NOVEL NEXT Chapter 6
Research is, at its core, a task that comes with countless successes and failures.
Countless clinical experiments. Among them, half the time, the results yield bizarre outcomes that were completely different from the initial goals.
Experiments are somewhat like grunt work; if you keep conducting them, you’ll end up with one or two ideal results, and you can make use of those. These become the first instances of success, solidifying over time.
But let me ask something here. Just because the results were different from the original intent, can we call them a complete failure when new, unexpected values emerge?
Every researcher may think differently, but I believe not.
Because, after all, isn’t there a saying that failure is the mother of success?
Such things add up one by one to become the nourishment for successful cases. Among them, a few actually show some room for improvement as well.
There is no pure failure, and similarly, there’s no absolute failure. Even if it’s called a failure, it serves as the foundation for a new build I’ll create in the future, my experience points.
That’s why in this moment, even facing defeat, I can be so composed.
However, just because I’ve gone through this process to accept failure, it doesn’t mean our team has to follow suit.
[Ezarnox (Nox): What the hell is Camilla doing? She stands in the front line and melts in one second! I can’t deal damage!]
[LoathingCrapChars (Ran): If you can’t, just tank and make the composition work, ugh…]
There was a bit of injustice to this. I’m not the kind of person who just picks randomly without looking at the composition.
I knew that a tank was needed for this match, so I deliberately brought a sturdy Camilla MK.1.
[Weak Camilla (Camilla): This is a tank Camilla, though.]
In response to their grumbling complaints, I tried to make a small excuse, but
[Ezarnox (Nox): What the hell does that even mean?]
[ShrimpSlam (Ibi): Reporting for intentional trolling ㅡㅡ]
Excuses fell flat, and all I got back was the cold stares from my teammates.
Well, yeah. Honestly, I’ll admit it too.
Before starting the game, contrary to my ideals, Camilla was not able to properly fulfill her role as a tank.
Maybe it was due to the hero’s design limitations; she just couldn’t hold the front line.
It felt like one of those breakwaters that just shatter with a single wave.
Since I had enough understanding of the Abyss just like Hana, I could somewhat anticipate the burden my allies, especially the damage dealers, were feeling.
“Sturdy Camilla MK.1 is being discarded….”
I draw a line across the notepad that was sitting next to the computer. I thought Camilla was all-powerful, but it seems she just can’t manage being a tank.
Camilla thought so, but it seemed she couldn’t be a tank after all.
With that in mind, she crossed out all her planned MK.2 and MK.3 designs. She had just realized it from the last game.
You can’t ask a creature born as a dolphin to fly in the sky, right? She decided to stop stubbornly overworking Camilla.
[Ezarnox (Nox): Ah, this is just an easy win.]
[Weak Camilla (Camilla): Ah, sorry, I kinda messed up. My bad!]
From Nox, who was appealing his unfairness in the chat, to Miriam, who was sending emoticons expressing her emotions for no reason, it was a sad sight.
She barely lost points and sent her heartfelt sympathy to her angry teammates.
But I was satisfied until the very moment defeat was confirmed.
After all, I was gathering data.
When you cut down on your builds, there are times you win and times you lose. Unfortunately, this time was simply a losing game.
We can win the next one. You shouldn’t care about wins and losses while conducting research.
That’s the way of a true researcher and for Camilla’s sake.
I thought once again as I queued for matchmaking.
*
“….”
Devastating back-to-back losses!
In shock, Nicang was momentarily at a loss for words.
Considering her usual high energy during her broadcasts where her audio was never cut off, this was quite a rare scene.
[Mental has gone haywire, lol.]
[This is the brutal world of the abyss…]
[Nicang has broken down…!]
[Right after the placement, back-to-back losses, huh…]
[Gold… we have to get there, right?]
Nicang stared blankly at her computer screen for a moment, then glanced at the chat and jumped in surprise.
“Wait, I did well earlier…!”
[Earlier you did well, what does that mean?]
[The host did well earlier, yes.]
[Are you seriously blaming the team right now?]
[Weren’t you also not pulling your weight? Hmm…]
[Honestly, not as fierce as when you beat Nicang.]
The meaning behind “I did well earlier” couldn’t have been clearer to anyone looking.
It referred to Camilla, who had mercilessly torn Nicang apart in the previous game. But this time, it was the user who strangely couldn’t perform at all.
“Why can’t you do well when you’re with me?!”
[You might not be able to, lol.]
[It seems your items and traits were different from before.]
[This is Tank Camilla, haha!]
[Seriously, why didn’t you just tank?]
[Host also messed up and is making a big deal out of it, hmm…]
[What kind of hybrid is Tank Camilla supposed to be?]
