Reincarnator’s Stream

Crunch, crunch—

A woman was chewing on hard walnuts while watching a screen. Player Un Hyang from the Murim world muttered while looking at the kit’s screen.

“Are they really that stupid? Five people and they can’t even pass this?”

Un Hyang sighed in disappointment.

Next to her, Cheon Ryang, who was also focused on their kit, asked,

“Who is it this time?”

“Some streamer named Sangpakk. He’s challenging the 5th floor.”

“Sangpakk? Is he a Lee Suhyuk imitator or a Bald Suhyuk knockoff?”

“Who knows. Maybe a mix of both.”

Crunch—

She popped another walnut into her mouth and ended the stream she was watching.

“I don’t know why someone with that skill would even stream.”

“Well, streaming isn’t just about skill. Don’t judge too harshly. You won’t last in this job if you do.”

Un Hyang and Cheon Ryang. Both worked in the management division of Balhae Entertainment. High-ranking players and popular streamers wield similar influence to celebrities.

Maximizing their influence to earn points—that was Balhae’s business model. And part of Un Hyang and Cheon Ryang’s job was making contacts with these streamers.

“Still, some basic skills are necessary.”

“Well, you can’t measure everyone by your standards.”

Cheon Ryang reached for Un Hyang’s walnuts.

“To be honest, I still don’t understand why you’re here doing this.”

Un Hyang.

She was one of the rising stars among Murim players. She had quickly advanced to the 8th floor and had the potential to climb even higher.

But suddenly, Un Hyang stopped.

Then, one day, “Are there any open positions at your company?”

She suddenly showed up, declaring she wanted to work at the entertainment company where Cheon Ryang worked.

“Why don’t you climb higher? It seems like you could reach the top if you tried.”

“It’s boring.”

“Boring? Is this the plight of a genius?”

“Are you teasing me?”

“No way.”

Cheon Ryang shrugged off the conversation, knowing she wouldn’t reveal her true feelings no matter how much more he pressed.

‘She was climbing the tower hoping to meet Lee Suhyuk. It makes sense she’d feel lost.’

Her sudden halt and her current disinterest in the world. It all started after Lee Suhyuk’s death.

It was a shame.

As an old friend and a fellow player, watching Un Hyang’s talent rot away while only drawing a paycheck was disheartening.

“What’s this? This guy…”

Annoyed, Un Hyang’s brow furrowed. Her voice tinged with displeasure, Cheon Ryang asked,

“What? Somebody annoying?”

“A Lee Suhyuk cosplayer.”

“Another one?”

Cheon Ryang got up to look at Un Hyang’s screen. A new streamer named ‘Lee Suhyuk’. The stream had zero viewers.

“…What are you doing?”

“What?”

“Why are you watching a stream with zero viewers?”

Balhae was an entertainment company. Their business thrived by contacting popular streamers and collaborating with them for profit.

Yet Un Hyang was showing interest in a stream with zero viewers.

“It just popped up on my screen, what do you want me to do?”

“It popped up because you always watch Lee Suhyuk-themed streams.”

Cheon Ryang sighed and rubbed his forehead. Regardless of Cheon Ryang’s irritation, Un Hyang grumbled.

“It’s ridiculous. I don’t get what gives them this kind of confidence?”

Un Hyang was a fan of Lee Suhyuk. Not just any fan, but an ardent enthusiast. As such, she watched anything related to Lee Suhyuk, regardless of the number of viewers.

“Then don’t watch.”

“Do you think I watch because I want to?”

“Then who’s forcing you to watch?”

Cheon Ryang calmed his irritation before responding.

“Listen. I understand how you feel, but personal feelings are a no-go in our job. Especially when it comes to contacting streamers.”

“Yeah, I get that, but…”

Un Hyang trailed off. She continued speaking while looking at the new streamer ‘Lee Suhyuk’ on her kit’s screen.

“How can I not get my hopes up when someone is wearing that mask?”

If they were going to do it, they could at least not disappoint. Watching Un Hyang mumble, Cheon Ryang closed his eyes and thought.

‘Yeah. Let’s think positively.’

There had been cosplaying players who succeeded before. Before Un Hyang joined here. There was only one player Un Hyang truly accepted.

“Right. There are people like Cha Minwoo. He started wearing a mask from the 3rd floor, didn’t he? He began quite early.”

Un Hyang nodded.

Cha Minwoo.

He emerged a decade ago and rapidly climbed the tower faster than anyone in recent memory. He ascended so quickly that his contact with Blue Eyes was widely known.

While Un Hyang acknowledged his skill, “Still, Lee Suhyuk is the best. No comparison.”

Cha Minwoo couldn’t quite measure up to Lee Suhyuk. With that, Un Hyang dived back into the stream.

Viewer count: 1.

She was Suhyuk’s first viewer.

*

Humid, oppressive air. Torches lit in the ceiling and walls. Summoned into a vast cave, Suhyuk took a deep breath behind his mask, recognizing the familiar scent.

—

『Starting the first trial of the 2nd floor.』

『Clear the ‘Starting Dungeon’ and exit.』

『Achievement points can be earned based on the monsters defeated.』

—

Starting Dungeon.

The first trial of the 2nd floor involved defeating monsters within the dungeon and escaping. As a starting point for the lower floors, the trial itself was straightforward.

‘Finally, it begins.’

Normally, anyone would be nervous upon learning that the trial had started. But Suhyuk’s nerves weren’t due to the trial. It was just the 2nd floor trial.

