Samurai Hearts – Chapter 1: For Vengeance (10)
"How was it, Master?! Did I get better?"
Fortunately or unfortunately, Seung-yeon managed to seize victory yet again.
She had rolled on the floor tangled up with a soldier, and only after desperately sawing her blade into his neck like she was hacking at wood did she finally win.
Panting, she jumped up and confidently looked at Dohyeon as she asked her question.
Dohyeon was at a loss for words at the baseless confidence glowing on Seung-yeon's face.
Is she serious?
Did she really think she'd shown improvement in that fight?
Her attitude was so brazen that he honestly couldn't tell if she meant it or was just messing with him.
— Sword Saint Seat startled LOL— Never disrespect Victoria again— Hey, Victoria is the real deal…
Viewers snickered as they watched Dohyeon fail to respond.
Those who had been watching Seung-yeon's streams for a long time—the Win-Loss Squad—had already predicted this would happen.
They had seen enough of Seung-yeon's physical "talent" to believe this outcome was inevitable.
"Uh… let's try again, noona. It's just the beginning, so of course it'll be like this. If you keep going, you'll get better. I'm sure you will."
In the end, Dohyeon chose to give her another chance.
To be fair, she had only fought once since hearing his advice.
If she kept fighting, maybe she would accept what he told her and gradually improve.
The viewers laughed, saying Dohyeon was coping hard with forced optimism, but he decided to believe it anyway.
And then—
"Hyahh!"
"Diiie!"
As the battles continued—
"This time for sure!"
"Filthy intruder!"
With Seung-yeon showing no change whatsoever—
"I won't let you live!"
"Kyaaah!"
Dohyeon, watching from behind, slowly lost hope.
This isn't going to work.
Only after she defeated six whole groups of soldiers did Dohyeon accept it.
He had no choice.
Noona can never improve with verbal advice alone.
Her horrifying physical "talent."
Her skill level was so questionable that he doubted whether she was even the same species as him.
No matter how many times he repeated and explained the same thing, Seung-yeon remained unmoving—like a rock.
She remembered his words, sure, but she simply could not internalize them.
I have to step in and show her myself.
But accepting her cursed physical sense didn't mean Dohyeon was ready to give up.
If words didn't work, then he would teach her with action.
If he stood in front of her and demonstrated at her exact level, maybe something would finally change.
With that in mind, Dohyeon found a new group of soldiers, quickly cut down three of them, and jumped between Seung-yeon and the soldier she was about to fight.
"What? What's wrong? No—what's wrong, Master?"
"I'm going to change the method a bit. I'll demonstrate first, so watch closely and follow it. Okay, noona?"
"Oh, if that's all, sure. I can do that."
— Final boss steps in personally…— You can see the frustration in his eyes LOL— I'm tired just watching…!— Will she actually learn anything from watching? LOL
Dohyeon looked at the enemy soldier pointing a spear at him.
He saw three or four ways to kill him instantly, and he could easily carry them out.
But right now, the point was not for him to win—the point was to show Seung-yeon a slightly improved version of herself.
Taking a deep breath, Dohyeon adopted the mid-stance that Seung-yeon frequently used before starting a fight.
A moment of standoff.
The soldier moved first.
"Die, intruder!"
As the spear thrust straight toward him, Dohyeon slowly brought his sword downward.
Much slower than his usual speed, but accurate enough, his blade struck the spear aside.
Clang!
There was no "Perfect Parry" success.
He had aimed on purpose for only the normal, assisted success.
The parry correction triggered, and the soldier stumbled, exposing a small opening.
That alone was more than enough to land a hit.
Taking a large step forward, Dohyeon thrust his sword along the line where he had knocked the spear away.
The soldier hastily tried to retreat, but it was too late.
The blade grazed his left forearm, leaving a deep gash.
The moment the attack succeeded, Dohyeon immediately retreated.
Parry, strike, then fall back. Honestly, she should be able to do at least this much, right?
After that first successful strike, the fight continued with the same pattern.
When the spear thrust, Dohyeon knocked it aside, then advanced to slash or stab.
Then he quickly withdrew to secure distance.
As this repeated, wounds accumulated on the soldier's body, blood flowed, and he became slower and slower.
And finally—
Puuk!
"Ghh…!"
Failing to evade in time, the soldier took Dohyeon's sword deep into his chest.
The cold blade pierced his heart, and he let out a short death rattle before collapsing.
A decent victory.
At least no one could call it a sloppy fight.
Dohyeon slowly sheathed his sword and looked at Seung-yeon.
"Did you see that clearly?"
"I watched closely, Master!"
"Then you can do the same, right? It's not hard. Parry, slash, then retreat."
"Um… I think I can do it, maybe."
Her vague answer made Dohyeon uneasy.
He had matched his demonstration precisely to her level, and yet she still wasn't certain.
But he calmed himself.
After all, nothing is certain until she tries.
So the two of them continued to look for another group of soldiers.
Having already fought five times and gone quite deep into the armory, it wasn't hard to encounter new soldiers.
The deeper they went, the more soldiers there were.
The new battle proceeded just like the previous six.
Before Seung-yeon could even begin fighting, Dohyeon had already sliced down three soldiers.
After that familiar 3-v-1 routine, he turned his gaze toward Seung-yeon.
Right at that moment, a soldier thrust his spear at her.
"Hiyaaa!"
With a shout, Seung-yeon swung her sword.
Clang! Their weapons collided with a metallic clash.
"Wow…"
Dohyeon let out a gasp.
He couldn't help it.
Anyone would react the same after seeing a soldier thrust a spear, Seung-yeon knock it down, and then—because the spear's trajectory twisted—stab her own thigh.
It was truly a scene that could only inspire astonishment.
