I Have a Reason to Hate Streamers

The black axe in the video swung toward the Traveler’s shield.

The side-swept axe blade forcibly pulled the shield, during which Kelberos’s hand gripped it.

A battle of strength ensued in a stalemate. Meanwhile, the merciless axe collided with the Traveler’s spear multiple times.

Thunk! Thunk!

The health bar didn’t decrease.

But the precious guard gauge was cracking.

‘This is where the difference emerges…’

I sped up the playback slightly.

It seemed like a sluggish exchange of blows.

Amid the heavy attacks, a few subtle skills mixed in.

Attacks that absolutely needed to be blocked. And trivial attacks that could be ignored.

The key was that those brief intervals exploited the game’s system thoroughly.

Kelberos’s primary class was the Dark Knight.

In stark contrast to the Paladin, who had a strong defensive tendency, it was a role focused on debuffs and magic damage.

Not a class based on agility, so the attacks didn’t look very fast.

Compared to Assassins or Samurai types, they were much slower.

Yet, the Traveler didn’t feel the slightest relaxation facing them.

It was due to the precarious time gap maintained by Kelberos.

Vroom!

《 There’s no time to adjust your stance, Traveler. 》

《 I wish I could create some distance, but it seems like Kelberos won’t allow it. 》

《 What’s scary about Kelberos is how he uses advantageous battle positions at will. Can a massive knight like that move so delicately? 》

《 Ah, this is tough! No matter how much I squeeze for time, I can’t recover the guard gauge. Damage is piling up! 》

The battle assessment wouldn’t end.

Therefore, the depleted guard gauge, mana, and health wouldn’t return.

The Traveler couldn’t fully recover the guard that was consumed until the game’s end.

There were blatant attacks that forced the depletion of the guard.

Either concede in the war of attrition or slowly wither away from the Dark Knight’s debuffs.

A calculated hell of a multiple-choice dilemma stretched endlessly.

Perhaps once Luce was complete, they would play like that?

“Quite the impressive interview. I watched it well. To think it’s a dream… you’re more of a romantic than I expected.”

“Oh wow, what an honor!”

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to be sarcastic.”

But Kelberos’s true combat power wasn’t low either.

He maintained a keen sense of distance, knowing precisely how to keep an advantageous gap.

As if he fully understood how he appeared to his opponent, he threw in the most troublesome trajectories in his attacks.

It was as if they were both being attacked at once due to his skill utilization.

The Traveler seemed to grit his teeth tightly, managing to land a few effective counters.

But yes. To be honest, there was a gap in their weight classes.

Sure, there were times he significantly reduced Kelberos’s health in an instant, but there was no sense of relief that the situation had improved.

“I thought it was a sincerely beautiful story. One day, you’ll surpass me, such ambition is a virtue of a pro.”

“Hah! So, are you going to let me win?”

“Not a chance. Beautiful things and realistic ones are different.”

Eventually, the spear-wielding knight couldn’t withstand the war of attrition and fell.

The completely shattered shield rolled on the ground, and with his arm being attacked, he couldn’t hold onto his spear anymore.

Even his hand reaching for his backup weapon was promptly stopped.

“Does dreaming make everything come true?”

“Not at all.”

“You know it well.”

It was the moment the Traveler’s journey came to an end.

*

Today, the sky was hazily clouded outside.

It felt like rain would pour any moment, yet the sky seemed indifferent, only a lonely wind blew.

I sat with a foolish expression, staring outside the window.

The subtly rising humidity made me feel like my heart was dampened due to the sticky air.

Yet, the view outside had a peculiar addictive quality. I just sat there spacing out.

Thinking about it, there had been a lot of good things happening lately.

I was participating in that long-awaited tournament, and even indirectly appeared on broadcasts.

‘Had a meal with Luce and received a gift.’

After the Traveler’s 2:0 defeat.

The anxiety within the domestic community had reached its peak.

While various characters gathered as Luce’s match was prepared.

Some felt relieved thinking it wasn’t so bad, while others were in despair, believing it was all over.

A tiny minority held hope that Luce would defeat Kelberos and win.

Sadly, the prevailing sentiment was despair.

The international match results that Korea had shown recently weren’t promising.

Particularly, Luce was a player who showed strengths in team play more than individual performance.

Amidst the thick despair, Luce managed to uphold the meaning of her nickname.

Luce. In Italian, it means light; expanding the meaning to the Bible signifies a bright future and hope.

In a decisive moment, she pulled out the sacred sword, cutting through the fog and determining the outcome.

