Chapter 62
Chapter 62
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 62
Chapter Title: Schneider's Regret
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Tak-.
The tavern owner, who had been listening to the story alongside them, brought out another bottle of the same liquor.
Ten years ago, he had said they drank together here as well.
Judging by the tavern owner's expression, he didn't seem surprised at all, as if it was a story he already knew.
'So that's why he chose this place as the meeting spot.'
Soo-hyuk could roughly guess why he was so obsessed with the Thunder Cave.
'He thinks that incident back then happened because of him.'
Seeing Schneider clutching his head with his face buried, Soo-hyuk felt like he was looking at a reflection of himself.
The confident past self who had boasted about tackling the Hydra.
And Schneider, who had led his comrades into the Thunder Cave.
As players, their levels of success might differ, but could their actions truly be called different?
"His comrades..."
Soo-hyuk started to ask, but his breath caught in his throat.
It was frightening.
Hearing the answer.
Gritting his teeth, he forced his mouth open again.
Still, it was an answer he had to hear.
"Did they resent you a lot?"
How had his comrades viewed Schneider, exactly?
The friends who survived that day, the friends who closed their eyes in death—how had they seen him?
At Soo-hyuk's question, Schneider slowly lifted his head.
"Resentment..."
As if to say, that's your question?
He nodded with a self-deprecating tone in his voice.
"Yeah. A lot."
Thud-.
It felt like something heavy dropped inside him.
"It's all because of you. If you hadn't been so stubborn. What the hell is that damn Thunder Cave anyway. Bring them back to life..."
From Schneider's lips, who remembered that day's events vividly, poured out the resentful words of his comrades.
His words grew distant.
A queasy nausea welled up, making him feel like he might vomit.
The words spilling from Schneider's mouth.
Turned into the voices of Si-woo and Ye-ryeong, Min-jae and Su-hun...
The comrades who died or were injured because of his choice that day.
"Stop..."
He forced open his parched lips.
"Stop! Just stop it."
At Soo-hyuk's urgent words, Schneider halted and let out a hollow chuckle.
He reached for the bottle beside him.
"What? Feeling sorry for me?"
"...No."
Soo-hyuk shook his head.
It wasn't pity. It was a sense of kinship. A strange camaraderie from their similar situations.
He had carried the same guilt for a full ten years.
"No intention of giving up, I take it."
"Giving up?"
Schneider snorted at Soo-hyuk's words.
"I egged them on to challenge it, and they died. If I give up here, what was their death for?"
It was the right thing to say.
Soo-hyuk probably would have done the same.
If it hadn't been Kim Il-su's betrayal but the Hydra that killed his comrades.
And if conquering the Hydra had ended in failure.
No matter how many years it took, by any means necessary, he would have poured all his time and effort into conquering the Hydra.
"Anyway, that's why I'm obsessed with the Thunder Cave. You probably don't get it even after hearing it, right?"
No.
He got it.
To Schneider, the Thunder Cave was like vengeance against himself.
If he didn't conquer it, he had no face to show the comrades who died because of him.
Conquering the Thunder Cave was the only way to appease their restless spirits.
"Why tell me this story?"
Soo-hyuk felt like he'd heard something unnecessary.
Maybe his own comrades thought the same as Schneider's. The thought wouldn't leave his mind, and from earlier, it felt like someone was gripping and squeezing his heart.
And if he conquered the Thunder Cave.
'This guy who's fixated solely on the Thunder Cave... could he endure it?'
"I saw hope. Thanks to you."
"......?"
An unexpected answer.
The expression under the mask twisted subtly.
He'd come here to give information after losing a bet, and now hope was involved?
"Listen well."
But honestly, Schneider didn't look despairing at all.
No.
On the contrary, his face was more alive than ever as he spoke.
"About what the Thunder Cave is like."
A house frozen white.
In the air where breath fogged, Si-woo paced back and forth anxiously in the same spot.
Glance-.
Glancing at the kit on the dining table.
He muttered in an uneasy voice.
"Why isn't she replying?"
Quite some time had passed since Ye-ryeong left.
The last contact was when she safely reached the third floor, so she must have gone to the tournament venue by now.
'Did she stop to play on the way? She could, but...'
Even for Ye-ryeong, it didn't seem likely in the current situation.
'If she got Min-jae's belongings, she'd contact me first.'
Anything else aside, she should have this time.
So why, then?
"No way..."
With his growing anxiety, the surrounding air froze even colder.
"Did she get caught?"
It seemed unlikely.
Ye-ryeong was a specialist in disguise and stealth. Especially in stealth, no one could match her.
Unless Kim Il-su came personally, catching her if she was determined to escape was impossible.
No.
Even if he did come personally, she'd probably slip away unscathed nine times out of ten.
