Sometimes, showing something directly is faster than a long-winded explanation.
[Combat] Using Mana Support on ‘Freedeal.’
[Skill cooldown: 3 seconds remaining.]
[Skill cooldown: 2 seconds remaining.]
[Skill cooldown: 1 second remaining.]
[Combat] Using Mana Support on ‘Freedeal.’
[Skill cooldown: 3 seconds remaining.]
[Combat] Using Mana Support on ‘Freedeal.’
Mana Support was a skill that transferred a portion of one’s own mana to another. Freedeal’s nearly depleted mana bar instantly filled up to about half.
Freedeal: Holy shit.
The sheer miracle of it—like oil springing forth in a barren wasteland—left Freedeal in awe.
Jeon-gi: Wait, Warlocks have a skill like this? Why? Why do they even have this?
“So true.”
Shokrates, another mage, expressed confusion, and Sa-yoon was quick to agree. It made sense—typically, magic-based classes barely had enough mana to sustain their own skills, often struggling with depletion.
Sa-yoon could bet last season’s limited edition gear on the fact that more than half of all mana potion purchases at the brokerage came from magic users.
That’s why Chasa pouring his mana into Freedeal was no different from a beggar handing out charity.
Jeon-gi: Even if it’s just a throwaway skill for variety’s sake, this is seriously garbage…?
GegulGegulFrog: Yes?
Jeon-gi: Ah, not you.
[Combat] Using Mana Support on ‘Freedeal.’
One more use of Mana Support, and Chasa’s mana bar was nearly empty, with barely a trace of blue left.
WarTum, the game’s developer, had made their expectations for Warlocks clear—they wanted a multitasking class that could both deal damage and provide support, something unseen in other games.
Back when the game was still in development, head director Oh Yoon-myung had said something in an interview that set players’ hearts racing with excitement. But no one watching the video realized at the time that his words were essentially the gaming equivalent of an employee at a small company being expected to handle sales, customer service, and logistics all at once.
In other words, Warlocks were half-baked at everything. Fuck!
The more versatile a class, the more precise its balance and skillset needed to be. They had hyped it up so much, yet somehow still managed to completely botch it.
If they wanted a class that could debuff, buff, and provide mana support, they should’ve just made a debuffer under the healer category. There’s a reason why certain design paths aren’t commonly taken.
Of course, it wasn’t a lie. In all of WarTum’s gaming history, there had never been a class as frustratingly ambiguous as this.
Despite his frustration, Sa-yoon’s fingers moved with practiced precision, activating familiar skills without hesitation. With increased healing output and restored mana, the party’s sustain stabilized.
Oath’s Vow pulled WhiteNoise into capture range, while GegulGegulFrog smashed Greenlight.
As soon as RedAlert spotted Chasa, it abandoned its harassment of Freedeal and charged at him like a raging bull. Sa-yoon used a movement skill to dive straight into the enemy formation, then transformed both enemy healers and all three tanks into goats.
After being hit with the same skill so many times, you’d think they’d start considering ways to counter curses… but no matter how he looked at it, their learning ability seemed pitifully low.
A black goat with two horns let out a meeeh before running off in the opposite direction and slamming its head into a wall. As a parting gift for such a warm welcome, Sa-yoon cast Blessing Removal, wiping out every buff they had.
[Combat] Using Mana Drain. Gained 1,128 mana from ‘SsangGyePiRiceCake.’
If he was low on mana, he’d just steal it from his enemies. His target’s mana bar instantly dropped below half, and they scrambled to chug a mana potion.
GegulGegulFrog: Honestly, Priests feel way too op right now.
Freedeal: Who the fuck gave you permission to spew such bullshit?
Once they broke through the enemy’s rock-solid tank lineup, the rest was easy. A party that lost its front line couldn’t recover its momentum.
The last enemy healer held out as long as they could, but once they fell, the battle was over.
[General] GegulGegulFrog: Stay down.
[General] GegulGegulFrog: This is the difference between you and me.
[General] RedAlert: ♡♡♡ bastards.
[General] Greenlight: Look at these socially inept losers, getting all happy just because they win games all day. Tsk tsk.
[General] Shokrates: Yes, old man. ㅜㅜ
[General] RedAlert: LOL, I’m young, okay?
[General] Shokrates: Sure, grandpa. ㅜㅜ
[General] GegulGegulFrog: Grandpa’s getting defensive. ㅇㅅㅇ
[General] RedAlert: Are you out of your fucking mind, you ♡♡?
[General] Shokrates: Yes, ancestor. ㅜ
[General] RedAlert: I can’t even talk to you guys. ♡♡
Even in death, they still ran their mouths. But at least they had enough shame to disappear the moment their respawn timer was up.
Oath’s Vow: Should we go for the King now, or mess around a bit more?
“Mess around a bit more.”
Oath’s Vow: Sounds good.
GegulGegulFrog: I’m down too~
Normally, with this much of a point lead, going for the King would be the obvious move. But this time, they wanted to stomp Noize’s squad into the ground just a little longer.
