Master Swordsman’s Stream - Chapter 281

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

Chapter 281

Day three.

[Not doing it.]

Kael spoke from Cardinal Ian’s office.
The tone carried the defiant swagger of a rebellious teenager, but who could possibly interrupt?
One side was Astheone’s cardinal silently accepting it, the other the Inquisitor of the faith called God’s representative.
Of course that was only the official record—the person inside Kael was someone branded as the worst scoundrel in history, yet to the NPCs he remained a hero.

[Reconsider just this once, won’t you? This quest is surely to your liking.]

Ian rose from his seat and approached Seo Jun.
“Oh! What is this! The AI is pleading!”
This qualified as genuine pleading.
Had the AI gone mad?

-Hahahahahahaha what’s going on?
-Something weird from the start
-Official broadcast going live on Kael immediately
-Can’t resist turning on Kael the moment the chapter drops

[I said no. Now sit down, quickly.]

-Such a disrespectful punk hahahaha
-To an elderly cardinal too ㅠㅠㅠㅠ
-But his actual age is lower than Bang Ju’s, right?

This time Bang Ju wondered aloud why the AI was acting this way while providing commentary.
“It seems like Seo Jun is trying to leave for elsewhere! Is the reward not to his liking?”
What did the AI want?
On day three, the quest Seo Jun had accepted came with many favorable conditions.
This time there was no Point deduction clause, nor was it a zero-sum scenario like Atura where he’d face an enemy hero.
The direction the AI was trying to push Seo Jun was clear.
“It’s to keep Kael in Astheone! I wonder if the reward would have been the same even if Seo Jun hadn’t spoken with Christina yesterday.”
Was it trying to prevent him from going to Train?
“While gaining more Points by staying might be appealing, there must be a reason for the restraint! Surely the AI isn’t just trying to hold Seo Jun here with greater rewards rather than let him go somewhere new and cause chaos—or is it?”

-That seems right hahahahahahahahaha
-Facts
-Don’t cause trouble and just take the money and stay put ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ you bastard!

“And meanwhile he’s ignoring the prophecy, ah! Seo Jun is leaving! No, Kael is leaving Astheone! Where could he be heading!”
People were easily predicting his destination.
A region where many participants were currently gathered.
Train.
Seo Jun boarded the Underground Train heading to the city of engineering.

* * *

Taking the Underground Train to Train was a simple affair.
Because he was an Inquisitor.
It stemmed from the trust that he wouldn’t cause trouble.
Of course, all required a certificate proving Astheone’s Inquisitor wasn’t going to Train for a quest, and that cost 5 Achievement Points.
Other heroes received fare, but it was also 5 Achievement Points, so the system adjusted to each circumstance.
“I don’t see any other participants.”
Seo Jun walked through the train, surveyed the cars, and took a seat.
Without participants, nothing unusual would occur.
The train left Astheone and soon entered the tunnel.
For an ordinary person—and for a train—traveling above ground through mountains would be suicide.
Fifteen minutes passed and the train stopped.
In game time, an hour and a half had elapsed.
Seo Jun rose from the train and entered the mountain city of Train.
“Oh.”
It matched exactly what he’d seen in the opening video.
Seo Jun disembarked and crossed European-style streets toward the plaza.
‘The plaza has the highest probability of finding participants.’
Understanding the situation was the priority.
If he’d received a quest related to this place, he’d simply follow it, but he hadn’t.
He’d come on impulse, so he needed to search.
If he searched well, he’d receive a quest.
Central Plaza of Train.
This avenue, sprawling as wide as a sports field, was lined with various inventions and street vendors.
Train’s enforcers were visible as well.
‘Was the Enforcer of Ballistics the epithet he earned from vigilante work in Train?’
Grey, the Enforcer of Ballistics.
He was a hero Seo Jun had played in Rios before.
His Skills included Magotech Teleportation, Laser, Acceleration, and more.
‘He can’t be anything but a Train native.’
There was no true hero whose actual profession was enforcer.
Enforcers essentially just maintained law and order; the heroes defending the city from external threats possessed power transcending the ordinary.
No participants were visible in the Central Plaza.
And there were no unusual circumstances.
It was an ordinary city, nothing more.
‘I can’t just sit idle here.’
Train was governed by the Council.
The Council was a place only those who had contributed to Train and received majority support through city-wide votes could enter.
Seo Jun decided to head there.
‘Unlikely to find anything, unlike Daran’s parliament.’
But he had no choice but to try.
As Seo Jun was walking toward the Council, he spotted a participant.
A female participant.
He recognized her features, though her name escaped him. Honestly, he’d been too lazy to remember it.
Her hero was Id. Unaffiliated, but deeply connected to Train, so her presence here wasn’t strange.
He did recall that she’d been ranked first among professional players during his first Id trial.
‘Hmm… Should I call her a heretic again? Ah, that was too much. I need to remember her name.’
Luckily, it came to him—Rachel.
If any viewer could glimpse Seo Jun’s mind, they’d have called him out for feigning forgetfulness, though the thought flickered past in an instant.
As Seo Jun approached, the female participant turned her head, and their eyes met.
He thought it fortunate and greeted her; she returned the greeting with a slightly awkward expression.
She stared at him as if wondering why he was here, then let out a long sigh before moving toward him.
“Hello, Id.”
“Hello, Kael… No, Seo Jun. What brings you to Train?”
It would be strange.
Kael suddenly appearing.
Seo Jun explained that he’d heard something from Christina about cooperation and had simply rushed over.
“Right. Everyone who came to Train has been assuming something like that. Cooperation… cooperation, huh? That’s wonderful!”
“What’s so good about it?”
“I’ll help you, Seo Jun!”
Seo Jun gave Rachel a suspicious look at the sudden turn.
Was she a heretic planning betrayal?
But for Rachel, this was an opportunity.
Because of what Seo Jun had said when he first took the Id trial, Bernard had been continuously forcing her to follow him around like a servant throughout the History Record.
But this time the History Record would apparently require cooperation, and helping a powerful asset like Kael while bringing him quickly into the group was obviously something she should do.
In other words, the situation had become ideal for her.
No matter how free she was as an unaffiliated participant, helping Seo Jun outright would draw public scrutiny.

