Chapter 29
For a whole 5 days after that day, Ji-won couldn’t see Kwon-ju’s character. No, to be precise, he could see it, but not moving. Every day, the character was left standing in a corner of the guild headquarters, completely idle.
Meanwhile, whenever they met at school or ate together, they conversed normally, and Kwon-ju replied promptly to KakaoTalk messages, so Ji-won couldn’t bring himself to ask what was wrong. Thinking it might just be a period of lost interest, Ji-won talked more about assignments and exams rather than the game, and Kwon-ju didn’t bring up going to the PVP zone or anything similar.
In truth, Ji-won felt there was nothing to say since the only reason for the sudden change seemed to be the PVP practice that he had persuaded Kwon-ju to join. He should have just done one or two rounds and let him go if it didn’t suit him. Ji-won wondered if he’d made Kwon-ju lose interest in the game by keeping him for a whole hour.
Still, those items were too good to waste. With a regretful heart, Ji-won logged into the game as usual, but unexpectedly received a whisper from Kwon-ju first.
[HolyKnightKnight>>Hando: Hyung]
[HolyKnightKnight>>Hando: I reinforced my item again]
[Hando>>HolyKnightKnight: What??]
[HolyKnightKnight>>Hando: It took too long so I couldn’t do all of them, just the necklace..]
After reporting his current item reinforcement status, Kwon-ju pressed his forehead with his palm. He actually wanted to do more and talk about it, but it took so much time and money just to get one piece to +15 that he couldn’t help it. The reinforcement tickets cost 20,000 gold each—about 10,000 won in real money—and he had gone through 2,000 of them. They kept breaking, stubbornly refusing to reach +15, until at some point, determination kicked in.
So for three days straight, whenever he logged into the game, he immediately applied reinforcement tickets like he was running a factory. Fortunately, the astronomical amount didn’t betray him, and he finally reached +15 within 5 minutes of turning on the game. Now that he thought about it soberly, he really had spent an incredible amount…
[Hando>>HolyKnightKnight: Don’t tell me you got another +15??]
[HolyKnightKnight>>Hando: Yes..]
[Hando>>HolyKnightKnight: And it’s the necklace????]
But Ji-won was just bewildered by the answer. Who starts by making a +15 necklace of all things?
The importance of each equipment in Arc Serenity was like this: weapon was most important, followed by armor, hat, cape, and then gloves and shoes. Accessories were usually only touched after all those were taken care of. Since they weren’t primary equipment, they had a strong supporting feel, like a final mission chosen by people who had already reinforced all their wearable gear to become even stronger.
He had the dedication and money to create a +15, but lacked the knowledge that he should have started with the armor. Ji-won sighed softly. He should have asked what Kwon-ju was doing when he left the training ground for the market. He thought he was just looking around; he had no idea he was planning to do something like this.
[Hando>>HolyKnightKnight: Can you show me..?]
[HolyKnightKnight>>Hando: Should I turn on Discord?]
[Hando>>HolyKnightKnight: No, just show me through the item link at the bottom right of the chat window]
[HolyKnightKnight>>Hando: (Native Necklace)]
It really was +15…
And so, the second +15 item to appear in the entire server suddenly became a necklace.
Ji-won had seen all sorts of events while gaming since childhood. Thanks to a YouTuber friend, he’d been swept up in various incidents, and had even witnessed in real-time when the first person in the server raised a weapon to +14. But nothing was more surprising than seeing someone who now had two +15 items. Even if he had bought the weapon, he had raised the necklace with his own hands.
When it breaks, throw money at it to restore it, then throw more money to reinforce it, and if it breaks again, throw more money. Although the process could run automatically with just reinforcement tickets and a few easily obtainable materials from the market, the important thing was the cost.
[Hando>>HolyKnightKnight: Kwon-ju, seriously]
[Hando>>HolyKnightKnight: How much did you spend……]
[Hando>>HolyKnightKnight: This game isn’t like that..]
Of course, it was true that people with money could get stronger quickly and significantly, but in Arc Serenity, if you played steadily for a long time, you could easily meet the specs to reach the highest dungeons without spending a lot of cash. The game had ways to make money in-game too, so there was absolutely no need to overpay unless you were planning to immediately tackle the strongest boss in the game.
Considering Kwon-ju’s level and knowledge of the game, Ji-won concluded without a doubt that he had done it all with real cash. Come to think of it, he wasn’t even max level yet, so why play the game like this?
[HolyKnightKnight>>Hando: I need to have good items at least]
[HolyKnightKnight>>Hando: I thought I could go to the PVP zone with you..]
But the whisper that just arrived made all that bewilderment fly away. So he hadn’t just blindly reinforced items. The proposal to go together must have been weighing on his mind.
