Chapter 116

CHAPTER 116

With a clunk, the conveyor belt that had risen locked into place.

Anyone could tell the stage had been cleared.

Seeing this, Seo Jun said only one thing.

“As expected, you don't actually need two people. What a god-tier game.”

• Why does that make it a god-tier game? LMAOOOO
• The game has freedom of choice lololololol
• On the level of Dawn of the Assassins lol
• This lunatic. He's seriously insane hahaha
• This is supposed to be co-op?

“Let's head to the next room.”

Ignoring Tae Woo, Seo Jun walked toward the door.

Screams were still coming from inside, and he was honestly curious what was going on in there.

The atmosphere was definitely creepy, like something could jump out at any moment, but it shouldn't have been that bad.

I'll check after we're done.

Reading the chat, Seo Jun spoke.

“Yeah, let's leave him behind.”

He didn't bother specifying who was being left behind.

• He got abandoned lololol
• Tae Woo, just keep screaming and solving puzzles
• Nobody go over there and tell him
• United front, boys

As he approached the door, he found the control panel exactly where he'd expected.

• Wait, seriously?
• Kiiiiiiiii, he's really planning to solo the next room too?

Perhaps because it had spun through the air before, the nail had lodged itself at an angle.

To be fair, even when fired normally, nails didn't travel in a perfectly straight line.

Still, this one was ridiculously slanted, almost flush against the wall.

“I can't help this part. The difficulty is honestly much higher than I expected.”

As he entered the next room, another bridge lowered.

Seo Jun pulled out two nails from his waist.

One went into the nail gun.

The other he held between his fingers.

After taking a brief breath and focusing his mind, he threw the nail and raised the nail gun.

Pew!

This time, just like before, the door was on the left side.

Normally, Tae Woo's wind ability would have been used to gently curve the nail's trajectory until it struck the target.

Instead—

The nail Seo Jun threw flew straight along the wall beside it, hugging the surface so closely it barely seemed possible.

Just as it passed the wall—

The second nail, fired from behind, struck it.

Bang!

Like a traffic collision, the impact sent the first nail ricocheting away.

Its angle corrected.

And once again, it buried itself perfectly into the control panel.

The panel was hidden from view, but he could tell.

Click.

With a low mechanical hum, the bridge rose.

• Ah! Cooperation between nail and nail!!
• Hahahahaha maybe it really is a co-op game
• Co-op between the left hand and the right hand!

“This is actually pretty fun.”

The entire sequence—hitting a nail mid-flight to alter its trajectory—was incredibly difficult.

Seo Jun was confident that even the notoriously difficult parries in Dawn of the Assassins could be performed blindfolded once he recognized the opening movement.

But this?

This was different.

Every moment demanded complete concentration.

The feeling of throwing the nail from his fingers.

Aiming the nail gun.

Pulling the trigger.

Every step required total focus.

With this level of difficulty...

And this level of usefulness...

“Everyone, this is a secret throwing-weapon technique of the Tang Clan, so please keep it confidential.”

The Tang Clan would definitely come drooling to learn it.

Or maybe not.

• Did the Tang Clan even have nail guns?
• Just how bankrupt is the Tang Clan if they're using nails as weapons? 
• Tang So... he was actually the protagonist struggling to save a ruined clan!
• Even serving the Heavenly Demon of the Demonic Cult just to revive his fallen family LMAOOOOOO

If Tang So saw this broadcast, he'd probably send a message saying:

"Who exactly did you hear was serving someone?!"

Or maybe not.

Anyway, Seo Jun suddenly wanted to keep trying it.

To him, high difficulty and fun were practically synonymous.

There was a reason he'd always picked bizarre traits in For Chivalry.

Of course, if you asked him directly, he'd vehemently deny it and insist that the Heavenly Demon Divine Art and his Absorbing Star Technique build were perfectly normal.

Seo Jun entered the next room.

He threw a nail.

Then fired the nail gun.

And then the room after that.

By the time he had passed through four rooms in total, a place that could actually be called a proper indoor area finally appeared.

Only then did his concentration break.

Looking at the chat, Seo Jun swallowed hard.

• Tae Woo is STILL solving the puzzle lololololol
• Ah, we skipped the story.

Ah, right.

• The sponsor is crying right now LMAOOOO
• They carefully designed all those puzzles and this guy is bypassing everything lololololol
• He turned the horror atmosphere into a comedy show

Meanwhile, Tae Woo...

