TGMND 89

Little Forest, which Yeo-woon hadn’t played in a while, still looked the same on the surface. Several messages from other users asking if he’d really quit had piled up in his mailbox, and the once bustling fountain square was now quite deserted. Yeo-woon started browsing through the returning user event that was supposed to give items.

“…Wow. They’re really giving a lot?”

Do they not use Eternal Herbs anymore?

When he checked his status window, his stats were still maxed out in ‘Crafting’ and ‘Enchanting’ just as he had left them. Pressing the “Enhance Abilities” button brought up a notification that Eternal Herbs were needed.

The returning event was for accounts that hadn’t logged in for 6 months. To receive Eternal Herbs, you had to form a party and defeat the Giant Golem 5 times. And for the gift card attendance event, you just had to check in for a week.

“But I’ll need to find a party first to defeat the Golem.”

It had been so long that nothing made sense to him anymore.

-What’s a Golem?

“Ah, you scared me!”

-What’s a golem? You’ve been talking about it for a while.

Earth Star asked, having returned at some point. Yeo-woon quickly switched back to the Illusion game window and ran away from Earth Star who was swinging his weapon at him. But Earth Star caught up to Yeo-woon in 1 second and sat down right next to him.

-What were you just doing?

“I was looking at the Little Forest returning event.”

-Little Forest?

“The game I used to play.”

-…

Earth Star fell silent after hearing Yeo-woon’s words. Even his character that had been fluttering around pestering Yeo-woon now just stood still in front of Yeo-woon, blinking.

-What are you doing?

After a while, he let out a disbelieving laugh.

-…Don’t get distracted. Why are you talking about another game right in front of me?

“…?”

-I’ve been good to you.

“What…?”

-No wonder your login rate has been low and things have felt a bit off. I knew this would happen.

What on earth is he talking about?

-You’re not thinking of quitting Illusion, are you?

“What?”

-Are you?

Yeo-woon felt flustered. The barrage of questions made him feel like he was being interrogated. As Yeo-woon stammered, Yoon Ji-gu repeated the same question a couple more times. What does it matter to him whether he quit or not? Yeo-woon grumbled reluctantly.

“It is said that they’re giving out really expensive items…”

“Why do you need items for a game you’ve quit?”

“…”

He had a point. It wasn’t like he needed them right away. But still, it felt like a waste not to take the Eternal Herb when they were giving it out for free. He could sell it later or maybe even use it. After thinking it over, Yeo-woon spoke up.

“Think about it. What if you quit Illusion later, Ji-gu?”

-Why would I? I’m planning to stick with Illusion till the end. I won’t quit before the server shuts down.

You fool. He thought the same thing before. You never know what might happen. Who would have thought his game would become trash overnight?

“I’m not really telling you to quit, it’s just an example. Just listen.”

-Okay, fine.

“Let’s say you’ve quit Illusion for over a year. Then, suddenly, they announce a return event that gives you a mount with a speed boost. What would you do?”

Earth Star pondered Yeo-woon’s words seriously. After a long pause, he cautiously asked,

-…How much speed boost?

Idiot. I can’t believe he got convinced so easily. Yeo-woon chuckled.

“The fastest among the current mounts.”

-Are you kidding? You’d be a fool not to take it.

“Right?”

-…So, you’re just going to get the items and stop playing again, right?

“Probably?”

-What’s with that ambiguous answer…?

“Well, I might keep playing if it turns out to be fun.”

Even though he said this, Yeo-woon doubted it would actually happen. Seeing that people still occasionally migrated over to Illusion, it was clear that the game had really fallen. Those still playing were probably just pitiful people who couldn’t let go due to attachment or nostalgia.

“Hmm…”

Yeo-woon picked a mushroom that had sprouted near Earth Star’s feet and waited for him to continue. The bright blue eyes of Earth Star’s character blinked occasionally in sync with the idle animation.

-Then… if I install Little Forest now, can I hang out with you?

