A Swordsman's Stream

Chapter 116

The sound of clattering echoed as the lifting platform aligned.

Anyone could see that the stage was cleared.

Observing this, Sojun commented, “See? You don’t need two people for it. What a godly game.”

– Why do you call it a godly game? LOL
– The game’s got freedom LOL! It’s definitely a godly game!
– Feels like I’m watching the Assassin Sect’s dawn LOL
– Crazy lunatic. Truly a crazy lunatic LOL
– Is this even cooperation?

“Let’s move to the next room!”

Sojun said as he ignored Taewoo and walked toward the door.

Screams were heard again from inside, which made one curious about what exactly was happening.

The atmosphere felt ominous, as if something would pop out at any moment, but it wasn’t that bad.

After it’s over, he thought, “I’ll check it out.”

Reading the chat, Sojun said, “Yes, let’s leave it here.”

He didn’t bother explaining what they were leaving behind.

– Are you serious LOL Are you doing the next one alone too?
– He’s abandoned LOL
– Taewoo, just scream and solve puzzles LOL
– Don’t go saying things over there
– Build togetherness

Next to the door, there was a control panel just where he expected.

Due to the rotation in mid-air, the nails were stuck in at a slant.

Normally, even if you shoot nails properly, they wouldn’t go in straight anyways, so they were supposed to be slanted.

Although this was quite slanted, almost to the point of touching the wall.

“As for this, there’s nothing I can do. The difficulty is tougher than I thought!”

Sojun said as he entered the next room, where the platform went down again.

Sojun pulled two nails from his waist, inserting one into the nail gun and holding the other between his fingers.

He took a deep breath to focus his mind and hurled the nail, raising the nail gun afterward.

Ping!

This time the door was on the left, like the first one.

Originally, it would require Taewoo’s wind to curve gently and embed itself properly.

The nail Sojun threw flew straight, sticking closely to the encircling wall, and just as it passed that wall, it was hit by a nail coming from behind.

Clang!

The nail was deflected and printed properly onto the control panel again.

It wasn’t visible, but he could feel it.

Clatter.

With the sound of a humming noise, the platform rose.

– Is it hard? LOL
– It looks damn hard, but why do you always succeed in one go? LOL
– Wow!
– I admit it’s no fluke
– Hmm! It’s cooperation between nails!! LOL
– LOL It’s practically a co-op game LOL

“This is quite fun!”

Sojun remarked.

Adjusting the trajectory by hitting the flying nail in the middle was indeed challenging.

Sojun claimed he could parry the difficult patterns of the Assassin Sect’s dawn even with his eyes closed, as long as he caught the first movement.

But not this one.

Every moment required full concentration.

From the sensation of launching the nail to aiming the nail gun and pulling the trigger, constant focus was essential.

At this difficulty level, considering the effectiveness, “Viewers, this is Tang’s secret throwing technique, so keep it under wraps.”

Tang would probably drool and come to learn it!

Or maybe not.

– Did Tang have a nail gun?
– Has Tang’s house fallen so much as to use nails as weapons? ㅠㅠㅠ
– Tang So… the protagonist fighting to revive a fallen clan!
– Went to Demonic Cult to serve Heavenly Demon and revive his family LOL

If Tang So were watching the stream, he would clearly send a message: ‘Who said I served him!’

Anyway, Sojun felt like trying it further.

High difficulty meant high interest for him. That’s why he preferred strange traits in “For Justice!”

Although if asked, Sojun would staunchly deny it and praise the Heavenly Demon Divine Art and his Absorption Technique tree.

Sojun moved to the next room and hurled another nail, firing the nail gun afterwards.

And the room after that one as well.

After passing through a total of four rooms, he finally entered a place that seemed like a proper interior.

That’s when Sojun, losing his concentration momentarily, glanced at the chat and swallowed dryly.

