A Swordsman’s Stream

Chapter 43

Shin Hayun.

There had been a connection in the past.

Although it was not particularly a good one.

‘I knew she’d notice.’

He had actually anticipated that she might notice about halfway through.

But he had merely taunted her, thinking there was no chance of meeting her in reality.

However…

“When’s your next medical check-up scheduled?”

“Probably the same day next month? Our regular check-ups are once a month.”

“I see. Thanks for letting me know.”

He decided that if there was a chance of meeting her, it would be best to avoid it.

“Why do you ask?”

“There’s a reason.”

“Okay. But why did you come here, hyung? Even though you’re better skilled than I am, we come here often because of work. You don’t stream for long periods, do you?”

The streamer was just an ordinary person.

There would be no reason to go to a hospital or research laboratory.

This curiosity led Lee Dongsu to ask him earlier, but Oh Jihye had interrupted.

“Hmm, I’ll tell you later, but first, let’s eat.”

He was hungry.

“Sure, I know a good place nearby. Can I recommend it?”

“Sure.”

“I often come to the Korean University because of the research lab. Oh, you went to this university, right, hyung?”

The research lab was built near Korean University.

Lee Dongsu felt embarrassed, and Sojun nodded his head.

“Ha-ha. But I’m sure you’ve never been to this place before, hyung.”

“Is that so? By the way, are we going to a lamb skewer place by any chance?”

“Ah.”

* * *

Sojun explained the situation to Lee Dongsu.

Starting from the low synchronization rate to the fact that he was aiming for the streamer tournament, LoS.

“Wow. I never imagined you had such a scenario or goal? Amazing. To definitely qualify for the tournament, you need more viewers, right?”

“Yes.”

“Then, could it be that ‘For Justice’ is also targeting this period? This is mind-blowing.”

Lee Dongsu stared at the rotating lamb skewers as he spoke.

“What are you talking about? By the way, did you watch the stream yesterday?”

Sojun asked, seemingly surprised.

“Of course. I always watch it, even in replay. I’ve donated several times too.”

He had that much free time.

And donations?

“What’s your Travel ID, then?”

Sojun became curious about Lee Dongsu’s online identity.

Especially since he got beaten regularly every morning, it wouldn’t be surprising if some resentment had built up.

“Uh… It’s a secret.”

“I’ll give you VIP status in our channel.”

On Travel, streamers can grant VIP status to a special few of their viewers.

Usually, VIPs are given to fellow streamers as differentiating viewers can seem discriminatory.

A VIP isn’t affected by chatting modes (e.g., slow mode, subscriber-only chat, follower-only chat).

During a stream, VIPs are listed at the top of the audience list, making it easy to check if they’re watching.

“No, I don’t want it. You’re trying to dissect my identity, aren’t you?”

Lee Dongsu gave Sojun a half-closed-eyed look, while Sojun felt a pang of regret.

He was quick on the uptake.

“How did you know?”

“I’m not easily fooled. Ha-ha. By the way, hyung. For your second game, you chose ‘For Justice’ because of the battlefield, right? That’s insane.”

Lee Dongsu took a cooked lamb skewer, pressed it with his chopsticks, and removed the meat.

Sojun followed suit.

“Battlefield?”

“Yes.”

“What’s that?”

“You don’t know the battlefield?”

“No.”

“You’re playing ‘For Justice’?”

Sojun nonchalantly ate his meat, while Lee Dongsu looked momentarily dumbfounded, recalling Sojun’s past broadcasts.

Given his actions so far, it was understandable.

Realizing this quickly, Lee Dongsu began to strategize.

“Oh, I see, you wouldn’t have known. Well, you see, from today, an event called ‘battlefield’ is starting in ‘For Justice’, and it’s gaining huge popularity.”

“Really?”

“Basically, during the period when the battlefield is open, all ‘For Justice’ users are mostly focused on it. Even other game users are interested.”

“It’s that popular?”

