Chapter 36: The Meta Shift

“Woong’s character sub-account... Is that the person they mentioned last time?”

While we settled back into hunting at the ruins, a new member joined the guild.

[Guild] Jelly: hihihi

[Guild] INFP: This is Jelly-nim, who’ll be handling Woong’s character during night hours from now on~

[Guild] INFP: You’ll probably see them often during the late-night shift, so take note~

[Guild] Baegopa: Youngwook, you’re here, lolol, welcome

[Guild] Gakdagwi: That bastard, hurry up and get over here,ㅠ,ㅠ

[Guild] Chief Ko: Welcome, Youngwook-ssi

[Guild] Taki: Wook, long time no see, lolol

It seemed like all the original guild members already knew Jelly well.

[Guild] Taki: Happy, Ro, Proposal, Assassin, Grim Reaper, Bambi, Trauma, Blue

[Guild] Taki: These people are new, so you don’t know them, Wook, yeah

[Guild] Jelly: ok

[Guild] Assassin: Nice to meet you, haha

[Guild] Trauma: Hiyo~

[Guild] Bambi: Please take care of me, lol

[Guild] Proposal: hi

[Guild] Ro: Hello~

[Guild] Happy: Hello

[Guild] Jelly: Ah, so you’re the ones I’ll be hunting with, lol, hi there

[Guild] Assassin: By any chance, Jelly-nim, are you also in your 40s? haha

[Guild] Jelly: I’m in my early 30s, lol

[Guild] Assassin: So you’re the younger one, haha

It sounded like they were being friendly, but... Jelly didn’t say anything further.

Then, when someone asked about the situation on the main server, he answered immediately.

After that, the guild chat began to fly by, and my head tilted in curiosity.

“What was that? Did they ignore that on purpose, or is it just me?”

[Guild] S: hihihi

[Guild] INFP: Junghoon’s here

[Guild] Jelly: You’re here, lol, it’s Wook

[Guild] S: lol, you’re here, hyung

[Guild] Jelly: Yup, lol

The chat window went quiet for a moment.

Strange. Something about this...

“Why am I picking up on stuff like this for no reason? Whatever, I should just focus on leveling up.”

And so, I burned through the daylight hours.

Only after the sun set outside the window and darkness settled did a brief break come at last.

[Party] Haema: It’s 9 now, so go eat and rest until 10

[Party] Haema: Cheonjon and Woong’s sub-account folks, swap out, lolol

No sooner had I arrived in town than my messenger pinged.

(Bae Hojun)

[So sleepy I could die for real]

“Me too...”

I hadn’t been getting enough sleep these days.

Today, I’d only managed two hours because of items—felt like I was really going to die.

But since the night shift was still ahead, I couldn’t sleep yet.

I washed my face with cold water and hastily filled up with cup noodles.

(Kwon Aran)

[I’m so tired I don’t even have an appetite]

[Cup noodles and that’s it]

(Jung Jiho)

[Shrimp-flavored udon?]

(Bae Hojun)

[Ew, what kind of flavor is that]

[Do I really have to put pain relief patches on my eyesㅠㅠ]

(Jung Jiho)

[Go wash your face, haha]

But none of us said we’d just go to sleep.

If we did, someone from the Hana Guild might jump up in the rankings while we were out.

“Ordinary people would think we’re insane.”

(Bae Hojun)

[What if we die from thisㅠㅠㅠ]

(Kwon Aran)

[ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]

(Jung Jiho)

[I’ll leave my will here]

(Bae Hojun)

[ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]

[But it’s gotten more fun these days, hasn’t it?]

(Kwon Aran)

[A little?]

(Jung Jiho)

[There are more people now, and new items too, haha]

[I think the guild atmosphere’s gotten better than expected]

(Bae Hojun)

[hmph]

[Nah nah]

[The way Hana Guild’s been running is such a mess]

[Maybe that’s why Karma looks like an angel to me]

(Kwon Aran)

[ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]

(Bae Hojun)

[Don’t forget about Pungma, that guy]

[I bet he’ll show up again soon]

(Jung Jiho)

[Suddenly got chills]

(Kwon Aran)

[Absolutely hate it, for real]

While we were chattering amongst ourselves for the first time in a while, the guild chat started to zoom by.

[Guild] Jelly: Another, it’s been a while, lol

[Guild] Jelly: Are there still macro kids around?

