Chapter 08
The Next Day
Before starting his stream, Seo-jun checked out the Dawn of Assassins community. Most of the top 30 posts were about major streamers and game information.
The post by “The Assassin of Joseon” from yesterday…
‘Found it.’
Flipping to the second page, he saw many posts related to it in the top 30.
– [Why the Nameless’ video is rigged]
– [Why the Nameless’ video is legendary]
– [Pros didn’t get a perfect clear, they just didn’t bother]
– [Why put so much meaning into a Musou?]
These posts had high view counts and many comments. It seemed like arguments had broken out.
– “But in the Nameless video, why does hitting with a staff deal damage?”
– “You’ve never played this game, right?”
– “Let me explain. The staff is made of iron.”
– “So what?”
– “It’s tetanus damage.”
– “Stop talking nonsense, there’s a blade embedded in the staff. It’s for when you can’t draw the sword from inside the staff, but he just didn’t draw it all the way.”
There were comments like these.
But that was it.
‘Things really get buried quickly.’
Even a little bit up the page, people were already having heated discussions about other topics.
The community Seo-jun was looking at constantly threw out topics that grabbed people’s attention. So, unless you provided new material, it was nearly impossible for a post to stay relevant for long.
Seo-jun looked at other posts.
It wasn’t long before he found a post that caught his eye.
– [(Shared) Why the new level 10 AI is so damn annoying]
‘This is the Dawn of Assassins community, right? They’re talking about the Arena too?’
Seo-jun didn’t know much, but famous incidents were often mentioned regardless of the community’s main topic. Since most people knew about these incidents, such posts often received a lot of upvotes.
The Arena was a gateway and warm-up spot for anyone starting virtual reality. Shin Ha-yeon’s AI, which had held the level 10 position for five years, was considered invincible, causing many pros to give up in frustration.
The fact that someone had beaten this AI without revealing their identity was enough to cause a stir across the entire community.
Seo-jun clicked on the post. It turned out to be a direct copy from another community.
– “You all know the level 10 AI changed, right? A few days ago, during Ex-Pro Gamjun’s routine stream, where he usually challenges Shin Ha-yeon in the Arena before starting the game, suddenly a man appeared instead of Shin Ha-yeon and everyone went crazy.
The name was ‘unknown.’ It’s an anonymous user.
So, everyone is focusing on who this ‘unknown’ is, but I want to focus on their personality.
“This time, a friend of mine sent me a video of fighting against ‘Unknown.’
(The video shows a fight with a 10th-level AI)
Watching this video, you can see not only the skill involved but also how ruthless this person is.
Sometimes, they deliberately turn their head and block the sword.
Their behavior is outrageous.
They want to show that they can block attacks even without looking, so they fight well but turn their head deliberately. My friend was extremely angry because of this.
The AI doesn’t deserve this treatment.
This shows their malicious intent.
When they drop the sword, Shin Ha-yeon would wait until they pick it up again. But this Unknown is different.
If you drop your sword, it’s over the moment. They step on it, mock you by tapping it with their sword, or throw it far away.
This might be why the information is kept private, lol.
The even more chilling fact is that when people registered the 10th-level AI before, the AI would make the person fight against previous 10th-level AIs for hours to mimic their behavior.
This method collects data.
What’s scary is that this Unknown gathered such data by fighting against Shin Ha-yeon, who was in power for five years. They’ve experienced everything: blocking, turning their head, and all that, lol.
By the way, my friend is convinced that the Unknown is definitely not human but a new form of an alpha golem created by a project team.
(Original post link)
– Shin Ha-yeon didn’t participate in the league rankings yesterday, lol.
– I think they’re 100% practicing in a training ground. It’s famous that they periodically update their data to avoid losing the throne to Shin Ha-yeon.
– Their behavior is outrageous, lol.
– Seriously, lol, considering the honor of the position, other masters had shown respect. But with this private information, they’re just playing around, lol.
