Chapter 162

CHAPTER 162

Wave started moving without a moment's hesitation.

There was nothing to gain by stalling now that Seo Jun had reversed their positions.

If Seo Jun’s skill came off cooldown again, things would get dangerous.

The same went for an enemy jungler showing up.

Of course, if Wave’s jungler came to help, the situation could be turned around.

“Looks like they’re far away?”

Seo Jun said, noticing something.

“Seems so. I don't think our jungler can come anytime soon. Looks like your jungler is in the same situation, Mr. Seo Jun?”

“Nope.”

“Then?”

The distance between them rapidly closed.

As Wave tried to retreat, Seo Jun followed.

Seo Jun’s goal wasn’t to stop Wave from returning to his original position.

He simply wanted to attack him as much as possible while Wave was repositioning.

“I don’t need a jungler.”

In other words, he had no intention of letting him leave peacefully.

“Come on... Ah!”

Wave suddenly seemed to think of something.

He changed direction toward the minion wave.

Then he swung his kama in a large arc.

Several minions were struck and gained marks.

Now close enough to attack, Seo Jun quickly scanned the surroundings.

He could already guess what Wave was planning.

Just as expected, Wave used a skill on a minion.

[Mark Pursuit]

The world flipped from Wave’s perspective.

Wave assumed Seo Jun would identify his position soon enough.

All he had to do was find the minion whose mark had disappeared.

Determining which minion had received a mark moments earlier and then identifying which one had lost it didn't seem impossible.

Still, he figured escaping should at least be possible.

There.

For Seo Jun, it truly wasn’t difficult.

Seo Jun thrust his arm into empty space.

Stab!

“This is ridiculous!”

Wave had become invisible after using the skill.

One second.

That wasn't a short duration at all.

Wave had expected to consume the skill and disengage safely.

The cooldown was somewhat long, but it was worth the trade.

Yet Seo Jun instantly identified which minion’s mark had vanished and stabbed straight into seemingly empty air.

Without a single moment of hesitation.

Even so, their positions had successfully changed.

Is his combat awareness just on a different level?

At this point, Wave considered himself lucky.

One skill and one basic attack... that's an acceptable price...

The brief trade ended.

Wave retreated for a moment.

His health had already fallen to nearly half.

One mistake and he could die.

Yet Wave didn’t recall.

“From now on, I’m not going to get caught so easily, Mr. Seo Jun. What’s next, reading minds?”

Hearing Wave muttering to himself, Seo Jun smirked.

“When exactly?”

“You literally just did it with your eyes!”

Wave stubbornly complained while spinning his kama with the cord extended as far as possible.

Meanwhile, Seo Jun calmly farmed minions.

“Wasn’t I supposed to be using Zen for the first time? Because I am.”

Wave assumed Seo Jun was mocking him.

“Now you're reading my thoughts too?”

“No. I was talking to the chat. I figured someone would've said that already.”

He was exactly right.

• LOLLLLLLLLLL
• This guy can read minds now too lol
• There actually WAS a chat message saying that lololol
• Whoever typed ‘there’s no way this is his first time’—you’re not a spy from his stream, right?

“Alright. Time again.”

Seo Jun activated the skill once more.

The shadow beneath his feet climbed up and enveloped his body.

[Shadow Secret Art]

“What is it this time?”

“A clone.”

“I don’t believe you.”

Wave immediately backed away.

Commentator Booth

[Seo Jun gets a favorable trade right from the start despite facing a counter pick!]

With the observer camera focused on mid lane, Arin spoke excitedly.

Bangju continued the explanation.

[Everything just happened to line up perfectly. Wave deeply believed the clone was the real body.]

[Was it because of the tutorial? Or was there another reason?]

[Honestly, I think anyone would've assumed it was the real one in that situation. Come to think of it, didn't Dokkaebi get fooled in a similar way before?]

[Huh? When?]

[The parachute incident.]

[Ah.]

The pattern was similar.

It wasn't planned.

But somehow, opponents always misunderstood or misread Seo Jun before charging in.

And somehow, Seo Jun ended up winning because of it.

