Chapter 12: The Grown-Up Business

[Party] Proposal: ??? What’s this

[Party] Ro: Hm

At the sudden appearance of the administrator, we stopped what we were doing and froze for a moment.

[Desert of No Return — All] INFP: Hello, GM.

[Desert of No Return — All] Haema: Wow, GM, what brings you here?ㅋㅋㅋㅋ

[Party] Proposal: Gasp, is it a buff??

[Party] Proposal: Or maybe an event???

No way. Most likely...

[Desert of No Return — All] Admin: Sorry to bother you while you’re busy, but I came here to make a request to all users in the desert.

[Desert of No Return — All] Haema: Huh, what’s this about?

[Desert of No Return — All] Admin: Simply put, even though it’s still very early in the season, things have already gotten a bit too heated in the PK area, so I’d like to ask for your understanding.

“I knew it.”

Feeling frustrated, I quickly reached out and gulped down my drink.

[Party] Proposal: Wait, are they talking about us?

[Party] Ro: Seems like itㅎㅎ

[Party] Happy: Looks like Pineapple just called the hotline right away

[Party] Proposal: Hotline?

[Party] Proposal: Oh, the big spender???

It was simple.

The seasoned veterans currently ruling the Another server were all old-timers from the main server.

Because those high-paying customers couldn’t enjoy the Another server thanks to us, the admin had to step in for customer service.

[Party] Proposal: Wow, talk about a quick responseㅋㅋㅋ It hasn’t even been a few minutes and they’re already here

What a mess.

But considering how event servers work, there’s not much they could do.

[Party] Ro: Well, to be fair, this place used to be run by just two major guildsㅎㅎ;

[Party] Happy: Yeah, if we block off one side like this

[Party] Happy: The server can’t function

[Party] Happy: Last season ended early for this reason

[Party] Happy: I think they’re worried the weird vibe at the start of Season 16 will lead to another early shutdown

[Party] Proposal: Yeah, that’s true

Just as we were starting to understand and accept things in our own way, the admin’s explanation continued.

[Desert of No Return — All] Admin: As you all know, the Another server of Monster World is a server where PK is the main content. Because of that, the early growth phase inevitably has a huge impact on the server’s lifespan.

[Desert of No Return — All] Admin: I’m truly sorry to those of you enjoying PK right now, but considering that it’s still so early in the season, we’d appreciate your cooperation in keeping things competitive^^;

[Party] Ro: Basically they’re saying not to PK for a whileㅎㅎ

[Party] Proposal: ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Wow, they really said it like this

“Hah, but now that I hear it, it’s kind of insulting…”

I felt a sudden surge of anger.

To be honest, I don’t care if the server collapses or not.

As long as I’m having fun, that’s enough for me. Ro and Proposal probably think the same way.

[Desert of No Return — All] Haema: Ah~~ Earlier, Pineapple tried to go after Happyro and got wrecked, now they can’t even come inㅎㅎㅎㅎㅎㅎ

[Desert of No Return — All] INFP: Oh no, Happy, Ro—

[Desert of No Return — All] INFP: Please, just let it slide this once

[Party] Proposal: ? Wait, are they waiting for our answer?

[Party] Ro: Seems like itㅎㅎ

[Party] Ro: What do you think?

[Party] Proposal: I’ll go with whatever you two decide

[Party] Happy: Hm

While we were mulling things over among ourselves, without giving any official answer...

[Whisper] Cheonjon: Happy^^

“Huh, Karma’s guild master…?”

Out of nowhere, a whisper came from Karma’s guild master.

[Whisper] Cheonjon: Sorry for the sudden message

[Whisper] Cheonjon: I heard about the desert situation from the GM and some guild members

[Whisper] Cheonjon: I heard you were the one attacked first, so I just wanted to speak carefully^^;

He rambled a lot, but in the end, it was the same message as the admin.

[Party] Happy: Even Karma’s guild master is asking us now

[Party] Ro: ??

[Party] Happy: I got a whisper

[Party] Happy: Said they really want a bloody fight this time around

[Party] Ro: Hmm

[Party] Ro: What do you want to do? I’ll go with what you wantㅎㅎ

[Party] Proposal: Me too, me too, me too

Thankfully, they said they’d go along with what I want.

The words “let’s just flip the table” almost slipped out of my mouth.

But it would be a waste to throw away all the effort we’ve put in up to now.

“Yeah… the three of us made it this far, it’d be a shame to toss it away already.”

Thinking rationally, I changed my mind.

As much as Pineapple pissed me off, after all the struggle to make it to the top rankings together, I wanted to enjoy this season properly.

In the end, I agreed to the admin’s and Karma guild master’s request.

As soon as I said okay, Pineapple contacted me like a ghost.

[Whisper] Pineapple: Happy, is it okay if we come in nowㅠㅠㅠ?

After that brief exchange, there was no more conversation.

Pineapple quietly started roaming the desert again with Gomae and Shinyeong.

[Desert of No Return — All] Gadfly: So this is what grown-up business looks like~ㅋ

“Grown-up business, my foot.”

Seeing Pineapple’s party slink past ours again, my blood boiled a little. And now, even if they’re this meek, once their forces grow, it’s obvious how they’ll act.

[Party] Ro: Forced peace mode, huh

[Party] Ro: Since it’s come to this, let’s just quietly grind levelsㅎㅎ

[Party] Happy: Yeah, at least we won’t get in each other’s way

[Party] Proposal: Let’s grind like crazy for the future

[Party] Proposal: I won’t forgive Pineapple later

So we left each other alone for a while.

During that time, we grew steadily, until we were ready for the next map.

[Party] Ro: Looks like it’s time to move on

[Party] Proposal: Don’t we usually hand the spot down to a guildmate?ㅠㅠ

[Party] Ro: Trueㅎㅎ

[Party] Ro: But there’s only three of us, so…ㅜㅜ

Honestly, I was glad it was time to leave since the desert was starting to get old.

