A Swordsman’s Stream

Chapter 40

MubiSoft Korea Headquarters.

Kim Yunchan scratched his cheek while watching the monitor.

“Such a smurf.”

At home, Kim Yunchan was a “trsu” (a term combining “travel” and “baeksu” meaning an unemployed person) who always had a stream running no matter what he was doing. Even at work, under the pretext of monitoring game tendencies, he occasionally found joy in watching streams. As a true trsu, he could openly watch streams while claiming to check on advertisements, and it made him happy.

He first contacted the CS (Customer Satisfaction) team for “For Justice”, a department dealing with various customer inquiries. Then, he turned his eyes back to the stream.

『All right, we won the game, and now it’s time for the payout.』

-Patriotic Punch! Patriotic Punch! Patriotic Punch!
-Traitors, are you awake? Traitors, are you awake? Traitors, are you awake?
-Streamer, that’s my college tuition!
-That’s a typical line, lol.
-Then my retirement fund…

『This game comeback.』
『Possible』 vs 『Impossible』
『55%』 vs 『45%』

This was the result of the channel points prediction Kim Yunchan checked.

“Ah, I should have bet on ‘Possible’; can’t they see? Well, actually, it’s better for me if more people doubt it. Anyway, thank you for the meal.”

Of course, he had placed his points. A significant amount, on ‘Possible’.

He had regretted not catching the live collab with Alpaca last time.

“Hmm, if I’d bet then, I probably would have gone with ‘Failed’.”

Predicting results in that stream was, indeed, unimaginably difficult.

『Why did you all trust me so much? Betray your country. Wait, that sounds weird. Why is it even ‘patriots vs. traitors’ bet in the first place?』

-lololololololol
-A streamer forcing treason, lol
-This deserves a spot in the controversy section.

“Geez, such a crazy one.”

He made weird statements with a calm face but played the game exceptionally well. Incredibly well, even. And he wasn’t socially awkward either; rather, he was sly.

On top of that, he had the right luck and ability to create stories.

“For Justice just had their first invasion, met a smurf, made a comeback, and gave them a good lesson. Wow.”

Was he born to be a streamer? This was a good start.

『No. 1 Swordsman Under Heaven just sent a friend request, and I accepted it. Oh, they’re here now.』

In “For Justice”, people could meet others even on general maps. To accommodate the expected crowd, there were channels like in computer RPG games. There was also an individual channel for users who didn’t want to meet others.

『Heavenly Demon-nim, I watched. You actually won. Amazing.』
『I told you, the game is simple: just don’t die and kill everyone.』
『That’s really true. Heavenly Demon-nim, if you have time, want to duo next round?』

-lolololololol
-Doesn’t he feel embarrassed doing his act on stream?
-Who cares about fleeting feelings when you can get carried, lol

‘Indeed, one can’t resist a carry.’

Kim Yunchan chuckled as he typed in the chat. Besides, watching streams during work hours was truly entertaining. Normally, he wouldn’t be able to watch so much, but today was special.

‘I wonder how the response would be. I heard there were quite a few foreigners earlier.’

Just then, a message from Eve Faimo arrived. It was concise.

-To my office

Kim Yunchan headed straight to the boss’s office. As soon as he entered, he heard Streamer-nim’s voice he had been listening to moments ago.

“B-boss, you were watching the stream too?”

Come to think of it, was the person who set that mission to capture the Tower Lord actually the boss?

As Kim Yunchan looked at Eve Faimo with suspicion, she wore a satisfied expression, staring intently at the monitor.

Her eyes seemed glued to it.

“I’m checking for confirmation.”

“You don’t have to watch ‘For Justice’.”

“It’s during an advertisement.”

Since when did the boss start caring about streamers completing their tasks?

Kim Yunchan’s suspicion deepened further.

“Well, leaving that aside, why did you call for me?”

“Ah, the latest response has far exceeded our expectations.”

“Response?”

“I’m talking about the overseas audience. Due to him securing the 10th-level AI position in the sparring ground, many international viewers flocked to the stream. As a result, people have started to show interest not only in the teaser videos but in the entire backstory.”

“I see.”

