Master Swordsman’s Stream - Chapter 121

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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 121

The League is a game where players accept the memories of heroic beings from the past and fight using their power.
The medium through which this occurs is called the Tower of Memory—a hall of heroes.
In other words, it’s simply the game’s shop.
Players can undertake various events here as well.
Seo Jun had stopped by this place the day before and purchased a hero. Since he had no game points, he paid with real money.
This hero was one Seo Jun used to enjoy playing back in the day.
Standing in the center of the Tower of Memory with his game loaded, Seo Jun briefly glanced aside to check his streaming status.

[Seo Jun – 22,000 viewers currently watching]

The viewer count was climbing.
Since the default sorting when entering the category was by highest viewer count, Seo Jun’s broadcast occupied a position that appeared with just a slight scroll.
It was sixth place in The League category—the position of his stream.
As a mid-tier streamer among the established ones, he was certainly discovering new viewers this way.
“You’re asking what hero I’ll play? Whether I’ll pick the dark one? You’ll see it right away, so please refrain from spoilers.”
Seeing is believing.

-You don’t even know what you’re doing lol
-Is this the part where you buy a hero straight from the selection screen? lol
-Everyone, what do you want to see? Tell me quick! We’re about to start!
-I can see it coming I can see it

They didn’t believe him.
“Let me show you what a career newcomer looks like.”
Seo Jun’s confident voice flowed through the broadcast.
But then again, when wasn’t Seo Jun like this?
When he played Assassination Guild’s Dawn, when he first played For the Sect—Seo Jun had been consistent all along, so his sincerity never quite reached anyone.

-Sure it is
-Bought Kael and pulling out a meta hero on his first match lol
-For real lol
-Stop spouting nonsense and just show us some newbie gameplay

By now, the viewers no longer expected Seo Jun to fail at anything—not even a little.
Through long experience, they’d learned that with physical capability like Seo Jun’s, he could excel at anything.
The only time the viewers expected to see Seo Jun struggle was when he played a game for the first time, and that’s what they were hoping for.
What bizarre trolling would he pull this time?
Just as Seo Jun was staring at the chat with a bewildered expression, the match was found.
The moment he accepted, his body was transported to the waiting room.
Ten players stood in two facing lines of five—and the opposing side was shrouded in dark shadow.
“Mid’s open.”
The League allowed players to select their preferred position before matching, and these positions
followed standard AOS rules.
To explain the game’s five positions:
Top.
The upper lane of the three lanes dividing the map, typically played by tanks or initiators.
Since they spend a lot of time alone, it’s easy for their personalities to become a bit strange.
Mid.
The position played in the center lane.
Due to its geographical advantages, it’s easy to move toward either the lower or upper lane, giving it significant influence in teamfights.
ADC.
A ranged damage dealer who goes to the bottom lane.
Support.
The role that goes to the bottom lane with the ADC to assist them.
Jungle.
The gaps between lanes in the game are called the jungle, and this position hunts the jungle monsters while helping each lane.
This is the most standard division of roles, though variations are possible.
However, that’s only seen very occasionally—when teams in tournaments pre-coordinate strategy with teammates.
In randomly matched games like this one, about 99% of the time players just do whatever they want in their own lanes without paying attention to anyone else.
Unless someone brazenly picks a trolling character, of course.
And the character Seo Jun chose was halfway into that category.

[The memory of Kael, Herald of Radiance, dwells within you.]
[Welcome. Now let us go forth and judge evil.]

The moment Seo Jun finished his selection, a sigh came from beside him.
“Ugh…….”
He quickly shut his mouth since he didn’t particularly want to argue, but the meaning of that sigh was conveyed clearly enough.

-lololol
-So he bought Kael?
-The veteran pulling out a meta hero on his first game lol
-At this point we should just all play bug heroes!

Kael, Herald of Radiance.
In the game’s lore, he is a judge and prosecutor of a religious order blessed by the god of light.
The thing to note is that he has high mechanical difficulty,
and that Kael’s ultimate summons a massive falling sword from the sky to execute enemies.
That’s right.
Kael’s ultimate is cool. It has a romance that appeals to every man’s fantasies.
High difficulty plus flashy plays.
What does that mean?

