Chapter 48: The 18-Hour Reset

The moment I realized I had pushed myself too hard, darkness swallowed me whole.

I ended up lying awkwardly on the sofa and passed out for nearly four hours.

I only woke up because my nose was so stuffy it made me uncomfortable.

Thankfully, my headache was less intense than before.

In a daze, I sniffled and stared blankly at the ceiling for a long time.

"Ah... I should take some medicine first."

I rummaged through the kitchen drawer and hurriedly tossed some cold medicine into my mouth.

Then, clutching the dining table, I stared vacantly at the floor again.

What was scary was that, even then, all I could think about was Monster World.

"They must still be leveling up, right? Then maybe just two hours..."

After checking the time, I trudged toward my workspace.

But my head started spinning again, and chills crept over me.

It was another sweltering summer night, yet my whole body was shivering. Only then did I start to think clearly.

"Ah, this isn't right."

So I changed direction, heading for the bedroom instead of the workspace. Then I left a message.

(Kwon Aran)

[I'm really sorry]

[I'm feeling really unwell right now]

[I don't think I can hunt]

[I think I have the flu]

Before I even had a chance to check for a reply, a wave of dizziness washed over me, and I squeezed my eyes shut.

"It's Saturday... There should be a clinic open at least in the morning. I'll sleep a little more and go to the hospital..."

With that, I fell asleep again and then slowly opened my eyes.

It felt like I'd slept another two or three hours, but for some reason, it was still dark outside.

Is it raining? Or maybe the sky is just really cloudy?

Confused, I looked for my clock. The hands were pointing past 10:30.

"Oh... I need to go to the hospital..."

I scrambled to get up, but then noticed it wasn't AM—it was PM.

A silent scream escaped me.

"This is insane. I slept for almost eighteen hours...?"

Instead of thinking, 'Was I that sick?' I thought, 'Was I that tired?'

In disbelief, I could only let out a dumbfounded sound. Suddenly, I remembered the Guild War.

"Wow. I missed the Guild War, too. What do I do?"

My mind went blank as I frantically grabbed my phone.

Under my rushed message about catching the flu, there were replies.

(Jung Jiho)

[Are you okay?]

[I thought you just fell asleep, but it's the flu;]

[Don't worry about us, just get more rest]

(Bae Hojun)

[Go sleep]

[Take your medicine]

[We'll let everyone know ㅇㅇ]

Maybe it's because we're close, but everyone was more worried about my health than anything else.

Even in the Secret Squad chat...

(INFP)

[Happy, please rest up]

(S)

[ㅠㅠ Get well soon]

(Ariel)

[Don't just get by on convenience store meds]

[Go to the hospital and get a shot]

[And get an IV drip, ㅇㅇ]

After that, talk about the Guild War became the main topic. Scrolling through, it looked like we lost.

(Kwon Aran)

[srry srry]

[I'm awake now]

[Did we lose the Guild War?]

(Bae Hojun)

[Wow]

[Happy, are you okay???]

[I freaked out seeing all your typos and your character just lying there]

[ㅋㅋㅋ]

(Jung Jiho)

[How are you feeling?]

(Kwon Aran)

[Think I really caught the flu]

[Passed out on my way to take medicine]

[Slept for 18 hours, so I feel better now]

[But did we really lose the Guild War?]

(Bae Hojun)

[ㅇㅇ total defeat]

"Wow..."

(Jung Jiho)

[Without you]

[Musin never left the center]

(Bae Hojun)

[S and Jiho managed to push him out a couple of times]

[But it was so hard to even do that, ㅋㅋ]

[Woong was as good as useless, ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]

(Jung Jiho)

[ㅋㅋ]

[It was really tough without Happy]

To think we lost because I wasn't there—how depressing.

It's not boasting; it's just reality that having or not having a Rank 4 Debuffer makes a huge difference.

(Kwon Aran)

[You should've woken me up ㅠㅠ]

(Bae Hojun)

[Come on]

[Don't say stuff like that]

[People come first, not the game]

(Jung Jiho)

[You have been overdoing it lately]

[Even skipped sleep to PK in the morning...]

