Master Swordsman’s Stream - Chapter 310

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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 310

“Second half! We’ve truly entered the second half now!”
Seo Jun decorated the end of Day 9 by leisurely driving away those on the Train who had been hunting him.

-KKKKKK This bastard was just stalling the whole timeKKKKKK
-Either way he would’ve been caught eventually, so he profited
-But the other passage got sealed, right?
-It was going to be sealed anyway
-Bang Ju can’t block it all alone
-Shin-geom should’ve focused on closing passages as fast as possible instead of getting distracted trying to catch Seo Jun

“That’s right. Shin-geom was blinded by revenge!”
He shouldn’t have tried to catch Seo Jun at that point.
At least not after Seo Jun entered the Shop.
From that moment on, he should have focused on other priorities.
“Would Seo Jun have been caught even if he’d fought instead of threatening back there? We all know the answer.”
Bang Ju smiled meaningfully.
He was recalling the items Seo Jun had purchased.
The Consumable Items he’d bought while keeping just one inventory slot empty.

-KKKKKKKK Bang Ju will never get caught
-For real KKKK
-Can’t kill him
-But honestly I don’t think we can kill him anymore?
-Bang Ju wins the championship!

When one recalled those items.
At least among Korean viewers who knew Seo Jun so well, it was only natural that no one could picture him dying.
What about foreign viewers?
Bang Ju was curious about that.

* * *

Seo Jun remained at ease until the end of Day 9.
He simply stayed in place even after all the participants had left.
Truth be told, he took it even easier because not everyone had left.

[Shin-geom, what are you going to do? Can’t kill me.]
[Shut up.]
[Grrrrgh.]
[What kind of sound was that, you bastard!]
[There’s no such thing.]
[I’ll grant you wasted your time. But isn’t that true for you too?]
[Not the same. I’m far more advantaged.]
[……. As long as one passage remains?]
[Exactly. So I told you for fun.]
[Acting charitable after profiting so much. Your personality really is rotten. I’m going to live right from now on.]
[I’ve taught you well, it seems.]
[Shut it! And this isn’t over. Let’s go, Yasuo. We have our work to do.]

After this, Seo Jun spent time chatting alone with Fragment before ending Day 9 with a laugh.
The participants on the Train each went to their own areas and finished by searching for clues.
As the situation worsened, the NPC groups also began investigations thanks to Darahn’s work, making it progressively easier to discover clues.
So it was only natural that Seo Jun had anticipated several participants on the Train would enter the Quest before the day actually ended.
Shin-geom and Yamada Yasuo began moving for a special Quest to remove the curtain.
Those who had destroyed the passage and came from places other than the Train had gathered enough clues, so they relocated to help other participants.
As information about Seo Jun spread among the participants they met along the way, it was inevitable.

[Now that Day 9 is over, who has the advantage? Korea? Or the whole world?]
==
I think it looks like the whole world now.
==

-Why is it Korea vs the whole world, you Western guys KKKKKK
└You must pay the price for releasing the author to the world.
└└That’s right. Koreans should pay the price.
└└└ Crazy KKKKKKKKKKK honestly we’re sorry

Those watching were curious. Who had the advantage?
How would this situation unfold?

[Commentator’s Analysis]
==
The structure is now set: heroes destroying passages versus the Black Mask blocking them.
If even one passage remains, the Black Mask wins.
So one might think it’s advantageous if the Black Mask just keeps blocking one, but that’s not the case.
Unless the Black Mask actively interferes, the participants who’ve cleared the passages will eventually gather to assault the one remaining location in overwhelming numbers.
They’ll finally catch the Black Mask and destroy the last passage—a winnable fight given there are over thirty participants.
Both sides must work hard to determine how favorable the final battle’s odds will be in the end.
By the specs alone, the Black Mask’s preparation is undeniably thorough.
But he can’t kill. So interference won’t work well, and the whole world will win.
It can be summarized like this.
==

-The Black Mask definitely prepared well though
-Those are Points earned from squeezing the whole world
-That Korean guy just discovered copy exploits like crazy
└Exploits?
└└His skill is the exploit
-I’m worried about the items
└Me too. Wouldn’t the Black Mask have a slight edge there??
└└Don’t worry, nothing beats numbers. And the opponent is who they are
-Pro…
└I’m betting everything that streamer debuts pro after this History Book ends
└└There’ll be legendary contract offers
└└└Will there really?

