The Fate-Seeing Genius Streamer - Chapter 85
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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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84. [Infinite War] What Kind of Monster Is This, Anyway? (4)
Splash———crack, crackle crackle crackle———.
Across the Training Ground formed of shattered waves, Heuk-wol retreated with a falling technique as water droplets scattered into the air.
Circles rippled across the water’s surface, overlapping like rings before vanishing as his landing concluded.
Heuk-wol straightened his legs from their slight crouch and stood upright.
“….”
Breathe———.
Heuk-wol’s stance, still standing firmly on both feet exactly as before, made it difficult to gauge the damage.
It wasn’t as though he’d taken a critical hit—a blow severe enough to inflict a fatal wound.
In [Infinite War], stamina and breathing limitations are implemented through the physics engine, and a direct hit to a vital point can momentarily induce respiratory distress.
However, in [Infinite War], merely because a “consecutive hit judgment” occurs doesn’t mean such respiratory distress manifests in every case; if the damage isn’t severe, it’s treated as a trivial attack.
The same principle applied.
Pain subsided easily, and stamina could be recovered without difficulty, so there was no cause for alarm.
Yet Heuk-wol simply remained silent, his straight sword planted into the floor beneath the waterline.
‘…Well, I can roughly understand what happened. A spinning back kick—was that counter already planned from the start?’
It wasn’t an exceptional feat that seemed impossible to accomplish.
Even among professional gamers, such unconventional attack methods were sometimes dodged by instinct or countered.
If one repeatedly exchanged blows in hand-to-hand combat within seconds, moment after moment, one would encounter individuals with such refined senses often enough.
The problem lay elsewhere.
‘No. No matter how I think about it, this doesn’t make sense. What is this?’
I momentarily considered that what my opponent had just done wasn’t entirely impossible, but the standard for that judgment was ultimately the realm of professional gamers.
Among streamers pursuing skill-based broadcasts, there were those with abilities comparable to or exceeding professional gamers, and many were former professionals, yet they all shared one commonality.
Experience.
It was only possible for those who had studied martial arts for years and developed a deep understanding of them.
Rather than shocking, the inability to discern the source created an undeniable sense of incongruity.
‘From someone who’s been at this for less than a year, this kind of sensory play emerges…?’
More precisely, not even a year—not even several months—the very fact that such a level of sensory play could manifest from someone who, until recently, was merely an ordinary person was utterly bizarre.
‘Considering [Infinite War]’s playtime and actual combat experience are far less than expected… this is almost making me wonder if there’s some bluff involved.’
Moreover, the counter attack demonstrated just now, that spinning back kick, was something that defied rational comprehension.
‘The spinning back kick itself—he hasn’t learned Taekwondo or anything like Capoeira. His stance was sloppy, and he didn’t seem particularly familiar with it.’
The manner of skipping breathing techniques and preparatory stances to move directly into the motion, the stance considering various connected movements—there was an absence of technical traces developed over long periods.
Yet paradoxically, the spinning back kick from moments ago clearly contained sections where consideration for hand-to-hand combat was evident, where follow-up attacks and the opponent’s responses were being accounted for.
Realizing this was what had caused Heuk-wol’s expression to harden.
‘That means—he devised such a technique on the spot in that instant? With a counter as the premise?’
Genius.
Innate talent, demonic talent—such descriptions couldn’t fully contain it.
More than sufficient, overflowing, and beyond overflowing into a deluge—it was talent bordering on calamity.
“This is absurd, really. How does something like this even happen?”
Though I lacked the polish of experience, outwardly it remained hidden, yet Joo Seo-jin had already———
“What kind of monster is this, anyway?”
…In the realm of pure martial arts, I was demonstrating the creation of Gaming Martial Arts itself.
***
Joo Seo-jin exhaled roughly, yet deliberately slowly, continuing his words.
“It’s difficult, but still manageable in its own way.”
Unlike before, Joo Seo-jin tilted his head slightly upward, responding with composed indifference.
“The handicap—I don’t think you really need it, do you?”
-Is this real..?
-Kyaaaaaaaaaaa
-This crazy bastard is doing a spinning back kick with prediction shots…!!!!!!
-Sigh.
-Wait, he’s reversing it with a prediction shot back kick…???? Is he even human..?
-Seo-jin!!! Seo-jin!!!!! Seo-jin!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
As the chat exploded, cheers naturally poured forth.
Heuk-wol.
A professional gamer of [Eternal Saga], an existence that had proven itself as the pinnacle of skill in the current generation even on the World Stage.
He had mastered all manner of full-dive content, and his status had never waned anywhere, anytime—an absolute powerhouse.
Moreover———
-Is this real..?
-?????????????????????????????????????
-Heuk-wol was pushed back in pure martial arts? This isn’t a joke—it’s actually happening? That’s insane..??
