Chapter 9. The World's Strongest from Another World (2)
Chapter 9. The World's Strongest from Another World (2)
"Video donation? Let's see what we've got."
- Oh, it's Pruhan?
- LOL, the Tusu guys passed it on immediately.
"...Huh? Is that for real? Hiding their skills?"
Sura questioned that. Why? Wouldn't you need to go wild to get any practice? The Tusu guys cleared up his confusion.
- It's because you can designate who you duel.
- Yeah, if you target someone you want to analyze, all your secrets get exposed.
- True. That's why pro gamers who play Weapon Booster don't play ranked or hide their skills.
- Basically, it's like getting recorded in Weapon Booster, yeah.
- People who don't want to show their skills hide them too.
- You could use practice mode to avoid being recorded, but since ranked games record everything, everyone hides.
- Pruhan barely hid anything, though? He's the weird one.
"Oh.... I didn't know that."
Sura suddenly felt deflated.
He had hoped someone would appear who would force him to use the Sura Pacheon Sword Technique.
This was a letdown.
"...What should I do? I'm losing motivation."
- You can't, Sura! Hit Rank 1 and then quit!
- Let's make our Sura known! If you hit Rank 1, we'll spread the word!
[Mission: Reach Global Rank 1]
The mission was set immediately.
- DONATE NOW
- Put the money in, hurry!
The money collected amounted to about 500,000 won.
"No, if you do this... I have no choice. I need to hire an editor now. And I need to hire Su-han to make money."
- ? Is the manager hyung being officially hired?
- What? Doesn't Su-han have a main job at Nutube?
While the Tusu were confused, Su-han typed in the chat.
[Su-han-su: My parents said, 'PLEASE!!! GET OUT OF THE HOUSE!!!' so I got a job.]
[Su-han-su: How do I escape this sweatshop company....]
[Su-han-su: Anyway, if it's a 500,000 won mission, just do it. It's sweet.]
- Oh my. Our manager hyung got fired from being a home security guard LOL
- I haven't been fired yet LOLOLOL
- I'm about to get fired too, so I'm job hunting, and this guy actually gets hired.
"Yeah, you're never retiring. I'll accept the mission and continue. But everyone, I really hope someone fun appears."
Sura pressed the placement match button.
[Current Rank: Top 0.64%]
[Searching for opponent....]
[Found!]
- Hmm. There are crazy guys who show off their skills.
- True, they exist. I hope we run into one now.
The next opponent appeared, and the Tusu cheered.
- SHIIIIIIIIIT, they're here!
- Our Sura is grinning LOL
- That psycho bastard is here LOLOLOL
[Dongsaeng-ramyeon-hanip-chung]
"Who is that?"
- A malicious sniper LOL
- They're actually skilled, but they're a bit of an obsessive sniper LOL
- They haven't been obsessed with anyone lately.
- If this goes wrong, Sura might get caught!
"Oh. They're actually using their full skill, right? Sniping.... I can't be sniped anyway, right? We decided to play War with God after Ancient Booklet."
- Ah, right. Sura has nothing to worry about.
- Everyone's single, so no worries LOL
- They'll probably try to get obsessed and then give up LOL
- Anyway, they show their full skill, it'll be fun LOL
"Understood. I hope I have some fun."
Sura unpaused and picked up his sword.
'Dongsaeng-ramyeon-hanip-chung' was holding a spear.
'Oh!'
Sura's eyes lit up. A spear.
If it's a spear, it's definitely going to be fun.
Hereinafter 'Hanip-chung' was resting the spear on their shoulder, then spun it and performed a foot-spear technique to take a middle stance.
A spear can truly be called an all-rounder.
First, the length. It might seem like nothing, but length is a huge advantage.
I'm attacking, but the opponent can't attack.
This advantage is terrifying.
And in close quarters, the spear doesn't lose either.
Depending on how you hold it, you can respond even in close combat.
A weapon with the advantage of covering both long and short range.
It's no wonder that in the past, armies chose the spear as their main weapon over the sword.
That's how great a weapon the spear is.
However.
For someone who achieved world domination with a sword.
It's different for The World's Best.
As the match started, Hanip-chung came in with a thrust.
It was a light thrust at the beginning, a move meant for checking, but
It was a lightning-fast thrust worthy of their rank.