[Guild] Taki: nah, was it season 13? They cleaned them all out back then

[Guild] Taki: After they got permanent bans all the way up to the main server, it’s been quiet

Well, since they only talked about the main server among themselves, we didn’t really have a chance to join in.

When 10 o’clock came and Jelly logged in as Woong, there was a bit more conversation, but it was nothing special.

Mostly just Jelly and Haema talking, with S, who was running the Cheonjon character, only replying when asked something.

That vibe repeated for two, three, even four days, and we quietly observed, trying to gauge the relationships.

But that didn’t last long.

Our rivals, the Mushin party, finally started venturing in earnest into the ruins.

Uncomfortable atmosphere or not, we had to focus on hunting and PK.

“Ugh... Gamchal and Hannari coming up so fast is making things tough.”

The combination of a buffer and debuffer with higher defense was formidable.

Hannari still melted under Cheonjon’s skills for now, but... the problem was Gamchal.

[Party] Cheonjon: That’s Gamchal

[Party] Cheonjon: Looks like they put the full Gaia set on

[Party] Cheonjon: Even in an attack set, they’re holding out, lol

Even after being hit by the single-target skill Flames of Blazing Fire, Gamchal managed to survive.

He even seemed to have around 10% HP left.

Maybe that’s why the usually reserved Gamchal was acting out of character, running wild.

[Gamchal has used Shattering Skin.]

[Mushin has used Flames of Blazing Fire.]

[Gamchal has used Unlucky Song.]

[Gamchal has used Unlucky Song.]

“Wow, would you look at that...?”

My lips twitched at the stubbornly repeating unlucky skill logs.

But there was no need to feel bad.

As rank 4, the odds of me being afflicted by Unlucky Song from a rank 14 were slim.

Besides, I’d already collected the entire Gaia set.

Mushin’s skills hurt less than before, and even when Pineapple and Shinyoung attacked together, I held up fine.

On the other hand, Gamchal couldn’t withstand the attacks from Ro, Woong, and Proposal all at once.

When Gamchal died, Pineapple and Shinyoung immediately changed targets.

Gomae, probably trying to free up those two, kept sticking close to me and spamming Taunt.

Because of that, I got stuck getting pounded by Mushin, but I didn’t really feel in danger.

“Feels like I don’t even need to do anything...?”

[Party] Woong: Haema-hyung, keep Mushin locked down, lol

From a distance, Woong’s character rapid-fired arrow skills at Pineapple and Shinyoung.

Reduced to mere extras, the two mages fled downwards and targeted Proposal together... but Woong suddenly rushed in and put on a risky skill show in a spot where Mushin’s attacks couldn’t reach.

It was rare to see an archer who’d gone all-in on attack rather than HP charge in like that, so it was a bit surprising.

But you couldn’t ignore his ranking.

Even under Pineapple’s attacks, Woong’s character barely held on. Then he piggybacked on our party mages’ attacks for the finishing blow.

In the end, Pineapple and Shinyoung died two seconds apart.

Next, Mushin and Gomae fell, and we basked in a brief sense of victory.

[Party] Woong: The Hana kids are weak, lol

[Party] Proposal: For sure

[Party] Proposal: There’s a huge difference between Happy-jwa holding out against Mushin

[Party] Proposal: And Gamchal not holding out against Cheonjon-nimㅡㅡ

[Party] Haema: Right? lololol

Overall, the situation favored us, but sometimes luck would make us lose.

That just fired us up even more, and for the first time in a while, I felt truly lively.

[Party] Haema: Losing after always winning makes it fun, lolol

[Party] Woong: Haema-hyung, you can’t say that, lol

[Party] Woong: In PK, you have to win no matter what, lol

[Party] Woong: You have to crush them thoroughly, lol

Jelly insisted on a complete victory.

But considering he said that...

[Party] Woong: Ah, I was refilling mana instead of HP, lol

Jelly, who kept rushing in recklessly, ended up dying the most out of all of us.

The main owner, Woong, rarely died, so I wondered if that was okay... but apparently, the two had known each other for a long time.

“Kinda seems like a goofball...?”

There were moments when I doubted his skills, but I let it slide.

After all, we mostly won.

And then the weekend rolled around again.

After a week of hectic hunting, PK, and farming new items, an important task dropped on us—the second guild war.

[Guild] Chief Ko: ####### Guild war starts at 9! Everyone get ready!

