TGFTE 43

Chapter 43…

A few days later.

Friday night.

It was a so-called “fire Friday,” but Pretzel was still burning away.

That’s the way the streaming industry works.
Even on nights when others are out having fun, you have to keep working.
In fact, you could even say this was the busiest time.

For those drinking alone at home, or for those out with friends who wanted to watch a stream while drinking—
streamers had to burn themselves brightly, like fireworks, even on Friday nights.

And so did Lee Ji-han.

“Hello, everyone. Finally, today’s the day.”

Ji-han smiled and looked at the chat window.

[ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Ji-han’s here!]
[Seated]
[Instantly seated]
[Lord Heavenly Demon, you’ve arrived! We’ve been waiting!]
[Heavenly Demon descends, endless blessings! Heavenly Demon descends, endless blessings!]

Today.
The day of the Gangho Sword Chronicles Beginner Streamer Tournament.

“Thanks to all of you, I managed to meet the entry requirements.
You’ve always been watching, hanging out, chatting with me so I wasn’t bored. Thank you.”

[ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Why do you sound like you’re giving a farewell interview at the end of your career]
[Practicing your award speech?]
[ㅋㅋㅋㅋ This is hilarious. Anyway, let’s head to the host’s channel and check the progress.]

When Ji-han said “entry requirements,” he meant the conditions of the tournament:

First condition: your character rank in Gangho Sword Chronicles had to be “First-class” or below.
In other words, it was supposed to be a brawl between third-, second-, and first-class players—ordinary folks.

Second condition: you had to have been playing the game for less than a month.
Even people who had played other fighting games were fine, since the first condition ensured that skill level would still separate beginners from veterans.

Final condition: you had to have a “master.”
That is, a notable streamer in Gangho Sword Chronicles had to sponsor you as your mentor.

It sounded complicated, but Ji-han had cleared all of it.
Of course, his viewers’ meddling had played a big role.

[ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Anyway, hurry to Geum Daehyup’s channel ㄱㄱ]
[Ah! So Geum Daehyup is the one reviving this game!]
[ㅋㅋㅋㅋ This is Ji-han’s official entry into the martial world now]
[ㅋㅋㅋㅋ Official entry (even though he already wrecked most of the Nine Great Sects)]
[If he’d done ranked matches, he’d probably be at peak or even beyond]
[Probably even higher, ㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
[Good thing he didn’t do ranked. If he had, he wouldn’t even qualify for this tournament ㅋㅋㅋㅋ]

Everyone knew that if Ji-han had touched ranked matches, he’d easily be above First-class.
So most viewers were relieved that such an “accident” hadn’t happened.

“Geum Daehyup, right? Just a moment.”

With a faint smile, Ji-han entered Geum Daehyup’s channel.
There, a man in a player’s jersey was explaining the rules.

“As per standard tournament rules, it’s best-of-three. But unlike pro tournaments, there are no banned martial arts or weapons! Play as you like and have fun!”

He was borrowing from the pro rules—things he already knew well—
but at the same time reminding the audience of how tournaments usually worked.

“Tournament rules? Do you guys know them?”

At his question, some viewers who’d watched past tournaments answered:

[Best of 3, 5-minute round limit. If it goes over, the one with more HP wins]
[Normally, some martial arts and weapons are banned]
[Movement techniques used to be banned too. That rule came after some guy hit once then just ran away like crazyㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
[Geum Daehyup’s the guy who actually created that ban rule ㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
[It was hilarious. He faced an unbeatable opponent in the finals and—ㅋㅋㅋㅋ]

It was tournament day, so the chat was especially lively.
People eagerly explained the details to Ji-han, who nodded, soaking it all in.
He read along carefully, absorbing the rules, while listening to Geum Daehyup’s explanation.

Donation alert!

[‘Namgoong Hyung’ has donated ₩50,000]
—Heavenly Demon, no, disciple. Are you nervous? Take this and calm down.

“Thank you for the ₩50,000, Master! No, I’m not that nervous.”

Donation alert!

[‘Cheonma Cultist #1’ has donated ₩100,000]
—The Heavenly Demon descends! Endless blessings! Your spirit is strong! Judging by your expression, you seem in great mood!

“Thank you for the ₩100,000, Cultist #1! Haha, yeah, I think this will be fun. It’s my first tournament after all.”

The word tournament gave Ji-han only one feeling: excitement.
He had once destroyed his body through overwork, pushing himself endlessly for tournaments—
only to collapse before ever reaching the stage.

The monster who had shattered every unofficial record in Korea,
only to remain sealed away, never unleashed into the world.

But now, it was different.
That monster was finally appearing in a tournament for the first time.

Sure, it was “just” a streamer beginner’s tournament.
But Ji-han didn’t care.

A tournament is still a tournament.

