Chapter 222
*Chzzt, chzzzzzt*—The lightning that had been clashing noisily, as if about to explode, gradually subsided. The sword, which had been emitting a sharp aura, also drooped lifelessly. Suhyuk doubted his ears.
"What do I have?"
"You have it too. The ability to create clouds."
Learning the proper techniques or stealing the Dragon Orb—Suhyuk had been racking his brain to figure out how to create clouds, so this sounded absurd to him. If those words were true, how many pointless efforts had he made until now?
"How?"
"This is completely foolish."
The look in the Azure Dragon's eyes changed as he observed Suhyuk. He didn't know whether to see Suhyuk as a mere human or something else. The Azure Dragon furrowed his brows and moved closer to Suhyuk.
"Why does a human have such a thing?"
"Do you know what lightning is?"
"I don't know what lightning is, but I can guess what it does."
The Azure Dragon, who had dropped his hostility, had eyes that glimmered.
"Give it to me!"
Seeing the lightning with his own eyes, the Azure Dragon looked as interested as someone who had found a precious gem.
"Huh? Please! Give it to me! No, let's trade! I'll give you my Dragon Orb!"
The roles had reversed. Just a while ago, Suhyuk had been pestering The Azure Dragon to give him the Dragon Orb. Now it was the opposite. Moreover, the Azure Dragon's sudden demand put Suhyuk in a difficult position.
"Even if you ask, I can't give it to you."
Lightning was not an object like the Dragon Orb; it was a power engraved in Suhyuk's body as a skill. There was no way to give it away—even if he wanted to, which he didn't.
"Really?... Figures."
Luckily, the Azure Dragon quickly accepted it. He seemed to have suspected that lightning was not something that could be given to someone else. If he had continued to pester, Suhyuk might have been forced to use power, but it was a relief that he gave up quickly.
"But how do I use this to create clouds?"
At Suhyuk's question, the Azure Dragon replied weakly, looking somewhat dejected.
"That's where you're wrong."
"Wrong?"
"Your doubt that you can't create clouds with your power. You haven't even tried, have you?"
Of course. Who in the world would think they could control the weather? The most people do is hang a doll and pray to the sky for good weather. Suhyuk was no different. It wasn't a doubt; it was just a given. It had been that way until now.
"Get rid of that bias. Just as dragons think it's natural from the moment they are born, the weather is something you can control."
The Azure Dragon shrugged as if it were nothing significant.
"Well, it won't be easy."
He knew too well that no matter how great an object someone had, controlling the weather wouldn't be an easy feat for a human.
"How do I do it?"
"How should I know?"
"What?"
"You're the one who possesses that power. So you should figure out how to use it. What I can tell you is that it's something far more superior than my Dragon Orb."
The Azure Dragon scoffed as he spoke.
"If you can't create clouds with something like that, the Dragon Orb won't help you at all."
With that explanation, Suhyuk realized he had been wrong from the start. He had thought that having the Dragon Orb would mean he could easily create clouds. But how he would handle it was another matter. He already had the power to summon clouds and chase away lightning. He simply didn't know how to do it.
'I really didn't know anything.'
Lightning was a skill Suhyuk had handled for a long time. He had treated it as a mere technique, thinking he fully understood it after countless battles.
Watching Suhyuk clench and unclench his hand as if testing the lightning in his grasp, the Azure Dragon spoke with an intrigued expression.
"Do well, then. And if you get the chance, let me out sometime."
* * *
Suhyuk exited through the door without any issues.
When Jinwoon and Un Hyang asked what had happened inside, he answered, "Nothing happened."
Jinwoon, observing Suhyuk walking with a thoughtful expression, questioned Un Hyang, sounding accusatory.
"He was supposed to come out with what he wanted, right?"
"Sometimes things go this way."
Un Hyang shrugged her shoulders as if to say, "Why are you being so picky?"
Should he believe this or not?
Jinwoon shook his head. Considering there were no signs of battle, it was clear nothing significant had happened inside.
Lee Suhyuk returned to the room that Jinwoon had lent him.
He clenched and unclenched his hands, then turned his head to look up at the sky.
He saw clouds drifting by. How was he supposed to create those?
"Clouds, oh-."
Suhyuk reached out towards the empty sky.
"Please, just form."
.......
Of course, nothing formed.
Feeling helpless, he wondered what he needed to do to form clouds and change the weather.
Just as Suhyuk was staring blankly at the sky, he heard a loud noise right behind him.
"Wak!"
When he turned his head, he met eyes with Un Hyang, who scratched her head awkwardly.
"Didn't scare you?"
"I made a noise on purpose so I wouldn't scare you."
"Oh, did it show?"
Un Hyang awkwardly laughed and carefully sat down next to Suhyuk. The two of them looked up at the clouds together.
"Did you get what you wanted?"
"It's not easy."
"Creating clouds?"
"Yes."
"Controlling the weather isn't easy. If it were possible, you'd be a Great Mage, wouldn't you?"
Suhyuk nodded. Indeed, a Great Mage like Hailz could probably create clouds and summon storms without much difficulty.
But he couldn't involve Hailz in this. Creating clouds was a problem he had to solve with his own power.
"I found a clue."
Suhyuk reached out and tried to grasp the clouds as he spoke.
