Chapter 130: The Student Surpasses the Master?

**1.**

The last mission Producer Sung gave us was to defeat the hidden boss of the tutorial, the “Possessed Tiger.”

Of course, there were conditions attached.

The mission had to be completed by team members, excluding the team leaders.

The hidden boss, the “Possessed Tiger.”

It was a boss that could be tackled by a party of up to three people and dropped items like the “Tiger Sword” and “Tiger Spear,” which made the early stages of easier to clear.

Well, the game servers wouldn’t be open for a while after today anyway.

It didn’t matter if we got the items or not.

The problem was whether the two of us could defeat a boss meant for three.

It would be the same for Heosu’s side, so I started training right after finishing our meal.

Since Haechul was experienced, he quickly understood my instructions and thrust his sword accordingly.

On Heosu’s side, they’d probably be teaching the spear.

For a beginner, learning the spear would yield quicker results.

Unlike a sword, which required attention to distance control and various other factors, a spear had a longer range.

As long as one reacted before the enemy reached them, a preemptive strike was usually possible.

In essence, it was a mission disadvantageous to me.

However, the moment I saw Juhyeon, whom I was to guide after Haechul, I was left speechless.

“Am I doing it wrong? But I’m an old user of .”

“Hyung, you’re doing fine.”

*Whoosh!*

The rusty sword extended forcefully into the air.

It was just a simple thrust.

But Juhyeon’s eyes sparkled incessantly.

What I taught him were thrusts and slashes.

These were the basics of all attacks, also known as . The skill level depended on how well one could mix these basic attacks between learned skills.

“Oppa, am I doing this right?”

“Yes, you’re doing very well.”

Talent indeed exists.

There are realms one can’t reach with effort alone.

Watching Juhyeon’s repetitive actions made me acutely aware of this fact.

“……Seems like you can’t deny your bloodline.”

Haechul nodded while watching Juhyeon’s sword.

Bloodline?

It seemed there was a story behind it.

“Bloodline?”

“Yeah, both of his parents are famous. His mother is a gold medalist in fencing sabre, and his father is a well-known figure in kendo.”

“A perfect blend of East and West.”

“Exactly. When Juhyeon first joined our agency, it was quite the news.”

Ah.

I think I heard about it from my military buddies once.

There were quite a few who were blindly fond of Juhyeon among them.

“When he participates in idol sports competitions, he sweeps all the awards.”

“That’s impressive.”

Having good physicality didn’t necessarily mean excelling in virtual reality.

Even those with good physicality might struggle if their synchronization rate was low, often feeling severe discord.

However, the synchronization rate I confirmed for Juhyeon last time was the highest among the cast, excluding me.

With physicality and synchronization rate supporting him, he could show such overwhelming performance.

Watching Juhyeon, I sighed.

“The world really isn’t fair.”

I felt like I was seeing a glimpse of Heosu in Juhyeon.

Handsome face, good at games, athletic.

The term “jack of all trades” fit perfectly in this context.

After watching Juhyeon for a while, I nodded and spoke.

“You’re doing great. Let’s move on to the next stage.”

The “Possessed Tiger” was much more agile and had more varied attack patterns compared to the “Giant Rutting Rabbit.”

Isn’t it called the king of animals, the tiger?

A lion wouldn’t have been as agile.

Yes, indeed.

“There are just three patterns to remember. The tiger won’t take long. If you don’t make any mistakes, you can finish it with the first attack.”

Teaching Dong-su and Na-young last time provided valuable experience.

When teaching others, one should explain very clearly.

So while these two were getting familiar with their weapons, I quickly came up with a few key points.

“I’ll start a crash course now, so don’t miss a word.”

A former unofficial rank 1.

The top instructor of .

A certified teacher who remembers the patterns of all the bosses I’ve cleared once.

I grinned and spoke to them.

“When you first encounter the tiger, you can predict its next attack just by looking at its front paw…”

I needed to give them concentrated training on parts Heosu would never be able to catch.

Thus began a secret yet effective special training.

—

**2.**

“Long time no see?”

“What do you mean, long time…?”

“Hey, I heard you made some gochujang bulgogi? Got any leftovers?”

After about an hour of training.

Heosu and I, the team leaders, gathered in one place.

This was a special location created by Producer Sung using admin privileges.

There were two screens showing each team member facing the tiger.

But that wasn’t all.

With a light tap of his finger, Producer Sung brought up a new window next to us.

– 샤하! (Shaha!)

– Is this the official VRN broadcast? I’ll follow.

– Our Evil! Our Evil! Our Evil!

– LOL, those Shia fans should disappear… Obviously, Cerberus is the best, right?

– Real LOL, there are still Shia fans?

– Remembered your IDs. Before the Evil Gang googles your address, delete your accounts. Bye.

– Oppa. Love you. Watching from China.

“Oh shit! Look at the disgusting chat.”

“Disgusting? You find that disgusting, you trash.”

“Of course. How do you think my viewers feel watching your viewers’ chat?”

“Disgusting? Want me to make it truly disgusting?”

Since Heosu’s return to Twipod Korea, a new war had effectively begun for the Evil Gang.

Those claiming to be Heosu’s fans called themselves Nyanggaedan.

The term combined “hunting dog” and “cat” (in Korean).

