The Fate-Seeing Genius Streamer - Chapter 43

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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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42. [Infinite War] …Ah, So That’s the Setting? (5)
In that instant, Joo Seo-jin’s eyes narrowed, his gaze growing distant and contemplative.
‘A skilled player… one I cannot defeat easily… is it….’
It was intriguing.
It wasn’t something I hadn’t considered, but that made this prospect all the more captivating.
Thus, after a brief moment of reflection, I found myself leaning toward an affirmative answer.
“That’s certainly welcome news to hear.”
Certainly.
With that, the possibility of encountering an opponent who could provide genuine satisfaction had grown considerably from my perspective.
Unlike before, now that I’d entered the World League—competing against players from across the globe—things were bound to be different.
‘Because of the balance patches from MMR adjustments, I won’t be able to win every match.’
However, there was one problem: ranked matchmaking took an extraordinarily long time.
= Of course, now that I was in the World League—to reiterate, the queue times for ranked matches were so lengthy that waiting tens of minutes just to face a Master tier or higher opponent was entirely possible———
Geom-hu had also played [Infinite War] and waited for hours at a stretch, which was why he’d offered that advice, but it proved meaningless.
Ding—.
「Matchup: ‘Grand Master, 287P’ (ID: ??? / Server: Japan)」
[Accept/Decline]
“…Apologies for the interruption, but it seems a ranked match has been found.”
= …!?
Geom-hu, seeing the system message window, pressed down on my shoulder and urged me forward.
= Wait—Grand Master!? What incredible fortune…!? Accept it at once! If you don’t respond quickly, the opponent might cancel, so hurry!
“….”
I tilted my head slightly to the side, evading his insistent pressure, and immediately accepted the match.
Whoosh.
To be honest, I too felt a surge of anticipation.
Unlike before, I was now a league player, about to face skilled opponents from across the world.
If this was how things would unfold, I might very well encounter a worthy rival—far different from those I’d previously thought were wasting my time.
‘…The World League, matches against other nations—. I’m curious how formidable they’ll be.’
Without doubt, if this came to pass, I would be able to gauge the true extent of my own talents.
Whether my gift was genuine, and if so, just how exceptional it truly was—this would be the moment to confirm it myself.
The anticipation was inevitable.
‘…Anyone called a Grand Master in [Infinite War] must be fundamentally different. Probably.’
Before I realized it, a faint smile had formed at the corners of my lips.
It was the manifestation of a competitive spirit—an emotion I myself hadn’t fully recognized.
Whoosh———.
At that same moment, the system window of [Infinite War]’s ranked match flickered, and the scenery around me began to shift.
The World League.
A matchup with [Infinite War]’s Grand Master had been established.
* * *
Rustle—.
-Oh
-The arena’s beautiful
-Cherry blossoms? Is this a Japanese-themed arena?? What’s going on?
-Seo-jin only has the default arena, so the opponent must have purchased this one
I guess it’s a recently released Japan-themed arena, so they must have spent some serious cash on it lol
Atop the vast arena, amid cherry blossom trees and small ponds scattered throughout, the scene resembled a tourist attraction.
Drip, drip—tap.
From the pond’s direction came the sound of flowing water, and the sharp clang of a bamboo water dipper striking the ground echoed across the space.
And then───
‘Ah. Is that the person?’
「Hikaru」
━ID: Hikaru_Setsuna21
━Total Connection Time: {Approximately 2,312 hours 41 minutes 11 seconds}
━Player Title: {Grand Master: Master of the Heavenly Sword Technique}
━Player’s Main Character: {Heavenly Sword Swordmaster}
━Player’s Overall Record: {Total 781 matches, 441 wins, 340 losses}
‘Hikaru’.
On the massive arena, I could see a woman with pink hair standing with her back to the warm sunlight streaming down from the pond’s direction.
A Japanese woman wearing samurai-like customization cash items stood with a katana at her side, arms crossed.
Then she looked me up and down with a dismissive glance before clicking her tongue.
As if she already knew who I was.
“Hmph. Just as I thought—even worse in person. No presence, no presence at all…”
“?”
“That someone like you is Geom-hu’s direct disciple… I find it hard to accept.”
“….”
Since the words were translated seamlessly into Korean, I could only tilt my head in confusion.
‘Geom-hu, direct disciple… Ah—did she watch the stream?’
It seemed this player called Hikaru knew something about me.
In that moment, I took a step back and opened my mouth slightly.
It was to ask if she knew Geom-hu.
“Um… Are you perhaps acquainted with Geom-hu?”
But then—.
-Ha..
-Is it Tokaru?;
-I knew Q would be caught so fast, but it’s Hikaru again
Even if you’re a nasty sniper, I’m starting to get attached to you at this point, Hikaru, damn it.
