TGTG Ch 2: Suspicious Gilma (2)
by ShrimpyNo matter how ruined your life may feel, the sun will still rise tomorrow.
It might seem ridiculous to talk about life just because I joined the wrong gaming guild but it can’t be helped. For gamers, games are life.
Before logging in to Genoris, I hesitated for a long time, then changed my mind and started installing HOL.
Since I had uninstalled it before the semester started, it had been quite a while since I last logged into this account. After completing the installation and launching the game, the main screen appeared, showing a gameplay video, probably showcasing a newly released hero. Beside it, the friend list window popped up.
In the past, I would have jumped straight into ranked matches as soon as I launched the game. But after taking a break for a few months, I didn’t feel like it anymore.
No matter how I looked at it, my lingering thoughts about Genoris where I had poured effort over the past ten days, only grew stronger. I didn’t have the confidence to last even a week in that guild, so I considered playing HOL instead…
“Is nothing ever going to go my way?”
I decided I might as well just turn it off. As I moved my mouse with that thought in mind, a message popped up, from someone I was glad to hear from.
[imflyingaway] OMG Jihan hiiii
[imflyingaway] Long time no see
[I’m Sleepy] Hyung hi hi haha
It was pro Seo Taeyoung, who had played as a mid-laner for the LVS team until last year’s spring season. Four years older than me, he retired a year ago and transitioned into being an internet broadcaster. He was one of the few streamers I genuinely liked.
[imflyingaway] Looks like you’ve been really busy.
[imflyingaway] Summer vacation?
[I’m Sleepy] We had a long vacation
[I’m Sleepy] I wasnt around because I was playing another game haha
[imflyingaway] What game?
[I’m Sleepy] Genoris
[imflyingaway] Isn’t that an RPG?
[imflyingaway] That’s a bit surprising.
[imflyingaway] Is it fun?
[I’m Sleepy] It’s not bad
[I’m Sleepy] Hyung, what are you doing these days?
We exchanged a few more casual lines about each other’s lives. Seo Taeyoung, who was now preparing to marry his girlfriend of three years, laughed and said he was so busy he could barely breathe.
[I’m Sleepy] Congratulations Hyung haha
[I’m Sleepy] Is the date set at all?
[imflyingaway] yep yep October 9th haha A little over 2 months left
[imflyingaway] Can you come? Isn’t October the middle of the school year?
[I’m Sleepy] Even if I’m busy, I’m deifinitely going to hyung’s wedding.
[I’m Sleepy] I’ll give in a generous gift
[imflyingaway] Ugh, its alright, man
[imflyingaway] I’m not such a bad adult who robs students of their gifts haha
[imflyingaway] When the wedding invitation comes out, I’ll send it to you, so come and eat.
[imflyingaway] Jiyoon and I put a lot of thought into picking a place with amazing food. kek
Seo Taeyoung, the soon-to-be groom, looked so happy that I couldn’t help but smile too.
[imflyingaway] If you don’t have time to turn on the game, Lets chat on KakaoTalk from time to time
[imflyingaway] A lot of people are curious about how you are doing
[I’m Sleepy] haha kkkk
After saying goodbye to Seo Taeyoung, I logged off HOL and opened Genoris. Since I failed to leave the guild yesterday and logged off immediately, I was still at Peroco Lighthouse Island.
[Guild] letsplayssesese: OMG
[Guild] letsplayssesese: Sleepy-nim Hi hahahaha
[Guild] Park Seungjin99: Sleepy-nim hiiiiiiiii hahaha
[Guild] It’s laaagging: Newcomer-nim hii~
[Guild] Spicy Marinated Crab: hey yoo
[Guild] I’m Sleepy: Hiya.
The guild members, who had heard about the botched withdrawal incident, greeted me with laughter. I gave half-hearted replies while hurriedly opening the guild member list to check if the most crucial person was online.
<Master> Yoo Chae [Offline]
“Ha…”
Thank goodness. Now I just need to change my status to ‘Away’ or ‘Offline’…
<System> Yoo Chae has logged in.
[Guild] It’s laaagging: Gilma-nim hiiiiiiiii
[Guild] Spicy Marinated Crab: hi hiii
[Guild] Park Seungjin99: Wow, what is this?
[Guild] Park Seungjin99: As soon as Sleepy-nim came in, Gilma came~?
[Guild] Harn: what what~?
[Guild] letsplayssesese: Lolololol
…Holy shit.
How is this guy’s login timing so perfectly in sync with his personality?
I was debating whether I should just pretend not to notice and change my status when Yoo Chae, ignoring everyone else’s greetings, called out to me.
[Guild] Yoo Chae: Hey.
[Guild] Yoo Chae: Sleepy-hyung
With a title that no one could’ve possibly expected.
“…?”
For a moment, I rubbed my eyes, wondering if I was dreaming.
[Guild] Spicy Marinated Crab: ?
[Guild] Park Seungjin99: ?
