Chapter 79
CHAPTER 79
Chapter 79
If it were a normal stream, there wouldn’t have been many related posts 올라오는 in the community.
Because aside from a small number of viewers there to spectate, most people were focused on watching the stream itself.
But things were different now.
A live broadcast with over a hundred thousand viewers.
Even if only 1% of them briefly shifted their attention to the community boards, that still meant 1,000 people.
Because of that, countless posts related to Seo Jun were currently being uploaded to the forums, and those posts were rapidly gathering recommendations.
Topics related to his matches dominated the entire forum.
And once the stream ended, everyone knew the number of posts would multiply several times over.
[The rankers are surprisingly trash lolololol]
[The funniest thing is the posts those rankers wrote yesterday lol]
[So is that guy actually just insanely good? Were we the ones who never improved because we got complacent?]
[Demonic Cult fanboys are partying right now.]
Strangely enough, there weren’t many professional players who actively played For the Sake of the Martial World.
Sure, some probably logged in on alternate accounts, but that was true for every game, so people usually estimated the number of pros playing a game based on the visible public rankings.
And on the surface, the number of pros playing For the Sake of the Martial World was low.
The reason so few professionals played it was probably the high barrier to entry.
There were simply too many martial arts, too many forms, and too much knowledge required to properly enjoy the game, making it difficult for ordinary pros to casually pick up.
But—
[High barrier to entry? A fossil game? What “masters”? lololol]
No matter how you look at it, we were just idiots who memorized a ton of martial arts created by the game company while knowing nothing about actual swordsmanship.
We thought we were good inside our little well, then a real master showed up and destroyed us with a slow sword, no fancy skills needed, and only then did we realize.
The ocean is vast!
-Did players from The League come over?
-Feels like those guys finally found their chance to trash-talk.
-I used to be confident in my swordsmanship, but after watching today I don’t know anymore. Were those really the masters I admired? My heart hurts…
-Don’t suddenly become humble now lol.
-We really were frogs in a well!
[Martial arts are trash.]
Honestly, if you lose to a slow sword, just quit and go play another game.
So damn pathetic lol.
-Eo=
-Their skills were fake.
-No? Masters from other games are also top-100 rankers here. Skilled players are skilled everywhere.
-Nah lol. Rankings here are specialized around martial arts. If we’re talking pure physical skill without martial arts, the masters from those games would rank way higher.
-What even counts as “physical skill”?
-Let’s use sparring sense as the standard. Honestly, arguing about “this martial art is OP” when they’re all skills made by the game company is hilarious.
Why were reactions like this appearing?
In truth, there really were users from other games mixed in.
[LMAO if the rankers here went to another game they’d all get stomped instantly ← upvote if true lol]
I’ll start first.
-This bastard’s an Avenger Mider from The League. Why’s he even here?
-Scientific proof lol.
-Are you perhaps Diamond in The League?
-Looking at your post history lolol yeah you’re definitely Diamond.
-This settles it. Let’s just agree the streamer is good.
-Otherwise the reputation of For the Sake of the Martial World is gonna collapse lol.
Some users from other games were exposed like this, but most of the posts were genuinely written by people who loved and enjoyed For the Sake of the Martial World.
And the reason they acted so self-deprecatingly was because they psychologically refused to acknowledge Seo Jun, who kept crushing everyone in succession.
[Somebody please beat this guy.]
Does it even make sense for our rankers to get farmed by a streamer who’ll disappear without attachment once the event ends?
And with the Heavenly Demon Divine Art no less.
-Maybe the Heavenly Demon Divine Art was actually ridiculously overpowered?
-Then why are the Demonic Cult guys losing with something that good?
-He’s not even using the Heavenly Demon Divine Art lolololol.
-I’ll tell you a secret. Because anyone who wasn’t the Heavenly Demon using that special trait was considered disrespectful, nobody used that insanely good thing. Seriously.
-No, that trait genuinely sucks lol.
The fact that people were losing so easily to a slow sword shocked everyone.
And the Heavenly Demon Divine Art…
Wasn’t that the very symbol that had forced countless players to endure the horrible Demonic Cult faction because of its insane fantasy appeal?
Everyone agreed on one thing:
If the Heavenly Demon Divine Art had even been remotely good, the Demonic Cult would have dominated player population rankings and conquered every battlefield in the game.
Yet the rankers—people who had devoted themselves to protecting the pride of the Demonic Cult—were losing to a streamer who had only started playing For the Sake of the Martial World recently.
Even exaggerating things, they simply couldn’t bring themselves to acknowledge the streamer.
But as he continued defeating everyone without resistance, people gradually started wondering:
Were we really just frogs in a well?
Then a donation message appeared during Bapju’s stream.
[About Bapju’s earlier comment—]
[Doesn’t this just sound like a loser making excuses lololol]
[So from the defender’s perspective the sword speed changes or something?]
-So pathetic lol. Let’s just admit we suck. What’s with the “opponent’s perspective” nonsense?
At first, people mocked the user named “ThisIsMartialArtsMania.”
But once Bapju actually spectated from the defending player’s viewpoint—
The atmosphere flipped completely.
[Holy shit this is terrifying lololololol]
[Watching from the defender’s perspective… the sword speed really does feel different?]
[I’m getting chills.]
[How are you supposed to escape that?]
He was simply good.
There was no choice but to acknowledge his skill.
Even so, a question still remained.
[Watching from the defender’s perspective… the sword speed really does feel different?]
How is this even possible? Sure, perception can vary, but lolololol this difference is way too extreme.
Watching it directly, people understood how someone could lose helplessly.
Because after seeing it themselves, they couldn’t even imagine a method of fighting back.
