Chapter 43
Chapter 43
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 43
Chapter Title: Lee Soo-hyuk vs. Lee Soo-hyuk
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Crack-!
The iron desk bent with a groan before collapsing onto the floor.
A middle-aged man with gorgeous blonde hair cascading down past his chest.
Reinhardt muttered as fierce blue eyes gleamed menacingly.
"This... green little punk..."
His gaze fell on the player kit lying on the floor.
Not only was the time and points he'd poured into it a waste, but his pride had taken a hit too.
"Wh-what's wrong, sir?"
Clatter-.
The manager flung the door open, startled by the loud crash from inside.
Upon seeing the shattered desk and Reinhardt's menacing expression, he flinched and took a step back.
"You know Lee Soo-hyuk, right? The one you told me about."
"Ah, yes. That streamer?"
Streamer Lee Soo-hyuk.
It was this very manager in the room who had relayed stories about him.
Reinhardt had taken up streaming as a hobby, realizing it boosted his fame, and had even hired a personal manager to go pro.
"Yeah, that Lee Soo-hyuk. He rejected my offer."
"Your offer, sir Reinhardt?"
The manager looked shocked.
This was Reinhardt—no one else. A renowned high-ranker known by the dishonorable title of Sword Left but also the moniker Golden Sword.
Plus, considering the dynamic between Blue Eyes' Lee Soo-hyuk and Reinhardt, a collab between them would make for killer content.
Baehae Entertainment, a major company, couldn't possibly overlook that.
"Must be the streamer's personal decision."
"Why do you think that?"
"Baehae is a company chasing profits, after all. They wouldn't turn down a collab with you. It has to be Lee Soo-hyuk's call."
"Why, though? If that's the case, there's no reason to refuse."
"That's... I don't know either. No reason to reject it."
The manager glanced at the broken desk, his face troubled.
Reinhardt glared at him briefly before waving him out of the room.
He picked up the kit from the floor again and muttered.
"What a pointless waste of points."
17,000 points.
Not a huge loss, but still a waste. No need to spend them if persuasion was impossible from the start.
And moreover.
"And my pride, too."
Pride.
That was worth far more than 17,000 points.
Because of this, his name would be buzzing in the community for a while.
Lee Soo-hyuk rejected the Sword Left's advances—some might even mock him for it.
Irritation surged. Reinhardt's face twisted.
Lee Soo-hyuk.
He'd wanted to publicly crush the guy to dilute the lingering image of the Sword Left.
Tick, tick-.
Reinhardt picked up the kit again and checked the backlog of messages.
His finger paused on one buried near the bottom.
"Isaac... what the hell is that guy doing?"
Isaac wasn't answering calls or texts.
An uneasy feeling began to envelop Reinhardt.
Unhyang returned to the dorm with Soo-hyuk and took a call in her room.
Caller: John Tail.
As expected, she let out a deep sigh.
"Yeees-."
-Do you hate my calls that much? Why do you always sound so lifeless?
"You called about the collab, right?"
-Of course, you fool. You think I'd let an opportunity like that slide?
Exactly as expected.
The rejected collab with Reinhardt.
Unhyang could understand it somehow, but from John Tail's and the company's perspective, it was baffling.
"Try to understand. It's Lee Soo-hyuk."
-I know. But he's a streamer too, isn't he? As his manager, at least try to convince him.
"Climbing the tower comes first. That's what players do. No—."
Unhyang cut him off firmly before he could say more.
"For Lee Soo-hyuk, it has to be that way."
-…….
A brief silence, then a sigh. From that sigh, Unhyang sensed she'd won the argument with John Tail.
-Fine. I won't make an issue of it.
"Obviously."
-No, wait... never mind. Anyway, that's just one regret—the rest is a huge hit.
"The rest?"
-Checked the community? If not, do it now. I'll wait, not hanging up.
Unhyang manipulated her kit to log into the Players community.
And among the best posts that caught her eye.
Today's broadcast topic was right there.
'Already best?'
The Players community had 20 best post slots.
The posts with the most views and upvotes in a day climbed there, and just hitting best once could easily boost a streamer's average viewers by 500.
Of course, getting there was no easy feat.
The post featured a cleverly photoshopped image of two Lee Soo-hyuks wearing identical masks.
That image was likely why it hit best.
But reactions mattered just as much as the content.
Unhyang scrolled down quickly to check the comments.
Over 200 comments already.
Unlike Blue Eyes' Lee Soo-hyuk, most hadn't heard of streamer Lee Soo-hyuk before.
