NoveLight ™
"I can’t believe I fought someone like that."
As the night that seemed like it would be forever dark began to clear, sunlight shone on the snow that had frozen and piled up, breaking apart in all directions. From a murky hue to a deep blue, gradually turning bright blue until the sun finally rose over the horizon.
On the 26th, the day was starting as the world awakened. The wind at 8 AM was cold. And as the chilly breeze hit them, the many viewers who had kept their spots began to vanish one by one. The part-timers who had come out early for extra pay were busy clearing away the plates and glasses left behind by the customers.
Among them, the streamers who had passionately covered the Final Championship also started to disappear one by one in preparation for the next day. Those who were happily chatting would soon lay down in bed before the sun rose too high.
Kato was one of them.
But not just yet.
"I personally find it more amazing that Logan is fighting evenly with that person. What can I say? Back when I was grinding ranks in the qualifiers, I almost gave up as soon as I met Yujin… How is it possible that he can fight against someone like that without losing even an inch?"
As he sank deep into his chair, he rummaged through memories of the past.
Not seeking solutions or thinking of escape routes—just plain surrender. He erased the word ‘resistance’ from his mind against the irrationality he couldn’t contend with—much like looking for a way to fight against an approaching hurricane.
But even that wasn’t exactly his true ability, which was quite shocking… or should be? Surprisingly, it wasn’t that shocking at all. Instead, it was the thousands of users chatting excitedly in his live chat. People who had never fought Yujin even once.
They were supposed to be absent—but instead, they were nowhere to be seen.
It was definitive.
And there was something even more surprising.
"That aside, the most amazing thing is actually Dice."
Just as he said.
The day had just begun, yet today’s trending topics were completely flooded with discussions about the Dark Zone—among them, Dice and Yujin, but today, the former took precedence.
A grueling battle that lasted for about 5 minutes, during which Dice was on the defensive for 4 minutes and 46 seconds, taking hits from a chain gun yet managing to preserve enough durability to operate her vehicle without giving up until the very end.
Thus, after enduring and enduring, fortune finally smiled.
With a single strike, Dice sent the enemy that had been relentlessly chasing her straight to heaven, and tens of millions of viewers were instantly captivated by the extreme satisfaction of overcoming hardships.
"I think a composite video came out already, right? I think I saw someone who edited the footage of Dice changing gears and stepping on the accelerator with a de javu BGM attached."
And it was necessary to mention that the video had already hit a million views just hours after it was posted.
With a dumbfounded expression, he added.
"Do you remember the last interview scream? When Yujin and Dice faced off with a 2:3 score? Even though she was penalized for not being able to jump, she was completely crushed. But looking at it now, it seems she’s become much sharper since then…."
<The User "Cement Thief Kato" has donated 1,000 won! Thank you!>
"Now that you mention it, that’s true. I’m just a nobody who hasn’t even been to the US… I apologize to the nation. I will self-reflect for a month and not turn on my stream."
In an instant, the power dynamics shifted.
After a moment of laughter faded, Kato quietly checked the time. It was 8:07 AM. The Final Championship was held at a 1x speed to align with real-time, so he was also in a VR time warp set to 1.
Moreover, since they had to wake up early to watch the matches that started at 5 AM Korea time, the actual streaming duration was longer than he had thought. There was no need to explain anything; both viewers and streamers were in for a tiring time.
As he entered AFK mode and checked outside the studio, the sun was already stealthily climbing above the horizon.
Now it was truly time to sleep.
"…Anyway, everyone did great today. I plan to stream again around noon, so let’s all relax and catch up later. Thank you for your hard work!"
And with that, it came to an end.
The ones who had rushed through from Christmas until the following morning quickly succumbed to sleep without leaving anyone behind.
And—
"Upon the arrival of the Korean representative team, which Japan envies, China cries over, and Russia fears, the US and Europe send out an SOS to Korea right after landing in the Final Championship… whoa. It’s dizzying, so dizzying."
"Breaking News: An American superstar resorting to drugs to defeat Yujin. Stronger than drugs and steroids is Korean red ginseng… what the hell is this even saying?"
"…What is up with these nationalistic fools?"
On the morning of the 9th, the day after Yujin and the others finished the match and woke up.
They were met with absurdities the moment they woke up.
"…It feels like everything I’m hearing is just nonsense, and it’s more ridiculous because there are one or two parts that actually hit the mark."
"That’s the same principle as a broken clock being right twice a day."
Of course, amidst that, Yujin was imagining smashing the broken clock.
It was a day with 12 hours remaining until the start of the second day’s matches.
"Why does it feel like I’m the only one struggling weirdly in this Final Championship…!"
Dudududu, pew!
Bullets skimmed past my ear as they scraped against the concrete wall, unleashing ominous sounds. It reminded me of the sound of a whip being cracked, the supersonic bullets breaking the sound barrier and leaving a shockwave ringing in my ears.
