Reincarnator’s Stream

With points being a sensitive issue right now, someone trying to swindle him—even for just a cup of tea—was unacceptable.

‘Does he think points grow on trees?’

That guy had a wealthy father, so he never had to worry about points, unlike Suhyuk. From this point on, every point had to be saved to level up his skills.

Isaac’s expression turned cold at Suhyuk’s sharp response.

“You’re saying no?”

“Does it sound like I’m saying yes?”

“What’s the point of being friends then? Can’t even buy me a cup of tea? That’s disappointing.”

“Friends?”

Suhyuk’s lips curled into a smile. He couldn’t help but laugh at the audacious remark.

“Some friend you are.”

“…?”

Isaac’s eyes twitched. This reaction was far from what he expected.

‘What’s up with this response?’

Refusing was one thing, but to cut him off so bluntly?

It was unlike the Suhyuk he knew. No, the issue wasn’t just the response. Suhyuk wasn’t even looking him in the eyes, leisurely sipping his tea.

As if the person in front of him didn’t matter at all.

“…Hey.”

Isaac’s tone became threatening. The playful tone and expression turned sinister. As he gathered his magic menacingly, he snarled at Suhyuk.

“You think passing the tutorial changed anything?”

“Of course it did.”

Clink—

Suhyuk set down his coffee and asked,

“Care to trial it?”

He wasn’t planning to get involved in petty fights for revenge, but if Isaac kept provoking him, it was a different story.

No matter how young he was, everyone had their limits. For a moment, Isaac glared at Suhyuk with a murderous look.

It wouldn’t have been surprising if he unleashed his specialty magic right then and there.

But then,

“Forget it.”

Scrape—

Isaac got up from his seat with a deflated expression.

“What’s the point in messing with someone of your level? We’re not even classmates anymore.”

Tap—

He placed a hand on Suhyuk’s shoulder and walked out of the café.

“I get that you’re excited about passing the tutorial, but that attitude will get you killed without anyone knowing. Just friendly advice from someone who was once your friend.”

As Isaac walked away, Suhyuk raised his middle finger at his retreating back.

“Friend, my ass.”

Clicking his tongue, Suhyuk downed the now-cold coffee in one gulp. The cold coffee tasted bitter. The false claim of friendship left a strange, unsettling feeling in Suhyuk’s chest.

Of course.

It wasn’t just because of Isaac.

“Real friends, huh…”

Faces flashed through his mind.

Friends who had taken a spear to the heart in his place.

Friends whose bodies were blown apart by magic.

And friends whose arms and legs were severed and torn…

‘Minjae, Suhoon, Jiyeong…’

Their faces were still vividly etched in his memory.

For everyone in this world, it had been 20 years, but for him, it felt like just days ago—memories as fresh and painful as if they had just happened.

They were comrades and friends who had died in his stead.

“Damn it…”

Feeling uncharacteristically sentimental, Suhyuk muttered, glaring at the spot where Isaac had been.

“Just you wait until next time I see you.”

***

There are two main methods for a player to grow.

The first is to ascend through trials.

By passing the tower’s trials and obtaining rewards, players naturally grow as they climb higher.

In this case, players must pay points to participate in the trials but are guaranteed safety. In the tower’s trials, death could be avoided in exchange for points.

The second method is hunting.

Hunting monsters outside the safe zones or clearing dungeons raises stats and accumulates experience. If done well, it could also earn points.

However, unlike the trials, in real hunts, death was a very real risk. That’s why many players avoided hunting. Few players were willing to risk their lives for the hunt.

But.

‘Safety is slow. Danger is fast.’

Drip—

A drop of water fell from the cavern ceiling onto Suhyuk’s hand. In the silent orc nest. Suhyuk had just finished a hunt in the dungeon and sat down to catch his breath.

Sitting down—

“I need to find another sword. This fatigue is unbearable.”

Magic swords consumed the user’s stamina even without exerting effort, growing stronger in the process. Even with Selfish Sacrifice, wielding a magic sword continuously during a hunt was burdensome.

‘At least I leveled up.’

Clearing a dungeon solo was a madman’s task. At least under normal circumstances. Typically, clearing a dungeon required a party of around ten players.

In the case of the Hydra Dungeon, entire guilds would mobilize.

But.

‘I knew it would work.’

Suhyuk had moved in the confidence that it would work. He had rare-grade items and skills to handle them comfortably.

Above all, he was Lee Suhyuk.

What more explanation was needed?

The only regret was the inability to find higher-grade dungeons.

‘Nothing to be done. I must climb higher as quickly as possible.’

With the boss fight imminent, Suhyuk took a brief rest and pulled out his player kit. Before challenging the next trial, he wanted to get accustomed to streaming.

He chose streaming as the quickest way to earn points, but he still wasn’t familiar with it. For now, the first step was watching.

He accessed the Players’ channel via the kit and checked out streams from fellow Earth-born players.

“Wow! Friends! It’s Bald Suhyuk~ Today, I’m finally going to challenge the Devil’s Lair, infamous for being treacherous! To the 4th floor, let’s go~!”

A streamer wearing a mask like Suhyuk’s, performing ridiculous actions. The clothing even resembled what Suhyuk used to wear during his active days.

