Master Swordsman’s Stream - Chapter 104

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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 104

In that instant, Park Hyuk-su’s face drained of color—he looked genuinely panicked.
Tae-woo, who’d just arrived, said he’d grab some drinks since he didn’t understand what was going on.
“Um, um…….”
Watching Park Hyuk-su repeat nothing but stammers, Seo Jun smiled.
Not signing the contract was just a joke.
He’d only been teasing back because Park had kept it hidden as some grand surprise.
“Please, just reconsider! We only have three days left!”
Who told him to contact so late anyway?
It seemed Park had waited until his viewership dropped before setting up this rushed schedule, and this little revenge was on top of keeping his collab partner a surprise.
The decision was sound, though.
If his collab partner was Tae-woo, there was no real reason to refuse.
They hadn’t even done a collab stream together yet.
Most people already knew they were friends anyway, after they’d revealed it during the after-party with Alpaca.
“Please, just think about it once more! Did something happen? Did you two fight?”
The words ‘This shouldn’t be happening’ were written all over his face.
“I was joking. Nothing happened.”
Only then did Park Hyuk-su exhale deeply.
He then muttered something under his breath, and Seo Jun’s keen hearing caught it.
“Thought we’d miss out on the Bull Market…….”
Bull Market?
Why was he suddenly talking about a Bull Market?
“Hello. I’m streamer Tae-woo. Sorry for being late.”
“It’s fine.”
Tae-woo returned with his drink and took a seat.
Unlike Seo Jun, who found this kind of business meeting a little unfamiliar, Tae-woo didn’t seem particularly flustered.
And then.
Tae-woo whispered near Seo Jun’s ear.
“What? Why are you here?”
“I got recruited too?”
“Ah. But why did you schedule this meeting with me?”
Hmm.
This guy definitely forgot this was a 2-Player Cooperative Game.
At first, he’d joked about not doing it, but now it felt like there really might be something wrong with playing together…….
That’s when Tae-woo’s eyes suddenly widened as if he’d belatedly remembered something he’d forgotten, and he spoke in an embarrassed tone.
“Ha ha. ……Just kidding.”
Yeah, right.
Tae-woo was a streamer under MCN.
So he didn’t have to worry much about advertisements.
The company handled all the negotiations and gave him a summary of the ad content.
The convenience of just listening, deciding, and doing as told—that was exactly why he’d joined MCN.
Still, forgetting whether a game was 2-player or single-player was a bit much…….
Seo Jun always wondered: how had this guy managed to be a streamer for seven years?
Maybe streaming wasn’t that hard after all?
“So what’s the game’s story?”
Park Hyuk-su began his basic explanation again for Tae-woo, who’d arrived late.
And then.
“So you want both of us to play this 2-Player Cooperative Game?”
“Yes. Also, there will be another team of streamers playing on the same day.”
“Hmm. You’re not having us compete against them?”
“What? Why would we do a competition?”
“Wouldn’t it be fun to bet on who clears it first?”
“Ha ha…….”
“So who’s the other team? If they’re someone I know, maybe…….”
Park Hyuk-su spoke hurriedly.
“Well, if the competition generates publicity, that’s good for us, but wouldn’t the effect be pretty limited?”
Right. Their goal was promotion. He mustn’t lose sight of that.
If they got caught up in competing and rushing through the game, it wouldn’t be easy to showcase all its charm.
Park Hyuk-su absolutely had to prevent that.
“It depends on who they are, but probably.”
“Then why…….”
“Because it’s a guaranteed win. Hehe. You know his skill level.”
Tae-woo trusted Seo Jun.
Sigh.
The same sound of a sigh crossed Park Hyuk-su’s face again.
He looked exhausted.
“Ha ha…….”
“Just kidding. Anyway, this sounds like it’ll be fun.”
“Well, that’s a relief.”
Seeing all the energy drain from Park’s face, Seo Jun suddenly felt bad about the prank he’d pulled earlier.
“Anyway, back to business. The first chapter of our game has a horror theme. Fortunately, you mentioned you get scared easily, right?”
“What?”
“What?”