And in the midst of it all, there was Dice—there I was.
Having spent so long in the Dark Zone that I couldn’t even remember the nature of the first engagement I had, every battle remained tough, draining my stamina. Perhaps it was also due to the mental fatigue stemming from the furious buggy run from yesterday.
In any case, today too was a hopeless situation.
Huff…!
Thud!
I tossed a grenade linked to Molly. As I pulled it off and threw it, the enemy finally halted fire and retreated from that spot—but at that moment, I had already gotten up from leaning against the wall.
The grenade soared through the air, landing near the enemy, just as their shooting ceased. In other words, I had to strike when the enemy was moving from one cover to another. This was one of the basic methods that Yujin had taught me.
Sure enough, as I rounded the corner, I saw the enemy’s new gear glaring at me as I aimed. The opponent was another Icarus operator, and naturally, their durability was considerable.
In other words, there was no reason for them to use a burst fire method.
—Pew pew pew!
“Ugh…!”
I dropped to the ground, and the moment I let out a small breath, the enemy disintegrated into polygon fragments, leaving behind several magazines of fully loaded ammunition, two defining weapons, various explosives, and armor, etc. However, of course, I wouldn’t go to pick those up.
There could still be unidentified enemies in the area.
I hastily leaned against nearby cover, inhaling the acrid scent of grenade powder as I scanned my surroundings. The ceiling lights were shattered, adding a slight darkness to the already dim underground research facility.
About a minute passed.
Fortunately, nothing happened.
“…Ha.”
Unwanted as it was, my faith in Yujin was increasing yet again.
Engaging with those who were not in the top 20% had been easily resolved using just the basics I had learned over the months or applying them accordingly, and this time was no different.
As I gathered my scattered tension, I headed toward the pile of items. My ammunition was still plentiful, and the weapon of the user I had just killed wasn’t compatible with mine. I just needed to replenish my grenades.
I cut the fishing line that was connected to Molly. Since it was already torn, the only thing left in that spot was a safety pin instead of a grenade. I opened my pouch, took out a portion of the fishing line, and cut about 15cm to skillfully attach it to a grenade.
With that, I was ready.
Thinking that I might need something else, I rummaged through the remaining multipurpose pouch of the enemy and pulled out a PDA.
“Wow.”
Of course, it was common for valuable research facilities to have PDAs scattered about. In this map, I had to use this PDA to locate the Juggernauts that served as kill zones.
However, occasionally, a PDA that looked somewhat more upscale pops up, and these usually come with special functions, and this time was exactly such a case.
As soon as I fiddled with it, a message popped up on the screen.
Special Rescue Team.
Although the name sounded grand, in essence, it could be described differently—the system that instantly dispatched one or two Juggernauts to the location where the PDA was. Originally, this function was created to immediately rescue high-ranking executives while the protocol to destroy everything in the facility was activated… but of course, it was used differently in-game.
It was essentially a request for bombardment to disrupt the tide and break through a stalemate—a type of bombardment request that, while it takes 1 minute and 30 seconds to activate, could yield a pretty good effect if timed right.
But, with good things come bad.
The Grim Reaper had come for me.
—Tudududu!
“Ugh!”
In an instant, bullets came flying in. The accuracy was unusually high. Three bullets hit my head in the blink of an eye, mercilessly cutting down my shield amount. The remaining amount was already below 25%. I berated myself for being too careless as I hurriedly took cover, just as more bullets came flying, shattering the spot I had occupied moments before.
From the angle of the bullets that came flying, I could roughly guess the enemy’s position. However, this area was filled with spacious corridors and lobbies, making it hard to find enjoyment in the skirmish. Fortunately, just a little further ahead, the actual research facility would come into view, so it shouldn’t be a major issue.
But, those thoughts hadn’t even crossed my mind for 30 seconds.
“…This isn’t good!”
The speed at which they were closing in was alarming.
To contain them, I tried suppressing fire a few times, but each time my position was revealed, their accurate counterfire came back at me. Just looking at it, it was clearly someone from the top 20%, one of the ‘real deals’ that Yujin had emphasized multiple times.
Fight or survive? But before I could even ponder that, the distance between us—once about 100 meters—was shrinking rapidly.
The opponent had already shot three bullets into my head, meaning a graze would break my shield. In other words, the opponent could freely advance. They were fully aware of the system of the game, Apex Predator, especially in the Dark Zone.
And that unsettling feeling continued to manifest as a single emotion.
‘…I’m screwed.’
A feeling of extreme helplessness.
The competitive spirit I usually felt upon encountering an engagement had vanished, replaced by a feeling as if all the experiences ingrained in me on how to tackle combat were laid bare, and my head provided the most accurate answer I could find.
Yujin or Logan.
Either one was someone I desperately wanted to avoid.
One minute and thirty seconds.
