The Veteran Swordmaster’s Stream (Novel) - Chapter 57

Chapter 57

What was the purpose of the users participating in the Battleground?

Since the Battleground was a game event, it gave massive rewards just for participating.

This was because game events aimed to gather a large number of people.

Only when there were many people would it become lively, the influx of new players increase, and the game become fun.

Rewards perfectly aligned with this purpose.

Even if one was not good at it, the rewards obtained just by participating could be costumes or material items that needed to be farmed.

Or it could be something like a title, which was useless but desirable.

Then, was the reward the purpose of people participating in the Battleground?

Could such items that were useful or gave satisfaction be considered the driving force of the Battleground?

‘That could be so.’

By the time it became 7:00.

The ranker of the Assassination Guild and Dang So’s in-game friend, whose nickname was ‘Unnamed’, thought to himself.

If there were no rewards in a game, it was beyond disappointing; it was a dereliction of duty.

The reason why the battle pass among game business models achieved tremendous success was no different.

The battle pass was a business model that rewarded players with in-game items when they played the game and completed specific challenges.

One of the reasons for the success of this battle pass was that there were short-term goals and rewards based on gameplay.

That was how important rewards were.

But was that all?

‘No. Even though they say there are additional rewards based on contribution, if you can’t make it into the top 16, it’s not a big difference anyway, so why would the rankers work so hard?’

Unnamed was one of the people who formulated the Unorthodox Faction’s strategy for every Battleground.

In other words, it meant he was an expert when it came to the Battleground.

In his opinion, one of the major reasons why people played in the Battleground was pride.

‘The top 16 is a tiny minority. Most rankers don’t really care. They know it’s not a goal they can aim for. Even so…’

They worked hard.

The reason was none other than pride.

The Battleground was a competition between factions.

By this point, one would get the picture.

If they lost in the Battleground.

In every place, starting with Nohyeop, they would have to endure all kinds of teasing and public mockery from the users of the victorious faction until the next Battleground opened!

‘Absolutely not!’

It was already infuriating when people teased you because the team you supported failed to win, but in the Battleground, you became a team member who played in person.

Could they bear it when all kinds of ridicule were directed straight at them?

If the Battleground ended without winning the championship, they wouldn’t be able to run any games for a while.

This was because whenever people met, they would talk with a smirk on their faces.

If he won in a game.

‘You lost in the Battleground, so you have to win in this kind of game at least. Pfft, must be nice to win.’

If he lost in a game.

‘You lose this too.’

This meant that such reactions would appear.

‘It’s a catch-22. There’s nothing you can do about it.’

Of course, conversely, if they won, those were all things they could do to others as well.

That was why the rankers formulated strategies and cooperated with one mind for their faction’s victory.

Just looking at this chat room made it clear how sincere everyone was.

[Wijeongcheoksapa] [999+]

[TL Note – “Wijeongcheoksapa” (위정척사파) is a pun on Joseon’s historical “Defend Orthodoxy and Reject Heterodoxy” movement (위정척사운동). In the context of the game For Chivalry, the Unorthodox Faction (사파) uses it sarcastically to mean “Defend the Unorthodox and Exclude the Orthodox (정파) Faction”.]

Interpreting its meaning, it was the Unorthodox Faction that eradicated the hypocritical Orthodox Faction.

True to its meaning, this chat room of the Unorthodox Faction was so active that notifications had reached the maximum, even though he hadn’t checked it for less than a few dozen minutes.

The member count was 80.

It was a room where the elite of the elites gathered.

To understand why they gathered, one had to understand how the Battleground system worked.

It could be said that the vast majority of users simply played the game.

They did not coordinate or synchronize their movements with others in the same faction.

No, realistically, it was close to impossible and difficult, so it would be more accurate to say they were unable to do so.

If so, the Battleground would ultimately become content where the victory of a faction was determined by the actions of an unspecified majority and luck, but fortunately, this was not the case.

The reason lay in reputation points.

If there were no reputation points, no matter how much the 80 people gathered in this room united, they would only amount to 80 people at best.

But reputation points did exist, and therefore, they moved as a group after passing the mid-stage to produce meaningful results.

For example, if all of them accumulated reputation points and gathered to attack a certain enemy region on a given day, the attack points of that region would inevitably be higher than the defense points, and that region would be occupied by the Unorthodox Faction.

‘Of course, the enemies wouldn’t stand still either.’

Both the Orthodox Faction and the Demonic Sect had chat rooms where rankers gathered, just like the Unorthodox Faction.

– Let’s just work hard and gather reputation points.

– I’m going to the Orthodox Faction’s raid today.

– Anyone want to gather information on the Demonic Sect?

