[Guild] Yu Chae: Water Please
[Guild] Yu Chae: Let me borrow your alt.
[Guild] DrinkWater: ?
Right after logging in, not even a hello — just asking to borrow an alt account. Dumbfounded, DrinkWater asked:
[Guild] DrinkWater: Why all of a sudden?
[Guild] Yu Chae: What are you gonna do knowing that?
[Guild] DrinkWater: Dude, seriously, I need to know what you're gonna use my alt for. Who wouldn't?
[Guild] ManaOutGuy: LOLLLLL
[Guild] Haerun: That logic tho
[Guild] Yu Chae: DM me the ID and password
[Guild] DrinkWater: Are you seriously insane or what
[Guild] SeasonedCrabZz: Is it because of that guy?
[Guild] SeasonedCrabZz: SleepyGuy? Isn't it about him?
[Guild] MochaBread: Yeah
[Guild] MochaBread: He totally hates our guild leader lol
[Guild] Yu Chae: I don't hate him
[Guild] LaggyLerele: Then what is it?
[Guild] Yu Chae: Anyway, it's not that
"Yeah right," thought DrinkWater, sighing along with the rest of the guild who clearly thought the same.
[Guild] DrinkWater: I trusted you had a plan, didn't recruit newbs, waited it out...
[Guild] DrinkWater: You just made everything worse
[Guild] DrinkWater: What the hell is this
[Guild] Haerun: Honestly though
[Guild] Haerun: If I were SleepyGuy, I'd hate playing too
[Guild] Haerun: It's impressive he didn't quit
[Guild] Yu Chae: ?
[Guild] Yu Chae: Even if he came back, I wasn't gonna let him join the tryouts
[Guild] Yu Chae: He hyped himself up and now he's pissed?
[Guild] DrinkWater: ?????
[Guild] DrinkWater: Then what was all that chaos last time?
[Guild] Yu Chae: Forget that, just DM the alt info
"This asshole…" DrinkWater had known Yu Chae for quite a while, but every time he acted like this, it still pissed him off.
[Guild] DrinkWater: Fine, I'll give it to you — but answer me first
[Guild] DrinkWater: It's okay to add a new player, right?
[Guild] Yu Chae: Yeah, do whatever you want
Typical answer from someone who couldn't care less about the guild.
[Guild] DrinkWater: You told me to wait 'cause you had a plan
[Guild] DrinkWater: Aren't you even embarrassed?
[Guild] Yu Chae: Our dear SleepyGuy
[Guild] Yu Chae: His charm is that I can't control him hehe
[Guild] Haerun: Dang
[Guild] MochaBread: LOLLLLLL
[Guild] ManaOutGuy: LOL
[Guild] ParkSeungjin99: Guaaah
[Guild] Hwaseoun: DrinkWaterㅠㅠ please hang in thereㅠㅠ
Grinding his teeth, DrinkWater filled the chat box with insults only to delete them with backspace after Hwaseoun's message.
In the end, Yu Chae didn't care about the tryouts. All he wanted was to mess around with SleepyGuy again.
DrinkWater had assumed they were trying to bring SleepyGuy back to win the tryouts. But apparently, it was never about that.
[Guild] LetsDoRockPaperScissors: Huh? But Guild Leader
[Guild] LetsDoRockPaperScissors: Isn't DrinkWater's alt that one? CottonCandyFox?
[Guild] LetsDoRockPaperScissors: That's a female character, right?
[Guild] DrinkWater: Yep, it is
"CottonCandyFox" was an alt account with a cute fox-eared buffer character DrinkWater had abandoned. His main was a tank, so he had little fashion options — this alt was purely for playing dress-up.
[Guild] Yu Chae: Yeah, that's why I'm borrowing it
[Guild] DrinkWater: It's not even max level
[Guild] Yu Chae: Doesn't matter
[Guild] Haerun: LOL just asking to be sure
[Guild] Haerun: You're not borrowing it to play with SleepyGuy, are you?
Yu Chae didn't respond. His silence said it all, and the guild exploded.
[Guild] Haerun: No way LOL
[Guild] ParkSeungjin99: LOL
[Guild] SeasonedCrabZz: Totally busted LOL
[Guild] MochaBread: Should've treated him better when you had the chance
[Guild] LetsDoRockPaperScissors: Using someone else's alt for personal cravings;;
[Guild] ManaOutGuy: Is he a stalker or whatㅠㅠ
[Guild] ManaOutGuy: What kind of guild leader just chases after one newbie… no dignity
[Guild] MeCrazyForHunting: Dignity… never had it to begin with
[Guild] TheHunter: Honestly, this is getting kinda pathetic;;
As the mocking and criticism rained down, Yu Chae watched silently before typing a short message:
[Guild] Yu Chae: lol
[Guild] Yu Chae: First 4 to join me
[Guild] MochaBread: lol me
[Guild] LetsDoRockPaperScissors: Me me me me
[Guild] ManaOutGuy: ✋
[Guild] ParkSeungjin99: ParkSeungjin98 ready
[Guild] Hwaseoun: Do max level chars count??
[Guild] Yu Chae: Yes, but no similar nicknames
[Guild] ParkSeungjin99: SuwonSpecialCity ready
[Guild] ManaOutGuy: How many alts does this guy have;;
[Guild] Yu Chae: Alt accounts, go friend CottonCandyFox
Yu Chae spoke as if someone else's alt was his own. DrinkWater was speechless. He considered changing the password but didn't want to deal with Yu Chae's tantrum afterward.
"This is my damn fate..."
Leaving the guild chat full of people playing their own little games, he opened the browser and went to the Xeneris user forum. It was time to find a new player.
