HMLU Ch 3
by soapaI had the gaming chat app installed on my phone, but ever since JangDdo’s shameless messages, I’d turned off all notifications. Maybe he left something here? Pushing other thoughts aside, I opened the app. Sure enough, the Black Bear’s ID was blinking.
Kkamamgom: Hyung ㅠ.ㅠ I’m so sorry, but I don’t think I can meet this week.
Kkamamgom: Really, really x100 sorry (——)(__)
That was all there was—two messages. Seeing them, I felt a mix of emptiness and relief. I’d gone to the trouble of cleaning myself up for the first time in ages, only for the reason to vanish.
“Would it be too much to ask why?”
I didn’t even suggest meeting in the first place; it was a promise that just happened, so asking for a reason felt awkward. In the end, I could only send the most neutral reply.
Haemin: Oh lol, no worries~
Haemin: So, you can’t log into the game this weekend either?
I sent it and was about to get ready for bed when, surprisingly, a reply came back quickly.
Kkamamgom: No ^^ I can play starting tomorrow!
“…?”
He can play the game but can’t meet? Doesn’t that mean he just doesn’t want to meet? Blinking, I tried to think of other possibilities. Maybe he has somewhere to go… So he can’t meet but can still play in some environment…
…Let’s stop. What’s the point of overthinking this? If that’s how it is, that’s how it is.
Haemin: Cool lol, see you tomorrow then!
Thinking about it, this is for the best. My priority is leveling up, not socializing. Right now, I need to put all my effort into training this guy into a reliable shuttle.
I set the phone down and headed to the bathroom. The neat reflection in the mirror threw me off for a moment, but that was it. I grabbed my toothbrush, shook my head, and brushed away the stray thoughts.
🕹️
After a quick breakfast and washing up, I sat at my desk. Ignoring the thesis draft still radiating an intimidating aura, I launched the game, and as always, a grumpy little human appeared.
《Returning to the Land of Hope, Asyrus》
After a short loading screen, I spawned at the entrance to Kamt Mountain. Opening the friends list, I saw the Black Bear was already online. I sent a party invite and checked my gear’s durability.
Kkamamgom: You’re here! ㅇ(^^)ㅇ
Before I could reply to his cheerful message, the Black Bear’s avatar popped up.
Meritocracy: Yo.
Meritocracy: Why’re you here?
Kkamamgom: I was practicing solo T^T
What? So diligent… Touched, I sent a praise motion, and the Black Bear gave a shy smile.
Meritocracy: Wanna hop on Discord?
Kkamamgom: Yup!
I put on my headset and logged into the messenger. It was a weekday morning, so thankfully, no flood of random messages like before.
―Hey, hyung.
That smooth, low voice rang pleasantly in my ears. It felt like any lingering unease was swept away. I guess I’m weak to people with nice voices. Who wouldn’t be?
“Alright, shall we dive in?”
―Yeah.
Still doesn’t match his hyper chat style… I passed party leadership to him, and he used ‘Stealth,’ lifting my character. The Kamt Mountain entry cutscene, which used to make me nauseous, now looked almost beautiful.
“Wanna try again? I’ll watch what’s tripping you up.”
―Okay.
He replied meekly, raised his greatsword, and charged at the bat swarm. I almost sighed, sensing what was coming. He’s gonna get hit by each bat, fumble his DoT, and struggle again…
But then, the Black Bear spun his greatsword with one hand and slammed it into the ground, roaring. It was an aggro skill that briefly stunned enemies in range—cast perfectly in the middle of the bat swarm.
“…Huh?”
Before I could process, a reddish effect swirled around the greatsword’s tip. He spun once, swinging the sword, and the DoT skill ‘Endless Pain’ applied evenly to every monster around him.
Skreeek! The helpless death cries echoed loudly. I stood there, stone in hand, watching the first pull get wiped out in seconds.
―Is this right?
His voice, filtering through my ears, was as calm as ever. I nodded instinctively, then remembered we were on voice chat and hurried to speak.
“Y-Yeah… That was perfect.”
―Really? That’s a relief.
It’s basic gameplay, sure, but for a guy who couldn’t even fake it two days ago to pull it off so smoothly was shocking. Was it a fluke? But he nailed the combo in the next pull, and the one after that.
“Wow, what? What kind of practice did you do to improve this much?”
―Someone taught me a bit.
“…What?”
Who? Before I could ask, he charged at another mob cluster. With nothing to do, I trailed behind, mulling over his words. So he had someone teach him, and that’s how he got this good?
…It didn’t work when I was teaching him?
A twinge of indignation flared up. It didn’t last long, though, because he cleared the first floor’s mobs and vanished to the next.
“Wait, let’s go together.”
―Oh, sorry.
The next floor had a mid-boss. With only DoT and finishing attacks, he couldn’t handle it alone. Even as a Druid with summons and magic, I struggled the first time.
“You focus on holding aggro and auto-attacking. I’ll chip away its health.”
RPG combat is fundamentally a battle of health pools. DoT skills aren’t useless, but their tick damage is so low that using them on bosses is a waste of time. Unless his level was much higher, it was pointless now.
