I Have a Reason to Hate Streamers

The earthy floor of the bamboo forest rises in vibrant colors.

Wooosh!

Step back just in time as it bounces up.

The dagger charged with magic absorbs the impact with a clear clang!

Thud!

It won’t end with just one.

Crash!

A skeleton hidden among the bamboo leaps forward with its spear, and in the distance, the sound of hoofbeats can be heard.

Clip-clop!

No need to investigate further; it’s a Death Knight. Coming in from the right rear.

While retreating is an option, let’s charge forward instead.

The surrounding undead will make fine shields for me.

Swish!

I deflect the rain of bone spears.

Dodge what I can, but if it hinders my movements, I’ll try to parry instead.

Thwap!

I preemptively throw a dagger and slide in.

From the earth, the necromancer’s undead rise, becoming my meat shields.

Grrr…

They emanate a heavy stench.

This is why I dislike necromancer types.

I’m pretty attuned to resonance, but my sense of smell is especially keen.

Regardless of victory or defeat, the bad mood sets in.

Amidst the foul stench, I successfully closed the distance to the Plague Doctor.

Yikes!

“Wow, you really know how to handle these stinky creatures.”

“The mask I’m wearing isn’t just for show. I can keep herbs stuffed in the beak.”

“What?”

Gasp!

Wait, there was such a secret?

What a coward…!

I thought we were both enduring this stench together.

The betrayal felt deep in my heart quickly twisted into a thirst for revenge.

With hatred and fury, I swung the dagger, slicing through the bone shield.

The next attack narrowly grazed their wrist, and the next stab struck deep into their opposite shoulder.

Seeing it wouldn’t do, a rusty spear shot up from Crow’s shadow.

Thwip!

The undead that sprang forth from the shadows formed quickly.

It was the second Death Knight. I wondered why it hadn’t shown, but it looks like it was hiding nearby.

The commanded skeletal knight launched its spear fiercely.

While there is an absolute difference between a player and a summoned creature, I still can’t kill that high-ranking undead in one go.

In the end, I had to let Crow slip away.

Focus!

“Okay, let’s think this through calmly. The opponent chose the safest combination.”

From the semifinals onwards, it’ll be a best-of-five series, unlike before.

If I can just calm my anxiousness, conceding one set for a browsing match won’t be a huge burden.

And Crow’s choice of skills clearly indicates an intent to respond to me.

Since we lack information facing off in the semifinals.

Even considering my remaining matches, there are barely ten left, and Crow has probably a bit more than me.

While they’ve perfected what I’ve already shown to near perfection, the question still lingers: is that really all?

It was true. At least, I still have much more to reveal.

That’s quite fortuitous. There’s no time left between the semifinals and the finals.

Now would be a good time to throw in a variation.

If Luce and Kelberos are watching this match, it will definitely be a refreshing shock.

Small habits during battle? Following familiar sword paths?

There’s no way I’d have that.

Even if I did, I surely wouldn’t be unaware of it.

The monster I faced was something I could never defeat while dragging around weaknesses.

Thus, the person I’ve analyzed most painfully throughout my life was my friend, and next was myself.

It’s not that I failed to change; I just hadn’t needed to until now.

If I missed it, I could just chase again.

I beheaded the Death Knight and found the necromancer’s position again.

[You are under the effect of ‘Whisper of the Black Moon.’]

[You receive beneficial effects to all attack power, movement speed, and counterattack chance.]

[Some skills are enhanced…]

The necromancer has more means of protecting themselves compared to a typical mage.

The bone sphere I first had to break through, the flesh walls made by ghouls, and the excellent bodyguard that is the Death Knight.

But in return, they couldn’t use Blink, the common survival trick of other mages.

Crack!

It’s tougher, but if I hold on till the end, I can win.

With the dagger I had previously thrown, I move through the shadows.

I step on the head of the corpse trying to grab my ankle, leap, and change direction in the air using the bamboo as a pole.

Whoosh!

A lengthy incantation is just fine if I can distract it with a throwing weapon.

The ghoul’s body explosion comes flying up, obliterating my guard gauge.

Rotting flesh chunks didn’t surpass my collar and fell to the ground.

Boom!

The corpse explosion is quite a powerful skill.

But any undead that has been spent won’t return again until the match ends.

It’s standard to slowly use those that have already outlived their usefulness, but I ended up using them much quicker than anticipated.

You could interpret it as the opponent’s cards being used up rapidly.

