Chapter 8
Chapter 8
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 8
Chapter Title: The Real One
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Already hypersensitive about points, and now this guy was trying to shake me down.
Even if it was just a cup of coffee, I couldn't let it slide.
'Does he think points come from digging holes in the ground?'
That jerk might have a rich daddy and never worry about points, but I sure as hell did.
From now on, every single point had to go toward leveling up my skills.
Lee Soo-hyuk's sharp reaction made Isaac's expression turn ice-cold.
"Is that a no?"
"Does it sound like a yes to you?"
"What's wrong with friends? Can't even buy me a coffee? How stingy."
"Friends?"
The corner of Soo-hyuk's mouth curled up.
All that shameless talk could only draw a laugh.
"Friends, huh."
"...?"
Isaac's eyes twitched.
It was nothing like the reaction he'd expected.
'What the hell is this response?'
Sure, he could refuse, but this blunt dismissal?
It didn't match the Soo-hyuk he knew at all.
No, the reaction wasn't even the issue.
Soo-hyuk wasn't even properly looking him in the eye, just leisurely sipping his coffee.
As if the guy right in front of him didn't even register.
"...Hey."
Isaac's tone turned menacing, his whole demeanor flipping.
The playful voice and expression reversed into something lethal. As the air grew thick with killing intent, he drew up his mana and growled at Soo-hyuk.
"You think passing the tutorial changes anything?"
"It changed everything."
Clink.
Soo-hyuk set down the coffee in his hand and asked,
"Curious? Wanna test it?"
He had no intention of getting dragged into some kids' squabble for revenge, but if the provocations kept coming, that was another story.
No matter how young they were, there was a limit to how much he'd tolerate.
For a while, Isaac glared at Soo-hyuk with murderous eyes.
The tension was thick enough that he could burst out with mana and unleash his specialty—magic—at any second.
But soon enough.
"Nah, forget it."
Scrape.
Isaac stood from his seat, his face flushed with irritation.
"Why would I waste time on a low-level scrub like you? We're not even in the same class anymore."
Thud.
He clapped Soo-hyuk on the shoulder and headed back out of the cafe.
"I get you're hyped about clearing the tutorial, but keep acting cocky and you'll die without anyone noticing. Consider it friendly advice from an old pal—listen up."
Isaac walked away.
Soo-hyuk flipped him off at the back of his head.
"Friends my ass."
Clicking his tongue briefly, Soo-hyuk downed the now-cold coffee in one gulp.
The chilled brew tasted oddly bitter. That fake 'friend' word he'd spat out strangely tugged at Soo-hyuk's heart.
Of course.
It wasn't just because of Isaac.
"Real friends, though..."
Faces flashed through his mind.
The one who'd taken a spear to the heart in his place and collapsed.
The one blasted by magic, half their body blown away.
And the ones whose arms and legs had been sliced and torn off...
'Min-jae, Su-hun, Ji-young...'
Their faces were still vividly etched in his eyes.
To everyone in this world, it had been twenty years, but to him, it felt like just days ago.
They were comrades who'd died in his stead—friends.
"Ugh, damn it."
His mood soured from some random corner, and Soo-hyuk muttered while staring at the seat Isaac had vacated.
"Show your face again, and you're done."
There were two main ways for Players to grow.
The first was climbing upward through trials.
By passing the tower's trials and claiming rewards, Players naturally grew stronger as they ascended.
In this method, you paid points for the trials but gained the guarantee of safety.
The tower's trials prevented death in exchange for those points.
The second method was hunting.
Hunt monsters outside safe zones or clear dungeons to raise stats and gain experience. Done right, you could even earn points.
Of course, unlike trials, real hunting meant risking your life.
That's why most Players avoided hunting. Few were eager to court death for gains.
But.
'Nothing safe grows as slow. Nothing risky grows as fast.'
Drip.
A water droplet fell from the cave ceiling onto the back of Soo-hyuk's hand.
The orcs' nest, held breath.
Soo-hyuk had entered the dungeon, finished a round of hunting, and now sat catching his breath.
Thud.
"Gotta get a separate sword. The fatigue's piling up."
Demon sword items consumed the user's stamina on their own, growing stronger in the process, whether you willed it or not.
Even with Selfish Sacrifice, swinging the demon sword nonstop during a hunt was a burden.
