Chapter 283
Chapter 283
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 283
Chapter Title: Blue Eyes Revival
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Soo-hyuk's words didn't get an immediate reaction.
It wasn't agreement or disagreement. It was more like they were at a loss for words, as if a filter had been applied.
"G-Guild...?"
Unhyang was the first to speak.
After Hye-min woke up, she'd been standing awkwardly by herself, and now she hurriedly covered her mouth, wondering if she'd made a mistake.
After all, she might not even be included in the 'guild' Soo-hyuk was talking about.
"Yes. I'm going to form a guild."
Fortunately, Soo-hyuk didn't exclude her.
"B-Blue Eyes...?"
"Yes."
It was a one-word answer.
But no one present knew the ripple effect that single word would cause atop the tower.
Blue Eyes.
A guild that had vanished into history under the name of the legend of the blue eyes.
Far from fading from everyone's memory over time, that name had only grown more vivid.
"I don't particularly object. It's just going back to the old days."
Si-woo had been crossing his arms ever since hearing the story.
A habit that always showed when he was deep in thought. He kept trying to peer into Soo-hyuk's mind.
"But I don't think you'd cling to something superficial like that in your current situation. What's your real plan?"
"That's exactly why it's important."
"Why?"
"We need to restore our honor."
Si-woo's eyes sparkled.
Not 'it needs to be restored,' but 'we need to restore it.' That was for someone not present here.
And it wasn't just one person.
"Su-hun. Min-jae. Ji-young. And... even Gyu-seong."
Soo-hyuk ground his teeth as he recalled where their honor had been trampled.
"That bastard crushed it all."
Soo-hyuk had been there the day Gyu-seong died.
"We have to restore it. Somehow."
Now everyone was gathered.
He'd found Si-woo and Ye-ryeong, and Hye-min had awakened. This was the real beginning.
To reset everything to square one. And then move forward, climb higher.
The name Blue Eyes had to be revived.
"You're right, Soo-hyuk."
At that moment, Hye-min, who had finished her porridge cleanly, gave a wry smile.
She'd felt awkward because of her changed appearance. But in an instant, Soo-hyuk's words made that outward change meaningless.
Lee Soo-hyuk was Lee Soo-hyuk. No matter what he looked like on the outside, his spirit hadn't changed.
However.
"Gyu-seong... it's like that, isn't it?"
Soo-hyuk's words forced Hye-min to confront the part she'd been trying to avoid.
She had sacrificed herself to save Si-woo, Ye-ryeong, and Gyu-seong. But Gyu-seong wasn't here, and instead, the Soo-hyuk she'd thought was dead was.
She'd opened her eyes and found everyone. She'd suppressed her anxiety that after finding her, they'd go looking for Gyu-seong next.
But the anxiety was unavoidable reality.
"Is it because of me...?"
"It's no one's fault."
Soo-hyuk cut off the needless self-blame in advance.
"Revenge or whatever, that was Gyu-seong's choice. Si-woo, Ye-ryeong, you... and me too. No one's to blame."
There had been a time when he'd thought Gyu-seong's death was his fault. Because Gyu-seong had staked everything on revenge against Kim Il-su due to a promise with him.
But after meeting Si-woo and Ye-ryeong, he'd realized he'd been wrong.
"So we just do our thing."
Hye-min, who looked ready to burst into tears any second, bit her lip and nodded. Showing tears here now might be an insult to them, she thought.
Soo-hyuk grinned at her resolute expression.
Good. He'd been worried that she'd feel the same massive sense of loss as he had over Gyu-seong's death, that her hard-recovered mind might crumble.
As expected, the Hye-min he knew was stronger inside than anyone, no matter how fragile she seemed on the outside.
"Not right now, though."
Then a voice poured cold water on them.
It was Si-woo.
"Ah, don't misunderstand. I'm not against it."
He waved his hands to preempt any misconceptions.
"It's just that we've clashed with too many already. Both Murim and Blue Zone sides, and the movements to hunt us down will only intensify from here."
"What's to fear from those punks?"
"They're not just punks when their backing is that massive. And if we fight blindly, we'll end up against the entire tower."
Si-woo shot down Ye-ryeong's retort immediately.
Their individual power was strong, but they were up against guilds as organizations.
That's why justification mattered.
"If we keep going like this... we'll be no different from the Heavenly Demon."
