A Swordsman’s Stream

Chapter 58

“Heavenly Demon…”

“Stop it, you jerk.”

Just as numerous eyes turned toward the shout, another user sitting next to Tang So smacked him on the head.

“Ugh.”

“I told you to beg, not to praise so suddenly!”

“How is this praising?”

“Isn’t mentioning Heavenly Demon’s return a form of praising? Huh?”

Hmm.

Sojun observed that the user, presumed to be Tang So’s companion, appeared quite sensible.

In the world of “For Justice”, he seemed like the first normal player Sojun had encountered.

‘I feel like continuing this game might not be a good idea after all…’

He hadn’t expected it to be this kind of game.

He glanced above the head of the sensible user, spotting a username the “Nameless”.

It was the name he had used while playing “Assassin’s Dawn”.

-Are you suddenly praising? LOL
-Nameless? The streamer-nim was Nameless too.
-For assassins, Nameless is the rule of thumb, isn’t it?

Indeed, it is the rule.

“Hah. Can’t even beg properly? Just go off to the Demonic Cult.”

“Nameless! Don’t give up on me!”

“Shut it.”

“I really don’t want to go to the Demonic Cult! Please persuade him!”

Tang So pointed his finger at Sojun, drawing Nameless’s gaze to meet Sojun’s.

“Hello, Heavenly Demon-nim. I’m Nameless. My alliance is under the Unorthodox Faction.”

“Nice to meet you.”

“So, are you here to take this guy, I mean, him to the Demonic Cult?”

“Yes.”

Nothing was signed, nothing was settled, so there was no way to enforce the bet. Yet seeing how he was trying to negotiate suggested he wasn’t going to run away after all.

“Really? Then quickly just take him away.”

Not even trying to persuade now.

With a face filled with betrayal, Tang So looked up at Nameless.

“You said you’d talk to him on my behalf!”

“When did I say that? And you did make that bet, didn’t you? Huh? That’s self-inflicted.”

He’s right.

“You have no loyalty, do you?”

“Yep, none.”

Tang So stood up and started shaking Nameless by the collar.

-He should persuade him first LOL
-I’d abandon him too.
-Tang So is a valuable player, but no one holds onto him here.

Sojun had honestly thought Tang So would just bolt.

If he did and they met again, he could just ignore him.

Even if people who saw it teased him, it was not that big of a deal.

“Stop shaking me.”

“Don’t want to.”

“If you weren’t foolishly claiming it’s a cheat, huh? Does that skill look like cheating to you? Huh?”

“Alright! I get it, so persuade him!”

“Agh. This isn’t working. Do you want to die? Just-”

“Fine. Let’s settle this one-on-one.”

“I’ll send the request now.”

What started as a collar-grip quickly turned into a fight.

A boundary formed around them.

A transparent barrier went up, preventing others from entering, and people gathered around to watch.

“By the way, it’s surprising how everyone seems to accept the bet results so easily.”

Sojun also joined the observers.

-Of course!
-It’s a matter of honor.
-The game is called ‘For Justice’, so you gotta keep your bets.
-Justice my foot. What games have I been playing all this time, LOL.
-The community is so tight-knit that you pretty much know each other’s names so you gotta keep it LOL.

The victory in the one-on-one duel went to Nameless.

Despite people saying Nameless had a lower rank and the match-up was unfavorable, the opposite result came out.

The causes cited were varied, the shock of going to the Demonic Cult broke his spirit, for one.

Could the Demonic Cult really be that formidable?

Tang So blankly stared at the ceiling, while Nameless approached Sojun and said,

“It’d be great if you could take him away quickly.”

How was he supposed to take him away?

Tang So then approached Sojun and said,

“Heavenly Demon-nim, I’ll stay in the Unorthodox Faction and gather information. If you retract the bet, I’m sure the Demonic Cult can win!”

Sojun marveled inwardly once again.

Indeed, this guy could speak normally when he tried.

“Yeah, you’re out of the chat now.”

Seems like the foolishness is still unchanged.

He hadn’t planned to grant the request, but saying it outright like that.

“Anyway, Heavenly Demon-nim.”

Nameless, having kicked Tang So out, looked at him soberly.

“What?”

“The Demonic Cult’s victory will be tough.”

Why was he suddenly going on the defensive?

He knew it too.

* * *

“Well, in any case, think of it as a good thing!”

Tang So’s manner returned to its original tone, now accepting that he would go to the Demonic Cult and no longer needing to plead with Sojun.

They were heading out of the village toward the Demonic Cult.

Sojun wasn’t obliged to go with them, but since he had time, he decided to accompany them.

“Let’s aim for victory with the Demonic Cult!”

That was not going to happen. It was impossible.

