Disaster-Level Player Is Too Good at Broadcasting-Chapter 59: « You Are The Reason... [1] »

The transition from the 9th floor was not a flash of light, but a slow, suffocating immersion into darkness.

When the portal spat Kang Min out, he didn’t find himself in a wasteland or a labyrinth.

He stood in the center of an infinite expanse of polished obsidian.

The floor was a black mirror.

The ceiling was a black mirror.

To his left and right, the walls stretched into a void that reflected his own silhouette a million times over.

『[SYSTEM]: 10TH FLOOR FIRST TRIAL — THE HALL OF THE MIRROR.』

『[TRIAL]: CONFRONT THE TRUTH OF THE SELF.』

『[MISSION]: SURVIVE UNTIL THE REFLECTION FADES.』

『[WARNING]: THE MIRROR COPIES YOUR STATS AND WILL.』

Min stood still.

He adjusted the weight of his blade, the leather of his hilt creaking under his grip. Behind the slits of his mask, his eyes were restless.

The Mirror Hall...

In the Old World, this was where the ’Real’ Rankers were separated from the lucky ones. Most people see their own face and freeze.

They see the person they hate most in the world...themselves.

He looked down at his feet. The obsidian surface rippled. A hand, encased in the same black leather and blue-veined Hands of Ruin, reached out from the floor. A figure pulled itself up, unfolding with a sickeningly familiar grace.

It was him.

The same matte black mask with the mocking eyes.

『[Viewer_404]: OH SHIT. THE MIRROR MATCH.』

『[Slayer_Official]: This is the floor where 70% of climbers quit. How do you beat someone who knows exactly what you’re going to do?』

『[Small_Change_Goblin]: 10,000 coins says the Mirror puts Pancake Forehead in the dirt. You can’t outsmart yourself, kid.』

"You think so?" Min said, his voice echoing. "The problem with a mirror is that it only shows you what’s in front of it."

The Shadow-Min didn’t speak and simply drew its blade.

The metallic shink of the steel resonated through the hall like a death knell.

Suddenly, both Mins moved.

CLANG!

The collision sent a shockwave through the hall that cracked the obsidian floor.

Blue holographic knight armor flared to life on both of them simultaneously.

Two sapphire fortresses crashed into each other, blades locking in a spray of sparks.

’He’s heavy.’

Min thought, his teeth gritted.

His [Focus] is perfectly synced with mine. If I push, he pushes.

If I pull, he pulls.

Min used [Exchange], swapping himself with a fragment of the cracked floor behind the Shadow.

But as he materialized, the Shadow was already mid-spin, its blade whistling toward Min’s neck.

The Shadow had used [Exchange] at the exact same microsecond, swapping with the air Min had just occupied.

It was a nightmare of perfect symmetry.

Min’s movements became more violent. He wasn’t just fighting a monster; he was fighting the memory of the weak man he used to be. He drove his shoulder into the Shadow, using [Singularity: Compression] to harden the blue armor on his shoulder to the density of a diamond.

The Shadow flew back, but it didn’t lose its footing. It skated across the obsidian surface, its blade glowing with a purple-blue light.

"Not good enough."

Min growled.

He lunged forward, telegraphing a massive overhead strike.

The Shadow raised its blade to parry, its blue armor surging to reinforce its arms.

But mid-swing, Min let go of the sword.

He didn’t drop it. He used [Focus] to make the sword incredibly light, letting it float in the air, while he used [Exchange] with the hilt itself.

He didn’t swap his whole body.

He swapped just his hand. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

In that split second of confusion, where the Shadow’s "AI" hesitated at the non-optimal move, Min’s real hand grabbed the floating hilt from an impossible angle and ripped the blade across the Shadow’s face.

SHLICK.

The steel caught the edge of the Shadow’s matte black mask.

The reinforced polymer screamed as it was torn open diagonally from the forehead to the jaw.

The Shadow stumbled back, its hand flying to its face. The mask hung in two jagged pieces, revealing the left side of its face.

『[Viewer_1]: THE MASK BROKE!』

『[Slayer_Official]: LOOK AT THE SCREEN! IS THAT HIM?!』

『[Noob_Stomper]: HE’S ACTUALLY HOT? WAIT, WHAT?!』

Under the broken mask, a single eye was visible.

It was a cold, piercing grey, like the color of a winter storm.

Part of his mouth was revealed a sharp, well-defined jawline and a lip that was currently bleeding a dark, crimson red.