– Advertisers are weeping LOL
– They planned out all the puzzles, but LOL they just got solved like this LOL
– Turns horror atmosphere into comedy LOL
– Taewoo can’t even get out. He’s trapped inside LOL

Oh, right. This was an advertisement.

* * *

Meanwhile, Taewoo was…

“Phew. I wasn’t tense because I thought something might jump out, but just because I’m cautious! Let’s get out now. I’m curious if Sojun, the rascal, solved the puzzle before me. Given he didn’t come here, I must have solved it first, but let’s go to his room and mess… Huh?”

Thud.

Thud, thud.

“What? Why isn’t this opening? Wait, was the door even closed to begin with? Ah, what is this.”

Taewoo circled the doorknob with a puzzled look.

The moment Sojun broke the stage’s control panel, the platform rose and all the adjoining room doors were closed.

Most viewers were watching both streams and easily deduced the situation, but not Taewoo.

As viewers coordinated, how could he find out?

“Why are you laughing? What’s so funny?”

– LOL
– LOL
– LOL
– You’re trapped.

“Sojun? Hey! Are you outside? Did you close the door?”

He was halfway to the answer.

“Don’t joke around, Sojun.”

It was scary.

* * *

– Who told you to keep duplicating the map structures?
– Once you’ve given an advertisement to the streamer, you should make it unclear LOL
– This is the developer’s fault.
– You just have to accept this kind of stuff, right?
– Didn’t you know when you gave it to them? LOL”

“Hmm…”

“…….”

Han Sungchul, the section chief of Stream Korea.

His job involved selecting and supporting indie games for funding and assisting in game development whenever necessary.

Thus, he was colloquially the ‘money source’, always in a powerful position before game companies.

Naturally, he didn’t abuse this power but instead often showed consideration and kept his eyes down, especially now, in front of the Monster’s CEO.

Currently, Han and the CEO were seated in a private dining area, observing the advertisement stream in a quiet environment.

However, when Sojun displayed unexpected behavior, things had taken a chilling turn.

“…….”

Han thought it over.

Imagine the puzzles you strove to showcase and allow gamers to experience; you’d spend countless hours devising them. Having them skipped with a shortcut would be exasperating.

‘Though… Is it really a shortcut?’

The dictionary defines a shortcut as a simpler, easier method.

But was launching a nail first and adjusting its trajectory really simple or easy? It made him question.

No, there wasn’t even a question.

‘Who’s capable of that kind of thing anyway?’

Perhaps in the Monster’s position, this wasn’t even worth fixing since only Sojun could do it.

Truly, it aligned with the one who cunningly yet assuredly led the weak, treacherous Demonic Cult to victory. It couldn’t be denied.

Therefore, it wasn’t a shortcut.

Once Sojun went back to the way things were, he thought there’d be no problem.

Just a bit of an incident, perhaps?

『In the game, players can restart from any stage checkpoint! Truly a godly game, right? Awesome!』

– Hyung, stop the awkward acting LOL
– Your tone completely changed LOL
– Cynical –〉 Happy
– The scene of natural behavior when playing the Heavenly Demon’s plotline reflects the Streamer-nim’s true self
– Really LOL

The situation itself was amusing, maybe better.

However.

As the CEO remained silent, Han continued to watch, reluctant to unitarily determine he’s okay.

Could it be? He felt betrayed by the Heavenly Demon he trusted so dearly? Then, switching over to a famed Orthodox Faction could be a brilliant choice at this point.

The CEO kept staring at the floor.

Perhaps it wasn’t enough to truly harm or deeply concern him?

Creators have their unique pains, and it was likely something he couldn’t understand.

“Are you alright?”

“Of course, I’m alright.”

The CEO lifted his head and replied.

What?

He was smiling!

“Hahaha! Indeed, I made the right recruiting decision!”

“Really?”

“Yes, initially I was charmed by watching such an approach. Although I never expected our game to have such loopholes. So, I thought it unlikely, but to have solved the control panel like that was masterful.”

Was it?

