Chapter 162

Wave began moving without a trace of hesitation.

There was nothing good about dragging things out when their positions had been switched.

It would be trouble if Seo-jun’s skill came back around one more time, and the same would be true if the enemy jungler came.

Conversely, if Wave’s team’s jungler came to help, the tide of battle could reverse, but.

“They must be far away?”

Seo-jun noticed and said.

“Yeah. It seems like it would be tough for our team’s jungler to come. I guess Seo-jun-nim’s jungler is the same?”

“Not really.”

“Then what?”

The distance closed rapidly. When Wave tried to turn and leave, Seo-jun followed right behind him.

Seo-jun’s goal wasn’t to stop Wave from restoring his position, but to attack Wave as much as possible while he was positioning himself to gain an advantage.

“I don’t need the jungler.”

In other words, he wouldn’t let him go quietly.

“Well then… Ah!”

Wave seemed to have thought of something good as he turned toward where the minions were. And he swung his kama in a wide arc.

The minions hit by the kama displayed marks.

Seo-jun, who had approached close behind, quickly took in his surroundings with his eyes.

He could guess what Wave was trying to do.

As Seo-jun expected, Wave used his skill toward the minions.

[Mark Tracking]

Wave’s world turned upside down.

Wave thought his position would be identified quickly.

Since he just had to find which minion had lost its mark.

In that brief moment, figuring out which minions had gained marks and which of those had disappeared shouldn’t be that difficult.

He still thought escaping would at least be possible.

‘There he is.’

For Seo-jun, it really wasn’t that difficult.

Seo-jun thrust his arm into the seemingly empty air.

Thud.

“This is too much!”

Wave was in an invisible state after using his skill.

1 second.

It was definitely not a short time. Wave thought he would smoothly get through by using up this skill.

The skill’s cooldown was a bit long, but this much was worth enduring.

But Seo-jun instantly figured out which minion’s mark had disappeared and thrust his arm toward the air where nothing was visible. Without a moment’s hesitation.

Still, their positions had switched again.

‘Is his combat vision different?’

At this level, he’d gotten off cheap.

‘One skill used plus one basic attack, that’s fine…’

The brief trade was over and Wave pulled back for a moment.

Wave’s health had dropped to nearly half.

If he made even a small mistake, he’d be in mortal danger.

However, Wave didn’t go home.

“From now on, I really won’t get caught that easily, Seo-jun-nim. What’s next, deer?”

Seo-jun chuckled after hearing Wave’s muttering.

“When exactly.”

“You just did it with your eyes!”

Wave threw a tantrum while starting to spin his kama on the widest possible range connected by its string.

Seo-jun said while hitting minions.

“This isn’t my first time playing Zen? It is though?”

Wave saw this and thought Seo-jun was copying him.

“Are you reading my mind now too?”

“No. I said that to the chat. I’m sure that kind of talk came up.”

He was right on target.

-LOL

-That bastard even does mind reading now lmao

-There really was that chat lol

-You guys who chatted asking if it was really his first time, you’re not the streamer’s spies, right?

“Now. It’s time again.”

Seo-jun used his skill again.

The shadow beneath his feet covered his body.

[Shadow Arts]

“What is it this time?”

“A clone.”

“I don’t believe you.”

Wave backed away.

* * *

[Player Seo-jun making good trades against a counter pick from the start!]

The observer had captured mid when Arin spoke.

Navigator continued with the explanation.

[This worked out coincidentally well. It’s thanks to player Wave deeply believing the clone was the real body.]

[Was it because he did the tutorial at the beginning? Or some other factor?]

[I think anyone in that situation would have thought it was the real body. Think about it, didn’t player Goblin get caught in a similar kind of way?]

[When?]

[The parachute drop.]

[Ah.]

The context was similar.

It wasn’t planned, but somehow the opponent misunderstood or perceived something in Seo-jun’s favor and rushed in, then Seo-jun claimed victory.

