The Veteran Swordmaster’s Stream (Novel) - Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Going back in time to yesterday.

“Is there anything to discuss?”

“About what, punk.”

Alpaca was having a conversation with Lee Su-han, his editor and manager.

“They say the person you’re doing a collab with this time has only been streaming for two days. But I’m just saying, is there even enough material to unpack from their stream?”

Namely, about the collaboration with the new streamer.

Lee Su-han said, harboring doubts.

Usually, the main target of rookie discovery content was streamers who were just starting to rise.

Regardless of whether it was a tournament, a collaboration with someone, or whatever the opportunity, it was when a small-time streamer was just starting to get attention.

Alpaca invited the streamer to spice up his own broadcast content and help them out at the same time.

The majority of the audience of the streamer invited in such a way consisted of new viewers,

and it was content that created a bond by digging up the streamer’s past actions—simply put, the embarrassing history of their small-time days—to provide laughter for those new viewers.

That was precisely the rookie discovery content.

The time it took for each streamer to step into the spotlight varied wildly.

However.

A streamer who had only been broadcasting for two days was a first.

“But Su-han, there is one thing you are mistaken about.”

“What is it?”

“That person is coming on for something like a Master Spotlight.”

“Master Spotlight? You’ve never done something like that before. No, more than that, a two-day streamer… Ah!”

Lee Su-han clapped his hands as if he had realized something.

“A famous master started streaming! What game master is it?”

Alpaca let out a sigh.

If he had only watched today’s broadcast, he would have known the whole story.

However, it was unreasonable to ask someone who was in charge of Alpaca’s ITube management, manager duties, and editing to watch every single broadcast.

Still.

“Dawn of the Assassins.”

“What? What master could there be in a game like that? Pfft.”

It turned out Lee Su-han had not missed his broadcast because he was busy, but because he chose not to watch it.

Since he was obsessed with the game called ‘The League’.

It had already been several years.

“I knew you would say that. But your mind will change once you see the video too, you know?”

As Alpaca fiddled with his phone, showing signs of preparing to show him something, Lee Su-han snorted.

“Good grief. No matter how good they are at an assassination game, how good could they be. No thanks, not interested.”

You’ll have to watch it when you edit anyway.

Alpaca swallowed the rest of his words inside.

“What’s so fun or difficult about PvE? Huh? The characteristic of those games is that anyone can clear them if they just put in a little effort.”

To put it simply, PvE (Player Vs Environment) referred to a user fighting against an AI. It was the opposite of PvP.

From the past until now, Alpaca had eagerly urged him to try playing Dawn of the Assassins, but Lee Su-han had refused, saying that fighting machines was not fun at all.

“Well, anyway, you’re saying it’s something like a Master Spotlight, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Then do whatever you want. I should go play another round.”

It was just as Lee Su-han was entering his room.

“Ah, right.”

Alpaca recalled what he had forgotten—the very reason why he had brought up the collaboration in the first place.

“Can you lend your capsule to the streamer who is coming tomorrow?”

“What? You have a spare capsule.”

Lee Su-han said with a serious look on his face.

“It has to be your capsule. Didn’t you recently upgrade to the most expensive one? That person’s assimilation rate is a bit low.”

“How can a master have a low assimilation rate?”

Assimilation rate.

A numerical value representing how much one perceived the virtual reality world as reality.

The stereotype that one had to have a high assimilation rate to be good at capsule games was half, or rather, mostly true.

As a side note, there were cases where this numerical value exceeded 100.

When they deeply immersed themselves in a fantasy world that felt more real than reality and came out of the capsule after finishing their dive, they felt a sense of alienation instead.

Just like a diver suffering from decompression sickness when coming up to the surface.

This was called “phantom decompression sickness,” and the characteristic of people suffering from this condition was that they showed tremendous performance in the virtual reality world due to their high assimilation rate.

Lee Su-han pondered for a moment before giving a short reply.

“Ah, no way. I can’t.”

“Why?”

“You want me to let someone who is worse at games than me use my brand-new prized ride that I’ve barely even used?”

Lee Su-han was a skilled player who maintained a high tier in The League while gaming in his spare time.

“I bet that person is better than you.”

