Chapter 3

“What do you mean by you can’t access level 10?”

Tae-woo sighed and began explaining.

“You can only challenge Level 10 after beating the Level 9 AI. And Level 10 isn’t a regular AI.”

“What is it then?”

“It’s an AI that mimics the best person among those who cleared Level 9.”

Oh.

“By the way, the current Level 10 AI is someone you know well.”

“Shin Ha-yeon?”

“Exactly.”

“So if someone beats the Level 10 AI, does the AI change to that person?”

“Probably. For reference, Level 10 has been Shin Ha-yeon for the past 5 years. Anyway, hurry up and start.”

Seo-jun was inwardly impressed.

“Alright, got it.”

* * *

‘Finally starting.’

Tae-woo watched Seo-jun with excited eyes.

The way he swung the sword through the air a few times didn’t look like he was holding one for the first time.

‘Did he learn at an academy to get better at games?’

There were people like that, he’d heard.

People who sought out real-world martial arts academies and built up their bodies to get better at games.

But from the perspective of someone with 7 years of broadcasting experience, he thought it would be better to spend that time playing just one more round of any game.

Why do even outstanding athletes sometimes get crushed here?

The reason is simple.

‘Because real-world physical abilities aren’t reflected in your avatar.’

Virtual reality avatars scan your own body and move according to your will, but everyone is unable to exceed the set performance limits.

A 2-meter-tall rugby player could lose in arm wrestling to an ordinary 160cm adult woman.

What works in virtual reality is technique, experience, and mental strength.

And in some games, people often move much faster than in reality.

‘It’s better than not learning at all, I suppose.’

Tae-woo thought it was inefficient.

Beep!

A whistle sounded from somewhere and Cheol-su began moving.

‘Is he nervous? He should raise his sword. Heh.’

Even as Cheol-su gradually approached, Seo-jun stood still.

Kim Tae-woo wanted to quickly see that leisurely friend’s expression turn to bewilderment.

He too had once challenged Level 4 without knowing better when Training Hall first came out, only to get thoroughly beaten by Cheol-su.

One-on-one combat without skill assistance was harder than it seemed.

Just as he was expecting his always-composed friend to get knocked around—

Cheol-su swung his sword, but Seo-jun cleanly tilted his body to dodge it, then cut Cheol-su.

Cheol-su’s HP decreased by 1.

Training Hall duels were simple rules where each side had 10 HP, taking 1 damage from sword hits, and whoever reached 0 HP first lost.

Cheol-su backed away to create distance.

‘Was that a fluke? But why is Cheol-su backing away?’

Was Level 4 AI that lenient?

He should be counterattacking immediately.

As Tae-woo was puzzled,

“He’s not coming. I guess I’ll go to him.”

This time Seo-jun approached Cheol-su.

Tae-woo felt the scene that would unfold next playing in his head.

‘He got excited from that fluke. If he charges in like that, he’ll get stabbed straight through and just lose health… What the?’

Cheol-su’s response was certainly textbook enough to be excessive for Level 4.

But Seo-jun clashed his sword against Cheol-su’s, deflecting its trajectory. He naturally flowed it to the side while rotating his body to deal damage once more.

The entire sequence was so fluid that watching from a third-person perspective, Tae-woo felt as if Seo-jun’s speed was faster than Cheol-su’s.

‘But this is virtual reality—physical advantages are impossible.’

Seven years of experience told him so.

That just looked fast because there was no waste in the series of movements. The actual speed of the swinging motions was identical for both Cheol-su and Seo-jun.

Seo-jun charged at Cheol-su again and began toying with him.

Without lifting his feet even once, he blocked Cheol-su’s sword five consecutive times from the same spot, or tripped Cheol-su’s legs to knock him down, then stepped on Cheol-su’s sword with his foot to prevent him from picking it up.

When Cheol-su’s HP was down to just 1, he began striking with his hands and feet, which didn’t reduce HP.

Thunk.

Thunk.

To his eyes, each of Seo-jun’s movements seemed practiced.

As if he could foresee how the opponent would move, he threw his body into the enemy’s range without hesitation.

Even attacks that seemed impossible to avoid, Seo-jun broke through as if he had known all along, finding escape routes that Tae-woo hadn’t been able to find.

“Hey, hey. Did you really play this 7 years ago? This is so deflating, damn it. Hurry up and finish this to try Level 7.”

Why didn’t that bastard play games until now when he has skills like that?

Lucky bastard.

A guy who could probably succeed at cam streaming just with his looks also has the skills?

But.

‘Even so, succeeding with just skill is pretty tough…’

As a friend, worry came first.

When Seo-jun slashed Cheol-su’s throat, a notification appeared.

