Master Swordsman’s Stream - Chapter 163

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 163

-Ugh, just call Alpaca.
-An assassin going 2v1 like he’s a bruiser.
-What’s a bruiser?
-A tanky dude who deals solid damage. The reliable warrior types.

[Shadow Secret Art]

The skill activated instantly, shadow engulfing his body in an instant.
Temporarily, shadow and body, body and shadow became indistinguishable—whether by sight or by system—as the shadow shifted. A doppelgänger materialized at the spot where Seo Jun stood.
And at the same moment, Seo Jun read the warning signs and thrust his right arm forward.
Forward, to the side, inward.
Pado assumed his stance before using the skill, preparing to unleash a single blow.
It was subtle—most would miss it—but such habits were merely good hints for Seo Jun.
Yet those same habits could become traps in reverse.
Had it been Lee Dong-su, he would surely have exploited that very habit the opponent was trying to bait him with.
But Pado?
‘Did he really try to bait me?’
In the brief moment his body moved, Seo Jun posed the question to himself.
He considered Pado’s skill level and combat sense.
Yet a gambit cannot materialize without preparation, so this was not something that could happen on the fly.
He needed to examine his preparedness more than his combat instinct.
And if it were Pado…
‘He said he’d give it his all, didn’t he? This feels like a trap.’
But.
If it was indeed a trap, he could predict where the next attack would come—but Seo Jun’s arm was already moving.
If it wasn’t a trap, then toward where the strike would land.
Yet Seo Jun felt neither panic nor regret.
This wasn’t spilled water.
Bang!
Because he had another body.
His invisibility breaks.
As predicted, Pado’s Kama was revealed, and its position proved it had been a trap.
But at the end of that Kama was an Assassination Dagger.
Not Seo Jun’s Assassination Dagger, but his doppelgänger’s.
‘Block both, that’s all.’
Seo Jun kept his body in the state he’d been spinning the Kama, meeting Pado’s gaze directly as his form was revealed.
In Pado’s eyes, which now bore the look of resignation as his prepared gambit was blocked, Seo Jun immediately read the determination to continue—conveyed through the next action of wielding his Kama.
And at that same instant, something emerged from behind Pado.
Seo Jun, still facing forward, smiled.
Whether it would work or not, he had no idea.
‘Might as well try.’
As Seo Jun exhaled a deep breath, his body split into two, each moving separately.

* * *

People can use two arms at once. They play instruments, type on keyboards, perform vigorous movements.
The same goes for legs.
Walking, running, kicking, swimming.
There may be differences in skill, but with practice, people eventually do these things naturally.
Yet for a newborn, even simple movement is difficult.
This came from countless practices during growth, the result of acquired familiarity.
So the Zen users thought: ‘If we become accustomed to it, wouldn’t using two bodies become natural as well?’
But this ran into a fundamental limit.
Vision exists in only one body.
Consciousness and sensation are the same.
Moreover, operating even one body is extraordinarily complex.
And if one had four arms or four legs on one body, all those given resources could be fully utilized.
But two bodies meant two battlefields.
Even if operating two bodies simultaneously became natural, the human brain isn’t well-suited to multitasking—actual combat becomes a struggle.
The position of the opponent and yourself. The position of the opponent and your doppelgänger. The position of your doppelgänger and yourself.
And the attacks.
In fighting a single enemy, the number of things to think about doubled, tripled, quadrupled.
Even pushing through those two difficulties brought no enormous advantage.
Far better to position the doppelgänger behind as a fallback, securing safety and escape routes.
Of course, against two opponents, there would be merit.
But wouldn’t that be even more impossible?
Then you’d truly have two battlefields.
And so 1898, a C-grade Jungler relegated to the mental team on 5 points, let out a scoff when the shadow first separated and approached him.
Quite a loud one, too.
“How is it?”
So perhaps for that reason, the shadow before him—the one who blocked his attack—spoke.
Gulp.
1898’s throat convulsed. He swallowed hard.
It wasn’t that he was overwhelmed by momentum. What momentum does a shadow have?
It was just.
‘This is the real one, right? The doppelgänger can talk too, though…’
He wasn’t sure.
1898 considered using a Skill.
If it was a doppelgänger, there’d be no need to use a Skill. It would disappear with time.
In a favorable 2v1 situation, there was no reason to waste a Skill on a doppelgänger.
Above all, if the current hero and its Skill had been prepared with Zen in mind for this specific scenario.
So if he could confirm that the shadow before him was Seo Jun, he’d try to use the Skill—but he still wasn’t sure.
“Stay back!”
He aimed a bow, Mana flowing through it like through a bow’s limb, and fired an Arrow.
Night Hunter Pier.
A ranged Jungler hero wielding a bow and arrows through which Mana flows.
Whoosh!
A smooth arrow of pure white Mana shoots through the air.
And.
The shadow batted it away with the Assassination Dagger.
Second time.
Whoosh!
The third arrow is also blocked.
Gradually, the distance between shadow and 1898 closes.
‘No matter how I look at it, that’s the main body!’
A glance at Pado showed he was elsewhere with another shadow, and anticipating Seo Jun to switch positions, he hadn’t moved here.
Outwardly it seemed they were fighting, but would the doppelgänger die soon?
If so!
‘I need to time this while he’s still close to me.’
He activated the Skill and released his fingers.
‘Though I could’ve sworn I made eye contact with that other shadow… must’ve been my imagination.’

