LIGHTNOVELONLINE chapter 67
Returning, but the world isn’t ruined -67-
When the match between Shinjiro and the Sword Girl began.
[“Ah, I know this player. Isn’t she the one who participated in Ultimate Fighter?”]
“Yes. During my Ultimate Fighter days, didn’t I face Tsuki a few times? A showdown between Shinjiro and Sword Girl in the first match. It should be an exciting game.”
The Japanese commentator and caster introduced the Sword Girl with a relaxed attitude.
They didn’t find the appearance of the Sword Girl significant.
“Yes, she’s a good player. I didn’t know she started Iron Fist though.”
Of course, Tsuki’s thoughts were different.
‘Sword Girl… definitely…’
Some people simply refer to her as a Haraang Won Tool from her ELF days.
But the Sword Girl that Tsuki remembered was a bit different.
Top-tier pro?
No, not really.
Even when she debuted a few years younger than others in the early ELF days, and by the time she had become a seasoned veteran towards the end of the league, the Sword Girl had never heard the sound of being top-tier throughout her pro career.
Sometimes B+, sometimes A-, sometimes a vague A grade…
She was a top-tier reader, but she had never been top-tier.
‘But…’
Tsuki remembers.
No, more accurately, she can’t forget.
The brilliance that the Sword Girl showed once.
The stage is the quarterfinals of the World Championships!
Facing the prime Anatol, who boasted the strongest form ever!
The Sword Girl from that time who almost ‘defeated’ him!
Of course, most might think differently.
After all, she almost defeated him, didn’t actually defeat him, and barely compared to ‘that loser.’
But that was the ridicule of the ignorant…
*Sigh.*
Tsuki’s head tilted slightly.
Ridicule…? It’s not exactly ridicule. It’s somewhat true though…
Anyway!
Still, the surprise Tsuki felt back then was real.
Could she have almost overwhelmed the Anatol from that time just with ‘that loser’?
No, that’s impossible.
What made it possible was the Sword Girl’s so-called ‘true talent.’
Although she couldn’t fully bloom during her Ultimate Fighter days, even then, she had shown glimpses of that true talent several times.
It’s not for nothing that gamers like Anatol, Tsuki, Beyond, and others have all at least once said in interviews, ‘Sword Girl? She’s a pro.’
Swish, swish!
“Ah-“
And it was clear now that the talent that was not fully bloomed back then has now flourished.
Swords clash at a rapid pace.
Both have chosen Masamune.
But what’s overwhelming the opponent is…
Shuk-!
A female-type Masamune!
In other words, the Blackened Girl!
[“Ah, player Shinjiro… Seems to be holding a reconnaissance match, huh.”]
[“…That’s correct! Um, usually when player Shinjiro encounters an opponent wielding a sword, he acts like this. It’s to grasp the opponent’s swordsmanship style!”]
The commentators hastily explained.
However, to Tsuki, it didn’t seem like a reconnaissance match.
Cheng! Shuk-
The Blackened Girl’s sword strikes piercing the opponent’s openings at the right moments.
Swish!
Of course…
‘Today, Shinjiro seems a bit…’
He seemed slightly off.
No, precisely, when the Blackened Girl saw the female-type Masamune picked by the opponent, her expression seemed to lose its spirit…
As a result, she ended up making mistakes right from the start of the match, giving the Blackened Girl an advantage.
[Shinjiro]
■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ □ □ □ □
[Blackened Girl]
■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ □
And that’s the current HP situation.
Compared to Anatol or Tsuki, the Blackened Girl’s accumulated experience and skills, the so-called “rice ball,” were by no means meager from the early days.
She couldn’t afford to squander the advantage gained in the first exchange.
Chyeng!
Shinjiro skillfully deflecting the opponent’s trajectory.
Clang! Swish!
But then, he allowed a sword strike to land.
Of course, Shinjiro also retaliated similarly.
[Shinjiro]
■ ■ ■ ■ ■ □ □ □ □ □
[Blackened Girl]
■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ □ □
Once the advantage was given up, if an equal amount of HP disappeared, it would only be his loss.
Rather than taking flesh and bone, the Blackened Girl came with a “I’ll give you my flesh, so give me yours” kind of approach.
Shinjiro’s face showed signs of irritation.
