Master Swordsman’s Stream - Chapter 290

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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 290

[Does anyone seriously think that Korean guy is going to beat the Attacker?]
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Bang!
Next.
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-Hahahaha! Coming at me with a gun? I’ll take on Yon wielding an axe instead!
└(Photo of Viking Yon bringing down the axe) A gun can’t beat this
└└If a gun can’t beat it, then it’s a fine courtesy dispenser

[Let’s be honest with ourselves. Even China’s pro was caught, and Korea’s current champion was also caught in the end. What’s the chance the Attacker doesn’t catch Kael?]

-There is one. He’ll be prepared. Because we have information about the Attacker.
-But the Attacker vanished, so he could let his guard down. And more than that.

“More than that—Camouflage! I never imagined it was a Champion that could use Camouflage. Let’s watch the footage of what happened to Baek Do-yul again!”
Arin pulled up the replay.
One hour before Day 6 began.
During the break.
The latter half of Day 5 showed Baek Do-yul returning from hunting.
A human who had ascended to the apex predator position in the great forest.
Despite having spent roughly two and a half hours on a hunt quest, he still had nearly full stamina.
Truly befitting the current champion.
But then.
The moment he passed the guard NPC standing at the entrance to the Lawless City Forest.
The NPC’s flesh rotted away, and the Attacker in the tattered hood with glowing green eyes emerged and struck Baek Do-yul with a Hook.
“There’s no ‘Attacker’ marker on them! Right?”
“Right. There isn’t. ……meow.”
Kapil spoke, now three minutes into Cooldown.
For reference, whenever his Cooldown timer finished ticking, he had to append “meow” to the end of his sentences.
It was frustrating and unfair, but what could he do?
He had made the bet himself.
He’d have to live like this until the Historical Record ended. There was no way out.
The viewers even cursed at him, saying he was supplying something nobody asked for.
As if anyone wanted to do this.
After he spoke “meow,” the three-minute timer began counting down.
Kapil seized this window to say as much as he wanted while the Cooldown was active.
“So Kael will be ambushed this time! And if you’re ambushed like that, you almost always die!”
“Hmm.”
Penguin caught the undertone.
The tone of a wager.
“You’re certain the disguise is indistinguishable?”
Arin asked.
“Yes. I’m certain. No matter how many replays I watch, it’s just a soldier.”
“I see.”
“If you don’t know about it, you can only fall victim to it.”
“Then what about the bet?”
Kapil shook his head vigorously.

-ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-Absolute madmanㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-I’d love it if Arin unnie said meow too!
-I’m a penguin!
-The penguin is…
-Kapil’s desperate struggle ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

“Who are you betting with? I’m certainly not betting.”
“It has to be with me, not Arin.”
“Very well, Penguin. If I win, I’ll remove this Penalty.”
“Agreed. If I win, I’ll reduce the Penalty to ten seconds.”
“…….”
That was a bit much.
Kapil’s face rotted away.

-ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-Kapil ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ wants to curse but Penguin is also muscle-bound like Yon so he can’t say anything
-This is why men need to exercise
-Are you trying to be a character assassin?
-Seo Jun can be a character assassin without exercising
-Seo Jun’s fine without bulking up because he’s inhumanly strong anyway. He broke the Punch Machine last time
-How does he even do that
-Pado Pado only brings cursed stories……

“Deal!”
The terms of the bet were naturally the victor of Day 6’s ambush.

* * *

The American broadcast was discussing this as well.
More in depth.
“That Attacker’s host body starts to rot as soon as it begins attacking—quite horrifying. Must be a Divine Champion, yes?”
“That’s probable.”
Sarah answered.
“Will this participant really come for Kael on Day 6?”
“This Historical Record has featured outstanding professional players. If the management team of such a Historical Record chose this Hidden Mastermind, their power must be extraordinary. And if such a Hidden Mastermind deliberately.”
“Deliberately?”
“Said they would come for Kael, and we viewers are all that’s watching.”
“So there’s no chance it’s bluffing?”
“Why would we deceive the viewers? The participants can’t even communicate with us anyway.”
“So we really will see a match between the Attacker and Kael.”
“Yes.”
“Who do you think will win?”
“First, we need to discuss this Camouflage ability.”
“What about it?”
“In the PC era, there was a Champion in-game with this kind of disguise ability.”
“Ah, you mean the Chameleon Mage?”
“Yes. It could transform into minions, map objects, jungle monsters—anything.”
“And?”
“Even if you knew about it, you couldn’t dodge. Actually happened.”
“Why?”
“Because it’s in the realm of instinct. The rational thought that it might be a disguise belongs to the realm of reason, and reason is always one step behind.”
“Ah, so you’re saying those moments of ‘oh no’ keep happening.”
“Exactly. But they don’t even have that information. They can only be hit no matter what.”
“Yes.”
“Most importantly, its HP plus Defense have been increased.”
“Oh really!”
“Attack power too. We’re uncertain about the Skill mechanics, but it seems overall Stats have been raised. And there were moments where it appeared to steal power after killing Baek Do-yul.”
“Ah…….”
“It grows stronger the more it hunts. And the Camouflage ability fits perfectly now that hunting is underway. It’s by design.”
If one were to oppose fifty people alone.
If there were no other Hidden Mastermind.
That level of power had to be given.
To gain the ability to do one-versus-many after successful hunting.
“Then I have to ask: why specifically on Day 6 does it say it will catch Kael? The longer time passes, the stronger it becomes, doesn’t it?”
They had deduced Climax’s abilities with precision.
“I think I understand.”
Sarah seemed to understand even this Hidden Mastermind’s psychology.
“What is it?”
“Pride.”
“Ah! If it becomes stronger and then catches him, it loses meaning! The current Kael is an undeniable formidable opponent! Or coveted prey!”
But even with a significant power increase, could it survive an ambush?
Sarah was doubtful.
“So the rampaging Kael finally meets his match. How could he avoid an ambush?”