Could I hold out long enough?
After holding out, could I escape?
I banished those thoughts. Only the duel concerning life and death remained—clutching my firearm on top of the box while quickly loading a sticky bomb into the launcher, thud. With a slight recoil, I planted it firmly on a central cover in the corridor.
The corridor was pretty wide, and there were various objects that obstructed the line of sight at intervals. The enemy was charging at me, using those as cover at a mad speed, but now they would find it difficult to approach recklessly.
While providing suppressive fire, I took out a grenade. The distance to the enemy was about 60 meters. Even throwing it wouldn’t reach, but by expending some of the Icarus gear's processing power to partially enhance my body, it should work just fine.
With a thunk, I pulled the pin from the grenade linked to Molly, and the grenade flew through the air at a mad speed toward the enemy’s vicinity.
As the grenade reached near the enemy, the explosion went off, triggering the sticky bomb as well, exploding just a few meters away from the enemy’s new gear—but in that moment, a flying metal object came towards me through the flash and concrete dust.
It was an enemy grenade!
—Kwahh!
“Ugh…!”
It became clear.
As the sound and flash occurred, both of these methods could easily confuse a person’s senses. And simultaneously, as I realized that, Logan began to approach rapidly.
My whole body felt numb, but I forced myself up. Whichever it was, the enemy would surely use this opportunity to quickly close the distance. Instantly twisting my body over the cover, I fired back at the faint new gear. As expected, a white hexagon rose over the enemy.
The distance was now 30 meters. I switched the trigger to single-fire and, at a steady pace—not too fast, not too slow—continued suppressing fire as I gradually retreated. I tossed my remaining grenades to the ground while hastily increasing the distance.
However, the enemy didn’t seem inclined to just sit back.
They scattered a few objects into the air.
“….”
Puh-shik!
It didn’t take long for three smoke grenades to fill the corridor—and at the same time, a grenade exploded from the opposite side. I already knew about this tactic. They were probably trying to quickly flank me while my attention was diverted.
In that case, all I had to do was run away with all my might without looking back.
Yet, I still had to prepare for at least the minimum, so just as I was about to once again connect a sticky bomb to the launcher with my left hand,
—Tududududu!
“Damn…!”
The bullets flew through the smoke that filled the corridor, and at the same time, a white new gear came rushing in. The enemy avatars in-game took a slightly distorted form, making it hard to identify who they were, but I could tell immediately who it was.
It was the person Yujin had specifically told me to “run away from” when I met them.
Holding the launcher with my left hand, which had yet to be fully assembled, I hurriedly lifted my gun and fired suppressive shots. But I couldn’t stop their advance.
As I ran down the stairs, I tossed the remaining grenade, but Logan was already standing on the balcony—had she jumped up!?
“Whoa—!”
—Kwahh!
Using the explosion of the grenade as a backdrop, Logan stepped on the balcony and jumped while firing, with all of her bullets spent just then. I didn’t even have the time to change magazines, and only then did I finally lift the sticky bomb launcher that I had been holding in my left hand.
But it wouldn’t fire, likely because it hadn’t been properly connected. At that moment, time seemed to slow down rapidly, and the distance between me and Logan—who was losing her momentum and surrendering to gravity—quickly closed in. Unlike the ‘hug me’ emoticon Yujin had sent through Engram, the result wouldn’t be the same.
My mind had long since turned blank.
Was this how I was going to be eliminated? While pondering that, a warning window popped up in my UI.
—Kwahh!
And with that, a flash and explosion erupted from my left hand.
The explosion from the sticky bomb sent Logan flying back, and just as she was about to crush Dice, the distance between them had reduced to less than 2 meters. The sticky bomb detonated with a tremendous noise and shockwave, sending both users flying in opposite directions.
Although they were thrown over 5 meters from the zero ground, Dice was the first to regain her senses. She was able to absorb much of the impact by having her feet planted on the ground until the end.
However, just because she got up first didn’t mean she could shoot.
“...Ugh, cough.”
Countless status ailments rose before her eyes. Among them, her hands were not just red but blackened as well. Until she performed emergency treatment and healing in a safe location, she wouldn’t even be able to pull the trigger of her pistol.
Moreover, coinciding with the explosion’s shock, the dispatch of the special rescue team was just seconds away from completion. Dice, in her battered state, quickly fled the scene.
And how much time had passed?
“...Hah, I didn’t imagine this would happen.”
The 30 seconds of incapacitation felt like an eternity.
This was Dice—she thought she might need to compliment her later.
But regrettably, there wouldn’t be much time for that.
“While I can say that attempting to confirm kills is a sign of progress, it should have been done by her own hand.”
On the balcony, looking at the special rescue personnel—mini-gun Juggernauts—Logan smiled briefly, then pulled out an enormous anti-material sniper rifle from behind her.
That day, Logan received three Juggernaut skulls.