A Swordsman’s Stream

Chapter 77

The current map turned out to be a forest.

Sojun was summoned inside a wooden cabin.

He looked around, waiting for the game to start.

Through the window, he saw a thick forest with lush greenery and a clearing.

“They said it would be hard to get a match after four wins. Is it starting now?”

In the first four rounds, he was occasionally matched with players who had significantly lower Reputation Points than him.

However, from the fifth round onward, he was definitely matched with players of a relatively similar level.

Players who wanted to gain more Reputation Points participated in additional games, regardless of their performance.

But if they were matched with much weaker players after the fourth round, they could practically copy the points from them.

Thus, from the fifth round, if there were no players of a similar level, one could end up waiting indefinitely for a match.

This method was also used by other rankers to keep each other from amassing a winning streak and more points through continuous wins.

They achieved this by not allowing matches to be formed.

Even so, there was a countermeasure for this.

If no match was formed in one’s area, they could always seek out an opponent directly.

Meeting players of similar skill meant that one wouldn’t always win, of course.

Sojun was on a six-game winning streak at that time.

And it took over ten minutes for this match to be formed.

This was evidence that rankers were either targeting or avoiding him.

He didn’t know which was true between the two.

Perhaps looking into the group chats of the Orthodox Faction and the Unorthodox Faction might provide an answer?

Nevertheless, the opponent he met after ten minutes was…

『Heaven-Slayer Star』

He was both the cause and benefactor(?) of such events taking place.

“So, we finally meet.”

He actually showed up.

It was disappointing to know he hadn’t heeded my advice.

– Finally!!!!
– A duel between the 2nd and 1st place.
– All of this started with that man’s Martial Techniques manual.
– Will Heaven-Slayer Star show us something different?
– Let’s go!
– Our loyal bettors are trusting in Heaven-Slayer Star. T_t
– Just lose once, six wins are enough already.

Ah, there was the point issue, too.

Sojun raised his hand to adjust the stream settings and read through the betting lists.

“It’s really split fifty-fifty. Is there no favored or underdog bet in this case?”

What caught his eye was the username of the user who placed the highest bet on him succeeding.

I am Joseon’s Assassin.

Known as the wealthiest point holder in Travel’s history, he had wagered the maximum bet limit of 250,000 points on this prediction.

In fact, this wasn’t the only instance where it occurred.

Apparently, because he had an overflow of points, he wagered 250,000 points in every betting opportunity.

Even in other chats.

– The traitors who bet against us are doomed.
– What’s with the traitor betting? LOL.
– Haven’t you figured out yet that Heaven-Slayer Star will be cleaned out?
– Honestly, if the Streamer-nim seems more famous than the World’s Greatest, major thumbs up. LOL.
– If they win this one too, they’ll become the most popular in For Justice.
– Practically confirmed as the World’s Greatest, even without placing first.
– But why isn’t the Streamer-nim using the Heavenly Demon’s Supreme Step?

While they were chatting, the game began.

“Heavenly Demon’s Supreme Step? Shall I use it once?”

The Heavenly Demon’s Supreme Step was a skill that appeared when a player with the Heavenly Demon Divine Art gathered more internal power in their foot than during a lightness skill.

Sojun immediately focused his mind, channeling his internal power into his right foot.

Did it say I needed to step with a solid movement?

A dark blue internal power began to gather in Sojun’s foot as he raised his knee.

The more he waited, the more internal power he consumed, and the energy grew.

He felt as though his foot was getting heavier.

And then, at the moment when he couldn’t feel the weight increasing anymore, Sojun stomped his foot down.

*BOOM!*

The wooden floor of the hut had thundered as it split open.

If there had been any users nearby, it would have served as a crowd controller capable of dealing damage and inflicting a stun.

Users referred to it as the Heavenly Demon’s Supreme Step.

The speed at which the minimum inner ki necessary to activate it gathered in the feet was somewhat slow, making it not too difficult to avoid.

However, given its considerable range, if used skillfully, it was an incredibly useful technique.

“No, hahaha, I didn’t mean for you to use it now, haha.”

– You’ve used up all your inner ki.
– Why the poor hut, hahaha.

The technique consumed a significant amount of inner ki, but in proportion, its range and power would increase.

“Oops, I nearly used it all by mistake!”

Sojun declared confidently.

“Still, I’ve won without inner ki before, so it’ll be fine.”

– Hahahaha
– I believe in you.
– Is this good news for betting on Second Place Please?
– Honestly, if he can’t beat a guy who’s used all his inner ki…
– Always creating penalties for himself, haha. Just so consistent.
– At this point, does he have a tendency to enjoy suffering…?

The insinuations had started again.

However, correcting misunderstandings was something Sojun had chosen to overlook for now.

After all, no one would believe him even if he clarified. As Sojun came out of the half-destroyed hut, he changed his tone.

“Did you wait long?”

Heaven-Slayer Star was waiting in the open area.

“No. But what happened to that hut?”

Sojun turned to look back at the hut.

The exterior was also half-destroyed.

It felt reminiscent of the aftermath of an assassination.

“I just tested my strength a bit.”