The heated atmosphere cooled instantly.
Heavenly Demon.
No one here didn't know what that name signified.
Absolute evil. Humanity's enemy. Demon.
He was called by many names. And beneath every one lay dishonor and terror.
"Exactly. People don't know why we're fighting them. Or rather, they think we here... killed me."
Hye-min's expression turned baffled at Soo-hyuk's words.
Soo-hyuk, alive and well, was dead? And they thought his comrades killed him?
To Hye-min, whose time had stopped on that day, it was incomprehensible.
"Anyway, we need to let them know. Why we're fighting those guys."
"You thinking of streaming it?"
"That alone won't cut it."
Soo-hyuk shook his head at Si-woo's question.
"Saying 'they started it' with no proof isn't convincing."
"True. People already went through Gyu-seong's incident."
"The best way is, of course..."
Si-woo nodded before the words were out, their minds aligned. Soo-hyuk continued with conviction at Si-woo's response.
"To prove that I am me."
Hye-min was convinced once more by those eyes.
The face was different, but the one before her was truly Lee Soo-hyuk.
After observing Hye-min's condition a bit longer, Je Woon-hak gave them more medicine in preparation for any issues.
"Have her drink this decoction for a while. It should help clear the mental fog from the Soul-Scattering Herb."
Perhaps due to lingering side effects from the Soul-Scattering Herb, Hye-min fell asleep again soon after eating. Soo-hyuk thanked him as he took the herbs.
With his tasks done, Je Woon-hak returned to Murim.
Unhyang also returned to her main duties after a long time.
The first thing to do upon returning to basics was to check the viewers' reactions. And for a streamer, viewers were synonymous with the public.
Blue Zone followed by Sacheon Tang Clan had fallen. The news had already spread quickly not just through guilds but across Players' communities.
The player most known for wielding lightning was naturally Soo-hyuk. And no one was unaware that a lightning user had appeared in both Blue House and Sacheon Tang Clan.
The streamer Lee Soo-hyuk was already being lumped together with Kim Ye-ryeong and Kim Si-woo.
Unhyang's brow furrowed naturally as she scanned the reactions.
Public opinion on Si-woo and Ye-ryeong wasn't good. Some said to stay neutral without full details, but every time, Hwang Gyu-seong and the demonkin were brought up.
Naturally, views on Soo-hyuk, grouped with those two, weren't favorable either.
Unhyang's eyes blazed.
"Talking shit without knowing anything. What do they know?"
She moved to reply, then bowed her head and trembled.
Judging without facts, chattering away. Against such cold stares, she could do nothing.
"...Well. They're not clueless; they're misinformed."
She couldn't blanket-blame them for ignorance. They were reacting to manipulated phenomena, not the truth.
In the end, the public cursing Si-woo and Ye-ryeong were longtime Soo-hyuk fans, furious on his behalf.
What would she have done without Soo-hyuk beside her?
Would she have yelled at Si-woo and Ye-ryeong to bring back Lee Soo-hyuk, just like them?
She couldn't be sure.
She'd been such a diehard fan of his.
Bzzz-
Then a message arrived on Unhyang's kit.
Her eyes lit up upon checking it. Unable to contain herself, she jumped up and headed straight to Soo-hyuk's room.
Soo-hyuk was lying on the bed checking his kit. He sat up upon seeing her.
"What's up?"
"Good news. Were you busy?"
"No, just. Got a ton of messages piled up."
"Messages?"
"Yeah. Want to see? Involves people you know too."
"Me...?"
Unhyang leaned in and checked the messages on Soo-hyuk's kit. She immediately understood her connection.
Hawk's Eye, Pak Soo-hyuk, Big Mouth, and Cheongryang.
All tied to the streaming scene.
"I see."
"Must've been really noisy. Not just one or two messages."
They were all asking if he was the one involved in the current events.
"What're you replying?"
"Saying yes for now. Told Big Mouth good news coming later."
He'd just finished replying. More connections in this life than expected, he thought, then asked.
"So, what is it? You came rushing."
"Oh, right! Look at me."
Unhyang recalled the message she'd gotten before coming.
News Soo-hyuk might want more than anyone.
"The collab got moved up."
The player with the most points in this world.
"Clementine. Want to meet her now?"
She was waiting for Soo-hyuk.