Chapter 77: The “War Mage” Reveal

Ding!

[A new video has been uploaded to your subscribed channel.]

A notification rang on the phone.

Some people would just ignore it, but there were those who reacted at lightning speed.

That was because there were people desperately waiting for this very alert.

They were none other than the subscribers of Seongwoo’s channel, Physics Basics.

As soon as the subscribers realized the updated video was from Physics Basics, they erupted in cheers.

"Finally!"

"It's part two, part two!"

"Hey, call Minwoo! Part two is up!"

Seongwoo’s channel, which had already surpassed 600,000 subscribers, was still a hot topic among people, thanks to the initial hype even though it had only been created a few days ago.

So, with a new video uploaded, it was only natural that everyone’s attention would flock to it.

Moreover, the newly uploaded video this time—

"Huh, huh?"

"Hey, it has a thumbnail now!"

"What is this? Did they start a company or something?"

"Wow, look at the runtime. This is an edited version."

"Sweet, this is going to be awesome."

It was the very first properly edited video, courtesy of OpenWorld’s team.

The title was the same as part one: [Infinite Tower Floor 1 Guide, Part 2/4].

The title might have been bland, but the important thing wasn’t the title—so of course, the response was hot.

After that, people fell silent and focused on the video.

But soon enough, complaints started to burst out from all over.

"What is this?"

"Is this really a guide?"

The theme of part two was none other than the Black Orcs.

And Revan, while tackling the Black Orc section, huddled up with his whole body covered in black armor for an hour.

That’s why the length of part two was only about five minutes.

Even that was just a sped-up montage, and some of the subscribers began voicing their dissatisfaction, which quickly turned into negative comments.

- I mean, he was fighting so flashily before, but now he’s just getting hit? Is he scared?

└ Haven’t you heard that patience is victory?

└ Tsk tsk, how would ordinary people understand a genius?

- He’s like a cocoon or something.

└ Go! Kakuna! Harden!

└ Then go! Sandshrew! Defense Curl!

└ The effect was amazing!

- You guys don’t get it, lol. The strongest is Magikarp. Magikarp! Splash!

└ Nothing… happened…!

└ Absolutely nothing… happened…!

└ Zoro! Pa, arms!

A flood of negative comments.

But what’s scarier than negative comments is no comments at all, so as they watched the flood of real-time comments, the OpenWorld staff wore meaningful smiles.

"Reactions are good."

"Yeah, you need this much firepower at least."

Even with the flood of negative comments, no one was discouraged.

Especially Bae Hyunwoo, who looked the most smug.

"They’re noisy as always."

"Shall we upload the next one soon?"

"No. Stick to the original plan and upload it only after a full hour."

As a rising star, it took less than half an hour after the video went up to reach 100,000 views.

And just as Bae Hyunwoo said, after an hour had passed, the video surpassed 300,000 views and the number of comments had already hit over a thousand.

That was when it happened.

[A new video has been uploaded to your subscribed channel.]

A new notification.

The alert appeared for all 600,000 subscribers.

When people saw the new notification, they couldn’t believe their eyes for a moment.

"What the?"

"A new video?"

"Whose is it?"

"Huh? Physics Basics?"

"After just one hour?"

"Huh?"

"Is this some crazy good content?"

Seeing is believing.

Their anger over the emptiness of part two lasted only a moment.

Everyone quickly hit the notification button as news of the new upload in just one hour spread.

"Huh?"

When they saw the title of the newly updated video, they couldn’t help but let out a gasp.

[Infinite Tower Floor 1 Guide, Part 3/4.]

"Holy crap, they’re uploading again?"

"Which agency is this?"

"Wow, as expected of OpenWorld. They know what they’re doing."

"This channel knows how to make videos."

"That’s why you need a supportive company behind you."

"First, let’s watch."

"Let’s go!"

The view count soared at a frightening pace.

Watching the rising numbers, Bae Hyunwoo grinned.

"Heh, let’s see if we get any more hate comments this time."

For YouTubers who live off views, uploading two blockbuster videos in a single day was definitely an over-the-top service.

But the second video, which was just an hour of getting beaten up, was far too boring.

So, they used it strategically as bait.

All for the sake of the blockbuster third video!

Moreover, unlike previous videos, part three wasn’t uploaded in full, but in a premiere mode.

That was because there was simply too much to show in the third video.

As soon as the Master Orc appeared in the video, viewers began to go wild.

- Wow! Master Orc!

- Crazy, look at that pale dude giving off Gandalf vibes.

- ?? Why doesn’t he have any lackeys?

└ Have you ever seen tigers hunting in packs?

└ Then why do you go around alone when you’re not a tiger?

└ What are you saying?

- Damn, Cheonak that pervert tried to keep this to himself.

- But seriously, that aura is insane.

└ Then go die.

└ Are you good at fighting?

└ If you’re mad, message me on Kakaotalk.

└ What’s your Kakaotalk ID?

└ sam-572

Cheonak was the first Korean player to see the Master Orc.

If he’d just uploaded the capsule-stored Master Orc footage, the viral views would have definitely been Cheonak’s.

But Cheonak didn’t do that.

He was interested in pro player activity, not YouTuber work.

The main reason was financial.

Cheonak was the second son of the famous Samgong International.

So, no matter how many companies begged him to sell the footage, he flatly rejected every request.

Later, in an interview with a magazine, he explained why he didn’t release the video. What he said was outrageous.

"It’s just fun, you know?"

Simply for his own amusement.

