Chapter 35

"No matter what, I'm in the position of having to investigate and clean up this incident. So I'll skip the unnecessary parts and ask a few questions. Westside Butcher."

The atmosphere changed instantly.

Viola pointed the tip of her sword at Seo Jun.

She also knew the protagonist's identity.

"Go ahead."

"The ones called the rulers of this city. Were you the one who slaughtered them?"

"Yes."

"All of them?"

"Yes."

"...And it seems there was internal conflict within the assassin organization. Do you know why?"

"The guy you're stepping on right now—the master—was connected to the rulers and the nobles. He tried to kill me because he thought I was a threat. So I dealt with him."

"The entire assassin organization? By yourself?"

"Yes."

Viola lowered her sword.

She awkwardly cleared her throat and tried to regain composure.

But she must've been nervous, because even visibly, more force went into the foot pinning the master down.

"Gyaaaaah!"

The master screamed.

Noona, are those cold sweats?? lollmaooooooI'd be scared too.The protagonist literally destroyed an entire city by himself lol

"R-right. Anyway, thanks for taking care of the rulers. You saved me a lot of work."

"So?"

The protagonist raised an eyebrow.

"The Knights Order sent me here to clean up the remaining forces and deal with the rulers after the incident."

Viola let out a dry laugh.

"There's no way I could kill someone who even wiped out the assassin organization. Sure, I've got subordinates investigating the city too, but even if they arrived… I'd probably die before then."

Viola's eyes darted around the abandoned factory.

She backed down? lolThis NPC's reality awareness is insane.She wasn't a cool beauty character.Look at her watching his reactions lololol

First, Viola knocked the master unconscious by striking his head.

Then she suddenly sliced her own uniform with her sword.

And then something bizarre began.

She stepped away from Seo Jun—

and threw herself onto the floor.

Then she started rolling around.

Rumble tumble.

After thoroughly covering herself in dust, she stood up and dusted herself off.

Ahem.

When their eyes met, Viola gave an awkward smile and spoke.

"So… let's just say I barely escaped alive. You'll spare me… right?"

It was hard to believe that just moments ago she had looked like a perfectly polished elite knight.

She wasn't a cool beauty, she was a comedy character??She's insanely charming lololololShe totally looks like the cold elegant type, why's she like this? lol

"Ha…"

The protagonist pressed his temples like he had a headache.

Seo Jun thought that if he had control over the character's body, he would've acted the exact same way.

"Just go."

Originally, the protagonist was the type who killed any knight from the Order on sight.

But after this incident, it seemed his feelings had become more complicated.

Viola smiled as though she knew he'd say that.

"Thanks. And we'll change. The Order's being reorganized, and better people are rising to the top. It'd be more effective if you were under our protection too, but— ah."

She glanced around cautiously again.

The protagonist stared at her.

"Forget it. I said forget it. Just pray we're not enemies the next time we meet."

Was it over?

"But can I take this guy with me?"

Apparently not.

"Just hurry up and get out."

Dragging the master away by the ankle, Viola disappeared into the distance.

The protagonist looked over the city, unchanged from the beginning.

Control of the body returned to Seo Jun.

[You have completed the hidden scenario "Choice."]

WOOOOOOOOLET'S GOOOOOOSo does anyone actually understand what this foreshadowing means? There wasn't even a reward.I wanna join Viola noona's Order too.

Time had already passed into dawn.

After entering the city, Seo Jun slowly walked along roads covered in gray dust, quietly admiring the surroundings.

"First, let's head to the tavern where Pristina is."

The city scenery looked even more beautiful because it felt familiar to him.

There was lingering emotion left behind.

Seo Jun entered the empty tavern.

But instead of Pristina, a different man was standing there.

It was the assassin Seo Jun had subdued earlier.

"She's at the clock tower right now. And… I'm sorry."

After accepting the apology, Seo Jun left the tavern and climbed the clock tower.

"This reminds me of Rooftop Rim. I climbed that place with wires."

You should've used them here too.lol

"Well, I didn't have wires."

Seo Jun said while parkouring upward by throwing himself across rooftops.

The fact that this guy doesn't even have basic gear like wires lolololYou only get wires after doing the beginner quests, but he skipped all of them lolHe's honestly amazing in so many ways.Do you have to play this inefficiently to trigger hidden quests?

