Martial Arts Returnee’s Game Broadcast

Chapter 82

4.  

The viewers watching the tournament broadcast were truly stunned.

• "Mu-chin... Mu-chin-ryeon-ah!!"
• "How did you do that, you bastard!!!"
• "Holy shit, how is a person cutting through the wind???"
• "Am I the only one who saw that? Did the Silent Swordsman just fly into space??"
• "What did you see?"
• "It looks like you saw things that weren’t there."
• "Space PTSD patient lol"

A person cutting through nature itself.

How could such a thing even be possible?

The gates and Awakeners had appeared, and countless miracles occurred in the modern world, but no one had ever cut through nature with a single sword.

It was an event that would be passed down for thousands of years, like the founding myth of a nation.

The one who caused all this commotion wore an unexpectedly disgruntled expression.

‘This is too much.’

She was so close to the summit, yet after slicing through the High Mountain Trial, the message that she had reached the top appeared, and the map settings were forcibly reset.

It felt like a Turkish ice cream that was almost in her mouth, only for it to be snatched away by the cursed Turkish vendor.

"Wait... did I really reach the summit?" "Crazy... there were other survivors besides me?"

Hae Eung-eung hadn’t realized, but the avalanche that occurred while she was climbing had grown larger the further down it went, and it struck a quarter of the map, causing one of the final three contestants to suddenly die.

The pressure layer she cut through at the end shifted the downward current, pressing heavily on the mid-layer of the mountain map.

The final two participants in the martial arts tournament were trapped, curled up, being struck by falling rocks until just before the map disappeared, almost to the point of death.

"Cut through the wind barrier in half? Is this for real?"

One of the final two, C-class Awakener Lex, who had also been broadcasting live during the tournament, was staring in disbelief at the live video and comments of the other viewers.

The video had been mind-read by Min Woosung, the other C-class Awakener among the final two, and it too filled him with terror.

‘Damn, so everything I saw earlier was real.’

The classified documents about the first returnee from the National Security Bureau were too severe to believe in their entirety. Surely, there must have been exaggeration.

He had wanted to believe they were heavily seasoned, like an MSG-infused result.

But now, he could no longer deny the reality.

The Silent Swordsman cutting through nature with a single sword.

No matter how he looked at it, this exceeded C-class by a long shot.

An irregular powerhouse.

This was a trait of the returnees seen by the National Security Bureau.

There was no possibility of creating something out of nothing through hypnotic abilities.

Hadn't Lex read the mind of Min Woosung, who hadn't even watched the video clips?

The documents about the returnees were all true.

He had to accept the reality he had been denying.

And even more horrifying was the fact that the Silent Swordsman wasn’t any less dangerous than the first returnee, the hypnotist.

‘Please, second place, please second place, please second place!’

Now, Min Woosung’s only way to preserve his life was to lose and take second place, thus naturally breaking off contact with the Silent Swordsman, and being sent back to the National Security Bureau.

If he quit openly, the National Security Bureau wouldn’t leave him alone, but if he took second place due to lacking the skills, they wouldn’t be able to blame him.

While the National Security Bureau wouldn’t let him go easily, at least he wouldn't have to deal with the monster who cuts nature in half like cutting cotton candy.

‘Did that avalanche happen because of this guy? Fuck, this is really scary.’

But Lex was just as terrified.

The two final men had no desire to win.

However, Lex also had a reason he couldn’t quit the tournament.

‘Damn it, why did I tell the older guys I was entering the tournament? What the hell is this?’

Lex was a top-tier C-class Awakener from one of South Korea’s top 10 guilds, Ocean World Guild.

He had planned to show off and win first place, gathering a nice score, but his shallow trick had backfired, and now he couldn’t quit.

Not only had he failed to gather points, but it was lucky if he didn't lose them.

‘Winning and then dealing with what that guy will do to me? When I go to the finals, I’ll have to fake an overreaction and do a 540-degree spin and fall.’

‘This guy's an expert at faking illness to fool even doctors. He’s already read my mind and will make me collapse before I even get the chance to fake an overreaction.’

