Chapter 83
Chapter 83
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 83
Chapter Title: Opening the Highway
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Ever since the match started, Nile Tool hadn't been in a good mood.
'Streamer? What the hell kind of title is that?'
He could see enemy players and minions swarming from afar.
He needed to focus, but he just couldn't.
'That bronze punk talks a big game. What does he think he's gonna do...'
This game was doomed from the start.
According to that woman Loen, he was apparently a pretty skilled streamer.
But the spec difference between Bronze and Platinum was a whopping three times.
No amount of control could overcome that.
Swinging his massive hammer to take out an enemy minion, Nile steadily raised his stats.
'Farming's going well.'
There were three ways to grow stronger in this match.
Kill enemy players, hunt neutral monsters, or keep taking out the respawning enemy minions.
Players called the steady process of killing minions to raise stats 'farming.'
'What's the point. We're gonna lose because of that one guy anyway.'
With that thought, Nile scanned for the enemy player's position.
The player was glued right next to the giant statue serving as their team's turret.
The moment he attacked, the statue would target him.
'No way to win except stacking kills. That's why he's playing so defensively?'
The match was growing increasingly hopeless.
"This ain't working, damn it."
And then.
Fwaah-.
The enemy player, who had been peacefully farming as if by agreement, suddenly closed the distance.
"Huh-."
At that moment, another enemy player caught his eye.
As another player emerged from the bushes, Nile felt utterly defeated.
'Yeah, this was a match we could never win...'
Flash-!
Boom-!
A streak of light flashed, followed by a deafening roar in his ears.
"Argh-!"
"What the hell? Where'd that come from?"
The enemy player struck by yellow lightning screamed, while the other panicked and scanned the surroundings.
And in that gap.
Flash-!
A second spear flew in.
Boom-!
Clang-!
The lightning was blocked by the shield.
"Ngh-."
The player barely reacted, staggering. The attacker hadn't even shown themselves, pouring attacks from an unknown range.
'One of ours?'
Nile's face lit up.
A savior appearing just when he thought they were done. Even with that bronze in the mix, they had a proper teammate after all.
"Find that guy first!"
"He's in the forest! You go look!"
The two enemies clashed in disagreement.
Spotting the opening, Nile's eyes gleamed. He used a skill that consumed a ton of mana.
Whoosh-.
The club swung with a charge.
Clang-!
The force behind the club crumpled the enemy player's shield. As one staggered, their ally emerged from the forest.
And the moment he saw that ally's face.
"Bronze?"
Nile muttered in shock.
Even with stats halved, he was closing in on the enemy player at a frightening speed.
And the next moment.
Whoosh-.
Leaping over the shield, Soo-hyuk swung his sword from behind.
Boom-!
Lightning shot out with the sword strike. It wasn't very powerful, but Soo-hyuk's blade precisely severed the opponent's neck.
The notification popped up for all participants.
As one fell, the remaining player tried to hide behind the statue again.
No.
Tried to.
"You can't go there."
As if he'd expected it.
Soo-hyuk warned the last remaining player.
"Well, too late."
"Too late?"
The player who'd heard the warning scanned around.
Crackle, crackle-.
Under his feet.
A circular yellow line shimmered.
A trap pre-set along the predicted escape route. The moment he thought to flee, it was already too late.
Flash-!
Rumble-!
Lightning surged from below upward.
The player, fully electrocuted, rolled back his eyes white and convulsed. In that gap, another spear formed in Soo-hyuk's hand.
Splat-!
A long yellow spear pierced through his body.
"Gah-."
With a short death cry, the second player's breath was cut short.
Two down in an instant.
Nile rubbed his eyes.
"What... what the hell was that..."
But even after rubbing and opening them again, it hadn't changed.
"He's really bronze?"
Suddenly.
Soo-hyuk's words flashed in Nile's mind.
"The system is fairer than anyone. If you're too blinded by ranks to see the truth, why not just gouge out those eyes?"
Back then, he'd dismissed it as bruised pride.
'It wasn't.'
Having witnessed the skill with his own eyes, Nile's thoughts realigned.
Bronze and Platinum had a simple three-fold spec difference.
Yet the system had placed Lee Soo-hyuk among Platinum players.
Which meant.
'This guy's bronze rank matches my Platinum specs.'
