Chapter 8

The next day.

Before starting his stream, Seojun checked the Assassin Guild's Dawn community once more.

When he went to the Top 30 posts section, most of the content was about major streamers and game information.

As for the post Joseon's Assassin had written yesterday…

'Found it.'

After flipping back two pages, he found plenty of related posts that had made it into the Top 30.

[Why Lord Mumyung's video is fake]

[Why Lord Mumyung's video is legendary]

[The pros didn't fail to get world first—they just didn't bother]

[Why are people assigning so much meaning to solo carry gameplay anyway?]

The posts all had high view counts and tons of comments.

And it looked like fights had broken out too.

But in Mumyung's video, why does hitting with the cane even deal damage?

ㄴYou've never played DoS before, have you?

ㄴLOL

ㄴI'll explain. The cane is made of iron.

ㄴSo?

It's tetanus damage.

ㄴStop talking nonsense. There's a blade hidden inside the cane. I think it's meant for when you can't draw the sword inside it, but that guy just never pulled it out until the end.

There were comments like that too.

But that was all.

'Things really do get buried fast.'

If you scrolled up just a little, people were already passionately arguing about completely different topics.

The community Seojun was browsing constantly threw new sensational topics at people. Unless fresh material kept appearing, it was nearly impossible for anything to remain relevant for long.

Seojun looked through other posts.

Then, before long, he found one that caught his attention.

[Repost) Why the new Stage 10 AI is insanely annoying]

'This is the Assassin Guild's Dawn community though? They're talking about the Training Hall here too?'

Seojun didn't know much about it, but famous incidents tended to get discussed regardless of community topic. Since most people already knew about them, such posts also gained recommendations easily.

The Training Hall was a gateway that almost everyone who entered virtual reality passed through at least once, as well as a warm-up arena many people frequented.

And for five years, Shin Hayeon's AI had defended the Stage 10 position, crushing countless pros and creating the strong perception that it was an impregnable fortress.

Now someone had defeated that AI without revealing their identity.

At that point, if every community wasn't talking about it, that would've been stranger.

Seojun clicked the post. Inside was a direct repost from another community.

Everyone knows the Stage 10 AI changed, right?

A few days ago, former pro ElectricShock was doing his usual routine of challenging Shin Hayeon before starting his game, and suddenly some random guy got summoned instead of her. Everyone lost their minds.

His name is unknown. Hidden user profile.

So everyone's focusing on who this unknown guy is, but I want to focus on his personality.

An older guy I know gave me footage of himself fighting unknown this time.

Here's the video. Permission to upload was granted.

(Video fighting the Stage 10 AI)

If you watch this, his skill obviously goes without saying, but more than that, you can tell how malicious this bastard is.

Sometimes he deliberately turns his head away while blocking swords.

His BM is insane.

Even while fighting seriously, he suddenly looks away because he wants to show he can block attacks without looking. The guy I know got unbelievably pissed because of this.

What did the AI ever do wrong?

You can totally see the intention behind the data he fed it.

Pure BM.

And if you dropped your sword before, Shin Hayeon would wait until you picked it back up, right? But this unknown guy is different.

The moment you lose your weapon, it's over.

He walks over first, steps on it, taps it around mockingly with his own sword, or even kicks it far away.

Maybe this is why he hid his identity lolololol

The even creepier part is that when people used to register themselves as the Stage 10 AI, the system made them fight the previous Stage 10 AI for hours so the new AI could imitate them.

That's how it gathered data.

And that's why this is creepy.

It means this unknown guy spent all that time fighting Shin Hayeon, feeding it data like this over five years. Deflecting attacks while looking away and all that lololol

For reference, the guy I know is convinced unknown is absolutely not human, but some new kind of AlphaGo developed by a project team lol.

(Link to original post)

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Shin Hayeon didn't even queue ranked in The League yesterday lololol

ㄴI'm telling you, she's 100% grinding the Training Hall. It's famous that she regularly updates her own data because she doesn't want to lose the throne.

