A Swordsman’s Stream

Chapter 44

The battlefield was famous content.

It was the most popular mode in ‘For Justice’, a highly recognized title, and each season brought its share of noteworthy tales.

Choosing one of three factions and competing against users of the opposing factions, conquering and losing land in a three-way battle, could never be boring.

“So, what should we choose?”

-Let’s set the pledge first, guys.

Sojun read through the increasingly bizarre penalties with a bewildered expression.

“I mean, the goal of the battlefield.”

– Let’s start with penalties, haha.
– Exactly.
– So, which faction did you choose?

“Ah, I plan to go with Demonic Cult.”

Orthodox Faction, Unorthodox Faction, and Demonic Cult. Among these three, Demonic Cult was considered the weakest.

It had never won on the battlefield even once.

The reason was its poor performance.

Due to the lack of performance, there were fewer skilled players compared to other factions, leading to frequent losses on the battlefield, and thus new users didn’t join. It was a faction trapped in a vicious cycle.

– Don’t cross that bridge.
– Of all things, Demonic Cult, haha.
– Since you have that nickname, it’s understandable.

“That’s right. Because I have my nickname.”

If one considered contribution, going with Orthodox Faction would be the best choice.

This was because Orthodox Faction had the most battlefield victories so far and was the faction most likely to win this season as well.

Users of the winning faction received additional contribution points.

Orthodox Faction was already popular due to its characteristics and good performance, and with its winning history growing, users were naturally drawn to it.

It was a faction in a positive cycle, the opposite of Demonic Cult.

Of course, this didn’t mean Sojun completely gave up on the prize money by choosing Demonic Cult.

“And I don’t particularly think Orthodox Faction or Unorthodox Faction are better than Demonic Cult anyway.”

– Then make victory your pledge, haha.
– Oh, Demonic Cult winning, haha.
– Who taught you ‘For Justice’? Demonic Cult is trash. Repeat after me.

“Demonic Cult winning? Sounds good. Simple.”

It seemed the first pledge was decided.

Sojun was considering setting one goal for the faction and one for himself.

– It’s practically a declaration of doing a penalty, haha.
– See how he jumps into it, haha.
– Oh my, it must be Heavenly Demon.
– I’ll bet all my points that the streamer doesn’t know what the battlefield is.
– The streamer never knew about the game!

The viewers were understandably incredulous.

The faction’s ranking couldn’t be changed by an individual’s power alone.

No matter how remarkable Sojun had been in the Assassin’s Dawn, the viewers knew that an individual couldn’t defeat a collective.

Sojun was no different.

“Yes, I know it’s tough for the Demonic Cult to win. So I’m thinking of adding another pledge. If even one of the pledges succeeds, there will be no penalty. How does that sound?”

– Okay.
– Honestly, Demonic Cult winning is too much.
– Let’s assume it doesn’t count.

They agreed more easily than expected.

Demonic Cult.

Was its image really that bad?

Viewers offered various opinions while chatting with Sojun.

Entering the top 16 in overall contribution ranking was the first suggestion, along with
others like:

Achieving 1st place in contribution within Demonic Cult.

Not failing a single attack or defense.

Accumulating the highest fame points earned from playing the game.

And so on.

Many suggestions came up.

Sojun compiled them and held a viewer vote.

Each suggestion was very difficult.

Most had high expectations for Sojun because they had watched the Assassin’s Dawn.

Yet Sojun accepted their suggestions because he was confident.

“Oh, most of you voted for being in the top 16. Now, let’s decide on the penalty.”

The pledge was set to aim for a top 16 rank in contribution.

It aligned perfectly with the goal of the prize money.

It seemed attainable.

– Finally.
– Taking a dip in the sea in mid-winter.
– Rage-quit stream all-in.
– Harvesting 5,000 razor clams from the mudflat all-in.
– Showing a Christina nuna cutscene.
– Isn’t a cutscene more of a reward than a penalty? Haha.

