Chapter 37

[Tip. Repeatedly team-killing will result in penalties, so please be careful.]

Seo Jun read the tip and chat messages as he returned to the respawn area.

"Ah. Yeah, that makes sense."

Well, team damage itself can't really be helped.If dozens of people are fighting together and allies can't hit each other, weird meat-shield strategies could appear.Still, teamkilling is a bit too much lolDude the enemies are obviously red and your team is blue.

In The League, friendly fire probably wasn't allowed.

But Seo Jun figured that was for practical reasons rather than realism.

In The League, most combat centered around wide-area skills, so if allies could get hit, gameplay restrictions would become too severe.

But For the Martial Path was different.

Even though there were fantastical martial arts techniques, most combat still followed realistic principles.

So allowing allies to take damage actually enhanced immersion.

"But how do you revive people?"

Just walk close and use the reaching-out animation.He's doomed lol.But what if he executes them first?

What was "execution" now?

There really seemed to be a lot to learn.

"Should I go apologize first?"

Just as he was nearly back at the respawn point—

"Hey, you crazy bastard! You die once too!"

Someone burst out from the bushes and attacked Seo Jun.

The ID: CheonhajeilSwordmaster.

The very player Seo Jun had team-killed.

The sword swung from left to right, barely grazing Seo Jun's nose.

Instinctively, Seo Jun infused internal energy into his legs, increasing his speed and adjusting the distance by a hair's breadth.

It was a delicate control technique that required considerable mastery.

"You dare dodge this sovereign's sword?!"

Of course, CheonhajeilSwordmaster couldn't perceive that level of detail or understand the skill gap between them.

After all, he was still a newbie who had only started For the Martial Path two weeks ago.

"You shall receive punishment from this sovereign, HeavenlyDemon14! Submit your neck to my blade at once!"

Seo Jun bit his lip while dodging the opponent's sword again.

Was it because dodging was difficult?

No.

It was simply because—

"Yield, fool! HeavenlyDemon14! Offer your neck willingly before this sovereign's blade!"

—it was hilarious.

That exaggerated speech pattern.

Those word choices.

They were exactly—

the kinds of phrases he heard constantly in his previous life.

Ohhh, that newbie's enjoying For the Martial Path properly. (sniff)He's become a proper newbie!LOLLLLL I'm watching For the Martial Path for the first time today, and these murim nerds have been doing THIS the whole time?? lololol They've been having all the fun by themselves!

Whoosh!

Every slash barely missed.

Eventually, the opponent tilted his head in confusion.

"Huh? Why won't this guy get hit?"

Because your character broke.

Seo Jun couldn't hold it in anymore and burst into laughter.

Only then did CheonhajeilSwordmaster realize the gap between their skills, and his face flushed bright red.

The roleplay he had maintained until now suddenly became embarrassing!

Normally, roleplaying became more fun the more you won fights.

But if you got crushed instead, you had to endure proportional levels of shame.

"Ha… you're really good. Just kill me again or whatever. The game's already ruined anyway, so I was just resting. You team-killed because of that too, right?"

CheonhajeilSwordmaster looked at Seo Jun with a tired expression.

Seo Jun stopped laughing and explained honestly.

"Sorry. It's my first match, so I didn't know. Same with reviving."

"...Ha."

CheonhajeilSwordmaster sighed in disbelief.

He got destroyed by a first-timer?

"You're seriously good though. Guess you were talented in another game."

He considered himself above average.

After all, even as a beginner, he maintained an 80% win rate.

That was why roleplaying was so fun for him.

But this guy was different.

Or so he thought.

"Yeah. Fighting's basically my profession."

Since Seo Jun admitted the kill was accidental and reacted amicably, CheonhajeilSwordmaster resumed roleplaying.

"Indeed. As expected of a Heavenly Demon. This sovereign is moved. Shall we overturn this game together?"

Seo Jun started laughing again.

Then he revealed one secret.

