Episode 22
The moment Seo-jun stepped beyond the boundary, he could tell something had changed. As if waiting for this exact moment, guards came rushing at him. Seo-jun reflexively tried to draw his sword from the inventory with his right hand—but his left hand flailed awkwardly in the air.
‘Guess I won’t get used to this right away.’
-LOL
-What are you doing?
-Even for a rookie, this is pitiful.
-Any normal person would struggle.
With an awkward gait, Seo-jun backpedaled and clumsily drew his sword with his right hand. Then he swung.
CLANG!
-Wait????
-Huh? Why... a parry?!
-He’s countering it even with scrambled senses? LOL
Seo-junn grinned and swung again.
CLANG!
“Yeah, got the hang of it.”
He adapted quickly. For someone who could control his body down to the millimeter, it only required minimal focus. His reaction speed had dulled, but against NPCs, the gap was trivial. Against a top-tier player? Potentially fatal. Here? “Man, this game’s easy.”
He intercepted a fireball with his sword—awkwardly, like a right-handed person writing with their left—but the precision was flawless.
-OMG
-Is there anything this streamer can’t do?
-Scripted LOLOL
-“Honestly, I’ve never seen a game this simple. Just walk up and fight.”
There was always a way. Seo-jun advanced step by step, dismantling mages.
SWOOSH!
-So this is that “brawn over brains” thing?
-LMAOOO
-Your reflexes are unreal.
-Have you even played other games? Quit flexing!
Now fully adapted, he repeated his antics from Floor 4: tossing random junk into alchemists’ flasks, snatching books from studying mages and closing them without marking pages...
-Why are you like this?
-???: I’ll pretend I didn’t see you—just leave!
-You absolute menace LOL
There was a purpose to his chaos. He tested whether reactions altered outcomes. Combat difficulty rarely challenged Seo-jun; against human opponents, teaching them might’ve been fun. But Assassin’s Dawn wasn’t PVP-centric—it thrived on open-world details and discovery.
“Welp, ‘unfortunately,’ I found the stairs to Floor 6. Let’s go.”
Floor 5 seemed devoid of new magic beyond what he’d already seen. Not that missing a spell or two mattered—he’d uncover them eventually.
-What’s “unfortunate”?
-The remaining mages are sweating bullets begging you to leave.
-Your “disappointment” is unhinged LOL
The debuff faded as he ascended. “So that’s how it works,” Seo-jun mused, flexing his restored right hand. Next floor: Slow. A movement-impairing debuff akin to concrete shoes. Fatigue weighed on his limbs as gravity seemed to double. Most considered it easier than Floor 5’s disorientation—but for combat? Just as punishing.
“Ugh. This is annoying.”
He began preemptively dodging attacks—hesitation meant taking hits.
THUD! Spiked rocks erupted from the ground, met mid-air by his blade cleaving their magical cores. After dismantling the guards, he sprinted for Floor 7’s stairs.
-Ugh. Watching this is draining LOL
-Slow-mo stealth was fun, but slow-mo carnage? Suffocating.
-Skip already! GG
"Yes, we'll skip the 6th floor as per everyone's request."
If this weren't being streamed, Seo-jun might have leisurely explored the area, but he didn't mind. Instead, his thoughts wandered as he climbed the stairs.
'These game environments would've been perfect for training in my past life.'
The drastic improvement in VR users' skills over the past decade likely stemmed from accumulating experience in diverse environments without fear of death. In his past life, professionals boasting such high-level skills—unattainable through mere ten years of training—would have been unimaginable. The democratization of martial arts also played a role. Unlike his previous life where martial arts were reserved for elites, anyone could now access them through capsule rooms.
"We've already reached the 7th floor."
The floor's debuff was darkness.
Total visual obstruction.
Seo-jun pushed the door wide open, spotting the stairs to the 8th floor directly across.
"Oh, no need to bother with the 7th floor."
Likely the developers' mercy, deeming it unreasonable to find stairs without vision. Not that it made things easy.
Two mage NPCs stood mid-corridor. As before, they waited for Seo-jun to cross the threshold.
-Are we dying here?
-Darkness debuff is broken af
-How do we fight blind?
