Chapter 16
“Alright, alright, let’s get back to talking about the game. Seo-jun, how did you do it?”
Alpaca turned to Seo-jun with a serious expression.
“I really need to know what exactly you saw and how you did it. Honestly, you all agree with me, right, viewers?”
– Yeah
– Is it a cheat?
– If it’s some system trick that lets you see things, it would be disappointing.
– I’m telling you, he’s an alien, lol.
Seo-jun shook his head, denying the contents of the chat.
“Guys, I’m not an alien. It’s not a cheat either. To be honest, I’m not really seeing the patterns.”
“Then what is it?”
Alpaca asked with a genuinely curious look on his face.
Seo-jun adopted a comically serious expression.
“I just know. Because I’m a genius.”
In contrast, Alpaca looked at him in disbelief, unable to keep a straight face.
– So annoying, lol.
– Honestly, at this level, he probably is a genius.
– Look at Alpaca’s face, lol.
Alpaca opened and closed his mouth, then let out a hollow laugh with a playful smile.
“Living must be tough if you’re not a genius. Seriously, just tell us properly. Otherwise, I might think it’s a cheat too.”
One of the first things to disappear with the advent of virtual reality was cheats. The reason was the technological gap.
The giant corporation, Surface, which virtually monopolized the virtual reality market, introduced and popularized virtual reality with unparalleled technological prowess.
The gap was so wide that even other large corporations struggled to hack the devices, let alone the capsules. Additionally, any issues in virtual reality could potentially be life-threatening. Therefore, Surface strictly managed external programs.
Thus, the mention of cheats was completely unfounded.
Seo-jun knew this about Surface very well.
“Actually, making cheats would be more impressive than seeing patterns. Surface would probably recruit you.”
Seo-jun confidently straightened his shoulders.
– Now that you mention it, true.
– If you could make cheats, why would you stream? Surface is known for scouting and offering amazing conditions.
– Other companies trying to enter the VR market would probably want to recruit you too.
“Oh? That’s true. Why didn’t I think of that?”
Alpaca was quickly convinced and nodded, bursting into laughter.
“Well, that was just a joke.”
“Which part? Surface or being a genius?”
“Just knowing. It’s half a joke, but also partly true.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“There’s really no better explanation than just knowing.”
The chat was filled with comments accusing Seo-jun of being arrogant and deceptive.
Seo-jun waved his hands dismissively.
“Haha, everyone, calm down. It’s not like I have some special ability. It’s just that, if you were the creator of this game, you’d know where to look for the patterns…”
“Haha, everyone, calm down. It’s not like I have some special ability. I just think about where the creator would put it.”
In fact, it is special.
It’s an intuition that only Seo-jun, with his accumulated experience from his past life, could have. But there was no need to explain that.
“Not that anyone would believe the story of a past life, anyway.”
So he felt it was okay to reveal his past life. However…
“It might need some embellishment…”
Just then, Alpaca shouted as if he had realized something, pulling Seo-jun out of his thoughts.
“Wow! Amazing. So, um… you’re saying you read the creator’s moves? Just by looking at two examples?”
Seo-jun nodded.
Alpaca had hit the nail on the head.
“Wow, that’s really unbelievable! Of course, it makes me even more suspicious. Hm.”
Alpaca rubbed his chin and looked at Seo-jun with a doubtful gaze.
– Is there anyone else who can see that?
– If you can just know, are you really a genius? Is that it?
– How would you even know that? Isn’t it a scam?
“Exactly. It’s like you’re living in a completely different world. So, you can easily find other things too?”
“Yes, but…”
“But what?”
“Normally, parrying is a system to help defeat weaker enemies easily, right?”
“Yes, it’s a system the creators put in to let players mow down enemies.”
“But this pattern system is harder than parrying, and even if you succeed, it only breaks the weapon without any damage increase or other effects.”
– Sharp observation
– But what does it matter? Only you can use it, and we can’t.
– Yeah, parrying is hard for us too~
Alpaca clapped his hands.
“Oh? That’s true. As expected from the man who pioneered Drake’s new route. You do have a talent for games.”
