The World Didn’t Collapse Upon Returning -71- (Revised)
071.
After returning, Yido-hyuk had this thought several times.
A changed future.
Perhaps a different worldline.
Would his former comrades he would meet here be the same as those he remembers?
It’s a common dilemma for time travelers.
Of course, he didn’t ponder this only after returning.
Yido-hyuk was a (prospective) time traveler even before his return.
He had some time to think about it in advance.
[-I don’t know, it’s not like I’m the one biting the dust. Should I bother with that brat?]
Returning to the past, Chen Tao once said he would kill you within three years of returning to the past.
The current memory is not his, so it doesn’t matter if that guy lives or dies.
But just saying that, when the ‘Strategy Unit’ within the Council concluded that Chen Tao’s assassination was inevitable, he seemed to have a difficult expression, not really thinking so.
[-Hmm, well, to judge that, you need to think about the nature of time. Let me briefly explain 2D spacetime for you idiots. The X-axis is space, the Y-axis is time···]
The response of the Great Wizard, Eileen.
You can ignore that too.
She shattered Yido-hyuk’s usual theory that handling magic only requires a sense of manipulating magic power.
Honestly, he couldn’t understand what she was saying.
Probably others couldn’t either.
Anyway.
[-No, he must be a different person from me.]
That was Marcus’s response.
And also Kwabna, Eliza, Ambe······ and so on.
[-I don’t know. But probably.. they’ll be the same. You..]
Even Lyn’s response at last.
Yido-hyuk also remembers the request-like thing that followed.
‘Sure···’
─Swish!
‘They asked to see your sword.’
The duty of Lyn who asked him to show his sword skills if he were to meet his past self.
Perhaps.. it meant to let his past self know the sword skills she had carelessly left out.
Of course, he had no intention of showing the best swordsmanship he could from the current game.
He would show it when he meets Lyn in the finals anyway.
For now, it was just a practice process for that.
These days, as much emphasis was placed on parkour as on swordsmanship, it was a process of regaining one’s senses.
And one more thing.
It could be seen as education at its own level.
─Swish!
“Ugh!”
The sword strike extended by Ido Hyuk.
The opponent, whose arm was cut by it, wore a defeated expression.
“Hmm…”
Did he exert too much force?
Ido Hyuk paused his attack for a moment with such thoughts in mind.
Before being called Geomsung, Lin’s nickname was Geomchi (劍痴) – a sword enthusiast who knew nothing beyond swords.
That was Lin who honed her swordsmanship through practical experience for a long period of 20 years.
Lin’s swordsmanship now might not be as good as back then, but she could not help but be 20 years behind.
In other words, there was a 20-year difference between Ido Hyuk and the current Lin.
“Anything eaten quickly is bound to cause indigestion.”
In this match, just moderately.
Just a bit higher in level than the current Lin.
Showing just this much would be easily absorbable for Lin.
“In the recent match as well…”
Lin faced off against Geomdun Girl.
Should we say the opponent was lacking?
For Geomdun Girl, it was a match that left much to be desired in various ways.
[-Oh! Geomhee’s strike is directly hitting Lin! The recent combo seemed a bit different from the traditional one I know, don’t you think?]
[-Yes, I think Geomhee might have come up with an improved version. From Cheonchung to Ilwolseom, and then Nangacham. The transformation was amazing, right?]
A sudden memory came to mind.
That’s right…
[-Ah! What’s this! This time, it’s the opposite, Lin, Lin strikes! Ah! Lin’s Nangacham directly hits Geomhee!]
[-Huh..? That technique is clearly···?]
…The memory of Geomdun Girl being ‘Beyonded’ in the middle.
“Tsk.”
Well, Lin herself seemed fine with it and must have chosen it as the appropriate option in that situation.
But from Geomdun Girl’s perspective, it must have been quite painful.
Of course… if Ido Hyuk knew about this inner turmoil, Beyond would have immediately exclaimed, “Hey you, what the heck!”
Either way –
“Hayap!”
At that moment.
The opponent in the round of 8 rushed towards Ido Hyuk.
Clang!
“Ugh!”
Thwack!
Ido-hyuk deflected the opponent’s attack with a swing of his sword.
And then, he turned the tide with another offensive move.
Swish! Sinister!
[Player Ido-hyuk! No, it seems like he moves sharper than Ryu from the previous round, right? He wasn’t primarily a player who handled swordsmanship!]
