Chapter 20: The Melody of Dispel

It’s pineapple again.

The same guy who kept probing and mocking me in the desert, and who, back in Season 15, strutted around like a victor and insulted Jiho and me.

He’d pissed me off twice now, so it was only natural my emotions got involved.

So I ran straight at him.

It was right within the range of the top-ranked Wushin’s skills, but I endured it.

It was the shortest route to Pineapple.

I closed the distance in an instant, closing in on Pineapple and Cheotnun.

I ended up a little away from my own team, but there was no helping it.

I had to stop Pineapple from slaughtering our mid- and low-level allies.

Of course, dying once here doesn’t mean the end.

But if you get reset, you’re sent not to this map, but to the Guild Tower waiting room, so getting back takes a fair bit of time.

For this occupation war, it’s to our advantage to have as many allies as possible near the center.

That’s why I had to block those two as desperately as I could.

“Oh, right. Cheotnun’s a debuffer, wasn’t she?”

A better debuffer than Inspector. Ranked lower than me, though.

So, without hesitation, I targeted Cheotnun first.

Pineapple, maybe encouraged by Cheotnun’s presence at his side, started focusing his attacks on me right there.



[Cheotnun has used Sorrowful Song.]

[Pineapple has used Blazing Inferno.]

[Pineapple has used Shattering Earth.]

[Cheotnun has used Sorrowful Song.]

[Cheotnun has used Ominous Step.]



Thankfully, Cheotnun’s Sorrowful Song kept failing.

But the problem was, mine was failing too.

“Huh? Why does it keep failing? I should be ranked higher, right? Plus, I deliberately got close.”

Don’t tell me Cheotnun had managed to climb up the rankings in the last few days?

I hadn’t checked the rankings lately, so I couldn’t tell.

While I was reeling from the repeated failures and the barrage of attacks and debuffs from Pineapple and Cheotnun, something clicked in my dazed mind.

“Oh! Did you get buffed?!”

Like a bolt of lightning, realization struck.

The reason my Sorrowful Song kept failing was because of a buffer’s Evasion Rate Up buff.

“Was it called Resonance of Glory? Wow, can’t believe I forgot about that.”

I’d gotten the same thing from Ariel earlier, come to think of it.

“Seriously, this game’s problem is the buff indicators barely show. But debuffs? Those are super obvious.”

A little embarrassed, I blamed the game as I quickly cast ‘Black Melody.’

A black ring dropped onto Cheotnun’s character, wrapping around her.

That meant something had been dispelled.

Immediately, I reapplied Sorrowful Song, and—just like that—it succeeded at once.

Unable to use her skills, Cheotnun hesitated and retreated.

Next up: Pineapple.

If Cheotnun had gotten Resonance of Glory, so did he.

I cast Black Melody, and an effect signaled something dispelled from Pineapple as well.

Knew it.

Relieved that I’d narrowly avoided disaster, I kept casting Sorrowful Song.

But Pineapple’s character wasn’t far below me in rank.

Maybe that was why Sorrowful Song kept failing on him.

“Ugh, why now…? It needs to land soon!”

Sometimes the fail rate is unusually high.

Unfortunately, that seemed to be now.

“Come on, please, just work!”

To make matters worse, two tanks and two spear warriors from Hana Guild were charging at us.

Neither of them looked like top rankers, but a tank’s Taunt skill always has a 100% success rate… If I got unlucky, I could be dragged to their side and toyed with.

“What do I do? Should I retreat?”

Cheotnun’s earlier Slow on me was still in effect, so I couldn’t move fast.

Normally I’d have used three skills by now, but right now I could barely manage one, and that sluggishly.

Pineapple, also under my earlier debuff combo, wasn’t at full speed either… but if those two warriors joined in, things would get completely one-sided against me.

I decided I couldn’t hold out any longer.

I was moving my mouse cursor to escape when—

“What the?!”

Lowa and Cheonghon suddenly popped up behind my character.

Moments later, searing flames gushed from both sides, roasting Pineapple.

Seeing his HP melt away and Pineapple collapse, I nearly shed tears of gratitude.

For us, it was the perfect timing; for the two oncoming warriors, the worst.

Without delay, I immediately hit them with Slow.

The slowed warriors hesitated for a moment, then rushed at us, heedless of danger.

[Kaizer has used Razor Flash.]



That was the end of their attack.

Unfortunately, Kaizer, a mid-to-low-level player, died instantly to Lowa and Cheonghon’s attack.

The lone tank, Beomsik, put up a bit of a fight, but… once I hit him with Black Melody, all his buffs were dispelled and he kissed the dirt.



[Lowa has invited you to the party.]



Puzzled by the sudden invite, I clicked Accept.

Before I’d even gotten in, Cheonghon had joined too.



[Party] Lowa: We should’ve partied earlier but I got distracted chatting, haha.

[Party] Lowa: From now on, let’s stick together, the three of us.



It was music to my ears.

Having formed a separate team again after a long while, we headed back toward our allies.

Near the center, the brawl was still raging.

The mid-to-low-levels who’d been lurking aimlessly were wiped out and kept coming back, while the high-rankers were locked in a war of attrition with numbers and potions.

In the meantime, the top two rankers, Wushin and Cheonjon, were still holding out at the center.

“Wow. Those two are insane.”

Especially Wushin.