Everyone knew this was possible because skill backed it up.

-When he talked about the tutorial, I really thought he was insane LOL

-In the end, he really did it lol

-Really consistent as a pine tree, this guy

[The fact that both were unintentional seems to make player Seo-jun truly charming.]

That was the end of the casual talk.

It was time for proper commentary.

Penguin started first.

[Caster Arin-nim. Do you happen to know why it became standard for Zen’s real body to approach first when trading?]

[Isn’t it because of the additional damage?]

[That could be part of it. But in most cases, it’s for one reason.]

[What is it!]

-LOL it’s a really simple reason

-If you hear it, it’s too obvious

-Arin knows it too, viewers

[Simply because it’s easier!]

[Ah! To learn such profound and deep reasons behind users’ behavior!]

Arin couldn’t act.

She sounded like reading a textbook.

[Yes, the clone’s difficulty is too high. Specifically, using the clone like your own body is hard. Of course, this is natural. Both formless mana and a new body are sensations we don’t normally use and can’t use! So would it be easy to handle that like your usual body?]

[Definitely not.]

[So they send the real body instead of the clone. The game company also designed it with this in mind. Plus, just using clones would allow for no-risk trading, wouldn’t it?]

[What do you mean by that?]

[Just using only clones to trade every time Shadow Arts comes up would make it possible to take no damage at all. Of course, you’d be left without skills afterward and get hit by ranged heroes.]

[Either way, when using skills, you can fight with clones without taking any damage. Is that what you mean?]

[Yes, exactly. That’s why the game company doesn’t give more power to clones.]

[I see.]

The real body’s additional damage and the clone’s difficulty.

These two reasons combined to establish Zen’s trading pattern of going in with the real body then switching with the clone.

[Tali is a counter hero who can easily catch Zen when he tries to hit and run like that. But there might be cases where Zen uses clones well too, right? Like in the fight just now.]

[Then Zen could just keep sending out only clones! Give up a little additional damage! Has Tali been neutralized like this?]

[Haha, no. If a shadow approaches, you just don’t fight it. Just like Tali becomes invisible after using skills, Zen also gets movement speed buffs after using skills, but Tali’s range is quite long. Not as much as ranged heroes though. So the counter relationship still holds. Just like Wave-nim is holding out well right now.]

Seo-jun sent his next shadow and Wave smoothly backed away from the already widened distance.

Seo-jun’s shadow, having lost its target, awkwardly hit minions instead.

The screen switched.

And the commentators quickly talked about appropriate topics.

Then the camera returned to mid again.

[But if laning ends peacefully like this and we move to teamfights, how does the dynamic change?]

Arin tossed out content that viewers would be curious about as the situation flowed peacefully.

[In that case too, Tali has the advantage.]

This time Navigator caught it.

[Why is that?]

[Even including his ultimate, Zen can change positions three times. Of course, this can be enhanced with runes, but Tali can do the same. And Tali currently has three times. As long as there are marks, she can go anywhere.]

It’s more about design differences than performance differences.

But when those mesh together, matchups emerge.

[Zen specializes in cutting down one person and getting out. Truly assassin-like. Then what about Tali? Similarly an assassin, but slightly different. Tali specializes in tearing through enemies.]

[In large-scale battles, teamfights, Tali can have much greater impact.]

[Just looking at hero skill sets, yes. Plus Tali’s cutting ability isn’t lacking either.]

[Then why use Zen at all?]

[Because shadows are cool.]

[……]

-That’s actually important though lol

-Kael and this guy too, one-tricks don’t just appear for no reason lmao

[I’m joking. Zen is more stable than Tali. If Tali is a hero who goes in and in and in again, Zen can hit a bit then fall back. Even while falling back, he can attack with clones. They each have pros and cons. It’s not strange that Tali has higher destructive power since she carries more risk.]

[Ah, I see. Huh? But what is player Seo-jun doing now?]

