Chapter 72
The next day, 6:30 AM.
Seojun turned on his stream from his room's computer.
Today, he needed to concentrate for three continuous hours, and getting into the capsule from the start was too much.
"Hello, everyone."
Just moments ago, he had checked the community posts about him, and now he watched the viewer count rise as he loosened up his hands.
-Hi
-Was waiting for this!
-I'll watch Bangju's commentary later, but for now I'm staying
A lot of people were coming in.
As if yesterday's 15,000 viewers weren't an illusion, the count quickly surged past 10,000.
'At this rate, it looks like I've reached mid-tier streamer status.'
Even if it's temporary, that's fine.
Once Bangju turns on his stream, even more people would come to watch.
More importantly, today, Seojun had no intention of losing.
-lol Are you insane with that wide-area provocation?
-How dare a Demonic Cult brat!
-You're dead today
-I think the streamer might be overdoing it
-I'm scared now that things have gotten this big...
-lololol Well, he did go all out recklessly
Worried voices were already popping up not long after he started streaming.
It seemed like people had a lot to say after he'd ended the stream abruptly after the donation yesterday.
That was exactly why he'd set aside some time to communicate before starting.
So he had to answer earnestly.
"Everyone, if I can't do something, I say I can't."
He'd leave it at that.
-Ha lololol
-He's right, though
-That means what he said yesterday was a roundabout way of saying he *can* do it, right?
-Shh.
Indeed, even if you talk nonsense, some people get it perfectly.
Seojun smiled and began communicating lightly.
[‘RiggedDice’ donated 100,000 won!]
[Are you really confident you won't lose even once today?]
"Of course. Ah, thank you for yesterday's donation. I was able to send a proper reply to the duel challenge thanks to you."
Seojun thanked them and answered the donations, then clapped his hands as if remembering something.
"Shall we do a channel point bet for the first time in a while?"
This time seemed worth doing.
The reason Seojun hadn't done point betting much until now was that match outcomes weren't clear-cut.
If everyone just bet on him winning, where's the fun in that?
And it would be absurd for Seojun to throw the match just to create entertainment.
But with today's event?
-Let's go! Finally!
-How long has it been since a bet! Huff
-I'm betting all 250,000 points
-Woof! Woof!
-You crazy dogs barking with excitement at nickname bets lololol
-We can finally stake our memory points
Seojun smiled and opened the channel point bet.
"Will he not lose even once" vs. "Will he lose at least once."
"This one might be a close call. Think about it. The opponents are all notorious veterans. Could I really avoid losing even once?"
-You shouldn't be saying that lolol
-I just became certain after hearing the streamer. He truly is confident he won't lose even once.
-Seojun expert lololol
-He does hate seeing us do well lolol
Regular viewers said things like this and bet on him not losing even once, while new arrivals saw the newly opened point bet as an opportunity and bet on the opposite side.
-What are the natives here talking about? lolol Of course you bet on losing at least once
-Thanks to these foolish natives, I'll be eating up points nicely!
-It's about even, neck and neck
-Lets get that 2x multiplier
-Draining the national treasury for you
* * *
6:40 AM.
"Hello, everyone!"
Bangju's stream turned on.
People tend to keep watching the stream they were already on.
Thus, having had over 70,000 viewers the day before, his stream quickly filled up with people again.
10,000.
20,000.
40,000.
60,000.
Hardcore users who manage their daily game counts might hurry to finish their four matches first and then tune in, but most weren't like that.
For a day, they could step away from the battlefield and watch the stream like a sports match.
Of course, Bangju didn't always have this many viewers.
'Wow. This kind of speed isn't easy to achieve normally.'
It was usually only on the last day of the battlefield season, when it's decided whether the orthodox or unorthodox faction wins, that people gathered this fast.
It seemed yesterday's aggro had worked a little too well.
Had everyone just been waiting for this?
-When's the snipe on Cheonsalseong?
-Hating that the Demonic Cult bastard is drawing attention? Is that normal?
-Let's go!
-Cheering for the streamer
-Wow, are we getting a full course of ranker fights today?
-Revive the prestige of the unorthodox faction
-Is it a fight over whether the orthodox ranker wins first or the unorthodox ranker wins first lolol
After about 10 minutes of light chatting.
[Viewers: 90,000]
It broke 90,000.
It looked set to surpass 100,000 soon.
A number that even major corporate streamers only hit during large-scale content was being reached right from the start.
Probably, the reason for such anticipation was because Seojun's performance so far showed he was at least not some random nobody.
'Because he's number one in contribution.'
Bangju gulped.
This collaboration.
If he loses right from the start, it'll be a disaster.
Riots could break out, public sentiment could completely turn.
Of course, it wasn't something he could control.
It depended entirely on.
"Hello."
That streamer being summoned into the game right now.
"Seojun-nim! We're already at 90,000 viewers. How many are in your room?"
"About 15,000. I'll sync the streaming screen now."
They'd each run their own stream.
"Is it good now?"
"Yes."
Usually, most collaborations happen for a win-win, but this joint broadcast had especially much to gain.
Seojun could draw a large crowd through Bangju, and Bangju could place himself at the center of the issue and prove once again that he was the representative streamer for 'For the Association.'
All he needed was a good result!
Bangju inwardly clasped his hands and prayed that even if Seojun lost, at least the visuals would look good.
"Okay, the screen sync is good."
Seojun's screen connected seamlessly without any setting conflicts.
The rehearsal had paid off.
Seojun's screen appeared on the broadcast screen Bangju's viewers were watching.
