Chapter 126

CHAPTER 126

At first, Wind Sword didn't play Kael.

He simply wasn't interested.

Then one day, a low-quality video happened to appear in his algorithm recommendations.

The upload date was from before he had even started playing the game.

Curious, he clicked on it.

The quality was terrible, so he skipped through most of it.

Then, by pure chance, he caught a brief glimpse of a Kael player swinging a sword.

It was Kael.

And he was destroying weak points so quickly that it seemed as though there wasn't even a moment of delay to identify them.

Wind Sword couldn't help but wonder:

Is that even possible?

Before the rework, Kael didn't need to destroy weak points immediately.

As long as the buff was maintained, there was plenty of room to take things slowly.

Wouldn't the weak points still generate the same way?

Of course, nobody knew the pattern.

There was no way to tell whether the old version and the current version worked the same.

Whenever he asked around, the only response he got was:

"Maybe they're different."

So he decided to investigate personally.

If the weak points were truly the same, then he wanted to know how that person had done it.

That led him to searching for more videos.

Then to playing and researching Kael.

And before he knew it, he had become a master of the character.

Completely unintentionally.

Somewhere along the way, he apparently became the first player to perform a double-ultimate combo in the game.

After becoming a Kael specialist, every time he played Kael his rank dropped from Challenger back down to Master.

But strangely, he wasn't upset about it.

Anyway, after finally meeting the owner of those ancient videos, he had been excited.

As a fan, there were so many things he wanted to talk about.

Yet now—

Wind Sword opened Travel.

Seo Jun's stream was displayed before him.

The chat was flying by.

—If he didn't understand it, they're both getting exposed.

—This is an act, isn't it? lol

—He obviously got private lessons beforehand.

—Oh damn.

None of that was true.

Wind Sword genuinely didn't understand.

He felt like he understood the words.

But how exactly was he supposed to identify "the middle"?

He could practically expose yesterday's Travel messages if necessary.

[Jin Seojun: Just agree with whatever I ask. Don't worry about it.]

[Wind Sword: Okay.]

[Jin Seojun: Ah. And tomorrow, just say you understand.]

[Wind Sword: ...What?]

Seo Jun asked again.

"You understand, right?"

His voice was overflowing with mischief.

Wind Sword had no choice but to answer.

"...Yes."

Whatever happened, happened.

"So there you have it. My lecture isn't a scam, everyone."

—Then prove it.

—That's really all there is to it?

—Tell us more.

—Otherwise it's a scam.

"That's all. Why would I hide anything? And that alone is enough. Now, watch."

Seo Jun adjusted the settings.

The relationship between himself and Wind Sword was switched to hostile.

Wind Sword stared despairingly at the weak points drawn across Seo Jun's body.

"Can't we use a dummy?"

For some reason, he had a pretty good idea of where this was going.

"Nope. Fight me directly. It's better to do it in a real combat situation."

A real combat situation.

Normally those words sounded intense enough already.

But hearing them from Seo Jun right now felt oddly unsettling.

Wind Sword stared at him suspiciously.

We're not close enough for me to start hitting him, are we?

Apparently the viewers felt the same.

Seeing their reactions, Seo Jun shook his head.

"Everyone, I'm only going to defend. What kind of person do you think I am?"

—So you were planning to beat him up lol.

—Of course the streamer would never change.

—Don't understand? Then he'll beat you until you do.

—Ah, so this is education!

—Oh?

—??

—He's actually holding back?

—The best defense is offense, right? That's what you mean, hyung?

Just as the viewers didn't believe him, Wind Sword also stared ahead with distrust.

Meanwhile, Seo Jun simply stood there calmly with his sword held vertically before him, waiting for an attack.

...Sigh.

Well.

He probably had some kind of plan.

Surely he wasn't just going to parry everything and humiliate him.

Right?

Wind Sword raised his sword.

Whoosh!

He immediately attempted to exploit an opening.

Of course, Seo Jun wasn't the type to lower his guard.

Clang!

And yet Wind Sword managed to break through Seo Jun's defense and slash the horizontally positioned weak point.

