A Swordsman’s Stream

Chapter 5

『7 viewers』

Sojun checked the lower part of the broadcasting screen. Suddenly, the number of viewers had increased by three.

It might have really been because of the intriguing stream title.
– “I bet he’ll die right here.”
– “Who wants to bet on how many times the streamer dies before giving up?”

While thinking that way, chats mocking him appeared.

But it didn’t matter.

Being underestimated and mocked, and even viewers teasing the streamer were all elements of entertainment.

As long as it wasn’t excessively problematic, it was fine.

And abilities could be proven.

“Who goes there?!”

When Sojun approached the mansion, two guards at the front gate drew their swords and started walking toward him.

“Don’t worry. I’ve got a good sense of it now.”

– “Got a sense of it. (First time today)”
– “Don’t worry! (No one was worried)”
– “Is this the sense you gained after repeatedly falling earlier? LOL”

Sojun decided to first gauge the speed of the guards compared to his own.

The moment he made up his mind, he quickly closed the distance and lightly swung his cane.

“Take off your hood immediately…”

Clang!

A light stroke to test the water.

The guard blocked it without much difficulty.

‘His level is quite high.’

Then, the second guard who was behind Sojun followed up.

“An intruder!”

Sojun tensed his toes.

He swiftly lowered his stance and twisted his waist, capturing the enemy’s movement. And in a split second, he predicted the next move.

In the eyes of Guard 2, the figure of the hooded Sojun reflected.

Sojun planned to deflect and then attack Guard 2’s sword.

But.

Kaaang!

When their swords clashed, an effect rippled through the background, and Guard 2 stumbled back and fell into a groggy state.
– Wow, he got lucky, LOL.
– Is this a parry?
– Haha, such luck.

“Hmm?”

Though Sojun didn’t fully grasp what had happened, he seized the opportunity and rushed at Guard 2, thrusting his stick into his neck.

Guard 2’s HP dropped instantly. It was as if he had died on the spot.

‘What was that?’

When he deflected Guard 1’s sword again, the same phenomenon occurred.

Kaaang!
– ???
– He should’ve bought a lottery ticket, LOL.
– Two consecutive parries, that’s wild.
– What’s wild about it? It’s just luck.

Sojun, for experimentation, lightly struck the groggy guard.

But the HP bar chunked down significantly.

In the end, the guard died even before Sojun could hit him twice.

To understand the cause, Sojun asked his viewers.

“What is a parry?”

– Did he do that without knowing what a parry is? Such a talent.
– No, I’m telling you it’s luck. What talent?
– Does a parry happen by chance?
– Is parry something a newbie can pull off?
– LOL

“Don’t fight. Can someone explain what a parry is?”

After a brief silence, the viewer who had previously explained about the Assassin’s Dawn began the explanation.
– A parry usually involves deflecting the opponent’s attack, but in this game, simply swatting it aside has no effect. If you deflect perfectly at the right timing and angle, the opponent enters a groggy state. In the groggy state, they take more damage. This is what we call a parry.
– A parry is the only hope for soloing in this game. Even former pros often fail at it despite their skills and end up gathering intel for assassination missions, LOL.
– But those pros retired because they failed, right?

Even the former pros struggled?

Sojun recalled the AI gatekeeper, a level 9 difficulty.

If the level of those who retired due to lack of skill was similar to that.

‘It makes sense.’

He quickly understood.

To perfectly deflect meant predicting the enemy’s attack and moving one’s body freely at the desired angle.

It was a difficult task.

For others.

“I got it. But it’s easy for me.”

Sojun, smiling, confidently entered the mansion through the front gate.
– His overconfidence is bothersome, LOL
– I’m telling you, it was luck, newbie!
– No, that movement was not just luck. He’s something else
– And who are you, LOL?

The chats taunted the one who realized Sojun’s skill.

Sojun was reminded of his past life.