[Guild] Harn: ?
[Guild] letsplayssesese: ?
[Guild] It’s laaagging: ?
[Guild] brightclouds: ?
[Guild] TheHunter: ?
[Guild] theguywhowenthunting: 3 people who wants to play 7 rounds, letsgo
[Guild] Manao Ling Nam: ?
[Guild] amonsterbornofcapital[1]: ?
[Guild] illtakecareofyou: Stop it! FUCK
The guild chat had descended into chaos, mirroring my exact thoughts. I cautiously replied.
[Guild] I’m Sleepy: no way
[Guild] I’m Sleepy: You called me?
[Guild] Yoo Chae: Yeahㅜ
“…….”
It had only been three minutes since I had resolved to play Genoris again.
I slowly moved my mouse cursor to the ‘Log Out’ button.
‘Ugh, no. Hold on.‘
If someone’s going to quit, it should be him. Why should I leave? He’s the one who caused all this, so why am I running away?
[Guild] Yoo Chae: Hyung?
[Guild] Yoo Chae: Why aren’t you answering?
[Guild] letsplayssesese: I think I’m going to throw up…
With trembling hands, I forced myself to move the mouse away from the ‘Log Out’ button and typed into the chat with a strained smile.
[Guild] I’m Sleepy: Why am I
[Guild] I’m Sleepy: Your Hyung-nim…?haha;
[Guild] Yoo Chae: 24 years old
[Guild] Yoo Chae: I’m 23 years old
[Guild] Yoo Chae: So of course I should call you Hyung.
What? 23? A guy a year younger than me…?
I quickly suppressed the condescending thoughts that popped into my head.
[Guild] I’m Sleepy: I don’t think we’re close enough for you to call me Hyung.^^;
[Guild] Yoo Chae: So from now on, Were going to be friends.
[Guild] Yoo Chae: Where are you? Let’s party together.
[Guild] brightclouds: What is this? Am I watching a drama, not a game?
[Guild] Manao Ling Nam: ♡The Gilma, the newbie♡
[Guild] I’m Sleepy: What the… shit.
[Guild] I’m Sleepy: You guys stop
[Guild] Yoo Chae: We have to be close before I can call you hyung.
[Guild] Yoo Chae: Tell me where you are so I can go and get closer to you.
[Guild] I’m Sleepy: I’m going hunting anyway, so don’t worry about it;
[Guild] Yoo Chae: Hunting? Where are you?
[Guild] Yoo Chae: There are only a few places you can go at level 200.
[Guild] Yoo Chae: Hell Swamp? Fire Wasteland? Where are you?
[Guild] Yoo Chae: I’ll go with you. I’ll catch everything. I’ll give you all the experience points.
[Guild] It’s laaagging: Kya crazy
[Guild] brightclouds: Please, you two, whisper instead of guild chat;
[Guild] Manao Ling Nam: ♡Genoris Garden♡
[Guild] It’s laaagging: Eok lololololololol
This is a real mess. I couldn’t help but laugh hollowly as I watched the guild chat where Yoo Chae and I were being relentlessly teased.
[Guild] I’m Sleepy: No need.
I don’t know why they keep making such a fuss about going together even though I said no. First, I used quick travel to leave Peroco Island and headed to the central city.
I would like to quickly finish the collection quest first. Fifty Red Poison Crayfish Shells. Fire Wasteland it is then.
Today, I planned to reach at least level 205, so I was organizing my quests when the guild chat popped up again.
[Guild] Yoo Chae: I want to go with you
Oh, this is really fucking annoying.
I spoke curtly as I entrusted my weapon repairs to the NPC.
[Guild] I’m Sleepy: Just call me whatever you want.
[Guild] I’m Sleepy: I’m leaving the guild in a week anyway.
This time, there was no reply, as if my words had finally gotten through. Now I could finally relax.
[Guild] It’s laaagging: But did Gilma and the newbie know each other before?
[Guild] It’s laaagging: You seem really closeㅇㅅㅇ;
[Guild] letsplayssesese: nono lolol
[Guild] letsplayssesese: There was just something that happened hahaha
[Guild] Harn: Yesterday, the two of them created a story so intense that it would have made a drama writer cry, LOL
[Guild] Spicy Marinated Crab: What happened??
<System> drinksomewater is logged in.
[Guild] brightclouds: ha seriously, damnit I’m curious..
[Guild] letsplayssesese: water-nim hihi
[Guild] Park Seungjin99: water-nim hiii
[Guild] Manao Ling Nam: Just show me what you guys saw
[Guild] Harn: This really can’t be explained in words fr… you have to see it for yourself.
[Guild] Park Seungjin99: Agreed. I should have recorded a video.
[Guild] drinksomewater: hihihi
[Guild] drinksomewater: What’s going on?
[Guild] Yoo Chae: We did know each other before.
I tried to ignore them because I didn’t want to spoil their fun, but I couldn’t stand the rumors spreading any further, so I finally intervened.
