ALL NOVEL Chapter 101
[Author: ㅇㅇ(622.98)]
[Title: What’s with the live IKL guest commentary?]
(Attached picture: Sigma vs Q Prime guest commentator ‘Gawol’)
Is this official?
But can someone who’s not even a pro be a guest commentator?
[Comments]
– But didn’t you win the Arena? LOL
– So has any other guest beaten Kelberos?
└ Criminal Gawol apprehended
– The IKL guest commentators are fundamentally groundless from the start.
*
It’s been quite a while since my leg got wrecked.
Since getting involved with Elderin and Luce, I’ve faced various situations.
The wisdom I’ve gained is to avoid anyone who might recognize my face if possible.
After all, my leg is likely to evoke sympathy from others.
Constantly telling lies about how I injured it not long ago would be tedious, so I minimize the number of people I know altogether.
So I’d arrived at the studio a few hours early and was just hanging around.
Well, there are inevitably people I have to show my face to.
The broadcast team I needed to be with during the match was one of them.
“Is this your first time seeing me in real life? I’m Ho-eun.”
“Ah, I’m Han Da-eun. Nice to meet you today.”
“I’m Hwang Yul, the commentator. You look even prettier in person than on screen.”
“Ah, you watched the broadcast… I’m a bit shy about that.”
“You’ll find fewer people at the stadium who didn’t see the broadcast.”
I received some not very comforting words of reassurance.
Anyway, after exchanging greetings with the other commentators, I managed to brush off inquiries about my leg with a simple, “Just a little…”
I guess because they’re successful individuals, they instinctively gave up probing into the issue.
Honestly, this is more convenient.
If someone digs too much or is overly kind, it becomes a burden for me.
It’s much easier when they act like they don’t care.
“Anyway, since you came early, I can let you know various things ahead of time. Do you enjoy watching pro leagues?”
“I mainly follow Sigma matches. Other than that, just a bit of overseas games?”
“That’s enough. Just so you know, guest commentary tends to have somewhat lenient standards regarding what you can say and how to express it.”
Ho-eun calmly explained it to me.
It’s relatively free in terms of commentary about the game.
As long as it’s not too spicy, using internet memes is fine, and you can express things a bit straightforwardly.
The one thing to be careful about is not to criticize specific players.
I was told not to overly condemn one side too much.
Well, that’s obvious.
Both teams are going to be watching this match.
While some pro gamers are “one club players” committed to a single team, fundamentally, they’re freelancers crossing between several teams.
In this business, it means that I might end up eating with a player I casually insulted.
It was something to keep in mind if I aimed to be a pro gamer.
The trash talk before an important match is ultimately all scripted.
I’m not so naive as to not understand that much.
“Yeah, I’ll be careful.”
But at that moment, I didn’t know.
That a horrific match would unfold, one I couldn’t restrain myself from.
*
《 Thank you for waiting! This is caster Ho-eun bringing you the first match of the IKL semifinals. 》
《 And I’m commentator Hwang Yul. It’s that time again with many of you already tuning in, yes! Today we have the guest commentator, Arena champion Gawol! 》
My face briefly appeared on the broadcast monitor.
The left side showing the screen to be broadcast in five seconds, and the right showing the recorded screen.
I took a quick bow, offering a slight nod in greeting.
《 Hello, I’m Gawol… I didn’t expect to be invited. It’s an honor to meet you all. 》
《 You look a little different from the image I imagined. I think many might have expected a more mischievous vibe. 》
《 I’m not that mischievous. 》
《 Haha. Still, considering the expectations for today, we hope to see your lively performance. 》
What’s with these people?
They’re staring at me like they expect something.
Especially Ho-eun’s eyes were quite unsettling.
It’s the same as in the Arena before, but it seemed like they were low-key hoping I’d make a mistake.
Wasn’t this the person who just taught me how to avoid making serious blunders??
Anyway, with the match starting, information started coming up.
[IKL Semi Final – Match 1]
[Sigma eSports vs Q Prime]
[Battlefield: Lava Zone]
[Rules: 5-person Deathmatch]
《 Yes, the first semifinal match begins with Sigma eSports versus Q Prime. 》
《 This match is often referred to as the pre-finale. Q Prime tasted defeat in the second round, but they’ve certainly been sharpening their blades in the meantime. 》
《 Clash of the two teams. What do you think, Gawol? 》
They’re calling me a player.
