Episode 13
Alha!
Stream's live!
lol
hey!
Alpaca watched the rapidly scrolling chat.
Though he couldn't calculate exact numbers, the messages seemed to be coming faster than usual.
Collaboration streams naturally drew more attention and viewers.
There had been promotions from Seojun's viewers too, led by fans of Assassin of Joseon.
But most importantly, the 20,000 viewers who normally watched Alpaca's streams were now seeing Seojun's gameplay live.
So many curious viewers had reignited discussions about the collab in Alpaca’s community forums.
[Viewers: 4,327]
They hit 4,000 viewers within seconds of going live.
The numbers kept climbing with no signs of stopping.
Alpaca smiled contentedly before diving into VR at the perfect moment.
“Tah!”
The dark stream screen brightened as Alpaca appeared in the lobby.
Alha!
hi
Here to see NoName
Tah
-_-
[Viewers: 10,000]
The count had already passed 10,000 and was racing toward 20,000.
“Welcome, everyone! You know what today is, right?”
stfu and leave
You think we don’t know?
fr just get Alpaca off screen
“Yeah yeah. But hey, this is my stream and it seems like no one’s here for me. Hah.”
Alpaca feigned hurt feelings, but chat responded predictably:
yep
Correct
You suck anyway
Wait no? I’m here for Alpaca?
“Oh? Daebangeo-nim, you’re here for me?”
Years of streaming had honed Alpaca’s ability to pluck specific messages from the chat flood—a crucial skill for real-time interaction.
Then TheBestDefenseIsWinterDaebangeo typed again:
Gotta see King’s Game lol
“No King’s Game today, asshole. Banned.”
LMAOOOOO
Toxic af lololol
??? Why not today?
“Why not today? Great question! Because today we’re learning Musou! From whom? Let me introduce our professor!”
Alpaca bantered while signaling to Seojun offscreen:
“Streamer Jin Seojun-nim!”
tsk tsk tsk
clap clap
WOOOOOW
....
Why no show?
Alpaca focused the camera on the spawn point.
Awkward silence stretched beyond normal loading times.
He blurted into the dead air:
“Huh? Why isn’t he coming? Seojun-nim, if you’re watching, hurry up! This is awkward. Hey! Manager, do something!”
Phone collab? LOLOL
Wait, is the collab not today?
“It’s not a phone collab! We’ll even have an offline afterparty later.”
Then a notification popped up in Alpaca’s friend window.
A whisper message.
“Huh? A message. Oh no—did something go wrong?”
Alpaca hurriedly opened the whisper, only to freeze at its contents:
[How do I join your lobby? Can you send an invite? Hehe...]
Alpaca’s face flushed with genuine embarrassment.
Was this real?
A bit?
He scrambled to recover:
“Uh… Well, Seojun-nim only started using capsules last week, so cut him some slack.”
LOOOOOL
OMG ded
His “hehe” is killing me lol
This is our professor? LMAO
Bba-bba-bbaa! Bba-baa!
Alpaca’s companion Daebak, stationed in the lobby, howled at the sky to herald the newcomer’s arrival.
"Hello. Sorry I'm late. I'm streamer Jin Seo-jun."
The lobby's center brightened as Seo-jun's character materialized. He wore an awkward expression while greeting everyone, his start already slightly derailed.
"Hahaha! That happens. To be precise, I'm still a beginner."
Seo-jun recalled the most mortifying moment he'd experienced recently - what had just occurred inside the capsule earlier. He glanced at the chat reactions he'd been ignoring and felt relieved.
-Lol still can't reach the lobby
-<<<<<< This dude trying to learn from a noob
-Alpaca's fault for not prepping lololol
The chat with nearly 20,000 users operated on a different level of intensity. Messages scrolled by dizzyingly fast, carrying a slightly spicy edge - roasting the streamer seemed to have become standard entertainment.
Each stream's chat developed its own culture based on the streamer's personality. Some streamers scolded their viewers who paradoxically enjoyed it, while others maintained pristine broadcasts. Among these, Seo-jun preferred this unrestrained atmosphere.
'At least they won't mock my skills... Probably...'
That seemed plausible.
Alpaca began explaining their collab's origins:
"Right! As you know, thanks to Seo-jun catching Drake, I got roped into this King of Games challenge."
[Some Dumbass donated 1,000 won!]
[???: If he succeeds, I'll formally take him as my master and keep doing King of Games until I can beat Drake in Musou mode!]
The perfectly timed donation notification made Seo-jun burst into laughter, recalling yesterday's events.
"You're actually banning me? And Seo-jun! You shouldn't laugh! Even if I messed up, none of this would've happened if you hadn't caught Drake!"
"You're right. I do feel partially responsible toward Alpaca."
"See?"
"My mistake was thoughtlessly catching Drake on my second gaming day, never imagining someone would stake their reputation on failing to beat him in Musou mode."
-LMAOOOO
-Reverse roast engaged!
-Translation: Sorry but your fault
-Translation: What you gonna do?