[You shouldn't do that]

(Bae Hojun)

[ㅇㅇ Take this chance to rest up]

[Come back tomorrow or whenever]

[It'd just be a burden if you logged in now, ㅋㅋㅋ]

(Kwon Aran)

[Still]

[I should at least grind]

(Bae Hojun)

[Nope]

[Ranking isn't that important]

[Happy won't drop in rank just for missing one day]

(Jung Jiho)

[ㅇㅇ]

(Bae Hojun)

[Hey Jiho]

[You should try to sleep ten more minutes, too, ㅋㅋ]

[We'll really be holding a funeral soon, ㅋㅋㅋ]

[Guys, let's not have a guild funeral meetup, okay...ㅋㅋㅋ]

(Kwon Aran)

[ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]

(Jung Jiho)

[Yes, sir, hehe]

[Happy, get lots of rest]

Hearing them say that put my mind at ease.

Maybe the other guild members would be disappointed, but... for now, as they said, I decided to just rest today.

After a short chat, I lay down again, and Jiho sent me another message.

He told me to get well soon. Even though it was late, he said if I couldn't eat, I should go to the ER tomorrow and sent me a porridge gifticon so I could eat separately if needed.

They say warm concern is best when you're sick, and I was so touched I almost thought I was all better already.

"It's just a slight fever, so I'll take my medicine once more, and see if I need the ER tomorrow depending on how I feel."

I was a little hungry, but my body felt heavier than my appetite. So I set an alarm and fell asleep again, still hungry.

Afterward, I slept like the dead until the alarm woke me up, and I opened my eyes feeling refreshed.

Seven in the morning.

I must've slept another eight or nine hours.

"Wow. I slept that much, and then slept some more. Not even when I was working night shifts for a month was it this bad..."

Of course, my current lifestyle is far worse than back then. At least I never pulled all-nighters before.

"Oh... My fever's gone."

My runny nose stopped, too. I guess my body's still hanging in there.

Grateful for my stamina, I got up and, for the first time in a while, started my day like a normal person.

Even if it was just instant food, I made sure to put together a decent meal and ate first.

After quickly filling my empty stomach, I aired out the house, did some light cleaning, and enjoyed a leisurely bath.

Before the sun got any hotter, I settled out on the balcony, had a cool cup of tea, and soaked up some sunlight.

Then I rolled around in the living room and watched TV to my heart's content. Around lunchtime, I lazily headed to my workspace.

On the monitor—still logged in but split from real life for a moment—were the remnants of my hasty exit from hunting.

My character, "Happy," was lying in the middle of the ruins, all alone.

Feeling awkward, I returned and nervously watched the guild chat window.

"We lost our sale card and our claim to the guild dungeon... In one day, our guild's out on the streets."

Since I'm close with Jiho, Cheonghon, and INFP, I figured they'd let it slide. But I was a little worried about the reactions from the other, less-close guild members.

Since we lost because I wasn't there... of course they'd be disappointed.

On top of that, what if I got blamed, too? My brow furrowed with anxiety, but in the end, I left a survival check-in.

A few seconds later, the chat blew up.

[Guild] Bambi: It's Happy ㅠㅠㅠ

[Guild] Manager Go: Huuuh ㅠ,.,.,.ㅠ

[Guild] Manager Go: Happy!!!

[Guild] Taki: Whoa!!!

[Guild] Blue: Oh, you're here

[Guild] Trauma: Wowㅜㅜ

[Guild] Ro: You're back

"W-what is this..."

The atmosphere was a little overwhelming, everyone acting like they wanted to cry.

[Guild] Manager Go: Oh no, are you feeling better?

[Guild] Gadfly: Heard you were sickㅡ.ㅡ;

[Guild] Green: Are you okay? ㅋㅋㅋ

[Guild] Ariel: Is your flu gone??

[Guild] Starving: At your age, you'll bounce back quick, ㅋㅋㅋ

[Guild] Seahorse: You disappeared suddenly, we were worried ㅠ

[Guild] INFP: How are you feeling?

[Guild] INFP: Glad it wasn't anything serious

[Guild] Taki: Happy, we were so lost without you ㅠㅠ

[Guild] Green: I kept thinking of you during the whole Guild War, ㅋㅋㅋ

There was some disappointment, but it wasn't as bad as I'd feared.

[Guild] Cheonjon: That's a relief ^^

[Guild] Woong: Take care of yourself~

Even the main guild couple's day shift sub-leaders chimed in to encourage me.

