The Veteran Swordmaster’s Stream (Novel) - Chapter 5
Chapter 5
[7 Viewers]
Seo-jun checked the bottom of the broadcast screen. Before he knew it, the number of viewers had increased by three.
It might really have been because of the stream title.
-From what I see, he’s gonna die right here
-Anyone want to bet on how many times the streamer will die before giving up?
While he was thinking that, chat messages looking down on him popped up.
But it did not matter.
Being looked down on and ignored like that, and making fun of the streamer, were all elements of fun for the viewers.
It was fine as long as it was not too excessive to the point of becoming a problem.
And as for skills, he just had to prove them.
“Who goes there!”
As Seo-jun approached the grand mansion, the two sentries standing at the main gate drew their swords and began to walk toward him.
“Do not worry. I have completely gotten the hang of it.”
-Got the hang of it. (Played for the first time today)
-Don’t worry! (No one is worried)
-By any chance, was falling continuously earlier getting the hang of it? hahaha
Seo-jun decided to first gauge the speed of the sentry and himself.
The moment he made up his mind, he narrowed the distance in an instant and lightly swung his staff.
“Take off your hood right now—”
Clang!
A single sword strike meant to lightly test the waters.
The sentry blocked it without much trouble.
‘Their level is quite high.’
And then came the follow-up link of Sentry 2, who was positioned behind Seo-jun.
“An intruder!”
Strength entered Seo-jun’s toes.
He quickly lowered his posture and twisted his waist to capture the enemy’s movements in his eyes, predicting them within a split second.
The figure of him wearing the hood was reflected in the pupils of Sentry 2.
Seo-jun intended to deflect and push away Sentry 2’s sword before launching an attack.
However.
Claaaaang!
The moment the swords collided, along with an effect that made the background ripple, Guard 2 faltered backward before falling down and entering a groggy state.
-Oh, he got lucky lololol
-Wow, a parry actually works here
-lol so lucky
“Hm?”
Although Seo-jun did not properly grasp what had happened, he did not miss the opportunity, rushing at Sentry 2 and thrusting his staff into his neck.
At that, his HP was shaved off all at once, as if he had died instantly.
‘What is this?’
And when he deflected the sword of Sentry 1, who approached him, the same phenomenon occurred.
Claaaaang!
-???
-Wow, he should have bought a lottery ticket lol
-Two consecutive parries, that’s insane
-What’s insane about it, it was just a fluke
Seo-jun inflicted a weak blow on the groggy sentry to test it out.
But the health bar was shaved off in large chunks.
In the end, even before he could strike twice, the sentry died, following his friend.
Seo-jun asked the viewers to find out the cause.
“Guys, what is a parry?”
-You did it without even knowing what a parry is? You’re naturally gifted
-No, I said it was a coincidence, what do you mean talent lol
-Can a parry happen by accident?
-Then is a parry something a newbie can do?
-True lol
“Please do not fight. Can someone explain what a parry is?”
A brief silence followed, and the viewer who had told him about Dawn of the Assassins began to explain.
-A parry usually refers to deflecting an opponent’s attack, but in this game, simply striking it away has no effect. If you deflect it vertically to the opponent’s attack with perfect timing, the opponent enters a groggy state. In a groggy state, a lot of damage is dealt. This is what’s called a parry.
-In fact, parrying is the only hope for a Musou playstyle. But even former pros, who were confident in their mechanics, failed while trying to parry and just ran missions to collect assassination info lol
-But aren’t they the ones who retired because they were bad?
Even former pros found it difficult?
Seo-jun recalled the Level 9 AI, which was said to be the gatekeeper for pros.
If the level of the retired pros, who roughly lacked skills, was similar to that.
‘No wonder.’
He understood it in an instant.
To counter perfectly meant predicting the enemy’s attack perfectly and being able to move one’s body freely at the desired angle.
It was bound to be difficult.
For other people, that was.
“I got it. But it was easy, though?”
Seo-jun smiled and walked confidently into the mansion through the main gate.
-His overflowing confidence is so annoying lol
-I told you that was a fluke, newbie!!
-No no, from what I see, that movement was definitely not a fluke. It’s unusual.
-Who the hell are you anyway, hahaha
-For real, does he think parrying is a joke.
-Unusual, my ass lol who are you lol
Chat messages mocking the person who had noticed Seo-jun’s skill instead appeared one after another.
Seeing that reminded Seo-jun of his past life.
