A Swordsman’s Stream

Chapter 52

The next day.

“Hello, everyone.”

Sojun began streaming at the same time as the previous day.

-Soha
-g2
-Soha
-Soha
-Hello

Sojun, looking at the rapidly scrolling chat window with satisfaction, began to engage in light chatter.

“What did I eat, you ask? Just mixed eggs with soy sauce and rice.”

It was delicious and easy to prepare.

“What about you, folks? Or what are you planning to eat?”

It was almost time to have dinner.

-Jajangmyeon
-Chicken
-Pizza
-Caviar

The replies were quite predictable.

“Wow. You should lay off the delivery food. Oh, and someone mentioned caviar. If that’s real, I want a bite too.”

-LOLOLOL LOL
-Here’s the “Just a bite” guy
-Hey! Why would you buy caviar? With that money, you could get twenty hearty bowls of soup.
-Long time no see, ‘Soup Guy’

“So, it’s soup then. Alright, let’s begin the game now.”

After giving enough time for those who received the streaming notification to join, Sojun hit the start button for the game.

Of course, the game was “For Justice”.

Since Sojun had ended the game near the village center the previous day, no pandas or bamboo appeared this time.

Instead, buildings with an Eastern aesthetic rose up.

“There’s an hour left until the battlefield opens. So let’s head to the Demonic Cult.”

Sojun had several reasons for going to the Demonic Cult.

In the game, you needed to visit the factions to enjoy content like outfits or armaments.

The second reason was to meet No. 1 Swordsman Under Heaven at the Demonic Cult.

Sojun walked out of the village.

He couldn’t use his martial technique indoors.

“Sigh. I could have arrived sooner this way.”

But outside the village, it was possible.

And the mountain of the Demonic Cult was clearly beyond the village.

Using internal art, the journey to the Demonic Cult, which took five minutes the previous day, took less than a minute this time.

“Hello.”

Sojun greeted Swordsman standing in front of the gate.

Swordsman noticed Sojun and waved cheerfully.

“Hello, Sojun-nim.”

“So, Swordsman-nim, did you complete the homework?”

The homework he had given him was to exercise in real life.

“Of course!”

Swordsman responded confidently.

-He did the homework? That’s impressive.
-He actually did it?
-Why so diligent?
-Maybe just saying? Need confirmation.

With the streaming on beside him, Swordsman read the chat and spoke.

“Don’t worry, everyone. Sojun-nim will verify it. Starting tomorrow, we’ll be training together in real life.”

As question marks filled the chat, Sojun started explaining.

“Oh. Coincidentally, Swordsman-nim goes to the same school as I do.”

While strolling through the campus on his way home today, someone had been following him.

There were many people on the streets then, so someone might have dismissed his feeling as being over-sensitive or having a celebrity syndrome.

But Sojun felt it clearly.

And the identity of the follower was revealed when Sojun suddenly turned around.

Thanks to not changing his avatar, he recognized him at a glance.

No. 1 Swordsman Under Heaven.

His real name was Jun Jaehun, and he was three years older than Sojun.

“So, I just asked Swordsman-nim to train together with me,” he said.

-Wow, small world LOLOLOL
-Which university do you attend?
-I’m curious too

“Hmm…”

While Sojun mulled over whether to reveal it or not.

“I attend Korea University. Hehe.”

Swordsman blurted out.

-??????
– Is it true?
– Being good at studying too… It creates a bit of distance.
– He was smart! But honestly, if he’s the streamer, it might make sense, but him being a swordsman is unexpected, hahaha!
– The Streamer’s reckless behavior was actually all part of a grand strategy.
– OMG.
– So, is it really true?
– Yes, well. Why would it be fake?

He had neither the inclination to deny nor to hide it.

Someone recognizing him could easily happen even if his university wasn’t made public.

There was no need to worry about acquaintances spotting him at school.

That’s because he had no acquaintances there.

It made him a bit sad.

“Oh! Am I not supposed to say this?”

“No, it doesn’t matter.”

He wondered whether he should just take a leave of absence.

Anyway, “Since I’m an alum and the neighborhood is close, I decided to personally coach him.”

He told Swordsman to come to the gym every morning.

Thanks to negotiating with the coach, it was free of charge.

There was no such teacher who considered the financial circumstances of his pupil. Truly.

It was definitely not to torment his student under the guise of serious training after a long time.

His intention was to help him regain a sense of his body and improve his health in the process.

“Oh, by the way, Sojun-nim. And everyone. I recorded a video of a three-hour session yesterday. Would you like to see it?”

Did he really make a video?

Sojun replied without a moment’s hesitation.

“No.”

– Hahaha!
– He’s so firm.
– Why won’t he watch it?
– What’s the point of watching a guy work out?
– We have the right to see it too!

Ugh.

What rights?

“I trust Swordsman-nim.”

And even if he didn’t do it yesterday, he could push him harder in the future.

“Now that the homework is done, follow me.”

Sojun entered the Demonic Cult.

Because he had the title of Grandmaster, whenever NPCs saw him, they respectfully bowed their heads and greeted him first.

Leaving them behind, Sojun continued toward the unarmed area of the Demonic Cult.

“Oh? It seems a bit crowded?”

“Indeed.”

In front of the testing ground of the Demonic Cult, Baek Wuigang was there taking a test. When Sojun took his test the day before, there was only one person at most.

But now, it seemed like there were more than ten people.

