Chapter 103
CHAPTER 103
Chapter 103
Glance. Glance.
He looked around.
Freshmen who still retained their youthful enthusiasm despite having attended for a year walked past him.
Freshmen who had already lost their dreams and romantic notions about university life passed by as well.
And so did the upperclassmen who had thrown those dreams away long ago.
Students of all kinds.
And standing here now—
Jeon Jaehun, known in For the Sake of Chivalry as Number One Swordsman Under Heaven, was frowning for an entirely different reason.
He scanned his surroundings once more.
With the hood of his coat pulled over his head and a mask covering his face, he looked around cautiously.
Even he knew that his appearance alone looked suspicious.
But he didn’t care.
Korea University.
The most prestigious university in the country.
A monster lives here.
Not metaphorically.
Thinking that, Swordsman stepped into the crowd crossing the street as the signal changed and entered the campus.
To think I have to go through all this just because I skipped one day...
Waking up at six in the morning and exercising at the gym for an hour was undeniably a good habit.
Exercise itself was beneficial.
Morning exercise was even better.
It woke up the body and, once established as a routine, became a powerful force in itself.
So he couldn’t deny that it was good for him.
But people couldn’t spend their entire lives doing only things that were good for them.
If human beings were truly capable of living by doing only beneficial things, global fast-food franchises would have gone bankrupt long ago.
The gaming industry would have collapsed.
The restaurant industry would have reorganized itself entirely around healthy food.
Therefore!
The conclusion was simple:
Skipping the gym this morning was as natural and inevitable as the global success of the gaming industry.
Just endure it a little longer.
The One Whose Name Must Not Be Spoken was supposedly taking a leave of absence soon.
So he only needed to stay hidden for about a month.
If he avoided getting caught, he would be safe.
[No need to feel guilty.]
[Did something happen?]
[If you’re injured, make sure to rest.]
[Resting well is part of training too.]
Messages of concern had arrived from the older guys he had become friends with at the gym.
They believed he genuinely liked exercising.
But that wasn’t true.
Somehow he had simply reached the level where he enjoyed it.
Once he got there, he would naturally work out when he showed up.
That was entirely separate from wanting to go to the gym in the first place.
Though hearing encouragement like this does make me want to train legs again...
This was addiction.
Exercise released dopamine.
Exercise became addictive.
There was a reason gym maniacs existed.
The sense of accomplishment was powerful.
And because it often became a driving force behind success, it was incredibly addictive.
It was a substance essential to human survival.
Of course, even an addiction like that could be cured instantly by a single message he had received that morning.
[Jin Seo Jun: ?]
Just a question mark.
Nothing else.
That lone question mark was terrifying.
Yeah.
It was time to sever the master-disciple relationship.
The battlefield had ended successfully, after all.
Moving through the crowd, he continued scanning his surroundings.
He identified terrain features and the faces of people emerging from nearby buildings, ensuring he could hide himself at any moment.
Wild animals must live like this every second.
Now he understood why it was so difficult to feed squirrels and other wild creatures.
They always had to stay alert.
Someone might argue that a university campus was enormous and there was no reason to worry.
But nature was the same.
Even after surviving for years, a single lapse in judgment—or one mistake—could lead to death.
That was the fate of prey animals.
That was why they remained vigilant.
Then—
Tap. Tap.
Someone touched his shoulder.
He turned around.
And met eyes with a senior who was slightly taller than him and looked annoyingly smug.
Right.
This was exactly why he had been careful today.
But he never expected to actually run into him.
He should have just come to campus early.
Or started running away tomorrow instead.
“What are you doing?”
The wild.
It truly was difficult to survive in.
At that moment, he felt that fact deep in his bones.
“Ah... well... I caught a cold...”
“Oh. Is that why you’re wearing the mask too?”
“Huh? Ah, yes! Of course. Wouldn’t want to spread it to anyone.”
“Right. Then you’ll be all better by tomorrow, won’t you?”
To Swordsman, it sounded exactly like Seo Jun already knew everything and was graciously pretending to let it slide once.
Who recovers from a cold in a single day?
This was clearly a threat.
He nodded.
Once.
Twice.
Then faster and faster.
“Good. See you again tomorrow.”
“Yes, sir!”
And his instinct that Seo Jun had figured everything out—
Was correct.
Seo Jun smiled inwardly, told him to pay attention in class, and then left through the main gate.
Trying to sneak away, huh?
He entered a nearby restaurant.
It was already two in the afternoon, a little late for lunch.
But schedules didn’t always work out the way people wanted.
I’ll eat leisurely and then head to the meeting place.
Speaking of which...
Recently, he kept feeling eyes on him.
On campus.
In the university district.
People might call it paranoia or a delusion of grandeur.
But Seo Jun trusted his instincts.
And as it happened, he was right.
Posts like these occasionally appeared on the university community forum.
[Korea University's greatest success story. HeavenlyDemon14. ???]
— Another Demonic Cult follower...
— What’s that even supposed to mean?
— To think there are so many followers of the demonic path at Korea University. How tragic!
— I clicked the EyeTube link. Dude’s ridiculously handsome.
— Entrepreneurs? Investors? Developers from Korea University?
So what? Can they swing a sword better than the Heavenly Demon?
— These people are insane.
The interesting thing about posts like these was that they had very few comments compared to their view counts.
After all, For the Sake of Chivalry was still considered a niche fandom.