[Guild] I’m Sleepy: What… We don’t know each other;
[Guild] imreeeeeeeling: Oh, I see… is that so haha;
[Guild] Harn: Lolololol
“Fuck….”
I really hate this guild. Just wait a week. I’m leaving and not looking back.
[Guild] brightclouds: Water-nim
[Guild] illtakecareofyou: Is anyone here interested in buying a +5 Glove?
[Guild] illtakecareofyou: I need cash, so I’m selling it cheap ㅠ
[Guild] amonsterbornofcapital: I’ll buy it.
[Guild] brightclouds: Water-nim, are you there??
[Guild] drinksomewater: Oh, sorry, I was doing something for a moment.
[Guild] drinksomewater: Why?
[Guild] brightclouds: I wanted to return the robe you lent me.
[Guild] brightclouds: Where are you?
[Guild] drinksomewater: Ah, right now I’m a little…
[Guild] drinksomewater: I’ll come to you in a bit.
I finished repairing my weapons and stocked up on potions, just in case. I smiled with satisfaction at my neatly organized inventory and opened the map.
The Fire Wasteland is a hunting ground for level 200 characters, so Red Poison Crayfish were scattered everywhere. I could collect them faster by going to a respawn point.
I checked the best respawn point on the strategy guide and clicked quick travel. The respawn point is a little west of the bell tower in the center of the Fire Wasteland.
<System> A hot wilderness filled with the energy of fire unfolds.
<System> You have entered the combat zone. Please be careful
After a very short loading time, a desert covered in red sand appeared. To prevent the fire debuff, I put on the hood I had bought earlier and summoned my horse.
Unlike other areas, you can’t ride a horse in the desert. Riding a camel would be slightly faster, but it’s not worth the cost, so everyone just rides a horse.
I set the destination on the map for auto-travel and opened YouTube. Without hesitation, I clicked on an animal video.
A light wheat-colored puppy was bouncing around playfully, nipping at its owner’s feet. With its round belly, round eyes, and short tail, it was incredibly cute.
As expected, the Sigorzabjong[2] dog is the best. The stress that had built up because of Yoo Chae melted away.
I would love to have a dog if I could. Preferably a large one with brown fur. And it would be great if it was affectionate.
With a happy smile on my face, I turned off the video and looked back at the game screen, my face immediately crumpling.
“Crazy, what the…”
[All] Yoo Chae: Why are you so late?
[All] Yoo Chae: I’ve been waiting for a long time.
[All] I’m Sleepy: ?
Why is this son of a bitch here?
I was so dumbfounded I was speechless. Yoo Chae chattered at me as I stood there, stunned.
[All] Yoo Chae: What’s that hood? Did you buy it from the store?
[All] Yoo Chae: Should I give you mine?
[All] I’m Sleepy: Why are you here?
I finally snapped out of it and questioned him with my annoyance clear in my tone. After a moment of silence, he sent me a trade request and typed in chat.
[All] Yoo Chae: As I said earlier
[All] Yoo Chae: If it’s a level 200 hunting ground, it’s either here or the Hell Swamp.…
[All] I’m Sleepy: Hahahaha, so now
[All] I’m Sleepy: You’re saying you just guessed correctly between the two?
[All] Yoo Chae: Well…
I declined the trade request while thinking. If I had known this would happen, I would have gone to the Hell Swamp. It was a 50/50 chance, so why did it have to be this?
Regretting my decision belatedly, a new guild chat message popped up.
[Guild] Yoo Chae: Found him.
[Guild] drinksomewater: Ugh dmnt
[Guild] drinksomewater: It’s my luck
“…….”
I pondered for a moment, then asked, just in case.
[All] I’m Sleepy: Don’t tell me you sent Water noona to the swamp?
[All] Yoo Chae: I didn’t know which one it would be, haha.
[All] Yoo Chae: But why do you call Water noona?
[All] Yoo Chae: While I couldn’t call you Hyung
[All] Yoo Chae: But you call Water, noona after meeting her for the first time yesterday…
[All] I’mSleepy: Just shut up…
If you think about it, the problem is you, a 23-year-old, speaking informally without an honorific to a 27-year-old… Are you really crazy?
“Haah……”
My motivation to play the game plummeted. Holding my head in my hands, I let out a frustrated sigh as the trade request notification sound kept ringing.
[All] Yoo Chae: Accept the trade.
[All] Yoo Chae: It’s a hood and an ice attribute buff item. It’s good.
[All] I’m Sleepy: Can’t you just leave me alone?
[All] Yoo Chae: Sobㅜㅡㅜ
Sob my ass, damn it!
I don’t know why he’s so obsessed with me. He hated me so much at first, so why now?
How do I get rid of this annoying bastard?
[All] Yoo Chae: Please accept just this once.
[All] Yoo Chae: The attribute buff item is really good.
As I was rejecting the trade requests that were flooding in at a terrifying speed, I realized something and blinked.