The two, determined to make each other the winner, glaring at each other with deep intentions, caused the viewers to go wild.

• "Wow, the finals aren’t something anyone can get to."
• "Look at those deadly stares."
• "They really look like they could eat someone."
• "But why does the Silent Swordsman look so upset?"
• "It seems like neither of them is happy."
• "How could anyone be satisfied cutting through the wind like that? Haha."

Lex, overhearing the chat comments, looked up with a nervous expression.

‘Damn it… they’re really staring at me.’

Without saying a word, Hae Eung-eung stared at the two of them, Lex and Min Woosung, in a way that made them wonder if they were going to be killed before the final match.

She hid her trembling hands behind her back, forcing a smile.

Hae Eung-eung, who had respawned in the seat she had previously been in, raised a sign and typed a message.

[Where did our Ah-young go?]

• "Hahaha, doesn’t this person watch the tournament?"
• "When are you looking for someone who’s already dead?"
• "The Silent Swordsman is really just into climbing."

"Uh... It seems she died during the process and was forcibly logged out." "Are we doing the finals now?"

Hae Eung-eung, holding the huge sign, smacked it against the corner of the arena and fell into thought.

The arena’s stone benches, shattering in real-time with a loud crack, were met with the trembling eyes of the final two participants.

It felt like they were seeing their future, and their expressions grew even darker. Hae Eung-eung's silence added to the heaviness of the atmosphere. Though her inability to speak was somewhat known through an interview with Lee Chae-han, the sight of such a strong person standing without a word made the atmosphere even heavier.

Were they upset with them? Were they in danger of being harmed?

‘Neither of them is to my liking.’

The concerns of the two men weren’t entirely wrong. Hae Eung-eung didn’t like these two.

She had hoped that the fifth member, who would become a cornerstone for Ah-young’s guild, would be someone truly useful. But the remaining candidates were worse than a guy who had once talked about tigers from a cliff and couldn’t even match up to a guy who only knew Kyungshin Technique.

She held the sign again.

[How many floors did you get to in the end?]

The two, hesitating and glancing at each other, debated whether to lie about a lower number, but upon realizing the viewers were watching, they answered honestly.

“I reached the 40th floor.” “I was at the 38th floor.”

[For time’s sake, let’s declare the 40th floor as the winner.]

“Ugh!!” “Yeah! Hoorah!”

[?]

“This is a cry of joy. It’s not that I didn’t want to win.” “No, no, this is a vow to win the next tournament!”

Min Woosung, relieved to be alive, and Lex, devastated to have lost, created an odd scene.

• "Lol, the winner was decided so easily."
• "This is a martial arts tournament and there’s no final match?"
• "What is this, an elementary school sports day?"
• "But why does the winner look like they hate it?"
• "Why is the loser so happy?"
• "They’ve got great comedic timing."
• "I see."
• "Awakeners entering entertainment, huh? Must’ve had early training."

Amid mixed emotions and what sounded like excuses for their victory speeches, the viewers praised the two players for their excellent comedic timing.

“So... what’s the prize for winning?”

[We’ll offer you a chance to join the guild. We’re recruiting new members, and there’s one spot left.]

• "Guild????"
• "Is the Silent Swordsman the guild leader???"
• "Hahaha?"
• "What’s this, Mu-chin-ryeon isn’t even broadcasting? What’s she doing outside instead of streaming?"
• "Where’s the collab proposal?"

The viewers were shocked by the unexpected prize and the recruitment notice.

While they were still processing it, Lex, with a much brighter expression, shouted.

“Ah, really sorry. I’m already part of the Ocean World Guild, and I’ll pass on the chance to join the Silent Swordsman’s guild. I’ll give my spot to second place.”

[You’re already in a guild?]

“Uh? No, not exactly.”

This wasn’t how it was supposed to go.

In his embarrassment, Min Woosung was handed a sign by Hae Eung-eung.

[Contact Ah-young after this.]