"It's almost time to start. I'll be stepping outside the capsule now. Fighting!"
Bangju greeted, then exited the capsule and sat down at a preset computer.
And in the bottom corner of the screen from Seojun's viewpoint, Bangju appeared, seated in a chair.
"Hello."
-He's here
-You were in-game just to say hi!
-This is how commentary is done!
-Bangju's broadcast, milking honey again today
"Haha. I'll be doing commentary from here. I need to observe the matches too, and a computer is just more comfortable, right? Hehe."
Inside the screen, Seojun went to the center and started the game.
The screen transitioned.
"Alright! The first match has just begun! The region Seojun-nim chose is a central area where the Demonic Cult, Orthodox, and Unorthodox factions all clash. This is to prevent any specific faction from being unable to snipe."
Just because a region borders all three doesn't mean all three factions meet in one game.
It was the same as other regions, with the only difference being that who you'd meet was random.
His position was defense.
"And today's game mode is Duel. Duel is a mode for one-on-one matches inside a small map. It's best of three rounds."
Duel was a game mode with nothing special about it.
No teammates, meaning all outcomes were decided purely by individual skill.
"Opponent is... Ah! An ordinary user."
Bangju sighed as if disappointed.
-lolololololol
-Snipe failed in the first match
-What sin did that guy commit?
-It's not a failure, they aren't even trying
The opponent on screen recognized Seojun's face and nickname.
[Ah, shit! Why am I meeting this person!]
Bangju shook his head.
"You're asking if the rankers chickened out? Hmm. The first four matches are games where you can gain contribution points, so it's not strange if they didn't snipe. No, it's even rational."
The first match ended just as boringly.
* * *
As the first match progressed blandly, people predicted Seojun might cruise through at least until the fourth match.
And that prediction shattered by the second match.
-Oh lololol
-Crazy, they met already?
-Did he make a mistake?
-A ranker wouldn't do that
-Crisis already after a 4-win streak!
-Spicy right from the start
[The Dignity of Sapa]
Thanks to the somewhat familiar nickname appearing on the interface and the viewers' reactions, he knew a big fish had been hooked from the second match.
'We met surprisingly early.'
When he'd discussed with Bangju, they'd said Seojun might not meet anyone for four matches, or if he did, it'd be users ranked much lower, because he'd already built too big a gap. This was unexpected.
"Rank 5 in contribution? Wow. Even better."
Though he didn't know the reason for sniping now.
"Let's go."
Seojun liked that what he had to do next was clear.
Victory in the game.
[Game starts.]
Duel modes included 1v1, 2v2, and 3v3.
Naturally, the map got bigger as the number of participants increased.
Meaning, today's one-on-one had a narrow map.
So, walking just a short distance out from the starting point brought you face-to-face with the enemy.
The first round would be a light probe.
This was Seojun's first time facing a true expert (?).
"Hello. I'm The Dignity of Sapa, currently ranked 5th."
The opponent greeted him.
As expected, it wasn't a matching error.
Feeling a slight sense of underhandedness, Seojun smiled and replied.
"Right. I'm the Heavenly Demon."
-lololololol I didn't expect this again today
-Is the Heavenly Demon villain mode activating? lololol
-Dual personality level
-He needs to lose once after acting like that
"Heh heh. I heard the early bird catches the worm, so I came early. You're not angry, right?"
Oh.
He was being provoked.
In that case, he couldn't stay silent.
The early bird, huh.
"But did you know? The worm, no matter when it wakes up, gets caught and eaten by the bird anyway. So waking up too early just shortens its brief life."
"Haha."
The opponent pretended to keep his composure, but the twitch of his lips couldn't be hidden.
Unbeknownst to Seojun, The Dignity of Sapa was someone who tried to create controversy on the community using multiple accounts.
"Try me first, then."
Seojun maintained an appropriate level of tension as he slowly approached.
Trash talking ended here.
Now was the time to prove it with his sword.
Not having a strategy just because it was a one-on-one was not the case.
Thud, thud.
The distance closed slowly.
"Ha. Interesting. Then, I won't be polite and I'll attack first."
The moment the enemy finished his words, he closed the gap in an instant.
The martial school The Dignity of Sapa had chosen was the Sabmak.
The Sabmak's characteristics were stealth and fast speed.
Fast speed included not only movement speed but attack speed as well, and their lightness skill was also faster than other schools, an advantage.
In occupation warfare, they leveraged this to create variables through unconventional play.
Then what about in a one-on-one?
The enemy's body shot forward as if assaulting.
The moment he aimed for Seojun's neck with speed further boosted by his lightness skill.
Judging by the slightly longer preparation stance.
'A heavy attack? They say rankers hardly ever use heavy attacks, but he's starting with one.'
Heavy attacks had high damage but came with the risk of body rigidity if parried, and swinging a big motion against a skilled player was no different from asking to be parried.
Seojun, having deliberately conceded the first strike, raised his sword to deflect it.
Even as a heavy attack, it was fast.
Was he aiming for that?
But not being able to react to an enemy approaching head-on was unthinkable for him.
Clang!
It was a light clash, testing each other.
And Seojun felt a slight admiration from this single exchange.
'It didn't parry.'
The enemy retracted his sword and immediately transitioned into the next motion.
Seojun observed the change in movement while analyzing the previous situation.
'Did he slightly twist the trajectory right at the last moment before contact?'
The way they fully utilized the advantage of speed was indeed befitting a veteran.
It wasn't for nothing that they used a heavy attack.
It gave him the feeling that today's broadcast was going to be more entertaining than expected.