The Kamt Mountain mid-boss, a chimera, was a dark-attribute beast monster. Like most Kamt mobs, it had a huge health pool but wasn’t particularly strong or complex. The annoying part was dodging its endless wide-range attacks while whittling it down.
Since it’s a dark-attribute monster, holy-attribute summons are most efficient, but without tiers, I could only summon the passive Kamt Fox or the nature-attribute Sprout Cactus. Solo, I’d use the fox to pull aggro and spam basic attacks, like a spoon-wielding serial killer chipping away with pitiful damage.
But today, with a tank, I could use the cactus for stronger attacks. Selecting the summon, a cactus with a sprouting bud appeared with a boing sound.
“Pull aggro.”
The moment I spoke, he swung his greatsword and charged. With a roar, the chimera’s eyes locked onto him. I launched the cactus at it and began casting magic attacks.
The curled-up cactus leaped, spraying large needles. As they hit, a green effect appeared above the chimera’s head. The summon’s DoT was negligible, but with a nature DoT applied, my attack power got a slight boost.
Careful not to let the cactus steal aggro, I rapidly fired magic attacks. It took a while, but compared to soloing, it was a breeze. With only a few skills available at low levels, grinding was inevitable.
―Why’s this thing not dying?
He asked while swinging his sword diligently. It wasn’t frustration but curiosity, probably wondering how this differed from other mobs.
“Oh, it’s a mid-boss. Also called a named.”
―Named?
“Monsters with special names, unlike regular mobs, are called named. They have way bigger health pools and specific strategies.”
―Oh…
He didn’t seem to fully get it but nodded along.
―So just auto-attacking is the strategy?
I didn’t expect him to hit such a sore spot.
“Not exactly. We’re just stuck doing this because neither of us has decent skills yet.”
―Can’t we use DoT?
“It’s not worth it. Considering skill duration and total damage, you’re better off auto-attacking once more. Plus, the mob’s the same attribute as you… Never mind, try it and see.”
I felt like such a game-obsessed nerd explaining this and pulled back. He let out a puzzled breath but raised his greatsword.
A red effect swirled, and he swung hard. The chimera’s status window showed it was afflicted with ‘Endless Pain.’
Since holy attacks work well on dark-attribute monsters, dark-attribute attacks are less effective. I figured he’d see for himself, so I stopped the cactus and lowered my staff.
“You’ll see it barely does any damage because…”
Then the chimera’s health bar dropped by half.
“…?”
Two seconds later, the next ‘Endless Pain’ tick hit, and the chimera collapsed.
“…”
I couldn’t believe what I saw and rubbed my eyes. The chimera was dead, its health completely drained. The Black Bear, the cactus, and I just stared blankly.
“What…?”
―Uh…?
“What’s going on? Hold on… I’m gonna check the logs.”
I quickly opened the damage meter and dug through the combat data. Normally used to measure party DPS, it could show detailed fight records if parsed right. The Kamt Mountain mid-boss chimera’s health pool was 120,000, and our auto-attacks or my magic dealt around 700-800 damage. But the recorded tick damage for ‘Endless Pain’ made me doubt my eyes again.
“Thirty-eight thousand…?”
―Huh? What’s that?
“First tick was 38,000, second was 45,000… No wonder it died in two hits. We’d already shaved off about half its health…”
He sounded clueless, which made sense since I was just as lost. When ‘Endless Pain’ hit bats, the tick damage was only 1,000—already high since his level was above theirs.
But 30,000 on a named? That’s impossible without a bug. What’s going on with the Dark Bear class? How has a bug this huge stayed quiet?
…Well, because no one plays it. And Dark Bears rarely come to Kamt Mountain…
―Hyung, what’s wrong?
Lost in thought, his voice turned glum. I could almost picture him looking dejected, though I’d never seen his face. Snapping out of it, I raised my tone.
“No, nothing’s wrong—it’s actually great… I just don’t know why it’s great.”
―Hmm…?
“Your DoT dealt insane damage. But I don’t know why. Is it a bug specific to this place?”
―This dungeon? But it was normal on other monsters here.
…Right. I propped my chin, poking the dead chimera with my mouse. So, was this thing special? It’s a named, dark-attribute… But if anything, those are disadvantages for a Dark Bear, not reasons for this.
Ugh, this is driving me crazy. I’m too curious.
“Hey… Can we exit and try again?”
―Here?
“Yeah, let’s take it down one more time.”
He agreed readily, and we left the dungeon. We quickly cleared the first floor’s trash mobs and headed to the second. The moment we opened the door, the giant fox-shaped chimera landed with a thud.
―Right away?
“Yup.”
He pulled aggro simply and swung his red greatsword again. But this time, the ‘Endless Pain’ icon didn’t even appear.
―Uh… It says, ‘The enemy’s defense is too high!’
“What?”
So, the chimera’s defense was so much higher than his attack that the DoT didn’t apply at all. This is why DoT skills become useless in higher dungeons.
“Try again. Keep going until it sticks.”
―Got it!
After several attempts, the DoT finally applied, but the damage was negligible—exactly as I’d predicted.