– Also looking for Green Forest members to plan a route together later.

– This is my first time, where can I get information?

– Go to Nohyeop.

Unnamed was currently opening all sorts of website windows and gathering information on the raid.

‘Most rankers are probably doing the same as me.’

He turned his gaze to Nohyeop, which was currently the most active.

[Streamer who started fighting the Demonic Sect (Link)]

[The Unorthodox Faction is the Tang Clan, the Orthodox Faction is Namgung]

[A list of streamers currently broadcasting the Battleground. (Constantly updated)]

[The goal of that Great Grandmaster fraud yesterday. No wonder the Demonic Sect bastards are defending him]

Great Grandmaster?

As someone who had tried the Demonic Sect’s trial for the first time in a while that morning, he had developed an interest in that streamer.

And as he searched through ITube, he was even able to find out that the streamer had used the same nickname in his previous game.

‘Putting that aside.’

Unnamed entered the post that piqued his curiosity.

[The goal of that Great Grandmaster fraud yesterday. No wonder the Demonic Sect bastards are defending him]

==

During that fraud’s stream, he made a pledge to either win the Battleground for the Demonic Sect or place in the top 16. If he fails, he has to wear a magical girl outfit.

This was said by someone who is only on their second day of playing For Chivalry, and who has never even played a ranked game.

From the perspective of the Demonic Sect bastards, he must be precious.

Nobody had told them they would win, but someone suddenly appeared and made a pledge lololololol.

==

– 100% chance he’ll fail and run away from the penalty.

– This guy is really full of hot air.

– A newbie who hasn’t even played ranked making such a pledge??? That’s fucking arrogant.

– It might actually be possible. The reputation points he received yesterday were quite high.

└ That’s only because he was crushing newbies.

└ It was only the first day, though?

– Why are you talking as if it’s already a fact that it’s a scam? It hasn’t even been verified yet. Please, let’s reclaim our Chivalry.

└ Even if it’s not a scam, it’s a fact that he’s arrogant?

└ Chivalry was thrown away first by the streamer you fanboy over, lol.

└ Fr, another absurd statement is out!!!! (Link)

“Why are they criticizing him so much just for making a pledge?”

Frowning as he scrolled down the comments, Unnamed spoke as he clicked the link.

“What’s this ‘absurd remark’ now?”

[???: I think 4 minutes would be enough?]

==

Streamer Jin, who took 17 minutes in the first round.

Remarked that he could finish the raid within 4 minutes.

Lolololololol

==

– He seriously has a severe case of pathological lying.

– I’m seriously getting angry?

– 4 minutes, my ass.

– The Demonic Sect bastards will probably rush in again and shout, ‘Our Heavenly Demon can do it, though!’.

└ Fr

└ To think he has toxic fanboys when he spouts such bullshit.

– Isn’t he showing off too much just because he beat Shin Ha-yeon?

– Are you guys even speaking after watching his stream at least once?

└ Yeah, I’m heading over to watch it now and terrorize his comment section.

And numerous insults were attached. The reason was that he was arrogant.

“Good grief, why did he say such a thing?”

He seemed to be someone who naturally provoked a lot of backlash.

“Even if it were possible, he should have just laid low.”

Suddenly, such a thought occurred to him.

They say a true superstar makes both fanboys and haters go crazy.

No.

It was obvious he simply didn’t know he was starting to get bashed in the community right now.

“Did the chat room turn into a mess because of these guys?”

Since he was planning to go to the Demonic Sect region, he entered Seo-jun’s stream, which he hadn’t particularly been watching.

Fortunately, only followers could chat, so the chat window was clean.

However, a problem arose. It was because of a donation that went off just as he entered.

“What is he doing now?”

Sigh.

This was precisely the circumstance under which he had sought out Dang So.

***

“What do you mean pack my bags? Listen carefully. The Heavenly Demon will surely fail to defeat Namgung Cheon.”

Dang So quickly recovered.

‘I don’t know what he’s relying on to be so sure.’

“What are you going to do now? Are you really going to the Demonic Sect?”

“Uh-huh. I’m telling you, I won’t lose the bet.”

‘Sure, as if you won’t lose.’

“Why on earth did you make such a stupid bet…”

‘Every single ranker is important. What on earth is he doing?’

At least he found comfort in the fact that the place Dang So would go to was the Demonic Sect.

It was not a problem for the number of the Demonic Sect’s rankers to increase. Even if it doubled from now, he wouldn’t worry.

“Farewell.”

A vote was already underway in the chat room.

[Dang So, accept the result of the bet!]

[Agree – 90%]

[Disagree – 10%]

The votes in favor were 90%.

They were simply having fun teasing their comrade.

“I said I’m not going!”