"Ah, but for reference, this sovereign is currently streaming."

He deliberately copied the other man's speaking style too.

CheonhajeilSwordmaster froze instantly.

In a quiet voice, he asked:

"How many… people are watching?"

"Let us see. The number of viewers who have gathered before this sovereign is approximately eight thousand."

Seo Jun grinned.

The numbers had shifted a little already.

Most of the foreign viewers had left.

Still—

it was a pretty huge audience.

"Damn it. Should I just disconnect?"

He smacked his forehead.

Witnessing black history live lolololSecondhand embarrassment is insane.Is this a hidden guest or something???

While Seo Jun was busy enjoying teasing him, a team chat message appeared.

[What are you idiots doing? Stop messing around and play the game already!]

[IDs are Heavenly Demon and World's Greatest Swordmaster? You guys are seriously something else lol]

Since team chat was visible to everyone on the team, CheonhajeilSwordmaster saw it too and spoke to Seo Jun.

"Let's head mid together first, Heavenly Demon. You know how this game works, right? Wait… if you didn't even know how to revive, then… you only did the tutorial?"

Seo Jun and he began heading toward the central battlefield where the soldiers were gathering.

"This sovereign…"

"Hm?"

"...didn't even do the tutorial."

"But you were roleplaying enthusiastically just moments ago."

"That was before I knew eight thousand people were watching."

Despite talking like that, he actually didn't seem as embarrassed as expected.

"Anyway. How much do you know about Territory War?"

"Nothing."

"Nothing at all?"

"Yes."

Instead of getting angry, CheonhajeilSwordmaster calmly started explaining.

"First, the objective of Territory War is killing the enemy."

"But they respawn."

"Exactly. That's why you have to destroy the enemy fortress. If you die while your fortress is destroyed, you can't revive anymore."

Ah.

So that was why fortress HP mattered.

Seo Jun checked the current fortress health.

[Blue: 183] vs [Red: 441]

Both had decreased, but Seo Jun's team had lost much more HP.

"And there are many ways to reduce fortress HP, but capturing control points is the most efficient. You deal damage while capturing them, and as long as you maintain control, they continuously chip away at the fortress. Besides that, killing enemy soldiers or players also reduces fortress HP."

"I see."

"Yes. And those control points over there are marked with colors, right? Red means the enemy controls them. Blue means allies control them. Purple means a control point is currently being captured. The central point is especially important because soldiers spawn there."

Seo Jun checked the control point status.

All three were red.

Teacher! Thank you!Damn, he explains well.This is unbelievably comfortable compared to when he played Dawn of the Assassins lololol Is this what multiplayer's like?If it were single-player, the streamer wouldn't have understood this even after 10 matches. Actually no, he probably wouldn't even play 10 matches lol

"Oh? People are saying you explain things really well."

"Ah, really? I guess it's because a lot of beginners come into the newbie zone, so I'm used to explaining things."

"I see. So to summarize your explanation, we just don't die and kill everyone else, right? Sounds easy."

"Uh…"

Why did I even bother explaining… I feel empty inside.lolololol he didn't listen to a single word.

"Alright then, let's go."

Seo Jun minimized the stream window, lowered his stance, shifted his weight forward—

and kicked off the ground.

Using qinggong at maximum speed, he flew toward the control point instead of the battlefield.

"Haaa…"

Above him, CheonhajeilSwordmaster let out a sigh and followed.

[Prediction betting has started.]

[□ Game Comeback]

[South Victory] vs [North Victory]

JINSA GAMBLING IS OPEN AGAIN?!LET'S GOOOOOHey, bet everything here, got it?If it weren't a join-in-progress match, I'd bet South instantly lolBut it's the streamer though.Once the fortress breaks, it's basically sudden death anyway.Didn't he literally never die in Dawn of the Assassins?

[Predictions close in 1 minute.]

The central control point located beside the road where soldiers clashed was just an ordinary pavilion.

