[Guild] Killer: Hyung, where you going?
[Guild] Swakkoong: He was just here a second ago.
[Guild] Freedeal: Looks like he stepped away for a bit.
[Guild] Furple: Hopefully, they give proper first-clear rewards this time.
[Guild] Shokrates: Yeah, last time was absolute trash. T_T
[Guild] Furple: So, who’s attempting first clear this time?
[Guild] Oath’s Vow: I think we’ll need to go in with two parties this time.
[Guild] Shokrates: We don’t even know what the new dungeon is yet, jumping the gun much?
[Guild] Oath’s Vow: Lol.
[Guild] Furple: We’ve got eight, so we should split into two teams of four.
[Guild] Shokrates: Ugh, finding decent mercs on this server is gonna be hell. T_T
While he was away, the guild chat had been buzzing about the upcoming new dungeon. But for a Warlock, who got rejected from even trial runs and half-clear parties, first-clear attempts were none of his business.
[Guild] GegulGegulFrog: Since the party limit is six, guess I’ll step out of the dungeon. Ribbit >_<
[Guild] Freedeal: Ugh, seriously.
[Guild] Swakkoong: Freedeal, you sound way too genuinely disgusted. Lol.
[Guild] Oath’s Vow: Swakkoong, you in? Time zones are totally off—are you on leave again?
[Guild] Swakkoong: Damn time zones.
[Guild] Swakkoong: But vacation days.
[Guild] Shokrates: Ooh, bars.
[Guild] Swakkoong: Once I use up all my leave, I’m quitting and moving back to Korea. This country is hopeless.
[Guild] Shokrates: It’s not much better here. T_T
[Guild] Shokrates: My stocks are tanking hard right now.
[Guild] Swakkoong: If you haven’t seen the U.S. market, don’t even talk.
[Guild] Freedeal: Stock talk is now banned in guild chat. ^^^^^^
[Guild] Freedeal: Just checked the Han River water temperature. AAAAAAAHHHHHH
[Guild] Shokrates: I should’ve just spent that money on loot boxes. T_T
[Guild] Shokrates: My loot box pull: Paterna Attire +200% boost. My stocks: -40%.
[Guild] Freedeal: AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.
[Guild] Swakkoong: Where do I go, mister…
[Guild] Swakkoong: Is this your first time seeing a crying worker, you f***er? T_T
Some guild members started whining about stocks. Since they were always online at odd hours, Sa-yoon had assumed most of them were students or unemployed. But surprisingly, the guild had a fair number of working professionals.
The most shocking part? Even GegulGegulFrog, who always referred to himself in third person, turned out to be a freelancer. Sa-yoon had assumed he was a high schooler—maybe a college student at best—but after asking twice to confirm, he finally accepted the truth.
Well, mostly. He still wasn’t sure he fully believed it.
[Guild] GegulGegulFrog: Uh, guys?
[Guild] GegulGegulFrog: First teaser just dropped.
[Guild] GegulGegulFrog: (Link)
What was this, an idol comeback? A “first teaser” basically meant they were just showing a tiny glimpse and calling it a day. Still bitter from the earlier balance patch, Sa-yoon muttered that this game was trash as he clicked the link.
As expected, it was only a short 17-second clip. The screen was so dark that the surroundings were barely discernible. The only thing audible was the sharp click of high heels echoing in a straight path—and then it ended.
At the end, smoky text appeared, the same as what was already on the website. But this time, beneath the “D-30” countdown, there was an extra line:
[The Beginning of the 8-Man Party]
It was a straightforward message in a classic serif font.
Divine’s party cap was normally six members. Why was it suddenly eight? Was the difficulty increasing? Was the system changing?
Regardless, any major update was exciting. Already forgetting how he’d just cursed out the devs, Sa-yoon eagerly switched tabs.
[Guild] Furple: Did you hear the high heels? 100% goddess teaser.
[Guild] GegulGegulFrog: But male gods can wear heels toooo~
[Guild] Furple: Shut that nonsense down.
[Guild] Freedeal: 8-man party. Holy sht.
[Guild] Shokrates: That means it’s gonna be hard as f**, huh?
[Guild] Swakkoong: Soooooo f***ing hype.
[Guild] Oath’s Vow: Didn’t it sound like some kind of beast breathing?
[Guild] Shokrates: Huh? I didn’t hear anything.
[Guild] Oath’s Vow: Around the 2 to 3-second mark.
[Guild] Shokrates: Okay, going back to listen.
[Guild] Killer: Let’s pick first-clear members.
[Guild] Killer: Oath, Furple, Jeon-gi, Heart, Freedeal, Swakkoong, me, and Chasa-hyung.
[Guild] Swakkoong: Did you really only add a title for Chasa-nim? Is this real life?
[Guild] Freedeal: Lol… classic.
[Guild] GegulGegulFrog: Huh? That person? In this guild? I don’t see them?
[Guild] Furple: Jeon-gi, if you’re late again, I’m cutting you off for real.
[Guild] Oath’s Vow: Lol, don’t worry.
[Guild] Oath’s Vow: I’m housing him at my place for first clear.
[Guild] Freedeal: Now that’s reassuring!
[Guild] Shokrates: ?
[Guild] Shokrates: Wait, I didn’t agree to this.
Sa-yoon was skimming the rapidly scrolling chat when his eyes stopped on a particular line.
[Guild] Chasa: Me too?
[Guild] Killer: Hyung!
[Guild] Killer: Did you see the teaser just now?
[Guild] Killer: (Link)
[Guild] Killer: Sent you the link.
[Guild] Chasa: Yeah, I saw it.
[Guild] Killer: I’m excited to do first clear with you, hyung!
