Chapter 27

Chapter 27

The stage was called ‘The Lightning’s Path’. Besides the name, there was nothing he knew about the place.

A seemingly endless white space stretched out before him.

“They said there’s a lightning strand hidden here...” He didn’t bother adjusting the microphone as he spoke. Nobody was nearby anyway. “There seems to be nothing here, though.”

– Lol.

– There really isn’t anything.

– It seems the theme of this test is a prank.

The white space was so startlingly empty that it was almost confusing, but there was no way things ended there.

‘It isn’t that there’s nothing here. It probably just looks like that.’

It was a trial, and he was a player who had to somehow pass it. That being the case, he had to find a clue.

‘I just can’t ignore the name. The stage was called ‘Legend’, and he was in ‘The Lightning’s Path’. If all he had was the name, he needed to find some meaning to it.

Su-hyeok looked around. It didn’t matter whether he rolled his eyes or moved his head—his view remained unchanged.

Squeak—

When he realized having his eyes open or closed made no difference, he kept his eyes shut. ‘This isn’t a trial where you can find something with your eyes.’

That meant there was only one way to clear it—he had to find something that couldn’t be seen.

BZZT—

With his eyes closed, he felt his surroundings with his body. Just a little bit ahead, there was a faintly familiar sensation. His skin tingled. Something was flowing in that space.

He opened his eyes again and looked for a stone on the ground. He needed to confirm his theory.

– What is he doing?

– He’s moving.

– What is he looking for?

– A stone?

Su-hyeok grabbed a stone. ‘It’s an old-fashioned method, but...’ There was nothing he could do about it. For someone like him, old-fashioned methods were the ones that were the most fitting.

Swish—

With all his might, he threw the stone toward the long white path before him.

Crack—!

With a loud spark, the stone he’d thrown was charred black mid-flight. The sight of the stone bouncing like popcorn with a loud spark in the seemingly empty air was truly shocking.

– Woah.

– What happened?

– What kind of trial is this?

Numerous questions poured in. It was a natural reaction to the enigmatic trial’s contents.

Su-hyeok tried to explain what he’d realized. “It’s lightning.”

– Lightning?

– Yes. The name of this place is ‘The Lightning’s Path’.

– So the stone exploded because of lightning.

Su-hyeok nodded. “It’s just like the map’s name implies—it seems I have to walk through the lightning...”

Step—

He slowly began walking.

BZZ, BZZT—

A tingling sensation stimulated his skin. It was such a familiar sensation that it even felt welcome. The place was covered in lightning.

“It seems that the theme this time is ‘patience’.” He reached out his hand, but it bounced off of empty space with a spark like the stone had.

BZZT—!

His mouth fell open in disbelief as he clenched and unclenched his fist. “The trial is telling me to die.”

– It seems so.

[The trial is telling me to die.] He even told lighthearted jokes during the trial.

‘He really... reminds me of Su-hyeok.’ While watching him, Siwoo had the absurd thought that maybe the guy might be a reincarnated Su-hyeok. He finally understood why Yeryeong had gotten addicted to his stream, and he glanced around apologetically.

‘I don’t think he’ll be able to do this.’ Just by seeing how the stone got burned, one could tell how much electricity was flowing there. That wasn’t something a 2nd-floor player could endure.

It was known that players who reached higher floors had bodies harder than rock or steel, but that streamer had just reached the 2nd floor. As a player, he was still a newbie.

‘Well, he got this trial after defeating the giants’ leader in the first place. That’s why he was given one with such difficulty.’ He wasn’t in a situation to complain about the difficulty.

The harder the trial was, the greater the reward. Streamer Lee Su-hyeok had already received the Lightning skill. Naturally, he was just taking the next step. It wouldn’t have made sense for him to get an easy trial.

‘If this were him...’

“There’s no such thing as an impossible trial.”

It was a phrase Su-hyeok always used to say when faced with difficulties. He didn’t know when to give up. Even while they were hesitating with the hydra’s subjugation, Su-hyeok confidently said, “What’s there to worry about? I will win anyway.”

He really ended up doing it and managed to take down the hydra. If it weren’t for Kim Ilsu’s betrayal, he would have truly become a hero.

Su-hyeok never stopped challenging the tower. He didn’t know when to give up, and in the end, he always succeeded. That was who Lee Su-hyeok was.

‘What are you going to do?’ Siwoo’s eyes shone while looking at the stream. Even if Su-hyeok died in the trial, he wouldn’t die in real life. If you died in a trial, though, you would end up losing the reward you got in the previous stage.

In the case of the streamer, he would end up receiving the worst possible penalty—he would lose the Lightning skill he got after so much effort.

‘Will you take on the challenge, or will you stop here?’

The screen was frozen. Streamer Su-hyeok seemed to hesitate for a moment. That attitude was clearly different from the Su-hyeok Siwoo knew. Gradually, his expectations faded.

[‘Allergic to Air’ has donated 100 points.]

[Are you going to take the challenge?]

At the top right corner of the screen, a message appeared along with a donation.

[‘Mission Villain’ has registered a mission.]

[You won’t be able to resist a mission, lol. 1.000 points if you succeed.]

[‘Lee Su-hyeok, I love you’ has donated 1.000 points.]

[Mr. Su-hyeok, please don’t do it ᅲᅲ. If you fail, you will lose the Lightning skill.]

[‘Let’s live, player’ has registered a mission.]

[2,000 points if you succeed.]

Messages poured in. Some people were discouraging him from challenging, but most were urging him through.

In the end, the viewers wanted to see more stimulating and fun trials. Moreover, the Lee Su-hyeok the viewers wanted to see could overcome all adversities and successfully clear the trials.

“Everyone...” Su-hyeok made a decision. “Thank you for your donations.” His answer was full of confidence, as if he’d already cleared the trial.

That attitude also resembled the Su-hyeok Siwoo knew, but... ‘This guy was intending to challenge it from the start.’ The reason for hesitation was too different.

– He can’t resist money, lol.

– Even if he dies, points are points~

– Seeing this, he really is Su-hyeok 2.0.

– For real, the true Su-hyeok wasn’t interested in points, lol.

Points were the currency of the world and the lifeline of players. No one hated money. Streaming was also a job, and one worked to earn money.

Still, the Su-hyeok he knew would have never risked his life for points. He’d said that a great player should make money chase them, not the other way around.

‘He’s different from Su-hyeok.’ Of course, he knew the person who was streaming was someone who had just taken on the concept of Lee Su-hyeok. What made him stand out from others was that he’d acquired the Lightning skill and meticulously copied his speech and actions.

In essence, he was just a guy making points by using the image of Siwoo’s friends.

“We’re both the same. We can’t break free from Lee Su-hyeok’s shadow.” He recalled what he’d said the previous day.

‘You idiot, what are you doing?’ He became angry with himself.

He’d known all along that the streamer wasn’t the real Su-hyeok. Su-hyeok, who had already cleared the 8th floor’s trial, wouldn’t be able to return to the 2nd floor’s trial. Above all, he wouldn’t be selling his image through streaming.

After all, what mattered to him wouldn’t be points—it would be getting revenge on Kim Ilsu.

‘What was I expecting?’ Only then did Siwoo wake up from his dream.

Thud—

On the screen, streamer Lee Su-hyeok started walking the Lightning’s Path.

____