A Swordsman’s Stream

Chapter 15

Sojun, with his eyes closed, took a step forward, dominating the space as his sword slowly descended.

Among the onlookers, no one could discern the technique in that single step.

Clang.

The tip of Sojun’s sword touched the shield and started to scrape its surface.

Although it wasn’t particularly slow, it seemed like a speed at which an AI could easily react.

Yet, for some reason, the AI failed to respond properly.

Clang, clang.

The sword drew lines on the shield’s surface, gradually speeding up.

Slash!

Sojun opened his eyes as he retrieved the spent sword.

And then—

Crash!

The shield shattered, scattering pieces everywhere.

This all happened in just two seconds.

“Wow! That’s insane!!”

Alpaca shouted.

– ????
– Is that even possible?
– Did he do it in one go?
– What did we just witness? ddd

“He found it! And with his eyes closed! What is this? Is he actually an alien?!”

Alpaca clapped automatically as he spoke, his mouth opened wide enough that there was no more room to expand.

– ROFL LOL
– What is he seeing?
– This is genius!
– Now he truly looks like a master lolol
– Is this a set-up? Didn’t he check it out yesterday?

“No, this is absolutely not a set-up! Until just now, I thought Sojun was bluffing. But he wasn’t. Wow. What is he seeing? I seriously can’t understand any of this.”

– LMAO, look at the bettors getting mad
– Why did you bet on him? Why did you bet on him? Why did you bet on him?
– Are you in your senses now? Are you in your senses now? Are you in your senses now?

At the point when Sojun effectively broke the shield, those who bet 55% against his success were sure to lose all their points. The chat was becoming increasingly chaotic.

– Give me back my money! Give me back my money! Give me back my money!
– This is a scam! This is a scam! This is a scam! This is a scam!
– Streamer-nim! That was my college tuition! Please, just this once……
– All the memories we shared are getting deleted!!!!!!!

Some viewers went crazy.

– Bettor losers, serves you right lol
– Bettors = cowards
– You should have trusted Nameless!

It was a chaotic mix of viewers mocking the bettors. This sort of scene was common, adding to the fun of channel point predictions.

Before anyone noticed, Sojun approached Alpaca. Alpaca understood the situation by seeing the groggy state of the guards behind Sojun. To communicate, Sojun had only momentarily incapacitated them and came here.

The moment Sojun arrived, Alpaca provoked everyone.

“Well, you see, why did you not bet on him, everyone? Wow, someone bet 250,000 points. Username: Safety Asset? Well, you’re not living up to your name.”

For reference, the channel point prediction system displayed the nickname and amount of the largest bettor in each bet. And 250,000 points was the maximum that could be bet at one time.

– lololololololol
– Someone just lost 250,000 points all at once lololololol
– How can someone with a name like Safety Asset lose everything lolol

“And it’s strange. Why are so many people happy? It shouldn’t be just the bettors at risk, right?”

Sojun read aloud the betting status.

“Let’s see. Only 1% of people bet on me finding more than four. Are all of you in the chat from that 1%?”

Sojun was now asking this.

Are you all safe?
– Oh, right?
– That makes sense?
– LOL, given he succeeded once, doesn’t he know something? 99% are going to lose now lol
– Thankfully, it seems everyone will lose together.

Sojun’s words restored vigor to the disheartened bettors. It turned into a festive atmosphere as even those who mocked the bettors realized they too might be losing.

“Oh, they’re losing too? Even better!”

This was the mindset.

“So I’m saying, you should have bet believing in me.”

– But you said it too late ㅠㅠ

『’Hope Circuit’ donated 10,000 Won generously!』
『Honestly, could it just be a fluke? You might only find one more after this.』

– “Yeah, I’m already guaranteed to lose anyway.”

– “Does that look like a fluke to you? LOL”

– “He’s wrecking them with his eyes closed. If his eyes were open, he’d probably find a hundred more, seriously.”

Sojun laughed at the donations pouring in and turned towards the guards with his sword in hand.

“Haha. It could be a fluke, sure. Why not?”

Alpaca, who had been watching the sequence of events, quietly marveled.

Despite teasing the viewers, Sojun managed not to come off as unlikeable and continued the stream smoothly.

“Wow.”

He seemed talented not only in gaming but also in streaming.

Honestly, Alpaca thought he would have to lead this collaboration.

But that wasn’t the case.

『30,000 viewers』

A large number of people had tuned in to watch.

This opportunity would likely cement Sojun’s reputation among the audience.

“You scoundrel! As if breaking into the mansion wasn’t enough, you’ve also destroyed the shield of a Nevillian soldier!”

A guard, who had been in a groggy state, got up and pointed his sword at Sojun.

The other guard, who had been lying nearby, also stood and positioned himself beside the first.

It looked like they planned to attack together, a tactic typical of soldiers in the tutorial.

‘Come to think of it, those guys didn’t attack together when I took down Drake.’

That must be the difference between the gang members and the elite soldiers.

The more he played, the more Sojun felt captivated by the game.

‘The level of detail is amazing.’

The game’s designers included systems like parrying and slicing to keep players like Sojun, who excel in combat, engaged.

Furthermore, the outlandish assassination methods he had seen in the community seemed to showcase the game’s ultimate freedom.

The guard who lost his shield took a position behind the one who had not.

‘Using parrying would make this really easy.’

The viewers likely wanted not only the shield but also the guard’s sword to be destroyed.

Honestly, he had just been lucky a moment ago.

He hadn’t precisely identified the weak point of the shield.

