30.
“So, you hit the max level yesterday?”
“Uh.”
To Kim Dae-seok’s words, I answered, holding up the stacked books with one hand. After working at the bookstore for over a month, I could easily lift this weight.
“You went on a raid with the Early Evening Gilma?”
“Uh-huh. Now, get out of the way.”
I pushed Kim Dae-seok, who was blocking the way, and went to the display stand. Kim Dae-seok kept chirping next to me as I organized the books.
“Hey, Ji-han. It’s amazing that you hit the max level in a month and a half, but… that’s really too good, isn’t it?”
“What.”
“I understand you have to use Early Evening to get your staff back, but it’s true.”
What nonsense is he going to say. I turned my head to say something else and looked at Kim Dae-Seok with cold eyes.
“I thought it would feel a little uncomfortable.”
“Which part?”
“No, just think about it! You’re the guy, who dropped it then returned back to the guild, and there’s no guarantee that things won’t change once you get that staff.”
“So what?”
“I mean, that Yoo Chae guy definitely has an ulterior motive. Isn’t it obvious?”
What does he mean? That Yoo Chae has an ulterior motive?......
Those words reminded me of what had happened yesterday at Zenoris. As soon as I reached max level and left the raid dungeon, Yoo Chae was hopping and chatting.
[Party] Yoo Chae: Hyung hyung
[Party] Yoo Chae: Congratulations on reaching the max level!! ㅎㅡㅎ
[Party] Yoo Chae: You know I helped you a lot, right?
[Party] I’m Sleepy: yeah
[Party] Yoo Chae: How’s the totem?
[Party] Yoo Chae: Was it okay?
[Party] I’m Sleepy: yeah it was good
[Party] Yoo Chae: >_<♥
“……”
With hell to having ulterior motives. It was so innocent that I almost felt sad when I saw it.
He liked it as if he, himself, had reached the max level for the first time. I smiled and shook my head.
“Don’t talk nonsense, because it can’t be.”
“Haa… Yoo Ji-han. Do you still not know what’s going on after all that?”
Kim Dae-seok took a deep breath and put his huge arm on my shoulder. Why does this bastard suddenly come to my workplace just to talk shit?
“Don’t disturb me, and get out of here.”
“How can you say such a hurtful thing? I’m going to an appointment later, so let’s spend some time until then. Anyway, listen to me.”
You’re using someone else’s workplace to kill some time.
“He was once a stalker who has been following you all the way while doing Netkama, so who knows if he’s up to something else again? He’s a guy who’s rumored to have a bad personality.”
“It’s not that bad.”
I patted Kim Dae-seok’s arm and said sternly.
“It’s just that he’s a bit rude, arrogant and stubborn.”
“...Isn’t that a bad personality?”
I tilted my head at Kim Dae-seok’s absurd reaction. Well, there’s something different about simply saying that he has a bad personality.
‘Hmm, it’s like…….’
There must have been a more appropriate expression. What was it? Kim Dae-seok continued, leaving me in doubt.
“The bottom line is to be careful.”
“Sure, sure.”
There were other things that were more important than Yoo Chae. Since Kim Dae-seok came to see me, I asked him something I had been curious about since yesterday.
“I want to practice skill combos, is there a good way?”
“A skill combo?”
Kim Dae-seok, who was bewildered by the sudden question, opened his mouth with an expression of understanding.
“Ah, I see, you chose the Dark Mage?”
With this patch, a new class appeared in Zenoris– Dark Mage. I remembered the Dark Mage job video I saw when I first started playing Zenoris.
Most of the wizards appearing in the original RPG games are similar. Instead of a long skill cooldown and a weak body, the wizard had high skill damage and was able to attack in a wide area.
The job that completely changed that base is the Dark Mage. Like a moderate mix of wizards and assassins, this profession had very distinct advantages and disadvantages.
Unlike existing mages, Dark Mages do not have wide-area skills or ultimate skills. Instead, the skill cooldown is small, and there is a hidden skill called ‘Stack’, which is only specific to a Dark Mage.