-Seems like the streamer isn’t actually a Kael fanatic though
-No matter how much you love swordsmen, you can’t resist a falling judgment sword lol
-Who showed the streamer that Kael video yesterday lol
-Reminds me of that Kael fanatic I met yesterday, getting mad all over again
-Suddenly everyone’s sharing PTSD lololol

Many such fanatics are created.
The term “fanatic” appended to a hero’s name here refers to people without skill who select that hero regardless of situation or matchup, purely for their own enjoyment.
If such a teammate ends up on your team, that match is almost guaranteed to be a loss.
The reason viewers instinctively curse despite expecting Seo Jun to perform well is because they’ve suffered so much from such teammates.
Kael was one of the six representative fanatic heroes.
‘The perception is exactly the same as seven years ago.’
Seven years is enough time for several sea changes to occur even within a game’s meta.
Yet the perception remained identical.
‘Kael is a classic.’
A value that doesn’t easily change.
He liked that.
Had The League’s users heard that thought, they would’ve collected every question mark and curse imaginable.
As Seo Jun’s satisfied smile bloomed, the selection phase ended.

[3]
[2]
[1]
[Game starting.]

They were summoned to the respawn point called the Well.
Seo Jun headed toward the Mid Lane, the position corresponding to his role.
Enemies approached with steady steps.

-No invades or invade defense lol
-They’re all newbies
-Just do whatever you want

In the AOS genre, there are monsters that regularly spawn continuously on all three lanes (like the soldiers in For the Sect), which are called minions.
And an invade is when, at the very beginning before minions spawn, everyone rushes into the enemy base together and fights.
Since this is Unranked—the beginner bracket—such elements aren’t carefully managed.
“Hello? Your nickname is cool!”
The opponent aimed a crossbow above Seo Jun’s head.
The hero that had received memory on the opposing side was Shan the Grave Digger, a hero who uses a crossbow.
“Thank you.”
Seo Jun expressed his gratitude and stepped back slightly.

-Why aren’t you speaking casually?
-So you’re one of the Orthofaction now!
-That politeness looks incredibly artificial

“Come here.”
“I’d rather not.”
“Ah, damn.”
Seo Jun was melee range and the opponent was ranged.
Without minions to shield him right now, no matter how well Seo Jun fought, it would be hard for him to gain advantage.

[A wise choice.]

Kael’s reverent voice resonated in his mind.
‘It’s been a while.’
The League had a conversation mode with the hero who had received the memory.
This conversation mode could heighten enjoyment during the game through banter or increase immersion,
but its original purpose was always to serve as a guide for beginners just like this.

[You cannot match the black crossbow.]
[There are several methods to overcome this. The Blessing of Radiance is precisely such a way…….]

And this content was definitely tutorial dialogue appearing because Seo Jun hadn’t done the tutorial.
Seo Jun’s brow furrowed.
It was explaining his skills from scratch, not offering fine gameplay tips.

-Isn’t this obviously just tutorial content?
-The game company really cares about their players like this lol
-Wait, you said you watched all that yesterday!

The viewers’ instincts were as sharp as ever.
Seo Jun immediately opened the settings menu and turned off the conversation mode.
“Not needed.”
The reverent voice that had been earnestly explaining cut off like a disconnected phone call.

-lol wtf
-Explanation-spammer eliminated!
-Game company: C’mon listen to me! lol

[Minions spawning.]

On the minimap in the corner of his vision, minions were shown advancing. They’d arrive soon.
“From now on, be prepared to take one-sided hits.”
The opponent shouldered the crossbow with one hand, then grasped it with both hands and took aim at Seo Jun before taunting.
The moment he got in range, he looked ready to fire.
He came up to just before the tower’s firing range and sneered at Seo Jun.