There were strange suggestions, but various penalties were proposed.

Sojun noted these one by one on the roulette.

“The magical girl had no choice but to be included.”

This was because the person who mentioned the penalty had donated 100,000 won.

“I’ll add drinking saltwater instead of regular water for a year. But it will be only for a week. Enough with the flooding.”

Various strange things were suggested, and Sojun adjusted those penalties to a reasonable level, filling in the slots.

“Why am I so nonchalant? I don’t care what I become.”

He intended to do it properly.

This was something he had worried about because he did not know much about the battlefield.

– His confidence is insane
– Please, magical girl. Please, magical girl. Please, magical girl. Please, magical girl. Please, magical girl.
– I want to see him cross-dress and go clubbing.
– Evil guys, LOL. Just leave this place.

Honestly, If he failed at something like this, he might need to quit streaming.

No matter how young he was, even in previous lives, he was never old, but he remembered a life where he was sometimes called “elder.”

Sojun shook his head while moving the mouse.

“Let’s begin.”

*Rrring, rrring.*

The roulette was spinning.

Because it contained everything that caught his eyes, the slots on the roulette wheel were quite small.

Cold sweat trickled down his back.

All because of the magical girl.

The roulette began to slow and eventually stopped.

– Ah, damn…
– Rigged
– That’s not fair
– Rigged
– Giving the streamer a game challenge is too easy LOL
– Rigged

“Ah-ha.”

Sojun displayed a genuine expression of disappointment.

With a mischievous smile.

“If I fail, I’ll go for a rage quit challenge.”

Rage Quit was an incredibly difficult indie game.

The name itself was an English expression for quitting out of rage.

However, everyone knew that it hardly counted as a penalty for him.

“Alright, I’ll get into the capsule right away.”

– That smug look is annoying LOL
– Someone teach him a lesson

『’Cheat Dice’ has registered a mission!』
『Spin the roulette one more time and add another penalty — Mission reward: 300,000 won』

As he was about to clean up his computer screen, Sojun’s hand froze.

The nickname displayed through the settings was Cheat Dice.

It was a big shot viewer who donated in increments of 100,000 won whenever they started donating.

“Hmm.”

Succeeding at the mission by spinning the roulette one more time? He couldn’t resist that.

However, instantly accepting would be unwise.

“You guys, if I spin this again and get cross-dressing, I’d have to consider quitting streaming and disappearing, so why take the risk? I’m not doing it.”

– LOL, is it that bad?
– Dude, go for it and be a clown streamer!
– Are you seriously not doing it?
– There are so many cool penalties in there…

That wasn’t it.

If he were to take on this risk, there should be a reward that equaled it.

Reading Sojun’s thoughts, an alert arose that perfectly fit the current situation.

『’IfYouCan’tSolveItWithMoney’ has added a prize of 100,000 won!』
『’ConsiderIfTheAmountIsTheProblem’ has added another 100,000 won!』

– LOL, legendary unity
– Are they trying to insult me?
– Are you trying to buy me with money?

“Oh, boy. This really isn’t it.”

While saying this, he moved the mouse cursor towards the roulette.

The chat window began to laugh, seeing the contrast between Sojun’s words and actions.

– Too much money to scold him!
– Don’t succumb to capitalism, comrade!
– Have you no pride?

Although there were many comments teasing him, Sojun eventually spun the roulette.

*Exciting music played.*

When it stopped after some time, Sojun’s expression changed as if he had tasted something bitter.

Pressing his brow and then releasing it, he opened his mouth.

“… You know it’s fine if I succeed, right?”

Yes.

As long as he succeeded, it was fine.

– Of course. I know it well, hahahaha.
– Hahahahahahahaha.
– Clenching my teeth… Isn’t it that grimace?
– Really clenching.
– Magical girl, hahahaha.
– How could it be the magical girl? Hahahahaha.
– The karma of capitalism.