But the emergence of another talented player and streamer was enough to spark interest.
'Comments still pouring in real-time? Makes sense. Even on floor 3, this isn't ordinary—.'
-Still not seen it?
She'd forgotten she hadn't hung up on John Tail.
"Oh, right."
-Do you even see me as your boss?
John Tail sighed again, incredulous.
Though a hint of irrepressible joy mixed in.
-Looks like your contract with that streamer is a jackpot.
Back at the dorm, Soo-hyuk prepared for the trial starting tomorrow.
The 3rd floor trial was an open world—unlike the 2nd floor, he'd run into other players.
Fortunately, the kit provided some useful info.
[Lightning on the 3rd floor too? Blue Zone still tackling unsolved challenge. Will Lee Soo-hyuk's will carry on.]
[Unsolved dungeon. Truly impregnable? Even 50 players couldn't clear it.]
[178th attempt. The schedule is...]
'Still unsolved?'
Soo-hyuk's eyebrow twitched.
He'd known it was a high-difficulty dungeon since his era, but to think it remained uncleared even now.
Twenty years had passed, yet things hadn't changed much above or below.
"Guess that's good for me."
Frustrating as his idiot juniors were, it wasn't a bad thing.
If that dungeon really hid a Lightning fragment, Soo-hyuk had every reason to conquer it.
'Busy starting tomorrow.'
The tournament would kick off in a few days.
Min-jae's memento. Feet of the Free Thief.
That item as a prize in the 3rd floor mega-event—he wouldn't miss it. Nor slack off until then.
Clearing the 3rd floor. Blue Zone's tournament.
He'd smash them both spectacularly.
Knock knock-.
As he stared at his kit, someone knocked.
Obvious who at this hour. Soo-hyuk donned his mask from the desk and spoke.
"Come in."
"Yeees-."
Still bright and cheerful voice. Unhyang entered Soo-hyuk's room beaming, holding a mask.
"Your requested mask is ready."
"Faster than expected."
"Tweaked one that was already finished, I guess."
Soo-hyuk took the mask from Unhyang. Designed to detach and reattach the mouth part anytime, it was more convenient than his old one.
"You have a lot of these, huh. Got it quick."
"Yeah. Especially since it's for Lee Soo-hyuk, of all people."
Lee Soo-hyuk, of all people.
Simple words. To Unhyang, they explained everything.
But not for Soo-hyuk. Even though it was about himself.
"Why do people like Lee Soo-hyuk so much?"
He glanced between the mask in his hand and Unhyang.
Soo-hyuk wasn't blind—he knew he had fans. But climbing the tower left no time to chat with them. He couldn't anyway.
How do you straight-up ask, 'Why do you like me?'
"Reasons...?"
Unhyang pursed her lips, pondering Soo-hyuk's question.
"Lots of reasons. Same Earth origin, maybe. Or he's just cool."
A delighted smile spread across Unhyang's face as she continued.
"But above all, Lee Soo-hyuk was our hope."
"Pardon?"
Hope?
Too grand a word. He hadn't expected that.
"What hope exactly?"
Unhyang smiled warmly at Soo-hyuk's question.
Like looking at an innocent child who knew nothing. Naturally, she had his age wrong.
"When I first entered this tower, there was nothing."
Soo-hyuk nodded at Unhyang's words.
He remembered too. That first day in the tower.
"Monsters swarmed outside the city, no way to earn food or money. Not like the stable world now."
Not just old players knew that story.
The tower's early days were still passed down in tales and records, even after nearly fifty years.
"Only one way out: climb up."
What lay above?
That anticipation was players' sole hope.
"Climb and earn points. Secure this world's currency, settle here, maybe even claim this world as ours."
Claim this world as ours.
Sometime along the way, he'd thought that too.
"Great players give us hope that this tower can be conquered and ruled. And Lee Soo-hyuk was the greatest of them. What he achieved wasn't just pioneering floors."
"Hope..."
Soo-hyuk nodded.
Her explanation made it click a bit. Why so many obsessed over the name Lee Soo-hyuk.
But that was for regular players.
"You too, manager?"
Unhyang gave an awkward smile at Soo-hyuk's question.
"That's part of it."
"Implying more."
From what he'd seen, Unhyang's fandom was no joke. She was this hyped over a streamer with the same name—god knows her reaction to the real deal.
"Still a secret."
She playfully covered her lips with a finger.
"You'll be shocked. Prep your heart 'til I spill."
Secret. Prep your heart.
Was she imagining something wild?
About the secret right in front of her. The man himself.