A Swordsman's Stream

Chapter 127

The ranking of contestants in LoS was explained as follows:
A.

This rank could be awarded to the indisputable leaders of each team, possessing skills around the level of a Challenger or a Grandmaster.

If the team leader in real life played the leadership role outside the game, within the game, this role fell to the A-ranked participants.

If you didn’t listen to the orders of those who best understood and executed the game, whose instructions would you follow?

Of course, it wasn’t necessarily fixed as such, so the responsibility could be given to someone who excelled in giving orders.

B.

Streamers with skills ranging from Master to high-tier Diamond fell into this rank. When encountering low-tier participants in line-up, they could grow tremendously.

If they did, they had the potential to become an ace, comparable to an A-ranked player.

Usually, great attention was paid to ensuring that the main positions did not overlap between A and B.

C.

Streamers around the low-tier Diamond to high-tier Platinum were assigned this rank. They were considered quite skilled by general standards.

If they could hold out against A or B users, they could be seen as having gone above and beyond, meriting recognition as a carry.

D.

This rank was for streamers ranging from low-tier Platinum to Gold. While it was a lower tier, it was still ordinary enough not to attract significant attention whether positive or negative.

E.

From Bronze to Silver. Even just surviving well without dying made these ranks popular. Keeping safely behind turrets without venturing out to fight was their goal.

Occasionally, e-ranked participants could face each other in a fortuitous lineup. In such cases, they could make volleys beyond the turrets.

Anyway, even if one of them grew immensely, it wouldn’t change the game, so other lane players let their battles happen unchecked.

Even overly-involved viewers didn’t curse when E-rank participants faced off; they only teased.

LoS had teams based on these ranks, one from each category per team, making up six teams with 30 participants in total.

The number of participants per rank varied depending on team leaders. If all pre-selected team leaders were A-ranked, then applicants who were Challengers or Grandmasters couldn’t participate automatically.

Nevertheless, the operation team existed to prevent such scenarios.

“Are we sure all the team leaders have replied?”

“Yes.”

“Yes.”

A man and a woman replied simultaneously.

The male, who was the leader of the operations team and the overall person in charge of LoS, stopped the discussion between the two, who had been continuously debating.

“Then we only need this streamer. We haven’t recruited anyone else besides the team leaders, have we?”

“That’s correct.”

They ensured pre-recruitment of the six team leaders. The number of selections per rank changed depending on the team leaders, and more importantly, the leadership role should invariably fall to streamers with extensive experience.

Not asking in advance and later appointing a team leader from amongst applicants could lead to a bad situation.

The man said, “Well, we’ve decided not to recruit anyone beyond the team leaders, haven’t we, assistant Lee?”

In reality, only Sojun had been pre-recruited for this tournament besides the team leaders.

“That’s just as a basic rule, though, assistant Kim. How about giving an answer yourself? If that streamer applied, wouldn’t we have accepted him?”

The woman, addressed as Assistant Lee, or rather Lee Youngju, retorted.

“We would’ve accepted him if he applied, but was he absolutely necessary?”

“I hope you remember our goal is to run a successful tournament, not just proceed smoothly, but also ensure it attracts interest.”

“I agree. However, isn’t proceeding smoothly the most important? The tournament will be popular, after all.”

“…….”

Not an untrue statement.

“So, what if?”

“What if we assigned Sojun to A, and he didn’t perform well? What if an entire team got eliminated from the group stage because of that? Who would people blame?”

Naturally, they’d blame them.

However, Sojun was unranked.

If they assigned Sojun to A and he didn’t perform up to that level, the team that acquired Sojun would be playing without an A player because of the operations team, and they needed to prevent such a situation.

Assistant Kim thought so. However, Lee Youngju also had something to say.

“What if, instead, we assign him to B, and he performs better than an A? That would also cause chaos, wouldn’t it?”

What if Sojun assigned to B demonstrated beyond A-level performance?

The team that acquired Sojun would essentially have two A players. A team with two A players would win unless something extraordinary happened.

If that were to happen?

Assistant Lee said, “It’s more reasonable this way. If my approach turns out wrong, we’d only face the resentment of fans supporting one team. But if we go according to Assistant Kim’s idea? We’d face the disdain of fans from the other five teams who lost against a team with two A players. Can you handle that?”

“Hmm…”

The operations team leader interjected.

“I think Assistant Lee’s reasoning is right.”

“Correct?”

“But assigning someone an A to minimize criticism when it might be wrong doesn’t seem right, does it?”

“That’s true.”

“In the end, what we need to know is how well that person plays in The League…”

It was ambiguous.

Assistant Lee had confidence, though.

“Looking at it, he should be at least a Grandmaster, right? He’s beating the Kael expert one-on-one now.”

“I’ll repeat, Wind Sword-ssi’s Kael is at Master level at best. Also, fighting one-on-one in a minion-free scenario doesn’t fully reflect one’s skill.”

“You all have watched ‘For Justice’, right?!”

Assistant Lee slightly raised her voice in frustration over debating the evident.

The team leader and Assistant Kim just responded with.

“I haven’t tried ‘For Justice’, so I don’t know, haha.”

“It’s a unique game, indeed.”

That was about it.

Assistant Kim said, “I agree he’s got the sword-handling skill and physique that could place him in A.”

“So do I.”

“But, considering there aren’t many good heroes using swords, and relying purely on physical prowess, League challengers engage deeply in the game. Gameplay skills are beyond just physicality. Actually, as you reach higher tiers, this element becomes more important.”

