Chapter 94

Chapter 94

Half a day.

The time it took for Suhyuk to achieve Challenger and ascend to the next floor.

『You have achieved ‘Challenger’ rank.』

『Strength increases by 2.』

『Agility increases by 2.』

『Focus increases by 3.』

『Stamina increases by 2.』

『Magic increases by 1.』

『You have completed the trial of the 5th floor.』

『All stats increase by 2.』

A total of 20 stat points.

It felt like his limits had been raised significantly. There was no other place where one could gain such a high number of stat points in an instant.

A trial dedicated to securing stats. He thought that if Jung Yuhan had come a day later, the fight would have been much easier.

– Cleared in 3 days ᄃᄃᄃ (amazing)

– He’s insanely fast

– Safety first LOL LOL

– The mission was completed.

Originally a long-term mission that was supposed to be completed within a month, Suhyuk shortened the time to one-tenth.

There were two reasons it was possible. The first was that Suhyuk’s matches ended very quickly. And the second was that he gained an excessively high number of points in each match due to the difference in rank.

『Mission completed.』

『You have received 20,000 points from ‘MissionVillain’.』

『Mission completed.』

『You have received 20,000 points from ‘IloveLeeSuhyuk’.』

『Mission completed.』

『You have received 10,000 points from ‘NeverGiveUp’.』

『...』

『Mission completed.』

『You have received 100,000 points from ‘SafeAsset’.』

A string of mission completion notifications appeared.

Seeing the accumulated amount, even Suhyuk, who wasn’t easily surprised, was taken aback by the sum.

The 100,000 points in the last notification stood out the most.

‘How much is all this?’

Just as he was mentally calculating,

『You are moving to the 5th floor.』

Along with the message, his body was enveloped in light once again.

Whirr-!

His vision flickered, and the scenery around him changed. For a moment, he felt his body float and disappear, and then reappear, as his sight returned.

Colors filled the surroundings, and he stepped into another world.

Low-rise buildings. The streets were lined with stalls selling herbs, spices, and silk, with warriors wielding swords roaming around. The delectable scents of dumplings and sweets made his stomach growl almost instantly.

A familiar sight.

Suhyuk remembered spending quite a long time here. But now, it felt like walking into the jaws of a giant monster.

‘I’ve made it this far.’

The 5th floor.

Many people referred to this world as:

Murim (武林).

***

The stream ended early. Originally, there was no plan to stream today. Yet, Suhyuk started the stream out of sheer impatience.

His eyelids felt heavy. Feeling more fatigued than ever, Suhyuk trudged along with heavy steps.

‘Maybe I overdid it.’

He had used quite a lot of lightning during the fight with Jung Yuhan. Even with Selfish Sacrifice and the Heart of Lightning, using so much lightning in reality took its toll.

His fatigue was high, and his muscles were screaming for a rest. To be ready for tomorrow’s stream, he needed to rest now.

Thunk.

After walking for a while, he arrived at the location transmitted by Balhae through the kit—a grand guesthouse with a tiled roof.

“That’s a streamer’s perspective.”

“I am a streamer, after all.”

“Is that so? From my point of view, it seems like you’ve just dipped a toe in the water.”

This time, it was Suhyuk’s turn to pause with his chopsticks.

“Your heart is always elsewhere. Isn’t it?”

The comment hit home. To Suhyuk, being a streamer was a tool for revenge. It was like a whetstone to sharpen his blade.

Cheon Ryang’s remark about him just dipping a toe in the water, though blunt, wasn’t entirely wrong.

‘He’s perceptive, just like John Dale.’

More insightful than he had expected. Though he had a witty demeanor, Cheon Ryang was far from lightweight. Cheon Ryang seemed to deliberate.

“If that’s the reason...”

By the time the steam was starting to fade from the food,

“That...”

“No, it’s alright.”

Just as Cheon Ryang began to speak, Suhyuk stopped him.

“It’s better to hear it from her directly. Seeing you hesitate makes it even clearer that I should.”

To understand what kind of person Un Hyang was, and why she insisted on being a manager despite her skills.

Being curious but hearing it from someone else’s mouth rather than directly from the person herself was indeed discourteous. If she chose not to speak, waiting until she was ready was the right thing to do.

And Suhyuk’s words brought a smile to Cheon Ryang’s face.

“Hehe—”

“I wasn’t planning to tell you anyway.”

Cheon Ryang resumed eating with his chopsticks.

“It won’t take long, either way.”

“What do you mean?”

“You’ll hear it directly. Or you’ll find out.”

While the part about hearing it directly made sense, the part about finding out was vague. Cheon Ryang’s words were unclear and somewhat ambiguous.

It seemed like Cheon Ryang had no intention of continuing the same topic, as he shifted the conversation while munching on the fish dish.

“By the way, the lower floors are quite noisy right now because of that. The clearing got trashed in yesterday’s fight.”

The confrontation between Suhyuk and Jung Yuhan had left the clearing in ruins. Jung Yuhan’s skill blocked sound and presence, but not the aftermath of the battle.

“That’s for them to handle. Should we be worried about it?”

Suhyuk didn’t see it as a big deal.

Even if this incident got out, it would harm Blue Zone more than him. In fact, it might even tarnish Blue Zone’s image, which wouldn’t be a bad thing for him.

Of course, there was no way this incident would leak.

‘Fights between players happen often. Even if it gets out, they’ll make sure to cover it up.’

The events on the 4th floor were no longer his concern. John Dale had concluded negotiations, and his job now was to keep moving upwards.

Seeing Suhyuk’s reaction, Cheon Ryang didn’t bring up the matter again. There was no point dwelling on something the streamer wasn’t concerned about.

There was something else to discuss.

Cheon Ryang asked, “Do you have any content in mind for this time?”

Content. It was the biggest concern for streamers. Repeating the same stream wouldn’t satisfy the viewers. While high-ranking players had some leeway, on the 5th floor, something distinctive was necessary.

However, Suhyuk had no intention of wasting time on content.

“I don’t have anything special in mind, but...”

So, with Suhyuk feeling pressed for time, there was only one type of content he could consider.

“How about ‘Marathon’?”

TL’s Corner:

Marathon!!!!

The term used is 켠김에 왕까지, which has the literal translation is “To go all the way to the king.”

The meaning is:

켠왕 is a Korean acronym made from the TV show “켠김에 왕까지”

켠 is the verb 켜다 meaning “turn on” (e.g.

“turn on a stream”)

켠 김에 is 켜다 + ~(는) 김에. ~(는) 김에 means “while doing ...”

Therefore 켠 김에 means “while you are streaming”, “while you are at it”

왕까지 is 왕 + 까지 which means “until king” or in a game context “until final boss”

Therefore 켠 김에 왕까지 means “streaming until reaching the final boss”

source: /questions/7257065

I chose to translate it to marathon, since he won’t be stopping until he reaches the final boss.