Chapter 26: The Training Hall Pro

(Bae Hojun)

[Is this even a guild worth sticking with?ㅋㅋ]

(Jung Jiho)

[Let’s just watch and seeㅎㅎ]

[We’re only here to enjoy PK anyway, we can leave whenever we want]

(Bae Hojun)

[True, as long as we’re having fun ㅋㅋ]

[But did Happy go to bed?]

(Jung Jiho)

[ㅋㅋㅋ Did Aran go to bed??]

I caught a glimpse of the two of them looking for me in the chat. But honestly, I was more curious about what was happening here.

[General] Majestic: Where’s this Muneo guy? He lured us in and then disappeared?

[General] Papak: Seems like he ran into an error while installing, he’s not good with computers

[General] Majestic: Ugh, what are we supposed to do, just hang out by ourselves?ㅋㅋㅋ

[General] Papak: I think the others are still installing?

[General] Papak: Should we just start begging for help? There’s someone here who looks pretty skilled

Papak’s character started approaching me. Without even thinking, I pushed my chair back as if to avoid him.

[General] Majestic: Hey, stop it, it’s embarrassing

[General] Papak: ㅠㅠ

[General] Majestic: Let’s just play by ourselves for a bit, if it’s good, we can call more people in

[General] Papak: Ino noona said the gun game we played yesterday was fun

[General] Majestic: Yeah, only Dohun gets all the rewards in that game

[General] Papak: Right, you had 1 kill, 15 deaths

[General] Majestic: Shut up

[General] Majestic: Seriously though, what game did this Muneo guy play?

[General] Papak: I know, this game’s state is something else

[General] Papak: At this point, it’s not retro, it’s a relic

[General] Majestic: Kind of Shinjang hyung’s style?

[General] Papak: Should I call him?

[General] Majestic: Why would you wake him up when he’s sleeping

[General] Papak: Then should I wake up the others?

[General] Majestic: Please, have some manners

[General] Papak: Starting with Daram hyung?

[General] Majestic: Shut up

[General] Majestic: No

[General] Majestic: Absolutely not

[General] Papak: ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

“Huh? Aren’t these people from the main server? They talk like total newbies.”

They really seemed like people who came from playing other games. That made me even more curious.

How did they even find their way here?

Did they come because of someone named Muneo or something?

Then does that mean Muneo is from the main server?

Just as I was mulling over these questions, two characters appeared in the training hall, one after the other.

Muneo-hyung. Akwi.

It was obvious just from looking—they must be acquaintances.

[General] Majestic: ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ How did you guys end up coming together

[General] Majestic: But seriously hyung, explain this game to us

[General] Majestic: What is this? It’s way too old-school

[General] Majestic: Kids would hate this

[General] Muneo-hyung: ㅡㅢ I mean, even I

[General] Muneo-hyung: I only played it once ages ago, don’t know much

[General] Muneo-hyung: Heard the event server’s still up

[General] Muneo-hyung: Thought it’d be fun for a bit, you know

[General] Papak: Still, it’s way too ajusshi-styleㅠㅠ

[General] Majestic: Even for a 2D game, what’s up with these graphics…

Listening to the newbies complain about Monster World’s graphics, I felt a bit down.

Even the players admit that the end-of-century vibe is a Monster World trademark.

[General] Akwi: Muneo-ya

[General] Akwi: Are we really doing this?

[General] Majestic: Never mind the difficulty, I don’t think I can get used to this hyungㅋㅋㅋ

“What? They really are newbies?”

Wow, I couldn’t help but gasp. Actual, genuine newbies.

[General] Papak: Is this game even officially serviced??

[General] Majestic: ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

[General] Muneo-hyung: Yeah, I checked before coming

[General] Akwi: I don’t think our friends will want to play

Their chat was filled with suspicion, complaints, and reluctance.

As a Monster World player, it was a bit of a blow to my pride.

But sadly, I couldn’t deny any of it……

“No, it’s not that weird of a game… Give it a shot……”

I was just standing around pretending to be AFK, so I couldn’t bring myself to type in chat.

While I was fidgeting in silence, another new face showed up in the training hall.

[General] Majestic: Oh, Ji-won’s here

[General] Verbena: ㅡ ㅡ What’s with your IDs, guys

[General] Majestic: Someone said they made Majestic?

[General] Papak: Me tooㅠㅠ

[General] Muneo-hyung: ㅋㅋㅋㅋ I wonder who made the octopus one

A few seconds later, yet another new ID appeared.

This time, it was Ham. The growing number of people made me nervous.

“Why do they keep multiplying……?”

[General] Majestic: Hey, our night shift captain Ham is here!

[General] Papak: Ham noona!!!

[General] Ham: ;;;;

[General] Ham: What’s up with this game??

[General] Ham: Are we really going to play this?

[General] Majestic: ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ See, everyone reacts the same wayㅠㅠ

[General] Muneo-hyung: ㅡㅢ

[General] Papak: Noona, we don’t have anything else to playㅠㅠ

[General] Akwi: Since Gwanwoo said VR isn’t for him yet

[General] Majestic: Yeah, if we’re doing this, let’s all play together

[General] Majestic: Let’s just try it for a bit, if it’s alright, we’ll invite more people during the day, okay?

[General] Ham: Ah

[General] Ham: I think everyone’s going to hate this;;;

[General] Verbena: ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Zato and Chae unnie are 100% going to curse

The mood was clearly reluctant.

Their continued negative reactions stung a little.

“Ugh. As a Monster World player, this is painful to watch.”

And if I stayed here any longer, I’d never get any sleep, eavesdropping on their conversation.