His personality is insane lolololol

ㄴSeriously lol. That spot is actually considered honorable, so other masters used to show basic respect. But this guy hides his profile and does this crap lolololol

Seojun felt strangely wronged.

'It just happened because I was fooling around with Taewoo while fighting…'

Updating the data was more boring than expected.

All it involved was repeating the same fights over and over again.

And somehow, before he realized it, he had become "that toxic guy."

After watching the video… could this maybe be Lord Mumyung?Stop mentioning that tiny-ass streamer already.

ㄴStop overreaching!

Again, it was Joseon's Assassin. Did that guy have some kind of supernatural intuition or what?

'Sharp instincts… Hmm.'

Seojun read through every comment and felt slightly regretful. He hadn't expected this much attention.

But—

'Anything gained too suddenly is never good.'

Hadn't he already learned that through the experiences of his previous life?

Power gained before you're ready for it only becomes poison.

And besides—

'I can just grow stronger day by day.'

After stretching, Seojun climbed into the capsule and prepared for the stream.

[Followers: 432]

Far more people had followed him than he expected.

Still, only six viewers had actually watched his live broadcast.

How many would come today?

[Starting stream]

Seojun selected Assassin Guild's Dawn: Breath of the City.

The background darkened, and buildings that had once lain flat beyond the horizon rapidly approached until they towered over him.

"Tr-hi!"

The moment Seojun started the stream, both the chat and viewer count began flooding in.

Seo-hi!Is this the famous Lord Mumyung stream?I've been waiting here the whole timeStream onSo it really wasn't Joseon's Assassin's stream lolol

"Yes, this is not Joseon's Assassin's stream. And for the record, I didn't bribe him either."

Cutting off controversy immediately lolololIs this the composure of a second-day streamer?

As he started chatting with viewers, a fanfare-like sound rang out.

['SeriouslyHowDoYouDoThat' donated 10,000 won!]

[I watched your video and tried challenging Ettore, but I can't beat him. How do you do it? I seriously wanted to ask, so I kept waiting for your stream!]

"Oh. Thanks for the donation. Hmm, you're asking how to beat Ettore? Just keep attacking the same spot. That worked for me."

Damn! Didn't know that.As someone who watched yesterday, let me say this: don't ask this guy for advice lolololOnly the streamer himself is allowed to ask questions.There goes your 10,000 won lolololol

Seeing the "there goes your 10,000 won" comment, Seojun suddenly came to his senses and decided to give actual advice.

"If I had to give a real tip, I think aiming for weak points is good. NPCs don't panic much when you slash random places, but when you hit vital spots, they get really shaken up and lose their stance. Honestly, the damage itself is pretty similar though."

After that, Seojun casually chatted for a while as more viewers gradually entered the stream.

['Finally' donated 1,000 won!]

[I… can… breathe… now…]

"Ah… uh… congratulations?"

Confusion appeared in Seojun's eyes. Was this some kind of new meme?

"Congratulations" my ass lololololIs that the guy from yesterday's Top 30 post?

After having a short chatting session before properly starting the stream, Seojun checked the viewer count.

[327 viewers]

He had expected maybe around a hundred people, but the number far exceeded his expectations.

'Looks like everyone who was going to come has arrived.'

Seojun felt it was finally time to stop chatting and actually play the game.

After all, this was a gaming stream.

The problem was that Seojun himself didn't know much about the game yet.

In most games, you just followed instructions, but Assassin Guild's Dawn was an open-world game.

Ordinary players would naturally learn while wandering around freely, but Seojun was a streamer. He needed something to show viewers immediately.

"So. What should I do now?"

At Seojun's question, the chat exploded.

Show us solo carry gameplay.Is the verification finally happening?What's there to verify, idiots?

The viewers who had arrived because of the community drama wanted combat.

You can just explore. If there's something you want, you can take assassination requests from the guild to earn money, pickpocket people, or just sightsee around the city. That's what open-world games are all about!If you want to push the story, you need to clear assassination requests. Just wander through the city districts and assassinate important figures.

One viewer gave detailed explanations about the game mechanics.

Judging by the nickname, it was the same person who had carefully explained things during the first stream.

