A Swordsman's Stream

Chapter 117

For thirty minutes, Sojun and Taewoo proceeded systematically through the puzzles created by the game company, advancing steadily.

The puzzles were ingenious and entertainingly constructed, receiving positive reactions from viewers.

Occasionally, there were chat requests for a repeat demonstration of the Tang family’s secret shadow technique, but it was not shown again.

The dangerous forbidden technique had to be sealed, at least during the advertisement breaks.

“Ah, darn.”

Swish, swish, swish!

A shadowy figure climbing the wall below quietly revealed its presence before disappearing, as if it was watching them.

Although there hadn’t been any elements that suddenly popped out to startle them yet, such subtle details still instilled a sense of fear in the game, at least for Taewoo.

“This is the last room.”

“Really?”

After solving the last puzzle, they arrived at the room they had previously visited.

– How do you know that?
– Did you come here first?
– Gasp, streamer-nim, please stop spoiling.
– Hahaha, you’re all crazy.

As they passed the door, a wide staircase stretching straight ahead greeted them, leading to a normal interior space as they climbed.

“Now we just have to find the protagonist.”

Sojun deduced that the next part was the final chapter of this game.

He felt an instinct to head toward an empty box he’d seen earlier, as this was the room he’d peered into through the vents to find the protagonist’s location.

“Follow me.”

“Wow. It’s like all these toys are watching us.”

The boxes lined up on each side were displayed neatly so that the contents could be seen at a glance. Sojun found the spot he had noted earlier and headed toward it.

“This is it.”

“Look closely there. There’s a note inside.”

『If you want to find me, you have to do what I have to do for me.』

Something the protagonist was supposed to do?

He had a hunch. It seemed they had to deal with the being crawling along the walls from earlier.

– Whoa, whoa, whoa
– What are they asking us to do?
– Why so rude? It’s mom and dad, though
– For real lol

Upon further gameplay, they realized the in-game genre was action-adventure, and the world was indeed a toy world.

Furthermore, the parts the developers couldn’t complete properly had bizarrely filled themselves.

Suddenly, bang!

Something fell from the ceiling. It was the head of a doll they had seen earlier. The doll’s hair was sparse.

As he lowered his gaze, Sojun saw the cylindrical body attached right beneath the head, claw arms, and spider-like legs trailing below—a creepy-looking doll slowly approaching them, baring shark-like teeth.

Obviously, it wasn’t made correctly; that’s why it ended up like this.

“Ah, wow… I seriously hate that.”

Taewoo seemed to be in a panic.

『Run away!』

The goal this time was to escape. Did difficulty matter? Sojun immediately shot toward the entrance.

“My movement speed is restricted.”

As he tried to run, his feet wouldn’t lift. The max speed was reduced to baby steps.

– Whoa, whoa, whoa
– It looks terrifying
– Is it a chase scene? Whoa

Thud.

The door to the entrance was locked. Sojun headed back up the stairs again, scanning his surroundings.

“There’s an open hole over there.”

Sojun pointed out the conveyor belt entry on the wall, wide open and inviting them in.

“Hey, come this way.”

He called out to Taewoo, who was somehow sidestepping the doll. Sojun waited for Taewoo and entered the conveyor belt together.

“We can’t stop.”

Thunk, thunk, thunk, thunk!

The sound of something moving was distracting. Fortunately, the passage was too small for the doll to enter, though it was short. The conveyor belt they had seen above while solving the puzzles became their escape route.

“Keep going!”

Thunk, thunk, thunk!

A persistent sound echoed, and Taewoo looked back and shouted.

“Ahhh! It’s coming! Hey, it’s coming! It’s really coming!”

While moving forward, Sojun turned slightly to glance back. Just as he expected.

Behind them was a menacing doll closing the distance, laughing mockingly.

– Oh, I got startled
– This is so scary
– Whoa
– I freaked out

Thankfully, a passage to the next room appeared just before they got caught by the doll, and they ducked inside.

Thunk, thunk, thunk!

However, there was no time to relax. The unsettling sound of the doll moving echoed continuously.

Their judgment proved accurate.

“Maybe it can’t follow us here? Could we just stop and stay here?”

Thunk, thunk!

Sojun chuckled and gestured backward.

“I don’t think so. Just keep moving.”

“Argh!”

The doll, with its neck twisted at a 90-degree angle, was approaching them from within the passageway, completely crunched in.

This truly fits.

“The path is blocked ahead! What now? Argh!”

Taewoo pressed his palms against the wall and pushed with all his might, glancing back with wide eyes. He exerted more force as he saw the doll approaching.

Of course, the door wouldn’t open just from that.

– Hahaha
– His reactions are entertaining, hahaha
– His panic is pure comedy, hahaha
– In Taewoo’s view, it’s nothing but that doll, hahaha

That’s because what Taewoo was pushing wasn’t a door, but a wall.

