Samurai Hearts – Tutorial (4)
Almost the moment Seungyeon said it, a group pushed through the bushes.
Six in total.
They wore okashi-gusoku—the rental-style armor used by low-ranking soldiers in Japan's Sengoku period.
All held spears, and their posture made it clear they had no peaceful intentions.
The one at the front spotted them and immediately drew his sword, shouting:
"Target found! Attack!"
Dohyun froze at the sudden assault.
This was supposed to be an event—yet no dialogue, no buildup, just "Target! Attack!"
Wasn't there usually some dramatic exchange first?
Caught off guard, he failed to react.
"Here comes the very first battle of Samurai Hearts!"
But Seungyeon was different.
She already knew this would happen.
She instantly drew the sword at her hip and charged the nearest enemy.
Clang!
The front enemy parried her sword and stumbled back.
Since the lead attacker got pushed away, the ones behind him staggered backward as well.
With the distance widened, the fight paused briefly.
That was when Dohyun, finally collected, drew his own sword and stepped beside her.
Seungyeon glanced at him and spoke.
She wanted to explain the basics of Samurai Hearts combat.
"The most important mechanic in Samurai Hearts combat is Parrying. You knock away the enemy's attack by counterattacking at the same time. It's simple."
"That's simple?"
"Well… it's hard. But this is a game, so there's assistance built in. Once you try it, it's not that bad. I'll show you first."
Seeing her confidently step forward, the viewers stirred.
—No way she dies in the tutorial, right?—Come on, no way. Victoria has improved—She suffered enough during Bloody Horn, so she should be fine
"I'll have you know! I'm a professional VR game streamer! I can handle this much!"
—Yes, next up: Bloody Horn Tutorial Attempt #10—Ah… the trauma… the day she took 3 tries on the first grunt…
Seeing the viewers' lack of faith, Seungyeon puffed her cheeks and raised her sword.
Of course, the viewers weren't wrong.
Even though her condition had been awful during Bloody Horn, taking ten attempts just for the tutorial was… harsh.
Anyone who remembered that disaster would naturally doubt her now.
But this time was different.
Because—
I practiced this part!
She didn't say it, but she had run this section multiple times in advance.
All for this exact moment.
"Here I go!"
She dashed toward the nearest enemy and swung her sword.
Clang!
Her diagonal slash was blocked, but the enemy flinched and staggered back.
With her real strength, she would've been pushed back—but this was a game.
She wasn't Lee Seungyeon; she was Red Fox, a skilled swordswoman with boosted stats.
"Hah!"
Slash!
She quickly pursued the staggered enemy and cut him down.
As he screamed and fell, another soldier thrust a spear at her.
Jumping back, she swung her sword toward the incoming spear.
Even though she only swung generally in the right direction, the sword precisely knocked aside the spear's tip.
This was the power of the game's "correction" mechanics.
The enemy who had his attack parried stumbled back.
Immediately after, she deflected another attacker's blow and retreated with a confident grin.
"Told you! I said this time would be different!"
—Goddess of Victory!—Nike Mode ON!—Victoria! Is she a god?!
The viewers instantly changed sides and praised her.
It wasn't even a boss—just a grunt. But some players considered even grunts a nightmare.
Seeing the flood of support, Seungyeon smirked proudly and told Dohyun:
"See? That's all it is. Not too hard. The game helps you as long as you swing in the right direction. Now you try. Parry and then slash."
"Okay. Parry and slash. Got it."
Giving him space, Seungyeon stepped back, and Dohyun stepped forward.
Since the leader had already died, the remaining enemies didn't immediately rush in—they raised their spears and hesitated.
Parry and slash…
Dohyun narrowed his eyes.
A sword that should have felt heavy was practically weightless—no doubt because he was "Black Wolf."
He felt he could swing it however he wanted.
As he stepped forward, one of the enemies shouted and thrust his spear:
"Haaap!"
The spear tip shot straight toward him.
Dohyun simply watched it.
Was he frozen in fear?
Of course not.
He watched because…
It was too slow.
Do I even need to parry this?
He even wondered that.
He felt like he could just cut the attacker before the spear reached him.
He clicked his tongue internally and swung his sword at the spear tip.
Just parry first, then slash, he thought.
Since his sister had far more VR experience, he followed her advice.
CLANG!
His blade struck the spear tip dead on—far more forcefully than Seungyeon's earlier parries.
Huge sparks exploded.
The enemy wielding the spear didn't just stumble back—he was knocked flat on his back.
