Samurai Hearts – Tutorial (10)
Neither Seung-yeon, nor Do-hyun, nor the viewers watching the stream knew this—
But in truth, the Sword Star Kato had a hidden secret.
Something only the developers of Samurai Hearts would know.
The truth was:
The event of fighting the tutorial boss "Sword Star Hatsuragi Kato" was a predetermined loss event.
Not "a loss is allowed."
A loss is required.
This was different from the earlier event of defending Tatsuki until reinforcements arrived.
Back then, whether you succeeded or failed, the event progressed once the cavalry showed up.
But with the Sword Star—
The player must lose for the story to continue.
So the developers of Samurai Hearts designed a hidden system that would inevitably force the player into a "you can't possibly win" situation at some point during the battle.
Of course, it wasn't blatant.
It wasn't like the Sword Star suddenly swung an unblockable attack directly through your heart.
No.
The "adjustments" were smaller—
Like removing the hidden stabilizing battle-assist,or placing a stone just where your foot would land.
Up until now, that hidden system had never once been triggered in any visible form—
Because no player had ever survived long enough to see it.
Until this moment.
"Kh—?!"
The first time Do-hyun stumbled on a small rock, he thought it was an accident.
He simply assumed he hadn't noticed it earlier.
He didn't pay much attention to it.
His balance wavered for a moment, but he still managed to block.
"Ugh?!"
But then it happened again.
And again.
The causes varied.
A burst of sparks blinding his vision at a crucial instant—A small pit forming under the exact spot where his foot stepped—A sudden tug in the air as if his balance was artificially pulled—
At first, he thought it might still be coincidence.
But with this level of blatant interference?
Anyone would notice.
Let alone Do-hyun—whose perception covered everything within ten meters around him.
For a man who could see everything—to suddenly trip over a stoneand step into a pit he hadn't sensed?
Impossible.
Something was interfering.
Some invisible force was disrupting his senses.
And its intention was obvious:
To make him lose.
What the hell is doing this?
Do-hyun didn't know—
But it was the system.
Because he hadn't lost even after Kato drew his second sword and revealed Niten Ichiryu,the hidden "forced defeat system" activated.
Any ordinary player, at this point, would have stumbled, missed a block,and been cut down by the Sword Star—
believing they had simply been unlucky.
But Do-hyun was no ordinary gamer.
He was a monster shaped into human form.
A creature sculpted entirely from talent.
And because of that—
He immediately sensed that something was wrong.
As if I'm going to lose that easily.
Do-hyun bared his teeth in a pale, razor-edged smile.
No one realized that the smile was the result of anger pushed past its limit.
Because no one had ever pushed him this far before.
Do-hyun was, quite literally, furious to his very core.
To forcibly suppress rightful anger only created even greater rage.
Anger mixed with defiance burned within him—and he decided, with absolute certainty:
He would kill the Sword Star Kato.
"Then take this as well, warrior!"
Unaware of Do-hyun's boiling fury, the Sword Star shouted joyfully.
Under the moonlight, his twin blades carved two brilliant trajectories.
Saaaak—
His left sword traced a white arc like a bisected circle.
Whish!
His right sword shot forward in an instant—a beast lunging from hiding.
Two blades.Two paths.A technique designed to tear the opponent—to tear Do-hyun—to shreds.
No one had ever survived after these two sword paths crossed.
Only one man—the Shogun—had once witnessed the technique and praised it:
"Truly, the fangs of a dragon and claws of a tiger."
Hence its name:
Niten Ichiryu Secret Art—Dragon Fang, Tiger Claw .
Of course, this was all part of the game's lore.
So this is how far it goes…!
Do-hyun clenched his teeth.
Dragon fangs.Tiger claws.
Even before this godlike technique, he did not stop.
His violent talent had already shown him a method to defend against the twin blades—
instantly, effortlessly, without hesitation.
And even faster than he could consciously think—his body moved.
If I block here—!
Where the two sword paths crossed—the intersection.
If he occupied that space,if he intercepted that crossing point—
He could block the technique.
But Do-hyun did not know—
That this exact momentwas what the system had been waiting for.
"Ghk…?!"
As he lifted his sword diagonally to block both strikes—
it shattered.
CRRRACK! CLANG!
Dozens of fragments scattered through the air.
His sword—destroyed.
The worst possible situation.
He no longer had any weapon to block the incoming Tiger Claw.
The Sword Star grinned savagely and thrust forward.
A chilling shiver ran down Do-hyun's spine.
As the sensation of imminent defeat approached—
Do-hyun's eyes shone with a distant, burning light.
Lose? Like this?In this pathetic way?
If Kato had truly been stronger,he could have accepted defeat.
If Kato's blade had genuinely bested him,he wouldn't have resisted.
But not like this.
Not like this.
Don't be ridiculous…!
Do-hyun's focus soared—higher, higher—
past his limits,beyond those,to a level he had never touched before.
If someone had witnessed his condition,they would have called it:
"Resonance Overdrive."
He entered the Zone.
Then—
Everything slowed.
The shard of his broken blade floated visible to the naked eye.Kato's sword approached as if in slow motion.
Every fiber of his muscles,every strand of hair,obeyed him perfectly.
