Chapter 76

CHAPTER 76

Chapter 76

A training hall whose name he no longer knew how many Braters it had created.

For a moment, his vision turned red, and a notification window popped up.

“Hm? It’s off?”

Seo Jun stepped back for a moment.

Since they had practically been exchanging blows while calling each other “brother” and “friend” in a strangely friendly atmosphere, the player MurimMania didn’t immediately chase after him.

“Did you perhaps run out of internal energy?”

“Seems like it.”

It was his first time experiencing it, so he hadn’t realized.

But after checking the internal energy gauge, it was true. That result had appeared because he had almost completely exhausted it.

“If you ask me to wait, then I shall wait!”

-That’s the law of beauty!

-This is hype

“Why?”

“Because in this era where martial arts have become shallow spectacles, you showed what true martial arts and chivalry really are!”

When exactly?

And what did that have to do with martial arts and law?

Seo Jun still had questions, but he let it slide.

“Yeah, fine. Then let’s continue.”

“Haha! Accept my consideration. Your skill is certainly outstanding, but the Heavenly Demon Divine Art without internal energy is no different from a beginner carrying sandbags. In other words, fighting in that state is arrogance. Since I also bear responsibility for letting the battle reach this point, you need not force yourself—”

“That’s enough. I don’t need it.”

“Very well. Do not regret losing!”

“Come.”

-Top-tier bluffing

-Internal energy is a luxury to the Heavenly Demon ==

-No way lol, you think he spent all his internal energy without realizing this would happen? He’s got a plan

-Isn’t it just because he used Absorption Arts and then switched to something new, so he couldn’t manage it properly?

For a moment, Seo Jun felt stung, but he didn’t show it.

‘So I’ve almost used up all my internal energy. Natural recovery really is insanely slow.’

Managing resources like internal energy during a fight was also considered a huge part of skill.

Now Samdae no longer needed to avoid his sword, while Seo Jun still absolutely couldn’t clash head-on.

“I’m coming!”

Even so, Seo Jun didn’t feel disadvantaged at all.

The greatsword spun through the air, its blade aimed at Seo Jun’s side.

To block that greatsword head-on, he would have to consume twice the resources.

And the fact that he absolutely had to dodge remained unchanged.

But that didn’t mean there was no method.

‘He said the passive effect doesn’t apply when the aim changes midway.’

The passive effect of Neutrality only activated when he directly attacked.

Which meant—

Seo Jun easily reached the conclusion.

He just had to make the opponent unable to attack.

Seo Jun retreated with precise footwork, only to the razor-thin distance where the tip of the greatsword barely couldn’t reach him.

Even so, the unfavorable situation didn’t change.

His attack speed was even slow.

In games, when a battlefield became wide, the representative counter to Neutrality was suppression.

Because Seo Jun lacked the overwhelming speed needed to prevent attacks and make dodging easy.

“I’ll go this time.”

But an enemy didn’t necessarily need to attack quickly and relentlessly to stop the opponent from attacking.

What if you could move the enemy exactly how you wanted?

Seo Jun stepped inward with his left foot, twisting the sword in his right hand outward as he drew a diagonal line inward.

The sword moved at a speed that seemed lazy and improper at first glance.

-Really looks frustrating as hell

-It’s because Samdae uses a greatsword, and we’re watching as spectators

-It feels even more frustrating if you try it yourself lololololol

-If it wasn’t annoying, the “Heavenly Demon” wouldn’t be so popular with Koreans

-But if you get hit even once, your body’s basically finished

Slow. The sword’s trajectory was completely visible. So much for the Heavenly Demon’s sword. It barely even looked powerful.

As if it were obvious, Samdae blocked Seo Jun’s sword.

While leisurely retrieving the heavy greatsword he had attacked with.

At this rate, it really did feel like he could dodge the enemy’s attacks all day long, just like the opponent said.

But Seo Jun’s expression only became more relaxed.

‘Got you.’

This time, Seo Jun moved the opposite foot and prepared the next attack.

And—

Seo Jun thought now was the perfect timing to explain martial arts and law.