Even with Woong’s arrows and skills pestering him from afar, Wushin held out like a monster.

To hold out against a 2nd and 6th ranker teaming up… How many stats had he accumulated by now?

Anyway, while those two’s fight dragged on, buffers from both sides would sometimes rush in and spread buffs.

But unfortunately… both our side and theirs had buffers too weak to provide meaningful support.

Our buffer, Ariel, managed to barely survive a hit now and then, throw in a key buff, and then went down in a blaze of glory.



[Party] Cheonghon: I mean, even with the guild leader’s character running 24/7, that’s the difference?

[Party] Cheonghon: How on earth does Wushin’s character have THAT much more??

[Party] Cheonghon: Even saving up stat points for a big spend wouldn’t create this gap.

[Party] Lowa: For real ㄷㄷ

[Party] Cheonghon: >>>> I see Shinyeong and Inspector



Looks like they’d died and just made it back.

In guild wars, death isn’t the end. Until the match ends, you keep respawning and fighting.

We barely had time to breathe, fending off the waves of Hana Guild.

Before I knew it, there were fewer characters with blue guild marks.

A bunch must’ve died at once, creating a gap.

—Hey, hardly any of them left!

—Now’s our chance, push!

With my focus on playing, I only half-registered the breathless voices in my headset.

Spurred on by the urgent shout, the dealers circling the periphery all rushed the center at once.

The target: Wushin.

We quickly entered the Crystal Zone and attacked Wushin.



[Wushin has used Shattering Earth.]

[Wushin has used Blazing Inferno.]



“Ugh, what the heck. This guy’s seriously on another level.”

Even with barely anyone left to help him, Wushin was incredible.

In that split second, he immediately identified and targeted the most urgent threats.

But I’m Happy, the dedicated debuffer.

Though I was nearly dead, I still managed to land Crumbling Skin on Wushin.

After confirming the effect with falling stone fragments, I retreated at once.

My life was precious, after all.

Thankfully, with his defense lowered, Wushin’s HP dropped much more noticeably.

Even then, he hung on like a monster, but finally couldn’t withstand the focused attacks and died.

—We pushed them out!

—Group up, group up!

Excited voices blared in my ears.



[Guild] GoTeamJang: @@@@@ Everyone to the center @@@@@



The guild chat briefly exploded.

Guild members who’d been scattered at the edges rushed in.

Before I knew it, the wide Crystal Zone was filled with characters sporting red guild marks.



[Party] Lowa: We got there first, haha.

[Party] Lowa: If we can just defend now, we’ll win.



[Karma Guild: 2,450 points]

[Karma Guild: 3,850 points]



The score began to climb dramatically.

“Wow. There’s a big difference compared to just Cheonjon holding alone.”

Karma’s mid-to-low-levels had gotten wiped out a lot, but… luckily, many made it back right before we pushed out Hana Guild.

So with more than ten people entering the Crystal Zone, the score shot up.

“So this is how it goes.”

Ten minutes in, for the first time, we’d secured the center.

As brief peace descended, I relaxed my tensed shoulders.

Meanwhile, casual chatter floated through my headset and the guild chat.

—The others will be back soon, huh.

—Still, good start, right?



[Guild] Blue: Guess I have to die againㅠㅠ



—Wushin’s a real beast.

—As long as everyone avoids Wushin, we’ll be fine.

Just thinking that monster would be coming back sent chills down my spine.

Of course, I wasn’t stupid enough to just stick around the center and get killed.

—If Wushin comes in, all the lowbies stay out.

—Cheonjon hyung, are you all set?

—Ah. This is exhausting, seriously.



[Guild] GoTeamJang: Just hang in there a bit longer, hyungㅠㅠ

[Guild] Assassin: Guild master, you’re so cool, lol



While everyone was showering Cheonjon with praise, Hana Guild finally made their move.

—Hey, they’re coming. They’re coming!

The mid-to-low-levels who’d been loitering nearby panicked and fled to the back.

Wushin wasted no time reentering the Crystal Zone and started unleashing his skills.



[Wushin has used Blazing Flames.]



Wushin deliberately used his longest-range AOE.

A beat too slow, our guild members toppled like dominoes.

It was impressive to watch, but there was no time to just stand and stare.



[Party] Lowa: Gomae peeled off

[Party] Lowa: Start with Gomae



For some reason, Gomae suddenly left the center.

I wasn’t sure why he stopped fighting, but it was a chance for us.

Thanks to Lowa’s keen eye, we chased down Gomae and ganged up on him.

With Gomae—the Hana Guild’s top-ranking, powerful tank—out in such an anticlimactic fashion, the situation shifted a little. Spurred by Gomae’s exit, Karma’s dealers charged in like wild dogs.

Realizing the tide had turned, I flashed a grin.

“If I go to the center now and mess with Wushin, we might take it back again.”



[Party] Happy: I’m going to the center



I could probably survive one solid hit.

Picking the route with the least interference from Hana Guild, I strode into the center.

—Oh, what’s Happy doing? Helping out Cheonjon?

Someone must’ve spotted my character and grinned. I grinned back, moving my mouse.

Or tried to.



[Karma Guild: 5,450 points]

[The Guardian of the Crystal has appeared.]

[Defeat the Guardian within 5 minutes.]



The screen shook as a dragon-like monster emerged from the giant crystal mound.

A boss monster worth a whopping 5,000 points had appeared.