Reincarnator’s Stream

『Title: Streamer Lee Suhyuk’s Battle with the Heavenly Demon – A Courageous Fight, Yet a Foregone Defeat…』
『Main Text: Streamer Lee Suhyuk lost to the Heavenly Demon. It was an expected outcome. Unless the real Lee Suhyuk returns, this was destined to happen…

However, it is true that Lee Suhyuk put up a brave fight. Perhaps in the near future, he might create miracles resembling those of the real Lee Suhyuk.』

*Tap.*

*Beep, beep, beep.*

The article, having been completed, was uploaded. Big Mouth, who had swiftly written the piece, lightly stretched his hands.

Shortly after the upload finished, the view count began to rise in real-time. Considering he had handled an article about Lee Suhyuk the previous day, the interest appeared to be even higher.

‘He really showed them.’

Though he had hinted that there would be some dramatic event, he never imagined it would imply a showdown with the Heavenly Demon.

Until that moment, he briefly regretted catching a potentially rotten thread thrown by a crazy fool.

No matter how fearless one might be while on a winning streak, who in their right mind would think of challenging the Heavenly Demon?

However, the result was utterly unexpected.

-What did I say?

Falcon Eye’s voice, though seemingly confident, was undoubtedly trembling.

Despite claiming to have believed in Lee Suhyuk, the impact of today’s performance was too overwhelming to be purely boastful about.

*Chi.*

Without saying a word, Big Mouth lit a cigarette.

As he deeply inhaled the nicotine, the pounding heart that had raced throughout the match began to calm down.

Only after that did he respond to Falcon Eye’s words.

“… Let’s do a collaboration stream soon.”

-Just the two of us?

“Yes. I should participate in your content, Falcon Eye.”

Taking another deep drag from his cigarette, Big Mouth exhaled his next words along with the smoke.

“I’ll join right after finishing the interview with Suhyuk, so prepare accordingly.”

Though it was more of a notification than a suggestion, it didn’t feel unpleasant. In fact, it was rather good.

He decided to involve himself in anything related to Lee Suhyuk.

Thus, Big Mouth’s calculations ran again in his head.

* * *

The first round of the Counter-Fight had ended.

Though there had been changes due to the weakening of the Murim faction and the Blue Zone, most participants who were expected to advance did so.

Top-tier travelers like Ripley, Lucan’s Mercenary King Bamael, and Loyalty Guild’s Commander Woo Suhyun…

Numerous other renowned rankers also advanced.

But there was an unexpected twist.

An enormous twist, at that.

“I’m bowing out.”

It was none other than the Heavenly Demon’s withdrawal after passing the first round.

“I have no interest in children’s play.”

After treating numerous rankers as children, he disappeared.

Several guilds that had braced themselves for potential battles against the Heavenly Demon simultaneously felt both disappointment and relief.

A few guilds, which had assumed the Heavenly Demon would win, now had a renewed chance at the championship.

Meanwhile, they speculated on the reason for the Heavenly Demon’s withdrawal.

“Could he be injured?”

“Seeing how he fought Lee Suhyuk, it’s possible.”

“Injured? Did you not see the end?

“… True enough.”

“He suddenly joined and then immediately withdrew.”

“Does this mean he achieved his goal?”

Various speculations ultimately converged on the name Lee Suhyuk.

Having returned to the Counter-Fight after several years, the Heavenly Demon had abruptly withdrawn.

And the only thing connecting the Heavenly Demon to the Counter-Fight was his match against Lee Suhyuk.

“Have you contacted Lee Suhyuk?”

As Lee Suhyuk’s stock value rose, Namgung Hwayung grew more anxious.

She had planned to quietly approach him after the match, but his recent performance made it impossible to handle things discreetly.

“Currently… he’s unconscious.”

“Unconscious?”

“Yes.”

“He didn’t even fight on a field but lost consciousness in a match?”

Namgung Hwayung furrowed her brows at the report from her subordinate who had also participated in her match.

Experiencing death in a test and losing consciousness was rare among players. For players with weak mental fortitude, there were times they couldn’t handle the shock and fainted.

However, that only applied to novices who had just started climbing the tower.

“From what I’ve found, he’s never died in the tests until now.”

“Not even once?”

“Yes. This was probably his first death.”

“…Really? That’s quite surprising.”

Understanding dawned on Namgung Hwayung as she nodded.

Climbing up to the 8th floor without a single failure was unprecedented.

She had never considered such a case.

Of course, it was still strange.

Neither Namgung Hwayung nor most rankers fainted from dying in the tests.

Rankers, by definition, were those who had immense skills and possessed ironclad mental fortitude.

‘Is he unexpectedly weak-minded?’

In Namgung Hwayung’s mind, Lee Suhyuk’s evaluation had slightly diminished.

If Lee Suhyuk was simply skilled in combat but had such a weak mental fortitude, ‘It would be difficult for him to truly become like the real Lee Suhyuk.’

* * *

He felt as if he were lying on a cloud.

He realized that his consciousness had been blurred for quite a long time.

He couldn’t tell exactly how long, but it definitely felt like more than a day or two.

‘It feels like I’ve really died.’

Lee Suhyuk knew what it felt like to die, even if others didn’t. And this sensation was eerily similar to a death he had experienced before.

How long had he been floating like that?

As he felt the sensation of stepping on a solid cloud, his vision returned.

“…What?”

*Crackle, crackle.*

Contrary to the soft sensation he felt, the place where he stood was a mess.

Everywhere was burning, and the sky was shrouded in black smoke.

