Chapter 126

At first, Wind Sword did not play Kael. He simply was not interested.

Then one day, a video with poor image quality accidentally popped up in his algorithm.

The date the video was uploaded, which he checked, was before he had started playing the game. Out of a slight curiosity, he played the video.

However, he skimmed through it due to the poor image quality, and then, by another coincidence, he caught a glimpse of a briefly appearing Kael wielding a sword.

Kael slashed rapidly, as if the delay to briefly check for vital points did not even exist.

He wondered if that was even possible.

Even for Kael before the rework, where there was no need to slash quickly and one could just slash leisurely enough to maintain the buff, wouldn’t the vital points generate in the same way?

Of course, since no one knew the pattern, it was impossible to tell if it was the same then as it was now. Even if he asked others, their only response was, “He must have done it because it’s different.”

So he looked into it himself.

Because if the vital points were the same, he was curious about how on earth that person did it.

Thus, he searched for other videos.

As he played and researched Kael, he somehow ended up becoming a master. It was completely unintended.

Before he knew it, he was said to be the first in the game to pull off a two-man ultimate, or something like that.

After becoming a Kael master, his tier kept dropping from Challenger to Master whenever he played Kael, but he was not sad.

Anyway, since he had met the owner of that old video, he had been excited, thinking they would have a lot to talk about as a fan.

Wind Sword brought up the Travel window. As a viewer, Seo-jun’s stream was playing.

-If he didn’t understand it, both of them are dead

-Aren’t they acting? lolol

-He must have learned it beforehand, and only he got a proper lesson

-Gasp *shudder*

It was nothing like that.

Wind Sword—he really did not understand.

He thought he knew what was being said, but how on earth could he know where the middle was?

He could have disclosed the chat history of the Travel messages from the previous day right away.

[Jin Seo-jun: Ah. And tomorrow, just say you understand.]

[Wind Sword: What?]

[Jin Seo-jun: Just say you understand when I ask you something. Don’t worry.]

[Wind Sword: Okay.]

Seo-jun asked again.

“You understood, right?”

He was full of playfulness.

Wind Sword had no choice but to reply.

“Yes…”

Whatever happens, happens.

“So he says. Everyone, my lecture is not a scam.”

-Then prove it

-But seriously, is that it?

-Tell us more

-Otherwise, it’s a scam

“That’s it. What reason would I have to hide it? And I told you, that is enough. Now, take a look.”

Seo-jun adjusted the settings.

Then, the relationship between Seo-jun and Wind Sword was set to hostile, and Wind Sword stared in despair at the vital points drawn on Seo-jun’s body.

“Can’t we do it on a scarecrow?”

This was because, for some reason, he had a feeling he knew what would happen next.

“No way. Just do it against me. It’s better to do it like a real match.”

Like a real match.

It was originally a chilling phrase, but hearing it while facing him now, why did it feel so uncomfortable?

Wind Sword looked at Seo-jun with a look of discomfort.

Well.

Aren’t we still not close enough to hit each other?

-As expected, he was planning to beat him lololol

-There’s no way the streamer would change

-You don’t know? Then he will beat you until you know

-Ah. So he’s saying he’ll educate him!

It seemed the viewers thought the exact same thing.

Seeing this, Seo-jun shook his head.

“Everyone, I am only going to defend. What on earth are you thinking?”

-Huh?

-??

-He is holding back on this?

-The best defense is offense lolol. Isn’t this right, hyung?

Just as the viewers did not believe him, Wind Sword also looked forward with eyes of distrust, but Seo-jun was simply waiting for him to attack while holding his sword vertically in front of him in a relaxed manner.

‘Sigh.’

Well, he must have some idea.

Surely, he wasn’t doing this just to parry and toy with him.

He walked slowly toward Seo-jun and then suddenly accelerated.

Whoosh!

He aimed for carelessness from the very start.

However, there was no way Seo-jun would be careless.

Clang!

Nevertheless, he was able to pierce through Seo-jun’s defense and slash the horizontally drawn vital point.

