A Swordsman’s Stream

Chapter 57

What was the objective of the players participating in Battlefield?

Battlefield, being a game event, offered massive rewards just for participation.

The purpose of game events was to attract a large audience. The more people, the more lively the event became, bringing in more players and increasing the fun.

The rewards perfectly aligned with this objective.

Even if a player was not particularly skilled, merely participating could earn them cosmetic items or materials needed for farming. Maybe something as unnecessary but desirable as a title.

So, was the reward the primary reason people participated in Battlefield? Was it items that were useful or satisfying that fueled their participation?

‘That might be the case.’

At 7 PM, a user by the nickname ‘Nameless’, a ranker in the game and a friend in the guild called “Kiln of Death”, thought to himself.

He considered the absence of rewards in a game to be negligent, bordering on dereliction of duty. The tremendous success of the battlepass in the gaming business model was not without reason.

The battlepass was a business model that rewarded players with in-game items for completing specific challenges while playing.

One reason for the battlepass’s success was the presence of short-term goals and rewards for gameplay. Rewards were significant in value.

But was that all there was to it?

‘No, not really. While there are additional rewards based on contributions, they’re not significantly different unless you’re in the top 16. Why would rankers put in so much effort otherwise?’

Nameless was one of those who strategized for Battlefield every event. In terms of battles, he considered himself an expert.

In his opinion, one of the main reasons people participated in battles was pride.

‘Sixteen people are a small minority. Most rankers don’t pay much attention to it, understanding well that it’s not a feasible target. Yet still…’

They gave their utmost effort.

The reason was pride.

Battlefield was a competition between factions.

At this point, the aptness of the situation would become apparent.

What if they lost in Battlefield?

Until the next Battlefield opened, they had to endure mockery and humiliation from players of the winning faction, everywhere including ‘No Justice’!

‘Absolutely not!’

It was one thing to be teased when your favorite team didn’t win, but Battlefield turned them into direct team members.

Could they possibly endure all the direct mockeries they would face?

If they lost and Battlefield ended poorly, no game would be playable for some time.

People would talk with a smirk every time they met.

If he won in the game, ‘Even if I lost in Battlefield, at least I’m winning in this game. Hah, it’s nice to win.’

If he lost, ‘They lost this too.’

These were the kinds of reactions they would receive.

‘It’s a vicious cycle. There’s no way out.’

Of course, conversely, winning made all of these within reach for them as well.

That’s why rankers united their hearts, strategizing and cooperating for their faction’s victory.

Looking at their chat room alone was enough to understand how sincere they were.

『Unorthodox Warriors』
『999+』

Interpreted, it meant a faction that purges hypocritical factions.

Just as the name implied, this chatroom for the faction was bustling with alerts even if they hadn’t checked it for a few dozen minutes.

The group consisted of 80 members.

It was a gathering of the crème de la croup.

They gathered to understand the operational system of Battlefield.

Most users treated the game casually. They didn’t synchronize their movements with other members of the same faction or coordinate strategies.

Considering the realistic limits and impossibilities, it was understandable why they didn’t.

If Battlefield was ultimately left to the actions and luck of an unspecified majority, faction victories would be random. Fortunately, that was not the case.

The currency of participation was reputation points.

Without those, even if the 80 people in this room banded together, they would still only be 80.

But since they had reputation points, they could create significant outcomes, moving in groups as the event progressed.

For example, if they almost simultaneously accumulated reputation points and gathered to attack a specific enemy region, the attack points of that area would surpass the defense points, resulting in the region being dominated by their faction.

‘Of course, the enemies wouldn’t just stand by.’

Both the Orthodox Sects and the Demonic Cult had chat rooms filled with rankers, just like this faction.

– Let’s just gather reputation points diligently.
– I’m going on a Orthodox Sect raid today.
– Anyone gathering information on the Demonic Cult?
– Seeking people for planning the route in the forest later.
– It’s my first time, where can I get info?
– Head to No Justice.

Nameless was busy gathering various information through the numerous sites he had opened about the raid.

‘Most rankers must be doing something like this.’

He turned his attention to the currently most active forum No Justice.

