Master Swordsman’s Stream - Chapter 182

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

Chapter 182

[+Mission Reward 100,000 won added]
[+Mission Reward 150,000 won added]
[+Mission Reward 1,000 won added]
.
.

The Mission Reward kept climbing. The viewership had already been massive—larger than any broadcast in history.
And to all those countless viewers, he’d made one thing perfectly clear: that he had no particular talent for Chain Summoning.
Not that he’d intended it, but Seo Jun couldn’t help but smile.

-It’s a constitution problem, you can’t avoid it!
-The Streamer’s Chain Summoning skill can’t improve—already proven with Eric. Proficiency is maxed. So two is the limit.
-So what are you saying?
-King. Loses. Chain. Summoning.
-These lunatics ㅋㅋㅋㅋ I’m not even a viewer but hearing you guys I’m tempted to bet

Synchronization Rate 10 was apparently correct.
And Seo Jun had to admit it.
No, if anything it might be insufficient.
‘With a different capsule, I might not even manage one.’
Using the skill itself had been difficult back then.
Of course, a standard capsule from seven years ago wouldn’t be the same as a standard capsule now, and naturally technology had advanced dramatically, but still.
“Look, I’m genuinely not confident about three or more. Can you really handle it? Also, why do you people keep losing money like this?”
He was trying to stop them.
Stop the viewers from spending.
In content like this, most stream supporters generally spend only what they can afford.
They’re not betting because they genuinely think they won’t lose. It’s money they can afford to lose.
So when he gently nudged them like this.
“Well, fine. Go ahead.”
It was for the entertainment value of the broadcast.
It’s nice if they get encouraged and throw in more money, but honestly. It wasn’t that important.
“But what’s the trial exactly?”

-ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-Oh ㅋㅋ So a newbie came in acting confident without knowing?
-But guys doesn’t this feel like déjà vu? For the Streamer, nothing’s ever been new…
-Ugh suddenly why does it make me nervous when he says it’s his first time?
-Still bet on it! We know what the trial is ㅋㅋㅋ Two orbs won’t cut it
-ㄹㅇㅋㅋ

Quite the heated discussion.
If ordinary people had seen this, they probably wouldn’t have understood.
Why streamers’ supporters set up missions against them, then celebrate when the streamer fails as if they themselves won.
‘Even if the mission fails, the streamer gets a guaranteed 10% of the mission amount, so there’s no loss, right?’ they might wonder.
Mathematically, that’s correct.
But consider this question.
Not receiving 100 million vs. receiving 100 million but your sworn enemy getting 1 billion.
Of course, many would choose the 100 million.
But what if instead you’d get 100,000 won?
Your enemy still gets 1 billion. What would a person choose then?
Mathematically, even 100,000 won is a gain.
But who would choose the first option? Unless they’re in desperate need of that 100,000 won right then.
That’s the kind of problem this is. Nothing special.
And even if there’s no material loss for the streamer, for Seo Jun—if he gets 100,000 won instead of 1 million, could he really feel good about it?
He’d suffer exactly as the supporters wanted.
Since ancient times, there’s been nothing more spiteful and foul than to give with one hand and take away with the other.
In any case.
‘Looks like the “safe asset” side made the better argument.’
Still, the amount this time was quite substantial.

[Eid Trial Ranking within Top 10 — Mission Reward: 9,300,000 won]

“Wow. Insane. Even when I verified my Synchronization Rate, I don’t think we got this much.”
Ha Yun-ho let out an admiring whistle.
“Is this a major corporation?”
The viewership had exceeded 100,000, so Rumi’s comment was accurate for now.
“Record-breaking.”
Alpaca whistled in amazement too.
“Maybe I should seriously try streaming?”
Wind Sword, having glimpsed several months’ worth of salary, was genuinely pondering full-time streaming instead of a side hustle.
“Seo Jun. Sorry to ask, but could you buy me just one Melona?”
Lee Dong-su said this despite earning more than Seo Jun himself.

