NOVEL NEXT Chapter 71
Chapter 71
Heaven-Slaying Star realized, just like Ark had, that the forum post was obviously someone’s prank.
It couldn’t have gone unnoticed.
Wasn’t there an attempt to create ridiculous controversy from the outside in the last Battlefield?
These were the people who hid their identities fiercely while mercilessly digging into others’ private life.
Creating a forced controversy was nothing compared to that.
Yet, regardless of how minor it was, Heaven-Slaying Star disliked such antics.
‘That’s why I helped.’
He redirected the topic.
Duel request.
It was his way of sidelining the absurd controversy and showing favor by stepping on a competitor who had gotten ahead, while simultaneously restraining the advancing competitor.
‘Why would a well-earning game company favor a single streamer in the first place?’
Unless it was an AI created by that game company.
Since he had met them in reality, that was, of course, proven not to be the case.
Anyways, he was offering his own goodwill by aiding that streamer and engaging in healthy competition.
By suppressing a spark with an even bigger topic, he managed to quell it.
The problem was.
‘Now he’s ignited it even more. Is he crazy or something?’
『’HeavenlyDemon14′ has donated 200,000 won!』
『I will keep playing the game without a single break tomorrow from 7 am to 10 am. If there are people who doubt my rank or think they’re better than me, feel free to join. I’m confident I won’t lose even once. Haha』
Initially, he suspected it.
Was that for real?
Wasn’t it a fake impersonation?
If someone had drawn attention by spending the vast sum of 200,000 won, he would have liked to congratulate them.
You succeeded!
Ark, hesitatingly, said, “Uh… Is that really Sojun?”
It was a reasonable doubt.
-Lololol isn’t he a bit too cocky for being first?
-Massive troll lololo
-Is that really him?
-Look at the audacity
-When asked for a duel, he basically told everyone to come at him, insane lololol
While it’s not unusual to draw attention and provoke like that, it usually ends with targeting one person.
Just like Heaven-Slaying Star a moment ago.
But now, was he openly targeting everyone?
And in front of 80,000 viewers?
‘Considering his personality, it seems like it.’
Ark quickly logged into Travel and entered the stream room of Sojun.
It was as if standing in an elevator with mirrored walls, the screen infinitely replicated.
A scene where Ark watches Sojun, who watches Ark, who watches Sojun, who watches Ark, who watches Sojun, who watches Ark, was completed.
“Hello, Ark-nim. Yes, I was the one who donated just now.”
– Wow, he’s gone crazy lolol
– Look how confident he is
– It was real
– Oh gosh, dizzy
Ark skillfully handled the screen to break the infinite loop and responded.
“So, you are Sojun, right? Haha. Do you mean what’s in the donation message?”
“Of course.”
On the screen, he appeared calm.
He seemed confident, but why, he couldn’t comprehend.
If he says such a thing and then loses, he’ll get a reputation as a delusional person.
Though many streamers carried a comedy image, that person was definitely known for his skills.
‘Has he really not faced valid rankers yet, leading to this misconception?’
He didn’t seem that foolish.
Heaven-Slaying Star observed him closely.
“I see. But Sojun, do you think the rankers will take you up on that offer?”
Ark was focusing on a different aspect.
However, the response that followed was enough to shock Heaven-Slaying Star.
“That’s why I say it. If someone thinks they’re better than me, step in. If you think you’re below me, then there’s no reason to snipe in the first place.”
With a relaxed expression, Sojun launched another widespread provocation.
Why throw more fuel on the fire!
‘Now, many will respond.’
Some would find it amusing, others would perceive it as arrogance.
The reasons might vary, but ultimately, to avoid being labeled a braggart, he had to win them all.
Tomorrow, coincidentally, was a day when the losses of rankers were not significantly important.
Even after four rounds, they could continue to play, and since subsequent games were not included in their contribution, they were freed from the losses.
“Could it be that he didn’t know that?”
Regardless.
Sojun found it amusing, though he didn’t want to get too close.
Heaven-Slaying Star’s pure impression it was.
“Haha. Then Sojun-nim.”
Ark wore a meaningful expression.
“Yes?”
“Would you like to have a collaborative stream with me tomorrow?”
“Sure.”
“May I provide commentary too?”
“Even better.”
Heaven-Slaying Star and JustOneCoin, who had been quietly observing their conversation, shook their heads.
Wasn’t Ark concerned about attention?
And yet, the collaboration seemed to proceed so smoothly.
“Ha, this will be fun. Let’s discuss the finer details after today’s stream.”
“Alright. Then I’ll head off to end my stream. Goodbye.”
“Yes. Goodbye, Sojun-nim.”
“Oh, Heaven-Slaying Star-nim.”
Heaven-Slaying Star flinched.
He tensed, wondering what they might say next.
“Yes?”
“If you feel like you might lose, you don’t have to come tomorrow. It seems like many others will be joining. Thanks for your consideration, so this is a token of appreciation. Well then, that’s all. To the viewers too.”
The connection was cut.
Instead of merely closing Ark’s stream, he had ended the stream entirely.
-Hahahahaha
-Leaving without letting him reply
-Heaven-Slaying Star really needs to snipe him
-If he doesn’t respond to such “gratitude,” he’d become a coward
Showing gratitude by returning the favor.
“Did he notice that I deliberately changed the subject? But why on earth…?”
Why provoke and then leave?
Although he couldn’t understand, one thing was certain.