『Streamer Fighting Against the Demonic Cult (Link)』
『Unorthodox Faction is Tang Family, Orthodox Faction is Namgung』
『Collection of Streamers Currently Broadcasting Battlefield (Constantly Updated)』
『Target that Grandmaster scammer yesterday. Demonic Cult guys are covering them.』

Grandmaster?

Having dared to challenge the Demonic Cult test that morning after a long break, Nameless had developed an interest in that streamer.

Finding them on iTube, he discovered that they had used the same nickname in the previous game.

‘That aside.’

Nameless clicked on a post that piqued his curiosity.

『Target that Grandmaster scammer yesterday. Demonic Cult guys are covering them』

During that scam stream, a commitment was made for the Demonic Cult to either win or at least rank within the top 16. If they failed, the streamer would wear a magical girl costume.

This was the pledge for the second day of “For Justice”, made by someone who had never played a ranked game before.

For the Demonic Cult folks, it was valuable.

No one had told them they would win, yet suddenly someone had stepped forward with this pledge, causing quite a stir, hahaha.

– A guaranteed failure and penalty runaway scenario
– A person with significant bravado
– Making such a pledge as a complete novice in ranked games is incredibly arrogant
– It might be possible. The fame received yesterday was quite high
└That’s because they practiced against weaker players
└It’s only the first day now, right?
– Why speak of it as a scam as if it’s a fact? We haven’t even confirmed it yet. Let’s retrieve our Justice.
└Even if it’s not a scam, it’s still arrogant, right?
└Justice was thrown away by the streamer you support first, lol
└Seriously, another absurd comment appeared!!!! (Link)

“It’s their deal if they want to make pledges; why criticize them so much?”

Nameless frowned as he scrolled through the comments and clicked on the link.

“What’s this absurd comment about?”

==

『???: It seems like four minutes would be enough, right?』

Streamer Sojun-ssi’s first game took 17 minutes.

Declared they could finish the raid within 4 minutes.

Hahahahahahaha

==

– Exaggerating a lot
– Seriously frustrating
– Four minutes, my foot.
– Even the Demonic Cult folks would rush in, saying our Heavenly Demon could do it, casting their incantations
└Indeed
└Despite the absurdity of what they’re saying, there are still overzealous fans
– Isn’t boasting too much about defeating Shin Hayun?
– Have any of you even watched their stream?
└Yeah, I’m about to go over to watch and comment

Plenty of insulting remarks followed, calling them arrogant.

“Why did they have to say that?”

It seemed they were a naturally polarizing person.

“No matter if it’s possible, just hold back a little.”

A sudden thought crossed him.

They say a true superstar drives both fans and critics wild.

No, actually.

It was clear they were unaware they were starting to get criticized in the community now.

“Aren’t those comments ruining the chat room right now?”

Nameless entered Sojun’s streaming channel, although he wasn’t watching since he planned to head to the Demonic Cult area soon.

Fortunately, only followers were allowed to chat, so the chat was calm.

But a problem arose. As soon as he entered, a donation alert rang out.

“What the hell are they doing now?”

Ha.

This was precisely why he had come to find Tang So.

* * *

“What packing? Listen closely, I am certain that Heavenly Demon will fail to capture Namgung Cheon.”

Tang So recovered quickly.

What made them so confident, he wondered.

“Now what? Are you really heading to the Demonic Cult?”

“Oh, come on. I told you I won’t lose the bet.”

Sure, as if he wouldn’t.

“Why make such a ridiculous bet?”

Every ranker is important. What’s he even doing?

Tang So found some comfort in the fact that the destination was the Demonic Cult.

The increase in the Demonic Cult’s rankers wasn’t an issue. Even if they doubled, it wouldn’t be worrying.

“Goodbye.”

A vote was already taking place in the chat room.

『Tang So should accept the result of the bet!』
『Agree – 90%』
『Disagree – 10%』

90% agreed.

They were simply having fun teasing a colleague.

“I told you I’m not going!”

“What are they saying?”

“Listen here. I believe the scammer’s build helps with inner ki recovery, so using up all the internal arts wouldn’t be a big issue.”

“But.”

