Streamer Crazy About Slaughter - Chapter 34

As I log into Another World, I connect my personal broadcast.

“The Crescent Moon Blade is really a unique weapon.”

Sua, equipped with the Crescent Moon Blade, which belongs to the Unique tier, had no hesitation in purchasing the weapon at the auction house.

Though she had plenty of money, the price of the Crescent Moon Blade was so low that there was no reason to hesitate about its Unique grade.

In fact, because there were so few users using the Crescent Moon Blade in Another World, most weapons in that category were priced at rock bottom.

Only mythical or legendary grades tended to be more expensive, yet even those were significantly cheaper compared to popular weapons like great swords or one-handed swords.

Soon after, Sua, fiddling with the blue cord tied to her arm, makes a small swing with her arm.

Vroom.

At the same time, the blade swings through the air via the blue cord tied to her arm.

However, there is no sense of power, energy, or threat in that movement.

It looks like a child swinging a toy.

[Hahaha]

[What kind of joke is this?]

[Even rankers look like this when they first use the Crescent Moon Blade.]

[That Crescent Moon Blade is a total trash weapon, I tell you! Hahaha.]

[Is Lin really that weird of a person?]

[After Lin’s video became famous, anyone trying to use the Crescent Moon Blade gave up, right? Hahaha.]

[Still, I thought the Plea would be a bit different.]

[Is Plea really floundering like that? Is that real?]

“No, everyone, this is my first time holding the Crescent Moon Blade today. It’s like a baby trying to take its first steps, and you all expect me to run before I can walk?”

While looking at the chat box, Sua chuckles faintly and lightly rebukes it.

Even among the countless Another World users, she was ranked 8th in the challenger tier, which only had about 200 participants.

Even knowing most of the chatter was in jest, she found it amusing to see many viewers ignore her, breaking into genuine laughter rather than performance.

Still, Sua continues to swing her arm as if calibrating the feel of the cord tied to it.

Swish. Swish.

The sound of the blade slicing through the air echoed continuously.

[Plea is a baby…]

[Calling herself a baby, how funny!]

[No, it’s a metaphor, you idiots! Hahaha.]

[Did someone clip Plea calling herself a baby? I just clipped that! Hahaha.]

[Hahaha.]

[But at least she looks somewhat more graceful compared to other streamers?]

[Rankers are different, I guess? It must be because of talent.]

As Sua glanced at the chat box, she chuckled and slowly tightened her grip on the blue cord tied to her arm.

With a hint of disbelief, she tightens the cord, pulling on it lightly.

It’s commonly adjusting the strength of a pull.

Creek.

Creek.

Depending on the force she applied, the sound varied as the cord felt like it was about to snap, but Sua also knew that this cord would never break.

That was the core identity of the Crescent Moon Blade, so it was systemically impossible for the cord to snap.

“…?”

What surprised her even more was how the cord distinctly stretched with the force she exerted.

Upon confirming that, Sua let out a blank laugh.

“…Wow.”

Her mind was suddenly filled with various thoughts.

And the biggest one among them was: what on earth kind of weapon is this Crescent Moon Blade?

Beyond adjusting the strength of her arm swing, she had to manage the force pulling the cord tied to her arm.

So, with a single action of swinging her arm, it involved two separate concepts of force adjustment.

The idea of having to split the force control into two during a single movement was on a completely different level in terms of weapon usage.

If one were to draw an analogy, it felt like holding and swinging a great sword while separately gripping its handle.

No, the more she thought about it, the more it transcended explanation.

“No… Is this really insane?”

This is the weapon they made for her?

Despite having a natural talent and understanding the essence of wielding the Crescent Moon Blade in a short period, Sua felt nothing but shock.

The Crescent Moon Blade was certainly a challenging weapon to handle.

She could understand why no users had reached high tiers using this weapon.

In just the first few swings, she got the feeling: Ah, to master this, she’d need to wield the Crescent Moon Blade consistently for months to understand it.

That made her question anew.

“What is this user Lin really about…?”

Having now wielded the Crescent Moon Blade, it felt even more fascinating. To think that someone could freely parry an opponent’s attacks with this weapon was astounding.

“Everyone! Has anyone here who’s used the Crescent Moon Blade felt this? Does it require separate force adjustments?”

Knowing the general tiers of her viewers, Sua found herself asking unconsciously.

She hoped someone else had noticed this too, wondering if she was the only one surprised.

[???]

[What do you mean?]

[Separate force adjustments???]

[Hahaha, Plea’s talking about something only she knows again!]

[Hah, Plea’s saying she has a sixth sense that only she understands!]

[I think I know?]

[Yeah, I can tell you’re pretending to know! Hahaha.]

Checking the rapidly rising chat, Sua nodded lightly, not expecting much.

Of course, she was curious about how the rankers would perceive this. Surely only those at the Master or Grand Master tier would likely sense this.

Then, she carefully swung the Crescent Moon Blade again through the cord tied to her right arm.

Whoooosh!

The Crescent Moon Blade was swung with an entirely different momentum than her first swing. She felt it returning to her as she spun the blade.

And just as she curved her right arm significantly, the accompanying blade was, of course, twisted in its trajectory.

In an instant, Sua instinctively took a step back.

Thud.

Bam!

The blade buried into the ground with a vicious sound where it originally had been.

“…This is truly a crazy weapon.”

[Whoa, what the hell.]

[What did she just do?]

[Just swinging her arm and then twisting it, yet the blade strikes exactly where Plea was?]

[Truly, a single-digit ranker is different; after just a few minutes of swinging, she’s using the Crescent Moon Blade like that already.]