With everyone being so good-natured about it, I relaxed enough to joke back.

[Guild] Happy: Ah, I really should've been there ㅠㅠ

[Guild] Ariel: ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

[Guild] Taki: Man, you're so cheeky

[Guild] Taki: But I can't argue with you

[Guild] Taki: Happy, you're now everyone's Debuffer ㅠㅠ

[Guild] Taki: Please be careful

[Guild] Starving: ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

[Guild] Green: Hey INFP, make Happy some herbal tonic~ ㅋㅋㅋ

[Guild] Manager Go: Go to the Guild Master for your card

[Guild] Gadfly: Seriously, you have to work twice as hard next timeㅡ.ㅡ

[Guild] Gadfly: We looked so pathetic ㅠ.ㅠ

[Guild] Cheonghon: Get up to the ruins for now, ㅋㅋㅋ

[Guild] Taki: Hey, Happy, what about Musin, that son of a...?

After that, reports poured in about Hana Guild and Musin's "heroics"—not that I wanted to hear them.

But I was curious about that part, so even after joining the hunting party, I just listened with a grin.

Before I knew it, the afternoon flew by.

[Guild] INFP: Wow, it's already that late

[Guild] INFP: I have a dinner appointment, so I'll be out for a bit

[Guild] INFP: Everyone, have a good dinner and happy grinding!

About forty minutes after INFP went out for dinner, the night troublemaker, Jelly, logged on.

[Guild] Woong: Sub-leader change, hello

I gave the usual formal welcome to the usual login greeting. Then...

[Guild] Woong: Whoa

[Guild] Woong: Happy, you're here??

[Guild] Woong: We were totally lost without you

"That's what he says the moment he sees me..."

Well, I never expected Jelly to be good at socializing anyway. Guess I'll just let it slide.

[Guild] Woong: Debuffers are so important this season ㅠㅠ

[Guild] Woong: Without you, we lost without even a chance ㅠ

[Guild] Woong: Even if you'd just been there at the start, it would've been okay ㅠㅠ

[Guild] Woong: Such a waste

[Guild] Woong: We could've had this Guild War in the bag, too

I tried to ignore him, but Jelly kept going on about how disappointed he was, like he was pinning the loss on me.

[Party] Cheonghon: There he goes, overstepping again

[Party] Ro: Yeah, really

Even the two people in my party during the break were obviously uncomfortable.

Of course, I'd been uncomfortable for a while, so I shot back right away.

[Guild] Happy: If I'd known it would be like this, maybe I should've forced myself to play even if I was dying, ㅋㅋㅋㅋ

Unless he's an idiot, he should know I was being sarcastic, but maybe he really is an idiot, because Jelly spouted more nonsense.

[Guild] Woong: For situations like this, you should share your account with Ro or Cheonghon

[Guild] Woong: Honestly, it's best if Cheonghon runs it

[Guild] Woong: If you just fix Cheonjon and Ro's characters, that's enough

"Wow. Is this guy a psycho?"

Jelly started making future plans and giving orders out of nowhere, even saying something rude to Cheonghon.

Well, that's typical gamer behavior, and technically, it's a rational move for the guild as a whole. But I'm not close enough with Jelly for this kind of talk.

[Guild] Cheonghon: ㅡㅡ

[Guild] Happy: I don't like anyone else handling my character, no matter who it is

[Guild] Happy: If yesterday's mess was a problem, then find a different Debuffer instead of me

Annoyance flared up, and I snapped before I realized it.

After I said it flat out, Jelly immediately shut up. He's probably cursing me out in his head.

"Ugh, seriously..."

The chat fell completely silent, and I let out a deep sigh.

I didn't notice while I was lashing out, but now that I'd said it, it seemed way too harsh.

If we'd just fought openly, maybe it'd feel better. But with Jelly just shutting up, now it seemed like I was the only one overreacting.

"Ahh... what am I supposed to do with this mood? Do I just go further? Should I just go all out and log off?"

I was stewing in that discomfort when it happened.

[Guild] Cheonghon: Hey, Jelly

[Guild] Manager Go: Jelly, apologize

[Guild] Manager Go: To someone who couldn't make it because they were sick

[Guild] Manager Go: What?

[Guild] Manager Go: How could you even say that?

"Uh... huh?"

The chat completely froze.