Chapter 21

Chapter 21: Heavenly Demon Divine Art (3)

Translation: godtl

-Don King got wrecked? Does this mean full refunds?

-LMAOOOO. That's 10 million won per person, totaling 30 million?

-Got absolutely demolished by some deep-sea bastard kekeke!

-Dude came from the deep sea and ended up becoming a local resident lol.

Even though the streamer had died and the screen turned black,

the chatroom showed no signs of cooling down.

Of course it didn't.

Had it just been a competition between fellow Bus Drivers, it might've been different.

-Deep sea my ass. Did you not see him using Fist Energy earlier? Clearly not some local.

-But it didn't really look like Fist Energy though?

-Deadass, I'm one of Don King's OG viewers, and that was nothing like his Fist Energy.

-I've never even heard the name Kim Si-mun before.

-No shit? What kind of degenerate would go out of their way to watch deep-sea locals stream?

Their opponent was some no-name Player no one had ever seen before, and they took down Don King?

And not just that—a combat specialist aiming for Diamond got beaten by fists alone?

Don King's chat was more active than it had ever been.

And then—

'Damn it...... Fuck.'

Watching this entire situation unfold, Don King bit his lip hard.

A flood of curses rose to his throat, but—

Since the stream was still live and he had things to wrap up—

"Alright, everyone. The Arena's already over, so let's all calm down."

Don King steadied his mental state and began organizing the situation.

"I'm not sure what just happened, but based on my experience, that guy definitely isn't ranked in this bracket."

-Deadass. Using Fist Energy in the deep sea is crossing the line.

-Exactly, exactly. Even if it wasn't Fist Energy, that power was insane. Definitely not someone from this bracket.

Since Bus Driver streams naturally attracted highly loyal viewers—

-So did he cheat or something?

-Cheat my ass lololol Amanbo's disciple kekeke

-Since when does the Arena have cheats? At least say something that makes sense.

-Deadass lol. That kid's probably a real deep-sea Player.

-I'm saying maybe he had some artifact or something else. Learn to read between the lines.

-You're the deep-sea one here.

Don King's viewers were quick to side with his opinion.

Honestly, even the viewers couldn't believe what they'd just witnessed.

The chat's atmosphere easily swayed in line with Don King's take.

"First and foremost, I need to apologize to my clients."

Once public opinion had settled somewhat, Don King got to the main point.

"Normally, full refunds aren't part of the policy, but this was completely unexpected. I'll process full refunds for everyone."

-Ooooh! That's our Don King!

-Oi oi, knew we could count on you!

-Dude's dead serious about being a Bus Driver lol.

As the chat returned to its usual state—

"Alright, I'll head out first. Thanks for tuning in today."

Don King smoothly wrapped up the stream with his signature sign-off.

The moment the stream fully cut off—

"Goddammit!"

Crack.

The latest model of Arena Access Device—

Specifically, the lightweight goggle-type—slammed into the floor.

Judging by the shattered front lens, it was definitely broken, but—

"Fist Energy in that rank?! Does that even make sense?!"

Don King had no room in his mind to care about that right now.

"There's gotta be something! Whether it's an artifact or some trick I don't know about—"

His voice was as rough as his breathing, but only for a moment—

"...Right. Gotta admit what needs admitting."

Don King took a calmer breath and firmly shut his eyes.

He was someone who had raced through Platinum-rank and even aimed for Diamond.

Even if he'd artificially lowered his rank and taken all sorts of penalties—

'No way I misread that.'

He hadn't fallen so low that he couldn't tell the difference between a gimmick attack and one loaded with Fist Energy.

'That was definitely Fist Energy.'

What had coiled around that Player Kim Si-mun's fist was unmistakably Fist Energy.

The pitch-black color was odd, but Aura colors varying by user was common enough.

"Hah."

Don King opened his eyes.

The fury that had filled his pupils had quietly settled.

'So that bastard's strong enough to use Fist Energy, huh...'

By simple calculations, Fist Energy was a technique that required at least level 100 stats to even glimpse—

But that was exactly it—just a simple calculation, an average.

There were plenty who could manifest Aura without meeting those conditions.

