Chapter 29
He pointed beyond the monitor with hollow eyes.
[How dare this lowly one….]
The Haenam Sect martial artist's great challenge.
The end of that final journey was right before his eyes.
The Demonic Cult's greatest expert, who had slain the former greatest martial artist under heaven, and.
The current world's greatest martial artist, the Heavenly Demon Ayulcheon.
At last, on my eighth attempt, I finally folded the guy who had been stronger than any boss up like a shrimp.
-Wow, he actually beat himㅋㅋㅋ
-Is the Heavenly Demon a man too?? No twist??
-This bastard's just a shrimp-making masterㅇㅇ
-He really went and threw a sausage party..
“...What do you mean, my companions?”
With the no-kill and wooden-sword penalties active,
I hadn't defeated the Heavenly Demon alone.
There were Namgung Ryong, Shaolin's First Disciple Banseong, who had accompanied me here, the Young Ice Lord, heir to the Ice Palace, and so on.
For reference, they were all men.
I just never clicked with any of the female characters.
-Agh;;
-First time I've seen someone make a sausage party in this game;;
-Namgung-hyung gets a pass, but what's with the bald bastard??
“Wasn't his the best stat spread?”
I said that while nodding toward the character who was pressing his palms together.
Shaolin's First Disciple Banseong.
The guy's physical stats alone were so incredible they could rival the Heavenly Demon.
“But is that really all you took away from this?”
How hard had it been to get this far?
At one point, I nearly snapped the wooden sword in half.
Now I understood why people said not to take the no-kill route.
With so many scumbags in this world, how could anyone insist on sparing them all?
But that's exactly what made the no-kill route worthwhile.
In fact, wasn't taking the no-kill route less a battle against one's enemies than against oneself?
-What are you supposed to say to a guy who made a sausage party in a dating sim??
-I'll give him credit for clearing the no-kill route;;
-He really went and cleared it
“Well? Impressive, right?”
-So when are you playing the dating sim??
-Please eat the girls already
But it seemed the viewers here hadn't reached that enlightenment.
What a shame… Once you'd attained inner enlightenment, mere lust should seem so pointless.
As the greatest martial artist in the Central Plains who had grasped the ultimate insight, I offered them a word of advice.
“Guys, this is gameplay infused with the game company's philosophy. Do you understand?”
Don't obsess over women; focus on the gameplay.
Isn't clearing the no-kill route on your first playthrough freaking incredible?
-I don't get it, you fucking bastard?
-ㅗ
-Why did you abandon Namgung Sa-mae??
...That was what I wanted to say, but it didn't seem to get through.
"Who is Namgung Sa-mae."
-??
-?
-Fuck..
-The one you returned;;
Returned? Oh.
Looking at chat, I remembered.
She was the younger sister of Namgung Ryong, a member of our legendary first-string team.
She'd been in my party briefly, but after trying her out a few times, I'd sent her straight back to her family.
“No, she whines too much.”
Going on about swords this and that.
“What does a woman know about swords?”
-What
-What are you, then???
-Gasp
“...That's just how things are in this era.”
Maybe that was true of a sect, but.
Wasn't succession in a family usually reserved for the eldest son?
A martial clan's daughter would eventually marry into another family.
There was no way they would properly teach such a woman the clan's secret arts.
So some girl who didn't know what she was talking about had the nerve to lecture me, the legitimate heir of Haenam.
-He's not wrong;;
-She was supposed to become Seongwon-hyung's wife..
-So who does he marry??
-But she's pretty as fuck
“Pretty? What's so pretty about her? She's so drab.”
Besides, if she's a character on a screen, shouldn't she have some flash to her?
With her jet-black hair and dull eyes, was she even enjoyable to look at?
-..?
-If she's not pretty, then who is?
“She's right here.”
I said that and pointed at Wayo's character.
With her blond hair cascading elegantly,
And covered in accessories shaped like her signature question marks.
Wasn't the goddess of question marks sitting boldly on the screen, practically glowing?
-For real..
-Ah, rightㅋㅋ;
-You really are something.
-Honestly, if you think it doesn't suit him, smash that recommendㅋㅋ
-That face is kind of overwhelming
-When is he changing characters?
"This is...."
Hmm.
I knew it too. It didn't quite match my voice.
