[Guestbook] Lepus-killer: Please share your customization. ㅇ^^ㅇ [email protected]
A few days ago, the guestbook left by Killer—the same one who suddenly launched a forum raid—remained untouched.
Even though my sensitivity settings weren’t lowered, my mouse cursor hesitated as I passed over the familiar sentence, moving towards the character name to click it.
“Hah.”
[Lepus | Killer | LV.1]
Sa-yoon unconsciously let out the breath he had been holding.
Back when Killer’s online stalking had reached its peak, he had once clicked on the profile out of sheer curiosity, wondering what kind of crazy bastard this person was. Back then, the level had definitely been maxed out.
In an online game, levels could only go up, never down.
[Whisper] Chasa: Free-nim
[Whisper] Freedeal: Yes? Didn’t you receive the guild invite????
[Whisper] Freedeal: I told the guild master, though??
[Whisper] Chasa: You said last time that you came from Lepus.
[Whisper] Freedeal: Yeah, yeah.
Without realizing what kind of chaos his answer would spark, Freedeal fell right into the baited interrogation.
Lepus. Killer.
There was no clearer proof than that.
Sa-yoon effortlessly reached the truth.
[Whisper] Killer: Hyung??
Maybe he found it strange that there had been no response—Killer whispered him first.
[Whisper] Killer: Are you AFK again?
[Whisper] Killer: Hyung, hyung.
The chat was no different from usual, but with the changed nickname, it felt completely different.
And that was the final straw for Sa-yoon.
How the hell could this bastard be so shameless?
[Do you want to log out?]
Yes / No
Staring at the monitor, Sa-yoon immediately logged out. He couldn’t sit still any longer. He shot up from his chair and left the room.
As he massaged the stiff muscles at the back of his neck, he could feel how tense they had become.
He went straight to the kitchen, filled a cup with cold water, and drank it all in one go. The chill rushing down his throat jolted him awake.
With both hands braced against the sink, Sa-yoon let out a long breath. On the outside, he looked completely calm, but inside, a storm was raging.
How could someone be like that?
When he uncovered the truth, what hit him wasn’t just anger—it was a deep sense of betrayal.
After meeting 44 and partying with his acquaintances, Sa-yoon had actually been enjoying the game quite a bit.
He had always played alone, so at first, the rowdy atmosphere was unfamiliar. But the ridiculous, offbeat chat of the people who treated Warlocks without discrimination quickly became something he got used to.
Before, playing solo had been fun enough. But playing together—it was several times more fun.
At first, he had been wary of their intentions. Were they approaching him with some ulterior motive? But he was just a Warlock with nothing valuable to steal. What could they possibly gain by scamming him? The moment he realized that, the walls around his heart started to crumble.
One by one, he added them to his friends list. They chatted, ran dungeons together.
And yet, all of that had just been a ploy to get his customization?
No, seriously, they had actually abandoned everything and transferred servers just for a damn customization? Were they insane?
And if that was their goal, why not just keep quiet until they got what they wanted? Why the hell did he suddenly change his nickname so openly?
Had he had his fun toying with him and was now just curious about how he’d react?
The more he thought about it, the more Killer seemed like a lunatic. His mind was a mess.
Setting his cup down in the sink, Sa-yoon turned and headed back to his room.
[Whisper] Killer: Hyung!
[Whisper] Chasa: ♡♡
The attempt at conversation failed from the very start. The moment he saw the character name, his blood boiled.
[Whisper] Chasa: Do you enjoy messing with people?
[Whisper] Killer: Huh?
[Whisper] Chasa: Is it fun to change your nickname, pretend to be someone else, and toy with people?
[Whisper] Killer: What are you talking about, hyung?
Caught red-handed, yet still trying to feign ignorance. Disgusting.
[Whisper] Chasa: Don’t call me hyung. ♡♡
[Whisper] Killer: Why are you acting like this all of a sudden?
[Whisper] Chasa: It must’ve been fun, huh? Watching me laugh and treat you nicely, not knowing it was you.
[Whisper] Chasa: You should’ve just asked for the customization outright.
[Whisper] Killer: Why are you so mad, hyung ㅠㅠ
[Whisper] Chasa: You think you’re the only one who can transfer servers?
[Whisper] Killer: …What?
It was a solo game for him anyway. Whether he played here or moved to another server didn’t make much difference. If anything, transferring to a city server would probably make it easier to find parties that accepted Warlocks.
[Whisper] Chasa: I’m applying for a server transfer.
[Whisper] Chasa: Just to get away from you.