“What is this?”

– It’s because of you, streamer-nim.
– Why are Orthodox Sect people at the Demonic Cult?

Unlike the testing ground, the adjacent sparring ground was empty.

Sojun withdrew two swords from a corner and asked his viewers.

“Is it because of me?”

Could it be related to being a Grandmaster?

As expected, it was.

“Didn’t you see the community posts?”

“People got interested in the Demonic Cult test after hearing you got the Grandmaster title.”

“There’s speculation that your Grandmaster title is a scam.”

“A scam? How is it a scam?”

Was there anything scammy about it?

Remembering his past life could be considered a scam, in a way.

“Really.”

Swordsman, reading the chat beside him, also seemed confused.

– People say your Grandmaster title is a scam.
– Gasp.
– I think it’s a scam. That skill level is definitely not ordinary, haha.
– They say your skills are fake, hahahaha.
– (link)

“Hmm.”

Sojun did not follow the link.

He thought the contents would be predictable.

The time he used to learn a new move and adapt it for the test after the first demonstration was particularly short.

Though the move was known to be a common technique, which might suggest Sojun had prepared it beforehand, in reality, it had not been long since Sojun started “For Justice.”

Moreover, it was unbelievable for a newbie to achieve a never-before-seen rank.

No matter how many times someone achieved first place at the sparring ground, it was still difficult to believe.

To put it simply, it was not something that made sense.

“But still, everyone believes in me, right?”

『’Oo-nim’ sponsored 10,000 won!』
『Trickery? That’s something a smart person would do lol. The streamer who never does any pre-study and just does weird stuff, what could he possibly pull off lololol』

– That’s true lolol
– If you have a good body, your mind feels more at ease!
– The Streamer-nim has achieved so many Perfect Clears lololololol. The martial technique arrogance is off the charts.
– Wait a minute! The Streamer-nim went to Korean University. Isn’t he smart?
– OMG… was everything up until now just image-making? How meticulous.
– Trickery… maybe?

Or maybe not?

Sojun pushed the increasingly off-topic chats to the side.

“Thank you for the support. Well then, let’s get to it.”

Leaving the viewers behind, Sojun stood before Swordsman.

Swordsman looked back at Sojun and spoke.

“By the way, why did we come to this unarmed area? Are you going to teach me the form you showed yesterday?”

“No.”

“……?”

“Of course, we’re here to train. Just a bit of light practice before the battlefield starts.”

Experience in actual battle was better than swinging the sword a hundred times in the air.

“You’re not saying that training involves fighting Sojun-nim, right?”

“That’s exactly what I’m saying.”

What on earth did he think training was?

“J-Just a moment. Senior? Heavenly Demon-nim? Wait! There’s no way I can do anything against Sojun-nim! Argh! Either teach me or beat me!”

“You set your pain settings to the highest, right? That’s how you train.”

It was true.

– I sincerely thought this would happen yesterday.
– You too? Me too!
– Then he’ll gaslight him into thinking it’s for his own good.
– Really lol. It’s not a learning experience that enriches, but one that’s bloody.

And the viewers casually watched the scene.

* * *

For about 30 minutes, Sojun taught combat while clashing swords with Swordsman.

“That’s it for today.”

“What is this? Is beating a form of teaching? Fortunately, it doesn’t hurt much due to virtual reality. Wait, today? Did he say today? My ears must be going bad.”

“You heard correctly. If you don’t show up at the gym tomorrow, you’ll regret it.”

“Ugh… I shouldn’t have exchanged phone numbers.”

“By the way, did you participate in yesterday’s battlefield, Swordsman-nim?”

“Oh, yeah. I entered after a bit of exercising.”

“Did you go on the offense? Defense?”

“A man attacks, you know.”

– Oh, how did he get into Korean University with that intelligence? lol
– Why can’t someone attack on the first day?
– If you are a casual user, you wouldn’t care much.
– I also went on the offensive yesterday.
– Romantic pass!

Indeed.

Sojun felt in agreement with the contents of the chat.

If he didn’t have the goal of reaching the top 16, he might have given up on some position success bonuses and focused solely on the attack.

– But what about the Streamer-nim lolololol
– Overall, the rankers seemed well-prepared.
– Why did you spin the roulette? lolol
– It’s tough even for the Streamer-nim oo
– From what I saw yesterday, didn’t Streamer-nim gain the most reputation points? Isn’t that possible?
– That’s because the Streamer-nim’s build is specialized for dominating low levels.
– He’s effectively the master of the 10th-level AI; isn’t he at the top?
– The sparring ground and the game are different things.
– Even in PVP.
– Are you doubting Heavenly Demon-nim!

30 minutes before the battlefield began.

There were lots of casual chats flowing through Sojun’s chat window.

Even though he achieved such feats at the sparring ground and in the Assassins’ Dawn, people were still uncertain.

The reason being, he had never engaged in PVP against a real expert before.

“Well, that’s something to consider once the battlefield is over….”

Suddenly.

Someone entered the sparring ground where only Sojun and Swordsman were present.

And out of nowhere, they threw a dagger.

The sparring ground, true to its name, was a zone where players could attack each other.

Though he wouldn’t die, Sojun instinctively dodged his head back.

The dagger spun through the air, passing where his head had been and embedded itself into the stone floor behind him.

Sojun turned his gaze from the dagger stuck in the ground to look at the source of the attack.