* * *

“Vikings, Lions, Magnus, Dynasty, Curse, and so on. We’ve confirmed all the top teams are reviewing offers for that player.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
“Didn’t some of them send offers before?”
“They did. But the terms coming this time will be different from before.”
All North American professional teams.
And the ones having this conversation were also a strategic coach and director from a North American Professional Team.
“Should we not send one?”
The director of Rachel and Bernard’s team fell into thought.
“You said yourself it wouldn’t work anyway. A Korean and two people who met him directly said so?”
“Still, we should take a shot.”
“Director.”
“What.”
“Do you know how much they’ve offered?”
Tens of billions in annual salary.
That was Seo Jun’s worth.
He’d demonstrated physicals that surpassed the world’s greatest pros.
He had the star power too.
In-game performance was different from that level of physicals.
He’d definitely perform well.
The question was how well.
“We have Rachel, so it feels awkward to even test the waters.”
The highest-level mid-laner in North America was on their team.
Not that they didn’t covet Seo Jun, but if he’s not coming anyway, what was the point in trying?
“Wouldn’t tens of billions shake even that player?”
And the director was worried about this.
What if Seo Jun was tempted and decided to go pro?
‘That would be quite nightmarish.’
“Don’t worry. The History Book has many information restrictions and too many variables—you might be helpless against that person there—but regular games aren’t like that, right? You know that.”
In regular games, the side that doesn’t make mistakes wins.
And it’s five versus five.
So he can’t be invincible.
“Looking at his streaming tournament record, he’s lost before.”
“That’s true, but…”
Why did he feel worried?
“And if, say.”
“Yeah.”
“If that streamer ultimately fails to win as the Black Mask in the final chapter.”
“Right.”
“Those contracts will become null and void. Everyone will reconsider.”
“That’s true.”
The reason was simple.
The world is harsh to losers.
If Seo Jun ultimately loses this confrontation, everything he’s done so far will come back to him. For a while.
To stream, he’d have to disable chat entirely or block foreigners.
If he joins a team, would public opinion be manageable?
Then would any team really take him on by offering tens of billions despite that?
“And from what I can see, the odds of losing are high.”
“Why?”
“Non-lethal. Because of that. There are far too many participants remaining.”
“But their specs are outstanding? Absurdly so? The items…”
“Still. Some things just can’t be done.”
“Will it really be impossible? The items?”
“I’m telling you it can’t be done! They’re the ones who’ll exploit non-lethal restrictions better than anyone!”
This was the biggest problem.

* * *

Day 10 had begun.
Every participant except the Black Mask began moving frantically fast.
Naturally talented individuals who could push their efficiency in focused selection to the absolute limit—that was them.
Since the game’s story had progressed, there was nothing stopping them as they deliberately worked through it.
Only Seo Jun could be a barrier to them.
And around two hours and thirty minutes had passed.
“Again!”
Bang!
The gun barrel tilted upward and the bullet shot skyward like a rocket.
And the Hero below missed the Hound.
“Since you can’t kill people, you block like this. Tch. But are you really an amateur?”
The reason the barrel tilted up.
It was because of the man who’d clung to him and raised his sword.
The Hero, marked by the Black Mask for forty minutes and unable to catch the Hound, finally raised both hands.
One hand was already raised as the barrel pointed up.
“We’re forty minutes into a Quest that should take two hours, so the hunt’s been blocked. Sigh. This place will move to Phase 2 soon.”
“It will, soon.”
“Not that it means much. You’ll eventually be caught later.”
“Why?”
“Because you can’t kill. No matter how much you interfere and passages advance to Phase 2, when the moment comes that you can kill people, you still have to face all of us. The number you face at once might change, but can you handle it?”
“I can kill.”
“There’s a heavy Penalty.”
Seo Jun scoffed at him.
“Your Marking and interference seem superior to mine, Kael.”
“Isn’t it just that I’m more skilled?”
Seo Jun matched his laugh.
Just then a green wave came like the wind, passed over them, and spread outward.
Time was up and the passage had changed.
A sound rang in Seo Jun’s mind.

