Legal Sniping Arena (3)
The heavily armored warrior swung his greatsword again and again, yet he couldn’t even graze the hem of Myeong-yun’s clothes.
“Ugh! Damn it! Why won’t it hit?!”
“Did you really think anyone would let themselves get hit by such a sluggish attack?”
Though the blade whistled through the air with murderous intent, it carried no substance.
“You insane concept-obsessed freak! I’m definitely going to kill you!”
“Concept… obsessed? What manner of nonsense is that? This seat is simply the Heavenly Demon.”
“That’s exactly what we call a concept-obsessed freak! You damn bastard!”
The heavily armored warrior didn’t seem to fear a voice chat ban at all. He hurled curses as he charged straight at Myeong-yun.
Yet Myeong-yun simply sidestepped lightly and gave the man’s leg a casual tap.
“W-whoa?!”
Unable to control his own weight and momentum, the warrior crashed face-first into the ground.
And then—
The greatsword he had let go of spun once through the air before burying itself straight into the warrior’s own chest.
It was closer to suicide than murder.
Winner: ‘Heavenly Demon Myeong-yun’
With his hands clasped behind his back, Myeong-yun had taken roughly two minutes to bring the heavily armored warrior down. Of those two minutes, he had spent one minute and fifty seconds deliberately giving the man chances to try again. In truth, the fight had been decided in about ten seconds.
Myeong-yun started the next match and spoke calmly.
“This seat worries the broadcast might end too quickly. Should this seat not remain longer so that all of you may enjoy yourselves for a long time?”
The matchmaking was instant once again.
Since Unrestricted Brawl paired players regardless of MMR, the queue times were incredibly fast.
Another thirty-second waiting period was given. Myeong-yun stood with his hands behind his back just as before, waiting for the battle to begin.
Thirty seconds later, the scenery shifted from the waiting room into the arena.
Standing across from him was a lightly armored warrior wielding a long spear.
The moment the lightly armored warrior saw Myeong-yun, his eyes widened and he opened his mouth.
“I-it’s the Heavenly Demon! So this is what getting matched with you looks like.”
“Do you know of this seat?”
“Of course! Is there anyone in this virtual world who doesn’t know you right now?!”
“The one I matched with earlier didn’t seem to recognize me.”
“That guy was just an old geezer! I bet he’s the type who only plays For Honor swinging around a greatsword every day!”
“I won’t be as easy as that old man! I’ve played For Honor for over five hundred hours, you know!”
“I see. Then come at me without delay.”
“For—!! Honor—!!”
The lightly armored warrior charged forward with his spear at the ready.
He maintained proper distance, sweeping the spear in wide arcs to constrict Myeong-yun’s space before thrusting forward with sharp speed.
Whether the five hundred hours claim was true or not, his movements with the spear were clean and practiced.
Any mediocre player would have been sent straight to paradise or Valhalla by those thrusts.
But his opponent was the Heavenly Demon, Myeong-yun.
“Not bad spear work.”
“Hwah?!”
Myeong-yun lightly deflected the spear tip with the back of his hand, then grabbed the shaft and yanked it forward.
The warrior, unable to overcome his own thrusting momentum, was pulled straight toward him.
He tried to retrieve his spear, but it might as well have been bolted in place. It wouldn’t budge.
The warrior hastily released the weapon and tried to create distance, but—
“Guh!”
Myeong-yun had already closed in like lightning and drove his palm straight into the man’s jaw.
The dizzying impact lifted him slightly off the ground. The warrior’s vision spun wildly.
The match ended in an instant.
Winner: ‘Heavenly Demon Myeong-yun’
Seeing the message appear before him, Myeong-yun clasped his hands behind his back once more and spoke.
“Train harder. Then perhaps the next time we meet, this seat will be able to witness at least one proper move from you.”
“…Thank you for the reward!”
The lightly armored warrior, who appeared to be one of Myeong-yun’s subscribers, left those words and vanished.
Myeong-yun let out a small chuckle.
“There really are all kinds of people in this world. Someone who enjoys getting beaten.”
He felt like he had met someone similar in his previous life, but the memory was vague.
That made two consecutive wins.
98 more remained.
It was still a long road ahead.
Yet Myeong-yun was certain it wouldn’t take very long at all.
Currently on a hot 23-win streak.
The viewer count, which had hovered around thirty thousand, had now swelled to fifty thousand.
Many had come after seeing the clips of Myeong-yun that were shown during the ButterView talk show, eager to witness his skills in person.
His previous personal record set in Cyberpunk Murim was 91,000 viewers.
He was still far from that peak, but it was impossible to break personal bests on every single stream.
After starting the game, he had fought twenty-three battles.
