Samurai Hearts – Chapter 1: For Vengeance (8)
The "Turning Victoria Into a Functional Human Being" project.
A project meant to take Seung-yeon—whose physical ability was abysmal—and have Dohyun, a physical monster, train her until she could at least function like a proper human being.
The idea came from one simple thought of hers:
"My little brother is a natural-born genius. If I learn from him properly… shouldn't I at least become average?"
In the end, Seung-yeon and Dohyun were siblings who shared the same genes.
If my kid brother can do it, why can't I?
Of course, that logic was borderline nonsense.
But if there was even a tiny chance, it was worth a try.
Had the genius on her stream been some other streamer guest, she would never have conceived such a project.
But fortunately for her, Dohyun was her little brother—and her stream's guest.
Meaning she could learn from him without pressure.
I hesitated a lot, but for the sake of the stream, I have no choice!
She couldn't rely on Dohyun to hard-carry forever while she simply gasped and admired him.
Sure, it worked for now—but what if Dohyun eventually stopped appearing?
All the viewers who came because of him would leave.
Her stream would revert to what it used to be.
She'd keep some growth—but it would stop there.
She needed to show her own charm to the viewers. And the best way to do that was the "Turning Victoria Into a Functional Human Being" project.
Calling my kid brother 'Master'… consider it a necessary sacrifice.
The most critical aspect of this project was the reversal of sibling hierarchy.
This was what made her hesitate until the very last moment.
Calling her little brother "Master," obeying his instructions—that hit her pride hard.
Her big-sister dignity was trampled into dust.
But considering she was already one-shotted earlier, that dignity was basically gone anyway.
So she closed her eyes and accepted it… for the stream.
"How exactly am I supposed to teach you?"
"Through real combat training, obviously. Tell me what to do from behind while I'm fighting."
"Well, that's easy enough."
Dohyun shrugged.
Meanwhile, Seung-yeon drooped her shoulders and spoke in a lifeless voice.
"Everyone… as you heard, starting today my stream will feature three simultaneous content themes:family VR adventures, martial-arts training, and the 'Turning Victoria Into a Functional Human Being' project…"
- the content diversity WHAT- LOL the last project is insane- will she truly become a real human…?
The viewers were just delighted.
After announcing the change, Seung-yeon headed over to Mio.
Since she failed the create-your-own-style event, she had to learn an existing style.
After learning Her Sword Style from Mio, she approached the tengu next.
With the style-creation event and the sword-art inheritance done, it was time to progress the story.
When she spoke to him, the tengu began talking.
"I trust your time with the sword masters has helped you. The stronger you become, the easier it will be to achieve your vengeance—and our goal as well."
"If you're done here, tell me. The Celestial Flower Unit has no more mentors to introduce you to. You must now decide… will you pursue revenge immediately?"
The moment she addressed him again, a new event cutscene began.
The tengu turned his gaze toward the Red Fox.
"So. Did you share good conversations with the sword masters?"
"Yes. It was a valuable experience."
"Good. Then what will you do now? Will you pursue revenge at once? Or do you require more time?"
At his question, the Red Fox did not answer immediately.
She bit her lips hard.
It was the expression of someone confronted with a reality she had been trying to ignore.
After a brief silence, she finally spoke slowly.
"I remember you said… the only ones who survived on the hill were the two of us."
"I did."
"Then… what happened to our lord's body?"
"The enemies left it as it was. If we had left it there, the wild beasts would have devoured him, so I buried him."
The Red Fox let out a murky, heavy sigh.
The Black Wolf watching from behind also twisted his face in pain.
Warriors who had lost their lord.
Their sworn master, the person they had vowed to give their lives to, murdered by villains—rage and hatred boiled uncontrollably within them.
"Then… before I pursue vengeance, I wish to pay my last respects to my lord."
"There is no reason to refuse. Do you wish to go now?"
"Yes. Please guide me."
The tengu nodded, and as always, cherry-blossom petals swirled to shift the scene.
Soon, they arrived at the hill.
The hill where they had fought the Sword Saint and the enemy soldiers—and ultimately lost their lord.
The Red Fox looked around—
—and her eyes widened.
In one corner of the hill, stained with dry black blood and scattered broken blades, she found a humble wooden grave marker.
"This place is…"
"Yes. He is buried there."
The Red Fox and the Black Wolf dropped to their knees before the grave.
Tears shimmered in the Red Fox's eyes as she brushed the dirt before the marker.
It was a humble grave.
A nameless, unimpressive, rough wooden marker.
Unbefitting of the young lord of the Atsuragi clan—someone who might have one day ruled a province.
"My lord…"
The Red Fox bit down on her lip.
She bit so hard that bright red blood spilled out—but she felt no pain.
Compared to the agony of remembering her murdered lord, this wasn't even pain.
"I will avenge you, my lord. Even if I must give my life…"
The Red Fox scooped up a handful of soil from the grave.
She stared down at the earth in her palm, then brought it to her lips.
