Master Swordsman’s Stream - Chapter 296
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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 296
“Look, Kael. Don’t do that. How about we bet 100 Points and have a proper match?”
Gert from Germany could no longer tolerate the arrogance and spoke up.
A proper match, by the rules.
And he would break that streamer’s pride.
The streamer responded with a light smile.
“Oh? Let’s go right now.”
That only made Gert’s mood worse.
Though skilled, the streamer’s absolute confidence that he would win rubbed him the wrong way.
“Make the Quest quick. I’m going in alone this time.”
With 100 Points on the line, no one else would dare join anyway, but Gert made the declaration regardless.
He knew he might lose—it was an act of self-motivation, like the war cry of Vikings before battle.
“Just a moment. I was in the middle of editing a Quest for the Group.”
“Yes, let’s do this properly.”
Properly.
The reason he emphasized the word again was that he might lose, but also because he needed someone to step up like this.
At this rate, the pros were being completely dominated.
He had to break the momentum.
Gert, who hadn’t yet faced Seo Jun, had one anchor of confidence.
The overall fights had been half-hearted rather than desperate.
Even with 8 Points on the line, the pros hadn’t given their all.
The streamer who beat them grew so confident he was talking about taking on 2v1.
But Gert intended to go all out.
“Here it comes.”
A new Quest window appeared.
[100 Points blockade lolololol]
==
Victory Condition: Success with even a single hit
Defeat Condition: Health drops to 20% or below
Rewards
On Victory: Kael Train exile for 1 day, acquire 100 Points
On Defeat: Deduct 105 Points
==
“What…!”
“Come on in.”
“Why is my victory condition like this? Are you seriously insane?”
“No. Anyway, I lose even if I take a single hit.”
“…….”
What in the world was that supposed to mean?
The streamer was smiling, but there was no mockery or contempt in his expression.
It was strange, but Gert accepted it and picked up his gun.
“I’ll make you regret this.”
“Let’s go.”
Once the Quest was accepted and they took their positions, the countdown began.
5.
4.
3.
2.
1.
Bang!
* * *
“Look, Gert.”
“What?”
“Was it fun?”
“Fun? I just lost 100 Points. Damn it. What a waste.”
“But something about it seemed kind of half-hearted. I thought you were just donating 100 Points. If we were cooperating, shouldn’t we build one strong fighter instead?”
Gert, muttering with a familiar colleague, laughed as if in disbelief.
“I see… Did I look like that? If so, what about the other pros?”
He hadn’t fought with gritted teeth or in desperation, but he was confident he’d given his best effort.
Yet against an opponent set on pure evasion, it didn’t work.
Even trying to catch openings, the opponent only attacked from confirmed positions.
Since taking a single hit meant defeat, this was the natural approach.
But whenever Gert deliberately created openings to lure attacks, the opponent saw through his intentions and turned those very gaps into perfect moments for counterattacks.
‘A monster.’
And all those fierce moments…
“Should I give it a try too? Might actually help my skills improve. This guy’s completely irregular.”
…seemed light.
Utterly light.
“Right. Irregular. Really peculiar.”
How was it possible for someone this skilled to appear out of nowhere without any history?
“Gert, the other pros who faced him all praised him too.”
That’s true.
Those who’d actually faced him seemed eager to try 2v1 instead of angry.
It was those who hadn’t faced him—like Gert—who got excited thinking he was being underestimated.
“Something’s there.”
“What is?”
“That streamer isn’t an ordinary person.”
“Obviously. That’s why he’s doing this right now. Didn’t you see the chaos he caused in the Trial? I came here specifically because that was interesting.”
“They’re probably all similar.”
“Should I rush at him too?”
Now it was a 1v2 fight.
Strangely, just like before, the fights seemed monotonous and half-hearted to watch.
But.
Gert possessed one of the three people and faced Seo Jun directly.
Only then did he start to see something.
“Huh…”
“What?”
“I’m in awe. Truly.”
Watching the whole while also inhabiting a participant, Gert found himself moved by Seo Jun’s movements.
‘Had there ever been pure evasion displayed like this?’
The two pro players facing Seo Jun did their best. Yet they didn’t seem frustrated.
Rather, they kept building better coordination.
Their skill levels were rising.
Or more precisely—they were grasping the method.
The opponent wouldn’t attack easily. And he evaded damn well.
They grasped the patterns. Then they tested. And that’s how proficiency built up.
‘Is there a better training partner than this?’
As a pro watching his own colleagues’ skills rise in real time, Gert replayed his own fight from moments before.
‘There were so many clues…’
Ah.
Now everything became clear.
The reward had been only 3 Points—hardly enough if points were the real goal.
Compared to that risk, it was far too small.
Even expanding it to 2v1, it only went up to 5 Points.
The whole picture became clear.
“Hey.”
“What?”
“Let’s challenge him together.”
“Challenge? Are you insane, Gert?”
That streamer was training the pros in preparation for the Hidden Mastermind right now!
Those pros!
All for the Historical Record.
Gert had to acknowledge it. That streamer deserved to train them.
His skill aside.
He was even taking on the role of villain to prepare for the Historical Record.
Who else could train them like this?
Character and skill.
Both excellent.
“Right. Challenge. Look at him right now.”
How could anyone think of evading in such creative ways?
Brilliant, innovative, and utterly genius.
He must be deliberately showing the pros new experiences.
