Chapter 179
As expected.
‘He chickened out.’
Seo-jun was certain as he looked at Baek Do-yul’s expression, which feigned nonchalance.
He didn’t say this out loud either.
Ending it here would look good for the stream, and if he acted too cocky against the champion, he might not even break even. That’s what public opinion says.
Even though Seo-jun had just proven himself moments ago.
It would be a different story if the opponent lost his temper at the provocation, fought, lost, and Seo-jun ended up as the winner.
Seo-jun acted like he didn’t care either way.
Anyway.
-lolololololololol he chickened out
-He crushed the champion’s fighting spirit too lolololololololol
-Ah lol, a competitor from the same tournament just got completely dominated right in front of him, you think he’d want to fight?
-First off, the streamer is right to avoid it.
-For real lol, natural disasters are just something you avoid.
The viewers handle it themselves.
‘I believed in you, guys.’
At times like this, they’re reassuring.
The other person’s chat must be going crazy too.
Even if they aren’t his viewers, other viewers are all the same anyway.
“Well then, let’s head off to train now.”
Seo-jun likewise ended his streaming entirely.
The team members raised their arms one after the other.
“Yes, sir!”
“Now we’re really starting real content, huh.”
“To finally learn from Lee Dong-su!”
-????????????
-What were you doing at the gym if you weren’t learning?
-I mean, Alpaca cut his stream this morning saying he was meeting Lee Dong-su, and he didn’t learn anything?
-They probably mean it’s the first time learning in virtual reality, not real life.
-Ah lol, they met Lee Dong-su this morning too? That's insane
-Yeah, from now on just watch this stream. I think a lot of fun stuff will come out.
At Alpaca’s final remark, viewers spammed hook(?) emotes.
Even Rumi ended her broadcast early the day before, saying she had to wake up early.
Having advertised it like that and then talking about finally learning, people were bound to be curious.
Reading the chat on screen, they all looked at Seo-jun with one mind.
Baramgeom was debating whether to go pick up the carrot he had tossed aside earlier.
So Seo-jun quickly signaled Lee Dong-su to start.
Lee Dong-su followed his instructions well.
“Ha. Hahaha. Well then, now that we’ve seen the mid’s skills, let’s check the skills of the other team members, brothers and sisters. In more detail.”
“”Yes, sir.””
“So who shall we look at first? The weaker ones first? Or the stronger ones first?”
That’s when it happened.
Lee Dong-su had meant nothing by it, but a serious topic had sprung up among them.
And why wouldn’t it be?
Just moments ago, someone had shown insane skills, so just try being the next batter. Even if you’re not normally bad, you could end up looking worse.
And while Lee Dong-su said the strong side and the weak side, after Seo-jun, everyone was inevitably in the weak side.
Thus.
Alpaca and Baramgeom, the strong ones, and Ha Yun-ho and Rumi, the weak ones, formed teams of their own and stared each other down.
A subtle tension hung in the air.
“Let’s see the weaker side first? The potential for improvement is larger, so it’s better to focus and watch more carefully.”
Alpaca made the first move.
And Rumi hit it right back.
“What does going first have to do with watching carefully? Mr. Alpaca?”
“You always tackle the difficult problems first when your head is clearer.”
“Where did you go to university, Mr. Alpaca?”
“I’m a high school graduate.”
“Aha.”
-lololol
-Don't talk about studying, you guys lolololololololol
-Rumi still went to university!
-She never disclosed which one to the viewers, though. She did to the other streamers.
-Maybe it’s a prestigious university, unexpectedly?
-Would she hide it then?
“Still, I have something to say. When I took the college entrance exam, my research subject scores were way lower than my Korean language score. Why do you think that is? Korean is the first period! Research subjects are the last period!”
“How big was the difference.”
“Almost double.”
“In grades?”
“No. In points.”
At the word "points", Rumi tilted her head for a moment.
Then, as if thinking "no way", she hesitated before speaking.
“Um, you do know that research subjects are out of 50 points and Korean is out of 100 points, right?”
Rumi averted her eyes, thinking she’d gone too far even as she said it.
“Oh, really? It’s been over ten years since I took the exam……. Hahaha!”