“Ah.”
A brilliant plan flashed through my mind. Crazy. Why didn’t I think of this before?
I felt like running out of the house right now, sprinting through the neighborhood yelling “Eureka!” I’m a genius, after all.
I hurriedly pulled my chair closer, accepted the trade request I had been relentlessly declining, and quickly typed.
[All] I’mSleepy: A hood and buff items?
[All] I’mSleepy: Are you giving them away? Not lending them?
[All] Yoo Chae: Of course.
[All] Yoo Chae: Do you need anything else?
[All] Yoo Chae: How about a robe?
When I accepted the trade, an excited Yoo Chae hurriedly placed the hood and buff items in the trade window.
I smiled brightly and confidently made my request.
[All] I’m Sleepy: Give me everything, hehe.
[Guild] Yoo Chae: Hyung
[Guild] Yoo Chae: You need Lynne’s Feathers, right?
[Guild] Yoo Chae: Would you like some??
[Guild] I’m Sleepy: yeye how many do you have?
[Guild] Yoo Chae: I have 50
[Guild] I’m Sleepy: Give me everything
[Guild] Yoo Chae: haha yes where are you now?
[Guild] I’m Sleepy: Kelp Forest Fast Travel Point
It had already been four days since I joined the guild.
After the first day, when I was shocked by the fact that I couldn’t leave the guild and had turned off the game, and the second day, when I was terrified by Yoo Chae’s stalking, by the third day, I had regained some stability, and now, on the fourth day, I was a little used to it.
[Guild] Yoo Chae: Hyung, what level are you now?
[Guild] I’m Sleepy: 207
[Guild] Yoo Chae: I have an accessory you can wear at level 208. Would you like to have it?
[Guild] I’m Sleepy: yep
As soon as Yoo Chae realized that I wasn’t refusing the trades, his eyes lit up and he started showering me with items. And I accepted almost everything he gave me.
It would be a good idea to continue refusing as I had been and then leave the guild a week later. But if I did that, I would just leave the guild and that bastard’s stalking would still continue.
The important thing was not leaving the guild after a wee, but cutting off that incomprehensible Yoo chae’s interest in me. I would accept everything he gave me but never actually do anything for him.
People inherently have something called a ‘compensation psychology’. If they give this much, they expect at least a small reward in return and when those expectations are not met, they become disappointed and lose interest.
Throughout the game, I smiled broadly, watching Yoo Chae running around, fetching me the items I needed.
‘It’s going according to plan.’
Accept moderately, ignore moderately. Then I wouldn’t have to be stressed, and it would be nice to be able to get items as a bonus.
[Guild] Yoo Chae: Hyung hyung
[Guild] Yoo Chae: The shoes you’re wearing right now are +3 enhancement, right?
[Guild] Yoo Chae: A +7 enhancement pair just came up for auction. Should I buy them for you?
+7? I immediately stopped killing monsters and opened the auction window. They hadn’t specified what kind of shoes they were, but the price would probably be similar to other +7 enhanced items.
I shook my head when I saw that the +7 enhanced shoes listed on the auction house were going for 800 million gold.
[Guild] I’m Sleepy: nono
[Guild] Yoo Chae: Why? These are good.
[Guild] I’m Sleepy: Nah, thanks.
[Guild] Yoo Chae: Sobㅜㅡㅜ
[Guild] I’m Sleepy: Just help me gather the mobs in the swamp.
Of course, there were caveats to this plan. That is, not accepting excessively expensive items.
If I wasn’t careful, I could become a scammer who preys on someone and rips off their items. Expensive items were a bit burdensome.
The only items I had received so far were materials needed for quests or equipment below +5 enhancement. From +5 and above, the price often jumped significantly probably because the probability of enhancement failure increased.
When I checked the exchange rate between game money and real money on a currency exchange site, I found that roughly 100 million gold in-game was equivalent to about 100,000 won in cash. So, 800 million gold meant 800,000 won.
‘What kind of guy tries to give an 800,000 won item as a gift to someone they’ve only known for a few days?’
It was funny that I would even have this thought but honestly, it was a bit pathetic. Of course, as the guild master of the number one guild on the server, he would naturally have that much gold.
[Guild] TheHunter: What am I even witnessing…
[Guild] brightclouds: Just ignore them.
[Guild] Park Seungjin99: Are you able to? I think I’m going crazy soon haha
[Guild] It’s laaagging: holysht Me too. LOL
[Guild] drinksomewater: Why don’t you two just get married and use the partner chat?
[Guild] Yoo Chae: Should we?? Hyung, do you want to get married?
[Guild] I’m Sleepy: Like I would;
[Guild] Yoo Chae: Well, I wouldn’t want to propose in GilChat either.
Oh, is that so?
Having become somewhat immune to the endless stream of Yoo Chae’s nonsense over the past four days, I ignored him and checked the whispers from Kim Daeseok.