[You have won the duel.]

[HP 10 / 00:02:23]

[Current Rank: 107th]

Tae-woo was puzzled by the window that appeared.

‘Why is ranking showing instead of just records? Rankings are only compiled for Level 9…’

Tae-woo noticed that Seo-jun was still manipulating a window in the air even after the duel ended.

And a cluster of light began gathering in front of Seo-jun, starting to take human form.

He felt a sense of déjà vu from this summoning ritual-like scene.

‘Could it be?’

What was summoned was a robot.

The newly created robot’s appearance was also human-like. Though not finely sculpted, its general appearance was female, and the nickname floating above its head was,

[Shin Ha-yeon]

His mouth fell open. It felt like goosebumps covered his entire body.

“Hey, was the Cheol-su you just beat actually Level 9?”

He hadn’t noticed because it was such a one-sided beating.

Cheol-su’s movements had definitely surpassed not only Level 4, but even Level 8, which he had struggled to beat!

Seo-jun just chuckled as if it were nothing and said,

“Well, it’s no big deal.”

He had easily subdued an opponent that even pros couldn’t beat easily.

‘If he beats Level 10 too, this would be completely…’

Perfect broadcast material.

Tae-woo was a streamer to his bones.

While thinking ‘No way he’d actually win, right?’, Tae-woo swallowed and hurriedly pressed the record button.

‘I was planning to use the joint broadcast as an excuse to make him do some work. But now I might have to beg him to do a joint broadcast with me?’

His worry about Seo-jun had cleanly disappeared.

* * *

Something feels off.

When walking, when swinging his arms, when breathing.

Even when clashing swords.

But it wasn’t noticeable enough to matter.

‘A good capsule really is different.’

Technology’s advancement is amazing.

And.

Seo-jun looked at the robot blocking his sword head-on.

[Shin Ha-yeon]

As he’d felt before, she really is a genius.

If this robot truly mimicked Shin Ha-yeon’s control perfectly, then Shin Ha-yeon had talent that wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call greater than anyone he’d seen in his past life.

‘Well, except for one person.’

Anyway, it was amazing that such a skilled person could emerge in the mere decade or so since virtual reality appeared.

“Maybe if she trained for another 80 years, she could beat me.”

While Seo-jun was enjoying himself for the first time in a while, Tae-woo shouted from the side,

“What bullshit are you talking? Hey, hey, don’t look over here and focus!”

Tsk.

Currently, Shin Ha-yeon’s HP was cut down by more than half.

In comparison, Seo-jun’s HP hadn’t decreased at all.

Tae-woo seemed extremely excited.

He even had recording turned on—truly professional.

As expected of a pro.

Seo-jun looked at Tae-woo beside him instead of the charging Shin Ha-yeon AI and deflected the sword.

“Tsk tsk. Still don’t get it after watching this long?”

“Focus, I said!”

He really looked like an idiot.

Anyway, this was a space where everyone had the same strength and couldn’t exceed the same speed, so only mental strength and technique mattered.

There was no way Seo-jun, with his past life memories, would lose.

Even without internal energy, enlightenment is eternal.

Shin Ha-yeon’s AI realized that swinging normally wouldn’t work and began mixing in irregular movements.

‘Is this also Shin Ha-yeon’s movement? Or the AI’s own judgment? Whatever it is…’

Before Shin Ha-yeon’s sword could reach its intended target, Seo-jun’s extended sword scraped against the opponent’s blade, changing its trajectory.

Clang clang clang!

The sound of blades scraping against each other came pleasantly after such a long time.

The sword aimed at his throat veered away just an inch short, and Seo-jun didn’t miss that moment, deflecting the sword away.

With the sound of the sword hitting the ground, the AI became defenseless with its body wide open.

Slash!

He drew a diagonal line across the disarmed AI’s torso.

[HP 4]

After being cut by the sword, the AI quickly retreated to pick up its weapon.

However, half a beat faster, Seo-jun was already closing the distance. The gap between them narrowed and the AI allowed another hit.

[HP 3]

In a fight where you have the same speed as your opponent, it’s important to move into the next action first.

To do that, you need to be able to predict the enemy’s movements.

What the AI would do in this situation was obvious.

Seo-jun precisely stabbed the AI’s arm as it reached out to grab the sword.

Clang!

The sword tip couldn’t pierce through the arm, making the sound of metal hitting metal.

[HP 2]

Despite its arm being scraped by the sword, the AI moved to the end and succeeded in grabbing the fallen sword.

But Seo-jun entered his next action immediately after retrieving the sword.

A basic vertical slash, faithful to fundamentals.

Crash!

