Chapter 49: The Ten-Million Won Legend

A chilly atmosphere descended, and a few seconds of silence passed.

We were the ones who should be upset, but it was someone completely unrelated who exploded in anger instead, which was honestly bewildering.

On top of that, as I glanced around, curious about how Jelly would react, Team Leader Ko’s barrage continued.

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[Guild] Team Leader Ko: The first thing you should've said was to ask if they're okay.

[Guild] Team Leader Ko: And whatever happens to the character,

[Guild] Team Leader Ko: That’s Happy-nim’s decision.

[Guild] Team Leader Ko: You don’t have any right to boss them around.

[Guild] Team Leader Ko: Did you leave your character in their care? Is that character even yours?

[Guild] Team Leader Ko: Even if you’re the guild master, you can’t say stuff like that.

[Guild] Team Leader Ko: The moment you dare to say it, it’s rude.

[Guild] Team Leader Ko: Also, apologize to Proposal-nim as well.

[Guild] Team Leader Ko: What kind of way is that to talk?

[Guild] Team Leader Ko: Maybe you don’t realize because you haven’t been here long,

[Guild] Team Leader Ko: But the guild owes all its recent success to those folks.

[Guild] Team Leader Ko: I’ve said many times how hard I worked to recruit them.

[Guild] Team Leader Ko: If you act like that, how does that make me look?

[Guild] Team Leader Ko: And what about the guild leader who asked me to invite them?

---

My jaw dropped at the stream of Team Leader Ko’s fury.

He didn’t even whisper—he just let it all out in front of everyone… It was a moment when we, the ones owed an apology, were the ones who felt embarrassed.

“Well, it’s true Team Leader Ko bowed and scraped to get us here, and we always said we’d leave at the drop of a hat if something went wrong. Maybe that’s why he snapped…”

Before he could just act like a sensible guy, Team Leader Ko had a reason—no, an obligation—to hold onto us.

Well, even if it’s his job, I’m still grateful that he stepped up right away.

Thanks to him, my favorability toward Team Leader Ko is skyrocketing right now.

---

[Guild] Team Leader Ko: Youngwook.

---

After a brief silence, Team Leader Ko sent another message.

They were just words, but somehow, a deep sigh seemed to come through.

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[Guild] Team Leader Ko: Even if we’re just playing a game,

[Guild] Team Leader Ko: We’re still dealing with people.

[Guild] Team Leader Ko: Look at the person, not the character.

---

Team Leader Ko pointed out Jelly’s immature, thoughtless attitude.

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[Guild] Team Leader Ko: Sorry to say all this in public chat,

[Guild] Team Leader Ko: But just like the other day, you really go too far when you talk.

[Guild] Team Leader Ko: You’re smearing your sister’s reputation, too.

[Guild] Team Leader Ko: So always think before you speak.

[Guild] Team Leader Ko: We made this guild so everyone could have fun together, right?

[Guild] Team Leader Ko: It’s not just your game.

[Guild] Team Leader Ko: Let’s be considerate and respectful.

[Guild] Team Leader Ko: Just giving you some tough love as a close friend.

[Guild] Team Leader Ko: I hope you take it to heart and don’t get upset.

---

After the reprimand ended, Jelly stayed silent for a while before finally responding.

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[Guild] Woong: I’m sorry. Happy-nim, Proposal-nim, and also Ro-nim who whispered to me.

---

Jelly’s apology floated up in the now-quiet chat.

That Jiho was mentioned too, and the unexpectedly meek way Jelly apologized took me by surprise.

With his personality, I figured he’d just log off and ghost us.

Well, if he really did that in this situation, he’d be less than human.

“It still feels gross. Honestly, I don’t want to accept it. I don’t even know if that’s a sincere apology.”

But the much-older Team Leader Ko had scolded him for all to see.

If I ignored him now just because I was in a bad mood, I’d be just as immature and thoughtless as Jelly, so I swallowed my discomfort.

---

[Guild] Happy: It’s fine.

[Guild] Proposal: Team Leader already said everything I wanted to say, so I’m fine too~

[Guild] Team Leader Ko: Ahem, ahem.

[Guild] Team Leader Ko: Sorry for suddenly acting all old-man bossy!!!

