Chapter 11

Chapter 11: [Knight Soul] Is This... a Human Being? (3)

[Streamer has set ‘3,000,000 won’ as mission funds.]

━A reclusive master, indeed... I doubt even three gold pieces would be a waste. Show us a technique fit for the ranks of peerless masters.

<Mission: Defeat [Knight Soul]’s Great Enemy, ‘Strachia Magnex,’ without getting hit once>

*Time Limit: 1 hour

Sword Empress.

The moment a major streamer appeared, the viewers grew excited, and the chat window heated up even further.

And.

The success reward placed on the mission easily shot past five million won.

[Mission]

━Objective: Defeat [Knight Soul]’s Great Enemy, ‘Strachia Magnex,’ without getting hit once

*Mission Funds: ‘5,712,312 won’

‘5.71 million won. From that, my share is... about 2.85 million won? It’s bigger than I expected. This feels good.’

Trinex.

Since mission funds higher than those for the boss monster he had defeated earlier had been put on the line, he couldn’t help feeling pleased.

Well... the reason the mission funds had easily gone past five million won was also thanks to a viewer called ‘Sword Empress’ generously throwing in the huge sum of three million won.

Ju Seo-jin, mindful of that, offered his thanks as soon as he checked the final amount of mission funds that had piled up.

= Thank you. 

I’ll keep working hard from now on, and I’ll make this as entertaining as all of you expect.

Ju Seo-jin glanced at the official verification mark for ‘Partner Streamer’ written before the donor’s name, then continued speaking, including that as well.

= Hmm— and... Sword Empress? Streamer... ma’am? Thank you for donating three million won to the mission. I’ll live up to your expectations.

Three million won.

It was an answer that seemed rather insincere, considering the large amount she had put up. 

By contrast, Ju Seo-yoon, standing behind him, stamped her feet and made a fuss.

= W-Wooow—! S-Sword Empress? Are you really the Sword Empress I know? A-Amaaazing! Th-Thank you for watching...!

Following Ju Seo-yoon, even the viewers cheered loudly and heated up the chat window.

-Is that the real Sword Empress??

-For real?

-Wow, lolololololololololololololol, the real Sword Empress showing up is honestly insane;

-You made it, dude!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Kyaaaaaaaa!!

-Why is this real? I checked Sword Empress’s stream, and she really is watching Teacher Seo-jin’s stream, holy crap;;;;;;;;;

It was only natural.

Ju Seo-yoon might have been a mid-sized streamer with around two thousand average viewers, but she was not someone who could be compared to Sword Empress.

Sword Empress was a former professional gamer called a living legend, a major streamer with fifteen thousand average viewers. 

She was one of the major streamers near the very top.

-Sword lol Empress lolololololololololol, that’s it, that’s it lololol. Now this is proper attention lololol.

-There’s a legendary rookie streamer even a big-company streamer is interested in!? Kyahahahahahahaha.

-Seven thousand average viewers on the first day of streaming lololololololololololol. Teacher Seo-jin’s got talent, huh? Lol.

-Reply: Hey, you bastards, this is still Myangbangwool’s stream lolololololololololololol. You’re too much lololololol.

The golden age of personal broadcasting.

Even if there were around a hundred major streamers on Space Stream with average viewer counts exceeding ten thousand, their status was not diminished.

Rather, it was the opposite.

Precisely because it was the golden age of personal broadcasting, the external evaluation of major streamers had risen even higher than in the past.

‘How fascinating.’

However─── Ju Seo-jin was the sort who barely watched not only personal broadcasts, but even terrestrial television programs, aside from the news.

The status of a major streamer?

There was no way he could truly feel how impressive that was.

At most, he could think, ‘Ah. I see.’ ...and move on. 

And he had no leisure to pay attention to a celebrity like that either.

Because of the enemy standing before him.

〈 GREAT ENEMY 〉

【 Wraith Who Longs for Knighthood : Strachia Magnex 】

Strachia Magnex.

Since he had received the mission funds, from now on, he would have to defeat that Great Enemy splendidly without getting hit even once.

He was already busy enough focusing all his nerves on that part, so instead of continuing the conversation... Ju Seo-jin raised his sword, adjusted his stance, and spoke in a low voice.

= I’ll begin.

And then.

Step—

Ju Seo-jin took one step forward and approached the enemy.

───.

The next moment.

Fwhaaaaaash───!

Strachia Magnex.

Its bastard sword— embroidered gray afterimages as it unleashed a slash with the sound of tearing air.

***

‘Wraith Who Longs for Knighthood.’

Great Enemy.

Strachia Magnex’s attack style originated from the ‘slashes’ generated together with the sword strikes of its bastard sword.

Its gigantic physique. 

And the massive sword that seemed impossible for a human to use.

All of that was nothing but a feint, and its true combat ability originated from ranged attack techniques.

Two types of slashes.

Strachia Magnex’s main attack techniques were classified into ‘Grand Slashes’ and ‘Lesser Slashes.’