The moment Seo Jun stepped inside, the red boundary line marking the control area turned purple.

A gauge resembling a loading bar slowly began filling.

"Heavenly Demon-nim. If we wait a little longer, we'll capture it, but…"

The loading bar suddenly stopped moving.

"They're here."

Seo Jun immediately understood what that meant and turned his head.

An enemy rushed straight toward him.

The enemy had also used qinggong, making their speed incredibly fast.

Clang!

Sword met sword, and their eyes crossed.

Seo Jun attempted a parry like he had in Dawn of the Assassins, but it failed.

Instead, Seo Jun himself suffered a brief stagger.

'Looks like this game has a different system.'

Before he fully recovered, another player leaped from the side and slashed at him.

LOL you should've learned the mechanics before coming in.This is why I bet on the enemy side~ Where are the traitor bettors now?

"Hey, kill him already!"

Seeing another enemy appear, CheonhajeilSwordmaster tried to protect Seo Jun—

but yet another enemy arrived and intercepted him.

"Heavenly Demon-nim, be careful!"

Three enemies had appeared at the central control point.

The moment Seo Jun recovered from stagger, he lightly infused strength into his legs.

'From now on, I dodge everything instead of deflecting.'

A sword swung downward from above.

Seo Jun narrowly avoided it, but the blade sliced through the tips of his hair.

The severed strands drifted down slowly.

And for a brief moment, their eyes met.

The enemy player, Mannam, felt an inexplicable sense of discomfort.

There was none of the panic or fear he expected to see.

"We can't lose on the first match."

Seo Jun spoke softly.

Then—

his sword suddenly thrust toward Mannam's throat.

Slash!

If Seo Jun had barely dodged the enemy's attack—

that also meant the enemy had entered his range.

Mannam, still trapped in the beginner tier, couldn't avoid the strike.

But he gritted his teeth and endured.

His HP was still high!

His duo partner, Cheonnyang, circled around to flank Seo Jun from the opposite side.

"Kill this guy fast, then let's properly educate that 'this sovereign' idiot."

"Yeah. If we take these guys down, the match should end easily."

But—

why wasn't he dying?

Mannam stared at his teammate in confusion while they both attacked Seo Jun from opposite sides.

In just a minute and a half, his teammate's HP had already dropped by over half.

Meanwhile, their enemy hadn't allowed a single clean hit after the first strike.

"Hey, we don't have time."

"Then fight better!"

"You fight better!"

The real problem was—

that if a little more time passed, Seo Jun would enter Berserk State.

Berserk State activated when a player fighting multiple opponents accumulated enough damage.

A berserked player temporarily gained shields and movement speed, while stamina and internal energy costs for qinggong became unlimited.

And Seo Jun was already avoiding attacks by razor-thin margins.

If he entered Berserk State too?

"Damn it! Hurry! You attack too!"

"Sorry, Heavenly Demon-nim! I lost!"

LOL it's over soon.Berserk State means he can wipe them instantly. Infinite stamina is ridiculous.Comeback time! Traitor bettors, prepare yourselves!

While dodging a 2v1 assault, Seo Jun glanced at the chat and finally realized why the enemies were panicking.

Looking behind him, CheonhajeilSwordmaster had already lost his 1v1 and collapsed.

And the player who defeated him was now rushing over to join the fight against Seo Jun.

In the middle of a desperate 3v1 situation, Seo Jun had a completely different thought.

'What's this "traitor betting" thing anyway?'

Judging by the atmosphere, betting on Seo Jun winning apparently made you a "traitor," while betting against him was considered patriotic.

'Anyway. Infinite internal energy, huh?'

As the gauge filled completely, he felt his movements become lighter.

Seo Jun grinned.

"Now then. I shall show you why this sovereign is called the Heavenly Demon."

From the ground nearby came the sound of CheonhajeilSwordmaster groaning in despair.

And it definitely wasn't the good kind of reaction.