Chapter 13

Chapter 13: [Knight Soul] Is This... a Human Being? (5)

〈 GREAT ENEMY 〉

【 Wraith Who Longs for Knighthood : Strachia Magnex 】

━[LEGENDARY VICTORY]

Victory text.

‘LEGENDARY VICTORY.’

After seeing that system message, Ju Seo-jin threw the Longsword that could no longer function properly— or more precisely, that sword’s handle— onto the ground.

Clatter.

And at the same time, as Ju Seo-jin listened to the donation sounds continuously ringing in his ears, he tilted his head slightly back and roughly steadied his breathing.

“Ha— haa...aaaaaaah.......”

Tremble, tremble.

His entire body shook as though it were convulsing.

Violent movements.

The highly awakened state caused by the Power of Foresight.

All of it had pushed Ju Seo-jin’s capacity to its limit, and beyond.

Even if the body of the player character set as the ‘Knight’s Descendant’ and implemented inside [Knight Soul]— a virtual reality game— was close to superhuman, he had crossed a line.

‘This is hard.’

His head spun.

Thinking that even standing any longer would be difficult, Ju Seo-jin slowly fell backward. 

He lay down on the damp floor of the cave.

Thanks to his leather armor, the moisture did not seep through, but water soaked into places like the clothing around his arms and legs, making them feel cold.

‘Feels like I can live now.’

Was it thanks to that?

As Ju Seo-jin cooled the strange heat that had surged through his entire body, he finally became able to think normally.

In the meantime, Ju Seo-yoon, who had come closer, shook his body hard while asking with a startled face if he was all right... but it was nothing serious.

Swish— swish—

When Ju Seo-jin raised his right hand, frowned, and waved it as though annoyed, she also let out a sigh of relief.

The Capsule was also designed to automatically log the user out if a serious problem occurred in the mind or body of the user connected to a virtual reality game.

He really was only exhausted.

“.......”

Was it because he had pushed the Eyes That Saw Fate to its limit?

Now, his five senses were not being strengthened, nor was his sixth sense being opened.

All his senses had grown dull, as though they had become waterlogged cotton, and he could no longer properly feel any one of them.

It was fascinating.

Everything was like that.

‘I can use my ability as I want, to the limit, and I don’t have to pay any price for it... I can use it perfectly.’

A virtual reality game.

In another world that existed inside the Capsule— he did not suffer under the innate yoke he had been born with.

Rather, he could release and handle the power that had pressed down on his shoulders his entire life as he wished.

Without a price.

The sense of liberation was tremendous.

‘It even feels refreshing.’

A clear world.

It was different from the days when he had done nothing but pay attention because he never knew when or how the Power of Foresight would activate through the Eyes That Saw Fate.

Now, at this moment after he had used up the Power of Foresight to its limit, he felt as though he were floating above the sky.

So freely.

Thump, thump—.

His heart beat.

‘Ah.’

Joy.

A primal emotion.

Something he had thought he would never feel in his entire life.

Within that flow of pleasure, Ju Seo-jin smiled with his eyes.

‘So virtual reality games were this much fun.’

Ju Seo-jin.

Heaven-sent talent.

That unprecedented talent... began to possess agency, and started to face the moment of its blooming.

***

At the same time.

Sword Empress’s stream was still running wildly without pause. 

The viewers kept pouring out exclamations of admiration.

-Wow lolololololololololololol. Is this real?? Is this real?????? Something like that is possible??

-After getting the title for killing Trinex on first encounter, he immediately takes down the fake knight without getting hit once too, lolololololololololol.

-Net Slash <<< Wait, was this damn thing an AOE attack you could avoid????? Isn’t the fake knight’s Net Slash really supposed to be undodgeable???

-More than the fact that Net Slash can be dodged, the idea of fucking getting past a slash net with aerial movement.. He’s not human???

-Ah, this is so damn fun I’m losing my mind, shit lololololololololololololololololololololol.

Fake knight— official name, ‘Strachia Magnex.’

Winning against that Great Enemy without being hit even once was an incredible feat.

