Master Swordsman’s Stream - Chapter 48

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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 48

Seo Jun watched soldier NPCs fighting on a road some distance from the Stronghold and spoke.”Hmm, you all seem to have a pretty solid build?”

He’d already beaten enemies twice.
The second time, against four of them.

-He hasn’t even leveled up enough to use skills yet
-He’s gonna talk once he hits level 6
-Suppressing them with pure stats and acting like the build is good lmao
-Shameless

Strictly speaking, traits did have an effect, but it was minimal—the viewers had a point.
The real test of a build came at level 6, when martial arts became available.
In the beginner zone, you had to reach level 18 to use Sword Qi-like techniques, but after choosing a faction, it was level 6.
At level 6, Internal Energy emerged and martial arts became usable, with each multiple of 6 strengthening them further.

[Blue: 565] vs [Red: 980]

-Damn
-Barely chipped his health pool at all from 1,000
-That’s strategy for you!
-Strategy???

Currently, all Strongholds were held by his team.
Three icons marking the Strongholds glowed red—the Demonic Cult’s color.
In other games, allies were blue and enemies red,
but on the Battlefield, each side had its own assigned color.
Blue for the Orthodox Sect, green for the Evil Sect.
A message appeared.

[Heavenly Demon, do you really not need help?]
[I do not.]
[That Namgung guy who was here seems to have gone over there. Should we keep holding here?]
[Stay put.]
[Copy that.]

Without taking the Central Stronghold, a comeback was nothing but wishful thinking.
Though right now, since Seo Jun wasn’t farming soldiers, the Central Stronghold had lost some value.
‘Next time, should I take someone along like a swordmaster does, just for clearing soldiers?’
No.
Better to fight it out two-versus-one and secure another Stronghold outright.
But things rarely went according to plan.

[Jeon Jae-hoon–> CoconutLover]
[Jeon Jae-hoon–> DemonicCult123]
[Lost Stronghold A.]

“Ah.”
He’d thought of this scenario, but it was still annoying.

-Ahahaha
-What good will waiting do?
-Rally match on

“It’d be easier if they just kept challenging me.”
Seo Jun spoke with a note of disappointment.

-He’s asking if they’ll oblige lmao
-We’re just getting stomped
-Quick thinking

‘Still, they’ll aim for this place eventually.’
No matter how many side Strongholds they captured, if they couldn’t take him down, they couldn’t win the game.
So he needed to anticipate when the enemy would target him.
The conclusion was simple.
‘I’ll reach level 6 and come back.’
Experience came from killing soldiers, killing enemies, and capturing Strongholds.
It was granted automatically over time, but since all living players in the game received it, the only way to widen the Experience gap was to kill enemies.
‘The fastest way to gain Experience is to farm soldiers.’
That’s why the Central Stronghold mattered.
So the enemies would look for a point where they could win before the Experience gap widened further.
That point would be level 6.
The moment martial arts became available.
“Next time, they’ll probably target Stronghold A.”
To avoid the Central Stronghold where he was, they’d have to take a detour.
When his teammates at Stronghold A asked what to do, Seo Jun told them to go back and retake it.
They’d come back anyway—what did it matter?

[Jeon Jae-hoon–> MyDreamIsPollack]
[Lost Stronghold B.]
[Reclaimed Stronghold A.]

As expected, the enemies had captured the side Strongholds.
They should be hitting level 6 about now.
“I think they’re coming.”

-But why did you dump all those points into traits in the first place
-For real
-Wait, did you actually plan that build?
-If you’d planned it, you would’ve read through everything before allocating. No way—you just picked whatever looked good.

How did they know?
At least he hadn’t lied.
“Well, I really did think about it.”
The Absorption Technique drained the enemy’s health and restored his own by the same amount.
Additionally, while fighting, it continuously siphoned Internal Energy and Stamina from anyone within a certain range.
Stamina was a critical resource—spent not only on Lightness Skill but also on martial arts, combat techniques, and heavy strikes.
The Absorption Technique, which essentially stole most of the vital resources in this game from enemies, sounded broken on paper.
But it had a fatal weakness: when the total Internal Energy absorbed grew too large, Demonic Corruption Backlash struck.
‘Fights can’t go on too long.’
A tank that had to end fights quickly.
There was a structural problem.
So he’d thought about it differently.
If fights had to end quickly, he’d become a damage dealer and end them himself.
He just hadn’t realized there were so many sub-traits to choose from.