Normally, backseat gaming only works when there’s at least something visible to critique.
If you can’t see anything at all, it simply means the other person is operating on a level above your own, and you lose even the ability to give advice.
Still, people could raise questions.
And to answer those questions, “ThisIsMartialArtsMania” appeared once more.
[About the blunt sword that Heavenly Demon 14 mentioned earlier.]
“There are several categories of swordsmanship.
Swift sword, phantom sword, flowing sword, domineering sword, blunt sword, flying sword.
You’ve probably heard of those at least once.
But many of you are probably hearing of the blunt sword for the first time.
So let me explain what it is first.
A blunt sword is, quite literally, a dull sword.
It’s not a sword with any particular advantages.
It isn’t even a sword one should pursue.
However, this blunt sword is more captivating than any other sword.
Because it is a sword that has reached the ultimate realm of martial mastery, something only absolute masters can display.
Have you ever wondered how one could win a fight using a slow sword?
Merely knowing the opponent’s movements is not enough to land attacks. The sword is too slow.
That is why, to win, you must be able to control the opponent’s movements exactly as you wish.
But controlling your opponent’s movements at will—that is extremely difficult.
Still, it’s not impossible.
There is a method.
Sacrifice flesh to take bone.
A strategy where you endure damage in order to inflict a decisive blow.
Martial artists like me, who wield heavy swords and possess sturdy bodies, often use this method.
And the blunt sword is a step beyond even that.
The blunt sword literally controls the opponent.
It neutralizes the sword itself.
It causes instincts to send false warnings.
It twists the opponent’s footing.
It draws in their gaze.
Disrupts their rhythm.
Makes them lose their center.
A slow sword that manipulates the opponent into moving exactly as you desire, leaving them unable to stop it even while understanding what is happening.
That is the blunt sword, and the realm that Seo Jun has reached.
From here onward, I will analyze how his design functioned against me.”
==
Seo Jun opened the community post and read it together with his 17,000 viewers.
He had currently stopped after defeating Cheonsalseong and achieving a seven-win streak.
There was nothing he could do because nobody was queueing up to match against him anymore.
He had been reading Bapju’s messages, watching replays from the opponent’s perspective, and browsing the community.
Yet even after killing time like that, no match was found.
At this rate, today might end here.
“What do you all think?”
-That sword you understand but still can’t block LOL! Heavenly Demon spring overdose! Innkeeper! lololol
-Innkeeper, draw us some blood!
-Innkeeper! Bring us martial-world burgers!
-Why are you all writing roleplay comments under the old master’s post?!
Seo Jun burst out laughing.
What exactly had that person written to make everyone act like this?
-Let’s just agree you’re the strongest in the world now.
-Feels like the realm of legends.
-But after reading the analysis, it actually sounds right though?
-He said he’ll analyze the other matches later too lol.
-So is it true? The person involved should explain it.
The blunt sword.
A slow sword that controlled the opponent and successfully landed attacks.
To speak from the conclusion first, there was barely anything wrong with the post.
Maybe because it was written based on what he himself had directly experienced and felt.
“I’ll leave it to your imagination whether it’s true or not.”
Though even if he explained it, they probably wouldn’t believe him anyway.
[‘TellUsEverything’ donated 1,000,000 won!]
A donation message so rushed it barely even contained words appeared onscreen.
“Wow. Thank you for the one million won donation. About the contents of that post…”
If someone pays that much, he had to answer.
Maybe because the viewer count was high, there were even people casually throwing around million-won donations.
-LMAOOO forget martial mastery, nobody can resist a million won.
-The speed of his attitude switch is insane.
“That’s right, yes. To win, you have to control the enemy and make it impossible for them to avoid your attacks. Otherwise how are you supposed to win?”
Seo Jun shamelessly accepted the money.
There was no need to explain it differently.
“You can just think of it as the same principle as sacrificing flesh to take bone mentioned there. It’s more complicated and difficult than that, of course. But fundamentally, it’s similar. You guide the opponent’s movements in the direction you want.”
-The way you say it so casually somehow makes it sound believable.
-So you’re saying he got manipulated? Damn.
-So it’s basically gaslighting lol.
-Gaslighting swordsmanship, blunt sword lol.
-Thinking of it as an ankle breaker actually makes sense lololol.
Ankle breaker.
A term used when dazzling dribbling destroys a defender’s balance in basketball.
“Yes. It was similar to an ankle breaker.”
Though much more difficult.
Seo Jun didn’t bother elaborating further.
Nobody there was unaware that what he had done was far beyond merely throwing someone off balance.
“For detailed stuff, read the analysis post. I’ll point out the correct parts.”
How exactly it was done wouldn’t be understandable even if he explained it anyway.
Naturally, people still found it hard to believe.
What Seo Jun had said essentially meant he had freely toyed with the rankers.
And the newly uploaded community posts mostly carried the same tone.
So Seo Jun smiled and added one more thing.
“If you think it’s fake, come try it yourselves.”
An eight-win streak.
Now that was tempting.
-He’s provoking them lololol.
-Do you really think they’ll let you get another win after this?
-Even without 8 wins, doesn’t this already feel like a guaranteed first place?
Fame points multiplied by four every two consecutive wins.
If you earned 50 points at a two-win streak, then at four wins you would gain 200.
At six wins, 800.
And at eight wins, 3,200.
Because of that, the number of rankers who had ever achieved an eight-win streak could be counted on one hand.
No matter how overwhelmingly skilled someone was, if matchmaking stopped like it had for Seo Jun, achieving eight consecutive wins became impossible.
And every single player who had ever managed to reach an eight-win streak had later taken first place on the battlefield rankings without exception.