And on top of that, avoiding Strachia Magnex’s net made of Lesser Slashes through aerial movement should have been impossible.

Because of that, even viewers close to being Sword Empress’s passionate fans(?) began to stir.

-Even our Sword Empress can’t do that much..? He’s got talent........... I think that person has the Physical Skill to become a professional gamer..

-This is ridiculous.. You’re saying he was a newbie.. an ordinary person who’d never even played a virtual reality game until one day ago? It just makes no damn sense.. Huh..

-Hmm.. Well, he is at the level where he could become a professional gamer. His Physical Skill seems close to our Sword Empress’s prime? At that level, you’ve got to acknowledge him, yeah.

Sword Empress.

A living legend of [Limitless War], a former professional gamer.

Her prime was being mentioned.

Of course— since most of the viewers were Sword Empress’s fans, it was accepted as orthodoxy that he could not compare to her prime.

In fact, when Sword Empress had been in her prime, she had also shown many movements in [Limitless War] that rivaled Ju Seo-jin’s.

“.......”

However— Sword Empress herself, the person in question, did not judge it that way.

Ju Seo-jin already had the possibility of surpassing her prime.

‘A professional gamer... I do not know about [Eternal Saga] or [Gun Ground], but if [Limitless War] is used as the standard... surpassing my prime may not be... impossible.’

She was certain.

Ju Seo-jin— this unidentified man— could become an invasive species in the ecosystem if he truly set his mind to it and leaped into the realm of professional gamers.

An overwhelming talent that might be able to carve his great name into the history of e-sports.

Because of that, the feeling came not only from her perspective as a former professional gamer, but also as a streamer.

‘I can feel it. If he debuts as a streamer, it will not take long before he becomes a hot topic... and within a few years, he will stand in a position equal to mine.’

Skill streams.

Among variety gaming streamers, quite a few put their outstanding talent at the forefront, but in truth, not many of them reached the realm of masters.

Compared to professional gamers, the majority were at a level close to playing house. 

That was also why streamers who were actual former professional gamers, like Sword Empress, received attention.

Because of that, streamers who generally put forward skill forged by pure talent were usually at an unimpressive level... but Ju Seo-jin was different.

Even in the eyes of Sword Empress, a former professional gamer called a living legend, that Innate Talent was surely like a shining star.

It was talent that could climb as high as he wished if he debuted as a streamer.

‘He is absolutely not someone who will receive brief attention from the public in [Knight Soul], in a single game, and then be forgotten. If so, forming a connection here would not be bad either.’

Among the major streamers, no one besides Sword Empress had yet taken an interest in Ju Seo-jin.

Sword Empress was originally the type to extremely dislike interacting with other streamers, but when the talent was this violently overwhelming, the story could not help changing.

As time passed, Ju Seo-jin would receive more attention than imagined.

Perhaps, if luck truly followed him, he could become someone even more popular than Sword Empress.

‘If I must invest in the future, this is where I must do it.’

At the crossroads of choice, the conclusion came down to one thing.

‘Skyrocketing. This is nothing but an investment that must succeed no matter what. If so, boldly entering is the correct answer.’

There was only one conclusion.

Once Ju Seo-jin began full-fledged activity as a streamer, it was obvious he would certainly be active as a major streamer.

So— before that happened, it would be beneficial to form a connection here in advance.

As deep a connection as possible.

After quickly making her judgment, Sword Empress reached a decision and manipulated the streaming window to send a voice donation.

It was to continue creating points of contact and gain opportunities to grow close to Ju Seo-jin from now on.

[Streamer has donated ‘100,000 won.’]

━Impressive indeed... They say the world is wide and masters are many, and it seems that was no false saying. That was a technique fit to enter the ranks of peerless masters.

Sword Empress hurriedly sent another voice donation, her two eyes sparkling brightly.

[Streamer has donated ‘100,000 won.’]

━I propose this. How about exchanging your enlightenment for my peerless divine arts? If you teach me how to defeat the boss monsters of [Knight Soul]... I can also provide corresponding teachings.