But what could I do? I'd already spent a fortune having it made….
And objectively speaking, wasn't it pretty?
It was a little overwhelming, but the longer you looked at it, the more endearing it became.
“Everyone's so shy.”
More importantly, they were already all here watching my stream, so what was the point of complaining about my avatar now?
If they really hated it, they wouldn't have been sitting here in the first place.
So even if they talked like that, they must have liked Wayo's character deep down.
-??
-ㅗ
-???
“Anyway, shall we head back home soon? Seongwon needs to find himself a girlfriend too.”
In any case, I really did need to find a woman now.
I'd go home and look for a decent girl.
-Haenam does have plenty of pretty girls, though..
-Take Namgung Sa-mae back
-Please rescue Princess Dokgo Soso
“How do we get back to Haenam? Is there a boat?”
-This bastard's ignoring us;
-Did you hate Namgung Sa-mae that much?
-ㅇㅇ Take the boat and you're good
-Let's find Dokgo Soso
No, I mean.
The road to Haenam was long enough already, so how could I stop anywhere else?
I'd turned on the stream in the evening and had already stayed up all night.
I had no energy for that—I'd be lucky not to fall asleep during the trip.
“Tsk, then should I disband the party?”
More importantly, if I was going home now, I had to disband the party….
Honestly, it seemed a waste. Couldn't I take these guys with me?
-Tell them to fuck off, please
-They're just hastily made male characters, for fuck's sake
“...Okay.”
I had been planning to somehow bring them along and have them help rebuild the sect.
But the backlash was just too strong.
So I disbanded the party on the spot and headed back to Haenam Island, where the Haenam Sect was located.
Well, I was the greatest martial artist in the world now. What could go wrong?
The Demonic Cult had been disbanded, and the unorthodox sects had weakened, so.
This was my world now, right?
I'd effectively already seen the ending, and thought of what came afterward as something like an epilogue.
With a relaxed heart, I arrived at my home, Haenam Island,
“...I told you we should bring the others.”
-Uh.
-Why is it like this here??
I gazed at my hometown, which had become Hell Island instead of Haenam Island.
“How did this happen?”
-But it does make senseㅇㅇ..
-You abandoned the Haenam Sectㅋㅋㅋ
-Looks like the Sect Leader couldn't handle it alone
-You were supposed to block them before you left
Even if the Haenam Sect had been on the verge of collapse, it really had been the gatekeeper protecting Haenam Island.
Once even I left, it seemed they simply couldn't hold out.
[What the hell are you?!]
I looked at a shabby pirate who picked a fight with me the moment I arrived.
“This isn't something that happens often, right?”
-Honestly, this is my first time seeing itㅋㅋ
-Well, you abandoned them..
-This was originally a bad ending, you know
“What were the other sects doing, then?”
What on earth were the sects that had been nibbling away at Haenam's interests doing now?
I searched for the other sects on Haenam Island in a fury,
but the pirates had already gotten to all of them, leaving them barely clinging to life.
Hmm, uh.
-Uh.
-We're screwed
-What do we do now?
-Don't say this place looks like Wayo's fan cafe
“Did you know, everyone? The scenery in Sichuan is absolutely incredible.”
-??
-?
-This bastard can't be..?
-You garbage bastardㅋㅋ
“...Just kidding.”
It was morning now, with the sun about to rise.
I'd planned to quickly rebuild the sect and end the stream, but what the hell was this?
This game was more tiring in combat than you'd expect.
…Could I just run away and establish the sect somewhere else?
[With so much trash scattered across this beach.]
[I shall become the waves and sweep it away myself.]
Meanwhile, Han Seongwon was obliviously spouting lines like that.
-Kyaㅋㅋㅋ
-The Great Seongwon
-Now that's the greatest martial artist in the world
-He's on a whole different level from an unorthodox bastard like Wayoㅋㅋ
“Ha… Well, let's give it a shot.”
It was a game, so I wanted to run away, but what else could I do?
I had to give it a proper ending... no, achieve a dignified conclusion.
-I'm going to bed, thenㅋㅋ
-Whew, I watched the whole thing
-gg
“....”
Bastards.
**
[Wayo clears the no-kill route ㄷㄷ]
He really did it
-Did he actually do it??