In his past life, because of his humble origins and unaffiliated status, even when he easily defeated the disciples of great sects, the results were always belittled by those great sects.
They claimed that the opponent had drunk the day before, had gone easy on him, or had been careless.
Although they gave reasons that were even more shameful than a lack of skill as a martial artist, Seo-jun did not possess any background to call them out.
To just gloss over it and bury the matter. That was the purpose of the great sects.
Even so, he in his past life did not dwell on it.
Rather, he proved himself to the end, and when that happened, the sects excessively praised his achievements this time.
It was in order to justify their own defeat.
Of course, the chat window and the memories of his past life were not the same, but.
The essence was the same.
There was only one thing he had to do.
As Seo-jun entered the main gate, five soldiers were blocking his way.
They had heard the shout of the sentry earlier.
Perhaps because they had plenty of time to prepare, they were equipped with shields and armor.
Seo-jun thrust his staff toward the neck of the leftmost soldier like a flash of lightning.
This was because that soldier was the closest and was in a slightly relaxed state, making it difficult to react.
Clang!
The soldier next to him reacted and struck away the tip of Seo-jun’s staff.
Seo-jun’s right arm, which had thrust the staff, was pushed outward.
Subsequently, the soldier Seo-jun had originally targeted struck his sword downward from top to bottom toward Seo-jun.
‘I was waiting for this.’
Seo-jun immediately held the staff in a reverse grip and raised it to be vertical to the striking soldier’s sword.
Claaaaang!
Once again, the background rippled, and the chat window went up.
-????
-What?
Seo-jun thrust his staff into the neck of the soldier, who had fallen back on his buttocks and entered a groggy state. After confirming that the HP had been drained, he rushed at the soldiers again.
Claaaaang!
Perhaps because the game developer had implemented a joint attack system, their coordination was clean, but Seo-jun could see their openings all too well.
Claaaaang!
A movement that anyone would admire.
Every single one of them attacked from a different angle, but Seo-jun moved his staff without missing a single one.
“If you want to catch me, you should at least bring the One Hundred and Eight Arhat Formation of Shaolin.”
Claaaaang!
-?? Was the streamer a wuxia boomer?
-That’s not what’s important, he just succeeded in parrying four times already, holy shit hahaha
-Insane. Wow, seriously…
-Are you still curious who I am? Are you still curious who I am? Are you still curious who I am?
“Da-Damn it.”
“Run away!”
When Seo-jun laid down four of them, the soldier who had fallen to the ground last shouted to the standing soldier.
“Quickly call for backup… Keugh.”
The staff was thrust into his neck.
This was because, after Seo-jun had tried inflicting damage in various ways on two of the groggy soldiers, this had been the cleanest method.
“Now six of them have been cleared.”
-No, what kind of person is the streamer?
-Are you really a beginner???
-I was right. I was right. I was right. I was right. I was right.
“I am a beginner, though? You saw it earlier.”
-No, hahaha why is the guy who couldn’t even cross the rooftops properly so good
-For real, when you fell while riding the rope, I thought I had found a newbie stream to nurture, but it turned out to be an insane veteran’s stream
-What are you guys talking about?
-Watch the replay
-Who am I? Who am I? Who am I? Who am I? Who am I? Who am I?
“Uh, ‘I Am Joseon’s Assassin’, if you spam any more, you’re banned.”
-Yes sir
-Laying down the law, shiver
-hahaha serves him right.
The viewer with the nickname ‘I Am Joseon’s Assassin’ was the person who had noticed Seo-jun’s skill a moment ago, only to be laughed at.
Scrolling up, he saw that in addition to what he had checked, other viewers had been continuously laughing at him.
That was, until Seo-jun succeeded in his third parry.
“Now, I understand, but if viewers fight amongst themselves, I will have no choice but to ban you.”
-Yes
-k
-What’s so scary about being banned from a small-time stream?
Suddenly, a combative chat message popped up.
Small-time stream.
While broadcasts with large viewer counts were often compared to conglomerates, this contrasting expression was a slang term that arose from comparing a broadcast with no viewers to running a business in a shabby shanty.
-Ban me then, hahaha
[lkiop1644 has been kicked]
“Yes, I have done so.”
[6 Viewers]
Seo-jun quickly removed the viewer.
This was because if he left such a viewer alone because he felt it was a waste to lose a viewer, a bad atmosphere could form as other viewers wondered, ‘Is this a stream where we can act like this?’