Was that earlier damage a one-off bug? Maybe the fact that he has a natural tier 2 is a bug, causing random secondary bugs? But I didn’t want to give up. If a single DoT skill could melt a named, even if it’s a bug, I had to figure out what triggered it.
“What was different before?”
Did cutting half its health first make a difference? Otherwise, I was spamming magic attacks, and the summon…
“…”
Right, the summon. Leaving him to struggle, I called the Sprout Cactus. I chose it to apply a nature DoT for my own attack buff.
“Gom-ah, hold on.”
Moving the mouse quickly, the cactus leaped and fired needles. The green effect appeared above the chimera’s head again.
“Try one more time.”
He swung his red greatsword without complaint. This time, the ‘Endless Pain’ icon appeared instantly…
And the next moment, a third of the chimera’s health vanished.
“Crazy…”
Four seconds later, it died limply, as expected.
“…”
The Black Bear, greatsword on his back, tilted his head. I rushed over, spamming every heart motion available on his avatar. If I could, I’d hug him and kiss him.
“Insane, for real!”
My voice rose naturally with overwhelming joy. He still seemed confused but matched my energy, dancing along.
“Let’s go up. If we can do this to the final boss (*last boss), it’ll be huge.”
Kamt Mountain has two named monsters: the dark-attribute mid-boss chimera and the nature-attribute final boss, the Long-Tailed Wolf. If the bug only worked on dark-attribute monsters, that’d be a shame, but just skipping the time-consuming mid-boss like this was thrilling enough.
―Hyung.
As I frantically threw stones, he called me calmly.
―Am I being helpful?
“Are you kidding? I love you.”
I blurted it out without filter, and he laughed softly—a ticklish, reassuring sound. He was now wiping out Kamt Mountain’s trash mobs like they were nothing. It took less than two minutes to reach the Long-Tailed Wolf.
The final door opened, and the massive wolf stomped in, thudding. It mainly used a floor-sweeping attack with its long tail. Its real danger was its bite, so just dodging the tail could leave you near death. It’s tricky for beginners to move around, but…
Who cares? I whipped out the cactus and fired needles. Without me saying anything, he rushed the wolf’s flank and cast ‘Endless Pain.’
The red effect overlaid the green. The Long-Tailed Wolf’s health was 100,000; the first tick dealt 48,000. All we had to do was dodge the tail for four seconds.
“…”
Thud, the wolf collapsed, and the clear cutscene played. I couldn’t believe it, clutching my head. A dungeon that took me five hours solo the first time was cleared in just five minutes.
“Wow…”
―Did we do it? It’s over?
“Yeah! We did it, it’s done!”
I’d have been grateful if he just cleared trash mobs fast, but this insane bonus? I was so moved I could cry. When I sent a hug motion, he lifted and spun me around.
“Man, we could hit tier 1 in a day…”
―Your tier, hyung?
“Yeah, uh… You need to run this a hundred times. Sure, that’s tedious, but at 500 minutes total, it’s not that long…”
―Even taking it slow, that’s ten hours? We could do it today.
His beyond-diligent response made my heart ache. How did this guy appear in front of me? I couldn’t let him go. Until the servers shut down, this bear is mine…
“Man… Thank you so much. I’ll make it up to you.”
―For what? You said we’re playing together.
“Still… Druid tiers are brutal to grind solo. Without you, I might’ve been stuck here until next year.”
―Have you done it before?
“Oh, back then, I seriously thought about quitting a hundred times a day…”
I clamped my mouth shut mid-ramble. …I messed up. He waited quietly for my response. Trying not to jinx it, I let out an awkward, “Haha.”
“…That’s what people say who’ve done it.”
―So you haven’t?
“I… haven’t, no. But Druid tier quests are notoriously brutal. Everyone who knows, knows.”
―Hmm…
His low hum was thick with skepticism. I’d been too obvious about my veteran status. His overly naive, newbie vibe in chat had made me careless. Even if I showed off my knowledge, I figured he wouldn’t know enough to question it.
But confessing now felt risky. Saying I’d maxed a Druid in this game would be like admitting I’m ‘NicknameMuhum.’ Sure, he probably doesn’t know who that is now, but with all the traces left in communities and YouTube videos, he’d find out if he kept playing ApPo.
“…I did level some other classes a bit.”
―Oh.
After agonizing, I gave a lame lie. I hated myself for it, but I had no choice.
“But the Druid story’s supposed to be amazing… It’s famous, so I was curious.”
―Really?
It was an inscrutable reaction. I couldn’t help but feel a bit uneasy.
“Yeah, sure. That’s why I want to climb the tiers quickly and all that…”
—So, you’ve played this game a lot before, right?
“Not a lot, just moderately…”
—Hyung, then.
His whispering tone was still as calm as could be. It was the kind of tone that, just by listening, made my own heart settle into a quiet calm. It was when I leaned back in my chair with a soft “uhh” that it happened.
—Do you know a user called ‘NicknameMuhum’?
The question was so unexpected, so far beyond anything I could have imagined, that my throat seized up for a moment. The sensation of saliva going down the wrong pipe made me hurriedly turn off my microphone. While I was coughing my lungs out, the previously silent BlackBear finally spoke again after a long pause.
—Hyung?