If I can succeed in this approach, the skills they’ve kept hidden will likely start popping out one by one.

After dealing with a few undead blocking my way, I could finally close in on Crow again.

Thud!

“…!”

“Gotcha!”

I slashed in an X pattern, shattering the bone fragments.

With their defense broken, I butchered the mage’s body, starting from the wrist to the thigh, then the side.

The movements wielding the staff were steadier and more precise than I expected.

A couple of attacks were blocked, but that’s nothing more than a derivation of the mage class.

At this shortened distance, it was merely prey for an assassin.

I plunged a blade into their abdomen, and power coalesced at my feet.

Zing!

‘Checked above and moved my gaze down. Something is bound to come, but it seems they’re not prepared yet?’

I flipped back, avoiding the soaring bones, and threw the dagger tied with ropes.

The flying dagger twirled around using the bones as pillars.

Confirming the tightly secured rope, I pulled it as I moved swiftly.

Whoosh!

The refreshing wind accompanied my rising speed.

At the right moment, I let go of the rope, and the black robe came into my range.

Two daggers pierced right through the wing bones, drawing blood.

Thwok!

“If you don’t reveal everything, you’ll die next time?”

“I know that…!”

Once again, the staff struck the ground.

At that moment, all the undead’s eyes turned red.

From Crow’s shadow, the last Death Knight and a Dullahan of high undead came charging out recklessly.

The meaning of that is crystal clear. The necromancer declared a full-on war.

The ghoul’s flesh wriggling is probably a precursor to a corpse explosion.

In cleaning up the high-ranking undead, the distance spread again.

Dodging a few flying fragments, I resumed my pursuit.

As I passed through the bamboo grove, a huge shadow loomed overhead.

Grrrr!

The Bone Dragon.

The highest-level undead the necromancer could summon revealed itself.

*

“Crow has finally met the summoning conditions! Despite being nearly at critical health due to Gawol’s ferocious attacks, they’ve managed to recover!”

“Still, we need to keep a close eye. The situation isn’t easy. They’ve spent over half their undead to buy time. They must take down Gawol within the berserk time!”

“Gawol seems to want to drag this out… the moment I mention it, Gawol is now rapidly launching an assault!”

“It’s quite an unexpected choice. It seems they’re confident and want to finish this quickly!”

The silver-haired assassin weaved through the undead.

Before the corpses exploded, they slipped out of the damage range and lightly dodged the skeleton’s spear.

The speed was so fast that even the broadcasters’ cameras struggled to keep up as they surged forward.

Considering Gawol up until now, this was a judgment they wouldn’t have made.

Though the method was somewhat reckless, the assassin has, until now, chosen slow yet sure victories.

Yet, this time, they made the risky choice.

Few could guess why this was the case.

Fortunately, Kelberos was among that few who figured it out.

A bewildered chuckle escaped his lips.

“Pulling off such a stunt in the semifinals. Looks like they had a lot of confidence.”

A thick wad of paper went directly into the trash can.

It was the report compiled by the analysis team who had stayed up all night over the past few days.

While the content was already memorized inside his head, from this moment, it became useless.

Their tendencies and playing style had changed entirely.

As if they had become a different person, even their habits had vanished.

Starting fresh with analysis would yield completely different conclusions, and that fact was clear.

All previous analysis had become completely meaningless.

Even if I were to analyze again right now, the authenticity would be in doubt.

If I wanted to understand that audacious assassin, the only way was to confront them directly on the battlefield.

The spectacular demise of those high-level undead. The Bone Dragon’s area breath.

Before long, the bamboo forest became a hellscape. The densely growing bamboo fell to the blue flames, and the dug-up mounds were littered with broken corpse fragments.

The assassin’s body wasn’t unscathed, but there were no injuries that could be deemed fatal.

From the skies. From the earth. And sometimes from the empty air.

Skeleton fragments summoned without regard to their location couldn’t penetrate even a hair on the assassin’s skin.

Only a minuscule gap, the size of a fingernail. With that tiny difference, they couldn’t tear the assassin’s flesh.

Zoom!

“Fast! Is Gawol capable of this?”

“While they’ve always had good physicality, this is astonishing! The sly fox has transformed into a fierce tiger!”

The fate of the mage, having used all their cards, was evident.

With the assassin overcoming all the trials, they drove the blade mercilessly into the neck.

The bloodied body of the mage briefly appeared on screen as the match concluded.

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