However, looking from a strictly objective perspective, Alpaca knew that the streamer named Jin Seo-jun would be better.

Even if it was PvE, there were not many people who could mimic such movements.

The problem was that Lee Su-han was a guy who wouldn’t even try to watch the video, and wouldn’t acknowledge it even if he did watch it.

‘Sigh. I’ll just have to tell him to use mine.’

His capsule was not bad either.

No matter how obvious it was that Seo-jun would win, he couldn’t very well fight with his own editor just to borrow a capsule.

But suddenly, in response to Lee Su-han’s question, a different thought dominated Alpaca’s mind, and he felt goosebumps rising.

‘Come to think of it, even though his assimilation rate is low… meaning, he showed that kind of play in an unsuitable state.’

Wow.

Then just how much better does he fight in reality?

Could he be a gangster?

No, since he uses a sword… a Yakuza?

In Alpaca’s mind, an image of a man with a large scar on his face, wearing a floral shirt and holding a sashimi knife, was drawn.

***

“Hello. I’m streamer Alpaca.”

Alpaca’s eyes widened as he opened the door with a slightly trembling hand.

This was because Seo-jun’s face looked exactly like the avatar he showed in virtual reality.

‘Since they said the avatar was a scan of his real face, I thought he just adjusted it moderately like other people, but it was truly scanned exactly as it was!’

Fortunately, contrary to his imagination, Seo-jun’s face was that of a clean-cut and handsome young man.

To the point where he felt guilty for having such strange thoughts the day before.

“Yes, hello. I’m streamer Jin Seo-jun.”

Meanwhile, Seo-jun was also looking around his surroundings.

This was because he was curious about what the studio of a long-running streamer in his early 30s looked like.

“Hyung, it’s been a while. I came too.”

“It’s been a while, Tae-woo. Now, come this way.”

Seo-jun shook hands with Alpaca and followed the guidance into a spacious living room.

From the outside, it looked like an ordinary home, but it felt as if the workspace and the relaxation space were thoroughly separated.

As he and Tae-woo sat on the sofa, Alpaca went to the kitchen to brew coffee, and a closed door opened as a tough-looking man appeared.

“Hello. I’m the editor, Lee Su-han.”

Lee Su-han grinned as he reached his hand out to Seo-jun.

“I’m streamer Jin Seo-jun. Nice to meet you.”

Seo-jun felt strength in their tightly clasped hands. Was it an attempt to establish dominance?

“I heard your assimilation rate is low.”

“Yes.”

“But I heard you’re good at the game.”

“Well, I’m on the better side.”

As Lee Su-han made a short and brief collab teaser video yesterday, he had been able to examine Seo-jun’s play.

And he was feeling a competitive spirit toward his unexpectedly good skills.

Clack.

The strange tension broke.

It was because Alpaca set down a cup on the table with a clack.

Alpaca glared at Lee Su-han out of the corner of his eye and sat Seo-jun down.

“Now, now. Since we’ve greeted each other, let’s talk about the broadcast. Did you see the teaser video?”

Seo-jun nodded his head.

It was the video uploaded along with the collab announcement on Alpaca’s fan cafe and ITube.

The video, which brilliantly recreated Seo-jun’s play and interspersed it with scenes of Alpaca making grand boasts to add humor, was brief but perfect for promotional purposes.

“Thanks to you, Seo-jun, the response is hot. Because you definitely have the skills, the video comes alive, and it’s so satisfying to watch, wow.”

Whether that response was real or not would be revealed in a short while.

“The editor did everything, really.”

At the compliment, Lee Su-han scratched the back of his neck with an embarrassed smile.

“Hahaha. No, it’s not. But looking at it while editing, you’re really good at the game. Have you really only been playing for two days?”

“Um, no. I’d prefer if you kept it a secret if possible, but actually, I did play it briefly in the past.”

Seo-jun thought there was no need to hide the fact that he had played games in the past.

“When in the past?”

“I played The League briefly seven years ago.”

Alpaca was hooked on the mention of seven years ago, while Lee Su-han was hooked on the name ‘The League’.

“Were you good back then too? What was your tier?”

A gleam shone in Lee Su-han’s eyes.

‘Tier’ was an English word meaning rank.

In games, it was mainly used to divide the grades of items or the ranks of players.