If he ran away tomorrow, he would become a coward.
* * *
Sojun, after wrapping up his farewell, exited the capsule.
Having played for nearly four hours, he felt slightly dizzy, but after washing away his fatigue with hot water, he felt fine.
As he took an hour’s rest, organizing his thoughts, Ark contacted him after ending the stream.
It was to coordinate on how their collaboration would proceed the next day.
The joint stream was to start at 6:50 PM.
While each would do their own streaming, Ark would share Sojun’s screen to provide commentary.
They adjusted various settings and rehearsed for smooth execution.
『Sojun: Thank you for your hard work.』
『Ark: Yep. Make sure to win everything tomorrow!』
『Sojun: Do you think I won’t lose even once?』
『Ark: Honestly, it seems tough, but has there been anything you’ve done that wasn’t hard so far?』
『Sojun: Is that so? Thank you.』
Even such reactions appeared optimistic.
After completing his tasks, Sojun entered No Justice.
He began by confirming what Lee Gunyung had sent.
『Lee Gunyung: Blocking just these four made half the page of fringe articles disappear!』
Lee Gunyung sent user nicknames that had expressed doubts about Sojun.
Sojun searched the posts made with those nicknames.
At first, they wrote lightly, questioning if something was possible, but within minutes, their posts grew more aggressive.
“Wow, it’s true.”
Among them was also a person who had written a potentially problematic article.
“Isn’t this completely planned?”
Fortunately, it ended well.
In reality, people’s attention was now focused elsewhere entirely.
It was the first day after the contribution rankings were published, and tomorrow would be the 11th day.
With one-on-one sparring matches, many events would unfold, and interests would be varied, but currently, the topic catching everyone’s eye was solely due to his actions.
『From the moment donations stopped being shown, I knew he’d cause trouble, Demonic Cult No.1 haha』
『The streamer-nim’s final donation with a haha was so annoying』
『Is this normal for the first time seeing it today?』
-Yes, it’s quite normal.
『I’ll definitely watch it tomorrow.』
Surprisingly, the posts from his viewers had made it to the top 30 posts.
Usually, posts about live streams are difficult to grasp unless one has seen them, so they rarely get many recommendations.
Even when many people understood the context, as they did today.
However, the fact that they occasionally appeared like this was notable.
‘The fact that 12,000 people were involved was significant.’
In retrospect, he was moderately popular. It was no big deal for his mentions to appear and for the post to receive around 30 recommendations.
Moreover, people, even those who hadn’t watched his stream, were talking about him.
『Who’s this Heavenly Demon making such a stir while being the top ranker?』
『The top ranker whom the Orthodox Faction envied and yet the Unorthodox Faction admired with jealousy?』
『He would definitely lose once at least.』
『Is there anyone who thinks it’d be fortunate if his win rate exceeds 50%?』
『A streamer who had never met a real ranker yet, I’m confident I won’t lose even once.』
This kind of response was indeed normal.
He had expected it.
Sojun’s smile didn’t disappear from his face.
『Frankly, it’s quite arrogant.』
==
It’s not as if he saw rankers as mere food.
==
-Shin Hayun Slayer, can’t you consider them as mere food?
└That’s that Shin Hayun Victory Medal LOL That’s AI. And if it’s at the sparring ground, they’re practically beginners without martial technique.
└For real, martial technique is our pride.
└It seemed like they benefited a lot with traits without any style, what do they know about Martial Techniques?
└They’re a Master.
-3 Minute Curry Crew, assemble.
└We’ve been oppressed because of those compulsive liars until now. It’s time to rise!
└Suddenly, I’m proud to be part of the 3 Minute Curry Crew.
└All those who changed their nicknames and hid, are here.
└So what? What can you do?
-It’s as if they said it expecting to lose tomorrow LOL
They spoke as if they intended to face off against anyone who doesn’t like them or whom they want to check, just because tomorrow the game mode was non-lethal.
And this interpretation followed.
“And, Oh? Does this mean even rankers are publicly participating?”
『Ranked 6th. This Isn’t the Martial World here.』
==
I pledge to defeat the Heavenly Demon to uphold justice in the martial world.
==
“Hmm.”
For a moment, Sojun felt that this kind of concept was just normal, and he didn’t like that feeling.
There were too many strange people in ‘For Justice’.
-The Ancient Justice Detective is here.
-Why are you using the word rank?
-In the martial world, using pennies is common sense, right?
-Is the volcano where Mount Hua Sect located really a dormant volcano currently?
-It’s established that chicken was the favorite food of ancient Shaolin monks.
For someone ranked 6th, a pretty high-ranking name, people were busy mocking.
‘Are there any other people?’
After some searching, it seemed other rankers, aside from the 6th ranker, also verified and announced that they would target him tomorrow.
It seemed to have created a flow.
“It seems like it’s going to be fun.”
『If I’m ranked 17th but beat the 1st rank, will I be the World’s Greatest?』
『Expert-A announced ‘I’ll take down the Heavenly Demon tomorrow!’』
『This lineup looks record-breaking.』
『And if that guy loses right at the start, it’s really going to be an awkward silence LOLOLOL LOLOLOL 』
And then,
『All he did was use the Absorption Technique.』
==
If we prepare with intentions of fleeing from the onset, we could perfectly counter it.
Keep it in mind.
==
Sojun stretched with a satisfied smile.
“It seems it’s time to change the traits.”