Chapter 52: The Swordsmanship Genius Is Also Good at Magic (part 1)

“Interface, check… Donations, enabled…”

In the center of the main hall.

Sitting at the edge of the beautiful fountain, Shihyun finished her final preparations. She double-checked the broadcast interface settings and mentally reviewed her plan for the stream.

‘Good.’

The final check revealed no problems. Well, it would be strange if there were any. She had already done a test run in private.

[Shihyun, fighting!]

Glancing at Ji-eun’s message, Shihyun stood up from the fountain. Was it nervousness? Her heart pounded slightly.

This was her first solo broadcast.

A stream without Ji-eun, just her.

‘I have to do well.’

She wasn’t planning on making any mistakes.

Still, she steeled her resolve.

Taking a deep breath…

Shihyun pressed the ‘Start Streaming’ button.

Ding!

Less than 10 seconds after the stream started, viewers flooded in. The chat became lively.

[Hi]
[Siha~]
[Shihyun hi~]
[Oh, first stream congrats]

“Hello everyone. Nice to meet you.”

Shihyun greeted them and glanced at the viewer count on the interface.

Around 600 viewers right from the start.

Not bad, considering she had only made a pre-stream announcement.

[lololololol why so formal]
[Siha]
[Even a stiff Shihyun is cute]

“I’m a little nervous. It’s my first time.”

Shihyun scratched her cheek.

Thankfully, she was starting to relax.

‘I was worried I’d be frozen stiff.’

Fortunately, she adapted quickly.

[What are you doing today?]
[Group matches?]
[You’re Master tier now, right? Is today the day you reach Grandmaster?]

“No, I’m planning on playing some ranked individual matches today.”

[? lol since when were ranked individual matches ‘simple’]
[It’s a bloodbath lol]
[Honestly, group matches are manageable, but individual matches are impossible]

“They’re not that difficult.”

Shihyun shrugged.

She actually preferred individual matches, with their lack of variables.

Group matches had seven enemies to consider.

And she had to be mindful of her own team as well. When fighting alongside teammates, their weapons often clashed with hers.

[That’s only for you, ma’am]
[A beautiful girl sword master who prefers solo play ]
[Oh lol, everything is easy for someone who beat Choi Sangcheol’s score]
[Seriously insane, higher than the top pro]

“Haha…”

[So, you’re starting right away?]
[Game on]
[What’s your current tier in individual matches?]

“Um, I’m currently Platinum.”

Her individual match rank climbed slower than her group match rank. Of course, she had played fewer individual matches, but the overall skill level seemed higher.

[Haven’t played much, I see]
[For real]
[Oh lol, Shihyun will be ranked soon]
[For real lol]
[Another slaughter show today]
[“Rank Warning Issued”]

“Slaughter…”

Shihyun made a face.

‘I don’t think I’ve ever brutally butchered anyone…’

She always finished them off cleanly.

Decapitations, bisections…

Being called a slaughterer felt unfair.

She tried to improve her image.

“Well, I’ll try to be…gentler next time.”

[?]
[???]
[Gentle next time]
[lol]
[Ma’am, we call that a ‘slaughter’;]
[Slaughterer beautiful girl sword master]

But the viewers only laughed, continuing to give her strange nicknames. Shihyun chuckled wryly, looking at the chat.

‘My image is getting weirder…’

The best course of action in this situation was…

…to ignore them.

Shihyun immediately manipulated the interface and entered the individual match lobby.

Click!

[Whoa, hold on]
[Ma’am, please give us a warning]
[That means shut up lol]

The scenery before her changed.

A towering mountain peak.

Clouds drifted past below.

It felt like looking down at a mountain range from the summit. A view fit for a celestial being. It was probably designed with that in mind.

[The individual match map is awesome]
[Kind of has a Chinese vibe, but also a celestial feel]
[It feels like a sacred ancestral mountain lol]

“Ancestral mountain?”

[Why ancestral mountain?]
[She doesn’t know it’s referring to a mountain with graves, does she?]
[Idiot lol]
[She could not know]
[Oh lol, it’s a mountain where people go when they die lol]

Shihyun watched as one viewer got roasted for a single comment, then glanced around.

