The Fate-Seeing Genius Streamer - Chapter 44

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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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43. [Infinite War] Master in a Single Day? (1)
Sparring instruction.
The way I learned from Geom-hu was through real combat—receiving guidance mid-battle and gaining enlightenment through experience.
[Infinite War], the main content of our joint broadcast, was finally at a stage where we could properly proceed.
It had been fifty-five ranked matches since I entered the ranking system, and this was the first truly worthy opponent I’d encountered, though there were other reasons as well.
Rarity.
Even among the masters of martial arts whose hierarchy was established within [Infinite War], true masters of weaponless combat were exceedingly rare.
It was because of a system penalty imposed on playable characters who used weapons in [Infinite War]—a balance patch called the ‘Weapon Penalty’.
‘Playable characters under the Weapon Penalty lose the ability to chain attacks and are granted only a single martial skill.’
In other words—
Simply put, it meant I could barely use most of the in-game systems within [Infinite War].
Simultaneously, the martial skill of the playable character was also limited to just one, unlike the typical setup configuration.
At any decent level, choosing to use weapons was such a disadvantage that most avoided it entirely.
Even those who advanced to the World League in [Infinite War] would discard weapon techniques unless their proficiency reached an insane level.
Yet despite all this, there remained merits to wielding weapons.
There were always exceptions to every rule.
Just like now.
Pava-ang—!
The katana’s blade cleaved through the air, extending in a straight line.
A thrust. Then Hikaru’s torso twisted, carving a sharp diagonal slash.
Using the tip of her right foot—weighted with her center of gravity—as the pivot, she prioritized speed over power in this move.
I evaded it.
Tsu-ut.
Immediately, I rotated my body with my left foot as the axis while arching backward, then straightening up.
And in that moment when my center of gravity tilted and returned, an unstable stance created a delay.
No predator wastes an opportunity once it’s been seized.
—.
A cascade of pale pink hair whipped through the air as Hikaru’s eyes gleamed with bestial hunger.
In an instant, the sound of bones creaking echoed out, and the katana was deflected in the opposite direction.
A desperate maneuver. Because of it, the health bar floating above Hikaru’s head lost a small amount, but it didn’t matter.
It was merely a negligible cost.
Assuming the finishing blow I was about to deliver would ‘land’.
Whoosh, taa-ang—!
“!?”
It missed.
The katana sliced through empty air, reached its limit, and trembled tautly as it froze.
-That’s a waste, Kavi lol
-M I S S !
Wow, this is seriously a waste, right? Hahahaha
-Why do you avoid using so many different postures?
—Joo Seo-jin.
Evasive maneuver.
Before the katana could cleave me in two, I abandoned my center of gravity and instead rolled sideways, flipping my body over.
Both hands pressed against the Training Ground floor as I compressed my upper and lower body as tightly as possible.
The beginning; the start; the outset.
The preliminary motion was large, and it was a movement I’d already witnessed before—there was no way I couldn’t recognize it.
A backflip.
Just as before, I intended to evade Hikaru’s chained assault with an aerial somersault and retreat backward.
Surely after withdrawing like this, I would secure distance and buy time to devise a strategy.
There was no reason to grant such breathing room.
A movement that defied human anatomy had created an opportunity for a lethal strike.
That was because I already possessed a finishing technique capable of sending Joo Seo-jin away in a single blow.
Tuck—whoosh───!
In that instant, the katana’s blade gleamed, a small gust of wind stirred—and then a sound like a tempest erupted.
It was simple.
Up to this point, Hikaru’s side hadn’t used a Martial Skill because of the constraint imposed by ‘First Cooldown’—a charging-type Martial Skill restriction.
In other words—.
The charging-type ‘Martial Skill’ with First Cooldown in [Infinite War] had fully unlocked as the duel time elapsed.
Which meant, in simpler terms, this:
A critical moment that would decide life and death, and moreover, the very outcome of the match itself, was about to unfold.
[ 「Heavenward Strike」 ]
From the very tip of the katana’s blade, a pale pink sword aura rippled and burst forth like a flood.
Shaaaa───…!
Heavenward Strike.
An area-of-effect technique that unleashed sword aura from the katana’s tip, creating pale pink ripples within a radius of roughly three meters.
While it seemed ambiguous to call it an area attack given its effective range, it bordered on being overpowered.
—!?
—What, insane?
—It’s over, damn it….
—No way, Heavenward Strike’s cooldown already came back..?
—It’s broken; this is way too close, there’s no way to dodge it
Crowd control.
—If Heavenward Strike even grazes you, you’re just paralyzed, so isn’t that a loss?
Status abnormality.
The ‘knockback’ generated by the sudden burst of a pale pink shockwave.
Due to the knockback judgment spreading across a radius of roughly three meters, it was effective at forcibly securing distance.
In other words—.
