A Swordsman’s Stream

Chapter 49

“Try to survive without dying? If I die, he resets immediately, is that it?”

“That’s right. But, the time limit will definitely be short. He did say he had chosen attributes that boost the power of the Absorption Technique.”

“But even if it’s short… How do we endure it? The damage is massive, and his stamina seems endless.”

“You, try to do something about it. You’re a tank, after all.”

The fortress of the Orthodox Faction.

The group was seriously discussing a plan to deal with the Heavenly Demon14.

The user named “Sky Sword” who had chosen the Namgung family seemed half-defeated, but the other team members were trying to find a way to defeat the Heavenly Demon14 using the information that Sky Sword had provided.

“I’m not just a tank; I’m a damage tank, you punks. I’ve maxed out the Dog-Beating Stick Technique.”

“Oh, you useless fool, look at yourself.”

“Don’t keep calling me a fool.”

“Why? Does being called a fool hurt your feelings?”

“Urgh.”

“Stop smiling.”

The user “The Road”, who chose the Beggar Sect, glared at the two Mount Hua Sect users who had smirks on their faces.

This is the problem when you choose the Beggar Sect.

Everyone treats you like a beggar.

The perception was indeed second from the bottom, right after the Demonic Cult!

‘They are actually beggars, but…’

It didn’t feel good.

“In any case, you should just choose the Eight Drunken Immortals Technique and endure while drinking.”

“Anyway, try holding up a bit. You’re the only one who can tank.”

“Alright, fine. Just don’t die on me.”

They pledged resolutely.

And yet, their determination crumbled in less than a minute into the fight.

The unique dark crimson energy of the Demonic Cult softly painted through the air.

It dominated the space, making it impossible to escape.

“Ah, if I take one more hit, I’m dead. I’m retreating for a while!”

As “The Road” retreated, the users from the Mount Hua Sect, now exposed to Sojun’s attacks, shouted.

“If you survive, we’ll die!”

“Oh, this is crap! The sword is swinging all over! Isn’t this a skill?”

“What? Crap? That’s discrimination against us.”

“I mean this situation is crap, you beggar!”

-LOL so much for discriminating against the Beggar Sect LOL
-This is hilarious LOL
-Those Mount Hua people are so spoiled, being donated to even when they’re doing nothing. Try begging, maybe you’ll understand the struggles of a beggar.
-The chat reeks of beggar smell, streamer! Manager!

Beggar smell?

No such thing.

To think that the Beggar Sect would smell is a misconception.

Actually, there’s only a pleasant smell.

The reason is simple.

‘Smell doesn’t evoke sympathy but rather primal disgust.’

So at the very least, they wouldn’t emit an unpleasant smell.

Instead.

They worked on their appearance.

A beggar-like appearance evokes sympathy.

With centuries of knowledge about begging, how could they emit a smell?

‘Smart guys.’

The Beggar Sect were amusing and entertaining vagabonds.

“Alright, there’s some connection. I’ll start with you beggars.”

The time for a berserk state was near.

Not long after the battle had begun, a warning icon appeared.

‘Indeed, it’s quick.’

-What connection, streamer? Are you experiencing memories of a past life?
-I told you, in my past life, I was the Heavenly Demon.
-But… If there’s a connection, isn’t it normal to let them live?
-Must be a strong negative relationship~

“Where are you going!”

The tip of a sword from the Mount Hua Sect scattered red energy everywhere as it swirled.

The First Technique – Plum Blossom by the Road.

Sojun checked his resources and leaped backward.

He didn’t have enough inner ki to counter the opponent’s Martial Techniques as before.

No matter how much the Absorption Technique had been empowered and adjusted with exceptional instinct, resources weren’t infinite.

“Now’s the time.”

From a distance, the sword from the user of the Namgung Family shone blue.

It had been observing from afar to avoid losing stamina and inner ki to Sojun.

Sojun twisted his body mid-air and blocked the swift sword that came flying like a sudden storm.

*Chaeeeeng!*

-Can he really block that in that condition?
-The berserk state should activate any moment now.
-Here’s to hoping for the first death!!!
-Why do you all hope for your streamer to die?

The users from the Mount Hua Sect whose Martial Techniques Sojun hadn’t yet dismantled attempted to connect their techniques.

The fourth technique, Plum Blossom Blooms to Success.

Plum blossoms bloomed sharply leading the way.