[Whisper] Soeso: Ah, I’m really sorry haha
[Whisper] Soeso: I’ll really take responsibility and clear things up here.
[Whisper] Soeso: Loyalty! Loyalty!
Kim Daeseok, who had greatly contributed to making this situation a mess, apologized profusely and promised that I could join his guild after a week.
Kim Daeseok’s guild was called <One Heart, One Will>, and it had a pretty good reputation, consistently ranking within the top 15.
Above all, it was one of the few guilds that maintained a relationship with Early Evening, the number one guild.
They didn’t usually accept new members but Kim Daeseok, who had inadvertently introduced me to a stalker had explained the situation to One Heart, One Will guild master and they had agreed to take me in.
…No, more accurately, they were trying to reach an agreement. If that failed, I would have to find another guild.
‘Is it really this difficult to join a decent guild?’
I wasn’t sure, since I hadn’t played an RPG in a few years, and hadn’t joined a clan during HOL.
[Whisper] I’m Sleepy: I’ll keep an eye on things.
[Whisper] Soeso: Loyalty, loyalty^^7
More importantly, there was the raid. I had already reached level 207, so I needed to start preparing.
Most of the high-reward quests available from level 210 were raid quests that emphasized party play.
Of course, leveling up through solo play without raids was possible, but that would require clearing at least three times the number of quests. Therefore, even players who lacked skill made sure to participate in raid quests.
[All] Yoo Chae: Hyung!
Yoo Chae, who had rushed to the Hell Swamp after hearing my request came running towards me, herding dozens of Swamp Leeches. He had even somehow managed to weaken them, so that they were all on the verge of death, requiring only a single area-of-effect skill from me to finish them off.
Swamp Leeches had exceptionally high defense and health, and the quest required killing 50 of them, making it a time-consuming task. Thanks to my persistent stalker, however, it looked like I would be able to finish it in less than five minutes.
Kwoong—!
Kieeeeek!
I aimed a Fireball directly at the center of the swarm of Swamp Leeches. The monsters, already clinging to life with barely any health remaining, all died at once, granting me a huge boost in experience.
Having received experience for both killing the monsters and completing the quest, I successfully reached level 208. Time to equip those accessories I received earlier.
[All] Yoo Chae: Exactly 50, right?
[All] I’m Sleepy: yeye
[All] Yoo Chae: Did I do well?
[All] I’m Sleepy: yeye
As I perfunctorily replied while organizing my inventory, which was overflowing with automatically looted items, Yoo Chae remained silent for a moment before displaying an emoticon. It was the blushing, smiling emoji that appeared when pressing Alt+F1.
He really goes to great lengths. I chuckled and, after discarding the useless junk items and closing my inventory, the guy who had been patiently waiting spoke again.
[All] Yoo Chae: Any more hunting quests?
[All] I’m Sleepy: Go east and kill 30 Black Ghosts.
[All] Yoo Chae: I will go too
[All] I’m Sleepy: gd[3]
Since this is the northernmost point, using a movement scroll would be faster to go east. To go with Yoo Chae, I opened the party window, typed something random in the name field and pressed the start recruitment button.
<Sytem>ㅇㅁㄹㅇㄴㅁ Party recruitment begins.
[All] I’m Sleepy: gogo
Even though I sent a chat message to join, Yoo Chae stood still for a long time. Why is he like this again?
[All] I’m Sleepy: ?
Seeing no response for over three minutes, I thought he might have left without a word, so I sent another chat message. Only then did the party join sound ring.
<System> Yoo Chae has joined the party.
[Party] I’m Sleepy: What were you doing? Why didn’t you join right away?
[Party] I’m Sleepy: Using a scroll?
Again, there’s no reply. Seriously, what’s up? Not wanting to waste any more time, I used the scroll first. A flashing effect filled the screen, and soon the scenery changed.
A jet-black swamp bubbled like lava and a bleeding debuff rained down from the sky. Only when I equipped my debuff-resistant robe did Yoo Chae finally send a message.
[Party] Yoo Chae: Just a little…
[Party] Yoo Chae: Surprised…
[Party] I’m Sleepy: About what?
[Party] Yoo Chae: Partying with hyung.
[Party] I’m Sleepy: Of all things…
He’s easily surprised. It’s not like this is his first time in a party.
[Party] Yoo Chae: Being in a party like this makes it feel like we’re really on the same team.
[Party] Yoo Chae: I should have done this sooner.
[Party] Yoo Chae: I have a title that gives a party buff.
[Party] I’m Sleepy: Fr? Equip it now.
[Party] Yoo Chae: LOL
I don’t know why he’s laughing but Yoo Chae, seemingly in a good mood, immediately changed his title. His nickname, which had been <Grandmaster Tracker Yoo Chae>, changed to <Holy Leader Yoo Chae> and my character’s health increased and mana regeneration sped up noticeably.
[Party] Yoo Chae: Plus 20 health, 3% increase to recovery speed and experience.
