A Swordsman’s Stream

Chapter 36

Sojun shrugged and launched a new game.

“Thank you for the support. Let’s move on to the next game.”

– Oh, drums rolling
– What’s it gonna be?
– I wonder?

The background flipped, transforming the world. The previous game, “Assassin’s Dawn”, showcased tall residential buildings rising like bamboo shoots in a dark background. The game now being launched was different.

Bamboo shoots, quite literally, emerged everywhere. It was green. This was the first impression Sojun had of the game. Birds chirped, and pandas began to tumble around. The starting point was atop a lush, green hill.

Sojun first moved his body in place. He stretched and swung his arms around.

“Hmm, just right.”

Thanks to Surface, which managed the capsule and virtual reality, the sensation of diving into VR hadn’t changed, but the movement speed fluctuated based on the settings. This game seemed to have tried hard to simulate real-life sensations. The fluttering robes and the faint sound of a zither invoked a nostalgic feeling.

Meanwhile, viewers, realizing the game’s identity, started getting excited.

– Is this “For Justice”?
– That game famously missing the justice?
– The game with insane martial arts?
– Wow, it’s an online game!!!
– Let’s go!

Indeed. They recognized it just by the starting point.

“As you all guessed, this game is ‘For Justice’.”

“For Justice”, another game by MubiSoft, was a martial arts-themed action game set in a world where three main factions—Orthodox, Unorthodox, and Demonic—clashed. It topped the charts on launch day and remained moderately popular even after a few years, albeit with some decline. Another key feature of “For Justice” was its deeply entrenched, veteran player base.

**〈For Justice〉 – 385,000 viewers**
**〈Assassin’s Dawn〉 – 270,000 viewers**

These were the current Travel channel’s viewer counts. “For Justice” consistently maintained viewer numbers in the high 300,000s. “Assassin’s Dawn” had peaked at 800,000 viewers a week ago, thanks to big-name streamers who could pull in hundreds of thousands of viewers. Now, with those streamers no longer playing, the numbers had dropped.

‘But “Assassin’s Dawn” was not a wrong choice after all.’

It was actually the optimal choice.

‘After all, there are 10,000 people watching my stream right now.’

Wait a minute. 10,000 viewers? There were way too many viewers for his stream. What was going on? He checked the viewer distribution calmly.

“4,000 foreign viewers? What’s happening?”

– Huh? What?
– There really are a lot of viewers.
– I was frustrated that no one mentioned the viewer count before the streamer did because it’s against the rules.
– Wow, incredible
– 4,000 foreign viewers? OMG

It was rare for foreign viewers to tune into a local stream.

Although voice translation technology had progressed enough to auto-translate, the differing cultures and non-translatable in-game elements usually kept foreign viewers away.

It seemed like an unusual surge of temporary interest. Sojun quickly realized the reason.

“Oh. Must be because of the sparring ground.”

– Seems like it, LOL
– The impact of the sparring ground is insane – Are you going global, hyung?

Going global?

Sojun chuckled and fiddled with the streaming settings.

‘This might give me leverage with advertisers.’

Thinking positively, he noticed the paid advertisement alert on the stream.

“Today’s game is brought to you by a sponsor.”

– Oh???
– Getting ads already?
– Promoting the next big thing! Truly a capitalist monster
– Why advertise “For Justice”? Is there an event?
– A sponsored stream from MubiSoft? Are you really going global?!

The viewers didn’t seem to mind too much.

“Haha, right? But guys, even when the ad finishes, I won’t quit this game. I actually wanted to try “For Justice” anyway, ad or not.”

He meant it. The martial arts setting intrigued him, and with skills called “martial arts,” it felt nostalgic and fun, despite some awkwardness.

– LOL
– Love it even more
– So how long will you be playing it?

“How long? Until I get bored.”

Sojun gave a look as if saying, “Why even ask?”

– A guy who stays consistent no matter the game LOL
– No matter how low the viewers dip, he won’t change
– Even after multiple downfalls, he just pushes through. Like when he ended the stream, or skipped Christina LOL

“Alright then. Let’s move. Should we head to the town? No, the city below the hill.”

Sojun slowly descended the stairs beside him. A panda rolled by.

“Cute.”

It seemed comfortable, but he didn’t follow suit. After reaching the bottom, he jumped the city walls.

– Jumping the wall immediately LOL
– That pickpocket just can’t fix his bad habits.
– Don’t do that here… You’re embarrassing me, LOL.
– I don’t know this person. Don’t make eye contact.

