Chapter 46
Chapter 46
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 46
Chapter Title: 46화
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 46
Chapter Title: The Real Deal
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"Wow, he's the real deal."
Crunch.
On the ship heading to the lower floors.
Kim Ye-ryeong, her face perfectly disguised, was munching on a potato chip.
In her hand was a player kit tuned to Lee Soo-hyuk's broadcast.
"Does he really plan to tackle that solo?"
Of course, it wouldn't truly be solo.
There might be reckless mercenaries trying to conquer the Thunder Cave even if they weren't players, and Lee Soo-hyuk had no authority to exclude them.
But.
Considering Lee Soo-hyuk's current reputation, assembling a team of top-tier players wouldn't be hard at all.
No matter how few players chose the Conrad Kingdom, surely he could fill twenty slots?
But with that statement, Soo-hyuk had isolated himself.
"Just like the real Soo-hyuk. Minus the missions, anyway."
Crunch.
The broadcast ended sooner than expected.
After securing the letter of recommendation, Lee Soo-hyuk had dropped a bombshell.
"I'm not interested in the other trials. I'll be taking a break from streaming until then."
Despite the viewers' outrage, Lee Soo-hyuk's resolve was firm.
The message popped up soon after.
Left alone in the stream without their streamer, the viewers vented their frustrations.
Kim Ye-ryeong was just as taken aback.
She'd turned it on to kill time during the trip, but to end so abruptly...
But the surprise was short-lived.
"Pfft."
She let out a small laugh.
"Puhaha! Oh man, this guy's hilarious."
The laugh wasn't from amusement so much as something else.
Lee Soo-hyuk.
It reminded her of her old friend.
'Feels just like the real Soo-hyuk streaming.'
Others' opinions didn't matter. His path was the right one. That was the Lee Soo-hyuk she knew.
In that sense, the streamer Lee Soo-hyuk resembled the one Ye-ryeong knew.
He was succeeding as a streamer without ever clowning around for viewers.
Of course.
'The real Soo-hyuk wouldn't have streamed in the first place.'
Success as a player naturally brought wealth and fame.
Besides, Soo-hyuk wasn't one to bask in the crowd's gaze.
Money and attention—he cared for neither. Streaming and him were like water and oil from the start.
'If not for that, the similarities would be perfect.'
He evoked nostalgia for the real Lee Soo-hyuk among his viewers.
In the medium least suited to him. In the form most like him.
She was staring at the blank screen after the broadcast ended when—
'He'll enter this tournament too.'
Ye-ryeong suddenly thought.
"Just don't win it."
After shutting off the broadcast and stepping out, Soo-hyuk was greeted by his manager, Unhyang.
Normally, she'd have scolded him for that stunt.
But.
"Well done."
She did the opposite.
She even gave him a thumbs up.
"That's how Lee Soo-hyuk should be. Better to end it here than play the clown with petty requests."
There was one reason she could say that.
She was Lee Soo-hyuk's biggest fan.
And that's why Unhyang was the perfect manager for him.
"Viewers are pretty pissed."
Soo-hyuk glanced at the chats lingering in the dark broadcast window.
But Unhyang shook her head firmly.
"It'll be fine."
"You think so?"
"Wasting time on ordinary requests there would've just cheapened the stream's rarity."
For any other broadcast, maybe not. But for Soo-hyuk's, this was right.
He was Lee Soo-hyuk. Even as a streamer, he had to seem authentic to viewers.
That's why, when Soo-hyuk was mulling over the remaining airtime, Unhyang had whispered:
[Whisper] Soo-hyuk-ssi. Just do what you want. Don't worry about the viewers.
That whisper sealed it.
Soo-hyuk ended the stream.
His next one would be at the third-floor tournament, then the Thunder Cave conquest after.
"Thanks to your advice."
"So what now? I said do what you want, and you kill the stream first."
"Planning to hunt for a bit. Gotta level up."
The Thunder Cave was a dungeon even Soo-hyuk had never challenged before.
There was some info, but full preparation was key.
Besides.
'Need to test how far I can push Lightning with these stats.'
The past-life Soo-hyuk obsessed over stamina stats. He wielded a holy sword and geared for vitality.
But now was different.
He had Selfish Sacrifice, and above all, the 'Heart of Lightning' from the second floor.
