The guild members, who had been making a huge fuss about how they couldn't believe what they were seeing, finally seemed to come to their senses and started bombarding me with questions.
[Guild] MochaBread: So
[Guild] MochaBread: Is it really Sleepy?
[Guild] MochaBread: Like, for real joining our guild?
[Guild] SoSleepy: Yepㅡㅡ
[Guild] ReReLagging: Gasp
[Guild] ReReLagging: Dang dang dang dang
[Guild] Hwasoun: Maybe think it over one more time?
[Guild] Haereun: T_T Then okay
[Guild] Haereun: But if the guild leader declares war,
[Guild] Haereun: no guild would dare take in Sleepy…
[Guild] FreebieBye: Did you two make up or something?
[Guild] FreebieBye: It's kind of weird that you're suddenly joining the guild
[Guild] FreebieBye: Kinda surprising;
Yeah, from the guild members' point of view, they must be wondering what the hell is going on with us.
But… how should I explain this? Should I really say I met with the leader of the Favor guild and got my staff stolen from me…?
"It's a bit tricky."
Just like how Chojeonyeok placed an alt character in Favor guild, there might be at least one Favor guild member mixed in here too.
The number of guild members currently online—including those AFK—was around 30. That's already a reduced number since it's late at night. And more importantly, guild chat can be read even if someone is AFK or offline, so it's risky.
Let's not make any rash moves. I have to act carefully, without a single misstep, to get the staff back.
Just as I came to that conclusion, a whisper came in.
[Whisper] Yoo Chae: Bro
[Whisper] Yoo Chae: About the staff thing
[Whisper] Yoo Chae: I think it's best not to bring it up in guild chat
I was quietly impressed that Yoo Chae was thinking the same thing as me and replied:
[Whisper] SoSleepy: Yeah
[Whisper] SoSleepy: That's probably best
Joining Chojeonyeok's guild was fine. Favor probably thinks I got scared or pissed off and ran to a stronger guild.
I don't care what they think. What matters is that I'm after the staff. If word gets back to Favor, they definitely won't use the staff during the prelims.
Then I'll lose my one shot at killing a newbie and getting the staff back.
For now, only Yoo Chae, Muljom (DrinkWater), SseSseSse, and Haereun should know. If they were involved in the prelim discussions, they're trustworthy enough.
"Okay, hide the staff incident for now…"
What should I say as the excuse for coming back to Chojeonyeok's guild?
I stared blankly into space with my hands on the keyboard before coming to a half-hearted conclusion.
This is such a pain. Let's just wing it.
[Guild] SoSleepy: Yeah
[Guild] SoSleepy: I made up with Yoo Chae, actually
[Guild] FreebieBye: ?
[Guild] MochaBread: ?
[Guild] TheHunter: Huh? For real?
[Guild] ParkSeungjin99: Wait what? When??
[Guild] SoSleepy: Earlier
[Guild] SoSleepy: We even friended each other
[Guild] SoySauceCrabYum: Whoa…
[Guild] ManaO'RingMan: Wow… must be legit
[Guild] ParkSeungjin99: If the guild leader had done this,
[Guild] ParkSeungjin99: I'd be raging
[Guild] ParkSeungjin99: But since it's Sleepy, I'll allow it lol
[Guild] Hwasoun: LMAO
[Guild] Haereun: Grats, guild leader's hit the jackpot
[Guild] DrinkWater: Give us something to celebrate!
Thankfully, the people who knew about the staff incident played along. They've got good instincts.
Ignoring all the chatter, Yoo Chae messaged me.
[Guild] Yoo Chae: Hyung~
[Guild] Yoo Chae: Which raid should we run? Heh heh
[Guild] SoSleepy: Seltern
[Guild] Yoo Chae: It's late today, so
[Guild] Yoo Chae: Let's go tomorrow
[Guild] Yoo Chae: Together!
[Guild] DrinkWater: Oh, Seltern?
[Guild] DrinkWater: The new newbie also needs Seltern
[Guild] DrinkWater: Perfect, we can all go together
[Guild] SoSleepy: There's a new newbie?
[Guild] DrinkWater: Yup
[Guild] DrinkWater: He's a buffer, not bad
Makes sense. They'd need another newbie if they wanted to join the prelims without me.
[Guild] DrinkWater: Not online now
[Guild] DrinkWater: Should log in tomorrow afternoon
[Guild] MochaBread: Seems super nice ㅇㅅㅇ
[Guild] TheHunter: Kind of…
[Guild] TheHunter: Like the total opposite of the guild leader
[Guild] SoSleepy: Got it
Well, now that I'm part of Chojeonyeok again and participating in the prelims, gathering small bits of info isn't a bad idea.
"And it's a buffer, too."
Thanks to CottonCandyFox, I learned firsthand how helpful buffers are in battle. Especially for a class like Rune Mage, which has long cooldowns and various limitations—buffs are a godsend.
"…Wait a sec."
Now that I think about it, CottonCandyFox is Yoo Chae, right? That bastard… and he was just asking me which raid to run?
Shameless piece of crap.
I was going to let it slide for today, but now I'm too annoyed.
[Guild] SoSleepy: By the way
[Guild] SoSleepy: I already have a raid party lol
[Guild] Yoo Chae: ??