The roulette had the misfortune of stopping at the one section that should have been avoided.

『Dance in a magical girl outfit at the front gate of the university the streamer attends』

‘Damn. This is why you should never chase after money.’ Although he had planned to do it right from the beginning, from now on, he truly needed to give it his all.

* * *

Sojun entered the capsule and immediately launched ‘For Justice.’ Beyond the village stood bamboo shoots towering like a forest, and pandas rolled lazily along the streets.

『You have reached Level 5. From now on, you are free to choose a Martial Techniques faction to join.』

A notice appeared before him to select a Martial Techniques faction. Sojun tapped the confirm button, clearing the window, and walked towards the center where the streets converged. He intended to find a path leading to the Demonic Cult.

“Since it’s the Demonic Cult, let’s give up on the first-place strategy, to begin with.”

– Are you seriously choosing the Demonic Cult after you got such a penalty? Why not the orthodox faction? Hahaha.
– Hahahahaha.
– Ah, well.

Sojun left the excited viewers behind.

In ‘For Justice’, players could choose from a total of seven detailed Martial Techniques factions.

For the orthodox faction, there were the Mount Hua Sect, the Namgung Family, and the Beggar Sect.

For the unorthodox faction, there were the Green Forest Sect, the Tang Clan, and the Assassin Sect.

The Demonic Cult had no further sub-factions.

However, its unique builds were more diverse than those of other factions.

Jokes like, “The reason the Demonic Cult is inferior is that no one has found the optimal build yet!” once circulated, but considering the expertise of hardcore players, if they hadn’t found the optimal build, it simply meant it was inferior.

“Honestly, I did consider the Mount Hua Sect, but there seems to be no connection there.”

Sojun clicked his tongue and quickened his pace. “So, guys, if you choose the orthodox or unorthodox factions, can you freely change between the sub-factions?”

-You can’t freely change, haha.
-But changing within the faction means there’s no penalty on the battlefield.
-The difficulty of the test goes up when changing sects from when you first enter, so you have to choose wisely.

“Oh, do we have to take a test to join?”

– Yes.
– And getting a high grade in the Demonic Cult is the hardest, haha.
– Even in a game, we have to take tests?! That’s filthy!

“Ha, I will study all of this from now on.”

With Sojun’s announcement of studying, viewers were quick to tease him again. Nevertheless, Sojun decided to play the game efficiently, ignoring whatever fancy viewers might conjure.

He arrived at the center, the large building where the territorial battle had begun. Next to the entrance of the building was a large map. Approaching it and clicking, a holographic map unfolded before Sojun.

“It looks like I have to go outside of the village.”

The Martial Techniques factions in ‘For Justice’ were geographically divided into two categories. They were either located within the village or outside of it.

Sects like the Namgung Family, the Tang Clan, and the Assassin Sect had their bases within the village. Meanwhile, the Mount Hua Sect, Green Forest Sect, and the Demonic Cult were located in the mountains to the east, west, and north respectively, based on the initial starting location.

“The Demonic Cult is to the north.”

The Mount Hua Sect was to the east, and the Green Forest Sect was to the west. “I just have to follow the road straight up.”

Outside the village, the entrance to the mountain emerged. Sojun ascended the stairs leading to the Demonic Cult at the mountain’s crest.

“So, what is the entrance test for the Demonic Cult? And what’s the reward?”

– You just have to demonstrate a Martial Techniques form to an NPC, haha. Just make one up yourself.
– Maybe because the Demonic Cult’s concept is about creating builds?
– Getting a high grade at the start is huge, but surely you won’t look up guides in the community, right?
-Haha, if you don’t want to become a magical girl, you’ll have to search for all the guides now.
– Yeah, it’s like a fire on your feet.

It seemed there was a reward, and quite a significant one at that. That meant he had to do well.

“Ha, why would I follow a guide?”

There was no need to worry. Martial arts form? Whatever it might be, achieving the highest rank was as good as done.