Chapter 288
The official broadcasts were thrown into chaos by the sudden appearance of an assailant.
The unthinkable had happened.
Penguin, Arin, and Kapil, wearing a cat headband, all gushed with excitement as they delivered their commentary.
"Could they be a participant?"
Arin said.
"Judging by the appearance, they have a green glow, so I think it's correct to view them as a new chaos-type hero!"
Kapil, not answering that, said his own piece.
"Rather than a new hero, they might just be a boss-level NPC."
Arin answered again.
"The fact that their movements were so fluid is also something we can't overlook. A named NPC or a participant. But seeing how they cornered the Chinese pro participant Taesan like that, it's clear..."
Penguin and Arin's back-and-forth continued.
"Do you have anyone in mind?"
"Too many."
"Aaah! That remark! Are you ignoring Taesan-nim?"
"Hahaha! It's a misunderstanding! But it's certain that a major variable has appeared! Even though it was a surprise attack, the danger that even a pro player can fall victim to has now emerged!"
Arin summed up.
"Chaos! What kind of otherworld is this for such a thing to happen! What is their identity! Could it be a mastermind? Or just an entity that blocks quests? And what was that thing earlier that seemed to absorb power from the corpse!"
With the appearance of the assailant, too many questions began to arise.
***
Meanwhile, the American casters, who drew the largest viewership, also generated a flurry of questions.
But they focused mainly on speculation.
"First of all, it's highly likely they're a participant."
If you were to pick the best analyst overseas, she's always among the top three.
Sarah.
She gathered her thoughts for a moment before speaking up.
"Why so?"
To the main caster's question, Sarah shared her thoughts.
"This quest is not something that can go on for a very long time."
"Why?"
Though the main caster caught on instantly upon hearing Sarah's words, he prodded for reasons for the sake of smooth broadcast progression.
"If it were going to be long, the supply of materials from the otherworldly monsters wouldn't have already ended."
"Ah? But isn't that for balance?"
"If that were the case, they would have only prevented that participant from turning in more materials. But other participants were also blocked from offering more monster byproducts. The quest period itself is highly unlikely to be long-term."
"Aha."
"And blocking other participants as well is an act of raising the tempo."
"You're saying it intensifies the competition among participants?"
"Yes. But then another variable broke out right away. The variable of this strange person."
"Hmm..."
"Taking all this together, the way I see it, it's not a story about dragging things out and having to deal with this strange person in that otherworld. If the main story were progressing in the otherworld to begin with, there'd be no reason to open it from day one and allow free coming and going."
Also, they wouldn't have arranged the quest so that only participants near the train—less than half—could enter.
"Hmm... Is that a reason for the strange person being a participant?"
"It is."
"Why?"
"The otherworld isn't the setting, and the quest isn't continuous. So what more role could a character with such skill play?"
"Hmm..."
"Being a mere quest-obstructing, tension-building assailant would be disappointing. Rather, it's more likely they'll come over to this side."
"Is that so?"
"Looking at the skill composition, there are aspects resembling a hero."
"Aha. Then what could that strange person's goal be? Coming to the real world to massacre? Killing participants and escaping the otherworld? Plundering power?"
All of them were plausible.
We'd have to watch a bit longer to know, but all these speculations could also be overturned.
Nevertheless, the act of reasoning it out is always extremely fun.
Sarah muttered the word 'goal' and then suddenly frowned.
"Goal... Ah, seriously, Kael."
"Hahaha."
The main caster laughed.
The people around laughed too.
The viewers laughed too.
The reason was because Sarah kept complaining.
-Hahaha!
-That bastard tormenting Sarah lol
-(laughing emoticon)
-That Korean guy is likeable
"If only Kael had looked at the prophecy book, things would be clearer!!! So curious!!"
Sarah shouted.
***
"There's someone who comes to mind, you know?"
John Fetto, one of the world's top three analysts, was at the pinnacle when it came to analyzing skill.
"Uh, I think I know who the assailant is. Definitely a participant! They're the mastermind! Mastermind! Hahahahaha."
-Oh really?
-Tell us
-Curious
"Yeah, not telling. I'll know it alone."
And he was just as famously known for not readily sharing his own predictions when it came to the history book.
Something about it being no fun if he tells.
So his viewership was around 2,000.
Thankfully, his recognition was high.
"So, if that assailant and Kael fight, who would win?"
Kael.
Kael.
Again, Kael.
Currently the most watched figure in the history book.
The reason being, he had shown the most outstanding performance so far.
Disregarding everything like previous plays, actual skill, tier, he's simply the most exposed hero.
And he's famous for possibly being better than the pros.
-If Fetto acknowledges him, that Korean guy is completely recognized
-But we don't even know who that assailant is
-So who would win!
"I think it's fifty-fifty, but for now, I'll just say it's the strange person. That's the character who fits the standard."
Actually, inwardly, Fetto was thinking of Kael.
But considering the strange person's status, and since it was the side with no information, he mentioned the strange person.
'Above all, will the Sword God even properly convey the information?'
That would also be an important point to watch.
***
When 40 minutes had passed on Day 4, Seojun finished packing up all the items in the Sword God's storage.
A half-destroyed building.
"Assassination successful."
Naturally, old memories surface.
He felt like seeing the chat.
Instead, Seojun looked at his inventory.
The pouch in the third slot seemed bulging. The icon had changed.
Inside that were 73 material items the Sword God had amassed.
