Chapter 10
[General] SaltySalt: But… if we don’t do this, Sinu-chan…
[General] Tangerine: Won’t pay attention to us,,,☆
[General] Sinu: ㅡㅡ What’s the point of having guild chat
[General] SaltySalt: Heheh ㅇ.<
Seeing the mention of guild chat, Beodeul could guess that some conversation had taken place beneath the surface that he couldn’t see. It probably included talk about him too…
[General] Sinu: I’m sorry Girmu-nim
[General] Sinu: I told these people not to follow me using invisibility cloaks
[General] Sinu: But they’re f*ing
[General] Sinu: I mean they really don’t listen
Judging by Sinu’s apology, it didn’t seem like there was much to worry about.
‘Invisibility cloak was one of those items, right?’
The invisibility cloak was one of the one-time special items that could be used in non-PK areas. An item that concealed one’s appearance similar to the “Stealth” skill of the Assassin class.
Piecing together the situation, it seemed that Sinu had frequently been followed by guild members in this way. Just like now.
If he had made comments that seemed to reject party members while they were using invisibility cloaks, it might have been problematic, but that wasn’t the case, so Beodeul decided to just let it go.
When he used the “pat” emote to show that it was okay, Girmu patted Sinu’s shoulder. After a while, the motionless Sinu alternated between using the “sigh” and “sniffling” emotes.
[General] Tangerine: ;;
[General] SaltySalt: ㅇㅅㅇ;;
[General] Youngglory: ^^;
All those with the guild name “Grace” above their heads were collectively sweating.
[General] SaltySalt: This is kinda creepy;;
[General] SaltySalt: I swear I’m not lying, this is the first time I’ve seen Sinu-nim use emotes except when mocking someone ㅇㅅㅇ;;
Uses emotes when mocking? Beodeul rolled his eyes at the image that was hard to imagine. Meanwhile, Sinu was once again beating SaltySalt to a pulp as if on a rainy day.
[General] SaltySalt: Haha no HP loss anyway ㅅㄱ
[General] Sinu: Haha
Sinu typed a laughing message, but somehow Beodeul felt a chill from that brief chat. Was it just his imagination?
[General] Sinu: Anyway if you all want to go to the dungeon, switch to your alts
[General] Tangerine: Yess~
[General] SaltySalt: Kekekeke taste the power of engineering ㅋㅅㅋ
SaltySalt disappeared faster than anyone else, followed by Tangerine.
[General] Youngglory: Sinu, what should I come as?
[General] Sinu: It’s obvious what those two will bring, so hyung, come as Gulbi
[General] Youngglory: Alright^^
The user named Youngglory kindly used the bow emote specifically directed at Girmu before disappearing. It felt strange when the bustling screen suddenly became quiet.
[General] Sinu: Then I’ll switch to my alt too
[General] Girmu: Okay haha
Sinu disappeared quickly too. Beodeul rested his chin on his hand and fell into thought as he looked at his character left alone.
‘It seems like everyone’s switching to alts because of me.’
Just as he wondered if this was okay, someone came running from the portal area of the map, raising dust.
Looking closely, it was a female character with a yellow chick hood and short brown hair. She was carrying a bag on her back that looked heavy with miscellaneous items, which Beodeul recognized as an engineering bag, the symbol of the Engineer class.
[General] SweetSalt: First~~ㅇㅅㅇ
Wow, seeing the nickname, it was obvious who this was. While Beodeul was admiring the consistent naming sense, SaltySalt, who had returned as SweetSalt, was showing off.
[General] SweetSalt: Ha these guys have gotten so lax ㅋ
[SweetSalt puffs out their chest proudly.]
[General] SweetSalt: How dare they be later than me… I’ll show them the spicy taste of salt ㅋ
[General] Tangerine2: Excuse me; how can salt be spicy? It’s salty, right~
The character that appeared next was a male elf character with flowing silver hair wearing a wide-brimmed white hat. And this one was also quite easy to identify.
[General] SweetSalt: You… salt isn’t salty…? But I’m only sweet ㅋ
[General] Tangerine2: ♡♡naba; I’m Tangerine, Girmu-nim ㅠㅠ
[General] Girmu: Yes hello haha
[General] Tangerine2: Oh look how innocent you are ㅠㅠㅠㅠ
Which part exactly…? Just as Beodeul was about to express his confusion, two more people appeared on the map.
[General] Smile: Girmu-nim
One was a blonde male knight with the nickname “Smile,” and the other was a black-haired female character with a snow-white eye patch nicknamed “Gulbi.” Since Sinu had clearly told Youngglory to come as Gulbi earlier…
[General] Girmu: Smile-nim is Sinu-nim, right?
[General] Smile: Yes
[General] Girmu: You came with a different character today??
Until now, Sinu’s alt that they had been running dungeons with was a Priest class character named “Inu,” but today was different.
[General] Smile: Looking at the party composition, I thought it would be better to go as a Knight
Ah, party composition. Naturally, Beodeul didn’t have the presence of mind to consider such things.