As expected, none of them had been difficult or even remotely challenging. The vast majority ended in victory for Myeong-yun within a single minute.
However, he had yet to encounter any truly skilled opponents.
“They are all so lukewarm. I had hoped they would come at me with more murderous intent,” Myeong-yun muttered, hands still clasped behind his back.
There had been several people on the community boards and on NewTube who had boldly declared they would snipe him.
Yet he hadn’t met a single one of them.
He couldn’t tell if it was simply bad luck or if they had all run away in fear.
Either way, this wasn’t very entertaining.
Of course, even his subscribers didn’t just surrender immediately.
If they did something like that on stream, they would obviously earn Myeong-yun’s disdain.
Besides, they seemed genuinely eager to experience his physical prowess firsthand, so they charged at him with everything they had. There was little backlash against the win streak.
And then the twenty-fourth match was found.
After the thirty-second waiting period ended, the twenty-fourth sacrifice appeared in the arena.
The challenger who stood across from him this time showed a completely different demeanor than the previous ones.
“…Please take care of me.”
In his hands was a two-handed sword.
Wearing light armor and gripping the blade with both hands, his stance carried the air of someone who had received proper training.
Everyone Myeong-yun had faced so far relied on crude, self-taught weapon techniques.
But the swordsman before him now had a solid posture, as if he had learned the sword formally.
This was the first time he had faced a real martial artist instead of a random brawler, so Myeong-yun felt a spark of interest.
“You have learned the sword. And for quite a long time, at that.”
“How did you know? I’ve trained in kendo for over ten years.”
“It showed in your bearing. Excellent.”
“Don’t you have a weapon?”
“I do not. Come.”
Myeong-yun smiled softly and beckoned with his fingers.
The swordsman tightened his grip on the blade and rushed forward.
His footwork was cautious. Since he didn’t know his opponent’s strength, he was testing the waters. He closed the distance slowly while swinging his sword.
When Myeong-yun lightly twisted his body to dodge, the swordsman’s blade changed direction sharply and chased after him.
“Oh?”
This battle felt different from when he played Cyberpunk Murim.
If Cyberpunk Murim was about deciding victory with a single decisive technique, For Honor emphasized psychological warfare due to its high level of realism.
Unless one possessed overwhelming physical ability like Myeong-yun, everyone was roughly equal, so victory had to be seized through mind games.
In that regard, the swordsman before him was clearly experienced. His ability to read distance and his psychological tactics were both top-tier.
A true expert could gauge an opponent’s level with a single exchange.
Myeong-yun reached out, gently redirected the flat of the blade, then stepped behind the swordsman and gave his back a light push.
Having his back taken and being pushed in the blink of an eye, the swordsman couldn’t hide his shock.
“What did you just…”
“Try again. You wield a fine sword.”
Perhaps stung by Myeong-yun’s words, the swordsman pulled his blade back without replying, readjusted his grip, and swung with far less hesitation this time.
Having realized his opponent was far stronger, the swordsman closed in with rapid speed.
“That is not it. Your strength does not lie in such aggressive swordplay. It lies in reading your opponent’s mind and striking at their psyche.”
Noticing the change in the swordsman’s style, Myeong-yun instantly slipped inside the range of the blade, grabbed the man’s wrist, twisted it, and shoved him away.
Once again struck by an incomprehensible technique, the swordsman stood still for a moment as if deep in thought, then nodded and swung his sword again.
“There we go.”
It was the same sword as before.
A blade that advanced carefully, one step at a time.
What tremendous talent.
It was almost a waste that he had been born in this era.
Had he been born in the murim, he might have become a fairly renowned sword master.
If he had become a martial artist, he would have easily surpassed the wall of first-rate.
What a shame. Such a shame.
To think he would encounter such talent in a place like this.
If only there were time, he would want to nurture him properly and spar with him.
The swordsman continued swinging his blade without pause.
He predicted his opponent’s movements, adjusted his sword path in real time, and pressed the attack.
It was a delicate sword technique that could never be achieved through physical ability alone.
“How entertaining.”
Myeong-yun murmured as he avoided even being grazed by the sword.
But all beginnings must have an end. Meetings and farewells always come together.
There wasn’t much time to prolong a single match.
“…Kh!”
“Do not forget what you learned today. Train diligently. We may meet again someday.”
Just like before, Myeong-yun slipped inside the swordsman’s range in a single breath and struck his jaw with devastating force.
His head snapped back. The swordsman collapsed instantly, then looked up at Myeong-yun with great effort.
“Who… exactly are you…”
“This seat is the Heavenly Demon. Search for me on NewTube.”
At Myeong-yun’s words, the swordsman laughed bitterly and muttered.
“You’re just a total lunatic…”
Winner: ‘Heavenly Demon Myeong-yun’