The AI raised its sword to block, but Seo-jun’s sword tip touched the AI’s head.

[HP 1]

From his experience fighting here several times, this place didn’t have everyone exert the same force every time—it just had the same maximum force limit.

What mattered was the complete transmission of power.

The AI’s wrist bent as it deflected the sword while sitting down.

‘This part is realistic, I’ll give it that.’

Nevertheless, it kicked off the ground and rushed to stab Seo-jun.

A technique possible only because it was an undying robot.

But then he had a thought.

Wasn’t he also undying here?

Seo-jun didn’t bother dodging the sword and simultaneously stabbed the AI’s body.

In his past life, this would have been like mutual destruction, but this place was different.

At most, his HP would just decrease by 1.

[You have won the duel.]

No blood flowed. The pain was just a slight sting.

It was fun.

Seo-jun calmly pulled out the sword stuck in his chest and said,

“How’s that? I beat Shin Ha-yeon. Is this level good enough for a skill-based broadcast?”

[The Level 10 AI is attempting to mimic the user.]

Tae-woo answered with a grin,

“Didn’t I tell you? You should be broadcasting.”

Seo-jun smiled back at his stupid friend’s expression.

When exactly did you say that?

[Additional duels must be conducted to mimic the user’s movements. Would you like to register?]

“Hmm, that’s annoying. Should I just not do it?”

“Shut up and do it quickly, you crazy bastard.”

* * *

Seo-jun and Tae-woo came out of their capsules and sat in the living room eating ice cream while talking.

“Hey, why did you do that?”

“Do what?”

“You set the new Level 10 to private. If this gets revealed, thousands of people will definitely come flocking.”

There’s a reason for that.

“I haven’t even broadcast once yet, but if people come flocking, that’s all just empty numbers. It’s a house built on sand.”

“House built on sand?”

No matter how much he’d distanced himself from studying…

Ugh.

Suppressing the old man inside him who wanted to lecture, Seo-jun easily explained the meaning.

“It roughly means a house built on sand—if the foundation isn’t solid, it’ll collapse easily.”

“Then when will you make it public?”

“When I’m established and the tide comes in. Rather than people coming in now and immediately leaving, that would be more effective.”

“Ah.”

Tae-woo, being a broadcaster himself, understood immediately.

“You haven’t done broadcasting before, have you? Like, turns out you’re from a major corporation or something. Ugh, that would be creepy.”

“What kind of stupid nonsense is that?”

Tae-woo rubbed his arms as if getting goosebumps and began explaining.

“Do you know what hosting is?”

“When a streamer sends their viewers to another streamer’s room when they end their broadcast?”

“More precisely, it’s playing another streamer’s video on your screen. The viewer counts get combined. But when a streamer with many viewers hosts a streamer with few viewers, it raises recognition and is a chance to blow up, but it doesn’t have much effect. You know why?”

“Why?”

“Except for a few, most can’t capitalize on that opportunity well. Even if their viewers increase like that, a month later they’re back to just their regular viewers. It’s exactly the house built on sand you mentioned. You really have the broadcaster instinct. Speaking of which, Seo-jun.”

“What.”

“When should we do our joint broadcast?”

What kind of nonsense is this now?

“If I upload the video, it’ll definitely hit the trending page! Plus if we do a joint broadcast too!”

Thunk.

Seo-jun kicked his nonsense-spouting friend’s shin and said,

“Be quiet and go do the overdue housework.”

“Ahhh! Oh right, housework! Hey, can’t you let it slide just once? Please?”

“No.”

You said you couldn’t lose.

Tae-woo clutched his shin and sprawled on the sofa.

* * *

The next day, Seo-jun entered the lobby and began preparing for his broadcast.

His goal was to build up a certain level of recognition as a streamer within a short period.

So what game should he start with?

Tae-woo had explained it like this the day before,

‘Popular online games have that many streamers too, so it’s not easy.’

Also, to get attention, you have to climb to high tiers.

‘Single-player games don’t have as much pressure, but they don’t attract viewers.’

Each has its pros and cons.

And Tae-woo grinned as he said,

‘But there’s always an optimal move that minimizes disadvantages and maximizes advantages.’

Certainly.

The game Tae-woo recommended was famous enough that even Seo-jun had heard of it.

It was also very suitable for Seo-jun’s situation.

Seo-jun smiled strangely with anticipation as he entered Travel to prepare for his broadcast.

After writing the broadcast title, he had to set the category for what game he was playing.

The total viewer count for that game shown through the category was,

“Third place.”

Seo-jun confirmed the game’s popularity once more and began downloading it.

A single-player game that had opened a week ago and was currently receiving maximum attention due to the high recognition of the series itself.

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