[Party] Yoo Chae: I’m not a buffer class, so I don’t have many useful buff titles.
[Party] Yoo Chae: Sobㅜㅡㅜ
[Party] I’m Sleepy: Tnx
So buffer classes give buffs through titles too. I should befriend players with buffer classes from now on.
[Party] Yoo Chae: Shall I mob pull?
[Party] Yoo Chae: 30 Black Ghosts will be quick.
[Party] I’m Sleepy: yeye
True to his word, Yoo Chae quickly gathered 30 Black Ghosts to my location. He’s really good. His class has a skill to pull enemies together and deal damage, making mob gathering easier than other classes, but still.
Thanks to Yoo Chae’s help, I completed the quest at an unprecedented speed and achieved the feat of reaching level 210, just five days after hitting level 200.
Yoo Chae, now enjoying partying with me, sent a message as soon as I reached level 210.
[Party] Yoo Chae: Hyung
[Party] Yoo Chae: Shall I tell you about the raid?
Genoris receives raid quests starting at level 210.
Raids are divided into field raids and dungeon raids, with field raids generally being easier and simpler. Perhaps that’s why all quests from level 210 to 220 are field raid quests.
The first field raid quest received was to hunt a white dragon.
The white dragon, inhabiting the northern snowfield area, is located in the center of a restricted area. Entry requires 50 users.
Yoo Chae offered to teach us how to raid, so we immediately went to the snowfield area. The entrance to the restricted area, where the white dragon could be found, was teeming with users waiting for the raid to begin.
[Party] Yoo Chae: Once the raid starts, chatting will be difficult.
[Party] Yoo Chae: Hyung, can you use voice chat?
[Party] Yoo Chae: Like Discord.
[Party] I’m Sleepy: Discord gogo.
[Party] Yoo Chae: Tell me your code so I can add you.
[Party] I’m Sleepy: Yoo Jihan#62146
I opened Discord, provided my nickname and code, and promptly received a friend request.
His Discord nickname was Yoo Chae, the same as in Genoris. I just use my real name because it’s a hassle. I should have changed it to my game nickname knowing this would happen.
[Party] Yoo Chae: Wait
[Party] Yoo Chae: I’ll call you
I hesitated at that message.
Wait. Are we really going to have a call, just the two of us?
‘This is a bit awkward…’
I’m not overly shy, but I still felt somewhat uncomfortable having a one-on-one call with someone I had known for less than a week. We had even experienced some unpleasantness.
[Party] I’m Sleepy: Just the two of us, no one else?
[Party] Yoo Chae: Yes.
[Party] Yoo Chae: Absolutely
I asked just in case, and his reply was quite firm.
It can’t be helped… He offered to explain the raid, and I can’t refuse now.
[Party] Yoo Chae: Come on in.
Yoo Chae urged me with a slightly stiff tone. I slowly shifted my gaze to the program window. As expected, there was no one else in the voice channel he had invited me to.
I repositioned the microphone attached to my headset, which I had pushed aside due to lack of use, and joined the call. Yoo Chae, who had joined before me, spoke first after a brief silence.
“Hyung?”
“…Uh.”
An unfamiliar feeling washed over me, and my hand holding the mouse involuntarily twitched.
“Why are you so awkward?”
“…No, it’s not that I’m awkward.”
Yoo Chae chuckled and spoke playfully in a low, gentle voice, making me even more embarrassed. This was the first time in my life I had a voice call with someone I’d only known for a few days through a game, so I wasn’t used to it.
Now that I could actually hear his voice, it felt strange to treat him as casually as I would in chat. I needlessly rubbed the back of my neck as Yoo Chae got straight to the point.
“Do you see that rock up ahead? If you click on it, you’ll join the raid.”
“Uh.”
I pushed through the densely packed characters towards the entrance of the restricted area and saw the blue rock Yoo Chae had mentioned. Clicking on it brought up an opaque window displaying a list of nicknames.
Currently, there were 47 people. Once it reached 50, we would depart, meaning the raid would start as soon as three more people joined.
“Three more isn’t bad. People gather pretty quickly at this time anyway.”
“Really?”
“Yes. From 8 PM to 10 PM, people gather easily… After 11 PM, it slows down a bit. It’s a weekday after all.”
Yoo Chae continued his explanation softly. It was the kind of voice that would make girls swoon. Still, the atmosphere was somewhat similar to chatting, which eased the tension in my shoulders.
“It’s starting. Hyung, equip your weapon.”
Just as he said, three more people quickly joined, and the restricted entrance opened. I hurriedly equipped my staff and entered the restricted area with Yoo Chae.
Whiiiing, a vast expanse of pure white snowfield stretched out before us, with a white dragon, as massive as a mountain, at its center. Its roar resonated like thunder.
<System> You have entered the combat zone. Please be careful.
<System> The Lord of Frost is nearby. Debuffs will begin.