‘Stack’ is a passive skill that automatically turns on the effect when you attack the opponent, and the more you fill this stack, the more the damage increases tremendously. A large attack effect can be achieved only when stacks are stacked and exploded most effectively and quickly.
‘After all, it’s a controlled fight.’
The quicker you handle it, the more familiar the skill linkage, the faster the stack builds up and the amount of damage increases accordingly. Depending on your skill level, you can use it differently. It was the method I was most confident of.
So it took practice. It would be better if you have a good practice partner.
“Then it would be fine to go to the Arena.”
“Arena…”
“I don’t think the workshop will be of much help because it’s so open … I don’t think it would be a bad idea to set up a separate Daejeon room.”
To set up a separate Daejeon room meant that acquaintances should divide into teams to play PVP. It was fairly good for an offhand comment.
‘After the part-time job is over, I’ll ask about it in the guild group chat room.’
***
[Drink some water: Skill practice in the arena?]
[Drink some water: sure??]
Fortunately, a positive response came back when I secretly talked about Arena PVP in the guild chat room.
[Drink some water: Everyone anyway]
[Drink some water: we have to practice for the selectionㅋㅋ]
[Mocha bread: fr I have to do it because my hands are kinda stiff]
[Manaolingnam: Arena is fun]
[Manaolingnam: Let’s go today, right?]
[I’m Sleepy: Let’s go]
[Harn: count me in]
[I’m getting lazy: I think I can be there after 9 o’clock?]
[TheHunter: How many people are there right now (emoticon)]
[Harn: About 50 people]
[Harn: How many people do you want to come?]
[Harn: me (Emoticon)]
[Park Seung-kon-ssi: Me too]
[Drink some water: 8 people will be enough it seems]
[oo: Hyung]
[oo: When are you coming?]
Unlike the guild members who set their names with Zenoris nicknames, Yoo Chae, who had set the initial consonant as his username, spoke to me alone.
[I’m Sleepy: I have to go to the gym]
[I’m Sleepy: about 2 hours later]
[oo: Hyung, do you work out?]
[I’m Sleepy: For health reasons]
[oo: Wow..]
[oo: I want to see that]
[I’m Sleepy: ?]
[I’m Sleepy: What?]
[oo: You working out]
[I’m Sleepy: ?]
[Drink some water: ..?]
[Harn: ?]
[Park Seung-kon-ssi: omg..]
[oo: ??]
[oo: no]
[oo: That’s not what I meant]
“……”
You crazy.... I quietly turned off the screen of my phone and put it in my coat pocket.
***
After working out and returning home, I turned on the computer and loosened my shoulders and hand muscles with light stretching. After completing all preparations and connecting to Zenoris, the entrance to the Hurdian Dungeon appeared along with the game BGM.
[Guild] Let’s do this: hi hi
[Guild] Bright Clouds: Sleepy-nim, hi~
[Guild] I’m getting lazy: hi2
[Guild] This is Dorahee: Hello haha
[Guild] I’m Sleepy: hiyo
After I greeted the guild members and checked the event page and login reward page that popped up on the screen, a familiar character ran from the opposite side.
[All] Yoo Chae: Hyung
[All] Yoo Chae: Hyung hyung!
I left the game right after the raid was over yesterday, so I guess he knew where I was. Even though his game character has an expressionless face, it was strange that I could feel that he looked happy.
Yoo Chae, who opened the party recruitment window, poured out chatting as I entered the party.
[Party] Yoo Chae: Hyung
[Party] Yoo Chae: Did you work out today as well??
[Party] Yoo Chae: Do you always exercise after work?
[Party] Yoo Chae: Do you go for health reasons?
Feeling strangely dazed by the particularly exciting appearance of Yoo Chae today, I removed my hand from my keyboard and touched my lips for a while, pondering for a while.
Just like before... When I keep looking at Yoo Chae, I seem to remember something.
[Party] Yoo Chae: Hyung, do you have any items you need?
[Party] Yoo Chae: Since you’ve reached the max level, I have to give you an item! ㅎ.ㅎ
“Ah.”
In the chatting that followed, I finally remembered what he looked like, and I felt a cooling sensation in my stuffy stomach and spoke to him.