They were two types of attack techniques divided by the differences in ‘attack output’ and ‘whether or not prior preparation was required.’

In the case of the ‘Grand Slash,’ a large attack motion inevitably accompanied it, and the shape and trajectory of the slash were clearly visible, so responding to it was not difficult.

Of course, that was only in the optimistic case where the ‘Grand Slash’ was not linked into a fight combo together with the ‘Lesser Slashes.’

Unlike the ‘Grand Slash,’ the ‘Lesser Slash,’ which maintained normal attack output, could be fired continuously by swinging the bastard sword, and its cooldown was only on the scale of milliseconds.

Strachia Magnex’s combat method consisted of slowly shaving away the enemy’s Life Force with ‘Lesser Slashes’ while gradually sealing their movement routes, then finishing them with a ‘Grand Slash.’

It was a tightly woven hunting method, like that of a spider.

In order not to be struck by the ‘Grand Slash,’ one must not allow one’s range of action to be narrowed by the ‘Lesser Slashes,’ and one must constantly knock away and escape the web of slashes.

Even if one kept seeing, deflecting, and dodging Lesser Slashes that were not even clearly visible, and ultimately managed to approach Strachia Magnex, failure to overcome the pure stat difference in one-on-one close combat would lead straight to defeat.

It was one of the enemies against whom victory could not be guaranteed.

When one encountered Strachia Magnex at random in the early part of [Knight Soul], the most effective response was one thing.

Run.

Strachia Magnex, like Trinex, who appeared in the tutorial, had been judged as an enemy that ‘could not be defeated’ within the early part of [Knight Soul].

There were even more than a few gamers who would name Strachia Magnex if asked to pick the trickiest enemy in [Knight Soul] aside from boss monsters.

If a counterattack or even a defense was not completed to a high standard, one would be pierced by the ‘Grand Slash,’ and even if one knocked away a ‘Lesser Slash,’ it would not vanish, instead producing a rough rebound that made it difficult to carry out the next action.

That was why.

Pa-kaang─! Ku-kwaang—! Shwaaak—!

Seven times.

Ju Seo-jin, who had knocked away all the Lesser Slashes by swinging his sword as though cutting them off... realized all of that and narrowed his eyes.

‘As expected. I wasn’t mistaken... These attacks don’t disappear immediately. It’s conditional, but... since earlier, they’ve been bouncing away like rubber balls.’

The first clash.

While responding to Strachia Magnex’s slashes earlier, he had grasped something.

This was worth making use of.

‘Efficiently, more effectively. Catching Strachia Magnex like that isn’t what matters. This is... streaming, after all.’

Streamer.

Ju Seo-jin did not really know what a personal broadcaster was. 

To begin with, he had never lived while paying attention to such things.

Well.

Even so, he felt like he now understood to some extent what streaming was.

In the end, wasn’t personal broadcasting a format where a streamer provided video content to viewers?

He judged that there was one core to streaming.

Whatever it was, one had to be able to make the viewers excited and satisfied.

People always wanted to see something beyond what they imagined.

‘Everyone cheered just because I showed movements slightly better than other people.’

That was why he was curious.

‘So then───...’

The Power of Foresight.

If he reproduced the sight that could only be shown at its highest point, and made them watch it, what kind of reaction would everyone reveal?

‘Let’s do my best.’

Somehow, he had the feeling it would not take very long for that question to be answered.

──────!

The next moment.

Amid the rain of slashes pouring in from every direction, Ju Seo-jin’s sword swayed strangely.

***

Meanwhile.

In a black space, Sword Empress had opened a streaming window and was watching Ju Seo-jin fight as she tilted her head.

‘Hmm. Did I make a mistake? There is nothing good about getting entangled with another streamer like this for no reason... I moved too rashly. This was a blunder.’

Sword Empress, who had now become one with her peerless master concept as though she had achieved unity of body and sword(?), made a “Ngh—” sound and belatedly sank into regret.

‘Normally, when the difference in viewer-count weight class between streamers is this large, the best policy is not to get involved with each other... This has turned into a case of me personally giving them a spillover effect.’

Sword Empress’s viewer count averaged close to fifteen thousand.

Even if Myangbangwool— in other words, Ju Seo-yoon’s stream had suddenly skyrocketed in popularity, it could not compare to Sword Empress.

Rather, because Sword Empress had shown interest in Ju Seo-yoon’s stream and was directly rebroadcasting it, she was experiencing loss rather than gain.

Her viewer count being shaved away in real time.

Sword Empress’s eyes narrowed, but that was not the only reason.

Contrary to her expectations, Ju Seo-jin was not performing as brilliantly as he had earlier, so she was dissatisfied.

Sword Empress secretly ground her teeth inwardly in frustration.

‘After I went all the way there and put three million won— three whole gold pieces— into the mission funds, how can he be so passive? He is just hesitating! How frustrating!’

