The Veteran Swordmaster’s Stream (Novel) - Chapter 33
Chapter 33
Bus stop.
Lee Geon-yeong, who wore a hood pulled down to cover his face, was staring intently at his cell phone.
A blue bus approached the stop.
He turned on the route finder searched on the internet once more to check.
‘Is it that number?’
He boarded the bus in a state of uncertainty.
It was the first time using public transport in years.
Beep.
[Fare: 1,200 won]
The bus fare registered.
‘It used to be 720 won back then…’
From the bus fare, Lee Geon-yeong realized the fact that he had become an adult after several years.
Although two years had already passed since he became an adult, because he had only stayed inside his room, he had not been aware of it at all.
‘It’s quiet.’
He sat in an empty seat, took out his earphones, and plugged them into both ears.
Then, after opening ITube, he entered his viewing history.
[What is parrying? – Dawn of the Assassins (Shadows in the City) #1]
It was a title that brought out laughter first when he, who had watched Seo-jun’s stream from the beginning and knew all the content, looked at it.
A video of streamer Seo-jun edited by another editor, not him.
Although it was a video he had turned and watched several times while doing additional work to send the edited version to Seo-jun the previous day, he played it once more even while going to meet him now.
From the start, accompanied by fast-tempo violin background music, a scene of Seo-jun climbing the clock tower by scaling the wall appeared.
‘This was made really well too.’
It was a dedicated intro for Dawn of the Assassins made by another editor.
It was also included in the video he worked on.
The screen, which reflected the night view of Alteon, began to transition rapidly.
It closely resembled the intro of a hero movie company.
The scenes of Seo-jun playing the game until now changed rapidly, and a single logo appeared.
[Jin Seo-jun ITube.]
The slick intro instantly heightened the immersion of the video.
‘I heard they are experienced, will we be working together…’
Afterward, Seo-jun showed the appearance of a typical person playing a game for the first time, and chat messages laughing at this scrolled up.
And the nicknames of the users appeared.
WhiteHorseRider and LargeYellowtail, and his nickname.
BrickExtortionKing.
‘Ah. How embarrassing.’
He paused the video for a moment.
In the internet space, he had been proud(?) of that nickname.
Thinking that the people he would meet from now on knew his identity, he felt shy.
And he also felt pathetic about himself.
‘By the way, it was really made well. I’m envious.’
The comment response was also good.
When he arrived at his destination, he stopped the video and got off the bus.
“Time is plenty.”
They decided to meet at a cafe.
Lee Geon-yeong thought as he headed to the meeting place.
‘It’s the first time I’m making this kind of contract, what should I do, and the other editor is completely good at it, am I of any use…’
Anxiety encroached on him again.
Because he had become too accustomed to his safe zone.
‘In the end, if I get consumed by these thoughts here and stop my steps, I won’t be able to go anywhere.’
Lee Geon-yeong opened the door of the cafe.
And he messaged the group chat room that he had arrived.
A woman who was sitting in a window seat looking at her phone began to look around.
And discovering him standing at the entrance, she waved her hand.
“Hello.”
Lee Geon-yeong tried to answer for a moment but was speechless.
It was because it had been so long since he had spoken to anyone other than his family.
“Yes… Ahem.”
“I’m Han Ji-min. Hello.”
“Yes, hello. I’m Lee Geon-yeong.”
His voice gradually grew softer like a decrescendo.
However, it did not take long for the atmosphere to reverse.
“Heol. Did such a thing happen?”
“I’m telling you. A total bad guy, right? Once things went well, his true nature came out. Seriously, how much hardship did I go through to grow that channel. Because there was so little profit, I barely grew it by persevering somehow while balancing part-time jobs.”
Han Ji-min vented her anger, and Lee Geon-yeong chimed in.
Lee Geon-yeong realized that once he actually met a person, conversing comfortably as before was not very difficult.
“So the point of my words is this. Do not volunteer to be a slave. Mmhmm.”
“That’s certainly true.”
Although Lee Geon-yeong was 21 and Han Ji-min was 26, meaning there was a decent age difference, the two seemed to get along well.
To Lee Geon-yeong, Han Ji-min had started work earlier than him and had her own achievements, so she looked like an adult even beyond the age difference.
“If he forces passion pay under the pretext of profit sharing, just don’t do it.”
“But…”
Lee Geon-yeong wanted to work with Seo-jun, who had recognized him for the first time.
