Master Swordsman’s Stream - Chapter 278

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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 278

History Book.
A League-tier war of stars that draws the focus of an entire nation serves countless roles.
It provides spectacle, sets the direction for the next story update, and offers a chance to experience game Content beforehand.
This isn’t about the very next season.
Rather, a year from now.
If applied immediately next season, players wouldn’t have enough time to prepare.
In any case.
The History Book had begun, and interest was at fever pitch.
For one reason alone: thirty professional players were participating.
If one looked closer with genuine interest, they’d discover even more compelling developments unfolding.
General audiences worldwide were beginning to take notice of one particular Korean streamer for precisely this reason.
Above all, they couldn’t help but notice.
In the early stages, where fighting and quest completion were relatively sparse and unremarkable, he was playing Mini-games.
The notoriously difficult Coral Reef Fishing, no less.
And yet he was doing it.

[What on earth is this Korean guy?]
==
Was he a legendary fisherman named Gang Tae-gong in a past life or something?
This doesn’t make sense, does it?
==

-Is there anyone who can explain how he’s doing this?
-Not a single person knows. Kael’s technique remains a mystery.
-It’s just strange. Something’s off.

[Seriously, isn’t this cheating?]
==
I’m serious about this.
Think about it. Someone’s best effort keeps coming out of this guy repeatedly.
Yes, you could say it’s not impossible.
A 0.1% chance means that among 1,000 people, one might succeed.
But 1,000 people breaking a 0.1% probability simultaneously? That doesn’t add up.
This is cheating.
==

-I agree with this take.
-Right. I don’t think it’s impossible either. If you draw out 100% of human potential, there aren’t many impossible things. But succeeding every time is impossible. I’d rather believe he’s cheating.

[Points nearly at 100! And on the first day!]
==
Another 100 left until Prophecy cost.
Kael’s solo domination.
Light Cathedral’s victory.
Go Kael, new skin incoming!
==

-What victory? That’s not what’s happening here.
└Yeah, cheater.
└└How could it be cheating? Surface’s subsidiary is watching with their eyes wide open.
└└└The people calling it cheating are pretty dumb.
-So 100 isn’t a complete balance collapse. Looks like the AI handled it well. Thankfully.
└True enough.
└└Cheating does make it boring.
└└└Wait. He’s supposed to play other Mini-games too!!!!!!!!!!

[Surely he won’t be good at the other Mini-games too?]
==
He’s good at them.
==

[Crazy Korean.]
==
The man’s just insane.
==

-That’s racist.
└Shut up, he actually seems insane though.

[Why Korean game companies make so many gacha games.]
==
If it were a skill-based game, that bastard would bankrupt everyone.
==

-Ah, that makes sense!
-So it’s not without reason they push pay-to-win.
└That’s right. Win with money fairly, don’t win unfairly with that kind of skill.
└└LMAO Foreigners actually defending pay-to-win now. This is wild.
└└└For real though.

Seo Jun methodically worked through the Game Within Games that had brought so many participants to tears.
After Coral Reef Fishing came Darts.
The AI didn’t stop him.
Once he’d earned 20 Points, it kicked him out.
Seo Jun accepted it with a placid smile and moved on to the next Mini-game.
The next one involved striking with a hammer to rack up points.
No raw strength was required.
Only precision.
It was a Mini-game where you had to hit a needle-thin target with such accuracy that even pros would gasp — something requiring perfect aim at a single infinitesimal point.
The success rate among participants was one in three.
Since you couldn’t profit without succeeding every time, everyone avoided it — except Seo Jun.
Bang!

[Kicked out again!]
==
Then what? He’s already earned 60 Points.
==

-Only 60 Points? He’s already moving to the next Mini-game?
-It’s over.
-The History Book’s finished.
-No fun.
-But still, the skill is real.

Seo Jun spoke.
“Not stopping me even now?”
It was a taunt.
Not directed at the AI, but at the general audience.

[Please, Korean guy, just stop.]
==
Why can’t you send a Donation to stop him!
==

[The AI must’ve gotten senile.]