In the current situation, unlike when Ju Seo-jin had overwhelmed seven Skeletons at once by pure Physical Skill alone, he was showing no notable movement.

He remained within a certain radius, measuring the distance from Strachia Magnex, and as though sunk in thought, merely parried the Lesser Slashes defensively.

From the Sword Empress’s position, Ju Seo-jin’s passive actions could only be interpreted as having one meaning.

‘Haaaah. Is he being cautious because the mission’s success reward is too large?’

It was a reasonable guess in its own way.

‘I suppose he intends to operate flawlessly like this and win without getting hit, even if he has to drag the fight out for a long time.’

Disappointment naturally settled over her.

The first-encounter kill of Trinex.

The shocking technique of handling seven Skeletons alone.

Had she not placed the mission because those things made her place her expectations on Ju Seo-jin?

If he intended to spend time from here on to taking down Strachia Magnex, then she would clearly have to endure an hour of boredom so dull it would make her yawn.

Likewise.

The viewers watching the rebroadcast also began occasionally expressing their dissatisfaction.

-What is this? Why has he been doing nothing but knocking away that fake knight’s attacks over there?? He was crazy explosive earlier...

-Good grief... Looks like he got scared. Well, with the mission amount this big, I guess it makes sense he’d be scared. This is no fun...

-Boring.

-Considering he put on a one-man show against seven Skeletons, his raw talent really does seem high... but he suddenly switched to coward mode;

-Sigh, lol. This is what all small-time streamers are like lolololololololol. The moment the scale gets a bit bigger, they get scared stiff and just tremble, lololol.

-What is this small-man behavior;

It had reached the point where even Sword Empress was starting to wonder whether she should take some kind of measure.

‘Should I donate and advise him to move a little more aggressively?’

The truth was, she had not expected him to fight in such a boring manner.

‘Even if I do, it does not feel as though he will be any less cautious...? Mmm. It is ambiguous what I should do.’

But then───.

‘!’

That was when it happened.

Before her thoughts could continue, an unexpected event occurred along with a harsh roar.

Fwhaaaaaash───!!

Strachia Magnex.

Unlike before, its bastard sword was swung faster and stronger, and over a dozen Lesser Slashes were fired.

Because Ju Seo-jin had continued to defend without getting hit even once, the battle pattern had changed.

And to an eerie degree of difficulty at that.

-Holy crap lolololololololololololololol.

-Look at that fake knight bastard throwing out so many Lesser Slashes lololol.

-There are so many Lesser Slashes, I can’t even see them all... How is he supposed to block all that??

-Looks awkward now that he said he’d win without getting hit once, lol. He’s probably going to get wrecked soon, lol.

Impossible to respond to.

The Lesser Slashes also fundamentally had a targeting property that followed wherever the player character moved.

They were hard to identify with the naked eye, and on top of that, they were specialized in sealing off the player character’s movements.

It was impossible to intercept more than ten Lesser Slashes in their entirety.

Everyone expected Ju Seo-jin’s game over, and the Sword Empress also emitted a cold, sunken gaze.

‘Tsk. Is this as far as he goes? Because he cherished his body too much and avoided stepping forward rashly, he has instead been driven into a corner. It is as good as over—’

But.

Pa-baang───.

‘Huh?’

An anomaly occurred.

Amid the rain of slashes pouring down from every direction.

Ju Seo-jin calmly thrust out his sword strikes and succeeded in knocking away six or seven Lesser Slashes with consecutive sword attacks.

His movements were mechanical, but their efficiency had reached its peak.

At the same time, due to the counterattacks, the Lesser Slashes bounced away with a rough rebound─── and caused a phenomenon that defied expectations.

The deflected slashes drew strange trajectories as though performing acrobatics, and at last, they ‘collided’ with something.

The sounds of tearing air burst one after another like fireworks, and a roar rang out.

It was none other than.......

──────.

Mutual destruction.

The Lesser Slashes that Ju Seo-jin had knocked away earlier ‘collided’ with the other Lesser Slashes following as subsequent attacks, and disappeared.

-??

-Huh??

-No, what the...?

-What the fuck is this..????? This is rigged, right?

-What?????????????????? Is this real?? Did I just see that right????????

Like a mirror, they had been reflected.

Rumble-rumble-rumble───...!

Inside the enormous cave, the enemy’s attacks collided with each other, causing a mutual-destruction phenomenon as they scattered, producing an astonishing sight─── and then, a backdraft followed.

Whooooooosh—!

A rough wind.

Ju Seo-jin’s bangs fluttered, clearly revealing his seemingly expressionless face.

Silence.

In the brief silence... as Ju Seo-jin’s black hair calmly settled, he swept his lips with his left hand and wore a fierce smile.

Enchantingly.

《 Ah—. 》

And then.

《 So this works? 》

The next moment.

“What... in the world...?”

A tremendous tremor that had never once occurred before shook Sword Empress’s two eyes.

“Something like that... is possible...?”

As though she were shuddering.