“It’s unfortunate we couldn’t make it into the top 16, but achieving Demonic Cult’s first victory isn’t necessarily a bad thing, right?”

It’s not just not bad; it’s impossible.

They arrived at the arena.

“Baek Wigang isn’t here.”

“Well, since the NPC that appears in the raid is Baek Wigang, of course he wouldn’t be here.”

Instead, another NPC was present.

Tang So went over there to demonstrate and then switched allegiance to the Demonic Cult.

“Isn’t the Grandmaster a real cheat?”

“…….”

“Just one look at the quest window…….”

* * *

News spread that someone had beaten the Orthodox Faction in three minutes.

It all started in a chat room called 『OrthodoxVictory』 (It’s Ultimately the Orthodox’s Victory), where high-ranking Orthodox Faction members gathered.

– Hey folks, someone just took down our faction in three minutes!
– Has the route leaked?
– Ah. The Savages are ahead of us from the start.
– Don’t worry. The route isn’t standard. It seems unrealistic.
– Is that so? Then we don’t need to bother. Can someone share details about the Demonic Cult route?
– It’s impressive.

With other pressing issues, they showed limited interest at the time.

In the Savage chat room, 『Unorthodox Warriors』, efforts were made to devise traits that utilized the route, but upon determining that fighting with depleted inner ki took longer, they lost interest.

Overall, it was an ordinary reaction.

However, in the midst of the fighting, it was different at the Veteran’s Alliance.

『The three-minute Orthodox Faction route is out.』

==

(Clip)

==

– Whoa, there was a method like this.
– Skilled Demonic Cult members might give it a try.
– I think I’d get stuck just lodging the sword in the wall and landing there, haha.
– Oh, they actually did it? Where are the guys who were cursing earlier?

The reason why Sojun had been receiving insults included his seemingly nonsensical claims.

However, it was revealed that those claims were, in fact, legitimate.

『Those who were cursing just a few minutes ago, calling it a scam.』

==

(Screenshot)

(Screenshot)

(Screenshot)

Where did they go?

==

– Wow, they really were cursing harshly.
– Seems like unjust resentment.
– Who criticizes someone who did it in three minutes with four? LOL
└ Seriously, four minutes was not a lie but a humble expression?
└ Can’t they be banned?
└ Blocking is the solution!
– They’ll probably claim raids were cheated too.

Even normal individuals suggesting to wait and see due to lack of evidence had faced criticism, with the repercussions being severe.

『There’s nothing special in the quest window or the item inventory, you fabricating parrots.』

– The Grandmaster seems genuinely skilled. They’re revealing everything demanded on the stream, aren’t they?
– This should be enough.
– The title category includes the likes of the Grandmaster and Transcendent, Peak, and all.
– Look at these rash accusations.
– Is a Demonic Cult victory possible?
└ Even praising should be moderate. What victory?
└ Look at them popping up only on comments like this, hahaha. Hey, still think it’s a scam? Hm? You three-minute curry guys revealed in three minutes!
└ Three-minute curry, hahaha.
└ The three-minute curry guys are just too dumb to handle.
└ Found the screenshots where they insulted. Definitely three-minute curry guys, haha.

The comment suggesting moderation was soon deleted. Still, the term “three-minute curry” began to be widely used.

『Justice will prevail!』
『Come out, three-minute curry gang who cursed the Heavenly Demon-nim.』
『The real scam was your life.』
『Shortest-lived outmoded controversy, three-minute curry!』

Unbeknownst to Sojun, the brief controversy ended just like that.

* * *

Sojun added Tang So as a friend.

His act-out and attention-seeking nature, while occasionally annoying, was perceived as coming from a caring soul by viewers, which left Sojun indifferent.

Afterward, he browsed through various battlefields.

In No Justice, he realized there were quite a few who had criticized him harshly.

In truth, up until that point, Sojun thought only Tang So regarded him with doubt. Yet, witnessing its natural evolution, he laughed with the audience.

Once the stream ended, he turned to iTube to gather information on how the last Battlefield had unfolded.

『Orthodox Faction’s choice leads to victory here!』

With engaging content combining Battlefield situations into entertaining analyses, achieving hundreds of thousands of views each time, a certain streamer facilitated an enjoyable experience for him.

The next day’s Battlefield game type was expected to be the occupation battle.

Typically the most popular and fundamental mode, the occupation battle spans over the longest period.

While people speculated about the Reputation Points earned by the person who set the three-minute record the previous day, Sojun did not disclose it.

“I will keep my Reputation Points private from now on.”

Due to the previous day’s controversy, he decided to conceal as much information as possible.

Maybe to avoid causing any comparisons to others.