Senile wasn’t quite fair though.
The AI’s judgment criteria was consistent.
It stopped him once he’d earned roughly 20 Points beyond his starting amount.
For an AI that had never been wrong before, this was a perfectly rational threshold.
Unless the opponent was Seo Jun.
Even the Korean community was starting to lean toward the opinion that the AI probably should block him.

[Just block him! Block him!]
[Join the Room Owner faction, embrace the mainstream, and find peace of mind.]
[He should be chat-banned everywhere!]
[But the Room Owner is too good-looking to deserve a chat-ban!]

-For real though.
-Even in sweats he’d never get chat-banned.
-VIP club pass energy.
└What about blind dates?
└Those too, VIP pass.
└Why’s everything a VIP pass though?
└Because he’s good-looking.

Seo Jun’s starting Points were 80.
By the time he’d played 6 more Mini-games at 20 Points each.
The AI finally stopped him.
Before he could even start.

[Finally chat-banned!]
[???: What even is this guy?]
[The judgment feels slow, but the performance is definitely good, right?]
[And what’s he gonna do with that LOL]
[Surface stock’s gonna dip tomorrow LOLOLOLOL]

For the record.
The next day, Surface stock did dip by 0.5% temporarily.
Whether it was because of Seo Jun remained unknown.
“Ah! We’ve reached 200! 200 Points!”
“It’s finished.”
“The Prophecy is being revealed! On the very first day!”
While the commentators’ spirited voices continued, Kapil’s expression grew increasingly bitter.

* * *

“I’m afraid the Judge cannot proceed.”
200 Points.
“We’ve hit the limit here.”
It was unfortunate. There were quite a few Mini-games left.
“Should we head to another region?”
Mini-games weren’t exclusive to Asheus. But even if he went elsewhere, he’d probably hit a ceiling.
If the format remained the same — gaining or losing 1 Point at a time — then certainly.
“Finally learning, are we?”
In any case.
The timing had become awkward to start anything new.
About thirty minutes remained.
“I’ll head out now.”
Seo Jun simply exited the Capsule immediately.
Kael was supposed to be wandering the city.
A ninety-minute break had arrived, and Seo Jun immediately ordered a Steak through room service, then showered.
A shower was the best way to cool your head and wash away fatigue.
There was a reason martial artists trained under waterfalls.
Afterward, Seo Jun cut and ate the Steak that came from room service while organizing his thoughts.
“There’s a possibility the AI deliberately let me accumulate Points up to 200.”
The AI could have stopped him at the moment when the next Quest would be needed to buy the Prophecy.
And there was no way the AI didn’t know that Seo Jun could afford the Prophecy.
The AI was a designer that observed and constructed the entire History Book.
This could be seen as intentional.
“But why?”
Surely the 200-Point price was set to make him discover secrets a bit later?
“This tastes good.”
Seo Jun chewed his meat leisurely while gazing out at the view below, watching the landscape like one would from a tall building.
He had to view the current situation the same way.
Broadly.
Even more broadly.
What could the intention be?
“Did they modify the Prophecy’s content itself?”
By changing it vaguely, reducing the information about the History Book discernible from the Prophecy and adjusting balance that way.
Real-time adjustments were something the AI could do, so there was a possibility.
“Or maybe they’re accelerating the tempo another level?”
Knowing the Prophecy isn’t the end. Rather, it’s the true beginning.
Adjustments could be made at that stage too.
“Going back to the beginning again — this History Book is definitely either all participants on the same side or free-for-all.”
If it’s the former, then Seo Jun, having read the Prophecy, would need to rally and convince the other participants.
If it’s the latter, Seo Jun would start from an overwhelmingly advantageous position.
Because he could simply begin hunting immediately.
“It has to be the former.”
Deduction continued even without reading the Prophecy.
“Would they obstruct my initial rally? Or balance things so an unknown enemy emerges earlier?”
Gaining a complete advantage was impossible.
Because rivals would interfere, and the History Book would be adjusted by the AI.
But if he could infer the AI’s and rivals’ actions, finding a different path than expected became possible.
“Then I might achieve a satisfactory result.”
Which is why Seo Jun, right now.
“Won’t buy the Prophecy.”
He was breaking the game board.
“Not knowing how much I can raise my specs, but saving 200 Points now would be significant.”
For himself.
Not necessarily for the entire History Book.
“Since other participants will obtain information one way or another.”
Rather, if he didn’t buy the Prophecy, the AI would need to prepare them for an unknown situation.
Which could lower the difficulty for other participants in obtaining information.
All this deduction was ultimately a tower built on the premise of observing the participating Champions and assuming it was either free-for-all or team-based.
If the premise was wrong.
If this History Book was a world war instead.
Or something similar.
“That works too.”
Seo Jun smiled and leisurely sipped the accompanying tea.
“If I’ve grown stronger, winning it all is fine either way.”
Were viewers expecting the Prophecy?
The thought that he wouldn’t see their reactions for a while disappointed him.

