Chapter 63
Incongruity.
It refers to a clumsy, mismatched feeling.
Seeing a photo of a shark in the Han River, or a hippo in the middle of a desert—unless you're a child with no background knowledge, you can't help but feel this incongruity. And it can be felt even in the midst of battle.
Just as Seojun intuitively sensed it right now, when the enemy's attack didn't match the opponent's assumed intent.
It began with the very first strike.
It was a dagger thrown plainly, but to him, it didn't seem like it was actually meant to hit him at all.
The reason was the speed.
In *For Righteousness*, the more inner energy you infuse into a weapon, the more damage and speed increase when thrown. And White Tiger's first attack was just right—neither too much nor too little, perfectly appropriate for an opening move.
It was a subtlety as if disguising the ordinary as something else.
The next two daggers seemed designed to confuse him as much as possible.
Were they a setup for the next dagger?
But now, the next dagger flying in was fast, yet its trajectory showed no change.
If so, the meaning of the setup would vanish.
'Only if I was the target all along.'
In that brief moment, Seojun sorted out the situation, drew a conclusion, and grasped the destination the sharp dagger's tip was aiming for.
The possible targets White Tiger could go for were limited.
That was one second.
The tip of the dagger slightly changed direction.
If he had looked away from the incongruity, he would have panicked here and been unable to react.
Seojun's hand had long been infusing inner energy into his sword.
'The target is the cargo.'
It wasn't his fighting teammates, at least.
If White Tiger was sniping to this extent, he would have already assessed Seojun's skills.
He wouldn't believe he could win the game just by taking down teammates.
Surely he wasn't that stupid.
Nor was it another NPC.
Targeting an NPC would be even more pointless than targeting a teammate.
Then, only one target remained, didn't it?
The wagon behind Seojun on the right, and the cargo inside it.
'Looks like it'll be a close call.'
Seojun calculated the dagger's speed and prepared to throw his sword.
Since White Tiger's traits and weapon were specialized for throwing, it would be stronger. But as the dagger's trajectory curved nearly ninety degrees, its power would be offset.
That was two seconds.
But he had to wait longer.
If he threw now, the force would be similar, and the sword Seojun threw might not fully deflect the dagger, possibly damaging the cargo.
Three seconds.
Since more time had passed, he pulled the point of deflection closer to the cargo.
It was dangerously close.
'Now?'
Judging that enough inner energy had been gathered, Seojun hurled the sword with all his strength.
The dagger, which had been flying toward Seojun, completely changed direction, and the sword Seojun threw spun through the air, flying sideways.
-????
-lololololo why does that dagger curve like that? Does it normally curve that much?
-If it comes back to the streamer after that, they've just thrown the physics engine out the window lol
-Right lol
-Why did that White Tiger bastard go to the Tang Clan? He sucks lolololo
-Anyone can see he threw it wrong, right?
-But why is the streamer throwing his sword?
-Can do unarmed combat lol
-No way?
Seojun smiled leisurely and winked at White Tiger.
Now that the sword had left his hand, the result couldn't be changed. And he trusted himself.
*Swaaash!*
The dagger, having set its course, flew fiercely.
Only then did the viewers realize that something was amiss with where the dagger was heading.
-???
-Isn't that where the cargo is?
-It wasn't a mistake!
-Then the streamer...!
If it went just a little further, it would clearly strike the box and the contents inside would be destroyed.
But then.
*Whoosh.*
The sword, spinning through the air, interposed right before its eyes.
*Clang!*
The dagger collided and was deflected outward.
Success.
-Wow f*ck lololol
-Crazy!!!!
-Kyah!
-No, just how far ahead are you seeing?!
-Is this the Heavenly Demon Beam?
-You aimed for that? You blocked that?
-This is why I watch lololol
-No, what the hell!
-You said you'd get 1st place, right? You said you'd get 1st place, right? You said you'd get 1st place, right?