[Seeing her makes it obvious that talent is on a different level.]

[But does that hurt her too?]

[The fact that Plea dodged expecting it to return to her is just absurd. Hahaha.]

Watching the reactions in the chat, Sua swings her arm again.

Whooosh!

Now, the blade sliced through the air with a sound as she swung it almost effortlessly.

Intentionally twisting her arm, she makes it return to her once more.

Zing!

Predicting the sharp trajectory of the blade aimed at her heart, Sua chooses to stand still this time.

And soon, the rapidly sent blade rushed toward her heart with fierce intensity.

—Clang.

But contrary to its fierce appearance, the impact sound was surprisingly light as her HP bar decreased.

The moment she confirmed her HP had dropped, Sua burst into genuine laughter, not just for show.

“No, everyone, this… is actually taking my health away?”

[…Whoa, my heart is racing just watching.]

[How could she just laugh and talk casually after nearly having her heart pierced?]

[For real, she’s not just any average girl.]

[Even if it didn’t hurt, wouldn’t she feel something when it touched her chest?]

[The fact that she stood there waiting without even blinking is eerily impressive.]

[Hahaha, she’s in VR, and yet, how could she not be scared?]

[These rankers are all insane, seriously.]

[Hahaha, are these guys seeing Plea’s stream for the first time?]

Without realizing it, Sua is playing with the blade again.

The basic mechanism feels like sending out a crescent shape with the blade.

And at the end of that arc, if it doesn’t strike the target or hit something, it returns with the intent to strike her instead.

The concept of it being a double-edged sword is comical.

The risk is simply too great.

It’s a fundamental requirement to strike the opponent’s weapon or body accurately.

Yet if the opponent avoids it, she’d end up facing its backlash.

So, it’s at a level where the incoming force returns without a grip on it.

While it seemed like she could manipulate that through the cord, she wasn’t sure how.

Whoosh.

Whoosh.

While lightly swinging the Crescent Moon Blade, Sua fell into thought, forgetting she was currently “live”.

“What do I do…?”

She found herself genuinely murmuring those words, not pretending.

The Crescent Moon Blade was indeed a highly dangerous weapon.

The difficulty of handling it was formidable, but more importantly, it completely changed the concept of wielding a weapon.

Though it’s a close-range weapon swung with her arm, there’s also a long-range aspect with the need for separate force adjustments.

To swing her arm just once, she would have to manage the force separately within that movement.

Surely, if she got used to it, she could learn to some extent.

If she thought about it now, in just a few weeks of practice, she could possibly use it decently.

But weirdly, adapting to the Crescent Moon Blade would amusingly diminish her proficiency with other weapons.

She easily predicted that getting accustomed to this weapon would destructively impact her skill with others.

While the weapon proficiency level seen in her status window might not show substantial change, it was a different story concerning practical experience.

That gap was what terrified Sua now.

While the proficiency in the game system isn’t that significant, achieving even Master tier usually meant weapon proficiency served as an auxiliary system. It wasn’t that impactful.

The moment someone wielded the Crescent Moon Blade would inevitably make them feel awkward when using other weapons.

The originally familiar weapons would start feeling strange, leading her to lose skill levels instead.

It was precisely the opposite notion of how normally understanding other weapon concepts increased one’s skill.

And the thought of her having to endure that was daunting.

“…Hoo.”

Letting out a deep sigh, Sua finally unequipped the Crescent Moon Blade from her inventory.

[?? What is this?]

[She seemed to be using it well, why is she already unequipping it?]

[Plea, are you giving up already?]

[No way, a strong-willed person like her giving up?]

[Hahaha, first-time viewers really are showing exaggeration today.]

“Hey, everyone.”

Thus, Sua began speaking, clearing her throat for a moment.

She intended to repeat what she’d said yesterday to partly draw some aggro.

In truth, she subtly thought Lin was definitely less skilled than herself.

She understood that being able to freely parry was an incredible feat, and that skill level was near the top tier.

But the Colosseum duels are not determined by mere control.

So, even if they were to encounter each other, she never thought she would lose.

“You know that user Lin? I seriously think there’s a chance they might be my equal.”

This time, her true feelings indiscriminately slipped out.

Using the Crescent Moon Blade herself, she couldn’t gauge just how monstrous Lin could be.

The statement about being an influencer not having a placement test, which she had brushed off as a joke during Hana’s stream, now felt surprisingly sincere.

It was true that Lin was an unknown user simply because they didn’t participate in ranked matches.

While she didn’t know Lin’s equipment level, if they could wield the Crescent Moon Blade skillfully, they’d probably rank at least Master tier.

No, their skill level could even propel them straight to Grand Master.

‘…’

Unknowingly, her chest tightened.

How should she describe this feeling?

Excitement… or perhaps anticipation? Whatever the emotion, it didn’t matter.

At this moment, there was only a strong desire to face Lin, as the Gosu had said.

[Hahaha.]

[It seems that the Crescent Moon Blade is indeed tricky to use! Hahaha.]

[Is Lin? Are they trying to debut as a streamer? Why are they being praised so much?]

[Did Plea receive a hefty payment from Lin? I’ve never seen her speak so highly of someone.]

[Even so, a ranker is still a ranker.]

Suddenly, a hologram filled Sua’s vision.

—[Plea, Lin just sent a message in chat.]

A notification from her manager who had given her a heads-up.

It was the message she had long been waiting for.

In an instant, Sua’s sincere smile broke through.

“Lin? You’re watching the stream right now, right?”