Of course, nobody was ignorant enough to think this worked without the mechanical skill to back it up.

• During the tutorial part I genuinely thought he was insane lol
• Turns out it was all real lol
• This guy is unbelievably consistent

[The fact that neither side intended it honestly makes Seo Jun even more charming.]

The casual chatter ended there.

Now came the real analysis.

Pengwon started first.

[Arin, do you know why it became standard for Zen’s main body to initiate trades first?]

[Because of the bonus damage?]

[Well, that's part of it. But in most cases, there's one simple reason.]

[What is it?!]

• lolololol it's such a simple reason
• When you hear it you'll realize immediately
• Arin definitely knows already, chat

[Because it's easier!]

[Ah! I've finally learned the profound and deep reason behind player behavior!]

Arin’s acting was terrible.

She sounded like she was reading from a textbook.

[Exactly. Clone control is just too difficult. More specifically, controlling a clone like it's your own body is difficult. Which is obvious when you think about it. Intangible mana, an entirely new body—these are sensations humans never normally use or even possess. Would it really be easy to control that as naturally as your own body?]

[Definitely not.]

[Which is why players send the main body instead. The developers designed Zen with that in mind. Also, imagine if clones were too practical.]

[What do you mean by that?]

[If players could simply trade using the clone every time Shadow Secret Art was available, they could fight with virtually no risk. Sure, they'd lose the skill afterward and become vulnerable to ranged heroes, but still.]

[So you're saying that whenever the skill is active, players could fight without taking any damage?]

[Exactly. That's why the developers intentionally didn't give the clone too much power.]

[I see.]

Two reasons shaped Zen’s standard trading pattern:

The bonus damage from the main body.

And the difficulty of controlling the clone.

Together, they created the established style of engaging with the main body and then swapping places with the clone afterward.

[Tali is a counter hero because she can easily punish Zen’s annoying hit-and-run style. However, there are players who use the clone exceptionally well.]

[Like the fight we just saw.]

[Then Zen can just keep sending out clones, right? Even if he gives up a little bonus damage! Does that mean Tali's counter matchup gets nullified?]

[Haha, not quite. If the shadow approaches, you can simply choose not to fight it. Just as Tali enters stealth after using her skill, Zen also gains a movement speed boost after activating his skill. However, Tali's attack range is fairly long. Not as long as a ranged hero's, of course, but she's still a counter. Just like how Wave is holding up well right now.]

Seo Jun sent out another shadow.

Wave calmly backed away from the already widened distance.

With nowhere to go, Seo Jun's shadow could only helplessly hit minions.

The screen switched to another lane.

The commentators naturally followed with discussion about that situation.

Then the camera returned to mid.

[By the way, if this lane phase ends peacefully and we move into team fights, how does the matchup change?]

As the game settled into a relatively stable state, Arin tossed out a question viewers would likely be curious about.

[The answer is still the same. Tali has the advantage.]

This time, Bangju responded.

[Why is that?]

[Even including his ultimate, Zen can only swap positions three times. Of course, runes can improve that, but the same applies to Tali. Meanwhile, Tali already has three teleports available right now. And as long as marks exist, she can use them from virtually anywhere.]

The difference wasn't simply power.

It was a difference in design philosophy.

And when those designs interacted, favorable matchups naturally emerged.

[Zen specializes in eliminating a single target and escaping. A true assassin. But what about Tali? She's also an assassin, but she's different. Tali specializes in tearing through enemy formations.]

[So in large-scale engagements, team fights specifically, Tali can exert much greater influence.]

[If we're only looking at the heroes' skill sets, yes. And it's not as though Tali lacks assassination capability either.]

[Then why would anyone use Zen?]

[Because shadows are cool.]

[......]

• That's actually a pretty important reason lol
• Same thing happened with Kael. Fanatics don't appear for no reason lololol

[I'm joking. Zen is more stable than Tali. Tali dives in, then dives in again, and then dives in yet again. Zen can attack and retreat. Even after retreating, he can continue attacking through his clone. They each have strengths and weaknesses. Tali carries more risk, so naturally she possesses greater destructive potential. There's nothing strange about that.]