'Can't wait.'
Plenty of time until the tournament.
'Wonder how it'll perform.'
Heart of Lightning.
An item humans made to wield lightning.
How powerful would it be?
To climb higher, players must hunt.
Hunting is less efficient than passing trials. And life-risking.
Yet top players—and so-called rankers—never shun it.
One reason.
To pass the trials.
"Why hunt? That's a stupid question."
Soo-hyuk answered in some interview.
"Fail a trial, and you get nothing. Rewards reset, even levels gained there get rolled back."
To truly claim a trial's rewards, you can't fail.
That's why elites never slack on hunting.
"Trials make us stronger, but to take them, we hunt. Hunting's the fuel for perfecting trials."
He added one more thing.
"Stop hunting because life's precious? That's when your player journey ends."
'And I said that.'
Crunch!
The spider crushed under Soo-hyuk's kick exploded.
'Been too busy with streams to hunt.'
Anacre's Dungeon.
A fairly tough third-floor dungeon, mainly tackled by 10-man parties.
The sheer number of spawning monsters made it hard without AoE skills.
Skitter, skreeee—.
Thud thud thud—.
Tiny footsteps and eerie cries. Spiders closing in from all sides.
And among them.
Countless red eyes glowing from the dark cave depths.
"Here you come."
The dungeon's master.
Anacre.
It emerged, leading its brood.
'Lightning' resides in the 'Nameless Demon Sword'.
'Selfish Sacrifice Lv.4' resists 'Lightning'.
In an instant, the dark dungeon lit up bright.
Yellow lightning replaced the lamps. Fueled by stamina and mana, it unleashed destructive power beyond Soo-hyuk's stats.
On top of that.
Boom—.
The thunderclap from his blade tip brought a smirk to Soo-hyuk's lips.
Faint but unmistakable.
The thunder he remembered.
Flash—!
Rumble—!
The blade swung down, unleashing a yellow slash. Spiders lunging from the depths were swept up and incinerated.
But they weren't the target.
Clearing the path, Soo-hyuk raised his sword high and charged forward.
"Got you."
Flash—!
Slash.
The spider boss, Anacre, split in two with a single bolt.
+ Strength +1
+ Focus +1
+ Magic Power +1
Always a pleasing sound.
But right now, his eyes were drawn elsewhere.
Dozens of charred spiders. Yellow lightning scorch marks on the walls.
Impressive power. Instant-killing dozens and one-shotting the boss.
But most surprising was his own condition.
"Whoa..."
Rare for him, eyes wide, Soo-hyuk looked at his hand.
Trembling faintly.
Aftermath of surging lightning power.
A little shake, but manageable. No—given the power, exceptional.
Selfish Sacrifice at Lv.4.
Plus Heart of Lightning's boosted lightning resistance and shock immunity.
'Full output could push even further.'
He knew Selfish Sacrifice well from past life.
The surprise was Heart of Lightning. Its effects outstripped the numbers.
Shock immunity.
Focused on one element, but no stat more vital to him.
'An item humans made to beat gods...'
He pulled the Heart of Lightning from inventory, fiddling with it.
A gleaming yellow gem pulsing with inner power. Hard to fathom just by looking.
'Is it real?'
Pelius's words echoed, the one who'd shared old legends.
"Gods and giants. Beings no human could face. This was made to defeat them."
Grand claims.
And such an item from just the second floor? Unlikely.
Then he spotted the item's description.
# Grade: Unique (Growth)
Growth.
Meaning it could evolve further.
'Something more to it.'
Problem: no clue how to upgrade it.
No info anywhere. A world-first item?
He'd searched his kit endlessly already.
"Guess I'm diving in blind."
Seemed he'd gained a new goal.
Come to think, he'd wielded this power long but never pondered what Lightning truly was.
Just treated it as one skill type.
Maybe his past struggles came from mishandling it.
Grip.
Soo-hyuk clenched the Heart of Lightning.
No need to overthink now. Focus on the immediate.
And that was.
'Always regretted it. Having to ration stamina during hunts.'
Hunting.
No more dragging from stamina shortages and long breaks. He could sustain now.
'Four days ahead.'
Grin.
Time granted after so long. Soo-hyuk smiled.
"Time to level up."
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