The entire worldfell under his perception.
**
And then—
Talent moved his body.
He twisted away from the incoming thrust,caught the razor edge of the sword between his palms—
an act that should have been impossible.
The blade struggled violently to maintain its trajectory,as if Kato's will was infused in it—but Do-hyun's talent was stronger.
With brute force and impossibility combined,he bent the blade downward,distorting its path.
**
And at the same moment—
He performed another action.
Something no normal person would ever attempt.
Something insane.
But to Do-hyun—
it was obvious.
**
After an endlessly long instant—the world snapped back to normal speed.
Puuk—!
With a chilling, meaty sound, a blade sank deep into flesh.
Not into Do-hyun—
Into the body of Sword Star Kato.
"Kh… ghhk!"
Feeling the cold steel pierce straight into his lungs, Sword Star Kato let out a ragged breath.
His eyes were thick with confusion.
Catching a sword with bare hands and twisting its trajectory—that alone was insane.
But this blade—?
He stared down in disbelief.
Do-hyun's sword had shattered moments ago.How, then, was he being stabbed?
And what he saw—was the sight of Do-hyun, looking like a demon, with a broken sword fragment clenched between his teeth.
The sharp metal split the corners of his mouth, blood dripping freely—but the eerie blue ghost fire burning in his eyes had not dimmed in the slightest.
Sword Star Kato's gaze filled with profound admiration.
"…Truly… a model… for all warriors…"
Reeling backward, Sword Star Kato staggered—
Then collapsed heavily onto the ground.
His hands released the sword he had been gripping; his body sprawled helplessly.
The fragment Do-hyun had bitten and driven forward had pierced deep into his lungs, making it impossible for him to remain standing.
Had Kato been armored, things might have been different—
But he wore only a light yukata.
And that was why the shard clamped in Do-hyun's jaw could sink so deeply into him.
"Kuh…!"
Sword Star Kato spat blood in harsh bursts.
Do-hyun looked down at him with a calm, expressionless face.
Winner and loser.
Who had triumphed, and who had fallen?
The outcome was unmistakably clear.
Ironically, the ones who reacted first to this impossible victory—
were Kato's own allies.
"Protect the Sword Star!!"
The retainer behind Kato screamed in panic.
At his cry, three shadows burst from the darkness—
Figures clad head-to-toe in black, even their faces masked.
They looked like shadows incarnate.
Ninja.
Enemies who shouldn't appear until mid–Chapter 1—
yet here they were, appearing right now in the tutorial.
Stream Reactions
'He won? HE WON?! My brother beat him! But what the hell are those guys?! If my brother beat the Sword Star, they should retreat—why are THOSE bastards showing up?!'
Holy sh*t, what a reward
No way… He beat the Sword Star? In the tutorial? The un-nerfed Sword Star??
Aren't those NINJA?! Why are ninja showing up NOW?!
★Kai: Ninja?! OMG! unbelievable!
This stream is legendary, omg
Ninja.
The shadowy counterpart to samurai, representing the hidden blade of the era.
If samurai are the blade in the light, ninja are the blade in shadow.
But to Do-hyun—
They were simply annoying pests getting in the way.
"—!"
Trained ninja lunged silently, thrusting their swords.
Their bodies hurled forward like arrows, thrusts sharp and pitch-black at the tip.
Even without a weapon in hand, Do-hyun reacted instantly.
He retreated to widen the distance, simultaneously whipping his right arm to deflect the ninja blade.
CLANG—!!
Astonishingly—
It worked.
The game seemed to count barehanded deflection as "parry,"because sparks exploded and the ninja were sent tumbling backward.
Catching Sword Star's blade barehanded was harder than this—
But visually, this was even more shocking.
No wonder Seung-yeon and the viewers were completely stunned.
"Ugh…!"
But ninja are ninja for a reason.
Do-hyun quickly felt strength draining from his right arm.
He glanced down—
Between the broken plates of his armor, the exposed fingertip was turning black.
He couldn't see the flesh beneath the armor, but it was easy to guess—
That part was blackening too.
Poison.
What made ninja so troublesomewas the poison smeared on their blades.
Once cut—
you were poisoned.
That was why they were ninja.
If they relied solely on swordsmanship, they would have been called samurai.
But ninja used anything—poison, traps, tricks—without hesitation.
Do-hyun didn't know that.
And that was his mistake.
"My right arm… won't move at all."
He had suspected something when he noticed the blackened sword tip earlier.
But in that moment, the only way to escape was to deflect it barehanded.
He had no choice.
He had even briefly hoped—
that a perfect parry might prevent poisoning.
But—
'No good. Damn it.'
Cold sweat slid down his spine.
Thankfully, the time he bought by knocking back the ninja allowed him to snatch up one of Sword Star Kato's fallen swords.
But with his right arm completely paralyzed from poison—
would that even matter?
Stream Reactions
'What do we do, everyone?! Kratos is right-handed! And his RIGHT ARM gets poisoned?! If they lost, they should just leave—why do they cling on like this?!'
Ah… is this the end?
I wanted to see what would come after the Sword Star and ninja… shame
Also holy crap look at the viewer count
Twitch Korea is exploding lol. Victoria's stream is in the top rankings. People are flooding in nonstop