The Veteran Swordmaster’s Stream (Novel) - Chapter 16

Chapter 16

“Now, now, returning to the game talk. Seo-jun. How on earth did you do that?”

Alpaca turned his head toward Seo-jun with a serious expression.

“I absolutely must know what you saw and how you did it, Seo-jun. Honestly, viewers, you all agree, right?”

– Yeah

– Isn’t it a hack?

– If it turns out there’s a system where you can see it with some other trick, it’ll be deflating.

– I told you he’s an alien, haha.

Seo-jun shook his head and denied the contents of the chat window.

“Everyone, I’m not an alien. Nor is it a hack. To be honest, I’m not seeing the grain.”

“Then what is it?”

Alpaca asked with a genuinely curious face.

Seo-jun put on an expression that was serious to the point of being slightly ridiculous.

“I just know it. Because I’m a genius.”

And Alpaca, contrary to him, could not control his facial expression and looked at him with dumbfounded eyes.

– Hahahahahahahahaha

– He’s so damn cheeky, haha.

– Honestly, at that level, he really is a genius.

– Look at Alpaca’s expression, haha.

Alpaca parted his lips, let out a dry laugh, and wore a playful smile.

“If one isn’t a genius, how can one live without feeling sorrowful? Jokes aside, please tell me properly. Otherwise, I’m going to think it’s a hack too, okay?”

With the popularization of virtual reality, the very first thing to disappear was hacks.

The reason for this stemmed from the difference in technological prowess.

Surface, the giant corporation that practically monopolized the virtual reality market.

They were a company that introduced and popularized virtual reality to the world with hyper-gap technology that no one could replicate.

That said it all, as the gap was enough to make even other conglomerates find it overwhelming to hack the capsule, which was the terminal.

Furthermore, if a problem arose in virtual reality, one’s life could be in danger.

So, external programs were in a situation where they were strictly managed, especially by Surface.

Thus, the word “hack” spoken by Alpaca was completely absurd.

Seo-jun also knew Surface very well.

“But wouldn’t making a hack be more impressive than seeing the grain? Surface would probably scout them right away.”

Seo-jun proudly squared his shoulders.

– Come to think of it, that’s true.

– Real, if you can make a hack, why do streaming? I heard Surface’s greed for talent and their treatment are truly insane.

– Wouldn’t other companies aiming for virtual reality also try to recruit them?

“Huh? That’s true. Why didn’t I realize that?”

Persuaded all at once, Alpaca nodded unconsciously and burst into laughter.

“Well, what I just said was a joke.”

“Which part? Surface? Or being a genius?”

“The part about just knowing. But that is half a joke and half true.”

“What does that mean?”

“There really is no description more fitting than just knowing.”

Comments with question marks and accusations of flexing poured into the chat window.

Seo-jun waved his hand and said.

“Haha, everyone calm down. It’s not like I know because of some special ability. I just thought about where the developer would have placed it.”

In fact, if it was special, it was special.

After all, it was an intuition that only Seo-jun, with his accumulated experiences from his past life, could obtain.

However, there was no need to explain even this.

‘In the first place, no one would believe a story about a past life anyway.’

Therefore, he thought it would be fine even if he revealed his past life.

Daman.

‘I think some adaptation will be necessary…’

Just then, Alpaca shouted as if he had realized something, and Seo-jun snapped out of his thoughts.

“Wow! Amazing. So, um… you read the developer’s moves? Just by looking at two examples?”

Seo-jun gave a nod.

Alpaca had pointed it out accurately.

“Wow, you really are an unbelievable genius! Of course, hearing this makes it even more suspicious. Hmm.”

Alpaca stroked his chin and cast a suspicious gaze.

– Real, hahaha

– Are there no other people who can see that?

– If you can just know it, is he really a genius? Is that how it is?

– How does he even know stuff like that in the first place? Isn’t it a scam?

“Exactly. It feels like he’s living in a completely different world. Then you’ll be able to find other things easily too?”

“Yes. But…”

“Why?”

“Originally, parrying is a system designed to help clear out minor mobs easily, right?”

“That’s right. It’s a system the developer added so players can pull off a one-man army show.”

“But while this ‘grain’ system is harder than parrying, even if you succeed, it only destroys the weapon and doesn’t have any effects like a damage increase.”

– Oh, sharp.

– But what’s the point? Only you can use it, and we can’t, haha.

– Yeah, even parrying is hard for us~

Alpaca clapped his hands.

“Oh? That’s true. Indeed! The man who pioneered a new route for Drake. You also have a talent for games.”

“Thank you for the compliment. Anyway, this thing called ‘grain’ seems to be a system dedicated to boss battles.”