He had picked one of three potential weak points and struck it–and it worked out, making the scene dramatic.

The same went for the sword.

In his mind, he drew four curves onto the guard’s longsword.

Finding and striking the correct curve among those four would destroy the weapon.

His gut instinct told him so.

Intuition is another sense that processes and sends signals from the subconscious.

Therefore, the more experience one has, the more accurate their intuition becomes.

For example, people often enter a state of flow.

When deeply focused on studying, gaming, or playing an instrument, they surpass their usual limitations.

This flow state occurs when the unconscious takes over beyond conscious recognition.

That’s why the unconscious mind should not be underestimated, especially in chaotic combat situations.

‘Right now, it’s just two soldiers.’

Sojun focused on the tip of his sword.

Then he stepped forward.

“Block and attack!”

As the shield-bearing guard shouted while closing in on Sojun, Sojun struck along the identified weak point of the shield, exploiting a slight opening.

His strike was swift.

Crack!

The wooden shield split, shattering into pieces that floated through the air.

That part was easy.

The guard, now shieldless, was flustered, and the other guard, who stood a step behind, seized the chance to strike at Sojun.

‘No.’

Sojun aimed to target all four curves at once.

The angle of the falling sword towards his forehead made it difficult to tackle in one go.

So Sojun deflected the soldier’s sword.

He didn’t intend to trigger a parry.

It was intentional.

Then, when his sword bounced back from the deflection, he saw the shieldless guard thrusting his sword at Sojun’s waist.

‘Now.’

Harnessing intense concentration, Sojun pressed his sword against the straight-thrusting blade of his opponent.

“Huff.”

He closely followed the blade’s curves as if connecting stars in a constellation.

Trusting luck wasn’t an option anymore; Sojun employed a trick only he could pull off to destroy the blade in one strike.

First curve. Not it.

Second curve. Wrong again.

Third curve. Bad luck.

The tip of the soldier’s blade was nearly upon Sojun.

Yet, with remarkable composure, Sojun continued moving.

Finally, just before the sword touched his waist, Sojun’s blade traced the last curve precisely.

Clang!

The soldier’s sword shattered.

He had found the weak point.

Broken fragments of the sword’s blade scattered like glass, falling onto the grassy ground.

‘Last one. Luck wasn’t on my side this time.’

Phewwww.

Sojun exhaled deeply. Even for him, such meticulous and inefficient movements demanded immense concentration.

– “Wow WTH”

– “?????”

– “Is this real???”

The translation maintains the original narrative’s excitement while ensuring that viewers and characters remain consistent and engaging in English.

“It’s absurd. How did you even do that???”

Hooks flew up instantly.

– Another one-cut moment!
– It was like a movie scene, lol.
– This one looks really tough, though?
– Oppa, you’re so cool. I’m smitten, seriously. (wiggling)

Sojun parried the second soldier’s downward strike as effortlessly as swatting a fly. He took care of both soldiers with swift precision.

– His control skills are out of this world, lol.
– Alpaca’s face right now = my face.
– No, it’s our face.
– Wow! Sojun-nim! I’m smitten, too!

Alpaca exclaimed as he ran towards Sojun, who was catching his breath.
“Seriously, how do you see and move like that?!”

Alpaca was visibly excited from witnessing such an impressive scene.
An insane level of difficulty paired with dramatic execution.

‘This is what it takes to beat Shin Hayun!’

Alpaca almost blurted out his thoughts, nearly revealing the secret.

“That’s a trade secret!”

Sojun smiled slyly.

– I’m genuinely curious, lol.
– Seeing the patterns is one thing, but how did you build such skills?
– lol, seriously.

Sojun chuckled as he glanced at the chat window. Why would being an alien explain anything?

“For your information, it’s only been three days since I started gaming.”

– What do you do in real life to be this good, seriously?
– I genuinely wonder what your real job is, lol.
– In real life, um, just a regular guy in his twenties…
– No way! You’re not regular!

Alpaca interrupted, contradicting Sojun.

“Huh? Why?”

– Calling yourself regular with that face is fraud.”

-?

“Is Sojun-nim handsome?”

– It’s probably just trash talk among streamers, lol.
– Exactly, lol.
– You couldn’t call a fellow streamer ugly, right?

“Everyone, the avatar Sojun-nim is using right now, that’s his actual face.”

-????
-??
– No way, lol.

– Being that skilled and handsome is just unfair;;;
– When’s the balance patch coming?
– What’s the Earth admin doing…
– He must have tweaked it a bit, right…
– I didn’t touch the avatar. I’ve seen him in person.

-Okay, I don’t believe it.
-I’m just going to believe he altered it a bit.
-No lies.

“We’re having an after-party at the studio later. Why would I lie? You can confirm it then.”

-Oh?
– No way, he might be telling the truth, lol.

“The after-party is going to be fun.”

Sojun admired Alpaca’s ability to naturally give viewers a reason to stick around till the end of the stream. Then, a donation alert sounded.

『’ThatGuy’ donated 10,000 KRW!』
『”It’s small! I saw it!”』

“Sss.”

Alpaca clicked his tongue as more donations swiftly followed.

『’ThatGuy’ donated 100,000 KRW!』
『”Height. Height.”』

Alpaca turned to Sojun. When Sojun shrugged, signaling to let it slide, Alpaca nodded and said, “Just this once.”

– A manager just walked by with a knife, lol.
– Almost got banned.
– Quick donations to bail out, impressive.
– You should become a master, too, lol.