“Listen carefully. That streamer right now is……”
* * *
Seo Jun was thinking.
‘Man. What a pain.’
There was no easy way out.
He was mixing in the most creative evasion methods among all the possibilities, just to be thorough.
Every action he took would become data, so he had to preserve as many different approaches as possible.
From the most efficient to the most inefficient movements.
Watching the pros sync up in real time, Seo Jun found himself hoping their performance would rise even higher.
‘I have data from fighting the monsters of the Otherworld, so I should at least hit average, but I can’t let my guard down.’
He needed to accumulate data of himself navigating even more extreme situations.
“Thank you for your effort.”
Then he moved on to the next Quest.
Honestly, how much the pros would respond was unclear.
He’d deliberately increased the Points and played the provocateur, but he wasn’t sure.
‘Should I throw in the 100 Points I earned two matches ago?’
While he pondered this.
A notification came that someone had accepted the Quest.
Curious, he moved to check the opponent’s position and saw it was the German pro gamer he’d just fought one-on-one.
His name was.
‘Can’t remember.’
Anyway.
He wondered if the guy was trying to get revenge, but studying his expression carefully, Seo Jun found absolutely zero hostility.
How could there be no hostility? Even before losing 100 Points, the guy had been overflowing with it—and now after losing them.
“May I learn something from you?”
“Um, s-sure.”
Seo Jun was bewildered.
It was as shocking as when he encountered that Attacker who died helplessly—despite being the final Hidden Mastermind.
“Thank you.”
“Yeah.”
“Then I’d also like to ask you for some training, if you don’t mind.”
“…….”
Why were these people acting like this?
Seo Jun received two gazes full of goodwill and was deeply bewildered.
While those two were fighting, Gert’s understanding of Seo Jun’s intentions was transmitted to every other participant present through another pro.
Soon the atmosphere—and Seo Jun’s image—shifted to something warm and pleasant.
The pros, grateful that Seo Jun was training them, began offering thanks and eagerly participated in his Quests, hoping to improve their skills.
This was good for Seo Jun, and the spectators outside marveled as well.
[He predicted this too! The act of strengthening his enemies! If he’s going to win anyway, what’s a little like this! He copies Points, and his image improves at the same time! The way he builds affection and goodwill like this—I’m thrilled imagining the moment he betrays them later! My heart is racing!]
-The shock is biggest when the one you trusted most betrays you
-And the betrayal’s impact is that much greater lololol
-Kyaa!
-This is what a Hidden Mastermind really is
-It’s sad that no one’s ever done it this way before lol The level is so low
-Straight up lol
* * *
Ruins.
The Field beyond Pangea’s city hub was vast, and across such expanse lay countless traces of history.
Ruins were the dungeons that most directly impacted the Historical Record’s players.
Finding Ruins without any clues in such wide terrain was nearly impossible, which was why only through clues provided by the AI could Ruins be discovered.
Naturally, those Ruins offered rewards that greatly influenced play.
In other words, the AI sent players to Ruins that held the rewards they needed.
That’s why if a clue to Ruins appeared, you had to find it. It would tip the odds in your favor.
And Geomsin had just finished clearing a Ruins.
“Hahaha! Things smooth out once I’m away from that bastard! Yeah!”
Luck had been on his side—he found a clue to Ruins in the Desert and returned directly to Pangea’s Mountain Range to explore the Ruins.
And he found it, reaching the Divine Statue.
The Divine Statue.
It was the highest-tier artifact among the items that could provide information from Ruins. It was an item that slammed necessary information directly into your mind as images.
Of course, the images obtained from the Divine Statue were visible only to him.
Since it wasn’t competition anyway, whether others believed him hardly mattered.
“My luck’s too good, really. Yeah, I didn’t need to clash with that bastard at all. I was wrong.”
He had, in Seo Jun’s terms, repented. He understood his mistake.
And once he played with that realization, things went smoothly.
“I should cooperate. With that guy too. Make peace and apologize.”
Still, the constant friction bothered him, but there’s an old saying about love-hate relationships, isn’t there?
Geomsin placed his hand on the Divine Statue rising in the center of the vast Ruins within the Mountain Range, and a green-tinted vision filled his eyes.
The most essential information.
He didn’t know what it would be, but Geomsin concentrated and watched.
‘Green mist… like the Otherworld. Someone sleeping underground in the Otherworld? Ah. That existence is giving power. To whom? Coming outside. Could that Attacker have been in the Train at that time?’
Even if he saw the Attacker, he wouldn’t gain much real information, would he?
An unknown person is still an unknown person.
Thinking this, Geomsin was shocked. What appeared in the vision was not an unknown person.
‘What? Kael? Why Kael?’
The viewpoint in the vision shifted, then settled at the top of Kael’s head.
And the moment Kael—that streamer—looked up at the sky.
Flicker.
In Kael’s faithful eyes, Geomsin could see it.
A green light gleamed.
And the vision ended.
“This Kael? Wow. So that’s why he ignored the prophecy and came to the Train. Or maybe there was no prophecy Quest to begin with. Since he’s the Hidden Mastermind!”
Why the Attacker had specifically targeted him and Tae-san began to make sense.
It wasn’t that they were unlucky.
The Hidden Mastermind simply had a bad personality.
“I need to hurry. I’ll kill him.”
No evidence, but who wouldn’t believe him if he explained?
With that personality, his image couldn’t possibly be good.
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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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