“Listen carefully. Martial arts are the noble power of the Heavenly Demon, and law means revering the Heavenly Demon.”

Fortunately, the viewers’ reactions weren’t bad.

-Ah lol stop with that already

-Jun-2 syndrome going crazy

-Please stop saying that. My hands and feet are curling up

-I’ll do it if he wins

“Ah! The game is nearing its end with MurimMania’s defeat in Round 2 as well! In Round 1, the match between the two men clearly ended with Seo Jun exhausting his internal energy, and he ended up cornered into settling things in that state, but…”

The streamer paused for a moment before continuing.

“Unexpectedly, he defeated his opponent rather smoothly. Watching MurimMania helplessly collapse for some reason, it almost looked as if Seo Jun had used magic.”

There was a reason he was explaining the previous rounds again.

-It suddenly started ending way too easily

-Where did the MurimMania who was desperately chasing him go?!?!?

-Looking at the POV, it’s actually terrifying…

-The problem is that it’s still happening right now

Exactly.

“That’s right. The problem is that it’s still happening right now! Precisely! In Round 2, we expected him to counterattack instead of collapsing so emptily, but the exact opposite result came out. He still can’t respond at all! Why is that?”

There was no need for elaborate explanation.

The clash between a greatsword and a sword.

Seo Jun swings; Samdae blocks.

He swings again; blocked again.

Once more, he attacks at that slow speed, and the opponent blocks, but as time passes like that, eventually the opponent unconsciously allows an attack through.

Slash!

Just like now, when Seo Jun’s sword cut across MurimMania’s chest.

“If it was going to be like this, MurimMania should’ve at least changed his traits! He should’ve created variables and shown a different style! Right? Don’t you all agree?!”

-Lololol he’s not even getting paid, why’s he so passionate?

-It is kinda disappointing seeing him lose that easily

-Feels powerless

-I feel like I could dodge that if it were me

So the streamer defended MurimMania.

“It can’t end like this. He has to stop getting pushed around and show us something!”

-Why exactly lololololol

-Wasn’t Seo Jun the one moving like crazy?

But in truth, the outcome of the match had already been decided.

The streamer shouted loudly.

“Ah! GG! Seo Jun’s sword slices through the neck, completely wiping out the last of his remaining HP!”

It was hard to call it a masterpiece, but the opening exchanges had contained something that made one’s chest burn with excitement.

“With this, he’s already defeated two people!”

MurimMania politely gave his greetings before leaving the game.

It was clear he cleanly acknowledged his defeat.

The spectators, on the other hand, were completely unconvinced.

-So martial arts really are the Heavenly Demon’s noble power lololol

-Maybe because it was against a greatsword, the speed difference didn’t feel that big

-The Wudang Sect’s sword style is usually pretty large-scale lololol

-Still, the Heavenly Demon Divine Art is even slower than that though

-We’ll probably know for sure after the next match

The streamer glanced at the chat window.

People still couldn’t purely acknowledge Seo Jun’s skill.

The MurimMania he had just fought had the excuse of weapon compatibility.

And for the matches where Seo Jun overwhelmed faster opponents, there was the excuse that the opponent had mentally collapsed.

‘But beating two top-ranked players is still incredible.’

Compared to the results, the evaluation was harsh.

‘No matter the reason, winning is what matters, but maybe the real reason people still won’t acknowledge him so easily is…’

The fight happening right in front of them looked too easy.

What they were seeing was top-tier gameplay that appeared absurdly simple.

Because even the streamer himself, who had watched and commentated countless matches until now, felt the same way.

MurimMania probably accepted his own defeat, but the streamer still had many doubts.

‘It feels like he could’ve just knocked the sword aside there.’

Or quickly retreated backward.

The streamer could clearly see opportunities where MurimMania might have escaped and reversed the situation.

Even if he was only a spectator, there was obviously still a skill gap between the streamer and true veterans.

If that was the case, there was no way a ranker wouldn’t have seen those openings too.

But the streamer merely thought to himself that there must have been something he simply couldn’t see.