『[Small_Change_Goblin]: CUT THE REST OF IT OFF! I want to see the face of the guy who’s been robbing my coin balance!』

『[Viewer_66]: Those grey eyes...Please, just one more hit! Let the mask fall off!』

『[Viewer_1]: SCREENSHOT. SCREENSHOT. DID ANYONE ELSE SEE THAT JAWLINE?』

『[Thirst_Trap_99]: HE IS LITERALLY SO FINE??? MASK OFF. MASK OFF RIGHT NOW. PLEASE.』

『[Gab007]: Oh no, he’s hot. My entire hate-watching agenda is ruined. God dammit.』

『[Wife_of_Singularity]: I AM BARKING. I AM ACTUALLY BARKING AT MY PHONE. DROP THE OTHER HALF.』

『[Pro_Climber_V]: Focus on the fight, you creeps! But also... yeah, he looks like a movie star.』

『[Troll_King]: I bet the other half of his face is just a giant mole. That’s why he hides it.』

『[K-Simp_Central]: PRAYER CIRCLE FOR HIM TO LAND ONE MORE HIT ON THE LEFT SIDE. AMEN.』

『[Viewer_88]: The contrast between the matte black mask and that skin... the aesthetics are insane.』

『[Hard_Stuck_F7]: If I looked like that, I wouldn’t be streaming, I’d be a model. Why is he in the Tower??』

『[dude_me]: MASK. FALL. OFF. MASK. FALL. OFF.』

『[Gacha_Addict]: I’ll trade my entire inventory for five more seconds of that face. JUST FIVE SECONDS.』

『[Stan_Singularity]: The way the blood was dripping down that jaw... I think I’ve reached enlightenment.』

『[Pancakes_R_Us]: HE’S NOT A HUMAN, HE’S A VISUAL ATTACK. MODS, HELP.』

『[Small_Change_Goblin]: I’m 100% sure the other side is a hideous octopus tentacle. It’s the only logical explanation for hiding it.』

『[Simp_Brigade]: HIT HIM AGAIN! AIM FOR THE STRAPS!』

The chat was a frenzy of screenshots and screaming.

But Min wasn’t looking at the chat.

He was looking at the Mirror-Min.

The Shadow lowered its hand.

The grey eye locked onto Min’s.

And then, the corner of the Shadow’s revealed mouth curled into a slow, horrific smile.

[Have you forgotten about all those people you left behind and abandoned?...]

Min’s heart stopped.

He was off-balance. His blue knight armor flickered, the holographic plates stuttering as his mana circulation failed.

The Shadow didn’t miss the opening.

BAM!

The Shadow’s fist, reinforced by the Right Hand of Ruin, smashed into Min’s ribs. The sound of cracking bone echoed through the hall.

Min flew backward, skidding across the obsidian floor. He tried to use [Exchange], but his mind was a storm of guilt and faces he had tried to forget. He couldn’t focus.

The Shadow was on top of him in an instant. A knee to the chest. A pommel strike to the temple. Min was being bodied, his movements sluggish and desperate. He looked like a rank amateur being dismantled by a pro.

『[Viewer_10]: WHAT IS HAPPENING?!』

『[Small_Change_Goblin]: He’s losing! He’s actually getting slaughtered! Why did he just stop fighting?』

『[Slayer_Official]: He’s not even dodging! It’s like he lost his mind after the mask broke. Did the Mirror say something?』

『[Pro_Climber_V]: The Mirror’s mouth isn’t even moving. What the hell did he see in that reflection?』

Min was coughed up a mouthful of blood, the red staining the inside of his own mask. He looked up, his vision blurring. The Shadow loomed over him, its blade raised for a final, piercing strike.

The grey eye of the Shadow was filled with a terrifying, calm void.

『[SYSTEM]: WARNING. PLAYER 「SINGULARITY」 IS IN A CRITICAL PSYCHOLOGICAL STATE.』

『[SYSTEM]: BROADCAST STABILITY DROPPING...』

---

『[Viewer_44]: Did the Mirror speak? I swear I saw its lips twitch!』

『[Small_Change_Goblin]: Mirrors don’t talk, you idiot! It’s a reflection! There’s no voice!』

But Min could still hear it. The sound of a thousand people screaming his name from the bottom of a dark pit.

The Shadow’s blade began its descent.

『[Viewer_1]: HE’S GOING TO DIE LIVE ON STREAM!』

『[Slayer_Official]: SOMEONE DO SOMETHING!』

The chat was a chaotic mess of panic and confusion, every viewer leaning into their screens, trying to understand how the most dominant climber in Korea had been broken by a single look.

Because everyone knew the rules of the Tower.

Everyone knew the mechanics of the 9th Floor.

Reflections are silent.

Mirrors cannot speak.

So what was Min listening to?

The screen flickered, the blue light of the knight armor dying out completely, leaving only the dark, jagged silhouette of the Shadow standing over the defeated Min.