Master Swordsman’s Stream - Chapter 103

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 103

Glance. Glance.
He surveyed his surroundings.
Freshmen who’d been here only a year but still carried a certain brightness passed by.
So did freshmen who’d already lost the dreams and romance of university.
Upper-classmen who’d discarded such notions long ago crossed the Main Gate just the same.
Students of many varieties.
And here now.
Jeon Jae-hun, streaming under the nickname Best Swordsman Under Heaven on the For the Sect channel, was frowning for an entirely different reason than they were.
He glanced around once more.
With his hat pulled down from the court and his mask hanging at his mouth, the way he scanned his surroundings was certainly threatening in itself, and he knew it, but he didn’t care.
Korea’s finest university, Korean University.
‘There’s a monster living here.’
Not metaphorically.
The swordsman thought as much, and when the signal at the crosswalk changed, he slipped into the crowd flowing across and entered the campus.
‘Just skipping one morning and it’s come to this…….’
Waking up at six in the morning and heading to the gymnasium for about an hour of exercise was undoubtedly a worthwhile habit.
Exercise itself is good.
But morning workouts don’t just wake the body—they build routine, and routine itself carries tremendous power.
So he couldn’t deny the benefit to him.
But the thing is, a person can’t live on what’s good for them alone!
If human beings could sustain themselves doing only beneficial things, the world’s major fast-food franchises would have collapsed long ago.
The gaming market would’ve collapsed, and the food service industry would’ve been reorganized around health.
So!
The conclusion was drawn that his not going to the gymnasium this morning was as natural a fact as the world’s massive success in the gaming market.
‘Just hold on a little longer.’
That one whose name cannot be spoken said he’d be taking a leave of absence soon.
So he just had to be careful for about a month and not get caught.

[Something wrong?]
[If you’re hurt, just rest up]
[Resting well is exercise too, so don’t feel guilty!]

The older guys he’d become close with at the gymnasium sent messages of concern.
They knew he loved working out.
But that wasn’t true.
He’d somehow reached the level of genuine enjoyment, and once he went, he’d do it again, but that was separate from the matter of going to exercise in the first place.
‘Still, hearing encouragement like this makes me want to do leg day again.’
This is addiction.
Exercise releases dopamine and you get addicted.
There’s a reason gym addicts exist. Surprisingly, this sense of achievement becomes so addictive precisely because it drives success.
It’s a substance essential to human survival.
Of course, even such addiction could be cured instantly by a single message that arrived this morning.

[Seo Jun: ?]

Just a question mark and nothing else.
That single question mark terrified him.
Right.
It was time to sever the master-student bond.
The battlefield had concluded successfully, after all.
He surveyed his surroundings as he walked through the crowd.
He memorized the terrain and the faces of people emerging from buildings so he could hide himself at any moment.
‘This is what wild animals must experience every moment.’
He finally understood why it was so hard to feed squirrels and other wild creatures.
They always have to be alert to their surroundings.
You could ask why worry about meeting someone when the school is this large, but nature is the same way.
It’s just that for prey, even after surviving several years, a single moment of carelessness or mistake leads to death, which is why they remain vigilant.
But then.
Tap-tap.
Someone tapped his shoulder.
He turned around.
And his eyes met those of an unpleasant-looking senior who was slightly taller than him.
Yeah, that’s why I was being careful today, but I never thought I’d actually run into him.
I should’ve just come to school early or run away starting tomorrow.
“What are you doing?”
The wild.
It’s a hard place to survive.
He felt that fact keenly in that moment.

* * *

“Ah…… It’s because of a cold……”
“Ah. That’s why you’re wearing the mask?”
“Yes……? Yes! Ah. Of course. I can’t spread it to others.”
“Right. Then you’ll be all better by tomorrow. Won’t you?”
The swordsman felt as if Seo Jun was speaking in a tone that suggested he already knew everything but was letting it slide just this once.
Who recovers from a cold in a single day!
So that was definitely a threat.
He nodded his head.
Once.
Twice.
Faster and faster.
“Right. Let’s see each other again starting tomorrow.”
“Yes!”
And the hunch that Seo Jun had noticed proved correct.
Seo Jun laughed to himself, told him to pay attention in class, and left through the Main Gate.
‘Trying to slip away, are we.’
Seo Jun entered a nearby restaurant.
It was two o’clock, a bit late for lunch, but schedules don’t always cooperate.
He’d eat at his leisure and then head to the meeting place.
‘Come to think of it.’
Lately he’d been feeling eyes on him.
On campus, on University Street.
You could chalk it up to his imagination or paranoia, but Seo Jun trusted his instincts.
And he was right to.
Posts like this appeared occasionally in the university community boards.

[Korean University’s biggest output. Demon Lord 14. Who is this???]

-Demonic Path Followers again…
-What even is that lol
-Didn’t know Korean University had so many treading the heterodox path. Yikes!
-Clicked the link and he’s actually hot
-Entrepreneurs from Korean University? Investors? Developers? So they use swords better than the Demon Lord? lol
└lmao true
-Lunatics

The characteristic of such posts was that comments were remarkably sparse relative to views.
For the Sect happened to be on the minor side after all.
Yet despite that, recognition of Seo Jun continued to climb within the school as such posts accumulated.
But this was something Seo Jun—who hadn’t even used SNS before starting to stream—couldn’t possibly know.
‘Hmm? He took a hiatus too.’
As Seo Jun scrolled through his video feed while eating, a notice from Tae-woo appeared on his screen.
He’d subscribed to the channel.

