Chapter 9


    Crunch—


    A woman yer 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,” sheined.


    “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 yers and popr 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 yers 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 yourpany hiring?” She’d abruptly shown up at thepany, 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 yer, 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 entertainmentpany that contacted streamers who had many viewers and coborated 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 rted 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 rted 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 ites 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 thepany, there was one yer 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 yer to climb the tower among those who’d started in thest 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 bepared to.”


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


    Un-hyang focused on the stream.


    [Viewers: 1]


    She became Lee Su-hyeok’s first viewer.


    * * *


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    * * *


    Torches on the ceilings and walls lit the humid, stuffy air of the huge cave Su-hyeok found himself summoned to. He caught his breath at the familiar spell.


    [The 2nd floor’s first trial is starting.]


    [Pass through the ‘Beginning’s Dungeon’ and escape.]


    [You can earn achievement points based on how many monsters you defeat.]


    The first trial of the 2nd floor’s ‘Beginning’s Dungeon’ was to catch monsters inside the dungeon and escape. Since it was the starting point of the lower floors, the trial itself was simple.


    ‘So it’s finally starting.’ Normally, Su-hyeok wouldn’t be nervous about such trials. His nervousness was for another reason, though. Rather than being worried about failing on the 2nd floor…


    [‘Lee Su-hyeok’ has started streaming.]


    [Viewers: 0]


    He had started streaming for the first time as soon as the trial began; maybe that was why he had no viewers yet. Well, one couldn’t expect to be full after the first bite. No one wanted to watch a newbie yer who had just taken their first step.


    Su-hyeok put on the mask. ‘Let’s move for now.’


    He began walking through the damp and quiet dungeon. One could doubt whether there were monsters there at all.


    Tap, tap—


    He walked slowly, keeping himself alert. All he heard were his own footsteps. His vision narrowed within the dim lighting of the cave, making his other senses sharper. That limited visibility was why the 2nd floor’s trial was often done in teams.


    ‘Something should appear soon…’


    – Which floor is this?


    ‘!’ Su-hyeok’s eyes shone when words began appearing in the lower corner of his vision.


    [Viewers: 4]


    His viewer count suddenly went up to four. As expected, choosing ‘Lee Su-hyeok’ as his theme was the right choice. “It’s the 2nd floor.”


    – Do people start streaming from the 2nd floor these days?


    – I’ve seen some. Most of them quickly quit because of no viewers.


    ‘I guess people from the lower floors don’t stream much.’ When thought about it, he’d never seen a newbie yer from below the 3rd floor streaming. Even if their skills werecking, most were yers who had reached at least the 4th floor.


    Naturally, it was rare to see someone streaming on the 2nd floor.


    – This guy’s brave. To think he’d start streaming with the Lee Su-hyeok theme from the 2nd floor.


    – If you know, then why did youe here?


    – Because it’s fun. Also, I used to be a fan of Lee Su-hyeok.


    – Ah, you too? Hey, so was I, lol.


    Another viewer had suddenly joined.


    Five viewers… Although there weren’t many people, the chat was very active with conversation about Lee Su-hyeok.


    ‘What?’ He wasn’t expecting that. He just chose the theme to attract an audience. ‘Were they my fans…?’ He felt a bit flustered and embarrassed to see the chat blooming with stories about himself.


    20 years prior, Su-hyeok was so focused on climbing the tower that he never had the chance tomunicate with fans.


    – Is this the first try?


    “Yes, this is my first try.”


    – Woah~ A fresh newbie.


    – First? This is actually better.


    The viewers seemed to find it interesting that he was a perfect beginner who had just passed the tutorial. Of course, there were some kind-hearted viewers who were worried about Su-hyeok.


    – Are you going to be okay?


    “What do you mean?”


    – Is it okay to stream already? If it’s the 2nd floor, this should be the ‘Beginning’s Dungeon’. That means those dark ces…


    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 suddenlye from dark ces.


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


    – They usuallye 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 thaty t 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 t 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 yers 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 revtion. 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.”


    sh—


    [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.


    ____