“Hey, why are you all trying to cut ties with me? That’s sad!”

Sojun lamented, turning his head aside.

There was a path bustling with people that led straight to the entrance. He approached a warrior donning a bamboo hat who stood guard at the entrance. The guard raised his hat with a finger as Sojun neared, and their eyes met.

The warrior wearing the hat spoke, “Are you an adventurer from another world?”

What kind of concept was this? Dimensional travel, huh. Well, the lore didn’t interest him much.

“What’s your name?” the guard inquired.

Soon, a window materialized before Sojun’s eyes. It was a prompt to choose a nickname.

– Go with Nameless (무명) again; it suits you.”
– They probably already have a Nameless.
– Are you planning to go with the righteous faction?
– The Unorthodox Faction is the best, those hypocrites, LOL.
– Never join the demonic cult. Just don’t.

Hmm. People were starting to take sides again. But he had already decided. Combining his past life and current life, he chose the most peculiar name.

“I’ll go with Heavenly Demon (천마).”

How could he resist?

『”Would you like to use ‘Heavenly Demon’?”』

“Yes.”

It didn’t hold much significance; it just seemed fun.

– LOL, another Heavenly Demon.
– The Koreans’ love for Heavenly Demon is something else.
– How many seasons has he been Heavenly Demon so far?

『”The nickname is already in use.”』

Ah.

“This is multiplayer, right? No wonder the nickname’s taken. Then there must be a Heavenly Demon2 as well.”

Sojun nonchalantly increased the numbers. The nickname wasn’t that important anyway.

『Would you like to use ‘Heavenly Demon2’?』
『Would you like to use ‘Heavenly Demon3’?』
『Would you like to use ‘Heavenly Demon4’?』

…

.

…

『”Would you like to use ‘Heavenly Demon14’?”』

“Yes.”

Just as he was starting to get bored, he finally succeeded in creating a nickname. Sojun’s nickname was decided as Heavenly Demon14.

“Alright, Heavenly Demon14, a very refined nickname indeed.”

Hmm! The warrior nodded with an expression of admiration.

– He’s good at socializing, LOL.”
– Wow! Fourteen Heavenly Demons! Clones!”
– Do you really need to go that far just to be a Heavenly Demon?”

“So, Heavenly Demon14, which faction do you want to fight for? For your information, you can always change factions. However, if you do, all the contributions you’ve made to the previous faction will be lost. Ha ha ha!”

There were three factions available: the Righteous Faction, the Unorthodox Faction, and the Demonic Cult. The Righteous Faction generally represented the path of virtue and morality, building a strong foundation of martial arts slowly but surely.

The Unorthodox Faction placed a heavy emphasis on personal gain, often involving crime and ruthless behavior. Lastly, the Demonic Cult revered power above all else, disregarding things like virtue, morality, and social status in the face of strength.

The game’s organization astutely blended these stereotypes into its storyline, creating a well-received platform for conflict and disputes.

“I’m not sure yet.”

“Take your time to look around and decide!”

“Sure.”

Sojun entered the city, where he saw other users.

“First, let’s start playing the game. Oh, you’re asking if I’ll skip the tutorial? Yes.”

– Is this guy trying to face a new boss mob without any explanation at all?
– He’s gonna carry it like a beast.
– He’s such a technophobe that he never reads the manuals, LOL.
– For real, lOLLLLL. Typical technophobe.

How did they know he didn’t read manuals? It was quite a curiosity.

“Well, it’s fine.”

The game anyway matched players of similar skill levels. Sojun believed learning through practice was sufficient, though his viewers seemed to disagree. He walked towards a massive building at the end of the main street.

When he entered, an interface allowing him to start matches appeared before his eyes.

“Hmm. The most popular game modes are….”

Among the various game modes in “For Justice”, two particularly stood out: “Duel” and “Conquest.”

“Duel” imitated a fighting game format with various match types like 1 vs 1, 2 vs 2, and 3 vs 3. “Conquest,” on the other hand, was a 4 vs 4 mode similar to an AOS game but with more complex rules.

“Let’s try Conquest.”

“Conquest” was the most popular because, unlike “Duel”, which demanded high control skills, it was more accessible to new players.

Of course, Sojun wasn’t aware of that fact and simply chose the capture-the-point battle with the shortest wait time.

The match was instantly found.