Seo Jun climbed higher and approached Pristina.

The game's ending scene, unlocked after defeating all the rulers, began.

"Even though the innkeeper died, the people still don't know. That means the information suppression is incredibly thorough. But soon, the city will change. Thanks to you."

After saying her lines alone, she disappeared into the fog.

"Huh. Am I supposed to go back to the tavern?"

Just as Seo Jun questioned the direction of the story, the screen changed, music began playing, and the ending credits rolled.

Over a thousand developers.

While waiting, Seo Jun found the names Kim Woon-chan and Eve Paimo among the list.

The ending itself didn't really change.It's simple, and I like it.Great work.That was seriously fun.

The ending really was plain, just like the viewers said.

"Well, it's over now."

He hadn't explored every little detail like other players, but he felt like he'd enjoyed it in his own exciting way.

And the viewers began congratulating Seo Jun in their own way as well.

['CongratsOnTheEndingSeoJun' donated 10,000 won!]

[RRRRRRR]

['LikeThis' donated 100,000 won!]

[You're the first person to clear the game!]

['ImEnlistingTomorrowButWatchingThisMadeItWorthIt' donated 30,000 won!]

[Huh? Why am I crying?]

SoldierYeah, make it worth it

['ㅇㅇ' donated 20,000 won!]

[So what's the next game?]

['ThatWasVeryFun' donated 100,000 won!]

[So you're failing the Pristina noona quest, right?]

Donations flooded in.

Seo Jun responded to each one before finally pausing the donation window and speaking.

"Alright, thank you for all the donations, everyone. Then let's really finish the last remaining thing."

The favorability quest with Pristina.

The world after the ending hadn't changed much from before.

Seo Jun entered the tavern.

The quest automatically completed.

[You have achieved Love in your favorability with Pristina.]

He also received additional rewards.

A large amount of currency and assassin organization reputation points poured in.

But if those were the only rewards, the viewers wouldn't have been this invested.

Talk to her.Since I'll never max out her affection myself anyway, I had to at least watch it like this 

"Thank you so much. You kept your promise. Then I… hey, Nameless. Would you like to walk around the city with me?"

Pristina said with a blush on her face.

I'm jealous That should've been me.We can do it too. Just kill all the rulers and beat the entire assassin organization.

Now all he had to do was walk up to Pristina and talk to her.

Seo Jun opened the settings menu and moved his hand toward the game exit button.

"And with that, Dawn of the Assassins ends here."

Naturally, the chat exploded with hooks and protests.

????lololol this guy seriously makes no sense.

But Seo Jun thought this was the perfect timing to finish Dawn of the Assassins and move on to another game.

There were still all sorts of side content, achievements, and collectibles left, but he didn't regret it.

As for Pristina's affection quest reward—

Wouldn't viewers get more upset this way?

A future streamer needed this kind of provocation too.

Bro seriously WHY???Ha… are you impotent or something?Start the date already.Damn… this feels like witnessing a murder.Why are you calling this murder lolololol

"If you're really curious, clear the quest yourselves and see it firsthand. What's fun about watching other people go on dates anyway? Alright then, let's wrap up Dawn of the Assassins."

Honestly, there wasn't much romance content, but just in case, he skipped it to avoid possible platform moderation issues.

He still didn't fully understand the streaming platform's review policies.

"And besides, weren't you guys the ones screaming about how I'd fail the whole time?"

Well… that's true lolololTHEN WHY BECOME A STREAMER?! THEN WHY BECOME A STREAMER?! THEN WHY BECOME A STREAMER?!We will never forget this day.This streamer's convictions are truly firm!

Seo Jun pressed the game exit button and returned to the lobby.

Then, trying to extinguish the fire as quickly as possible, he changed the subject.

"By the way, what do you think that hidden scenario earlier actually meant?"

Seo Jun already knew it was foreshadowing for the next game.

But Movie Soft hadn't told him anything else.

The only thing he had heard was from Movie Soft's director Eve Paimo, who said he would naturally understand once he completed the scenario.

Oh? I just checked. Movie Soft uploaded a video on their official YouTube.It's on the homepage too.Don't tell me this came out because the streamer cleared it?Judging by the upload timing, probably lol

"Oh? Something got uploaded?"

Looks like it's a teaser video.

