Master Swordsman’s Stream - Chapter 81

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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 81

-12 win streak, this guy’s insane lol
-This is the Heavenly Demon’s power!
-How is he even pulling this off lol
-Please become sect leader, please become sect leader, please!
-Dude with that nickname, if you’re gonna be this good, actually take over the Demonic Sect!!!!
-Today’s stream was all-time legendary.

“That’s a wrap.”
The clock hands pointed to 10:10.
Seo Jun stretched and returned to his original position.
Bang Ju, who had been watching the situation unfold, approached him.
“You really worked hard today!”
“Thank you. You did great too, Bang Ju.”
“All I did was watch, really. You just pulled off a 12-win streak! A 12-win streak!”
Bang Ju continued speaking.
“Not a single loss, not even a single round, right?”
“That’s right.”

-Damn
-Real master-level stuff
-Bet a lot of people are rewatching. Didn’t know he was this good

Seo Jun and Bang Ju both glanced at their chat windows simultaneously, their eyes meeting as they looked back.
They smiled quietly to themselves.
“Our chat’s saying they think you could beat pros if you fought them. Have you ever fought a pro before?”
If we’re talking about real-world fights, he had.
“Unfortunately, no.”
“Ah, is that so? I’d love to see that matchup.”
“It could happen someday.”
“Exactly! These days there are a lot of former pros who’ve become streamers, and professionals basically dual-stream when they play anyway, so there are plenty of opportunities to meet!”
Seo Jun nodded.
The biggest issue was being busy, but most pros were at least half-familiar with Travel and its culture, so meetings weren’t uncommon.
You could meet people while playing the game.
“If I do meet someone, I’ll do my best.”
“Ah, so you’re saying you’ll do your best to cost them their job?”

-lol I’ll make them unemployed!
-If you lose to a streamer, you’re out of work
-That’d make them equivalent to a pro streamer lol
-Really wondering how that’d turn out
-With a new game there’s no way he doesn’t win

“Well, that was a joke, but anyway, we’ve had so much to see today—the duel with a Ranker, the Heavenly Demon’s divine skill, a 12-win streak, and more.”
Bang Ju began his closing remarks.
He’s really wrapping this up well.
Seo Jun quietly turned his head and opened the Travel window.

[Bang Ju – 140,000 viewers]
[Seo Jun – 18,000 viewers]

The numbers were astounding.
It was close to what a major corporation collaboration would pull.
It meant that nearly every Travel viewer interested in the War Arena was watching this broadcast.
Bang Ju’s highest viewership for War Arena content was around 150,000, if he recalled correctly.
This fell a bit short of that, but that was only when Seo Jun’s viewers weren’t included.
Including his numbers, it was fair to say they’d achieved the record.
“Plus, Seo Jun, you earned a total of 66,650 Prestige Points today just from your win streak bonuses. Adding the 6,000 or so you had before, you’re now the equivalent of 14 walking Rankers!”
Bang Ju spoke with raised enthusiasm.

-That’s kinda terrifying though
-I’m imagining a horde of zombies lol
-1st place is guaranteed now. Once he wins even once more, everyone else will need to win 14 times lol

“Heh heh. Right now both the Orthodox Faction and the Heterodox Faction are in serious trouble. Because the Demonic Sect now has the most Rankers! If Rankers fight each other, they could lose, but our 14 here won’t ever lose! Thanks to Seo Jun being this huge variable, things are only going to get more interesting from here on out.”
With that, Bang Ju offered his sympathies to Cheon Sal-seong.
“I pray Cheon Sal-seong survives this. Well then, that concludes today’s stream.”
Is it over?
Seo Jun watched as Bang Ju gestured into the air with his fingers.
“I’ll end my stream too, thanks.”