- Wow, that's fast.
- They're not a sniper for nothing.
But then. The Tusu were in awe of Sura's action.
- Crazy, they blocked it with that small sword face?
- Look at that reaction speed. The spear came in so fast, and they reacted almost simultaneously.
Sura pushed the flat of the sword forward to block the spear's thrust.
Hanip-chung's attack was rendered useless in an instant.
But this was just the beginning.
Hanip-chung's spear bounced, went up, and then immediately went down.
It was a common leg attack in spear combat.
Sura naturally stepped with footwork and quickly retreated. The two began to swing their respective weapons while keeping each other in check.
As they read each other, the duel began to heat up.
- Is this mind game for real?
- Wow, Hanip-chung is really good with the spear too.
Hanip-chung's spear was dazzling.
The reach changed in an instant.
Hanip-chung's grip changed in a flash, and the spear's reach changed like a Monkey King's staff to attack Sura.
It was intended to cause confusion, but from Sura's perspective, that was ridiculous.
'React. And predict.'
Simple logic. And Sura has the skill.
Now. Sura's observational ability is unleashed.
Focusing on every single gesture, he predicts Hanip-chung's movements.
And his reaction speed had the power to answer this prediction.
Once again, Hanip-chung's low attack was rendered useless.
- Neither has landed a valid hit yet.
- Still, a truly heart-pounding duel.
"Let's do this for real now, Hanip-chung-ssi."
From now on. It's the Sura Sword Technique's turn.
- Sura Sword Technique, 1st Form. Beginning.
In an instant, Sura's sword, having taken a stance, shot out like lightning.
Hanip-chung swung the spear aiming for the upper stance where the sword was coming, but Sura naturally blocked it and went further to guide the spear's movement with his sword.
Hanip-chung's spear pointed in the wrong direction.
Chwaak!
Sura's sword landed its first valid hit.
A wound appeared on Hanip-chung's chest.
- Oh, first valid hit.
- Let's keep this up!
"The way to beat a spear with a sword. There are many discussions about it. But I've reached my own conclusion."
Watching Hanip-chung step back for a moment, Sura smiled.
"With overwhelming physical ability. If you have enough skill to suppress the weapon's advantage, that's all you need."
- ???: In my opinion, the person in good condition wins.
- Yeah, our Sura's condition is great~ He came back from a break~
- Honestly, even if there's a weapon advantage, it depends on who's using it.
His sword began to move.
Sura had zero wounds.
And Hanip-chung had already taken a third valid hit.
Seogeok!
A long laceration remained on Hanip-chung's waist.
Their wounds were on the waist, chest, and wrist.
- Their movement slowed down because of the wrist injury.
- It's insane. They caught that gap and attacked the wrist.
- And after that, they reacted immediately and blocked Hanip-chung's attack.
- The reaction speed is truly The World's Best.
"Let's go further. Here I come, Hanip-chung-ssi."
- Sura Sword Technique. 3rd Form. Instant Kill.
Sura's sword launched, aiming for Hanip-chung's left chest.
Hanip-chung deflected it with the spear. Perhaps because of the injured wrist, their reaction was slightly slow.
And what followed was Hanip-chung's low stance attack.
Sura's legs were in danger.
'Did it not learn enough?'
Sura felt disappointed in the AI, but immediately used footwork to dodge it amazingly.
Hanip-chung's attacks became fierce.
Upper stance. Middle stance. Lower stance. Spears flew from all directions.
Sura calmly prepared to block, hiding a dagger.
- ?
- Rotation?
Finally. As the spear came in at the middle stance, Sura's movement became strange.
The sword began to rotate.
He received the full force of the spear with his sword and rotated once in place.
Sura's wrist turned, receiving Hanip-chung's force entirely and redirecting it.
Hanip-chung's spear pointed in the wrong direction again, just like before.
And Sura's sword, filled with the force from the rotation, headed for Hanip-chung's head.
Chwaak!
"Phew! It's over."
Finally, Hanip-chung's head was cut, and Hanip-chung collapsed.
- Wow, using the Sura Sword Technique occasionally was good, but this time it's something different.
- It felt like it taught how to use a sword more intuitively.
If they could applaud, it was a match worth applauding. The Tusu replaced this with chat.
