Chapter 7
“You spent 500,000 won just last month?”
The unexpected amount made me mutter to myself involuntarily. Is he buying experience potions with cash instead of gold? Or is he crafting items privately on his own? I ran through several possibilities, but no matter what, the amount was too large.
Ji-won used to receive quite a generous allowance before enlisting in the military, but even so, spending 500,000 won a month solely on gaming was excessive. Didn’t he say he was twenty-one?
[HolyKnightKnight>>Hando: Ah my hand slipped… I didn’t know it would display like that]
[HolyKnightKnight>>Hando: This buff is correct, right?]
It’s correct, but still…
[Chelling: ?????]
[Ddaji: What’s this]
[Ddaji: You were a heavy newbie!!!!!]
[Jino: OMG newbie..?]
But the guild members didn’t seem to mind much, and were busy expressing amazement that our newbie was such a big spender. Well, he could be a silver spoon kid. Come to think of it, when we first met, he tried to give me 100,000 gold without hesitation. Ji-won rested his chin on the hand holding the mouse and stared blankly at the monitor.
[HolyKnightKnight: Is it over now?]
[Chelling: Yeppp we’re on standby now]
Two minutes until start. As I put down my mouse and lightly stretched my hands, HolyKnightKnight, who had been waiting quietly after listening to Chelling, sidled up and asked:
[HolyKnightKnight: Guild Master, aren’t you wearing a shield ring?]
The shield ring, commonly called “shielding,” which increases defense, was an almost essential PVP-exclusive ring for mage classes with naturally low HP. When equipped, it creates a white light border around the character, but it wasn’t visible on Ji-won’s character, which was probably why he asked.
He must have done his research, even knowing that mages wear shield rings. Feeling proud, Ji-won kindly answered:
[Hando: No, I’m confident I won’t die]
[Chelling: Wow…..]
[Kkangki: o_o]
[Hando: I went all-in on attack power lol]
Instead of a shield ring, Ji-won wore a different ring that increased attack power by a certain amount. He sacrificed HP to push other stats to the extreme, aiming to kill at least one more person.
[Chelling: Our HP bank newbie will defer to Guild Master]
[Chelling: Seems like it’ll be useful]
[Hando: Hahahaha I was planning to escort him anyway]
In war, where everyone rushes to clash, nothing is more threatening than being ganged up on, so quickly meeting up with nearby allies is important. The system basically places everyone at appropriate distances, but the ability to quickly read the map, make decisions, and move swiftly depends on individual skill and experience.
He’s never done war before, so naturally he wouldn’t have had the chance to build such experience. Ji-won typed a message to HolyKnightKnight, who seemed to be in an idle state, standing his character still, not knowing what to do.
[Hando: I can come right away if you’re nearby]
[Hando: First goal is to stay alive as much as possible]
[Hando: Don’t feel too pressured lol]
[HolyKnightKnight: Yep]
A sense of duty as guild master to protect a newbie facing their first war emerged in Ji-won. No matter if it’s just for experience, it’s no fun to die right after starting.
He had maximized his movement speed, and with the added merit of being able to ride a spirit for movement, he figured he could get there quickly enough. Holy Knights have high base HP, so unless multiple enemies rush in at once, they won’t die quickly.
Of course, equipment makes a big difference, so with just basic items, the defense wouldn’t hold up, but…
“Ah, it’s starting.”
[5!]
[4!]
[3!]
[2!]
[1!]
[The war will begin momentarily.]
Ten seconds after the start message appeared. Ji-won, spawned in a particularly secluded, deserted corner of an old alley, quickly turned his character’s view to scan the surroundings. The mini-map displayed in the upper left corner showed nothing. After confirming it was an empty place with neither allies nor enemies, Ji-won expanded the map to fill the screen. Then he began to scan roughly where the guild members were located.
“Ah.”
…We ended up on completely opposite sides.
