BXBX NOVEL Chapter 83
‘Streamer? Is that supposed to be a big deal?’
He could see enemy players and soldiers approaching from a distance. He needed to focus, but he couldn’t.
‘That Bronze bastard is all talk. What does he think he can do…?’
From the start, this game was doomed. If what that woman Roen said is true, then he’s supposedly a pretty skilled streamer. But the stat difference between Bronze and Platinum is threefold.
No matter how good his control was, it was an insurmountable gap.
Thunk-!
Swinging a large hammer to take down an enemy soldier, Nile gradually increased his stats.
『You have defeated a ‘Soldier’.』
『Stat increase by 1%.』
‘Farming is going well.’
There were three ways to get stronger in this game. Defeat enemy players, hunt neutral monsters, or continuously kill respawning enemy soldiers.
Players called repeatedly killing soldiers to increase stats ‘farming’.
‘What does it matter? We’ll lose because of one guy anyway.’
Thinking that, Nile kept an eye on the enemy player’s position. A player sticking close to a giant statue acting as a turret.
The moment he attacked that player, the statue would target him.
‘There’s no way to win except by getting kills. Is that why he’s playing defensively?’
The game seemed increasingly hopeless.
“Can’t do this, damn it.”
And at that moment.
Swish-.
The enemy player who had been peacefully farming closed the distance as if on cue.
“Uh-.”
Another enemy player appeared from the bushes. Seeing the second player appear, Nile felt utterly resigned.
‘Fine, I knew this match was unwinnable anyway…’
Flash-!
Boom-!
A beam of light was followed by a deafening noise.
“Argh-!”
“What’s that? Where did it come from?”
The enemy player hit by the yellow lightning screamed, while the other looked around in confusion. And in that brief moment.
Flash-!
A second spear of lightning flew.
Boom-!
Clang-!
Blocked by a shield, the lightning still shook the reacting player. Despite the distance, the attacker hadn’t even revealed themselves.
‘Is that an ally?’
A broad smile spread across Nile’s face.
A savior had appeared at the moment he thought he was finished. Despite having a Bronze in their midst, it seemed there was at least one competent teammate.
“Find that player first!”
“He’s in the woods! You’re supposed to find him!”
The two enemy players quarreled.
Seeing his chance, Nile’s eyes glinted. He used a high-magic-consuming skill.
『Using ‘Palm Strike’.』
『Single hit destructive power increases by 300%.』
Buzz-.
A swing of the club with a charge.
Clang-!
The force of the club dented the enemy player’s shield. As one of them staggered back, an ally revealed himself from the forest. And at the moment Nile recognized his ally’s face.
“Bronze?”
Nile muttered in shock. Despite his stats being halved, Suhyuk was moving quickly towards the enemy player.
In the next instant.
Buzz-.
Leaping over the shield, Suhyuk swung his sword from behind.
Boom-!
With the sword strike, lightning shot out. Though the power was diminished, Suhyuk’s blade accurately struck the enemy’s neck.
『’Lee Suhyuk’ has defeated ‘Lord’.』
A notification flashed for all participants. As one enemy fell, the other began to retreat towards the statue. No, he tried to.
“You shouldn’t go there.”
As if he had expected it. Suhyuk warned the remaining player.
“Well, too late?”
“Too late?”
At that moment, the warned player looked around.
Zap, zzzz-.
At their feet. A yellow circle glowed. A trap set in advance, predicting the movement path. By the time he thought of escaping, it was already too late.
Flash-!
Boom-!
From the ground up, a bolt of lightning surged. With his whole body electrified, the player rolled his eyes back and trembled uncontrollably. And during that moment, another spear appeared in Suhyuk’s hand.
Thud-!
A long yellow spear pierced through the body.
“Guh-.”
With a short groan, the second player’s life ended.
『’Lee Suhyuk’ has defeated ‘Liandry’.』
In an instant, two enemies were down.
Nile rubbed his eyes.
“What, what is that…?”
But even after rubbing his eyes and looking again, nothing had changed.
“Is he really a Bronze?”
Instantly.
Nile recalled Suhyuk’s earlier words.
“The system is the fairest of all. If you can’t see the essence because of ranks, just gouge those eyes out.”
At that time, he thought it was just prideful banter.
‘That wasn’t it.’
Re-examining Suhyuk’s skill with his own eyes, Nile’s thoughts clarified. The gap between Bronze and Platinum was typically thought to be a threefold stat difference.
Despite that, the system placed Lee Suhyuk among Platinum-ranked players. Which meant.
‘His Bronze rank means his stats are comparable to my Platinum rank.’
A chill ran down his spine.
Nile thought.
Just who did he pick a fight with?
***
『’Liandry’ has been defeated.』
『Stats increased by 20%.』
After defeating two enemy players, Suhyuk felt a surge of vitality.
His stats were now almost back to their original levels, even though it was temporary for this match.
– Wow, amazing.
– Prediction shot was perfect.
– Isn’t it obvious to run to the statue after one dies?
– It’s impressive to do the obvious things so flawlessly.
Suhyuk had used two spears to hold the enemies in check, creating an opportunity for his ally to strike. And predicting that the remaining enemy would flee towards the statue, he had set traps beforehand.
