Master Swordsman’s Stream - Chapter 300

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

Chapter 300

“Shoot! Now!”
The moment Seo Jun rose from his knees, he heard Geomsin’s shout—and an arrow from one of the participants came flying.
Whistle-whoosh!
The arrow cut through the silent basement air, aimed at Seo Jun’s heart. He tilted his body to one side and evaded it.
Basic attacks are predictable when you’re watching. They don’t work on pros unless the strike is a genuine ambush or comes from an unexpected angle.
These people read the bowstring and anticipate the shot. Of course, you have to move faster than that, and you can’t dodge every strike—but if it’s a casual release, it’s easy enough.
“Ah, how sacrilegious. So you’ve truly fallen under this Geomsin’s sway, have you, Ethan?”
Seo Jun looked straight ahead, his expression genuinely sorrowful.
“…….”
“Loose one more arrow. I won’t dodge.”
“What’s this scheme?”
“I merely wish to show you the truth.”
“What truth.”
Ethan asked.
“If you continue being used this way, Geomsin will betray you all. Only he will survive. I have foreseen the future. The sole survivor will be Geomsin.”
Geomsin cut in.
“What are you spouting? The Hidden Mastermind is you! You! Kael, you son of a bitch!”
“Is that truly so?”
“Just shoot! Go on!”
The arrow flew through the quiet air again, and this time Seo Jun took the hit directly.
It lodged in his chest. There was no special defense mechanism.
Seo Jun’s Health decreased.
No—before that, his Health was displayed.
“Wait…? What…?”
To the Hero Ethan, who had fired the arrow.
“So he really was the Hidden Mastermind…? How?”
Seo Jun, savoring the shock in Ethan’s eyes, broke into a sinister grin.
“You’ve finally seen the truth. You’re marked as a heretic now.”
“You would’ve killed me anyway! So what? Keep shooting! And we’ll fight too!”
Seo Jun clicked his tongue.
Geomsin now understood him far too well. The fatal flaw was simply not knowing what Item he had purchased.
“Ah. In the end, it’s what you’ve brought upon yourself.”
“What have I brought upon myself!”
As the bowman’s Skill and three swordsmen closed in, Seo Jun remained utterly composed.
“They’re all dead because of you.”
Seo Jun activated his Mask.

* * *

“Ah, another soul has departed. Because of you.”
“Get him!”
Geomsin snarled.
Just as Seo Jun said, one person had been run through by his blade and died.
He hadn’t even used the Judgment Sword.
Just a succession of Basic Attacks—and the participant was finished.
Seo Jun pulled his sword free from the corpse and began his prayer again.
“How many more lives must we lose before you come to your senses?”
“Madman! Argh! You just killed him with your own hands!”
“Ah… poor soul.”
Seo Jun finished speaking, leaned into the next move, and charged toward his next target.
Ranged attacks kept coming, but he paid them no mind.
He simply dodged what he could dodge and methodically cut down each opponent in turn.
Seo Jun allowed each of them a single attack.
Now they recognized the deception.
Look at his Health—doubled that of a normal Hero, scarcely diminishing.
“Hah. We’re finished.”
A pro receiving Seo Jun’s attack spoke in resignation.
Clang!
A vital point was struck.
The blade pierced through the defense, burrowing in like a viper seeking the kill.
The atmosphere hadn’t changed.
Seo Jun continued his grotesque performance.
“Repent.”
“…Damn.”
“No, it’s not over! Don’t surrender!”
Geomsin protested, repeatedly inserting himself to try and stop Seo Jun’s strikes.
But.
Clang! Clang!
“The Damage is overwhelming. He must have bought Items. His Health is enormous. And his skill….”
Against such overwhelming power, such prowess, everything crumbled.
“If Kael was really the Hidden Mastermind, we shouldn’t be fighting now…….”
“No. You should have repented faster.”
The second participant fell.
What remained were Geomsin and the archer Ethan. Seo Jun bypassed Geomsin entirely.