A chill ran down his spine.
Nile wondered.
Who the hell had he picked a fight with?
Killing two players filled his body with vigor.
His stats recovered. Temporary for this match only, but now they were roughly back to normal.
Soo-hyuk poked with two spears, slit the throat when his ally created an opening.
And he'd predicted the lone survivor fleeing to the turret from the start, laying a trap in advance.
His play just now fit together perfectly, like a scripted stage.
Typically, Platinum players start with three times the stats of Bronze ones.
A overwhelming gap. Yet Soo-hyuk took them out too easily.
"What was he doing over there?"
Soo-hyuk turned to Nile.
Amid the clashing minions, Nile stood blankly staring at him.
"Troll."
Soo-hyuk approached Nile.
"What're you doing? Clear the minions and push the turret. They're coming back."
In War Forest, players respawn after a set time until the match ends. One kill wasn't the end.
The goal was to destroy the enemy's nexus.
To do that, they had to smash the statues one by one, starting from the front.
"R-Right."
Nile, suddenly compliant.
He hurriedly cleared minions and started on the statue as Soo-hyuk directed.
As Nile got moving again, Soo-hyuk slipped back into the forest.
Awooo-!
A wolf howled.
A new neutral monster had spawned. Just as he was about to resume hunting, an alert appeared.
['MissionVillain' has registered a mission.]
🎁 20,000 points if you clear floor 4 in 1 month. Call?
The first mission registered since starting the floor 4 trial.
Soo-hyuk's eyes sparkled at the awaited message.
That was the signal.
['ILoveLeeSooHyuk' has registered a mission.]
🎁 Soo-hyuk oppa! (derp) I'll match with 20,000 points! Fighting! (derp)
['NeverLose' has registered a mission.]
🎁 10,000p more from fellow alumni. Let's go.
['GreatManOneTalent' has registered a mission.]
🎁 Big mission today? 10,000p more...
[...]
Missions poured in one after another. Not just many, but each with hefty amounts. It was a full-month long-term mission, after all.
Plus, the difficulty wasn't easy.
A mission to beat the record by over two-thirds.
Objectively impossible. But none of the viewers called it absolutely undoable.
And sure enough.
['SafeAsset' has registered a mission.]
🎁 50,000 points if cleared in half a month. Try it lol
SafeAsset.
The viewer infamous for betting on impossible missions, who'd now halved the time.
Turning a tough mission impossible.
But viewers cheered his appearance instead.
SafeAsset.
Infamous in other streams for never paying out missions, but in Soo-hyuk's stream, he'd never won once.
"SafeAsset, still haven't changed your name, huh."
Soo-hyuk provoked him again.
"Thanks for the 50k points. I'll take good care of them."
Soo-hyuk ignored the month-long missions.
Clearing MissionVillain's would auto-complete them anyway.
And to do that.
'Half a month...'
Normal methods wouldn't cut it.
'Not fun, but no choice.'
Returning to his lane, Lord muttered at the statue's HP.
"Good, turret's intact."
Whether the enemies were idiots or not, even after two deaths, the statue's HP hadn't dropped much.
Not a big loss. The problem was the opponent getting two kills, but farming could close that gap.
'I was too careless earlier. Underestimated him for being bronze.'
Glance-.
Lord side-eyed the forest.
'Opponent is Lee Soo-hyuk. Remember that.'
He knew the streamer Lee Soo-hyuk.
A hot topic in low tiers lately. A super rookie eyed by major guilds, not just as a streamer.
Bronze rank, but wielder of the Lightning skill.
'Farm safely behind the turret, grow first.'
Lord started clearing minions with the statue's help.
The statue lost some HP, but it was acceptable.
For stable farming.
As he planned for the late game.
Crackle-!
A far more powerful lightning spear flew not from the front, but from beyond the rear bushes.
"Gasp!"
Clang-!
He hurriedly raised his shield to block. His hand went numb, and something leaped over his head.
'Dive?'
Ignoring the turret to get the enemy.
Rare due to dodging or tanking turret shots.
But.
Whirr-!
The opponent effortlessly dodged the statue's laser, slashing down on his head.
"What the hell is this rigged bullshit-."
Stab-.
Messages flashed in sequence. After swiftly destroying the first statue, Soo-hyuk declared.
"I'll open the highway."
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