-lololololololololololololololololololololol
-If the max is half, and the points are half, then he basically got similar scores according to his own level, so there wasn't much difference.
-For real lol
-This is Rumi's win. Alpaca has to go first.
It was a victory by decision for Rumi.
Rumi was shocked at first but quickly squared her shoulders with dignity.
Ha Yun-ho clapped in victory beside her.
Just when they thought they’d now have to argue again over who goes first between Alpaca and Baramgeom, they figured they’d just watch that.
Seo-jun stepped in.
“Mr. Yun-ho, you go first. You’re the team leader.”
Ha Yun-ho stopped clapping and yelled.
“Yes, sir!”
* * *
Confirmed through the training ground’s system, Ha Yun-ho’s skill was at the 3rd stage.
To be precise, he could fight on par with a 3rd stage.
That’s regarding his basic skills handling cold weapons.
His actual game sense, in fact.
“You handle the sword better than I thought?”
Was worse than that.
-My heart genuinely feels petty at this pathetic fight.
-To go from a pro and the insane streamer flying around to suddenly a 3rd stage and a loser crawling around lolololololololol
-The falloff is insane.
Ha Yun-ho paid no attention to the chat.
“Then, if I buckle down and learn, is there a chance my game skill will jump up high?”
Ha Yun-ho asked Lee Dong-su, full of anticipation.
And Lee Dong-su replied energetically.
“No!”
“Of course, I also have talent……. Yes, yes?”
He had said it so energetically that Ha Yun-ho got fooled.
“Yun-ho hyung is an ADC.”
“Ah…….”
“Well, still, it’s true you look like you can't even manage the basics, so it seems like you'll climb somewhat easily at least. Okay, next!”
It was Rumi's turn.
Still, she wasn't right after Seo-jun, and Ha Yun-ho had thoroughly lowered expectations, so Rumi stood in front of the training dummy without pressure.
Then she fiddled with the settings.
“Oh? You're going for the 4th stage?”
“Yes, I am a Gold rank, after all, for what it's worth.”
The 4th stage, standard for a talented beginner.
Rumi confidently changed the setting and grasped the sword.
And a moment later.
Without a word, Rumi touched the settings window again.
The dummy that appeared was set to the 3rd stage.
* * *
“For a Gold, stages 3 to 4 are appropriate originally. Don't be too disheartened.”
“Even so…….”
“Why?”
As a coach, Lee Dong-su had no intention of managing the team members' mental state.
‘Not that he knows how to anyway.’
He just asked because he was wondering if there was a difficult point.
He could give advice on areas where their skills were stuck.
"To think I'm on the same level as that Yun-ho……."
Hmm.
I see.
It was a matter requiring mental counseling, and Lee Dong-su, who was not a counselor, averted his eyes from this noona who looked about to cry any moment.
“Both of you are unremarkable. So, shall we look at the team members who are a bit better now?”
This was what was really important.
Top and Jungle.
B-rank and C-rank.
Seo-jun also focused a bit more.
-So how do you stop this streamer bastard?
-For real lol
-Can't stop him.
-Aren't there any suckers who still haven't placed their points? lololol
-Breaking news) Baek Do-yul came to the training ground too lololololol
Anyway, Seo-jun's current viewer count was in the 100,000s.
Most of them weren't his original viewers and were each chatting away on their own.
Their topic was: can Seo-jun actually be stopped?
[Wealth Gap] - 30%
Some time had passed since Joseon’s Assassin had put all his points in, and the point ratio had become tight again.
There were six teams, so each had about 15 to 20 percent.
That's only natural.
No matter how much of a super ant Joseon’s Assassin was, an individual is inevitably insignificant before a group.
Of course, it was undeniable that Seo-jun's team was in the lead, but it was around 20%.
But after Taker lost, it shot up by 10%.
Thus, currently 30%.
Everyone was talking about that.
-Definite frontrunner, but if they win, the points come back tripled lolololololololololol you still not betting?
-It's nice that there are six teams. You can profit a ton while being stable.
-You really think it's stable, no way?
-Don't you know the league is round? Wealth Gap isn't the frontrunner though.
