Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Crunch—

A woman player from Murim, Un-hyang chewed on a walnut while watching the screen. “Are they dumb? How can’t they pass this with five people?” She sighed in disappointment

Cheong-ryang, who was also watching from next to Un-hyang, asked, “Who is it this time?”

“A streamer named Sangbbak. He’s currently challenging the 5th floor.”

“Sangbbak? Isn’t he that Lee Su-hyeok knockoff? Or is he Bbak Su-hyeok’s knockoff?”

“I don’t know. Maybe he’s a mixture of both.” She put another walnut in her mouth and turned off the stream.

Crunch—

“I don’t know why they’re streaming when they’re so bad,” she complained.

“Streaming isn’t just about skills. Don’t be too biased. With that mindset, you won’t be able to do this job,” Cheong-ryang warned.

They were employees of Balhae Entertainment. High-ranking players and popular streamers held influence akin to that of a celebrity’s, and it was their job to maximize influence for more points. As for the two of them, they were tasked with contacting such streamers.

“Still, shouldn’t they be above a certain standard?”

“You shouldn’t judge people based on your standards alone.” Cheon-ryang reached for the walnut Un-hyang was eating. “Honestly, I still don’t understand why you’re here doing this job.”

Among the many players from Murim, Un-hyang was one of the ones who stood out the most. She’d quickly reached the 8th floor and had enough talent to go higher, but she’d suddenly stopped. One day...

“Is your company hiring?” She’d abruptly shown up at the company, saying she wanted a job.

“Why don’t you go higher? You seem like you could reach the top if you wanted,” Cheon-ryang said.

Un-hyang sighed. “Because it’s no fun.”

“Fun? Is that the agony of being a genius?”

“Are you making fun of me?”

“No way.” Cheon-ryang shrugged and ended the conversation on a light note. Even if they took the conversation further, she would never reveal her true feelings. ‘She wanted to go up to meet Lee Su-hyeok. Of course she would feel bored.’

The moment she stopped climbing and lost interest in the world was when Lee Su-hyeok’s death was revealed.

It was a pity. As an old friend and as a player, seeing Un-hyang’s talent rot away seemed like too much of a waste.

“What? This guy.” Un-hyang suddenly frowned, speaking in a voice tinged with displeasure.

Cheon-ryang asked, “What? Is there a strange guy?”

“A Lee Su-hyeok imitator.”

“Another one?” Cheon-ryang got up and looked at the stream Un-hyang was watching.

Sure enough, the stream showed a newbie streamer using the name ‘Lee Su-hyeok’. It was a stream with 0 viewers.

“What are you doing...?” he asked.

“Why?”

“Hey, why are you watching someone’s stream when they have no viewers?” Balhae was an entertainment company that contacted streamers who had many viewers and collaborated with them to make money, so why was she watching someone who had not a single viewer?

“What do you want me to do? It just popped up before me,” Un-hyang mumbled.

“That’s because you always watch streams with Lee Su-hyeok involved, so related videos pop up.” Cheon-ryang sighed.

Un-hyang, unaware of Cheon-ryang’s frustration, grumbled as if she were in a bad mood. “It’s really funny. I don’t understand where they get such confidence from.”

She was a fan of Su-hyeok. Not only that, but she was extremely enthusiastic about him. That’s why she watched all streams related to Lee Su-hyeok, regardless of the number of viewers.

“Then just don’t watch it,” Cheong-ryang said.

“Do you think I’m watching because I want to?”

“Listen. I understand how you feel, but personal emotions are prohibited in our job, especially when it comes to contacting streamers.”

“I know, but...” Un-hyang trailed off and looked at the new ‘Lee Su-hyeok’ streamer who had appeared on her kit’s screen. “Whenever they wear that mask, I can’t help but have expectations.”

If they were going to do it, shouldn’t they at least be good enough to not disappoint her?

Cheong-ryang closed eyes and thought, ‘Yes, let’s think positively.’ It wasn’t that there wasn’t anyone to have imitated Su-hyeok and done well. Before she entered the company, there was one player who had caught her attention.

“Yes. There are people like Cha Min-woo in the world. He began wearing a mask from the 3rd floor, right?”

Un-hyang nodded.

Cha Min-woo was the fastest player to climb the tower among those who’d started in the last 10 years. He’d climbed so quickly that people often said he was at the level of an average Blue Eyes member already.

Un-hyang also acknowledged his skills, but...

“Lee Su-hyeok’s still the best. He can’t be compared to.”

As expected, that man still couldn’t be compared to Lee Su-hyeok.

Un-hyang focused on the stream.

Paf—

[You’ve defeated a ‘One-Eyed Bat’.]

[You’ve earned 1 achievement point.]

He suddenly thrust the sword he was holding upward and pierced the eye of a monster flying overhead. It was a ‘One-Eyed Bat’, which was as big as a fist.

“You’re right. They appear out of nowhere,” he casually said.

– ????

– What was that???

– Can’t you tell? It was a one-eyed bat.

– Who doesn’t know that? How did he do that?

– It seemed like it just flew into the sword on its own.

– What incredible luck.

The chat window erupted in an instant. Su-hyeok shook off the one-eyed bat stuck on his sword onto the ground and checked the chat.

– It’s a monster called a one-eyed bat. They suddenly come from dark places.

– That’s right, if one bites you, you’ll at least suffer a severe injury.

– They usually come from above, just like now. You can’t just look ahead and walk.

Bits of advice poured in.

Su-hyeok nodded as he read the chat, but he couldn’t follow all of it. “Besides the one-eyed bats, one should also be careful of ‘ground mermaids’.” Ground mermaids were a type of fish that lay flat on the cave’s floor. Although they looked like fish, they crawled on the ground.

“Ground mermaids are less noticeable. After all, they usually lie flat on the floor, waiting for prey.”

– Oh?

– Isn’t this your first try?

– These days, there’s a lot of information on the channels. You can easily find such information with a little research.

– Thumbs up for the effort.

Most of Su-hyeok’s viewers were also players who had passed the 2nd-floor trial and moved up. That’s why they were quite knowledgeable about how to pass the trial.

Of course...

– Don’t be greedy, and move with your team. That’s the answer.

None of them had taken the trial by themselves like Su-hyeok was doing.

“Thank you for your advice, Mr. ‘I love money,’ but I can’t do that. I’m challenging this by myself.”

– ??? Alone?

– Huh??? Didn’t you do any research?

– You’re screwed, lol.

– This is what I call a real newbie, lol.

There was a heated reaction to Su-hyeok’s revelation. It was understandable. After all, the 2nd floor’s trial was designed for a five-person party. He’d have to do the work of five people, so one couldn’t simply say it was five times harder.

In fact, less than five people had ever passed the 2nd floor’s trial alone, making it extremely difficult.

– Mr... Will you be really okay?

‘I love money’ sent another message asking him if he would really be okay.

Su-hyeok swung his sword and replied, “Yes, I want to give it a try.”

Slash—

[You’ve defeated a ‘Ground Mermaid’.]

[You’ve earned 2 achievement points.]

“Thank you for your concern.” The waiting ground mermaid’s head fell from its neck.

– ??? A ground mermaid???

– Did anyone see that thing?

– I didn’t.

– There was a ground mermaid, but now it’s gone.

Question marks flooded the chat again.

The number of viewers increased to six.

____