“Get down here for a second.”
Sa-yoon was in a hurry. If he wanted to take screenshots during the looting interval, he had to act fast. He moved his mouse swiftly, capturing multiple angles when suddenly, Killer’s Hellhound tail shot up and began swaying gently. To top it off, Chasa’s Hellhound walked over and started rubbing its face against him.
“What the hell, how’d you do that?”
“Emote.”
[‘Killer’ is showing affection to ‘Chasa.’]
Checking the system log, Sa-yoon saw that it was an emote obtained from this year’s Valentine’s event. Without much thought, he searched for the affectionate motion and clicked the button.
[‘Chasa’ is showing affection to ‘Killer.’]
[Guild] GegulGegulFrog: What exactly am I looking at right now?
[Guild] Oath’s Vow: Sorry to interrupt your… moment, but…
Before he knew it, guild members who had transformed into Hellhounds were gathering around. Flustered, Sa-yoon turned his gaze to where Cerberus had died. The area was empty.
Did it disappear without dropping a single item?
[Guild] Swakkoong: Why do you two seem weirdly close? Something’s off.
[Guild] Shokrates: Wait, no way… Could it be that Inseong becoming an official guild member recently was because you guys… connected?
Still frozen mid-screenshot, Sa-yoon stiffened. He had already missed the timing, and now this was escalating in an entirely different direction.
[Guild] GegulGegulFrog: Isn’t that a bit too harsh on Chasa?
[Guild] Furple: That’s a bit of a stretch, lol.
[Guild] Swakkoong: As if our old guild leader would ever get into an online relationship.
[Guild] Shokrates: Yeah, now that I think about it, that was way too much, lol.
But the clueless guild members kept throwing their jabs.
[Guild] Killer: I don’t do that online dating crap.
With that final nail in the coffin from Killer, the fleeting suspicion of romance that had briefly surfaced was buried without a trace.
Well, technically, it isn’t an online relationship… Sa-yoon, using the party-follow feature, leisurely admired his lover’s face. When Chasa gave him a questioning look, he didn’t forget to throw in a playful wink.
[Guild] Oath’s Vow: Oh, right. Snowman just contacted me.
[Guild] GegulGegulFrog: What does that traitor want?
Snowman. Sa-yoon rolled the familiar name on his tongue. A former guildmate of Reaper, who had originally planned to move with them but stayed in the city server due to conflicting interests.
[Guild] Oath’s Vow: Mandarin started a stream, and this time, they put an Apple Pad up for grabs in a full-server first clear event.
“A first clear event?”
Hearing about an event he’d never encountered before, Sa-yoon turned to Shin-jae, who just shrugged.
“It’s something they do in Lepus. They set up their own prize pools—like, ‘If we get the first clear, we’ll buy fried chicken for the first ones to comment,’ or throw in bonus rewards. This time, since Wartum is offering full-server first clear perks, I guess they decided to make it a big event.”
So the city servers even ran their own player-hosted events like that.
“And what do they get out of it?”
“Probably sniping the strategy guides in DMs from people chasing prizes. But still, they lose to us every time.”
“Ah, the forever runner-up guild?”
“Yeah. They always claim Reaper cheated his way into first clear, but now that we’re gone, they must be overjoyed.”
Like a fox playing king in a forest without a tiger…
[Guild] Oath’s Vow: They’re running their mouths about us too.
[Guild] Shokrates: Those bastards never get tired, lol.
[Guild] Furple: Every time, another failed first clear event. Lol.
[Guild] Swakkoong: What’s their excuse this time?
[Guild] Oath’s Vow: Their exact words were, ‘Killer’s lackeys ran off to some countryside server because they knew they couldn’t get a first clear here. We’ll prove that we’re the real #1 guild of the main server, not them.’
[Guild] Swakkoong: Lmao, they’re clinging on like a desperate ex.
[Guild] Freedeal: Ugh, Mandarin, please… Just let us go already!
[Guild] Oath’s Vow: They even made a post on the Cygnus server forum, but everyone ignored it thinking it was just bait, so we almost missed it.
[Guild] GegulGegulFrog: Damn, how boring must their post have been for that to happen… Tragic.
[Guild] Killer: If we get the first clear before Mandarin this time, I’ll buy a damn Apple Pad Pro myself.
[Guild] Swakkoong: Do you ship to the US?
[Guild] Killer: I’ll wire the money.
[Guild] Swakkoong: Whoa, all hail!
Sa-yoon’s eyes widened at the sudden declaration. Wait, was this guy really about to drop cash on six Apple Pads like it was nothing?
“We’ll show them a first clear with a Warlock in the party.”
“I mean… yeah, true, but still—”
Seeing Shin-jae’s eyes light up, Sa-yoon swallowed his nagging. Fine, it’s your money, spend it how you want… But if they were going to keep seeing each other, a conversation about financial responsibility was definitely in their future. First, they’d focus on securing the first clear. They had plenty of time ahead of them.
[Guild] Jeon-gi: Mandarin dreams it, and we crush it.
[Guild] Swakkoong: And our guild is literally called the Afterlife, so it’s fate.
[Guild] Oath’s Vow: Alright, let’s completely demolish them.
Fueled by Mandarin’s provocation and Killer’s bold wager, the party’s morale shot through the roof as they entered the dungeon.
As soon as they stepped into the dimly lit cave, a faint sound of a woman crying echoed from somewhere within. At steady intervals, there was also a quiet tap, tap—as if someone was knocking on the walls.
The underworld itself already had a bleak and eerie atmosphere, but this took it to another level.
In other words, if a ghost suddenly popped out, no one would be surprised.
[Guild] GegulGegulFrog: Uh… do you guys hear that crying sound too?