-Translation: Alpaca's an idiot
How far would these people go? They kept roasting Alpaca while crafting excuses. Seo-jun and Alpaca exchanged glances and laughed.
Alpaca couldn't shake his impression of Seo-jun's composure. The rookie showed no nerves before 20,000 viewers - if anything, he appeared to relish delivering that verbal counterattack.
"Fine, my fault. So please save me here, Professor."
"I'll try my best, Alpaca."
Everyone present - Seo-jun, Alpaca, and viewers alike - knew redemption was impossible.
"Alright! Today's agenda has two parts. First, you'll join my game to demonstrate how you caught Drake..."
-???
-Don't try to cheese it
-Smooth operator lololol
An instant barrage of fishing hooks(?) flooded chat. Seo-jun watched Alpaca swiftly pivot with feigned disappointment.
"Just kidding! I'll be joining Professor's game to learn through observation."
Assassin's Dawn featured a co-op assassination system allowing players to invite others. Guests could either assist missions or sabotage the host.
"Wait! You're doing a naked run too? Any particular reason? What basic skills did you take?"
"Hmm... No specific reason or skills?"
"You've been playing skill-free? Not even basic passives like movement speed or damage boosts?"
"Nope."
"Why?"
"Didn't seem necessary?"
Truthfully, he hadn't known skills existed until preparing for this collab. But admitting that would undermine his image, so Seo-jun opted for spin.
-Kyaaa!
-We're doomed!!! Can we copy this?
-Now THIS is a true naked run
-Alpaca needs to reset skills ASAP if he wants to flex like this
-No skills for real?
-Yup
-Alpaca - reset your skill points NOW!
Alpaca felt everything turning against him since Seo-jun's arrival. Still, seeing viewer numbers hit 25,000 eased his frustration.
"And your skill window's completely missing from the interface?"
This explained Seo-jun's ignorance - he'd only learned skills existed during collab prep.
"Visit the tavern after your first contract. Christina noona unlocks it there."
"Ah. I greeted her post-tutorial but never returned. Makes sense."
Suddenly, Alpaca paused mid-conversation.
"Wait. Why did you even catch Drake? The Assassins' Guild didn't contract you."
"Got recruited by gang members after pickpocketing at the market."
"Ah...?"
Seojun said casually, but Alpaca's expression shifted moment by moment.
"Ah..."
Though they’d had a meeting yesterday, they hadn’t known these specific details.
-ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-wwwwww Looks wrecked because of Koitz the pickpocket wwww
-The real culprit is the pickpocket lololol
-Is he even a master craftsman? lololol
"Haha. Makes sense. You’ve kept the market’s peace, after all hahaha... sigh. Now, the second thing is about that skill."
This was why Alpaca had mentioned the skill earlier.
Alpaca opened a window.
"This is a screenshot of my skill window."
An enlarged image of an unreleased skill’s description appeared:
[Weakness Detection]
[Unlock Condition: Destroy 10 weapons through weak points (2/10)]
-lololol You’re seriously doing this?
-That’s impossible.
-What even is that?
Hardcore gamers recognized the image, while casual viewers demanded explanations.
"Alright, let me explain. Have any of you seen videos like this before?"
The video Alpaca played showed this:
When the user in the video struck a specific spot on an enemy’s rapier, it shattered.
The same result occurred whether it was the same rapier type held by another NPC or attacked with different weapons—as long as the weak point was hit.
Then came the notification:
[Unlock Condition: Destroy 10 weapons through weak points (2/10)]
The video ended there.
"You know how fantasy novels mention ‘weak points’? Those vulnerable spots where objects split easily! Find 10 of those, and we unlock the Weakness Detection skill!"
So far, they’d found two weak points:
One was the rapier from the video, broken by accident and shared among players.
The other was a longsword’s weak point discovered via an NPC in a side quest that explains weak points.
-So how do we find them lololol
-What’s the pattern?
-No one knows.
-But what does Weakness Detection even do?
"We don’t know. It’s the last locked skill. So yesterday, I asked Seojun if he could find weak points since he’s skilled."
-Are you just indulging your crush during this collab?
"Indulging my crush? Doesn’t it bug you guys having a locked skill?!"
-So why invite Professor-nim to figure it out lololol
"Because I’m not good enough!"
-Such confidence! Alpaca!
-lolololol
-So what’s the verdict?
"Right. After watching the video, Seojun said he thinks he knows the weak point pattern. Right?"
"Sure, whatever."
Seojun shrugged, his face as relaxed as ever.
-??? Peak arrogance
-Overreaching much lololol
-How’d he figure that out?
-Is Al-boss’s shop open today? lolol
"So! We’re betting whether we can find it during today’s stream!"
This was the stream’s main event.
Weak points? The Ruler? Teachings? All just buildup.
[Channel Point Prediction Begins]
That feature that drives viewers insane.
-Let’s goooo!
-Al-boss! Take my points already!
-Today’s bet’s a free win hehe
They didn’t know yet.
This would become the biggest upset in Traveler history—Alpaca, no, Traveler’s greatest underdog moment.