* * *

One mountain after another.
His head throbbed with a dull ache.
Park Hyuk-su suddenly missed the company’s CEO.
Sir.
I think we’re done for.
Seriously.
“This is our fault.”
…….
“We worded the email poorly, missed the strange details, didn’t confirm them, and set a rushed schedule…….”
“Come on. It’s not like you’ve done this before.”
At Tae-woo’s consolation, Park Hyuk-su sighed even more deeply.
“For your first time, this is pretty solid work.”
Is that so.
“You picked me and him, didn’t you? That alone makes it a success.”
Park Hyuk-su took another long sigh.
He couldn’t feel fear. He couldn’t feel it at all!
If it were someone else, he could brush it off as them bragging, but this streamer had never once shown any arrogance in his history.
Looking back at his broadcast record, everything he said sounded absurd, but he was someone who only spoke the truth.
It didn’t seem like he’d brag about something like this either.
Above all, the mistake in the email was clearly his own fault.
He should have emphasized ‘as a streamer’ or asked differently altogether.
Sigh.
Park Hyuk-su sighed so deeply the earth seemed to crack open, then slapped both cheeks with his palms—smack!
Anyway.
He could try to back out now, but it would be hard to find an alternative.
He had other candidates lined up, but would they accept?
In less than three days—no, two days and eight hours remaining?
‘Look on the bright side. This could actually be better.’
Right.
The other team definitely consists of streamers who experience horror well.
Maybe having different reactions from each person would actually look better?
Once Park Hyuk-su finished rationalizing it, his eyes regained their light.
And he spoke.
“Let me make a call for a moment.”
“Sure.”
Come to think of it, he didn’t need to decide this himself anyway!
That’s why his eyes had lit up.
About thirty minutes later, Park Hyuk-su finished his call and sat back down.
“Let’s go with it.”
“You’re keeping the plan as is?”
Seo Jun spoke.
“Yes. I think it won’t be bad.”
Since we can’t change it anyway, let’s just push forward.
That was the team’s decision.
Park Hyuk-su handed over a contract to Seo Jun and Tae-woo with the terms he’d mentioned earlier.
“The conditions are streaming for at least four hours on the day of the game’s release and uploading two videos to YouTube within a week.”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Confirmed.”
The meeting wrapped up well, fortunately.
Or rather, whether it wrapped up well remained to be seen.
Everything would be determined by results.
Whether they’d hit the Bull Market, face delisting, or break through to new highs!
“One last thing—it’d be good to decide in advance: in most cooperative games, there’s a supporting role and a role that actively performs the mechanics.”
Especially in a 2-Player Cooperative Game.
“So it’d be better if you decide in advance who’ll provide support.”
The roles switch fairly between chapters, but they don’t change within a chapter.
Though honestly, it doesn’t matter much.
While they’d distinguished roles, cooperative games typically don’t require one person to do significantly more work or harder work than the other.
“Oh? I’ll do the mechanics. You just support me, Jun.”
“Why? I’m better at it.”
Park Hyuk-su, listening to their exchange, nodded in agreement.
There probably wasn’t anyone better than this streamer.
“What are you saying……. You’re right, though. Yeah, you probably are better. But usually, it’s better if the person more suited to supporting takes that role—it makes the game easier.”
“It’s fine if it’s harder.”
“I mind.”
Sensing a fight about to break out, Park Hyuk-su clarified the misunderstanding.
“Even if it’s support, the importance and difficulty level aren’t higher or lower. It really doesn’t matter. So…….”
Seo Jun spoke.
“Hear that? So you provide support.”
“No way.”
Hmm.
Were they misunderstanding something?
Park Hyuk-su asked them a question.
“But why don’t either of you want to provide support?”
“Just because?”
“Because he wants to.”
The first answer was Tae-woo’s, the second Seo Jun’s.
Ah.
I see.
Park Hyuk-su laughed brightly.
‘Will this ad campaign work out?’
The specter of his company’s delisting loomed.
Please, let it go well.

* * *

The next day.

[Generating 10th Tier AI.]

Training Ground.
Within a virtual world, a woman had just summoned a 10th Tier AI.
Only those who had defeated the 9th Tier AI were qualified to fight the 10th Tier.
So the woman’s skill was clearly exceptional.
However.
Knowing her true identity would make anyone agree that the single word “exceptional” fell far too short to describe her.
Shin Ha-yeon.
She’d won three consecutive world championships and reclaimed the throne last year, only to settle for runner-up this year—a pioneering professional gamer from the very beginning.
By “pioneering,” the reference was to players who existed from when tournaments started six years ago.
And those early players who’d endured until now were treated as legends.
Six years was short, arguably.
So it might have seemed odd that lasting through that period earned the title of legend.
But the participant pool had been incredibly small back then.
In other words, the virtual reality market had exploded from a modest number of people to a social phenomenon over the past six years.
Overwhelming growth.
Talent pools and rising stars multiplying exponentially each year.
How many professional gamers had retired, unable to withstand that new wave?
That’s why people called those who endured from the start legends.
Among them, Shin Ha-yeon was an icon, having won four of the past six tournaments.
And now she stood before the 10th Tier AI.

[Seo Jun]

The one who’d seized the position of the 10th Tier AI that she’d held for years was a streamer who’d only recently started.
Shin Ha-yeon knew the streamer’s true identity.
“Am I almost done? Or not?”
Her head tilted quizzically, then she adjusted her grip on the sword.
“Fighting again will remind me.”
Shin Ha-yeon slowly leaned her body forward, then suddenly charged.
The sparring began.
Blade met blade.
She attempted every attack she could manage.
Recalling how the AI had countered each one before,
the AI’s health gradually dwindled from twenty, one point at a time.
By contrast, Shin Ha-yeon’s health hadn’t dropped at all.
She’d surpassed the AI’s level long ago.
Yet the reason she hadn’t retaken the 10th Tier position—
Her sword’s edge halted just before the AI’s throat.

[Remaining Health: 1]

“This isn’t real anyway.”
Winning meant nothing.
She shook her head firmly, stopped the game without finishing it, and paused.
“I think I’ve seen all the patterns I can from this much. One more time, maybe?”
Lost in thought, a message notification appeared at the edge of her vision.

[Baek Do-yul: Hey.]

Baek Do-yul.
One of the guys who’d taken this year’s championship.
Naturally, Shin Ha-yeon’s brow furrowed.

[Shin Ha-yeon: ?]
[Baek Do-yul: Some streamer just took a game title that only I had.]
[Baek Do-yul: And I figured you might be interested too.]

Shin Ha-yeon glanced between the suspended AI before her and the messages, then sent a reply.

[Shin Ha-yeon: I’m not.]

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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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