Chapter 51: Retirement Planning

“…Wait, now that I think about it, this is something we absolutely have to win, right?”

(Bae Hojun)

[This is for retirement planning, guys.]

[If we leave the guild, there’s nowhere else the money’s going to come from.]

(Jung Jiho)

[From now on, let’s save up gold diligently]

[The moment you quit, it’s PK until your wallet’s empty?]

(Kwon Aran)

[Good.]

It was a truly killer future plan.

(Bae Hojun)

[lolol But seriously, this event is insane.]

Honestly, the whole of Another is buzzing because of this colossal event. And since it’s a Level 1 battle, even regular users are hyped about it.

(Happy)

[Everyone must be going nuts wanting to get first place.]

Yeah, everyone probably wants to win. The problem is, there’s no chance to practice. Another doesn’t have a ‘dueling arena’ for character vs character battles.

Of course, the main server has one.

But in Another, battles in the field are a given, so there’s no need for an arena. Someone even suggested opening a temporary arena, but the answer was ‘not possible.’

“Are they aiming for a live event with no practice? Well, that does make it feel more like a real event, which is fun...”

A fistfight between Level 1 characters—I can’t even imagine how that’s supposed to go.

You can kind of poke each other in town, but unless you see HP drop, it’s hard to get a feel for it.

And besides, there’s a difference in movement speed between current characters and Level 1s. That’s because shoes give a slight movement speed bonus.

(Jung Jiho)

[We’ll need to get used to it.]

So, we ran a test.

[General] Cheonghyeon: lololololololol

[General] Ryo: lol

[General] Hyaepi: lololololololol

We made new characters and headed to the training ground.

Honestly, calling them new characters doesn’t make them feel fresh. Since all the basic character outfits in Monworld are the same, there’s not even that adorable, pajama-clad vibe.

We spiced up the IDs a bit for attention.

[General] ENFP: Hmm

[General] Yariel: ?

[General] Sseu: Wow, Level 1 really is slow.

With InFP tagging along, we enthusiastically beat up the training dummies.

After circling and bashing the dummies for a while, I started to get a vague sense of what it’d be like.

[General] Ryo: Let’s move around while pretending to hit each other.

[General] Cheonghyeon: Mock battle gogo.

Suddenly, a 3-on-3 mock battle broke out right in the middle of the training ground.

We faced off however we liked, and as soon as the countdown finished, we dashed in and tapped each other before darting away.

Of course, since HP wasn’t dropping, we had no clue who was winning.

And above all—it was just too funny to concentrate.

“Wow, this is going to be a massive mind game.”

To reduce the other side’s numbers, ganging up is the best.

The problem is, everyone knows that.

[General] ENFP: This is like a train ride, seriously.

[General] Cheonghyeon: lolololololololol

The three of us tried to gang up on InFP, but then Sseu and Ariel suddenly latched onto me from behind and started hitting me.

InFP also zipped away from Ryo and Cheonghyeon and dashed over, so I had to keep moving to avoid the gang-up.

Then Sseu and Ariel chased after me, Ryo and Cheonghyeon followed InFP… It just went on and on.

[General] Hyaepi: Since HP isn’t dropping, I have no idea who’s winning lol

[General] Sseu: We’ll probably have to hit-and-run.

[General] Cheonghyeon: But won’t that take too long?

[General] Yariel: Isn’t there a time limit?

[General] ENFP: Killing one person and then stalling might work.

[General] Cheonghyeon: Boo, that’s dirty.

[General] Hyaepi: Shouldn’t it be restricted to characters who use weapons?

[General] ENFP: Then control skill comes into play, and it’s not fair.

[General] Hyaepi: Ah, true.

While we were having our near-comedy mock battle, another group appeared.

TestOne, TestTwo, TestThree.

It was obvious they’d come to practice, just like us.

They must have recognized us instantly, but pretended not to—probably all from Hana Guild.

Anyway, they picked a dummy for their territory and started practicing too.

Then they left pretty quickly, and after that, lots more people came to the training ground with Level 1 characters—sometimes groups of five or six, sometimes alone.

Many people passed through the training ground trying to get a feel for things.

Among them was Karma—without us knowing.

[Guild] Taki: Ah, saw you practicing, bro, lolololol

[Guild] Taki: With Hyaepi’s team, too, lolololol

[Guild] InFP: Wait, you were watching?

[Guild] Baegopa: Tried to act like I didn’t know but almost died laughing~~ lolol

[Guild] Baegopa: Ari was the worst at punching

[Guild] Gakdagwi: So we just have to beat Ari first when we meet, right????

[Guild] Ariel: —_—

[Guild] Taki: lololol Thanks, sis

[Guild] Cheonghyeon: Wow, that’s low

[Guild] Cheonghyeon: Were you watching and analyzing our fights???

[Guild] Taki: Strategy, you know^^

[Guild] Hyaepi: grrr

[Guild] Taki: Bet the other teams also analyzed how you all fought

[Guild] Baegopa: lololol idiots

[Guild] Ryo: Didn’t even think about that

[Guild] ENFP: Seriously…

[Guild] Ariel: So annoying —_—

[Guild] Cheonghyeon: Suddenly my self-esteem is plummeting

[Guild] Bambi: lolololololol

…There was a small problem, but it’s fine. It’s a live battle anyway.

