BXBX NOVEL Chapter 13
‘One, two, three, four… Thirteen. Thirteen?’ It was often said that the number of choices corresponds to a player’s talent. Usually, most were given one or two options. If you got a lot, you had three to choose from, and during his previous life, Su-hyeok had seven options.
“Too many appeared.”
– I’m feeling dizzy…
– 13?
– Haven’t a total of 16 been revealed so far?
– So all except three appeared.
– We were asking for the Lightning Trial, not for all of them to come out, lol.
Although the many choices were dizzying, there was one that caught more attention than the others.
[Would you like to challenge the ‘Lightning Trial’?]
The message was sparkling. It was as if the system were urging him to choose that one among the many others.
– Lightning.
– Of course, isn’t it obvious?
– If he doesn’t choose lightning, he should change his name.
Seeing the chat made Su-hyeok chuckle. Most of them had been his fans during his previous life.
The viewers, the system, and even he thought the same.
[You’ve chosen the ‘Lightning Trial.’]
Fwoosh-!
A white light surrounded Su-hyeok, and he stepped into the Lightning Trial.
* * *
The team leader of Balhae Entertainment’s Management Division, John Tail, a player from Earth, spoke in disbelief. “So… how many viewers does that streamer have?”
“Well… He has around 20.” Cheong-ryang nervously replied. Half-dragged there by Un-hyang’s persistence, he was nervously watching John Tail’s reaction.
“No. It’s over 30 now.” Un-hyang, who was next to him, kept giving minor corrections.
“Ah… Really…?” If they weren’t in the team leader’s office, he would have probably shouted. 20 or 30, it was the same.
John Tail thought similarly and leaned back in his chair as if he didn’t need to listen anymore.
Creak—
He looked at Cheong-ryang, who had his hands politely folded, and at Un-hyang, who was still busy watching the stream. “Are you guys kidding me?”
“Th-that’s…”
“Cheong-ryang, do you think I don’t know you gamble during work hours? The only thing I asked is for you to bring a guy worthy of scouting, but to think you’d bring someone with 30 viewers…”
Cheong-ryang lowered his head.
The nagging continued for a while. Once John Tail started nagging, he didn’t easily stop. “Un-hyang, rather than bringing someone like this, why don’t you just stream yourself? With your looks, you should easily be able to become popular.”
“Team leader…” Un-hyang said.
“Yes, go ahead.”
“While you’ve been nagging us for the past 30 minutes, his viewer count exceeded 50.”
“50?” John Tail’s eyebrows twitched. In that short time, 20 more viewers had joined his stream. Although it was his first stream, viewers were joining quite rapidly. It meant that, despite the influx, no one was leaving.
“Mr. Lee defeated the wolf warrior.” Un-hyang started to speak formally about Su-hyeok.
John Tail and Cheong-ryang didn’t notice that change.
“The wolf warrior…?”
“Really? By himself?”
The two were surprised.
In fact, John Tail was so surprised that he jumped out of his seat. To hear that a boss who hadn’t been killed until then was taken down solo made his expression change. “Really? Did you see it wrong?”
“He’s currently taking a break after killing it. Viewers are commenting about him in the communities right now.”
“Woah…”
The wolf warrior was to be an examiner who assessed the skills of the players challenging the Beginning’s Dungeon. Considering the boss’s strength, it certainly looked impossible for a player challenging the Beginning’s Dungeon to defeat it.
“He’s definitely something.” If you thought in terms of talent as a player rather than a streamer, he was an incredible gem. The fact that he had defeated the wolf warrior was surprising, but to make things more impressive, he’d done it solo.
‘He just started streaming today, so it’s just natural for his viewer count to be low. If that’s the case, he might be worth investing in early, considering the long term…’
“Team leader…” Un-hyang said to John Tail, who was seriously thinking. “Do you want to make a bet with me?”
“A bet?”
“Yes. Mr. Lee just entered the Lightning Trial.”
John Tail’s eyes sparkled. For a streamer who had chosen to imitate Lee Su-hyeok, that was the optimal route. Not only did he seem skillful, but the skill that fit him the most seemed to be the same.
“So?”
“If Mr. Lee gets the ‘Lightning’ skill, let’s make a contract with him.”
Jhon Tail laughed in disbelief. “There’s no way that’s possible.”
The ‘Lightning’ skill was the best reward you could get from the Lightning Trial. It was hard to qualify for the trial, but even if you did so, obtaining the skill was almost impossible.
Many guilds had supported players who qualified for the Lightning Trial, but none of them had managed to get it.
“Isn’t this his first try? The only one who ever got it so far is Lee Su-hyeok.”
“Yes, but he’ll be fine.”
Maybe it was because he had defeated the wolf warrior, but Un-hyang’s belief in Su-hyeok was firm.
Unlike before, John Tail also began seriously considering the streamer. ‘Un-hyang… If I think of her as a player rather than an employee, she’s better than most rankers.’ She was once a rising star among the people from Murim. Though she’d lost interest in going farther and was now rotting there, there was no doubting her ability.
