Chapter 11
Chapter 11: The Final Boss, Sword Master
—Did you hear? They say he's a Sword Master?
—The developer is genuinely insane lol
—Even so, there's no way he can beat a Sword Master.
—But since it's purely a sword fight, you never know?
For once, the chat was split evenly in opinion.
To be precise, the side predicting Mu-yeong's defeat was slightly higher at 6.
And that was despite the monstrous performance he had shown up until now.
That was just how much weight the name Sword Master carried.
"……."
"……."
Marcus and Mu-yeong stared each other down without so much as a twitch.
A battle of nerves—probing for the other's weakness, anticipating what attack might come next.
Though he didn't show it, Mu-yeong was genuinely surprised.
The first truly powerful opponent at his level he had seen since leaving Closed-Door Training.
But strangely, the thought that he might lose never once crossed his mind.
His finely honed five senses were telling him as much.
He took a quiet breath, then calmly spoke.
"200,000 won won't cut it for this boss, I think."
—Fr we need to raise the stakes.
—Someone put up the money (not me tho)
—It's the final boss, twenty thousand is a bit low.
—Brb charging my points (bank balance: 30,000 won)
['I'm Conflicted' has donated 10,000 Won.]
—Deal. 1,000,000 won if you win this boss.
['JustAGuyWhoOnlyEats' has donated 10,000 Won.]
—Me too, I'll donate 500,000 won if you win.
Now that's how you run a business.
Just a passing mention, and extra donations and missions started flying in.
With every amount that stacked up, Mu-yeong's blood ran hotter and hotter.
He felt like he'd go mad wanting to fight even one second sooner.
'Then shall I strike first?'
Mu-yeong lowered his upper body.
The moment he kicked off the ground, Marcus charged at him as well.
Claaang!
Two swords colliding head-on.
A sound rang out that was impossible to believe had come from such thin blades.
The soldiers surrounding them staggered, and some grimaced as they covered their ears.
Marcus spoke with an unperturbed expression.
"So it truly wasn't a fluke that you brought down the Order Commander."
"He was weaker than expected."
"That's a harsh way to speak of someone I once taught. I put quite a bit of effort into him, you know."
"Then teach him properly next time."
"Well, I never."
It sounded like pleasantries being exchanged—but the reality was anything but.
It was a desperate contest of strength, neither willing to yield even a single millimeter.
It was essentially a battle of pride.
—Woah, you can see the ground caving in, right?
—How hard are they pushing for that to happen? lol
—They're gonna burst a blood vessel at this rate; look how red they are.
The standoff didn't last long.
Both had confirmed they were evenly matched.
The first to strike was Marcus.
"Then let's see you dodge this!"
In an instant, the tip of his sword split into three.
Attacks coming in near-simultaneously.
Each one driving toward a vital point at an angle that left no room to dodge.
At that moment, Mu-yeong's form pulled sharply backward.
"Your retreating is top-notch, I'll give you that!"
It's not a retreat.
It's one step back to set up an attack.
Mu-yeong launched forward like a coiled spring.
'Heavenly Demon Three Swords, First Form.'
His target: the brown mustache fluttering in the wind.
Mu-yeong swung his blade as though dancing.
"Annihilation!"
—Oh
—Did that land?
—Probably dodged it I think?
—No way a Sword Master dies in one hit lol
—Fr, he's the final boss after all.
Just as the chat predicted, Marcus stood unscathed.
The only thing that had changed was his expression.
He was rubbing his mustache with a mildly startled look on his face.
Between his fingers, exactly one single strand of trimmed hair drifted down.
"Annihilation……. A sword art as destructive as its name."
Marcus muttered to himself, then suddenly let out an explosive surge of energy.
No longer concealing his will to fight, Marcus was the first to charge.
"Now let us do this properly!"
.
.
.
.
Clang! Claang! Clang! Claaang!
The clash of metal rang out multiple times per second.
Every single strike capable of dealing a fatal blow with even a graze.
The viewers were sweating.
—Wow, this is genuinely brutal.
—But doesn't it kind of look like Mu-yeong is slowly getting pushed back?
—There's a gap in experience to begin with, so it'd be weirder if he were winning tbh
—Still, he's holding up pretty well for what it is.
Yu Ye-rin saw it the same way.
With every exchange, it felt like the Sword Master was steadily pressing forward.
Having practically become a full commentator at this point, she said:
"But looking at how Mu-yeong's expression still isn't all that serious, I think he might have an ace up his sleeve."
—You think?
—His expression has been blank from the start though.
—If he had one, he would've used it already.
Honestly, she somewhat agreed with the chat.
