Streamer Crazy About Slaughter - Chapter 61

Another World, the nickname ‘Gosu’ was quite famous. Among Great Sword users, he was regarded as one of the most renowned players. Kang Hyuk had stuck exclusively to the Great Sword since he started playing Another World, and even after becoming a pro gamer, he remained committed to it.

He was one of the few ‘true’ Great Sword users among the ranged classes that occupied the top ranks in the Challenger tier. Kang Hyuk had a considerable pride in the Great Sword.

“…How about we fight with just the Great Sword and no skills at all?”

Seeing Serin say this in a seemingly light tone, Kang Hyuk couldn’t help but snicker in disbelief. He had spent more than two years solely wielding the Great Sword. While other prominent Great Sword users began to compromise on performance and switched to one-handed swords, spears, sword shields, and one-handed axes, he steadfastly stuck to the Great Sword.

However, when he checked the chat that mentioned using a Great Sword with a dancer class, and saw that the victory he had with a Great Sword was merely in the platinum range, he felt annoyed. It was a victory of no significance against someone in the platinum range who now acted so haughty around him.

—Great Sword dancer? That’s pretty good, why? Should I show you?

This was part of a chat Hana had just sent, and since Kang Hyuk had the stream on, he felt genuine anger rising as he saw the chat mentioning Lin, emphasized by Plea. Plea’s playful teasing was one thing, but Lin’s message seemed like an insult to all Great Sword users.

It was a statement he couldn’t bear as a so-called ‘pure’ Great Sword user. He believed that swinging a sword lightly like Serin did was not the true essence of wielding a Great Sword.

“Ah, then let’s do it. It seems like Plea has gotten a bit too full of herself after winning against Lin. It’s time to educate her about the Great Sword.”

He sensed that the other thought they could win by sealing away his skills as if this made it a fair match. To Kang Hyuk, this only painted Lin as someone arrogantly overconfident.

To fight him purely with a Great Sword in front of himself was pushing the limits of arrogance, akin to showing off before a caterpillar.

“Well then, go ahead and seal everything.”

As he said this, Kang Hyuk opened his skill window and locked every single skill. He unconsciously blocked any potential for his skills to be activated. No using movement skills, no combat skills, no awakening skills, no emergency evasion… and so on.

Having locked all his skills, Kang Hyuk momentarily scanned Serin’s appearance from top to bottom. The brief glance showed that even he, who hadn’t paid much attention, found her stunningly beautiful, but he was more focused on checking the equipment she was wearing.

It was then that he realized something was off.

“…Could it be a rare Great Sword?”

He hadn’t examined closely because he was taken aback by the other’s attitude, but the Great Sword felt somewhat familiar.

“Yes. Its name was Asvalte… Claymore, right?”

Asvalte was a unique naming convention for mass-produced rare items. Recalling his memories as a newbie, which were now faint, Kang Hyuk chuckled to himself, feeling somewhat embarrassed today.

Almost immediately, he searched for ‘Asvalte’ in the auction house and purchased a Great Sword in the form of a Buster Sword. Nothing made him feel more exposed than winning simply due to equipment.

***

‘Why does everyone care so much about equipment?’

As this thought crossed her mind, Serin gently shook her head. Initially, she thought he would only change one weapon, but then he began switching out equipment one by one after confirming that they seemed similar in rank.

It was surprising how quickly he was removing and attaching new items, without hesitation, though the time it took wasn’t long.

The difference in equipment was said to be at most 20%, a figure that didn’t seem large enough to her. From the perspective of the opponent, this lack of awareness was perhaps why they seemed overly focused on equipment, leaving her with a strange feeling.

In a game rooted in RPG elements like Another World, equipment must surely represent one form of status.

‘Is this another kind of showing off?’

Mulling this as she slowly parted her lips, she said, “You don’t really have to change that much.”

She spoke deliberately when it seemed like he had swapped nearly all his equipment, thinking he would be proud and wouldn’t change back now.

Still, if they were intent on weakening themselves, she didn’t want to intervene.

After all, the opponent was ranked in the Challenger tier. There was no need for her to take on a handicap of equipment difference when wielding a Great Sword instead of his main weapon, the Crescent Moon Blade.