[Terror Time]

The moment the arrow leaves the bowstring, it splits into five and flies outward.
Those hit by this arrow become magically linked with the caster, Pier, through the arrow embedded in their body.
If the chain breaks due to distance increasing in this state, the target falls into a Fear Status.
But if they maintain close distance, Pier’s arrows fire in sets of five, like when using the Skill.
So with proper timing, it’s an excellent Skill for pinning down Zen.
If he runs, guaranteed Fear Status.
Not quite a hard counter, but it would be a lie to say he hadn’t aimed for Zen.
Like a cast net, one of the five arrows lodges in the shadow’s thigh.
With distance so close, avoiding or blocking all five would have been impossible.
If he’d switched positions with the doppelgänger just then, he could’ve evaded—but the shadow approaching Pier had never once turned around, never glanced back at where Pado and his doppelgänger were.
‘So I can’t carelessly switch bodies without knowing the situation behind me…’
Wait.
What’s happening?
His hands, which had been loading the next arrow with a triumphant smile, paused briefly.
And.
The shadow drove a blade through his body.
‘If that was the main body and this one was the doppelgänger, the doppelgänger would’ve been destroyed already and the Skill would’ve ended…’
The shadow before his eyes now, moving smoothly to slash his throat, had never once looked back.
There was no way Pado could’ve failed to eliminate a helpless doppelgänger struggling behind him.
So then.
The only possibility remaining.
He’d missed his Arrows.
‘That was the doppelgänger?’
He tried to check Pado’s situation immediately.
But.
Swish!
A horizontal slash from the doppelgänger he’d thought was the main body blocked his view.

* * *

“Focus on this side!”
The Kama dominated the space, lunging at Seo Jun like a pack of wolves ready to tear.
Sometimes hanging from chains, sometimes wielded by hand, it shifted ranges freely, moving in ways that defied defense.
But.
“Why do you keep glancing elsewhere!”
Those attacks crumbled easily before Seo Jun.
Even more easily than before.
Rather, the Assassination Dagger pressed toward Pado’s legs and torso.
And Seo Jun’s—or rather, the shadow’s—gaze wasn’t wholly fixed on Pado.
Instead, it lingered more behind him.
Pado found this extremely irritating.
Yet he couldn’t afford to check behind him either.
Stab.
One moment of carelessness and he’d be struck like this.
He could guess what the opponent was doing.
But no matter how much his mind accepted it, some things still defied comprehension.
‘Is he really fighting the Jungler with his doppelgänger at the same time?’
It made no sense.
It was absurd. When the shadow was first sent out, he’d wondered what it was, but Seo Jun had attacked first and he hadn’t given it further thought.
But the Jungler hasn’t come.
Then there was only one explanation.
It couldn’t be that Dokkaebi suddenly got hungry and abandoned the Gank, of all things.
The shadow that went first.
In other words, Seo Jun’s doppelgänger was holding the Jungler down.
And yet he’d still allowed Seo Jun to attack?
“You’re more impatient than before.”
The shadow’s mouth opens.
That this is the real body and what moved behind is the doppelgänger is certain.
He can’t see the situation behind, but the gaze keeps shifting.
Clang!
Their weapons collide.
Clang!
Pado swings the opposite Kama, but blocked again because the opponent wields two weapons as well.
And the opponent’s gaze still wasn’t on him.
Beyond. Behind.
While Pado scrambled to glance around, Seo Jun calmly held his gaze on the other battlefield.
Or rather, it seemed to encompass the whole picture at once.
This felt wrong. Very wrong. As if the difference in skill between them was laid bare.
He hadn’t expected the gap to be this wide.
Even accepting he was inferior, this was another matter entirely.
Gritting his teeth, Pado, fighting to reverse the situation, used a Skill on the nearby Minion that his Kama had struck.
‘If I go invisible, he’ll focus on me.’

[Mark Tracking]

And in that instant.
The shadow flickered.
Seo Jun had swapped positions.
‘Is the Jungler in mortal danger?’
He spun around in panic. In that brief moment of switched shadows, he’d caught sight of Pier’s Arrow on the leg, so he wasn’t worried.
‘The Skill will fade soon.’
By then, he’d be in the Fear Status.
More importantly, his Ultimate was almost ready. They’d started fighting not long after hitting Level 5.
Once Pado reached Level 6, everything could turn around.
Seo Jun’s Ultimate would be to summon another doppelgänger, but the one that mattered most was different.
Using the opponent’s shadow instead of his own, his Ultimate silently summoned his doppelgänger behind the opponent.
Yes.
Just like this.
The moment Pado’s gaze reached where the Jungler was, he felt a blade touch his back.
Slash.
His Health Bar dropped.
“How?”
As Pado turned around again, the Jungler before him cried out.
“You switched and killed a Minion right away!”
Was one Minion all he needed for Level 6?
So he’d switched positions to aim for exactly that, then immediately cast his Ultimate.
Boom!
At the same time, Seo Jun’s existing shadow’s duration expired and vanished, and the Mark on Pado erupted, dealing damage.
With his Level barely above 6, Pado’s Health Bar was nearly depleted.
“Now face my doppelgänger. This is Phase 2.”
He was now matched against Seo Jun’s doppelgänger.
“Phase 2? How many phases are there?”
Pado’s voice trembled slightly as he spoke with a wry smile.
He couldn’t confirm it, but if Seo Jun controlled his doppelgänger as skillfully as his main body.
This was a crisis for Pado.

-Phase 2 lol
-So right now that’s the doppelgänger? The main body was over there fighting until now??? At the same time???
-What’s even happening here lol. Check Seo Jun’s channel if anything shows up
-Even checking that channel doesn’t show much lol just watch the broadcast
-Losing to a doppelgänger would be shameful Pado fighting!
-What if he actually gets crushed?
-He’s getting crushed—Ultimate incoming!

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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