[Guild] Swakkoong: I can’t get used to this.
[Guild] Oath’s Vow: Don’t worry, we all feel the same. Haha.
Are these guys seriously okay with this? Normally, he got excluded from parties, but there was another reason Warlocks were nearly extinct in first-clear attempts.
A Warlock’s primary job was applying buffs and debuffs based on the situation. In other words, if they went in without knowing the enemy or the dungeon mechanics, they wouldn’t even be functioning at a quarter of their full potential.
[Guild] Chasa: Might be better to bring a Fighter or a Spearmaster instead of a Warlock.
At least those two classes could still deal damage no matter what.
To be honest, if this were a standard trial run, it wouldn’t be an issue. But this was a first-clear attempt. And in Divine, the game gave out tiered rewards to the first ten parties that cleared a new dungeon. Naturally, the first group to clear it got vastly superior rewards.
[Guild] GegulGegulFrog: Ehh? After all that, you’re secretly planning to run with another party, aren’t you?!
[Guild] GegulGegulFrog: If I can’t escape, you can’t escape either.
[Guild] Swakkoong: What’s this? The #1 duo arena champ trying to bail? We got a 13-hour time difference here, you know.
[Guild] Shokrates: But our robe alliance was beautiful~~~ Where’s our true friendship now?
[Guild] Furple: Just look at our guild lineup—without you, we can’t run this.
[Guild] Freedeal: Honestly, except for Heart, I just wanna clone Chasa-nim twice and take both versions.
[Guild] GegulGegulFrog: Ehh? That’s too mean! T_T
The pushback came instantly. No one seemed to hesitate about bringing a Warlock along. For Sa-yoon, the treatment felt unfamiliar, a little overwhelming… and yet, it felt good.
[Guild] Chasa: Alright, I’ll go with you guys. Lol.
It was never really about whether he could go—it was about how much value he could contribute.
[Whisper] Killer: Hyung, are you uncomfortable with first clear?
[Whisper] Chasa: Nah.
[Whisper] Chasa: I was just worried I’d hold you guys back. Lol.
As they chatted, a strange feeling settled over him. He had a vague sense that there was something he had wanted to say to Killer when they met again… Sa-yoon furrowed his brows, then suddenly—Ah!
[Whisper] Chasa: Oh, right.
[Whisper] Chasa: What were you gonna say back then?
[Whisper] Chasa: The message you sent me.
He’d forgotten all about it since Killer never replied that day.
[Whisper] Killer: Ah, lol.
[Whisper] Killer: Hyung.
[Whisper] Killer: Let’s meet up.
[Whisper] Chasa: Yeah, let’s go raid Pa-cho.
[Whisper] Killer: No, I mean in real life.
Sa-yoon’s expression turned a little strange at the sudden proposal. Normally, wouldn’t you only suggest something like this to close friends?
As he thought about it, a wave of pity crossed his face. Just how friendless did this guy have to be to ask someone he met online to hang out in real life…?
[Whisper] Killer: I’ll buy you a meal.
[Whisper] Chasa: I’m good.
Regardless of the pity, Killer wasn’t the type of person Sa-yoon wanted to get involved with offline. Besides, wasn’t he, like, twenty-one? Maybe twenty-two? He’d rather starve than eat food paid for with some kid’s pocket money.
[Whisper] Killer: Or we could drink instead.
First, he asked how much it would take to buy a custom item—now this? Sa-yoon had noticed it before, but Killer had a habit of trying to solve things with money.
“How the hell did he grow up?”
[Whisper] Chasa: I’m a lightweight, so no thanks.
[Whisper] Killer: Actually.
[Whisper] Killer: There’s something I want to tell you in person.
“Yeah, right.”
They didn’t even know each other’s faces—what could he possibly have to say that required meeting in person?
[Whisper] Chasa: I don’t believe in God.
[Whisper] Killer: ?
[Whisper] Chasa: I don’t take loans either.
[Whisper] Killer: ???
[Whisper] Chasa: Oh, and after that accident way back, I doubt I can even get insurance easily.
The only things Sa-yoon could think of were cults, insurance sales, or someone asking to borrow money.
[Whisper] Killer: It’s not like that!
[Whisper] Killer: Hyung, why do you always assume I’m some kind of scammer? T_T
[Whisper] Killer: Hyung, I don’t need money, I don’t know anything about insurance, and I’m not religious either.
The way he was flailing to deny all three made it seem like he was telling the truth. But no matter the reason, Sa-yoon had zero desire to meet someone who had been following him around online for months.
[Whisper] Killer: I really have something important to tell you.
[Whisper] Chasa: You know, technology these days is so advanced, we can have conversations without ever seeing each other.
[Whisper] Killer: It’s something I have to say in person.
[Whisper] Killer: If we meet, you’ll understand right away.
Sa-yoon clicked his tongue at Killer’s persistence, completely unfazed by the clear boundary he had set. Wanting to meet up without even giving a proper reason? What a joke. Staring at his monitor with a blank expression, he typed a short reply.
[Whisper] Chasa: Sure, sounds good.
[Whisper] Killer: Really?! You’ll meet me?
[Whisper] Killer: When’s a good time for you, hyung?
[Whisper] Chasa: In about—
[Whisper] Killer: In about…?
[Whisper] Chasa: Ten years?
[Whisper] Killer: Ah—
[Whisper] Chasa: Hyung’s kinda busy. Lol.
[Whisper] Killer: Don’t joke around.
[Whisper] Killer: Just take it seriously for once.
“At least while we’re filming… can’t you take it seriously?”
“…Tch.”
Sa-yoon’s indifferent expression crumbled. The situation was completely different, and yet, that voice resurfaced in his mind.
