Chapter 41: The Guild Master’s Necklace

“……Huh?”

I was so startled that I blurted it out loud.

Could it really be that Revan’s wish had reached them?

The timing of the whisper was just too perfect—Revan broke out in goosebumps.

So, dumbfounded, I couldn’t even answer.

In the meantime, another whisper came from Gilma.

---

-Gilma: Are you AFK, Revan? What are you up to?

---

He was even proactive about it.

Snapping back to his senses, Revan hurriedly replied.

---

-Revan: Ah, no. I just got your whisper so suddenly, it startled me a bit.

-Gilma: Ah, I see. Anyway, I heard Mangeom invited you? I’m the Guild Master of Freedom Guild, Gilma. By the way, my name is actually Gilma.

-Revan: Ah, yes……

---

What kind of lame joke was that?

But Revan didn’t frown. He desperately needed Freedom Guild’s help right now.

Gilma spoke.

---

-Gilma: Revan, are you busy right now?

-Revan: No, not really.

-Gilma: Then, would you like to meet up?

-Revan: Huh?

-Gilma: I’m not doing anything either, just goofing off. I’ll head over to you. Since you’re online, let’s at least see each other’s faces. We’re guildmates now, after all.

---

Gilma suddenly proposed a meeting.

A good chance!

Revan’s eyes sparkled at the unexpected opportunity.

‘This is perfect!’

So he replied quickly.

---

-Revan: Sounds good. I’m in Pathna right now. I’ll wait for you at the Pathna Square fountain.

-Gilma: Yep! Got it.

---

Right after sharing the meeting spot, Gilma appeared in less than two minutes, by whatever means.

But Gilma’s appearance…

‘What the heck?’

…He looked like a boy, maybe middle school age.

‘Wow, seriously…’

In Warlord, there’s a feature to customize your character’s appearance.

Most users use their real appearance as a base and touch it up, then play as that version.

But sometimes, people make characters that look nothing like themselves at all.

Of course, that’s not really a problem—personal preference, after all.

Still, people tend to dislike those who customize excessively, because most of them turn out to be so-called “perverts.”

So Revan felt uneasy.

‘Did I just get mixed up with the wrong crowd?’

Romantic Sword, CutieCutie, and Lenya all seemed pretty normal, so he hadn’t paid much attention, but the Guild Master—the most important one—looked like this.

For some reason, Revan started to regret joining Freedom Guild.

The pretty-boy—no, the pretty-boy-like Gilma standing before Revan smiled and offered his hand.

“Hello, Revan? I’m Gilma, Guild Master of Freedom Guild.”

“Ah, yes. Nice to meet you.”

He hid his disgust.

For now, he desperately needed the guild’s help.

But the moment Revan shook Gilma’s hand, he was caught off guard.

“Huh, wha? Huhhh?”

“Hmm? Is something wrong, Revan?”

“Um, Gi-Gilma? If it’s not too much trouble, may I ask what’s the name of the necklace you’re wearing…?”

“Oh, this? I bought it not long ago. The options were great. This necklace is called Symbiotic Pendant.”

“……!”

Revan’s whole body tingled with goosebumps.

This was no lie or mistake.

The necklace Gilma was wearing was unmistakably the Symbiotic Pendant.

At Revan’s question, Gilma cheerfully took off the necklace and handed it over.

“My goodness…”

The one who bought the Symbiotic Pendant from the hot-fix auction was none other than his own Guild Master.

What were the odds?

Revan stood there, mouth half open and frozen, as Gilma smiled and said,

“Come to think of it, you’re wearing the same necklace as me, aren’t you? Where’d you get yours, Revan?”

Sharp eyes.

Honestly, this was a stroke of luck.

Revan decided to use this chance to confide his worries to Gilma.

But before that, he needed to roughly gauge Gilma’s power.

‘What if he’s just some rich guy and nothing more?’

This request was on the premise that Freedom Guild was strong enough to take on Black Guild.

If Gilma’s ability was lacking, then asking for help would only backfire.

So he asked directly.

“I got mine through a quest… By the way, Gilma, are you high level? I saw that Symbiotic Pendant was selling for a billion gold on Hotfix, and if you could buy something that expensive so easily, you must be at least a ranker, right?”

“No way, ranker? I’m not interested in that stuff. Just the highest level in the guild, that’s all.”

“Oh… if it’s not too much, could I take a peek at your Info Window?”

“My Info Window? Why?”

“No real reason, I’m just curious. You know, our guild has less than ten members but is already level 3, which is unusual and all…”

“Haha, well, there’s a method for that. Due to some circumstances, I can’t show my Info Window, but trust me, I’m not someone who would lose face anywhere.”

Gilma smiled, gently refusing to show his Info Window.

Somehow, that made him seem trustworthy.

‘Is this a master hiding his strength or something? Feels oddly genuine.’