“Whatever.”

“Listen carefully. Since that fraud’s build helps with internal energy recovery, one might think that spending all his internal energy wouldn’t be a big problem.”

“But.”

“However, he has to defeat the enemy quickly. If his internal energy is insufficient, won’t he be unable to make up for the damage?”

He was sharp.

Indeed, although he looked foolish on the outside, one could tell his understanding of the game was good.

However.

“Don’t say another word and just go to the Demonic Sect.”

“Why?”

Unnamed had already watched the plays that Seo-jun had made.

This was because they were well-organized on ITube.

The battle began immediately.

“Look at the rate at which that NPC’s HP is draining, as expected. He won’t be able to clear it in time. He can’t clear… Huh?”

From the moment Seo-jun gave up on dodging, the enemy’s health began to deplete rapidly.

“I knew this would happen.”

“…….”

Seo-jun on the screen easily defeated Namgung Cheon.

The record was in the 3-minute range.

It was an all-time record.

The chat room went wild as well.

– He got 3 minutes????

– Fr?

– Are there any experts here who have hit the 3-minute mark in a raid?

– The real experts aiming for the top 16 don’t usually reveal their records.

– Even 4 minutes is an all-time record lolol.

– I think he found the shortest route for the Orthodox Faction in this raid lololol. Isn’t there a way to utilize that?

– Even if he climbs up like that, if he doesn’t have internal energy, he’ll spend an enormous amount of time just chipping away at Namgung Cheon’s health anyway. We don’t have the Great Art of Absorbing Stars.

– As expected, everyone was watching lol.

The chat room immediately entered analysis mode.

Unnamed’s jaw dropped.

“Three minutes.”

[Now then, you have to come to the Demonic Sect, right?]

Pfft!

Dang So, who had picked up his cup in an effort to calm his mind, spat out his water.

“Ah, damn it!”

“What should I do? I really, truly don’t want to go back to the Demonic Sect.”

Finally, Dang So’s persona, which had never cracked under any circumstances, broke.

Going to the Demonic Sect was that big of a deal.

However, it was not his problem.

Unnamed lost interest in Dang So, who had quickly become depressed.

This was because he was more curious about something else than the guy who was going to leave anyway.

‘I wonder what those guys who were bashing him on Nohyeop will say now.’

***

Seo-jun played two more rounds in a row.

Now that he had established a record, his goal was to finish as quickly as possible.

Reputation points were awarded after the standard deviation of records for each faction was compiled.

This was because records were relative.

“It’s not bad since all three rounds were in the 3-minute range.”

The record in the first round was the shortest.

This was because Seo-jun took it easy afterward.

They said three minutes was an all-time record anyway.

Exiting the game, Seo-jun headed to his original spot.

“I wonder if he is still there. He surely didn’t run away, did he?”

What if Dang So couldn’t accept the result of the bet and fled?

“You’re saying there are many rankers watching right now?”

The current number of viewers was 8,000.

‘This is the Battleground effect.’

He felt glad that he had started the game as soon as it struck 7:00 and set a record.

In reality, most of the new arrivals were people who had entered to mock Seo-jun, but Seo-jun was unaware of this.

– Seo-jun, would you like to come to the Orthodox Faction? We’ll treat you well. Faction victory is guaranteed too.

– How about Mount Hua?

– Try it, try it!

– How are you going to treat him?

– Don’t take even the streamer away from the Demonic Sect.

– ㅠㅠㅠㅠ

– What about the Assassination Guild?!

Chats trying to recruit him appeared one after another.

Seo-jun wore a puzzled expression.

“No, everyone, the Demonic Sect is going to win, so why would I go anywhere else?”

Of course, he was not sincere.

He also knew that the Demonic Sect wouldn’t be able to win.

The reason was because the number of rankers was insufficient.

Although the number of regular users was also insufficient, surprisingly, it wasn’t a big difference.

This was because the majority of users played casually, so they chose what suited their tastes rather than the results.

“I’m serious, though.”

Most ridiculed him, but chats saying they believed him were also visible.

Seo-jun smiled awkwardly upon seeing the chats.

‘Don’t actually believe me.’

Anyway, communicating briefly, he returned to his original spot.

Then, the chat window that had been filled with question marks began to flood with ‘lol’s.

– ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

– What is he doing, lol?

– Is he asking to be let off just this once?

– This is hilarious lololololol.

This was because Dang So was kneeling next to the chair where he had originally been.

Seo-jun walked closer.

“Have you arrived, Heavenly Demon?!”

Hearing the troll’s polite greeting, Seo-jun thought.

“The Heavenly Demon has descended! Ten thousand demons submit!”

That the previous persona had actually been better.