Soon after, a duel request came.

She quickly accepted while casually loosening her wrists. Though it didn’t have much meaning, she wanted to display that she was warming up.

Anyone who was serious about their image would pay attention to such small details.

As expected, the user named ‘Gosu’ was also seen rotating his arm to warm up.

“Phew…”

Seeing him react as she expected made her laugh involuntarily.

—The duel is about to begin.

“Ah, and… just to be clear, there will be no mercy, right?”

Feigning a teasing demeanor, she noticed that the player Gosu seemed to be enjoying this interaction.

He glared at her intensely, as if he were ready to tear her apart with just his gaze, causing her to shiver slightly.

Imagining that fierce expression getting even worse filled her with excitement that was hard to suppress.

“I’ll crush you in one blow… so go ahead and taunt while you can.”

“Sure.”

—1.

As soon as the countdown finished, both of them launched forward simultaneously, striking the ground.

Thud!

Boom!

Due to the difference in basic classes, the sounds of their footsteps differed.

Yet their movements, devoid of any finesse or evasion, were oddly synchronized.

They charged forward in a straight line towards each other, as if this was how all Great Sword users should behave, perfectly aligned.

With both having locked their skills, their movements were hard to track with the eyes, and the sword rays didn’t glimmer.

However, as they charged at each other, the distance between them rapidly diminished.

The first one to swing the sword was Serin. The reddish-brown Claymore glinted, stabbing straight ahead.

Moments later, Kang Hyuk spun skillfully, swinging his enormous Great Sword.

—!

For a brief moment, Serin’s eyes widened as she saw his back.

As Kang Hyuk rotated, the Great Sword suddenly disappeared from sight, only to reappear rapidly from below him at an unexpected angle.

With Serin attempting to stab Kang Hyuk in the back with her Claymore, his Buster Sword swung down, seemingly about to crush her whole body.

In one sense, they appeared to be mutually attacking, akin to a double k*ll situation.

However, looking closely, the circumstances were indeed different.

“…Hup!”

As Serin halted her Great Sword aimed at the opponent, she forcefully stomped her foot down to stabilize her body in place.

Bang!

Utilizing both hands, she twisted the trajectory of the Claymore downwards.

Exchanging blows between a Buster Sword and a Claymore simply would incur significant losses for Serin.

After all, a Berserker clad in heavy armor would fare better against a dancer in light cloth; receiving the same attack would usually result in the dancer being at a disadvantage, especially with the types of swords differing.

Clang!!

A resonating sound rang out, loud enough to drown out everything as their swords clashed, making Serin instinctively stumble back to absorb the recoil.

“…”

Having clashed swords just once, her stamina gauge had dropped by a third.

While her HP gauge might not have been affected immediately… it was clear that meeting swords resulted in a personal disadvantage.

The combined result of base stats, class differences, and the weight of the Great Sword weighed heavily on her.

Yet, spurred by the counter-attack from the impact of the blow, Serin prepared to slam her Great Sword down with force.

Boom!

In response, instead of swinging his Great Sword, Kang Hyuk merely raised it to block.

Recognizing the differing speeds in their swings due to the weight difference of their swords, he thought it was already too late to retort.

His defense was textbook-perfect, and it felt extremely seasoned.

And then.

Swish.

Serin took a sudden step back, her hand retreating slightly from her grip on the sword.

With the Claymore flung away into empty air, it became evident that she had shortened her reach unexpectedly.

And that small difference created an odd situation.

Boom!

Serin’s Claymore rapidly descended, slipping past Kang Hyuk’s giant Great Sword.

As if it were about to impact the ground.

Woosh!

A chilling sound of metal slicing flesh echoed.

Feeling the weight diminish on his Great Sword, Kang Hyuk felt puzzled. In an instant, he looked down at his leg, noticing bl**d oozing from a deep gash.

Realizing he had just been hit, he instinctively swung his Great Sword forward, but…

Boom!

By the time Kang Hyuk’s Great Sword swung through the air, producing a powerful whoosh, Serin had already retreated two steps back.

“How can you defend while concealing your own vision?”

As Serin naturally smiled beautifully while saying this, Kang Hyuk felt as if he were haunted by a ghost.