The so-called thrill of self-satisfaction through deception.

Naturally, after the interview came out, Cheonak received a storm of hate comments.

People called him a petty pervert, a smug bastard who had it all.

But then, a new owner of the first floor appeared, and unlike some people, the new owner released their footage on YouTube for everyone to see the Master Orc.

"With this, public opinion will skyrocket."

Bae Hyunwoo smiled.

It was a simple marketing strategy, but the results were guaranteed.

Just as he expected, the comments under the premiere video were overwhelmingly favorable toward Revan.

No, “favorable” didn’t even begin to describe it. Revan’s popularity was shooting past the sky and into outer space.

Soon, after the Master Orc appeared, Revan showed up, clad in black armor.

- Damn, look at that black swag.

- Now, the challenger enters~!

- Go, Revanmon!

The face-off between the floor’s owner and Revan.

That matchup sent shivers of anticipation down everyone’s spines.

But then, Revan’s next move left everyone in shock.

- What the, why is he taking off his armor all of a sudden?

- Didn’t he just cruise through the last section in black armor?

- Pishoom-pashoom! There’s a warrior who fights without armor?!

- Idiots, Master Orc’s basic attacks ignore defense. Cheonak said it in an interview.

└ True?

└ If you don’t believe it, look it up.

└ This is real.

- Smart. If you’re going to get hit with true damage anyway, better boost your mobility.

└ Lol, fighting after shedding weight is just like the Blue Beast of the Leaf Village, right?

└ I’m a genius of hard work!

Once Revan shed his heavy black iron armor, he returned to his original form as in the first video.

Then he took up a fighting stance.

The sight made viewers sweat with anticipation.

- *gulp*

- Is he going for a frontal assault again?

- Real man move: always goes straight in.

└ Aren’t you just a “Jeonggong” yourself?

└ What’s “Jeonggong”?

└ Someone who went to public service for mental reasons.

└ Are you nuts? I served active duty.

└ Military code!

└ My unit wasn’t that hardcore so we didn’t do that stuff!

Everyone was tense in that moment.

That’s when—

Pong!

With a command word, a cube appeared in midair.

It was a special cube for Hold.

Summoning the Hold cube, Revan stared seriously at the Master Orc and started matching the cube.

- ???

- Cube?

- What’s that?

- Sudden cube?

└ No, no, it’s Detective Academy Q!

Suddenly, cubes became the focus.

Everyone’s curiosity grew.

But before the cube’s purpose could be revealed, the Master Orc attacked first.

The Master Orc vanished in a flash and smashed Revan’s stone shield to pieces with its bare fist.

Like a drill.

Then, it dodged Revan’s stone strike with pure physical skill, no abilities needed.

- Whoa….

- Dodged that?

- I have worse physical skills than an orc.

└ Orc > human. I was just a mere human.

- Is it some Shaolin technique?

- I know this one. Isn’t it some kind of jujutsu? Deflecting attacks with softness...

└ Yeah right, like an orc learned jujutsu.

└ If not jujutsu, how about yusanseul?

- Wow, but that means Revan beat an orc like that, right?

└ You’re right. I forgot, but I just got chills.

└ How did he win? Damn it!

- What the? The techniques in part one and two were pretty normal. Did he just win with raw stats?

- Or is he some hidden master?

- It’s Taekkyeon, Taekkyeon!

A stream of exclamations.

When the Master Orc parried the shield strike, people’s expectations for Revan only grew.

Just how, and with what ingenious strategy, did he defeat the Master Orc?

At that moment—

[Hold has been activated.]

Jjeong!!

- ?

- ????????

- ????

- ?????

- ??

- ??????????????

A torrent of question marks in the comments section.

They didn’t see or hear wrong.

The editor had purposefully cut the audio for this part. The part where Revan had called out Hold earlier.

Hold had been successfully cast.

Proof of that was the time counter for the effect appearing above the Master Orc’s head.

"……So, its level must be about the same as mine, Thunder Strike."

[Thunder Strike has been activated.]

Thunder gathered on Revan’s black iron mace.

The gathered thunder struck down on the Master Orc like a lightning bolt, and from then on, the two began a massive brawl.

The Master Orc went flying from a shockwave, got bound again with Hold and beaten, and in the end, Revan used Freezing to blow off one of its legs!

After that, the one-legged Master Orc crawled like a cockroach and attacked Revan, but—

"Hold!"

Revan once again used Hold, then Smash, then Energy Bolt to whittle down the Master Orc’s health and attacked its left hand to take away its mobility.

「Human! Human! Humaaan!!」

The now immobile orc flopped on the ground like a cicada with broken wings, crying out in rage.

Its wail sent chills down listeners’ spines, but only Revan smiled.

Dodging the Master Orc’s desperate swings, Revan matched the cube for about forty seconds. Then he shouted,

"Freezing."

[Freezing has been activated.]

Jjeojeok! Jjeojeojeojeok!

As the Freezing cube was activated, the Master Orc’s remaining hand began to freeze.

The cold soon engulfed its entire body, and Revan raised his black iron mace and muttered,

"I’ve come to end this war."

Jjaenggraang!!

The Master Orc’s head shattered to pieces.

The sound was so clear, it left a strange sense of refreshment in those who heard it.

A flood of success messages appeared before Revan’s eyes.

But people didn’t pay any attention to those rewards.

Because the editing team put a short caption in front of Revan.

The caption read:

[Revan / Legendary Mage Class / War Mage]