Swordmanship Veteran's Game Stream Chapter 167
【Read only at hivetoons.org】
There was a bull of the canyon.
He looked like he would not only do farm work well, but also fight very well.
He was brave and agile.
This bull was currently one of the opponents no one wanted to face in the canyon.
A. He was a creature located at the absolute top of the food chain.
The bull could plow the opponent and the entire top lane as if plowing a field.
Having participated in several tournaments over the years, this threatening creature had proved every time that the top lane, a lane with low influence, could not be ignored.
The top lane, a lane where those with slightly questionable mental states went.
No creature in the wild was unaware of how fearsome this creature who ruled that place was, and how dangerous it was to provoke him.
The face of such a bull was currently solemn.
He seemed to have something to say.
So the production crew asked him directly.
[Now! We have invited our three MVPs for today! Before that, Player Hwangso! I heard you have something to say to Player Seo-jun, is that correct?]
He was a caster who had firmly established his territory and secured a position in the wild of survival of the fittest known as Travel.
It seemed he had obtained some information.
Hwangso rolled his eyes around.
Perhaps his throat was dry, as he kept swallowing.
What on earth was he going to say, and how had he prepared it that he was going through such a process of filtering it?
The lowest class of Travel, yet without whom the wild could not exist, the Teusus, worried about Hwangso's next move while also subtly urging him on.
This was a wild land that imposed a ruthless rule upon everyone: the boring cannot survive.
In his confusion, he had ended up nodding his head.
In truth, it was a situation where he had no choice but to nod.
The concept already established, the misunderstanding, and the image of a strong man were terrifying things.
It was the line that had made Hwangso famous.
A classic arcade game tournament held offline on a small scale by a major streamer.
Hwangso had won there, and the major streamer had told him to share his contact information after the broadcast ended so they could send the prize.
And the answer Hwangso had given back then was precisely that.
‘That was the beginning...’
It was a short answer.
At the time, it was the first time that a flood of attention from so many people was poured onto a small-time streamer who had won.
And it was the first time a woman, other than his family or a customer service agent, had asked for his number.
The combination of these two factors had made him extremely nervous, leading him to give that answer, but fortunately, it had worked out well.
Was it only his vocal cords that were tense?
All the muscles in his face had stiffened, and his eyes had frozen along with his body.
But thank goodness, his voice had not cracked in that state.
As luck would have it, he also held the occupation of a streamer.
Lastly, there was a veteran major streamer right next to him who had handled the situation well.
In other words, the conditions were perfect for the viewers to accept it as a persona.
Since then, Hwangso had ridden a wave of success with ease.
He only had to intentionally speak in a strange tone from time to time.
Was it hard to speak intentionally?
If he scheduled a joint broadcast with a female guest, it would come out automatically, regardless of Hwangso's will.
Furthermore, in the game, as a player who originally went to the top lane, his natural playstyle was exactly what the viewers wanted, so there was no major trouble.
Except for times like this, when that image returned as a demand and shackled him.
Jun, occupying one of the screens divided into four showing the host team and the three MVPs, stared straight ahead with interest.
Seo-jun was simply aiming his eyes properly at the camera in front of him, but Hwangso was slightly intimidated.
To say it once more, except for when he was playing the game, he was the owner of a delicate personality.
He was a person who shed tears for the pain of the prey when he saw it being eaten, and was moved by the hunger of the predator when he saw a failed hunt.
Therefore, he could not easily provoke others.
Of course, since he was a streamer and everyone would know it was for the broadcast, it was not that he couldn't speak because his heart grew weak out of worry that the opponent would be hurt.
[I'm really curious!]
Seo-jun smiled brightly.
But Hwangso was intimidated once again upon seeing that.
‘I was a bit confident before we fought.’
He already had a record of losing in Ground Zero and had clearly witnessed his skill.
And he had witnessed his personality too.
This was the biggest problem.
Hwangso did not know Seo-jun well, and what he saw on the broadcast was all he knew.
Clearly, based on the image shown on the broadcast, provoking Seo-jun here would only make Seo-jun happy, and he would likely search for ways to torment him on purpose.
People's gazes gathered on him.
The chat room was telling him to go easy on him, but if he really went easy, the viewers would surely be disappointed in Hwangso.
‘Should I just say, "Come to the top lane smoothly"? No, what am I thinking!’
If he really came to the top lane because of that, it would be a major disaster.
If so, what on earth should he say to properly preserve his image while not drawing that person's interest?
‘Should I mix in some compliments first?’
So that just in case, he wouldn't take it to heart?
But how did he provoke someone while complimenting them?
Did he really have to compliment him?
What was the definition of a provocation?
Hwangso's head grew complicated, and his characteristic nervousness washed over him.
Social skills were indeed this important.
“Bring it on. Will crush you. Handsome guy.”
Hwangso, pushed by the gazes on him, delivered the worst provocation.
-Lolololololololololololololololololololololololololol
-Is this supposed to be a provocation?
-So Hwangso hated handsome guys? Then I approve lololol
-Ah lol he was an ally lol. A fellow squid
-Hating handsome guys is such a loser move lolololol
Seo-jun pondered how he should react to this.
And he even dragged out memories of his past life to find a way to deal with such a situation, but he was at a loss because no answer came.
‘Is this really a provocation?’
No, was it even a normal conversation?
Hwangso's face was bright red.
It seemed this was quite embarrassing for him.
[Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! Ah. This is indeed a provocation!]
Bangju said with a laugh.
[First, the target is clear. It is Player Seo-jun. Second, the goal is also clear. He says he will crush you. And third, he even specified the reason.]
