Chapter 16

"Alright, alright, back to talking about the game. Mr. Seojun. How on earth did you do that?"

Alpaca turned toward Seojun with a serious expression.

"I really need to know. What exactly did you see, and how did you see it? Honestly, everyone watching agrees too, right?"

Isn't this hacks?If it turns out there's actually some other exploit or system that lets him see it, this'll feel so empty.I'm telling you, he's an alien lol.

Seojun shook his head at the chat messages and denied it.

"Everyone, I'm not an alien. And it's not hacks either. Honestly, I'm not actually seeing the lines."

"Then what is it?"

Alpaca asked with genuine curiosity.

Seojun made an absurdly serious expression.

"I just know. Because I'm a genius."

In contrast, Alpaca completely failed to keep a straight face and stared at him in disbelief.

Damn, he's so annoying lmfao.Honestly, at this point he really is a genius though.Look at Alpaca's face LMAOOOO.

Alpaca twitched his lips before letting out a hollow laugh and grinning mischievously.

"How miserable would life be if you weren't a genius? Seriously though, tell us properly. Otherwise, I'm going to think it's hacks too."

After virtual reality became widespread, the very first thing to disappear was hacking.

The reason was the gap in technological capability.

Surface, the giant corporation that had effectively monopolized the virtual reality market.

They were the company that introduced and spread virtual reality to the world using technology no one else could rival.

The gap was so overwhelming that even other major corporations struggled just to hack the capsules themselves.

On top of that, if something went wrong in virtual reality, lives could literally be at risk.

That was why external programs were managed especially strictly by Surface.

So when Alpaca mentioned hacks, it was basically complete nonsense.

Seojun knew Surface very well too.

"But honestly, wouldn't making hacks be even more impressive than seeing the lines? Surface would probably recruit you immediately."

Seojun proudly puffed out his chest.

Come to think of it, true.Seriously, if someone could make VR hacks, why would they even stream? I heard Surface's treatment and talent obsession are insane.Other companies trying to break into VR would probably try to recruit them too.

"Huh? That's true actually. Why didn't I think of that?"

Instantly convinced, Alpaca unconsciously nodded and burst out laughing.

"Well, what I said earlier was a joke."

"Which part? Surface? Or genius?"

"The part about just knowing. But it's half joke and half true."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"There really isn't a better explanation than 'I just know.'"

The chat immediately flooded with hook and gaslighting comments.

Seojun waved his hand.

"Haha, calm down everyone. It's not like I have some special ability or anything. I just thought about where the developers would've hidden it."

If it was something special, then it really was special.

After all, it was intuition that only Seojun could possess because of the experience accumulated from his previous life.

But there was no need to explain that much.

'Not that anyone would believe the reincarnation stuff in the first place.'

That was why he thought it'd be fine even if he revealed it.

Still—

'It'd probably need a little editing…'

At that moment, Alpaca suddenly shouted as if he'd realized something, snapping Seojun out of his thoughts.

"Whoa! No way. So basically… you read the developers' intentions? Just from seeing two examples?"

Seojun nodded.

Alpaca had hit the nail on the head.

"Wow, you're seriously an unbelievable genius! Though honestly, hearing that just makes it even more suspicious somehow… hmm."

Alpaca rubbed his chin and looked at him suspiciously.

Isn't there anyone else who can see them?If he can really just figure it out, then is he actually a genius? Is that it?How does someone even know stuff like that? Isn't that cheating?

"Exactly. It feels like you live in a completely different world. So you can probably find the others easily too?"

"Yeah. But…"

"Why?"

"Originally, parrying is a system meant to help players deal with normal mobs more easily, right?"

"That's right. It's basically a system the devs added so players can mow enemies down."

"But this 'line' system is harder than parrying, and even if you succeed, all it does is destroy the weapon. There's no extra damage or anything."

Oh, that's actually sharp.But what's the point? Only you can use it and we can't lol.We can barely even parry~

Alpaca clapped his hands.

"Oh? You're right. I see! The man who pioneered Drake's hidden route. Looks like you've got talent for games too."

"Thanks for the compliment. Anyway, I think this line system is something designed specifically for boss fights."

"That could be true. The bosses have definitely been way too difficult. Especially Drake… ah. Right."