Seo Jun had obviously held back on purpose.

At that moment, Wind Sword realized:

He really does have something in mind.

As he slowly walked toward Seo Jun, he suddenly accelerated.

"Why didn't you immediately chain the next attack?"

"Well..."

—Because he doesn't know lol.

—He really doesn't know, huh?

—Stop forcing it.

The viewers answered for him.

"Go again. Think carefully about the middle."

"Understood."

Once again, Seo Jun's defense gave way easily.

Just before the next weak point appeared with a sharp burst—

Wind Sword pushed his brain to its absolute limit, trying to predict where it would appear.

It felt as though his forehead was turning to stone.

Medium difficulty. Medium difficulty. Medium difficulty.

Predicting and cutting it this time was impossible.

Not even close.

But he needed to force himself to think.

To gain even the slightest hint.

It was the impatience of someone desperately seeking a clue.

It wasn't because of Seo Jun's stream.

It wasn't because of public opinion.

He simply wanted to know.

If this was his chance—

If there really was a method—

He didn't want to miss it.

Naturally, he failed.

Not only couldn't he predict it, he couldn't even grasp the edge of a clue.

But then—

At the exact point where his sword had naturally stopped—

A new weak point appeared.

What?

A coincidence?

No.

That couldn't be right.

He attacked again.

Seo Jun defended.

Once again, Wind Sword easily brushed aside the defense and destroyed the weak point.

And then—

His thoughts froze after breaking it.

As a result, his sword naturally stopped.

Again?

Once more, a new weak point appeared exactly where the tip of his sword had naturally come to rest.

The viewers sensed that something had changed.

—What's going on?

—Why is his sword already positioned where the weak point appears?

—Judging by Wind Sword's expression, the streamer is definitely doing something.

—Anyone remember Blunt Sword? lol

Seo Jun spoke.

"Imagine a funnel with a hole so small that only one marble can pass through at a time. If you try to shove a bunch of marbles into it all at once, what do you think happens?"

A funnel?

Marbles?

What did that have to do with anything?

"It'll probably get clogged. If you're lucky, maybe some will get through."

"And if it's clogged, can you force the marbles through by pushing harder?"

"Hmm. No. You'd have to gently shake it or scoop some back out and let them flow through little by little."

A mental image formed in Wind Sword's mind.

Marbles piled up above the hole, blocking one another and reaching a balance where none of them could fall.

"Exactly. Enlightenment is the same. The more obsessed you become, the more blocked you get. Let it flow, and the blockage clears itself."

"Enlightenment?"

"Relax."

The playful look in Seo Jun's eyes changed instantly.

It lasted only a moment before returning to normal.

So briefly that Wind Sword almost thought he imagined it.

Yet in that instant, he felt an unfathomable depth from Seo Jun.

"Understood. I'll try again."

—Since he's talking about enlightenment, I guess he's seriously teaching him.

—I think that's just the only way he can teach something like this.

—Well, it's not like some random streamer would know the actual formula.

—If Wind Sword really figures it out, I'll lose my mind.

—As if that's gonna happen lol.

Wind Sword emptied his mind.

Or at least tried to.

He moved according to the flow of his opponent's sword.

As they exchanged strikes again and again, he realized something.

What he had thought was Seo Jun lightly blocking his attacks...

...was actually controlling everything.

His attacks.

His footwork.

Every single step he took.

Yet he did not resist that control.

Instead, he calmly attacked each newly appearing weak point.

It wasn't like he could die anyway.

No matter how many times he got hit, his HP would stop at one in the Practice Room.

He still couldn't predict the weak points.

But as more of them were destroyed...

As Seo Jun guided his sword into specific positions...

As his movements were gradually shaped...

As he observed the resulting patterns...

Something inside him began to loosen.

All of his past experiences.

Everything he was experiencing now.

The designer's intention.

They intertwined inside his mind and reorganized themselves into something new.

He couldn't explain it.

But he felt like he understood something.

Then suddenly—

Seo Jun stopped moving and spread his arms.

And Wind Sword's concentration, pushed to its limit, did not stop.

Even without Seo Jun's guidance.