It was clear that he had purposely not blocked it properly.

He realized that he really had some plan.

“Why didn’t you chain it immediately?”

“Well…”

-Because he doesn’t know lolol

-It seems he really doesn’t know

-Don’t force it by yourself

The viewers replied instead.

“Let’s go again. Think carefully about the middle.”

“Understood.”

Seo-jun’s defense was broken just as easily, and right before the next vital point was generated with a rupturing sound,

Wind Sword squeezed his brain to the limit, trying to predict where the next vital point would appear.

It felt to the point where his forehead felt as hard as a stone.

‘Medium difficulty. Medium difficulty. Medium difficulty.’

It was too late to predict and slash this time. Not even close.

But at the very least, he had to wrack his brain somehow right now to catch the feeling.

It was an impatience born out of a desire to grab even the slightest clue.

It was not because of Seo-jun’s broadcast, nor because of public opinion.

He just wanted to know.

If this was his chance, and if there was a way, he did not want to miss it.

But naturally, far from predicting, he could not even grasp the end of a clue.

However.

‘Huh?’

After slashing the vital point, his mind had frozen, and at the position where the tip of his sword had naturally stopped because of that,

a new vital point was generated.

‘What is this?’

Is it a coincidence?

No, there was no way.

He made the next attack, and Seo-jun blocked it.

Yet, he was able to easily deflect the defense and slash the vital point.

And.

‘Again?’

This time, too, a new vital point was generated at the tip of the sword that had naturally stopped.

The viewers also sensed an anomaly.

-What’s that?

-Why is the position of his sword on top of the vital point? Did he get the hang of it?

-Judging by Wind Sword’s expression, it seems like the streamer is doing something lolol

-Hands up if you remember the heavy sword lolol

Seo-jun spoke.

“There is a funnel with a hole of a size that only allows one marble to pass through at a time. Do you know what happens if you try to push the marbles in all at once?”

What marbles all of a sudden?

“They would probably get stuck. If you’re lucky, they’ll go down.”

“Then, if they’re stuck and you force them, do you think you can make them flow through the funnel?”

“Um, no. You’d have to shake it gently or scoop them out and let them flow down little by little. To prevent the marbles from blocking each other from falling into the hole.”

Marbles blocking each other right above the hole, balancing and failing to fall, floated into his mind.

“That’s right. Realization is the same. The more you obsess, the more it gets blocked; if you let it flow, it untangles.”

“Realization?”

“Relax.”

The playful look in Seo-jun’s eyes changed in an instant.

It was such a brief moment that he wondered if he had imagined it as it quickly returned to normal, but he felt an incomprehensible depth with his very skin.

“Understood. I will go again.”

-Seeing him talk about realization, it seems he is seriously teaching him?

-I guess that’s the only way he can train him

-Then again, how would a mere streamer know if it’s a formula or whatever

-If Wind Sword really gets the hang of it, I’ll admit it

-As if that would happen lol

He cleared his mind. He tried to do so. He moved as the opponent’s sword guided him.

As they exchanged swords, he realized that the act he thought was just Seo-jun lightly blocking was actually controlling everything from his attacks to every step he took.

However, he did not escape from that control.

And he attacked with a comfortable mind as the vital points kept appearing.

In any case, no matter how many times he was hit, his health would stop at 1, so he would not die.

He was still unable to predict.

However, as he gradually slashed the vital points, as his sword was placed where Seo-jun intended, and as his movements were captured.

As he saw the results that came out like that.

He felt the blockage untangling.

All his past experiences and the experience he was accumulating now aligned with the intention, newly establishing themselves in his head.

Although he could not explain it in words, he felt like he understood something.

Then, at some point.

Seo-jun stopped and spread his arms.

And his concentration, pushed to the limit, did not stop his sword even though Seo-jun’s help was gone. And for the first time, he moved even before the vital point was generated.

The first vital point.

He slashed a diagonal line falling from left to right with a gentle slope.

The second vital point.

He immediately retrieved his sword and thrusted a span above the end of the diagonal line.

The third vital point.

“Line.”