A shadow fell over Alpaca's face. He pressed the bridge of his nose and sighed.

He's worried about the endurance stream.Bro got PTSD before the endurance stream even started LMAOOOO.

Seojun patted Alpaca on the shoulder and said,

"I think this line system exists for boss battles. So I'm planning to challenge the remaining two using the Ruler's Equipment."

LET'S GOOOOOO.The underdog bettors are suddenly crying.No, you can't do that.Let's safely find the other ones first before fighting the Ruler.

"Come on. It's obvious this system was made for the Ruler, alright? Just trust me."

Seojun thumped his chest confidently.

['TrustingYouBro' donated 10,000 won!]

[No, I get it already, but at least destroy those minion weapons first and solve the point prediction before challenging it lol.]

Honestly, if the payout multiplier is x100, anyone would lose their mind.Fact) Most of the people who bet on the 1% didn't do it because they trusted him.If this is happening, do I actually have hope for betting he'll find the other two???

Seojun's eyes gleamed as he looked at the chat.

"Hmm. Judging from what everyone's saying, it doesn't really sound like you trust me. Guess we'll have to confirm the facts then. Alpaca?"

Seojun called out to Alpaca.

"Yes?"

"Let's open another prediction."

Betting never lies.

Alpaca immediately caught on to what Seojun wanted and started operating the prediction system.

[Prediction]

[Will Seojun be able to destroy the Ruler's Equipment during today's stream~]

[Yes]

VS

[No]

Ahh, he's looking out for us again.Good thing I didn't bet everything earlier.I lost it all, so I just bet the 150 points I farmed while watching lol.

Alpaca and Seojun waited for people to place their bets.

And then—

After some time, the results came in.

"Oh! The favored and underdog odds flipped around. In chat everyone was talking like Mr. Seojun wouldn't find it, so what's with this result?"

Alpaca exaggerated dramatically as he started teasing the viewers.

[Yes 80%]

[No 20%]

Ahahaha, when points are on the line people become honest.That only pays a quarter return even if you win. Meanwhile someone else got x100.Seriously, the people who bet on the 1% at the start are insanely lucky.I was one of the people who bet he wouldn't find even one. This time I bet on "Yes," and if he fails, I'm coming after him.

As expected.

"I knew this would happen."

Alpaca nodded beside him.

[Did you seriously bet "No" just because you wanted to recover your losses?]

Another donation message appeared.

Seriously, never touch stocks in your life.

Seojun and Alpaca deeply agreed and prayed that the viewer who donated would never touch stocks.

Anyway.

'Looks like this collab stream was a success.'

It seemed he had firmly imprinted his skill onto the viewers.

"Alright then, Mr. Seojun. Shall we go hunt the Ruler?"

米米米

Richard Neville.

He was the leader of the Royalist Faction and ruler of the northeastern edge, meditating in full plate armor at the center of a vast gray training ground that resembled a battlefield.

His title was the Knight King.

He wielded an enormous greatsword, and his body itself towered over two meters tall.

To kill Drake, players had to avoid the eyes of dozens of organization members, locate Drake, and assassinate him.

Richard Neville was the complete opposite.

He simply stayed in one place quietly meditating.

There were two ways to defeat him.

One was to obtain a special weapon and snipe him.

The other was to kill his son, Louis Neville, then exploit the single moment Richard's composure collapsed upon hearing the news.

Of course, both methods were difficult.

The former because obtaining the item was absurdly hard.

The latter because if the timing was even slightly off, the Knight King would immediately counterattack.

And if someone chose to brute-force him?

His flawless defense utilizing heavy armor made dealing even a single point of damage nearly impossible, and most players simply ended up split in half by his greatsword.

Of course, none of that applied to the person currently fighting in front of Alpaca.

'Um… do you happen to know anything about Richard Neville?'

'No?'

Alpaca recalled the conversation they'd had while coming here earlier.

'Thought so. Hmm… when fighting Richard, you need to be careful of the greatsword. It's slower than other weapons, but it has combo chains, so it's better if you watch it once—'

'Ah, it's fine.'

'…What?'

'I said it's fine. I'll just dodge after seeing it. Simple.'

Tsk.

Who exactly was worrying about whom here?