“Ahhh… my precious points, no!”
Nicang screamed in anguish. Yet, the truth was, she wasn’t really that upset.
Nicang screamed as if her life was on the line. But honestly, she wasn’t that worked up at all.
She just added a pinch of exaggeration for entertainment purposes. What they call the typical high-energy act that streamers pull.
It just doesn’t show much, that’s all.
I mean, it’s ridiculous to lose your mind over a couple of losses. Losing two games in a row is a bit disappointing, but that’s about it.
‘It’s not like it’s a five-game or ten-game losing streak, it’s just two games.’
If she’s going to get shaken up this easily, how on earth is she supposed to keep broadcasting? If she’s that weak-minded, she wouldn’t even be able to look at a chat full of people crowding in to spout their opinions.
It’s just that people enjoy this kind of drama, so she intentionally puts it on display.
‘Viewers love to see streamers suffering.’
I don’t know why, but they do.
Maybe it’s because human nature is inherently malicious, finding pleasure in watching someone else’s despair from a distance.
‘That should be enough for now.’
Nicang snapped back to reality and regained her composure.
She looked like someone who had been sad but was starting to calm down. It’s sort of acting, but hey, what show doesn’t have a script?
Not to mention, not all human relationships are genuine, so there’s no way a broadcast could be purely sincere either.
[Is this where it ends for today?]
[Plat 4 with 0 points, Nicang sleeping here…]
[What are you waiting for? Match up already.]
“Am I losing my mind? No, come on. It’s just two losses. I’m not that soft. The game… I can just win it back.”
With a determined glint in her eyes, she looked ready to go. This moment wraps up a narrative, after all.
The streamer Nicang, feeling the wall at Platinum. However, she wouldn’t back down and continued to fight upward.
‘Though I might lose a bit more, I don’t care.’
She thought she’d eventually hit a wall anyway. She hadn’t been consistently playing Abyss and had jumped from another game.
Of course, winning streaks would be nice, but she realistically didn’t think such a thing was possible.
Losing wouldn’t actually break her mental state. It was no big deal.
“Queue’s up, huh?”
With that mindset, Nicang queued up for another game and spotted a familiar face in the lobby.
“Wait, this person….”
[Here comes ‘Camilla’ lol]
[This time she’s on the opposing team ㅇㅇ]
[Time for a revenge match]
[If she plays well after all this, it’ll be pure fun.]
If the old book is played well again, it would be hilarious.
[Is Camilla not going Tank this time?]
Something seems off. A feeling of unease creeps in.
But despite Nicang’s discomfort, the game started. She picked Miriam again and played a standard marksman like she’s used to—
“Ah, ah. What! What’s it this time!”
Out of nowhere, Camilla barged into the enemy lines, and before anyone knew it, her neck was taken.
Of course, the very next moment, Camilla, who recklessly dove in, was immediately taken down by the team. But the team fight was an utter defeat.
The reason—Nicang’s death. With the core damage dealer down, the team crumbled defenselessly.
[Wow, she just melted away.]
[What was that instant kill combo?]
[Challengers are challengers, damn it, haha.]
[Kayak! Kayak! Kayak! Kayak! Kayak!]
[Nicang, oh….]
Similar scenes unfolded several more times, and Nicang once again tasted the bitterness of defeat.
“Um, it’s okay! We just need to win the next game!”
Up to this point, it was manageable. Losing was a bit annoying, but this kind of match makes for good YouTube content.
The title could be something like “Met a Mysterious Camilla Master in the Abyss,” which would be fitting.
However, as time went on, Nicang became less okay. Her expression management was becoming difficult. Her internal Jin tension started to bubble up.
“Seriously, what is this person doing? Not like that…!”
The cause was, once again, that person. This time, a former Challenger Camilla Master on her team.
It seemed he brought a different build than last time, and unlike before, he had little impact on the team. The result? Another game lost.
It was ridiculously ironic how such similar scenes kept repeating. It was as if someone was playing a prank.
[This looks familiar…]
[Catastrophic losing streak, whoa;]
[Hey, shouldn’t we take a break or something?]
[We lose every time we encounter that person.]
[The host is really pissed, haha.]
Six losses in a row. That’s a total of six losses.
At this point, cracks started to show in Nicang’s composure.
Every time they met that person, they lost. She couldn’t do anything when they were teammates, but they somehow performed well as an opponent.
She gritted her teeth hard enough to hear a crunch.
“Isn’t this… targeted harassment?”
It wasn’t strange that the viewers, who would usually tell her to stop talking nonsense, unexpectedly agreed with her statement.