[Whether the weather’s good, bad, or mediocre. Today I’m taking a broadcast break.]

It was Tae-woo’s hiatus notice.
He said he was going out earlier, so was he planning to come back late?
Thinking he should ask what they’d do after the meeting, Seo Jun naturally checked the comments.
Were they similar to his?

-‘Twas my first… murder.
└lolol that’s so nostalgic
└Tae-woo be careful on the night streets lol
└That’s insane lol
-Honestly, I’m dying to know what kind of weather would make you NOT take a break.
-When are you finding your original spirit, you fool? All you do is take breaks
└Haven’t you watched the early streams? The guy malfunctioned constantly, did emergency sign-offs and hiatuses—you absolutely cannot let him find his original spirit, Tae-woo

Pretty similar.
Really similar.
‘Right.’
Seo Jun thought he was on the right path.
Tae-woo was a bit lacking, but he was a successful streamer.
A streamer who’d been growing continuously from seven years ago—what you could call the Capsule’s early days—until now.
So.
‘I need to keep learning.’
Seo Jun suddenly felt his own inadequacy and kindled his passion for study or whatever.
Now he realized how much his hiatus notice written today would frustrate viewers.

[Today’s broadcast? Ah, I left it in the new era!]

-Looks like you left your conscience there too

[Hello, viewers. Are you all having a good day? I’m afraid I’m not having one because my stomach hurts. Hence, today’s broadcast, you know?]

-If you tell me your address, I’ll send you probiotics. Haha, so come on and tell me?

[A sparrow I keep at home ate through the cables inside my capsule. I’m sorry.]

-??? This is ridiculous
-Keeping sparrows is illegal. I’ll report you so you can stay on hiatus forever.
└lolol
└I’m jealous of your infinite hiatus.

‘I need to be careful from now on.’
It was good cautionary material.

* * *

“Hello. I’m Park Hyuk-su from Monster, an indie game developer.”
“Hello.”
“I’d first like to apologize. Our CEO wanted to come personally, but we’re quite busy with only three days left until the new game launches.”
“That’s fine.”
There was nothing to understand or not understand about it.
Even for a small development studio, he thought that if he had to compare whether the CEO should attend something like this or not, it was probably more fitting that they wouldn’t.
“Yes, well then…… Um. Should we start explaining once the other person arrives?”
There were still about two minutes left.
“Let’s do that.”
Seo Jun sucked down the drink sitting on the table.
Then two minutes passed.
He didn’t show up.
Park Hyuk-su tapped his phone with a flustered expression.
“Haha, it seems the other streamer is running a bit late. Something came up.”
“How late?”
“About thirty minutes…….”
“Hmm…….”
That happens.
“Then couldn’t you tell me who the other person is now?”
“Wouldn’t a surprise be better?”
With three days left? Really?
“If the other person doesn’t appeal to me, I genuinely won’t sign the contract. Genuinely.”
“Don’t worry! It’s someone you know, Seo Jun!”
Could it be Alpaca?
Or was there someone else from For the Sect who was a streamer that he was close with?
Bang Ju said he doesn’t play games like this directly, I think.
This feels ominous.
Tae-woo comes to mind.
But if it really is that bastard.
It means Tae-woo prepared from morning for the four o’clock meeting.
It’s already surprising that he prepared that early, but to prepare that early and still be thirty minutes late?
‘No way a person would do this.’
Seo Jun ruled out Tae-woo on the basis of basic common sense.
“I understand. Don’t blame me later. For now, just explain the game first.”
“Yes. Our game is titled Two Heads are Better, as you saw in the email.”
Thanks to Han Ji-min having categorized and summarized numerous games, he generally knew the content of most of the games that had come by email.
But since he’d chosen this particular game, he needed to hear more detailed explanation from the developer’s perspective.
Two Heads are Better.
To be exact, it’s a title derived from the English proverb “Two heads are better than one,” shortened from the back half.
In Korean terms, “Two hands make light work”?
It’s a phrase that well explains the nature of a cooperative game.
“The basic story is that two friends who were developing a game have a big fight, development halts, and magic forces them both into the unfinished game itself.”
A developer.
At this point, Seo Jun voiced what he’d been wanting to ask continuously.
“Is it perhaps half a personal account?”
“…… I can’t say it wasn’t inspired by real events. Haha. Anyway, the progression itself is quite conventional.”
They cooperate to solve mechanics and move forward.
That’s the essence of a co-op game.
And with games like this, usually things won’t go smoothly unless your partner is sharp or has good reflexes.
Then.
Jingle.
The glass door of the café opened and a chime rang.
“Sorry I’m late…….”
And confirming the person, Seo Jun nodded with satisfaction and smiled.
What the hell.
It really is Tae-woo.
“I won’t do this.”
He reached his conclusion immediately.
“Yes. Yes?”
To reiterate, cooperative games require your partner to have at least a certain level of intelligence and skill to not be frustrating.
I won’t say any more than that.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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