The word slipped out naturally. It was not a word he uttered consciously.

Afterward.

Clang!

At the same time the vital point was generated, Wind Sword, who had slashed it with his sword, had his concentration break with a snap!

-???

-Crazy

-What was that just now?

-?

-He predicted it before the grain generated, right?

-This is possible?

“Huh? Huh?”

Seo-jun, who had stood still with his arms spread, smiled with satisfaction.

‘He was lucky.’

I knew he would get the hang of it, but to think he would enter a state close to selflessness.

‘If this didn’t work, I was going to beat him until it did, but he must have quite a high potential.’

There was no need to explain what ‘beating’ meant here.

“Congratulations. You got the hang of it.”

“Just now… that was it?”

“Yes.”

“If you told me to do it again, I don’t think I could ever do it.”

“Well, isn’t it at least catching a clue? Congratulations. Don’t lose it.”

Flinching at those words that seemed to read his mind for a moment, Wind Sword then looked at Seo-jun with eyes full of emotion.

To think that such a thing was possible!

-What did you do again, Mr. Streamer!!!

-So a proper lesson requires taking a one-on-one private tutoring lolol

-A professor who is strong in practice, not theory lolololol

-Wow, even if this was staged, I’d acknowledge it

-Did he lead him to a realization like some Murim master? Is that even possible? lolololol

Now, the viewers had no choice but to acknowledge it.

They knew it couldn’t be helped that Seo-jun’s explanation was unconvincing. But if nobody understood it, wouldn’t it be meaningless in the end?

There must have been people who had a shred of doubt, wondering if it was a scam.

Yet, Seo-jun showed it directly by teaching someone else.

-The streamer lol, if he starts a tutoring business for Kael-addicts from now on, he’ll make a shit ton of money

-This is it

-That was his angle!

Naturally, the Kael community board went wild.

“Then now, let’s try it like a real match, Wind Sword.”

Seo-jun smiled wickedly as he rolled his shoulders and neck. He shook his arms and stretched his body as if he was going to move in earnest.

Now that it was almost over, Seo-jun was doing warm-up exercises.

“What are you going to do…?”

“After-sales service.”

I don’t think that’s it.

“Didn’t it end earlier?”

“Because it’s still lacking.”

I think it’s something else that is lacking.

Wind Sword’s emotional face turned into one of panic.

His intuition was probably correct.

Seo-jun was the type of person who would always pay back any hits he took, even if he was the one who allowed it.

***

“Even after seeing this, you’re saying B?”

The LiOS Operations Team was in the middle of an untimely meeting.

“Now he is not only predicting vital points but even teaching it to others, so does B make any sense? Really.”

The topic of the meeting was about a streamer who, just a moment ago, performed another feat that ordinary people could not even imagine.

“Just looking at him teaching a Challenger gives you the answer.”

The woman spoke in a fierce tone to the man sitting opposite her in the meeting room.

“He is currently a Master, not a Challenger.”

And the man retorted without blinking an eye.

“That’s because he was playing Kael. That master named Wind Sword is originally of Challenger skill too.”

“Be that as it may, streamer Jin Seo-jun doesn’t have a rank anyway. He has no rank. But you want to put him in Group A, where Challengers and Grandmasters belong? Isn’t that too absurd?”

“He was the best in For Chivalry as well. What guarantee is there that he won’t be the best in The League?”

“Not only are those two different games, but what if Kael is banned? What hero can he even play?”

“He’ll play whatever.”

“Group B, which is for Masters to Diamonds, is appropriate.”

“It is A. Without a doubt.”

LiOS grades participants according to their skill.

The reason for grading is not to discriminate, but to prevent picking two or more participants of the same grade as a team in the auction, thereby ensuring that the skill levels of team members are evenly distributed.

In the past, groups were divided by position, but the current method took root because it brought more chaos and fun to the auction.

Currently, they were in a meeting to determine the grades of the streamers who had accepted the casting offer.

This was because only after this was done could they select and assign applicants to the remaining spots.

However, they hit a snag right from the start.