* * *
“I really don’t get any of this.”
You need to have experience killing others in games. Even if he couldn’t kill anyone and just died alone, there would be no one to blame, but HolyKnightKnight, who needed to quickly improve both his game account and skills, felt unnecessarily rushed. Despite the guild members helping in every way possible, having started late, he still didn’t properly understand the game system, and March was already approaching.
He had watched a few PVP videos, but for HolyKnightKnight, born with inherently clumsy hands, they were just other people’s skills he could never hope to replicate. Still, thinking he had to try to improve, he agreed to participate, though he remained unsure.
So instead of improving his hand skills, he chose to improve his equipment. Resting his chin on his right hand, HolyKnightKnight pressed the standby button, having applied a complete set of high-end PVP equipment purchased from someone. The equipment looked quite expensive, but unfortunately its appearance was hidden by cash items.
“Where is this place…?”
His character dropped in front of an elaborately designed fountain and stood awkwardly. HolyKnightKnight first fixed the stupid-looking pose, then drank some water he had placed beside him. Even after leisurely moistening his throat, there was still nothing visible on the screen except his character.
The reliable guild master who had spoken confidently was nowhere to be seen on screen. He tried to open the map as he’d seen in videos, but he couldn’t even properly find his own position while fumbling around, let alone check where the guild master was.
Why is this game so difficult? Muttering complaints despite having played enjoyably with guild members all day, HolyKnightKnight moved his character forward aimlessly. He couldn’t just stand still waiting for someone to find him.
[Guild][Hando: Report your surroundings and regroup]
The guild master gave a simple order through guild chat, but HolyKnightKnight had no eyes to see his surroundings. Moving stupidly forward like that, his character easily caught an enemy’s attention.
Seeing the red enemy marker from afar and rushing over, Mawang, a member of the Coexistence guild, watched the rumored level 182 newbie who had crawled into Arc Serenity’s PVP that started at max level. As if not even worth ambushing, Mawang approached directly from the front and even sent a leisurely laughing chat.
[Mawang: lololol]
No matter how high a character’s innate HP was, it meant nothing if defense or evasion was low. Above all, Holy Knights had high physical defense but weak magic defense. Thinking there was no one around, Mawang raised his staff, which flickered with pitch-black light, planning to apply a CC skill and beat him easily.
[Demonic Stroke!]
The black sphere that flew quickly penetrated the character who had been walking gallantly. For a moment, the monitor screen seemed to turn black, then returned to normal with a large notification.
[‘Beloved Aira’s Necklace’ effect releases you from groggy state.]
Seeing his character return to normal after momentarily falling into a groggy state, HolyKnightKnight began pressing skill buttons indiscriminately. He used the skill to knock down characters as he had seen in Holy Knight PVP videos he had watched repeatedly, then used the skill to draw and swing the Light Guardian Sword. Despite the amateurish attack, the damage was enormous.
The Demon Contractor was a rare mage specialized in close-range damage. He had already closed the distance, but Mawang was surprised, having never imagined his opponent would be carrying the notoriously expensive status ailment removal item. His shaken composure and mistakenly tangled damage cycle due to an error further narrowed the gap between them.
Without time to back away, a red warning message appeared above Mawang’s character’s head. Are you kidding? Is this really level 182? As he tried to create distance and escape somehow, he saw a red dot on the mini-map in the upper left quickly closing a wide distance.
[<Plum> guild member ‘HolyKnightKnight’ announces the start of war with first blood.]
[<Plum> guild member ‘HolyKnightKnight’ has killed <Coexistence> guild’s ‘Mawang’! (+3P)]
[Chelling: Sasa]
As if coming to rescue, Chelling appeared with a gallant leap forward, displaying chat above his head, and simultaneously landed on the ground as the first kill notification of the war appeared. It was a rare sight of a level 200 user losing to a level 182 newbie in a 1:1 battle.
[Chelling: ????]
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