“Jeez. I wasn't scared because I thought something would jump out. I'm just a cautious person, okay? Anyway, let's get out of here now. I wonder if that bastard Seo Jun solved his puzzle before me. Since he hasn't shown up here, I probably finished first. I'll head to his room and mess with him a bit— huh?”

Rattle.

Rattle, rattle.

“Huh? Why won't it open? Wait, was the door closed to begin with? Ah, what the hell?”

Twisting the doorknob, Tae Woo frowned in confusion.

The moment Seo Jun destroyed the stage's control panel, the bridge rose.

At the same time, the entrances to the adjacent rooms shut.

Most viewers were watching both streams, so they easily figured this out.

Tae Woo, however, had no clue.

How could he know when the viewers were actively working together to hide it?

“Why are you laughing? Why are you all laughing?!”

• Because you're trapped.

“Seo Jun? Hey! Are you outside right now? Did you close this door?”

It was surprisingly close to the truth.

“Stop messing around, Seo Jun.”

This was scary.

• That's what happens when you keep copying and pasting the same map layout
• If they were paying for advertising, they should've made it impossible to figure out
• This one's definitely the developer's fault
• They should be able to endure this much, right?
• Maybe they already knew and just let it happen lol

“Hmm...”

“...”

Han Seung-cheol, assistant manager at Stream Korea.

His job was selecting indie games worthy of development funding and helping developers overcome obstacles during production.

In simple terms, he controlled the money.

And in front of game studios, that naturally placed him in the superior position.

Yet right now, he was carefully watching Representative Lee of Monster.

Not because he was the sort to throw his weight around.

In fact, Han was usually considerate and mindful of others.

But the caution he felt today was of a different nature.

Currently, the two were sitting in a private dining room, quietly watching the sponsored stream while discussing the game.

However, from the moment Seo Jun started his unexpected antics, the atmosphere had noticeably cooled.

“...”

Han considered the situation.

The puzzles.

The world.

The countless ideas and concerns that developers wanted players to see and experience.

What would it feel like to watch all of that get skipped through a single unconventional solution?

Though... maybe "unconventional" isn't the right word.

An unconventional shortcut was, by definition, an easy and convenient method.

But watching someone throw a nail first...

Then shoot another nail to strike it midair and alter its trajectory...

Could that really be called easy or convenient?

Han wasn't so sure.

There was no need to wonder.

Who on earth would even do something like that?

Even from Monster's perspective, it was such a ridiculous method that there was no need to patch it. It was something only Seo Jun could pull off.

As expected of the man who had led the weak yet devious Demonic Cult to victory time and time again.

One couldn't help but acknowledge his skill.

So no, it wasn't an exploit.

And since Seo Jun was going back and progressing through the game normally afterward, Han didn't think it was really a problem.

At most, it was a funny incident.

[You can restart from any stage checkpoint for the players' convenience! Isn't. This. A. Real. God-Tier. Game? Amazing!]

• Hyung, stop with the awkward acting lolololol
• Even the way he talks changes hahaha
• Cynical → Clown
• Watching the streamer act just now made me realize something. The natural trash-talking he did as the Heavenly Demon was definitely his true personality.

The situation itself was so funny that it might actually be a positive.

However—

Representative Lee remained silent.

That was why Assistant Manager Han kept watching him carefully.

Did he feel betrayed by the Heavenly Demon of the Demonic Cult he had trusted?

At this point, perhaps converting to a prestigious orthodox sect would be a better choice.

Representative Lee was staring down at the floor.

Han didn't even consider the possibility that the man was genuinely upset or heartbroken.

Creators had their own unique kinds of suffering.

It wasn't something he could understand.

“Are you alright?”

“Of course I am.”

Representative Lee raised his head and answered.

Wait.

He was smiling.

“HAHAHAHA! We really made the right choice inviting him!”

“Y-You did?”

“Yes. The whole reason I invited him was because I fell for exactly this kind of thing. Though I certainly never expected our game to have a loophole like that. Still, I kept thinking, No way, surely not... and then he actually destroyed the control panel using that method.”

Was that how it was?

Well, if he was happy, that was a relief.

“Though seeing it happen in person is honestly absurd. Hahaha.”

“His skill is definitely incredible.”

Why did he have to join the Demonic Cult of all places?

Damn.