After taking them, Seojun quickly entered a side alley and removed his mask.
The perfect crime.
It really was a good mask.
This was an item far better to keep in hand at all times rather than leaving it in another storage or personal vault.
It was inconvenient to carry during the material gathering quest, but he no longer had to worry about that.
Since he had stolen the Sword God's.
After meeting Cresit, Seojun headed to the square. In 10 minutes, it would be break time, and participants gathered in the square to share information.
"Hmm."
Yon was whiling away his time like a loafer.
Yon was in a dangerous state.
Because of the sudden change where the NPC stopped accepting monster byproducts, they had become subjects of surveillance.
Among those who arrived on Day 3, the famous one was Seojun, and the one most likely to do something was also Seojun.
If given the chance, they might immediately rush to kill him, so it was dangerous for Yon to go alone to gather materials.
'They probably won't form an alliance, though.'
Competitors trying to eliminate each other when the opportunity arises was plausible, but not to the point of allying.
"Brother, I thought I'd die of boredom waiting."
"Oh yeah? What did you do in the meantime?"
"I checked out other quests and looked around the city in more detail."
After exchanging this and that, Yon quietly asked the main point.
"Were you successful?"
"Yeah."
"How many were there?"
"73. But among those, there were monster parts, so I salvaged 67."
"Did you turn them all in?"
"Turned them in."
"Then is first place confirmed for you, brother?"
"Unless someone else copies us?"
If there was no reward, it could be considered all for naught again, but that was by Yon's standards.
Seojun had nothing to lose.
Yon, having forgotten that fact, was giggling away.
"Hey, Yon."
"Yes, brother."
"Soon, someone's going to come. Block them."
"Who... Ah!"
45 minutes.
A participant appeared in the central square, fuming with rage.
And upon spotting Seojun, they rushed over quickly, hesitated for a moment seeing Yon beside him, then started rushing over quickly again.
It was the Sword God.
"Hello?"
Seojun was sitting at the outdoor table of a cafe and leisurely greeted the Sword God.
Without a word, the Sword God drew his sword first and swung it down. Yon, not expecting this, failed to block it, and Seojun stood up and dodged.
"You seem quite agitated? If we're pointing fingers, you were the first heretic..."
"Shut your mouth, Korean! You son of a bitch, you stole my stuff? That attack was also your doing, wasn't it! Ugh!"
Attack?
He wasn't sure what attack he was talking about, but if they fought in the city, both would be banished.
Fortunately.
"They say if you block or get hit, it counts as a fight, but if you just dodge, it's fine. Hey, Sword God, you can't really land a hit, can you?"
"Shut up and take the hit! Let me hit you!"
Whooosh!
Whooosh!
The Sword God's greatsword did not reach Seojun.
By exactly a single hair's breadth.
The surrounding structures were being damaged.
At this rate, the Sword God would be the only one caught for property damage.
Seojun grinned.
Yon watched the scene, scratching his nose.
The Sword God's agitation gradually began to subside.
Because his sword wasn't connecting, and because Seojun wasn't retaliating.
Seojun, while dodging, noticed that sign and asked.
"What attack are you talking about?"
"Ha! Are you pretending not to know?"
"No. I really don't know."
"Then raiding the storage. Are you going to pretend you don't know about that either? Korean?"
"No, I did that one."
Seojun opened his inventory and used the mask.
A mask covering only the lower half of his face appeared over Seojun's face, and the Sword God lost his reason again.
"You son of a bitch!"
Whooosh!
But still, the sword didn't connect.
Due to this incident, the Sword God was continuously mocked by viewers in real time.
-The disgrace of the continent wwwwww
-kkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk
-The streamer is seriously evil
-But let's just know that the Sword God started it first
-Even if he picked a fight first, if he gets beaten that badly, isn't the streamer the guilty one? kkkkkkkkkkk
It became 50 minutes.
The Sword God stopped his actions and let out a deep sigh.
"Hoo."
"You seem to have calmed down a bit now."
"You son of a bitch."
"Did you think I wouldn't steal?"
"I did think you might, but I didn't expect you to do it already! You must have had 100 points?"
"Wouldn't I?"
"..."
For reference, the Sword God had almost no points.
Because he hadn't received the rewards from his main source of income, material collection, and had only saved them up.
Even the meager achievement points he had collected from other very minor sub-quests were being spent on storage fees.
"Ha."
"So what is this attack?"
"You think I'd give you information? I'm going to leave the train, so do whatever."
"Seeing that Taesan still isn't visible, was he attacked and killed?"
"..."
"That's a yes. And he must have been attacked in the otherworld. If it happened on the train, it would have been revealed anyway."
"..."
"That's a yes too. A variable seems to have occurred where a character capable of killing a pro gamer has appeared. Do you happen to have any other information to be careful about?"
"..."
"Your eyes say you don't. Yeah, you probably don't know anything either. You were ambushed, right? And that's why you think Taesan is dead? Well done, and goodbye."
"This bastard?"
"Brother?"
"What?"
"What did you just do?"
"Mind-reading."
"?"
"Anyway, what we have to do is simple."
Seojun deactivated his mask.
"What is it, brother."
"To keep diligently, earnestly gathering those materials so as not to let the Sword God's sacrifice over there go to waste."
Mm-hmm.
Just as Seojun was nodding to himself, vowing not to let someone's sacrifice go to waste, another attack flew his way.
"Who called it a sacrifice, you devilish bastard!"