Guest Commentary (4)

Luce pressed Sparrow hard, driving the assassin back without mercy.

A broad shield slammed up to blot out the assassin's vision, and a sword thrust low, aiming for the top of the foot. Sparrow seemed to register the attack, but the reaction came a fraction too late.

A thin smear of blood. Point scored.

The assassin circled around the shield's flank and flung a throwing weapon. A knife with no magic behind it, aimed straight at the eyes — the intent was unmistakable. They meant to foul Luce's vision first. As if it were the most natural thing in the world, the assassin's form blurred and slipped into the shadows.

The destination was right behind Luce.

The dagger that had been reaching for a throat was stopped cold, limp and useless. And in this game, a perfect defense was always followed by a vicious counter.

Blood painted the assassin's face where the blow landed. One hit wasn't enough — the next attack was already coming. Only after a heap of precious skills had been burned away could the assassin finally recover their footing.

"A sharp counter. Impressive. That attack should have been completely outside Luce's field of vision."

"Looks like they confirmed it through the shadow — or the silhouette cast on the shield."

"Hmm… if I had to pick, I'd say the shadow. Most shadow skills preserve the posture from the moment just before activation, but there's a tiny bit of leeway."

If an assassin used shadow movement while swinging a dagger, the "posture" would largely hold when they reappeared — but the "force" of the swing would not. Use a skill from a half-committed stance, and the next attack would lack power. That was the problem.

Plenty of assassins had poured effort into solving it. One of the techniques that emerged was changing grips while still inside the shadow. The default was a saber grip, precise and controllable. On exit, they switched to a reverse grip for raw power, or a hammer grip for a fast thrust.

A dagger's attack path changed easily depending on how it was held. If you could swap grips somewhere the opponent couldn't see, a single stance could branch into countless attack options. It was a psychological weapon as much as a technical one. That was the kind of craft Sparrow had tried to pull off.

There was just one problem. The assassin Luce had been sparring against lately was me.

"There's something Sparrow doesn't know. Even when you use the skill, the assassin's own shadow vanishes a beat late. You always have to hide your hands and weapon behind your body. Or wait a little longer."

A hand that had changed grips told you the opponent's intent. And from the posture at the moment of disappearance, you could see every possible attack that could follow. Read both, and where they would strike became obvious.

Rising spikes were smothered without effort. Not once did a dagger aimed at a vital point punch through the defense, and an assassin's firepower simply could not break a paladin's guard gauge. The sheer mass unique to the knight class drove Sparrow back. The shield swung like a blunt weapon; now and then the blade reached for a weak point.

Sparrow handled it decently enough… but the moment an assassin was reduced to pure defense, the match was as good as over.

"Oh? That looked like a mistake. Flash Strike can just be dodged by eye — no need to burn a survival skill on it."

"Dodge Flash Strike just by looking? Then what skills can't be dodged?"

"Is there such a thing? 'Undodgeable' is something the situation creates. Every skill in Infinity Black is designed so you can dodge it if you react, right?"

"Ladies and gentlemen watching at home. That's what they ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠say."

"?"

A preview of the finals.

The semifinal between Sigma eSports and Q Prime ended in a 3–1 victory for Sigma. Personally, I'd call it a poor showing. They put together a few decent moments here and there — enough to prove that a prestigious pro team's seat wasn't something just anyone could take — but they still couldn't escape the fans' criticism. If Sigma hadn't rolled out experimental strategies, it would have ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠been a straight 3–0.

My commentary in the first match had poured a little oil on the fire, too. Thanks to that, I earned myself a share of the fans' dislike. Well, I'd always had more than a few enemies to begin with. I didn't care much… no, honestly, these days I did care a little.

Either way, the semifinal results kept the internet burning for a few hours, then died down with surprising speed. Traveler's transfer announcement had swallowed every last flame. When Ho-eun said I'd "caught the timing well," this must have been what she meant.

And then, barely a day later, Traveler contacted me personally, saying he absolutely had to meet once.

"Ah, been waiting long? Sorry. Rain slowed the traffic down."