- Clap clap clap It was a great match. My eyes are blessed.
- If I felt awe and splendor in Ancient Booklet, this felt like a master's touch.
- Clap clap clap They aren't The World's Best for nothing.
"Thank you. Using martial arts like in the Murim days is good, but this is the foundation after all."
- Guiding the force is a masterpiece, for real.
- Deflecting attacks is definitely Sura's specialty.
"Deflecting is my specialty, indeed."
Sura smiled and pressed the next matching button.
"I hope it's even more fun. Let's do it!"
His ranked games continued.
Soon, 4 more matches took place, and Sura's rank appeared.
[Victory: Current Top: 0.21%]
[Current Rank: 25,173rd]
- Wow. 0.21%
- Maybe because they've been winning every game, the rank climbing is no joke?
- No... was this a game where you climb ranks this well?
- They'll be facing Rank 1 soon.
"...."
- Sura, why are you not talking?
Sura's mouth didn't open for a moment at the Tusu's chat, then opened.
"Ah. That. It's less fun than Ancient Booklet...."
Sura was slightly disappointed.
It was fun. It was.
Pruhan, who appeared after he turned on the stream, and Hanip-chung who appeared later.
Besides that, there were people who piqued Sura's interest at least once every match.
Not all of them, but there were some who showed their full skill.
But compared to Ancient Booklet, it's really not that great.
Ancient Booklet started from the tutorial, to the battle with Runans Abervich, to the battle between Mar Svius and Gabras Abisius.
Every single one was a battle worth taking seriously.
But compared to that, Weapon Booster was lackluster.
- No, Ancient Booklet is the first one from Silas Studio in decades, so that's why;;
- Honestly, it is a bit bland.
- Agreed agreed, it's a bit bland for Sura's skill.
The Tusu's opinions were slightly divided.
Sura just thought about ending the game and trying Ancient Booklet, but a mission was on the line.
"Phew. Let's trust it this time! I'll look forward to someone fun appearing."
- I pray. I pray. Please let someone fun appear.
- Is this a gacha? Please let a 5-star appear.
- Before our Sura hits Rank 1, let someone fun appear.
And the person who appeared left the Tusu speechless for a moment.
- ...Huh?
The person who appeared as an opponent was holding a two-handed sword.
Sura felt good. Because they were a person of the same kind as him.
Meanwhile, as their nickname appeared, the Tusu's chat became unusual.
[Haneul-taeyang-dal]
- Holy shit.
- Isn't that a 1st string member?
"Oh. Did they really appear? Who is it?"
- Info) One of the Call 1st string teams. 'Ground Revolution'. Commonly known as 'Gre's' 1st string member Cheon Hae-mun.
- How is a person's name SkySunMoon LOL
- Wow, if it's the Gre team, they placed 3rd in this CCK spring season.
The Tusu's confusion soon turned into cheers.
- Huh, then isn't this a jackpot?
- Yes! Sura is going to have a blast now LOLOLOL
- Ah, you need a pro gamer to face our Sura LOLOLOL
"...A pro gamer? This will be fun."
Sura's eyes sparkled.
"A duel with a pro gamer. Let's begin."
The esports building where various facilities of the Ground Revolution team are concentrated.
It was an 8-story building located in the Gangnam area of Seoul.
Since the capsule market is booming annually, the esports market is also very vibrant, allowing players to train in comfortable facilities.
It was lunch break for a moment.
One of the 1st string players of the Gre team.
Commonly known as Saint. Nickname Saint. Seon Ui-hyeon was sitting in the lounge, watching his usual hobby, streaming broadcasts, on his smartphone.
'Is there anything fun?'
His fingers moved busily up and down, but the moment he saw no broadcast worth watching.
Something caught his eye.
"Weapon Booster Global Rank 1 Challenge?"
It was fun. This is how much aggro you need.
"Sura? Never heard of them. Let's see...."
Ui-hyeon immediately clicked on the broadcast and soon realized the title wasn't clickbait.
"Oh...."
"Are you watching the broadcast again?"
"Ah. Hae-mun-ah."
Next to him, his 1st string colleague. Commonly known as Eclipse.
Cheon Hae-mun lowered his head and shared the screen with Ui-hyeon.