“Silver.”

Silver was a tier where the vast majority of ordinary users were placed.

“I don’t think so. There’s no way you suddenly became good after gaming again for the first time in a while.”

“Well…”

Seo-jun shrugged his shoulders.

Lee Su-han finally accepted it. Since the person himself said so, what could he do.

However, it was true that Seo-jun’s current skills seen through the video were around the same level as his.

And so.

“Seo-jun, would you like to match up with me in the Training Ground once?”

Lee Su-han wanted to clash with Seo-jun once.

After speaking, Lee Su-han rolled his eyes and watched the reaction.

Seo-jun showed an uncomfortable expression,

while Tae-woo, who was next to him, asked with a brightened face instead.

While wearing a meaningful smile.

“The Training Ground with Seo-jun? Why?”

“Because I want to test our skills against each other.”

“With him?”

“Yeah.”

“Hahaha!”

Suddenly, Tae-woo burst into laughter.

Lee Su-han looked displeasedly at him, wondering what was so funny, while Alpaca, who had been deep in thought, raised his head and looked at Tae-woo.

And Seo-jun felt like he knew why he was laughing.

“Hyung-nim. Don’t do that.”

“Huh?”

“Anyway, don’t do it. Pfft.”

“……?”

Before he knew it, Tae-woo was looking at Seo-jun. With a smile full of playfulness.

Seo-jun realized the meaning of that gaze.

It meant, “Can I tell them?”

Since Tae-woo was close with them and even if the story leaked there would be no evidence, Seo-jun nodded his head as a sign of permission.

“This is also a secret, but if you want to fight him in the Training Ground, just challenge Level 10.”

A statement that essentially revealed Seo-jun was ‘unknown’.

Understanding the meaning, the eyes of Alpaca and Lee Su-han were dyed with astonishment.

“Is… is that for real?”

“Of course.”

As if he had been waiting, Tae-woo pulled out his phone, played the video, and handed it to Alpaca, while Lee Su-han sprang up and went to Alpaca’s side to watch the video.

And then, exclamations burst out.

“Wow.”

“Oh.”

“This?”

“Isn’t that Shin Ha-yeon?”

“We’ve invited someone way more incredible than I thought.”

“Suddenly, I’m feeling pressured about today’s collab.”

“Wait, he didn’t get hit even once?”

“It’s completely one-sided.”

“Wow.”

“The coolness at the end is insane.”

Alpaca looked back and forth between the video and Seo-jun with eyes filled with a bit more certainty, then muttered “seven years ago” and fell back into thought, while Lee Su-han finished watching the video and spoke toward Seo-jun.

“I will serve you as my Hyung-nim.”

Lee Su-han’s gaze, which had viewed him as a rival until just now, completely changed.

“Yes?”

“If you are good at games, you are the Hyung-nim.”

Seo-jun opened and closed his mouth in embarrassment.

Strictly speaking, it wouldn’t even be strange if he were treated as an elder rather than just a Hyung-nim, though.

Seo-jun just smacked Kim Tae-woo, who was giggling for no reason. He simply wanted to hit him.

Then, Lee Su-han looked at the clock and tapped Alpaca’s shoulder.

“Hey, what are you doing? It’s almost time for Hyung-nim’s broadcast.”

“Huh? It’s nothing. Alright! Let’s go start the broadcast. Here, you can use my capsule…”

“Please come this way, Hyung-nim. I will escort you comfortably.”

Alpaca looked dumbfounded at Lee Su-han, who was leading Seo-jun into the workshop where his own capsule was located.

“We have to redo the settings, you bastard.”

Seo-jun followed Lee Su-han into the workshop, and Alpaca let out a sigh as he walked to his broadcasting room.

And he changed the settings of the capsule.

He also prepared the ingredients for the get-together that would take place after the stream ended.

His broadcasts had many spontaneous parts, but he was meticulous when it came to preparations like this.

By the way.

‘To think he beat Shin Ha-yeon, even if it was an AI.’

For some reason, Alpaca wanted to continue maintaining a relationship with Seo-jun even after this broadcast ended.

And if Seo-jun was indeed that user he suspected…

‘No. That’s going too far.’

Alpaca shook his head and entered the capsule.