A Swordsman’s Stream

Chapter 31 Hidden Quest

People got excited about the hidden quest that involved opposing the assassins’ guild.

– Oh my…
– I never thought the player would become an assassination target.
– Hahaha, streamer, all your past deeds are coming back to you now.
– The streamer says they’ve never committed an assassination though?
– LOL, they just beat everyone to a pulp.”

Sojun turned his head to grasp the situation. At that moment, someone was carrying him somewhere. The blonde hair sticking out from under a hood told him exactly who it was. There was only one blonde NPC who would appear at a critical juncture like this.

“Is that you, Christina?!”

Sojun attempted to initiate a conversation.

“Nameless, yes, it’s me,” she replied, panting for breath. Looking around, it dawned on Sojun that they had traveled a long distance to District 4 from an abandoned factory, with her carrying him the entire way.

– Nuna! I believed in you!
– Sorry, our streamer’s a bit heavy, right?”

“After the Queen’s death, Arthur said you betrayed us and joined the other side!”

Christina said as she entered a building, placing him on a chair and beginning to bandage his injured leg. “But I couldn’t believe it. I knew why you were fighting so fiercely against the assassins in the west.”

This was about the protagonist’s backstory. He had lost his family due to the assassins’ guild.

“So, I trailed Arthur and eavesdropped on your conversation. That’s how I learned the truth. Damn, to think that bastard has been deceiving us all this time.”

She had been in the building during the cutscene when the protagonist was speaking with Arthur. Sojun’s gaze shifted to her arm. Her clothes were torn, revealing inflamed red skin beneath—a burn from an explosion. She had been on a lower floor than the protagonist and hadn’t had enough time to escape.

“Now, Arthur will call upon his brothers to eliminate you. Your position would be leaked almost instantly; there’s no such thing as a blind spot in Altheon.”

Christina wrapped the bandage tightly around his leg. Sojun still couldn’t move his body properly.

“Hmm, shouldn’t you be hiding as well?”

“Yes, I should be.”

– That’s cold.
– Running away immediately, LOL.
– Honestly, what else can she do?
– Be grateful she saved him.

As Christina finished the first aid, control over Sojun’s body returned.

“Because I have to expose Arthur’s wrongdoings. He still doesn’t know my true identity. If I miss this chance, Altheon will completely fall into his hands, and more people will suffer. Sorry.”

She had made the most rational decision, not for herself but for Altheon.

“Then go quickly!”

Sojun stood up and tested his legs. “First aid practically counts as a penalty here,” he muttered. His movements were stiff and running wasn’t easy. The quest difficulty indeed matched its requirement to capture all the Rulers through Musou.

“What did you say?”

“Never mind, go quickly!”

Sojun offered a kind smile.

“Got it. Nameless, I really hope you survive. If you can exploit the assassins… just endure for a week….”

– A week?
– The quest states just a day.
– How is she planning to use the assassins?”

Christina’s speech was cut short as she looked towards the ceiling and yelled, “Damn it, Johan, stop! He’s…”

Sojun looked up to see a man called Johan dropping down from the ceiling, sword pointed at him. Because Sojun had partially anticipated this, he was able to prepare. He had sensed the subtle change in the surrounding noise when Christina was bandaging him.

Sojun seized Johan’s arm and threw him to the ground.

Bang!
– Whoa. When their eyes met, it sent chills down my spine.
– I was so startled, LOL.
– As expected, the streamer turns the tables.
– Unbelievable.”

Then, he calmly drew his sword and swung it toward the assassin’s neck.

*Clang!*

A sound that shouldn’t have been heard reverberated.

In that instant, Christina had stopped him.

The clear sound of metal colliding echoed unmistakably.

“What was that?”

Sojun asked.

Just as Christina was about to explain why she had blocked him, Johan, who had been lying on the ground, got up and rushed at Sojun. Sojun effortlessly tripped him, slammed him to the ground, and subdued him.

After that, he knocked him unconscious.

He didn’t strike him down with the sword.

He was curious about why Christina had stopped him.

Yet, there was a mixture of surprise and admiration on Christina’s face.

“How could you do it so easily… Johann is a master-level assassin.”

Master-level was the highest rank an assassin could achieve in their organization, awarded only to the most skilled assassins.

Typically, no more than five existed in a single branch.

“If you’re this skilled… damn. Nameless.”

Christina bit her lip and stared at him.

“Can you survive? There are a total of 47 members in our branch.”

Forty-seven members.

Sojun spoke confidently.

He wasn’t afraid of dying due to his skills, but he had an even more assured safeguard.

“Well, I’m a user, so I can’t die anyway.”

– Go ahead, kill him, lol. If he dies, he can just start over!
– Replay, let’s go, lol.
– Nuna’s surprised look is precious.
– For real, she’s so pretty.

“If you’re that confident… can I ask you a favor?”

Somehow, the conversation carried through.

“What is it?”

Another quest?

It seemed he had met the conditions by demonstrating his skills.

Sojun’s guess hit the mark.

However, this quest had a different direction.

『Affinity Quest – Mercy』
『Johann is a master-level assassin, yet you subdued him so easily. With your skills… I’m sorry to ask, but there’s no other way. The other members are being deceived by Arthur. So, if you survive…

Quest Clear Condition: ‘Survive’ without killing anyone during the quest.