“Turn left, dummy.”

The viewers loved seeing Taewoo in a state of panic where he couldn’t see anything clearly.

When Sojun abandoned Taewoo and took the left direction, Taewoo’s survival instinct kicked in, following Sojun.

After passing through the passage, they entered another room. The doll squeezed itself loose from the passage and started approaching them again at a rapid pace.

It was indeed a chase scene.

Thunk, thunk, thunk, thunk echoed as Sojun realized the doll’s speed was extremely fast. At this rate, it should have caught them already.

Taewoo checked behind again, puzzled.

“It disappeared?”

“Hey, look ahead.”

“Argh!”

The doll apparently had moved via the conveyor belt’s underside or the wall beside it, catching up with them and reappearing on the conveyor belt they were standing on.

The creature was behaving just as it had been, crawling the dark walls and leaving its mark.

Taewoo froze in place, his mouth agape, as the doll suddenly appeared in front of him. It was grinning grotesquely as it lunged at them.

Meanwhile, Sojun grabbed the nape of Taewoo’s neck, guiding him towards an opening below to the right.

– Haha, this is hilarious lol
– Streamer-nim flinches every time he makes eye contact with the doll, but one look at Taewoo and he’s relaxed
– How can someone be so scared hahaha
– Oh, this is good humor hahaha

Taewoo’s survival instincts worked well again. After Sojun guided him, he somehow managed not to lose balance and resumed running at a fast-walking pace.

Passing through another passage, they entered the next room, only to find another closed door before them.

This time, Taewoo was ahead and encountered a puzzle that required altering a trajectory.

But.

“This is my specialty.”

Under the pressure to solve the puzzle before the doll emerged from the narrow passage, Sojun knew there was a faster way.

– Oh, I wasn’t going to use it
– Streamer-nim says he won’t use it but whips it out in 30 minutes lol
– There he goes with a hack again hahaha
– If you’re mad, viewers should use it too

There was no need for Taewoo to act first. As long as Sojun reloaded, it was over.

They proceeded leisurely into the final passage, emerging into an indoor space as the chase seemed to end.

“Wow, Sojun, seriously, thank you. Really.”

Taewoo let his guard down, breathing a sigh of relief.

– Streamer-nim carried the whole game, lol
– Actually lol
– Helped out his scared friend
– Is this the end?
– Ugh, but that was really scary for real whoa

Certainly, the tension was high. The sound of footsteps reminding them of the chase, and the fear of turning back only to see the terrifying doll made a considerable impact on Taewoo. Every time he saw the doll, he screamed.

Is this the end? They wondered.

Then.

Thunk, thunk, thunk, thunk.

– What?
– ??
– Whoa, that’s not right?

“Oh, please no.”

Contrary to Taewoo’s hopes, the doll advanced rapidly from the passage they had come from, thrusting its face toward them.

* * *

They died.

They were reborn among the piled-up toys. Taewoo despaired at this fact.

“We have to do that again? I’m not doing it. I can’t do it. It’s terrifying.”

Meanwhile, Sojun thought back on what had gone wrong and realized. The passage doors should have been closed.

Probably the control panel or something. No matter.

In truth, he already knew this but didn’t close it initially because Taewoo was already so scared that they opted to do it again.

Sojun grinned wickedly and said, “Alright, let’s get it over with.”

“Sigh… Fine, let’s go. Ah, I seriously hate this.”

Once more, they approached the protagonist’s box to begin the chase again.

Bang!

The doll fell from above. Taewoo flinched slightly but now had the leisure to take a deep breath and walk carefully toward the conveyor belt.

However, when he turned his head, he saw his friend doing something peculiar.

“Sojun, what are you doing?”

Sojun was now facing the opposite direction, walking backward. In other words, he was facing the doll.

“Oh, viewers were too scared, so I’m trying to escape while keeping it in sight. Seems manageable at this speed.”

So, basically.

Did that mean he was going to face backward while fleeing?

“The route?”

“I memorized it.”

“And the gimmicks?”

“The same.”

Sojun flashed a relaxed grin.

“Why? Want to try?”

“Honestly… You’re crazy.”

* * *

Eventually.

– Is it possible to attempt backtracking after seeing experienced players do it? Yes, it is, hahaha
– Walking backward, lol!
– Why shoot nails when there’s no damage, haha
– Suddenly turned from horror to comedy lol
– Watching it all along like this… That doll might be cute?

Thunk, thunk, thunk, thunk!

“Taewoo, keep your eyes ahead.”

“I can’t do that!”

Cautiously.

“Arghhh!”

Taewoo became fixated on glancing back, overreacting and yelling without focus.

On the other hand, Sojun confidently walked backward, greeting the doll whenever they locked eyes and completing the gimmicks leisurely.

This exceptionally contrasting chase, dubbed “Newbie vs Experienced” with the game less than three hours post-launch, was shared across communities, becoming highly popular.