[Why aren't you telling us that reason, Bangju-nim!]
-Because he's handsome lolololol
-This isn't a third-rate villain's provocation, it's a classy declaration of war between nations lolol
-It is definitely a provocation!
-Stop teasing Hwangso lolol, he can't even raise his head
Hwangso's tough-guy image was slightly peeled away.
Instead of a bulldozer charging forward with a massive weight class like a real bull, a slight perception had formed of him as just a familiar, big, dummy older brother in the neighborhood.
Either way, it was not a fact that Seo-jun particularly cared about.
The important thing was.
“Haha. I was half-doubting it myself, but either way, it is a provocation, right?”
Causing this much confusion to Seo-jun's always cold-headed judgment could also be seen as Hwangso's talent.
[Ah! Yes, that's right. Player Seo-jun. What do you think of Player Hwangso's provocation?]
“First of all, regarding seeing me in a positive light...”
Well, was it really seeing him in a positive light?
Seo-jun was still confused, but he finished his words for now.
Looking at the screen, Hwangso was stealing glances at Seo-jun.
[Haha! He did see you in a positive light.]
-At least he didn't call him a pretty boy gigolo lolol
-Actually, in our industry, being called a pretty boy gigolo is a huge compliment, so it doesn't really matter lolol
-Whatever it is, it's a huge compliment
“And, since you told me to bring it on anyway, in my heart, I want to fight from the laning phase, but...”
“Even so, I trust our Wind Sword-nim. I also trust the coach. So, I will leave the laning phase to my teammate. I will look forward to the time when I clash with Hwangso-nim after that.”
Seo-jun replied in a textbook manner.
At that, Hwangso let out a small sigh of relief.
It showed on the screen. Although it was hard to catch, one could tell if they looked closely.
‘Did he not want to provoke me?’
Seo-jun was currently considering going to the top lane as well.
Naturally, what he had said just now was a bluff.
‘I can't let this slide.’
Seo-jun lacked patience.
Even if he received a provocation that was 98% lacking, staying still was an impossible task for Seo-jun.
Should he try a bullfight?
[Ah! Indeed, Player Lee Dong-soo's appearance was something absolutely no one expected. Everyone is curious about how you two are close and how you contacted him, are you really not going to tell us?]
“I have no choice. We agreed to keep it a secret.”
This was because Lee Dong-soo knew that if it were Seo-jun, he would definitely speak the truth without holding back on the broadcast without caring about Dong-soo's reputation, so he had proactively requested him in advance.
Asking him not to talk about it because it was embarrassing for him.
Lee Dong-soo, who had already been thoroughly crushed by Seo-jun, no longer felt any shame in front of Seo-jun, so he could be confident.
[What a pity. All right. I won't ask any further. Then, shall we talk about the game now?]
[Oh! I have something I'm curious about!]
“Yes, Caster-nim. What is it?”
[The secret to multitasking! I'm curious about that!]
Seo-jun explained it in detail.
The methods he thought of.
Bangju clapped his hands.
[Ah! I think I've heard a similar story. It's about chess masters. Apparently, there was an experiment where pieces were placed on a chessboard and shown to them for five seconds, and they were asked to memorize them. There were two ways of arranging the pieces: one was completely random, and the other was taken from a scene from one of the countless matches in chess history.]
[Surprisingly, the chess masters memorized the arrangement that came from a real match at a single glance. However, they couldn't memorize the randomly placed ones at all!]
[That is fascinating!]
[It just goes to show how great of a force familiarity can exert. This could be incredible news for Zen users, couldn't it?]
[Player Seo-jun! Is it really okay to release such valuable information like this? You were the only one who knew the answer after reaching that realm. Just like with Kael, you seem to be too kind.]
“Ah. That is not the case.”
“As you mentioned, I taught it during Kael's time as well, but in the end, no one can do it anyway. I simply have no reason to hide it.”
-This is so true lolol
-As if the room manager is kind, he looks for a chance to gloat whenever he can lol
-But this one looks like it might actually be possible?
-Going to play Zen right away.
Jokes aside, it was because he did not particularly care even if someone who could do it appeared.
[Understood! Do you have a goal for the next match?]
“Just ten deaths. I think I would be satisfied with that. I won't say who it is.”
[I really have no idea who that could be!]
[Indeed. What on earth does ten deaths mean? I'm so curious, but I won't ask any further and we'll move on!]
Seo-jun's next opponent team was Self-Twisted Fate.
The next day, when he had no scheduled events, Ha Yun-ho left his house.
It was early in the morning.
“Wow, how long has it been since I woke up at this hour?”
Streamers were inevitably destined to oversleep. There were even cases where they broadcasted late at night, completely swapping day and night.
Breathing in the refreshing morning air, Ha Yun-ho departed for the gym.
“This is a preliminary inspection.”
He was fulfilling his duty as the team leader.
It was absolutely not because he wanted to meet Player Lee Dong-soo early.
“Since Seo-jun-nim readily permitted me to come first.”
To say it once more, he had simply woken up early out of necessity, because as the team leader, he needed to grasp the situation in advance.
The training venue, the methods, and the coach!
After placing the autograph paper and pen he had prepared since the previous day on the passenger seat, Ha Yun-ho got into his car.
“They said only I would be allowed to train with Player Lee Dong-soo first, hehehehe.”
Was it because he was crushed by the weight of a team leader's duty?
Laughter kept escaping his lips.
This laughter was absolutely not born of joy.
“The responsibility is heavy!”
It did not take long for the fully bloomed flower of laughter on Ha Yun-ho's face to wither.