At this moment, for Joo Seo-jin, this was a crisis of absolute desperation itself.
At least, if one only looked at what ‘appeared on the surface’.
My pitch-black pupils reflected the scene before me as though they were mirrors.
A shockwave rippled outward, and sword energy bloomed like pale pink petals cascading through the air.
Without even a chance to mount a defense, it would have been natural to be caught off-guard and sent sprawling by a counter attack—yet there was no hesitation.
The reversal move that could overturn the current situation already existed within Joo Seo-jin.
…
…
…
Kiiiing───.
Foresight manifested at its absolute peak, and the eyes that perceived fate opened wide.
* * *
Everything slowed.
The world entering my field of vision drained of color, and time sank deeper into a quagmire with each passing moment.
Within an eternity of instants, my eyes glimpsed the afterimages of possibilities yet to unfold.
Grrrgh, ugh….
Without hesitation, yet without wavering, I moved forward.
After all, this was merely reconfirming something I’d already witnessed once—there was no reason to be shaken.
Of course, that was only natural───
* * *
Deliberately exposing my own openings, guiding the flow of offense and defense, what I’d been trying to ‘draw out’ was—
* * *
To unleash the lethal technique of the maneuvering art that could be called the ‘pinnacle’ of the Lacrantz Style from the very beginning.
* * *
A fundamental difference.
That stemmed from the fact that Hikaru’s Gaming Martial Arts was inherently centered on swordsmanship.
Rather than a single-edged blade like a katana, wielding swords or blades with extended reach.
Within the Infinite War, even accounting for weapon penalties, Hikaru’s skill ranked among the very highest in the World League.
While she hadn’t definitively entered the Lord of Martial Arts tier, there was no dispute that her abilities were comparable to it.
And so, she was confident.
‘I said I’d create conditions to receive sparring instruction? Who do you think you’re facing, saying such things?’
I would win.
No—that wasn’t enough. It wasn’t just about winning; I’d make her acutely aware of just how vast the skill gap truly was.
With that mindset, I pressed forward as if venting my frustration.
This relentless assault was also to deny any opportunity for counterattack, just as in the current moment.
‘I really should beat them down thoroughly. I need to show them that I’m several moves ahead—’
But then.
‘Huh?’
That was when it happened.
From the tip of the katana, a shockburst erupted, sending a shockwave outward—and an anomaly occurred.
From below, upward. In merely an instant, I witnessed ‘something’ launching skyward.
‘!?’
It was Joo Seo-jin.
‘Insane. This can’t be happening. A vertical leap from down there?’
I was stunned.
I couldn’t understand why she’d attempt such a thing. Even jumping upward from below, there was no way to exceed a 3-meter radius.
In the first place, for something like that to be possible, the ‘Nameless Ascetic’—the playable character’s physical performance itself had clear limitations.
‘…No, regardless. Even if she goes up, what then? I’ll just cut her down and be done with it.’
Predictable.
I was prepared to respond in midair to the knockback judgment that accompanied the Chung Cheon Gyeok martial skill, or any status abnormality effects.
If I accelerated with pre-programmed movements, the inertia of kinetic energy might allow my attack to land regardless.
‘Anyway, getting unnecessarily flustered… but regardless. I’m the one winning. It doesn’t matter.’
Hikaru clenched her teeth, withdrew her katana backward, and extended it upward into the sky.
Tsu-fwang───!
A blade strike delivered with breathtaking, incomparable speed.
Even accounting for follow-up attacks with predetermined movements, nine times out of ten it wouldn’t be a proper strike.
And even in that one chance, being afflicted with a status abnormality and stiffened like a wooden log was a foregone conclusion, wasn’t it?
‘I’ll finish this—’
But then—.
‘What?’
An anomaly occurred.
The opponent, whom I’d been certain couldn’t jump high enough… was in an entirely different position.
Joo Seo-jin, rapidly descending from a height of roughly 2 meters, showed absolutely no sign of ‘instability’.
‘What on earth—!?’
I’d miscalculated.
What I’d overlooked was none other than Joo Seo-jin’s ‘athletic ability’—the skill of pushing his status to its absolute limits.
A handstand. Standing inverted on the marble floor, he’d compressed his lower body through his upper body like a spring, accumulating elastic force before launching upward.
This was the art of converting the weight of his body falling under gravity into energy for an upward leap.
The kinetic chain.
Not just the shoulders, chest, and triceps, but the scapula, latissimus dorsi, abdominals, glutes—the extreme limit of movement continuity linking bodily motion like a chain.
Superhuman reaction speed, recalculating kinetic energy loss to the absolute limit and explosively pushing off the ground.
From the beginning, all of it had been preparation for this moment.
Not a backflip, but to corner the opponent through gliding the instant he deviated from her predicted path.
With foresight calculated in advance, ‘structuring’ movement to ‘accelerate’.
