[Server] Freedeal: If you had just kept quiet from the start, this whole mess wouldn’t have happened. Why stir up trouble for no reason?
[Server] Oath’s Vow: Judging by your spelling, I doubt you even know the phrase “stirring up a hornet’s nest.” 🙂
[Server] Freedeal: But do you happen to know the saying, “Keeping quiet at least gets you halfway there”? Haha.
[Server] WhiteNoise: Please refrain from excessive criticism.
[Server] Oath’s Vow: Oh, so grabbing someone who was minding their own business by the hair doesn’t count as criticism? 🙂
[Server] Freedeal: Aww, Noiseㅠㅠ If only you had put up a proper shield, you wouldn’t be getting justified criticism!
[Server] Shokrates: Warlocks aren’t robots! When you ask about DPS, at least show a bare minimum of courtesy! (prayer)(prayer)(heart)
Sa-yoon’s mouth fell open as he watched the Reaper Guild’s chat rampaging like an unbridled wild horse.
Freedeal, who should have been reeling from the backlash, was instead going all out on Noise like a general on the battlefield, while Oath’s Vow, who had seemed relatively composed, was just a quiet lunatic.
“…What the hell?”
Sa-yoon had thought Killer was the only unhinged one, but seeing this, it was clear—the guild leader and their members were all the same brand of crazy.
Public trash talk was the perfect fuel for the fire. The server chat exploded even more. Just as the Reaper Guild had intended, some users started blaming Noise for failing to generate a shield.
Then the opposition—mostly Noise’s guildmates—countered with a bloody defense, arguing that punishment was inevitable anyway.
[Server] popNayeon: Selling various popcorn flavors! Caramel/Onion/Cheese/Mixed available~
[Server] PopcornVendor: This is my turf ㅜ
Then the roleplayers chimed in, casual players added their two cents, and the chat scrolled so fast it was nearly impossible to read.
Everyone was too busy tearing each other apart, and in the chaos, the real question—how the Warlock managed to take first place—had long since been buried.
[Server] Killer: @@@ Noise, who’s sulking because he couldn’t get Commander instead of focusing on his own DPS, I challenge you to a character deletion duel! >< @@@
[Server] noise: ※※※ Stop the personal attacks, please ;; ※※※
[Server] National Institute of the Korean Language: Personal attacks → Character attacks
And in the midst of it all, Killer was stirring up the most aggro. After all, nothing is more entertaining than watching someone else’s all-out brawl.
Ironically, despite how he looked right now, Noise was actually a top-tier player, ranked within the single digits on the server.
[Server] CarrotCarrot: Did that guy change his nickname? Anyone know his old one?
[Server] SteviaTomango: Looks like a newbie.
On a small server like this, even if you weren’t personally acquainted, you’d eventually recognize most of the usernames. It was kind of like living in a tiny town where you’d end up knowing how many spoons your neighbor had.
But no matter how anyone looked at it, this “Killer” charging in like a moth to a flame was an unfamiliar name.
Among the players watching the chat unfold, guild chats and private messages were buzzing with variations of, “Who the hell is this guy?”
Some quick-fingered users immediately checked Killer’s ranking in boss hunts and his contribution points, then let out a collective sigh. The outcome was painfully obvious.
Despite all his trash talk, Killer’s contribution points were sitting at 400,000—the kind of number a max-level player could reach in about two weeks of dedicated dungeon grinding. That meant he was fresh out of leveling up and still a clueless newbie.
The idea that he might be a high-ranker who transferred servers never even crossed anyone’s mind.
Because of its low population, Cygnus was relatively peaceful compared to other servers, with fewer major incidents.
And now, not only was a character deletion duel being thrown around, but the challenger was a newbie? For Cygnus players, today was a dopamine-fueled spectacle. All eyes were locked on Noise, waiting to see if he’d let the insult slide or deliver a proper lesson through the duel.
Meanwhile, Sa-yoon was not enjoying the situation in the slightest. This was between him and Noise—Killer had no business butting in.
[Whisper] Chasa: Hey.
[‘Killer’ has whispers disabled from non-friends.]
…The hell? This bastard spammed whispers at others but had his own locked?
[Server] Killer: @@@ If you’re so mad, then shut up and accept the character deletion duel >< @@@
Sa-yoon pressed the Tab key to switch chat modes. Without hesitation, he typed.
[Server] Chasa: Killer, shut the f**k up and open your whispers.
[Server] Killer: ?
[Server] Shokrates: At last, the great Chasa has spoken!!
[Whisper] Killer: Hyung? Did you unblock me?
Despite the chaotic chat, the whisper came through instantly.
[Whisper] Chasa: Who the hell do you think you are, challenging Noise to a character deletion duel?
[Whisper] Killer: Hyung, I swear, I’m not doing this to get a character customization voucher.