'Guess it's more influenced by personal talent than raw stats.'

Just look at those monstrous rookies from a few years back—Kim Si-hyeok and Lee Yu-jeong.

Even among the current Diamond-rank players, those at the upper echelons were proof of that.

They had been using Aura since their lower-rank days, regardless of their stats.

Even if their stat values didn't meet the threshold of a level 100 player, manifesting Fist Energy was still possible.

But one question lingered in Don King's mind.

'If he's that strong, there's no way I wouldn't have heard of him...'

The bracket Don King currently operated his bus service in was between Silver and Gold.

He had a complete grasp of all the notable players and bus drivers in this tier.

Yet the name Kim Si-mun was entirely unfamiliar.

Then—

"That's right!"

Si-mun's earlier words flashed through Don King's mind.

'My precious viewer just gave me a mission.'

"That bastard! He definitely said he got a mission."

At first, he had dismissed it as mere pride or bravado.

But after getting thoroughly beaten, his perspective had done a complete 180.

"A stream! There must be a stream!"

Don King hurriedly turned on his smartphone.

Since 2015, the Galaxy Arena's dedicated streaming platform, Arenia, had become an essential part of human society.

He opened Arenia and frantically used the search function.

'Please don't tell me it's a private stream...'

Though the Galaxy Arena had designed the platform so even non-Awakened could watch,

there was also a private broadcast feature that only allowed specified viewers.

Fortunately, it didn't seem to be private.

"Found it!"

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

After praying over and over, Don King finally located Kim Si-mun's stream.

But—

[Kim Si-mun - Rank: Unranked. 3 viewers.]

"Huh? Unranked? Unranked?!"

Don King's face twisted in shock.

He had assumed Si-mun was either a rising star or a smurf like himself.

But a complete newbie who hadn't even taken the Placement Test yet?

"......"

His brain felt paralyzed.

Yet, despite the state of his mind,

Don King's fingers moved on their own, tapping the screen to enter Si-mun's stream.

The moment he joined, the scene unfolding was exactly what he expected.

"P-please, spare me!"

"What the hell! How is someone with no gear this strong?!"

A massacre.

As if there weren't already enough bus drivers like Don King.

The stream's screen flickered as Si-mun moved, dark mine tunnels whipping past in a blur.

"Guh—!"

"A barrier! Agh—!"

Players were being swept away by punches that didn't even carry Fist Energy.

"Insane..."

Don King's jaw dropped at the sheer brilliance of the movements.

'This guy... his martial arts are on another level.'

He could now confirm that the skill Si-mun had used to overwhelm him was no fluke.

How could it be?

'He just pulled off a spinning kick from that distance?'

'And now he's landing a double strike with his elbow here? Wait, just how high are his stats...?'

'What kind of mind game is that? No way... does he already understand the concept of feints?'

Though he was now a bus driver, Don King had once been a Diamond-aspiring martial artist.

From his perspective—

'Every single movement carries the essence of combat mastery, and then some...'

Every punch Si-mun threw, every step he took, was executed at a level that was unmistakable.

Those movements—

'What the hell has he trained in?'

Even for Don King, who had once aimed for Diamond promotion as a martial artist, it was incomprehensible.

No—

It was something he couldn't even begin to grasp conceptually.

And on top of that—

'It's this dark... so how is he finding his enemies so easily?'

The Abandoned Mine map was structured like an ant colony—a complex maze.

And in certain areas, there was not even a single torch, just absolute darkness.

The infamous Black Zone.

Yet, Si-mun's stream showed him moving relentlessly even in the Black Zone.

How could he know where to go when he couldn't even see?

"Ghk! H-how did you—?!"

The screams of players with traits specialized for darkness kept erupting, answering that question.

'Not only that, but his movements don't slow down even in the Black Zone...'

Right.

It was as if he could see perfectly through the pitch-black darkness of the mine.

'And this guy is unranked?'

An unranked player who hadn't even taken the Placement Test yet.

In other words, someone who hadn't even played ten Arena matches.

'You're lying. How is this even possible?'

He'd sooner believe Si-mun was a player on his second life.