-The Demonic Sect’s stock skyrocketed
-Ah
-Think they’ll win the Championship?
-Thanks for the stream
-Thanks for the stream

* * *

“Thanks for the joint broadcast today. Next time I’d love to have you over to my studio properly for a full collaboration, not just this kind of relayed broadcast.”
“As long as the content’s interesting, I see no reason to decline.”
Though I’d need to figure out what capsule you use by then.
“Haha. When that time comes, I’ll give you the best treatment I can as a fan.”
“A fan?”
“Yes.”
“You watch my broadcasts?”
“Of course. I think I’ve watched most of them live. I even sent you a donation once.”
Bang Ju wasn’t someone who streamed frequently.
And he considered himself an analyst and commentator.
So he had plenty of time to watch Seo Jun’s broadcasts.
“I remember.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. I thought you only watched that one time, though. As you know, the event with defeating the Tower Master was pretty big—people had every reason to flood in.”
“That was when the initial surge happened, but I kept watching after that. Your skill is really impressive, and the stream is fun.”
“Thank you.”
I shouldn’t bother looking up the donation ID to fact-check.
With so many odd people around, whenever I hear about a viewer, I get the urge to verify what they might’ve done.
It’s really pathetic.
“Anyway, today’s collaboration is a complete success. It’s hard to break 100,000 normally. But 150,000 means almost everyone interested has watched. I’m starting to wonder if you’re actually becoming a major streamer.”
A major streamer.
The term referred to a select few who could casually pull tens of thousands live or had crossed a million YouTube subscribers.
They truly could be thought of as walking mid-size enterprises.
And even though the streaming market had grown, Travel was still treated as a niche culture. But major streamers had so much recognition and popularity—more than most celebrities—that they couldn’t be dismissed as niche anymore.
Even Seo Jun in the past, someone who’d completely abandoned interest in Capsules, knew their names.
“A major streamer? Even mid-tier seems far away.”
“Heh. Not that it’ll happen immediately, but who knows what the future holds? And aren’t you already a mid-tier streamer?”
“Pardon?”
“Could you not hit 10,000?”
“My fixed viewers have been around 5,000 recently.”
“You hit almost 20,000 today.”
“Today was an exception.”
“Well, that’s true, but Seo Jun…”
“Yes?”
“These people are obsessed with masters.”
……
“Really.”
Bang Ju’s expression turned serious.
“I see.”
“Anyway, I’ll send you the donations from my chat later today.”
“Okay.”
The arrangement to split half of the donations from Bang Ju’s channel had been negotiated the night before.
For reference, Seo Jun had insisted on splitting fifty-fifty with Bang Ju as well.
“Don’t be shocked when you see the amount. These people really are obsessed with masters.”

* * *

Bang Ju’s words proved accurate.
Today’s broadcast dominated most of the trending topics, and public sentiment was positive.

[Honestly, after today, there’s no more debate about who’s the Heavenly First Swordmaster lol]
[That streamer Seo Jun followed the old technique posts he coached in the comments, and seriously, his level went up. That’s why he’s called Ultimate Master for a reason]
[Getting beaten by the Blunt Sword just means the skill gap is huge]
[Seo Jun <– Why is this guy so entertaining???]
[Combat Analysis. Namgung Jeomsoi Edition]

There were posts offering serious analysis.

[The leadership of both the Orthodox Faction and the Heterodox Faction have been forced to abandon all the strategies they've built over time and wrap their heads in confusion because of one person in the Demonic Sect! "How could the Demonic Sect produce someone like this?" "What have our masters been doing all this time!"]

Nickname: Gwang Sin-do. It rings a bell.
The writing style too.
Seo Jun let out a small chuckle as he checked the comments.

-This guy's predictions actually coming true is hilarious lol
-Why's his nickname Gwang Sin-do when he's only said things that are true? Isn't he a truthful reporter?
-The stuff he posted in the middle of the fight is even worse
└ [BREAKING NEWS] To compete with the Heavenly Demon, Orthodox Faction's 2nd-ranked player resorts to performance-enhancing drugs. "Competing without them is impossible." "The Demonic Sect's Snow Ginseng, stronger than the Great Restoration Pill."
└ The Demonic Sect's Snow Ginseng lol
└ Not even Korean ginseng lol
-This person writes nothing but pure truth without any fabrication.

