A Swordsman's Stream

Chapter 113

The game “Two Heads Are Better”, developed by Monster, was a two-player cooperative adventure game.

Therefore, even though the theme and concept of the first chapter seemed like horror, it was clearly not going to be a fully-fledged horror game.

If a horror game was meant to instill fear in players.

The choice of a horror concept could just mean setting a believable haunted castle as the background without including any genuinely scary elements.

Would children feel scared just because they were running around the school dressed up for Halloween with their native English teacher?

Well, if the teacher played a horror movie on the TV, it would indeed be scary, but that would be solely because of the horror movie.

Watching the movie in a creepy classroom or just a regular home would be equally frightening.

Of course, that’s the general opinion. Considering the developers had previously asked directly if they were good at playing horror games, there were surely elements present.

Even so.

‘Pfft.’

Sojun barely managed to stifle a laugh.

The viewers didn’t know that the concept this time was horror, so explaining his laughter would spoil the surprise.

Secondly, it was simply amusing.

“……”

“What, what is it!”

Even just staring at him made Taewoo flinch.

“Why are you grinning like that!”

A thief would feel guilty for stolen goods.

Taewoo was needlessly angry, and Sojun shook his head calmly.

Taewoo wasn’t required to explain things to Sojun.

Wouldn’t his reaction just make viewers more curious?

Sojun’s gaze shifted left to Taewoo’s chat window.

-Why then?
-Taewoo, why are you shouting! LOLOLOL
-What kind of bait is the rat holding?
-Did you forget to close the gas valve? ㄷㄷ
-Are you hiding something?

Once more, Sojun held back his laughter.

“Haha, no. I thought I had forgotten something, but after thinking about it, I hadn’t.”

To those who knew better, it sounded like an incorrect answer.

Who would believe it?

-This is suspicious
-You must’ve been surprised by a rat, right? LOLOLOL LOL
-Are you a coward?
-Rats are big here
-This is disgusting
-Yay. Proceed quickly, please

“Yes! I’ll proceed now!”

Squeak!

Another rat appeared.

It was indeed disconcerting in size.

Almost as large as a small dog, like a nutria.

It seemed their bodies had shrunk a bit.

Taewoo kicked the newly appearing rat out of frustration.

Sojun declared solemnly from behind.

“It seems like I should report you for animal abuse.”

“That’s just a piece of data, you know?”

“Then encouraging violence…”

“Aren’t you the one wielding swords around? Aren’t you the most violent one here!”

Taewoo was more irritable than usual.

And as for Sojun, he grew more relaxed, reflecting on the past.

‘Was he always this scared?’

As he pondered, he realized it was a fact he hadn’t confirmed.

Really.

‘If we had been elementary school friends, I might have known.’

During elementary school camps, courage training was common.

In middle and high school, the name changes to school trips, and those programs mostly disappear.

He met Taewoo in high school.

But it seemed like today was different.

“Hey. Don’t smile like that.”

“……”

“I said don’t smile!”

“Okay, let’s go.”

Taewoo cast a wary glance at Sojun, unsure of what he might do next. Sojun, on the other hand, surveyed the terrain where they had climbed.

“Is it still a secret passage?”

Sojun gazed at the dark, tunnel-like path ahead.

It hardly seemed to be the interior of a building.

Sojun decided to impart some courtesy.

“Go ahead.”

“Oh, you…”

Taewoo grimaced.

The path ahead was dark but not narrow. It was rather broad, even allowing five to walk hand-in-hand.

But why demand to go first?

‘That sneaky…’

He had clearly noticed.

Taewoo didn’t have much resistance to fear.

He hadn’t had the chance to test it extensively.

Their MCN manager was notorious for constantly pushing horror games on the affiliated streamers.

Yet he had never persisted with Taewoo, dismissing it as potentially devoid of fun.

The reason?

‘Those who laugh easily and are overtly foolish usually have firm guts, he once said.’

Their manager perpetuated the notion he would be boring.

Taewoo even thought the same.

So he lived without having to play horror games.

As they ventured into a dark path in the game, Taewoo realized.

He had traversed dark paths in many games before.

But this time, knowing there might be something scary made the difference.

That minor distinction caused his words to falter and his reactions to flinch, surprising him a bit more than usual.

In short, he was rather fearful.

Sojun had discerned it at once.

“Let’s go then.”

Seemingly suppressing his emotions, Taewoo led the way through the tunnel-like passage, with Sojun following behind.

『So, this secret passage wasn’t originally part of the plan, was it?』
『Yeah. Why is it so haphazard? Seems like it was halfway done.』

The characters conversed once they reached a precipice.

Initially, the secret passage had slight damages, but by now, it seemed utterly devastated, necessitating jumping across.

The fissure seemed to span at least 5 meters.

In-game, a jump would suffice.

“Ugh!”

Taewoo, hindered by nerves, fell into the abyss.

“Pfft.”

“That was a mistake.”

After being revived, Taewoo managed to jump and land correctly this time.