"Then why?"
He'd sent her alone because he trusted her skills.
The belief that she absolutely wouldn't get caught.
The problem was that she still wasn't responding.
'Maybe I was too complacent. If Kim Il-su prepared a way to counter Ye-ryeong's stealth on purpose...'
His thoughts spiraled toward the worst.
Crack-.
The idea of losing Ye-ryeong too froze the air completely.
And soon.
"...Should I go look for her?"
Si-woo's thoughts reached a dramatic peak.
He knew it was absurd.
Kim Il-su was surrounded by countless players, and fighting them alone without Ye-ryeong was like an egg striking a rock.
But.
Better to challenge the rock with an egg than survive alone anyway.
As Si-woo gathered his fighting spirit with that thought.
Bzzz-.
The kit rang right on cue.
Thinking it might be from Ye-ryeong, Si-woo checked it.
But.
What arrived was a broadcast start alert from the subscribed Lee Soo-hyuk.
"What?"
A sense of deflation made steam rise from him.
He'd thought it was Ye-ryeong.
"Maybe I should just unsubscribe..."
Bzzz-.
Right then.
Shortly after the broadcast alert, a message arrived.
"Sorry...?"
Apologizing for the late reply?
If so, it was definitely worth apologizing for. Considering how he'd been on edge, a hundred apologies wouldn't suffice.
But.
'Still... glad she's alive.'
As long as she was safe somehow.
No need for apologies; as long as she came back, words like that didn't matter.
She must have been in a dire situation preventing contact until now.
The moment he thought that.
Bzzz-.
"...Huh?"
Another message from Ye-ryeong.
At that message, Si-woo hurriedly checked Lee Soo-hyuk's broadcast.
And the moment he saw the red-glowing shoes he was wearing.
"This......"
The relief over Ye-ryeong's safety from moments ago turned into anger toward her.
"Ye-ryeong-!"
Soo-hyuk started his broadcast a full day after meeting Schneider.
Usually, he'd begin broadcasting right as he entered the trial, but this time was different.
'Just getting here took a whole day.'
The time it took to reach the Central Mercenary Guild in the Conrad Kingdom.
Normally, one would build achievements by taking requests along the way to raise their mercenary rank.
But Soo-hyuk skipped all that and headed straight to the Central Guild.
And only upon arrival did the broadcast begin.
As the broadcast started, viewers flooded in like a wave.
Of course, the number wasn't as high as before.
Viewers achieved before the broadcast even properly started.
At this rate, it would surpass 5,000 and reach 8,000.
But.
It wasn't as explosive as during the tournament.
"Probably won't hit 10,000 like the tournament."
"Why?"
"Tournaments are special cases. With betting involved, interest is inevitably high. Regular tournament content draws 1.5 times the average viewers, up to double."
He'd heard from Unhyang in advance, so he wasn't too disappointed.
No, this was more than enough.
'Viewers can grow back.'
Setting aside greed, he began the broadcast in earnest.
"Hello. This is Lee Soo-hyuk. Nice to see you."
A stiff greeting.
"Sorry. Still not used to it."
Fortunately, the viewers seemed accustomed to it now. And Soo-hyuk was getting used to broadcasting too.
"Yeah. My manager already scolded me about it."
"Yes. Hiding my face is one thing, but if I can't even host properly..."
In reality, it had been phrased more gently, but viewers preferred spicy takes.
Soo-hyuk added a line on purpose.
"Might get fired at this rate."
A brief interaction time.
For streamers, this was the most golden period.
['Donmi Saehyuk' sponsored 100 points.]
[Did you do tournament afterparty?]
Viewers seeking interaction sponsored most actively during this time.
"No, just slept in my dorm."
"Friends with Schneider? No, not friends."
"Thanks for the confession, but... I don't like men."
"Not taking off the mask... Oh, pants? Manager, please ban this."
Some weird ones mixed in, but Soo-hyuk diligently answered sponsor messages for a few minutes.
And just as he thought it was time to start properly.
['Juryeo Jom Mattaeng' sponsored 10 points.]
[Heading to Thunder Cave today?]
A perfectly timed question came in.
"Yes, Thunder Cave conquest. Have to do it."
Just as.
Soo-hyuk was about to move for the Thunder Cave request.
"Um..."
From the group hovering around Soo-hyuk earlier.
"You're Lee Soo-hyuk, right? The streamer."
A man with narrow, slanted eyes stepped forward and addressed him.
As if he knew everything.
"And?"
"Perfect timing meeting you here."
Words as awkward as could be.
"We're challenging the Thunder Cave too."
At his greeting, Soo-hyuk looked at the group of about ten.
A party of three women and seven men.
They were all players like Soo-hyuk, not mercenaries of this world.
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