Chapter 179

CHAPTER 179

As expected.

He's scared.

Seo-jun was certain after seeing Baek Doyul's expression as he tried to act unconcerned.

Of course, he didn't say it out loud.

It was better to end things here, and besides, if he pushed things too far against a champion, he might end up losing more than he gained. At least, that's what public opinion would say.

Even after what Seo-jun had just proven.

If Baek Doyul eventually gave in to the provocation, fought, lost, and Seo-jun ended up the victor, that would be another story.

Seo-jun simply had a whatever works attitude.

After all—

• Kikikikikikik, he's scared.
• Even the champion got his spirit crushed. Kikikikikikikik!
• LOL. A competitor from the same tournament just got completely demolished. Why would he want to fight?
• Avoiding the streamer is the correct choice.
• A natural disaster isn't something you fight. You avoid it.

The viewers would take care of the rest.

I knew I could count on you guys.

At moments like this, they felt incredibly reliable.

The chat on the other side was probably exploding too.

Even if they weren't his viewers, stream viewers were stream viewers.

"Alright then, let's go train too."

Seo-jun ended the stream as well.

His teammates raised their arms one after another.

"Yep!"

"So we're finally doing some real content now?"

"We're finally getting lessons from Lee Dong-soo!"

• Then what the hell were you doing at the gym?
• Seriously. This alpaca bastard even canceled a stream because he was meeting Lee Dong-soo this morning, and he didn't learn anything?
• He means it's their first time in virtual reality, not real life.
• LOL wait, they met Lee Dong-soo this morning too? That's awesome.
• Just watch this stream from now on. Feels like there's gonna be a ton of good content.

The viewers flooded the chat with hooks(?) at Alpaca's final comment.

Even Lumi had ended his stream early the previous day, saying he needed to wake up early.

After making such a fuss about it, hearing that they were finally going to learn naturally made people curious.

Reading the chat displayed on screen, everyone turned toward Seo-jun in perfect unison.

Babamgeom was currently wondering whether he should go pick up the carrot he'd thrown away earlier.

So Seo-jun quickly signaled Lee Dong-soo to get started.

Lee Dong-soo obediently followed the cue.

"Hah. Hahaha. Alright then, now that we've checked Mid's skill level, let's examine the rest of the team members' abilities in more detail."

"Yes."

"Then who should we start with? The weaker players first? Or the stronger players first?"

That was when it happened.

Lee Dong-soo hadn't meant anything by it, but to them it was a serious issue.

Naturally.

Someone had just displayed completely insane skill moments ago. Imagine being the next person up. Even if you weren't bad, you'd look worse by comparison.

And while Lee Dong-soo had divided them into "good" and "bad," after Seo-jun's performance, everyone else would inevitably fall into the "bad" category.

Therefore—

The "good" side, Alpaca and Babamgeom, and the "bad" side, Ha Yoon-ho and Lumi, immediately formed an alliance and began advocating for their own interests.

A strange tension filled the air.

"We should start with the weaker players. Since they have more room to improve, it'd be better to watch them more closely."

Alpaca struck first.

Lumi immediately countered.

"What does going first have to do with being watched more closely, Mr. Alpaca?"

"Normally you tackle the harder problems while your mind is still fresh."

"Oh really? Which university did you graduate from, then?"

"I only finished high school."

"Ah."

• You guys should stop talking about studying LOL
• Lumi at least went to college!
• He never told viewers which university though. Only other streamers know.
• Maybe it's actually a prestigious one?
• If it were, would he really hide it?

"Still, I have a point. Back when I took the CSAT, my Korean score was much higher than my elective subject score. Why do you think that was? Korean is first period! Electives are the last period!"

"How big was the difference?"

"Almost double."

"In grades?"

"No, in points."

Lumi tilted his head for a moment after hearing that.

Then he hesitated with a suspicious expression.

"Um... you do know electives are out of 50 points while Korean is out of 100, right?"

Even Lumi looked away after saying it, wondering if he'd gone too far.