“Now then, the next round has been matched! It took a while, but will another top-ranked player appear this time, or will it be an ordinary user?!”

He would know once he saw the next fight.

The opponent in the fourth match was a user below Rank 50 in contribution rankings—not top-tier, but still someone who could definitely be called high-ranking.

Round 1.

Using Absorption Arts, Seo Jun overwhelmed the enemy with his uniquely overwhelming physical abilities and his strange swordsmanship that contained almost no wasted movements (thanks to his trait).

Then came Round 2.

Bringing out the Heavenly Demon Divine Art again, Seo Jun leisurely began dismantling his opponent.

“A trait that gets stronger the more relaxed you become, versus a trait that needs to finish the opponent quickly. It feels like there’s no middle ground between them. I really don’t know whether this is Seo Jun’s problem or the Demonic Cult’s problem…”

The streamer spun his chair in place as he spoke.

-The Demonic Cult is at fault here lol

-No, why is it the Demonic Cult’s fault when he’s the only one using it?

-Bunch of clueless newbies

The reason he deliberately brought up pointless chatter—

“Haha, this match also ended in Seo Jun’s victory!”

Once again.

The ranker helplessly fell before a sword that looked as though it were being swung by a tired office worker drained from overtime.

Unable to do anything, only desperately blocking.

The streamer pondered.

‘Maybe it’s because this one’s rank was lower.’

And just as expected, the anticipated reactions appeared.

-Well, he’s only Top 50, so I guess he couldn’t do much lol

-He got crushed in Round 1 too, and in Round 2 he seriously just stood there? At least counterattack like before

-Hm, Absorption Arts looks broken, but Heavenly Demon Divine Art seems manageable? Maybe I should try sniping him too?

Watching people question the loser’s skill instead of the winner’s, the streamer felt frustrated.

At times like this, it was the commentator’s role to clear up misunderstandings through explanation.

But even he only had questions, so there was nothing he could do.

Still, maybe the next match would reveal something.

Despite the streamer’s hopes, several more matches passed, and he could say nothing.

[Heavenly Demon, I learned much from you.]

Rank 77.

Defeated easily.

[Good game. Wow, you’re seriously amazing.]

Current Contribution Rank 11, Namgung Clan’s Young Master.

Since he was normally known for having a rough neighborhood-thug image, viewers laughed and said they never expected this.

But at this point, even someone completely lacking awareness should have realized it.

[Proceeding to the next round.]

The reason Seo Jun achieved six consecutive wins—more precisely, five consecutive wins against rankers—wasn’t simply because the rankers were weak.

The streamer still couldn’t properly figure it out, but he felt the need to at least mention this much.

“You all think it’s strange that these rankers are helplessly collapsing against that slow sword?”

Eventually, he read a chat message aloud.

-Yeah, that’s exactly what I think

-If even you don’t know, what are we supposed to do?

-The more I watch, the more Heavenly Demon Divine Art looks ridiculously overpowered lololol

-Speed is merely a number

“Speed is merely a number? Well, I can at least say that’s definitely not true. Yes, sorry for speaking so confidently about only this much. But… maybe there’s clearly something we don’t understand yet.”

That was the best explanation he could give.

-The rankers were just trash lololol

-This game’s seriously become a fossilized old-man game

-It’s because a bunch of untalented losers kept stagnating together without improving! Then some genuinely skilled outsider came in and shattered them! lololol

-So this is why pro players don’t come to For the Sake of Chivalry anymore lol. It wasn’t even worth fighting in

And so—

Because the streamer touched on a topic without proper explanation, the viewers’ attention became inflamed, and the atmosphere started turning strange.

The streamer felt cold sweat running down his back as he hurriedly tried to calm things down.

“I’m not saying the rankers are bad players, okay? Haha. Everyone. And… oh. Ah, a donation just came in.”

Fortunately, thanks to help from one of the rankers directed toward Seo Jun, he found a clue to break out of the situation.

[‘MurimMania’ donated 200,000 won!]

[Watch from the opponent’s perspective next match. Then you’ll understand.]