Chapter 1
Christmas, with the New Year just around the corner. Celebrating Christmas as a military-discharged college student without a lover, my head was foggy from drinking heavily at my classmates’ insistence that we should spend such a time together. Having a high alcohol tolerance, it had been a while since I’d been this drunk.
“Ah, shit…”
Ji-won frowned at his blurry vision as he stumbled while pressing his door lock password. Four digits of his own birthday, showing not a hint of caution. He even entered it wrong twice, setting off warning sounds throughout the hallway before finally managing to get inside.
After taking a cold shower and gulping down ice water repeatedly, his mind began to clear. I should never drink this much again. While blankly blinking with this resolution in mind, his phone vibrated briefly. It was a text from his close friend, Jung-hoon.
[Can you log in now?]
[Going to do some main character content after a while]
Jung-hoon was a fairly successful gaming YouTuber. Though he tried various games at viewers’ requests, the only one he played consistently was “Arc Serenity,” a nationally beloved MMORPG that was still popular despite being released 10 years ago.
Ji-won, who had been friends with Jung-hoon since elementary school, was also a longtime user of Arc Serenity. Though his voice or face didn’t appear on camera, he often joined Jung-hoon’s streaming content in-game. It was easier to have banter when playing with a friend rather than alone.
“What time is it even…”
12:48 AM.
For gamers, this wasn’t actually that late. It was prime time for hunting, running dungeons, and completing daily quests that reset after midnight. But since Jung-hoon typically streamed for at least three to four hours once he started, it would be difficult to join him in Ji-won’s current state.
Ji-won typed a reply with one hand while turning on his computer.
[No, I’m back from drinking, just going to run dungeons and sleep]
[Oh right, you had a drinking appointment today?]
[Yep]
Ji-won was even more serious about Arc Serenity than Jung-hoon, having played since elementary school. Even when tired and unmotivated, he never forgot to run daily dungeons, and preferred gaming at home to going out. There were many times when he’d finished daily quests like a final flicker of energy before sleeping, even after pulling all-nighters for assignments. The only extended break he’d taken from gaming was during his high school senior year while preparing for college entrance exams.
[Guild][Ppojjo: Hello Guild Master]
[Guild][Watermelon Doctor: Heeey]
[Guild][Ddaji: Heyhey]
[Guild][Kkangki: H2H2]
As soon as he logged in, guild chat messages welcoming Ji-won, the Guild Master, popped up one after another. For veteran guild members, 1 AM was prime time for hunting and collecting gold and items, but Ji-won typed quickly on his keyboard.
[Guild][Hando: Are you all playing while watching the clock?]
[Guild][Ppojjo: Hahaha of course]
[Guild][Watermelon Doctor: Wasn’t it a holiday until an hour ago??]
[Guild][Chelling: ^^7]
Sharp responses came from guild members who gamed day and night. Well, what better time to play games than the early morning of a holiday? Seeing more people logged in than expected, Ji-won immediately suggested:
[Guild][Hando: Should we run daily dungeons right now?]
Daily dungeons were crucial for increasing guild prestige when cleared daily, which was important for maintaining guild rankings. So unless there were special circumstances, running at least a few was encouraged. Even without Ji-won saying much, the veteran guild members knew to run every dungeon including the low-level ones.
[Guild][Chelling: Let’s go]
[Guild][Hando: I’ll go in order]
[Guild][Ppojjo: Guild HQ 5 channel]
Sure enough, the online guild members gathered at the guild headquarters saying they were up for it. The attendance rate was unbelievable for Christmas.
[Guild][Ppojjo: It’s so funny how we gather every early morning like we planned it hahaha]
[Guild][Chelling: Don’t you all have plans?]
[Guild][Ddaji: What about you, Chelling?]
[Guild][Chelling: Everyone gathered here is my precious friend^ã…¡^]
[Guild][Chelling: How could I break such an important promise as running daily dungeons;;]
[Guild][Chelling: I rushed back after my plans]
[Guild][Watermelon Doctor: You’ve been fully online since morning??]
[Guild][Chelling: Read the room]
After watching the guild members continue their familiar banter, Ji-won counted how many people were gathered and had them form parties accordingly. Ji-won was no exception to the daily dungeon homework, so he casually joined a party with the Vice Guild Master.
