NoveLight ™
Traveler had been obsessively fixated on winning ever since he was a child.
He had once confessed this past to Gawol, even revealing that as a kid, he went so far as to cheat during a bet he had placed money on.
The reason was simple: he wanted to win. And more than anything, he hated losing.
To most, it might have sounded like a funny story.
Some people laughed out loud, thinking he was joking, while others occasionally showed disgust.
Most people assumed he was just airing out a cringe-worthy part of his past.
But Traveler didn’t feel embarrassed by this memory.
He could say it proudly: he had always been a maniac.
He had simply learned to control himself now through social conditioning.
His hatred for losing and his love for winning—his obsessive fixation on victory—had never changed one bit.
[The Blessing of Valor surrounds you.]
[All attack power increases by 8%, and all attack speed increases by 12%.]
[Spellcaster: Q Prime Morning]
That’s why Traveler wanted to win again today.
He had lost yesterday, so today he wanted to win even more.
And the fact that today’s victory seemed so far out of reach only made him want it even more.
Even knowing how slim his chances were, he couldn’t stop.
The moment he realized the game was turning against him,
Traveler threw himself into the fray in a desperate bid to win.
It was a decision driven entirely by instincts honed for victory.
He raised his shield to block incoming arrows.
Thanks to the stacked buffs, his guard gauge didn’t deplete as much as it seemed like it should.
Blocking one attack never meant it was over.
He fired his gunlance toward the shrine maiden.
There was no guarantee it would hit, but doing something was better than standing still.
The heat coursed through his arms, accompanied by vibrations strong enough to make his whole body tremble.
As smoke billowed up, obscuring his vision, he ducked just in time, narrowly dodging the axe that grazed past.
“I should probably thank Gawol for this.”
It was a technique he had learned from watching Gawol’s matches.
When someone’s senses are abruptly cut off, they tend to rely on the last sense they registered.
Just like now, the opponent assumed that Traveler’s head was still where it had been before, swinging the axe to strike the same spot.
From that perspective, one could determine the most efficient point for dodging.
Minimizing evasion meant one thing—an optimal counterattack was possible.
Using his weapon’s massive weight, Traveler charged straight into the berserker’s body.
It worked. He wasn’t going to stop now.
With the berserker’s body caught on his shoulder, he continued his charge, slamming the berserker against the shrine maiden’s barrier with a resounding crash.
“It worked! Now if the brawler can just come in and—”
You’re too late, you idiot.
Traveler bit back the words rising to the tip of his tongue.
They were in the middle of a match. He didn’t know when the in-game voice might be broadcasted to the audience.
He had to be careful with what he said.
That’s what it means to be a professional.
It’s one of the conditions for competing in a match.
But... the anger building up inside him was hard to suppress.
“Never mind. I’ll take care of it. Just make sure you catch Luce.”
Traveler could understand that their priest had completely sacrificed his own identity.
A combination of a knight with excellent solo prowess and a support-specialized priest was a time-honored tradition.
In this game, the priest’s only real goal was “don’t die,” and that was fine.
But what about the other teammates?
The assassin had run away without even engaging in a fight.
And the brawler and mage were apparently pressuring Luce.
Sure, Luce’s movements had been completely restricted, but... thinking about it more carefully, it was pointless.
In terms of matchups, the mage had the upper hand over the holy knight at a distance.
As long as the area around the mage was cleared, he could have handled Luce solo.
If the mage had held Luce by himself while the brawler supported Traveler,
they would have had a far better fight than what they were dealing with now.
[Active: Knight’s Resolve]
[For 30 seconds, all defense increases by 16%, and crowd control... ]
Of course, there was no way those guys didn’t know that.
Idiots like that wouldn’t have made it to the top pro league.
Especially not on a strong team like Q Prime.
Which meant there was another reason.
Sparrow probably didn’t want to lose to Camellia again.
More specifically, he didn’t want to be blamed for the team’s defeat.
Avoiding the fight could seem like a rational decision.
Minimize risk and gain whatever small advantage you can.
It wasn’t the worst choice, and at least he could defend it later if needed.