The sharper red energy aimed to mercilessly slash into Sojun.

The frightening aspect of the Twenty-Four Plum Blossom Sword Technique was its sequences.

From the first technique to the fourth, then advancing to the more profound seventh.

“Now, just die already, please!”

As Sojun didn’t counter the sequences this time, the emboldened enemies connected the next technique.

The seventh technique, Plum Blossom Disorder.

The plum blossoms disordered and scattered.

With the current level being 6, the maximum sequence was three, and as the strongest Martial Techniques were unleashed without any hindrance, the users from the Mount Hua Sect were confident of their victory.

Despite having been severely attacked up until now.

“Did we get him?”

They uttered the ultimate forbidden words.

As the red energy filling the space vanished, what was in front of them was…

Just emptiness.

“This time, that was a bit dangerous.”

As Sojun’s voice sounded from behind them, they widened their eyes in shock and turned around.

He smiled at them and gestured with his eyes to his left foot.

At that spot was the cold body of a beggar waiting for resurrection or revival.

『The Road eliminated』
『Enemy Fortress Health –20』

“Tut. I shouldn’t have targeted the beggar first.”

“I told you not to keep calling me a beggar!”

When did you ever say that?

Though the ground, now littered with corpses, seemed to respond to Sojun’s words, he casually ignored it and moved forward.

Now, he had to deal with the rest.

His health was down to a third.

Even that was replenished after defeating the enemy on the ground.

“By the way, orthodox factions still feel like a scam.”

-It was risky this time
-He would have died if he was a second late
-Even Streamer-nim almost died; that build is truly trashy

“Oh dear. Trashy, you say? It was only risky because I chose to go after the beggar on purpose. Otherwise, I mean…”

Sojun’s voice trailed off as he turned his head slowly while glancing at the chat window on the left.

The enemies, even though they were part of the game, felt a mysterious chill when meeting Sojun’s gaze.

Jeon Jaehoon, a chatty player from the Mount Hua Sect, gulped and asked Sojun, “Exactly… when?”

“What are you speaking of?”

“Why’s your way of speaking so inconsistent? Damn it. I mean, when did you go to the beggar… you?”

Overwhelmed by Sojun, Jeon Jaehoon naturally began speaking respectfully.

-Inconsistent way of speaking, haha
-Just by appearance, he’s clearly a dude in his 30s while Streamer-nim is in the early 20s; hilarious, haha
-Jaehoon…

Sojun let out a light laugh and told the truth, “It was when you were executing the Fourth Technique.”

“The Fourth Technique? Why then… you?”

“That is for you to ponder. It’s your task to solve it from now on.”

In truth, it was simply because there wasn’t enough time.

He had even absorbed attacks directly to make it there.

It was purely due to time constraints.

-Oh, the wisdom of a master!
-When they win and say things like that, it seems profound
-Really, haha

“Oh, there really is something in the Fourth Technique…”

Before Jeon Jaehoon could finish, Sojun resumed his attack, restarting the battle.

“And here’s a second teaching. Never let your guard down, no matter the situation.”

This truly was a valuable lesson.

In his past life, it was staying alert that constantly saved him.

The outcome of the remaining battle was predictable.

『Defeated Parting by Farewell』
『Enemy Fortress Health –20』
『Defeated Sky Sword』
『Enemy Fortress Health –20』
『Defeated Jeon Jaehoon』
『Enemy Fortress Health –20』

And then, Sojun, looking down at the adversaries who had become corpses, spoke to his united group, “Here’s the third teaching. Cherish the opportunity to be taught by a master.”

This statement held one implication.

Don’t give up on the game but continue sacrificing yourselves.

– Damn it, once this round ends, I’m definitely joining the Demonic Cult.
– Should I switch too?
– Seriously. Want to go together after?
– Sure, send a friend request.

Jeon Jaehoon and Sky Sword became friends.

Sojun had inadvertently recruited two orthodox warriors and returned to his base to watch the soldiers fight, waiting for the enemies to come.

『Heavenly Demon-nim, do we really not have to do anything?』
『Correct』
『Even me?』
『Yes』
『I’ve only been dying to the enemies. I haven’t defeated even one.』
『I did manage to take down at least one, lol』
『Same, lol』

Responding to his bored teammates.

* * *

The game ended.

Total Kill Score:

19 vs. 3

Fortress Health:

『Blue: 0』 vs.

