A Swordsman’s Stream

Chapter 51

“It might be a waste to label even a Third Rate with such a lousy technique, but considering your basics… you are a Second Rate!”

The voice boomed across the dueling platform, echoing around the area.

The onlookers clicked their tongues and began adding their two cents.

“Look at that brat.”

“The Demonic Cult even has weird NPCs.”

“But another Second Rate appeared again.”

“Isn’t that nickname from a ranker?”

“That was the same for the one who got Third Rate earlier… ahem.”

“Hey, hey. We can hear you.”

Third Elder pretended to analyze the streamer’s video intently while sitting quietly.

It was embarrassing.

However, avoiding it did not mean he could block the conversations happening just behind him.

And if it reached his ears, it meant the viewers of his stream could hear it too.

-Lol, mostly low levels.
-Among them, a guy who got a Third Rate. LOL.
-Just wait, I’m on my way!

*Sigh.*

‘I should retake the test as soon as possible.’

But being hastily judged as a Third Rate again would be a disaster, so he prepared more carefully.

The user just rated as a Second Rate left the dueling platform.

His clothes were worn, he had a gourd-like item hanging from his waist, and a stick slung over his shoulder.

Truly.

“Wow. He’s like a complete beggar.”

“Hey, we can hear you, you idiot.”

Voices rang out from behind again.

Third Elder wanted to nod vigorously in agreement.

Where did the sword he demonstrated his swordplay with go, and when did it switch to a stick?

Moreover, the nickname he chose seemed fitting for such a ragged look.

『JustOneCoin』

“Ah, don’t come this way.”

He didn’t smell, but people inherently avoided moving closer.

“Wow, that’s really hurtful.”

“Then you shouldn’t have chosen such a concept.”

Despite being handsome, how did he end up on this path?

“You have no room to talk, choosing the Demonic Cult. Does it make sense for a middle schooler to have an adult avatar? Huh? I was shocked when I first met you in real life.”

“I’d prefer to avoid real-life topics…”

As Third Elder showed reluctance, JustOneCoin shrugged and sat beside him.

They were seated in the spectator area with a clear view of the dueling platform.

A stranger climbed onto the dueling platform.

“Sigh, alright. But to think I got a Second Rate! That’s unbelievable!”

“It’s believable.”

“Why? Oh right, you got Third Rate, didn’t you? Haha.”

JustOneCoin laughed heartily at him.

With decent clothes, he’d look like a nobleman, but now he was just a beggar, a flower beggar by face alone, which made it somehow worse.

-It’s unique.
-Isn’t he giving up his Peak title? LOL
-I’m almost there!

While JustOneCoin erupted in laughter again next to him, Third Elder narrowed his eyes.

“No, I meant if you take it right away, you could get a lower rating…”

*Ugh.*

Third Elder sighed and turned his attention back to the screen before him.

Already, participants had started uploading analyses of each movement.

“You’re right, though. Doing it right away means you could mess up.”

“Exactly! That’s what I was trying to say.”

“But Third Rate is a bit… Oh, gosh.”

“Haven’t you just come back with Second Rate? It’s just one step higher!”

“Yep, that’s precisely the barrier between pros and amateurs.”

“What are you talking about, Second Rate?”

“And you’re a Third Rate.”

“Damn it!”

“And I achieved Transcendent while you haven’t.”

“Demonic Cult doesn’t have the techniques, you all just go with what you learned in-game!”

Instead of answering, JustOneCoin just laughed off his comment.

The only one frustrated was Third Elder, who had received a lower rating for real.

He resignedly shook his head.

“Enough already.”

*Thud.*

Someone placed a hand on his shoulder.

“What do you mean by enough?”

“Oh, Namgung-hyung, you’re here.”

It was NamgungClanStoreOwner, another skilled and veteran person with a Transcendent title.

They were simply called StoreOwner or Namgung-hyung for ease.

The origin of these names traced back to a bet with a friend over nicknames. Namgung Family NPC resembled him, so they decided on this name.

As he climbed up the ranks and became famous with this nickname, he couldn’t change it.

“Hey, that beggar hyung keeps teasing me about being Third Rate.”

“Really? Whether it’s Third Rate or Second Rate.”