[Guild] Baegopa: Cheonjon-hyung and noona can’t come today either, huhㅡ ㅡlol

[Guild] INFP: Probably not

[Guild] Jelly: From now on, I’ll be handling Woong’s character for guild wars, lol

[Guild] INFP: Cheonjon will keep being handled by Junghoon

[Guild] Grim Reaper: Feels like I’ll just die again this time, haha

[Guild] Chief Ko: Just holding your position is a huge help, lol

[Guild] Blue: I’ll try to be a potion shuttle again today... lol

[Guild] INFP: Cheonjon, Happy <<< Just keep supplying red potions

Starting at eight o’clock, the guild atmosphere got noticeably chaotic.

[Guild] Taki: Wow, since Wednesday, Hana guild’s marking us a lot more, lolol

[Guild] Taki: Those bastards, acting big, started marking us again, lolol

[Guild] Cheonjon: I just saw Moi in town, could it really be the Moi I know??

[Guild] INFP: If it’s Hana Guild, probably

[Guild] Haema: lolololol, Sigh, he’s back again, that guy

[Guild] Chorok: Report him again gogo

The chat was more interested in the Hana Guild’s members than in tactical discussions.

Even as I was taking a break, I kept scanning my monitor while sipping a canned drink.

Sure enough, I could see plenty of characters in town with the blue dual-sword mark.

It seemed that the mid-low level players who’d been hiding to hunt had all rejoined en masse since Wednesday.

“Thankfully... I don’t see True Buffer-nim and company.”

I felt a wave of relief.

If those folks had joined Hana Guild, I might have been really depressed...

[Guild] Chief Ko: ############# Voice chat room title: 15Karma / Password 4512

[Guild] Chief Ko: Please join if you can!

“I’ll log in before it starts...”

As I searched for my headset, which had gathered a week’s worth of dust, an unfamiliar system message popped up.

[The Crystal Conquest will begin at 21:00.]

[Guild] Baegopa: Oh, there’s a notification now, huhㅡ ㅡlol

[Bizert Village — Global] Good: Guys, what’s the Crystal Conquest??

[Bizert Village — Global] WaterIsSelf: It’s the guild war

[Bizert Village — Global] Good: Ah, so I have to join a guild??

[General] BeefGood: lol, wonder who’ll win today

[Bizert Village — Global] GreenGrape: The guild war’s going to be neck and neck tonight

[General] Jjapda: Karma’s got strong rankers so they’ll probably sweep again, lol

[General] BeefGood: Doesn’t Hana have more people?

[General] Jjapda: Yeah, but they’re all mid to low levels, lol

[General] Jjapda: If Cheonjon and Ro use their skills once each, it’s instant wipe

[General] WaterIsSelf: But Mushin’s character has gotten crazy strong tooㅠㅠ

[General] BeefGood: Rank 1 is seriously in a different league

[General] Petit: Who’s that debuffer who can hold out against Rank 1? lol

[General] BeefGood: That one’s... pretty unique, lol

[General] BeefGood: At the start of Another Season, it was always about mages, nobody used debuffers, lol

[General] BeefGood: Because of that guy, the whole early meta shifted, lol

[General] Romance: Ah, I want to watch in person!!!

It looked like regular players were also very interested in the second guild war.

I felt like that last bit was about me, but I just ignored it.

Well, whether it’s PK or a guild war, at its core, it’s all a power struggle, so even we felt tense seeing the provocative chat bubbles popping up in town.

[Guild] Gakdagwi: We absolutely have to winㅡ ㅡ

[Guild] Gakdagwi: If we lose, we’ll be humiliatedㅡ ㅡlol

[Guild] Woong: We totally dominate the rankings, there’s no way we’d lose, lol

[Guild] INFP: You never know until you try

[Guild] Woong: It’s fine, as long as I’m here, we’ll definitely win, lol

“Hmmm...”

After a few days, I could tell this person’s confidence was something else.

Didn’t seem like their PK skills really stood out, though.

“Jiho or Proposal seem better...”

Maybe it was because he lacked humility, but my trust in him as a teammate started to fade.

“Not to mention he keeps charging in all the time—will that really be okay?”

[Guild] Chief Ko: ####### Five minutes left! Gather at the guild tower and join voice chat!

While I was doubting Jelly, it was already almost nine.

[The Crystal Conquest will begin in 5 minutes.]