『Red: 934』

Then appeared Sojun’s report card for this round.

『Friendly Soldier Revived 0 Times』
『Held Base 1 Time』
『Enemy Soldier Defeated 0 Times』
『Enemy Warrior Defeated 19 Times』
.
.
.

While minor details were tallied, the most critical factors were holding the base and defeating enemy warriors.

This report card was significant because it related to the bait Sojun cast earlier, urging the enemies not to give up on the game.

-Will the reputation be high?
-It can’t possibly be low

“How much will it be?”

He was referring to reputation points.

In the battlefield, if a player won a game, they earned reputation points; if they lost, they would lose them. The system automatically calculated and awarded players’ performance in assigning these points. These reputation points were just as crucial as the points gained from the battlefield.

『Acquired Reputation Points: + 150』

Sojun couldn’t help but let out an exclamation.

“Oh.”

A much higher number than Sojun expected appeared on the screen. Assuming that the best player would typically receive around 50 reputation points for standard gameplay, the system determined that Sojun performed three times that well.

– Why is it so high?
– Honestly, taking on 4-to-1 like that, it’s no surprise it’s high, lol.
– The power of overwhelming strength!
– It’s really high even considering that, lol.

When one’s reputation points were high, the points that could be obtained from winning games on the battlefield increased. The more one played, performed well, and strategized effectively on the battlefield, the more contributions one could make.

– Do you think 16th place is possible?
– No.
– It would be tough to perform like this every match.
– As time goes by and reputation points accumulate, you’ll meet opponents with equally high points. With that build, it probably won’t work.
– There are just too many variables to gauge only by reputation points.

The comments from those knowledgeable about the field were dismissive. Understandably so, as even he couldn’t be certain of his success.

However, Sojun’s typically playful eyes changed for the first time. The rankings were calculated by contributions derived from the combination of reputation points, attack and defense points, and faction bonuses. Aiming for 16th place required a serious approach.

“Alright. Let’s move on to the next match. Anyway, with my build, there’s no need to retreat to our base for health recovery, so from now on, I’ll wait at the enemy fortress entrance.”

– This guy’s insane, lol.
– He declared he will be both toxic and overwhelming, omg.
– Let’s see how long he can keep it up, lol.

* * *

“Phew, today was exhausting.”

– An insane chant! Resounding with demonic tones!
– There are fanatics filling the chat, lol.
– Can someone translate that chant?
– It’s no different from those spamming meaningless words, lol.

『19/0/0』

『24/0/1』

『26/0/0』

『15/0/0』

These were Sojun’s KDA records. KDA refers to Kills/Deaths/Assists. This meant that Sojun averaged 21 kills per match. For the record, the 1 assist in the second game was thanks to a teammate who didn’t heed Sojun’s instructions.

– Honestly, I know nothing about other strategies, but Streamer-nim’s build is really the best for dominating weak opponents.
– Being able to wait at the entrance after level 6 is great.
– Streamer-nim waits at the entrance even before reaching level 6.
– The energy absorption technique seems extremely tight, but he manages with no deaths.
– In the last game, the enemies didn’t even come out of their base, lol.
– Hail the great one! Hail the great! Forever the great!
– The ‘great’ is meant for kings, not demons, you fool.

Only four rounds could be played per day on the battlefield. As they still had a long way to go, Sojun decided to end the stream there.

“I’ll end the stream now.”

– Goodbye stream!
– Sojun’s stream.
– I’ll also play ‘For Justice’.
– See you, divine stream!

『Ending the stream』

Hiss. As he exited the capsule, Sojun showered and sat in front of his computer. He wanted to analyze the stream.

“With 6,000 viewers, that’s a lot.”

Though slightly less than yesterday, he wasn’t disappointed.

“The core audience stayed without dropping.”

As for the audience’s response… Sojun simply turned off the computer and lay on his bed.

“There’s probably nothing special to note.”

The game wasn’t a hot topic. Earning a lot of reputation points and dominating the weak weren’t exclusive to him; rankers did the same.

It was a time when beginners and experts overlapped. With time, as reputation points accumulated, skilled players would start gaining attention.

“By the way, the build is…”

The build Sojun used today was incomplete. Having decided the specifics on a whim, it probably needed tweaking.

“Maybe I was too focused.”

He thought this as he closed his eyes, clueless about becoming the center of a completely different discussion.