The coughing didn’t stop easily. Still hacking, I quickly placed my hands on the keyboard.
Meritocracy: Haha, sorry
Meritocracy: My connection dropped for a sec, couldn’t hear well
Even as I typed it, it felt like such an obvious lie. But BlackBear, kind as he was, accepted it without question.
Kkamamgom: Oh no T_T
Kkamamgom: I was asking if you know a user called NicknameMuhum!
But he didn’t let it slide that easily either.
“…”
The first thing that came to mind was rational suspicion. Was he asking because he knew something? But even if he did, what could he know? And why would he ask about it, regardless of what he knew?
Meritocracy: Uh, I’ve heard of him… Why?? lol
Meritocracy: Is he someone you know? haha
Could it be because he saw that mess back then? The last fleeting thought sent a chill down my spine.
Kkamamgom: Not someone I know
Kkamamgom: Someone I want to know? (—.—)
“…What’s that supposed to mean?”
Meritocracy: ??
Kkamamgom: I started this game because I wanted to meet him ㅇ(^^)ㅇ
Kkamamgom: I’m a fan haha
Kkamamgom: Have you seen this?
BlackBear posted a YouTube video link. Somehow, I had a feeling I knew what it was without even looking. Sure enough, when I clicked it, there it was. It was the live broadcast of the Gaius first clear.
“…”
The video wasn’t uploaded on the channel run by JangDdo’s guild, . It was on a different channel. That made sense. The live broadcast had been deleted entirely from the channel. At the time, the live stream had over 2,000 viewers, and the edited clip that came later racked up 50,000 views. Word spread among Appho’s overseas players, and the channel’s subscriber count skyrocketed.
The peaceful prosperity lasted exactly until I posted on the community.
—LOL, came here after seeing the Appho post. Isn’t your guild name supposed to be Legend of Zombies?
After setting the first clear record, the guild was the talk of the town for a while. The latter half of Gaius’s mechanics hadn’t even been fully figured out at the time, so the attention was inevitable. Especially the orb laser at the end—a mechanic where you had to quickly figure out the beam’s direction and reflection angles to find your safe zone. Until you got the hang of it, wiping was almost guaranteed.
Our raid team should have ended the try when everyone except me got wiped out by that damn laser. That’s when I pulled out the summon possession. The obsession with getting the first clear drove my brain into overdrive.
The mistake, if you can call it that, was that I hadn’t anticipated there’d be so many people (myself included) who’d staked their entire lives on this polygon game.
—Oh no… The raid team was strutting around all proud about the Gaius first clear, but turns out it was one bus driver and 14 zombies.
—Didn’t NicknameMuhum basically clear it solo?
—Druid’s “Legend” & Zombies’ “Legend”
—LOL, does it even make sense for a Druid to be the second-highest DPS in a party? Barely any gap with the top Wizard lol. The Wizard and all the other DPS need a good smack.
—NicknameMuhum… What kind of gaming life are you living?
—What this Gaius raid taught us: The raid team that “owns” NicknameMuhum wins.
—Druid meta incoming? Druid meta incoming? Druid meta incoming?
└ Nah, it’s a NicknameMuhum meta. I’m scared people will start picking Druid after seeing this video lol. How do you even mimic that movement? It’s insane.
Some users, driven mad by jealousy and frustration over the raid team that claimed the first clear title, seized the opportunity and banded together to bombard the guild’s channel with hate comments. Raid team members were openly mocked in town, and whisper harassment became routine.
At first, guild members brushed it off, saying things like “they’re just jealous” or “they’re acting out of envy,” clinging to mental victory. But as the situation dragged on without calming down, they started to wear out. The overall login rate noticeably dropped, and a cold atmosphere lingered in the guild room.
Naturally, my heart wasn’t at ease either. I had hoped the perception of Druids would shift for the better, not that things would spiral into this mess.
I suspect everyone was thinking something similar around that time.
Freshian: Honestly, I can only think he did it on purpose ㅠ;
It started with a chat that popped up out of nowhere in the quiet guild window. It was probably a mistake, typed in the guild chat while talking in another channel.
Freshian: Oh, sorry; haha, broadcast accident
(*Broadcast accident: Sending a message to the wrong chat channel by mistake)
Or maybe, just maybe, it was intentional from the start.
BlackHealer: Doesn’t feel like a broadcast accident
BlackHealer: lololololol
Freshian: lolololololololololololololol
Freshian: No;;; it’s a broadcast accident
Freshian: ^^
Of course, the moment malice crept in, the original intent didn’t matter anymore.
Freshian: I mean lol, can’t I have a broadcast accident?! ㅠ
Freshian: There’s someone who spills guild internal stuff outside and makes all the guild members look like idiots
BlackHealer: lolololololol ㅠㅠ
BlackHealer: Stop~ lolol
I can’t say I haven’t wondered what would’ve happened if I’d just pretended not to see it and let it slide…
NicknameMuhum: Who are you talking about right now?
Unfortunately, back then and even now, I’m not that kind of person.
That was the problem, then and now.
Freshian: ㅠㅠ??
