Master Swordsman’s Stream - Chapter 29

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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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Episode 29

“All right, let’s begin the game.”

[Assassination Unit’s Dawn is now active.]

A notification chimed.
The world plunged into darkness.

* * *

Seo Jun woke up in the Market.
“Now let’s go.”
Go where?
To the Assassination Unit’s hideout.
“Hey, grab a fresh fruit here.”
“Out of the way! I’m in a hurry!”
“Mister, could you buy me just one candy?”
Seo Jun pushed through the marketplace crowd and headed toward the Tavern of the Sun.
It was a place he’d never visited before clearing the tutorial and catching the Tower Master, but over the past few days it had become somewhere Seo Jun dropped by once daily without fail.

-Yeah, today’s no different
-Those guys behind them suck ㅋㅋ
-They’re terrible at their jobs

“I agree. These guys really don’t do their work properly.”
Seo Jun entered the Tavern of the Sun and naturally moved toward the kitchen.
Then he opened the secret passage in the floor and stepped through.
It was a secret facility of the Assassination Unit, accessible once you achieved a certain level of Assassination Unit Reputation.
“Nameless, what brings you here? Need a job?”

-If we take a job we can’t get Fragment of Order, right? So we can’t accept jobs ㅋㅋ
-fr real, don’t know why but people who barely beat a Tyrant were crying
-They barely beat them and it didn’t drop so they got mad ㅋㅋㅋㅋ

Several choices appeared before Seo Jun.
He selected one of them.
“I want to take down the Tyrant now.”
“I’m sorry. That’s premature. We’re not ready yet.”

-Here we go again ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-Probably never will be ready
-Honestly if this were real life, the guild master would be shameless. How do you finish a job in just a few days?
-But this is a game
-Surely you’re not skipping the Queen for this reason?

Christina, giving the same answer for days now.
“Well, what can I do.”
Seo Jun nodded.

-No way!
-You’re not the type to be like this
-Listen to what others say?

“I’ll just take her down anyway. Did you really think I’d wait?”
He grinned and pulled a sword from his inventory.
It was an expensive blade he’d bought from the exclusive Assassination Unit shop here.

-ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-Now that’s our guild master
-Then why didn’t you kill her until now?

“Why didn’t I kill her? Well, you all were asking me to, so I didn’t feel like it.”
The truth was it was because of the contract, but he didn’t mention that.
There was no confidentiality clause, but since he’d been asked to keep it quiet, he figured he would.
Seo Jun generally kept his promises.

-Bullshit, are you a contrarian?

“Hey, don’t curse.”

-This streamer does the opposite of what we say ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-A streamer who doesn’t bend to his audience!
-Completely out of touch

“Please, who’s a better communicator than me?”
Seo Jun left the barrage of question marks behind and exited the Tavern of the Sun, checking the map as he headed toward the city center where the palace stood.
While he was bad with machines, he was fortunate not to be directionally challenged.
“All right everyone, tell me about the palace.”
Seo Jun asked his viewers about in-game information as he walked.
Doing so naturally and as if it were obvious.

-You’re leaving it to us?
-Please study beforehand ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-Don’t you see this is Seo Jun professor’s deep intention to review material for his students

“I’m joking, actually I did some research myself.”

-Oh? What’s gotten into you?
-sigh the master enjoys discovering things he doesn’t know
-and casually overcoming them is pretty cool

Seo Jun vaulted across rooftops.
This was the easiest way.
The ornate palace in the city center came into view far ahead.
Front façade length of 160 meters, height of 32 meters.
A total of four stories with 1,015 rooms and
2,038 doors, 825 windows—the Alberth Palace.
Seo Jun’s gaze took in the Queen’s Outdoor Gallery surrounding the Alberth, the massive Lake, and the largest garden in Altheon.
“……And there are over 1,000 employees working there, plus 300 Royal Guards, apparently. Whoever counted all these windows and such seems even more remarkable than the palace itself.”

-Fr ㅋㅋ
-Remarkable in every way ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-Time rich
-Time Gates ㅋㅋㅋㅋ

Seo Jun descended from the tall building.
Then he walked toward the Alberth.
As he got closer to the palace, guards were noticeably more numerous.
While making casual conversation, a donation notification chimed.