That would make more sense.

As Don King ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠let out a hollow laugh, another thought struck him.

"Wait a second. Now that I think about it..."

He was sure the stream had displayed 3 viewers before he joined.

"Why is no one typing in chat?"

Tilting his head, Don ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠King stared at the chat box for a long moment.

The counterattack that had miraculously blocked the ambush from behind was so impressive that even Don King, a fellow martial artist, couldn't help but let out an admiring sigh.

......

Yet, no messages appeared in the chat window.

"Well, Kim Si-mun himself doesn't seem to pay much attention to the chat anyway..."

But even so, if there were viewers who had gone as far as issuing missions, they should've at least made their presence known somehow.

Why was the chat so eerily silent?

After staring at the quiet chat for a while longer, Don King moved his fingers.

His message was the first to break the desolate silence.

Then—

A single reply appeared.

"Huh? Who's this?!"

Recognizing the familiar username, Don King quickly typed back.

Don King wiped his brow in relief as Hu Yeon-ryong dismissed the refund.

He checked the viewer count again—five, including himself.

'Wait. So I entered first, and Hu Yeon-ryong-nim joined a little later...'

Meaning the three who had been watching from the start still hadn't said a word?

Then—

Messages bearing extraordinary usernames appeared.

Naturally, Don King could only respond with—

A question mark.

Hu Yeon-ryong's follow-up message also dripped with disbelief.

And for good reason.

Originally, only the stream's managers had their names displayed in chat.

And given the nature of small-scale streams, they often handed out "manager" titles freely to retain even a handful of viewers.

Don King himself had gathered his early regular viewers that way.

But—

"This is just insane. What kind of lunatic names their managers after Constellations?"

Labeling all the managers as "Constellations"?

That was just too much, wasn't it?

Unable to hold back his bewilderment, he typed:

A flurry of question marks followed, but he had no choice but to ask.

Wasn't it obvious?

Players chosen by Constellations, regardless of rank, always drew massive viewer counts.

And yet, these so-called "managers" were boldly flaunting names like "Constellation"?

"Playing dumb, huh? Ha! This is straight-up malicious trolling."

To anyone with eyes, it was clearly a scam to trick naive viewers.

Even though he himself worked as a Bus Driver, impersonating Constellations was crossing the line.

With that thought, Don King furiously typed away.

The chat remained silent.

Just as Don King, now convinced this was deliberate trolling, was about to fire off another message—

The last silent viewer finally made their presence known.

"Ghk!"

The armored man collapsed with a scream.

Embedded deep into the thick chest plate was the unmistakable imprint of a fist—no, more accurately, it had been driven into it.

"That should be the last one."

The man responsible, Si-mun, shook off his fist lightly and opened the Arena Board.

1st Place - Kim Si-mun - 20 Kills.

2nd Place - Park Se-chan - 3 Kills.

3rd Place - Choi......

"Twenty kills..."

Si-mun smiled in satisfaction as he checked the tally.

"At this rate, even if I take it easy, there's no way first place will be stolen."

With fewer than twenty survivors left, even if he sat idle now, no one could overtake him.

'Will the Heavenly Demon be satisfied with this?'

He opened the mission log and reviewed the task Constellation Heavenly Demon had given him at the start of the Arena.

[Mission]

Reward: 500 Achievement Points

A mission with remarkably simple content.

It didn't demand first place, nor did it require an overwhelming kill count.

Yet, to Si-mun, this mission felt more challenging than those with explicit conditions.

'Well, open-ended questions are always harder than multiple-choice, after all.'

'Truly befitting of a martial artist.'

He sighed at the abstract nature of the mission.

'Not that I need to agonize over it too much.'

Though the word 'Path of Hegemony' was used,

what it ultimately demanded was for Kim Si-mun to demonstrate his capabilities.

'Surely, what I've shown so far will be enough.'

A kill count so overwhelming it could be called bullying, securing first place—

and even defeating Don King, the infamous Bus Driver who dominated this bracket, without retreating a single step.

He had shown everything there was to show.

Besides, wasn't Si-mun an alchemist, not a martial artist?