One of the core principles of the Lacrantz Style’s virtual technique operation—’variable speed’—had been recreated in [Infinite War].
That was why.
‘Not a shred of instability…! The Chung Cheon Gyeok missed…!! He succeeded in jumping over 3 meters high…!!’
───As a result, Joo Seo-jin’s body had succeeded in ‘escaping’ the effect radius of the Chung Cheon Gyeok, which influenced everything within a 3-meter radius.
And.
The essence of the Lacrantz Style, the true nature of Gaming Martial Arts, was to deliver a one-hit kill through movement that defied prediction.
The conditions had been in place for some time.
Zzheong-!!
A sweeping kick.
Joo Seo-jin plummeted at breakneck speed, twisting his body mid-fall to sweep the flat of the katana blade aside with his leg, completely dismantling Hikaru’s stance.
As the katana was driven back, her body tilted precariously to the side with a ’tilt—’, leaving Hikaru utterly defenseless.
‘Impossible. This can’t be happening, this can’t be— happening—’
The next instant.
A sharp ‘whoosh—’…!
“Ugh, cough—!?”
Joo Seo-jin’s body spun like a top once more with a ‘whirring—’, driving a spinning roundhouse kick with the brilliance of light straight into her temple.
A heavy impact.
Consecutive hit confirmed.
By the in-game system’s judgment, Hikaru’s body was lifted into the air, rendered unable to act.
Having taken a direct blow to her temple—a critical point—the consecutive hit was forcibly triggered.
A sharp ‘crack—’.
An opening.
Despite moving continuously through the air and attacking, Joo Seo-jin maintained a stable landing posture.
It was inevitable that he would drive a punch into Hikaru the moment she touched down on the Training Ground and began to recover her stance.
‘Boom—————————!’
“———~!”
Hikaru’s eyes flew wide with shock and disbelief, her body sent flying backward.
A heavy ‘crash, bang—’.
-What?
-Insane..
-No, what the—?
-??????????????????????????????????
Astonishingly.
* * *
The viewers in the stream erupted in unison, gasping at the unexpected reversal, the counterattack that severed the flow of offense and defense.
-?
I can’t provide a reliable translation for this text. The Korean characters appear to be incomplete or corrupted consonants and vowels that don’t form coherent words or sentences.
-I thought he was doing a backflip.. but then he just shot upward, and suddenly he’s counterattacking..?;
-This doesn’t make sense..? How is that movement even possible? Did he just buff his own stats 2x, 3x or something?
But it was only momentary.
“Huff, huff—.”
The sound of catching his breath echoed through the silence, and then Joo Seo-jin licked his lips.
“…I think the preliminary work is sufficiently complete at this point.”
The reason being—.
“I’ve finished preparing so that I can properly receive instruction in combat training.”
I had now set the stage to move to the next phase of learning.
“Since we seem ready to advance to the next level, shall we begin?”
= ….
…In a way I never anticipated, I had unexpectedly bought myself time to receive instruction.
Was that the reason?
Geom-hu, too, hadn’t missed a single moment of the exchange—she’d observed it all.
Because of that, her expression had grown far more serious than before.
‘A genius—no, even calling it that feels insufficient. With such innate talent as that… it would be on an entirely different level.’
It was inborn talent so profound that one might say we lived in different worlds.
I’d already known she was no ordinary person, but displaying techniques of such an absurdly high caliber changed everything.
‘I’d planned to simply correct her movements lightly and provide basic instruction today… but that won’t be possible.’
She was a specimen of innate talent—or what one might call demonic talent.
It was simple.
Before being a streamer, Geom-hu was a former professional gamer—a master of Gaming Martial Arts.
When faced with such overwhelming raw talent, one couldn’t help but be captivated by that inborn gift.
‘Legacy.’
People naturally desired to leave traces of their life somewhere.
The position of direct disciple, which I hadn’t placed much significance on until moments ago, was now entirely different.
= Certainly. It seems I’ve earned enough leeway to provide sparring instruction.
As one who’d walked ahead, if there was something to pass on to those who came after, this would be it for Geom-hu.
= So I shall hold nothing back and share all I possess.
Geom-hu adjusted her stance with a light gesture of her hand.
= The teaching I shall impart to Young Master Joo will be one of my own unique martial techniques… it will certainly not be easy.
Swish, rustle—.
= While not comparable to the Lacrantz Style, this unique technique was once my signature art… it is called…
A combat system that permits entry only after releasing tension from muscles and joints, thereby elevating flexibility to its extreme.
In ancient times, it was also a battle system employed by Russian special forces.
Gaming Martial Arts, which is regarded as having left its mark on the history of [Infinite War].
That is—.
= ───The Chimwol School, a unique martial technique I shall transmit to you.
…In common parlance, it is known as the “Система Нисходящей Луны”—the System of the Descending Moon.

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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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