* * *

“Didn’t you know it would come to this? Yet still, you went through with it.”
The basement fell silent.
“…….”
Whoosh!
A third cycle unfolded.
Geomsin attacked in fury; Seo Jun dodged and taunted.
“Those who’ve departed—didn’t I tell you? That Geomsin would kill you all?”
“…….”
“Ah. I would render judgment, but I hold faith that Geomsin will yet repent, and so I endure this trial…….”
“#$@$%!”
A strange sound reached Seo Jun’s ears. For a moment, he was disoriented.
The translation had failed.
What was that?
A Chinese curse?
“Kill! Kill him!”
The translation resumed.
But the meaning was wrong.
Not “die” but “kill”—there was definitely a problem with the translation system.
“You’ve slaughtered your own companions with your own hands, and now you tell me to kill? Kill whom?”
Seo Jun chuckled and sidestepped Geomsin’s strikes.
He checked the completed Quest window.
“My Stats have increased. Ah, how grateful I am.”
“Stop the games and attack! What are you doing!”
“Waiting for you to repent.”
“You keep saying ‘brother’—do you think you’re actually my brother?”
“Ah. We are all children of that One, therefore brothers. Even if you are a heretic.”
“Madman! Argh! Why won’t you finish it! What’s wrong with you!”
“Repent….”
Boom!
Geomsin’s Greatsword carved a deep gash into the ground.
“Did we meet as enemies in a past life? Why do you do this? Why!”
Because he could only kill three participants—kill him, and there’s no way around it.
“Bastard. The Hidden Mastermind Buff, Train rewards picked something amazing, I bet. That’s why you won. Others should have gathered more, but why don’t they believe me? Why! You coward! Damned wretch!”
“Anger is bad for the health.”
“Tch! You—”
“Yes?”
“Die!”
Geomsin thought Seo Jun was toying with him.
And that was when it happened.
The last remaining participant descended into the basement.
“Huh?”
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Geomsin paid no mind and continued attacking Seo Jun.
The last arrival had no strength left to question or cry out a warning to flee.
He simply wanted to be dead. Or to kill Kael. Either would suffice.
And then Seo Jun spoke.
“Hey, newcomer. Run. Geomsin can kill you too.”
At that moment, Geomsin’s eyes truly went wild.
“That’s what this was for! You bastard. You killed them!”