"But that's all I got."
The clouds easily evaded his grasp, slipping through like an illusion.
It felt harder than holding sand.
Yet, it wasn't entirely hopeless.
Along with the helplessness, a spark of hope was born.
Once he figured this out, he would understand lightning even better.
"That's enough. If you have a clue, you can catch it. What's the problem?"
"It's not enough."
"Why?"
Because there's no time.
Unable to say that, Suhyuk hesitated to answer, when suddenly Un Hyang gave his back a robust pat.
"Cheer up! You'll make it, Suhyuk nim."
"... Thanks for the encouragement, but don't you think you hit a bit too hard?"
"I have to, so you'll come to your senses."
Had he looked that downcast? Un Hyang's encouragement seemed more exaggerated than usual.
Indeed, he felt some impatience. Perhaps that showed on his face, making Un Hyang act so cheerfully.
"I was just thinking."
"About what?"
Suhyuk began to explain his encounter with the Azure Dragon.
"Well, that's even better, isn't it?"
"It is, but... I still don't know how to do it."
"You'll soon figure it out. You're Lee Suhyuk."
"That's a lot of pressure."
"What? No way. You wouldn't feel pressured by something like this."
Her joking caused Suhyuk to chuckle. His head had been full of worries, but this friendly banter served to clear his mind a bit.
Then, Un Hyang spread her arms dramatically and stood up from her seat.
"Shall I tell you some good news to really cheer you up?"
"What news?"
"What good news could there be for Money-Crazy Suhyuk-nim? It has to be money news."
"Money-Crazy..."
It was an image that had stuck to him for a while. Though it didn't sit entirely right with him, he couldn't deny it either. Suhyuk indeed needed points.
'And a lot more than before.'
As he continued streaming, his skill "Selfish Sacrifice" level steadily increased. Each skill level up would supposedly double in requirement, but the stream's success had allowed him to gather the necessary points without issue.
However, reaching level 10 of "Selfish Sacrifice" now required ten times the points for the next skill level.
25 million points.
No matter how extraordinary a player was, it was an enormous amount for any individual.
"Is this some sort of payment?"
"No."
Un Hyang shook her head firmly, as if it were insignificant, and then asked, "Do you know who the richest player in the world is?"
"......?"
The richest player in the world.
Lee Suhyuk had never thought about it.
Originally, Suhyuk was not a very materialistic person.
When Suhyuk didn't respond immediately and remained silent, Un Hyang asked again, as if surprised, "Do you really not know?"
"No."
"Really, you don't know? Suhyuk-nim? Clementine?"
"Who is that?"
"Oh, my... It seems you need to relinquish the title of money-obsessed freak."
Lee Suhyuk pondered seriously for a moment, unsure if he should be embarrassed or pleased about being called a money-obsessed freak.
"A person who owns two god-tier items."
god-tier items.
Even if Suhyuk didn't know much else, he couldn't ignore those words.
Items he had never possessed in his past life. In this era, with over 20 years passed, there were said to be only five god-tier items.
Two of them belonged to one person?
"Can it be bought with points?"
"That's Clementine's theory. If something can't be bought with points, consider that you might not have enough."
It wasn't entirely wrong. However, it was still hard to imagine.
Suhyuk had once lived an extraordinary life, especially concerning wealth. He had an abundance of points.
Still, even then, he wondered if it was possible to empty his entire fortune to buy a god-tier item.
What kind of value would that item hold?
At least now, he understood how wealthy Clementine was.
"I understand he's a remarkable person. But why are you telling me this?"
"Clementine has placed an ad using your name."
"An ad?"
"Yes. It's an energy drink ad. You'll have to drink one before your test."
"Do I even do those kinds of ads?"
"They pay well. Moreover, the big news is that they're planning a collaboration with Clementine."
"A collaboration?"
Suhyuk didn't seem to grasp the significance, which made Un Hyang smile even wider.
"You'll likely understand better when you meet him in person. Just how wealthy he truly is."
In truth, it still didn't resonate with Suhyuk.
Clementine was someone who didn't exist in Suhyuk's era.
Even though he owned two god-tier items, there was no way to directly ascertain their value.
However, judging by Un Hyang's reaction, one thing was certain.
Clementine's presence would be a major turning point for his stream.
"Anyway, Suhyuk-nim!"
Un Hyang said, adding what she really wanted to say, as always. "Everything is going well. It'll all work out. So, don't be too impatient."
Ultimately, this was the message she wanted to convey.
To Suhyuk, who appeared somewhat anxious.
Everything would be fine.
"I wasn't particularly down."
"Really?"
"I was just thinking about what I should do."
At Suhyuk's words, Un Hyang gave an awkward, embarrassed laugh.
"I guess I was just overreacting."
"But thanks for the support. Yes, money-obsessed. Time to work."
Yes.
In the end, now was the time to do what he could.
There was no need to rush like the wind. He just needed to do what he could and move forward.
Eventually, at the end of that path, he would meet Shiwoo, Yerang, and Hyomin.
"Hey, look over there."
At that moment, Un Hyang, having finished her consolation, looked up.
She smiled as she saw the pitch-black storm cloud obscuring the sunlight.
"Looks like it's going to rain soon."
TL's Corner:
Coincidence???