So he would give it his all.
To calm his pounding heart, he clenched and unclenched his fists several times.

Donation alert!

[‘Kim Bbom-tta’ has donated ₩50,000]
ㅋㅋㅋㅋ Ji-han’s excited. Do well in the tournament. I’m not streaming today, I’ll just watch this instead. Taking the night off!

[ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Oi!]
[Kim Bbom-tta, you bastardㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
[Open your own stream, what kind of streamer are you]
[ㅋㅋㅋㅋ Maybe you should play this game too?]
[It’s actually fun, Bbom-ttaㅋㅋㅋㅋ]

With Bbom-tta’s donation, his viewers flooded the chat with jokes.

“Thanks for the ₩50,000, Bbom-tta. I’ll have fun, haha.”

Ji-han chuckled warmly.

“Alright! We’ll now distribute the team voice chat links! Streamers or managers, please grab your link and join!”

Following Geum Daehyup’s call, Kim Suho quickly passed the link to Ji-han,
who joined through his hologram panel.

Inside, many streamers had gathered—
big names, mid-sized ones, and even tiny “small streamers.”

All participants.
Meanwhile, in the “masters’ room,” mentors—including Namgoong Hyung—had also gathered.
They would act as commentators by sharing their disciples’ screens.
It was a very streamer-style setup—practical and clever.

“Now then, with the group draw—let’s begin Day 1 of the Gangho Sword Chronicles Beginner Streamer Tournament!”

Geum Daehyup’s voice rang out once more, marking the start of the event.

The group draw went quickly.
32 participants total—starting with a round of 32.
It would be a multi-day, single-elimination tournament.

Ji-han was used to this format.
To waiting, to playing through tournaments.
So, unlike what some viewers expected, he slipped right into rhythm.

[ㅋㅋㅋㅋ He really was a pro player]
[Wait, so it’s actually true?]
[Wowㅋㅋㅋㅋ He looks so different from his usual goofy self]
[It’s such a shame he never got to compete for realㅠㅠㅠ]

Now, he looked every bit like a true competitor.

[But now he can compete, right?]
[Exactly. Ji-han should do everything he ever wanted here]
[Cheer up, Ji-han! If you win, there’s a big prize pool too. Do your best!]

Encouragement filled the chat.
Ji-han smiled gently as he read it.

“Thanks, I’ll do my best.”

It felt like everything he wanted was falling into place.
Like a dream.
This atmosphere was exactly what he had wished for.

[Lord Heavenly Demon! Show your spirit! Don’t be nervous, just watch the fights of the mortals first!]
[ㅋㅋㅋㅋ The cultists don’t trust him enough]
[They sound more nervous than he is]
[ㅋㅋㅋㅋ They’re kinda cute thoㅋㅋㅋ]

Following his cultists’ words, Ji-han began observing the first match.

“Match 1! Begin!”

After a traditional ink-painting style loading screen, the stage appeared: a stone-paved arena.

“The map’s small, with ring-outs. If you get knocked out, you lose…”

Thanks to smashing through most of the Nine Great Sects, Ji-han knew most maps well.
He quickly recognized the features and muttered to himself as he watched the fight.

Pow! Bam!

[Wait, these guys are really good??]
[Yeah, like… their fundamentals are solid?]
[Thought this was a beginner tournament, but they’d stomp most newbies]

It was supposed to be a beginner’s tournament, but since each player had a mentor,
the matches were intense—
as if these “latecomers” were future stars of the martial world.

[Okay, this is actually fun to watch;]
[Oh wow;; you can clearly see the masters’ styles in them;;;]
[This is peak wuxia, honestly. Disciples fighting with the skills, martial arts, and inner power they learned from their masters]
[My chest feels tight; this is epic]

The audience was impressed, and so was Ji-han.

Whoosh! Slash!

Every sword swing sent robes billowing.
Customized beautiful avatars flew through the air in dazzling duels.

[Wow…]
[Insane…]

Mesmerized, Ji-han and the chat watched.

[So this is the real flavor of Gangho Sword Chronicles?]
[Customization really adds to it]
[ㅋㅋㅋㅋ There aren’t even that many people with joke avatars like Hwang Seol-hwa]
[Ji-han, let’s save points and customize too]
[ㅋㅋㅋㅋ We’re still stuck in default gear]
[Even if you’re a Beggar Sect player, you should at least buy some clothesㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
[Step one: buy clothes!]

A strange competitive spirit began to spread among viewers.
Our streamer cannot lose out in looks.
We can’t waste Ji-han’s good appearance like this.
That single thought united them.

[Our Ji-han must be the best-looking!]
[Cultists! Let’s go customize our Heavenly Demon!]
[Saint Faction, lend a hand! Just for today, we’re on the same side!]

Even rival fanbases started working together.

Donation alert!