[Is it okay to talk nonsense as long as you win?]

-Yes
-Yep
-Yeah
-Why ask something obvious?
-The moment you win, nonsense stops being nonsense, rookie
-If it bothers you, what do you do?

[The Demonic Sect thugs got cocky real fast. You haven't won the Championship yet lol]
[If we didn't win, what's the point—they got all their Rankers shredded]
[Honestly, if the Heavenly Demon joined the Orthodox Faction, I'd bow so hard my head would break on the ground]
[Anyone willing to trade their 14 Rankers for the Heavenly Demon, hit agree lol]

Seo Jun walked forward while thinking.
"The response really is good."
Eight of the top ten real-time posts were about him.
The Community, being the most active space right now, was obviously the epicenter.
"Anyway, why'd they call me?"
His current destination was a hall within the Demonic Sect's map.
Right after the broadcast ended, Dang So had summoned him here. Normally he would've ignored Dang So's call, but given that Lee Dong-soo and the Heavenly First Swordmaster had also summoned him, Seo Jun was heading to the hall at a leisurely pace.
As he reached the door, he heard voices.
"Dolbeok Talchwi King and Boss—I trust those two. But whose accounts are these?"
"I'm not sure. It doesn't seem like anyone from our group."
"So those two unknowns just happened to have the same idea as us and downvoted together?"
"Looks like it."
"Got it then. Doesn't matter! Either way, we successfully took them down!"
Took them down? What are they talking about?
Why does this feel uneasy?
"And you call ME just for this? Do you know who I am? Just knowing my main character—everyone would be amazed!"
"Shut it, Bandit King."
It was a parade of nonsense.
Maybe I shouldn't go in.
Seo Jun opened the door with a dubious expression.
Inside were not only Lee Dong-soo, who had messaged him—in a bulky avatar—Dang So, and the Heavenly First Swordmaster, but several other people gathered as well.
Their common point was probably that they all chose the Demonic Sect as their faction.
Dang So, who appeared to be leading this gathering, approached him first.
"Finally you show up? Even when I kept telling you before, you wouldn't come, but the moment someone else calls, you're right there. Well, it doesn't matter—my plan to make the Demonic Sect champions won't be derailed without you."
Here we go with the nonsense from the start, Dang So.
Making the Demonic Sect champions, my foot.
Seo Jun watched with half-open eyes, as if to say, "Keep talking."
"Still, I can't ignore you, so I'm prepared to give you an important role. Will you accept it?"
Translated: Please cooperate with us.
That's really what he meant.
"Can the Demonic Sect actually win the Championship?"
"Of course. But thanks to the Prestige Points you've earned, if you just follow our instructions, we can win it even more easily."
"Is that so?"
He'd been planning to cooperate anyway.
Just not with this guy.
"Exactly. And the Prestige Points you've earned—we have about half a stake in those, so don't even think about backing out."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Did you think your 12-win streak just happened by itself?"
"Then what?"
"It was all created because we organized behind the scenes to crack down on posts that were unfavorable to your streak!"
So they were all rigging things together.
Ah.
Now he understood why the Bandit King looked so wronged.
They'd gotten together to downvote things and were telling this busy player to help.
"Well, we didn't directly write posts or give upvotes to manipulate things. We just responded organizationally because there were forces trying to smear you."
So that's not manipulation?
Seo Jun silently prayed they hadn't done anything too strange, since Dang So seemed to feel guilty calling it anything other than manipulation.
He'd need to get more details from Lee Dong-soo or the Heavenly First Swordmaster later.
"Anyway, about that Championship—can you really actually win it?"

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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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