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Sigma allowed Dune Sentinels to land a decisive blow, resulting in a loss. However, that match was part of the group stage; a single defeat didn’t mean the end of their run in the Prelude.
Surviving the group stage doesn’t require finishing first. Sigma managed to dominate the remaining two teams in Group D, securing second place and advancing to the Round of 16.
Though they failed to beat Hashashin in the second round of group play, Sigma had clearly improved in both skill and assassin counterplay. Still, they hadn't reached a level where they could topple top-tier players.
A bitter yet inevitable result; for now, they had to be content with having shown meaningful resistance.
"By the way, he uses that sword technique quite interestingly."
All the weapons I’ve used are straight-blade types. I can’t replicate Hashashin’s moves exactly, but there seemed to be a few motions I could adopt with minor adjustments.
Martial arts often share common ground. Watching and experiencing it firsthand can be beneficial. The simple act of sparking new ideas can be a big win.
In any case, there have been times when Korea was entirely eliminated in the group stage of international competitions. Sigma advancing to the Round of 16 meant avoiding the worst outcome. Even amidst harsh storms, they were still moving forward.
I’d watched all the must-see matches, out of loyalty or fan interest. Now it was time for me to handle my own work – naturally, my work was none other than the game.
Great. Let’s log in and start the stream.
[Title: Going All the Way to Rank 1 Again Today]
[User 'Ga-wol' is streaming.]
[ON AIR | 00:00:02 | Zephyrion Continent]
Infinity Black is a game with substantial global attention.
Being skilled in a popular game has its own appeal. In today’s world, public interest generates revenue and creates a market. Consequently, reaching the top rank in the game serves as a stepping stone to becoming an Infinity pro trainee or a high-caliber streamer.
Most players who reached Infinity rank at least dabbled with pro training or started their own streams. By this level, it’s no surprise to encounter streamers as opponents.
[Rank Match – Infinity 1938 RP]
[Arena: The Great Forest of Fairywood]
[Rules: Duel]
[Opponent: Soulful Lies (Cardmaster)]
In other words, it wasn’t the “streamer factor” that would catch me off guard. I checked my opponent's class and frowned.
“Cardmaster? You can run a rank game in this tier with that class?”
“No… I didn’t mean it negatively. I’m just surprised Soulful Lies got this far as a Cardmaster. Weren’t they in Top Abyss recently?”
Classes in Infinity Black are incredibly diverse.
There are foundational classes like assassins, mages, archers, and warriors. From there, players can specialize or mix skills, creating derived classes. Including the rarely used fringe classes, there’s quite an array.
Cardmaster is among the rarest of these fringe classes. Excluding Soulful Lies, there were virtually no “master” players left for this class. Frankly, it was infamous as a trash class.
Some old online games had classes with evasion skills that reduced the user’s health instead of avoiding damage. Cardmaster is similar – it’s a mage class forced into close combat, lacking shields or damage-reduction mechanisms. Despite being categorized as a ranged-magic subclass, it had poor survivability and stats.
Of course, there were some advantages: as a mage derivative, it had significant firepower against single targets. It also compensated for its weaknesses with the luck-based “cards” mechanic.
[You will enter the arena in 3 seconds.]
“Well, this should at least be interesting.”
Hopefully, luck will be on my opponent's side. Lately, my stream hasn’t had any particularly stimulating guests.
The Great Forest of Fairywood generally favors mages over assassins.
With mana constantly regenerating, players can freely spam skills. Soulful Lies, the Cardmaster, was fully exploiting this advantage.
A tarot card hovered in the air, then vanished in a flash of golden flame, replaced by a grotesque eye scanning the area.
[Active: Eye of Fate]
[Inflicts damage on the targeted area, illuminating it for 1.5 seconds. Has a 50% chance of drawing a card if it hits an enemy.]
They were checking the blind spots, a basic precaution against assassins. Naturally, Cardmaster was on high alert.
Not that I’d have chosen an assassin if I thought I’d fail.
With enough skill, the advantage of an assassin is making the opponent helpless despite them knowing you’re coming. Sure, Cardmaster has a high potential ceiling if luck is on their side, but assassins aren’t a class to scoff at in that regard either. And I don’t rely on luck.
[Passive: Stillness]
[Reduces noise from all actions by 65%.]
The place where people let their guard down the most is somewhere they’ve “already checked.”
Eye of Fate is excellent for securing vision, but it also exposes their line of sight. Repeated use of this skill essentially hands me a map of their vision.
Mages must be cautious of an assassin’s ambush. My opponent was so absorbed in this simple truth that they missed the bigger picture.
There was no need for stealth. I threw a small dagger in the area just swept by Eye of Fate, waiting for the moment their “gaze” shifted away.
There was no need to circle all the way behind them. They’d feel safer in the area they just checked, rather than the unknown behind them. Adjusting my mic settings to avoid being heard, I spoke in a low voice.
“Did you know? The average human visual field is about 180 degrees horizontally and 120 degrees vertically. Knowing this makes it easier to make decisions when you have the initiative.”
The chatroom buzzed with comments. Regretfully, I didn’t have time to read them individually. The moment was ripe, and I had to move.
Moving at max speed, I closed in on the Cardmaster from above. I successfully struck their neck as I dropped down, but the outcome was less than ideal. Just before the dagger could deal critical damage, the Cardmaster used a survival skill to teleport backward.
[Used ‘Ghost’ Card.]
[Grants 0.6 seconds of invulnerability and relocates the user.]
“W-What? How? Whoa… Wow…!”
Clearly shaken, the opponent stammered more in awe than in coherent words.
Well, it’s fine. I hadn’t expected to end it in one strike at this level of play.
The key was saving my stealth. I left a few projectiles in place, retreating to prepare for the next shadow move. Something unusual had flashed in their hand.
Cardmasters, if they draw the right cards at the right time, are surprisingly versatile. There was one particularly notorious combo I had in mind.
“The cards are vanishing as if you were waiting for it. I feel like I should avoid whatever it is.”
[Card: The Hermit]
[Meaning (Reversed): Secrecy, Greed]
[Card: The Tower]
[Meaning (Upright): Failure, Ruin]
[Active: Consequence of Greed]
[Inflicts damage and slows all enemies within a 12m radius of the caster. The effect intensifies with closer proximity.]
As expected, a golden magic circle spread from the Cardmaster. Despite a long casting time, it activated quickly. If I’d only relied on visual cues, I’d have been too late.
The surroundings distorted as if the space itself was warping. Cracks appeared in mid-air, and the inner part of the magic circle shattered like glass, sending projectiles my way.
While deflecting some mana-imbued attacks, I noticed the Cardmaster had drawn a new card.
Cards are limited, high-value resources in a Cardmaster’s hand. Seeing one added meant they’d either fulfilled a condition or drawn a card with an extra-draw effect. Fair enough, they need to gather resources to continue fighting.
But then…
With an oddly pleased expression, they drew another card… and yet another. They managed to replenish all three cards they’d used up in the fight.
“No way. Does it usually draw that easily?”