– Luce successfully subdued the Ripper after a bloody battle, 2:1!

– Sigma e-Sports “We spared no team support for today.”

– Mixed feelings. Arena’s Round of 8 summary.

The Arena finals. The four semifinalists were all determined.

Kelberos and Luce. Me and Crow.

Just a day of respite was left before the finals following the semifinals happening a few days later.

The only fortunate point was that I already knew everything about Luce.

However, there was an unexpected turn of events I hadn’t considered.

《 No way, was Drake really this overwhelmed? 》

《 A shocking tournament result has flipped everyone’s expectations. From the prepared results to the match content, there’s nothing to criticize! 》

《 I think many people didn’t foresee this outcome. Even if a call-up is scheduled, that Crow was previously a second-stringer! 》

《 Indeed, he was a well-known player for being outside regulations in the second-string league. Still, the prevailing opinion was he would struggle in the first-string league… Today, all those predictions shattered! 》

In the Round of 8 that followed me, the match was held.

A necromancer from Europe’s second division, Crow, completely tore apart a South American veteran.

He hadn’t been particularly noteworthy, considering he wasn’t even from the first division and had an advantageous matchup.

However, after yesterday’s match, his stock skyrocketed.

Immediate discussions were brewing online, alongside me, about this and that.

So, the problem was that Crow.

The necromancer class itself was quite niche, and being a player who debuted in the second division last year, there wasn’t much material available.

Kelberos needed to prepare after the semifinals—waiting until then would be too late.

Yet, I couldn’t afford to slack on preparing for Crow either.

Could I enter the finals without even making it there? That would be too humiliating.

Anyway, since I didn’t have two bodies, I felt short on time, so I needed someone to help.

Just then, I heard someone entering the door, tapping in the passcode.

As the mechanical sound echoed five times, a familiar face appeared.

“Did you come?”

“Yeah. Been doing okay?”

“As always, nothing’s changed.”

The person who entered the room was naturally my Coach.

It was an unavoidable situation. What else could I do with my social circle reduced to this?

I couldn’t even rely on my online friends for help.

Elderin was on vacation after recently returning from a trip, and Sulbbang was too busy with the ongoing siege.

Reaching out to the Traveler… no matter how I looked at it, it felt a little, no, a lot too much to ask.

Even if the Traveler offered help, wouldn’t he side with Luce rather than me?

Honestly, that would be more efficient too.

The next time I meet Kelberos wouldn’t be as myself.

“You came when I asked for your help, but what exactly can you do?”

“Well… it’s just like I told you over the phone. I’m preparing for a tournament, but it feels like too much to handle alone.”

“Well, if it’s something I can help with, I’ll do it. But I don’t know anything about games, is that okay?”

“You only need to keep an eye on the fighting and weapon usage. I’ll take care of the game aspects.”

“If it’s that simple, I’ll give it a try.”

My Coach, for all his fearsome looks, was quite adept at analysis.

The national team coaching position isn’t just handed out for being good at sports.

The methods I’d been using to analyze opponents were all learned from him.

“Da-eun, what’s that dark thing popping up? Can you use it continuously?”

“That’s a skill. You see the number 17? You have to wait that much time to reuse it. I blocked it now, but this one next to it…”

“It’s complicated. I need to understand this before I can see more.”

“Give me a moment. There should be something well organized here.”

As expected, my Coach promptly adapted without betraying my expectations.

I kept analyzing Crow’s footage second by second, while occasionally handling his questions.

I especially needed to pay attention to his eye movements—where he looked before casting spells.

Understanding the thought process behind each decision he made was necessary.

This is why I despise mages. Even when the matchup is favorable, it becomes cumbersome in many ways.

Just as I was organizing the data bit by bit, my Coach shot me a look and chuckled.

“Your expression has improved a lot.”

“Uh… really?”

“Yeah, buddy. Your expression is the best I’ve seen lately.”

I wished I had a mirror at that moment.

The only mirror in my house was in the bathroom, so I couldn’t confirm my expression right then.

“By the way, have you eaten? If not, let’s order something.”

“Oh… what do you want? Gukbap? Je-Yuk? Or maybe Tonkatsu?”

“Pizza. The cheesy kind.”

“Your taste still surprises me…”

“What can I say? All the people like you always want the same thing, so I have to eat the delivery stuff I never got to have.”

Still, isn’t pizza a bit too greasy?

I personally don’t quite enjoy cheese.

– I thought, but I ate the pizza as if it were the most delicious thing ever.

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