-Relying on range alone and getting cocky with the streamer lol
-Melee range is really bad though
-You basically take one-sided damage lol

In combat, range is nearly absolute.
That’s why the game company provides various adjustments to balance things out.
By setting ranged characters’ basic attack damage and health and defense lower, for instance.
And by creating mechanics that allow melee characters to overcome that range disadvantage.
“Kael has movement speed and invincibility frames, right?”
Seo Jun spoke softly.
The minions were approaching.
Seo Jun used them as a shield to close the distance.
The opponent kept their distance, whittling down the minions’ health with the crossbow while backing away from Seo Jun.
Seo Jun examined the opponent’s body carefully.
Kael’s passive.

[All-Seeing Eye]

The god of light is also a god of combat.
As that god’s herald, Kael received several blessings, one of which is this passive—the All-Seeing Eye—that lets him constantly see the opponent’s vital points.
Currently, a sacred white light wavered in a small circle at one point on the opponent’s body.
As Seo Jun continued staring at it, a humming sound effect played.
“Strike that point and you gain a momentary boost to movement and attack speed.”
Since additional damage is dealt as well, the most important ability for Kael is targeting those vital points.
The vital point constantly shifts.
Whether the opponent retreats and comes back again, or time passes without attacks being made—
or even if the vital point attack succeeds.
If he successfully hits a vital point, the next one generates immediately.
It could be a point to stab like now, or a trajectory to slash.
After hitting that next vital point, another appears.
If he successfully hits three vital points within a certain time window, he builds one stack—which then allows him to use a skill.

[Blessing of Radiance]

A skill that temporarily grants immunity to crowd control and invincibility.
The second tool to overcome melee disadvantage.
“The Blessing of Radiance is that good, you say?”
If you judge it purely by effectiveness without worrying about the conditions, it ranks among the best skills in the game.
“That invincibility frame? Swordmaster, do you think you can pull it off? Of all the Kaels I’ve met so far, not a single one has ever used that skill.”
But the opponent poses the question, apparently thinking it’s directed at them.

-lol a Kael fanatic
-Other people are giving false confidence lol
-That’s why they’re called fanatics lol
-Honestly, hitting vital points already has pretty high difficulty, but you need to land three randomly generated points within a time limit? Impossible lol
-Plus the opponent can see their own vital point too, so they can play around it lol
-The streamer will probably pull off the skill easily

The reason Kael’s difficulty is high is because of the vital points that are supposedly generated randomly.
But would a game company really dislike patterns?
Seo Jun had known the answer to that since seven years ago.
‘Let’s see if it’s changed even once.’
Seo Jun immediately burst out from behind a minion.
The opponent’s crossbow, busy processing minions, turned toward Seo Jun.
“Die!”
Thwack!
The first shot missed because Seo Jun twisted unpredictably.
The second arrow grazed him, draining some health.
As Shan, whose powerful shots had slow reload times, was charging the third arrow, the opponent entered Seo Jun’s attack range.
Ting!
A glass-shattering sound rang out.
Seo Jun’s extended sword had struck the white vital point circle.
“Ugh.”
Before the new vital point even generated, Seo Jun’s blade, leveraging its newfound speed, was already moving first.
A fraction of a second passed and a new vital point appeared. Seo Jun didn’t stop his momentum and continued forward.
Ting!
A newly formed line of light shatters diagonally.
At that moment, the opponent finished preparing the third arrow aimed at Seo Jun’s head.
“Go well to your end.”
The opponent figured that with how close Seo Jun had gotten, a direct headshot would deal massive damage.
Ting!
But Seo Jun had already struck the third vital point without hesitation.
‘Blessing.’
Seo Jun’s body was surrounded by a soft white light.

[Blessing of Radiance]

Pang!
The third arrow flew directly toward Seo Jun’s head.
But instead of piercing through, it bounced off.
“Huh?”
The opponent’s eyes widened.
The viewers were equally shocked.

-???
-What
-Dude that was insanely fast?
-Did he memorize the vital points???
-If vital points were something you could memorize, everyone would be playing Kael
-Seriously what is this??lololol

The reason was incredibly simple.
From the moment Seo Jun struck the first vital point until he activated the skill, only two seconds had elapsed.
“Now you’ve seen it? Kael’s skill.”
“Y-yes……?”
“I’ll show you plenty more going forward.”

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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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