-Even if he launched a surprise counter attack, to allow such effective hits here..?
-Even if it’s [Infinite War] and not [Eternal Saga], this doesn’t make sense, for real;;;
Lord of Martial Arts.
Though it’s said that virtual skills—the flower of virtual reality gaming—don’t exist, that special quality doesn’t disappear in pure martial arts either.
Just as professional gamers from other virtual reality games rely on pure martial arts, reaching Lord of Martial Arts is not easily achieved.
-Yeah~ it’s just a lucky shot~ he happened to get lucky lol
Are you serious? Hahahahahahahahahahahaha
Out of nowhere, a lucky shot with no reason at all lol
You’re totally showing that you’ve never even participated in the [Infinite War] lol
-ㄴThe fact that there are virtually no variables in the battle is the biggest advantage and biggest disadvantage of [Mukuk Daejeon], but it’s a bullshit legend.
[Infinite War] enforces one-on-one combat through pure martial arts, and while there exists a combat system called Martial Skills as a competitive fighting game, it severely restricts variables.
Rather than applying combat intelligence through environmental factors, terrain, or unexpected elements and choosing advantageous battlefields, one must insist solely on direct confrontation.
It emphasizes delving into pure martial arts, and while pursuing that, it demands combat intelligence that must create variables through skill alone without any variables in one-on-one combat.
And———
Lord of Martial Arts was the pinnacle those individuals stood upon.
Among professional gamers, only a minority reach Lord of Martial Arts purely through martial arts alone.
The reason Heuk-wol, a professional gamer of [Eternal Saga] who reached Lord of Martial Arts in [Infinite War], was exceptional.
Physical capabilities that diverged even among adult males, innately insane reflexes on a neurological level, combat intelligence at an extreme degree of excellence.
It was possible because not only was he physically superior, but his pure martial arts skill had reached a level that brooked no comparison.
-Hmm.. but if it wasn’t just a lucky hit, but rather the setup itself was designed that way from the start…
In other words.
-Doesn’t that mean Seo-jin has the skill to go toe-to-toe with Heuk-wol in hand-to-hand combat..?
In terms of the match itself, while it didn’t determine the outcome, the fact that Joo Seo-jin had executed a perfect counter-attack meant he possessed that level of ‘skill’.
“I’m at a loss for words. What kind of situation is this, anyway?”
A faint smile crossed his face.
Heuk-wol’s lips curved upward in a thin smile, and the moment he broke his silence, an explosive reaction erupted.
“What kind of monster are you, exactly?”
-?
-???
-????????????????
After taking a direct hit from the counter-attack—a spinning back kick—he fell silent for a moment before bursting into genuine admiration.
“I’m not sure if you accounted for the fact that as a Blood Sorcerer, I’d pay relatively less attention to my legs… but you set this up with the counter-attack as the premise from the start, didn’t you?”
Heuk-wol nodded, his smile taking on a peculiar, knowing quality as he continued.
“Your skill left an impression on me last time too, but I never expected it to be this impressive. You’re quite remarkable.”
“?”
-yes?
-Completely taken aback;
-Shout out loud, what the heck hahahahahaha
Honestly, it was crazy enough to be a mad movie lol
He was suddenly quiet, so I thought he’d shut his mouth, but instead he’s letting out sighs of admiration lol
The unexpected admiration left even Joo Seo-jin feeling bewildered, though only for a moment.
“True, that’s a fair point. I actually set a handicap based on the skill difference, and I still took a hit like an idiot…”
Heuk-wol’s gaze drifted slowly downward toward the hilt of the straight sword planted below the horizon.
“If you really want it, there’s no reason not to remove the handicap.”
With a soft sound, his left hand—which had been tucked in his pants pocket until now—slipped free and grasped the hilt of the straight sword from below.
The blade sang as it began to draw.
Shhiiing—.
As I adjusted my grip with both hands, Heuk-wol slowly repositioned his body, settling into a proper stance.
──────.
A stark difference emerged from before—when I couldn’t even guess at the origins of his fighting style or discern its foundational framework.
Unlike the moments just past, where his techniques lacked clarity and systematic structure despite not being entirely reckless, his movements now began to interlock with disciplined precision.
“Truth be told, I’d like to swap out my playable character as my main, but since we’re still before the first round… I suppose there’s no helping it?”
Within movements premised on striking arts, or at the very least, unarmed combat based on grappling techniques.
The instant I realized this was Gaming Martial Arts—the kind of fighting style that presupposed ‘weapons’ like Geom-hu and Hikaru wielded.
“I’ll just finish the first round quickly and move on to the next. So then—”
Whirrrr, rrrrr———.
“Now, shall I come at you without handicaps? With genuine intent?”
Heuk-wol gripped the straight sword in reverse, his aura beginning to radiate an ominous pressure.
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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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