-Sigh… I was wondering who got caught at that level.. but as expected, as expected~
‘?’
Looking at the viewers’ reactions in the streaming chat, they didn’t seem particularly favorable.
= Sigh… I had a feeling, but so a Grand Master-level player was her after all.
Geom-hu sighed as well, exhaling slowly before continuing.
= She’s the type who constantly pesters me to take her as a disciple, always demanding matches… I know who she is, but I can’t say I’m particularly fond of her as a martial artist.
It wasn’t quite hatred or contempt, but rather a complete lack of affection.
= If I had to choose, I’d say I dislike her more than anything…
The viewers watching the stream shared the same sentiment.
-She’s a walking score dispenser
-A toxic sniper, just ugh;
-A golden goblin who hands out free points and MMR whenever she shows up
-Just one of those toxic snipers from Japan, but she’s actually good at the game so everyone watches her
-She’s got pro-level skills and is always coming to Geom-hu asking for matches and begging to become her disciple
‘A toxic sniper, huh…?’
The term felt unfamiliar, but I quickly grasped its meaning from the explanations that followed.
= She’s a lunatic who unilaterally follows her around, constantly begging to become her disciple and spouting challenges… It seems best to simply ignore any conversation with her.
‘Ah-. So that’s what a toxic sniper is?’
It appeared she was one of the viewers who followed Geom-hu around, exploiting her high player tier to constantly snipe her with challenge requests.
But then—
“No? In [Infinite War], I merely seek guidance to reach the pinnacle of enlightenment… I am nothing like those contemptible fools…!”
-?
-What’s she saying;
-Oh my, you startled me, jeez
-Ugh.. here she goes with the parrot act again, again again??????
-Hikaru… stop eavesdropping and just get ready for the game,, tsk,,
-This isn’t even a game intro dialogue, why does she keep repeating the same thing..
Hikaru seemed to have something to say, her voice dripping with competitive fervor.
“As a samurai, I seek enlightenment to touch the soul of Infinite War… Therefore, it was absolutely necessary for me to beseech becoming the direct disciple of the greatest master, Geom-hu!”
“….”
“Yet, how can I accept that an outsider like you has become Geom-hu’s direct disciple… I have no choice but to defeat you here and reclaim that position…!”
“I’m not entirely sure what you mean by that.”
Joo Seo-jin blinked, his expression betraying confusion as he replied.
“A samurai, you say? The soul of Infinite War…? What exactly are you talking about?”
“A samurai is a samurai, and the soul of Infinite War is the soul of Infinite War. Do I really need to explain that? You should have that spirit within you too, shouldn’t you?”
“…So it’s not some special meaning or professional terminology, then.”
“What?”
In that instant, Hikaru’s face twisted and a sharp, metallic voice erupted.
“It’s not that—it’s the pure heart of a martial artist pursuing enlightenment. Don’t you get it?”
“I see—”
And then.
Beep—
[3]
[2]
[1]
The countdown began, and the moment of the final confrontation drew near.
Whoosh.
Joo Seo-jin nodded, lightly struck his palm with his fist—*tap*—and opened his mouth as if he’d just realized something.
The thing was───
“Ah, so that’s the setting…?”
“?”
“Hmm. If that’s the case, I think I can understand it.”
“….”
I’d simply dismissed it as a ‘concept’ and ignored it entirely.
“You certainly have a vivid imagination, but the setting is hard to grasp.”
“….”
= ….
-?
-This is…
-Ah, seriously lololololololol
-lololololololololololololol
-Ah, this setting? lololololololololololol
Was that why?
Hikaru’s face flushed crimson, radiating a menacing aura that expressed her fury.
[READY───]
“Ah. Well then, I look forward to your cooperation.”
“….”
The next moment.
[START───!]
Kyaaaah───!
As the countdown ended, Hikaru placed her hand on the katana’s grip and charged forward in silence.
* * *
One of the core principles of combat is the ‘distance gap’—the unique spacing that defines each martial art.
The Lacrantz Style was created to skillfully control distance gaps, though the concept itself isn’t original.
The reason is simple: in combat, certain elements are absolutely indispensable.
‘Attack range’.
Make the opponent’s attacks miss by the slimmest margin while ensuring your own strikes always land true.
Since attack range is formed through the difference in distance spacing, all martial arts allocate their focus to controlling distance.
Regardless of skill disparity, maintaining a wide attack range provides an enormous advantage within basic martial principles.
Therefore───.
‘Using a weapon with greater reach means gaining an advantage in most circumstances.’
Even a three-year-old could understand this if they thought about it for a moment.
That’s why.
The instant the [Infinite War] ranked match signaled its start and Hikaru charged forward—my senses sharpened to a razor’s edge.
One doesn’t need innate talent or natural instinct to recognize it.