— Self-inflicted swordsmanship LOL— At this point she can threaten people with self-harm scams LOL— I can't believe she turned it into this LOL— Look at the little brother's face LOL— A sword style no one could've imagined WTF
From the very start, she took a spear to the thigh and her mobility was crippled.
Even so, Seung-yeon somehow scraped out a win.
Dohyeon, who had been ready to step in at any moment, slid his sword back into its sheath only after seeing Seung-yeon stubbornly shove her blade into the soldier's armpit.
The phrase "a victory full of wounds" suddenly floated into his mind.
It suited the situation perfectly.
"Now that I've tried it once, I think I'll be pretty good next time!"
Seung-yeon said this as she sprayed healing potion over her spear-stabbed thigh.
Dohyeon silently nodded.
But the next time—and the time after that—the results didn't improve.
Sometimes they were even worse.
More than once, Dohyeon had to rescue her because she nearly died to a basic soldier.
Despite countless fights, Seung-yeon still struggled horribly with a single low-tier mob, and her victories came mostly from sheer luck.
Watching all this, Dohyeon finally understood what she meant earlier by showing him "the spicy stuff."
How can she not do this?
The frustration made his teeth grind.
Only now did he understand Seung-yeon's desperate warning at the start of the stream.
This was genuinely a teeth-grinding stream.
One that made viewers want to scream.
If it was that bad just to watch, how must Dohyeon feel, trying to teach her himself?
After several more battles, when they finally reached the center of the armory—right in front of the boss room—Dohyeon made up his mind.
He had to say it.
"Noona."
"Huh? What is it?"
Dohyeon declared firmly:
"Let's give up on the 'Make You a Proper Fighter Project.'"
"What? What are you suddenly saying?"
"From what I've seen, this project is impossible. Clinging to an unattainable goal is pointless."
— LOOOOL— Little brother officially cutting ties LOL— Victoria Coin crashes HARD LOL— He's beating her with pure facts LOL— Their sibling chemistry is amazing LOL
"Impossible?! That's harsh!"
"Listen, noona. You said you're a streamer who specializes in the 'spicy stuff.' Then you don't need to train your physical mechanics now. Some weaknesses can't be fixed—just ditch them! Focus on what you're actually good at. At least, that's what I think."
Seung-yeon protested timidly.
Dohyeon, however, responded with the sternest, most serious look on his face.
Though truth be told, he was a little angry.
Just a little.
— He's pulling the unblockable argument LOL— I agree with him— Victoria's physical ability is inversely proportional to everything else LOL— He's talking so much because he's desperate LOL look how serious he is LOL
This time, even Seung-yeon didn't argue back.
She herself had been thinking, "Honestly, isn't this impossible?"
No matter how much Dohyeon taught or demonstrated, she hadn't internalized a single thing.
A lack of improvement after so many continuous battles meant only one thing.
Anyone who wasn't an idiot could guess the answer.
"Then let's do this."
What Dohyeon proposed was a test—to confirm whether she had actually learned anything he'd been teaching.
The method: survive alone against the boss for three minutes.
She didn't have to deal damage. Just survive.
After a moment of hesitation, Seung-yeon accepted the condition.
It was her last chance.
Having settled on the plan, the two entered the boss room.
"Who goes there."
The moment they stepped inside, a deep, heavy voice echoed.
Ignoring it, Dohyeon scanned the interior.
In the spacious room sat a single samurai, facing away from them.
He was fully clad in traditional samurai armor, his build nearly comparable to Kanbei of the Three Blade Lords.
Even from behind, the heavy aura radiating from him screamed boss.
The samurai slowly rose to his feet.
Each movement made the armor plates scrape and clatter.
"An intruder, hm? Well, fine. Why would I need conversation with a man already doomed to die?"
Muttering quietly, the samurai drew his sword.
Its blade looked two or three times thicker than a typical katana—an intimidating weapon.
Beneath the faceplate, the samurai's eyes gleamed sharply.
"Honda Gato, warrior of the Nagamatsu Household. If someone in the afterlife asks who killed you, answer proudly!"
With a roar, Gato charged.
Dohyeon signaled to Seung-yeon and quietly retreated.
Seung-yeon stepped forward to face the charging Gato like a mantis standing before a wagon wheel.
CLANG!
A deep metallic crash rang out.
Against all odds, Seung-yeon managed to block his first strike.
But her luck ended there.
Recoiling from the parry, Gato immediately unleashed a wild barrage of heavy swings.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
"Kyaaah!"
Seung-yeon barely held on for the first three clashes, but the relentless assault overwhelmed her—her sword was knocked from her hands and she fell to her knees.
Gato's merciless strike followed.
Seung-yeon was thrown aside, blood spraying.
She didn't even last a full minute—let alone three.
"So weak."
Gato muttered briefly over her corpse, then pointed his blade at Dohyeon.
As if to say: You're next.
Dohyeon raised his sword with a calm expression.
He had watched Seung-yeon die again right in front of him, but unlike before, there was no anger.
He'd grown accustomed to virtual reality—and also remembered the talk he'd had with Seung-yeon after the last stream.
After the previous broadcast, she had told him seriously:
"Virtual reality is only virtual reality. It can never become real, so don't get too emotionally invested."
She'd also joked that if he got mad every time she died, he'd develop anger issues.
She even laughed about how if he kept raging every time a friend died in VR, he'd end up being clipped as an over-immersed psycho.
That didn't matter.
If I think about it calmly, she's right. There's no reason to get angry over a death in VR.
So Dohyeon didn't get angry.
The person who "died" was already laughing with the viewers somewhere.
Remaining completely cool-headed, he faced Gato and raised his blade.
Before the battle even began, his Sword Spirit activated, explosive power surging within him, and torrents of overflowing energy rippled outward.