“The second video uploaded today was done by you, Geon-yeong-ssi, right?”
“Yes.”
“Did you check the response?”
“No. Because I’m a bit scared of others watching.”
“You seem to have talent, so even if you work elsewhere, you’ll manage to get by.”
Mmhmm.
Han Ji-min nodded her head.
“And a rookie streamer will probably try to lowball us rather than properly look after two editors. Although the streaming seems to go well, we don’t know if that will last long. Since channel income hasn’t generated yet, there’s no way he would invest in editors. Don’t have too high expectations.”
“Then why did you come out here?”
“To give him a piece of my mind if he tries to exploit us like others do.”
Lee Geon-yeong turned his eyes away, burdened by Han Ji-min’s smoldering gaze.
It seemed she had suffered a great deal from her former employer.
“That…”
Seo-jun-nim probably fights well in reality too.
Lee Geon-yeong swallowed his subsequent words.
And at that moment, light entered both of their phones simultaneously.
Ring.
It was a message from Seo-jun saying he would arrive soon.
***
“Boss, you’re serious, right? This could actually be a huge loss for you.”
Han Ji-min asked the exact same question for the fifth time.
“I’m telling you it’s fine.”
Seo-jun also gave the exact same answer for the fifth time.
“For real?”
“Yes. We even have the contract right here.”
“Boss! I will believe and follow you for the rest of my life! Loyalty!”
Lee Geon-yeong stared with dumbfounded eyes at Han Ji-min, who was signing the contract with excitement beside him.
“No…”
Seo-jun proposed to them were simple.
The two editors would manage the channel completely.
The base salary is the minimum wage, and instead, 25% of the channel revenue as an incentive.
Unless there was another cause of liability, the contract would continue, which at first glance was a disadvantageous condition for Seo-jun.
Lee Geon-yeong poked Han Ji-min’s arm with eyes that needed an explanation.
At that, Han Ji-min spoke with a voice filled with excitement.
She looked thrilled.
“Hyung is a god!”
Why is it “Hyung” this time.
You’re older and you’re a woman.
“Not that.”
“Lord Extortionist, what are you curious about?”
Seo-jun, who was watching this, chimed in.
“Uh, hyung-nim, no, Boss. I’m telling you my name is Lee Geon-yeong?”
“And your ID is BrickExtortionKing.”
Seo-jun wore a spiteful smile.
It was that exact expression he wore when deceiving others during streaming or when teasing the viewers.
Lee Geon-yeong wanted to hit Seo-jun, who noticed him looking around every time his nickname was brought up and spoke loudly on purpose.
“Sigh… Anyway. Even to someone like me who doesn’t know well, I don’t think you need to divide the profits to this extent, Seo-jun-nim.”
This was exactly the part Han Ji-min had explained to Seo-jun several times.
Saying that he could probably find editors even without dividing profits.
And Lee Geon-yeong would have accepted even without the incentive.
“Well, even this way, as long as Lord Extortionist works hard, it won’t be a loss.”
Seo-jun also had his own calculations.
In any case, ITube was just one of a streamer’s sources of income.
In that case, instead of pouring energy into growing the channel without knowing much, wouldn’t it be better to leave it entirely to the editors and focus on broadcasting?
Actually, this was the case in which Alpaca succeeded.
It was also the reason people joined MCNs even though they had to divide their ITube profits.
“Let’s see, Boss’s views, wow, it already exceeded 10,000. It took me going crazy for months to barely cross the wall of 10,000!”
Han Ji-min was giving Lee Geon-yeong signals to sign quickly beside him.
Lee Geon-yeong eventually signed the contract with a hollow laugh.
“Let’s go have a company dinner right now, Boss! I have some money I finally ripped off from some rotten bastard. Today’s my treat!”
Having tried alcohol for the first time that day, Lee Geon-yeong got dead drunk.
***
“What did you say? I’m an arrogant lunatic? Then you’re just a lunatic. Hahaha!”
A handsome man who would be treated as a young nobleman if he went out onto the street in ordinary clothes laughed heartily.
Within the battlefield where blood splattered and flesh tore.
A disparate sight was unfolding.
Two young-looking men and the dozens of enemies surrounding them.
At a glance, it was an ordinary battlefield, but it was unique in that the majority surrounding the two men could not easily step forward, but rather watched their expressions and maintained a state of tension.
However, those who knew the identities of those two men would think this was natural.
“Shut up and open the path.”
