Guest Commentary (3)

……

"Well then, after a short commercial break, we'll be back to get ready for Match Two!"

The moment my senses returned after I'd dumped all those words without thinking, I knew it without any difficulty.

Ah. I just caused an incident.

I'd been told not to take a tone that tore down any particular team. And yet my words had clearly, unmistakably, torn into Q Prime.

Sure enough, the official broadcast chat was scrolling like it had gone berserk. Even with a multi-minute cooldown slapped on every single message, the chat was that bad — which meant the communities were obviously on fire.

"I… I mean, that was… uh. I'm sorry."

I couldn't even look at the casters sitting beside me. The second the cameras cut, my head dropped on its own. Both hands came up to cover my face.

I wanted to die of apology. The people here had trusted me enough to put me in this seat. That trust had rested on a bare minimum of assumptions — that I'd at least keep to the basics. They couldn't have known I'd blow up like this and make a mess of things.

A light tap landed on my shoulder. Ho-eun. There was no pretending I hadn't felt it. In the end I had to lower the hands covering my face and look at him.

"Come on, chin up. Plenty of people were probably thinking the same thing."

"I'm really sorry… I should have held it in."

"It's fine, so don't take it so hard. The matches aren't even over yet. You've still got the next one to call — so let's get that energy back."

His hand patted my back in a comforting rhythm. I didn't know why something so small settled me, but the tears that had been about to spill retreated.

Ho-eun studied me for a moment, then grinned.

"At the very least, you don't need to feel ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠bad on our account. It's not like we're the ones catching the hate."

"Ah? I— is that so?"

"It's not like we're taking any real damage from it."

What? I'd thought he was being warm and comforting. Instead I was freshly reminded how cold the working adult world could be. Still — maybe this was better. No matter how gently he might have spoken, it would only have made me feel worse. With the guilt lightened a little, my chest eased.

I must have been wearing one hell of a blank face, because Ho-eun clutched his stomach and laughed.

"Hahaha! I'm kidding, kidding. Don't worry so much."

"What? But…"

"I've been in this industry for over ten years. Ga-wol's comments were strong, sure, but it won't blow up into anything that big."

"Really?"

"You could even say the timing worked out well."

Something about that sounded loaded. I wanted to ask what he meant, but Ho-eun only offered a good-natured smile.

Time slipped by, and we rolled into the second match.

"Coming up next, Sigma versus Q Prime — Q Prime versus Sigma! Let's settle in for the second match!"

"The battlefield is Shadow Hall. Classes that can leverage the darkness — especially assassins with stealth or shadow skills — are right at home here."

"Ironically, Sigma's roster has no assassin player. This match looks like one Q Prime can walk into smiling."

At present, Sigma had no assassin-primary player outside of the second string and trainees. They'd tried to recruit one before, but luck hadn't been on their side. That was exactly why Luce had said they wanted me even more.

Honestly, I'd been happy. Sharing ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a stage with Luce had been a dream of mine too. My role model wanting me — what greater reward was there than that?

"Speaking of assassins, that's guest commentator Ga-wol's main class, isn't it? What's your take?"

"Ah — generally speaking, yes, it favors the assassin. But I don't think you can afford to get careless. An assassin's strength is that even bad matchups can be overcome with skill. Which means, conversely…"

"Even a favorable matchup can be flipped. That's what you're saying."

I glanced toward the player waiting room.

From Q Prime, naturally, the assassin Sparrow was selected. From Sigma, perhaps wary of Traveler — Luce stepped up as the starter. A warrior had a poor matchup against a lancer, after all. Though even without that, Luce would have been the one to open.

"Both sides have locked in their starters."

"Paladin versus assassin. In a one-on-one setup like this, we have to ask for your thoughts again."

"Hmm… it's a fight worth taking, isn't it? Even a paladin is going to struggle in Shadow Hall. Yeah. I think it'll be hard."

"You sound a little less confident with this one."

"Ah — no, I'm not."

Right. That was a lie.

Sparrow was going to have a hard time winning. Hardship seemed to keep finding him lately, though I didn't hold any personal grudge… The reason I was so sure of Luce's victory was, of course, because of me.

How long had I waited for a match against her? For me, it had been ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the day a dream came true. For Luce, it had been the day a new trial landed on her shoulders. Her grit was top-class even among every pro out there. The person I'd sparred with the longest at Sigma wasn't Camellia — it was Luce. Her assassin counterplay was already complete.

Commentator Hwang Yul glanced my way. He clearly wanted me to keep going.

"In this match, the return is higher if Luce wins. In a winner-stays format, you have to face the next opponent after a victory — so having a way to recover yourself, meaning…"

"Combat sustain, right? Exactly. Unlike an assassin, who struggles to heal wounds alone, a paladin has self-healing tools."

"If Luce takes down Sparrow and moves on to the next opponent, she's far more likely to enter that fight in relatively good condition."

Thankfully, they didn't leave me talking alone. The moment I seemed to hesitate even a little, a clean assist came in. And still they nudged me forward, gently, as if to say — try it properly one more time.

The cameras caught the two players engaging.

Sparrow's choice was mobility off pillars and the ceiling. He rode the thick darkness laid down at the start and seized a vision advantage. Luce didn't move rashly — she simply measured the time in stillness.

"Luce still isn't moving even after the match has started. What's the intent here?"

"Honestly, even if a paladin moves first, finding an assassin isn't easy. It can be better to stay calm and focus on your senses."

"Hmm. Personally, I think she's timing the arrival."

On Shadow Hall, from a random start point, if you didn't take a single step — the time it took me to find Luce fell roughly between one minute forty and two minutes twenty. You had to add time for the fact that I was faster than other assassins. Factor in that you couldn't just dive the moment you spotted someone, exclude the most extreme edge cases, and account for skill durations…

Right now.

Luce drew her sword, and radiance swept the space around her. Right there — Sparrow, who'd been angling for her back, was exposed.

Too close. Unluckily for him, he was inside a paladin's charge range. Luce's legs drove forward without hesitation, and her shield crashed into the assassin's body.

In a single skill, an assassin's greatest advantage had gone up in smoke. At the same time, the paladin had initiated the engagement and seized the initiative. For an assassin, it was as bad a start as you could ask for.

"Sigma's assassin counterplay is excellent. She counted the clock, locked onto the most likely window, and extracted maximum value for minimum investment."

"Is that even possible with random point generation?"

"It is. The opponent is a first-string pro, after all. It depends on the size of the battlefield, but on Shadow Hall you can usually find the enemy within three minutes."

I could see the pathing before Luce even moved. Efficiently cutting off the assassin's routes, detonating the holy sword's light to deny shadow skills. An obvious truth: where the light is strong, no shadow can exist.

I grinned.

"That last bit was a shame. The timing on the shadow step was way too obvious. If he'd thrown a dagger feint first, he could have taken her back cleanly."

Haa.

That's not how you play an assassin.