A Swordsman's Stream

Chapter 130

Just before choosing Eric,

“Anyone curious about what they’re talking about?”

“These two probably don’t have much of a strategy, lol.”

“The Streamer-nim just relies on pure skill, and Yunho can’t do much anyway. Haha!”

“Huh?”

“Kael wasn’t banned? What kind of confidence is that? LoL.”

“The opponent is a Challenger.”

“Yeah, but the 4-second Judgement Sword is more powerful.”

“It’s because they were unranked that it was easy. Even yesterday, facing Wind Sword one-on-one, the opponent wasn’t easily defeated.”

“But they did beat Wind Sword, right?”

“And quickly too, right?”

They had expected Sojun to choose Kael. It wasn’t a certainty, but if Kael was available, shouldn’t he showcase it?

Perhaps he intentionally asked to not have it banned!

As the theory extended that Sojun requested Hayunho to leave Kael unbanned in LoS, Sojun and Hayunho conversed before Sojun’s hand moved to the hero selection interface.

『Prison Breaker Eric』

Contrary to their expectations, Sojun chose a new hero.

“Eric??”

“He’s choosing Eric? Haha!”

“What’s this? A pre-prepared pick?”

“100% not the case. LoL.”

“Who knows, maybe he prepared for Kael too, given he was watching Vital Point videos outside. Hahaha.”

『The game begins.』

Summoned to the battleground, Sojun immediately activated the audio he had muted.

“Ah, ah. Can you hear me?”

As Sojun moved forward, he noticed several symbols pop up in response.

Players in LoS wouldn’t likely see this chat window.

This was an internal match, so it was okay.

“Let’s just guard for the invade.”

He entered the jungle where Malang handled the ban-pick.

“Okay.”

“Enjoy the game, everyone.”

“Sojun-nim! Hold your own against the Challenger!”

It seemed the enemy chose to only guard against the invade, resulting in no clashes.

Sojun waited in the jungle for the minions to arrive.

“The chains are wrapping around my arm.”

In LoS, power was exerted through possession, so the avatar didn’t change. The costume adjusted before the game started also remained the same.

Thus, usually only essential parts changed.

When choosing Kael, he wielded a weapon, and now Sojun’s arms were wrapped with thin layers of chains.

“How do I do a basic attack with this?”

These chains weren’t used for basic attacks.

– Just use them like any other skill when playing casually.
– It’s similar stuff.
– Kael-God, it’s funny he’s asking such basic stuff. LoL.
– New viewers, especially Kael-noobs, this guy asks basic questions and then starts pulling out veteran skills in ten seconds, so no need to worry.

Sojun visualized emitting intangible energy from his hand.

In LoS, basic attacks of mage-position heroes were generally based on magic power.

‘Fascinating.’

Seven years ago, Sojun couldn’t play mage heroes.

Back then, it was okay to move his body using the capsule, but visualizing was difficult.

His thoughts didn’t translate into the game correctly.

The skill would activate, but it reacted just slightly delayed, like using an old computer.

That small difference would be bothersome for Sojun and all gamers.

‘Though I wasn’t particularly interested in playing mage after holding a sword for so long, it was still disappointing.’

A type of energy gathered in Sojun’s hand, creating an effect.

Suddenly, a small blue sphere formed in the palm of his hand.

“Oh? This is interesting.”

When Sojun clenched his fist, the sphere conveyed a sense of tension like an arrow drawn tightly on a bowstring.

After familiarizing himself with the sensation of the vibration and the subtle tremor, Sojun opened his hand.

The sphere shot forward.

The basic attack of a mage—less damaging than slashing with a sword.

“Oh!”

Sojun’s eyes glimmered with delight.

– Haha, do a bit of previewing if this amazes you so much. Haha.
– No, this guy’s a true streamer showing this real reaction on stream.
– Ahh, right! He didn’t preview to show a genuine reaction, haha.

He sent the sphere flying a few more times into empty space.

The spheres shot across the bush (a type of cover that offers concealment and hides players from enemies).

“Hmm, then how do I use skills? Oh, the minions are arriving now.”

Needing to focus on growing his stats, Sojun returned to mid-lane.

There, he could see the opponent waiting.

“Hello. We greeted earlier, right? This is Streamer Spoon.”

“Hello.”

The hero Spoon chose was Dual Gun Luke. As his name suggested, there was a double-barreled gun in his right hand.

This weapon had a characteristic where it fired in bursts with delayed timing, doing more damage than regular heroes if both shots landed.

Conversely, hitting just one shot did less than half the damage of a regular attack.

A high-difficulty hero where physical skill was vital.

“Sojun-nim, I’m going to do my best, but can you beat me?”

The chains wrapped around Sojun’s arm moved swiftly.

Pew!

Sojun’s response was to swiftly open and close his hand, launching a sphere.

Thump!

A perfectly judged distance hit on the adversary with the magic sphere just before it disappeared.

Grin.

“Is that a sufficient answer?”

– First hit wins, lol.
– The Streamer-nim always hits first for psychological wins.
– Wow, how did that hit?
– For real, just before disappearing too.

Spoon looked just as entertained as Sojun.

‘That basic attack I just took barely hit the edge of its range. Was it chance? No, couldn’t be. He asked if the answer was sufficient.’

It was intentional.

When he moved closer to land a shot with the dual guns, Sojun stepped back.

‘He realized in an instant that my range was shorter.’