“That could be the case. The difficulty of the bosses was definitely too high. Especially Drake… Ah. Right.”

Alpaca’s face darkened with worry. He pressed the bridge of his nose and let out a sigh.

– Hahahahahahaha

– Worrying about the marathon stream.

– PTSD kicked in before the marathon stream even started, hahaha.

Seo-jun patted Alpaca’s shoulder and said.

“I think this grain is a system meant for boss fights. So, for the remaining two, I’m going to try targeting the Ruler’s equipment.”

– ????

– The long-shot bettors are suddenly wailing.

– You can’t do that.

– Let’s safely find the other ones first before going to catch the Ruler.

“Uh-huh. I’m telling you, it’s obviously a system designed for the Rulers. Just trust me.”

Seo-jun beat his chest.

[‘I Bet Trusting You’ generously donated 10,000 won!]

[No, I get it, but first resolve the point prediction while destroying the minions’ weapons before challenging it, haha.]

– Honestly, anyone would lose their mind with 100x odds.

– Fact) The majority of those who bet on the 1% didn’t bet because they trusted the professor.

– Now that it has come to this, is there hope for me, who bet on finding two???

Seo-jun’s eyes sparkled as he looked at the chat window.

“Hmm. Everyone seems to say they don’t trust me, but I should probably check the truth. Alpaca?”

Seo-jun called Alpaca.

“Yes?”

“Shall we open another point prediction?”

Bets did not lie.

Alpaca immediately caught on to what Seo-jun wanted and began to fiddle with the prediction system.

[Prediction]

[Will Seo-jun be able to destroy the Ruler’s equipment in today’s broadcast~]

[Yes]

vs

[No]

– Kya! He’s trying to take care of us again.

– Good thing I didn’t bet everything earlier.

– I lost everything and bet even the 150 points I just gathered while watching, haha.

Alpaca and Seo-jun waited for people to bet their points.

And then,

Time passed, and the result came out.

“Ah! The favorite and the underdog have swapped. You guys were talking in the chat as if Seo-jun wouldn’t be able to find it, but what is this result?”

Alpaca made a fuss and began to tease the viewers.

[Yes 80%]

[No 20%]

– Ah, haha. Once points are on the line, everyone gets honest.

– Even if you win that, you only get a quarter. Meanwhile, someone is getting 100x.

– Wow, I’m really freaking envious of the people who bet on that 1% at first.

– I’m the person who bet that Seo-jun wouldn’t find even one. I bet on ‘Yes’ this time, and if it fails, I’m coming for you.

As expected.

“I knew this would happen.”

Alpaca nodded beside him.

[Am I the only one who bet on ‘No’ to make up for my losses?]

– You seriously should never even touch stocks.

A sincere chat message popped up.

Seo-jun and Alpaca deeply sympathized and prayed that the donating viewer would not do stocks.

Anyway,

‘This joint stream seems to be successful.’

His skills seemed to have been firmly imprinted on the viewers.

“Now, Seo-jun. Shall we go catch the Ruler?”

***

Richard Neville.

He was the leader of the Noble Faction and the Ruler of the northeastern edge, who wore heavy armor and meditated in the center of a wide, ash-gray training ground that was like a grand hall.

His moniker was the Knight King.

He used a massive greatsword, and his height reached a tall two meters.

If catching Drake required finding and killing Drake while avoiding the eyes of dozens of syndicate members, Richard Neville was the exact opposite.

After all, he was simply meditating quietly in the same spot.

The methods to catch him were to obtain a special weapon and snipe him, or to eliminate his son, Louis Neville, and seize the gap when Richard’s martial senses crumbled the moment he heard the news.

Of course, both were difficult.

For the former, it was due to the acquisition difficulty of the item.

For the latter, if one failed to pinpoint that exact timing, they would immediately be counterattacked by the Knight King.

What if one chose direct confrontation instead?

Due to his flawless defense utilizing heavy armor, it was common to deal zero damage and end up with one’s body split in half by the greatsword.

Of course, this did not apply to the person fighting in front of Alpaca right now.

‘Um, by any chance, do you know anything about Richard Neville?’

‘No?’

Alpaca recalled the conversations they had shared while coming here just a short while ago.

‘I figured as much. Well, when fighting Richard, you need to be careful of the greatsword. Even if the attack speed is slower than other weapons, he has combo attacks, so you might want to look it over…’

‘Ah, it’s fine.’

‘Pardon?’

‘I said it’s fine. I’ll just see it and dodge, I guess.’

Tsk.

Who was worrying about whom?