His recent performance was like a perfectly choreographed move.
– But is this really a Platinum-level match?
– Right?
– He took them down too easily.
Typically, Platinum players start with three times the stats of Bronze players. Given the stat disparity, Suhyuk should have struggled more. Yet, he defeated his enemies effortlessly.
“What’s he doing over there?”
Suhyuk glanced at Nile. Among the fighting soldiers, Nile stood there, staring blankly at him.
“Is he trolling?”
– Lololol
– He’s in shock, isn’t he?
– Speechless, huh? Can’t say a word, right?
Suhyuk approached Nile.
“What are you doing? Clear out the soldiers and push the statue. The enemies will respawn soon.”
In the Forest of War, players eventually respawn after a certain time, even if killed. The objective wasn’t just to kill enemies but to destroy the enemy base.
To achieve that, they had to first destroy the statues blocking their way.
“Uh, right.”
Suddenly compliant, Nile quickly began clearing out the soldiers and attacking the statue per Suhyuk’s instructions.
With Nile getting back to action, Suhyuk returned to the forest.
Awooo-!
A wolf howled.
A new neutral monster had spawned. As Suhyuk prepared to hunt it, an alert popped up.
『’MissionVillain’ has registered a mission.』
『Clear the 4th floor within 1 month for 20,000 points. Deal?』
It was the first mission registered since starting the 4th floor trial.
The message he had been waiting for made Suhyuk’s eyes sparkle.
– 1 month???
– That’s too short.
– It’s Lee Suhyuk; he needs this kind of challenge lol.
– What was the record again?
– Wasn’t it 3 months?
– 3 months and 2 days.
It was the starting signal.
『’IloveLeeSuhyuk’ has registered a mission.』
『Suhyuk Oppa! (jingle) I’ll also place 20,000 points on the same mission! Fighting! (jingle)』
『’Never Give Up’ has registered a mission.』
『Same here, with an additional 10,000 points. Let’s go!』
『’Great Man Lee Wonjae’ has registered a mission.』
『Looks like today’s mission is huge? Adding another 10,000 points…』
『…』
Missions kept pouring in. Not only were there many missions, but the amounts were substantial. Because it was a month-long mission, after all.
Moreover, the difficulty was no joke. A mission to reduce the current record by a third. On the surface, it seemed like an unreasonable challenge. However, none of the viewers said it was impossible.
As expected.
『’Safety Asset’ has registered a mission.』
『I bet 50,000 points if you clear it within 15 days. Try it, lol.』
Safety Asset.
Known for betting on seemingly impossible missions, this viewer even halved the time frame. A mission that already seemed difficult now appeared almost impossible.
Yet the viewers cheered at his appearance.
– 15 days lolololol.
– You devil lololol.
– Huh? But Safety Asset?
– The man with a 0% success rate…
Safety Asset. Infamous for never paying up on any mission in other streams, had never won a bet in Suhyuk’s streams.
“Safety Asset, you still haven’t changed your nickname.”
Suhyuk teased him once again.
“I’ll gladly accept your 50,000 points.”
Suhyuk didn’t even glance at the month-long missions. They would automatically be cleared if he passed MissionVillain’s mission.
To achieve that, however…
‘15 days…’
It seemed difficult through conventional means.
‘It might not be fun, but it can’t be helped.’
Back in his lane, Lord murmured as he looked at the statue’s stamina.
“Fortunately, the statue isn’t destroyed.”
Despite two members dying, the statue’s stamina hadn’t significantly decreased. This meant the impact wasn’t severe. The issue was that the opponent had gained 2 kills, but that gap could be closed by farming.
‘I was too careless earlier. I underestimated them because they were Bronze.’
Glance-.
Lord glanced in the direction of the forest.
‘The opponent is Lee Suhyuk. Remember that.’
He was aware of the streamer named Lee Suhyuk. A player who had recently become a hot topic in the lower floors. Not just as a streamer, but also a super rookie coveted by major guilds.
Despite being Bronze, he was a player with the Lightning skill.
‘Farm safely inside the statue’s range and focus on growing stronger first.’
Lord started taking down soldiers with the help of the statue. Although the statue’s stamina decreased slightly during the process, it was worth the trade-off.
Thanks to this, he could farm safely.
As Lord planned to focus on the late game,
Zap, crackle-!
A much more powerful spear of lightning than before flew in, not from the front, but from beyond the bushes behind him.
“Gasp!”
Clang-!
Desperately raising his shield, he barely blocked the lightning. His hand, gripping the shield, tingled, and he saw something coming over his head.
‘A dive?’
Ignoring the statue’s attacks to take down the opponent. It was a method rarely used due to the difficulty of dodging or blocking the statue’s attacks.
However,
Buzz-!
The opponent elegantly dodged the statue’s laser, descending directly atop him with a sword.
“You crazy…”
Thunk-.
『’Lee Suhyuk’ has defeated ‘Lord’.』
『’Lee Suhyuk’ has destroyed the first statue.』
Messages popped up in quick succession. Having swiftly destroyed the first statue, Suhyuk declared,
“I’ll pave the highway.”