LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 11
The first qualifier in this event was like a swoosh minimal sieve role.
Before the main event, it was a device to maintain basic standards.
In fact, the participant database was made public only after the first qualifier ended.
Both the hosting company and the users believe that the real tournament starts from the second qualifier.
The reason this preparation was needed was that the upcoming second qualifier would be decided based on points.
Every week, lower-ranked users would be cut off until finally, only 10,000 remain.
To survive, you need to gather points like a racehorse, gallop!
Reaching the finals ends up consuming quite a bit of time, and the gap between the event’s end and the pro league’s opening wasn’t long.
So, it seems many pro gamers declared their participation as missing out.
They say participation rates are just over half…. But hey, who cares about others anyway?
Luce participated, so I didn’t care about the others.
The popularity of the event itself is cruising along.
My recommended videos have all turned into this mess.
“Hold out for just two weeks? Ku Official Arena reward breakdown!”
“Research complete! Pre-season greatsword warrior finally found the answer.”
“Infinity Black veteran tells you the Arena tier list!”
“Tanker goes down in one hit! Hurry before the nerf! Shotgun hunter build!”
Videos that suck in views with tactics as bait.
I had moments where I thought about trying it too, but it wasn’t my path.
After several attempts, what I gained was merely the realization that I had no talent for teaching.
A teacher constantly facing the question, “Why can’t I do this?” might not be a very good educator.
I felt a bit unjust, though.
Infinity Black’s skills are all designed to allow evasion or defense.
Many of those are things you can simply react to by seeing, so what do you want me to do if I can’t do that?
If I couldn’t fix my own legs, how could I possibly fix someone else’s eyes?
Anyway, as I looked around several broadcasts, everyone was talking about the second qualifier.
Since it’s just a preseason with no rank games to play, it makes sense.
They can keep this heat going until the pro league opens.
Some broadcasts even invited pro gamers, and the content was pretty good.
Everyone seemed to be preparing diligently before the actual competition.
And I certainly didn’t waste this precious time either.
“Hey, how about we resolve misunderstandings through dialogue? Peacefully.”
“I’ll think about it later.”
Thud The corpse keeps talking.
I need to make it quiet so people won’t be startled.
Wham! “Adventurer Kimchi Ninja has been forcibly eliminated.”
“Warning: Field PK penalty…”
You know, there’s something that everyone develops while playing games, right?
A Death Note or something like a killing list.
“I’ll kill you if I meet you in the field. If we run into each other in rank games, I’ll drop your points no matter what.”
Records for writing down names you can’t forgive, calmly sharpening the knife of revenge.
Of course, I had such a list as well.
It was a note hidden in the corner of the interface.
Since I usually erase names as soon as they appear, they rarely pile up, but recently written names refused to vanish easily.
No need to match internet community and game nicknames, after all.
“[Author: CreamStacked]
[Title: That Gawol short’s charm point is her thighs.]
[Author: ㅇㅇ(328.26)]
[Title: Gawol’s movements as a female have been quite suspicious lately.]
[Author: LabPaperThief]
[Title: I can take a break this Sunday.]
I couldn’t find all those authors even if I looked everywhere…
So, I just visited based on what came to mind.
Slap! “Adventurer LabPaperThief has been forcibly eliminated.”
Slice “Adventurer NewCityMishiHunter has been…”
Chop! “Adventurer CornSoup has been…”
Cut! “Adventurer CreamStacked…”
It wasn’t a useless thing at all.
After all, there’s no better practice than actual combat.
People only change desperately when they have a lot to lose.
Rather than a fight that ends with just a few points lost, risking your life to fight will yield much better skills.
Infinity Arena is ultimately PVP. There’s no harm in tattooing the feeling in your hands.
I absolutely wasn’t venting due to ‘some video.’ Really.
In fact, as time passed, I wasn’t feeling too bad.
Due to limits in brainwave movement, Gawol’s and my body types matched, but that body isn’t mine.
This kind of interest is… well, a bit naughty in nature, I suppose.
Fortunately, the screen was somewhat hazy too.
“Well, I guess I have to finish what I started.”
“What, what’s wrong? Why me again?”
Swipe! “Adventurer Sulbbang has been…”
Ding! “Infinity Arena 2nd Qualifier”
Timer Beep! “Time remaining: 08:21:01”
Eight hours remaining.