“…?”

-Stop picking mushrooms. I’m asking if you’ll hang out with me if I install the game now.

“…Why?”
He genuinely didn’t understand. He was just going to claim the return event rewards and leave—why was Earth Star talking about starting the game from scratch?

-Well… I’m just curious about how other games look?

Earth Star coughed awkwardly as he answered. But saying he was curious didn’t quite cut it. If he were really curious, he would have tried it long ago. The slow, hesitant way he spoke was suspicious. What was Earth Star up to? Yeo-woon thought it over, recalling how Earth Star had earlier asked if he was going to quit Illusion or stop playing once he got the items. Could it be…?

“Are you coming to keep an eye on me? Afraid I might quit Illusion?”

-…What?

Earth Star responded grumpily to Yeo-woon’s question. It seemed he had hit the mark. The two party members who had briefly left returned, swinging their weapons, signaling Yeo-woon and Earth Star to move on to the next map. Earth Star took off first, flying through the air and disappearing as he passed through the map boundary. Yeo-woon followed behind ParkRoach, seriously considering Earth Star’s words.

Unlike Illusion, Little Forest was a game where players could choose a specific job, find work in a town, and steadily increase their stats through consistent effort. Yeo-woon had taken the crafting route and became a chef.

Given the nature of the game, it wasn’t necessary to join a guild, but Yeo-woon still got to know and greet the regulars who often visited his restaurant. Most of his customers were hunters, who stuck together in guilds and frequently asked why Yeo-woon hadn’t joined one. His answer was always the same—guild content was too bothersome.

After Little Forest became like that, while everyone else moved to Illusion in groups, Yeo-woon had been alone from the start. Of course, now he had somehow ended up joining Poseidon and was doing well.

Still, he suddenly wondered what it would be like if the person he was closest to in the group, Earth Star, joined him in Little Forest. The thought of playing with a friend in a game he had always played solo felt awkward.

But the more he thought about it, it didn’t seem so bad. Above all, in Little Forest, Yeo-woon was max level, while Earth Star would be a total newbie…

“Then, when we’re done with today’s tasks, want to install the game and play together?”

-Whatever. I’ve got nothing else to do today

Although Earth Star spoke as if he was doing him a favor, it didn’t bother Yeo-woon at all. No, he was rather looking forward to it. Because Yeo-woon had also gained a new goal.

-It says it’s downloading resources.

“Already? Let me know when you’re done installing and ready to choose a server.”

Yeo-woon smiled silently, his lips curling upward. Finally, the day of revenge had come. Even though Earth Star might be running wild like a fish in water here, outside of Illusion, he was nothing but a beginner.

I’m going to give him hell…

*

Yoon Ji-gu sighed as he looked at the group of black-cloaked figures surrounding him in his short-sleeved shirt and shorts. They were all lining up to send him trade requests, eager to give him some pocket money. Their seemingly close relationship had looked unsightly in Illusion, but it was even worse in this game.

‘You have new mail.’

‘You have new mail.’

<Arirang>: Buy some snacks, kid~

<Zero>: Newbie ㅇㅅㅇ If you don’t take big bro’s money, I’ll get mad ㅇㅅㅇ

<Cheche>: Sing a song!

<CooCoo>: Is this guy really a newbie? Not a fake?

<Ji9byeol>: Um, I’m not a newbieㅋㅋ This is my alt >_<ㅋㅋ

Yoon Ji-gu decided that calming them down was his first priority and attempted to lie.

‘Slayer <Zero> has bound you.’

“…!”

He couldn’t move his body.

<Zero>: Aww, don’t run away ㅜ.ㅜ Let’s stay together forever… ♥

<Arirang>: Can’t even break the bind lol lol lol Must be a real newbie

<Cheche>: lol lol lol So cute ♥♥♥♥

<CooCoo>: Wow lol Earth Star, accept the trade already

“Hyung, where are you?”

