only Lee Soo-hyuks could pass it.'
John Tail had a gut feeling.
'This guy's gonna make it big.'
No one else would obtain Lightning in the future. And that meant no one could steal his character from him.
For streamers, it all came down to character.
And the symbolism of 'Lightning' was the ultimate item for building one.
Of course.
'Only if he keeps delivering like this.'
Not all reactions were positive.
By the nature of communities, negativity stuck to everyone.
Even the living legend Lee Soo-hyuk wouldn't escape it.
Let alone a streamer like Lee Soo-hyuk, who hadn't even cleared the 2nd-floor trial yet.
"Team leader."
"Huh? Yeah?"
John Tail, engrossed in the community feed, jumped at Cheongryang's voice as she approached.
"What?"
"It's here."
"What's here?"
Cheongryang gave him a puzzled look, as if asking what he was thinking about.
"The reply. From Lee Soo-hyuk."
Back at the dorm, Soo-hyuk began researching Baehae Entertainment.
'Baehae Entertainment. A leading MCN company that rose to prominence on the streaming business.'
Baehae's partners fell into two main categories.
Popular star players and streamers boasting thousands of concurrent viewers.
Baehae profited by leveraging them for ads and other ventures to earn points.
"The world's changed a lot. Even stuff like this exists now."
It really hit him how long 20 years was.
He'd thought it was just individual streamers, but seeing organized companies like this...
'Pretty big outfit. Top-tier among MCNs doing entertainment.'
Researching Baehae was easy.
A single search pulled up thousands of results, and they had over a hundred affiliated streamers.
Soo-hyuk even knew some—like Pak Soo-hyuk, who was also under Baehae Entertainment.
And one more.
'Hawk's Eye?'
A streamer named Hawk's Eye popped up high in the Baehae search results.
Soo-hyuk took interest because of Hawk's Eye's latest content.
Sensational headline.
High view count already. Comments in the dozens on a post just hours old.
Soo-hyuk checked the attached video from Hawk's Eye.
A fairly long clip. It was Hawk's Eye's reaction to him acquiring Lightning and escaping the Giant Tribe horde.
"Knew his power was lacking and used skills at the perfect moments. Not a single bit wasted!"
"That focus! Holy shit! How's a newbie handling a fresh skill like this? Is he even human?"
Sharp eyes indeed.
To pick up on that much from a small screen, without even being there in person.
'Hawk's Eye. Short for eagle eye? Lives up to the name.'
He'd analyzed Soo-hyuk pretty accurately.
If it were some half-baked fabrication to bait viewers using his name, it'd be one thing.
But with this level of skill, it made sense.
And the nonstop praise? That sat well too.
'Better than me? Obviously.'
Control surpassing peak Lee Soo-hyuk.
It was a given.
Soo-hyuk was always better today than yesterday.
"Hmm..."
Pak Soo-hyuk and Hawk's Eye.
Both from the same company.
Big companies weren't always good ones, but at least this didn't scream scam.
Moreover.
When he didn't know how to receive missions at first.
"Why'd this pop up all of a sudden?"
When he fumbled sharing the trial status.
And especially when he botched the timing to end the broadcast.
Soo-hyuk kept realizing his broadcasting ignorance.
'Yeah, I'm clueless about streaming.'
He trusted his skills as a player.
But as a streamer? That was another story.
It was only day one, so calling him good would be a stretch. If even he felt lacking, viewers must've cringed harder.
Since his goal was to grow via viewer donations.
"...Gotta do it."
He decided to put effort into streaming too.
Tap, tap-tap, tap...
Soo-hyuk hammered out a reply on his kit.
Crunch.
Isaac was chomping on sausages at the restaurant, eyes on his kit.
Time to unwind the mental fatigue from the day's trial.
Or it should've been.
"Control-wise, better than peak Lee Soo-hyuk?"
Isaac's face twisted at Hawk's Eye's words from the kit.
Screeech.
The fork in his hand bent.
Irritation all over his face, Hawk's Eye's voice kept droning into his ear.
"Why do I think that? Alright, lemme explain. Huh? No one asked? Still gonna..."
Click.
He slammed the kit shut with a scowl. The food in his mouth tasted like nothing.
"What does a punk like you know, buzzing around like a fly."
Isaac had been watching Hawk's Eye's Players upload.
An edited highlight reel of the stream's key moments.
But Isaac couldn't even finish it.
"Better than peak Soo-hyuk? Ha, from a guy who just hit 2nd floor?"
A fellow 2nd-floor player.
That punk snagged Lightning.
Of course he'd draw eyes. Especially streaming under that name.
'Born lucky. Nabbed what no one else could just 'cause he lucked into the route.'
Even after the full video, Isaac refused to respect streamer Lee Soo-hyuk.
It was pure luck, nothing more.
That's what he told himself.
Glance.
Mid-meal, Isaac eyed his covered kit on the table.
Hawk's Eye was a streamer Isaac watched often.
Analyzing top players' plays. Accurate eye, great for learning.
But.
"This clown's eyes are shot too. Gotta unfollow if he keeps this up."
Unexplained rage boiled inside.
No.
He was pretending otherwise, but he knew the truth.
Lee Soo-hyuk.
First to slay Wolf Warrior Greg. Second after the Lee Soo-hyuk to claim Lightning.
Still low-rank, but folks were already calling him the next big thing, a second Soo-hyuk.
'Don't like it.'
This spotlight was supposed to be mine.
Son of Reinhardt. Prodigy expected to hit 8th floor in record time.
That's what everyone hyped when he started climbing the tower.
But now.
Some punk stealing the attention.
Didn't sit right.
The attention. And that name.
'Lost my appetite...'
Swipe.
Isaac's gaze shifted to Soo-hyuk entering the restaurant.
'Perfect. A lookalike toy shows up.'
Mood lifted instantly.
Yeah.
Lee Soo-hyuk should be like that.
"World's so unfair."
He muttered a bit loudly, for Soo-hyuk to hear.
"Same name, totally different lives."
Isaac smirked mockingly at Soo-hyuk.
"Right? Friend."
Soo-hyuk met his eyes, then ignored him and sat down.
Crunch.
A vein bulged on Isaac's forehead.
Ignored. Back at the academy, the punk couldn't even hold eye contact.
'Suddenly got a spine.'
Swipe.
Isaac stood and headed to the seat opposite Soo-hyuk.
Clunk.
Set his plate down and sat. Soo-hyuk shot him an annoyed glare.
"Beat it."
"Buddies are all out. Bored. Hang with me? Been a while."
"Busy."
Soo-hyuk ignored him and started eating. Undeterred by the snubs, Isaac narrowed his eyes.
"Doing what?"
"Hunting. I'm a player."
Snicker.
Laughter leaked through his grin.
A normal person might hold back out of courtesy, but Isaac wasn't normal.
"Yeah. Me."
Soo-hyuk stayed unfazed, even waving him off like let me eat in peace.
"..."
Isaac scowled, displeased.
Then.
Smirk.
He stood, lips curled.
"Fine, fine. Enjoy your solo meal."
Isaac returned his half-eaten plate and left.
Step step.
Heading out, he glanced back with a sly smile at Soo-hyuk eating alone in the middle of the restaurant.
'Off to hunt, huh...'