"Hmm. If I want story progression, do I use this Signal Stone?"

The description for the Signal Stone read:

[A tool imbued with magical power that allows communication with the Assassin Guild.]

Yeah, or you can just go to the tavern.Fun fact) Christina is somehow always there no matter which district you visit.

Seojun recalled the basic information he had looked up yesterday.

The city where this game took place was called Alteon.

Alteon was an ideal city that blended the beauty of old European architecture with the bustling advantages of a modern metropolis.

The city was divided into four districts.

The royal district in the center, the northwestern area where the Magic Tower stood, the northeastern upper-class district, and finally the remaining districts where commoners lived.

Security ranked as Royalty > Magic Tower > Nobility > Commoners, and assassination difficulty followed the same order.

Players could receive missions suited to whichever district they entered through the Assassin Guild, though it was also entirely possible to go around assassinating people freely without taking missions.

Even members of the Assassin Guild themselves.

"For now, I'll warm up with some pickpocketing."

He had never pickpocketed anyone in either his previous life or current life.

That was why he was curious.

Avoiding combat because your skills might get exposed? lolololTry it lol. If you get caught, the guards rush over immediately.Market in District 4

Seojun opened the map.

"Whoa. The city's huge."

The market was located in the center of District 4, where the commoners lived.

It wasn't far from where Seojun currently stood.

Seojun continuously expressed admiration while looking around the city streets, and the viewers enjoyed watching his reactions too.

Eventually, he arrived at the market.

Seojun naturally blended into the crowd.

Like a shadow.

Then, deliberately bumping into people, he secretly moved his hands.

"Oof!"

Swipe.

"Hey! Watch where you're going!"

Swipe.

"Oh dear, young man, are you alright?"

Swipe.

Before he realized it, Seojun already had three wallets in his pocket.

"I tried incorporating the principles of Golden Thread Technique, and it's surprisingly easy."

Streamer suspiciously good at pickpocketing lololololWait, were his controls refined in real life? Did this guy grow up in the back alleys or something?He's from the Murim world, apparently.Wasn't this supposed to be a solo carry stream? Why's it a thief stream now? lolololNo but normally the fun part of pickpocketing is getting caught and chased by the guards—

Seojun looked proudly at the chat.

"With skills like this, I probably wouldn't starve anywhere, right?"

At that level you'd be buying buildings in Gangnam lololol

Right then—

"Hey. Hey, come over here."

Seojun turned his head toward the source of the voice.

What he saw was a shadowy alley within the market.

Two men slowly emerged from there.

"Yeah, you. Looks like you've been doing some interesting business. If you want to operate in this market, shouldn't you get permission from us first?"

Seojun looked back and forth between the two men with a dumbfounded expression.

"Wow. I get caught pickpocketing, but not by the guards—by thugs trying to extort me? What kind of game is this?"

It genuinely felt absurd.

LOOOOL the freedom level is way too highBuying buildings in Gangnam? lololol instantly shut down!Are we finally getting solo carry gameplay? Wipe them out.

"Alright then. Chat, can you eliminate their organization from the game?"

Seojun's mind started turning.

Wouldn't it be fun to tie an incident like this into the stream?

Yep.If you kill their boss, the market becomes clean.Assassin Guild's Dawn = GOTY!

Seojun grinned brightly.

"You can? Then today's stream goal is destroying their organization."

Now that a goal had been set, people immediately became excited by Seojun's declaration.

Ooh, are we filming a noir movie now?He's going after the Dissemblers? lolololUsing the Dissemblers for a skill check? I can't resist this.

Naturally, they reacted that way.

The guys who had just called him over were members of the Dissemblers, a gang marked with mask symbols on their shoulders.

And the boss of the Dissemblers was essentially the mid-game boss of District 4—the ruler of the entire district.

I guarantee this streamer doesn't even know what the Dissemblers are lololololAlright, let's go.Let's freaking go.Absolute madman decides to destroy a gang just because he got extorted while pickpocketingAh, it's my first time watching today but this stream is insanely entertaining lololol