<System> The quest ‘Subdue the White Dragon’ has been automatically assigned to those entering the field.
The white dragon inflicted three debuffs. Decreased movement speed, decreased attack speed, and decreased recovery speed.
“Hyung, here, equip this.”
Yoo Chae handed me a headpiece as my movement speed significantly decreased due to the debuffs.
“If you equip this, your movement and recovery speed will return to normal. It can only block two of the three debuffs, so we’ll have to forgo the attack speed.”
Since I was a mage, a slower attack speed wouldn’t affect me too much. I equipped the headpiece and spoke as usual.
“Thanks.”
“Huh? No, it’s nothing…”
Yoo Chae’s voice, which had been calm and even-toned during his explanations, wavered at my simple expression of gratitude. He did the same in chat. How consistent.
“I’ll explain the patterns.”
Yoo Chae continued, his tone now tinged with a hint of shyness, unlike before.
“Field dragons, including the White Dragon, have different attack patterns depending on their health percentage. Do you see the gauge at the top?”
“The one that says 30?”
“Yes.”
As he instructed, a bright red health gauge appeared at the very top of the game screen. Seeing the gauge marked 30/30, I could easily grasp the white dragon’s immense health pool without further explanation.
“Up to 25%, it only uses tail swipes and stomps, so it’s easy. It’s a good time to land your skills, so make sure to deal at least half of the necessary damage during this phase.”
Both the level quest and the raid area entry quest could only be cleared by inflicting more than 500,000 damage on the White Dragon.
I don’t know yet how much skill damage will be inflicted depending on the White Dragon’s defense, but it was clear that the more hits, the better.
“Starting from 24, the dragon flies into the sky, so it’s a bit tricky, but with your (hyung’s) control, it’ll be manageable.”
“I know you use magic too.”
“That’s right. From 24, the dragon uses Hailstorm and Thunder from above. But its speed isn’t fast, so you just have to watch the floor markings and avoid them.”
Of course, I could avoid it if it marked the floor. I nodded.
“And?”
“From 17, it breathes… This is a bit tricky. Its attack power is also high, so if it were hyung now, Deadly [4]would appear as soon as you would get hit.”
“What is the way to avoid it?”
“It makes a full circle around the entire map, so you just have to use your evasion skill at the right time. The direction is always clockwise.”
“Okay.”
“And from 5, meteors pour down, but I’ll explain this when we get there. It’s hard to explain in words.”
“Hmm.”
I was a little anxious about him explaining it later, but since I had no time to find out more, I had no choice but to accept it. As soon as the conversation with him ended, a video of the White Dragon howling appeared and the raid began in earnest.
[All] Eirera: You guys are too crowded at 7 o’clock;
[All] Eirera: Not enough people at 12 o’clock gogo
[All] Kola: Is there a buffer or healer here??
[All] bunnydog: No, who is that Sharp Shooter showing off in front?
[All] bunnydog: Get back, you’re in the way.
As soon as the video ended, 50 users rushed towards the White Dragon. As Yoo Chae had said, it was to inflict damage while the pattern was easy. I also joined them and diligently cast my magic.
Thanks to being in a party together, Yoo Chae’s chain damage numbers were much more visible than other users’ damage numbers. While others were dealing around 2,000 or 3,000 damage, Yoo Chae alone consistently inflicted over 20,000 damage.
The White Dragon, crying ‘Kieek!‘ while being beaten by 50 people, spread its huge wings wide and flew up. It was precisely the moment its health gauge reached 24/30.
Grumble! Thud!
Hailstorm, which inflicts a wide-area stun if you are nearby, and pure white Thunderbolts randomly fell onto the field.
I dodged here and there, paying more attention to Hailstorm than Thunder, which has a narrower area of effect. Nearby, users who had been stunned by Hailstorm began to fall after being hit by Thunder.
[All] bunnydog: Ah, those ranged players are so fxxking surprising It’s frustrating
[All] CoffeeScent: The blood’s draining too slowly;;
[All] ShadowDrawing: No, it’s just that this party lacks ranged damage…
[All] ShadowDrawing: I’ve heard they need to change the field party requirements to 25 ranged and 25 melee.
[All] Missile: fr This game is seriously messed up.
The speed at which the gauge would decrease was noticeably slower than before. It seemed to me that there were about 16 ranged attackers, and since there were fewer of them than melee attackers, their attack power was correspondingly weaker.
Screech!
Still, after steadily chipping away at the gauge, the dragon descended to the ground once more. Then, it opened its mouth wide and spewed a long stream of pure white fire.
It was Breath, a skill exclusive to boss dragons. It was clear that the dragon would expel its breath clockwise, but using an evasive skill with the correct timing was more difficult than expected.
“As expected, hyung, you’re good.”
After I barely avoided the fourth Breath. Yoo Chae, who had been silently playing until then, offered praise. Since it was a compliment from the person who had explained the pattern to me, I quietly accepted it.
