The Perfect Game Mate 10

Chapter 10

It was Chelling who brought the post that had appeared on the community site shortly after the war ended. Since their life revolved around Arc Serenity and they actively participated in all related sites, they were always quick with news and thoroughly informed.

[Chelling: Anyone want to see how Sasa became famous??]

The photos posted on the guild board were in random order, but you could still make out what they were about. It seemed that posts from the opposing guild had spread widely.

[Chelling: ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ who plays Holy Knight]

[Chelling: They’re saying it must be Vice Guild Master’s content creation, stirring up drama]

[Ddaji: Unfortunately they’re not even logged in]

The Vice Guild Master Chelling mentioned was Jung-hoon, who was currently on a solo trip to Jeju Island. Given his unusual occupation, such speculation wasn’t strange. Of course, if it had really been him, he would have been streaming it.

[Ddaji: Sasa, how expensive was the equipment you bought?ㅠ]

[HolyKnightKnight: I didn’t buy it that expensively]

[HolyKnightKnight: They said they’d sell it cheap..ㅋㅋ]

[Ddaji: Ah….. Holy Knight equipment……….ㅠㅠㅠ]

After those two somewhat dejected “ㅋ”s, Ddaji immediately understood and pointed out the hidden meaning behind HolyKnightKnight’s words.

Holy Knight users tended to be older overall. There were even statistics showing that the highest percentage of users on the Holy Knight job board were in their 40s. This meant they were more likely to spend money on developing their characters, so naturally, many would be looking to sell their items.

So they bought the items first without knowing Holy Knight wasn’t good… Though no one said it out loud, the situation became clear and seemed unfortunate. What kind of unscrupulous person would sell high-spec Holy Knight items to a newbie who had just started? Even if sold cheaply, it was too much.

Oh, that reminds me, I was supposed to review that video.

[Hando>>HolyKnightKnight: Sasa, did you record the war?]

[HolyKnightKnight>>Hando: I recorded from the middle]

Ji-won asked for the video even though it was only recorded from the middle, and received it through the open chat. He played it immediately. The video was shorter than expected, even though they hadn’t even encountered enemy guild members yet. How quickly did they die?

Ji-won made a dumbfounded expression watching the character flailing while being beaten from all sides, then suddenly sitting down on the ground. Um… you didn’t remove any of the motions from the default settings. Usually, people completely clear those out to prevent accidentally pressing the wrong key during important situations like boss fights or PVP. I should have told you about that too.

[You should remove useless things like motions and emoticons from your key settings]

[For now, just watch dungeon clear videos while leveling up]

[You can join PvP only when you feel comfortable ㅋㅋㅋㅋ]

They couldn’t always include them anyway due to member limits. This week there were unusually many guild members who couldn’t make it, so they had included HolyKnightKnight for the experience, but participation wasn’t particularly required for newbies.

[Yes, I think I need to level up first]

They remained quiet after what seemed like a conclusion. Just as Ji-won was about to close the window thinking there was nothing more to say, KakaoTalk messages urgently poured in as if they had seen what he was doing.

[I’ve really never played games before]

[Honestly, I felt a bit lost, so thank you for helping me..]

Seeing the two cautious dots at the end, Ji-won was suddenly reminded of their age. He had almost felt a distance due to the scale of money they seemed to spend, but now they seemed to have returned to being a regular newbie.

This is why I always bring them along. They learn while receiving help, have fun, gradually improve their specs, and play together. It always felt good to take care of newbies wandering in the virtual world. …Though it’s a shame that most quit quickly.

After staring at the two newly received KakaoTalk messages for a while, Ji-won thought: I hope we play together for a long time this time.

* * *

Ji-won liked the change in his gaming pattern. Usually, his daily routine consisted of mechanically playing with veteran guild members, but since the new guild member joined, he had more to do.

So he taught them various things. Though embarrassing, he recommended beginner videos from his small YouTube channel, and explained abbreviations and tips used among players. He also took them to low-difficulty dungeons to clear for them, and deliberately did daily quests—known as “homework”—together to help them finish quickly.

This new guild member came at a good time, as there hadn’t been any major updates this vacation and things were getting boring. He was glad he had brought them from that dungeon. Seeing how they were spending significant amounts of money on the game, they didn’t seem likely to quit soon, which made it easier to invest emotionally. They were about the same age, and since both were logged in almost all day, they often had casual conversations. They didn’t share personal information like where they lived or what school they attended, but exchanged trivial things like what they had for meals, what sports they liked, and so on. Sometimes they also chatted on KakaoTalk, sharing links to videos or articles.