-Haha!
-This fundraising amount is record-breaking ㄷㄷ
-Because there are so many people
-Streamer’s fanclub? Demonic Cult members? You trust them? I seriously bet?
-Because 10 million won was wagered, I came

Meanwhile, the viewership grew again. News of the mission being set seemed to have spread.
‘Is this a gain? Well, whatever.’
Seo Jun shrugged and broke into a pleased smile.
“Good job. Original viewers who caught the wind—if you give me your account numbers, I’ll deposit funds.”

-ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-There was actually a wind-catcher?
-Was this a scheme to drain the new viewers’ money!
-Just typical nonsense, ignore it newbies~
-If he summons four orbs after this, public opinion is really gonna tank

Anyway.
“Don’t worry. Whatever happens, I’m doing two. I have no choice anyway.”
Seo Jun summoned an Orb on his palm once more.
Mid-tier size.
This really was the limit.
The sensation he felt as the Orb formed told him exactly that.
“Hmm, but if this mission fails, I’m gonna have some serious heartburn.”

-ㅇㅋ So no summoning more than 2!
-ㄹㅇㅋㅋ His gut’s gonna hurt so bad ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-Getting 930,000 won is still good right? No wait ㅋㅋㅋ He lost 8 million ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

“Seo Jun, you think you can do this?”
“No.”
“Then?”
“Just gotta try. When haven’t I?”
Seo Jun loosened up, his face betraying no tension whatsoever.
For reference, Lee Dong-su was a viewer of Seo Jun’s and had witnessed such moments many times; the chat comments from back then naturally spilled from his lips.
“Ha.”

-Ha!
-It’s cool though
-If you break through even this newbie curse, we’ll acknowledge you!

* * *

“The Eid Trial is an escape. From here to there.”
They were standing on an Empty Ground.
Lee Dong-su raised his arm and pointed with a finger.
As Seo Jun’s gaze followed the finger, a path came into view. Quite wide. Wide enough for a Carriage to pass through.
At the end of the path, a gray barrier appeared. It didn’t seem very far.
“Exactly fifty steps. And note: you can’t run inside the trial, so fifty steps means arrival.”
The fact that he specifically emphasized fifty steps meant anyone could arrive in fifty steps.
“And you have to enter within fifty seconds. It’s designed at one step per second. You can’t rest.”
Everyone except Seo Jun already knew.
So Seo Jun asked.
“Then how do they rank people?”
“There are targets chasing you. The ranking is based on how many of them you eliminate during the escape.”
I see.
He understood.
Everyone’s given the same number of steps and time, and the ranking depends on how many Orbs you summon and how many enemies you strike with them.

-That’s why it won’t work
-Firing four at once is way more efficient
-No matter how much two mid-tier orbs can hit twice, four has to be faster bb
-See you later, 8 million won!
-The synchronization rate might make it doable though

I see.
“So who wants to go first?”
Lee Dong-su looked at the other three, excluding Seo Jun.
Of course, he assumed Seo Jun would go last.
But then Seo Jun raised his hand.
“I’ll go first.”
“Pardon?”
“Before that, I need to negotiate something with the viewers real quick.”
“Understood.”

-Hmm
-Definitely top 10 in the ranking, no compromises
-We already bet on it! What are you saying!

“Haha. Folks. I’m not making unreasonable demands. I’ll go first. But instead—”
Not just the viewers, but everyone present leaned in to hear what Seo Jun was about to say.

-Instead?
-Lol ㅋㅋㅋ You don’t even know what the targets are and you’re going first ㅋㅋㅋ

“Let’s watch some footage first. Let’s see other people play the Eid Trial on video.”

-But then it’s the same thing
-ㄹㅇㅋㅋ
-Video might actually be better? You can see expert gameplay
-But even without it, if you have Lee Dong-su go, the Streamer can watch expert play anyway
-Why would he make this offer?

“Look, but if you folks don’t send the footage, that’s it. Plus, the minimum donation amount is 100,000 won right now. We’re not touching that. How about it? Will you go with it?”
If he provoked them this way, the supporters would definitely bite.
And with over 100,000 viewers.