Unlike me and the other novice players who were busy dodging, the gauge rapidly decreased thanks to the efforts of Yoo Chae and the veteran players who skillfully dodged while also landing attacks. After the eighth Breath, the White Dragon, whose health gauge had reached 5/30, began to flap its wings again.
Finally, it was Meteor. If we would just survive this turn, we could defeat the White Dragon. I quickly stopped casting my skill and asked,
“What should I do?”
“Come next to me.”
As the White Dragon soared high into the sky and conjured a bright red fireball, the number 10 appeared on the screen. This meant that meteors would rain down in 10 seconds.
“Do you see the blue stone straight ahead? When the meteors fall, a shield will activate from the stone. This is the only way to avoid them.”
“The one at the 12 o’clock position, at the edge?”
“Yes. They’re at the 12, 3, 6, and 9 o’clock positions, at the edge of the map. The meteor falls four times in total, and you have to move to a different stone each time.”
As I listened to the explanation, I quickly ran to the stone at the 12 o’clock position. Simultaneously, the 10 seconds elapsed, and a massive meteor crashed down with a deafening roar. It was a close call.
“I don’t think I’ll make it in 10 seconds next turn.”
Pet summoning was disabled during the field quest. As I watched the meteor from within the opaque shield, I voiced my concern. Yoo Chae confidently replied,
“That’s why I told you to stay close to me.”
Yoo Chae put away his golden chain and pulled out a red one instead. Clang, as if using a skill, Yoo Chae’s character spun the chain around and around.
“Hyung, send me a Bind Request.”
“What?”
Was there such a thing? Curious, I right-clicked on Yoo Chae’s character, and a new option, [Bind Request], had been added to the menu.
Intrigued, I clicked it, and my character snapped close to Yoo Chae’s. What was that?
“Is that even a skill?”
I asked hesitantly, and Yoo Chae replied in an excited voice,
“It’s one of the Chain class’s hidden skills.”
Just then, the meteor shower ended. As if showing off, Yoo Chae swung his chain, wrapping it around a distant pillar and pulling. Instaneously, both my and Yoo Chae’s characters, bound together, were flung towards the pillar.
“It’s a skill that isn’t used often because the other hidden skills are so good.”
“I guess there wouldn’t be much use for it other than situations like this…”
“Yeah. And there aren’t many Chain users.”
Having easily moved to the 3 o’clock stone, we weathered the second meteor shower without any issues.
Other players would ask nearby buffers to increase their movement speed or receive teleportation assistance from max-level mages. Those who blindly ran were mercilessly struck by the meteors and died.
After surviving the meteor shower, the rest was easy. Since Meteor was its ultimate skill, the White Dragon, having landed, was helpless against our combined attacks and quickly fell. When its health gauge reached 0/30, a bright light erupted, signaling the quest’s completion.
[All] FullMoonHwicheong: GG
[All] Script: Good job
[All] Kankan2: gj
[All] Missile: Good work~
“Hyung, did you meet the damage requirement?”
“I did.”
I opened the completed quest window and checked my damage contribution: 502,361. It was a really close call.
“I barely made it, with about 2,000 to spare.”
If I had landed even one less hit, I would have failed the quest. Still, the simultaneous experience gain from both the level and field quests was definitely worthwhile.
“Hmm. Hyung, what staff are you using right now?”
“Luna.”
“It seems like your damage is lower because of your staff. Hold on a second.”
As the White Dragon died, we were automatically transported outside the restricted area. Yoo Chae summoned his pet and immediately sent me a trade request.
I was skeptical, but when I saw the staff placed in the trade window, I frowned.
“I don’t need it.”
“This isn’t expensive, hyung.”
Yoo Chae responded immediately, as if reading my mind.
“It’ll be difficult to clear the upcoming raid quests with your current staff.”
“What’s different about this one?”
I examined the staff in the trade window. It was +4 enhanced, just like mine. The attack power and durability were also similar. However, the ‘Lux 2.0’ inscription at the bottom of the stats window was a bit suspicious.
“Since you use elemental skills often, hyung, the Solis Staff would be more useful.”
“What’s that at the bottom?”
“That’s just… nothing much. It’s like bonus damage, but 2% isn’t that significant.”
“..…”
Still suspicious, I opened the auction house instead of accepting the trade. The auction house would have all the answers.
Scrolling through the list of staves on auction, I indeed saw a few with the Lux tag. Let’s see… a +4 Luna Staff with Lux 1.0 was priced at around 5,000 gold. It wasn’t incredibly cheap, but it wasn’t expensive for a staff either.
It really didn’t seem like a big deal. In that case, there was no reason not to accept.
I accepted the trade with a light heart and received the staff.
“Thanks.”
“You’re welcome.”
I equipped the staff, and the blue gem embedded in its tip shone brightly. This was a new effect for me.
In response to my thanks, Yoo Chae spoke in the most cheerful voice I had heard all day.
“Use it well, hyung.”