Yuchae, who had been running away for a while, must've completely given up, because she clung to me and just took hit after hit without resisting. What, are you saying you don't care since the damage is weak anyway? What an annoying jerk.
It was right then, as I was enthusiastically beating up Yuchae.
[Guild] ThisIsDorahee: Hello hehe
[Guild] DrinkSomeWater: Gasp hihihi
[Guild] Haerun: Hiyo~
[Guild] MochaBread: Hi newbie~
[Guild] SpicyCrabYum: Hihi
[Guild] ManaRingGuy: Oh, Dorahee, hi there~
Newbie? Is this "ThisIsDorahee" the new low-level buffer who joined recently?
I stopped smacking Yuchae and asked in the party chat.
[Party] SoSleepy: Is that the new person who joined?
[Party] Haerun: Yep
[Party] Haerun: Their nickname is kinda weird, but they're super nice
[Party] CrazyAboutHunting: LOLOLOLOL
[Party] CrazyAboutHunting: True
[Party] CrazyAboutHunting: Like, seriously
[Party] CrazyAboutHunting: Even when the guild master picked a fight, they didn't even flinch
[Party] ParkSeungjin99: Yeah
[Party] ParkSeungjin99: Didn't even respond
'...Isn't that just ignoring them rather than being nice?'
More importantly, looks like Yuchae tried to mess with that newbie just like they did with me. Seriously pathetic.
[Party] SoSleepy: You need to fix that trashy attitude of yours
[Party] Yuchae: Me?
[Party] Yuchae: My attitude is trashy?
I was dumbfounded at Yuchae pretending not to know.
Of course it's you. Who else here would get told something like that?
[Party] SoSleepy: Yup
[Party] Yuchae: Huh
[Party] Yuchae: I'm like, super nice though ㅜㅡㅜ..
"…."
Forget it, not even worth talking anymore.
I swung my staff one last time to knock Yuchae's clinging character off me.
[Guild] DrinkSomeWater: We're gonna run a normal Seltern, wanna come?
[Guild] DrinkSomeWater: Saved you a spot~
[Guild] ThisIsDorahee: Oh!
[Guild] ThisIsDorahee: I'd love to hehe
[Guild] DrinkSomeWater: Good
[Guild] DrinkSomeWater: Let's go to the Seltern entrance
As soon as the chat ended, DrinkSomeWater appeared right in front of us. They immediately joined the party and asked me:
[Party] DrinkSomeWater: So?
[Party] DrinkSomeWater: Is it cool if they join the raid?
[Party] SoSleepy: Of course, I'm totally fine with it
[Party] SoSleepy: I heard from others in the guild they're all really nice too
[Party] DrinkSomeWater: Oh that?
[Party] DrinkSomeWater: When Rahee first joined the guild
[Party] DrinkSomeWater: Yuchae acted up again
Rahee? Are they shortening Dorahee to Rahee?
'Honestly, even the nickname seems kind of unusual…'
[Party] Yuchae: LOL
[Party] Yuchae: Don't talk nonsense
[Party] Yuchae: What if our Sleepy-hyung actually believes that?
[Party] DrinkSomeWater: The nonsense is what you're saying right nowㅡㅡ;
Anyway, I spent way too much time focused on beating up Yuchae. I quickly sent them a whisper.
[Whisper] SoSleepy: Hey, after the raid
[Whisper] SoSleepy: Let's talk for a bit
[Whisper] Yuchae: Huh?
[Whisper] Yuchae: Ah come on, hyung
[Whisper] Yuchae: Don't you think we're moving a bit too fast >.<
[Whisper] SoSleepy: Cut the crap
[Whisper] SoSleepy: I know that staff you gave me is super expensive
[Whisper] SoSleepy: You better give me a proper explanation later
[Whisper] Yuchae: Oh, that's what you meant?
[Whisper] Yuchae: Huhuhu
Of course that's what I meant. What else did you think?
[Whisper] Yuchae: Well obviously I gotta help you out
[Whisper] Yuchae: Then after the raid
[Whisper] Yuchae: Let's go on a date? >///<
[Whisper] SoSleepy: ;
Crazy bastard…
Maybe I should've just asked Kim Daeseok about it instead. Regret hit me a bit too late.
[Party] DrinkSomeWater: Rahee's the buffer and Sleepy's the mage
[Party] DrinkSomeWater: So the combo works
[Party] Haerun: It's just normal mode anyway
[Party] Haerun: Even if we kinda suck, it won't be too hard
[Party] ParkSeungjin99: Are we using Discord?
[Party] DrinkSomeWater: Yeah
[All] ThisIsDorahee: Hello hehe
The last raid member, Dorahee, arrived at the dungeon entrance. Once everyone was gathered, DrinkSomeWater posted a link to the guild's Discord server in the party chat.
[Party] DrinkSomeWater: Here, gogo
[Party] DrinkSomeWater: Once you're in, look on the left
[Party] DrinkSomeWater: There's a raid voice channel
[Party] DrinkSomeWater: Everyone, come to Raid 3.