*Whoosh!*

*Whoosh!*

Richard’s greatsword cut through the empty air from left to right, and then right to left, whipping up the wind.

But Seo-jun matched the trajectory of the swings with his own sword, searchingly tracing the grain as if painting brushstrokes on the greatsword with absolute leisure.

Looking at that relaxed demeanor, it felt as though he would never be hit by the greatsword.

“Do you think you won’t be able to find it?”

Alpaca spoke loudly at Seo-jun’s consecutive failures.

This was because there was a bit of distance between them.

“Yes.”

“A viewer told me that Richard’s weapon is cast from a special material in the lore. Maybe it’s not that you can’t find it, but that it doesn’t exist.”

“Ah, is that so?”

Look at that. Just look at him.

Look at how he lightly dodges the greatsword with a slight twist of his body.

Seo-jun was definitely looking at him while talking.

And yet, as if he had eyes in the back of his head, he easily evaded the attack coming from behind by just twisting his body and ducking his head.

On top of that, he even had the composure to check the chat window floating in the air.

– Nice, haha. The failure angle is looking extremely sharp!

– This is why you shouldn’t be arrogant.

– Ah, damn, looks like I’m going to lose it all. Mr. Unnamed, watch your step at night.

“Ah, what should we do? It seems the Ruler doesn’t have a grain.”

Seo-jun was smiling.

He had a completely unconcerned look on his face.

The only ones whose insides were burning up were the viewers.

Specifically, those who had bet on the extreme underdog option at the very beginning.

– My 100x payout, T_T

– Let’s teach those underdog bettors a lesson!

– I don’t care if I lose a second time, just please fail!

The rest were in a festive mood.

Since significantly fewer points had been bet on the second point prediction match compared to the first,

most simply didn’t care about missing out on a few points, as long as others didn’t win the 100x payout.

Because they would be sick with envy.

But.

Seo-jun’s sword began to move as if dancing.

He plunged his sword into Richard’s wrist and slashed along the grain he had found. Then to the upper body, and as the sword came down, to the lower body.

*Slash!*

*Slash!*

Richard Neville’s boasting heavy armor began to split entirely open.

Only the weapon was special.

Seo-jun had already known this through the minute differences in texture from the several times they clashed.

“Oh dear. I must have been mistaken. Only the sword lacked the grain, while the other parts had it.”

Richard’s heavy armor was destroyed as if unraveling like thread.

[Unlock Condition: Destroy weapons 10 times through the grain (4/10)]

[Unlock Condition: Destroy weapons 10 times through the grain (5/10)]

[Unlock Condition: Destroy weapons 10 times through the grain (6/10)]

.

.

.

[The skill ‘Spot Weakness’ has been unlocked.]

What remained was a two-meter-tall middle-aged man holding a greatsword while wearing stockings and a garter belt.

– Yeah, I don’t believe it.

– Ah! My eyes!

– Wow! The 100x payout hit!!!

– That actually hit, crazy, haha.

– Congrats congrats congrats congrats congrats

***

*Psssshhhh.*

Seo-jun stepped out of the capsule.

“As expected, you are amazing, brother.”

Alpaca’s editor, Lee Su-han, welcomed him.

Like I said, it was a bit burdensome.

“Thank you for lending me the capsule.”

“No way. Rather, I’m the one who should be grateful to you for using my capsule, brother. My capsule must have learned a lot from this opportunity.”

What kind of nonsense was this again?

And why was he there?

Seo-jun turned his head to the side.

This was because Tae-woo was standing next to Su-han.

“Didn’t you do your broadcast?”

“Yeah, I just skipped the stream. I couldn’t miss a joint stream.”

Ah, I see.

“Since I announced that I’d be appearing here, they’ll probably come over?”

Kim Tae-woo scratched his head, and Seo-jun let it go as he walked out to the living room and turned on Alpaca’s broadcast on his phone.

– Call him quickly. Call him quickly. Call him quickly. Call him quickly.

– He’d better be handsome. He’d better be handsome. He’d better be handsome.

– Get rid of Alpaca! Get rid of Alpaca! Get rid of Alpaca! Get rid of Alpaca!

– Hurry up and set up the food! Hurry up and set up the food! Hurry up and set up the food!

[Geez, everyone, please calm down first. Oh, shut up? Okay.]

The remaining broadcast schedule was the dinner gathering.

While setting the table, Alpaca asked Seo-jun to briefly introduce himself and stall for time.

[Now! Please come out…]

Hearing the call from his phone, Seo-jun opened the door to Alpaca’s room.

*Click.*

“Hello. It’s nice to meet you in person for the first time. I am Travel streamer Jin Seo-jun.”