Good to hear, anyway.

“Honestly, it’s a little bit ridiculous, but haha.”

“His skills are certainly exceptional.”

Why did he choose the Demonic Cult?

Oops.

Due to lack of time, it’s been years since he joined the Battlefield, yet his thoughts strayed.

That’s from keeping tabs on gaming communities, inevitably tracking Battlefield trends.

“Exceptional skills aren’t the only aspect, I believe Streamer Heavenly Demon exhibited spur-of-the-moment behavior for a different reason.”

“Yes?”

“Watch this.”

The CEO handed Han the phone.

Ah.

He finally knew what he was observing all this time; it was the phone.

The site displayed was ‘No Justice’.

Among the many posts, a few stood out, explaining why the CEO held onto the phone all this time.

『Could Tang do it like this?』
『Even in action-adventure horror games, Heavenly Demon remains consistent LOL』
『A clip of Heavenly Demon being Heavenly Demon』
『Guys, call him Sword God, really』

Said the CEO.

“Such play is indeed the unique characteristic of this Heavenly Demon. It’s an event meant to be mentioned across communities. Isn’t it?”

“Correct.”

“Viewers who’ve watched the stream will naturally write posts, and community users who see them will flock to the stream.”

“Definitely.”

Simultaneously, viewer numbers continued to grow.

Starting at 19,000, Sojun’s viewers had increased to 21,000 when they checked, now rapidly growing to 24,000.

“If everyone gathers just before the final chase, wouldn’t that be perfect?”

That they cared about streams reaching peak viewership was undeniably ideal!

“That’s true….”

“The fact remains Streamer Heavenly Demon is notoriously clever and calculating. Truly remarkable if you consider it.”

The CEO referred to a war story.

Han recalled a past occurrence.

“Come to think of it.”

There had been a deliberate release of sparring ground rankings timed perfectly with an advertisement!

Back then, and now, were things planned to detail?

Was it for real?

Han got goosebumps all over.

“Oh, this puzzle works like this. It’s… so well made! You just have to not throw the nail? Please, I wouldn’t know.”

– I can’t.
– Meaning you can do it!
– Meanwhile, you’re extremely perceptive. You ended before Taewoo doing it again.

Indeed.

Heard he had a knack for voicing the most apt responses on streams, which is said to be ‘a sense’.

And the way to acquire such a sense only comes in two possible scenarios.

It’s either innate, making them naturally suited for streams, or they’re smart enough to analyze the concept thoroughly to craft such a presence.

If it’s the latter, the incredible consistency attributed to his character is by design.

Chances are high here.

How could someone be so blatant?

Sojun continued breezing through puzzles effortlessly.

Analyzing the structure after a single sweep and methodically solving it left quite an impression, solidifying Han’s doubts into assurance.

“Seems like it’s ending soon.”

“There it is. From the moment the CEO proposed a one-hour average estimate for the entire chapter, including bosses or chases, right?”

“Yes, but it only took 30 minutes.”

They watched Sojun, arriving at the final chapter.

That’s when the CEO, recalling their former conversation, shared a crucial piece of advice with Han.

“Section Chief. You mentioned potential partner streamers earlier. If you need to acquire this particular streamer later, do it as swiftly as possible.”

“Really? To prevent competitors from getting them?”

“No.”

The CEO shook it off.

“That’ll be cheaper.”

“What? Aren’t they slightly overpriced now? Wouldn’t waiting and then proposing be better? Considering the contract renews annually….”

Entering now after surpassing 20,000, wouldn’t that be a disadvantage?

However, the CEO thought otherwise.

“Then you should acquire them immediately.”

Acquire?

Han only showed a puzzled face since he hadn’t realized Monster continuously regretted not purchasing Sojun early, watching his viewership multiply.

“Buy now. Right now.”

It’s the cheapest at this moment.

Filled with sincere intention from experience, Han could only nod hesitantly at the eye-level prescriptive advice.