The Heavenly Demon's Live Coaching
“If you still can’t understand even after this, I’m not sure how else I should explain it.”
“I was joking. I get it now.”
Grasping the opponent’s behavioral patterns, predicting their actions, and guiding them onto the desired scenario. It didn’t sound particularly difficult when put into words. Whether it could actually be executed was another matter entirely.
“Then what exactly is the problem?”
“Is it really possible to analyze someone that thoroughly in just one match?”
“Of course. It’s not that hard.”
Ara was about to continue her explanation as before, but after glancing back and forth between Enri and the chat window, she shook her head.
“I’ll show you the evidence myself.”
Those who wield martial arts ultimately move according to the principles they have mastered. Therefore, if one understands the principles an opponent follows, their future actions can be predicted with precision.
Famous clans do not guard their techniques so fiercely for nothing. It is a desperate measure to prevent their arts from being dismantled by outsiders.
Ara had been about to rattle off a long string of explanations, but she suddenly remembered that the person standing before her was not a martial artist. If Harin had been the one listening, her eyes would have sparkled with interest. Instead, the only ones hearing her words were Enri and viewers with zero interest in martial arts. No matter how passionately she explained, the chances of them truly understanding were slim.
In times like these, it was better to show rather than tell. Simply demonstrating that she had completely analyzed the Spear God user from earlier would settle the matter. There was a simple way to do it.
She sent Enri back a few steps, closed her eyes, and began to sketch her opponent in her mind.
From what she had seen, the Spear God’s spear technique resembled a tree with deep roots sunk into the earth. There was no mysterious subtlety, no overwhelming power, no wind-like speed. It simply had a trunk so thick that even a skilled lumberjack would hesitate, standing firm in its place.
The principle the opponent followed was rooted in immovability. She built upon that foundation and stacked the person known as the Spear God user on top of it.
A well-built man. He carried a long spear. The internal energy circulating within his body was clean, but his skill in wielding it fell short of that energy. He had a cautious personality, but once cornered, he could only focus on a single thought.
As she added each detail one by one, a concrete image of her opponent formed inside her head. Even after she opened her eyes, the mental image engraved in her mind did not fade. Before her still stood the spearman.
He was an opponent she could slaughter in an instant if she wished, but she had no intention of ending it quickly. Otherwise, neither Enri nor the viewers would be able to guess what was standing in front of her. She would have to play with him a little.
The moment she took a single step forward, the spearhead thrust in. She brushed it aside with the back of her hand, and this time the spear shaft came swinging to sweep her away. His will to block her approach was clear.
She struck the shaft from below, sending it flying overhead. An opening to close in appeared, but she did not take it. Instead, she simply watched her opponent quietly.
Perhaps because she had dismantled his attacks in succession, the spearman grew even more cautious. As if afraid to attempt any large moves, his strikes became smaller, more annoying, and persistent. The continuous assault felt like tree roots growing out to entangle her ankles.
However, a tree forcibly grown by ignoring the laws of nature possessed no true solidity. The roots that tried to bind her could not withstand the pressure and simply shattered.
After breaking apart the opponent’s techniques, she thought, This should be enough for the others to realize who stands before me. It was time to bring this little farce to an end.
She caught the shaft of the spear that was stabbing toward her leg with one hand and yanked it forward. The sudden movement caused the spearman to lose his balance. An immovable object that had lost its center was nothing more than a target. Smashing his head was not difficult at all.
She emerged from the mental spar and turned around to find Enri blinking rapidly.
“Did you see?”
“...Yes?”
“I asked if you saw the person standing before me.”
“Yes. I saw.”
“Who was it?”
“The Spear God I fought just now.”
Her eyes were sharp. Correct. She had just faced that very opponent. Using what she had analyzed, Ara had recreated his mental image before her and fought him.
“Now do you believe me when I say I have grasped my opponent?”
“After showing something like that, how could I not believe you?”
Was my spar impressive? I’m glad to hear it.
“What I taught you earlier about how to win was merely an extension of this spar.”
She had simply made Enri and the Spear God fight within her mental image and found the path to victory. It was nothing particularly grand.
She had explained it calmly, yet the viewers of Enri’s stream refused to calm down. It was hard to believe these were the same people who had been teasing her just moments ago. Their attitude flipped faster than a bat’s wings. While she felt the urge to scold them, she decided to let it slide for now. There was a more important opponent to deal with.
“Now then, Enri. You must pay the price for doubting the person who offered to teach you.”
“Huh? Price?”
“Indeed. You dared to doubt me, after all.”
I genuinely tried to help you, yet you chose not to trust me. How truly sad.
“Why are you saying it’s sad while smiling?! That’s scary!”
Enri. Do you remember? The time you threatened me without giving me any rest, saying you would teach me how to study. I am a petty human with a twisted heart, you see. I had not forgotten.