As they were gradually becoming closer, while Ji-won was logged in and earning gold as usual, a whisper came from HolyKnightKnight who was hunting.

[HolyKnightKnight>>Hando: Guild Master]

[Hando>>HolyKnightKnight: Yes??]

[HolyKnightKnight>>Hando: I got accepted to college]

Wow. Ji-won, who had been slouching in his chair, suddenly straightened up. Come to think of it, it’s about time for regular admission results. He sent a barrage of firework emoticons with genuine joy.

If they got in now, it must be their first choice. They mentioned they had taken a gap year, so regardless of which school it was, it was fortunate they got in right away to the place they wanted.

[Hando>>HolyKnightKnight: Congratulations, reallyㅋㅋㅋㅋ]

[Hando>>HolyKnightKnight: Let the guild members know too, they’ll all congratulate you]

[HolyKnightKnight>>Hando: Ah.. okay]

Do they not want to tell many people? Just as Ji-won was about to say they didn’t have to if they felt uncomfortable, a message announcing the acceptance news appeared in the guild chat. They’re just doing it because I told them to.

[Guild][Ppojjo: College acceptance.. how cute..]

[Guild][Ppojjo: I had those days too]

[Guild][Ddaji: I too was once an aspiring Korea University student]

[Guild][Ddaji: Until the day before the college entrance exam, that is]

[Guild][Ddaji: Everyone to guild HQ, go go]

Everyone came to the guild headquarters to celebrate, but when the guest of honor didn’t show up, Ji-won eventually went to the hunting ground to bring them in. Ddaji apologized for using abbreviations in front of the newbie after their late arrival.

[Ppojjo: ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Gathering like this reminds me of when Guild Master got accepted to college]

[Ppojjo: Vice Guild Master stopped streaming to announce it and it was chaos]

Ji-won briefly held his tongue at the embarrassing memory. After receiving a waitlist number, he couldn’t even play games and was glued to his phone all day. As soon as he received the acceptance call, he immediately shared the news with his friends. Jung-hoon, who happened to be streaming at the time, excitedly announced to the camera, “My friend got into Sewon University!” Because of this, Ji-won was teased in the game for a while—by passing users, in server chat…

[HolyKnightKnight: Guild Master must be good at studying]

[Chelling: Yep, the best]

[Chelling: But today’s star is Sasaㅋ Just wait a moment]

Chelling, who had been away for a while, returned to the guild headquarters. Then they asked:

[Chelling: Which way is the front when you first enter?]

[Watermelon Doctor: Where the Vice Guild Master is standing]

[Chelling: OK OK]

What Chelling took out from their inventory was a banner. A paid item costing 2,000 won that allowed you to print specific text and place it wherever you wanted. Despite only being configurable in Gungsuh font and lasting only one hour, it was a hot-selling item due to player enthusiasm, with the font choice actually adding to its charm.

[Chelling: I also put one at the entranceㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]

[Chelling: Sasa, can I send a server chat?]

[Chelling: Say it’s okay]

[HolyKnightKnight: ㅋㅋㅋOkay]

Having obtained affirmation through pushy encouragement, Chelling soon sent a server chat.

[Server][Chelling: HolyKnightKnight<< got accepted to their first-choice college, please congratulate accordingly]

It was common for messages about someone’s birthday or a guild member finally reaching max level to appear in server chat. Then acquaintances or users with spare server chat tokens would offer congratulations—that was the warmth of Arc Serenity—and today was no exception.

[Server][Eksi: ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋCongratulations HolyKnightKnight^]

[Server][Hayayaya: I saw the banner you put up in Hahen Village.. but are you a high schooler???]

[Server][mjnj: A high schooler appearing in this old game..]

[Server][Minjae: Congrats on your acceptance, Plum guild’s HolyKnightKnight~~]

Whether because the username had been mentioned several times in the community since the encounter with Demon King in the last war, or because it was Chelling who sent the server chat, congratulatory messages poured in faster than usual. Questions about whether they were a high school student also frequently appeared.

Around the time the congratulatory messages began to taper off, Ji-won used a firework item from his inventory. It was an item only distributed during events a few years ago, but because everyone set off the ones they had, the guild headquarters was instantly buried in effects and became chaotic.

[HolyKnightKnight: Thank you everyone]

[HolyKnightKnight: But I think you can stop now..]

[Chelling: ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋOkay]

The chaotic screen hurt his eyes, but the atmosphere was good. It definitely seems like we’ve gotten closer, which is nice. Ji-won happily ate a chocolate he had placed on his desk and playfully set off one more firework.