ㄴ Yeahㅋㅋ He beat the Heavenly Demon
ㄴ How the hell did he do thatㅋㅋ
-He did it by building his party like that
ㄴ How did he build it?
ㄴ He made a sausage party
ㄴ ???
[Wayo's Wuxia War party]
(Party characters)
These are seriously the most min-maxed picks, fuck;;
-? There were male characters there too?ㅋㅋ
ㄴ They're performance picks you add one by one when things get desperate, but he shoved them all in
-Where are the female characters??
ㄴ For real;;
-Namgung Sa-mae is fucking gorgeous, and he passed on her
ㄴ He kicked her out, remember
ㄴ Seriously?
ㄴ Yeahㅋㅋ He sent her home because she talked too much
[Wayo: My avatar is pretty]
(Wayo avatar screenshot)
Does this bastard really think his avatar is pretty??
-It's fucking overwhelming
ㄴ For real, it looks like a character from a middle-school girl's fantasy notebook
ㄴ A red-glasses pickㅋㅋ
-It is pretty, considering how much money he put into it
ㄴ It hurts my eyes, though
ㄴ That's why we watch itㅋㅋ
[Wayo's cartoon avatar wasn't supposed to look like that]
(Namgung Sa-mae illustration)
If he'd just used this as-is, he'd have pulled twice the viewership
-For real
-This is what you call factsㅋㅋ
-He should've gone with something more ordinary
ㄴ Having a weird avatar is a hallmark of small-time streamersㅋㅋ
[Wayo's being a small-time streamer isn't because of his cartoon avatar]
(Wayo's day-off notice)
It's because he takes half the damn week off
-Another day off?ㅋㅋㅋ
ㄴ Yeahㅋㅋ
-Still, he streams for a long time when he does go live, so let's have a drink
ㄴ He'd stream for a long time if he could just commit to a game, fuck
-What does this bastard do all day when he's not streaming??
ㄴ What do you think? He must be workingㅋㅋ
ㄴ For real, probably working..
[Breaking) Wayo takes two consecutive days off]
Why does he take so many days off?
-He's always been a guy who takes a lot of days off
-He played plenty of Rell, so now he has to workㅋㅋ
ㄴ You mean he took lots of days off even while playing Rell?
[Wayo's donations have still been rolling in lately]
Isn't he going full-time?
-If he makes enough, he'll decide for himself
-Isn't being a VTuber too unstable?
ㄴ With Wayo's ability, he could make it work; he takes that much time off and still gets around 300 viewers
ㄴ Around 300 viewersㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-Don't you need to hit a thousand to make it worthwhile??
[Notice) Wayo takes three consecutive days offㅋㅋ]
It's Whatㅋㅋㅋ
-Did he give up on streaming???
-No, three days is a bit much
-Don't bring small-time streamer day-off notices here; nobody gives a shit
ㄴ For realㅋㅋ
ㄴ I wondered what this post was
ㄴ This is part of What;;
ㄴ (It's What emote)
[Don't be too hard on Wayo for taking days off]
[Author: Exclamation Mark Drifter]
The fact that Mr. Wayo, who is always so serious about streaming, is taking three days off
Doesn't that mean he's that busy??
Instead of criticizing and cursing him, everyone should look at him with warm eyesㅇㅇ..
-Isn't a streamer supposed to stream even when busy?
ㄴ For real
-The viewer says it's 6 p.m. right now
-The Wayo-dog bastard is at it again
-I don't want to?? I'm gonna curse him out like hellㅋㅋ
-He lowered the average opinion of Wayo-dogs by two whole levelsㅋㅋ
ㄴ Smash that recommendㅋㅋ
*
“Ah, shit….”
“Ahyeon, what are you doing?”
“Huh? It's nothing.”
I closed my phone and awkwardly scratched my head.
Well, if you're busy, you can take a few days off.
"Phew."
I leaned back against the seat and gazed out the window.
“Pretty, isn't it?”
“Yes, it's nice. I've been looking at it for three days straight, though.”
Through the half-open window, pink cherry blossoms filled my field of vision.
They were pretty, but... right now, they were my enemy.
Why else would I have taken three days off?
“So what? They'll be gone soon, right? You have to see them while they're pretty.”
“Right….”
Yes, cherry blossom season had arrived—the season when I had to shoot a ton of spring pictorials.