With the tides of fate turning once more, the first-place winner, rejecting the guild offer, rejoiced, while the second-place loser was filled with despair. The long tournament finally came to an end.

5.

After the broadcast ended, the viewers, still filled with excitement, began lively discussions in the space.

The post-broadcast space defaulted to the space station, just like it did for Ah-young.

• "But that jetstream was maybe only 30m/s, right? I remember Tornado Man from the US launching a tornado at 40m/s. Isn’t Tornado Man stronger than the Silent Swordsman?"
• "Are you comparing an S-class Awakener to this?"
• "If the Silent Swordsman is that strong, then sure, it's comparable to S-class."
• "So, you’re saying the Silent Swordsman is weaker than Tornado Man?"
• "No, cutting through a 30m/s jetstream is impressive, but it’s not the strongest wind in the world."
• "Wls"
• "Stop acting like a cool kid. But honestly, it’s true. As a current pilot, jetstream speeds change drastically depending on the altitude."
• "So how much faster does it get?"
• "In the upper layers of the troposphere, the wind can reach 50m/s, and in severe cases, up to 100m/s."
• "But why is what this guy’s saying showing up exactly like in Wikipedia?"
• "Because I’m not a real pilot, I’m just some idiot quoting Wikipedia. Damn it, why’d I have to search that?"

As the chat continued, the viewers were divided in their reactions, some baffled, others amused, but all of them engaged in the spectacle unfolding before them.

• "So, when is the main broadcast happening?"
• "Ah."
• "Ahhhhhh."
• "Aaaahhhhhhh!"
• "Don’t ask! Don’t ask! Don’t ask!"
• "Pick up the pace, pick up the pace, pick up the pace!"
• "I was trying not to think about it, but why are you bringing it up right now?!"
• "I’m shaking so much I’m going to spill my lunch!"
• "It’s 6 PM now, time for dinner."
• "I’m shaking so much, I think I’ll spill my dinner!"
• "Well, for sure, the guy at the top has lost it."
• "Ah, today’s not the main broadcast, it was just a rerun."
• "So, when’s the real one happening?"
• "Don’t know."
• "Maybe they’ll just focus on guild activities now that they’ve recruited new members?"
• "But how long will that take?"
• "Usually, new guilds are busy securing contracts and running around for activities, so they’ll be really busy."
• "A few months?"
• "How cute. A few months? More like it’ll take a year. You guys really don’t know anything about the Awakener industry, huh?"
• "What? A year?? That means we won’t see the Silent Swordsman’s stream for a year??"
• "This is neglect! Nooo, please come back, Silent Swordsman!"
• "Babies can’t type, you bastard."

The chat exploded into a full-on panic, with a chaotic frenzy of reactions, but Min Woosung, watching the madness unfold, couldn’t help but feel worse than the chat itself.

"Hey, you’re a real Jumping Rabbit fan, right? I saw the rerun! You wouldn’t know about the underground tunnels and hidden items unless you were a real fan, right?"

His momentary mistake, driven by the desire to succeed in the tournament, had resulted in a huge blow.

"From now on, we’ll be doing one Jumping Rabbit a day!"

Thinking he was a Jumping Rabbit superfan, Hae Eung-eung tried to drag Min Woosung into the capsule, planning to do a daily session.

"No, that’s not... New guilds have to secure missions and gather contributions, so they’ll be really busy..."

"Oh, no worries. We were part of the association’s vigilante group, so we have plenty of work in this area."

"We can boost contributions while working with the vigilante group, just put your name on the list. Just hang out with the guild leader and Ah-young."

Having experienced the infamous reputation of Jumping Rabbit, Ujiwoo and Sokyeongseok blocked the exit for Min Woosung in no time.

Thus, it became naturally clear that Min Woosung would be the one taking over the Ah-young entertainment duties for the new guild, Haenampa, and eventually, he found himself spending two mandatory hours a day for the "entertainment jumping" sessions.

This concludes the full translation of the chapter. If you need more translations or clarifications, feel free to ask!