‘I see. Well, it would be difficult without a healer or tank.’
Now that he looked at the party members’ classes, they were quite diverse. “Smile” was a Berserker of the Knight class, “Gulbi” was a Holy Wizard of the Wizard class, “SweetSalt” was a Mechanic of the Engineer class, and “Tangerine2” was a Mad Hunter of the Ranger class.
And since Beodeul’s character Girmu was a Dragon Slayer of the Knight class… wait, is this okay?
‘I heard Berserkers have a hard time tanking? And Holy Wizards don’t have that much healing… Especially when partying with a Berserker, the presence of a main healer is important… right?’
[General] Smile: I’ll send party invites first
But Beodeul was a newbie among veterans, too inexperienced to raise doubts. Also, having completely trusted Sinu since their first party, he thought it would be fine.
‘If there was a problem with the party composition, Sinu-nim would know.’
Until pressing the accept button on the party invitation and entering the dungeon, Beodeul held such a naive thought.
[Party] SweetSalt: HAHAHAHAHAHAHA
[Party] Tangerine2: ♡♡ ya? HAHAHAHAHAHAHA
[Party] Smile: Haha
It all started with SweetSalt turning into a cold corpse on the floor the moment they entered the dungeon.
[Party] SweetSalt: DIE1 SI*OOO*NU*OOOO* DIE ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ
[Party] SweetSalt: DIE~~~ ALL OF YOU DIE~~~~~~~~~ HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
[Party] Girmu: Hel1lp
[Party] Girmu: Help me please ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ
The gates of hell… had opened.
*
Until right before entering the dungeon, the party had been peaceful. Beodeul, thinking about his first dungeon with the new party members, was somewhat nervous and excited as he warmed up his fingers.
Even during this time, the chat window was bustling and showed no sign of quieting down. The main chatters were SweetSalt and Tangerine2 who responded to them, with occasional contributions from Gulbi using emoticons that somehow conveyed a sense of experience.
Sinu, who came as “Smile,” remained quiet. Beodeul didn’t question Sinu’s attitude much. Even when they ran dungeons together, he wasn’t particularly talkative.
But at that time, Beodeul didn’t know. Sinu’s silence was to gather momentum for what was about to happen.
[Party] SweetSalt: Ah this crappy computer ㅡㅡ my screen is black ㄱㄷㄱㄷ
It was right after entering the dungeon when SweetSalt was cursing their computer.
[Party] Tangerine2: Not a single typo even though you say you can’t see the screen haha
[Party] Gulbi: Right ㅋㅋ
[Party] SweetSalt: Ah ♡♡ crappy computer
[Party] Girmu: Oh no are you lagging?
[Party] Tangerine2: Yes yes haha don’t worry it’ll return to normal if you wait a bit haha
Just as Beodeul was about to type that he was relieved.
[Smile is gradually consumed by madness.]
An incomprehensible message appeared, and dark red smoke began to rise around Smile, who had been standing still in front of the portal.
[Party] Tangerine2: Ah HAHAHAHAHAHAHA
[Party] Gulbi: ^^…
[Party] Girmu: ??
[Party] SweetSalt: I told you guys to wait ㅡㅡ if you leave me behind I won’t let you off ㅇㅅ”ㅇ
Behind SweetSalt, who had no idea what was happening, Smile was gradually becoming a “Berserker.” Beodeul, finally noticing the situation, moved his character slightly away from Smile.
[Party] Girmu: That message just now, don’t tell me…
[Party] Tangerine2: The blood purge is about to begin,, haha Come over here Girmu-nim
[Party] Gulbi: Girmu-nim come close and I’ll give you a *DEF buff^^
Beodeul obediently went to Gulbi’s side and received the buff.
[Warning! A knight consumed by madness can no longer distinguish between friend and foe!]
And finally, ‘that’ message appeared.
What Smile had used was the Berserker’s “Mad Warrior” skill, a literally insane skill that gives tremendous momentary damage at the cost of entering a berserk state that also harms allies. Usually, it’s common practice to get consent from party members before using this skill, but in this case…
The blood-soaked blonde knight raised his head. With a flash in his eyes, the sword he was holding rushed toward SweetSalt’s head in one strike.
[Blood Shadow!]
[Party] SweetSalt: Ah it’s working now haha
Bang! After a skill effect sound similar to an explosion, a massive shockwave spread around Smile.
SweetSalt, who took the skill head-on, was stunned and couldn’t move. Not only that, SweetSalt’s health, which was swaying unsteadily, was decreasing at a noticeably rapid rate.
On the other hand, Smile’s health, which had lost half from the “Mad Warrior” skill, was quickly filling up. All this happened in less than 3 seconds.
[Party] SweetSalt: 1111111111111111111]
[SweetSalt has died!]
[Party] SweetSalt: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH Sh1t
Transformed into a cold gray corpse, SweetSalt collapsed on the floor and began to laugh as if about to cry.
*DEF: Defense increase.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