Seo-jun felt unjustly wronged.
‘It seems like this happened just because I was chatting with Tae-woo and messing around…’
Updating the data was more tedious than expected. It was just a repetitive cycle of battles.
Because of this, they had somehow become a person with bad character.
– I watched the video. Is this unknown the ‘Moo-myung Jwa’?
– Stop mentioning that lowly bastard.
– Stop with the nonsense!
This time, it was the assassin of Joseon again. Is there some kind of trick?
‘You’re quick-witted. Hm.’
Seo-jun checked each comment and felt a bit of disappointment. He didn’t expect this level of attention.
But.
‘Anything gained suddenly isn’t good.’
He knows from past experiences.
Unprepared power is actually a poison.
And.
‘I just need to grow every day.”
Seo-jun stretched and then entered the capsule to prepare for the broadcast.
[Followers: 432]
More people followed than expected. However, among them, only 6 viewers were watching his live stream.
I wonder how many more will join.
[Starting the stream]
Seo-jun pressed the “Assassin’s Dawn: Breath of the City” button.
The background turned black, and buildings that were lying on the other side of the land quickly approached him and started looking down at him.
“Trha!”
As soon as Seo-jun started the broadcast, the chat and viewer count began to rise.
– Seo-ha!
– Is this the famous Moo-myung Jwa broadcast?
– I was waiting
– Bang on
– It’s not a trash stream, huh?
“Yes, this is the broadcast of the assassin from Joseon. Just to clarify, I didn’t bribe him or anything.”
– Blocking controversies, lol
– Is this the experience of a 2-day streamer?
As he began to interact, a fanfare-like sound went off.
[‘RealHowToDoIt’ donated 10,000 won!]
[I watched your video and tried to challenge Ektor but couldn’t catch him. I’ve been waiting for the stream to ask you how to do it!]
This was the first donation.
“Oh. Thank you for the donation. Hmm, how to catch Ektor? Just focus on one spot. That’s all you need to do.”
– Wow! I didn’t know that.
– Speaking as someone who watched yesterday. Don’t ask him anything.
– Only the host can ask questions.
– Threw away 10,000 won, lol
Seeing the chat about throwing away 10,000 won, Seo-jun quickly regained his composure and gave some advice.
“If I were to give a tip, it’s better to aim for the vital points. NPCs don’t get too flustered when hit elsewhere, but they get disoriented when hit in vital spots. The damage is similar overall.”
Seo-jun continued to chat casually, buying time as more people joined.
[‘Finally’ donated 1,000 won!]
[Can… breathe… now…]
“Ah, uh, congratulations?”
Seo-jun’s eyes showed a hint of confusion. Was it a new drip (term used for donations or significant messages)?
– Congratulations, lol
– Was that the guy who got 30 dislikes yesterday?
Before starting the broadcast in earnest, Seo-jun had a short interaction time and then checked the viewer count.
[Viewers: 327]
He had expected about 100 more people to join, but the number of viewers exceeded his expectations.
‘It looks like everyone who was going to join has come.’
Seo-jun felt the need to start the game after finishing his small talk. Since his broadcast was a game stream.
However, Seo-jun didn’t know much about the game.
For other games, he could just follow the instructions, but “Assassin’s Dawn: Breath of the City” is an open-world game.
Typically, players learn naturally by exploring different places, but as a streamer, Seo-jun needed to show something immediately to his viewers.
The viewers who came through the community were looking for combat.
“So, what should I do now?”
Seo-jun’s question prompted a flurry of responses in the chat.
– Show us some combat.
– Finally going to test it?
– What’s there to test?
– Just explore. If you want something, you can either take on assassination requests from the assassins’ guild to earn money, pickpocket, or just sightsee. That’s what an open-world game is!
– If you want to advance the story, you need to complete assassination requests by eliminating key figures around the city.
One person provided a detailed explanation about the game.
