I Have a Reason to Hate Streamers

Before even stepping into the arena, most pros who had been active in Korea had faced each other.

If they had appeared in the field and I knew their position, that was the case.

The only exception was Luce.

Back then, I hated the pros.

I was overflowing with envy for what I couldn’t possess.

To me at the time, Phantom and Hero were quite disappointing prey.

If only I had started the game a little earlier, I would have met them in the field.

As Haruka said, while rank games could somewhat cross over to overseas servers, the regular fields couldn’t.

So when I said I wanted to meet them, I truly meant it.

I wanted to kill them at least once.

SWOOSH!

Hero’s great sword sweeps horizontally.

The speed is unbelievable for such a large blade.

It’s clearly meant to separate me, but the power is indisputable.

“Regrettably, the most recent regret is that I didn’t participate in the arena. Who would have thought someone like you would show up?”

“Phew.”

Unexpected praise.

Gaining recognition from a pro gamer of that caliber feels special.

Naturally, a smile crept onto my lips.

But… sadly, what I had to return was a provocation.

“Did you back off because you thought you’d lose to Kelberos anyway? I understand, senpai. I heard you lost again this time.”

“Again? I’ve always been curious: where do Korean assassins learn to speak such nonsense? Phantom, too, why do you pick at people’s insides?”

“Oh? Did that sound like I was ‘picking’?”

“You, you have some audacity when speaking to your senpai…!”

This person, oddly emotional for their experience level.

In matches against Phantom, they wouldn’t let up in provoking Hero.

And Hero seemed to take it all at face value.

When people get angry, their movements become larger or more aggressive.

Assassins need to exploit their opponent’s openings.

Calm opponents are more challenging to deal with than passionate ones.

Other players might hesitate to touch Hero because he’s a senior, but… well, that’s not something I had to mind.

My past had been nothing but chaotic in maintaining my image.

Trying to act polite now would only be disgusting.

‘By the way, this person. Emotions are clearly evident in the sword.’

Hero’s great sword now starts to actively glare at me.

With anger-infused blades, it plunged straight down toward me.

The ground, unable to withstand the destruction, was left in shambles.

Where the marks were left, the terrain was bulging, resembling a wall.

One of the crucial characteristics of the great sword.

While fine control is hard, it can distort or smash the surrounding terrain instead.

If I didn’t keep the modified terrain in mind beforehand, I could end up cornered.

A situation where there’s no escape against that unsophisticated great sword?

I wouldn’t even want to imagine it.

Instead of fighting outside the range of the great sword, I should shrink the distance.

Surprisingly, such large weapons are practically useless in close proximity.

In my dagger’s range. If not, outside the great sword’s range. Those two distances are what I need to maintain.

Hero’s great sword plunged into the ground.

Using the back of the sword as a foothold, I dove in.

I hit his face squarely with my knee.

Yet, there was no hint of surprise.

Hero seemed to be waiting eagerly, attempting to wrap me in tight.

‘If I’m caught, I’m dead.’

With his strength, he could crush my waist effortlessly with just his arms.

The moment I kicked out with my opposite foot to escape his grasp.

Hero

slid the great sword towards me as though he was gliding along the ground.

Of course, he didn’t intend to let me go that easily.

As I dodged the thrust, the great sword adjusted its angle mid-move.

No one else in this world could wield a weapon as freely as Hero.

If it continued like this, I would be cornered. Before it became unmanageable, I needed to drop my greed.

Using Shadow Movement as a means of survival, I escaped the series of strikes.

I’d left a knife embedded in his shoulder as a parting gift, but the trade-off wasn’t particularly beneficial.

“Senpai, you’re a bit sticky, aren’t you?”

“You’re just so adorable, kohai!”

“R-really…?”

“?”

Oops.

I need to focus.

I grasped the situation.

I can’t approach this thinking I’m up against a typical knight.

A foe with unmatched physical capabilities. Better to treat them like hunting a bear or tiger.

It wouldn’t be bad to nibble with my daggers, but this opportunity felt a bit too valuable for that.

That kind of textbook move could be used anytime.

Finally, I had a chance to collect data; I wouldn’t waste it.

“Even if you say that, I won’t give in to you.”

I moved to my desired position.

Now let’s settle this.

I set up a smoke screen right before Hero and charged in once more.

*

In the thick smoke.

Hero’s eyes calmly followed Gawol.

On the surface, she played like a beast, but she didn’t play thoughtlessly.

Aggressive playstyle and stupidity are entirely different matters.