Just adapt to whatever happens, that’s all—at least, that’s what I told myself as I suddenly got curious about Jelly’s group.

(Hyaepi)

[The three new guys will probably play together]

[Who’s Jelly teaming with?]

(Sseu)

[Seems like with the weekday vice-masters]

[Heard he got forced into it]

(Ariel)

[No one else would team with them]

Jelly and his friends don’t speak in guild chat at all. Unless someone speaks to them first, it’s absolute silence.

Looks like they just create their own voice chat room and talk every day.

“I hope I run into Jelly’s team first in the tournament.”

So I can really go to town on them.

[Guild] InFP: Has everyone picked their teams?

[Guild] Bambi: I’m with Blue and Sasin lol

[Guild] Haema: I’m with Captain Ko and Chorok lol

Regular users were scrambling to find teams too.

[Bizert Village – General] OnlyOneHit: Anyone want to team up? ㅠㅠㅠㅠ

[Bizert Village – General] Boundary: Can you definitely log in Sunday at 6??

[Bizert Village – General] JunkDealer: Eh—,.— can’t we do it later?

[Bizert Village – General] JunkDealer: I’ve got dinner plans, ㅠ

Since everyone has to be on time, not everyone can join. But since it’s a worthwhile event, the general chat was noisy for days.

Karma was really interested in the Recall Scrolls as prizes.

[Guild] InFP: Field battles are going to be a pain now

[Guild] Taki: Right? lol if someone comes to attack, you just pop a scroll and run

[Guild] Chorok: The Warriors are gonna spam those scrolls now to avoid dying lololol

While everyone grumbled about items that’d help the underdogs, I had another thought.

“With those, I could totally take on the Warrior Party solo, right? I’d just sneak in, throw a debuff, and run…”

This is already shaping up to be hilarious.

“Or, I could lure a bunch of mobs, strip their buffs with Black Melody, and then escape…”

The more I thought about it, the more my grin spread.

Of course, the second idea would put my own life on the line too.

“Ah, it’d be great to have that. The purple potion Jiho gave me last season.”

[Guild] Hyaepi: When do purple potions start dropping?

[Guild] Taki: Whoa, how’d you know about that?

[Guild] Hyaepi: Rho gave me one last season, so I used it on Hope.

[Guild] Ryo: I picked one up after the Hana Guild dropped it

[Guild] Taki: Ah, lololol

[Guild] Haema: Yeah, there wasn’t really a use for them back then lol

[Guild] InFP: My goodness, have you been backstabbing since then?

[Guild] Hyaepi: lolol, no

[Guild] Hyaepi: I corralled the mobs and trapped Hope

[Guild] Hyaepi: Then used poison gnaw and immediately chugged the purple potion to finish off the mobs

[Guild] InFP: I see

[Guild] Haema: I remember Hyaepi’s team was super low-level back then;;;

[Guild] Captain Ko: I don’t think Hope ever let his guard down

[Guild] Hyaepi: lololol

Afterward, guildmates shared info—apparently, the purple potion is pretty rare. We’re currently hunting in the ruins, and the next map is the Lava Plateau, where it starts to drop at a low rate.

Higher maps have better drop rates.

Last season, since there was no one to fight, Hana Guild just tossed them on the ground, and Jiho picked them up…

[Guild] Taki: Purple potions are super fun when used right, lol

[Guild] InFP: When the fighting gets fierce, some people even buy them with real money

[Guild] Baegopa: That’s why I’m hyped for this round, lololol

[Guild] Captain Ko: I’m more excited for the 3:3

The conversation swung back to the event. Then InFP brought up something important.

[Guild] InFP: Everyone, don’t forget about Guild War

[Guild] InFP: It’s the day before the tournament

[Guild] Taki: lololol It’s fine, Hyaepi’s with us this time

[Guild] Taki: No worries at all

[Guild] Blue: This time, we’re definitely going to win^^!

I felt a bit embarrassed, but I couldn’t help but puff up my chest.

“I really shouldn’t get sick…”

With that resolute promise, Saturday evening finally arrived.

With the fourth Guild War approaching, Karma was as relaxed as ever.

Meanwhile, Hana Guild, gathered in the same space and waiting to enter, looked distinctly uncomfortable.

“The people seem the same, but since we have three new members, do we look like we have more today?”

The number of red and blue guild marks on either side of the waiting room was clearly different.

Curious, I scanned each ID one by one.

[The Crystal Occupation War has begun.]

[You may now move to the mining area.]

I threw everything else aside and ran.

Soon, we neared the battlefield, and I burst into the center with Cheonjong and Haema.

Anyone who entered would be hit with a debuff on sight, so I kept my mouse ready in the direction Hana Guild would come from.

But…

“What the…?”

From the south, at six o’clock, Hana Guild came running up but stopped short, just in front of the center, and waited.

“Why isn’t anyone coming in?”

Even Mushin, who always rampaged alone, just stood quietly outside, staring at me.