The surroundings were filled with charred corpses of people.

*Sizzle.*

Lightning flowed out from his fingertips.

The magic inside him surged, and the lightning raged within him. Startled by his inability to control the output, he took a step back, causing lightning to shoot out from his fingertips.

*Boom!*

*Snap!*

The burst of lightning struck a precariously swaying tree. The impact caused the tree to catch fire again.

Lee Suhyuk’s eyes trembled.

This was a scene he had created.

‘Did I kill them all?’

It seemed unbelievable, but the circumstances were too clear.

As his mind reeled from the shock and confusion, a voice sounded from beneath him.

“Su… hyuk…”

His eyes quivered.

Although the voice was barely alive, how could he not recognize it? It was Hwang Gyuseong’s voice.

“Why… us…?”

As he looked down, he saw the half-burnt face of Hwang Gyuseong.

Next to him were Shiwoo and Yerang, as well as the faces of other friends.

* * *

“Ahhhh!”

He screamed and bolted upright.

He was in bed. More than wondering where he was, relief washed over him knowing that horrific dream was not reality.

‘Was it… a dream?’

He hurriedly patted his body with his hands. There were no traces.

Under normal circumstances, he would’ve dismissed it as just a nightmare.

However, calling it merely a dream wasn’t enough; the scene from moments ago had been too vivid.

As if such a world truly existed and he had visited it briefly.

“I killed countless lives there.”

Thor’s words came to mind.

In the memories of thunder, Thor had slaughtered innumerable humans.

If what he had just experienced was what Thor had gone through,

He didn’t want to imagine it. It was tormenting enough to experience it for a brief moment, let alone for hundreds of years.

“Now I understand why they called it salvation.”

-What are you mumbling about?
-What salvation?
-Hyung, are you crazy?
-He doesn’t seem to know the stream is still on, lol.

Unconsciously, I mumbled my thoughts aloud, and belatedly noticed the chat. Come to think of it, I had fainted right away without turning off the stream.

There was no one around. In such a situation, only the viewers could inform me about what happened.

“How long did I sleep?”

-I was wondering when you’d ask, lol
-Do we look like an alarm?
-About three days, maybe.

“…Three days?”

It seemed like a joke, but judging by the continuous chat, it didn’t seem to be. Three days was a long time, long enough for Counter-Fight to be over.

“Who won the competition? Was it the Heavenly Demon as expected?”

-No, no.
-Heavenly Demon forfeited.
-Runtera won.
-Once again, the Great Mage carried, lol.

‘The Heavenly Demon forfeited?’

There was no way he ran away out of fear. This meant he had achieved what he initially aimed for.

‘So, was he really planning to fight me?’

The words Jin Hwaryung had conveyed through telepathy floated back to me. He seemed to be genuinely convinced that he was the real Lee Suhyuk.

Maybe he actually figured it out.

I was the first and the last player to ever defeat Jin Hwaryung, so naturally, Jin Hwaryung displayed a strong obsession with the player Lee Suhyuk.

‘Or was it due to his injuries?’

For a fleeting moment, I entertained that thought.

Jin Hwaryung had sustained considerable injuries during his battles with the two huge forces, Murim and Blue Zone.

For someone like me, who had fully recovered, it might not be an issue, but facing Hailz in that condition, he couldn’t have been sure of the outcome.

‘…No. He isn’t the type to run from that.’

There was no way to understand the Heavenly Demon’s true intentions without asking him directly. Regardless, it was a matter that could neither be known nor yield any gain from knowing.

“…Come to think of it, I lost.”

I hadn’t begun the fight with the intention to win, but it suddenly hit me.

How long had it been since I last lost in the Counter-Fight? Eliminated in the first round, no less. This was my first.

“A bit disappointing.”

-……?
-What is?
-He’s disappointed over losing to the Heavenly Demon
-Is Suhyuk out of his mind, lol?

It was understandable. Setting the Heavenly Demon as my first opponent was almost like a suicide mission from any standpoint.

Though the fight went much better than anticipated, that was it.

Everyone knew it was an unwinnable battle from the start.

However, it seemed Suhyuk genuinely felt dissatisfied as he continued speaking.

“My heart hurts, so I’ll end the stream here.”

-??????
-Ending the stream like this?
-What about the buildup?
-I waited so damn long for this.

『’Lee Suhyuk’ has ended the stream.』

I quickly ended the stream. It was just ongoing because I fainted anyway.

Checking the date on my kit, it was indeed three days later. It was quite late in the evening as well.

‘Messages….’

Had I been out for a long time?

There were numerous accumulated messages. From Falcon Eye, Bald Suhyuk, Big Mouth, Un Hyang, to John Dale.

I suddenly realized I had met many new people recently. Setting aside others, I checked the messages from Un Hyang first.

Come to think of it, she was always by my side, but now she wasn’t around.

『Un Hyang: The stream hit big! Over 500,000 viewers! A huge success!!!』
『Un Hyang: Sorry, Mr. Suhyuk. I can’t come right now. Got into a bit of a fight with Cheon Ryang… Where did he go?』
『Un Hyang: While looking for Cheon Ryang, I accidentally ran into… the Murim Alliance Leader wants to see you, Mr. Suhyuk. What do you want to do?』

The messages kept piling up. It appeared she had plenty to say over the past few days.

The stream reached over 500,000 viewers, and she had a fight with Cheon Ryang. Why they fought wasn’t mentioned in the messages.

Among them, my attention lingered on the term ‘Murim Leader.’

‘The Murim Alliance Leader wants to see me?’