[Whisper] Chasa: If anyone’s doing it, it’ll be me.
[Whisper] Killer: I was just trying to help you ㅜㅜ
[Whisper] Killer: I mean, come on, he’s making up lies and being a total ass—
Before Sa-yoon could even process the first message, more whispers from Killer flooded in.
[Whisper] Chasa: Who the hell asked for your help?
[Whisper] Chasa: Since when were we even close?
[Whisper] Killer: Hyung, why are you talking like we’re strangers?
[Whisper] Killer: We were good together…
The whisper almost sounded heartfelt, like something out of a damn melodrama. Sa-yoon grimaced like he’d just bitten into an unripe persimmon.
Does this idiot seriously not understand what he did?
[Whisper] Chasa: Stay out of other people’s business and go do your own thing.
[Whisper] Chasa: Better yet, go back to your original server. That’d be even better.
[Whisper] Killer: I have something I need to say to you.
[Whisper] Chasa: I don’t have anything to say to you.
[Whisper] Killer: But you said you don’t get annoyed easily—
[Whisper] Chasa: Don’t start spouting bullshit.
[Whisper] Killer: You said you appreciated it when I liked and commented…
For a moment, Sa-yoon was confused about what the hell he was talking about—then it clicked. The damn customization voucher again.
[Whisper] Killer: Was that a lie?
Sa-yoon was trying to talk about this situation, but Killer was off in his own world. The one-sided conversation was suffocating. He should’ve never entertained it in the first place. If communication had been impossible half a year ago, there was no way it would suddenly work now.
[Whisper] Killer: Hyung, let’s just meet in person and talk.
[Whisper] Chasa: ?
[Whisper] Chasa: Why the hell would I meet you?
[Whisper] Killer: Just meet me, I’ll explain everything.
[Whisper] Chasa: Bullshit. Blocked.
Sa-yoon’s expression darkened at the sudden real-life meet-up request. He had zero interest in hearing whatever “explanation” Killer thought was so important. More than anything, he had no desire to see someone from a game in real life.
It was the same reason he hadn’t bothered to invite Sa Shin-jae to play together when he’d first shown interest in the game.
Deciding any further conversation was a waste of time, Sa-yoon opened the block menu.
[Would you like to block ‘Killer’?]
[Whisper] Killer: Got it.
[Whisper] Killer: I’ll just do whatever I want now.
A last-minute whisper popped up, as if he knew what was coming.
What the hell does that even mean?
Sa-yoon paused, rereading the final message. Wasn’t he already doing whatever the hell he wanted? How much more free rein could he possibly give himself?
[Whisper] Chasa: ♡♡ Knock yourself out.
But Sa-yoon had zero intention of letting Killer do whatever he wanted. His fingers moved swiftly across the keyboard.
[Server] Killer: @@@ Noise, I challenge you to a character deletion duel! >< @@@
[Server] Chasa: @@@ Noise, let’s settle this. Show your skills as the No.1 in siege wars. @@
All he had to do was make sure Killer didn’t get what he wanted.
[Server] Postumalone: Huh? Why are there suddenly two duel requests now?
[Server] YukhoeSangquaeTongquae: Proving it with skill? That’s badass.
[Server] BongduNanbal: Wait, but isn’t Killer that dude who didn’t even put up numbers on the statue? Is he a newbie???
[Server] latata: How can a max-level player not have statue DPS?
[Server] aurora: I checked his contribution points… 400k? Is this for real? ㅜ
[Server] Kaweco: LMAO, he’s literally fresh out of leveling.
[Server] Cocoaa: Guys, come on, let’s have some human decency. Spare the newbie ㅜ Newbie-chan, run for your life.
[Server] Driver: A newbie with no statue DPS vs. a PvP god-tier Warlock.
[Server] TomatoUncle: Wait, is this Warlock guy actually good at PvP?
[Server] Driver: He’s a battlefield ranker, lol. Played with him before.
[Server] TomatoUncle: Damn, guess there’s a reason he’s No.1 Warlock.
The statue was a combat training structure placed in every city’s practice grounds. Clicking on the marble statue would allow players to attack it for one minute, with their total damage recorded and ranked.
Although battlefield ranking held the most prestige, statue DPS was the primary metric used when forming parties or raid groups.
Sa-yoon had a recorded statue DPS himself, though it wasn’t particularly high. The reason? The rankings offered zero rewards.
Plus, Warlocks had a class disadvantage—most of their skills relied on damage-over-time effects, making it hard to burst high numbers within the one-minute limit. Many Warlocks had complained about this issue in the early days, but the devs had just hit them with copy-paste responses.
[Server] Chasa: Shouldn’t the one involved in the drama be the one to fight? Lol.
Which was exactly why Sa-yoon was so confident.
A high-ranker calling out a newbie looked pathetic. If anyone should be taking on Noise, it had to be him.