"No. It's fine."

Traveler — Nam Hyeon — walked in looking respectably put together, folding his umbrella as he came. He paused at the doorway for a beat. His expression went blank, then snapped back into place.

"Does Elderin use a pretty bad camera? Weird."

"What is?"

"Nah. Nothing. Food hasn't come out yet, right? This was the only place I could get a last-minute reservation. Next time we meet, I'll take you somewhere better."

"This is more than enough."

"Yeah? If you say so."

Had he taken my offhand comment about only meeting if he bought me an expensive meal completely seriously? The meeting place was a rather elegant Japanese restaurant. I hadn't actually wanted anything this high-end. Just… somewhere the two of us could eat our fill for a little over a hundred thousand won would have been fine. Family restaurant quality, maybe.

Judging by the way the server explained exactly which ingredients had been prepared and how, this was a place of some standing.

"Anyway, why'd you want to meet?"

"I wanted to see you once before I left the country. Originally I was going to meet you in-game, but you said no."

"Well, yeah."

"Sigma prepping well?"

What? Had Luce told him? I hadn't heard anything like that. Then again, Traveler was a serious veteran in this scene. He might have caught wind of it through the grapevine. Sigma's information lockdown might not be airtight, or someone might have run their mouth.

"So you already knew. Who told you?"

"Nah. Never heard a thing. I was just guessing — and your answer just now confirmed it."

"You…!"

"Relax. What would I even gain from spreading something like this?"

Of all people, I was the one with the loose lips. Traveler chuckled. The chopsticks between his fingers clicked lightly together.

"Stings, right? Be careful. When it happened to me, I got chewed out hard."

"Unbelievable."

"That reporter didn't even mention it was a leading question. I only figured it out when I looked up the first leak article. Ah. So that's how I got played. That was right around…"

The food arrived, and the meal began. Traveler let a little of his frustration spill out. The team hadn't always been like this. He knew the teammates each had their own circumstances. Not everyone could throw themselves at the game like a maniac forever the way he did. It would be nice if everyone could run on pure passion like a youth drama — but boys grew into adults, and someone had to carry the weight of reality.

"Ah, whatever. I didn't call you here to dump all this on you."

"It's fine. It was interesting to listen to."

"You — when are you making your pro debut?"

"Don't know. Whether I even can."

"…That sounded heavier than I expected."

Traveler glanced at my legs. This guy was sharper than I'd given him credit for. Honestly, there was no world where my skill level would keep me from going pro. What held me back was the karma I'd racked up inside the game… and at the very least, Luce seemed willing to carry that with me. If I'd joined Sigma and my debut was still "uncertain," that could only mean something else was in the way.

"Still. I want you to go pro. That's part of why I called you today."

"Out of nowhere?"

"Out of nowhere? That stings a little. I've acknowledged you since the Arena."

Come to think of it, he had said something like that back then.

I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠realized our whole concept of combat was different. Kelberos was living in a world I didn't even know existed.

I'm only just starting to see it, so catching up is going to take a while.

I didn't want to say this to an amateur — too much pride for that — but watching your matches this time, I had the same thought.

"This transfer. I'm doing it because I want to. I raised hell with the team about strengthening the roster, asked them to set up a trade, and it turned out like this. They know plenty of my dirty laundry too, so they probably figured they'd clean house while they were at it."

"Yeah? Ripper's an S-tier teammate. Honestly, this works out better for you. You'll be able to climb higher than you can now."

"I think so too. I feel bad for the people I've gotten close to, and for the domestic fans… but at the end of the day, I want to win. You good with a drink?"

"Yeah. Not going to have much, though."

Traveler poured us each a glass. We clinked them together and took a sip. I didn't want to get drunk, so I treated it as my last.

"You're one of the people I absolutely want to beat. So make sure we meet at the internationals."

"Guess I'd better wash my neck and wait."

"Yeah. I'll crush you for sure. Be ready."

"You talk a big game for someone who sucks at the game."

Traveler ground his teeth. He didn't look all that upset about it.