Chapter 22 - Chapter 22

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Translator: 8uhl

Chapter: 22

Chapter Title: Mastering the Debuff Tower

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The moment Seo-jun stepped across the boundary, he could sense that something had changed.

And as if they'd been waiting for it, the guards came charging in.

Reflexively, Seo-jun reached into his inventory to draw his sword with his right hand.

But his left hand flailed through empty air.

'Not used to it from the start, huh.'

Seo-jun backpedaled with awkward steps, fumbling to draw his sword with his right hand in the most awkward way possible.

And swung it.

Claaaang!

Seo-jun laughed and swung his arm once more.

Claaaang!

"Yeah, got the feel for it."

Seo-jun quickly adapted to the new sensations.

For someone who could control his body down to the millimeter, it only took a moment of focus.

His reaction speed had slowed, though.

But that level of gap could be a fatal mistake against a master—against NPCs, it was negligible.

"Ah, this game is easy."

Seo-jun positioned his sword against the incoming fireball as if he were a right-hander writing with his left hand.

Awkward, but the cut was perfect along the grain.

"Honestly, I haven't seen an easier game than Do-sum. Just go fight."

There was always a way.

Seo-jun slowly advanced step by step, taking out the mage.

Splatter.

After that, fully adapted, Seo-jun repeated the same antics from the 4th floor.

Stuffing random junk into the experimenting mage's test tubes.

Snatching the engrossed mage's book and closing it without marking the page, and so on.

Of course, Seo-jun had his reasons for messing around.

He was testing if reactions led to anything special.

Honestly, with his skill level, combat difficulty in games wasn't much fun for him.

And while humans might offer the joy of teaching, Assassin's Dawn wasn't PVP-focused.

This game wasn't even designed around combat in the first place.

The intricate details.

The open world.

That's what Seo-jun found enjoyable.

Finding the grain was the same.

"Well, looks like I found the stairs to the 6th floor disappointingly quick. Let's head up."

After scouting the 5th floor, it felt like he'd seen all the magic available from the 4th.

Sure, thoroughly checking would be ideal, but since when did he obsess over a spell or two?

It wasn't a grain he couldn't find by overlooking that.

As Seo-jun left the 6th floor and climbed the stairs, his senses returned to normal.

"So that's how it works."

Seo-jun flexed his right hand, adapting to the familiar feel as he ascended.

The next floor was slowdown.

A debuff that slowed the body.

Opening the door, it felt like rebar had been loaded onto his frame.

Gravity seemed to double in an instant.

Even fatigue settled over his entire body.

Most considered it far easier than the 5th floor's confusion.

But Seo-jun thought, for pure combat—not stealth—this slowdown was as tough as confusion.

"Hm. Kinda stifling."

Seo-jun began predicting and preempting enemy attacks.

Otherwise, dodging would leave him open to hits.

Rumble rumble boom.

Rocks erupted from the ground.

A sharp rocky spear aimed at Seo-jun and lunged swiftly.

Seo-jun's sword met the tip at the perfect timing.

The magic split along the grain.

Seo-jun dismantled spells while killing the guarding mages.

Then swiftly found the stairs to the 7th floor.

"Alright, respecting your feedback—skipping the 6th floor."

If it weren't a stream, he might've explored leisurely, but Seo-jun didn't mind.

Instead, ascending the stairs, he pondered something else.

'All these environments this game creates would be great training in VR.'

VR users' levels soaring in just over 10 years—probably from stacking experience in diverse settings without death risks.

A passing thought, seeing pros with skills impossible from 10 years of real training.

Plus, weapons were more accessible here.

Unlike past lives where arms were for the elite, anyone could hop in a pod.

"Already at the 7th floor."

This debuff: darkness.

Vision completely blocked.

Seo-jun flung the door wide.

He spotted the stairs to the 8th floor straight ahead.

"Oh, no need to hunt around on the 7th."

Probably devs' mercy, figuring stairs in zero vis was impossible.

Still not easy.

Two mage NPCs mid-long corridor.

Like before, waiting for him to cross the threshold.

Seo-jun glanced at the panicking chat, chuckled, and stepped forward.

Recalling every sensation from prior floors.

In an instant, the screen became pure darkness.

Only Seo-jun's body visible.

Whoosh.

In the eerily silent world, even his breath echoed loud.

Fwoosh.

A fireball spawned.

Seo-jun recalled the corridor layout and advanced slowly.

'Head.'

Whooosh.

Seo-jun tilted his head left; something grazed where it had been.

Heat brushed by.

A second later, red mana afterglow traced the spell's path in the dark as a solid line.

'Effect. Nice visual flair.'

Boom rumble.

Seo-jun spun, sword slicing into a protruding rock from the wall.

Brown glowing dust scattered in the dark.

Swish swish slash.

He dodged floor-crawling vines, diving forward.

Fwoosh!

Two this time.

Seo-jun rolled ahead, rose fluidly, leaned to evade one, destroyed the other with his sword.

Crackle.

Red sparks flew.

Crackle crack.

Freeze spell manifesting right ahead.

Seo-jun upward-slashed the unfinished ice arrows' cores.

Captured the retreating mage's footsteps, slammed his sword beside falling blue dust.

"I can hear everything."

Then bolted forward.

'Above? Below? Both?'

Not just the dead mage; the one by the stairs had cast ice arrows too.

Sounds overlapped—Seo-jun hadn't pinpointed.

He dashed to interrupt before completion.

Too late.

Whiiir.

Faint atmospheric pull into a vortex: spell complete.

Fine, though. He'd felt the wind.

Piiiing!

'In range, luckily. Three shots.'

Seo-jun twisted sideways mid-air, sword downward.

Two projectiles passed head and legs; chill wind followed.

The heart-bound arrow blocked by sword, clattered to floor.

Wind flow revealed position.

Seo-jun strolled casually through darkness again.

Step step.

His footsteps echoed in the dark silence.

"Assassins are always stronger in the dark."

Fwoosh.

Spell casting right beside Seo-jun again.

Snap.

Seo-jun grabbed the mage's arm.

"Gaaah!"

Casting naturally canceled.

Seo-jun finished the mage, stepped onto the stairs, and looked back.

Darkness receded from around him.

Revealing the corridor he'd traversed at a glance.

"Whew. Dodged everything nicely."

The glowing dust? All spell remnants.

The chat exploded with reactions.

Donations piled up instantly.

Normally, he hid them during gameplay to avoid distractions, but break time now—fine.

"Thanks for all the support, everyone."

Seo-jun sat on the stairs a moment.

"But this? Y'know, sound play? Anyone decent can do it. Right? You all do it too."

He started interacting.

Sound play: using audio cues for tactical info like enemy positions.

But to viewers, Seo-jun's display felt different.

Like...

Seo-jun burst out laughing too.

Indeed.

Streaming was fun.

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