The commentators focused on the screen at Arin’s words and soon realized what she meant, letting out thoughtful sounds.

[Hmm… Is he trying to attempt that?]

[If it’s possible, his teammate would be copied…]

[Wave-nim doesn’t seem to notice right now.]

Seo-jun was sending his clone forward while attacking minions with his real body.

As if practicing.

And you could see him stumbling slightly, which was somewhat apparent.

[What is he doing?]

[There was one thing everyone looked forward to when the new hero Zen came out.]

[What was that?]

[Moving two bodies at the same time to fight.]

[Ah…]

[Every time new rookies challenged this play, they all gave up and just focused on one body at a time.]

-LOL totally like a rookie!

-Thinking of trusting that and playing Zen, it’s the perfect rookie mentality. But then again, he’s the crazy guy doing tutorials openly in tournaments lol

-That thing is impossible unless there’s nothing happening, even if you can multitask, doing it in combat? Impossible

[Is it completely impossible? Even for Zen experts?]

[Caster-nim. Please raise both hands.]

[Yes, I did.]

[Please draw a triangle with your left hand and a square with your right hand. At the same time.]

Arin followed without complaint.

And.

-LOL

-Why are they moving together from the start LMAO

-At least try to make them different!

-You know? Even rock-paper-scissors with Zen’s clone is hard. The first time is easy, but if you keep doing it, they just throw the same thing lol

[Everyone, I tried! Really!]

[It’s hard even for that, and you want to move two bodies?]

[Yes, I’m convinced. Then is player Seo-jun…]

[But still…]

[Still what?]

[Experts sometimes show us…]

Navigator swallowed his words.

It was because of his belief that if it was just possible, Seo-jun would probably show it.

But.

-No, even experts just get lucky for a brief moment

-So have you seen Kael experts’ hit weak points?

-That existed…

-Even so, does that bastard have two brains? Huh?

* * *

[The enemy jungler seems to be heading mid. From the jungle guide advanced edition, the position of a jungler who ganked once at the current time is…]

Alpaca’s team voice.

Though his explanation was long, what he wanted to say was one thing.

[Should we counter-gank?]

Counter-ganking means striking back at the enemy’s gank.

Currently their level was 4.

It was early game before learning ultimates.

It wasn’t strange for ganks to come, but.

‘Didn’t he says we’d fight fair and square?’

Seo-jun was disappointed that he was calling the jungler.

Of course, it was unfair to Wave, who had never said he’d fight fair and square.

[It’s fine. Let me try it alone once.]

[Yes.]

‘It’s still a bit awkward, but.’

Seo-jun muttered quietly.

Wave couldn’t hear it, but viewers could.

“You guys told me not to? I don’t want to though?”

Actually, Seo-jun had tried moving both bodies simultaneously several times, but he’d hesitated briefly each time, so viewers kept chatting for him to give up.

Even though it wasn’t a combat situation and he was just practicing after sending his clone, wasn’t it difficult?

Seo-jun had expected this kind of content would come up in chat and so he said this.

“I was just being careful while learning the sensation.”

-No, streamer, why do you keep trying to chat with the non existent chat window lmao

-A streamer who’s been streaming for less than a year knows Travel too well

-Are we the consistent ones?

-From what I can see, he’s just going to give up on two bodies and try to win with pure physicality

-Real. Highly developed bodies are indistinguishable from magic

-When your body is bad, your head suffers lol

But even Seo-jun couldn’t know these random comments from viewers.

‘Now he’s coming.’

Wave, who had been retreating far back continuously, disappeared in the blink of an eye.

The reason Wave had been backing away was to draw Seo-jun as far forward as possible, and naturally Seo-jun knew his intention but went along with it.

That’s why the marks on his team’s minions in front of him had disappeared.

[Mark Tracking]

Wave reached in front of Seo-jun in an invisible state.

And at the same time.

Seo-jun’s shadow was also climbing up his body.