I had been pondering how to torment you in a way that was both justified and dignified. And yet here you are, conveniently providing me with the perfect excuse at just the right moment! How can I not be grateful?
“It wasn’t just me! Everyone here was suspicious too!”
The chat was filled with liars, but leaving them alone seemed like the best way to make Enri’s face even more miserable, so Ara decided to ignore them.
“Hmm. So that’s how it is. It seems you were the only one who was truly suspicious, Enri.”
“They’re all lying too!”
“Even if that’s true, aren’t you their representative? Therefore, you must bear the weight of their sins as well.”
“What?! Why me?! I have nothing to do with them!”
“You guys abandoned me first to save yourselves!”
Realizing the situation was spiraling in a strange direction, Enri began to flail desperately, but Ara had already stopped listening to her pleas.
“Enough noise. The skill check is over, so it’s time to begin training. Isn’t that why you came here?”
“Wait. Just a second. Let’s talk this out!”
As Ara dragged her along by force, Enri let out a pitiful scream, but no one pitied her. This is all karma, Enri.
Having just finished editing the clip from the Artisan Invitation Stone where the Fire Spirit had previously appeared, Sky stepped outside and put a cigarette in his mouth. The dark circles under his eyes clearly revealed his recent lifestyle.
Lately—specifically ever since Enri had brought in that person called Fox to play horror games—Sky’s workload had exploded. And it wasn’t just him. The editors working under Enri had grown accustomed to drinking energy drinks instead of sleeping.
There was no helping it. The MyTube market was a place where, if you didn’t row when the tide came in, the water would turn stagnant and rot. While the cheat key known as the Fire Spirit was performing at full capacity, they had to squeeze out as many views as possible. For that, the editors creating the videos had no choice but to be worked to the bone.
There weren’t many complaints. Their boss, Enri, was the type of person who compensated them properly for the work she demanded. When he thought of it as the price for a rapidly fattening bank account, it didn’t seem so bad.
Still, pulling two all-nighters in a row was pretty insane. Even now, while smoking, instead of feeling awake he was nodding off with the cigarette still in his mouth. He really needed to get some sleep soon. He hadn’t even organized the hard drive yet—if he died now, he’d have to bite his tongue again in hell.
He stubbed out the cigarette he had been smoking, let out a huge yawn, and started walking back toward the house. That was when his phone rang. It was one of the editors who worked under Enri. Wasn’t this the kid who was supposed to be catching editing points while watching the boss’s stream today? Why was he calling instead of watching the broadcast?
The moment he answered, a blunt curse flew out from the other side.
“Bro. We’re fucked.”
The declaration, delivered without any fancy rhetoric, seemed to convey the severity of the situation.
“What is it? Did the boss create a new controversy tab or something?”
“The number of videos we have to edit just increased again.”
Maybe this guy had lost his mind from lack of sleep lately. Of course it increased. The boss wasn’t taking breaks—she was streaming more than eight hours every day. How could the amount of source material decrease?
“Put the boss’s footage on hold for now.”
“The Fire Spirit-nim appeared!”
Whoa. Dude, you should’ve led with that. I was literally just wondering if I needed to take you to a psych ward.
“Is it any good?”
“If it wasn’t, I wouldn’t have called.”
Right. You haven’t been an editor for just a day or two. Sky asked his colleague Hajin to summarize the broadcast content. As if he had been waiting for it, Hajin immediately began speaking.
The content the boss had prepared was about the Heavenly Demon—currently the hottest topic across various communities—teaching their pathetic boss. The boss trolling without any malice whatsoever, and the Fire Spirit looking utterly exhausted watching her. This was guaranteed to be delicious.
“At first, it started with the Fire Spirit-nim giving commentary while watching the boss’s ranked games.”
The first match began with Enri’s spectacular trolling. Enri doing things she didn’t need to out of impatience, and the Fire Spirit growing increasingly frustrated as she watched. It was exactly the scene everyone had been hoping for.
“It was funny, but I was worried because the Fire Spirit-nim was more serious than expected and the entertainment factor might not come through?”
But starting from the next match, the Fire Spirit began producing entertainment herself. She told them to destroy the relic building to create open ground when facing an assassin character. She got lost because she couldn’t open a single point bet, making the viewers grind their teeth. And in the middle of all that, Enri somehow managed to destroy buildings and pull off a comeback victory against the assassin.
As he listened to Hajin’s explanation, Sky felt his sleepiness completely vanish.
Whoa. Even if each clip is ten minutes long, how many episodes is this going to be? With the cheat key known as the Fire Spirit appearing, the views are guaranteed. We need to edit the video quickly.
We have to get it up on MyTube while the community is still buzzing and ride the wave. How many energy drinks do we have left at the house?
“Everything was good up to that point, but in the third match, a Spear God sniper showed up.”
“Ah. That vicious bastard?”