Because on the back of the person who said so, the character for Righteousness (正) was engraved.
And on the back of the laughing lunatic, or rather, the handsome man, the character for Heaven (天) was engraved.
The identities of the two were the Young Cult Leader of the Demonic Cult, the greatest power in Murim, and a renowned rising star of the Orthodox Faction.
They had formed a temporary alliance in a crisis situation.
The memory blacked out again.
And the bastard’s face rose like a revolving lantern.
The bastard’s eyes, always filled with arrogance and conviction, looked at him.
“That unlucky face of yours never grows old.”
“If you weren’t in the Orthodox Faction, cooperation in this kind of situation would have been impossible.”
“Lunatic. Are you the Orthodox Faction?”
“The two of us are so much alike.”
“Have you forgotten that I’m ten years older? What a lack of manners.”
“My old friend…”
***
Seo-jun woke from his sleep.
“Ah. What a dog dream…”
Remaining in his lying position, he placed a hand on his forehead.
His head throbbed.
He frowned at the memories of his past life, which rose clearly as if chewing cud.
“Of all things, to dream a dream like that. Tsk.”
Seo-jun clicked his tongue.
The dream state was ominous.
It was not just commonly ominous.
“Should I just skip streaming today too?”
Seo-jun had taken a day off from broadcasting the previous day.
Naturally, it was not with the intention of teasing the viewers who wanted to see the quest finish quickly.
Really.
He had simply taken a break out of necessity to meet with the new editors.
There was absolutely no other intention.
Absolutely,
[Of all times, taking a break now. Seriously a bas…]
[Please turn on the stream quickly.]
[Open the door, streamer, I’m cold…]
[I won’t find fault with whatever you do from now on! So come back…]
Well, maybe there was a little bit.
Seo-jun closed the community with a smile and opened the chatroom.
[Brick Extortionist: Please check the stream time of Day 4, 1 hour 23 minutes, 27 minutes, 34 minutes.]
[Han Ji-min: Checked!]
.
.
.
Aside from this, there were numerous conversations.
For the most part, they were Lee Geon-yeong asking Han Ji-min about various editing methods, but conversely, Han Ji-min was asking Lee Geon-yeong about parts of Seo-jun’s broadcast sources.
They’re brimming with passion.
Seo-jun stretched, got out of bed, and washed.
The time was 8 o’clock.
“Too late to go work out.”
Beep, beep, beep, beep.
While eating a simple breakfast of cereal, the front door opened.
It was Kim Tae-woo, who had returned from a morning workout after a long time.
Tae-woo had originally followed Seo-jun around since high school, but after becoming an adult, he went only when he felt like it.
“Hey, you crazy bastard.”
What’s up with him since morning.
“Did you know that Lee Dong-soo is a Freefall player?”
Freefall?
It felt like he had heard it somewhere.
“Is it the team Shin Ha-yeon is in?”
“Correct.”
He had heard it was a team maintaining a dynasty from the PC era to the current capsule era.
“Is that so? No wonder he had great sense in his body movements.”
“Thanks to you bullying such a player in sparring.”
It’s not bullying, it’s teaching.
“We got close while talking behind your back together. We even ate hot soup and rice together.”
Seo-jun thought.
Why are things called friends always like this?
“Ah! And, this is a team secret, but it seems Shin Ha-yeon didn’t play a single other game for a week and only did the training ground to finally beat you.”
“Oh?”
Naturally, Seo-jun’s AI did not possess the exact same skill level as Seo-jun, and if Seo-jun fought again, he could win easily, but it was at a higher level than Shin Ha-yeon.
Seeing that she had been unable to win for a week.
Yet, in the end, Shin Ha-yeon overcame the AI.
‘Hmm, since we have somewhat of a connection.’
That meant she had surpassed her limits and grown.
As a senior of martial arts from a distant past, it is pleasing to see a junior grow.
Therefore.
‘As a senior, I should be of help. Tsk tsk.’
Seo-jun finished his food, stood up.
“What are you doing? Why are you entering the capsule?”
“Ah. Just warming up my body a bit.”
Even after that, Seo-jun remained inside the capsule for a long time.
It was not simply at a level of warming up his body.
For some reason, Tae-woo opened his phone with an anxious heart and entered a site related to the training ground.
And he admired sincerely.
“Is he a madman? What on earth is he thinking.”
On the training ground ranking, the three letters of Jin Seo-jun’s name rose.