– Hahaha, you tested your strength, sure.
– Well, it’s not wrong.
– Why is this a skills show and not a comedy stream, haha?

The reactions were positive.

Sojun, feeling a sense of pride as a streamer, turned his gaze forward.

“You didn’t use all your inner ki, did you?”

“Don’t worry. Even without that much, I can beat you.”

“Hah. Do you think I’ll be taken down like the ‘This Isn’t the Martial World’ hyung?”

Sojun responded with a gentle smile instead of words.

“I’ll make you regret it.”

“Good. I usually go easy at first, but for you, I’ll go all out from the start.”

Sojun lifted the tip of his sword and aimed it at Heaven-Slayer Star.

* * *

*Gulp.*

Heaven-Slayer Star swallowed nervously due to an inexplicable aura.

The opponent had merely targeted him, but his body automatically tensed, channeling strength from his toes.

“Am I nervous? Why?”

He was someone who rarely lost in one-on-one duels. Why was he nervous now?

“Beating the others was certainly impressive, but when I fight, I usually win as well.”

His win rate was 90%.

His duel win rate in the last Battlefield.

“Therefore, it’s worth trying.”

He had quickly concluded four boards before watching the stream of the adversary now before him.

And the impression he got from watching the fight was “He’s good, but if it were me?”

If it were me, I wouldn’t hold the sword like that.

If it were me, I’d dodge to the right at that moment.

If it were me, I’d maintain enough distance.

If it were me, I could counterattack.

These impressions weren’t unusual or extraordinary.

“It always happened.”

Whenever he watched other people’s battles, such thoughts would automatically arise in his mind.

It was not due to awareness or learning.

Nor was it because he had experience from fighting since childhood.

‘It was just natural.’

The intuition he felt instantly upon seeing things automatically.

That was why he was called talented and a genius.

Of course, a genius wasn’t born perfect and overwhelmingly flawless from the start.

As experience accumulated, the number of visible flaws increased.

And with numerous victories over snipers in the last season, he had achieved tremendous growth.

Thus, Heaven-Slayer Star naturally accepted that he could see weaknesses, even while other rankers were helplessly losing.

He even pondered, ‘Has the skill gap widened even more?’

Thanks to this, Heaven-Slayer Star stood confidently before Sojun.

“Going all out from the start? Well, that’s perfect for me.”

He knew how to appropriately utilize tension.

If he felt overly tense, he could ease it, casually conversing as he did now.

In such cases, the remaining tension could even help him exhibit his true skills better.

This, too, was instinctive.

“Understood. Then, I’ll allow you to launch the first strike.”

“Okay.”

Conceding the first strike indicated he saw his opponent as inferior.

But he didn’t mind.

It was better to secure victory and grander pride over minor vanity.

“Then, I’ll go all out too.”

Heaven-Slayer Star spun his sword playfully before adjusting his grip and charging forward.

The martial sect he chose was the Mount Hua Sect.

He selected the Twenty-Four Plum Blossom Sword Technique as his trait.

The characteristic of this technique was that each move became a skill, and by linking these moves, he could perform techniques with greater power.

Furthermore, through settings, he could either receive assistance in performing moves or choose to execute them himself.

This applied to all moves, but with twenty-four moves in the Twenty-Four Plum Blossom Sword Technique, its significance was especially pronounced.

If assisted, skills could be used easily.

However, even with the same move, there were more suitable applications depending on the situation.

Suppose a move is assisted; its power naturally lessens, and its weaknesses are easily exposed.

Therefore, those who wished to become stronger abandoned aid.

And they studied the moves.

Incidentally, the Demonic Cult’s Baek Wigang was particularly helpful during this, which is why the Mount Hua Sect had notably more transcendent users than other sects.

Heaven-Slayer Star began executing a move right from the start.

In a duel, there was no concept of levels like in a territory capture mode. It was a real battle where you could do everything at the highest level.

This meant that if he could execute it, he could immediately link to the final move of the Plum Blossom Sword Technique, which determined victory and defeat.

His sword began to move in the form most familiar to his body.

First move.

A crimson aura emanated and covered the front.

The blade gleamed menacingly, scattering internal arts to bite into the enemy’s body.

This was not a particularly good choice.

Winning with inner ki against the Heavenly Demon Divine Art had a determined result.

『A divine art above all mental arts.』

Though rarely used due to its penalties, the one-line description of the Heavenly Demon Divine Art was not something to be ignored lightly.

Despite this, he executed the move because if the sword was touched directly and the technique linked to a higher technique without breaking, he was confident he could win.

Moreover, the opponent had nearly exhausted his inner ki.

Even if he took damage colliding now, it was fine.

If he linked to the higher technique, he would win.

As expected, a slowly drawn bluish line erased the crimson aura, slicing across his body.

He neither dodged nor blocked it.

His stamina decreased slightly.

‘As expected, it’s slower when seen directly. And has he used up his remaining inner ki?’

He thought this duel would end much more easily, as he prepared to execute the next move.

Suddenly.

Something obstructed his sword before he even began.

‘When did he get here?’

Sojun, who had approached unnoticed to right in front of him, blocked his sword.