Looking at the nickname, it was someone who had explained things thoroughly during the first broadcast.
“Hmm. So, if I want to see the story, should I use this signal stone?”
The description of the signal stone read:
[A magical item that allows communication with the assassins’ guild.]
– Yes, or you can also go to the tavern.
– Fun fact: Christina is always present in any district.
Seo-jun recalled the basic information he had looked up the day before.
The city where the game is set is named Alteon.
Alteon was an ideal city that combined the beautiful architecture of old Europe with the bustling streets of modern times.
The city of Alteon was divided into four districts.
The central district with the royal palace, the northwestern part with the Mage Tower, the northeastern upper-class district, and finally, the area where the common people lived.
The order of security was royal palace > Mage Tower > nobility > commoners, and the difficulty of assassination followed the same order.
Players could receive missions suited to the district they were in through the assassins’ guild, and it was also possible to carry out random assassinations without receiving a mission.
Even the assassins’ guild themselves could be targeted.
“For a warm-up, I’ll try pickpocketing.”
Seo-jun had never tried pickpocketing in either his previous or current lives. So, he was curious.
– Afraid your skills will be exposed? Avoiding fights, lol
– Try it. If you get caught, the guards will come right away.
– Head to the market.
Seo-jun opened the map.
“Wow, the city is so big.”
The market was located in the center of the 4th district where the common people lived.
It was just a short walk from where Seo-jun was standing.
Seo-jun admired the city streets as he walked, and the viewers enjoyed his reactions.
Finally, arriving at the market.
Seo-jun blended naturally into the crowd. Like a shadow.
And while deliberately bumping into people, he discreetly moved his arms.
“Oh my!”
Swift.
“Hey, watch where you’re going!”
Swift.
“Oh, young man, are you alright?”
Swift.
Before long, Seo-jun had three wallets in his pocket.
“I tried applying the techniques of Kim Na-su, and it’s quite easy.”
– The host is suspiciously good at pickpocketing.
– Is the control skill honed from real life? Is he from some back alley?
– He’s from the martial arts world.
– This stream isn’t about combat but theft? Lol
– Normally, getting caught pickpocketing and being chased by guards is the fun part–
Seo-jun looked at the chat with a proud expression.
“With this skill, I shouldn’t starve anywhere, right?”
– With those skills, you could build a building in Gangnam, lol.
At that moment.
“Hey, hey, come here.”
Seo-jun turned his head to check the source of the voice.
The source was in the shadowed market alley, where two people had quietly appeared.
“Yeah, you. I saw you doing some interesting stuff. If you want to do business in this market, you need to get permission from us!”
Seo-jun looked at them, alternating his gaze, with a look of disbelief.
“Wow. Getting caught pickpocketing by thugs instead of guards? What kind of game is this?”
It was a ridiculous feeling.
– Lol, the freedom level is too high.
– Building in Gangnam, lol. Immediate cut!
– Are we finally seeing some combat? Let’s take them all down.
“Is that so? Can you guys be removed from the game?”
Seo-jun’s mind started to churn. Would it be good to tie this incident into the broadcast?
– 00
– If you take down their boss, the market will be clean.
– Great game!
Seo-jun smiled brightly, showing his teeth.
“Is that possible? Then, let’s set today’s broadcast goal to eliminating your organization.”
With the goal set, the viewers began to get excited about Seo-jun’s statement.
– Wow, are we filming a noir episode?
– Planning to take down the Disassemblers? Lol
– Testing skills with the Disassemblers? Can’t resist this.
It’s understandable. The ones who called him were members of the Disassemblers, who had the gang mark on their shoulders.
And the boss of the Disassemblers was the mid-boss of the game, the ruler of the 4th district.
– The host is clueless about the Disassemblers.
– Let’s go for it.
– Jadu snack.
– Crazy guy who wants to take down a gang to pickpocket.
– Oh, this is my first time watching, but the stream is so much fun, lol.
