Chapter 28

Chapter 28

Crackle-

Yellow sparks flew, stinging the skin. A familiar numbness spread from his fingertips. He had always directed lightning at others, never experiencing the shock firsthand.

However.

‘It’s familiar.’

It felt as natural as breathing. The sensation of the lightning coursing through his fingertips was very similar to the penalty that came with using lightning.

‘Prove that you are worthy to handle the lightning.’

In the 5th stage, he obtained lightning.

In the subsequent 6th stage, he was being tested to verify his qualification to use it.

It was a natural progression.

‘I’ve used lightning countless times.’

If this was the trial, he had faced it hundreds of times before. No matter how powerful the force flowing here was.

In essence, it was still lightning.

‘If that’s the case...’

Inside the mask. Suhyuk’s lips curved into a smile.

-He had a good idea.

『You have entered the “Path of Lightning”.』

『Navigate the “Path of Lightning”.』

『0.12%』

Two messages appeared before his eyes. Two thoughts crossed Suhyuk’s mind as he read them.

‘Quite a distance.’

The path to navigate was longer than he thought.

‘At least they show the end.’

Though long, the end was in sight.

『0.17%』

『0.24%』

Buzz, crackle-

With each step, the percentage gradually increased. Maybe because he hadn’t yet reached 1% of the path?

For now, it was bearable.

– Why isn’t he running?

– Is he scared?

– It seems better to just run fast.

– (Fast forward)

– (Fast forward)2

He didn’t have time to read the chat while ascending. Suhyuk focused entirely on feeling the lightning spread around him.

‘What is this place?’

The entire vast space was filled with lightning. The extent of the power flowing here was unimaginable.

Normally, rushing to the destination would be the strategy. But Suhyuk set two goals for this trial.

‘Reaching the end, of course-‘

Crackle-

He felt the lightning flowing through his fingertips. For a moment, his eyes, visible through the mask, sparkled.

Indeed.

It seemed possible.

‘Let’s do it.’

***

At that moment.

Falcon Eye was watching Suhyuk’s stream intensely, even after turning off his own stream.

“Let’s try collaborating.”

John Dale. He already had content involving Suhyuk and Falcon Eye planned in his mind.

‘How long has it been since the big brother personally handled content?’

Falcon Eye was a long-running streamer in this field.

After realizing his talent’s limit as a player but discovering a knack for observation, he dove straight into this industry and had been active ever since.

“I told you, didn’t I? Only half of your stream’s success depends on you.”

“I know. The success hinges on who the feedback subject is and which players are notable at the time.”

He had been hearing this for over ten years. The reason Falcon Eye, despite his consistent streaming, hadn’t become a top-tier streamer.

It wasn’t just the limitation of having only one type of content. It was also because there was no star player of the current era to carry the content along.

“This trial is telling me to die?”

The stream of streamer Lee Suhyuk came into view. His manner of speaking was still somewhat stiff, possibly due to his unfamiliarity with streaming.

After closely observing the stream, it was clear Lee Suhyuk was still a novice streamer.

‘This doesn’t feel like he’s streaming. Rather.......’

It was not likely, but just maybe.

To do that, Suhyuk constantly talked to himself. Otherwise, he felt like he might lose consciousness at any moment.

‘Don’t just be satisfied with clearing the paths and letting the energy flow. Achieve everything you can.’

Crackle-

『“Lightning” is infusing your body.』

『Magic increased by 1.』

『The meridians are being cleared.......』

『.......』

Messages popping up incessantly. But there was no time to be distracted by them.

Crackle, buzz-

“Ugh....”

He bit his lip, enduring the lightning tearing through his body. The external shocks were one thing, but the energy flowing through the clogged meridians caused the most pain.

It felt like a burning furnace inside his body.

『State Abnormality: Electrocution has begun.』

Electrocution.

Since obtaining the lightning, he had been living with this constant status abnormality. It was, after all, the penalty from this lightning that had ultimately driven Suhyuk to his doom.

His body moved out of sync with his thoughts. Slower and clumsier than expected.

Moving a body in this electrocuted state consumed at least twice the strength and stamina compared to being in a normal state.

“Ugh... Ahhh....”

Drip-

Plop, plop-

Burnt impurities seeped out from his skin.

His lips, bitten too hard, bled. Between the mask. The blood trickled down, falling below.

– This looks intense.

– Must be incredibly painful.

– Just run, come on!!

– Dumbass, don’t you think he knows? There must be a reason.

– Exactly, so what’s the reason?

There was no time to answer the questions flooding the chat. No, it didn’t even catch his eye in the first place.

What Suhyuk needed now was something else to heighten his mental fortitude.

For that.

“There is no trial that can’t be overcome.”

Suhyuk recalled the words of the old Suhyuk, the all-time number one among players, not his current self.

“Ther-there... is no trial... that... can’t be overcome.......”

He muttered those words he always used to say.

“In the end... I... always win.......”

– OMG

– This crazy guy LOLOLOL LOL

– Doing his bit even now LOLLOLOL

– Gotta admit. This guy is the real deal

– The mottos of Suhyuk, now like renowned sayings.

To the viewers, Suhyuk’s behavior on the stream appeared to be nothing more than a fanatic conceit.

But.

‘It’s because of me.’

Step-

One struggling step.

As Suhyuk took slow steps forward, in his mind, those words resonated differently than how others perceived them.

‘It’s as good as if I killed him.’

Grit-

His teeth ground together, producing a sound in his mouth. The tension in his molars was not solely due to the scorching heat consuming his body.

20 years ago.

Or rather, what still felt like just a short while ago for him. He had spoken confidently to his friends who hesitated about the Hydra raid.

“There is no trial that can’t be overcome.”

If the opportunity given to him had been a regression rather than a reincarnation, how great would that have been?

He might have ripped his own mouth apart for uttering such words first.

‘If only I hadn’t said those words...’

“What’s there to worry about? In the end, I’m the one winning.”

Those words eventually persuaded his comrades.

Grit-

To push his body and mind, which felt on the verge of collapsing. Suhyuk bitterly revisited the words he had spoken that day in his mind.

‘None of us would have died.’

TL’s Corner:

MC ridden with guilt.