[‘Sagi Jusaw’ donated 10,000 won!]
[Seo Jun, do you ever take missions?]

Seo Jun stopped mid-stride and replied.
“Thanks for the donation, Sagi Jusaw. What’s the mission about?”

-Guild master’s true thoughts) Just how much have you already figured out, sir?
-Can’t resist a mission
-Male tendency) Weakness to capital

A moment later, another donation came through.

[‘Sagi Jusaw’ donated 300,000 won!]
[I want to see you sneak in and assassinate the Queen! I’d love to see you infiltrate!]

-Wow, 30 in one go ㅇㅇ
-Why’s he throwing money first then asking ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-First cast the money, then the streamer will do the mission
-But the master’s assassinations? Kind of want to see them ㅎㅎㅎ
-What are you saying. If we assassinate, the Fragment of Order won’t drop. We can’t accept it.

Various opinions about the mission followed.
Infiltration and assassination.
Something Seo Jun had never done before.
‘It would be fun to try.’
The person who sent the donation seemed to be the same viewer who’d been debating whether to start Assassination Unit’s Dawn before the game began.
Probably wanted to see his infiltration gameplay.

[‘Sagi Jusaw’ donated 100,000 won!]
[Oh, I just remembered the Fragment of Order! Cancel the mission. No need for a refund.]

-Wow, big spender ㅇㅇ
-Even canceling the mission costs 100k
-Wasn’t that the same person? If it were me I’d just buy the game with that ㅋㅋ

Seo Jun pondered for a moment before speaking.
“I’m not sure if it’ll work, but let me give it a shot. I mean, I can just infiltrate and wake her up right before the assassination, right?”
Wouldn’t that just kick him into Rampage Mode automatically?
Whether an alarm woke someone up or an intruder directly did didn’t really make a fundamental difference.
“I should do what I’m paid for. If it doesn’t work, I die and go full Rampage anyway.”

-A true streamer
-Who actually plays games like this ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-Oh, thanks!

After reading Sagi Jusaw’s chat, Seo Jun considered assassination methods.
With so many ways to infiltrate and assassinate in this game, there were many approaches to reach the Queen in the palace.
He could dodge the Royal Guards’ eyes in a straightforward manner, steal a ball invitation, or befriend a noble and get invited to the palace.
What was immediately doable.
“I’ll just go in. Since I’m assassinating her, I need to get the palace blueprint.”
Seo Jun used a Signal Stone to contact Christina, then headed back to the nearest Assassination Unit hideout.
This hideout also took the form of a tavern.
Seo Jun entered the secret area beneath the kitchen and sat down before a hooded man.
“Be careful not to be swallowed by chaos. True chaos doesn’t destroy order, after all.”
An Assassination Unit member managing this sector.
“What brings you here, brother? Hehehehe.”

[
–> Trade goods.
]
[
–> Chat.
]

Choices appeared.
Selecting the first would let him buy equipment from the Assassination Unit, while the second would just be meaningless small talk.
Seo Jun chose the first.
“I’d like to trade goods.”
“Good. You’ve brought plenty of coin, brother?”
An interface appeared and Seo Jun tapped the blueprints category.
The Assassination Unit had collected blueprints of most buildings in Altheon.
Seo Jun scrolled down and found the palace blueprint.
“This is the priciest one.”
Obtaining it required either reputation or coin.

[Alberth Palace Blueprint]
[700 Assassination Unit Reputation] [Exchange]
[3,000 Gold] [Exchange]

The palace blueprint was one of the most expensive items even compared to other blueprints.
But Seo Jun had plenty of both.

[Assassination Unit Reputation – 3,427]
[Held Gold – 10,000]

The reputation was high because he’d taken down three Tyrants. Even if Seo Jun had played without accepting missions and thus received lower rewards, it would be high.
As for the money……

-Rich guy…
-Maybe I should pickpocket
-30 minutes a day and I’ll have you buying buildings. by Seo Jun.

Since a typical shop’s most expensive weapon cost 1,000 Gold, Seo Jun’s 10,000 Gold was plenty.
And this Gold wasn’t from pickpocketing.
Most of it came from mini-game-like activities.
“Please stop exaggerating. I’ll buy it with reputation.”
Seo Jun pressed the exchange button next to reputation.
“Much obliged, Nameless. Come back anytime.”
The NPC seemed delighted to have sold such an expensive item.
Is he an assassin or a merchant?
Seo Jun gave the NPC an uneasy look before heading out.
“Now let’s give it a try.”
Seo Jun approached the Alberth.
The sight before him was different than before.
With the blueprint acquired, the palace’s layout displayed like a radar.
“Oh, so an item like this exists.”