[Guild] Team Leader Ko: Now that the mood’s settled, let’s get back to grinding.

[Guild] Team Leader Ko: Let’s all greet each other with fresh faces tomorrow!!

[Guild] Team Leader Ko: By the way, it’ll be “tomorrow” in just a few hours^^

[Guild] Haema: ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

[Guild] Grim Reaper: ㅎㅎㅎ Cool.

---

Fortunately, the awkward mood gradually improved. But everyone knew.

The guild is now standing at a crossroads.

Karma isn’t what it used to be.

No one’s really unaware.

---

(INFP)

[This is insane]

---

Much later, INFP, who had heard from Ariel what happened, was shocked.

---

(INFP)

[I’m so embarrassed.]

[Let me apologize on their behalf]

[Sorry, everyone]

---

(S)

[Just let it go in one ear and out the other]

[He’s been playing games since school days]

[Hasn’t had a real adult job]

[He’s really bad at communicating]

---

It felt like there was a spicy story behind all this, but given the mood, I could only laugh and let it pass.

---

(Ariel)

[Don’t mind Jelly, just have funㅋㅋ]

---

Of course, that was the sensible thing. Who cares about him, anyway?

But… unfortunately, it didn’t turn out that way.

A few days later, late at night, a flood of Jelly-faction main server users arrived.

---

[Guild] INFP: From the main server, let me introduce Sik, Mono, and Ghost~

[Guild] INFP: Some of you might know them, some it’s your first time.

[Guild] INFP: Let’s all get along.

[Guild] Sik: Nice to meet you.

[Guild] Mono: Hiyoㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

[Guild] Ghost: Helloㅎㅎ

---

With three new faces showing up, their arrival was broadcast in real time in the secret squad room.

Apparently, like Jelly, those three are basement dwellers living off sub-character wage work.

Even if they look a little rough, they say Jelly is pretty well-connected in the sub-character world.

---

[Guild] Mono: Where’s the guild dungeon?ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

[Guild] Mono: I heard there’s a guild dungeon?

[Guild] Woong: Not right nowㅋ

[Guild] Mono: What are we supposed to do with no guild dungeonㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

[Guild] Sik: Gotta bang our heads against the wall, I guess.

[Guild] Taki: Shut up and hunt, you little gremlinsㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

[Guild] Ghost: Ah~!

[Guild] Hungry: You punks still aren’t dead yetㅡ ㅡㅋ

[Guild] Mono: It’s been a while, hyung!!!

---

With those three, the guild chat got rowdy.

Even Jelly, who’d been keeping his head down since getting scolded by Team Leader Ko, and the few guild members who seemed to know them, joined in the commotion.

“The newbies are just saying hi and leaving it at that, like us. Maybe it’s awkward because they’re Jelly’s friends? Well, it’s not like it’s the right atmosphere to jump in anyway.”

To be honest, it was rough enough to make me uncomfortable.

Maybe they really do think of Another as their playground—right away, the three of them were roaming the low-level maps, making loud comments.

---

[Guild] Sik: The last time I played Another was ages ago,

[Guild] Sik: But the maps are the same? Still barebones.

[Guild] Ghost: Any good item drops?ㅋㅋㅋ

[Guild] Ghost: The main server never gets patched so I came here to check it outㅋㅋㅋ

[Guild] Mono: Oh, I see those blue guys??

[Guild] Mono: Should I just kill them all???

[Guild] Team Leader Ko: Don’t.

[Guild] Woong: n n

[Guild] INFP: PK is banned in the desert and below.

[Guild] Mono: Okay~

[Guild] Ghost: Dang…

[Guild] Woong: Dummies, just level quietly and move up to the desertㅋ

[Guild] Mono: That’ll take me just a weekㅋㅋㅋㅋ

---

Half an hour since joining, and I was already getting a bad feeling.

Why did “birds of a feather flock together” come to mind?

---

(Proposal)

[Who are those people?]

[They seem kinda… off???]

---

(Ariel)

[ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]

---

(S)

[Unfortunately, they’re definitely off.]

---

I wasn’t the only one feeling uneasy—Proposal’s question got a bombshell reply.

---

(S)

[If we’re talking personality, they’re total punks.]

[Ghost is a serious chick-chaser.]

