A man sits with a longsword longer than his body strapped to his back.
He has black hair, black eyes, a black hat, and black clothes.
He radiates a strange vibe, being entirely in black except for the bare skin exposed.
On the surface, he looked like a crow feasting on corpses in a graveyard, yet the outfit suited him quite well.
It would elicit subtle admiration from anyone who witnessed him.
In a world full of various colors, the all-black man seemed to be living in a monochrome universe all by himself.
Not long after he took a drag from a cigarette, he rose from his spot and swung the longsword.
A slow yet deliberate sword strike followed.
Though it seemed somewhat pointless, swinging the longsword toward empty space, he effortlessly deflected a ghostly flying attack.
It was as if he had predicted the path of the assault.
A punch that sliced through the air was nullified with that simple motion.
The man who threw the punch, realizing his failure, bit his lip in frustration and pulled back his fist.
The well-trained body of a martial artist, rebounding with its characteristic elasticity, swiftly retreated.
And thus, they were back to square one.
Neither gaining nor losing anything.
The gravekeeper with the longsword and the martial artist glared at each other, subtly widening their distance. They were perfectly aware of each other as enemies.
That tense atmosphere was instantly shattered by the words of the martial artist.
“This is seriously suffocating. It feels like I’m fighting a wall. Is this really okay?”
In response, the gravekeeper put down his longsword and spoke up.
“You’re doing well enough right now. If you keep this up for the tournament, you should be fine.”
His clear and pure voice flowed out, contrasting with his dark appearance and solemn demeanor.
Currently, the Kayak team was in the midst of personal practice. With the tournament just around the corner, Han Kang was training against the opposing team’s main pick, Yu Hye’s Lennok.
The simulation practice opponent was Kayak.
[Wow, Lennok’s skin isn’t even on sale anymore.]
[All-black vibe, that’s intimidating.]
[I feel like I’m going to ascend.]
[Finally showcasing Lennok.]
[Wait, Lennok is pretty good. This person;;]
[Seriously, why go with something like Camilla?? Just pick Lennok or other tier-one champs and you’d easily rank up, right?]
[But Lennok looks like a parasitic brother…]
[Camilla has to show the MVP motion, lol]
[For real, just thinking about how a poopy guy like Lennok is going to get an MVP motion gives me a headache already]
[Anyway, once Camilla gets some games under her belt, she’ll hit the challenger tier. It’s just because she’s been preparing for the tournament and broadcasting that she hasn’t played many games yet]
[Ah, lol, does Kayak’s Camilla look like Joso to you?]
[With her fundamentals, she can do well no matter what]
Can Kayak really fulfill Yu Hye’s role and serve as a practice opponent?
People were initially skeptical. After all, Kayak was originally known as a master of Camilla.
What kind of folks are these so-called masters? They usually only specialize in one hero and can barely play one more hero, limited to a narrow champion pool.
Yet, the current appearance of Kayak was shattering such common wisdom without a hint of hesitation.
“You’re really overpraising me. I couldn’t even land a hit on Teacher.”
“But you were sharp. I’m also just barely holding on by a paper-thin margin here… At this rate, I won’t be able to keep blocking forever, you know?”
It was truly an iron wall.
Kayak’s Lennok, who practiced defensive swordplay, was in no way inferior to Yu Hye’s Grand Master Lennok. At least, that’s how it appeared to the viewers.
Maybe it was because it was a 1v1 practice with Han Kang, but in some respects, it even looked like he was performing better.
“Holding onto Yu Hye’s ankles is beneficial too.”
“That is true.”
The opponent for the finals is Yu Hye’s team, and the tier of their captain, Yu Hye, is Grand Master. That’s two levels higher than the Diamond-ranked Han Kang.
Winning against someone with such a huge tier difference seems absurd. Han Kang didn’t expect that much.
He just hoped he could hold out a little more if he ever ended up facing Yu Hye.
And this training with Kayak was meant for that purpose.
“Nixon is a better matchup for this. Just hitting and running is tough enough.”
“Hitting and running, and if a chance comes, a lucky punch… right?”
“Yeah, against a high-skilled player like Yu Hye, no special tech will work. Lucky punches probably won’t come together either.”