[Hahahahahaha Bang Ju knew that what Christina said about cooperation meant “don’t kill her” hahahahahaha]
==
But he killed her anyway hahahahaha
The bastard.
==

-Since she’s a heretic, he killed her
└Facts lol
-Foreign players are slowly stamping her as a heretic too
└Sign it! Rachel is a heretic!

But the outside world paid no attention to propriety because of Seo Jun’s behavior, and posts kept regenerating.
“Then I’ll accept your goodwill.”
“Yes!”
Rachel began explaining what had happened in Train.
“There’s only one quest available in Train.”
“Only one?”
“Yes. Regardless of affiliation—whether you’re with another group, unaffiliated, or Train-affiliated—everyone gets the same one.”
“Oh, what is it?”
“Do you know the greatest figure of Train?”
“Yes.”
A Council member of Train, the greatest scientist and mage on the continent—an NPC.
The man who invented the perfect Magotech train and brought Train into existence: Cresit.
“It’s a quest from that NPC.”
“What’s the objective?”
“Cresit discovered a gateway to the Other World and found special materials inside. He brought some back and experimented, opening new possibilities, but gathering large quantities became difficult because of monsters in the Other World. So he called upon heroes.”
“The Other World?”
“Yes. The quest is to find and bring back materials from inside. We could fight each other theoretically, but since everyone has monsters to deal with and Cresit placed a system restriction against it, we’re exercising restraint.”
“I see.”
“You earn Achievement Points according to how many materials you bring. Though the payout is tight.”
“I see.”
“And he wants you to bring as many as possible. Over ten participants have been gathering materials from the Other World continuously since day one and day two, but nothing has changed.”
“But why are you out here now, Rachel?”
“My Inventory is full. I have to keep making trips back and forth. Will you be taking the quest too, Seo Jun?”
“…”
Cresit’s other epithet was the Inventor of Runes.
Now he understood why Christina had mentioned this related to new consumable items.
It was predictable.
‘And is he encouraging competition?’
From the information that Achievement Points were tight, Seo Jun could make an additional deduction.
There was a hidden reward elsewhere.
‘There’s no way he’d keep all these people grinding at a tight-payout quest endlessly. Whether from discovering something in the Other World or from top contributors claiming something.’
This quest had to be done.
That instinct told him so.
“Guide me.”

* * *

Shin Geom from China, alongside a professional player using the nickname Tae-san, was performing Train’s quest while shuttling back and forth between the Other World and Train.
The monsters in the Other World had a trait of swarming if not dealt with quickly, so two people moving together provided reassurance.
Moreover, they’d even devised a strategy to sacrifice one if necessary.
That the participant bringing the most materials would receive the highest reward had already become fact.
So Shin Geom had filled his Inventory with materials, come to Train, and deposited them in a storage vault that functioned as a bank.
Since the vault could theoretically be raided, Shin Geom moved quickly when no one was watching.
It was a strategy to sacrifice one of them, and it was already decided who that would be.
Normally, Shin Geom’s pride would never allow him to yield, but he’d lost much confidence after what Yon had done to him.
‘Not because that bastard scares me…’
It was entirely because of Yon.
Shin Geom reunited with Tae-san, who had returned through the Portal with the materials.
And they were preparing to enter again when—
“Huh? Isn’t that him? Hey, Shin Geom.”
“Hm.”
An enemy had appeared.
“Did he come yesterday?”
Shin Geom muttered.
“No.”
Then on day three?
He was joining the quest now?
Shin Geom laughed inwardly.
That Korean was wasting time.
“Tae-san, let’s enter quickly—”
He thought it was pathetic, but Yon came to mind, and since this wasn’t a decisive moment, he wanted to avoid a confrontation and just focus on the quest.
But Tae-san moved.
Toward the enemy.
“Listen, Korean. How can you be so relaxed when you’re late to the party?”

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