"Let's watch it together, everyone."

Watching something else while viewing a stream could be annoying from the viewers' perspective, but even so, people generally preferred watching together.

Seo Jun found the freshly uploaded video that had gone up less than an hour ago.

The title was:

[World Of Belief Teaser]

"Oh, let's watch."

As the video began, a clear bell-like sound shattered the black screen and spread like ripples.

Then subtitles appeared.

[Assassin Order]

Bird cries echoed as the screen shifted into the perspective of a bird flying over a city.

The exhausted bird's eyes instantly captured the strange phenomenon happening at the highest point in the city.

A hooded assassin was leaping downward.

The screen descended and abruptly transitioned.

A knight standing atop a cliff overlooking the water below appeared.

After that, countless assassins hidden in marketplaces, alleys, and secret chambers flashed by.

Then the screen darkened again.

[Knights Order]

Nobles enjoying a banquet appeared.

These people ruled the world.

The privileged. The powerful.

Meanwhile, a military parade marched through the streets.

The disciplined formation of countless knights carried an overwhelming sense of intimidation.

Inside the city's war room, a finance minister sat calculating numbers at his desk.

A knight departing for war.

A mage proudly presenting a newly invented spell.

One after another, they appeared on screen.

Only when each person fulfilled their role like gears in a machine did their society truly function.

The scene shifted once more, and a folk song fitting for a medieval setting began to play.

[Belief]

An assassin's blade pierced the throat of a fattened noble.

The royal guard cut down thugs disrupting public order.

[Which side will you stand on?]

Soldiers chasing assassins under the command of knights.

They charged forward while shouting battle cries.

[Chaos]

The city fell into turmoil.

Innocent people died and were injured because of assassins.

The streets became a mess.

Children cried.

The video displayed scenes of complete disorder.

[Cosmos]

People gradually became enslaved under their rule.

The nobles' bellies grew larger and larger, while treasure piled up inside their vaults.

Even their grand parades were merely tools for easier domination.

Then the music suddenly stopped.

The teaser ended with a hooded assassin and a knight staring at one another.

It was an incredibly exciting teaser.

And Seo Jun subtly dropped some information.

"Wow. This really looks like the next game, doesn't it?"

???Stop spoiling things!Holy crap this looks insane.YOU WERE PREPARING SOMETHING LIKE THIS, MOVIE SOFT?!?!?!Wait, no way this is becoming an MMORPG?????This is crazy. I seriously have no words. Absolutely insane.We're only seeing this because the streamer cleared it, right? Holy crap.

Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game.

MMORPG referred to an RPG where huge numbers of users connected to the same server simultaneously and played together.

Before anyone realized it, people had already become immersed, believing that he skipped the service ending scene.

Are players choosing between the Knights and Assassins in this?Let me choose my belief already lolololThose filthy assassins spreading chaos everywhere.Corrupt pigs, wanna taste an assassin's blade?

Some viewers were already completely absorbed in the idea.

Though admittedly, the terminology sounded very internet-forum-like.

"So everyone, which side do you think I'd choose if this game comes out?"

And Seo Jun's single sentence lit the fuse.

Obviously the Assassin Order. How could you not choose the assassin blade?The streamer's never once used an assassin blade before. He's definitely Knights Order.Honestly? Pristina vs Viola.I choose Pristina.You guys are idiots. Assassins are born with silver spoons too. Knights are just rich second-generation brats. Which would you pick?Wanna get assassinated?Sorry, but plenty of powerful people are assassins too!The important thing is the streamer, you idiots. Since his character's obviously rich, it doesn't matter anyway.Nah, he still has to go Assassin Order.He's literally the protagonist.

Seo Jun glanced through the chat.

The opinions leaned slightly more toward the Assassin Order.

It made sense, since up until now all the players had fought from the assassins' side.

People also tended to prefer what felt familiar.

Some viewers already looked excited at the thought of a new game.

['YouIdiots' donated 10,000 won!]

[Instead of persuading the streamer to pick your faction, shouldn't you just go wherever the streamer chooses lololol]

Oh? He's got a point.lmaooooooIs he some kind of sage?Honestly, if we end up on the opposite faction and have to deal with this guy's parries and trolling, it's safer to stay on his side lolololSeriously, if he becomes the enemy faction, how are we even supposed to handle that monster lololol