With such flaws, she couldn’t be recognized as a top-tier player.

While I was almost lost in provocation earlier, after taking a few blade hits, my mind grew icy.

I had an inkling of why assassins provoke.

‘That guy is a different kind of tricky compared to Phantom.’

Faster than Phantom, but more stable.

Instead of striking boldly, she seemed to accumulate gains steadily.

Seeing it firsthand made me understand Kelberos’s evaluation.

– Extremely cautious for the power they have.

– It’s like a lion behaving like a fox.

If it were me or Phantom, we would’ve been greedier.

Gawol kept her distance as if she’d done this hundreds of times.

Thanks to that, there were several instances where a clean cut of flesh was delivered without touching the bones.

First of all, I found this smoke troublesome.

I wanted to move, but I couldn’t.

If I moved carelessly, Gawol’s dagger would attack.

But if I stayed still, sharp spells would stab at my lower limbs.

‘Did she invest in traits for the spells?’

Her magic had better puncture power than typical spells.

Passive poison damage was substantial as well.

Taking hits carelessly would cost me too much health.

The only saving grace was she was an assassin.

In particular, magic doesn’t drain guard gauge easily.

That’s why knights usually have an advantage over assassins.

Kelberos utilized this point to grab two victories against Gawol.

So there’s no need to rush or panic.

With the power of the great sword, it’s not impossible to turn the tide of the match in one blow.

While Gawol relentlessly attacked from within the smoke, I never sustained a deadly wound.

‘What’s bothering me… why isn’t she using her moon buffs?’

The buff synonymous with assassins hasn’t yet emerged.

The highest increase in attack power comes from Whisper of the Black Moon.

The buff granting absolute concealment, Blessing of the Ashen Moon.

Those skills should have been used by now, leaving an uneasy feeling in my chest.

But the smoke’s duration was about to expire.

Which means Gawol’s victory move wasn’t far off.

Without time to think long, I needed to move ahead.

[Active: Dedication]

[All stats increase by 8% for 12 seconds, physical penetration increases by 16…]

I checked the direction from which Gawol’s magic had flown.

Guessing approximately, I struck the raised terrain with the back of my hand.

In Inbl, objects influenced by the user become projectiles.

This means they receive the benefits of the player’s penetration and damage increase buffs.

The rock that Hero had struck shattered into pieces and shot out like shrapnel.

BAAM! CRASH—!

Every time Hero’s hand smashes the stone, a deafening sound echoes.

The sound of wind splitting fills the air, and the stone shrapnel embeds into the walls of the corridor.

The ground where the smoke dissipated revealed a significant amount of blood.

I got hit.

You were outside the range of the great sword.

Seeing as both sides are hindered by the smoke from vision, it’s the same for both.

‘No matter how agile you are, you probably didn’t foresee this. It’s a technique I haven’t used in ages.’

And when the smoke finally cleared.

A black shadow appeared behind Hero.

I had fought Phantom more than once or twice.

If it were an ordinary knight, they would have been helpless, but given Hero’s battle experience, there was definitely room for a reaction.

[You are affected by the ‘Assassin’s Mark’ effect.]

[You can become the target of lethal skills.]

It’s too late to swing the great sword.

As both of my dual daggers plunged into her neck at the same time—

Hero’s fist struck Gawol’s abdomen.

“Ugh…!”

I felt it in the footage, but is her sensitivity unusually high?

With a feeble groan, Gawol’s body flew away.

Both suffered lethal wounds, but if both are in tatters, the knight’s body has overwhelming resistance.

Perhaps worried about colliding with the terrain, Gawol had to use the cooldown of her survival skill during her flight.

Now I just needed to finish this.

As I took a step, something caught Hero’s body.

“Silver Magic?”

A chilling sensation coursed through her body.

The area that had been hidden by smoke until now.

There lay an excessive amount of Silver Magic.

Was that why Gawol consumed her survival skill, fearing that she might die from that?

The bloodied assassin coughed before grinning.

“It hurts… senpai.”

Her blood-soaked fingers flicked away.

The Silver Magic set up all around began to constrict, tearing Hero’s body apart.

*

[You are affected by ‘Laughter of the Silver Moon’]

[Damage dealt using magic and Silver Magic is significantly increased, and all attacks…]

[For one use only, you can activate the active skill ‘Blood Thread’ or ‘Heavenly Bloom’]

[Active: Blood Thread]

[All installed Silver Magic compress towards the target of ‘Assassin’s Mark’.]

[You have won.]

[Prepare yourself. The next opponent will enter without delay.]

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