Hae-mun, who checked the screen for a moment, raised his head and began to speak.
"Oh. Weapon Booster Rank 1 challenge? That'll be hard. There's a gatekeeper there, right? Sword King, was it?
Besides, sometimes there are weird people among pro gamers, so they do hit Rank 1.
People who will be in big trouble. Those kinds of people get all the team's know-how stolen! I hide my skills there too...."
"Again, again. You're talking too much. But...they say this person is in the top 1% right now?"
"What? A regular person? They're good?"
Hae-mun sat in the seat next to him, and Ui-hyeon lifted his smartphone slightly toward him.
The two took their seats and started watching the broadcast.
"Wow! What's that reaction speed? They seem better than the 2nd string kids I saw last time? I have more to say now!"
"Please, don't talk to the 2nd string kids. Didn't you see their expressions stiffening because you talk so much?"
"...Did they?"
"Sigh."
Ui-hyeon sighed and focused on the screen again.
On the screen, Sura was just using the Sura Sword Technique to wound the enemy.
"Wow. What is that swordsmanship?"
"...Oh!"
Hae-mun's eyes lit up.
What is that swordsmanship? It was swordsmanship that looked amazing at a glance.
"Wow. It looks better than our swordsmanship? Who is that person?"
"Right?"
Another person who heard the commotion approached.
"What are you doing?"
"Ah. Director-nim."
"Resting is good, but you have to practice later, so watch in moderation."
Then Hae-mun started making a fuss.
"No. Director-nim! It's not that. We found a talent here."
"What talent? What is this. It's a stream, right?"
The director, Kang Hyeon-seok, stroked his signature beard and focused on the screen.
And soon, his mouth dropped open.
"No. This... is this swordsmanship better than the swordsmanship our team researched...?"
"That's not all. Director-nim. Reaction speed, too. Improvisation. Even combat sense. They're gifted, right?"
If Sura heard this, he would have been angry, saying that being gifted is bullshit, but Sura was not there.
Ui-hyeon shrugged his shoulders and added his opinion to Hyeon-seok's words.
Hyeon-seok thought for a moment and opened his mouth.
"Should I try contacting them...?"
At that moment, embarrassment burst from the mouth of Hae-mun, who was holding Ui-hyeon's smartphone.
"Uh uh? Why am I coming out?"
"What?"
Sura was finally properly interested.
Pro gamer. Since the advent of virtual reality,
Pro gamers are virtual reality, but now they had to move their bodies directly.
Requirements different from past pro gamers were being applied.
Combat sense. Natural physical ability, etc. People who knew how to use their bodies were needed.
People who were filtered and filtered like that showed tremendous physical ability in competitions, and Ga-hyeon had also seen their movements while watching games occasionally.
'If I had to compare, they're like the rising stars of the righteous faction.'
And he himself is The World's Best, with a higher seniority than them.
Even his exercise experience was longer for Sura.
As a senior, can't he lose to his juniors shamefully?
Sura decided to take it seriously.
"I'll take the opportunity to use the Sura Pacheon Sword Technique as well."
- Holy shit! Crazy. You're going to use the Sura Pacheon Sword Technique?
- Sura's real swordsmanship is coming out.
- Honestly, the 1st stage Sura Sword Technique is just an appetizer LOL
However, some Tusu expressed concern.
- Huh. Is it okay to use that? It'll be recorded.
- Yeah, Sura. Wouldn't it be annoying if someone rushed in to research your swordsmanship?
At those words, Sura laughed, "Pfft."
"Analyze my swordsmanship?"
Their anxiety was understandable, but Sura found it funny inside.
His swordsmanship, which surpassed the Hwagyeong and Hyeongyeong, who would dare?
Even in the past, the Murim Alliance Leader who occupied the seat of the Three Seats under Heaven, considered the strongest in Murim. The Sadoryeon leader. Even the Cheonma surpassed his swordsmanship?
"Please, analyze it. Please. So that it's worth fighting."
The Tusu who were worried at his confidence were relieved.
- Ah LOL If you analyze it, it's actually fun LOL
- If they really analyze it, Sura would probably bow and attack LOL
- How can you bow and attack, you crazy bastard LOLOL
- Sura can do it LOL
While Sura was talking, Cheon Hae-mun's AI took a stance.
The fight begins.