He looked at JustOneCoin with a pitiful expression.

“Right?”

“That’s right.”

“Ha, as expected, you know your stuff.”

“That’s also correct.”

JustOneCoin, observing their exchange quietly, suddenly exclaimed with disbelief.

“Hey StoreOwner! Go take the test already. Let’s see what it says.”

“No.”

“Why?”

NamgungClanStoreOwner responded as if it were obvious.

“Is there any reason to look at it now?”

“Well…”

“You need to be more thoroughly prepared if you want even a small chance to be recognized as a Grandmaster or whatever. What’s important about being Third or Second Rate now?”

“True.”

“Acknowledged.”

“Alright then, let’s analyze.”

– Gathering of the Veterans
– Is there anyone else worth mentioning?

The reaction from the few viewers was positive.

That was natural because the three gathered there were among the top 100 rankers.

The community veterans might have had better information and game skills compared to regular users but were not quite on par with the top 100 rankers.

However, they kept challenging but couldn’t surpass the Peak.

Two hours passed, and JustOneCoin, returning from the fighting stage, sat on the stone seat and spoke.

“Right, it’s only been a day.”

“True. They say it takes newbies about a month to precisely follow the basic technique pattern. We’ve only been at it for a day.”

– Disgraceful
– StoreOwner, what martial technique do you think you can handle? Haha
– Weren’t you guys like the Avengers?

They began exploring different aspects.

Imitating the movements exactly could potentially get them to the Peak. This meant there was no issue with the moves themselves.

But that was all.

JustOneCoin suggested, “Let’s organize our thoughts. Originally, with the basic technique pattern, wasn’t it that getting to Transcendent like now didn’t happen?”

“If you just follow it, well… I’ve never seen a report of receiving Transcendent just like that. Isn’t that why the Heavenly Demon altered their moves?”

“The nickname Heavenly Demon is a bit much, though…”

“Stay quiet, Third Rate, while the hyungs are talking.”

“Understood.”

“Anyway. Why did the basic technique pattern spread in the first place?”

“Because out of the ones that spread, it had the lowest difficulty level for achieving Peak. Moves are crucial up to Peak, but for Transcendent, simply following them is too difficult.”

“Right. Even if I try that Transcendent move again now, I doubt I could achieve it again.”

“Me neither.”

The Third Elder, who had been silent, asked, “Hyungs, what’s that supposed to mean?”

“What do you mean? Transcendent isn’t just about the moves.”

“Then where is it?”

“Perfection.”

JustOneCoin explained with one word, and StoreOwner nodded in agreement.

“When executing those moves, I felt perfection in the sword. Although I’m not an expert in Martial Techniques, I was certain I couldn’t replicate that perfection, try as I might. And I knew instinctively while executing that I would receive Transcendent.”

“Same here. Even though it’s a game, I don’t know why, but I felt like I was amazing. Watching other Transcendent certification videos gives off a similar vibe.”

Understood.

Frankly, the Third Elder didn’t understand their explanation completely because he had never genuinely challenged the Transcendent using the excuse of the Demonic Cult.

“Then what did you hyungs feel about this video?”

At his words, those who were conversing on either side of him looked forward together.

They must have been watching the video.

As the silence stretched, StoreOwner eventually broke the concentration and spoke.

“I can’t feel anything.”

A bit later, JustOneCoin also mentioned, “Right. That’s the problem. I don’t know anything either.”

-ㄷ
– You guys are our hope! Keep it up!
– OneConin-hyung is our hope for sure.

JustOneCoin was famous in No Justice for writing informative posts.

The reason he chose the Beggars Sect was that it was an organization that dealt with information.

Although he felt being a beggar was a bit comfortable along the way.

“What could it truly be?”

JustOneCoin mumbled to himself.

“Guess there’s some unique in-game trigger, right, beggar?”

“Demonic Cult specific quest?”

“Yeah.”

“If it were something like that, it would have been revealed long ago, being a streamer and all.”

And JustOneCoin thought he didn’t seem like one to hide such things.

“That’s true.”

“So, you’re saying he really did it with his skills?”

StoreOwner’s eyes widened.

“It’s not something that could happen by chance.”

JustOneCoin replied calmly.