Even while talking, the two continued to exchange blows. Of course, Kayak’s Lennok still didn’t easily give away openings.
“Bang-!” Nixon’s punch once again hit Kayak’s sturdy sword. Han Kang muttered in despair.
“Teacher really seems to only care about Camilla, but all the heroes are doing great too.”
“Camilla can wield a longsword, and above all, she’s been doing this for a long time.”
Kayak swung the longsword and added a comment.
“Don’t be too hasty. Han Kang is actually one of my best students.”
“Am I included in the student line now?”
“Yes, Han Kang is the third student.”
Hearing that, Han Kang laughed, sounding pretty intrigued.
“I’m third… so Riri is first? Who’s the second?”
“Riri is the second student. And the first student is…”
Kayak muttered in a meaningful tone.
“I think we might meet them soon.”
*
“Let’s take Camilla.”
A man’s calm, deep voice echoed in the Discord channel.
As expected, since he held the actual power in the team, he immediately got to the point, and no one could refute or question him.
And why would they? Right now, this team, with Yu Hye as the captain and leader, was essentially her brainchild.
Even when teased by cheeky viewers in the chat about being a one-man team, they had nothing to say in rebuttal.
To be blunt, it was Yu Hye and the kids. Even if they were called Yu Hye and her five losers, it would be hard to argue against it.
Because it was actually true. The team was fully orchestrated and commanded by Yu Hye. That was the main strategy and identity of Yu Hye’s team.
However, it wouldn’t be fair to criticize this strategy since, under Yu Hye’s leadership, the team consistently maintained their strong position as championship contenders.
Just look at the semifinals.
The final score was 2-0. And even that was an overwhelming match to the point where people said it felt like 2-0 was a joke.
First and foremost, they needed to win. Given the scale of the tournament, there would be a considerable amount of benefits for the winning team.
From prize money to the influx of viewers and the title of official tournament champions.
Even while being called low-tier or Yu Hye’s puppet, they had their reasons for keeping quiet.
Moreover, the team leader Yu Hye was an excellent commander, leaving no room for petty commentary.
“Let’s have Nicang pick Camilla.”
“Huh?”
But there were limits to how silent they could remain about this. Nicang was momentarily startled by her name being called and Yu Hye’s statement.
Surprised by the statement, I asked back.
“Wait, wait—I’m picking Camilla…?”
“But you said Nicang could handle Camilla to some extent. Didn’t you learn from Kayak?”
“Well, I did….”
I never thought I’d actually have to play her in a tournament. Nicang swallowed her trailing words.
Yu Hye, too, was far more eager for the team’s victory than Nicang. There had to be a reason for making such a proposal to her.
“Kayak’s Camilla is definitely a threat. In the semifinals, the first match was basically Camilla single-handedly carrying the team.”
Yu Hye continued her explanation.
“Taking a specialized weapon from a master is one of the deadliest moves possible.”
“Y-Yeah, but Kayak is incredible with other heroes too.”
“Still, not like with Camilla, right? It would be better to go against someone else than her.”
“Absolutely….”
Nicang briefly recalled the past.
Back in the days when she was grinding ranked games and encountered Kayak, she had been mercilessly wiped out by her Camilla more times than she could count.
In that game, Nicang had died and died again to the point where the black-and-white screen felt like an eternity compared to reality.
Recalling those memories made Nicang shiver.
“Right, yes. Camilla… Camilla must never be handed over!”
That nightmare from that day could never replay again. Nicang raised her voice with that thought in mind.
Yu Hye, who only knew that Nicang had once been mentored by Kayak on Camilla but did not know the details, found Nicang’s sudden enthusiasm puzzling but chose to overlook it, thinking, “Better safe than sorry.”
“Then, if the opportunity arises, we absolutely must secure her—either as the first pick or if the picking order allows. Nicang will play her, and for the rest of us—”
As Yu Hye continued her briefing, the other team members listened attentively.
Nicang, however, was lost in her own thoughts.
“I mean, we can win, right…?”
The overall strength of Yu Hye’s team should be stronger, and viewers were betting on their victory as a sure thing, yet.
For some reason, Nicang felt uncertain about victory.
Shaking her head slightly, she felt a faint sense of anxiety creeping in.
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