Master Swordsman’s Stream - Chapter 174

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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 174

The pure white light took on a human form.
Within the Yeonmujang system, only those who had defeated a Rank 9 AI were granted the privilege of summoning a Rank 10 entity.
That’s right.
The being before his eyes carried a hefty price tag.

[unknown]

A name floated above the summoned silhouette’s head.
It wasn’t Seo Jun. He hadn’t entered Yeonmujang in quite some time.
So naturally, it would have been taken from him.
Because of the limitations of the AI mentioned earlier.
If a computer had simply calculated and injected the greatest skill it could generate into the Rank 10, perhaps no one would ever have beaten it—an impregnable, ultimate entity named “Chul-su” (and for the record, Seo Jun had also named the AI Chul-su) might have emerged.
But that wasn’t the case.
The Rank 10 AI had learned through the movements of the users it faced.
Because of that, Rank 10 could only ever fall short of one person unless it had learned everything about them.
‘I remember Shin Ha-yeon once told me—praised me, really—for defeating the AI in just one week.’
Now that he thought about it, Shin Ha-yeon hadn’t exactly struggled to beat Rank 10 immediately.
The Rank 10 AI at that time wasn’t the kind to make him sweat for days.
Yet it had taken time.
‘She must have used her own skill as bait.’
Indeed.
A terrifying person.
Of course, Seo Jun had suspected as much, so he’d promptly updated it himself afterward.
Not because he desperately wanted to reclaim what he’d lost in a single match, or because it was the perfect moment to reveal himself.
Simply for the sake of those who came after.
But after that, he’d dropped in occasionally before stopping altogether.
There was a limit to it, and there was no real need to maintain the position.
Until now, only Shin Ha-yeon had bothered to hold on to the spot, it seemed.
Though that was only possible because her skill backed it up.
‘Anyway, her personality is…….’
Ugh.
Even Seo Jun had to admire how dirty it was.
Either way, the being that had appeared was male.
At a glance, you could tell.
Male.
Information was private, so it couldn’t be pinpointed precisely, but male or female was always distinguishable.
Why not design it neutrally instead?
Anyway.
For the first time—well, not the first, but the first in seven years since entering virtual reality—he’d picked up a sword in Yeonmujang. This moment came to mind.
He’d never expected things would advance this far.
For the sake of rediscovering his fundamentals, he’d have to pick an opponent.
Whoever they were, their level would be higher than before.
That’s how the system worked.
“Brother…….”
“Yeah? What? Wait a sec? I think fighting this thing first would be pretty fun. It’s been a while.”
Perhaps the word “fundamentals” had stirred something in him.
His body didn’t exactly burn with eagerness—not exactly.
Seo Jun simply thought it would be good to check how much he’d improved and gather some information while he was at it.
The Throne of Yeonmujang was an interesting variable, after all.
“Oh! That’s right!”
“We need to see our ace’s true strength first!”
“But won’t we look way weaker compared to Seo Jun?”
Look at that.
His teammates weren’t exactly uninterested either.
And the viewers seemed to love it.

-Wait? ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Is he retaking it?
-Who’s the Rank 10 right now?
-Unknown for now ㅋㅋㅋ
-Info: Shin Ha-yeon, Baek Do-yul, and Taker held it for a while, then Shin Ha-yeon suddenly set info to private and the other two followed. So we don’t know if it’s Baek Do-yul or Taker now.
-Why not Shin Ha-yeon?
-That crazy bastard? ㅋㅋㅋ