Seeing Spoon didn’t retaliate immediately, Sojun realized that in that brief moment, he determined an advantageous position.

Spoon noticed this too.

“You’re interesting. Usually, kiting is my specialty.”

Kiting involves maintaining optimal combat distance.

A necessary tactic for ranged attack heroes who rely heavily on distance.

Utilizing such distance is key to maximizing potential.

Being able to hit others without getting hit.

“Well, I’m ranged too, so.”

Sojun observed his opponent.

When Spoon stepped back, he moved forward. As Spoon suddenly advanced, he retreated.

It appeared simple, but it was mixed with the Challenger’s expertise in distance-retaining movements.

And then.

Pew!

Another sphere flew, directly hitting Spoon again.

Once again, at the very edge of its range.

Nothing much different from before.

‘Oh? Look at that.’

Spoon’s health points were reduced by another hit.

Sojun’s gaze traveled from Spoon’s health bar to his eyes.

Spoon’s eyes, which once carried a hint of mockery, were now transformed.

“It seems you’re finally serious about this?”

“Looks like it, haha.”

The minions had arrived.

Now, true kiting came into play.

If a beginner asked how to land a skill on an enemy, most would advise waiting until the minion strikes a final blow and timing it.

“No matter how long your basic attack range is, it doesn’t matter if you don’t get hit by the mage’s skills, right?”

Keeping his body concealed behind minions while positioning himself, Spoon remarked.

“Yes, I know. Mages’ basic attacks usually offer no special benefits.”

“Haha. Now it begins.”

Luke had a skill that discharged burst fire while moving forward.

There’s a situation where one must be cautious, moving quickly to close the distance and deal damage. That skill was avoided during the earlier scouting phase.

And Eric’s skill was…

“Guys, how do you use this skill?”

He couldn’t figure out how to invoke it.

– LOL.
– Idiot.
– Let’s not tell him.
– Just imagine it.

“Huh?”

Regardless of Spoon’s surprise, Sojun focused on the dying minion’s health.

Then, when the minion was about to perish, he shot the sphere, striking the final blow, and thought.

“Just imagine it?”

Eric’s skill involved creating a magic circle.

This magic circle, after some time, would shoot chains.

Sojun visualized the magic circle appearing directly in front of him, just as seen in the videos.

Then.

『Chains of Destruction』

Clink-clink-clink!

The sound of chains wrapped around Sojun’s arm echoed as they vanished, and a magic circle materialized in front of him.

“Oh!”

– LoL, once again he’s amazed.
– How many times now?
– Sword God looks the happiest when acting like a mage.
– Come to think of it, he mostly used a sword.

The reason for Sojun’s astonishment was simple.

‘I didn’t expect such a quick response.’

In the past, Sojun reinforced visualization through actions.

Like when he planted his sword to invoke Judgement Sword.

Nowadays, judgement Sword activated with mere thought, but before reworking, it was important to quickly summon it considering the fall point due to its non-target skill nature.

‘Recently, it was just a nostalgic holdover.’

Most see those actions as stylish exercises for entertainment.

Yet, for past Sojun, they had quite an effect.

And now, without such actions, the skill swiftly activated, amazing Sojun.

With a bewildered look at the scene, Spoon attacked the minions.

He calculated when to dive in.

Three seconds later.

The tether shot directly to the front minion from the magic circle.

-Damn, that 3 seconds is long.
-No joke.
-That’s why its pick rate is the lowest.

The Chains of Destruction was a long-delay skill that shot chains anywhere from three to ten seconds after the circle formed.

It was very difficult to hit opponents because the path was set when the magic circle was created.

The longer the delay, the higher the skill’s damage, so Eric players often anticipated and prepared for ambushes, laying a 10-second circle ahead of time.

Currently, Sojun could create two magic circles at most at once.

‘Prediction is key.’

Quite different from Kael’s critical shot predictions.

Prediction shot.

Launching an attack and hoping the opponent walks into it.

Moreover, chains of Destruction was a self-targeting skill—it could hit the caster, leading to a risky scenario.

‘With this level of response speed, I can manage it.’

Sojun created two magic circles behind him in the sky.

Chains wrapped around his arms vanished as they slightly lightened, leaving red circles floating in the air.

And after about two seconds.

Spoon dashed forward.

『Quick Shot』

Feet moved like sliding for a brief dash coupled with an instant burst akin to a shotgun blast—it was Luke’s skill coming into play.

Spoon’s position quickly brought him close to Sojun.

“Skills like Chains of Destruction shouldn’t be used carelessly.”

Set paths echoed the sentiment that they couldn’t be retrieved once cast.

Moreover, creating two magic circles at once left nothing to use for the moment.

Spoon exploited this gap, raising the gun to unleash burst fire.

“That’s why beginners are stuck.”

Quick Shot’s finishers included attacks.

However—

Clink-clink-clink!

Chains shot out from the magic circle fixed behind Sojun in the air.

Not at the front minions, but directly at Spoon’s position.

‘That wasn’t just randomly thrown?’

Despite Spoon’s bewildered eyes, the chains destined three seconds earlier shot rapidly.

Thump!

The impact from the chains obliterated Spoon’s health significantly more than any basic attack had.

New Elements and Characters:
– 탈옥수 에릭 『탈옥수 에릭』 = Prison Breaker Eric (it)
– 말랑 = Malang (they)
– 쌍발총 루크 = Dual Gun Luke (he)
– 스푼 = Spoon (he)