Freshian: Hello, NicknameMuhum~ haha
NicknameMuhum: Yeah, hello
NicknameMuhum: I’m asking who you’re talking about
Silence hung over the guild chat for a moment. They probably didn’t expect me to call it out so directly. That was almost amusing.
Freshian: lol; No…
Freshian: It’s just something between us… Why are you acting like this??
The excuse that came after a long pause didn’t have even a shred of sincerity. Rubbing the back of my neck, I carefully moved my fingers.
NicknameMuhum: Weren’t you talking about someone who spills guild internal stuff and deliberately screws over guild members?
NicknameMuhum: As a guild member, I’m curious who that is, so I’m asking
Freshian: lolololol
Freshian: Uh… lolol
So, maybe I should’ve held back even then… I can’t say I haven’t thought about it.
NicknameMuhum: Stop laughing and speak clearly
The problem is, I’d probably do the same thing again if I went back.
BlackHealer: ? lol What’s NicknameMuhum doing?
BlackHealer: Why are you suddenly picking a fight…??
Freshian: Yeah ㅠㅠ
《Popuri has logged in》
Freshian: Why are you suddenly acting like this? ㅠㅠ It’s scary;
NicknameMuhum: If you’re gonna act like “it’s scary ㅠㅠ,” then say something
NicknameMuhum: What was the subject of that sentence
Popuri: ??? What’s going on?
《JangDdo has logged in》
Popuri: What’s up with everyone??
JangDdo: Hm?
The timing was impeccable. I was still fuming, but part of me felt relieved. Maybe it was better to just let it all out and be done with it.
NicknameMuhum: Since the guild master’s here, I’ll just say it outright
NicknameMuhum: I know everyone’s on edge and upset because of the recent guild harassment
NicknameMuhum: I don’t feel great about it either
NicknameMuhum: But pointing that resentment at me is misdirected
NicknameMuhum: If you have complaints, let’s just talk about them openly now
NicknameMuhum: I’d appreciate it if you stopped with the subtle jabs and sniping like this. I’m not going to hold back anymore either
No sooner had I finished than the messenger pinged. It was JangDdo.
[Jang Kitae: Haemin]
[Jang Kitae: What’s going on? What happened?]
I ignored it and kept my eyes on the guild chat. Despite dozens of people being online, it was dead silent.
NicknameMuhum: If no one has anything to say, I’ll assume this won’t happen again
NicknameMuhum: And I won’t bring this up again either
BlackHealer: But
As I was about to wrap things up, someone finally spoke.
BlackHealer: We don’t think this whole thing is because of you, NicknameMuhum
BlackHealer: But you haven’t exactly done everything right either, have you?
NicknameMuhum: What are you talking about?
NicknameMuhum: If it’s not my fault, then don’t blame me
NicknameMuhum: You’re already blaming me and then saying I didn’t do everything right—what am I supposed to do with that?
JangDdo: Haemin
JangDdo: Calm down a bit and let’s talk this out nicely
My brow furrowed. If JangDdo were standing next to me, I’d have wanted to smack him upside the head. This guy always failed to act like a leader when it mattered but loved to play the superior in moments like this.
BlackHealer: Since you told us to speak openly, I’ll be honest
BlackHealer: We didn’t want to clear the raid like that
Freshian: Yeah
Freshian: Exactly
Freshian: We kept quiet because we knew you and the guild master worked hard
NicknameMuhum: Oh, really?
NicknameMuhum: Then how did you want to clear it?
BlackHealer: Don’t be sarcastic
BlackHealer: If we’d tried a couple more times, we could’ve cleared it normally
BlackHealer: You didn’t consult us beforehand about using the Druid resurrection
BlackHealer: And even after clearing it like that, you didn’t say anything
BlackHealer: On top of that, you posted that article and made us all take the heat
BlackHealer: Shouldn’t you at least show a little remorse?
Popuri: Huh?
Popuri: Sorry for butting in
Popuri: But why should NicknameMuhum feel sorry for using the Druid resurrection?
Freshian: Popuri
Freshian: Let us talk among ourselves for a bit
Popuri: No, lol
Popuri: If it weren’t for the Druid resurrection, we wouldn’t have gotten the first clear, right?
Popuri: cleared it just 30 minutes after
Popuri: If we’d had to retry without the Druid resurrection, would’ve gotten the first clear based on timing
Popuri: Didn’t NicknameMuhum use the resurrection knowing that to secure the first clear?
Popuri: Why are you making a fuss about it now?
Silence hung over the guild chat again. was another top-tier raid-hunting guild, alongside , and Popuri was the main DPS of ’s raid team. He’d switched to after seeing the Druid resurrection post I’d made. Though he never said it, there was probably some lingering resentment from ’s guild members over losing Popuri, which fueled their channel harassment.
BlackHealer: So, what you’re saying, Popuri
BlackHealer: Is that as long as the result is good, the process doesn’t matter?
Popuri: lololololol
Popuri: No, I’m asking what was wrong with the process
Popuri: Is it a crime to use an available skill?
Popuri: The ones making a fuss over someone using an available skill are the problem
With things unfolding like this, I no longer had room to step in. I was just clutching my aching head when the messenger pinged again.