But she was a fellow streamer doing a collab, and someone who was on air herself—she wasn't in a position to say that outright.
What would it do to her dignity if she flat-out said, 'I think Mu-yeong's about to get destroyed!?’
Better to stay somewhat neutral for now and only express disappointment toward the end.
'Still, I hope he wins.'
Yu Ye-rin quietly clenched her fist as she glanced at the viewer count, which had already surpassed 2,000.
In the midst of a mood racing toward its climax, she whispered so that no one could hear.
Fighting, she said.
.
.
Meanwhile,
Mu-yeong was busy fending off every one of Marcus's attacks and analyzing them.
'So this is what it looks like to have mastered a knight's swordsmanship to its absolute limits.'
He felt sorry for the one called the Order Commander, but the difference in completeness and mastery was incomparable.
Things like the unexpected trajectories of the sword, or the positioning that restricted his movement.
But something was missing.
When the Sect Leader personally gave instruction, it had been far sharper and more ferocious than this.
—Come at me with everything you have. Otherwise, you will be the one to die.
'I didn't know he actually meant that literally.'
Of course, he had come genuinely close to dying back then—but thanks to that, his skills had leapt forward dramatically.
It was those experiences, piled one atop another, that had made Mu-yeong what he was today.
"You there! Where has that early bravado gone! For all that big talk, you're doing nothing but blocking!"
"I was just thinking of the old days for a moment."
"That luxury of yours ends now!"
Marcus stepped back and raised his sword straight upright.
A crimson aura began to seep out slowly from his entire body.
It deepened and thickened—then before long, it took the shape of an enormous dragon.
"There it is! Duke Marcus's ultimate technique!"
"Not a single soul has survived taking that head-on!"
"It's truly over now!"
One might wonder if he had forgotten the rules and resorted to using aura.
But that was, to the last, a technique rooted in presence—or perhaps inner devotion.
The skin of Mu-yeong, who was facing it head-on, prickled.
'If that thing is unleashed, this clearing will be in ruins at minimum.'
The dragon moved in perfect sync with Marcus's sword, as though they were one.
As he was working out how to evade it, a clear notification sound rang in his ear.
['Sayonara' has donated 1,000 Won.]
—lol dodge that and I'll give you 100,000,000 won
‘One hundred million won?’
Strength suddenly welled up inside him.
"Do not forget those words."
"HRAAAH!"
At the same moment, Marcus came rushing in like a bolt of lightning.
The blade swept from high above down to low.
"Dragon's Breath!!!"
The dragon opened its maw wide and surged forward as though to swallow Mu-yeong whole.
Straight into that—something that felt like it would melt you down just from getting close.
Mu-yeong stepped forward boldly and unleashed his hidden ace.
Heavenly Demon Sovereign Step.
A Footwork technique whose name means to walk as though you reign over the world.
Then could a mere dragon dare challenge the master of the world?
No.
It could not.
"I-impossible!"
Marcus's eyes flew wide open as though they might tear.
And for good reason—Mu-yeong was standing there entirely unscathed.
Forgetting even that he was in the middle of a battlefield, Marcus cried out loudly.
"How…… how did you do that! How did you dodge Dragon's Breath!"
That was not a question belonging to Marcus alone.
It was the question on behalf of everyone watching Mu-yeong.
—How did he do that? Did he use some invincibility glitch?
—Honestly just easier to call it a hack at this point lol
—This man is absolutely unhinged lol
—Wait, what?
Yu Ye-rin was about ready to lose her mind.
'How on earth did he do that?'
Shameful as it was to admit, she had genuinely been predicting his defeat this time around.
She had been certain he'd be swallowed up and erased by that crimson dragon.
But—not just barely surviving, but completely evading it entirely.
Yu Ye-rin, covered in goosebumps, swallowed hard.
'If I had been in that position……'
No.
Absolutely impossible.
It was obvious she wouldn't have even lasted 30 exchanges, let alone taken a hit from that ultimate technique.
In the meantime, Mu-yeong lightly tapped the ground as if it were nothing.
"My turn now, I suppose?"
Mu-yeong took the exact same stance as Marcus.
The moment he pictured the dragon from just a moment ago and focused, an even deeper and more crimson energy enveloped the surroundings.
"Th—this is……!"
—????
—???
—He's copying it??
—Insane
—lolololol
A dragon far more ferocious and enormous than Marcus's.
Its sheer oppression caused one person after another to collapse to the ground.
Some even wet themselves.
'This alone is not enough.'
To win decisively, he needed to layer in another Form.
In that case.
"Heavenly Demon Three Swords, Second Form."
Heavenly Demon Flash.