Also, in the first place, it was the kind of thing John Tail was expecting from her—discovering streamers with exceptional talent. So far, none of the streamers had caught her eye.
‘Should I give it a try?’ John Tail lit the end of his cigar. “Keep monitoring him for now.”
Un-hyang nodded as if it were a given, but her demands didn’t end there. “Also…”
“Also?”
“Make me his manager.”
John Tail took a long drag on his cigar; then exhaled the smoke and waved his hand. “Let’s talk about that once the contract is confirmed.” It was a gesture asking her to leave.
Un-hyang nodded and was about to turn around, but then…
“W-wait.” Cheong-ryang, who’d been watching Su-hyeok’s stream, spoke in a flustered voice. “This trial… is this right?”
* * *
Reaper Scans
Translator – SCM
Proofreader – ilafy
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* * *
The blank world regained its color. Su-hyeok felt that he was floating before sensation began returning to his body. Just as he was getting used to the feeling in his fingertips, someone pushed him from behind.
“Move—!”
Thud—
He was pushed back a few steps, and a huge club flew toward where he’d been standing.
Whoosh—
Thud—!
The knight who had pushed Su-hyeok raised his shield to block the club. “Come back to your senses, you idiot! Do you want to die?!” The knight in silver armor was holding back the club with trembling hands and shouting at Su-hyeok.
From Su-hyeok’s point of view, the situation could be seen as unfair. After all, he’d just entered the trial. It seemed like they at least started the trial like that to ensure he wouldn’t die from the start.
[The ‘Lightning Trial’ is starting.]
[Defeat the remnants of the giant race.]
‘What’s this?’ Su-hyeok didn’t respond to the knight’s words and instead looked around.
BOOM, BOOM—
A giant was rampaging in the middle of the village. The monster was over four meters tall, wore tattered clothes, and wielded a massive stone club.
Su-hyeok looked at the remnant of the giant race and laughed in disbelief. ‘Why did he already appear?’
– ??? What’s going on?
– Wasn’t this the Lightning Trial?
– Yes, that’s right. That mob appears in the middle of the giants’ episode.
– ??? Why did it already appear?
– How should I know?
The test was about defending against the giants. Usually, the giant going on a rampage in the village should’ve appeared in the later part of the trial, but surprisingly, the remnant had appeared right at the beginning.
Thud—
“Everyone, get out of the way! Until the soldiers return, hide anywhere you can!”
“Bring out the bows! Everyone except the knights, stay away!”
The village had no proper knights capable of facing a giant. Moreover, according to the setting of the story, most soldiers were gone at the moment, which was why the village was being destroyed by just one giant.
‘Although it’s slightly bigger than the wolf warrior, its movements are much slower.’ Just a few moments ago, Su-hyeok had defeated the dungeon boss. Though the giant was big, it was a weaker monster than the wolf warrior.
Su-hyeok charged toward the giant that had swung a club at him.
Paf—
“Hey! What are you doing?!” the nearby knight shouted in frustration. Had he saved him only for him to charge at the giant again?
[The ‘Nameless Magic Sword’ absorbs the user’s Stamina.]
[Your stats will increase based on the Stamina consumed.]
[‘Selfish Sacrifice LV2’ resists the damage from the ‘Nameless Magic Sword’.]
The magic sword turned red, and Su-hyeok leaped upward. The giant spotted Su-hyeok and swung its club at him again.
Whoosh—
“That reckless…” Just as the knight thought that the club would strike Su-hyeok, his eyes widened in surprise when Su-hyeok landed on the giant’s arm. “Ah…?”
Thud—
Su-hyeok quickly stabbed the giant in the neck. ‘It swings so slowly that there’s no way I could get hit by it.’
– Woah.
– When did he get there?
– Is that possible?
– It should be possible because of how thick the arm is.
– That’s only in theory.
“Grrr—” The giant, with the sword stuck in its neck, let out a beast-like growl. Its species had a lot of Vitality, so it didn’t die immediately. Of course, even with that being the case, it was already as good as dead.
Slash—
Su-hyeok, who’d already put half of the sword into the giant’s neck, ripped the sword through the monster’s flesh. More than half of the bones beneath were cut through. Even a giant wouldn’t be able to survive.
The giant tilted sideways and fell.
Boom—
Su-hyeok landed from its body.
[You’ve defeated a ‘Giant Race’s Remnant’.]
[You’ve cleared the 4th stage.]
[Your level has increased x3.]
[+1 Strength.]
[+1 Agility.]
[+2 Stamina.]
[+1 Magic Power.]
[You’ve earned 4,000 achievement points.]
[Item Obtained – ‘Giant’s Heart.’]
[Item Obtained – ‘Thunderous Sound.’]
1. [Do you want to continue the trial?]
2. [Do you want to move to the next floor?]
Messages kept ringing.
– 4,000???
– Why stage four all of a sudden?
– Wh-what’s going on…?
– Why did the rewards from the first four stages come all at once?
– He was given the maximum reward possible.
– Is the system crazy?
– Wolf warrior defeat = 1st-3rd stage perfect clear.
Su-hyeok’s lips curled into a smile from behind the mask when he saw the rewards.
____