“Oh. We’re starting.”

* * *

-Oh! It’s an interruption
-It’s an interruption from the beginning. Who left the game?
-Haha

『Tip: In capture-the-point mode, there are key locations. The more locations you capture, the more you can gradually decrease the health of the enemy fortress. Secure more locations than your opponent!』

After reading the tip that popped up next to him, Sojun looked around.

He was standing in the spawning area deep in the forest.

“So, if it’s an interruption, did I come in the middle of the game?”

-Yeah
-Someone left in the middle of the game, that’s why.
-This system only exists in casual games.

“Oh, I see. It looks like we’re losing for some reason.”

He glanced at the scoreboard floating above.

『Blue: 217』 vs 『Red: 479』

The health of his team’s fortress was on the left.

“Hmm. My weapon is a basic sword. And the skill is Three Talents Swordsmanship?”

This was a martial art famously known as a third-rate technique.

It seemed you started with this basic setup if you didn’t choose a faction.

“So, is the goal to break the fortress?”

There was definitely more to it.

Sojun looked towards the battlefield ahead.

There were markers showing the position of key locations in the center and on both sides.

“Well, I’ll figure it out as I fight.”

He drew his sword with gleaming eyes.

He saw other warriors and soldier NPCs heading towards the central path.

Sojun decided to follow them.

『Tip: Put strength in your feet to use basic lightness skill! However, since lightness skill consumes stamina and a bit of internal energy, using it often will leave you exhausted!』

Soon.

He arrived at the point where the enemy and friendly forces were clashing.

At a distance close to the central key location, the NPCs began fighting fiercely.

Sojun put strength in his feet.

To be precise, he imagined using something called internal energy.

In games that involve magical or internal energy powers, imagining using those powers was crucial.

After all, things like settings and interface can comfortably be accessed by imagination.

‘Internal energy, huh.’

He felt a slightly unfamiliar sensation and moved faster.

As he pushed off the ground, he felt like he was flying in the sky and moved more quickly.

Sojun dove through the enemies in this state.

‘Hmm, it’s unfamiliar but not hard to get used to.’

Sojun slid on the ground, dodging the enemy’s attacks while slashing their torsos simultaneously.

-Oh, mastered it from the start?
-Using lightness skill for the first time is really hard.
-As I always say, the streamer might not be a newbie.

『Enemy Fortress Health -5』

A small message informed Sojun that he had caused damage to the enemy fortress.

“Killing soldiers decreases the health by 5 points.”

It wasn’t easy to move among soldiers, but Sojun quickly started decreasing health.

He definitely got the hang of the lightness skill sensation.

『Enemy Fortress Health -5』
『Enemy Fortress Health -5』
『Enemy Fortress Health -5』
.

.

.

‘Are there no other players?’

He soon noticed there were many more friendly soldiers than the enemy ones.

“Oh, someone’s here.”

Sojun saw a person approaching from the left, distinctly dressed differently.

He quickly used the lightness skill to swiftly approach.

The enemy likely didn’t notice him since Sojun had hidden among the soldiers for a sudden attack.

He joined the battle at the right time to catch the enemy off guard.

Having information advantage gave him a significant edge.

The enemy had low health, as even Sojun, who didn’t know the basic attack’s damage, could tell they would die with one hit.

As expected, the enemy couldn’t react to Sojun’s sudden strike.

However.

There was another crucial fact.

“Ah! I died… What? You’re on my team! Hey, you idiot!”

『Tip: In the For Justice, you can also damage allies. Be careful not to attack or be attacked by allies!』

Another tip popped up.

“Oh.”

So, it was an ally.

No wonder the outfit looked blue.

『No. 1 Swordsman Under Heaven defeated』

“Save me.”

“?”

“Revive me, you crazy troll!”

The player named No. 1 Swordsman Under Heaven shouted at Sojun while lying on the ground.

“I can revive them, huh? But how?”

Sojun approached him but couldn’t find a way to revive him, and eventually, the timer above Heaven Sword Master’s body ran out, and he respawned at the spawn point.

Then he sent Sojun a message.

『Come to the spawn point. We’re already half-losing the game, but you’re dead if you don’t.』

-The streamer has bad manners, even unintentionally.
-Seriously, a newbie… lol
-Satan: Killing teammates and not reviving them is a bit…
-Where’s the spirit of cooperation? Where is it?
-Streamer is clearly a newbie lol
-Cooperation???