"Oh, was that how it worked? It's been over ten years since I took the CSAT... hahaha!"

• LOLLLLL
• If the maximum score is half, then scoring half as many points means he performed about the same.
• Lumi wins this one.
• Alpaca should go first.

It was a clear victory for Lumi.

He looked horrified at first, but soon puffed out his chest proudly.

Ha Yoon-ho applauded beside him.

Now they would probably start arguing over whether Alpaca or Babamgeom should go first.

Just as everyone thought they'd sit back and watch that happen—

Seo-jun stepped in.

"Let's start with Yoon-ho. He's the team leader."

Ha Yoon-ho stopped clapping and shouted,

"Yes, sir!"

The training-ground system evaluated Ha Yoon-ho's skill level as Stage 3.

More precisely, he was capable of fighting evenly with a Stage 3 opponent.

That was his fundamental proficiency with melee weapons.

As for his game skill...

"You're actually better with a sword than I expected."

It was lower than that.

• My heart is swelling watching this fight between meals.
• After watching a pro and that insane streamer fly around, now we're watching a Stage 3 and a bowl of rice crawling around LOL
• The contrast is brutal.

Ha Yoon-ho ignored the chat.

"Then if I train properly, is there a chance my game skill will improve a lot?"

he asked Lee Dong-soo hopefully.

Lee Dong-soo answered energetically.

"Nope!"

"I knew it! So I really do have talent—wait, what?"

He sounded so enthusiastic that Ha Yoon-ho got tricked.

"You're a dealer, after all."

"Ah..."

"Well, it's true that you're performing worse than your basic fundamentals suggest, so you'll probably improve fairly easily. Alright, next!"

It was Lumi's turn.

Fortunately, he wasn't going immediately after Seo-jun, and Ha Yoon-ho had already lowered everyone's expectations considerably, so Lumi stepped forward without much pressure.

Then he adjusted the settings.

"Oh? Going for Stage 4?"

"Of course. I'm Gold rank, after all."

Stage 4—the benchmark for a talented beginner.

Lumi confidently changed the setting and gripped his sword.

A short while later—

Without saying a word, Lumi opened the settings menu again.

The Cheolsu that appeared this time was Stage 3.

"Gold rank is usually around Stage 3 to Stage 4. Don't be too discouraged."

"Still..."

"Why?"

Lee Dong-soo had never intended to provide mental counseling as a coach.

Not that I'd know how to, anyway.

He had simply wondered whether there was some technical difficulty she was struggling with.

If it was a problem related to skill, he could at least offer advice.

"To think I'm at the same level as Yoon-ho..."

"..."

I see.

This wasn't a skill issue.

This was a mental health issue.

And since Lee Dong-soo was not a therapist, he quickly averted his gaze from the woman who looked ready to burst into tears.

"The two of you are pretty average. Then shall we move on to the stronger teammates?"

Now this was the truly important part.

Top lane and Jungle.

B-rank and C-rank.

Even Seo-jun focused more closely.

• So how exactly do you stop this bastard?
• You don't.
• Wait, are there really still idiots who haven't placed points on him yet?
• Breaking news) Baek Doyul came to the training grounds too LOL

Meanwhile, Seo-jun's viewer count had surpassed one hundred thousand.

Most of them weren't regular viewers and were all discussing things on their own.

Their main topic was simple:

Could anyone stop Seo-jun?

[Wealth Gap] - 30%

After some time had passed since Joseon's Assassin had dumped all his points in, the betting percentages had evened out again.

There were six teams, so each team occupied roughly fifteen to twenty percent.

Naturally.

No matter how rich Joseon's Assassin was, an individual could only do so much against a crowd.

Of course, Seo-jun's team was still leading, but only at around twenty percent.

Then Taker lost.

And their share jumped by another ten percent.

Now it sat at thirty percent.

Everyone was talking about it.

• It's the obvious favorite, but if it wins your points come back tripled LOL. How do you not bet on it?
• Having six teams is great. Safe pick with huge returns.
• You really think it's that safe?
• The league is round, you know? Wealth Gap isn't a guaranteed winner.
• Isn't it the Earth that's round?
• It's the ball that's round, you idiots.