-Just scale the outer wall already
-Not even spider-folk could handle this lol
Seo-jun chuckled at the frantic chat before stepping forward, channeling sensations gathered from previous floors.
His screen plunged into absolute void—only his body remained visible.
Hwooo.
In the suffocating silence where even breath echoed loud—
Fwoosh!
Fireballs crackled to life. Seo-jun advanced slowly, mentally mapping the corridor.
'Head.'
Whoosh!
He jerked left as something grazed where his skull had been. Heat prickled his skin. A second later, crimson mana trails etched the spell's path through darkness.
'Visual effects. Nice touch.'
Crunch!
Pivoting mid-stride, he split an emerging boulder with his sword. Glowing dust scattered.
Swishswishswish!
He lunged forward, evading creeping vines.
Fwoosh!
Twin fireballs now. Seo-jun rolled, rose smoothly, dodged one, and shattered the other with his blade.
Zzt!
Sparks flew as—
Tinktinktink!
Frost magic chimed ahead. He slashed upward at half-formed ice arrows, then struck beside falling blue powder where a mage stumbled back.
"I hear everything." He sprinted.
'Above? Below? Both?'
The stairway mage had cast simultaneously. Overlapping sounds muddied his tracking. Too late.
Whooosh!
Air swirled into a magical vortex—spells complete. But sensing airflow meant—
Pewpewpew!
'Three shots. In range.'
Twisting midair, he bisected two projectiles while deflecting a third aimed at his heart. Cold gusts marked their paths.
Resuming his stroll through darkness,
Tap. Tap.
Footsteps echoed in hollow black.
"Assassins thrive in darkness, after all."
-Um, you're just blinded, not in darkness?
-LMAOOO
-Assassin? Nah. Darkness? Nah
-Holy Roman Empire meta kekeke
-That country—neither holy, nor Roman, nor an empire.
Whoosh.
Another spell was cast right next to Seo-jun.
Snap.
Seo-jun grabbed the mage's arm.
"Kyaaaah!"
The casting was naturally canceled.
-The spider-human exists and he's streaming on Travel right now!
-???: You can't deceive me anymore
-(Info) The streamer was never fooled to begin with.
Seo-jun dealt with the mage, stepped onto the stairs, and looked back.
In the world of darkness, the shadows receded around Seo-jun.
The corridor he’d passed through came into full view.
"Whew. Thankfully dodged that well."
The glowing dust in the darkness turned out to be nothing but magical debris.
-Am I watching a circus or a game?
-This is insane
-That was all magic and he actually dodged it lolol this is so absurd I’m laughing
The chat exploded with enthusiastic reactions.
Donations began piling up instantly.
Normally, donations were hidden during gameplay to avoid distractions, but this short break made it acceptable.
[User 'ㅇㅇ' donated 10,000 won!]
[That was f***ing awesome]
[User 'Damn' donated 10,000 won!]
[Damn!]
[User 'Me watching this live' donated 10,000 won!]
[The champion]
[User 'Couch Director Bong' donated 10,000 won!]
[Why are you filming a solo movie?]
"Thanks for the donations, everyone."
Seo-jun sat briefly on the stairs.
"But honestly, this level is just... what’s it called? Sound play? If you know how to use audio cues strategically, anyone could do this. Right? You all could too, yeah?"
He began engaging the chat.
-Ugh here we go again;;;
-Honestly if you’re this good, flexing’s okay but I still wanna punch you
-Make one mistake and we’ll all pounce lololol
-How is this sound play? It’s straight-up superpowers lololol
-I... guess I can’t do sound play...
Sound play refers to tactically analyzing audio cues to track enemies or gather intel.
But what Seo-jun demonstrated felt different to viewers.
Almost like—
[User 'Is this that' donated 100,000 won!]
[Is this that auditory-visual synesthesia thing? My Korean’s grade 9 but I suddenly get it.]
-These jokes are unhinged lololol
-No way this guy isn’t a literature teacher lolololol
-The sensory fusion is insane lol x20
-SP lololol
-Mom! I’m studying! Mom! I’m studying! Mom! I’m studying! Mom! I’m studying!
Seo-jun burst out laughing despite himself.
As always...
Streaming is fun.
