Chapter 17: Karma’s Spear

[Guild] Haema: How are we putting the party together?

[Guild] Woong: We should go by ranking if we want to clear the next map quickly.

[Guild] Cheonjon: Then it'll be me, Woong, Haema, Happy, and Cheonghon.

[Guild] Taki: Wow, isn't that the strongest party? LOL

[Guild] Gakdagwi: Those guys need to change their underwear now.

[Guild] INFP: Then I'll take Taki, Team Leader Ariel, Gakdagwi, and Baegopa with me.

[Guild] Woong: OK, finish your prep and let's go straight to the grassland.



There were so many people that we ended up forming two grassland parties.

After accepting Haema’s party invitation, I found myself absentmindedly staring at the suddenly crowded party window at the top of the screen.

“Wow. It feels weird to party with strangers after always being with Ro and Cheonghon.”

It was awkward. Still, since they were all guild members, and honestly, this was an even more reliable party if you looked at the lineup.



[Guild] Cheonjon: Choroki, take care of the others in the desert.

[Guild] Chorok: Yes, hyung~! LOL

[Guild] Chorok: But we're outnumbered in the desert – –; Get more main server people over here~~ㅠㅠ

[Party] Woong: How's Hana’s side right now?

[Party] Haema: Wait a sec



While we were prepping, a strange conversation popped up in party chat.

And then, a moment later...



[Party] Haema: LOLOLOLOLOL

[Party] Haema: They're in chaos right now, hahaha

[Party] Haema: They’re freaking out because Happy, Ro, and Cheonghon came to our side.

[Party] Haema: LOLOLOLOLOL

[Party] Woong: Knew it, lol

[Party] Haema: Seems like they've got a mole in the newbie guild stirring up the crowd, haha

[Party] Cheonjon: What are they saying?

[Party] Haema: That this season's balance is ruined, so everyone has to join Hana.

[Party] Haema: If not, it'll be a repeat of last season, LOL



"What? What does that mean? How do they know that? No way, it couldn't be what I'm thinking...right?"



[Party] Cheonghon: ? How do you know??

[Party] Haema: Ah, haha, I planted a character over there.



Just as I feared.

Haema said it so brazenly that my head started spinning.

Looks like as soon as the guild was created and recruitment opened, he joined with an alt.

Well, with players as rotten as these, “spies” are practically legal(?), I guess...



[Party] Cheonghon: Then aren't they probably doing the same thing to us??

[Party] Haema: Everyone puts up with it in the beginning, haha. There's no helping itㅠㅠ



"Wow. Both sides are so intense, seriously... Wait, but if..."

If there was a Hana spy among the newbies who joined with us earlier... our info would’ve leaked to Hana too. The thought sent a chill down my spine.



[Party] Woong: How many newbies joined today?

[Party] Haema: Including Happy's group, about nine?

[Party] Cheonjon: Yeah, nine.

[Party] Haema: There's probably a Hana person among the rest.

[Party] Woong: Haema, be careful not to get caught, lol

[Party] Haema: Don’t worry, my nephew is playing it for a bit.

[Party] Woong: LOL



Another chill ran down my back. Rotten water attracts rotten water...

I couldn't help but laugh in disbelief, though honestly, I didn’t understand why people would go to such lengths to spy on each other in a game.

As the party went quiet from embarrassment, Cheonjon quickly changed the subject.



[Party] Cheonjon: Haha, anyway, thanks to you three, we feel a lot more secure now.

[Party] Cheonghon: No, we're the ones who feel secure~

[Party] Ro: Haha

[Party] Happy: True, lol



I got a bit of whiplash agreeing, but pretended not to notice.

Thankfully, Cheonghon’s trademark friendliness turned the mood around.

Ro added little comments here and there, and I kept my words to a minimum.

With more eyes watching us closely than before, I didn’t want my tone to give anything away.

That was why.

Swallowing down my bitterness, I just blended in with the guild atmosphere.



Soon after, the prepared guild members moved to the Marius Grassland one by one.

And as soon as we entered the entrance, we ran into a Hana Guild party.

They must have come up here on purpose, and had put together two full parties as well.

The moment I saw the busy characters darting about the lush map, I couldn't help but be impressed.

Especially the contrast between the red Ouroboros mark of Karma and the blue Twin Swords mark of Hana Guild.

Now, just by looking above the characters' heads, you could clearly see the two rival factions, and the tension was thick.

“Wow, that's got to be more than twenty people rolling around in the grassland.”

I swallowed nervously.

With the ongoing three-way rivalry, everyone's ranking had stagnated.

Unless something major happened, we'd be locked in a brutal fight for a while in the grassland.

“If the mid-level players from the desert come up here too... it's really going to be a mess.”

Even imagining the impending chaos, I felt nothing but excitement.

I didn’t care if grinding got harder; what thrilled me was everyone tangled up in a fierce deathmatch.



[Party] Woong: Go for Mushin’s side



As soon as we memorized the IDs at the entrance, the party leaders, sensing a free-for-all, quickly scattered.

Since this wasn't regular guild PVP with friendly/enemy markers, fighting together at the entrance could easily turn into team kills.

We immediately pursued 'Mushin', Hana Guild’s master, and his party.

Mushin's party headed out at six o'clock, the fastest.

Go-Team Leader's party, from our guild, went at nine o'clock, with Hana Guild’s second party following behind.

Just like that, the matchup was set.



[Party] Cheonjon: Let’s wipe them out quick and farm in peace, haha



As soon as the chat popped up, Haema used a skill.

Haema, leading the charge, used 'Powerful Taunt', catching the slowest runner, Shinyoung.

Shinyoung was instantly pulled over to our side.

Woong, with the longest attack range in our party, fired the first arrow.

Woong's character is an archer.