‘How many streamers are using this concept now?’

A streamer with the ‘Bald Suhyuk’ concept frequently appeared. Operating under the name ‘BaldSuhyeok,’ he was a player who had just reached the end of the 3rd floor.

-Not really. Only you find it tough.

-Feels like I’m watching the same thing.

-It actually is. This is his 8th try.

-Finally, lOLOLOL

-Nothing wrong with BaldBro being BaldBro, right?

The chat messages scrolled quickly. Most comments doubted and mocked his abilities.

‘8th try’ was shorthand for it being his eighth attempt.

To think he failed eight times on the 3rd floor.

‘I didn’t know you could fail this.’

Always surrounded by the Blue Eyes comrades, it was a fresh shock to Suhyuk.

“C’mon, guys, why so harsh? Just pretend like you don’t know, okay? Act like this is the first time, alright?”

-Report fake stream ㅅㄱㅇ.

-Wow! He’s finally going to the 4th floor! (Am I doing this right, bro?)

-This guy’s gonna be stuck here forever. Can’t clear the 3rd floor.

–Why kill BaldBro’s vibe!

-Definitely can’t do it, definitely can’t do it, definitely can’t do it, definitely can’t do it

Despite being quite experienced, he was still stuck on the 3rd floor.

『‘BaldIdiot’ has registered a mission.』

『If you clear it in one try, 10,000 points』

Suhyuk’s eyes widened. 10,000 points. That was a signignicant amount. And it was given just for passing the trial?

‘There are missions too?’

“BaldIdiot, I have no idea why your ID is like that, but thanks for the mission! Okay, I’ll definitely clear it this time and recover the trial fee.”

『‘BaldLover’ has registered a mission.』

『1st try clear, I’ll throw in 5,000 points.』

『‘PoorWallet’ has registered a mission.』

『If this guy clears it, I’ll eat my hat. Adding 2500 points.』

『‘SafeAsset’ has registered a mission.』

『Adding 2500 more—let’s round it off with 20,000 points.』

“Wow…”

With more missions coming in, Suhyuk’s eyes widened. Even the currently suggested missions totaled 20,000 points. Just by completing them, Suhyuk could level up Selfish Sacrifice once more immediately.

Of course, those points were contingent on completing the mission, but that wasn’t a huge problem for Suhyuk.

‘This is way too easy.’

Naturally, that was Suhyuk’s perspective. Streamer BaldSuhyeok ignored the viewers’ chat and attempted the trial, but the results were disastrous.

Watching him take the trial, Suhyuk felt his eyes were rotting.

“What the heck, he can’t do that?”

By the eighth attempt, one should have gained some proficiency. At least, that was common sense to Suhyuk.

However, BaldSuhyeok approached the trial as if it were his first time.

‘What is he doing with my name?’

Suhyuk was tempted to throw away his kit several times, unable to bear watching the embarrassing display.

Unsurprisingly, BaldSuhyeok failed.

A ridiculous mistake caused an arrow to pierce his head, leading to his elimination and return to the 3rd-floor trial ground.

“So close—but I’ve made a lot of progress. Right, guys?”

-LOLOLOL LOL

-SafeAsset, you’re awesome.

-NotAcknowledged

-Please die, you useless streamer

-So unfortunate ㅠㅠ

–Get rid of that traitor!!!

-I wish all these idiots tarnishing Lee Suhyuk’s name would disappear. If I were Lee Suhyuk…

–Serious trolls, get lost!!!

“…This is dizzying.”

Watching the stream, Suhyuk sighed. Over the past few days, while watching various streams, Suhyuk had a revelation.

‘This is profitable.’

Points, the currency of the tower. Streaming was a highly useful method to earn those points.

Just now, over 100,000 viewers were watching streamer BaldSuhyeok. Despite his poor skills, his witty banter and unique concept made him a successful streamer.

Lee Suhyuk, known as the greatest player ever. BaldSuhyeok’s poor skills contrasted sharply with this persona, making it a selling point for his stream.

‘I can’t do this. It doesn’t suit me. Even if I tried, I couldn’t do it as well.’

There were various types of streams. Comedy streams aiming to make viewers laugh. Communication streams leveraging good looks.

Skill-based streams showing dungeon raids and trial attempts. Or occasionally, blends of all three.

Naturally, Suhyuk’s choice was clear—‘Skill-based streaming.’

“Streaming, huh…”

*

A few days later.

After continually running dungeons and getting the hang of streaming, Suhyuk pulled out the mask that he had left in his inventory and covered his face.

Over the past few days, Suhyuk had been thinking about the concept for his stream.

‘Interesting.’

With his face hidden behind the mask, he walked over to a mirror on one wall. Covering his young face, the reflection staring back at him was the Lee Suhyuk he remembered.

‘I never thought I’d wear this again.’

His dark eyes gleamed with a hint of amusement. Starting this because he needed points, Suhyuk decided to do it properly. He walked past the mirror and stepped out of his lodging.

If anyone saw him, they would accuse him of imitating Lee Suhyuk.

But what did that matter?

It didn’t bother him at all.

After all—

『‘Lee Suhyuk’ has started streaming.』

—he was the real deal.

TL’s Corner:

Finally, the Reincarnator starts streaming.