'At least I leveled up once. Silver lining.'
Soloing a dungeon was insane.
At least in normal cases.
Dungeons were standardly tackled by parties of around ten.
The Hydra Dungeon required multiple guilds.
But.
'It worked.'
Soo-hyuk had moved based on his judgment that it would.
Rare-grade item, plus the skill to wield it effortlessly.
And above all, he was Lee Soo-hyuk.
What more explanation was needed?
If anything, it was a shame he couldn't find higher-grade dungeons yet.
'No choice. Gotta climb up quick.'
With the boss just ahead, Soo-hyuk took a short break and pulled out his Player Kit.
He wanted to get somewhat familiar with broadcasting before challenging the next trial.
Streaming was the fastest way to earn points, but he didn't know much yet.
Start by watching.
He connected to the Players channel via the Kit and checked a stream from a familiar Earth streamer.
A streamer wearing the same mask as Soo-hyuk, pulling ridiculous antics.
Even his outfit resembled the one Soo-hyuk had worn back in the day.
'How many Pak Soo-hyuks are there already?'
He was one of those occasional Lee Soo-hyuk copycats. Streaming as 'Pak Soo-hyuk,' he'd just reached the end of floor 3.
The chat scrolled rapidly.
Mostly doubting and mocking his skills.
'8th try' meant his eighth attempt.
Failing a mere floor 3 trial eight times.
'You can actually fail that?'
To Soo-hyuk, surrounded by Blue Eyes elites, it was a fresh shock.
"C'mon bros, why no sense of humor? Play dumb a bit? Okay? Act like it's my first time."
Despite decent tenure, he was stuck on floor 3.
Soo-hyuk's eyes lit up.
Ten thousand. A solid amount.
And just for clearing the trial?
'Missions too, huh?'
"BaldRetard, no clue why your ID's like that, but thanks for the mission! Okay, this time for real—I'll clear it, grab that, and cover my trial fee."
"Whoa..."
Soo-hyuk's eyes widened at the piling missions.
Just these added up to 20,000 points. Enough to bump Selfish Sacrifice a level right away.
Of course, it hinged on clearing—but that was no issue for Soo-hyuk.
'Way too greedy, these viewers.'
Naturally, that was Soo-hyuk's take.
Pak Soo-hyuk ignored the chat and dove into the trial. The result? Disaster.
Watching him flail, Soo-hyuk felt his eyes rotting.
"What, he can't even do that?"
Eighth try should've meant mastery. At least by Soo-hyuk's standards.
But he played like it was day one.
'Wearing my name and pulling this crap?'
Too cringe to watch. Soo-hyuk itched to hurl the Kit multiple times.
Failure, predictably. A clownish mistake—arrow through the skull—booted him back to the floor 3 trial room.
"So close—huge progress though. Bros, you gotta admit?"
"...Chaotic."
Soo-hyuk sighed, watching the stream.
Over the past few days of viewing, he'd become convinced.
'This makes bank.'
Points—the tower's currency.
Streaming was a damn good way to farm them.
Just now, 'Pak Soo-hyuk's' viewers topped 100k.
Unlike his gimmick, he succeeded on witty banter and the unique concept, not skill.
Lee Soo-hyuk, famed as the GOAT Player.
His polar-opposite trash skill was the hook.
'Couldn't do that. Not my style. Even if, couldn't pull it off that well.'
Stream types varied.
Gag streams to amuse viewers.
Interaction streams leveraging looks.
Skill streams showing dungeon clears or trials.
Sometimes a mix.
And for Soo-hyuk?
Skill stream, obviously.
"Streaming, huh..."
A few days later.
After grinding dungeons and studying streams visually, Soo-hyuk pulled the mask from his inventory corner and covered his face.
He'd pondered his streaming concept those days.
'Feels right.'
Mask hiding his youthful face, he stepped to the mirror on the wall.
There stood the Lee Soo-hyuk from memory.
'Never thought I'd wear this again.'
His black eyes gleamed with a smile.
Started for points, but why half-ass it?
With that, Soo-hyuk passed the mirror and headed out of the dorm.
Anyone seeing would point and laugh—'Copycat!'
Whatever.
Didn't matter what they thought.
After all—
—I'm the real one.