There’s not a trace of hesitation in the movement.
It’s rare to find someone who can remain calm when faced with a precise and deadly blade.
The sight of shadows leaping across the silver fir trees as a springboard was—undeniably the stuff of nightmares for any wizard.
However, Crow is a necromancer who reached the semifinals.
An individual far from being ordinary.
Even in this moment, his mind was preoccupied with the assassin’s decoy.
In the event of misjudgment due to an illusion, a blade would surely pierce his neck or heart.
Could the main body be hiding within the smoke?
Or could what’s visible be the truth?
Contemplating won’t yield an answer. The wisest method is to counter every possibility.
Sending Death Knights into the smoke would be a poor strategy.
Finding the assassin’s exact position within is impossible, and valuable undeads would be wasted unnecessarily.
Thus, the remaining solution is one.
“Consume all the remaining ghouls. There’s no need to hold back now.”
Crow dropped all the ghouls he was holding.
With that, the griffon too, having fulfilled its role, turned into a large explosive.
As the bodies exploded, the area descended into complete chaos, and a storm of blood and flames shook the earth.
At the same time, the Death Knights pursued the assassin.
The assassin’s mobility, without a doubt, was exceptional.
But strong enough slowing debuffs had been repeatedly cast to offset that advantage.
Frenzied Death Knights finally succeeded in catching sight of the assassin.
A rusty spear pierced the petite frame.
But no blood came out of the wound that penetrated the abdomen and heart; the spear shaft passed through with no resistance, as if cutting through the air.
An illusion that doesn’t allow for physical judgment.
Having identified the decoy, by elimination, only one location remained for the real body.
“Did the assassin survive that bombardment? It’s ridiculous.”
Incomprehensible. Crow’s mind filled with this question.
Satisfying his curiosity could wait until reviewing the match footage later.
As soon as the ancient staff struck the ground, the Death Knight spun around and retreated.
The smoke wouldn’t last much longer.
Having detonated the griffon, the assassin must have little HP left. At this point, finishing them off should be simple.
That was where Crow’s calculations ended.
An animalistic sense of unease struck him.
It was because he’d seen something he shouldn’t have.
“Why… why didn’t the decoy disappear?”
“Because it’s not a decoy—it’s the real thing.”
Lifting the fog revealed nothing.
His undeads had missed their prey, and instead, a bloodied girl had locked in on her target.
Two daggers severed the life of the necromancer.
*
The next day, after the semifinals had concluded, a streamer named Yu-rang began broadcasting.
[Title: Arena Top 4 Analysis + Final Preview]
[‘Yu-rang’ is live.]
The start was with casual chatter.
Greeting the viewers and sharing casual updates, the screen, as always, transitioned to neatly prepared PPT materials.
At the center of the screen was footage from the first day of the semifinals, featuring the match between Gawol and Crow.
“I’m impressed! This is a play that only emerges from trusting the opponent!”
“Who could come up with such an idea? And who could execute and succeed with such a play to secure victory?”
“I can see why Crow would be bewildered. Come on! How do you lose after pulling that off?”
“Ah, this feels right, doesn’t it? Let’s talk about Gawol’s second game.”
– Why not cover the first game?
– Why start from the second game?
“Why? Because, simply, there’s nothing much to talk about. She fought well in the first game—what more can I analyze? Let’s just skip to the second game.”
He spoke boldly, but still seemed to care about the audience’s reactions.
The video timeline moved a bit slower.
Fortunately, there were few viewers upset about skipping the first game.
Rather, if there were any, they were mostly the usual nicknames Yu-rang was familiar with.
These were types who thrived on stirring trouble, and once acknowledged, the timeline moved swiftly.
Before transitioning to the analysis desk, there were the commentators’ excited remarks.
A replay showed the assassin battered and bruised, and briefly revisited the indiscriminate bombing scene.
Moving a bit further, the video showcased the griffin picking up ghouls at the start of the match.
“Alright. Of course, there’s no way I can skip this in the second game — the bombardment griffin meta. As you all know, it was adjusted in the previous patch. Honestly, it was hard to use in the pro scene, but in the ranked environment, it was too strong.”
The sight of griffin-dropped ghoul bombs shocked the audience, naturally spurring curiosity.
‘Should I try this?’ Interest in the necromancer character skyrocketed.
Though it didn’t last long, as classes with insufficient countermeasures voiced complaints.
An unexpected element unique to non-mainstream classes can invigorate the game.
However, an extreme meta inevitably erodes the gaming environment.
With a patch that significantly curtailed griffon’s hovering time, several counter methods emerged.
With such a big impact, Crow, who brought this powerful meta to the semifinal, adopted a bone-magic focused build in the third match but ended up in a devastating defeat.
Exiting the arena, he gained more attention than Gawol, who defeated him.
In Yu-rang’s perspective, it was unavoidable.
The exploit Gawol executed was simply too difficult.
“Maybe some of you tried this too, and I did it myself and recorded a video yesterday? It’s very hard. But it does work.”
The paused game footage transitioned with a clicking sound, bringing up his personal footage.
There are two types of assassin decoys.
The first type is a solid decoy, which counts as a summon.
The second type is a non-material decoy — a pure illusion, untouched by physical interactions.
When engaging this type of decoy, your weapon passes through without resistance, and if misjudged, it even penetrates objects.
Naturally, the real body can also move overlapping with the decoy.
Typically, there’s little reason to do so.
“Let’s watch this together? It’s a little embarrassing, but it’ll be funny.”
Yu-rang played his video beside the match footage.
On the left screen, Gawol burst from the smoke. By this point, her body was already moving in sync with the decoy.
Launching off shadows and using fir trees for aerial maneuvering showcased her tactics.
Yu-rang paused the video to explain.
“The trajectory was quite meticulous here. Notice how she never stepped on the ground? That’s to prevent leaving footprints.”
– Shit…
– Are you insane?
– I thought you couldn’t use shadows properly…
– Can you really make such a judgment in such a tense situation?
“Of course. No pro fails at this. Checking for footprints when an assassin uses a decoy is fundamental.”
“Contributor ‘GajigaNaMuTgaJiNa’ donated 10,000 won.”
“You couldn’t do it yourself.”
– So, you’re not a pro anymore, huh? Haha.
– Oh haha.
– Haha.
– Stick to your words…
“Damn it. I did! I checked the footprints, but I was just too slow! Anyone who says I’m not a pro will be banned for a week.”
He whispered while handing out bans to those attacking his sore spots.
After a brief storm, the video proceeded.
The moment the decoy and main body split was when passing under the fir tree.
As soon as the shadow move without visual effects was activated, a Death Knight skewered Gawol’s decoy.
Surrounded by a thick black aura, no effects from the assassin’s skills were visible.
Misjudgment was inevitable.
Because he believed he had thoroughly confirmed everything, he couldn’t hold any doubts.
A play made possible because he believed the opponent wouldn’t gamble but would make the same judgment as him.
If Crow’s strategy showcased the potential of necromancers, Gawol’s game illustrated the deceptiveness assassins could employ.
The final third game had little noteworthy.
Against Gawol’s assassin, a simple dodge or repel wouldn’t work — a fact proven countless times by previous players.
“To sum up the first day of the semifinals, that’s all there is. It’s not much when I think about it. Let’s skip straight to the second day’s game.”
The page flipped.
The broadcast screen filled with summarized data after the game’s conclusion.
[Infinity Arena Semi Final Results]
[Day 1] Gawol 3:0
[Day 2] AT Kelberos 3:1
The light of glory faded.