“Yes, it runs for three weeks. During that time, no matter what you do, it won’t draw much attention unless you participate in the battlefield.”

He hadn’t known this.

While eating lamb seasoned with spices, Sojun pondered.

“So if you perform well in the battlefield, you’d draw a lot of attention?”

“Exactly.”

“So what exactly is this battlefield?”

“The battlefield is, simply put, a game mode where factions compete for territory. At the end of the period, the faction that controls territories with higher scores wins.”

“Higher scores?”

“Yes, not all land holds the same value. Anyway, it gets complicated if you delve into it. I don’t really know much because I’ve never done it properly.”

Hearing this, Sojun fell into deep thought.

Today marked the beginning of the battlefield.

‘Is this why Eve Faimo recommended “For Justice”?’

The timing was right.

If Sojun participated in the battlefield.

“Oh, and you can earn contribution points in the battlefield. The top 16 are invited to the official tournament hosted by MubiSoft, so they capture the audience’s attention.”

“Hmm, the top 16…”

Sojun became absorbed in contemplation.

If he chose not to participate in the battlefield, it would go against his goal of increasing his viewer count as much as possible before LoS opened.

From Lee Dongsu’s explanation, it seemed better to perhaps find another game.

But if he did participate in the battlefield and failed to achieve significant results, it might be better for him not to participate at all.

Hearing about it, it seemed like a short-term large-scale competitive content that involved not only factions but also fierce competition and ranking among individual users.

Given that his streaming concept and greatest asset were his skills, content that ranks individual performance directly was troublesome.

If he was going to do it, he had to be the best.

‘It sounds fierce just at a glance…’

While Sojun was contemplating, Lee Dongsu opened his phone and logged into a chatroom.

『Bandit King』: Is it hard to make it into the top 16 in the battlefield?
『JustOneCoin』: Yes, it’s outrageous. You need strategy, luck, and on top of that, rankers even manipulate match-ups, lol.
『NamgungClanStoreOwner』: It’s tough.
『JustOneCoin』: Why, are you going to do the battlefield too?
『NamgungClanStoreOwner』: Mountain, come to the righteous side, lol.
『JustOneCoin』: lolololol
『Bandit King』: So what should one do to get into the top 16?
『JustOneCoin』: You just have to be really good. Honestly, strategy and stuff don’t matter if you’re that good.
『Bandit King』: I see. Thanks a lot.

Lee Dongsu closed the chatroom and pondered.

‘Was Sojun’s skill at the level that JustOneCoin meant by ‘really good’?’

The answer was.

‘Yes, it was.’

“With your skills, hyung, I think you could do it.”

Someone who even defeated Shin Hayun and demonstrated unbelievable skills!

He had seriously considered making an appeal to a director to scout Sojun if he hadn’t known about the low synchronization rate.

Even though he wasn’t the team owner.

“You never know.”

However, Sojun’s answer was unexpected.

“Unless it’s purely about swordsmanship, I’m not sure, since it’s a game.”

“Uh, really?”

If every game were like a sparring ground, Sojun would never fear losing even once.

However, in most games, there were countless elements that determine the outcome other than pure swordsmanship, and if Sojun were to face people who maximized the use of all elements while he only had shallow knowledge, the gap in swordsmanship skills would be bridged.

Shin Hayun from seven years ago immediately came to mind as an example of that.

‘That’s why it was fun, though.’

Of course, he never lost.

At least, that’s what he thought.

Anyway! The battlefield seemed like it would be quite bothersome.

It might be better to choose a different game instead…

“So, you’re not doing it? It seemed like it would be fun. Last time, the event tournament gave out a prize of 30 million won to the winner, I think.”

… He made up his mind.

He decided to give it a try.

There seemed to be no reason to avoid it.

“Hurry up and finish eating.”

It was definitely not because of the prize money.

* * *

-Soha
-Soha
-Soha
-Is this the unknown room?
-Hi, everyone

As soon as Sojun started streaming, the viewer count quickly surpassed 2,000.