* * *

Day 6.
Seo Jun entered after a solid hour of rest.
That said, he didn’t worry too much about the rest itself.
Upon reflection, unless he took a role like that of the Attacker, there would be almost no reason to overexert himself.
Of course, he had considered other methods.
‘I could prepare another Capsule and swap between them to stretch the time a bit.’
But fundamentally, the brain would also take strain, so if the situation wasn’t resolved, he’d have to rest anyway.
The additional time from a new Capsule would definitely be minimal.
‘Rather than go out twice, I’d just leave it to the AI.’
Since such a situation would rarely occur anyway, it wasn’t a major concern.
Currently, Seo Jun was at ease.
First, an unexpected event had occurred on Day 5.
Another material collection point had been blocked.
‘Didn’t that participant say they’d only collected one material?’
It meant the quest would end soon.
And once word spread that Seo Jun had beaten Geomsin, those who had intended to gather and hand over materials gave up collecting and instead emptied the stored materials themselves, claiming they gathered them.
‘The risk of being beaten by me arose, and beating me by hoarding became difficult.’
With this, Seo Jun was guaranteed first place.
Comfortable enough to rest for several days.
Yon and Rachel had entered the Otherworld.
‘The Attacker.’
Seo Jun knew.
After Tae-san died on Day 4 and he re-entered the Otherworld, one of the mercenaries stationed there had vanished.
Only on Day 5 was another added.
Dead?
Went to rest?
Changed as normal?
Those things—the surrounding terrain and people—he checked at every moment, so he knew.
The Attacker had killed them.
‘Why kill them?’
There had to be a reason.
To avoid obstruction when leaving the Otherworld?
Unlikely.
If that were the case, all of them would have been killed.
The mercenaries held at least four positions just in front of the entrance.
And even if one came from the Otherworld to here, four still held position.
‘Hmm.’
Possession?
If the Attacker was a participant.
And they held a unique position called a Hidden Mastermind.
‘Day 5 should have been busy in the Otherworld.’
Of course, they might have had other work he was unaware of, but the chaotic realm was truly desolate.
There was nothing to do—only Monsters and strange plants.
‘Suspicious.’
For some reason, Seo Jun had the sense that the Attacker had emerged outside.
But if they were in Pangea and quiet now, then they’d gone to a city other than Train, which he couldn’t track down.
‘Should I consult the Historical Record?’
Or could he coax some clue from Cresit through careful conversation?
Seo Jun headed toward Cresit.
To the Smithy.
Deep within, to meet the NPC called the greatest scientist and speak with them once more.
But while walking from the Central Plaza toward the Smithy.
‘Huh?’
Seo Jun sensed something off about a distant NPC.
‘Are they following me?’
Normally, aside from NPCs bound to specific locations, all were free to move about.
‘Still, it bothers me.’
Seo Jun pretended to notice nothing and began walking randomly, letting his feet carry him.
Seo Jun couldn’t remember every NPC.
The mercenaries guarding the entrance he’d observed carefully, but no matter what, he couldn’t watch all NPCs in Train or even try.
So he was testing.
If he’d been wrong, a blade would have flown already.
After winding through various directions and slipping out to the edge of Train, Seo Jun let out a sigh and turned back toward his original path.
‘Hmm.’
The NPC hadn’t followed.
They’d simply walked their own path from the start and stopped at some point—they were never following him.
But something continued to gnaw at him.
The NPC had stopped at the exact spot he’d have to pass through when heading toward Cresit’s Smithy.
As if to say: if you return there, I will definitely check.
‘More like being watched than followed.’
Ambiguous.
Their gait and rhythm matched the other NPCs perfectly.
The chance it was mere coincidence was higher.
But Seo Jun had a nature to verify things thoroughly before moving on.
Seo Jun returned to the spot where the NPC had stopped. The NPC was loitering nearby.
Like a proper NPC.
If this was acting, it was extraordinary.
‘Controlling the body beyond even master-level acting.’
The NPC began moving as they walked. The direction was opposite to Seo Jun.
Seo Jun hurried ahead of the NPC and ducked into a nearby alley.
Acting as though there was urgent business, slipping away via a side street.
And then he used a Crime Permit.
A permit indeed. A fine item Seo Jun had personally purchased at considerable expense.
The NPC then passed through the alley at the same speed as before.
And then.
As they moved through the alley, the NPC’s pupils shifted ever so slightly.
To scan toward the alley where Seo Jun was.
‘Just as I thought.’
Seo Jun’s eyes curved slightly in pleasure.
An amused smile.

* * *

Moments before.
‘Nothing to do?’
Climax thought as he followed Seo Jun.
Judging by his behavior, he was a complete wastrel.
It was certain he’d thrown Achievement Points away like garbage.
He’d finished Day 5’s hunt, returned to Train, and immediately began preparing the Camouflage.
First observing an NPC, then killing them to impersonate.
With preparations complete, he’d entered Day 6, simply waiting for the right moment.
‘Yeah, acting like such a wastrel is way better.’
He could kill freely within the city when no one was watching.
Seo Jun drew near again.
He’d harbored no suspicion until then.
He’d simply shifted position, planning to observe further before departing.
But then Seo Jun suddenly rushed past him, seemingly in urgent haste.
As he processed the route to map it, he glanced to the side.
Suddenly, his entire body erupted in chills.
Their eyes met.
With a masked figure, sword drawn.
The brief sentence Bang Ju uttered in this moment, combined with what followed, became the finest turn of phrase piercing through the entire Historical Record.

[???: So who’s the Hidden Mastermind now?]

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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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