Assistant Kim tapped his head lightly with his hand as he spoke. Another issue existed.

Sojun had only played one hero, Kael, so far.

If Kael got nerfed, his pattern changed, or he was banned, would Sojun’s skill remain at Challenger level?

More proof was needed.

“There’s no time. We lack more time to observe other elements.”

“Right, proving he’s in the Challenger rank via ranked games will take until the season end, the tournament’s end, and this year’s end.”

“If his skill was just passable, it’d be fine putting him in C or D.”

“Had that been the case, it’d be irrelevant whether he became a jackpot or a dud.”

A person of uncertain skill at a lower tier was an added entertainment factor at every tournament.

However, a and B tiers were incredibly critical in deciding outcomes, so uncertain elements shouldn’t be involved.

In the end, Sojun’s unexpectedly high performance had led to lengthy discussions.

The initial plan was B – somewhere from Diamond upper-tier to Master.

But seeing him play, it seemed something might be going wrong.

“Is there no way to confirm it? A sense would arise if he lined up against a Challenger.”

“Hmm. Should we ask for a friendly match?”

“Excuse me?”

“How about the showcase we had back then?”

Showcase.

It referred to a friendly match that functioned like an initiation to show various sides of participants before the competition started.

As it felt more like a festivity involving random streamers since practices covered that ground, it had disappeared.

“Suggesting to do that again? Hmm…”

“Well, not arranging it ourselves. But streamers naturally gather and play games together sometimes, right?”

Then, both assistants realized what the team leader was suggesting.

Asking another streamer to set up an opportunity for examination!

“Who’ll you ask?”

“There’s someone fit for the current situation. They’re a boss of an MCN, and—well, rather, naturally inclined to enjoy mingling with streamers.”

He also happened to be one of the team leaders for this tournament.

“Ah!”

* * *

“Ah…”

After getting thoroughly beaten by Sojun, Wind Sword sat on the floor, exhausted.

The streaming had finally ended.

The session, with him overwhelmed in a pure one-on-one based on physical play, was finally over.

“You’re really skilled.”

Frankly, realizing the deficiency in skill was fine. Unlike Sojun, not outclassed to the point that his absolute position was diminished.

But the issue was…

“Could you have hit any less… for real…”

Virtual reality might not amount to real pain, but…

He felt phantom limb pain.

For real.

It was his first time experiencing such a thing.

“Only served to give you a taste of real combat experience.”

“Is that so…”

Anyway, the session was informative for Wind Sword.

Sojun personally etched the senses into his body through real battles.

Real battle.

Reality.

He sighed.

His head spun.

Anyway, it was Wind Sword’s turn to ask his questions.

The main reason he collaborated was this.

Essentially, he could be regarded as Sojun’s first viewer.

“Sojun-ssi.”

“Yes?”

“Why didn’t you play for a while?”

Given such skill back then, it could only be considered a talent.

But why did he vanish!

He was utterly curious while poring over the footage.

However, Sojun’s answer was extraordinarily simple.

“Because of college entrance exams.”

“Ah… hah!”

It was understandable.

“Back then, was this pattern similar?”

Wind Sword asked various questions in succession.

“Oh, the pattern? It changed once.”

“What?”

“While gaming in the past, they tried to snipe me or something— and the patterns suddenly changed.”

“So then?”

“I adapted after a round and played like usual, but it went back to normal the next day.”

If viewers heard this conversation, they would have filled the chat with laughter.

After savvily laughing at the developers’ woes, Wind Sword continued asking about different things.

About swords.

About streaming.

Though Wind Sword was the streaming senior, the scale was ten times different.

“Finally, um… a cautious question. Why did you ask to avoid mentioning the past? When I was curious and posted your past video in a forum, no one recognized it. If posted now, everyone would know it’s you, but no one knows what you were like seven years ago.”

“It’s simple. Someone told me to conceal my strength.”

“What?”

“I got recruited by LoS. Told me not to reveal to avoid being bid for with many points at the auction.”

“Ah, I see…”

Then what’s this stream today about?

You mean that’s hiding your strength?

Sojun certainly was a fascinating streamer.

He possessed an energy that made all his words hard to believe but persuaded people regardless.

Probably just the stream concept.

“But Wind Sword-ssi.”

“Yes?”

“Where do you live?”

Suddenly feeling an eerie tingle up his spine, Wind Sword lied unwittingly.

“Oh, I live in the provinces! In the provinces!”

“Ah, that’s too bad. I had a couple of great gym memberships leftover.”

Phew.

Releasing a sigh of relief, he decided to make a swift exit.

“Sojun-ssi. Thank you for today. I hope to see you again next time.”

“Take care.”

“Ha ha. Thank you.”

When he emerged from the capsule, he briefly contemplated before submitting the application form to LoS.

Working, if he got accepted, might mean a tight schedule for a while, but…

Somehow, it felt like it would be fun.

* * *

At the same time.

Next door to Sojun, Taewoo was finishing a game, chatting at his computer.

“Yes, I’m one of this tournament’s team leaders. Hehe. I’ll definitely win this time!”

He had been eliminated early in the previous tournament.

“You’re saying the team leader is a landmine? What the… Don’t worry about the auction. While I lack academic pursuits, I have a sharp mind. I plan to build an imbalanced team this time… Oh? Hold on a second.”

Taewoo cocked his head at the sudden message.

‘Boss?’

Surely.

Could it be suggesting a horror game?