For the first time—

He moved before a weak point appeared.

The first weak point.

A gently sloping diagonal line from left to right.

He cut through it.

Then—

Slash!

The weak point appeared and was cut at virtually the same moment.

Wind Sword's concentration broke with a snap.

The second weak point.

He immediately recovered his sword and thrust one hand-span above the end of the diagonal.

The third weak point.

"Line."

The word escaped his mouth naturally.

It wasn't something he consciously intended to say.

—?

—???

—HOLY SHIT.

—What was that?

—?

—He predicted it before it appeared, didn't he?

—That's actually possible?

"Huh? Huh?"

Standing there with his arms spread, Seo Jun smiled in satisfaction.

Lucky.

He had expected Wind Sword to get a feel for it eventually.

But entering something close to a state of complete absorption this quickly?

If this hadn't worked, I was just going to keep hammering it into him until it did.

And "hammering it in" didn't really require further explanation.

"Congratulations. You've got the feel for it."

"You mean... what just happened?"

"Yep."

"If you asked me to do that again, I don't think I could."

"Well, you found a clue, didn't you? Congratulations. Don't let go of it."

For a moment, Wind Sword flinched.

It felt as though Seo Jun had read his mind.

Then he looked at Seo Jun with deeply moved eyes.

To think something like this was possible!

—What did you do this time, streamer?!

—So the real lesson requires private tutoring lol.

—A professor who's stronger in practical training than theory.

—Even if they planned this together, it's still insane.

—Did he just guide someone to enlightenment like a martial arts master? That's actually possible?

Now even the viewers had no choice but to acknowledge it.

They knew Seo Jun's explanations were difficult to understand.

They knew it wasn't entirely his fault.

But if nobody could understand him, then what was the point?

Some people still suspected it was a scam.

Yet Seo Jun had just demonstrated it directly by teaching someone else.

—Streamer lol. You could make a fortune running private lessons for Kael addicts.

—That's it.

—That was your plan all along!

Naturally, the Kael forum exploded.

"Now then, let's try a real fight."

Seo Jun rolled his shoulders and neck while smiling wickedly.

He shook out his arms and stretched as though preparing to move seriously.

Now that everything was basically over...

...he was warming up.

"What exactly are you planning to do...?"

"After-sales service."

That definitely wasn't what it sounded like.

"Wasn't this already over?"

"You're still lacking."

Though probably not in the way he meant.

Wind Sword's emotional expression quickly turned into one of alarm.

His instincts were probably right.

Seo Jun was the type who always paid back what he received.

Even if he was the one who had arranged the situation himself.

"And you're still calling that a B rank?"

The Rios Operations Team was holding an unexpected meeting.

"He's gone beyond predicting weak points. Now he's teaching other people how to do it. How is that B rank?"

A woman sitting across the conference table spoke sharply.

The subject of discussion was a streamer who had once again done something ordinary people couldn't even imagine.

"Watching him teach a Challenger should've answered that question already."

The man across from her didn't even blink.

"Current Master."

"What?"

"Wind Sword is currently Master, not Challenger."

"That's only because he keeps playing Kael! His actual skill level is Challenger."

"Even so."

"Jin Seojun doesn't even have a rank! No rank at all! And you want to put him in Group A with Challengers and Grandmasters? That's ridiculous."

"He was the best player in Chivalry for the Cause. What guarantee do we have that he isn't the best in League as well?"

"Those are completely different games. And what happens if Kael gets banned? What hero can he even play?"

"Probably anything."

"Group B is appropriate. Somewhere between Master and Diamond."

"Group A. No room for debate."

Rios assigned skill grades to participants.

The purpose wasn't to discriminate.

Rather, it prevented teams from drafting more than two participants from the same skill tier during the auction.

That way, team strength remained relatively balanced.

In the past, participants had been grouped by position.

But the current system created far more chaos and entertainment during auctions, so it had become the standard.

At the moment, they were determining the ratings of the streamers who had accepted invitations.

This process had to be completed before they could select and distribute the remaining applicant slots.

Unfortunately, the meeting had started off on the wrong foot from the very beginning.