-Yeah, the penalty lmao
-How are you gonna play without taking the penalty-reduction traits
-Streamer won’t die from actual fighting, but from Demonic Corruption Backlash instead
-Other people haven’t thought about it because it’s not viable

Was that so?
“It looked pretty doable to me.”
There were things you could only learn by trying, but Seo Jun trusted his instincts about combat.
Conveniently, he could hear the enemy approaching from a distance.
“He’s still here!”
“Let’s destroy that freak!”
“Four-versus-one, and we’ve got martial arts now—if we lose, we’re pathetic!”
After losing repeatedly to Seo Jun, they’d begun speaking casually to each other.

-Wait, weren’t they formal before?
-Now I wanna see the streamer hit with Demonic Corruption Backlash
-Similar to the parry in Twilight of the Assassins lmao
-I got hit with Demonic Corruption Backlash once and thought I was sleep paralyzed lol

When combat began, the Absorption Technique activated automatically.
A beggar from the Beggar Clan came close and swung a Cudgel.
A powerful attack that consumed Stamina.
As Seo Jun parried it with equal Stamina expenditure, two Huashan Sect users appeared from either side behind the beggar.
Their robes fluttered, and crimson Sword Qi rose from blade-tips as a violent wind carried the scent of plum blossoms to the tip of his nose.
The Huashan Sect’s skill—the Twenty-Four Plum Blossom Sword Technique.
“Impressive.”
Right.
He’d chosen the right game.
First move.
Plum Blossom Roadside. A plum blossom by the path.

-Damn, those red effects look sick
-That’s why it’s the most popular
-This is what real swordplay is

What was the essence of the Twenty-Four Plum Blossom Sword Technique?
As the enemy’s blade fractured and crimson filled his vision, he considered it.
‘Deception.’
Seo Jun backpedaled as crimson Sword Qi rained down, targeting countless Vital Points simultaneously.
The illusory blade obscured vision and disrupted senses.
What was real and what was fake?
In that nostalgic fragrance, Seo Jun stirred his Internal Energy.
‘A familiar sensation.’
The feeling of moving real Internal Energy.
He applied force to his feet.
“But I am a Heavenly Demon.”

-This guy’s actually insane lmao
-Did he have a grudge about not becoming a Heavenly Demon? lol
-Why is it so cool though, why!!

Seo Jun’s blade was enveloped in deep red Demonic Qi as he drew a great half-moon from left to right, cleaving through the crimson wave.
‘Strong force meets strong force. Sword Qi counters Sword Qi.’
It was a game rule that didn’t deviate much from reality.
And.
An illusory blade was overwhelmed by a greater blade that covered it.
Seo Jun poured massive Internal Energy into blocking the skill.
Since the enemy had used a skill, it was probably less Internal Energy-efficient than simply drawing and swinging Sword Qi, but—
‘This works.’
Either way, the crimson illusion shattered.
The fragments scraped across Seo Jun’s body but dealt no significant damage.
“You’re blowing Internal Energy just to break the first move?”
“He used a lot of Internal Energy! Finish him quick! That’s disgustingly inefficient!”
From their talk, it sounded like how the skill was normally used.
The Beggar Clan user charged at Seo Jun after hearing the shout, but—
Seo Jun angled his blade sharply and pierced the incoming attacker.
In an instant, health lost to the fragments was restored.
“Wait, what’s with this damage output?”
“Did you hit a Vital Point?”

-No that’s not it
-The streamer went all-in on attack traits
-Didn’t he hit a Vital Point too?

He did hit a Vital Point.
And he’d used Stamina for a strong thrust.
Behind Seo Jun, a flash of blue lightning erupted from the Namgung Clan member.
The Heaven Thunder Divine Sword.
One of the two martial arts of the Namgung Clan, characterized by speed and lightning.
But then—

-Lmaooo
-Lightning got deleted by the streamer lol
-What the hell, why are you laughing
-Did you not binge the newbie experience streamer videos or something

Seo Jun glanced at the chat and laughed too.
Lightning’s cool.
Blue lightning scattered across space as if the user had activated Lightness Skill in a frenzied state—a faster strike descended on Seo Jun.
Impossible to follow with the eye, but—
‘What was I looking at when I was the Tower Master?’
Seo Jun gathered his Internal Energy and brought his sword down lightly.
Clang!
His blade met the exact path of the enemy’s sword with perfect precision.
The blocked user’s eyes widened in shock.
“How?”
“Your sword is swift, but it falls short of touching me. That is all.”