Crunch.
The dull taste of dirt spread across her tongue.
But with a hardened expression, she silently chewed and swallowed it.
Only her eyes blazed with a fury and hatred that could not be concealed.
"I will kill every single person involved in my lord's death. With my own hands."
"Not one of them will escape. Every last one."
The Black Wolf also ground the grave's dirt between his teeth, consumed by rage.
As part of a solemn ritual, they both chewed the soil of the grave, swearing to kill all who had any connection to Tatsuki's death.
It was the expression of their loyalty.
The greatest wrath they could display as retainers who had lost their lord.
When the two of them slowly rose to their feet, the tengu quietly spoke.
"I trust you won't do something foolish like charging straight into the enemy's main camp for revenge?"
"I have no intention of doing so. If I were to throw away my life carelessly, who would then soothe my lord's spirit?"
"Excellent. Heh heh. According to our informants, many soldiers of the Nagamatsu clan are currently deployed outside their territory to stabilize the Atsuragi lands. Do you know what that implies?"
"…their rear is unguarded?"
The Red Fox's eyes gleamed.
It was the gaze of a predator that had spotted prey.
The tengu smiled under his mask in satisfaction.
"Correct. The forces guarding their rear have thinned. So we selected the location where they would suffer the greatest damage."
"And where is that?"
"The arsenal. The place where the Nagamatsu clan produces and stores their weapons and armor."
That was the end of the event cutscene.
Cherry blossoms whirled once again.
When the petals cleared, they stood in the Celestial Flower Unit's base.
The tengu vanished with the scene transition, leaving only Dohyun and Seung-yeon behind.
"Ugh—pffft—bleh."
Seung-yeon made a dramatic face, pretending to spit out the contents of her mouth.
Of course, she couldn't actually spit out the dirt she'd 'eaten' in the cutscene.
She hadn't really eaten anything at all.
While she looked visibly disgusted, Dohyun remained completely calm.
Ironically, his lack of VR experience worked in his favor.
Since the avatar didn't move according to his real will, he didn't feel personally bothered—whether the character ate dirt or not didn't matter to him.
"There wasn't even any taste. What's the problem?"
"It's the feeling. It's the psychological trauma. Who knew I'd be eating dirt today."
She puffed out her cheeks and shook her head violently, then sighed.
"Anyway, forget that. Everyone? As you saw, the next area is the Nagamatsu clan's arsenal. Since this is the first region after the tutorial, I really, really hope it's easier."
- first area being the arsenal is the same as usual- doesn't seem like the route has diverged much yet- probably because it's still early-game
Samurai Hearts isn't an open-world game.
Regions unlock according to story progression, and when you clear the enemies and the boss of a region, the story continues.
Thus, you need to use a specific method to travel between locations.
Inside the Celestial Flower Unit's base, talking to the designated travel NPC allows you to move to the desired region.
Right, the lore was that they provide support for our travels.
"No point wasting time, right? Let's head out. Dohyun, let's go!"
Seung-yeon marched forward with Dohyun in tow.
Finding the travel NPC wasn't difficult.
Since the Celestial Flower Unit's base was an abandoned temple, the travel NPC was stationed at the entrance—the Gate of Liberation.
At first glance, he looked like any other NPC wandering around the base, but the horse snorting behind him gave away his purpose.
Seung-yeon stepped ahead and addressed him.
"Nagamatsu arsenal."
"Do you wish to head to the Nagamatsu arsenal?"
"Travel."
With her short answer, cherry blossoms swirled again and the scene changed.
Clanging metal echoed nonstop, and a small Japanese-style fortress appeared—soldiers in full armor patrolling with sharp eyes.
This was the arsenal where all of the Nagamatsu clan's weapons and armor were produced and stored.
Standing at some distance from it, Seung-yeon's eyes sparkled.
"I thought an arsenal would be like some factory, but it's a castle? Well, a bit smaller than a normal one, but…"
- same, I thought it'd be a factory- I expected a warehouse lol
Dohyun looked at the soldiers patrolling around the fortress.
"Don't tell me… all of them are enemies?"
"Uh, probably? I'm not sure but it looks like it. If we just rush the front, they'll all mob us."
Her answer made Dohyun frown as the memory of being swarmed and killed on the hill resurfaced.
He had managed to defeat the Sword Saint, but being overwhelmed by endless soldiers was a different story.
Now that he had learned Sword God Style and gained the Sword Soul, they might fare better—but…
There's no need to charge through the front anyway.
Thinking that, Dohyun asked:
"Then what should we do? Pick them off one by one?"
"Exactly."
Seung-yeon nodded.
Samurai Hearts is that kind of game.
Not a musou game where you plow through thousands, but a combat game where you slowly thin out enemy numbers until you reach the boss.
"Hmm… let's see…"
Studying the well-guarded Nagamatsu arsenal, Seung-yeon tapped her cheek thoughtfully.
Her eyes darted restlessly, analyzing every corner of the enemy stronghold.