– What’s happening
– Is he really that skilled?
– So, the Grandmaster is real then?
– What’s the chance it’s fake?

“Well, unless there are others like the Grandmaster showing up, we can’t be certain. I’ve given up. Even Transcendent is tough.”

JustOneCoin read the chat and expressed his thoughts. StoreOwner then declared his own resignation.

“I can’t do it either. Come to think of it, isn’t it the skill that defeated Shin Hayun at the sparring ground in the first place?”

“Plus, he also defeated the Baekho that Namgoong-hyung lost to.”

“Hey! Don’t bring that up!”

“Or maybe he’s actually the Heavenly Demon.”

“No way, he’s not the Heavenly Demon!”

– So what’s the conclusion?
– They’re just talking among themselves
– Connections are everything in this game, lol
– Even if the game is static, it’s too stagnant
– The person who defeated Shin Hayun? Wow, then the Grandmaster is legitimate

JustOneCoin stood up while reading the streaming chat and said, “If the Grandmaster is genuinely a pure rank above Transcendent without any conditions, doesn’t that make Sojun-nim, who modified the Basic Martial Techniques and achieved it in one go, the best at ‘For Justice’? That’s it, I’m done.”

JustOneCoin, having heard about Sojun before and not being one to boast, acknowledged Sojun. However, the veterans of the community couldn’t accept this.

– Wow.
– I can’t accept that statement
– Who says he’s the best?

JustOneCoin scoffed at those viewers.

“Who says? Well, Baek Wigang says so.”

Soon, StoreOwner got up and said, “That’s right.”

“Let’s go to bed. We’re done here!”

“Yep! I’ll turn off the stream.”

“Okay.”

In the end, they couldn’t determine the truth, but it couldn’t be helped. If one wants to know, they should ask the creator.

And their remarks were all relayed to No Justice in detail, causing a significant stir.

『Ranker failed within two hours』
『Is the Grandmaster real?』
『Master of Beggar Sect ‘JustOneCoin’ declares, “The Heavenly Demon is the greatest in ‘For Justice’.”』
『What exactly differentiates the Demonic Cult’s spirit and the Heavenly Demon’s sword?!
The Orthodox Faction trembles in fear, while the Unorthodox Faction grits their teeth in envy!』

The initial post was dismissed as humor or falsehood and quickly faded, except for a few people. However, JustOneCoin was well-known in No Justice, and because of a clip containing his statement, interest in the Grandmaster and Sojun increased.

Overnight, many more people tried to become the Grandmaster, but not a single person succeeded.

『Suspicions of cheating are slowly arising』
『There are enough reasons to suspect cheating. The moment of receiving the Grandmaster wasn’t the first stream of ‘For Justice’.』
『Figured it out the moment the nickname was Heavenly Demon.』
『They’re driving assumptions without proof, just like the ‘Orthodox Faction’, absurdly cowardly』
『It’s more disgusting how the Demonic Cult folks cover it by calling it Heavenly Demon.』
『Framing this as Demonic Cult vs. Orthodox Faction!』
『So what’s right?』

No one could provide a definitive answer in this confusing situation. Even amidst this, there were those who claimed certainty.

『It’s clear that some trickery was used!』

Having achieved the Transcendent title himself, he knew that this isn’t something that can be done just by watching a video once and doing it easily.

Martial techniques aren’t meals, after all.

Claiming a newbie achieved something countless seasoned rankers couldn’t is absurd.

– I believe this too, lol
– The writing style of the post author is absurd
– Turned off streaming and got a hidden quest luck? Wow
– Nope, just because you can’t do it doesn’t mean everyone’s a scammer.
└ It’s not just me, nobody can. Isn’t this reasonable suspicion? (Post author)
– It’s just that you don’t know. It was the same in ‘Assassin’s Dawn’.
└ For PVE games, leave No Justice. (Post author)
– He defeated Shin Hayun at the sparring ground; at the very least, he’s better than you.
└ I acknowledge the sparring ground. But Martial Techniques are different. I’ll personally meet him and prove it (Post author)
└ Who are you to talk?
└ I’m the former 13th place in the battlefield (Post author)
└ Wow! Looking forward to proper teaching.