-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 6
Chapter Title: Joseon's Assassin
-----------------------------------------------------------------
'I Am Joseon's Assassin' had been a die-hard fan of Assassin's Dawn ever since the PC days.
He was so devoted to the game that he'd sunk thousands of hours into its predecessors, even though they were criticized for failing to capture the magic of virtual reality.
And VR suited him pretty well, too. Put simply, he had some real talent for it.
He couldn't fly around like the pros, of course, but when it came to Assassin's Dawn - Shadows in the City, few players were better.
He was a named figure in the Assassin's Dawn community, known for uploading countless expert play videos, and he was also a beta tester for Shadows in the City.
[We're focusing on core stealth and assassination mechanics. Musou? Give it a shot if you can.]
We're focusing on core stealth and assassination mechanics. Musou? Give it a shot if you can.
He'd cheered when the devs announced that as their guiding principle before launch.
After all, he loved the line "No witnesses, no crime!"—he was all-in on Musou playstyles.
But ramping up the difficulty? For a skilled player like him, that was just a fresh challenge. And the fact that it made the playstyle inaccessible to casuals? Music to his ears.
Then the beta test shattered all those expectations.
The reason? Difficulty.
It was way too high.
Melee combat skills carried over unchanged from previous games, but enemy HP and numbers had ballooned.
To overcome that, players had to master the new parrying system with its massive damage multipliers—but parry timings were brutally tight now.
Even he, with his expert-level skills bordering on pro, flubbed them occasionally. And one flub in the flow of combat was devastating.
Plus, despite all the talk of focusing on assassination, the bosses felt like they'd poured insane effort into making them nightmares. It crushed him.
In the end, he had to stick to stealth assassinations during beta instead of Musou rampages.
Still, he was satisfied enough.
The game had earned god-tier status for its insane freedom in assassination methods, opening new horizons for the genre—"the breath of the city" and all that.
But when beta ended and official launch hit, Joseon's Assassin felt... empty.
True assassination, in his mind, meant Musou.
So he started watching streams. He'd played plenty already, and he'd keep playing.
But...
You guys, you can assassinate by collapsing buildings here. Insane.
Here...
The target really sits on that bench every morning reading the paper. Just blow up that box, and assassination success. What a god game.
There...
3 hours hiding in the shadows. Still getting trampled by street crowds. When's this guy coming already?!
Lmao why are you doing this? Gather intel first, hyungnim pls
That's what makes it assassination. Mmm!
Why am I watching this for 3 hours????
No matter where he looked...
No Musou plays in sight.
So he couldn't enjoy it.
Not while every other Assassin's Dawn fan was laughing, chatting, swarming, and pulling aggro!
That's when, drifting aimlessly on Travel, a recommended stream popped up.
He figured it was just another low-effort promo stream, but the title caught his eye.
Newbie doing first stream, first VR game, first Do-sum. Tips welcome?
A newbie starting VR with Shadows in the City? Free coaching allowed?
He couldn't resist.
Clicking in, the first thing he saw was a perfect parry batting away a tutorial guard's sword. Expert stuff.
'Luck?'
He knew better than anyone that parries weren't luck-based, but he thought it anyway.
But the streamer dispatched the guard, then parried four out of five soldiers.
"Yes! That's assassination!"
Joseon's Assassin cheered, schooling the skeptical chat.
Of course, he got stuck soon after.
Then, a bit later...
Guys, lemme show you a 13-parry chain.
"13-parry chain? Surviving that spot at all would be huge..."
Joseon's Assassin swallowed hard, eyes glued to the screen in anticipation.
One-vs-many fights were especially brutal in this game.
The reason? Link-ups.
Whether the devs were dead-set on forcing stealth or not, mob packs coordinated efficiently if given time to position.
Once set, their movements had zero openings.
But the streamer gave them time to set up. Classic newbie arrogance.
Yet... why did it feel like he'd win?
He switched to third-person view, locked it for a closer look at the show about to unfold.
Kill the intruder!
One enemy! Don't falter!
Clank!
Clank!
Metal armor clashed as the soldiers encircled and charged in sequence.
Only then did the streamer start moving.
His staff swept in a wide arc.
Claaaang!
Claaaang!
Joseon's Assassin's eyes widened.
'How the hell does he parry at that angle? Account creation date says no beta access.'
Impossible.
Just a big staff swing, yet it deflected a sword lunging from behind and one slicing from the side—almost simultaneously.
He must've grasped the recoil-free flow of successful parries and moved accordingly in that split second!
Lightly dropping the two, the streamer leaned back, ducked, and slipped past a barrage like a tightrope walker.
Then again.
Claaaang!
Claaaang!
Another wide swing downed two more.
'How does he even see rear attacks? Hacks?'
13-vs-1 became 9-vs-1 in a flash. 9-to-1 to 8-to-1, then 8-to-1 to 6-to-1.
W-whoa, eyes in the back of his head or what?
Pro gamer maybe?
Even pros couldn't do that.
Deleting account means 4-year wait to remake. Who'd tough that out? Someone who's only tried VR once couldn't stick it—total newbie lol.
A 30,000-piece puzzle gets done if you start with the edges.
The streamer methodically dodged what he could, parried what he could, whittling them down.
'Easier said than done.'
Joseon's Assassin figured anyone lasting over a minute in that blender deserved to go pro.