Even accounting for the advantages that Martial Skills bring within [Infinite War], the difference in attack range created by weaponry is difficult to overcome.
A shadow fell across Joo Seo-jin’s face, and his eyes narrowed, gleaming with a cold light.
‘A katana—not bare-handed, but an actual weapon… In [Infinite War], it’s a type I’ve rarely encountered.’
Fifty-four matches, fifty-four victories, an unbroken streak of perfect play, yet I’ve never faced a proper weapon user.
I’ve crossed paths with a few, but they didn’t know how to properly utilize attack range through distance management.
All I had to do was create confusion so they couldn’t gauge the spacing, land consecutive hits, and overwhelm them one-sidedly.
But now, I was feeling the menace through my very skin.
Fwaaang—
Though I’d inadvertently fallen into some kind of spatial trap, the flow itself was exquisite.
One exchange.
A charge, followed by a twist of the body to the side, then a sharp, clean slash delivered diagonally as if cutting paper.
Considering the flow of linked movements, the way the force was controlled so momentum wouldn’t exceed inertia—that single technique sent a chill down my spine.
‘!’
Swift judgment.
Using foresight to peer into the future, grasping how many linked movements were coming, and simultaneously—I changed my approach.
A diagonal slash from lower left to upper right—I evaded it by the width of a sheet of paper, then leaned my upper body back.
Pang, fwang—!
Hikaru’s katana, that single-edged blade, came slashing downward from above, releasing successive sonic booms.
Had I not leaned back, it would have struck my head directly; instead, it came down again in a cutting motion toward my lower abdomen.
A moment of absolute crisis, yet Joo Seo-jin remained composed.
Thump—
A beat faster, I planted both hands on the ground while leaning back, twisted my body to the side, and executed a backflip.
Whirrr—
Spinning through the air, I flipped my body rapidly and bounced away, then pushed off the ground with both hands again to evade the consecutive strikes.
Accounting for the continuous assault pattern, I used foresight to perceive it, then accelerated along the predetermined path I’d already calculated.
The subtlety of that evasive maneuver opened an avenue in the exchange.
The katana, which had been slashing downward through the air, tilted to the side, and its blade struck the Training Ground floor belatedly.
Clang—!
“…!?”
“───.”
The flow broke.
Immediately, I threw my body backward, my feet scraping against the ground with a sharp sound as I created distance.
I didn’t miss the moment when my opponent’s linked movements were interrupted, revealing psychological wavering.
Within that unexpected exchange of offense and defense, our reactions diverged to opposite extremes.
The first thing to burst forth was Hikaru’s astonishment.
“Insane… You’re dodging all of this by predicting it in advance…?”
My playable character in [Infinite War] is the ‘Nameless Ascetic’.
That Martial Skill, ‘Siyoung Style’, accelerates through movements set in advance, executing pre-configured actions.
Since the movements from acceleration must be meticulously calculated in the preset configuration, the maximum speed becomes insanely fast, but that’s all it is.
Conversely, without predetermined movements set in advance, the merit converges to zero.
Taking that into account, it was truly a movement that transcended human capability.
-Damn;
-DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD
-Wow, shit… a backflip??????????? That’s legendary??
-How’d he do that, for real?? Like, how the hell did he dodge????????
-If it was just pure physical reaction speed, I’d get it… but wait, just now… it looked like he responded using a Martial Arts skill?;
-Insane.. just how far ahead did he set up his skill configuration..?
The viewers watching the stream were equally stunned in that instant, and upon grasping the situation, they gasped in astonishment.
But—.
“Haa—ahhh───.”
Joo Seo-jin stood motionless, catching his breath roughly, then suddenly displayed an unexpected reaction.
Ssshhh—.
A smile.
Joo Seo-jin’s lips curved upward, carrying a light and transparent laugh.
“…You were certainly right about that. In the World League, I’ll struggle too.”
The thing is—
“I think I’ve finally found someone worth properly learning from.”
Sparring instruction.
For the first time, I was facing an opponent from whom I could receive genuine teaching—Geom-hu, the former professional gamer of [Infinite War].
Ssshhh—.
“I should create the conditions to receive sparring instruction… I’ll focus.”
However, to receive sparring instruction, I first needed to break the current momentum where relentless attacks were being pressed upon me.
‘I need to make it clear that I’m a threat worth being cautious of.’
To properly learn something, including hand-to-hand combat, I needed to bring out what I’d been holding back.
Click—.
There was no reason not to showcase a newly acquired ability.
“From now on, I’ll go all out without holding anything back.”
Lacrantz Style.
Something said to be absolutely impossible to implement in [Infinite War]’s game system.
It was an opportunity to demonstrate the viciousness of the ‘pinnacle’—that which existed within the virtual machine operation method of Gaming Martial Arts.

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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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