I needed to spend time diligently enough to not be ashamed in front of others.
Let’s run for another two hours and then sleep.
*
Ding!
“Q Prime Traveler donated 30,000 won.”
“Luce, have you seen this video? Seems like it’s been gaining popularity lately.”
(Attached video)
“Video? Oh, it’s Gawol’s video. I saw it. She seemed cuter than I expected since she’s so small. Traveler, have you met her?”
– Died during Traveler’s stream twice.
– Died five minutes after saying, ‘I won’t come back again.’
– Winning and not showing up again is seriously toxic.
Luce smiled softly.
It wasn’t just because the chat was funny.
Traveler was a player with a strong pride even within the league.
Now that he’s done being called a newbie, people think he’s calmed down a lot… but that was far from the truth.
He just learned to hide his rage in front of the public.
Everyone in the industry knew it well.
If his team Q Prime lost, and if he didn’t like the content of that match, Traveler would go wild.
His shouting in the waiting room was beyond mere levels, after all.
He probably wasn’t too pleased with the content in the chat right now.
Thinking about how he must be holding back makes it hard not to find it amusing.
Is he maybe gritting his teeth and holding off on the chat for just a moment?
But he wouldn’t let it turn into laughter.
He didn’t want to undermine the effort that he invested for that split-second of patience.
“Don’t be too harsh. You know Traveler’s skills. Looks like he’s already gathered quite a bit of arena points?”
– Luce is likely to rise soon too.
“I’ll give it my best shot. Since I’m participating, I’ll definitely make it to the finals.”
Ding! “[Infinity Arena 2nd Qualifier – First Phase Matching Completed.]”
Pop! “Do you accept the match? Y/N”
“Now that I think about it, everyone seems to have met Gawol at least once, but I’ve oddly never encountered her.”
Luce’s eyes checked the information of the opponent.
A sniper. I didn’t expect to see one in the one-on-one match-up in the arena.
There were a few names that popped up in my mind, but Luce grabbed a solid shield first.
“Really never met Gawol?”
“Didn’t the Sigma rookie encounter Gawol a while ago?”
“Oh, I heard our newest member met her. He was excited saying he got his initiation. Isn’t that interesting? He’s a great kid. Good skill and a lot of competitive spirit. Everyone, please treat him well.”
Speaking lightly, Luce’s fingers didn’t stop.
Changing traits, predicting the opponent’s build, and swapping equipment.
Luce made it to this stage entirely thanks to her tireless efforts.
That effort obviously included attempts to understand her opponent and research all existing builds.
Although she seemed to be leisurely streaming, she didn’t miss a single detail, however small.
If Traveler, the captain of Q Prime, was famous for fighting well, Luce was known as a player who was good at ‘the game.’
Front guard, super armor, invincibility, damage reflection, healing reversal, gigantism.
She was a player who skillfully utilized systems that exist within Infinity Black.
After a moment of contemplation, Luce finished her setup with a slight variation.
“By the way, I’d really like to see the video of the two of you fighting. You know Traveler is great, but I’ve heard Gawol is also good in a battle. It must have been an incredibly flashy fight.”
Ding! “Q Prime Traveler donated 30,000 won.”
“It was a real fight so I feel a bit embarrassed, but the video turned out well. But what does Luce think about Gawol? I believe she’s participating in this arena.”
(Attached video)
Luce paused.
Her lips twitched slightly.
Her eyes checked the timing until the battle commenced.
Unfortunately, there was still time to spare. If the match had just started, she could have taken that as an excuse to choose her words a bit more carefully.
Taking too long with the answer would seem odd, wouldn’t it?
After a brief thought, Luce opened her mouth again.
“Well, I don’t dislike her. I don’t want to gossip about someone I haven’t met before. But… I can’t view the other players or streamers bullying her positively.”
It would be nice if my words didn’t get too overblown.
The internet is a place where you can’t let your guard down.
Maybe I should have chosen my expressions a little more carefully?
A faint trace of regret settled in Luce’s heart.
But just for a moment. A certain chat caught her eye.
– April26’s chat: Can you win against Gawol?
“Can I win? Have I ever only beat opponents I could win against? I’ll give it my all, like always!”
– April26’s chat: Wishing you good luck.