The early mistake was haunting him painfully.
The intense battle continued.
[Shinjiro]
– A swordsmanship genius and the future prince of the Japanese gaming world –
VS
[Dark Girl]
-Former Ultimate Fighter Pro Gamer-
The screen of the official broadcast from Japan.
There was clearly such subtitles attached···
[Shinjiro]
-Current Iron Fist Pro Gamer-
VS
[Dark Girl]
-Former Ultimate Fighter Pro Gamer-
As it subtly switched to different subtitles···
[Shinjiro]
VS
[Dark Girl]
They suddenly concealed their identities.
Perhaps feeling too embarrassed themselves, they simply displayed their names as if there were no subtitles from the beginning.
However, even so···
Swish, swish!
-Swish!
[Oh, Shinjiro! It’s your chance! You’ve properly pierced through the opponent’s gap!]
[Great! That’s it! This is Shinjiro’s strength! Subtlety! The subtlety of striking late but reaching first, the subtlety of “後發先至”!]
[Shinjiro]
■ ■ ■ ■ □ □ □ □ □ □
[Dark Girl]
■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ □ □ □ □
When Shinjiro’s struggle somewhat equalized the HP situation.
[Shinjiro]
-Swordsmanship prodigy and the prince of the next generation in the Japanese gaming world-
VS
[Dark Girl]
-Sword Hee, the top female swordsman in Korea-
Once again, the subtitles reveal their identities.
Even the description of the Dark Girl has changed.
It seems that simply labeling them as former pros is too inadequate for the current intense battle.
The subtitles have been changed as naturally as possible, with their best efforts.
-hahahaha, lolololol
-Real-time reflection lololol
-Lolololol, seriously, I can’t stop laughing at that
-Look, Sword Hee is being treated well
However, for viewers who have been watching their appearance from the beginning, it was naturally noticeable.
Especially for the viewers of Lee Dohyuk’s room, who have been focusing on the subtitles since earlier.
There was a separate Korean commentary, but the broadcast was left as it was with the appearance of Student No. 4, which viewers welcomed, hosted by Lee Dohyuk.
In today’s world, real-time foreign language interpretation was usually done by AI capsules, but more importantly for the viewers, Lee Dohyuk’s reactions were more significant than the official commentary.
“It seems Black Girl will win.”
Lee Dohyuk’s evaluation after watching the match so far.
The skill gap between the two is not that significant.
In some aspects, Black Girl is better, while in others, Shinjiro is superior.
At this rate, Black Girl’s victory by a small margin seems likely.
But as fate would have it.
[Shinjiro]
□ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □
[Black Girl]
■ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □
In the end, Shinjiro lost without overcoming the HP difference.
“······”
[Uh, well···]
The Japanese commentary, along with Shinjiro’s crestfallen face, was left speechless.
-ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-LOLㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-Japan’s downfall
-ㅋㅋㅋㅋhahahaha, the subtitles are hilarious
[Shinjiro]
VS
[Black Girl]
Of course, the subtitles had once again disappeared without a trace.
**
Time passed, and before they knew it, it was already the 7th match.
[Uh… The next match will be between Ido Hyoku Sang and Player Jao Lung.]
Of course, the Japanese commentators’ energy was almost at rock bottom.
It was understandable; after all, wasn’t this a streamer competition designed from the outset for Shinjiro’s victory?
However, such Shinjiro was completely defeated in the early rounds.
Although two Japanese players made it to the quarterfinals after the previous 6 matches, one couldn’t really expect them to win.
They had been somewhat filtered through the qualifiers, but still, the participants in this competition varied greatly in skill.
Among the Japanese players who made it to the quarterfinals, one was a lower-ranked amateur, and the other was just an ordinary streamer.
They might have some recognition, but they were celestial-level users who couldn’t reach a pro level.
They were likely recruited originally to support Shinjiro.
[Jao Lung is… one of the rising stars in the Chinese Iron Fist league, right?]
In the 7th match, the opponent Ido Hyuk faced.
Jao Lung could also be considered one of those recruited for support roles.
Although known as a rising star in China, Jao Lung’s skill gap with Shinjiro was evident.
This was because the popularity of Iron Fist within China was not particularly high.
Iron Fist leads the global fighting game market, but there is one country that Iron Fist has failed to penetrate, and that is China.