-Hmm
-I’m in!
-Guys let’s show some unity!
-I’m in
-Let’s go!
-Let him challenge blind!

‘Unity is impossible anyway.’
The bite came immediately.

[‘Rooting for You’ donated 100,000 won in footage support!]
[I just noticed a bunch of people bet way more than 100,000 won lol so rooting for you!]

-What are you doing!
-Whoa ㅋㅋㅋㅋ So this was a money-grab here too?
-Amazing!
-So instead of losing 8 million, he loses 7.9 million!
-ㅇㅇ So it’s not just about seeing expert footage

It really wasn’t about the money. The proposal genuinely came from wanting to see expert footage.
Not from wanting to pocket the footage donation money.
Really.
Regardless, the video started playing. By the chat’s reaction, the creator seemed to be an expert who ranked within the top tiers.
Seo Jun focused intently.
He took his first step. That instant.
Whirrrrr.
A sound like swarming bees blared from the front, and from the tall grass on both sides, eight spheres with wings sprouted on each flank.
The video’s creator immediately summoned four Orbs and shot them straight ahead, eliminating the targets.
The moment the Orbs completed their task and vanished, four more Orbs spawned directly in front to handle the remaining targets.
To deal with what was left.
Up to here was one second. One step.
Taking another step forward, eight targets appeared.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Targets appeared at regular intervals, four Orbs generated, they eliminated them.
And he took another step.
It was mechanical in its regularity.
“So… is he just going to flawlessly dispatch all four hundred and then we’re done?”
The targets didn’t stay still. Because of that, hitting all eight targets without delay in a single second was quite difficult.
But that was all. With just practice, and given infinite chances.
Anyone above a certain skill level would manage a perfect score.

-Nope
-If that were true, all the experts would have identical records
-Just wait and see

So there must be something more.
About ten seconds in, a twist appeared.
Only six targets spawned in front instead of eight.
‘Two are from somewhere else? The sound coming from the video is subtly different…’
The video’s creator didn’t panic. He immediately handled the four in front with Orbs, checked behind, then summoned two Orbs toward the front and two toward the back, firing them off.
Fast.
‘But there’s some delay.’
By the time he looked back, the new eight targets had already taken position.
Which meant it took one full second to handle the eight.
His steps didn’t stop.
But as targets began spawning increasingly from behind, he started falling behind on the one-second disposal rate, and targets began piling up.
“It’s like your daily homework that keeps getting pushed back, folks. If you don’t handle it each day, it piles up, right?”

-ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-Oh ㅋㅋ I always did all my diary homework on the last day of summer break!
-Is that even a diary?ㅋㅋㅋ
-I did the same with tutoring. I thought skipping one day’s work was no big deal
-But why is he attacking us? Is he scared?
-With 2 orbs, you won’t finish the homework on time from the start ㅋㅋㅋㅋ

The video ended.
Its creator reached the barrier with quite a few targets clustered around him like ornaments.
“What skill level is that?”

-Barely top 10
-Seo Jun fighting!
-2 orbs really won’t work ㅋ

“I see.”
Seo Jun watched a few more videos.
Orbs firing straight lines in all directions ceaselessly.
The people had donated 100,000 precious won in support, so he had to watch carefully.
Of course, he also needed to confirm something.
“The Orbs’ speed is the same regardless of size, correct?”

-ㅇㅇ
-That’s why he’s gonna fail
-Ultimate stability, insane profitability!
-Why profitability?
-The Streamer’s finally gonna win ㅋㅋㅋ

Handling targets with two Orbs inevitably takes longer than eliminating them with four at once.
In other words, he’d be behind on homework from the very start.
Which meant he’d have to catch up by clearing homework in other places.
But after checking the evidence.
“Did you folks hear the sound?”
There was a way to do it.

-What sound?
-Nonsense
-ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

“The sound of you folks going bankrupt.”

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