I Have a Reason to Hate Streamers

The Traveler had been obsessively fixated on victory since childhood.

It was a past he had revealed to Gawol, but back then, he even cheated in a bet where money was involved.

There was no reason other than that. He wanted to win. And he hated losing.

– Wow, that’s insane. Did you really bet money?

– I did. But if I won, I’d give it back, and if I lost, I’d hand it over without a fuss.

– You crazy bastard. Why?

– If there’s a stake, it makes the match much more important. I’d need to give the money back to get a rematch later. I was getting a lot of pocket money as a kid anyway. Winning was more important than money.

At first glance, it sounded like a funny story.

Some people laughed hee hee hee as if thinking it was a joke, while others occasionally looked at him with disdain.

Most seemed to think he had shared an embarrassing history.

But the Traveler didn’t feel ashamed about his past.

He boldly claimed to be a crazy person.

Now, he had learned to control himself after becoming socialized.

The fact that he hated losing terribly and loved winning above all—this obsession with competition had not changed at all.

[The blessing of bravery envelops you.]
[All attack power increases by 8% and all attack speed increases by 12%.]
[Caster: Q Prime Morning]

So the Traveler wanted to win today as well.

Because he lost yesterday, he wanted to win even more, and knowing today’s match would be tougher only fueled his desire to win.

Even knowing the odds were slim, he couldn’t stop himself.

The moment he sensed the game was going poorly.

The Traveler threw himself into the competition.

It was a decision made by instincts honed solely to seek victory.

He used his shield to block the arrows.

Thanks to the blessings stuck to him, the guard gauge didn’t deplete as much as it should have.

Blocking one arrow didn’t mean the end of it.

He fired a gun lance toward the Shaman.

He wasn’t sure if it would hit, but it was better than standing still.

With a vibration that made his whole body tremble, heat surged through his hands.

As he lowered his head to take cover from the rising smoke, he narrowly dodged an axe that whizzed past.

‘Guess I should thank Gawol for this.’

It was a technique he learned by watching her matches.

In situations where one’s senses are suddenly obstructed, the opponent tends to rely on the most recent senses they had.

Just like right now. He aimed for the spot where the weapon was instead of assuming he would have already dodged.

From that perspective, he could gauge the most efficient evasion point.

Moreover, saying that he minimized his dodging meant—there was room for an optimized counterattack.

He charged into the Berserker’s body, using the massive weight of his weapon.

He landed a solid hit. So there would be no stopping.

Maintaining the Berserker’s body on his shoulder, he pushed forward.

Using the Shaman’s barrier as a wall, he slammed in hard! Leaving a significant impact.

“Got it! Now when the Fighter comes in…”

– Huh? I’m currently marking Luce.

“……Why? What’s our Mage doing?”

– They’re with me marking. Should we go now?

Well, it’s late, idiot.

The Traveler barely swallowed his words that rose to the tip of his tongue.

They were in the middle of a match. There was no telling when the in-game voice might be broadcasted to the audience.

So he had to be cautious with his words and language.

That’s just how it is as a professional.

It was a requirement to approach the contest.

But…… he could not help the heat boiling inside him.

“Alright, I’ll do it. Just make sure to secure Luce from there.”

He understood that their Priest had completely killed off their ego.

The combination of a solo powerhouse Knight and support-specialized Priest boasted a history and tradition of their own.

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that the Priest’s goal in this game was nothing more than “not dying.”

But what about the other teammates?

The Assassin had tucked his tail without even fighting.

And the Fighter and Mage were allegedly pressuring Luce.

Thanks to that, Luce’s feet were fully tied up, but… when you think about it, it was meaningless.

Given the distance, the Mage had an advantage over the Paladin by nature.

If they could just clear the surrounding area, it meant they could hold off on their own.

If the Mage had managed to bind Luce alone, and the Fighter had supported the Traveler…

The battle would have been much better than it was now.

[Active: Knight’s Resolve]
[Defense increases by 16% for 30 seconds, and crowd control effects…]

Of course, they were aware of this fact.

Those morons couldn’t even make it up to the first-string Pro League.

Especially not against a strong team like Q Prime.

So, there had to be another reason.

Sparrow would have hated losing to Camelian again.

More precisely, he wouldn’t want his loss to be blamed as the cause of their defeat.