[Jang Kitae: Haemin]
[Jang Kitae: Let’s stop and wrap this up nicely]
[Jang Kitae: You need to act more mature… What are you doing?]
That’s when a deep regret hit me. When casting offers were pouring in from every guild, I should’ve just picked one and left. Why did I stay here, thinking I’d see something good come of it? As I wallowed in regret, the guild chat lit up again.
JangDdo: Everyone’s getting too heated
JangDdo: We need to start preparing for Iglauus soon
JangDdo: It’s not good to have these kinds of conflicts lingering among guild members
JangDdo: Let’s apologize where apologies are due and move on
Freshian: ㅠㅠ
Freshian: Ha… Okay, I’m sorry
Freshian: I think I brought it up the wrong way;
BlackHealer: I’m sorry too
BlackHealer: But
BlackHealer: NicknameMuhum
BlackHealer: I hope you’ll respect the raid team more going forward
BlackHealer: Sighing loudly every time we have to retry
BlackHealer: And openly giving us attitude in voice chat
BlackHealer: Everyone’s been holding back, but there’s been a lot of frustration
I didn’t even have the energy to get mad anymore. Part of me wanted to ask if they ever felt sorry for me, dying over and over in the same section five hundred times. But I held back. That would’ve been like telling them to apologize for being bad at the game.
If they took my desperate pleas to practice as giving them attitude… Well, fine, I guess that’s possible. Exhausted, I started running on optimism. Maybe JangDdo was right. If we could just move on amicably, wouldn’t that be better?
NicknameMuhum: Alright, I’ll be more careful
But now I know. I should’ve let it all out and walked away back then. It’s no use realizing it now, though.
🕹️
Even after brushing off the conversation, BlackBear would occasionally bring up ‘NicknameMuhum.’ Mostly, he’d say he wanted to have a conversation with him at least once. I’d play along appropriately, then casually ask as if it were an offhand comment.
Meritocracy: But if you started Appho because of him, why didn’t you play Druid instead of that one (*Shadow Warrior)?
Kkamamgom: Because this was the only character I had ㅇ(ㅠㅠ)ㅇ
Oh, right, that’s what he’d said. He thought there were no other options because the creation screen only showed DarkBear… After some thought, I decided to tell him. It didn’t seem like he’d immediately run off to play Druid anyway.
Meritocracy: Uh… Check again later
Meritocracy: If you scroll the screen, you can select other characters
Meritocracy: Appho doesn’t have restrictions on initial class selection, so you can play whatever you want
Kkamamgom: Oh, no
Kkamamgom: That’s not what I meant
Kkamamgom: This was the only character in my account (TㅅT)
Isn’t that the same thing…? Blinking, I suddenly asked.
Meritocracy: The only character in your account?
Kkamamgom: Yup (^^)
Kkamamgom: When I installed the game, this character was already there
“…?”
Meritocracy: You didn’t create it
Meritocracy: It was already created from the start?
Meritocracy: A DarkBear?
Kkamamgom: Yup! >_<
Meritocracy: So you didn’t name the character either?
Kkamamgom: Nope, it was already Kkamamgom!
So, what he’s saying is, when he installed and logged into the game, there was already a DarkBear named Kkamamgom. That would mean the character creation screen didn’t even pop up, which explains why he thought he had no other options.
Kkamamgom: So I thought when you first start
Kkamamgom: You’re supposed to pick a nickname and a class ㅇ.ㅇ
As if that’d be the case… I rested my chin in my hand, lost in thought. Could this be related to the natural tier progression or the damage inflation bug? The only plausible guess would be that a test server character was mistakenly copied to a user’s account. But even then, why this guy’s account, of all accounts?
Meritocracy: Didn’t you say you’d had the account for a while?
Meritocracy: Was that character already there back then?
Kkamamgom: Ah
Kkamamgom: I made this game ID a long time ago,
Kkamamgom: but I only installed the game for the first time recently.
Kkamamgom: So I’m not really sure when the character was created TT)
The more I listened, the more question marks piled up in my head. He had created the game account long ago but never played it, and only years later, when he got interested, did he install it, only to find a character named Kkamamgom already created…
…If it wasn’t a case of him creating it and forgetting, doesn’t that mean his account was hacked? But that’s strange too. Hacking to delete an existing character might make sense, but what kind of hacking involves creating a character that didn’t exist before?
Meritocracy: When did you make the ID?
Kkamamgom: Probably when the game first launched…?
Meritocracy: Why? Weren’t you uninterested in Appho back then?
Kkamamgom: It just kinda happened ^^ㅎㅎ
His evasive attitude, especially when it came to the important parts, made me suspicious. Meanwhile, he diligently picked flowers to make wreaths, and before long, he had completed a hundred. If I delivered them to the village, I could see an event scene where baby capybaras would wear the wreaths and dance together. That would complete the Tier 1 quest. Just like that, so easily.
But right now, I was more curious about something else than the game.
Meritocracy: What do you want to talk about with NicknameMuhum?
The black bear answered readily.
Kkamamgom: I have something I want to ask him ㅇ(^^)ㅇ
Meritocracy: Like what? Game stuff?
Kkamamgom: No
Kkamamgom: It’s something personal ^^
…Didn’t he say he became a fan because of the game? The deeper this went, the more frustrating and maze-like it became.