The mage and brawler were no different.
The mage didn’t want to be blamed for failing to hold Luce on his own.
And the brawler didn’t want to be criticized for abandoning the marksman he was supposed to protect.
In other words, their minds were no longer on the match itself.
They were already thinking about what would come after—about how to avoid blame in defeat or bask in the glory of victory.
It was only natural.
‘As long as this is good enough, I’ll get what I want, whether it’s money or recognition.’
Traveler was the only one in the team shouldering all the burden of shame and responsibility.
Some of his teammates were preparing for marriage, others needed money for family obligations.
Q Prime’s management cared more about the numbers on the books than their performance in the league.
They prepared well for the match, but that was it.
If they made a risky play and it ended up losing the match,
their careers as pros would take a hit. They had too much to lose to take that kind of gamble now.
And this performance was good enough.
Even if they lost, it wouldn’t be a disgrace.
As long as they didn’t lose too badly, it would be fine.
And Traveler would handle making the match look exciting.
‘I hate that!’
His spear struck the shrine maiden’s body.
Before the sensory information even reached his eyes or ears,
his hand, which was closest to the gunlance, reacted faster than his brain could process.
[Active: Overheat]
[The next skill’s damage increases by 30%, but you’ll enter an 'overheated' state, making the gunlance unusable for 180 seconds.]
[Active: Full Burst]
[You fire all remaining rounds in your magazine.]
The weapon unleashed a concentrated blast of heat, enough to make the gunlance glow red-hot.
The force was enough to shatter any shield or guard in its way. Traveler wasn’t thinking about the aftermath.
The attack would dull his spear blade, but it was worth it to end the shrine maiden.
[‘Q Prime Traveler’ has killed ‘Sigma Hecate.’]
Before the recoil even subsided, the berserker’s axe buried itself into his shoulder.
It was fine. He had expected this.
If it had been Gawol, she would’ve dodged it, and if it had been Cerberus, he would’ve blocked it with his shield.
But for Traveler, predicting it was the best he could do.
In other words, he had already prepared for what came next.
He dropped his shield and grabbed the axe handle lodged in his shoulder.
Not to pull it out, but to keep it from being pulled out by the berserker.
Soon, his left arm registered a “severed” status.
A red line appeared over his armor, indicating that the arm was unusable.
But he had bought himself enough time.
Enough time for his overheated spear to pierce the berserker’s heart.
[‘Q Prime Traveler’ has...]
“Aaaaargh!”
A guttural, almost beastly cry escaped from Traveler’s throat.
Without his shield, he had no way to block the incoming arrows.
The magic-infused arrows rained down on him, rapidly depleting his health bar.
Once he was cornered like this, death was inevitable.
So he had to take at least one more down with him.
With all his remaining strength, Traveler hurled his gunlance.
The massive weapon flew through the air—
and struck the archer’s leg.
“Damn it. How did I miss that?”
A black dot appeared in the center of his vision, growing larger and larger.
The dot took the shape of an arrowhead.
The archer’s arrow struck Traveler right between the eyes.
His vision faded to black, but he was already preparing to grab his spear again.
With each respawn cooldown in the deathmatch,
he fought like a mad dog.
The match ended in defeat.
Traveler had contributed to 53% of his team’s total score, but it wasn’t enough to secure victory.
As he left the stage after the first match, a sweet voice echoed through the arena.
《 Q Prime’s players are making very rational decisions. Don’t take any risks—it’s dangerous. Don’t fight if it seems like we might lose. Honestly, I don’t see them winning this match at all, so why did they even show up to the arena? 》
《 W-Wait, Gawol, please calm down a little... 》
《 This match was a disaster. Sigma had all five players on the battlefield, but Q Prime only had one. 》
Her voice was so sweet and clear that it immediately evoked the word “beautiful.”
Yet the cold fury it carried was unmistakable.
Traveler found himself thinking, ‘What the hell is that crazy woman saying in the arena?’
“Hahahaha!”
For the first time in a long while,
he laughed as hard as he could.
His usually dark, dead expression lit up for the first time in ages.