“Thank you for the compliment. Anyway, this pattern system seems to be meant for boss fights.”
“That makes sense. The bosses are definitely too hard. Especially Drake… Ah, right.”
A worried expression appeared on Alpaca’s face. He pinched his nose and sighed.
– He’s worried about the game’s end
– PTSD before the end even starts, lol
Seo-jun patted Alpaca’s shoulder and said,
“I think this pattern system is meant for boss fights. So, I plan to challenge the remaining two with the ruler’s equipment.”
– The underdogs suddenly wail
– That’s not right.
– Let’s find other stuff first and then go after the ruler.
“Hey, I’m telling you this system is for the ruler. Just trust me.”
Seo-jun pounded his chest.
[‘TrustMeIWalked’ donated 10,000 won!]
[Alright, alright, but first, let’s destroy those small fry weapons and figure out the points before challenging it ㅎㅎ]
– Honestly, with 100-to-1 odds, it’s hard to resist.
– Fact: Most people betting 1% didn’t do it because they trusted the professor.
– At this point, I have hope for finding the other two as well.
Seo-jun looked at the chat, his eyes sparkling.
“Alright. It seems like you all don’t trust me, so let’s do a fact check. Alpaca?”
Seo-jun called out to Alpaca.
“Yes?”
“Let’s open another prediction?”
Bets don’t lie.
Alpaca quickly caught on to what Seo-jun wanted and started setting up the prediction system.
[PREDICTION]
[Will Seo-jun destroy the ruler’s equipment during today’s stream?]
[YES]
VS
[NO]
– Haha! He’s giving us another chance.
– Good thing I didn’t bet everything earlier.
– I lost everything, so I’ll bet the 150 points I’ve collected just now, haha.
Alpaca and Seo-jun waited for people to place their bets.
And then, the results came in.
“Oh! The odds have flipped. You guys were saying Seo-jun wouldn’t be able to find it, but what’s this result?”
Alpaca started teasing the viewers.
[YES 80%]
[NO 20%]
– Haha, bets don’t lie.
– Even if I win, I only get a quarter. Someone else gets 100 times.
– Wow, those who bet on the 1% earlier are really lucky.
– I bet Seo-jun wouldn’t find a single one. This time I bet on YES, but if he fails, I’ll come after him.
As expected.
“I knew it.”
Alpaca nodded beside him.
[Did you only bet on NO to try and make up for your losses?]
A donation came in with a serious comment.
– Seriously, stay away from stocks.
Seo-jun and Alpaca deeply agreed and hoped the viewer wouldn’t dabble in stocks.
Anyway.
‘This collaboration seems successful.’
It seemed they had definitely proven Seo-jun’s skills to the viewers.
“Alright, Seo-jun. Shall we go catch the ruler?”
***
Richard Neville.
He stood in the center of a vast, ash-gray training ground, wearing heavy armor, meditating. He was the leader of the aristocratic faction and the ruler of the northeastern frontier.
He was known as the Knight King.
Wielding a massive greatsword and standing at 2 meters tall, he was a towering figure.
To catch Drake, one had to avoid the gaze of dozens of officers, find Drake, and kill him. In contrast, Richard Neville was the complete opposite.
He simply remained in the same spot, meditating.
There were two ways to catch him: either obtain a special weapon to snipe him or take down his son, Louis Neville, and exploit the brief moment when Richard’s mental state collapses upon hearing the news.
Both were, of course, challenging.
The former due to the difficulty of acquiring the item.
The latter because if the timing wasn’t perfect, the Knight King would immediately counterattack.
And if you tried to brute force it?
His impenetrable defense, utilizing heavy armor, would result in you failing to inflict any damage, only to be cleaved in half by his greatsword.
Of course, this didn’t apply to the person fighting in front of Alpaca now.
‘Do you happen to know anything about Richard Neville?’
‘No?’
Alpaca recalled the conversations they had while making their way here.
‘I thought so. When fighting Richard, you need to be careful of his greatsword. Its attack speed is slower than other weapons, but he has follow-up moves, so maybe you should…’
‘Oh, it’s fine.’
‘What?’
‘I said it’s fine. I’ll just see and dodge. No big deal.’