[Kahahaha! Magnificent!]

“Skill, is it? Then let’s see your skill at running from a hunt.”
The shotgun’s barrel came down. Aimed at Seo Jun.
“Ah.”
“Let’s see you escape well.”
“Okay.”
Bang!
In that moment, Seo Jun didn’t flee backward—he closed in on the hunter.
“Ho, approaching instead? But what does that accomplish?”
“I’ll kill you.”
Seo Jun said matter-of-factly, swinging his sword.
“…!”
Clang!
Those fighting Kael had to pay attention to this sound.
Clang!
Clatter!
In an instant, two more Vital Points were severed.
“What kind of Damage…!”
Bang! Bang!
The moment a ranged Dealer allowed distance without cost, the fight was essentially over.
There was no way to hit Seo Jun standing beside the gun barrel.
Clang!
Clang!
Clang!
The moment his health dropped below half without resistance, green energy erupted from Seo Jun’s body, forming a skeletal shape that cried out.

[Did you go deaf, you cursed collaborator!]

Seo Jun stopped moving and the hunter froze, the blade right before his face.
One wrong move and he’d really die.
When Seo Jun shouted in his mind and Fragment didn’t listen, Seo Jun directly asked the Fragment who was taking shape and shouting.
“Why?”

[This is bad for you!]

“Phase 2 passages just opened, so the Penalty will decrease, right?”

[Right. There’s power flowing in from the newly matured passages!]

Every time Seo Jun killed someone, Fragment was said to use the power it had given Seo Jun to conceal it.
That’s why Seo Jun’s Boss stats—most importantly, health—decreased whenever he killed.
Eventually, certain stats like attack power would also diminish.
When each new passage matured, the power was replenished somewhat, reducing the loss slightly.

[So the power you received didn’t mean your health wouldn’t decrease! This is a loss!]

One out of thirty.
A simple three percent loss meant Seo Jun would lose more health than that.
But he couldn’t recklessly kill everyone right now.
If he exhausted all the power Fragment had given him—if the Penalty stacked—Seo Jun would die too, Fragment said.
It was the price of the seed buried deep in his body being uprooted entirely.
The reality might differ, but either way.
“If I keep killing I lose power and eventually die, right?”

[Right!]

“So I’ll just kill until right before that point.”

[Y-you madman! You’d lose power! Even one kill costs you…!]

Seo Jun approached the hunter.
But the opponent wasn’t flustered.
“The AI calculated it out and told us plainly, Kael. If I kill you, I lose power. Can you even do it? You’d lose power, you said? Lose it more.”
Had knowing the truth restored their confidence?
“You know what? I never needed health from the start.”
“What?”
The sky above the hunter’s head split open.
The Judgment Sword activated.
“Wait! Why! Why?”
“Because I can win without health.”
“That’s not it! Why didn’t you kill me last time!”
“Because that was fun.”
“Then why me specifically!”
Thud-crackle-boom!
The sword falls.
“Because you trying to hunt me was presumptuous.”
And the next day.
Three more participants who had angered Seo Jun died.
People began debating this hotly.
It was entirely because of his statement that he’d win even with diminished stats.
Once again, supporters and critics went wild.
Worldwide.

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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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