Then, an uneasy feeling crept up. The kind you get when you reach the subway station and suddenly realize you forgot your wallet… Like something had been overlooked.
Scanning the corpses sprawled on the ground, Sa-yoon quickly realized what was missing—Killer. Just before the Mana Support spree, that guy had been happily attacking his teammates. Now, he was nowhere to be seen.
“Killer’s in stealth right now.”
Something was off. Stealth was meant for catching opponents off guard, but that timing had long passed. Was he just standing there, waiting for a one-on-one?
“I think he marked me as his target. Let’s just move on.”
Stealth skills didn’t last forever, and he’d have to reveal himself sooner or later. Even if they lost one player to an ambush, they were so far ahead that it wouldn’t matter.
Furple: What if he’s just standing next to Chasa, taking screenshots?
Jeon-gi: Oh, let me try a summon spell.
[Guild] Shokrates: A Warlock giving mana to a healer… That’s true love. Healer Love Squad forever. ♡
The moment Shokrates’ message popped up, the air behind Freedeal shimmered—Killer had appeared. The assassin, who had been silently lying in wait, unleashed a barrage of skills, and in an instant, Freedeal’s health plummeted below half.
[Guild] Freedeal: What the fuck ♡♡
[Guild] Freedeal: Is this guy seriously insane?
[Guild] Shokrates: If I can’t receive love, I’ll kill those who do.
[Guild] Furple: LMAO, tragic romance Killer. ㅠ
Freedeal, being a pure-healer Priest, hadn’t invested in a single offensive skill. The sight of him frantically hopping away to escape had the whole party laughing.
As a true member of the Healer Love Squad, Sa-yoon instinctively attacked Killer.
[Whisper] Killer: ㅜㅜ
Without overthinking it, Sa-yoon executed his combo as naturally as breathing. Even as he took damage, Killer didn’t even try to counter—he just kept chasing Freedeal. He died at Chasa’s hands.
[Guild] Furple: Failed romance. ㅠ
[Guild] GegulGegulFrog: I’d rather die than kill my idol…☆
[Guild] Killer: ㅗ
[Guild] Shokrates: I’m losing my mind, my dear stars…☆★
[Guild] Furple: Just looking at chat, it feels like the guestbook of some cringy teenage romance forum.
GegulGegulFrog: But hey, am I the only one getting hyped about Warlocks right now?
Jeon-gi: Yeah, what if Warlocks were actually decent all along, and we just never realized?
Oath’s Vow: Personally, I think it’s less about Warlocks being good and more about Chasa being good at landing his skills.
Jeon-gi: …That actually makes sense.
GegulGegulFrog: Chasa, Chasa! What do you think about me leveling a Warlock alt?
“I’d advise against it.”
Sa-yoon was a bit of a hypocrite—he always hyped up Warlocks, but the moment someone showed interest, he’d tell them it was a path no sane person should take. It was his one shred of conscience.
He never thought of himself as someone who craved praise, but now that compliments were coming in nonstop, a quiet sense of pride swelled within him.
See? As long as you use Warlock skills properly, they’re not bad at all.
While they were chatting in one spot, WhiteNoise and their enraged crew conveniently rolled right into them, saving them the trouble of seeking them out. Meanwhile, the enemy healer, deciding that there was no way out, opted to go AFK, making it even easier to clean up.
[General] Chasa: Thanks for the free points. ^^
The Noize squad tried to fight back, but their side lacked five chaos-loving teammates who played like mischievous beagles. In the end, WhiteNoise’s group kept getting obliterated until they finally rage-quit, willingly accepting penalties for an early surrender.
That day’s battleground ended with the widest point gap in their recent match history. By the time they wrapped up, the whole drama with DolgaengiGuk was long forgotten.
***
“…Holy shit.”
A quiet curse slipped out in the otherwise silent study room. The person sitting next to Sa-yoon glanced at him, but upon seeing his murderous expression, quickly looked away. Unaware of this, Sa-yoon continued staring intently at his small screen.
The chaos had started about five minutes earlier, when a message popped up.
His phone, which had been on silent mode, kept flashing. Did I forget to turn off some notifications? Without much thought, Sa-yoon unlocked his phone.
The alerts were coming from VoiceOn.
[Jeon-gi] This is my lunch today~ Fucking delicious.
[Furple] What is that?
[GegulGegulFrog] That’s a bagel, right?
[Jeon-gi] LOL, I waited two hours for it. It’s a weekday, and the line was insane. ㅠㅠ
[Furple] Why the hell would you wait that long for a piece of bread??
[Jeon-gi] You just don’t get it…
[Freedeal] Oh, Chasa’s online!
[Freedeal] Chasa, can you invite Shwakkung to the guild later?
[GegulGegulFrog] Guys, GUYS, we have a MAJOR problem.
What had initially been a VoiceOn channel for strategizing their fortress defense had, over time, turned into the guild’s unofficial group chat.
Sa-yoon had just started replying to Freedeal’s request when he suddenly froze.
[Chasa] …Wait. Why are you guys still in here?
[Chasa] Weren’t we all supposed to leave the guild after the defense match?