In his previous life, he was always disregarded by the major sects, even when he easily defeated their disciples because of his humble origin and lack of affiliation.

The opponent had reasons like having drunk the night before, going easy on him, or being careless.

They provided reasons more shameful than a lack of skill as martial artists, but Sojun had no background to criticize such things.

Just dragging the matter through without much fanfare. That was the aim of the Demonic Sect.

Even so, in his past life, he didn’t dwell on it much.

Instead, he persisted in proving himself, and when the martial sects acknowledged his achievements, they excessively praised them.

To justify their defeat.

Of course, the chatroom and his past life’s memories weren’t the same, but fundamentally, they were.

What he had to do was clear.

As Sojun entered through the main gate, five guards blocked him.

They had heard the outcry from the sentry earlier.

Since they had enough time to prepare, they were armed with shields and armor.

Sojun thrust his wooden like a lightning bolt at the neck of the guard on the far left.

That guard was the closest and slightly off guard, making it hard to react in time.

Thump!

The guard next to him reacted and deflected the end of Sojun’s cane.

Sojun’s right arm, which had extended the cane, was pushed outward.

Immediately, the guard Sojun had targeted swung his sword from above towards Sojun.

“I’ve been waiting for this.”

Sojun reversed his grip on the cane and raised it to intercept the descending sword perpendicularly.

Clang!

Once again, the background rippled and the chatroom buzzed.
– ????
– What’s happening?

Sojun fell back, pushing the groggy guard’s neck with his cane to confirm the loss of HP, and then charged at the guards again.

Clang!

Perhaps the game company had tweaked their skills, but their coordination was impeccable. However, Sojun could see their gaps too well.

Clang!

Movement that anyone would admire.

Even though they attacked from different angles, Sojun didn’t miss any of them, moving his cane accordingly.

“If you’re going to catch me, you’d better bring the 108 Arhats from Shaolin.”

Clang!
– ?? Was the host always this skilled?
– That’s not the point, he succeeded in parrying four times now haha
– Amazing. Wow, really…

“Dammit.”

“Run away!”

When Sojun floored four of them, the last guard, who had fallen to the ground, shouted to the standing guard.

“Request backup quickly… Ugh.”

His neck was pierced by Sojun’s cane.

Sojun had determined that this was the cleanest way to deal damage after trying various methods on the two groggy guards.

“Now, six are dealt with.”

– Who is the host anyway?
– Are you really a beginner?
– See, I told you. See, I told you. See, I told you. See, I told you. See, I told you.

“I’m really a beginner. You saw earlier, right?”

– Haha, the guy who couldn’t even get over the rooftop is now so good
– Seriously, when he fell while climbing the rope, I thought I found a newbie to watch, but he turned out to be a pro
– What are you guys talking about?
– Watch the replay
– Who are you? Who are you? Who are you? Who are you? Who are you? Who are you?

“Oh, if ‘I am Joseon’s Assassin’ spams more, you’ll be banned.”

– Yes
– Set the rules
– Haha, that’s satisfying

A viewer named ‘I am Joseon’s Assassin’ had recognized Sojun’s skill but was mocked earlier.

Scrolling up, it showed that not just him but other viewers had been mocking Sojun continuously, at least until he succeeded in his third parry.

“I understand, but if you guys fight among yourselves, I will have to ban you.”

– Yes
– Got it
– What’s to fear being banned from a small-time stream anyway?

Suddenly, a provocative chat popped up.

A small-time stream rumored to be the equivalent of a shabby shanty shop compared to the big corporate-like streams with many viewers.
– Go ahead, ban me haha

『lkiop1644 has been banned』

“Okay.”

『Viewers: 6』

Sojun swiftly banned the viewer.

If he left such viewers because he valued viewer numbers, it could create a bad atmosphere where others wondered if this stream tolerated such behavior.

He couldn’t sacrifice the stream’s future just to avoid losing one person.