[…Actually, Masamune is not Ido-hyuk’s main character. As far as I know, players like Kujo handle swordsmanship characters the best.]
[Oh! Tsuki player, or should I say a player with a connection to Tsuki’s commentary?]
[…Connection… well, um. It’s not entirely absent.]
-Eekkkkkkk
-My 4th disciple… Are you ashamed of your master?
-Son of a b****, hahahaha, you can’t even remember Hyuk-sensei’s name
-Tsubun is crying…
**
“······”
Sinjiro was at a loss for words.
-Crack!
‘That kid… back then, was he looking out for me?’
He couldn’t believe it.
Even though it seemed like he was being careless, you could tell from the trajectory he drew.
Ido-hyuk’s level was higher than what he thought.
Sinjiro could see that much.
Perhaps… Ido-hyuk’s sword skills are equal to or even surpass his sister’s!
No, maybe slightly higher?
“But that kid…”
Thunk.
Sinjiro gulped as he looked at the screen.
Who are all these people?
[Mission Success!]
[“hahahaha. Breaking through to the top 8 as Masamune, mission accomplished.”]
After all the top 8 matches.
Ido-hyuk rejoiced as he pocketed the mission reward worth 500,000 won shown on the screen.
When we donated last time, he just grumbled strangely without saying much.
Was that a hint that the amount wasn’t enough?
“Well, that ridiculous guy…”
With those words, Sinjiro looked beside him.
He wasn’t here to just watch the tournament broadcast, but to watch Ido-hyuk’s match with his sister, so Sinjiro had come with Lin.
“···?”
Sinjiro’s face turned strange as he looked at Lin.
A faint blush visible on her cheeks.
“Oh, no way..”
Even if my older sister is obsessed with swords…
That can’t be, right?
**
Round 4, Match 2.
Ido Hyuk’s opponent was a streamer from Korea.
He was a celestial-tier Iron Fist streamer, either common or uncommon.
“Hello…”
“Yes. Hello.”
The streamer’s name was Stormy Night.
Ido Hyuk and Stormy Night exchanged greetings before the match started.
Stormy Night mainly handled the character… Kuzo.
The character Ido Hyuk first dealt with when playing Iron Fist.
“Oh no.. Well, everyone. It seems my luck ends here.”
Saying so, Stormy Night exaggeratedly put on a gloomy expression.
In fact, he had made it to the top 4 mainly due to his exceptionally good luck in the matches so far.
He had no difficult opponents during the qualifiers, and he hadn’t faced any pro-level opponents in the main event.
“But now I meet the final boss here…”
He also knew Ido Hyuk.
No, he knew him very well.
Ido Hyuk had started streaming under his own name just about two weeks ago.
A very short time indeed, but enough time for a streamer to become a major player in the industry.
[“Hello (Twok Rivals) / Ido Hyuk / 34,175 viewers]
Currently, Ido Hyuk had 34,000 viewers.
Even considering the increase due to the tournament, Ido Hyuk’s stream, attracting over 20,000 viewers on average, was noteworthy.
Despite the significant rise of internet broadcasting compared to the past, streamers with tens of thousands of viewers were usually classified as major players.
This viewer count put him between the top 5 and 10 during peak hours.
Of course, since Ido Hyuk had just started streaming, many users argued that it was too early to call him a major player, given the debut boost.
To be considered a major player, one needed to maintain such viewership for at least a month.
Anyway, regardless of whether Ido Hyuk was classified as a major player or not…
-hahahahaha
-Doomed
-Stormy Night looks like Stormy Night about to be hit for real before hitting for real
-hahahahaha
-Whether Ido Hyuk is a noob or Stormy Night is a noob, the results will tell.”
-Do you think I already know the outcome?
In today’s Twok, not knowing Ido Hyuk is like being a spy.
Or someone who has been away from Twok for a while.
Ding-
[“‘God of Attack’ has donated 1,000 won.”]
– “Do you accept the mission of losing a pint of blood, Sensei Dohyuk?”
– “I’ll do it.”
– “Will that really work? lol”
– “How does a StormSS handle that?”
Moreover, how could the broadcast of Storm Night, where Iron Fist is the main content, be so intense?
“Winning is obviously impossible.”
He had already given up on winning against him as soon as the match-up was announced on the bracket.
“But… that’s not the important part.”
Storm Night made up his mind.
If he couldn’t win, he had to show the viewers the best he could be.
Furthermore, weren’t the viewers hyped up right now?