With that item, all he needed to do was swing his skills roughly. Even if he couldn’t do it well, Ji-won could take care of things himself—he should have said that. Moved by his junior’s heartfelt confession, Ji-won wanted to tell him they could go together right now, but unfortunately, that was impossible. After thinking for a moment, Ji-won finally said what he had been hesitating to say.
[Hando>>HolyKnightKnight: ㅠㅠ Kwon-ju, but]
[Hando>>HolyKnightKnight: The PVP zone has closed….]
It had opened briefly and closed quickly while Kwon-ju was busy reinforcing and staying logged in but idle all day. The PVP zone wasn’t a place that stayed open for long. It seemed he hadn’t even noticed guild members coming and going from the guild headquarters with their nicknames turned red after killing other players.
The long silence made it clear he had no idea. Ji-won chose words of comfort and typed encouragingly.
[Hando>>HolyKnightKnight: It’s okay, you got a +15 necklace!!]
Though who knows how much he paid to get it…
* * *
When Kwon-ju asked when the next PVP zone would open and was told nobody knew, he said he would train hard until then and went back to hunting. Originally, he was going to make a +15 armor, but Ji-won persuaded him to reach max level first and semi-forcibly sent him to the hunting grounds.
Ji-won, who had set up nicely in front of his monitor with a foreign drama of unknown content playing on his iPad, decided to help with hunting with a light heart for the first time in a while. Since there were only the two of them, he told Kwon-ju to turn on damage numbers, and dozens of times the monster’s HP appeared. If he hadn’t turned it off before, he would have been drawing aggro constantly. Ji-won suddenly thought that Ppojjo had given a good tip in the beginning.
[Hando: Your damage is insane]
[Hando: As soon as you hit max level I’ll have to kidnap you for boss parties]
[HolyKnightKnight: lol]
[HolyKnightKnight: Even though I’m not good?]
[Hando: With your items, you just need to stay alive]
While hunting casually, occasionally chatting, and multitasking with the drama, the phone on Ji-won’s desk rang. Who could it be?
[Hey, check the group chat, the MT notice is up]
[It’s so early this year]
Ji-won, who had been in the middle of using a skill, checked the KakaoTalk from Mingyu and immediately opened the department group chat. Why are they going so urgently when it’s only mid-March? After reading through the short notice with the location, date, and a surprisingly reasonable fee, a certain person suddenly came to Ji-won’s mind.
Will Kwon-ju go? Even if he missed orientation, MT is really good for getting close to classmates.
There was no way to know if he was going just by thinking about it. Ji-won immediately opened a private chat room and invited Kwon-ju, and as soon as he confirmed the imposing Holy Knight character had entered, he asked:
[Hando: Did you see the MT notice? Are you going?]
[HolyKnightKnight: Are you going, hyung?]
[Hando: Me? Should I?]
It was just a joking comment, but thinking about it, it didn’t seem like a bad idea. Mingyu would probably go since he’s in the student council anyway. Out of curiosity, Ji-won checked the group chat with his classmates and saw several people saying they would attend. After going back and forth between school and home every day, just opening books and playing games repeatedly, it seemed like he could use some fresh air.
[HolyKnightKnight: If you go, I’ll go too]
Ji-won was a bit surprised by the chat that appeared as soon as he returned to the game. He’s very honest. Well, it made sense that he wouldn’t particularly want to go to an MT full of strangers. He’d probably made some friends at orientation already. Building relationships is easier when you know at least one person.
[Hando: Okay lolololol]
[Hando: Hang out with me when we’re there]
It’ll be nice to have grilled meat after a long time. During the break, Ji-won had been cooped up at home playing games, and since the semester started, he’d been having cafeteria food with Kwon-ju, so he couldn’t remember the last time he had grilled meat.
[HolyKnightKnight: I paid the fee]
[Hando: Why so fast lolololol]
[HolyKnightKnight: I was afraid I might forget..]
How excited must he be? Since Kwon-ju had already paid within 3 minutes of the conversation starting, Ji-won followed suit and transferred the fee as well, afraid he might forget. Mingyu was happy, spamming emoticons about having another friend joining.
While Ji-won was contemplating whether to bring his laptop or not, Kwon-ju was staring at his open closet with a serious face. What should I wear? What should I bring? Just as he was about to start seriously considering these questions, he saw Ji-won’s character on the screen protecting his character, which was being beaten by monsters.
[HolyKnightKnight: o]
[HolyKnightKnight: Sorry, I got distracted for a moment]
[Hando: It’s ok you didn’t die lolololol]
The MT, which was still more than a week away, wasn’t important right now. That could be thought about later. Scolding himself for his brief distraction, Kwon-ju hurriedly spammed the Shift key to kill the monsters that had swarmed right next to him.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