For the Sword Empress, there was only one relationship through which she could feel the deepest intimacy.

[Streamer has donated ‘100,000 won.’]

━If you teach me how to defeat the boss monsters of [Knight Soul], in return, I shall pass on to you the enlightenment of [Limitless War].

A master-disciple relationship.

***

[Mission]

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

└(※CLEAR!)

*Mission Funds: ‘5,712,312 won · {Settlement Complete}’

The cave.

On the ground filled with cold moisture.

As Ju Seo-jin lay there, he looked at the settlement details in the streaming window and smiled faintly.

‘This is amazing.’

A considerable amount of money that easily exceeded one month’s salary had come in.

A profit so hard to believe that it had been earned in just one day.

Before it, Ju Seo-jin revealed a rare smile.

And... as Ju Seo-yoon looked down at Ju Seo-jin, who kept silently smiling while looking at the settlement details in the streaming window, she covered her face with both hands.

= Ah... Oppa...... Can’t you get up now? Everyone can see you’ve been looking at the settlement details this whole time, you know? Huh...?

-Wow..

-He’s money-crazed..

-Lolololololololololololololololololololol.

-Ah, lol, who cares about a world-first achievement run? He’s just happy because he made money, lol.

-I think he’s the most insane money-crazed freak I’ve ever seen.. Is this what true madness is..??

Ju Seo-jin had been looking at the settlement details for over ten minutes in front of the viewers.

Because of that, Ju Seo-yoon began to feel embarrassed, but he paid it no mind.

= Why? I’m still tired, so it’s hard to move. I should at least get a break.

= Oppa. You really are... tired, right? Right? Huh...? You’re not just doing this because you’re happy, right...?

= Probably.

= .......

-Crazy bastard lololololololololololololol.

-Teacher Seo-jin.. Just how much do you like money..? Are you really insane for money??

-What a legendary money-crazed freak;

-Lol, let him rest, you bastards lololol. He showed us a crazy fun legend and he’s resting, so how dare you interrupt him? Lol.

-Ha.. I’m still excited thinking about how he dodged the fake knight’s Net Slash earlier.. but the actual person involved seriously looks like he isn’t thinking about much, holy crap;

That was when Ju Seo-jin was looking at the settlement details floating in the streaming window with satisfaction, and Ju Seo-yoon was wearing a slightly dazed expression.

Ding—.

A voice donation was broadcast, and a voice with a youthful quality rang out.

[Streamer has donated ‘100,000 won.’]

━Impressive indeed... They say the world is wide and masters are many, and it seems that was no false saying. That was a technique fit to enter the ranks of peerless masters.

Sword Empress.

The donor who had put up the enormous mission funds of three million won.

At that, Ju Seo-jin’s eyes shone, and he was about to open his mouth.

Ding—.

[Streamer has donated ‘100,000 won.’]

━I propose this. How about exchanging your enlightenment for my peerless divine arts? If you teach me how to defeat the boss monsters of [Knight Soul]... I can also provide corresponding teachings.

“?”

Ding—.

[Streamer has donated ‘100,000 won.’]

━If you teach me how to defeat the boss monsters of [Knight Soul], in return, I shall pass on to you the enlightenment of [Limitless War].

“.......”

Then, as Sword Empress’s voice donations continued to ring out, Ju Seo-jin blinked, blinked, and tilted his head.

= Enlightenment...?

His words were filled with puzzlement.

= W-Wooow...! Is, is that true? S-Sword Empress is...? She’s going to teach you...? O-Oppa...!?

Of course, Ju Seo-yoon, standing beside him, startled as though she had realized something and flapped her arms and legs with joy, but Ju Seo-jin did not.

= Hmm.

In reality, her words were close to a collaboration stream proposal.

Ju Seo-jin understood them purely as her saying she wanted to receive a lecture on how to defeat boss monsters— and he gave an answer that matched that understanding.

= I’m not sure about that. If you want to learn how to defeat boss monsters— I’d like to receive something else as payment.

Consistently.

= As tuition.

It was capitalism.