Seo Jun absorbed the information by reading Ha Yun-ho’s chat.
‘Hmm?’
Weren’t both candidates currently appearing in Lieos?
‘So they’re the attention-seeking types who never miss a chance like this?’
That actually worked in his favor.
Seo Jun’s smile deepened.
And reading the exact same chat, Lee Dong-su gasped once more.
‘Ah! Taker!’
He’d only been thinking about Baek Do-yul, knowing the unknown was Baek Do-yul.
The reason was simple: he’d never been that interested in Yeonmujang, and he’d only remembered Baek Do-yul’s name from when he’d casually asked Shin Ha-yeon who’d ultimately claimed the top spot before everyone stopped.
‘One mountain after another.’
This avatar was Baek Do-yul, but what if Seo Jun pulled aggro?
Haha.
Lee Dong-su was surprisingly vulnerable to controversy and insults.
The reason he’d managed to survive this long as a professional player, constantly drawing attention and getting caught up in gossip, was simple: he just ignored it.
He didn’t look.
Internet posts always cost more than they were worth if you read them.
Far more vitriolic abuse than fair criticism or feedback.
So he didn’t look.
He’d wanted to stream and get a closer, more genuine, and gentler reaction.
If Seo Jun pulled his usual aggro move here?
That would simply be unbearable.
He’d watched the broadcasts often enough to know—was Seo Jun ever normal?
It was unlikely, but even if things went wrong and only Seo Jun got flamed, it would still be a burden.
He preferred moderate attention, not excessive.
“Brother.”
Please.
‘I can’t explain in detail since we’re streaming. Damn, I never thought he’d catch the whiff of aggro right from the start and summon Rank 10. Hell.’
Normally his intuition was sharp enough to cut steel—couldn’t he read Seo Jun’s mind this time?
Lee Dong-su sent Seo Jun a desperate look.
Of course.
‘That guy would probably read it with that annoyingly sharp intuition, then grin and do exactly what I don’t want.’
There was no other option for him.
Unless Baek Do-yul and Taker were rational enough to stay completely silent?
‘But if they were that kind of people, he wouldn’t have had that ego clash with Yeon-ie in Yeonmujang.’
Their eyes meet.
Just don’t do anything, please. Let it end here.
That’s the best-case scenario.
The second-best would be to retake the Rank 10 spot without any provocation.
Seo Jun grins.
He nods, clearly understanding what Lee Dong-su meant to convey.
The anxiety deepened.
Regardless, Ha Yun-ho handed Seo Jun a sword.
“Then shall we see it? That swordsmanship everyone says Seo Jun is so good at.”
Wind Sword spoke too.
“I haven’t tried it at For the Sect, but I saw some clips where he went absolutely crazy. I watch Geomsin fan videos sometimes.”

-ㄹㅇㅋㅋㅋ
-Cheonma’s swordsmanship is truly……
-Come to think of it, I’ve never seen the Patriarch in Yeonmujang?
-Isn’t For the Sect basically the same as Yeonmujang?
-Dunno, shut up everyone. Let’s just watch this
-Crazy ㅋㅋㅋ So the Patriarch fights a Rank 10 AI that’s leveled up like floodgates suddenly opening? I can’t even—
-You guys can never hold back
-Come on, control yourselves!
-But it’s not just the Patriarch. The pros’ Yeonmujang videos haven’t been released either

Rumi also chimed in, reading the chat.
“Wow. Now that you mention it, that’s true? There are hardly any champion transition videos. Maybe just early ones. After Shin Ha-yeon started dominating…….”
There were no videos.
In the early days, the AI’s level hadn’t reached those heights.
As barriers eventually formed, making it impossible for even those strong enough to beat Rank 9 to touch it, with only pros able to access it—there were no videos from that period onward.
“Hehe. Let’s take a look then.”
Alpaca had seen it before.
Tae-woo had shown him the footage previously.
Still, anticipation was inevitable.
“Is that so?”
Seo Jun, having somehow read Lee Dong-su’s worry through his face, twirled the sword a few times.
Lee Dong-su couldn’t bring himself to stop him and simply nodded.

* * *

-Kyaa
-He’s actually showing it
-A video of beating Rank 10 AI is seriously rare
-Came here after hearing the rumors
-But he hasn’t even won yet and it’s already rare footage? ㅇㅈㄹㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-I mean, it’s not even him, it’s an AI. How could he lose? There’s already a track record
-Who knows. The other two pros wouldn’t have stopped competing for nothing. It’s definitely certain the level went up crazy high
-Like incomparably higher than before? I think so too
-But doesn’t Seo Jun have his own stream? Multiple angles would be better. Watching from far away does help you see better though

“Seo Jun, would you mind starting your own stream earlier? The viewers seem to want it.”
“Yes, understood.”

