Chapter 20
Chapter 20
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 20
Chapter Title: Backlash
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Pro streamers who ran both live streams and video channels were always bound to suffer from hate comments.
Especially this time.
Hawk's Eye was facing an unprecedented barrage of malicious comments.
The hate comments mostly fell into one of two categories.
Either mocking the streamer Lee Soo-hyuk, or ridiculing Hawk's Eye's judgment for hyping him up so much.
Hawk's Eye wasn't just sharp-eyed for nothing.
He scanned the comments on his channel and pierced right through their psychology.
'The rabid fans have split into two camps.'
Lee Soo-hyuk.
He was an idol-like figure to players everywhere, transcending the world of Earth.
For 20 long years.
With the second coming of Lee Soo-hyuk wielding lightning, their reactions split down the middle.
'Either they instantly turn into massive fans. Or they finger-point him as a fake and become haters.'
Those who liked him for resembling Lee Soo-hyuk.
Those who hated him for being a fake.
Their common thread? They were all extreme, one way or the other.
'For now... the haters outnumber the fans.'
That was Hawk's Eye's conclusion after weighing the comment ratios.
The streamer Lee Soo-hyuk.
For now, more people rejected him as a fake and hated him than recognized and liked him.
And that hatred extended to tearing down even the process of how he acquired lightning.
"Maybe I shouldn't have said it after all."
Hawk's Eye scratched his head vigorously.
His control was beyond prime Lee Soo-hyuk.
That slip-up was going to cost him big time.
Creeeak-.
Hawk's Eye leaned his chair back.
Lee Soo-hyuk's gameplay replayed in his mind.
He'd muttered it out of stress from the comments, but still.
Pop-.
"...Think I'd back down?"
He hadn't started streaming to tiptoe around public opinion or make shit up.
More than that, it was because he hadn't done so that he'd come this far. Hawk's Eye was convinced of it.
Stick to his guns.
That was the promise he'd kept to himself ever since starting streams.
Bzzz, bzzz-.
Right then.
His covered phone buzzed with an incoming call.
The caller ID read 'Team Leader'.
'Team Leader? Sponsor call?'
A call from John Tail, team leader at Baehae Entertainment.
Not one for frequent contact, Hawk's Eye picked up with a puzzled look.
"Yeah, hyung."
John Tail's boisterous voice blasted into Hawk's Eye's ear.
"What'd that Lee Soo-hyuk say?"
Crackle, crrrackle-.
Yellow lightning residue flowed over Soo-hyuk's body.
It stung, prickled. But he could handle this much.
Tch-.
The lightning fizzled out quickly.
He could endure this level easily. Selfish Sacrifice, now at level 3, was performing better than expected.
'Keeping it at this output in normal use is optimal.'
Creeeaaaak-.
The boss room door swung open.
Beyond it.
Lizardmen cries echoed.
Hiss, hissss-.
Shhrrk-.
Monsters with lizard heads, towering over 2 meters.
Dozens of lizardmen appeared before Soo-hyuk's eyes.
And beyond them.
Thud-.
Hiiiiss-!
A massive lizardman wreathed in rage.
The dungeon's boss had revealed itself.
Enveloped in faint flames. The lizardmen's chieftain.
'In that case......'
Step-.
Soo-hyuk muttered as he advanced toward them.
"Wonder how much output I can push."
This dungeon run was all for testing that.
Unlike before, with stamina to spare, just how far could he crank Lightning's output using Selfish Sacrifice?
Salamander ranked among the top-tier monsters on floor 2.
A perfect opponent.
"Feels kinda familiar."
Hiiiiss-.
Giant lizards flicked their tongues threateningly as they closed in on Soo-hyuk. Beyond them, the salamander glared.
Not as huge as the giants, but...
The situation felt eerily similar to carving through giants to claim their leader.
Flash-.
Crrrackle-!
Soo-hyuk's body glided forward like sliding on ice.
Unlike the 3-meter giants,
The lizardmen's necks were at perfect sword height.
Crackle-.
Slash-.
A golden line slashed across, severing lizardmen necks. The ones charging, thinking him prey, faltered.
But Soo-hyuk pressed on regardless, aiming for the boss.
Skid-.
His feet slid toward the lizardmen.
Hiss-.
Kyaaak-!
The recovered lizardmen blocked his path to their boss again. Soo-hyuk connected lines across their necks, eyes gleaming.
'Lightwork.'
With stamina and mana to spare, he ramped up speed and poured power into his blade.