-Let's go Demonic Cult win! Let's go Demonic Cult win! Let's go Demonic Cult win! Let's go Demonic Cult win! Let's go Demonic Cult win!
-That's a bit...;;;
"Crazy……."
White Tiger wore an expression of disgust, and Seojun immediately procured (stole) a weapon from a nearby NPC and turned back.
"Did you think that would work?"
"I mean……."
White Tiger momentarily wondered who would think he could fail at this, but he couldn't say more.
"You must have learned the cargo's location through a friend. Since you can't watch the broadcast inside the game."
Seojun had him completely figured out.
For a second, White Tiger almost suspected his friend had betrayed him and tipped Seojun off beforehand.
Seojun approached. The distance closed.
In a situation where pressure squeezed his entire body, White Tiger suddenly snapped to his senses and, as a final desperate act, took out a dagger and threw it toward the cargo.
*Clang.*
But the dagger didn't advance even a meter before Seojun, who had drawn closer, blocked it with his newly acquired sword.
The dagger dropped helplessly to the ground.
His attack was useless, and the Heavenly Demon villain smiled, tilting his sword as if inviting him to keep trying.
Damn.
White Tiger felt like he was about to get PTSD.
This round wasn't over yet.
Even if he died now, there would be a next chance.
He could cooperate with his team, or hide and aim for the cargo.
But no matter what method he used, White Tiger couldn't shake the feeling that he would never be able to break through Seojun.
I mean, is it even humanly possible to strike down a dagger flying right in front of you and drop it?!
"Hey……. How did you know?"
Having sensed defeat early, he asked his final burning question.
"Know what?"
"That I was aiming for the cargo. Did you know beforehand?"
If that wasn't the case, deflecting a dagger that changed direction mid-flight would be impossible.
Unless you prepared in advance.
He was genuinely curious.
So he asked.
"I am a Heavenly Demon."
"You son of a...…."
[White Tiger7 eliminated]
"I should clean up the rest, shouldn't I?"
After eliminating White Tiger, Seojun went to help where the battle was taking place.
-He really is a villain, lololololo
-Do they even know? That the game almost ended just a moment ago?
-No way they know.
-lolol f*
-From now on, the streamer will be even more careful. How are you gonna win?
-Even knowing what the cargo is, you still can't win!
* * *
[Today's Battlefield: A Jujak Moment]
==
Hello. I'm OP, someone who wants to be good at the battlefield but is woefully lacking in skill.
By any chance, do you all know White Tiger—the newbie shredder, the beginner slaughterer?
White Tiger is a user who stays in the beginner zone and prays on low-level players. I'm sure many old-timers in the Veteran's Association know him.
He's been around since the game's early days, and he even defeated a ranker called 'Namgung Sega Jomsoi', a self-proclaimed great hero who cries out for righteousness, in a public duel by a hair's breadth.
Even after Namgung Sega Jomsoi's defeat, White Tiger's notoriety grew, yet he continued his low-level slaughter.
Nevertheless, since newcomers don't stay in the beginner zone for long, and perhaps because White Tiger doesn't play that often, the game company has never imposed any sanctions on him.
Considering how many newbies met him and lost—or nearly lost—interest in the game, this was a mistake in judgment.
However, a week ago, this user finally received an account termination penalty.
It was the result of messing with the wrong streamer who happened to be advertising *For Righteousness*.
(Clip)
This streamer crushed White Tiger with overwhelming skill.
(Clip) (Clip) (Clip)
And introduced himself as the Heavenly Demon three times.
(Clip)
He even ascended to the realm of reading nonexistent donations.
(Clip)
To finish it off, he even had a moment of hounding the production crew.
(Clip)
In the end, White Tiger ascended to heaven like this and departed, and streamer Seojun truly demonstrated the dignity of the Heavenly Demon.
You might be wondering why I'm bringing up old news instead of the battlefield.
Don't be upset. Their connection didn't end there, and today it finally continued.
(Clip)
Today, Seojun chose the evil faction area and met a user named White Tiger7.