How do they stop him?

To be fair, his team wasn't completely without weaknesses.

That was exactly why Seo-jun had laid the groundwork for this training session.

Based on their fundamentals against real-world mobs, they should easily handle Stage 8. Maybe even Stage 9 if they're good enough.

The first to step forward was Babamgeom.

His main was Kael Wondul.

So his sword fundamentals should have been solid.

"Please summon one."

"Yes."

However, Babamgeom summoned a Stage 7 opponent.

What?

"So..."

Lee Dong-soo spoke.

"Yes."

"You used to beat Stage 8 opponents easily."

"Yes."

"But because you've only played Kael..."

"Yes."

"Your sense of combat has become warped."

"Yes."

"And now even Stage 7 is difficult?"

"..."

"Seriously?"

"Yes..."

• KIKIKIKI So his skills degraded because he only played one hero? LOL
• It's actually true. Babamgeom used to be Challenger, but after only playing Kael his rank tanked.
• He used to be a guaranteed A-rank Challenger. Dropping to B-rank says everything LOL

Even Tae-woo could beat Stage 8.

Granted, that was because Seo-jun had drilled fundamentals into him.

Still.

The point remained.

Even Tae-woo could handle Stage 8.

But Stage 7?

• So how do you stop this bastard???
• Babamgeom says he'll stop him LOL
• Let's see Alpaca too.

Honestly, it wasn't completely unreasonable.

If every movement became optimized for a single hero, then naturally you'd master everything that hero required.

But all the movements that hero didn't need?

You wouldn't have used them in ages.

When you suddenly entered a place like the training grounds with no hero-specific mechanics, your balance would be thrown off.

That was why specializing in only one hero was dangerous.

"Alright, I understand. Let's see Alpaca, then."

At least Alpaca should manage Stage 6, right?

What appeared was a Stage 5 opponent.

• SO HOW DO YOU STOP THIS BASTARD??? LOL
• LOL THE TEAMMATES ARE STOPPING HIM FOR US
• Goblin, you were right!!!
• Wealth Gap is definitely the correct name LOL. Living up to it perfectly.
• The championship belongs to Goblin! LOL

"Hmm."

"Hmm."

Seo-jun and Lee Dong-soo groaned simultaneously.

• LMAOOOOOO
• The fact that they sighed at the exact same time is hilarious LOL
• Turns out the only decent player is E-rank Ha Yoon-ho LOL

According to Alpaca himself, he only played mage heroes, so swords felt unfamiliar.

But Seo-jun knew better.

Alpaca had loved playing hack-and-slash games and had spent countless hours on them.

So...

His fundamentals are simply worse than I expected.

• People don't change that easily.
• Fool! Never raise a beast with black hair! LOL
• Is the streamer coping right now? LOL

There was a saying:

"The numbers add up."

It meant understanding how an opponent would act.

If someone was the type to pursue reasonable self-interest, you could predict them.

But if they were simply an idiot, there was no way to predict anything. They would do irrational things without warning.

Skill worked the same way.

When someone was genuinely good, Seo-jun could tell at a glance.

But Alpaca existed in an awkward middle ground.

And Babamgeom was a special case altogether.

So he could still say:

"Well, it's different from what I expected, but it's fine."

"What is?"

Seo-jun smiled brightly.

The ominous aura coming off that smile made Lee Dong-soo shudder beside him.

Then Seo-jun looked kindly toward Babamgeom and Alpaca.

"People improve easily."

"...What?"

• In league games, teammates are the guardians of balance. That's basically a law of nature. Have you lost your mind? LOL

The viewers assumed Seo-jun was coping.

After all, his teammates had looked far worse than expected.

But the teammates themselves didn't think so.

"Haha..."

Lee Dong-soo silently offered his condolences and mentally pressed X to pay respects before speaking.

"Then shall we move on to checking your synchronization rate fundamentals?"

The next test was related to synchronization rate.