Though he wasn’t sure if there would be a future.
– Haha, crazy reaction speed. As expected, you’re physically competent
– Wow, first ban of the season, impressive!

Fortunately, the response wasn’t bad. ‘I am Joseon’s Assassin’ typed in the chat.
– Honestly, with this level of talent, he should become famous soon. He’d regret getting banned later, LOL
– Really LOL

Hmm.

Am I doing well enough to receive this kind of feedback?

In this life, he hadn’t experienced much social interaction, and in his previous life, he lived passively due to his origins preventing him from stepping into the forefront.

Background was incredibly important in the martial world. No, it was more important than anything else.

Depending on which faction one belonged to, their level in martial arts, status, and the fame they could achieve were all essentially predetermined.

The food they ate, the martial arts they learned, their masters, their experiences, the people they met—all varied significantly.

In such a world, he was an orphan captured from a foreign land.

Fortunately, an elder from the Murim Alliance who hailed from the Mount Hua Sect took him in.

Recognizing his talent, the elder brought him to a place where the geniuses of the orthodox factions gathered.

At first, he was ignored.

However, his talent that could compete for the title of the best under heaven soon stood out, like a needle protruding from a pocket, even in that place. His master wanted to induct him into the Mount Hua Sect, but due to interference from rival sects that couldn’t bear to see Mount Hua’s power grow, he couldn’t belong to any faction.

A martial artist who represented nothing and was represented by no one.

But his talent reached the heavens.

The lofty Sword God.

“In truth, it was inevitable that I appeared lofty. Hmm. No one lived as cautiously as I did…”

It was then.

‘Senior brother, please stop spouting nonsense. Have you already forgotten how much trouble we went through because of the mess you created?’

A hallucination. He sometimes heard them.

Anyway.

Sojun was satisfied with the current situation.

The stream was more fun than he had expected.

The game was fun too.

“It feels like embarking upon a journey through the martial world, a place I’ve never been before…”

But then—

‘Senior brother, wasn’t it a martial journey when you secretly went to the Namgung family and caused a ruckus there? Huh?’

That thought kept intruding.

Anyway, it was good.
– How do you manage to parry so well though?
– Seriously, got any newbie tricks?

“Oh, but how hard is parrying anyway?”

– It’s so tough that veterans of the previous series, who thought they could dominate again, all vanished at some point and started yelling “Breath is a god-tier game for assassination.”
– Even former pros have complained about how precise the parry timing is. They say you fail at least once every three times because you have to deflect perfectly
– Don’t bring back those who retired because they lacked skill, LOL

“I see.”

– Spill the beans now
– Tap tap tap

Sojun answered honestly.

“You just have to remember your past life.”

-??
– The streamer LOL His mental state is something else LOL

“Or, watch and parry vertically.”

-???
– LOL I didn’t expect much anyway LOL

Sojun couldn’t hold back his laughter anymore.
– He’s laughing while deceiving us LOL
– Hey, is it fun teasing us? Hey, let go of this
– If you let go, the streamer will just parry you back.
– LOL

Sojun thought as he laughed.

“Turns out I’m made for streaming.”

The interaction was more fun than he had imagined.
– So, when are you gonna move?
– If you stay like this, they’ll all swarm.

“Ah, that’s…”

Click clack clack

“This way!”

“There’s an intruder here!”

Enemies swarmed in.

There were 13 of them.

Everyone from the mansion except Etor gathered.

The first two guards, the one who escaped, the four he killed, and the newly arriving 12 individuals.

Including Etor, there were 20 enemies in total.
– 13? They’re all here, GG
– X
– Well, he’s a newbie after all. If you stay put, they all eventually gather

Sojun spread his arms and waited until eight enemies surrounded him.
– He’s given up
– Just die here, skip the tutorial quickly, and move on to the main game. You can’t beat Etor anyway.

Once he was completely surrounded, he announced his plan.

“Guys, I’ll show you a 13-hit parry.”

One comment appeared in the chat thereafter.
– Shut up