There was no worry about failing here. His tension stemmed from

—

『‘Lee Suhyuk’ has started streaming.』

『Viewers: 0』

—

His first stream. Starting the stream on the Players’ channel simultaneously with the trial meant viewers hadn’t arrived yet.

He couldn’t expect immediate success. No one would be interested in watching a newbie player who had just started streaming.

That’s why he wore this mask.

‘Let’s start moving.’

Suhyuk began to move. In the damp and quiet dungeon. It was hard to tell if there were any monsters.

Step, step—

He took slow steps to secure his vision. The only sound was his own footsteps. The dimly lit cave restricted his view, heightening his other senses.

Such limited sight was precisely why the 2nd floor trial was typically conducted in teams.

‘Now, something should be coming out soon…’

-What floor is this?

!

Suhyuk’s eyes widened. In the bottom corner of his vision, text appeared.

『Viewers: 4』

Already, his viewers had increased to four. As expected. Choosing to use the Lee Suhyuk persona wasn’t a bad idea.

“It’s the 2nd floor.”

—

-Do people stream from the 2nd floor these days?

-I’ve seen a few. Most quit quickly because they don’t get many viewers.

—

‘Seems like streaming from the lower floors isn’t common.’

Come to think of it, he hadn’t seen many streams from players below the 3rd floor. Even if their skills weren’t great, most streamers were at least above the 4th floor.

Starting to stream right from the 2nd floor was quite rare.

—

-LOL This person is bold. Using the Lee Suhyuk concept from the 2nd floor.

-If you know that, why did you join the stream?

-Because it’s fun. Also, I used to be a Lee Suhyuk fan.

-Oh, you too? Me too, LOL

—

Another viewer had joined. Five viewers. Not a lot of people, but the chat was lively. The conversation had shifted, focusing on Lee Suhyuk rather than Suhyuk himself.

‘What?’

This wasn’t what Suhyuk had expected. He had only planned to use the concept to attract viewers.

‘Were they my fans…?’

He felt a bit flustered. Seeing the chat brimming with discussions about him, he felt a bit self-conscious.

Until 20 years ago, Suhyuk had been so focused on climbing the tower that he had never interacted with his fans.

—

-First try?

“Yes. This is my first attempt.”

—

-Wow~ A fresh newbie.

-New? Even better.

—

2nd floor, first attempt.

The fact that he was a complete beginner, fresh out of the tutorial, piqued the viewers’ interest. Some of them were genuinely concerned for him.

—

-Are you sure you’re okay with streaming?

“What? Why?”

—

-Is it okay to stream already? If you’re on the 2nd floor, then it’s the Starting Dungeon, right? So, in the darkness, suddenly.

Stab!

—

『You have defeated a One-Eyed Bat.』

『You have gained 1 achievement point.』

—

With a swift upward thrust, Suhyuk’s sword pierced the eye of the monster that had flown at him from above. A creature with a single, fist-sized eye, known as the ‘One-Eyed Bat’.

“Yeah, they do pop out suddenly.”

—

-????

-Huh?? What was that???

-Can’t you tell? It was a One-Eyed Bat.

-Who doesn’t know that? We’re asking how he did it.

— It looked like it flew into his sword by itself.

-LOL, lucky.

—

The chat flared up over the swift incident. Suhyuk shook the One-Eyed Bat off his sword and checked the chat.

—

-The One-Eyed Bat is a monster that suddenly pops out from the darkness.

-Yeah, once it bites you, you’ll at least get seriously injured.

-It usually comes from above like it just did. You can’t just keep looking ahead.

The advice kept coming. Suhyuk nodded as he looked through the chat. But he couldn’t follow all of it exactly as given.

“Besides One-Eyed Bats, you also need to watch out for Groundfish.”

Groundfish.

Flat fish that lay on the ground in caves, their appearance resembled that of a fish, but they crawled along the ground.

“Groundfish are less noticeable than One-Eyed Bats. They usually lie flat on the ground, waiting for prey.”

—

-Okay, cool.

-Not your first try, is it?

-Channels these days are so well done. This kind of info is easy to find with a bit of research.

-Props for the effort.

—

Suhyuk’s viewers were mostly players. They were all people who had passed the 2nd-floor trial and moved upward. As such, they were quite knowledgeable about how to tackle this trial.

But,

—

-Just don’t be greedy, move with your team. That’s the best way.

—

None of them had done the trial alone like Suhyuk.

“MoneyIsLove, thanks for the advice, but that’s not an option for me. I’m challenging it solo.”

—

-??? Alone?

-Huh??? Didn’t you research this?

-You’re screwed LOL.

-LOL this is what a newbie is.

—

Warm responses filled the chat at the mention of him being solo.

It made sense.

The 2nd-floor trial was designed for a five-person party. What should be done by five hands had to be done by one. It wasn’t just a matter of multiplying the difficulty by five.

In reality, fewer than five players had passed the 2nd-floor trial alone, making it an exceptionally challenging feat.

—

-Are you really okay with this?

—

‘MoneyIsLove’, who had advised moving with a team, expressed genuine concern.

Suhyuk replied to that message while swinging his sword.

“I’m going to give it a try, at least.”

Slash—

—

『You have defeated a Groundfish.』

『You have gained 2 achievement points.』

—

“Thank you for your concern.”

He had cut the throat of a Groundfish lying flat on the floor, waiting for him.

—

– ??? Groundfish???

– Did anybody see that?

– I didn’t.

– There was a Groundfish, but now there isn’t.

—

The chat blew up with question marks again.

The number of viewers had already increased to six.