Besides, listening in like this wasn’t exactly polite.

So I clicked my mouse to move away.

But as soon as my character moved, the newbies noticed right away.

[General] Papak: Oh, the pro woke up

[General] Verbena: Oh, high-level?

Papak hurried over and tapped me.

[General] Papak: HappyHappyHappy, how do you play this game?

“Darn, they got me.”

The other characters strode over as well, surrounding me.

Before I knew it, six newbies had gathered in front of the training hall, all staring at me.

“What the—this is scary.”

Seriously, why are these newbies so aggressive?

“Looks like they hopped over from another game and grabbed onto a lifeboat… Wait, guys. This isn’t a lifeboat, it’s a sinking ship……”

Not that I could bring myself to say that.

Since they’d caught me, it would be rude to ignore them.

But they seemed at least a little curious about the game, so as a senior (?) player, I decided to answer.

[General] Happy: Helloㅋㅋ Looks like you’re all newbies?

[General] Papak: That’s right! We’re all new! It’s our first time playing this game!

[General] Majestic: Just from your name, Happy, you seem like a really nice person

[General] Majestic: I have a close friend named “Happiness”

[General] Majestic: She’s seriously the nicest person

[General] Verbena: Ah Majestic, please, don’t make it so obvious

[General] Verbena: First time dating or what??

[General] Papak: Hey, are there really only four classes?

[General] Akwi: Is that a guild tag next to your name?

[General] Ham: Is this game fun?

[General] Majestic: Where do you go to level up?

[General] Muneo-hyung: I told you I played this before, ㅡ ㅡ;

[General] Papak: But you only played for a bit, hyung

[General] Majestic: Yeah, let’s listen to the expert here

The newbies were chatty. And they all seemed excited.

Under their rapid-fire questions, my hands started shaking over the keyboard.

“Wow, this is overwhelming.”

Most of their questions were basic.

Normally, I’d tell them to check the official homepage or Newtube, but… sadly, Monster World doesn’t have that kind of sensible info.

So the best thing I could do was answer everything myself.

[General] Happy: There are four base classes, but they branch out depending on your weapon and skill tree

[General] Happy: Warrior → Sword Warrior, Spear Warrior, Body Warrior

[General] Akwi: Oh, so that’s how it works

[General] Majestic: Then for healing, do you play Priest?

[General] Happy: There aren’t any healers, but there’s a buffer who gives buffs

[General] Papak: Oh good, Ridi can be the buffer then

[General] Papak: HappyHappyHappy, which class is the most OP?

[General] Happy: Hmm, not sure;

[General] Happy: The body warrior (the tank role) and buffer are the easiest

[General] Papak: Ohhh!!!

[General] Akwi: I’m a tank, so body warrior it is

The newbies were both eager and active in their responses.

[General] Papak: As expected, the pro!!!!

Though their praise was honestly a bit over the top.

It was almost like they thought I was a gaming master or something.

Getting called a pro over and over made my cheeks feel hot.

“Thank goodness no one’s around. If anyone saw this, I’d have logged out for real……”

Otherwise, I might have died of embarrassment.

[General] Happy: You can press F8 for help, but

[General] Happy: It’s faster to press Control + E to switch to guild chat and just ask there

[General] Happy: That’s the default newbie guild, so lots of people will help you out

[General] Papak: Oh, I see!

[General] Happy: It’s a simple game, so there’s nothing difficult. Just hunt and enjoy PK, that’s allㅋㅋ

As soon as I finished the basic explanation and added that last bit, the chat suddenly went silent.

“Huh, did I say something wrong…?”

Maybe they hate PVP?

Which is understandable.

There are lots of ways to enjoy a game, and players should respect each other’s preferences.

So I quickly tried to clarify.

[General] Happy: PK isn’t required, so you can just focus on hunting if you want

[General] Akwi: Oh~ Got it

Only then did the responses come back—seems like they really don’t like PVP.

The truth is, Monster World is basically built around PVP. I felt a little guilty for being so vague.

“The moment you cross the desert, you can’t avoid PK… but oh well.”

Honestly, I doubted they’d even make it as far as the desert.

“Looks like they came from playing other games. I doubt they’ll stick around.”

Monster World doesn’t have quests or avatar customization.

There aren’t tons of items, or a bustling community, either.

If you don’t PK, all you can do is hunt, and even that is just monotonous grinding……

“Who knows what games they played before, but I’m sure they’ll quit soon enough.”

Still, as an existing player, it was satisfying to help the newbies even just a little.

“Oh, right.”

I quickly opened my inventory.

Then, I dragged and gave each of the six newbies 100,000 won.

It might not seem like much, but for a new player with nothing, it’s a solid amount.

Honestly, I wanted to give them a few million each, but my own wallet just couldn’t handle it.

[General] Happy: I’m broke too, so this is the best I can do. It should be plenty for startersㅠㅠ

[General] Happy: Before you head to the hunting grounds, <<< buy basic gear from NPC Mary

[General] Majestic: Oh, money!

[General] Verbena: Wow, thank you

[General] Papak: HappyHappyHappy, thank you thank you thank you

[General] Muneo-hyung: Thank you^^

[General] Akwi: Thanks, Happy

[General] Akwi: Shall we go hunting, then

Maybe because they got some cash, the noisy newbies got even louder.

After a bit of commotion, they finished buying gear and left the training hall, giving their thanks.

“Alright. I did the bare minimum.”

When you meet a struggling newbie, helping them out is just common sense!

I wondered if I’d ever see them again, but I tried not to get my hopes up.

Anyway, I just hope those newbies manage to have a little fun in Monster World.