"…Hm?"
Though surprised, Dohyun didn't stop.
He swung again.
Slice.
His sword drew a half-circle and cleanly cut through the enemy's exposed neck.
Blood sprayed, and the soldier collapsed without even a scream.
Dead instantly.
"H-how?!"
Watching from behind, Seungyeon was stunned.
Unlike clueless Dohyun, she had researched Samurai Hearts through other streams.
So she knew exactly what that huge burst of sparks and dramatic knockback meant.
That effect is…
In Samurai Hearts, the Parry mechanic had three possible results.
There were three possible outcomes for a parry.
First was a failure.
A literal failure to parry.In this case, the incoming attack struck harder than normal.
This increased damage could not be ignored.
Failing a parry meant even a weak grunt could kill you instantly if you slipped up.
In many streams that Seungyeon had watched, players died instantly after a failed parry.
Second was a success.
This was the result when the parry succeeded with the game's correction assistance.
This was the result Seungyeon got earlier—when you parried successfully, the enemy staggered.
Grunts sometimes even got knocked back a bit, though bosses merely flinched.
And the last was the "Great Success."
This occurred only when the player—with no correction assistance—perfectly parried with pure skill.
With this result, both grunts and bosses became completely vulnerable.
Yes.
Completely open.
Just like the grunt who went flying and fell flat on his back when Dohyun parried him a moment ago.
—Wait, wasn't that a Great Success just now?—Pretty sure it was—The huge sparks + the knockdown makes it obvious
Just as Seungyeon realized it, the viewers did too.
A Great Success Parry.
To trigger it, you must, of your own intention, perfectly parry the enemy's attack.
It only happens when the player consciously recognizes and responds to the attack themselves.
In other words, you can't get it by accident.
The problem?
The one who triggered it was someone playing a VR game for the first time ever.
People with good physical ability struggled with this game—yet someone who had been playing VR for less than 30 minutes pulled it off?
Anyone would find that hard to believe.
'PhysicalHellGame' donated 5,000 won!Victoria. Make Kratos do it one more time.
"PhysicalHellGame, thank you for the 5,000 won! Sure! Let's try that again!
Kratos! Do that thing again!"
"What thing? What am I doing again?"
Dohyun looked baffled by Seungyeon suddenly shouting at him.
From his perspective, it was natural.
He had only parried and slashed like she told him, so being asked to "do that thing again" made no sense.
"Parry again, like just now."
"Why? Was something weird?"
"No, no! It was good. Really good. That's why I want to see it again."
It made no sense contextually, but they did still need to kill the remaining enemies.
So Dohyun simply nodded.
It wasn't difficult anyway.
Four left.
Seungyeon had killed the leader, and Dohyun had taken down another.
Of the original six enemies, only four remained.
And since their leader had died and another followed, they hesitated and could not rush instantly.
Dohyun narrowed his eyes at them and kicked off the ground.
"Die!"
The nearest grunt thrust his spear at him.
The spear's trajectory was identical to the previous enemy's attack.
Same type of grunt, same predictable pattern.
The attack was so slow that Dohyun felt bored.
In fact, the cherry-blossom transitions had been far more interesting.
CLANG!
So he parried exactly the same way as before.
He struck the spear tip upward with perfect timing.
A large burst of sparks erupted, and the enemy screamed and tumbled across the ground.
Thunk!
Pulling his sword back, Dohyun plunged it into the fallen enemy's heart.
The blade sliced through the armor like butter, and the sensation of piercing deep into the heart traveled through his hand.
Watching from behind, Seungyeon gasped.
"Everyone—did I see that right? That was definitely a Great Success, right?"
—It was. No doubt.—Holy crap, didn't he say he was new to VR??—Is this real? Actually real??
Glancing at the chat and confirming the reactions, Seungyeon cheered internally.
The Win-Loss Gang wasn't just excited—they were boiling over with hype.
No matter how the rest of the stream went, this alone would become a huge topic.
And that hype would turn directly into her channel's profit.
Paying her brother pocket money to appear?This was the deal of a lifetime!
'High School Vet Girl' donated 1,000 won!But isn't that dangerous?
"Huh? Ah—right! Kratos, get back!"
Seeing the donation, Seungyeon hurriedly shouted.
Because Dohyun had killed the enemies so easily, he had unconsciously rushed too far ahead.
He was already deep inside the enemy formation—so far that her attempts to cover the rear enemies became meaningless.