Yes. As you've guessed, it's that White Tiger.
The identical avatar face and the nickname make it obvious.
Even his very first line after meeting him was: "You missed me, didn't you, you bastard?"
Fortunately, our Seojun ignored him.
(Clip)
Anyone can see that White Tiger was sniping out of pure revenge.
What incredible shamelessness!
Here, we need to look at this screenshot for a moment.
It's a post that a user presumed to be White Tiger uploaded on the Incidents/Accidents board on the day he was suspended.
(Screenshot)
Even though he deleted it—probably because he found it too shameless himself—if you post on the Veteran's Association, you should be prepared to be immortalized.
Anyway, this is today's moment.
White Tiger prepared thoroughly for his revenge.
For the sake of revenge, he left the beginner zone he hadn't left for years in a single day and joined the Tang Clan.
He played the battlefield every single day without fail and built up his reputation.
Finally, today.
The battle mode was Escort, and the target of his vengeance, Seojun, chose the evil faction area.
The perfect opportunity had arrived!
So, he devised a plan.
White Tiger would meet Seojun directly through sniping, and an accomplice would watch Seojun's stream and tell him the cargo's location. (This is an assumption, since White Tiger knew where the cargo was.)
With such a perfect plan laid out, White Tiger finally met Seojun and attacked.
The first move: ordinary.
The second: the same.
The third: he threw two daggers to scatter his focus.
After launching that third attack, White Tiger prepared his ultimate move.
A feint toward Seojun, then a change of direction straight for the cargo—the most optimal, final move.
It was extremely powerful.
Not a single viewer anticipated it.
But Seojun knew everything.
(Clip)
In this hair-raising, split-second crisis, Seojun hurled his sword and deflected the daggers.
White Tiger's jaw dropped, and he asked Seojun how he figured it out. But isn't that a futile question?
(Clip)
He is the Heavenly Demon!
(Photo)
I hereby nominate the fed-up expression on White Tiger's face after hearing that final "I am a Heavenly Demon" as Today's Battlefield.
==
-lolololololo
-That righteous lesson was sick.
-Wow, I really enjoyed reading this lolololo
-So even this kind of thing happened.
└Seriously, all sorts of things happen lolololololo
-Packaging the Heavenly Demon like this. I'm reporting you as a traitor to the orthodox faction.
└Definitely a spy.
└Please amend that to 'infiltrator' rather than 'spy.'
-I'm the one who took the White Tiger ID, but I'm getting cursed at in whispers. Is this normal?
└Guys, let's read the post properly lolol. It's White Tiger7.
-But that bastard is seriously shameless, lolol. How petty can you get, resorting to sniping.
-Heavenly Demon's trash talk, lolololol. Look at that.
-That's him, right? The Grandmaster. I'm sorry for suspecting you were a cheater. You did such a good deed. And your skills are insane.
└Were you part of the 3-minute curry gang?
└I never posted a comment, hyung.
└Then you're not in the curry gang lolol.
The post OP uploaded instantly received countless upvotes and entered the real-time TOP10 visible on the right side when entering the Veteran's Association.
OP's posts usually make it into the TOP10, but they never rose this quickly.
"Oh, the reaction's good? At this rate, I could even get 1st place?"
OP, a former professional card game player turned streamer, mainly provides commentary for amateur tournaments based on his excellent analytical skills.
And in *For Righteousness*, he created his most popular content to date, 'For the Battlefield', which analyzes battleground matches and introduces key incidents.
"Hehe. I knew a story about the room master—I mean, Seojun—would be popular!"
Even though he was busy taking notes on every issue that occurred on the battlefield, the reason he had watched Seojun's live broadcast was simply because it was fun.
Ever since he accidentally discovered a new streamer playing *Dawn of the Assassins*, he hasn't been able to stop watching that broadcast.
"I should contact Seojun and ask if I can use the story for 'For the Battlefield'. Can't just use stories on iTube without permission, unlike the community."