Meritocracy: What’s that lol
Meritocracy: If you end up meeting that guy,
Meritocracy: am I just gonna get ditched and you’ll stick with him?
Half out of pettiness and half out of genuine curiosity, I asked, but absurdly, the black bear didn’t respond. He just stood there blankly, silent. The silence was so awkward that I lost my words too. After a long pause, the guy (the black bear character, that is) scratched the back of his head.
Kkamamgom: Well… if he accepts me, that might happen.
Kkamamgom: Sorry (——)(__)
Meritocracy: ??
Meritocracy: And if he doesn’t accept you?
Kkamamgom: Then I can keep hanging out with you, hyung (^^)ㅇ
“Huh?”
What a funny bear. Being so blatantly used as a backup plan was a bit ridiculous, but it only made me more curious.
Meritocracy: What’s this thing you want to ask him about?
The black bear fell silent again. He seemed to be hesitating about whether to say it or not. At least he didn’t outright shut me down, which was a relief, maybe. As I tapped my fingers impatiently, the bear finally opened his mouth.
Kkamamgom: It feels like he might be someone I know.
Huh? My hand froze at the unexpected words.
Kkamamgom: I want to confirm if it’s true.
Someone I know? Obviously, that couldn’t be right. The only people three years younger than me in my social circle were some underclassmen from university. I’d gone to the military right after my freshman year, taking a leave of absence for three semesters, so I never had the chance to meet younger recruits. As for middle or high school connections, that was even less likely. Especially in high school, I’d spent all my time shuttling between school and cram academies, studying, so there was no way I’d have bonded with a middle schooler.
Meritocracy: What made you think he’s someone you know?
When I asked the obvious question, the black bear grinned.
Kkamamgom: Just a feeling? (^^)
…I’d thought he was kind and innocent, but this guy had a sly side. It was annoying but also kind of cute.
Meritocracy: Come on lol, talk seriously.
Meritocracy: I might be able to help you figure it out.
Meritocracy: I know a lot of people who play this game.
Kkamamgom: Hmm lol >.<
Kkamamgom: Well… the thing is,
Kkamamgom: it’s a bit hard to say openly ㅠ.ㅠ
Meritocracy: Why?
Kkamamgom: Because it feels like I did some digging.. >_<;
Digging, huh. I couldn’t help but laugh at the silly bravado.
Meritocracy: Oh, really? lol
Meritocracy: What kind of digging did you do? lol
Kkamamgom: Um…
Kkamamgom: Hyung,
Kkamamgom: Disco…
Kkamamgom: Never mind.
Kkamamgom: Are you free this weekend? ㅇ(^^)ㅇ
My eyes instinctively darted to the desk calendar. Saturday, I had to go to the lab. Once the professor started lecturing, there was no telling when I’d be free, so Sunday was better for making plans.
Meritocracy: I’m good on Sunday.
Kkamamgom: Then I’ll tell you in person!
Kkamamgom: If I say it in chat and it gets logged, I might end up at the police station (—.—)
Sure… whatever. I sent a hand heart, half sarcastically, to show I was looking forward to whatever grand story this was.
Meritocracy: No last-minute cancellations this time, right? lol
Kkamamgom: lol
Kkamamgom: Sorry about that time >_<
As I idly stared at the chat window, I suddenly realized why my conversations with the black bear always felt like they were going in circles. There was hardly any elaboration in most of his words. Take the recent exchange, for example. When apologizing, people usually offer an explanation or excuse—like, “Sorry for breaking the promise, something came up.” But this guy just says, “Sorry for breaking the promise,” and that’s it.
It wasn’t just this instance; most of our conversations were like this. In other words, this guy… doesn’t talk about himself. He doesn’t share anything about his feelings, his state, or his personality. The only time he’d revealed personal details, like his age or where he lived, was when he suggested meeting up.
It could just be that we weren’t close enough yet… but somehow, it felt like this was just how he was.
Meritocracy: Alright.. lol
Meritocracy: I’m gonna finish my Tier 1 quest and come back.
Kkamamgom: Okay!
Kkamamgom: What do we do next? ㅇ(^^)ㅇ
Next… well, the Tier 2 quest, of course. Which meant slaughtering a thousand old hyenas…
“Hmm…”
This was something I’d have to tackle alone. Luckily, in this post-apocalyptic game, the beginner fields were empty, so finding old hyenas wouldn’t be as hard as it used to be. When the black bear was around, I’d help with his tier quests, and when he went to sleep, I’d work on my own. That seemed like the best plan.
Meritocracy: I need to hunt old hyenas… I’ll do this one solo.
Meritocracy: Only monsters that’ve been in the field for a long time get the ‘old’ title,
Meritocracy: so I’ll have to go back and forth between hyena fields and take it slow.
Kkamamgom: Old hyenas? ㅇ.ㅇ
Kkamamgom: The ones in the Demon Forest underground dungeon,
Kkamamgom: are they different?
The Demon Forest underground dungeon was a solo dungeon for Shadow Warriors. Like the Kamt Mountain for Druid quests, it was a unique dungeon that opened as part of progressing through class-specific quests.