He hadn't even participated in the battlefield for years because he lacked the time, yet his thoughts kept drifting there.

That was what happened when he constantly monitored gaming communities.

He ended up knowing all the latest battlefield developments.

“Do you think it's only skill? Personally, I think Streamer Heavenly Demon had another reason for acting so unexpectedly.”

“Huh?”

“Take a look at this.”

Representative Lee handed him his phone.

Ah.

So that was what he'd been looking at the whole time.

The website displayed on the screen was Nohyup.

Among the countless posts, several immediately made Han understand why Lee had been staring at his phone.

[LOL WHAT IS THIS]

[Clip of the Heavenly Demon doing Heavenly Demon things]

[Guys, I told you to call him the Sword God]

[Tang Clan, is this actually possible?]

[The Heavenly Demon remains consistent even in an action-adventure horror game]

Representative Lee spoke.

“That kind of play is exactly what makes that streamer unique. And that sort of thing naturally gets talked about in communities. Right?”

“That's true.”

“If that's the case, the viewers watching For Chivalry will obviously start making posts. Then community users who see those posts will become interested and come watch the stream, right?”

“I suppose so.”

The viewer count was already visibly climbing.

Seo Jun had started with nineteen thousand viewers.

When they first checked, it was twenty-one thousand.

Now another thousand had joined.

Twenty-four thousand.

“In that case, the final chase sequence that's coming up soon will happen with the largest audience possible.”

If the section they'd put the most effort into was broadcast during the peak viewer count...

Then regardless of whether Streamer Seo Jun knew it or not, the situation was undeniably excellent for them.

“That's...!”

“Streamer Heavenly Demon is extremely intelligent and calculating. Think about it.”

Lee was referring to the battlefield.

But Assistant Manager Han suddenly remembered something else.

Come to think of it...

There had been that incident before.

The one where Seo Jun had intentionally revealed the training ground rankings exactly during an advertisement timing.

Back then.

And now.

Was every single action carefully planned?

Really?

Goosebumps spread across Han's entire body.

• So you're saying it's possible!
• But seriously, he's insanely smart. Solving those puzzles so fast.

[Oh, this puzzle is solved like this. It's. So. Well. Designed. What? You can just rub your left and right hands together and fire nails? Please be quiet. I don't know anything about that, so I can't do it.]

• Can't do it.

Indeed.

When people saw him casually throwing out ridiculous, shameless lines that were perfectly optimized for streaming, they said he had instinct.

But there were only two ways someone could possess that kind of instinct.

Either they were naturally shameless and born to be a streamer...

Or they had analyzed streaming with an exceptionally clever mind and deliberately created such a persona.

If it was the latter...

Then even that outrageous and infuriating personality he displayed on stream had been part of the design.

And honestly, that seemed more likely.

How could a person naturally be that shameless?

Meanwhile, Seo Jun continued solving puzzles effortlessly.

He would glance over the structure once, immediately understand it, and clear it with ease.

It was impressive.

And Han's suspicions gradually turned into certainty.

“It looks like we're nearing the end.”

“Seems so. Representative Lee, didn't you estimate that from entering Chapter 1 to reaching the boss fight—or rather, the chase sequence—the average playtime would be about an hour?”

“Yes. But he got there in thirty minutes.”

The two watched as Seo Jun entered the final chapter.

At that moment, Representative Lee remembered their earlier conversation and offered Han some advice that would truly stick with him.

“Assistant Manager. About that partner streamer program you mentioned earlier.”

“Yes?”

“If it goes through, and you ever get a chance to sign that streamer, do it as quickly as possible.”

“...Why? Because we can't let competitors steal him?”

“No.”

Representative Lee shook his head firmly.

“Because it's cheaper that way.”

“Huh? Isn't his value inflated right now? Wouldn't it be better to wait a bit before making an offer? The contract would probably be renewed yearly anyway...”

Wouldn't it be a loss to sign someone already pulling over twenty thousand viewers?

Apparently, Representative Lee disagreed.

“In that case, you should buy him out immediately.”

Buy him out?

Han had no idea that Monster had spent years watching Seo Jun's viewership multiply again and again while repeatedly regretting:

We should've signed him back then.

So all he could do was stare in confusion.

“Buy now. Right now.”

This is the cheapest he'll ever be.

Faced with the sincere advice and experienced gaze of a man speaking from personal regret, Assistant Manager Han could only nod reflexively.