Just until a moment ago, about 1,000 viewers were watching, but as the match with Dohyuk was about to start, his broadcast, in a flash, jumped to 5,000 viewers.
And what were those 5,000 people doing?…
[“SpaceLover” has requested a mission of 100,000 won.]
– “When Sensei Dohyuk is hit once, let’s go.”
[“UnpopularNick” has requested a mission of 50,000 won.]
– “Listen to the talented Sensei’s voice.”
[“asdf2174” has requested a mission of 1,000,000 won.]
– “If you make it to the top 4, 1 million won lol”
– “Hey, you’re the last one lol”
– “hahahaha, if I make it to the top, I’ll give 10 million.”
– “That’s seriously a jackpot.”
– “Wow, all the big players are gathered here lol”
There, a bustling scene of high-stakes games was unfolding.
Of course, missions like defeating Dohyuk and advancing to the top 4, or reducing the opponent’s blood by more than half, were blatantly impossible and simply ignored.
“Listening to the talented Sensei’s voice…”
That was also promptly given up on.
It was widely known that unless one was at a pro level, you wouldn’t hear that line.
In that case…
“Hitting him at least once?”
“Mm.”
Does that seem doable too?
Such thoughts arose and quickly vanished.
Wasn’t this Dohyuk, who had achieved perfect victories against Zhao Long in the round of 16 and Zhu Chao in the round of 8?
[“RedCape” has requested a mission of 100,000 won.]
– “Then, endure for 30 seconds? Let’s do it for real, is that okay?”
Just then, a mission notification rang out.
But this one wasn’t blatantly going for a safe bet.
– “Nice.”
– “What kind of jackpot mission is this lol”
-30 seconds should be doable, yeah.
“Endure for 30 seconds?”
“hehehe.”
As he watched the stormy prelude and the corresponding chat window, he burst into laughter as if in disbelief.
Why?
“Endure for 30 seconds? That’s the mission? Ha.”
It was truly unbelievable.
“Have you all forgotten what rank I am?”
-Oh?
-hahahaha, seriously
-He really nailed it this time~
-Your form has been on point these days hahahaha
While the usual hangout spot was under the Purple Throne, even though he was a bit of a show-off, the highest rank in Stormy Prelude was indeed He Who Nails It!
Moreover, he had just achieved the He Who Nails It rank for the second time this season.
Entering training just before the competition and bringing his form to its peak, he broke through numerous snipers to achieve that rank.
He was the man who had ascended to the second rank or the Divine Throne!
How could such a man retreat in the face of danger!
“It’s not 30 seconds, it’s 20 seconds! Let’s go for 20 seconds!”
Stormy Prelude said.
-?
-Lolol
-Check out those drifting skills
With a confident expression, Stormy Prelude.
No, he was challenging Dohyuk Sensei to endure for 30 seconds.
Hadn’t these people watched Dohyuk’s broadcast before?
In fact, he was a dedicated viewer of Dohyuk’s broadcasts.
His recent improvement in form as the main character Kujo was also thanks to watching his broadcasts.
Anyway-
[“RedNett” has requested a 100,000 won mission.]
-Okay, let’s go for 20 seconds
-Oh
-hahahaha, he’s really putting it on the line
-For real, he’s a big shot
Click-
[GET READY FOR THE NEXT BATTLE]
[READY]
[FIGHT!!!]
And thus, the match began.
“Let’s go!”
From Noble mtl dot com
As soon as the match began, Stormy Prelude stepped on the gas and widened the distance with a backdash.
But before they knew it─
─Blame!
“Ugh?!”
Approaching, Idohyuk.
In the stormy night, Idohyuk’s fist filled the view.
Blame!
Dodging by bending his waist and narrowly avoiding, Baek Daesh stepped once more.
But he was quickly caught up again.
A rush disregarding defense.
As if there was no intention to drag out time from the start…
Deng-geung!
[Hm, interesting]
■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■
[Stormy Night]
□ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □
Game over!
[00:18]
Of course, couldn’t last 20 seconds.
“Phew. Time Attack mission cleared, right?”
Saying so, Idohyuk skimmed through the mission window and chat window.
-hahahaha
-Let’s see that quick move
-Definitely prefer quick moves over bones
-18 seconds cut, gg
[Mission Success!]
With the success notification popping up, Idohyuk thanked the viewers he entertained with the mission.
“Thank you. RedMangddo, Atupbgowassum, SeonuSalSalPae…”
Advancing to the finals!