Meritocracy: Old hyenas show up there?
I’d been to that dungeon before while messing around with dark bears. It was full of random mobs, but no animal-type monsters. Thinking he might be misremembering, I asked again, and the black bear scratched his head.
Kkamamgom: Yup ㅇ.ㅇ)>
Kkamamgom: Oh, they don’t just appear if you go in.
Kkamamgom: You need a pass from some shady guy to unlock them.
Meritocracy: Shady guy?
Kkamamgom: There’s a small hut deep in the Dark Bear Forest,
Kkamamgom: and the guy inside gives it to you ^ㅇ^)
Kkamamgom: You can only see the hut, so I don’t know what race he is, but his name’s ‘Shady Someone.’
This was completely new information. I hadn’t even heard that basic instanced dungeons had separate passes. Either way, it couldn’t hurt to check. I urged the black bear to head to the ship bound for the Demon Forest.
🕹️
The Dark Bear village was nestled between barren cliffs and the Demon Forest. The forest was treacherous and complex, so only dark bears born and raised in the village could navigate it.
…That’s the lore, but of course, I had a minimap, so following it wasn’t too hard. The black bear, as soon as we entered the village, started darting through what looked like random paths. It was hard to believe he actually knew where he was going, but after winding through the forest, a hut appeared.
“…It’s really there.”
Above the small, shabby hut was the name ‘Shady Someone.’ I opened the map, but the NPC wasn’t marked. A hidden event? An Easter egg, maybe? After some thought, I clicked on it.
Shady Someone: …….
Shady Someone: (He’s noticed me)
Shady Someone: Hii… Hiiik!!!
Shady Someone: (He seems extremely startled. He’s hiding in the corner of the hut and won’t come out.)
I clicked a few more times, but the response was the same. It seemed only dark bears could get something from this NPC. Meanwhile, the black bear, who’d been talking to the NPC, turned to me with a grin.
Kkamamgom: I got 20 passes for now, is that enough? ^ㅅ^
Kkamamgom: There’s probably about a hundred in there!
Meritocracy: Uh… more than enough.
If there really were hyenas in there, that is. Half-doubting, I followed the black bear. The Demon Forest underground dungeon was under a large tree near the village entrance. The black bear, after forming a party, cast a stealth skill on me. Then he burned a paper pass at the dungeon entrance’s torch.
The screen transitioned, and an entry cutscene played. A scruffy, ferocious hyena was rampaging. Watching it, I felt an odd sense of déjà vu. Why did this feel so familiar? Was it because I’d been to the Demon Forest dungeon before? No…
“…Ah!”
The music. The background music was the same as the Kamt Mountain dungeon’s.
“What the heck?”
I muttered, furrowing my brow, as the cutscene ended and the dungeon loaded. The moment the screen changed, my eyes widened. In a wide-open map, old hyenas were swarming.
“…”
It was like a dungeon made specifically for my Druid tier quest. A goldmine. My heart swelled for a moment, but then a cold realization hit.
This… didn’t seem like just a bug.
There was definitely something going on. Taking the black bear to Kamt Mountain was one thing, but a hidden map in the dark bear dungeon filled with nothing but old hyenas? And the fact that no one had discovered this until now?
Of course, without the dark bear’s stealth skill, the map would be useless. It seemed only dark bears could get the pass.
Meritocracy: How did you know about this?
Kkamamgom: ㅇ.ㅇ?
Meritocracy: How did you find that hut?
Kkamamgom: Just… wandering around?
Kkamamgom: When I first started the game, I didn’t know what to do,
Kkamamgom: so I just explored everything I could ㅇ(^^)ㅇ
…Beginner’s luck, maybe? Unable to hold back my curiosity, I asked again.
Meritocracy: What does the hut guy say when a dark bear talks to him?
Kkamamgom: Uh… he says he’s been waiting.
Kkamamgom: ‘I’ve been waiting… take this,’ something like that, and hands it over ^ㅂ^)
‘I’ve been waiting… take this,’ and what he gives is a pass to a dungeon full of old hyenas.
…Could there be a connected storyline I haven’t found? Appho originally had intertwined stories between classes. For example, clerics and sorcerers were classmates at a magic academy but went separate ways, or healers and paladins came from rival families. These were usually minor details mentioned in passing during story progression, not critical, and only discussed among players who loved digging into the game’s lore.
But as far as I knew, Druids didn’t have any specific story connections with other classes. My character’s lore started as a human child abandoned in a capybara village, with no contact with other races until leaving the village.
But what if there was a hidden storyline with dark bears that just hadn’t been discovered yet?
There was only one answer. There had to be a trigger condition for a quest to follow that storyline. I just needed to find it.
“…”
My heart started racing. To think that a game I thought I’d seen every inch of still had uncharted territory. This thrill was something only a player jaded by the monotony of this post-apocalyptic mess of a game could understand.
Kkamamgom: Hyung?
Kkamamgom: Aren’t you gonna hunt? ㅇㅁㅇ)
The black bear tilted his head, asking. I mumbled a response and picked up a rock to start. I planned to put this guy to bed by 10 and then dig into Kamt Mountain for real.