I Have a Reason to Hate Streamers

Luce fiercely pressured Sparrow.

She quickly blocked his line of sight with a wide shield and stabbed downwards to target his foot.

He seemed aware, but his reaction was a tad slow.

Drip, drop.

A bit of blood was oozing out.

Score!

The assassin circled to the side of the shield and threw a knife.

The fact that he threw a knife without any magical power towards the eye was quite intentional.

It was clear he wanted to obstruct vision from that side too. As if it was the most natural thing in the world, the assassin’s figure blurred and rode the shadows.

The target area was right behind Luce.

The dagger aiming for his neck was weakly blocked.

And behind perfect defense in this game, a fierce counterattack typically follows.

Blood splattered on the assassin’s face after he was hit.

His attacks didn’t end with just one strike. The valuable skill was lost in a flurry of hits before the assassin could regain his stance.

“Sharp counterattack. Impressive. That must’ve been an attack that couldn’t be seen from Luce’s perspective.”

“It looks like he verified it through the shadow or the silhouette reflected on the shield.”

“Hmm… If I had to guess, it’s probably through the shadow. Most shadow skills maintain their posture right before use, but there’s a tiny allowance.”

If the assassin used Shadow Movement while wielding the dagger…

When he returned, the ‘posture’ would almost be maintained, but the ‘force’ he swung would not.

Using the skill with a clumsy posture would diminish the power of the next attack.

To overcome this issue, many assassins have tried repeatedly.

One of the developed methods was to change the grip inside the shadow.

The basic operation involves the precise control of a saber grip.

When emerging from the shadow, he switches to a reverse grip that generates more power or a hammer grip capable of quick thrusts.

The dagger easily changes the trajectory of the attack based on the grip.

If he can change the grip in an unseen location, the number of attacking methods derived from a single posture becomes countless.

This element can also be employed in psychological warfare. What Sparrow attempted was such a trick.

However, the assassin Luce faced recently was me.

“Sparrow didn’t know this. Even with skills, an assassin’s shadow disappears slightly slower. Hands and weapons must always be hidden by the body. Or be a bit more precise.”

With a changed grip, he could read the opponent’s intentions.

And from the posture when he disappears, the possible outcomes of attacks become visible.

If he grasped both, it became clear where he’d aim next.

The rising spikes were uselessly blocked.

The dagger aimed at the vital point never breached the defense, and with the assassin’s firepower, it couldn’t break the Paladin’s guard gauge.

The mass characteristic of the knight class pushed Sparrow back.

The shield swung like a blunt weapon, while blades occasionally aimed for vital points.

Although he coped reasonably well… when the assassin became too focused on defense, this match was practically over.

“Oh, I think I just messed up. I could’ve just seen the stab and dodged it instead of having to waste my survival skill.”

“You mean, just by watching it? Then what about skills that can’t be dodged?”

“Do those exist? Dodging is created by the situation. Every skill in Inbl is designed to be dodge-able if you respond.”

“Viewers, that’s what he says.”

“?”

*

[Title: ‘Traveler’ Teams Up with the ‘Ripper’ from England.]

[Author: Gravekeeper Reporter ([email protected])]

A player trade agreement was established between the domestic prestigious Q Prime and England’s Acid Gaming.

According to the announcement, Q Prime’s ace ‘Traveler,’ Nam-hyun, will be moving to Acid Gaming.

This means Acid Gaming has secured a strong force with Traveler’s spear knight alongside their existing ace, ‘Ripper,’ the assassin.

Since Acid Gaming is likely to participate in the next International War, domestic teams will need to remain cautious.

Traveler’s vacancy will be filled by the seasoned ‘Holy,’ known for his Inquisitor role.

This marks the first move since the eased overseas mercenary regulations on the 10th.

An influx of an anti-carry-type tank with a personality opposite to the previous ace.

It raises curiosity about how Q Prime’s play style will change.

Fans of Q Prime have expressed negative opinions regarding the trade agreement.

“Selling off a perfectly good ace for a soon-to-retire player?,” “They say company funds have dried up; looks like they’ve hit rock bottom.” Strong sentiments are also being observed.

Meanwhile, a Q Prime official stated that the financial difficulties of its parent company, Q Financial, are ‘groundless,’ but didn’t provide a specific explanation.

The details of the contracts for both teams have not been revealed.

[Comments]

– I guess it’s time to let this team go. It was the first team I cheered for.

└ Me too, Q Prime was my first.

└ Ah…

– Should I switch to Galaxy?

└ There were rumors that they and ACL have been spending money lately.

*

Looking ahead to the finals.

The semifinals between Sigma e-Sports and Q Prime ended with Sigma’s 3:1 victory.

Personally, I’d rate it as a snooze fest.

It had its moments here and there, sure, but it proved that a prestigious pro team doesn’t just come from anywhere, but they couldn’t escape the fans’ wrath.

If Sigma hadn’t thrown in some experimental strategies, it would’ve likely been a straightforward 3:0 result.