[Starting Streaming.]
[.]

Had this been the old Seo Jun, he might have used the stream title to provoke.
Drawing aggro to gather viewers, that sort of thing.
He wouldn’t be lying if he said the thought hadn’t crossed his mind the moment he’d heard what the professional players were saying.
Because it was fun.
But Seo Jun decided to be considerate of Lee Dong-su instead.
Because.
‘If something blows up here and he says he won’t show up next time, what then?’
Seo Jun looked into the future.
The future after Lieos ended.
Much like with For the Sect, it wasn’t easy to receive help from someone of Lee Dong-su’s caliber.
‘It’s a shame, but.’
He adjusted his grip on the sword. Seo Jun’s body leaned forward.
“Here I go.”

[Viewers – 15,000]

And at the same time.
Seo Jun and Chul-su rushed toward each other.
The rules were simple.
Whoever landed ten successful attacks first won.
Clang!
Metal collided and parted.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Every exchange of blades ran deeper than before.
Chul-su.
Had grown.
The sword flashing down at him to pierce was like a swift-diving hawk.
Concise and fast.
Whose signature was this?
Baek Do-yul’s? Taker’s?
He didn’t know.
But.
‘Actually, it’s easier.’
In a situation where both moved at the same speed, “fast” meant “aggressive.”
It meant catching the timing a half-beat early.
But in a battle of technique.
This AI, and by extension Baek Do-yul or Taker, could never beat Seo Jun.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
As the sword underwent dazzling transformations without pause, the AI’s stamina was steadily draining.
In contrast, Seo Jun’s stamina remained unchanged.
‘Just need to finish this quickly.’
He couldn’t afford to provoke.
Couldn’t pull out anything special anyway.
So from the start, Seo Jun had simply decided to end it without any flourish.

-What is this? ㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-Only those two used speed boost in Yeonmujang or something?
-The Rank 10 has that function? ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-You guys just have low-level eyes. I’m so bad I can’t even tell that much! ㅎㅎ

Unlike before, when he’d tested damage with various movements—fists, kicks, and other actions where no damage registered—now there were only moves to end it quickly.
That’s why.

[HP 2]
[HP 1]
[HP 0]
About a minute had passed.

“Wow!”
“Wait, what? Why was that so smooth?”
“Amazing! Well done!”
Seo Jun turned back toward his teammates.

“Huh? Doesn’t this need data accumulation or something? It changed right away.”
Ha Yun-ho asked, sounding fascinated.
“My data’s already been learned. It just needs to study this new one, so it should be simple. So from now on, I’m the Rank 10.”
Seo Jun shrugged nonchalantly, then smiled and looked toward Lee Dong-su.
There.
That should count as restraint, right? No provocation, just handled it smoothly.
If anyone calls that aggro, the world’s got it out for Seo Jun.
‘Now I should offer some commentary.’
But then.
Lee Dong-su’s face had gone rigid.
Why.
Again.
What now.

Actually, this level was expected and would normally be forgotten quickly.
But.

-Caught him clean but didn’t take a single hit
-Never mind that, the time is absolutely legendary ㅅㅍㅋㅋㅋㅋ Didn’t even take a minute?
-By the time I checked the stream he’d already won ㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-No matter how much it’s Rank 10, isn’t it AI? Is that why it goes down so easily?????? ㅈㄴㅈㄴㅈㄴ beats it so easily?
-I mean, for real, is this normal? It should work like this, right?
-Seems like the pros all beat it like that too?
-Maybe Rank 10’s just overhyped ㄷㄷ
-That Patriarch guy’s a hype machine ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ He inflated Orthofaction too

“Haha……. Everyone’s chatting about that guy. Coach Baek! Should we watch the video too?”
Mental carefully asked, watching Baek Do-yul’s reaction.
Had it been his own solo stream, Mental would’ve rushed off to watch immediately.
“Mm…….”
“…….”
“Let’s take a look.”
Baek Do-yul’s eyes narrowed, and in that instant.
‘He beat Rank 10 without taking a hit in under a minute?’
Ha.
‘Interesting.’
Aggro had been pulled.
And it was the same for the other players.

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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
—————