Is that because my image from the Arena is so strong?
I was about to say that Luce would win but held back.
《 Hmm, well, I think we’ll need to see how it flows. 》
In the Infinity Black Community, the general rules for a deathmatch are a maximum of 30 deaths for the team total.
No special rules beyond that.
The most they might do is take down a neutral monster for stat buffs?
While it was eliminated in the individual arena, it remains popular in team matches.
It encourages strategizing whether to seek early confrontation or to anticipate a strong late-game growth.
What’s critical in a deathmatch is that the respawn cooldown isn’t that short.
What if your dead team member doesn’t respawn before the main force collapses?
It could end up like dominoes, with team members falling one by one until the game ends helplessly.
Well, a scenario like that is hardly seen in pro-level players.
《 In Sigma, Camelia’s warrior is on the move, while Q Prime’s Sparrow’s assassin is moving as well. 》
《 They’re classes known for their quick mobility and ease in handling neutral monsters. These are generally seen as safe choices, but what’s your take, Gawol? 》
《 Hmm… it feels a bit tilted. If this continues, Sigma seems better off. I wished they had made bolder choices. 》
The notion that a safe choice applies only when both are equal.
But the two teams I watched during the second round were not equal.
Powerhouses and underdogs had been clearly delineated.
If so, it’s the weaker team that needs to show something.
If the match flows too safely, it will end in a safe loss.
Or could it be that their confidence has grown since the second round?
Honestly, I hope that’s the case.
The screen showed Sparrow and Camelia moving in the same direction.
Of course, they weren’t aware of what the other was doing.
They were merely there to take down a few reptilian monsters residing in the eastern part of the Lava Zone.
It was just a coincidence.
But turning accidental fortune into inevitable difference is the essence of skill.
《 The assassin. Sparrow has found Camelia first. 》
《 There are two choices. To initiate combat with an ambush or retreat without showing presence. 》
《 Sparrow is withdrawing to the rear. He’s heading west on the battlefield. 》
Safety first.
It’s not an incomprehensible choice.
Previously, Camelia had perfect victory over Sparrow in the winner’s match.
That skill difference surely hadn’t vanished by now.
Even if he succeeded in an ambush, victory could hardly be guaranteed.
However, this was why Korea’s assassins were often regarded as lacking.
In a situation like just now, a skilled assassin would have to try for an ambush.
Having discovered the opponent first and being able to make decisions is a unique privilege of an assassin.
However, the movement options in this ‘Lava Zone’ are not exactly short either.
Withdrawing from here would be far too costly.
《 And there’s the first score against them. It would have been better to attempt an ambush than to have both fail to engage neutral monsters. 》
《 Gawol’s point seems valid. Could it have stemmed from the pressure of facing Camelia previously? 》
《 Five minutes into the match, and Sigma’s growth rate has taken a small lead. 》
If I’d been in Sparrow’s place, I would have undoubtedly gone for Camelia without hesitation.
But Camelia isn’t a fool.
If I was in Sparrow’s position, I wouldn’t have engaged the monsters in the first place.
Even in the one-on-one arena, it’s nearly impossible to evade an assassin’s first ambush.
Let alone while engaging neutral monsters in fights, that’s even harder.
So, he must have prioritized finding me.
The very fact that a warrior could easily take out monsters was a problem in itself.
The larger issue was that Sparrow isn’t a low-level assassin among domestic talents.
It was a complete mess in multiple regards.
《 Just as I mentioned, both main forces finally collide. 》
《 The mage’s bind captures Luce, while the Traveler takes the lead. 》
《 Wow, impressive. His skills have risen significantly since then. It’s no easy feat to grow at such a level. 》
With the priest’s buffs, the spearman shakes Sigma’s base.
Previously, in the Arena, I met Kelberos early and was knocked out quickly.
The Traveler’s individual capability is considerable even by global standards.
Their firepower exerted in the right place and clean close combat.
The sight of the Traveler pressuring alone against two, no, three opponents was almost a fantasy for all knight classes.
And regarding my reflection on that splendid battle, it went like this.
《 Ah, the combat style just got trashier. What on earth are they doing? 》
Pro leagues aren’t individual matches.
In a team game, why is the Traveler fighting alone?