[Guild] SoSleepy: It's the same party that cleared Keyrant together
[Guild] SoSleepy: We're super close
[Guild] SoSleepy: Would be kinda weird to leave them out^^
[Guild] DrinkWater: LOLLLLLLL
[Guild] Hwasoun: LMAO WTF
[Guild] ParkSeungjin99: hahaha…
[Guild] MochaBread: uh…;
I laughed hard as Yoo Chae froze, too flustered to say anything.
Bet you didn't see that coming, huh? Serves you right, you punk.
[Guild] Yoo Chae: Hyung, so
[Guild] Yoo Chae: If the people in that party don't log in
[Guild] Yoo Chae: You'll do it with us, right?
[Guild] Yoo Chae: Right? You'll go with me, right?
"..."
I stared at Yoo Chae's message, which had come up after a long silence, at a loss for words.
"If you're going to lie, at least try a little harder, you crazy bastard."
I held my aching forehead and let out a sigh. Honestly, it would've been better if he just yelled, "I'm CottonCandyFox, hyung!"
But I'd already told everyone we made up, so I couldn't exactly curse him out…
[Guild] SoSleepy: Why are you so set on partying with me lol;
[Guild] SoSleepy: I'll just go with the people I usually play with
[Guild] Yoo Chae: Nah, I don't like that
[Guild] Yoo Chae: Party with me
[Guild] Yoo Chae: With me!
[Guild] SoSleepy: What the hell is wrong with you
[Guild] SoSleepy: Go with someone else in the guild, not me
[Guild] ManaO'RingMan: Like that's gonna happen
[Guild] Yoo Chae: How could I go anywhere without you, hyung!
[Guild] ParkSeungjin99: Oh my god~
[Guild] Haereun: LOLOLOLOL
[Guild] FreebieBye: I'm dying LOLLL
[Guild] DrinkWater: What an intense display of pure love;
[Guild] Let'sPlaySseSseSse: So uh
[Guild] Let'sPlaySseSseSse: Is this what we have to watch from now on?
[Guild] Haereun: Yep
[Guild] MochaBread: I suddenly feel like quitting the guild...
[Guild] TheHunter: You two already made up, right?
[Guild] TheHunter: Why not go all the way and get married?
[Guild] Hwasoun: Whoa, big brain move
[Guild] DrinkWater: Let's gooo
[Guild] DrinkWater: Just get married already
[Guild] DrinkWater: And use the partner chat
[Guild] FreebieBye: Our guild leader, at least
[Guild] FreebieBye: He's got money
[Guild] MonsterOfCapitalism: In this day and age…
[Guild] MonsterOfCapitalism: Money is everything…
[Guild] Haereun: Facts
"Is he being serious right now?"
I stared in disbelief for a moment, then checked the username and understood.
[Guild] Yoo Chae: Hyung, hyung
[Guild] Yoo Chae: I have a pretty face too, hehㅡheh
[Guild] Hwasoun: LOL show your face if you're gonna say that
[Guild] Haereun: Doesn't even tell us your name
[Guild] Haereun: No way you're showing your face LOL
[Guild] SoSleepy: We're both guys
[Guild] SoSleepy: How are we supposed to get married?
[Guild] Yoo Chae: Should I go get gender-reassignment surgery?
[Guild] SoSleepy: Then go do it in real life too;
[Guild] Yoo Chae: So we can get married in real life too? >ㅡ<
[Guild] SoSleepy: ?
[Guild] Hwasoun: Ooh~
[Guild] SoySauceCrabYum: Ooh~
[Guild] MeCrazyAboutHunting: Who hasn't done the Holy War quest?
[Guild] MochaBread: Ooh~
[Guild] TheHunter: Me, me
Sigh… fuck.
What the hell is wrong with this guy. I can't let this nonsense continue.
[Guild] SoSleepy: Anyway
[Guild] SoSleepy: Let's talk about the raid tomorrow
[Guild] Yoo Chae: Okay~~
Even though he said that, we both knew we'd end up raiding together anyway. In the end, nothing really changes.
[Guild] DrinkWater: If you're gonna party with us
[Guild] DrinkWater: Let us know ahead of time
[Guild] DrinkWater: We need to check with the new newbie too
[Guild] SoSleepy: Got it, got it
After replying, I checked the time. It was already past 2 a.m. If I wanted to get up, go to my part-time job, and hit the gym, I needed to wash up and get to bed.
[Guild] SoSleepy: Logging off for now
[Guild] SoSleepy: I'm tired
[Guild] DrinkWater: Bye bye
[Guild] Hwasoun: Sleep well, Sleepy
[Guild] ParkSeungjin99: BB
[Guild] Haereun: Sleepy said he's sleepy LOL
[Guild] Haereun: LMAOOOOO
[Guild] SoySauceCrabYum: ?..
[Guild] MochaBread: What the hell
[Guild] ReReLagging: That was the cringiest thing I've ever seen
Guild contribution of member Haereun has been changed to 0 points.
[Guild] Haereun: Huh?
[Guild] FreebieBye: LOLLLLLL
[Guild] ParkSeungjin99: LOLOL
[Guild] SoySauceCrabYum: That was savage as hell LOL
"..."
Bunch of lunatics…
I quietly erased the goodbye message I was about to type, hit backspace a few times, and silently closed out of Xenoris.
[T/L: Read extra chapters on my ko-fi page "Pokemon1920" : http://ko-fi.com/pokemon1920 ]