But the streamer went further—sneaking in kills on staggered foes.
He'd slip beside a downed enemy mid-dodge, smooth as silk, like it was accidental. But it was pure intent.
How far ahead are you reading this?! GOAT of Assassin's Dawn history!!!!!!!
He excitedly hammered the chat.
Seo-jun finished off the last soldier and checked chat.
Musou hope! Musou hope! Musou hope! Musou hope! Musou hope!
W-whoa
Woooow
Can my lowly eyes behold this?
Host cheating?
"Y'all surprised by this?"
????
What should we be surprised by then???
You even get surprised by stuff?
"Just dodge what you can dodge and parry what you can parry."
No lol we know that lol
This is assassination! This is assassination! This is assassination! This is assassination!
This room's hype is over the top
"Hype too much? So you're not watching?"
Nope
Lmao
Followed already
Oh.
Seo-jun checked his follows and blinked in surprise. All six current viewers had followed him.
Just six, sure—but a 100% conversion rate?
Small numbers made it possible, but it wasn't bad at all.
"Shall we go grab Etore now?"
Something... something tells me he'll catch it
Fr lol
Seo-jun headed toward Etore's location.
True to the mansion, chandeliers and lavish furniture dotted the halls.
Up to the second floor, he opened the central bedroom door—and glimpsed silver flashing through.
His pupils dilated; he hurled himself sideways.
BOOM!
Etorre, fully prepped, had waited for the door to crack open and swung his flail down.
The spiked iron ball pulverized the doorframe and floor.
Dodged that lol
Felt it during the ban earlier—reaction speed nuts
Everyone else dies here at least once
But Seo-jun charged in, slashing Etorre's throat with his staff.
Just a sliver of HP gone.
"Guys, can you parry flails?"
Nope, tryna one-shot the boss?
Got no morals?
If it worked someone would've cleared tutorial by now
Devs have common sense. Parry a flail with a staff? Lmao
"Kahaha! You dodge like a rat! Time to taste my flail!"
A flail: spiked ball on a chain linked to a haft. Korea just calls 'em flails for convenience.
Whoosh!
Etorre swung wildly.
Crunch!
Crunch!
Seo-jun backpedaled as the flail wrecked innocent railings and walls.
GOAT if you can't kill Etore in 5 mins facing him—Deciders' backup arrives and mission fails.
Seo-jun read chat, recalled the damage, and concluded 5 minutes was impossible.
But he didn't give up.
If it wasn't designed impossible, a way existed.
He considered drawing the hidden blade to target eyes or vitals.
Then chat lit up.
Hitting the same spot amps damage—community consensus. You got this, GOAT!
GOAT? Whatever.
"Thanks for the tip, I Am Joseon's Assassin."
Damage stacking?
Worth testing.
The foe's weapon held the key to closing distance.
With Etorre's HP edge, closing in was suicidal—but the game skipped such realism; mobs didn't trade blows leveraging HP. They acted like one hit meant death.
果然.
Etorre looked flustered.
A staff jab to the eye wouldn't kill, but he couldn't exploit that knowledge.
A human would.
Seo-jun slashed as Etorre reclaimed his embedded flail.
Then gripped the haft alongside Etorre and slashed again.
Arm-wrestle time.
Flail's danger: spiked head.
But grip the haft, and no power reaches the head—neutralized.
Grabbing that?
Lightning fast
But only if strength matched Etorre's.
Seo-jun felt his set strength lagging.
So he slashed the throat once more.
He'd felt power drain each flinch.
"Let go of my weapon, you assassin cur!"
Etorre tried kicking him off.
Seo-jun blocked the shin with his staff preemptively.
Etorre punched with his free hand; Seo-jun tilted his head aside.
Slash.
Another throat cut. HP visibly chunked.
"This'll do it."
Lmao
Sorry Etorre ㅠㅠ
Is that even humanly possible?
Meanwhile, Joseon's Assassin spectated in third-person, gasping nonstop.
"Dissipating Etorre's power, nullifying every disengage attempt, not taking a single hit, slashing the throat dozens of times. Insane! True GOAT!"
Chill factor: hadn't even drawn the hidden blade.
Other streamers failed using sword-staff blades, gauntlet daggers, wires—everything. This guy? Just the staff.
Staff blade did half the hidden sword's damage, a third of the dagger.
[It's over.]
Etorre had a fifth HP left, but the confident voice spilled from the speakers.
Damage ramped exponentially; streamer likely calculated one more hit to finish.
That skill level? Math was child's play...
[Nah, needs one more hit.]
Or not. A hint of goofiness there.
[Ahem.]
Final clean HP drain, cutscene rolled.
[Hypocritical assassin hound! I won't go alone!]
[Tutorial Quest - Assassination Mission]
Status: Success
First clear ever??
Nah lol saw first clear in a random promo stream lmao
We're making history rn
The first-ever successful clear stunned Joseon's Assassin amid the frantic chat. He jumped in briefly, then opened his browser.
Destination: Assassin's Dawn community forums.
He attached the stream VOD and started typing a post.
Title first.
Newbie on first stream/first VR/first Do-sum parries 13v1 in tutorial to clear mobs, then universe-first Etore kill (NO FAKE)
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Read 424 more chapters ahead on NovelDex!
https://noveldex.io/series/master-swordsmans-stream
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━