Chapter 26: Awkward Allies

5: A Simple Thank You

Voice chat?

—Riverflow: Voice?
—BekGoe: Yup.

I remember doing this without voice back in the day. I type out my confusion.

—Riverflow: Do we have to?
—Riverflow: When I played before, we just used chat macros.
—BekGoe: Who doesn’t use voice these days;;
—vlwmrlaqkq: Recent bosses are tough.
—vlwmrlaqkq: You can’t clear without voice.

But we’re not doing a recent boss. Serena came out before I quit, so it’s old.

Still, the party’s leaning toward voice, so I decide to go along. Guess everyone uses voice now.

—Riverflow: How do we do voice?
—vlwmrlaqkq: It’s in the guild Discord notice.

Aha.

Discord. I’ve used it with friends for gaming, but not with strangers.

I open the guild window and switch to the notice tab. Sure enough, the first line has the guild’s Discord server link.

I never checked notices after joining the guild, so I had no idea.

I Alt+Tab to minimize the game and join the Discord server. Scrolling down, I spot the voice channel the party’s in.

My mic’s already set up, so I can just hop in.

No hesitation—I join the channel.

Ding!

After a brief loading, chaotic noise blasts through my headset.

<Who even does Serena anymore? Total has-been boss. Agree? Agree.>
<LOL fr>
<Ugh! I need to do Durandal. Let’s wrap this up quick.>

Pretty loud.

Ahem.

I clear my throat and finally speak into the mic.

“Hello, can you hear me?”

Silence.

…

The channel, noisy just moments ago, goes dead quiet. Not a word, not even a breath.

It’s like everyone dropped dead.

What’s going on?

Is there a connection issue?

“Hello?”

My profile icon lights up green when I speak, so they must hear me fine.

“Uh… Why’s it so quiet?”

Did my headset break in those few seconds?

Should I reconnect?

As my mind races, voices finally come through again.

<You’re a girl?>

“Huh? Oh, yeah.”

Technically, I was a guy, but there’s no need to spill my life story to strangers in a game… right?

<Haha, your voice sounds kinda masculine, didn’t expect that.>

“Haha… Yeah.”

BekGoe’s icon lights up green.

It’s awkward to say, but his voice is… oily. Like Kanghyuk’s voice mixed with two scoops of sleaze.

Well, voices can be like that.

He probably didn’t choose to sound that way, so I’ll keep my bad impressions to myself.

<Your character’s hilarious, lol. You’ve got a great sense of humor.>

“Thanks…?”

Suddenly, BekGoe’s tone shifts to something softer—still oily, but friendlier—and he compliments my character’s look. It’s kinda out of nowhere and throws me off.

“Uh… Shall we start then? Serena…”

<Oh, yeah, sure. Hey! Wanna do Durandal after this? I’ll carry you, hehe.>

“Durandal?”

Durandal.

Digging through faint memories, I recall seeing that name at the end of the boss raid list. Since the list is sorted by release, it’s the newest boss.

I haven’t checked its strategy, and my specs probably don’t match up for a latest boss.

As I mull it over, the other party members chime in, their voices also suspiciously softer. If I had to describe it, it’s the kind of tone guys use when hitting on someone.

Not that they’re hitting on me, of course. Just a figure of speech.

Sure, my voice is kinda pretty, but who hits on someone they just met in a game, over voice chat no less?

“Durandal’s the newest boss, right? Haha… I just came back, so my specs are low, and I don’t know the strategy…”

<Don’t worry about specs. I’ll give you all the gear, hehe.>

<Yeah, this is what veterans do—carry newbies. I’ll guide you kindly.>

“A guide’s nice, but gear? Isn’t that stuff expensive?”

Even if the game’s on the decline, endgame boss gear isn’t cheap, and they’re offering it so casually?

<No, no, I’ve got tons of this stuff, hehe. Take it. I’ll start a trade.>

“Uh, okay.”

A trade request pops up, and shiny items appear. Each piece boosts my combat power massively—expensive gear.

They even toss in millions of gold, making me feel awkward for accepting.

This isn’t just newbie carrying, is it?

“This feels like too much. All this…”

<No, no, take it. Need potions too? Hehe.>

I’m already overwhelmed, and they’re offering more? I’m getting dizzy. Stop, please…

“… It’s really too much. I’m not even playing this game long-term…”

<You never know! If you play with us, you might get hooked and keep going, hehe.>

“Uh, yeah…”

BekGoe stammers, desperately trying to keep me engaged. If I don’t accept, this stalemate might last forever, so I give in and take the trade.

My combat power skyrockets, and my character’s gear sparkles.

I wasn’t planning to play this game much, but with all this gear, I feel obligated to log in a few more times. It’s… too much.

While the others keep talking to me, KimParakSae stays silent.

Maybe they’re just quiet by nature?

Boom.

BOOM.

Heavy footsteps echo. Four swords rise into the air, signaling the raid boss’s pattern. A heavily armored knight in the map’s center starts charging power.

<Pillar pattern incoming! River-nim, watch out! Hehe.>

“Oh, yes, yes!”

Pillars at the map’s four corners activate in sequence, perfectly timed by the party.

Thoom, thoom.

The first pillar emits a sinister black wave. It chunks my HP, but ZlJohnBishopZlJohn’s sanctuary skill fully heals me repeatedly.

Bang.

The second pillar unleashes a menacing red wave. The moment it hits, my character gets cursed, halving healing received.

The HP I was sustaining through heals starts dropping as the reduced healing can’t keep up with the damage.

BOOM.*

Finally, a blue pillar emits a wave. The party shouts.

<Brand! Who’s got the brand?>

“Uh, uh…”

<Not me.>

<Me neither.>

<Not me either.>

The blue wave applies a random debuff, Collapse Brand, to one of the five party members.

If the other four don’t have it…

My eyes dart to my buff window, crammed with dozens of buff and potion icons across three rows. I finally spot the brand debuff.

“Oh! It’s me, it’s—”

Too late. My character, running toward the black pillar as instructed, collapses from insufficient healing. The others, unable to tank the damage, fall one by one.

The failure screen appears.

“S-Sorry. There were so many buffs, I didn’t notice the brand…”

<No, no, no, it’s fine. Newbies make mistakes. Hehe, getting this far is already impressive.>

<Yeah, just bad luck. If the brand hit us, we’d have cleared it in one shot, but it had to hit River-nim.>

Two party members cover for my mistake, probably thinking I’m bummed out, hyping me up.

The praise is nice, but isn’t it a bit much? I’ve been praised dozens of times during the raid.

My halo flickers, as if embarrassed too.

<Good job~>

<Well done.>

Meanwhile, ZlJohnBishopZlJohn and KimParakSae give short farewells and leave. You can only attempt a boss raid once a day, so with our failure, they’re done for now.

<Try again tomorrow, and we’ll clear it! Hehe. Wanna join us again, River-nim?>

“Uh… Yeah, sure. Haha…”

What’s this uneasy feeling? Am I imagining it?

But with all that expensive gear they gave me, I’ll have to play for a while. Sigh.

I say my goodbyes and leave the voice channel. Cooling off from the raid, I organize my items when the guild chat catches my eye.

—YayongYengYong: Guys, help with Durandal ㅠㅠ
—BekGoe: Sorry, used up my tries today.
—vlwmrlaqkq: Me too.

Then, a single reply.

—YayongYengYong: ?

Just a question mark, but it feels oddly menacing.

A chill runs down my spine, and I quickly close the game.

Guess I’ll hit the PC café with friends. Haha…