Reincarnator's Stream

Chapter 59

Chapter 59

In an alley near the colosseum where the tournament had ended, Cha Minwoo leaned against the wall and sighed in admiration.

“He really won, that kid.”

The screen on the kit he held displayed Suhyuk’s stream. Suhyuk was receiving the tournament’s winning prize, the Nimble Thief’s Footwear.

Snap-.

Chap Minwoo took a long drag from his lit cigarette, deep in thought.

“This was unexpected...”

“I thought for sure Schneider would win.”

Responding to Cha Minwoo’s words was his partner, Park Hwiyung. With her bow slung over her shoulder, she was watching the same stream.

“Isn’t it impressive? To think he’s already strong enough to beat Schneider.”

“Talent of the highest caliber, no doubt. I admit.”

“Do you think he’ll become like Lee Suhyuk someday?”

Here, she wasn’t referring to the streamer Suhyuk. She was talking about the legend of Blue Eyes, Minwoo’s idol, Lee Suhyuk.

“Well...”

“He has enough talent, doesn’t he? He even scored the same in the same trial.”

She watched the stream with an intrigued expression.

“There’s a saying going around: whatever the real Suhyuk can do, the fake Suhyuk can.”

“The real Suhyuk? The fake Suhyuk?”

“It’s what people say these days. Lee Suhyuk is the real one, and the streamer Suhyuk is the fake one. Real Suhyuk, fake Suhyuk.”

“What ridiculous nicknames...”

Minwoo’s face scrunched up in displeasure.

“And they got it backward. It’s not that the fake Suhyuk can do what the real Suhyuk can. It’s that the real Suhyuk can do whatever the fake Suhyuk can.”

“Isn’t that the same thing?”

“No, it’s not.”

Something about the topic seemed to irritate Cha Minwoo profoundly. Whenever discussions about Lee Suhyuk came up, he almost regressed into a fan-struck child.

“Ah, that everlasting fangirl heart...”

“What did you say?”

“You heard me? Yeah, I said it for you to hear.”

Hwiyung shrugged and changed the subject.

“So what happens now?”

“What else? Change of plans.”

“And the prize?”

“What, you think we should just rob him?”

Hwiyung had no response, understanding full well there wasn’t much they could do now that the winner was decided. It was just frustrating.

Handing over the relics of Blue Eyes to an outsider was a bitter pill to swallow for Blue Zone.

“It’s embarrassing to take it forcibly, and look at that number of viewers. How many are there?”

『Viewers: 14,017』

Fourteen thousand.

Certainly not a small number. Even after the tournament had ended, new viewers were streaming in, likely to catch a glimpse of the prize. It meant it was a hot topic in some community somewhere.

“We can’t touch him. There’s nothing good that’ll come from it.”

“We should’ve pulled him in before he got this big.”

“What can we do? Rejecting us means he’s confident in his own skills.”

Despite the guild’s disadvantageous position, Minwoo still held a slight smile.

“He’s confident. He believes his value will only increase over time.”

“Is that really the reason?”

“What else could it be? Is there a reason not to join our guild?”

Minwoo was convinced.

The streamer, Lee Suhyuk.

Someday, he would come under their wing.

Because...

“I can tell. This guy is obsessed with the legend of Blue Eyes.”

He was undeniably of the same kind as him.

“Really?”

Cha Minwoo always changed whenever topics related to Blue Eyes came up. Hwiyung sighed as she looked at him.

“The problem is, that legend might be ending soon.”

“Must be a misunderstanding.”

“I hope you’re right.”

At that moment.

Clatter-.

Suhyuk stood abruptly. He dropped his chopsticks and the meat he was holding, and ran outside.

“Suhyuk-nim? Suhyuk-nim!”

Un Hyang’s urgent voice reached him, but he couldn’t care less right now.

Thud, thud, thud-.

Just like when he had discovered the Ice Flower. Suhyuk began frantically searching the surroundings.

*

Yerang was seated on the rooftop of a building. From the rooftop, she had a clear view of the village below. The village was bustling with people who had just finished watching the tournament.

Among them.

Yerang noticed the distinct movements of certain players.

“I knew it, I just knew.”

Cha Minwoo and Park Hwiyung were at the center, surrounded by numerous players in hiding. Mingling with the crowd, all aiming to capture someone.

But.

“Your instincts have dulled, Ilsoo.”

Yerang clicked her tongue as she observed them.

“Does he really think he can catch me with such rookies? Maybe if he came personally.”

What else might he have up his sleeve?

To her, the players gathered here weren’t a threat. Running away wasn’t the issue. Even facing them head-on, she could kill them all and walk out easily.

Maybe not twenty years ago, but with her current skills she could.

Yet.

‘Should I?’

Her gaze shifted to one spot. Sprinting through the streets, wearing his usual mask, was streamer Suhyuk. She had no idea what he was frantically searching for.

Regardless, what she needed was the shoes he was wearing.

‘If necessary, I can just cut off his feet and take them.’

It would take less than a second. That amount of time wouldn’t even be enough for the others to notice, and even if they did, well.

At least the small net-like formation she could see before her could be torn through easily as she fled, so that was not a problem.

The problem was...

‘Should I?’

It was the inexplicable conflict within her. Even she couldn’t identify the source of her hesitation.

Was it because she had been enjoying his stream lately?

No. No matter how entertaining, it couldn’t hold as much importance as a keepsake from a friend who was like family.

Despite that, the reason she hesitated was clear.

‘What is so similar about him? It’s infuriating.’

The fact that, in his anonymous visage, she kept seeing Lee Suhyuk’s shadow.

“When the winner is announced, steal it. It’s much safer that way.”

She had promised Shiwoo.

“Don’t worry. Minjae cherished that item more than anything; I won’t just leave it behind.”

She couldn’t go back empty-handed.

No matter how much this guy resembled Lee Suhyuk.

At the end of the day, it’s just cosplay.

‘Lee Suhyuk is dead.’

Twenty years had passed, and he never reappeared.

Officially, Lee Suhyuk was declared dead. System-wise, retaking the lower-floor trials was impossible without a genuine reincarnation.

They were different people.

They could not be the same person.

But...

“I said I’m not selling.”

Every time she tried to move to cut his leg, reasons why she shouldn’t came up.

“Damn it! Ugh, this is so frustrating!”

In the end, she clutched her head and screamed in frustration.

Then she jumped up and made a decision.

“You just wait. Join Ilsoo’s guild, and I’ll come cut off that leg myself one day.”

Failing to retrieve Minjae’s most cherished item would be an unforgivable failure in her eyes. No, she wouldn’t even be able to face her other friends in the afterlife.

With a swift turn, she glanced at Suhyuk once more. He was still frantically searching every corner of the village. The feeling of regret was unfamiliar but undeniable after making her decision.

“Someday, it would be nice to have a conversation with him.”

Because she felt, surely, talking to him would feel like talking to Lee Suhyuk.