Quest Clear Reward: Christina’s Affection reaches the Love level.』

In “Assassin’s Dawn,” each significant NPC had an affinity metric.

This could be increased to higher levels by giving special gifts, performing specific actions, or completing affinity quests, with “Love” being the highest level.

Feeling guilty for making such a request, Christina looked down, avoiding Sojun’s gaze.

“Please show mercy to my comrades and don’t kill them. They’re all being deceived by Arthur. If you grant my request…”

Christina paused briefly.

She slowly raised her head, met Sojun’s eyes, and spoke.

Her beautiful voice was clear as a bell.

“I’ll give you my everything.”

– Oh my…
– No way…
– What is this?!
– Recruiting party members to hunt the streamer (1/9999999999)
– I need to capture the Ruler.
– How did the streamer so easily raise Christina’s affection in the first place?

Sojun accepted the quest.

“Oh, there’s a reward for this quest. Then I have to do it.”

A reward was expected.

“Thank you, Nameless. Really. Please survive.”

Christina approached shyly.

Then, with a determined expression, she bent down, took Sojun’s hand, lightly kissed the back of it, and left.

“Hm, isn’t a hand kiss usually done by men?”

Sojun remarked awkwardly, then turned to the chat window, only to be startled.

– How dare she touch nuna’s lips?
– Do you think she’s looking at your face? Do you think she’s looking at your face? Do you think she’s looking at your face? Do you think she’s looking at your face?
– I’m going evil mode. I’m going evil mode. I’m going evil mode. I’m going evil mode.
– Abort the quest immediately!
– If I can’t have her, no one can.
– Does anyone know how to hack the capsule? Serious inquiry.
– Burn the back of that hand immediately!

“Uh, everyone, calm down.”

Why are they getting so worked up?

– How can we calm down if we were in your place?
– Kill Johan immediately and I’ll give you 100,000 won lol
– No, you’re good-looking. At least give up in the game…

“I don’t want to. But… someone is here.”

Sojun gripped his sword firmly and scanned his surroundings. Someone had infiltrated the area before he realized it. The faint change in the background noise tipped him off. As the flow of air shifted, a figure suddenly leaped from the shadow cast by the wall.

“Die.”

Sojun swung his sword to check if he could parry.

Clang!

The clear sound of metal against metal echoed, rippling through the space and sending the assassin flying backward. His parry worked.

“This made things much easier.”

But the air changed once more.

Swish!

A dagger sliced through the air, aimed at his ankle. Sojun jumped slightly, evading the attack. However, his left foot was wrapped in bandages, weakening his jump. The dagger grazed him, slightly depleting his HP.

Thud. The dagger embedded itself into the ground.

“You traitor!”

“Dog of the Organization!”

Two assassins charged at Sojun from both sides. Sojun’s eyes swiftly scanned and assessed the battlefield. To counter his disadvantage in mobility, he reacted immediately.

Wham!

He approached the enemy coming at him first, clashing swords and pushing them out of the battlefield. He then turned to face the assassin attacking from behind.

The assassin’s weapon, a signature blade of their guild, glinted in the sunlight streaming through the window. But that was all it did.

“Ack!”

Sojun’s sword moved effortlessly, incapacitating the enemy. Within seconds, three more assassins were left groggy on the ground.

“Our position has been compromised. Let’s move.”

Sojun struck the heads of the groggy assassins, rendering them unconscious, and left the area. The streets of District 4 were bright and bustling with people. Sojun seamlessly blended into the crowd.

The best place to hide sand is in the desert. But it was futile.

“I bear no malice. I’ll bear your death on my shoulders.”

It was someone who looked utterly ordinary, a common person on the street. This person had waited for an opportunity to assassinate Sojun as they got closer. A flash erupted. Luckily, Sojun turned his head just in time to counter.

There, in his line of sight, stood another assassin holding a chain.

Swish!

The chain moved like a snake, lashing out at Sojun. Simultaneously, a dagger flew at him from the second floor.

– Is it just me, or is this giving everyone chills?
– It feels so powerless.
– Whoa. Do they use skills too?
– Cowards attacking all together!

Unable to run due to his injured foot, and with his skills blocked, Sojun had only one option left: counter. He dealt with the dagger first, avoiding the chain and grabbing it with his hand, yanking the assassin towards him.

The assassin who had thrown the flash pulled out another blade from his sleeve and rushed at Sojun. Dodging sideways, Sojun maneuvered the chain-wielding assassin to collide with his ally.

“Ack!”

– Wow.
– What the heck…
– I’m genuinely impressed.
– Lol, the assassins are disoriented after tasting Musou’s power.

The surrounding NPCs started murmuring and gathering around. Sojun quickly rendered the assassins unconscious and left the area.

“I don’t see the guy who was on the second floor. He’s disappeared.”

Was it camouflage? Or did he simply vanish?

Another dagger flew at Sojun. Thanks to his past-life memories, he knew this feeling well. It was the sensation he’d get when enemies were constantly updating his position and closing in on him on the battlefield.

“If this goes on all day, it’ll be annoying.”

A day in the game might be shorter than 24 hours in real life, but it was still an hour. Swish! Sojun caught the incoming dagger with his right hand and spoke.

“I guess I’ll have to catch them all.”

His eyes began to gleam.