Reputation Points affect contributions, but they also function as Matchmaking Rating, or MMR.

MMR refers to the score used for game matchmaking.

If the Reputation Points is high, players with high scores are matched together, and vice versa.

Later, Sojun was also invited to a group chat of the Demonic Cult.

Tang So, who had just joined the Demonic Cult that day, invited Sojun while there.

『2nd Place Please』
『999+』

It touched him.

How was the title going for second place?

There were about 60 users in the room.

– Heavenly Demon-nim’s record of 3 minutes was amazing. You are our hope.
– We believe in you.
– If we get second place in Battlefield, it’s totally possible to revere you as Heavenly Demon.
– For real, lol.
– Guys… stop. We’re so pitiful…

The atmosphere was lighthearted and friendly.

It seemed that because everyone had been ignored quite a lot, the camaraderie within the chat room was stronger than in other factions.

Though it was uncertain in the game.

Word had it that purple dye and underwear were selling remarkably well in the Demonic Cult.

Sojun, or rather the character, continued his winning streak the next day and the day after that.

Even though there was a consensus that his “trait” was clearly meant for lower-level enemies, he easily won.

As the difference in Reputation Points began to widen and he started matching up with people of a certain level, there was talk that Sojun’s build wouldn’t be able to farm low-level enemies.

On the sixth day.

The clock hands pointed to seven, and the map came up.

– Today it seems to be Escort. Just realized it now.
– Is this a mode that’s only in the Battlefield?
– Yes, yes.
– If you play the game, we’ll get you a job at the courier station!
– It’s basically a game mode for bandit bastards.
– Today, we must fight with the Unorthodox Faction for real.

Sojun spoke.

“If it’s Escort, it really seems right to do it with the Unorthodox Faction.”

Game mode Escort.

The defending faction helps the courier station transport the cargo or escorts a key person to their destination, while the attacking faction aims to seize or damage the cargo.

In this context, the courier station is like a post office, and the cargo is like parcels.

And there was one faction that inevitably appeared when the cargo went out.

The Green Forest.

Where do these escorts usually take place?

Mainly in the mountains.

And mountains are inevitably home to bandits.

Thus, in Escort mode, fighting the Unorthodox Faction was considered the norm.

– Go, go for attack.
– We need to seize it from those Green Forest bastards.
– The situation is really funny, lol.

The situation that viewers found amusing was when a non-Unorthodox Faction attacked the Unorthodox Faction’s territory.

In Escort, the side that attacks the region has the objective of seizing.

Therefore, when they go to occupy an Unorthodox Faction region, the bandits protect the courier station and cargo, and the Orthodox Faction appears to be stealing that cargo.

“Yes, no matter what, I won’t attack.”

He couldn’t give up the success bonus.

Sojun didn’t underestimate seasoned players.

『The escort will begin in 1 minute.』

Still, to meet the bandits, he chose to defend by selecting the Unorthodox Faction’s area.

“Hello.”

“Hi there.”

“Yes. Let’s have a good game.”

Sojun was summoned at the starting point.

He saw his teammates.

Escort was conducted with three members per team.

“Oh? Oh my god. It’s Streamer-nim. Hello.”

Then, someone recognized him.

– A viewer?
– Who are you? Did you snipe?
– I’m jealous of the viewer participation.

Viewer participation.

An abbreviation for viewer participation. Usually, when a streamer decided on viewer participation, they selected from the viewers to play a game together, but sometimes it happened by random encounter.

Sojun momentarily deliberated.

Whether to speak casually or politely, that is.

He used to speak politely to viewers but conversed in the Heavenly Demon’s style with people he met in the game as much as possible.

But encountering a viewer in the game.

While Sojun was lost in thought, a female team member who didn’t know him asked.

“Is he that famous?”

“Yes. He is the greatest output of the Assassin’s Dawn and even the true Heaven Slayer to Shin Hayun!”

Hearing that, Sojun decided to speak casually.

“Shut up.”

Please.

– Lololololol
– That Shin Hayun Slayer crazy guy, lolololol
– This might become controversial?
– The fans are coming to protest, lololol
– This statement has nothing to do with the viewer.
– Fast cut-off. Tang.

The female team member’s eyes widened.

“Oh. Is he that amazing? But that person just told you to shut up.”

To which the viewer responded.

“It’s a crazy reward.”

– Oh yeah, that’s a reward, lolol
– Lolololololololol
– Even if he says shut up, I’ll like it
– If he’s going to carry the game anyway, then shut up if he says so.
– For real, lol
– That’s what you get with that kind of streamer and viewer, lololol

Why are they saying that about the streamer and the viewer?

I really don’t get it.

Sojun sighed, setting aside his wonder, and said,

“Let’s just play the game.”