“But they need to quickly defeat enemies. Without enough inner ki, wouldn’t they fail to deal sufficient damage?”

Quite perceptive.

As expected, although they seemed foolish on the surface, their understanding of the game was sharp.

However, “Stop talking and just go to the Demonic Cult.”

“Why, exactly?”

Nameless had already witnessed all of Sojun’s plays.

The content on iTube had been organized well.

The battle began immediately.

“Look at the speed at which that NPC’s HP goes down. Nope, can’t beat it in time. Can’t beat it… huh?”

As soon as Sojun gave up dodging, the enemy’s health began depleting rapidly.

“I knew it would turn out like this.”

“……”

On the screen, Sojun easily defeated Namgung Cheon.

The record was in the three-minute range, truly extraordinary.

The chatroom went into an uproar.

-Three minutes????
-For real?
-Are there any masters who recorded three minutes in the raid?
-True masters aiming for the 16th position usually don’t reveal their records.
-Even four minutes is unprecedented, lol.
-I think they’ve found the shortest path for the Murim raid. Isn’t there a way to utilize it, lol?
-Without inner ki, even if you go up like that, it will take an enormous amount of time to reduce Namgung Cheon’s health. We don’t have energy-absorbing techniques anyway.
-Looks like everyone was watching, lol.

The chatroom immediately went into analysis mode.

Nameless was left open-mouthed.

“Three minutes, really.”

『Then we should focus on the Demonic Cult, right?』

Pfft.

Tang So, trying hard to stay calm, spewed water while holding a cup.

“Seriously, gosh.”

“What should I do? I really don’t want to go to the Demonic Cult again.”

The once unbreakable character of Tang So finally shattered.

Going to the Demonic Cult was that big of a deal. However, it wasn’t his concern.

Nameless quickly turned his interest away from the suddenly gloomy Tang So.

He was more curious about something else than a leaver.

‘I wonder what those who criticized the Orthodox Faction will say now.’

* * *

Sojun continued with two more challenges.

Having established a record, he aimed to end it as swiftly as possible.

Reputation Points were given after the standard deviation of faction records was tallied. The record was relative.

“If all three are in the three-minute range, that’s acceptable.”

The first record was the shortest.

Afterwards, Sojun took his time since a three-minute mark was acclaimed as remarkable.

Exiting the game, Sojun headed back to his original place.

“Is he still there? Surely he didn’t run away, right?”

What if Tang So couldn’t accept the bet’s outcome and ran away?

“There are a lot of viewers watching right now?”

The current viewers were 8,000.

‘That’s the nature of Battlefield special events.’

He felt satisfied starting the game and making a record exactly at 7 PM.

In reality, most new viewers came to criticize Sojun, but he was unaware of that.

-Sojun-nim, would you consider joining the Orthodox Faction? You’ll receive great treatment. Victory is guaranteed.
-How about Mount Hua?
-Try it.
-How exactly will you accommodate him?
-Don’t let the Demonic Cult take even the Streamer-nim.
-ㅠㅠㅠㅠ
-How about the Assassin Sect!

Chats continued to pour in to recruit him.

Sojun looked confused.

“No, why would I go somewhere else when the Demonic Cult will win?”

Of course, he wasn’t serious.

He also knew the Demonic Cult wouldn’t win due to the lack of rankers.

Even though there was a lack of regular users, the difference wasn’t significant.

Most users played casually, picking what suits their taste rather than caring about the result.

“Just being honest.”

Though most laughed it off, some chats showed belief.

Sojun saw the chats and offered a wry smile.

Don’t take it seriously.

He returned to his spot while engaging in short communication.

Then the chatroom, which was previously filled with complaints, began filling with laughter.

-LOLOLOL LOLOLOL LOLOLOL LOL
-What is that guy doing? lol
-Is he asking for mercy?
-That’s hilarious, lol

This was because Tang So was kneeling next to the chair where he used to sit.

Sojun approached closer.

“Have you arrived, Heavenly Demon-nim?”

Sojun listened to the prankster’s polite greetings and thought to himself.

“Heavenly Demon is back! May Heavenly Demon reign everywhere!”

He preferred Tang So’s previous character more.