[Party] Haerun: Yep
[Party] DrinkSomeWater: Even if you don't have a mic, at least come listen, gogo
[Party] ThisIsDorahee: Got it
[Party] DrinkSomeWater: Also, Sleepy and Rahee
[Party] DrinkSomeWater: The group chat right now
[Party] DrinkSomeWater: has people who changed numbers or left the guild mixed in
[Party] DrinkSomeWater: So I'm gonna make a new one
[Party] DrinkSomeWater: I'll invite you tomorrow
[Party] ThisIsDorahee: Okay okay
[Party] SoSleepy: Sure
As I turned on Discord and responded casually, suddenly Yuchae, for whatever reason, messaged me in a hurry.
[Whisper] Yuchae: Hyung
[Whisper] Yuchae: Hyung, hyung
[Whisper] Yuchae: Wait a sec
[Whisper] SoSleepy: ?
[Whisper] Yuchae: I've been wondering for a while
[Whisper] Yuchae: Is your Discord name actually your real name?
Ah, right. I forgot to change it.
[Whisper] SoSleepy: Yeah
[Whisper] Yuchae: ???
[Whisper] Yuchae: Change it, quick
[Whisper] SoSleepy: Why
[Whisper] Yuchae: Just do it, pleaseㅠㅠ
[Whisper] SoSleepy: You're being ridiculous
[Whisper] SoSleepy: I'm too lazy
[Whisper] Yuchae: Nooo
[Whisper] Yuchae: No!
[Whisper] Yuchae: Change it now
[Whisper] Yuchae: Please, hyung
[Whisper] SoSleepy: Why are you freaking out over my name?
[Whisper] Yuchae: Hyung… won't you change it for me?
[Whisper] Yuchae: Ji-han hyung....
"Ah, fuck."
When Yuchae actually used my real name, I got chills and cursed out loud. Is he actually insane?
[Whisper] SoSleepy: Fine, I'll change it
[Whisper] SoSleepy: But don't call me that again…
[Whisper] SoSleepy: It's fucking creepy…
[Whisper] Yuchae: Okay, Ji-han hyung! ㅇㅅㅇ
[Whisper] SoSleepy: You little shit
I changed my Discord name to match my in-game name, "SoSleepy," and joined the voice channel. Looking at the members list, I noticed that everyone else's Discord nickname matched their in-game one.
'Hmm, I guess changing it was the right call.'
It'll keep things clearer for everyone. Still, if that's all he wanted, why the hell did he throw a fit about it?
Everyone else in the party had already joined the voice chat. I turned on my mic and entered the channel labeled "Raid."
Last time I was in Discord with Yuchae, it was just the two of us, which made things awkward. But now, in a group call like this, there wasn't anything particularly uncomfortable.
"Oh, you're here."
"Welcome, Sleepy!"
"Nice to meet you."
"So we're all here now?"
"Hello~!"
As each voice chimed in, their Discord icons lit up in turn — Haerun, CrazyAboutHunting, Park Seung-jin, DrinkSomeWater, and ThisIsDorahee. Haerun, CrazyAboutHunting, and Park Seung-jin were guys, and Dorahee was a girl.
I already knew DrinkSomeWater was a woman from when she first joined the guild, but I didn't expect the newbie to be a girl too. Really, trying to guess gender from usernames or characters is pointless.
"Hyung! You made it!"
Lastly, Yuchae, whom I'd heard before, spoke up.
What's he so excited about? I adjusted my mic and replied.
"Hello."
"What's this? The guild leader actually turned on his mic?"
"Probably because Sleepy joined…"
Hearing Haerun and Park Seung-jin whisper to each other like that — and not in chat, but with their actual voices — was… unsettling.
"Shall we get started?"
DrinkSomeWater spoke again with her slightly husky voice.
"Everyone else is probably fine… Sleepy and Rahee, do you know the Seltern mechanics?"
"I watched some guides and a few videos."
"Same here, just some videos."
"Then we should be good. It's normal mode anyway, so nothing too difficult — let's treat this run as practice."
With that, Haerun, the party leader, selected the raid difficulty and hit the ready button. The screen shifted, revealing a dungeon filled with dense foliage.
Seltern dungeon isn't super hard in terms of difficulty, but its maze-like layout and constant monster spawns make it one of the trickier raids to clear.
That's why experienced parties that know the path — like the one I joined tonight — tend to breeze through it.
'Still...'
I glanced over at the Discord window open on my second monitor. Why is Yuchae so quiet?
I half-expected him to say weird things like how happy he was to hear my voice again. But after his initial greeting, he didn't say a word or join in the chatter.
'Well, him being quiet is a win for me.'
Still, despite trying to convince myself of that, something about it felt off. I rubbed the back of my neck unconsciously. I really don't get that guy.
[T/L: Read extra chapters on my ko-fi page "Pokemon1920" : http://ko-fi.com/pokemon1920 ]