[Watermelon Doctor: We could clear this with our eyes closed now]
[Ddaji: For real]
[Ppojjo: Let’s do it in under 3 minutes]
The daily dungeons weren’t difficult enough to require special communication like voice chat to clear easily. While responding to the usual chat messages, Ji-won had just cleared the second dungeon when his eyes started getting heavy. With several dungeons still left, should I just do them tomorrow? After blinking sleepily and considering for a moment, Ji-won made his decision.
[Guild][Hando: I’m tired so I think I need to go first]
[Guild][Ppojjo: Should we all disband then??]
[Guild][Hando: No, please finish up. I’ll go on my own haha]
Though it was convenient and nice to run dungeons with guild members, Ji-won felt he wouldn’t be able to pull his weight in his current state, so he logged off.
He collapsed onto his bed and fell asleep, but woke up earlier than expected because he’d forgotten to close the curtains. Ji-won stared blankly at the sunlight coming through the window before getting up and heading to the kitchen. He grabbed a bag of scones he’d left half-eaten yesterday, made a cup of instant coffee, and naturally sat down at his computer.
About to log into the game immediately, Ji-won changed direction and opened YouTube to check his own channel after a while. Unlike Jung-hoon, who did it professionally, Ji-won’s was just a hobby channel where he occasionally uploaded short boss fight videos or tips for beginners. There wasn’t anything special about it, and despite only having text captions instead of voice, the view count steadily increased, providing decent pocket money.
He was about to check the comments on his most recent dungeon clearing tips video when suddenly new comments started pouring in. Comments from 2-3 minutes ago were desperately looking for Ji-won, overusing crying emoticons.
Shin Seung-ju:
Hyung this is no time to be doing this the Spirit Master got nerfed again ã… ã…
➥ Sun-Moon Pact dead
➥➥ What do you mean dead? It’s not that bad. Just looking at you I can tell you play a class with a pathetic ultimate
➥➥➥ Seeing how defensive you are, the Spirit Master must really be dying lol
Blinking at the unexpected nerf news, Ji-won suddenly remembered that today was Wednesday, update day. I forgot because I was out of it.
While the major balance patch announced by the game company was still a bit away, getting a sudden skill nerf at such an ambiguous time was an ominous sign. Normally, he would have opened the homepage with an excited heart, but having heard the bad news in advance, he felt no anticipation.
[Spirit Master]
The damage of ‘Sun-Moon Pact’ is reduced. (1200% damage for 10 attacks -> 1000% damage for 10 attacks)
Skipping all other classes, Ji-won frowned at the simple one-line notice. His main character, the Spirit Master, was already a high-risk class with no survival skills. But to reduce the damage on the one ultimate skill…
“By 200 percent too?”
He scrolled up and down as if denying reality, but nothing changed. As people said, it wasn’t enough to call it “dead,” but it would definitely impact clearing high-level bosses.
[Saw the Spirit Master nerf?]
[RIP lololol]
Ignoring Jung-hoon’s text that arrived with perfect timing to add fuel to the fire, Ji-won logged into the game. It wouldn’t be his first time dealing with Spirit Master nerfs, and if he was going to have an existential crisis over something like this, he would have quit gaming long ago.
Jung-hoon, who was recently focusing on other content, was predictably offline. Not just him, but most other guild members were either offline or idle at the guild headquarters. While Ji-won was a college student on break, for working adults, the day after Christmas was just another workday.
“Guess I’ll start with dungeons I can solo.”
The “Gloomy Forest” dungeon, accessible from level 170, was popular among new high-level users for its good rewards despite its moderate difficulty. Although it could be easily cleared with a full party of six people, everyone tried to go with as few people as possible to avoid sharing items.
[Anbouyoung: Looking for people to join 4-person party @@@@@@@]
[Jjaesaek: Please take me with youã… ã… ã… ã… ã… ã… ]
From early morning, the area in front of the dungeon was packed with users. Amid the commotion of people trying to fill their parties or low-level players desperately trying to join, Ji-won leisurely stood in a corner and opened his inventory.
While equipping items for the fastest possible clear, Ji-won’s eyes caught a user wandering in front of the dungeon. ‘HolyKnightKnight’. The user wore a white uniform cash item that was limited-edition last month, and had such an intuitive nickname that made it immediately obvious what class they were playing. Ji-won’s attention was drawn involuntarily. There are still people playing Holy Knight?
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