Some credit for my commentary in the first match might’ve added fuel to the fire.

Thanks to that, I too earned a bit of contempt from fans.

Well, I’ve always had many enemies, so I wasn’t too concerned… Actually, to be honest, I’ve been a bit worried lately.

Anyway, the results of the semifinals heated up the internet for a few hours, but surprisingly it subsided quickly.

The announcement of Traveler’s move swallowed all the flames.

Ho-eun’s comment about ‘timing it well’ might’ve kept this in mind.

And just a day later…

Traveler personally reached out, saying he wanted to meet.

“Hey, did you wait long? Sorry, the rain made traffic a bit rough.”

“No. It’s fine.”

Traveler, looking stylish, entered after folding his umbrella.

He paused briefly at the door.

His expression went blank for a moment, then he quickly returned.

“Elderin, are you using a not-so-great camera? It’s interesting.”

“What’s that about?”

“Nothing. Never mind. The food hasn’t come out yet, right? This was the only place I could quickly reserve. I’ll take you somewhere nicer next time we meet.”

“If it’s like this, it’s already more than enough.”

“Really? If you say so, then that’s good.”

Was he taking my joke about needing to buy an expensive meal seriously?

The meeting place was quite an elegant Japanese restaurant.

Honestly, I didn’t expect it to be this much.

I just wanted something simple where we could eat well for a bit over 100,000 won together.

I was looking for a family restaurant quality, to put it lightly.

Hearing the staff explain what ingredients were used and how they were prepared indicated it might be quite the place.

“Well, anyway, why did you want to meet?”

“I wanted to meet you just once before heading overseas. I was going to meet in-game, but you said you couldn’t.”

“That’s true.”

“Are you preparing well at Sigma?”

What the heck? Did Luce tell him?

I hadn’t heard any such thing.

Traveler is quite the veteran in this game as well.

He might have received stories through the grapevine.

It’s possible Sigma’s mouth wasn’t tightly closed or someone babbled to him.

“I see you knew about it. Who told you?”

“No, I haven’t heard anything. Just suspected, and your answer just now confirmed it for me.”

“You…!”

“Don’t worry. What would I gain by leaking this kind of stuff?”

Could it be I’m the one who’s loose-lipped after all?

Traveler chuckled.

The chopsticks lightly clinked against each other between his fingers.

“It’s a bit nerve-wracking, huh? Be careful. I was in serious trouble when I got caught.”

“Unbelievable.”

“The reporter didn’t even mention it was leading questioning. But when I checked the first leaked article, I realized, ‘Ah, I got caught,’ that moment was just…”

Food arrived, and the meal began.

Traveler started rambling a bit.

It wasn’t always like this for them from the start.

He understood that his teammates each had their circumstances.

Not everyone could be reckless like him forever.

It would be nice if everyone could run solely on passion like in a youth drama.

But boys inevitably grow into men, and someone has to bear the reality.

“Well, that’s enough. That’s not why I called you here.”

“It’s okay. It was entertaining to listen.”

“So when’s your pro debut?”

“Not sure. I don’t know if I’ll be able to.”

“…I feel like I just heard something quite heavy.”

Traveler glanced at my legs.

This guy sure picks up on things faster than expected.

Honestly, it’s not like my skills are flawed so I wouldn’t be able to go pro.

If there’s anything holding me back, it’s the game’s karma… but at least Luce seems to have taken it upon herself.

Even though I joined Sigma, saying ‘my debut is uncertain’ suggests there are deeper issues at play.

“But still, I hope you go pro. That’s also part of the reason I called you today.”

“Out of the blue?”

“Out of the blue? That’s a bit hurtful. I acknowledged you since the Arena.”

Come to think of it, I did mention something like this in the Arena.

– It felt like we had a fundamentally different concept of combat. Kelberos lived in a world I didn’t know.

– Now that I’m starting to see things, it’ll take quite a while to catch up.

– I didn’t want to say this to an amateur; it’s too pride-hurtful, but I thought the same while watching your match this time.

“This transfer is something I wanted to do. Encouraging the team and asking for a trade is how this ended up happening. I know quite a bit, so they must want to clear things out while they can.”

“Really? Ripper is an S-rank teammate. This could work out well. You’re definitely better off; you can aim higher.”

“I think so too. I feel sorry for the people I’ve grown attached to and the domestic fans… but I really want to win. Are you okay with drinking?”

“Yeah. I won’t drink too much, though.”

Traveler poured us each a drink.

We clinked glasses and took a sip.

I didn’t want to get drunk, so I made it my last.

“I have to say, you’re one of the people I really want to beat. So, let’s meet in the International War.”

“I’ll be waiting for that, wide-eyed and ready.”

“Sure. I’ll definitely crush you, so wait for it.”

“Words are easy when you’re terrible at the game.”

Crunch. Traveler gritted his teeth.

He didn’t seem too upset.

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