Just like in the 21st century when KOF 97 dominated, even in this full-dive era, Chinese gamers are obsessed with KOF FD, known in China as Fist of Yellow Emperor FD.
Anyway-
[Zhao Long: I will show the dignity of a great nation / Zhao Long / 445 viewers]
Even if the popularity is low and the number of users is small, it is only natural by Chinese standards.
While Zhao Long’s Tworc broadcast had barely 400 viewers, Zhao Long’s HuYaTV viewership reached a whopping…
[Zhao Long: I will show the dignity of a great nation / Zhao Long / 523,418 viewers]
523,000 and 3,000!
Of course, not all of those 523,000 are real people.
Due to the nature of Chinese streaming platforms where viewer numbers go up with active chats, donations, likes, etc., most of those 523,000 are fake.
Still, even considering that, it is by no means a small number of viewers.
“Shin Jiro is going to eliminate himself like this. The winner of this tournament will be me.”
Zhao Long confidently declared victory in front of them.
‘Geumhee? That woman is a bit concerning, but…’
The Korean woman who defeated Shin Jiro in the first match.
Although Shin Jiro had his blood drawn early on, no matter what, with any decent skill, one would not have been able to defeat Shin Jiro.
In other words, even as Zhao Long, one should be cautious of her.
‘But the others…’
Not rookies like Shin Jiro, just amateurs who are not expected to shine, or celestial level streamers who are not pro-level, and amateurs who have lucked out in the matchups.
“hehehe.”
Zhao Long chuckled softly as he skimmed through the participant information provided by the tournament organizers.
The only one to watch out for might be the woman Geumhee whom he would meet in the finals!
Apart from her, there seemed to be no participants Zhao Long needed to worry about.
Moreover, his opponent in the first match seemed easy.
‘A mere streamer from a small country.’
It had only been a week since she started broadcasting.
The Iron Fist rank was Tian Shen.
It might seem quite high from an average person’s perspective, but once you reach a pro level, even a deity above a deity can be easily defeated if determined.
That was the case for Zhao Long as well.
He thought his opponent wouldn’t be a tough one.
-hahahaha
-The Japanese Dagger King will drop out on his own
-Let’s go, Zhao Long!
His viewers shared similar thoughts.
Why did Zhao Long and other Chinese viewers have no information about Lee Do-hyuk?
The reason was simple.
Chinese Iron Fist users mainly played on the China server.
Although it was possible to connect to the Asia server, the China server, specially created for Chinese players, was overwhelmingly preferred.
The reason being, unlike the Asia server where an account once suspended cannot play again, on the China server, infinite account creation was possible.
In China, anyone who doesn’t use hacks is a fool.
[-Player Zhao Rong? Please enter the waiting room.]
“Understood.”
At that moment.
A whisper from the event official announcing readiness.
Zhao Rong, in his personally decorated VR room, adjusted the settings.
With Sinjiro’s elimination, his chances of winning the tournament had skyrocketed.
In line with that, shouldn’t he also display his showmanship as a pro gamer?
Goooo-
The VR room transformed according to Zhao Rong’s settings.
In the distance, along with a tent, a gate-like structure came into view.
That was the archery range.
Indeed.
Zhao Rong, intending to portray the Chinese war deity Guan Yu in front of viewers!
“I will return before this wine cools.”
Reciting a famous line before Guan Yu could behead Hua Xiong, Zhao Rong left for the waiting room.
Clack-
[GET READY FOR THE NEXT BATTLE]
And thus, the 7th match began.
-Ooh
-It’s really Zhao Rong!
-Even excessive for a Korean!
Viewers in his room chatted about his appearance.
Not entirely incorrect.
Because Lee Dohyuk was not Hua Xiong.
[Oh, the match is starting!]
“Zhao Rong! Charge at your opponent as soon as the match begins!”
But Zhao Rong wasn’t sure if he would face Guan Yu.
Hook, strike! Parry!
-Clang!
Barely 5 seconds into the match.
“Eek!”
Zhao Rong let out a scream akin to a maiden’s.
Three to the left, three to the right.
It was because of Sam Sam.
[Hm, interesting]
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[Zhao Rong]
□ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □
Perfectly, 7 matches, concluded!
He kept his promise. Zhao Rong!
I only turned my head!