After a brief internal debate, Revan decided to trust Gilma.

“Um… then Gilma, if it’s not too much trouble, could I ask a favor?”

“What kind of favor?”

“It’s about the Symbiotic Pendant you’re wearing.”

“This?”

Gilma seemed interested at the mention of the Symbiotic Pendant.

From there, Revan explained his situation in detail.

Of course, he left out anything about War Mage—just said it was due to a hidden quest.

As the story was coming to an end, Gilma nodded.

“You’re really in a tough spot.”

“Yes. I’ve always played solo, so I have no real connections, and this time it feels like I got blindsided.”

“I get it. So, basically, you want to get the Symbiotic Pendant back from those Black Guild bastards?”

“In short, yes.”

“I’ll help. Our guild’s strength is nothing to sneeze at, so you can go ahead with your plan.”

“Huh? Really?”

“Of course. We’re guildmates now—helping each other is the least we can do.”

Was it sympathy, or was he just genuinely a good person?

After hearing Revan out, Gilma readily agreed to help.

That reassurance was overwhelming.

So Revan scolded himself for judging Gilma by his appearance just a while ago.

‘I’m an idiot. How could I think that way about someone this good?’

Who cares if he’s a bit of a pervert? Ability covers everything in this world.

Gilma spoke.

“By the way, that’s quite the look—black robe and white crow mask.”

“Probably just one of those concept maniacs.”

“Yeah, there are tons of them in Warlord. Oh, right, this might be out of nowhere, but shouldn’t I give this necklace to you?”

“Huh?”

Gilma suddenly took off his necklace and held it out to Revan.

Revan, startled, waved his hands frantically.

“No, no, no, no! Why would you give that to me? You paid for it fair and square!”

“Huh? Still, if that hadn’t happened to you, this never would’ve been on the auction in the first place…”

“No, no! Really, it’s fine. It’s not like it’s cheap—I couldn’t possibly accept it…!”

“It’s not cheap, is it…”

“Sorry?”

“Never mind. Well, if you insist, I’ll just keep it for myself.”

Seeing Revan’s panicked refusal, Gilma finally shrugged and put the necklace back on.

But he promised again and again that he’d help Revan no matter what.

“Then I’ll wait here. Meanwhile, why don’t you go get ready for your plan?”

“Huh? If you wait here, I’ll feel really bad…”

“It’s fine. I don’t have anything else to do anyway. Just whisper me when you’re back online—I’ll come to you.”

With a bright smile, Gilma encouraged Revan.

Yeah.

It’s for sure.

This guy is an angel.

Thanks to Gilma’s kindness, Revan felt a warmth in his heart.

“Then… I’ll be back.”

Revan gave Gilma a polite nod and logged out.

As soon as Revan logged out, Gilma grinned and muttered,

“This is going to be fun. Maybe even more fun than the welcome party we planned.”

Soon after, Gilma logged out as well.

---

BANG!!

“Manager!!”

“What, what’s wrong?!”

O Jaehyun nearly fell out of his chair at the sound of the door slamming open.

But Lee Sunmi, without a hint of apology, hurried over with a shocked expression and fumbled with the remote.

O Jaehyun asked her,

“What is it? What’s got you so worked up?”

“What we feared has happened.”

“What we feared?”

“Yes. Han Seongwoo has officially filed a complaint.”

“What?!”

Just as Sunmi said, what they feared had actually happened.

Soon, a long text document appeared on the manager’s office monitor.

It was none other than Seongwoo’s official complaint, written in exhaustive detail.

At the end of the complaint, he had even attached several files as evidence to support his claims.

O Jaehyun’s eyes quickly scanned the text.

“Manager, as you can see, Han Seongwoo already met the Busan Couple and got solid testimony, and he even attached comparison data between the day of the eavesdropping incident and after the skill patch.”

“I know. I’m looking at it.”

Jaehyun’s eyes grew serious.

So Sunmi fell silent.

Until he finished reading the complaint himself.

When Jaehyun finally finished reading,

“Interesting.”

“Sorry?”

“The only thing he’s asking for is to meet the person in charge, right? Guess he wants to negotiate face-to-face.”

“I… suppose so?”

“Well, we won’t know the details until we meet him, but let’s give him what he wants. Invite him to HQ. I’ll handle Han Seongwoo myself.”

“Huh? Are you serious?”

“What else would I do? If it were a normal user, I’d just send a canned reply, but Han Seongwoo is crucial for the upcoming scenario patch. We shouldn’t make things awkward between us.”

“…Understood.”

In the end, the feared situation had come to pass.

But they’d always known it was bound to happen sooner or later.

So O Jaehyun decided to meet Seongwoo himself.

With a look of anticipation, Jaehyun thought,

‘Can’t wait to see what Han Seongwoo will ask for.’

O Jaehyun.

He, too, was a developer with a bit of a perverted streak.