She saw a flat surface, as if someone had carved it out. Considering it was a mountaintop, the area wasn’t small. About half the size of a schoolyard. Plenty of room to move around.

The reason the individual match arena was so large was simple.

Because of mages.

Arfellium Saga had magic-based classes. Players with mage Arcanas primarily used magic. Mages were quite common because combat was relatively easy.

But mages were typically ranged attackers, with a few exceptions.

Putting mages in a confined space with melee fighters would be too disadvantageous for them. That’s why the individual match arena was so large, giving mages enough space to evade and maintain distance.

Clang!

Shihyun looked up and across the arena.

In the distance, she saw a man with a longsword. He was wearing armor, suggesting a knight-related Arcana.

[Turtle]
[That one’s annoying to fight]
[This Arcana shows why medieval knights were called tanks]

“He does seem…troublesome.”

Shihyun nodded.

In ‘that world’, a heavily armored knight wouldn’t be a difficult opponent. She could infuse her blade with mana and slice through armor and shields like butter.

But Arfellium Saga, while similar, was different. Mana couldn’t be used in individual or group matches. Only in ‘World’ mode. She couldn’t channel her aura and dismantle the armor like peeling a crab shell.

‘Crab…’

She suddenly craved crab.

Should she convince Ji-eun to go to a crab restaurant?

As Shihyun entertained this random thought, someone in chat asked, [Shihyun, are donations on?]

“Ah, donations? Yes.”

Immediately, notifications popped up.

[Webjoong donated 10,000 won!]
[First donation get!]

And many more followed.

[Ikkom donated 5,000 won!]
[Damn, I missed it]

[Kimpaka donated 1,000 won!]
[What weapon are you using this time?]

“Weapon? Probably the usual.”

The usual, of course, being the two-handed sword.

‘It’s the weapon I use most.’

Wasn’t it natural to use a familiar weapon?

But apparently, that was only her opinion.

[Webjoong donated 10,000 won!]
[Do you accept missions?]

“Missions?”

Shihyun blinked.

It wasn’t that she didn’t know what missions were.

‘Ji-eun trained me.’

Viewers would offer donations in exchange for completing specific tasks.

Succeed, and she gets the donation. Fail, and she doesn’t.

That was her understanding.

‘A mission…’

Shihyun licked her lips.

‘Not bad.’

Mission rewards were usually substantial.

While making money wasn’t her primary goal, it was a welcome bonus. It was part of streaming, after all.

It was a win-win.

Shihyun nodded.

“Yes, I accept.”

[Webjoong donated 10,000 won!]
[Can we specify the weapon or something?]

‘Weapon?’

It didn’t matter to her.

She could handle any weapon.

“Sure.”

[Webjoong donated 10,000 won!]
[Okay, mission confirmed]

Another notification appeared.

[Webjoong registered a mission!]
[Weapon: Longsword, Win this match using magic]
[Mission reward: 300,000 won]

Shihyun blinked at the notification.

“Magic?”

Suddenly?

The viewers seemed to share her surprise, as the chat flooded with comments.

[What magic?]
[Use magic with a sword lol]
[Safe bet lol]
[Shihyun, don’t accept, you can’t win]

A very negative response.

‘Magic…’

From what she knew, using magic in Arfellium was similar to using magic in ‘that world’. Draw a magic circle using mana, and it activates. A universal rule.

This meant there were no special restrictions on magic use.

Even Arcanas specializing in melee combat could use magic, even without a magic-related Arcana. Ji-eun could probably use magic too. It was just difficult to learn.

Memorizing and drawing magic circles was complex, so magic became the exclusive domain of Arcanas specializing in it.

It wasn’t worth the effort to learn, since it wouldn’t be as effective as a specialized Arcana. They could use magic like game skills, spamming spells. Who would bother drawing magic circles when they could just spam skills?

However…

“…”

Shihyun grinned.

She couldn’t help it.

Because she was good at magic, too.