Stalkerizing – Chapter 118

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Even though this was the moment he should be moving, Sa-yoon stayed put.

Killer wouldn’t just let himself get hit. Sa-yoon had that much faith in him. Online battlefields were still a kind of war, and war bred a certain kind of camaraderie, however shallow.

Just as he expected, right before the spear reached Killer, the spearman suddenly froze in place. Another immobilizing trap.

[Battlefield] Killer: Tsk, tsk.

[Battlefield] Killer: Falling for the same trick again, lol.

[Battlefield] Killer: Dumbass. ㅜㅜ

[Killer clicks his tongue at SriLanka30Rupees.]

Through his headset, Sa-yoon could hear the sharp, mocking tsk tsk of the character’s emote—so rapid and rhythmic it almost sounded like a rap. Killer always spammed his emotes in sets of three, making it even more infuriating.

[Battlefield] SriLanka30Rupees: Just f**king kill me already!

Clearly, SriLanka30Rupees was losing his mind listening to this diss track.

[Battlefield] Killer: Ok, ok.

Having finished his taunts, Killer strolled away, disappearing just at the edge of the spearman’s attack range.

Then, without a sound, he reappeared behind him—sinking a blade deep into his back.

Caught completely off guard, SriLanka30Rupees died without even getting a chance to use a defensive skill.

[SriLanka30Rupees has died.]

[You have gained 300 points.]

[Victory! You have gained 2 battlefield points.]

[Battlefield] Dalat500dong: Doesn’t matter, you’re still only gonna be rank 2. Lol.

As the screen switched back to the lobby, Sa-yoon saw Dalat500dong’s last pathetic jab and tilted his head.

What was this low-tier taunt?

Seriously, why were all the Noize guys like this? Shaking his head at the pointless remark, he was about to move on when the matchmaking queue popped up—instantly.

Damn, was Killer using a macro or something?

“Hold on a sec. Let me tweak my skill tree before we queue.”

They’d lucked out last match because Dalat500dong died quickly, but things could have easily turned into a 1v2. His skill setup was too focused on offense, and it was clear he didn’t have enough escape options.

After making sure the matchmaking queue was closed, Chasa exited the lobby. Divine allowed players to save up to three skill presets, but swapping an already-equipped skill required visiting a Skill Reset Priest at the Central Shrine.

As he dashed through the hall, his cloak billowed behind him. A pristine white peacock fluttered in pursuit.

“Why are you following me?”

[Party] Killer: ㅠㅠ

[Party] Killer: You were really gonna leave me behind?

Anyone watching would think Sa-yoon was abandoning him for good.

“Fine, come if you want…”

Maybe it was because Killer had just stood up for him in that argument, but Sa-yoon couldn’t bring himself to brush him off too harshly.

[Hiara: May the power of blessings be with you.]

As he spoke to the NPC, a menu filled with neatly arranged skills popped up. Sa-yoon removed a few from his set, deep in thought.

Should he add more melee countermeasures? Or go all-in on debuffs instead?

As he pondered his setup—

[General] PurpleSteamedPotato: Oh no, it’s the enemy!

A character with bunny ears bounced into the room and greeted him.

[General] Chasa: Hello

As Sa-yoon looked up from his skill window and greeted her, the petite girl let out a peal of laughter.

He didn’t usually exchange whispers or chat much with Purple, but they would occasionally trade a few words in passing. You know, like that sense of familiarity that forms when you run into the same neighbor in the elevator at the same time every day.

[General] PurpleSteamedPotato: Chasa-nim, you’ve been on fire lately

At that, Sa-yoon opened the ranking window. Purple, who had previously ceded the second-place spot to him, had now dropped to sixth place.

[General] Chasa: Aren’t you grinding for rank this time?

He had assumed she was aiming for first place, just like him… But instead of answering right away, the girl in a school uniform spun around in a playful twirl.