“As foreigners become curious, korean viewers are explaining things like the Fragments of Order, the Ruler, and Belief. These explanations are also drawing attention.”

This was a positive outcome.

No matter how much the company tried to generate interest through marketing, there were always limits. It was like government intervention in the capitalist market. While it could be effective, the most efficient and optimal scenario was for the market to move on its own. This was a similar situation.

“Wow, the President was disappointed that the truth was revealed in Korea. After all, if the Easter egg had been uncovered in the West, more people would know the details. But with interest rising like this…”

“Exactly. This is an excellent situation for us. Also, if you think about it, why would he reveal Nameless’ identity just today, excluding our advertisement and the Easter egg?”

Sojun had factored in his contract with MubiSoft. However, his primary motive for recapturing the 10th-level AI was more to provoke his junior, Shin Hayun. Revealing his identity was a strategy to gather as many viewers as possible by switching games. MubiSoft was just a part of the plan. But they didn’t know that.

“That makes sense.”

“He’s very smart. We’ll have to give him a little extra, won’t we?”

“Yes, indeed. Sojun-nim never disappoints. Haha.”

“What should we give as a gift? An increase in advertising fees? Or perhaps an additional advertisement?”

“That sounds good. Although he might not accept the latter. How about this for an idea…”

Kim Yunchan pulled out his phone from his pocket as he thought of a good idea and started searching for something. Eve Faimo waited patiently and, after quickly scanning a video, Kim Yunchan handed his phone to her.

『What’s Parrying? – Assassin’s Dawn (Shadows of the City) #1』
『Got caught pickpocketing and wiped out a gang – Assassin’s Dawn (Shadows of the City) #2』
『Bet on points and return them 100 times – Assassin’s Dawn (Shadows of the City) #3』
『Aristocratic Ruler? Stripped everything but their stockings – Assassin’s Dawn (Shadows of the City) #4』

“Well… those are interesting titles.”

Han Jimin, who had expertise in running the channel, came up with these titles. Due to how complex the iTube algorithm was, they couldn’t definitively determine if the titles were the sole reason, but Sojun’s iTube channel had been sailing smoothly ever since hiring two editors. The average views were around 50,000, with the highest reaching 130,000. The most viewed video was a collaboration with Alpaca, thanks to viewers transitioning from Alpaca’s video.

“That’s Sojun-nim’s iTube channel.”

“Oh, I see. So what’s the significance?”

“I’ve watched all the videos, and they’re well-explained and engaging. Boss, how about we create English subtitles for his videos capturing the Ruler?”

“English subtitles?”

“Yes, and then we can pin Sojun-nim’s iTube link in the top comment of our teaser video.”

“Users would find it easy to understand the backstory, Sojun’s iTube gets more promotion, and we get to show our appreciation. It’s perfect, what’s the saying… catch two fish with one net?”

“It’s catch two birds with one stone.”

“Yes, that.”

“Shall we proceed, then?”

Eve Faimo nodded.

“While we’re at it, let’s subtitle all the videos he has uploaded so far. Just subbing the Ruler-related ones would seem too insincere.”

“You’re becoming quite the Korean, boss.”

Eve Faimo chuckled.

“By the way, what happened to Baekho?”

“Well, just a moment. The CS team contacted me about it. They said it’s fine to impose a sanction.”

“Hmm, no issues according to the terms of service?”

“Yes. Since Baekho’s behavior was unsportsmanlike conduct, the operational team found it ambiguous to take any action because he didn’t play often and wasn’t causing any deliberate losses.”

“It’s certainly ambiguous.”

“Right?”

“Just terminate the account.”

“What? Can we do that?”

“There’s a precedent for terminating accounts of severe offenders. In my eyes, smurfing is a serious enough offense.”

Typically, in ‘For Justice’, minor offenses like verbal abuse or leaving the game early would result in warnings or temporary bans. However, clear cases of intentional trolling or severe misconduct were met with account terminations, eliminating their ability to enjoy the service. Though new accounts could be created, starting over from scratch was required. A second offense would lead to a permanent ban.

“Understood.”

“Also, we need to prevent people from consistently staying in the newbie zone no matter how many games they win. Although no one anticipated users would intentionally stay there.”