* * *

The break ended, and Seo Jun re-entered the History Book.
The sky was tinged with the faint crimson light of dawn.
Seo Jun sought out the Cardinal Ian’s office to receive his Quest.
“Give me the Quest.”
“…… You really…….”
“Hand it over.”
“Understood.”
Ian, wearing an expression that said he had much to say but was holding back, handed the paper to Seo Jun — or rather, to Kael.

[Purge the Heretics]
—
Suspicious movements detected in the Capital.
Objective: Identify the suspicious group.
Reward: Achievement Points +20
—

[Street Cleansing]
—
Guild influence has become too great.
Objective: Destroy 2 or more Guild branches.
Reward: Achievement Points +30
—

Looking at the newly refreshed Quests, Seo Jun felt anew just how difficult Achievement Points were to earn.
Most Quests were things that might not be completable in a single day, and Achievement Points didn’t exceed 40.
The final Quest.

[Conflict Zone Support]
—
Support Atura in its conflict with Daran.
Maximum support requested.
Objective: Push the front line 50 meters or more.
Reward: Achievement Points +70
Failure: Achievement Points –20
Participation Count: Two
—

“Hmm.”
Atura offered such high rewards because it was a zero-sum game.
If Asheus succeeded, Daran would fail.
Some might ask: why not just send one person from Atura?
What proud participant would give up those Achievement Points?
“Who else from Asheus will come?”
The AI decided personnel allocation.
What mattered was who the opponent would be.
Given the 50-meter objective was the same as yesterday but the reward was higher, the opposing Champion was likely at least two.
Also, Quests that penalized failure were rare.
Some hadn’t appeared throughout the duration.
Yet one had appeared already.
What did that signify?
“You’ve accumulated enough Contribution Score — won’t you buy the Prophecy?”
Just as expected.
He seemed to be urging him to buy it right away.
“Let me think about it.”
His expression was puzzled.
“…… Understood.”
“I’ll head to Atura for now.”
It didn’t matter who came.
As long as it wasn’t a team member whose head had been filled with nonsense.

* * *

[Counterattack]
—
Atura’s front line has been significantly pushed back.
After committing additional forces and succeeding in recovery thanks to Asheus’s war fanatic’s absence,
a counterattack is needed.
Objective: Defend the line at 50 meters without retreat, or eliminate Kael.
Reward: Achievement Points +80
Participation Count: Three
—

Quests with a Participation Count needed quick decisions.
If you didn’t say you’d do it right away, someone could snatch it.
Though there were cases where only the designated number received the Quest, and in those instances, late decisions weren’t a problem.
“The content changed again. And quite favorably to us too. My pride’s taking a hit.”
“Let’s just accept it first.”
The two Daran nobles, having coordinated the day before, hit accept and headed toward Atura.
“I’m curious who else comes from our side, and whether the opponents are three as well?”
“Probably. The AI handles balance well in these Quests. Given the objective is defense rather than pushing, the opponents might even be four.”
They naturally assumed the opposition would be three or more and began preparing.
When they confirmed the opposition was only two, their pride took an unavoidable hit.
“Ouch, this really stings.”
“Did the AI malfunction? Let me check?”

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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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