* * *

“So to sum up.”
“Yes, brother.”
“Geomsin actually sold you out to deal with us.”
“Yes.”
“And in the course of dealing with us, Seo Jun, who happened to witness it, you tried to kill—is that right?”
“Precisely correct.”
“Hmm…. Geomsin’s account is the exact opposite?”
“From the start, I said he was the Hidden Mastermind.”
The newcomer who appeared during the lull was Yamada Yasuo from Japan.
A Kael craftsman, and a participant who became a Seo Jun fan the moment he confirmed the skill to predict vital points was genuine.
In a situation where Amateurs outnumbered Pros, his entry as a different Hero made him formidable.
In Japan too, he was considered top-tier among Amateurs.
For him, Seo Jun had become a role model. And so Yamada Yasuo had watched all of Seo Jun’s streams. He knew.
That Seo Jun’s nature wasn’t particularly kind.
‘…….’
“Brother.”
“Yes, Seo Jun.”
And now this Seo Jun speaks gently. What could it mean?
‘He must be playing.’
Obvious.
Then Seo Jun is naturally the Hidden Mastermind.
“What doubt weighs upon your heart? Won’t you confess it to me?”
Yamada Yasuo swallowed hard.
A handsome Korean player’s eyes—with that laughing gaze—felt like he was being sucked into a vortex.
This was fear.
The fear of being toyed with by something irresistible.
Cosmic horror, they called it.
‘He wasn’t chosen as Hidden Mastermind for nothing.’
Yamada felt genuine dread.
‘Like watching a true fanatic.’
To Yamada Yasuo, this place was the Tiger’s Den.
To survive, he had to use his wits however he could.
Or else he had no way of knowing when the Hidden Mastermind might tire of his game and end them.
In fact, Yamada was also considering the scenario where Seo Jun wasn’t truly the Hidden Mastermind.
He knew Seo Jun as a Streamer who toys with people even when falsely accused.
So he decides to go along.
“Seo Jun, you have Health doubled that of normal Heroes—one of the Hidden Mastermind’s traits. You acknowledged that, didn’t you?”
“Yes. Quite right. But as I mentioned, that’s thanks to an Item I received as a reward.”
“And Geomsin claimed your Damage was also high.”
“That’s a lie. Want me to test it on you?”
“No, thank you.”
That would be dangerous. If his true nature were revealed, he would die outright.
No point in provoking a wolf in sheep’s clothing.
Their survival depended on it.
His immediate goal was simple: survive without offending him.
‘Survive.’
At some point, Seo Jun had positioned himself with his back to the exit, pinning them down.
“Just kill them, idiot.”
“Why do you keep saying such things, Geomsin?”
“Um, Seo Jun?”
“Yes, brother. Speak freely. Are you beginning to grasp who the Hidden Mastermind is?”
“Honestly, it’s fifty-fifty.”
No, it wasn’t.
It was nine to one. And the nine was his belief that Seo Jun was the Hidden Mastermind.
“Hmm.”
Seo Jun looked down at him silently, and Yamada swallowed, meeting his gaze as calmly as he could.
After a moment, Seo Jun’s mouth curved into a slow smile, breaking the silence.
“You suspect me.”
Yamada’s heart sank.
“But further persuasion without evidence would be futile.”
“Ha.”
Had he survived?
Would he be spared?
“So let’s do this instead.”
Or not.
Would he die?
Thud-thud.
Seo Jun approached where Yamada stood.
Yamada instinctively backed away.
The instinct of a prey animal maintaining distance from a predator.
Thud-thud.
Yamada passed the exhausted Geomsin sitting there.
Thunk.
His back met cold stone. He had nowhere left to retreat.
Would he die like this?
Even in such extremity, Yamada exercised restraint—he didn’t draw his blade.
Because he knew fighting was futile.
Seo Jun, having approached, suddenly turned his direction to the right.
With a smiling gaze that warned: don’t even dream of running.
Without a word, Seo Jun went to the wall and fiddled with something there before speaking.
“Brother?”
“Yes, Seo Jun.”
“We’ll scatter again soon enough.”
“Yes.”
“But having met like this—wouldn’t you like to do a good deed?”
“A good deed?”
A Quest appeared before him.

[Donation]
==
Victory Condition: Opponent’s Health drops to 20% or below
Defeat Condition: Take even one hit and lose

Reward
Victory: 0 Points gained
Defeat: 100 Points deducted
==

Yamada read the Quest conditions and thought.
‘Tch. No conscience at all.’
He understood he was being extorted.
But wasn’t this too much?
Of course, refusing meant death.
For his life, this much was…….
Yamada swallowed, then said:
“A good deed…. Donation…. I will do it.”
He nodded.
Surviving the Hidden Mastermind’s game was the priority.

* * *

At the exit of the basement, two figures emerged first.
Yamada and Geomsin.
“Phew, thank goodness we survived.”
“I didn’t want to.”
“Geomsin.”
“What.”
“Let’s go check out those Ruins you mentioned. If we find ruins and artifacts, I’ll completely believe your story.”
“And after extorting 100 Points, you still don’t believe me?”
“I do know one thing.”
“What.”
“That person can extort you even if he isn’t the Hidden Mastermind.”
“……. Hahaha. Hahahaha! True enough. That damned bastard.”
“At least we survived. Let’s prepare. Eventually, a way to beat him will come. Soon.”
“Soon. Right. Ha. I’ll have my revenge.”
“If Geomsin is actually the Hidden Mastermind after all this, I think I’ll lose my mind.”
“Yeah, that’s right. I’m the Hidden Mastermind. Let’s just say I am. Please kill me.”
“My apologies. I misspoke.”
Two Heroes who had escaped the demon moved without pause to a different terrain, without a moment to celebrate.
The demon in the shadowed basement, counting Points with a low chuckle.
They would find a way to bring him down.

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