Even so, Seo Jun’s recognition within the university kept growing as more and more posts accumulated.
But since he had never used social media before becoming a streamer, he had no way of knowing.
“Hm?”
While scrolling through EyeTube during lunch, Seo Jun spotted Taewoo’s announcement.
That happened because he was subscribed.
Did he take a break too?
The notice read:
Because the weather is nice.
Because the weather isn't nice.
Because the weather is just right.
Today, I'll be taking a break from streaming.
— My first... murder.
It was Taewoo’s break announcement.
He had said he was going out earlier.
Maybe he was planning to come home late?
Thinking that he should ask what Taewoo planned to do for dinner after his meeting, Seo Jun naturally checked the comments.
— Taewoo, be careful walking home tonight. ㅋㅋㅋㅋ
— Holy crap ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
— Then what kind of weather would make you not take a break? I'm genuinely curious.
— When is this bastard going to find his original spirit again? He's always taking breaks.
— Did you not watch his early streams? He was constantly emergency-ending streams because of his mom, taking breaks, everything. Taewoo, never find your original spirit.
Very similar.
Extremely similar.
As expected.
Seo Jun felt reassured that he was on the right path.
Taewoo might be lacking in some areas, but he was undeniably a successful streamer.
A streamer who had continued growing steadily for seven years since the dawn of the capsule era.
Therefore—
I still have much to learn.
For a moment, Seo Jun felt his own shortcomings and burned with a desire to study harder.
...Or something like that.
Looking at this now, he finally understood how infuriating his own break announcements must have seemed from the viewers’ perspective.
[Today's stream? Ah... I left it behind in the new era!]
— Looks like you left your conscience there too.
[Hello, viewers. Is everyone having a good day? Unfortunately, my stomach hurts, so I don't think I'm having a good day. Which means you know what that means for today's stream, right?]
— ??? The audacity.
— It's illegal to raise sparrows. I'll report you so you can keep taking breaks forever.
— Infinite vacation. I'm jealous.
— If you give me your address, I'll send you probiotics. Come on, tell us.
[The sparrow I raise at home pecked through the capsule's internal network cables. Sorry.]
I should be more careful in the future.
It was a valuable lesson.
“Hello. I'm Park Hyuksoo from Monster Games.”
“Hello.”
“First, I'd like to ask for your understanding. Our CEO wanted to come personally, but with only three days left until the game's release, he's incredibly busy.”
“That's perfectly fine.”
There was nothing to understand or not understand.
Even if it was a small company, comparing the two options—
The CEO personally attending versus not attending—
Honestly, the latter seemed more natural.
“Yes, yes. Then... hmm. Shall we start the explanation once the other person arrives?”
About two minutes remained.
“Sounds good.”
Seo Jun took a long sip from the drink on the table.
Then two minutes passed.
The other person didn't show up.
Park Hyuksoo nervously tapped at his phone.
“Haha... it seems the other streamer will be a bit late. Something came up.”
“Really? How late?”
“About thirty minutes...”
“Hmm...”
That happened sometimes.
“Then could you at least tell me who the other person is now?”
Three days before release.
Seriously?
“If I don't like the partner, I really might not sign the contract. Seriously.”
“Don't worry! It's someone you know, Seo Jun!”
Hmm.
Maybe Alpaca?
Or perhaps one of the streamers he'd gotten acquainted with through For the Sake of Chivalry?
Ark had said he didn't really play these kinds of games himself.
A bad feeling crept up his spine.
“Wouldn't a surprise be better?”
Taewoo suddenly came to mind.
But if it really was that idiot—
That would mean Taewoo had gotten ready to leave the house first thing in the morning for a 4 p.m. meeting.
That alone was unbelievable.
And if he'd prepared that early only to be thirty minutes late?
Come on. No reasonable human being acts like that.
Using the bare minimum standards of common sense, Seo Jun ruled Taewoo out.
“Alright. Just don't blame me later. Explain the game first.”
“Yes, sir. As you saw in the email, our game's title is Two Heads are Better.”
Thanks to Han Jimin sorting through and summarizing countless games, Seo Jun already knew the general details of most of the titles that had arrived by email.
Still, since he had chosen this game, he needed a more detailed explanation from the developers themselves.
Two Heads are Better.
More precisely, it was a shortened version of the English proverb:
Two heads are better than one.
The Korean equivalent would be something like:
"Even a sheet of paper is lighter when carried together."
A perfect description of a co-op game's essence.
“The basic story begins when two friends developing a game get into a huge fight and halt development. Then magical powers throw both of them into the unfinished game world.”
Developers.
At that point, Seo Jun finally asked the question he'd been wanting to ask.
“Is this about fifty percent based on personal experience?”
“...I can't say there wasn't a little personal bias involved. Haha. Anyway, the progression is pretty standard.”
You cooperate.
Solve puzzles.
Advance together.
The essence of co-op gaming.
And in games like these, if your partner isn't smart or physically skilled, you usually end up grinding your teeth in frustration.
Then—
Jingle.
The café's glass door opened, and a bell rang.
“Sorry I'm late...”
Seo Jun looked up.
Saw who it was.
Then nodded with a warm smile.
Oh.
It's actually Taewoo.
“I won't do it.”
He reached a conclusion instantly.
“H-Huh?”
Let me say this again.
To keep a co-op game from becoming frustrating, your partner needs to possess at least a certain minimum level of intelligence and skill.
I will say no more.