Archers are divided into two types, depending on their skill tree.

One is a sustained DPS type for steady hunting with rapid-fire skills.

The other is a burst DPS type, famous for powerful one-shots.

In short: one’s for hunting, the other for PK.

Woong was the latter.

Burst dealers require high agility, but their single-target attack power is the highest among all classes.

On top of that, he's a Water attribute; perfect for countering Fire-type mages.

True to form, after taking Woong’s 'Blue Trajectory', Shinyoung's HP visibly dropped.

But Woong stepped back to wait for another chance.

Since PK archers invest heavily in agility, their defense is weak.

Not that Woong needed to be worried.

Ro and Cheonghon bombarded the ground with rupturing earth and roasted Shinyoung with blazing flames.

Once Shinyoung, caught by taunt, died quickly, Mushin’s party turned back.

While I, with my tanky build, bravely followed Haema, I stacked debuffs on Gomae as he ran toward me. Tank Gomae kept coming after me even while slowed.

Guess I was target number one, being the debuffer.



[Party] Woong: Watch out for Gamchal



Naturally, their debuffer was our top priority too.

So Woong kept Gamchal in check with rapid shots.

Meanwhile, Ro, Cheonghon, and Cheonjon focused their fire on the opposing party’s dealers.

“They’ve got three mages and one swordsman as dealers. Shinyoung's already dead, and that Hope guy is so weak, he’ll go down quick. As long as we watch out for Mushin, who's ranked first, we’ll hold out just fine.”

It was nothing.

Seeing Hope, my tension faded, and I leisurely clicked my mouse.

Gomae, desperate to catch me, retreated in a hurry after being silenced.

Meanwhile, Hope died.

Just as expected.

“How does he never improve? No progress at all...”

I heard warriors were harder to control than mages.

What was he thinking, choosing a swordsman?

Either way, with Shinyoung and Hope down, we were at an advantage.

While Mushin and Pineapple held out against our DPS, I left Gomae behind and went after Gamchal.

This was suicide in a three-on-one, but now was different.

Behind me was Woong, with his monstrous single-shot skills.

And tank Haema, ready to charge like a bull.

“Man, why is this guy so timid?”

I’d always thought so—Gamchal was strangely introverted.

A debuffer should go wild, inflicting debuffs on everyone in sight, but Gamchal always played it safe.

Even now, he was backing off the moment I approached.

What a spineless guy.

I sighed and hit him with two debuffs.

Slowed and with lowered defense, Gamchal tried to limp out of range but melted under a barrage of Woong’s skills.

“Ooh... Even I’d go down if I got hit by that. Need to test the damage later.”

With a slight shiver, I checked on the other dealers.

Pineapple, who had held out well, finally died.

Mushin, worthy of a guild master, endured to the very end before falling valiantly.

Gomae, left alone, didn’t last long either.

It wasn’t even a fight—it was a one-sided slaughter.



[Party] Haema: LOL

[Party] Haema: I’m driving now~



With the obstacles gone, we tore across the grassland.

Of course, Hana Guild wasn’t the type to stay down after a single loss, so the PK kept going.

Anytime we spotted a blue guild mark while hunting, it was instant battle mode.

We even jumped in to help Go-Team Leader’s party when they fought Hana Guild’s Hannari party.



[Party] Go-Team Leader: LOL, this is reassuring

[Party] Haema: Ari, thanks for the buff~



Kindhearted Ariel would even drop out of her party when she met us to give us a buff.

“Oh, come to think of it, Hannari’s a buffer, right? Better get ready to use Melody, just in case.”

Debuffers have a skill that removes all of a buffer’s beneficial effects.

It’s called 'Black Melody', but unfortunately, it’s a single-target skill, so it’s not used that often.

It used to be an AOE skill in the early days, but there was so much outrage over its balance-breaking power that it got nerfed to single-target. A sad history.

In MonWorld PK, it’s almost always “one-shot, fast game.” So debuffers rarely bother using it, but I’m in favor of using it.

A buffer’s buffs are stronger than you think. Even a tiny edge can make a difference in battle, so if you’re worried, it’s better to remove them.

Besides, only using one or two skills is just boring, isn’t it?

“Busy, busy.”

After losing and mass-teleporting back to town, Mushin’s party soon reappeared.

Hope came at us like a mad dog the moment they saw us, so my fingers got busy again.

Switching between PK and grinding in the grassland, I didn’t even have time to open my choco bar.

I’d purposely left it by my mouse to snack on whenever I could.

“No good. I’ll have to open them all in advance next time.”

Licking my lips with slight hunger, I grabbed my drink can with my left hand.

Thankfully, the lid was already open, so I could chug without a problem.

After gulping down an ion drink, I darted my eyes across the screen.

Despite their repeated defeats, Mushin’s party kept coming back to the grassland.

Since it was practically a turf war, there was no way they’d give up their pride.

Charging in like moths to a flame, even Haema started getting annoyed.



[Guild] Haema: Ah, Hope is still the same

[Guild] Haema: What’s he got to be so cocky about with such bad skills? Tsk tsk

[Guild] Chorok: Oh, by the way, Happy, Ro—

[Guild] Chorok: Hope was last season’s champion

[Guild] Baegopa: LOL

[Guild] Happy: Ah, no wonder

[Guild] Ro: Haha

[Guild] Chorok: Knew you’d already noticed~ LOL

[Guild] Cheonghon: How old is that guy anyway?

[Guild] Cheonghon: He’s got such a dirty mouth

[Guild] Chorok: 30s?? Most of Hana Guild are in their 30s

[Guild] Chorok: Except Mushin, most of them are just side accounts from the main server

[Guild] Chorok: They don’t have much sense – – haha



Soon enough, some “personal info” from last season started leaking from Chorok.