Who was worried about whom?
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
Richard’s greatsword cut through the air from left to right, then right to left, stirring up the wind.
But Seo-jun, matching the trajectory of the swinging blade, calmly brushed his own sword against it, searching for the patterns.
Seeing his composed demeanor, it seemed impossible that the greatsword would ever hit him.
“Do you think he won’t find it?”
Alpaca shouted loudly at Seo-jun’s successive failures.
He was standing a bit away, after all.
“Yes.”
“A viewer mentioned that Richard’s weapon was forged from a rather unique material. Maybe it’s not that you can’t find it, it might not exist at all.”
“Oh, really?”
Look at him. He barely dodged the greatsword by lightly lifting his body.
Seo-jun was clearly conversing while watching him.
Yet, despite not having eyes on the back of his head, he casually twisted his body and ducked to avoid an attack from behind.
Then he even checked the floating chat window leisurely.
– Haha, failure is looking sharp, isn’t it?
– This is why you shouldn’t be arrogant.
– Damn, I’m going to lose everything. Nameless, watch your back at night.
“Oh. What to do? It seems the ruler doesn’t have any patterns.”
Seo-jun was smiling.
He spoke with an expression that showed no concern at all.
The only ones anxious were the viewers.
Especially those who had initially bet on the extreme underdog odds.
– My 100-to-1 odds, ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ
– Time to teach these underdog bettors a lesson!
– I don’t care if I lose the second one, please just fail!
The rest of the chat was in a celebratory mood.
Since the second betting round had significantly fewer points at stake than the first, most viewers were just hoping that no one would win the 100-to-1 payout.
Their envy was too much to bear.
But then…
Seo-jun’s sword began to move as if it were dancing.
He pierced Richard’s wrist with his sword, slicing along the patterns he had found. He continued from the upper body downwards, and as his sword descended, it reached the lower body.
Slash! Slash!
Richard Neville’s proud heavy armor began to split apart.
Only his weapon had been special.
Seo-jun, after several clashes, had already discerned the subtle differences in texture.
“Oh dear, I must have been mistaken. Only the sword lacked patterns, the rest of the armor had them.”
[Unlock condition: Destroy 10 weapons using patterns (4/10)]
[Unlock condition: Destroy 10 weapons using patterns (5/10)]
[Unlock condition: Destroy 10 weapons using patterns (6/10)]
[Skill ‘Weak Point Detection’ has been unlocked.]
What remained was a 2-meter-tall middle-aged man wearing stockings and a garter belt, wielding a greatsword.
– I don’t believe it.
– Oh! My eyes!
– Wow! The 100-to-1 payout hit!!!
– I can’t believe that actually worked, holy sh*t!
Seo-jun emerged from the capsule.
“Brother, you’re incredible as always.”
Isuhan, Alpaca’s editor, greeted him.
“Thanks for letting me use the capsule.”
“No, thank you for using it. My capsule has learned a lot from this experience.”
What nonsense is he talking about now?
And why are you here?
Seo-jun turned his head.
Next to Lee suhan was Taewoo.
“Weren’t you streaming?”
“No, I decided to take a break. I couldn’t miss this collaboration.”
I see.
“I announced I’d be here, so people will probably come looking for me.”
Kim Taewoo scratched his head, and Seo-jun shrugged, moving into the living room while listening to Alpaca’s stream on his phone.
– Call him out! Call him out, call him out, call him out!
– Let’s see if he’s really handsome. Let’s see if he’s really handsome. Let’s see if he’s really handsome.
– Move Alpaca out of the way! Move Alpaca out of the way! Move Alpaca out of the way! Move Alpaca out of the way!
– Hurry up and set the table! Hurry up and set the table! Hurry up and set the table!
[Okay everyone, please calm down. What? Shut up? Okay.]
The remaining stream schedule included a dinner.
While setting up the table, Alpaca asked Seo-jun to do a quick introduction and buy some time.
[Alright! Then please come out…]
Hearing the call on his phone, Seo-jun opened Alpaca’s door.
Creak.
“Hello, nice to meet you in person. I’m travel streamer Jin Seo-jun.”