Fwoooosh!

Fwoooosh!

Richard's greatsword sliced through the air from left to right, then once again from right to left, creating violent gusts.

But Seojun calmly traced along the greatsword's lines, lightly placing his own blade against its trajectory as though brushing paint onto it.

Looking at how relaxed he was, it genuinely seemed impossible for him to ever get hit by the greatsword.

"Looks like you can't find it?"

Alpaca shouted loudly after Seojun's repeated failures.

They were standing a fair distance apart.

"Yeah."

"One of the viewers told me Richard's weapon is supposedly forged from a special material according to the lore. Maybe it's not that you can't find the line… maybe it just doesn't exist."

"Ah, really?"

Look at this guy.

Just look at him.

He casually twisted his body and lightly dodged the greatsword.

Seojun was clearly looking at Alpaca while talking.

And yet, despite obviously not having eyes on the back of his head, he simply tilted his body and ducked to avoid attacks coming from behind.

Then he even had the leisure to check the floating chat window in midair.

YESSSSS lmfao failure arc incoming?This is why arrogance is bad.Damn it, I'm about to lose everything. Anonymous guy better watch his back tonight.

"Ah… what should we do? Looks like the Ruler doesn't have any lines."

Seojun was smiling.

And he looked completely unconcerned.

The only ones panicking were the viewers.

Especially the ones who had originally bet on the absurd underdog odds.

Time to educate the underdog gamblers!I don't care if I lose my second bet too, please just fail!

The rest were in a festive mood.

The second prediction had far fewer points wagered compared to the first.

Most people didn't even care if they lost a little anymore.

They just didn't want others winning a hundredfold payout.

Because the jealousy hurt too much.

But then—

Seojun's sword suddenly began to dance.

He stabbed Richard's wrist with his blade and sliced along the line he had found. Then to the upper body. Then as the sword came down again, to the lower body.

Slaaaash!

Slaaaash!

The heavy armor Richard Neville prided himself on began splitting apart entirely.

Only the weapon itself had been special.

Seojun had already realized it from the subtle difference in texture after clashing against it several times.

"Oops. Looks like I misunderstood. Only the sword doesn't have a line. The other parts did."

Richard's heavy armor unraveled as though threads were being pulled loose.

[Unlock Condition: Destroy 10 weapons through Lines (4/10)]

[Unlock Condition: Destroy 10 weapons through Lines (5/10)]

[Unlock Condition: Destroy 10 weapons through Lines (6/10)]

[Skill 'Weak Point Detection' has been unlocked.]

What remained was a two-meter-tall middle-aged man wielding a greatsword while wearing only stockings and garter belts.

Nope. I refuse to believe this.AH! MY EYES!WOW! THE 100x PAYOUT HIT!!!That actually happened holy shit LMAOOOO.

Pshhhhh.

Seojun stepped out of the capsule.

"As expected of you, hyung-nim."

Alpaca's editor, Lee Suhan, greeted him.

Seriously, calling him that was burdensome.

"Thanks for letting me use the capsule."

"No, not at all. Rather, thank you for using my capsule. I'm sure my capsule learned a lot from this opportunity."

What kind of nonsense is that?

And why are you here?

Seojun turned his head to the side.

Because Taewoo was standing next to Suhan.

"You didn't stream?"

"Nah, I just took the day off. Couldn't miss a collab stream."

"I see."

"I announced I'd be here, so people'll probably come looking."

Kim Taewoo scratched his head, and Seojun simply nodded before walking into the living room and opening Alpaca's stream on his phone.

Bring him out already. Bring him out already. Bring him out already.He better be handsome. He better be handsome. He better be handsome.Get Alpaca outta here! Get Alpaca outta here! Get Alpaca outta here!Hurry up and go prepare the food! Hurry up and go prepare the food!

[Everyone, please calm down first— Ah, shut up? Yes sir.]

The remaining stream schedule was the after-party meal.

While they were setting the table, Alpaca had asked Seojun to briefly introduce himself and help stall for time.

[Alright then! Please come out now…]

As soon as Seojun heard Alpaca calling him from the phone, he opened the room door.

Click.

"Hello. Nice to properly meet you all in real life for the first time. I'm travel streamer Jin Seojun."