-Isn't the saying "Earth is round"?
-It's "The ball is round," you blockheads.
How to stop him.
Naturally, his team wasn't without weaknesses.
There were, and that’s why Seo-jun laid the groundwork to train like this.
‘From the basics of handling a body in reality, he seemed more than capable of taking down an 8th stage. Maybe even a 9th stage if he does well?’
The first to step up was Baramgeom.
He was a Kael one-trick. So his basics regarding the sword should be solid.
“Please summon it.”
“Yes.”
But what Baramgeom summoned was a 7th stage.
What’s this?
* * *
“So.”
Lee Dong-su speaks.
“Yes.”
“In the past, you could easily handle an 8th stage but.”
“Yes.”
“Playing only Kael made your senses weird so.”
“Yes.”
“The 7th stage is a bit hard too?”
“…….”
“Really?”
“Yes…….”
-lololololololololol his skill deteriorated from playing only one hero? lolololololololol
-But it's a real fact, Baramgeom that bastard originally was a Challenger but from only playing Kael his tier dropped like crazy lololololololololololololololol
-In the past he was a confirmed A-rank Challenger, but to drop to B says it all lolololololololol
Taewoo could handle an 8th stage.
Of course, Taewoo didn't know it, but it was thanks to the basics Seo-jun unknowingly planted.
Anyway, to reiterate, even that Taewoo could handle an 8th stage.
But a 7th stage?
-So how do you stop this bastard???
-Baramgeom says he'll stop him? lololol
-Let’s see Alpaca too.
Well, it wasn't entirely incomprehensible.
If all movements are tailored to one hero’s play, at least the movements needed for that hero will be perfectly mastered.
But other movements not required for that hero become things you haven't used for a long time.
When you come to a place like an empty training ground in this state, your balance breaks, making it harder.
That's why you shouldn't play only one hero.
“Well, understood. Then let’s see Mr. Alpaca.”
‘Still, if it’s Alpaca, he should do a 6th stage, right?’
What was summoned then was a 5th stage.
* * *
-So how do you stop this bastard??? lolololololololol
-Ah lolololololol the teammates will stop him lolololololol
-Dokkaebi, you were right!!!
-Wealth Gap is the one lololololololololol living up to the nickname properly.
-The winning team goes to Dokkaebi! lololololol
“Hmm.”
“Hmm.”
Seo-jun and Lee Dong-su both hummed at the same time.
-Rofl lololololol
-It’s so funny the two of them sighing at the same time lolololololololol
-There’s no one who’s good among them except the E-rank Ha Yun-ho, unexpectedly lolololol
Alpaca claimed.
That he only played mage heroes, so the sword was an unfamiliar weapon.
But Seo-jun knew.
That Alpaca liked and played a lot of Warriors in Dawn of the Assassin Order.
So, in other words.
‘He’s just even worse than I thought.’
There’s a saying, "I can calculate his moves."
It means you know how the opponent will act.
If someone is the type to moderately look after their own interests, you can calculate their moves.
But if they're simply stupid, you can't. Because they just do things beyond common sense.
Skill is similar.
Seo-jun can tell at a glance if someone is good.
But Alpaca was on the ambiguous side to be considered good. Baramgeom was a peculiar case.
So he could be wrong.
“Well, it's a bit different from what I expected, but it's fine.”
“What is?”
At the ominous aura Seo-jun emitted with a bright smile, Lee Dong-su flinched beside him.
Then Seo-jun looked benevolently toward Baramgeom and Alpaca and said.
“Because people change easily.”
“Pardon?”
-People change easily? lololololololololololololololol
-Replace! The beast with black hair is not to be spared lolololololol
-Is the streamer trying hard at mental victory? lolololololol
-Originally, in leagues, your teammates are the guardians of balance. Didn't you know this unwritten rule? lolololol
The viewers thought Seo-jun was trying for a mental victory.
At the sight of his teammates, who were in a more miserable state than expected.
But the teammates didn’t think so.
“Haha…….”
Lee Dong-su roughly pressed X to mark his condolences, then said.
“Then, next, shall we go check the basics on the training ground?”
The next test was related to synchronization rate.