This much should suffice for mission completion.

Or so he thought.

'Tch. Still not enough, huh?'

The message window remained blank, offering no confirmation. Si-mun clicked his tongue.

'Well, it'll probably complete when the Arena ends.'

Then—

'Hm?'

A faint glimmer caught his eye in the distance.

'What's that?'

This place was the Black Zone, a notorious area within the Abandoned Mine map—

a space so dark that visibility was practically zero.

Yet, to Si-mun, it posed no obstacle.

The reason was simple.

[Moon Owl's Body Tissue]

Completion: 13%

The synthesized body tissue of a Moon Owl.

It allows the replication of a Moon Owl's physical capabilities.

Moon Owls, a type of owl-like monster—

Through human body synthesis, Si-mun had replicated their ocular tissue into his own eyes.

Though distinguishing colors was somewhat difficult,

it granted him night vision as clear as looking through a scope.

And in that vision, only that spot was shimmering.

'Should I check it out?'

Activating [Black Panther's Body Tissue], he reached the spot in a single, effortless leap and examined the glimmering object.

'Let's see... The sporadic silver streaks suggest it's silver ore?'

—O-oppa?

While inspecting the object, a familiar voice trembled faintly in his mind.

—Wait... Could this be... that thing?

The Philosopher's Stone.

'That thing?'

—Y-you know! That thing!

The Stone's voice was practically vibrating with excitement. Si-mun tilted his head in confusion—

then jolted in realization as he took in the unnaturally bright, pristine silver sheen.

'Ah!'

Had something clicked in his mind?

He hurriedly dug out the glimmering object.

Like most ores,

it was a lump of silver mixed with impurities.

But that vivid, almost radiant silver—

it was unmistakably that mineral Si-mun knew.

He swallowed hard and immediately tried checking its information window.

The reason was simple.

'If this thing has an info window...'

Then it could be taken back to Earth.

Because it would be classified not as part of the map's terrain, but as an obtainable item.

And sure enough—

Swipe.

An information window materialized before his eyes.

—Oppa, well? Is it the one? Huh?

'Yeah, it is.'

—KYAAH! What luck! Oppa, grab it quick!

Carefully, he stored it in his inventory.

'Never imagined I'd find this in an abandoned mine.'

—Me neither! Who'd think such a treasure would be buried in this dump?! Oppa? Let's get out of here and examine it properly!

'Right.'

Just as he turned, buoyed by the unexpected windfall—

'Hm?'

Another light flickered.

This time, it wasn't from the mine.

A conspicuously flashing red dot at the edge of his vision.

'That's...'

Though Si-mun had no prior experience with broadcasts before regression,

he could easily guess what it was—

a notification from the chat window.

'Right, I left the broadcast on.'

After dealing with streamer Don King,

he had kept it running, hoping to catch the Heavenly Demon's reaction for mission completion.

Granting manager privileges to the three Constellations had been an afterthought.

The reason was simple.

'Gotta maintain the conditions for Pick of Kings.'

Not that manager privileges could sway a Constellation's favor,

but doing something was better than nothing, right?

So he ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠had given all three of them the authority—

—Fck! Go ahead and ban me if you dare, you Constellation cosplay freaks!*

—Exactly! Even if you purge us, you're the ones who'll get flamed!

—I've seen all kinds of crazy streams, but this is my first time seeing lunatics cosplaying as Constellations!

—Try it! I dare you!

Unbeknownst to him, his chat had descended into chaos.

'W-what the hell is this?'

Si-mun's jaw dropped at the sheer frenzy unfolding in the chat—a sight he had never witnessed before.

But before he could even process it—

—Constellation Black Goat: Oh-ho, you disrespectful little worms! I'll purge every last one of you!

[Manager 'Constellation Black Goat' has banned dlrjfcuqhrpTdj.]

[Manager 'Constellation Black Goat' has kicked out user tjfakdkslwl.]

[Manager 'Constellation Black Goat' has kicked out user.......]

-Constellation Zeus: How refreshingly insane. I quite like this side of you.

A slaughterfest worthy of this hellscape was unfolding before their eyes.