-Unlucky Tower Master lmao
-Seems like he’s predicting things, that’s nuts
-So fast, how did he even do that
-Nothing works against a Heavenly Demon!!

“Hmm.”
His hands tingled.
The lightning had dealt minor damage to Seo Jun.
Seo Jun used Stamina again to attack the enemy in front of him, restoring his health.
“This works.”
With his health fully restored again, the enemies stared at him in despair.
“No way. Does the Heavenly Demon have infinite Stamina? How is he like this!”
The Beggar Clan member threw all his strength into swinging the Cudgel, and Seo Jun met it with an equally powerful counter.
“It’s the Absorption Technique.”
The Huashan user from the side charged in but was slashed and fell back.
The amount of health lost was beyond imagination.
“No, even so—that’s too much! The damage is insane!”
“The Demonic Cult’s broken as hell.”
They bickered and clashed blades, but Seo Jun’s health never wavered.
When martial arts dealt damage, it was quickly restored; when they tried to exploit the advantage of four-on-one, infinite Stamina neutralized it.
When it seemed there was no way forward, the Beggar Clan member spoke.
“If we stall him out, doesn’t he just die?”
The penalty of the Absorption Technique was well-known.
The longer you use it, the more likely you are to die.
To mitigate this, people took—
A trait where the technique breaks if distance increases.
A trait where defense and health rise with more enemies fought.
Traits that reduced the technique’s power but increased safety and extension time.
“It looks like he barely took any penalty-reduction traits. Unless… the damage and Stamina don’t add up otherwise.”
They weren’t game newbies, so they caught on quickly.
“Then let’s outlast him!”
“Just hold out and he’ll die on his own!”
“Don’t let the distance grow too much. Stay close, keep moving in!”

-They figured it out
-Newbies don’t get this situation, could someone explain
-Well it’s like this—blah blah blah…
-Our boy got excited lol

The enemies’ stance shifted.
From attack to defense.
A tactic to drain the Absorption Technique’s efficacy without dealing direct health damage.
A normal Absorption Technique user couldn’t have done anything about it,
“You think that’ll work on me?”
Seo Jun feinted a retreat, then dove straight into the center of the enemy formation.
He hadn’t taken the trait that broke the technique at distance anyway.
The price of boosted performance.
Swift death.
And the way to avoid that swift death.

[Defeated Jeon Jae-hoon]
[Enemy Fortress Health –20]

“He’s gonna die soon.”
“Yeah, but when?!”
“No clue.”
Slash!
A blade darkened with demonic energy flashed.

[Defeated Lee Byeol-E-seo Byeol-E]
[Enemy Fortress Health –20]

“This is ridiculous. When does he die?”
“Doesn’t it feel like a lot of time has passed?”

[Defeated Streetside]
[Enemy Fortress Health –20]

“Beggar… I’m the last one. Dammit. What—?”
Suddenly, the enemy who’d been slaughtering them mercilessly turned away from the Namgung user.
And began to retreat.
Quite quickly at that.
“He must be dying now—that’s why he’s creating distance!”
Finally!
The Namgung user burned all remaining Stamina and unleashed a final lightning strike.
A desperate last blow that would both catch up and, if lucky, land a solid hit!
But the Seo Jun who’d been retreating suddenly turned, blocked the strike,
and his sword rotated smoothly, cleanly targeting the man’s throat.

[Defeated Sky Sword]
[Enemy Fortress Health –20]

What?
He reacted to that while running away?
Or was it—
A setup from the start?
Feigning retreat to finish him for sure.
A master truly is different.
‘I shouldn’t have rushed in.’
Then the enemy began speaking to the void.
“Why didn’t I die? Well, I reduced the technique’s penalty instead, boosted its power, and took the trait that resets on enemy kills.”
Ah.
The defeated user stared up at Seo Jun with hollow eyes.
So there were sub-traits for Absorption Technique like that.
Since no one used them that way, he’d never known.
“Killing even one of you resets the penalty, so… pretty decent build, right?”
Better than decent—it seemed absolutely broken.
But if one kill resets the penalty, why did he back away just now?
There would’ve been time.
Wait.
A single word crystallized in his mind.
Toying with him.
“Still, the Orthodox Sect’s martial arts look cooler and more impressive. No wonder people don’t pick the Demonic Cult.”
That comment seemed meant for the others to hear too.
Damn.
‘I’m switching to the Demonic Cult the moment this match ends.’
The first day of the Battlefield had only just begun.

—————
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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