[Ah, I see. Huh? But what is Seo Jun doing right now?]

The commentators focused on the screen.

Moments later, they realized what he was attempting and let out low groans.

[Hmm... Is he really trying that?]

[If he succeeds, his teammates would practically be duplicated...]

[It doesn't look like Wave has noticed yet.]

Seo Jun had sent his clone forward while his main body remained behind, attacking minions.

As if he were practicing.

There were occasional stutters.

Only slight ones, but noticeable.

[What exactly is he doing?]

[When Zen was first released, there was one style of play everyone dreamed about.]

[What was it?]

[Fighting while controlling two bodies simultaneously.]

[Ah...]

[Every new player tried it. Every single one eventually gave up and focused on controlling only one body at a time.]

• LOL Typical newbie behavior!
• Thinking about how he picked Zen because of that dream is adorable. Though he's still a lunatic doing tutorials during a tournament lololol
• Even if you can multitask in a peaceful situation, doing that in actual combat? Impossible.

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

[Caster Arin, please raise both hands.]

[Okay, done.]

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

Arin followed without complaint.

And then—

• LMAOOOO
• Why are they moving together from the start? lol
• At least TRY to make them different!
• You know what's funny? Even playing rock-paper-scissors against Zen's clone is hard. The first time is easy, but if you keep doing it, both hands just throw the same thing lololol

[Everyone! I was trying! No!]

[And that's difficult already. Now imagine controlling two separate bodies.]

[Okay, you've convinced me. Then Seo Jun is—]

[But even so...]

[Even so?]

[Sometimes the specialists pull off things that seem impossible...]

Bangju swallowed the rest of his sentence.

Because if anyone could demonstrate it, he felt it would probably be Seo Jun.

But—

• Even the specialists only do it when everything randomly lines up perfectly for a split second.
• Have you seen Kael mains hit Kael's weak points consistently?
• Oh right, that existed.
• But does this bastard have two brains or something?

Team Voice Chat

[The enemy jungler is probably heading mid. It was covered in Advanced Jungle Awareness, but given the timing and the route he used earlier...]

This was Alpaca speaking in team voice.

His explanation was unnecessarily long, but his point was simple.

[Want me to countergank?]

A countergank meant turning the enemy's gank against them.

Both mid laners were currently level four.

Neither had unlocked their ultimate yet.

An early gank wasn't unusual.

Didn't he say he wanted a fair fight?

Seo Jun was disappointed.

Of course, Wave had never actually claimed he wanted a fair fight, making Seo Jun's disappointment entirely unreasonable.

[It's fine. I'll handle it myself.]

[Got it.]

Still feels a little awkward.

Seo Jun muttered quietly.

Loud enough for the viewers to hear.

Not loud enough for Wave.

“You guys are telling me not to do it? Nope.”

He had actually attempted controlling both bodies several times.

Every attempt had resulted in brief moments of hesitation.

Which was why the chat had probably been spamming messages telling him to give up.

This wasn't even combat.

He was simply practicing while his clone farmed.

And it was already difficult.

Seo Jun had correctly predicted the contents of the chat.

That's why he answered.

“I was just carefully getting used to the sensation.”

• Why does the streamer keep trying to have conversations with chat he can't even see? lol
• Less than a year as a streamer and he already understands viewers too well
• Maybe we're the consistent ones?
• My guess is he'll eventually give up on the two-body thing and just rely on pure mechanics.
• A sufficiently advanced body is indistinguishable from magic.
• If your body can't do it, your brain suffers lol

Naturally, Seo Jun couldn't actually hear any of this nonsense.

Now they're coming.

Wave, who had been steadily retreating into the distance, vanished in the blink of an eye.

The reason Wave had kept backing away was to lure Seo Jun farther forward.

And naturally, Seo Jun had knowingly played along.

As a result, the allied minion in front of him had lost its mark.

[Mark Pursuit]

Wave arrived in front of Seo Jun while invisible.

And at that exact moment—

Seo Jun's shadow began climbing up his body.