Avoiding a fight might seem like a rational decision at first glance.

Minimizing risk and taking any small profit.

It would be a shame, but at least it offered an excuse that it wasn’t the worst outcome.

The Mage and Fighter were no different.

The Mage likely wanted to avoid the scenario where they’d fail to bind Luce alone.

The Fighter probably wanted to avoid being blamed for abandoning the AD carry they needed to protect.

So their teammates weren’t even looking at the match anymore.

They were gazing toward the something that would come after this match—either victory or defeat.

And no wonder why.

‘This is enough. Whether it’s money or fame.’

The one taking the brunt of the shame and responsibility on this team was the Traveler alone.

Some of the team members were preparing for marriage, while others needed money because of family matters.

The front office of Q Prime cared more about the numbers that would appear on the balance sheet than the performance in the league.

They prepared hard for the matches, but that was all.

If they were to mess up the match due to a “decisive” risky play…

Their professional careers would be ruined. By now, there was too much to lose to do such things.

“Doing well enough doesn’t matter anymore.”

Even if they lost here, it wouldn’t necessarily be disgraceful.

As long as they didn’t lose pitifully, it was fine.

And to glamorize the match, the Traveler would take care of that himself.

‘I hate this!’

With a desperate swing, his spear struck the Shaman.

Before the visual and auditory information could even reach his senses.

The hand closest to the gun lance reacted before the reasoning could kick in.

[Active: Overheat]
[The next skill’s damage increases by 30%, but for 180 seconds, you enter an ‘Overheated’ state that prohibits gun lance use…]

[Active: Full Burst]
[Fires all remaining cartridges in the current chamber.]

The weapon unleashed enough firepower to turn red in an instant.

It could smash through shields and guards. He didn’t think of the aftermath.

This strike would blunt the Traveler’s spear, but the Shaman’s life was worth that much.

[‘Q Prime Traveler’ has defeated ‘Sigma Hecate’.]

Before the recoil could fade, the Berserker’s axe embedded itself in his shoulder.

It’s alright. Just as expected.

If it were Gawol, she would’ve dodged it, and if it were Kelberos, he would have blocked it with his shield.

The Traveler could only manage to “predict” what was to come next.

In other words, it meant he had at least established the next countermeasure.

He threw away the shield and grabbed the axe handle embedded in his shoulder.

Not to take it back, but to prevent the opponent from getting away.

It wasn’t long before he received a severing judgment on his left arm.

A red line was drawn over his armor, rendering his arm useless.

But it bought him enough time.

Time for the overheated spear to pierce the heart of the Berserker.

[‘Q Prime Traveler’ is…]

“UAAAAAAAH!”

A sound escaped the Traveler’s mouth that was almost a scream.

Without the shield, he had no way to block the Archer’s arrow.

The magically infused arrows bombarded him and swiftly drained his health bar.

Once pushed to this point, death was virtually a given.

If that was the case, he had to take at least one more with him.

Summoning all his strength, the Traveler hurled the gun lance.

The massive weapon flew fiercely—

whack!

—And hit the Archer’s leg.

“Damn, did I just miss?”

A black spot appeared dead center in his vision, growing larger.

The spot took the shape of an arrowhead.

The Archer’s arrow found its mark on the bridge of his nose.

The Traveler’s vision faded to darkness, but he prepared once again to grip the spear.

With every respawn cooldown of the deathmatch.

He fought like a mad dog.

The match ended in defeat.

The Traveler only contributed 53% to the team score, but they did not secure victory.

When he came out after finishing his first match, a beautiful voice echoed in the arena.

《 Q Prime players are making very rational judgments. They’re avoiding danger, opting not to fight because they think they can’t win. From my perspective, it looks like they might lose every match today, so why did they even come to the arena? 》

《 Uh, uh… Gawol, please calm down a bit… 》

《 This match was pathetic. Sigma had all five players in the battlefield, while Q Prime only sent one. 》

Her voice was so lovely that it conjured up the word “beautiful” with just the first resonance.

In contrast, it bore a tone steeped in cold anger.

The Traveler thought, ‘What is that crazy girl saying in the arena?’ yet—

“HA HA HA HA!”

He laughed harder than he had in a long time.

For the first time in ages, light returned to his once-deadened expression.

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