Crrrackle-!
Flash-!
In that instant.
Yellow light flashed from Soo-hyuk's swung blade.
Boom-!
Slower than light, a cave-shaking roar erupted.
Lizardmen with severed necks and charred heads crumpled. Far off, the dungeon boss salamander looked rattled.
Flash-.
Unlike the giant fight.
Soo-hyuk cleaved through the charging lizardmen and reached the boss.
And in that moment.
'Let's see......'
In Soo-hyuk's eyes, the dungeon boss salamander overlapped with the giant chieftain that survived a throat pierce.
Crrrrackle-!
Lightning coursed up his arm to the blade.
'Let's see if you survive this tough too.'
Numbing heat surged through his arm. The stronger he pushed, the more Lightning scorched his own body.
As stamina drained and fatigue built, the lightning gathered at his blade tip intensified.
His body burned hot.
A pleasant sensation. Familiar with Lightning, Soo-hyuk knew exactly what swinging now would unleash.
Thus, plunging into the lizardmen horde.
Hiss-!
Toward the salamander threatening with its flicking tongue.
Kaboom-!
Soo-hyuk unleashed Lightning.
Rumble-!
The deafening roar echoed through the cave.
Bouncing off the ceiling, it reverberated, and golden lightning surged like waves in the arc of his swing.
Siiiizz-
Siii-
Lizardmen screams drowned in thunder.
Then, messages appeared.
+ Strength +1
+ Stamina +1
+ Mana +1
Clearing meant the boss, lord of the dungeon, was dead.
And not just that.
One strike swept away the lizardmen blocking his path.
No matter how densely packed to guard their boss, over ten lizardmen vanished in a single swing.
The survivors turned tail and fled. Realizing with the salamander's death that Soo-hyuk was unbeatable.
"Huuuuh-."
Over the salamander's corpse, chest split long and head charred black.
Soo-hyuk caught his breath, eyeing the scorched marks left by Lightning on the floor.
Blackened traces.
To think he could gather this much Lightning and unleash it.
Smirk-.
His lips curled up.
'Beyond expectations.'
Only floor 2 now.
Level merely 22.
Yet this power.
[Fatigue: 61]
'Plenty of fatigue room left. Stamina suppression is exceeding expectations.'
Selfish Sacrifice.
A skill just hitting level 3. Plenty of room to grow.
Yet already this effective.
"Could push output even higher."
Lightning's power scaled with mana and stamina. Selfish Sacrifice saved on that stamina drain.
It synergized perfectly with Soo-hyuk, who'd always run short on stamina over mana.
Skill at level 3.
Rank up to D. Still low, but the effect boost was plain to see from one step up.
'Another 40k......'
First 10k. Then 20k.
Now 40k points.
Exactly doubling each time.
Steadily ramping up.
"When the hell do I farm enough to level this......"
Fighting or trials were one thing, but points weighed heaviest.
How long to grind? At this rate, it might hit 1 million, even 100 million someday.
Step step, heading out of the dungeon.
Soo-hyuk recalled the company he'd messaged.
'Baehae Entertainment, was it.'
And others after.
Offers from several MCNs partnering with streamers.
Just one day of streaming, but Soo-hyuk's value was immense.
Second player with Lightning.
A chance to siphon hype from the top player with massive fans, 'Lee Soo-hyuk'.
Of course companies swarmed.
But.
'The others are too small-time.'
Soo-hyuk ignored those notes.
'Aim for the biggest if possible.'
Soo-hyuk always claimed the top spot.
Tower floors. Guilds. Player status.
And now, as a streamer too, if he was doing it.
No settling for random companies. If partnering, only the best.
Step-.
Emerging from the dungeon.
Swish-.
Soo-hyuk halted, scanning the trees laid out before the entrance.
A sigh escaped naturally.
"You're persistent, huh."
Rustle-.
The leaves shook at his words.
The man who'd hesitated behind the tree stepped out right after Soo-hyuk continued.
"Thought you'd given up tailing me. Still waiting?"
"I'm the stubborn type."
The man who emerged.
He was the third person Soo-hyuk had encountered since opening his eyes in the world 20 years hence.
"No one else here but us, right?"
Isaac glared at Soo-hyuk, eyes brimming with killing intent.
As if he'd been waiting for this exact moment, he was blind to it.
'This guy......'
Soo-hyuk, who'd regarded him with indifference till now,
Was looking at him differently for the first time.
'You've crossed the line.'