-Our streamer found out about this feature a week into playing ㅋㅋㅋ
-How’s the taste of something new?
-If you buy a spyglass too you can see enemy positions. How about it?

Seo Jun stood at the palace entrance.
Royal Guards on watch were visible.
“A spyglass? Nah. Infiltration isn’t that hard.”

-ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Can you back up that claim?
-Building karma
-You won’t even do the assassination properly, will you?
-You’ll get caught a few times and go dark and just rampage them

“All right, here I go.”
The moment the patrol guard’s attention turned away, Seo Jun vaulted the iron fence with a light motion.
The Queen’s Outdoor Gallery appeared immediately after clearing the fence.
The other side had an open park or the Lake as a natural moat, making this the best approach to the palace interior.
Seo Jun focused on sounds.
The Royal Guards patrolled all corners of the Alberth.
Thud-thud.
Moving away from the sound’s source, Seo Jun advanced.
Because he knew the layout, he didn’t get lost.
Another thing to watch for: snipers on the Alberth’s roof.
Seo Jun crouched low and exited the gallery, scaled the outer wall to the second floor, and caught his breath on a balcony.
“Hmm, this is pretty easy.”

-This is just the start ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-Overconfidence ㄴㄴ

The Alberth Palace was a maze-like structure of several buildings joined together.
It had a history of multiple reconstructions and expansions.
And since the Queen’s quarters were at the very center of that maze-like palace, approaching undetected was no simple task for a player.
Seo Jun pressed his ear to a window.
He heard someone sleeping inside.
“Not this one.”
Seo Jun scaled the wall again.
He was looking for an empty guest room.
“This one’s empty.”
Seo Jun carefully opened the balcony door and stepped inside.

-ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-ㅅㄱㅇ
-This is why assassination is hard
-The sound was too loud even being careful

The viewers were laughing.
Why?
And Seo Jun quickly understood the reason.

“What was that? What’s that sound?”
A man’s voice from beyond the guest room door.
He’d been caught by a Royal Guard.
Click.
A doorknob turning on the other side.

-Hide under the bed
-Get in the closet ㄱㄱ
-Nah even doing that you’ll get caught. You think palace assassination is easy?
-They’re already in Alert Status. NPCs here go alert the moment there’s any sound.

Alert Status is a common system in stealth games.
When a player makes a noise, the NPC enters this mode and wanders around until finding the source.
And if the palace NPCs don’t find the cause after time passes, they sound an alarm.
Then it’s a failure.
Seo Jun quickly assessed the situation based on the chat.
Hiding would still get him caught, and he couldn’t run.
‘Guess the difficulty is high after all.’
Then what?
Creak.

-Caught
-First failure? ㅋㅋ
-Wasn’t assassination hard?

In the instant the door began opening, Seo Jun drew a dagger from his inventory.
He pinpointed the Royal Guard’s position before the door fully opened.
His speed was nearly instinctive.
When the door was half-open, he threw the dagger.
Thump.
The Royal Guard fell with a short gasp.
“Why, it works like this? Assassination’s easy too.”
Seo Jun chuckled as if he’d never been tense.

-Throwing a dagger in that moment takes serious talent ㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-There he goes again with the rampage
-Stop killing and just sneak in quietly ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-Is this assassination?!

Assassination Unit’s Dawn has something called Sudden Attack Judgment.
If an enemy takes a critical hit before confirming the intruder’s presence, they die in one strike.
This too is a common system in assassination games.
The important thing was that the Royal Guard died in one hit.
What this meant was.
“But they didn’t see me, right?”

-Ugh ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-But you were fast ㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-If a Sudden Attack Judgment happens it counts as assassination ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-fr the enemy didn’t know so how’s it rampage? It’s assassination
-Oh ㅋㅋ If NPCs go Alert Status you just hit the critical spot before they see you
-Info) Assassinating enemies mid-infiltration is actually normal gameplay
-But that’s not normal assassination ㅋㅋ

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