The core of Nyanggaedan consisted of viewers who disliked the Evil Gang.

Adding viewers from China to this mix, they had the firepower equivalent to the Evil Gang.

Heosu and I were officially rivals.

It was only natural that the Evil Gang and Nyanggaedan sniped at each other.

“Some of the chats today might be used in the broadcast, just letting you know.”

At Producer Sung’s words, the chat briefly calmed down.

Seeing their chat on TV was quite a thrilling experience.

Producer Sung quieted the chat smoothly and then looked at us.

“Now, you two can talk comfortably.”

VRN’s broadcast channel, which had become virtually useless due to content drought.

But recently, high-quality videos were being uploaded, and most of content was conducted alongside live streams.

I heard VRN’s broadcast channel was growing the fastest after Heosu’s channel.

It was an encouraging result.

I looked at Producer Sung, smiled lightly, and proceeded.

“Nice to meet you, this is streamer Shia.”

– ???

– Formal speech?

“Why are you speaking formally? Do you want to die?”

“Haha, this bastard is pretending to be nice because it’s a broadcast?”

“Guys! You know this is all lies, right?”

“Hahaha, it’s so disgusting to hear you speak formally! I love you, hyung!”

Even when I speak formally, these bastards make a fuss.

I needed to hold back.

Since it was an official broadcast, I had to maintain as much decorum as possible.

“You’ll be able to check it out in the broadcast later, but today we are playing . Aren’t you all excited?”

“Ugh.”

“…What are you doing?”

“Pretending to be nice is making me nauseous…”

“Are you crazy?”

“Maybe, but not as much as you.”

Whether it was the last collaboration or today, he couldn’t be more well-behaved when he was broadcasting alone, but as soon as he was with me, he would drool and pounce like this.

He was truly an incomprehensible guy.

As Heosu and I showcased our bickering chemistry and led the broadcast, the two video channels in front of us finally activated.

One channel showed Hyung Jun-sik and Noona Se-yeon.

The other channel showed Hyung Hae-chul and Juhyeon.

As expected of those taught by Heosu, both were holding spears.

Meanwhile, Hyung Hae-chul and Juhyeon cautiously advanced with swords in hand.

“Jun-sik and Se-yeon were like sponges absorbing everything. They’ll make minced meat out of that tiger. I guarantee it.”

“We’ll see.”

I acknowledged that Noona Se-yeon had excellent game sense.

I had played games with her a few times and verified it with my own eyes.

Heosu, having a good eye, would have quickly realized that too.

“Hyung Hae-chul and Juhyeon are a bit pitiful. They won’t learn anything useful from a gear-dependent player like you. Isn’t that right?”

“Are you trying hard to be disliked these days? You might end up in trouble with the Evil Gang.”

“You might get axed yourself.”

…That’s genuinely scary.

The problem was that what he said could actually happen.

Recently, I had accumulated quite a bit of karma against China.

I really needed to be careful. There was a real chance I could end up dead under mysterious circumstances.

– “Please shut your mouths, guys. We need to focus on Juhyeon’s video.”

– “For real, it’s gross to see guys tearing each other apart.”

– “This isn’t your personal broadcast. Get a grip.”

– “Noona Se-yeon!!”

– “Our Hae-chul is so pretty! Hyung loves you fiercely!”

It seemed there were a few dangerous people in the chat.

Heosu and I quickly assessed the public sentiment and turned our attention to the videos of our team members.

In the videos, the hidden boss, the “Possessed Tiger,” had already appeared.

Before I could say anything, Heosu swiftly started commenting.

“The ‘Possessed Tiger’ is a hidden monster in the tutorial area. According to the lore, it’s created from the spirits of herbivores devoured by carnivores…”

Now was my chance.

I shoved Heosu with my shoulder and spoke.

“Next, the know-it-all.”

I hated long explanations.

Just as Heosu was about to react to my sudden move, the battle began on Heosu’s team side.

– “Jun-sik, go!”

– “Got it. I’ll circle to the left?”

– “Good!”

It was a strategy typical of Heosu.

Using the long reach of the spear to maintain a sufficient distance and pressuring the enemy.

The moment the opponent showed an opening, the rusty spear would pierce through.

Soon, the tiger, which had been observing, lunged at Noona Se-yeon.

That’s when it happened.

Noona Se-yeon crouched and thrust her spear upwards, and the tiger, with its enormous weight, impaled itself on the spear.

– “Kyaaa!”

However, because the attack wasn’t precise, the spear didn’t hit the tiger’s vital point.

If you couldn’t kill the predator in one blow, the one to be eaten was obviously the human.

The tiger roared fiercely and opened its jaws toward Noona Se-yeon, but its objective was thwarted by Hyung Jun-sik, who swiftly intervened.

It was quite a well-coordinated team play.

If they continued like that a few more times, they could certainly take it down.

It was a textbook strategy typical of Heosu.

“Is this how you teach? Got it?”

“Hmm, is that so?”

“You can’t teach anyone anything…”

That’s when it happened.

Heosu, seeing the video from my team’s channel, widened his eyes in shock.

– ????

– ????

– What is this?

– Hahaha, are they insane?

– What kind of strategy is that?

As the chat filled with question marks, Heosu spoke in a shocked voice.

“Kim Chan-sik, you crazy bastard!”