The viewer count kept climbing, and despite the black screen, numerous messages kept flowing in.

‘They said the effect of the sparring ground would last until today.’

After waiting briefly, Sojun turned on the screen and greeted the audience.

“Hello, everyone.”

-Hi2
-Soha
-Soha
-??? Something seems different?
-Is this real life?
-It seems like it.
-Besides, the streamer is sitting on a chair now.
-Could it be a PC game???

People quickly caught on.

“Yes, that’s right. This is my room.”

Sojun slightly moved the chair to the side, allowing the computer’s camera to capture the back.

Only a bed was visible on the computer camera facing the front, though.

Sojun moved his chair back in front of the screen and spoke.

“Today, I’m planning to start here. I’ll begin ‘For Justice’ in a bit.

– Is this communication? Love it
– Can’t resist that chat
– Let’s play a PC game!

『’Therefore’ donated 5,000 won!』
『What do you do in real life?』

– LOL, leaving the lobby alone
– Of course, it’s PC games
– Get rid of the PC-crazies! Manager!

“Thank you for the donation, ‘Therefore’-nim. You’ve asked a great question.”

Sojun paused briefly and adjusted the streaming screen. The camera footage that filled the screen shrank to the bottom right corner, and the computer screen appeared on the stream.

“Here it is, a roulette.”

The screen displayed a commonly seen roulette site that pops up when searching on a browser.

– ???
– What’s he doing?
– The streamer isn’t usually like this…
– Gasp! Gambling addiction?
– Is he determining factions?

Sojun read the chat and chuckled.

“No, I’m not addicted to gambling. And I’m not determining factions. The faction is already set.

– ???
– Oppa is always like this. We’re breaking up!
– I still haven’t forgotten the disaster when you skipped Christina’s quest. No matter how often you do what you please, I can’t guarantee the outcome.
– Is that really worth calling a disaster? LOL
– Reflect viewer opinions! Reflect them!
– Why do you decide the factions on your own?

Sojun read through the chat and smiled contentedly. Luckily, the viewers played along well. It paid off to always do things his way.

“Anyway, I’m thinking of participating in the battlefield.

– So?
– Is there any streamer for ‘For Justice’ who doesn’t join the battlefield? LOL
– Isn’t this something everyone knew already?

Unfortunately, it was not something Sojun had originally planned. However, since returning home, he had collected information about the battlefield.

The more Sojun learned, the more he thought it sounded like an exciting event. It seemed fun. Even without a prize, he would probably want to participate.

‘It would be great if it works out, but if not, it’s okay.’ Suddenly, the prize money wasn’t his priority anymore.

“It’s not just that. I’m thinking of setting a challenge for the battlefield. Wouldn’t that be fun?”

With this announcement, Sojun planned to add another layer of excitement to his stream.

– A challenge?
– All of a sudden?
– Yeah, sounds fun though
– What’s the content?

“I’m planning to decide that together with all of you now.”

There were many potential challenges to consider. They could be related to the rank of the factions or based on individual contribution rankings. They might involve capturing a specific region or causing another faction to retreat. It was diverse.

– Hm, what would be good?
– He’s leaving it up to us? LOL
– So the roulette is to decide on the challenge?

“The roulette is for determining the punishment if the challenge fails.”

Naturally, one couldn’t leave out the punishment in a challenge. Yet, even before the challenge was decided, suggestions began pouring in.

– Punishment? LOL you’re in trouble
– Hearing ‘punishment’ makes my mouth water LOL
– How about speaking in cat language for a month?
– Let’s try the bald experience LOL
– Dressing up as a girl and going to a club to record reactions
– How about dancing in a magical girl outfit in front of the university gate where the streamer goes?

In the countless brutal battlefields of past lives, even Sojun’s eyes twitched for a moment.

Maybe he shouldn’t do it.

He felt he had underestimated the viewers too much.