[He’s been quieter lately, though.]

[Just be careful, noona.]

---

(Ariel)

[I’m fineㅋㅋ]

[I’ve already dealt with him once]

[After he found out I was a few years older]

[He went quiet.]

[Guess older women aren’t his thing.]

---

(S)

[Whoa….]

[Anyway, they’re only older by age.]

[Personality-wise, just like Poongma.]

[Total creeps.]

---

(Ariel)

[At least we probably won’t see any of that here.]

---

“Wow……”

I let out a hollow laugh at the long list of their misdeeds.

It brought back PTSD from my main server days, tormented by old men.

Seriously, why is there always at least one of those guys in every guild?

---

(S)

[Sik is at least quiet, but still same old same old.]

[Mono just won’t stop running his mouth.]

[He’s also a bit aggressive.]

[Anyway, all three]

[Used to show off sub-characters like they owned them.]

---

(Proposal)

[But even starting now]

[They’re going to be way behind in rankings]

[Is there any point to them coming?]

[Are they just here to back up Jelly’s ego?]

---

(INFP)

[Oh, there’s a method to all that.]

---

During a short break, a very interesting conversation started in the secret squad chat.

---

(S)

[After the mid-season, people without guilds sell their characters.]

---

“Huh? Isn’t trading between users for real money against the rules? Or do they do it with gold or item trades? Even so, there’s gotta be a price ceiling, right?”

---

(INFP)

[Since way back, some folks would secretly raise a character to sell it]

[Make some pocket money every season]

[There’s always about five or six of them?]

[They even have their own secret chat room]

---

(Happy)

[Wow, is this the black market I’ve only heard about?]

---

(Ariel)

[yepㅋㅋㅋ]

---

(Proposal)

[No wonder there are so many people quietly leveling on side maps during the day]

[I thought it was just people who hated PK]

[Turns out they were pros?ㅡㅡ]

---

(Ro)

[Those people avoid being noticed]

[They don’t even chat on purposeㅎㅎ]

[They manage their ranking carefully too]

---

(S)

[So Ro-nim knows about them tooㅋㅋㅋ]

[Those prosㅋㅋㅋ]

[In the early days, there were even farming bots called “monster banks”ㅋㅋㅋ]

[Back then, cash value was great]

---

It was fascinating.

In this game, it’s hard enough to maintain your ranking without sacrificing your body and time, but some people trade all that away for cash… Just how much are they getting?

---

(Proposal)

[I get that for the main server, but]

[So there are shady dealers in Another too?]

[But here, even at a high price it’s only about 30, right?]

[Grinding alone for hours just to make 30 seems…ㅡㅡ]

---

(INFP)

[Prices fluctuate depending on the season mood and ranking]

[If the server’s dying, you can’t even make lunch money]

[But if it’s a bloodbath, the price jumps into the hundreds]

---

…Here comes another world I knew nothing about.

---

(Proposal)

[That’s crazy]

[Who would pay that much for a seasonal character?]

[Dropping hundreds on a character that’ll get deleted in six months??]

---

(Ro)

[Main server big spenders…]

---

(S)

[Yeah, those guys have big spenders behind them]

[If a sub-char is well-leveled, big spenders just buy them on sub-servers]

---

(INFP)

[For reference, once the number 1 character went for over ten million]

[It’s been a while, but during peak server warsㅋㅋ]

---

(Ariel)

[That price is nuts]

[But it’s even funnier that someone sold their character to a rival guild and ran offㅋㅋ]

---

(Proposal)

[No way]

[Who’s that big spender]

[Introduce me, stat]

[I think I could grind like crazy for that kind of cash]

---

(Happy)

[ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Me too]

---

Proposal made us laugh, but honestly, I was speechless.

It was a world I just couldn’t understand.

---

(Happy)

[But if they’re that big a spender]

[Are they like top three on the main server or something?]

---

I was so curious I asked directly.

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[Guild] Sik: Hey, Wook, the Elder is here.

---

“Huh…?”

No way, it couldn’t be Poongma, right?

But before I could even finish the thought—

---

(S)

[Whoa, that’s next-level]

[Creepy]

[That’s the big spender]

[Currently ranked #1 on the main server]

---

For real, the “real deal” had appeared.