-How easy was that? LOLOLOL LOL
-Will the streamer also die once too?

“I’m good at this.”

The subsequent gap seemed too distant to reach with a simple jump.

Instead, there was a mark where hooks could be latched above.

A jump combined with swinging across should suffice to reach the other side.

Quite simple.

“Will you do well this time?”

“For sure.”

Taewoo attempted to relax his tensed body.

While the game’s assistive mechanics would help latch the hook effortlessly.

It wasn’t difficulty that caused him to fall earlier.

‘The less I reveal, the better.’

Sojun hadn’t disclosed his awareness of Taewoo’s fear, which urged Taewoo to keep it hidden.

Because once it was uncovered, he couldn’t grasp how many horror game collaboration requests he would receive.

Ultimately, Sojun’s silence probably meant he had some sort of deal to leverage the information later.

Taewoo jumped first.

Whir!

Clang!

The hook latched successfully, allowing Taewoo to swing across using the rope.

‘Made it!’

Taewoo grinned, filled with immense satisfaction.

Confident in his body once again.

This was an action-adventure game, not a horror one.

His fear was baseless!

“Oh, what’s this?”

“Looks like the finale.”

The setting greeted them with a pirate-like helm laid flat on the ground.

Attached above was a bar connecting to the ceiling grooves, tracing a path to the other end.

“Looks similar to the zipline thing.”

“We’re to hook onto this?”

“Yup. Try first.”

“Why me?”

“Scared?”

Scared?

How absurd.

Taewoo snorted dismissively.

“Fine! I’ll go first! Because you’re the coward!”

Thinking Sojun over-simplified matters, he watched as Taewoo attempted.

Taewoo took a running start and latched one hook onto the helm’s ring.

Creak.

The gears groaned audibly.

Taewoo swung alongside the helm, propelling forward.

‘This concept?’

However, the helm halted after a short distance.

It seemed to need more momentum.

The helm rotated back as it started counteracting its original path, swinging Taewoo back to the origin.

“Back again?”

“It needs both of us to move together, it seems.”

“Looks like it.”

“Let me return then, and prepare to jump again.”

While hanging from the helm, Taewoo swayed like a playground swing.

Leaping from his current position wouldn’t reach Sojun, so he gathered momentum instead.

Sojun offered an easier solution.

“Just drop.”

“Ha, why would I?”

“Scared?”

“No.”

Taewoo let go.

And reappeared beside Sojun.

-The magic word LOLOLOL LOLOLOL LOL
-Taewoo, just admit it
-Less humiliating to just admit fear LOLOLOL LOLOLOL LOLOLOL

Luckily, Taewoo failed to notice Sojun’s chat while pondering the issue.

Yet, there was more to exploit.

“Both of us, placed exactly opposite one another at 180 degrees, should sustain the helm’s momentum till the end.”

Sojun identified this and pointed out.

“Then I’ll have to leap later.”

While the first jumper’s location didn’t matter, the second had to time it correctly.

The task seemed challenging, better for Sojun to tackle.

“Ha, I’m not scared.”

“Skill, fool.”

“Aha!”

The chat continued with teasing laughter.

Taewoo sprinted and leapt.

His hook anchored to the helm, swirling rapidly.

Sojun followed shortly, calculating the timing well.

Clang.

The secondary hook latched while the helm advanced, intensifying the rotation.

The balance restored, they arrived safely, stepping off the helm as it rotated back.

-Oh
-Nice
-The ride seems fun!

“It’s fun.”

“Agreed.”

Landing, Sojun approached a green-lit area.

A hole appeared there.

Peeking inside revealed a ventilator with openings aligned similarly to the one above.

“Let’s enter.”

Once inside the vent passage, a dreamlike bell chime signaled the end of the tutorial, perhaps marking the beginning of horror.

“The rear’s blocked.”

“Seems like a one-way route.”

Sojun and Taewoo proceeded along the path, encountering a green light once more.

They peered through vent holes, revealing an interior below.

Sojun commented.

“There are a lot of toys here, folks.”

“Quite bizarre.”

The room housed various toys packaged but not displayed for sales.

Simply piled to show their contents within the boxes.

This observation sparked character interaction within the game.

『Isn’t this where the protagonist is?』
『Are you sure?』
『I painted and created it, so wouldn’t I be certain? Look near the wall, it’s the B-2 section.』
『Really? Then why isn’t the protagonist there?』
『What?』
『Look over there. It’s empty, isn’t it?』

“What are they mentioning?”

“Look closely.”

As they scrutinized the interior, a sudden bang erupted.

A grotesque doll’s head suddenly loomed right in front of them past the vent.

“Hmm, must’ve been its ceiling here for it to attach.”

-Startling!
-That got me yelling! LOLOLOL
-The streamer remains calm, though

Though Sojun had slightly flinched at the sudden appearance, it was manageable.

Curiously, Taewoo, who usually would make a fuss, stayed surprisingly silent.