He could not sell the future of the broadcast just because he did not want to lose one person right now.
Although he did not know if that future would even exist.
-hahaha insane reaction speed. As expected, his reflexes are good
-Wow, I’m jealous of the first ban of the season!
Fortunately, the reaction was not bad. The Joseon Assassin typed this chat.
-Honestly, with this level of talent, I think he will become popular soon, so if you get banned, you’ll regret it later lol
-True lol
Hmm.
Am I doing well enough to receive this kind of evaluation?
Since he had never had a proper social life in this life, he did not know, and in his past life, he had lived a passive life because he rarely came to the forefront due to his background, so he did not really know.
In the martial world, background was incredibly important. No, it was more important than anything else.
This was because, depending on where he belonged, everything was as good as decided, from the level of martial arts he could achieve, to his status, and even the reputation he could gain.
What they ate, the martial arts they learned, their master, their experiences, the people they met.
All of it was bound to be different.
In such a world, he was an orphan captured from a foreign country.
Fortunately, an elder of the Martial Alliance from the Mount Hua Sect took him in.
And upon realizing his talent, he took him to a place where the geniuses of the Orthodox Faction gathered.
In the beginning, he had been ignored.
However, his talent, which would later vie for the title of the world’s strongest, stood out even there like an awl in a pocket, and although his master tried to have him enter the Mount Hua Sect, he became unable to belong anywhere due to the interference of other great sects who could not bear to see the Mount Hua Sect’s power grow.
A martial artist who represented nothing, and whom no one represented either.
Yet, because his talent alone was enough to cover the heavens.
The aloof Sword God.
‘In reality, I had no choice but to be aloof. Hmm. There was no one who lived as cautiously as I did—’
It was then.
‘Senior Brother, please stop talking nonsense. Have you already forgotten how much we suffered because of the trouble you caused?’
He heard an auditory hallucination. It was like this sometimes.
Anyway.
Seo-jun was satisfied with the current situation.
This was because the broadcast was more fun than expected.
The game was fun too.
‘It feels like embarking on a journey through the martial world, which I have never been on before…’
Except.
‘Senior Brother, was going to the Namgung Clan in secret to cause a ruckus and turn it upside down not a journey through the martial world? Huh?’
Geez, you keep interrupting my appreciation.
Anyway, it was good.
-By the way, how are you so good at parrying?
-For real, is there a secret trick for newbies?
“Ah. But just how hard is parrying?”
-It’s to the point where the hardcore veterans of the previous series showed off saying they’d pull off Musou here too, only to disappear at some point and shout, ‘Do-sum is a god-tier assassination game.’
-Even former pros kept complaining that the timing window for this was too strict. They said they failed once out of three times because you really have to deflect it perfectly.
-No lol, I told you not to bring up those guys who retired because they lacked skill
“I see.”
-Hurry up and tell us.
-thump thump thump
Seo-jun spoke honestly.
“To do that, you just have to remember your past life.”
-??
-Look at the streamer’s mental state lol
“Or, just look at the sword and deflect it vertically.”
-???
-Geez, I didn’t expect anything anyway lol
-Didn’t expect anything (typed thump thump earlier)
Seo-jun eventually could not hold back his laughter.
-Laughing after teasing us lololol
-Hey, is it fun to tease us? Hey, hey, hold me back
-If I let you go, the streamer will parry you
-hahaha
Seo-jun thought with a smile.
‘It seems I was really cut out for broadcasting?’
Communicating was more fun than he had thought.
-So when are you going to move?
-If you stay like this, they will all swarm you
“Ah, that is…”
Patter patter patter
“This way!”
“There is an intruder here!”
The enemies swarmed in.
Their number was thirteen.
Everyone in this mansion had swarmed in, except for Ettore.
The first two sentries, the one who had fled, the four he had killed, and the twelve new ones swarming in now.
And one Ettore.
They were the twenty enemies he had identified in the beginning.
-13 people? They’ve all swarmed in, gg
-x
-It can’t be helped since he’s a newbie. In this game, if you don’t keep moving, they all swarm in.
Seo-jun quietly spread his arms and waited until eight enemies surrounded him.
-He gave up.
-Just die here, skip the tutorial quickly, and head to the main game. You can’t beat Ettore anyway.
And after being completely surrounded, he declared his plan.
“Guys, I will show you thirteen consecutive parries.”
After that, only one single chat message popped up.
-no bs