A technique that swings the sword with blinding speed to rain down simultaneous strikes.
A Form that evokes the image of a net, with no path of escape.
And if this were woven into the dragon and released together?
Krroooaarr!
The dragon lunged forward rapidly and let out a roar no one should have been able to hear.
With its jaws stretched wide open, it tore straight through Marcus.
"KAAAAAAGH!"
Streams of blood began bursting from across his entire body.
The moment he started thrashing in agony, the mood reversed in an instant.
—Whoa whoa?
—Wait what?
—Is he actually going to win?
—Insane lol
Thud!
Before long, Marcus dropped to one knee.
By the time the dragon had vanished entirely, his head had bowed as well.
His whole body carved with countless sword marks.
Anyone watching could see—it was Mu-yeong's victory.
—Legend legend legend.
—He beat a Sword Master?????
—Never in my life did I think I'd see someone clear Castle Defense Stage 10 lol
"What! He actually won!?"
Yu Ye-rin cried out before she even realized it.
Unbelievable as it was, the sight before her eyes proved it was real.
"This is no time to be standing here, I need to get to Mu-yeong's personal screen fast……!"
‘Forget the separate view or anything like that’—this was no moment to be thinking about such things.
The moment she switched to Mu-yeong's stream, Marcus happened to be asking a question.
"Hah…… hah……. What is your name."
"Mu-yeong."
"I will…… remember it for the rest of my life."
With those words, Marcus collapsed.
Accompanied by the especially loud thud that followed, enormous text filled the screen.
[Castle Defense CLEAR]
Yu Ye-rin threw her arms into the air.
"He cleared it!!!"
.
.
.
.
['Mu-yeong's One True God' has donated 1,000 Won.]
—You're going to stream tomorrow, right? Please, please stream.
['Sky Bunny' has donated 1,000 Won.]
—Fr if you don't go live I'm writing your name in my note and jumping in the Han River.
Even after the game ended, the donations didn't stop.
Word must have gotten around—the viewer count kept climbing.
But now it was truly time to wrap up.
Mu-yeong said out his final message.
"I can't say for certain, but I'll go live if I have the time. That's all for today."
—Noooo……
—I've become a body that can't be satisfied with anything other than Mu-yeong now, take responsibility.
—Fr there's nobody else who plays games this cleanly.
—I can't watch other streamers anymore, they're just not entertaining……
Just as he was about to leave the Lobby, Yu Ye-rin, who had ended her stream, approached him.
Her demeanor had subtly shifted into something more respectful.
"U—um. Mu-yeong."
"What is it?"
"It's just…… since it was a collab stream, I feel terrible that I barely contributed anything. I'm sorry."
"Not at all. Thanks to you, didn't we hit record highs in both viewers and donations?"
"Even so……."
She had been hemming and hawing, but seemed to make up her mind as she continued.
"You know the donations we agreed to split fifty-fifty? I don't need my share, so please take all of it."
"Are you sure about that?"
"Of course."
"Thank you."
Mu-yeong broke into a broad smile and began doing the math.
'So how much did I make in total today?'
It seemed like he'd received nearly nine million won.
That's several times more than the day before, isn't it?
Having confirmed that Mu-yeong's mood had lifted, Yu Ye-rin brought up what she'd actually wanted to say.
"And also……. If you ever get the chance, would it be possible to do another collab someday?"
In the current situation, a few million won was nowhere near a deciding factor.
What mattered more was holding onto the connection with Mu-yeong and keeping it alive.
Anyone could see this was someone with the makings of a superstar—there was no way she could let him go.
At the sight of Yu Ye-rin's eyes sparkling, Mu-yeong let out a small chuckle.
"Sure. If there's a good game, let's play together again."
"I'll be on standby 24/7! Just call me whenever you need me!"
She clapped her hands together, then backed away.
"Then I'll take my leave! You worked so hard today, truly!"
Yu Ye-rin logged out in the blink of an eye.
She had bolted before those words from a moment ago could be taken back.
Watching her go, Mu-yeong gave a small wave.
"I'll be heading out as well."
—Sad to see you go……
—Byebye
—See you later.
—Time…… has stopped……
With one last message from the chat, the stream ended.
Mu-yeong stepped out of the capsule and stretched.
Right on cue, his stomach clock went off.
"I should eat first. Is anyone around?"
"Yes! Young Lord!"
Iron Blood Witch and Divine Dragon came rushing over.
To think they had stayed and watched the stream all the way to the end, even though they could have gone back in between.
He wanted to give them even a small token of gratitude.
"I'm a bit peckish—let's go outside and grab something to eat. Today, it's on me."