[Party] I’m Sleepy: you look exactly like that
[Party] Yoo Chae: What?
[Party] I’m Sleepy: A puppy whining after making trouble
I’ve seen a video on Youtube before. Although it was still a young puppy, it caused a lot of troubles because of its active personality. Still, how ridiculous it is to whine in front of the owner and play Aegyo.
‘But they really look alike.’
It looked just like Yoo Chae, in the appearance of the puppy flipping a flowerpot and biting on the sofa and panting when only the owner appeared.
[Party] Yoo Chae: Me?
[Party] Yoo Chae: Do I look like a puppy?
Where did the ‘Puppy whining after making trouble’ go? What… It’s true that I said that he was like a puppy, so I meekly agreed.
[Party] I’m Sleepy: yeah
[Party] Yoo Chae: Am I cute?
[Party] I’m Sleepy: ?
[Party] I’m Sleepy: I never said you were cute
[Party] Yoo Chae: You say I was like a puppy
[Party] Yoo Chae: puppies are cute ㅋㅋㅋ
[Party] I’m Sleepy: I didn’t say like a puppy in that sense;
[Party] Yoo Chae: ㅋㅋㅋㅋ
[Party] Yoo Chae: You say I was cute ㅋㅋㅋ
[Party] I’m Sleepy: Stop it, let’s just go to Arena
[Party] Yoo Chae: ㅎㅡㅎ
Yoo Chae used the scroll with a smile until the end. We headed straight to the Arena and entered the lobby after having a party with the guild members who were waiting in advance.
[Party] Drink some water: Since there are 12 people
[Party] Drink some water: All you need to do is form a team of 6 people each
[Party] Drink some water: How to split the team?
[Party] Bright Clouds: Can’t we just split it up into Gilma-nim and Water-nim?
[Party] Mocha Bread: No If you just divide it on that, the balance will collapse
[Party] Park Seung-jin99: yeah
[Party] Park Seung-jin99: Let’s try to match the number of damage deals for this
[Party] Crazy hunting friend: Shouldn’t the two newbies be divided into different teams?
Even though it was decided on 6:6 PVP, a discussion took place before the match. It certainly isn’t easy to split the team in a balanced way. Yoo Chae, who quietly watched the guild members having a conversation about various possibilities, opened his mouth.
[Party] Yoo Chae: Sleepy Hyung and me as the representatives
[Party] Yoo Chae: Divide into teams
[Party] Yoo Chae: Then it will be more less or right
[Party] I’m Sleepy: ?
[Party] Park Seung-jin99: Eh?
[Party] Yoo Chae: Hyung said he wanted to practice his skills.
[Party] Yoo Chae: It’ll be worth practicing when I’m on the enemy team
[Party] Mocha Bread: Hiik
“Hm……”
I’m sure Yoo Chae is as good as a professional gamer. There was no reason for me to refuse when someone with good control came forward and became my practice partner.
However, I’m a newbie who has just reached max level, and my opponent is a top tier person. Fighting barefoot was unreasonable.
[Party] I’m Sleepy: ok
[Party] I’m Sleepy: But I have a condition too
[Party] Yoo Chae: What is it?
[Party] I’m Sleepy: Rahee-nim, I’ll take her
So, the buffer Dorahee was needed for our team. Of course, it would be nice to have a healer, but if I had to choose between a buffer and a healer, I’d definitely choose a buffer. Dorahee also had a good sense of the game, so she was a good team member to have.
[Party] Yoo Chae: ?
[Party] Drink some water: Oh...
[Party] Harn: ?
[Party] Bright Clouds: omg
[Party] TheHunter: ?
But why is the atmosphere like this? Did I ask for a buffer too proudly? I became shy and started fiddling with the hard piercing on my ear, until Dorahee’s chat came up.
[Party] This is Dorahee: haha
[Party] This is Dorahee: I’m okay with that haha
[Party] Yoo Chae: ㅋㅋ?
---
Credits:
Translator: Hoshi Miya
Editor: Meimei
BTW. um... it's gonna be the first anniversary of this translation group. It's Feb 26. I found it from this website. lol
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