But like Ro said, with only the three of us, there was no one to hand things off to, which felt kind of unfair.

“Once we graduate from the desert, it’ll turn into a battlefield, right?”

The users who’d been watching for a chance while our party, Karma, and Hana guild monopolized things would finally get their chance to enter.

With that demand, the supply of mobs won’t keep up, so in a few days—actually, who am I kidding? It won’t last even two days before the desert turns into a warzone.

“And the GM probably won’t interfere.”

Even if the desert turns into chaos, the main occupying forces are already set.

Karma and Hana guild.

Those two guilds will fight tooth and nail for dominance, and the admin will probably leave them alone in the name of “balance.”

“It’s a whole different atmosphere when about ten top rankers are running things efficiently and peacefully, compared to when twenty-plus mid-levels swarm in like wild dogs…”

[Party] Proposal: Ugh, it’s really filthy

[Party] Ro: That’s why we’ve got to hurry and move onㅎㅎ

[Party] Ro: Even falling behind a little in the early stages and you’ll get pushed out of the rankings

Either way, leveling up is the only way to survive.

To avoid the swarms of mid-level players, we’d keep moving on to higher maps—this was our only path.

***

The next day.

Just as we’d expected, the desert went to hell the instant we left.

We heard about the bloodbath atmosphere secondhand and laughed for a long time.

Then, without a second thought, we moved to the next map.

[Marius Grasslands]

The new map we settled on was a little tricky.

It was a wide grassland, so you had to pick a route and dash through, but the problem was the ranged monsters.

Their magic attacks were viciously strong, making a tank almost essential in this region.

But of course, we didn’t have a tank...

[Party] Happy: I’ll tank

Monster World gives each class its own characteristics.

Just like how mages have weak defense but high attack, Monster World uses the same straightforward settings common in other games.

So no matter how you build a mage, you can’t match a tank’s defense.

And a tank’s skills are designed specifically to pull mobs, so even if you play a debuffer like I do, you can’t be as effective as a real tank.

Even so, I pushed through on sheer willpower.

[Party] Proposal: Whoa, that’s gutsy

[Party] Ro: Whoa...

Thankfully, there weren’t too many ranged mobs.

So I’d run ahead of Ro and Proposal to grab aggro or get up close and defend with everything I had. My HP would drop like crazy, but I chugged potions like a maniac and held out on grit alone.

Of course, I didn’t have to last long.

Ro and Proposal would each take the right and left, quickly finishing off the mobs. Sometimes, a ranged monster from farther away would attack them, but it was fine.

Neither of them was weak enough to die from that.

Thanks to all that, we managed to level up steadily even without a tank. To others, it must have looked like some kind of stunt.

[Marius Grasslands — All] Manager Go: Wow, a debuffer tanking ㄷㄷㄷ

“What the… Even Manager Go’s here now.”

A group I hadn’t seen until yesterday suddenly showed up, and even Manager Go, famous as a named player in Another server, seemed to have arrived.

It wasn’t a good thing for us, but there was nothing we could do.

Karma guild had already adapted to the grasslands and started carrying people.

[Party] Ro: Hm

[Party] Ro: If Karma started carrying, Hana will start soon too

[Party] Happy: Looks like they’re bringing in all their main forces to level up

[Party] Happy: This is bad

[Party] Happy: Soon they’ll each have a buffer and a debuffer in their parties

[Party] Happy: I’m kind of nervousㅋㅋㅋ

[Party] Proposal: No no no, Happy, you can’t get intimidated

[Party] Proposal: I’ll just keep following Happy’s lead

[Party] Happy: ㅋㅋㅋ If things get rough, just run awayㅠㅠ

For now, the grasslands were holding on to a fragile peace, but once Karma and Hana got their class compositions just right, we’d be shunned in an instant.

To those two guilds, we were nothing but a thorn in their side.

That worry grew, little by little.

Then, the very next day, trouble came out of nowhere.

[Marius Grasslands — All] Hope: ㅅㅂ, are you stealing?

[Hope used Slash.]

[Hope used Flurry.]

“Huh?”

Just as a party made a commotion passing by, a sword-wielding warrior suddenly approached us. He followed up with a single-target strike and then an area attack.

Well, I had enough HP that my health barely dropped. Ro and Proposal, caught by the area attack, didn’t die either.

Apparently, the attacker was much lower in level and stats than the two of them.

Anyway, the opponent seemed genuinely surprised to see us barely scratched. For a moment, he looked like he didn’t know what to do.

But just like before, I wasn’t about to let anyone get away with attacking us.

“What’s with this guy?”

No need to waste time searching the rankings for his name. Frowning, I cast Ominous Step and Shattering Skin on Hope.

Ro and Proposal also attacked Hope. The lowbie Hope died instantly, and we all got annoyed at the random provocation.

[Party] Proposal: What a lunatic, trying to steal?

[Party] Ro: Probably just crossed our path by chance

[Party] Ro: But it was clearly on purpose

[Party] Happy: So peace is over

[Party] Happy: They’ll probably come mob us soon

[Party] Proposal: ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ What do we do

[Party] Ro: Probably Hana guild, right?

[Party] Ro: Well, it’s fine

[Party] Ro: We were bound to clash eventually

[Party] Ro: Let’s just enjoy ourselves and hold out as long as we canㅎㅎ

Ro really is too optimistic. Just as I was about to type “ㅋㅋㅋㅋ”...

[Marius Grasslands — All] Hope: ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ You bastards, you’re all dead now

“Hmm…?”

Even with a username I’d never seen before, I could feel it—this was the ‘winner’ of Season 15.

And the feeling was intense.