“That’s true.”

“All in all, it looks like placing the advertisement was a great decision.”

* * *

“Wow, Heavenly Demon-nim, we won four consecutive matches!”

Holding his sword aloft, the No. 1 Swordsman Under Heaven celebrated atop a conquered stronghold. Winning every game and occasionally stepping in to teach added to the enjoyment.

Though his teasing manner of speech was sometimes irritating, Heavenly Demon saw embarrassment as the price of education.

“I can join a sect now. How about one last match?”

“Hmm, shall we?”

As luck would have it, Sojun only needed one more match to garner enough experience to choose a sect. Certified streamers had access to several convenience features, including quick skipping of beginner zones via experience buffs.

“Sounds good.”

-One more match, one more match, one more match
-It’s about time to wrap up.
-He’ll level up soon.

The convenience features for streamers included more than just rapid leveling.

However, Sojun couldn’t afford to enjoy it now.

Most of the features in “For Justice” were only accessible after leaving the beginner zone.

Thus, from the moment one chose a sect, it marked the true beginning of “For Justice.”

In that sense, Baekho, who lingered in the beginner zone, was a truly peculiar person.

“Why hasn’t he appeared yet?”

“Pardon?”

“Oh, Baekho. We haven’t seen him in four games.”

“That young hacker? Maybe he faced real repercussions?”

“Could be. Good to hear.”

– Hahahaha
– Streamer-nim literally killed him lol
– Murder, controversy, meme
– What murder? It’s just a meme, you crazy guy hahaha

“It wouldn’t matter even if I met the Heavenly Demon Lord.”

As soon as the No. 1 Swordsman Under Heaven finished speaking, the matching for the last game was set.

『Conquer begins.』

Sojun and his teammates’ eyes met while examining the enemy team list.

Baekho was in the enemy team.

“Looks like he found me and decided to target me, folks.”

– Is MubiSoft not working?
– Let’s cut it quickly
– For real, hahaha

One could watch the stream while waiting for matches, but not during the actual game.

This meant playing while watching the stream wasn’t possible.

*Sigh.*

The game would reveal things as it progressed.

As expected, when Sojun went to the central street where NPCs roam, he encountered a player flying from the opposite direction.

“You, Heavenly Demon, or rather Jin Sojun, you bastard! How dare you bluff?”

Bluffing? What bluff?

“I was so scared that I might get my account suspended because of you. You’re done for. I know your stream name now. You won’t be able to play this game anymore.”

Ah, now Sojun got it.

“A MubiSoft ad? Related personnel? So what? Did you think you could get a non-suspended player suspended just like that?”

Sojun quickly understood why he hadn’t encountered Baekho, and with a loud voice that could reach Baekho across the street, he spoke to his viewers.

“So Baekho here was scared he’d get suspended, right? And now that he didn’t, he came back for more.”

– Seems like it, haha
– Look at him. Maybe his brain’s kind after all?
– What does ‘kind brain’ even mean?
– It means he’s dumb

“Whatever, brace yourself for what’s coming.”

Baekho shouted loudly from a distance, drawing his sword before making a high leap.

Using skilled martial arts, he flew swiftly towards Sojun, who prepared to counter.

But then…

“What? You bastar-…”

*Poof!*

Suddenly, Baekho appeared to freeze mid-air as if he had experienced lag and disappeared from existence, letting out a death cry.

It happened just as he was approaching Sojun.

– ?????
– What was that?
– New skill?
– Advanced martial arts?
– What just happened? Whoa

Everyone, including Sojun, was momentarily confused.

However, even in his confusion, Sojun remained calm and checked the enemy team list to understand the situation.

There was a vacant slot where a member had dropped out.

Sojun lost his composure and burst into laughter.

– Oh my god, hahaha
– No way, hahahaha
– Look at him poof

The viewers seemed to catch on fast.

Sojun quickly relayed the victory news.

“Everyone, Baekho has ascended to heaven. Please offer your condolences.”

– Legendary timing, hahaha
– LOL
– LOL
– That ascent form was wild.
– Knew I could trust MubiSoft!
– How was his last word, you basta… hahahahahahaha
– Hahahahahaha