A week had passed since I started solo playing without joining any guild. I'd barely managed to hit level 215 through a field raid Dragon Hunt quest. I hung my head in frustration.
"I need to do a dungeon raid…"
Dungeon raids dropped rare gear and weapons, so even max-level players flooded them. It was hard to find open spots.
You needed everyone to play their part — and for someone like me with zero experience, parties rarely accepted me.
No matter how many guides and videos I studied, nothing beat real experience. Some parties did allow beginners, but those filled up instantly.
"This is why you need a guild."
Most guilds helped newbies with dungeon raids. Newbies gained experience, veterans did what they were already doing — a win-win.
That was the whole reason I was going to join a guild in the first place.
"Damn you, Yu Chae..."
After a week of grinding, I'd only gained three levels. It was depressing. Reaching level 200 in ten days had felt like a lie.
[Key.Dun/7Recs/1Tank3DPS2Support/MaxLvlWelcome]6/6
[FeMoon/3Recs/MRL]7/12
[Key.Dun/3Recs/1Tank4DPS 1Healer/MaxLvl/NoNewbies] 5/6
[RoWeb/10Recs/6DPS 1Healer1Buffer/FastRun/ExpertsOnly] 6/8
Looking through the party board filled me with sighs.
Sure, you could level up without raids, but it meant killing hundreds of field mobs just for a single level, if that.
"Should I just throw myself into one and see?"
I'd probably get kicked, but maybe it was worth a shot…
[Global] CottonCandyFox: Um
[Global] CottonCandyFox: Do you maybe have a partyㅇ.ㅇ?
What now. Already in a bad mood, I scratched my brow and glanced over at the character.
Light brown hair, cat ears—or wait, fox ears? Anyway, a female character with some kind of weird animal ears. Her outfit was flashy, a pale sky-blue skirt adorned with glittering accessories.
[Global] SleepyGuy: Why?
[Global] CottonCandyFox: Ahㅠㅠ sowwy~
[Global] CottonCandyFox: I was wondering if you don't have a party, would you maybe join usㅠ.ㅠ
"...?"
Huh? Party? Did she just say party? My slumped-over body instantly straightened like a water-soaked squid suddenly zapped with electricity.
[Global] SleepyGuy: What kind of party?
[Global] CottonCandyFox: The Keyrent Dungeon ><
[Global] CottonCandyFox: Right now we have 1 tank, 2 DPS, and 2 support
[Global] CottonCandyFox: We're missing a ranged DPS 8ㅡ8
[Global] CottonCandyFox: Judging by your staff, I'm guessing you're a mage
[Global] CottonCandyFox: Please join us!! >ㅡ<
Keyrent—that's exactly the dungeon I needed to go to. This was a huge win. I was about to eagerly say yes when I paused.
"Wait. Hold on…."
Are they asking me because they think I'm max level?
[Global] SleepyGuy: I'm not max level
[Global] SleepyGuy: And this is my first time, so I'm probably going to mess up a lot
[Global] SleepyGuy: Is that okay?
Not something I could or should lie about, so I came clean. Please say it's fine. Please say it's fine…
[Global] CottonCandyFox: That's okay~ㅎㅎㅎㅎ
[Global] CottonCandyFox: I'm not max level either >0<
Waiting anxiously for a reply, I finally let out a relaxed smile.
[Global] SleepyGuy: Okay, let's go
[Global] CottonCandyFox: ㅎㅎㅎ Please join the party~
CottonCandyFox opened the party invite over her head. The party name was just [123123].
Guess this wasn't one of those public parties from the raid board — seemed like a friends-only party. I clicked accept, and with a "ding," the party chat opened up.
[Party] SuwonSpecialCity: Ugh, I think I'm gonna puke
[Party] WhatDoYouKongSoy: For real
[Party] SuwonSpecialCity: Oh—
[Party] WhatDoYouKongSoy: ㅎㅎ Hello~!
[Party] Let'sGoWitcher: Hihi
[Party] BuzzyBeeWings: Hiyo~
[Party] SleepyGuy: Hello
[Party] CottonCandyFox: ㅎㅎㅎㅎ
[Party] CottonCandyFox: Shall we get going? ^-^
[Party] SuwonSpecialCity: Yup~^^;;
Thankfully, the party atmosphere was pretty good. We took a portal to the dungeon entrance, and everyone was well-equipped.
[Party] CottonCandyFox: ㅎㅎㅎ SleepyGuy~
[Party] SleepyGuy: Yeah?
[Party] CottonCandyFox: Your name's kinda long, so can I shorten it when I call you?
[Party] SleepyGuy: Sure, I don't mind
What a random thing to ask. Just call me whatever.
While double-checking my gear to avoid dragging the team down, I gave a halfhearted response. CottonCandyFox then sent a blushing emote — the same one that Yu Chae used last time.
[Party] CottonCandyFox: Then
[Party] CottonCandyFox: Can I call you "Oppa"? >.<
...
My hand froze on the keyboard. What the hell is this "oppa" crap…
[Party] SleepyGuy: ?
[Party] SleepyGuy: How do you even know I'm older?
[Party] CottonCandyFox: I'm young! So I'm sure you areㅎㅎ
[Party] CottonCandyFox: It's okay, right???
What kind of cursed logic is that?
That ridiculous "oppa" nonsense confirmed the suspicion I had been harboring since earlier.
CottonCandyFox is definitely a guy.
"Do netkamas target newbies now too?"
Having confirmed all my gear was in working order, I responded dispassionately.
[Party] SleepyGuy: Do whatever you want
[Party] CottonCandyFox: "Hehehehe"
[T/L: Read extra chapters on my ko-fi page "Pokemon1920" : http://ko-fi.com/pokemon1920 ]