[General] PurpleSteamedPotato: Honestly, I was super tempted by the first-place rewards

[General] PurpleSteamedPotato: But it’s way too exhausting, so I gave upㅠㅠ

With her carrot-colored hair and bunny ears, she was just as much of a fashion enthusiast as Sa-yoon. She was also a devoted follower who never failed to comment on Chasa’s image board posts. In fact, the reason they had started talking in the first place was because Furple had reached out after seeing one of his posts.

[General] Chasa: Yeah, it’s definitely a tough grind this time.

Sa-yoon readily agreed. The paired battlefield event was undoubtedly more challenging than other arenas.

[General] PurpleSteamedPotato: But you know what’s really weird?

[General] PurpleSteamedPotato: Sometimes, it feels like my opponents already know my skill tree.

[General] Chasa: Maybe someone shared the meta build?

Divine had around a hundred skills per class. That meant an incredible number of possible combinations and synergy moves, making skill tree research a hot topic on the class forums.

As soon as this battlefield event started, the meta skill builds for each class pairing took the top spots on the forums. Since these posts were publicly accessible, anyone could study them—not just to use the strongest builds, but also to counter them.

[General] PurpleSteamedPotato: Ohhh, is that how it is? Agh ㅜㅜㅜㅜㅜ

[General] PurpleSteamedPotato: In that case, Chasa-nim, you HAVE to take first place and show off the costume!

[General] Chasa: lolol

[General] PurpleSteamedPotato: Knock out that stuck-up rock and claim the throne!!

It seemed Furple also assumed that the current rank one, NodeMaster, was a server transfer.

As their conversation stretched on, Killer, who had been standing idly like a decoration, suddenly slipped in between them. With his towering frame, the tiny Furple completely disappeared from view.

What’s with this guy?

[General] PurpleSteamedPotato: LOLOL oh my god, it’s the legendary fanboy Killer! Hi~!

[General] Killer: ?

[General] PurpleSteamedPotato: Are you two going for a black-and-white theme?

[General] PurpleSteamedPotato: Matching outfits?

[General] Killer: Yeah.

[General] Chasa: No.

“What the hell are you talking about?”

[General] PurpleSteamedPotato: I mean, you’re both in uniforms, and even your accent colors match

Currently, Chasa’s outfit was all black with gold accents, while Killer’s was all white with gold accents. To an outsider, it wouldn’t be unreasonable to assume they had coordinated their looks.

[General] PurpleSteamedPotato: If you’re matching outfits, you two must’ve gotten really close

And yet, even after seeing that blindingly flashy chest plate, he could still say that… Furple’s sense of style had definitely gone dull.

[General] PurpleSteamedPotato: I was already surprised that you two were in the same guild, but now you’re a pair too?

I seriously almost had a heart attack when I saw the rankings.

[General] PurpleSteamedPotato: How the hell did you two get close?

Since she regularly followed Chasa’s posts, Furple was well aware of how persistently and relentlessly Killer had chased after him. She also knew just how much Sa-yoon had hated it. So, it was understandable that she was curious.

[General] Chasa: hahaha

[General] Chasa: You know what they say—people bond by beating the crap out of each other.

The truth was, no other top rankers wanted to pair with a Warlock, so Killer was his only option. He had been forced to choose him out of sheer necessity. But he couldn’t exactly admit that while the event was still ongoing.

[General] PurpleSteamedPotato: Ahh, got it hahaha

[Party] Killer: Are we close?

Are we? It felt weird to say no, considering they had practically been glued together for weeks now.

They hadn’t talked much over voice chat, but Sa-yoon had picked up bits of information—Killer probably lived in the Seoul area, mainly ate sandwiches, lived alone, and could game freely even late at night. Surprisingly, he also had a shy side.

And yet… calling them close felt like a stretch.

But Sa-yoon wasn’t the type to use someone and then bluntly say to their face that they weren’t really friends. Besides, after spending so much time together on the battlefield, a bit of camaraderie had inevitably formed.

[Party] Chasa: Yeah. I don’t pair up with people I’m not close with.

[Party] Killer: Really?

[Party] Chasa: Hurry up, let’s queue.

[General] Chasa: We’re off to grind ranks, see ya!!

[General] PurpleSteamedPotato: Good luck!