[Whisper] Chasa: Once I’m gone, I won’t be posting anything again.
[Whisper] Chasa: Try tracking me down across every server if you want.
[Whisper] Killer: Hyung.
[Whisper] Killer: Why are you doing this?
He should’ve just been honest. Said that he wanted the customization so badly he transferred servers for it. Admitted that he used a temporary nickname first because he knew he’d be blocked if he approached as Killer. Said sorry.
Maybe then, there would’ve been some room for understanding.
But Killer kept up the act until the bitter end.
[Whisper] Chasa: You’re disgusting to the very last moment.
[‘Killer’ has been removed from your friends list.]
[Would you like to block ‘Killer’?]
Unlike before, there was no hesitation in pressing the button.
***
Thirty minutes before the siege war began.
Looking up, Sa-yoon saw massive clouds gathering in the sky.
Since players couldn’t hover indefinitely in the air, most of them waited on the battlefield before aerial battles began. Once the siege war started, they’d have to mount their flying rides and head straight to the floating temple.
Sa-yoon had already positioned his character at the portal— the shortest route from the ground to the temple.
With most of the server participating in the event, even with the setting to hide other characters, his screen was still flooded with an overwhelming number of usernames.
[General] TruthOfShubung: Buying Warlock attack speed buff @@@@ 500 per person, 2500 total @@@@
[General] PhosphoTycoon: Buying Warlock attack buff! Please invite me to a slot ㅜㅜㅜㅜ
[General] ZeroIsPepshu: Looking for a Sharpshooter party!!!!!!! I’ll do great DPS!!
[General] WhiteNoise: >>> Looking for a Warlock to buff the Commander party <<<
[‘EternalSnow’ has invited you to a party. Accept?]
[‘merci’ has invited you to a party. Accept?]
[‘SweetPotato1’ has invited you to a party. Accept?]
[Whisper] EternalSnow: Do you already have a party? ㅜ?
Siege wars were the peak of the season for Warlocks. Not only was the chat filled with people scrambling to recruit one, but Sa-yoon—just standing still—was being flooded with nonstop party invites.
Annoyed, he rejected them all and opened his settings to enable the option to automatically decline party invitations.
With the screen feeling especially chaotic today, Sa-yoon let out a sigh.
The reason? A crowd of players circling his character, ‘Chasa,’ like they were performing some kind of ritual.
Oath, Freedeal, GegulGegulFrog, Furple, and Killer.
One by one, they whispered him after he had blocked Killer.
Under normal circumstances, they would have joined the siege war as a guild, participating in parties. Instead, Sa-yoon blocked every single one of them.
[‘GegulGegulFrog’ wails sorrowfully at ‘Chasa.’]
[‘Freedeal’ wails sorrowfully at ‘Chasa.’]
[‘Furple’ wails sorrowfully at ‘Chasa.’]
[‘Oath’s Vow’ wails sorrowfully at ‘Chasa.’]
[‘Killer’ wails sorrowfully at ‘Chasa.’]
When someone was blocked, their messages became completely invisible. Meanwhile, the blocked person would receive a system message stating, “You cannot whisper this player.”
Since they couldn’t even talk to him, they resorted to circling around Sa-yoon like satellites, flopping to the ground and wailing to express their feelings.
They say a turned fan is the scariest kind. Just hours ago, these same people had been all over him, but now they clung on like lost ghosts. The sight of them grinding at his nerves made him grit his teeth.
Especially that pathetic crying emote—it instantly brought back the memory of Killer acting weak and pitiful in the past.
[General] MangoFlavoredTomato: Chasa-nim, hello!
[General] Chasa?
A player had pushed past Killer’s group and hopped excitedly toward him.
[General] MangoFlavoredTomato: Um, the outfit you’re wearing right now—
[General] MangoFlavoredTomato: Can you tell me what it is?
[‘Killer’ wails sorrowfully at ‘Chasa.’]
[General] MangoFlavoredTomato: It’s so pretty!
[‘Killer’ wails sorrowfully at ‘Chasa.’]
They say once you’re scared by a snake, even a rope will make you flinch. Sa-yoon had overreacted at first, but realizing there was no ill intent, he let his shoulders relax.
Clicking on MangoFlavoredTomato revealed their hidden appearance. From head to toe, their outfit was a meticulously curated ensemble—without a doubt, a hardcore fashion collector.
They clearly had a flair for the extravagant. The brooches on their outfit were lined up like military medals, but unlike a certain someone who had zero taste, the arrangement and choice of accessories were cohesive and stylish. The difference was like night and day.