He was severely outnumbered. If it was just one or two people, he could handle it, but at a glance, there seemed to be over twenty. Ji-gu was terrified by the obsession of these users who had no particular reason for their behavior.

‘You have new mail.’

‘You have new mail.’

Meanwhile, he couldn’t figure out how to block the mailbox. He quickly found and blocked the trade function, but he couldn’t move his body due to being bound or whatever it was.

In any game, welcoming new players is normal. But this was the first time he had seen a game with such a mob of lunatics obsessed with newbies. They’d noticed his appearance in just his underwear when he arrived in town and, realizing he was a fresh player, they’d called their friends over to swarm him. Normally, he would have just told them to buzz off and they’d leave, but there were simply too many of them.

No matter how hard he looked for the nickname ‘neutaaaa’ among the nicknames floating above the swarming cloaked figures’ heads, he couldn’t find it.

“When are you coming? I can’t move my body.”

<KwakwakDirara>: Dance for us

<Zero>: Earth Starㅇㅅㅇ I’ll release the bind for 5 seconds if you dance, okay? Haha

“Hyung, where are you?”

He could hear Yeo-woon laughing in his ears. He had to be close. Why wasn’t he helping? How had he ended up in this situation? Yoon Ji-gu sighed quietly.

The decision to install the game, something with “Little” in the name, had been made in a fit of frustration. He didn’t care about or want to know about this game, but the idea of Lee Yeo-woon moving on to some unknown territory had suddenly made him anxious.

<asdfasdf>: lol lol lol lol

“…?”

A carelessly made nickname suddenly caught his eye in the public chat. While everyone else had two-character or Korean nicknames, ‘asdfasdf’ stood out with its meaningless string of alphabets. He immediately had a hunch. That must be Neuta.

/whisper/<asdfasdf>: Press Shift twice to break the bind

As he said, pressing the Shift key twice freed his body. Yoon Ji-gu was good at dodging and escaping just with basic controls. But it wasn’t long before another player bound him, locking him in place again. No matter how good his control skills were, it was too much for Ji-gu, who had started less than 5 minutes ago, to avoid these veteran players who had long since reached max level. Why did they make binding possible in a regular town? No wonder the game fail. Meanwhile, Yeo-woon was laughing so hard he could barely breathe.

“Ugh, what are you doing? I can’t do anything if I can’t move. Is this ‘asdf’ you? What’s with that nickname?”

-I’ll take you away if you dance.

Great.

“…How do I dance?”

Just get it over with and get out of here. With that thought, Yoon Ji-gu answered, and Yeo-woon chuckled again. It was obvious he was being teased, yet for some reason, it didn’t feel bad. The sound of Yeo-woon’s laughter was tickling him.

/whisper/<asdfasdf>: As soon as the bind is released with Shift key, spam the Tab key

Ji-gu pressed the Shift key twice at those words, then immediately spammed the Tab key. The light blue-haired newbie character ‘Ji9star’ started doing a hula dance, wiggling his hands left and right. The black cloaks that had been clinging to him stepped back slightly, keeping their distance, and stared at him dancing. When Cheche and CooCoo started clapping, the others followed suit, joining in with applause.

<CooCoo>: lol lol lol Are you really a newbie?? Who taught you how to dance?

‘You have new mail.’

<KwakwakDirara>: Use had donated 50 million star balloons!!!!

<Zero>: No way lol lol lol

<Cheche>: User has donated 1 million star balloons!

<Unluckygameruiner>: lol lol lol

When are you going to take me away? Ji-gu stared intently at ‘asdfasdf’. Then ‘asdfasdf,’ who had been clapping at the back of the crowd, suddenly stood up, summoned a dark horse, and mounted it. He grabbed Ji-gu’s character and placed him on the back. Then he started running before other users could follow. Ji-gu, who had been feeling frustrated with the incredibly slow speed of his newly created character, felt a sense of relief as he experienced the power of the mount item.