[Guild] Swakkoong: ?
[Guild] Swakkoong: What sound are you talking about?
[Guild] GegulGegulFrog: Someone’s literally crying right now, can’t you hear it?
[Guild] Freedeal: I only hear water dripping.
[Guild] Furple: …Wait. What if someone’s crying in your house?
[Guild] Shokrates: Uh, doesn’t Frog live alone?
[Guild] Furple: Try putting your ear against the wall. Might be coming from next door.
[Guild] Chasa: I seriously don’t hear anything… Frog, take off your headset for a second.
[Guild] GegulGegulFrog: Bullshit.
[Guild] GegulGegulFrog: Ah, come on, stop messing with me! This isn’t funny!! TT
Sa-yoon muted his mic, holding back his laughter. Moments like these, everyone in the guild worked together flawlessly.
[Guild] GegulGegulFrog: You guys are messing with me, right? You can hear it too, yeah? Holy shit, this is so creepy!
[Guild] GegulGegulFrog: …Why aren’t any of you talking? Is my mic broken?
[Guild] GegulGegulFrog: F*** this, I’m out!! TT I’m NEVER coming back to this dungeon!!
[Guild] GegulGegulFrog: Find a replacement, I’m seriously leaving!! TT
The moment Gegul finally dropped the act out of sheer terror, the previously silent voice chat erupted into laughter.
[Guild] Freedeal: Nooo, don’t go, Gegul, come baaack!
[Guild] Swakkoong: Oh wait, this occasional sobbing sound? sniffle
[Guild] GegulGegulFrog: I KNEW YOU COULD HEAR IT YOU LYING BASTARDS!!! TT
[Guild] Swakkoong: Ahahahaha this is gold.
[Guild] Killer: Tsk, scared in broad daylight? Pathetic.
[Guild] Shokrates: LOL, absolute entertainment.
[Guild] GegulGegulFrog: I’m NEVER running dungeons with you guys again!! TT
As soon as he finished typing, Frog used a dash skill and bolted straight ahead, disappearing into the distance.
[Guild] Swakkoong: What’s the point of running ahead when you still have to wait for us?
[Guild] Furple: But seriously, why are we doing a horror event in winter?
[Guild] Shokrates: Must be unresolved trauma from not getting a proper one in summer.
[Guild] GegulGegulFrog: Uh, guys? Dead end ahead.
Having unintentionally become the vanguard, Frog reported the news. Soon, the rest of the party caught up to where he was. The small, fan-shaped chamber was completely blocked off by a solid wall.
The laughter faded as the group, now serious, began scouring the area for any hidden passages.
[Guild] Freedeal: …Maybe we weren’t even supposed to enter the cave in the first place?
[Guild] Swakkoong: Damn it, what is this, military dog training?
[Guild] Shokrates: Wow we got baited.
But checking outside proved even more fruitless.
[Guild] GegulGegulFrog: Just checked the server forum…
[Guild] GegulGegulFrog: The only thing people are talking about is cursing out the harp performance.
[Guild] Freedeal: Looks like no one’s even made it to the second boss yet.
There was no way forward. No matter how they looked at it, they were stuck. And just like that, thirty minutes passed with them searching in vain.
[Guild] Swakkoong: Wow♡♡ I give up.
Then, exactly at the thirty-minute mark, the Hellhound transformations wore off, returning Chasa and Killer to their human forms.
[You have been cursed by the Lord of Darkness.]
[HP -10%, MP -10%, Movement Speed -8%, Attack Speed -3%, Cast Speed -3%.]
Even seeing it again, it was a brutal debuff. At least give a damn buff skill to compensate or something…
Lost in idle thoughts, Sa-yoon glanced down and noticed how dirty his uniform had gotten. The outfit he had carefully washed before was now covered in dirt from combat and falling into the river. Out of habit, he clicked the dust-off emote he had registered in his quick bar.
That’s when Chasa suddenly did something unexpected. Without a word, he turned around and started sweeping his hands across the wall.
Dust and moss crumbled away under his touch.
As more of the wall was brushed clean, a hidden mural began to emerge.
“Holy shit.”
[Guild] Swakkoong: What the hell? How’d you do that?
“You have to use the dust-off emote in front of the wall.”
Realizing this, the rest of the party—now back in their human forms—started frantically sweeping at the wall like lunatics. Bit by bit, a faded image of a pomegranate tree was revealed.
[Guild] Freedeal: Seriously, how were we supposed to find this…
[Guild] Shokrates: Truly a game designed for fashion item collectors.
[Guild] Furple: Good thing we brought Chasa. This would’ve been a disaster without him.
Finally, as they cleared the last bit of dust from the floor, the mural’s base was exposed, and it began to glow.
Should it really be this hard just to find the entrance?
After what felt like an eternity, they finally transitioned into a new area—a vast hall.
In the distance, Persephone stood before a barren tree, her face as pale as a ghost.
Since the setting had changed, their Hellhound disguises had disappeared, but at least the debuff was gone too. A small relief.
[Guild] Jeon-gi: Let’s go.
[Guild] GegulGegulFrog: Time to do this!
As Oath’s Vow lunged forward, thrusting his lance, the battle commenced.
[Persephone: So, it is you… The fools who dared to enter the underworld while still alive.]
At some point, Persephone had summoned a spear, and she slammed it into the ground.
At that instant, the entire party was thrown backward.
[Persephone: You will pay with your lives!]
Barely scrambling to their feet, the players found themselves surrounded by thick, pitch-black AoE zones. The moment anyone stepped into them, it was an instant death sentence.
Panicking, the party bolted behind Persephone—
And were immediately wiped out.
