I understood why Seo Jeongyeon made that suggestion.
It was obvious now—Heunjeok hadn’t been the type to manage his guild or maintain relationships with its members. That meant, in a situation like this, he had nowhere to get information from.
Unlike him, I at least had my guild. But since we were from different guilds, there was still a limit to what I could find out. So his idea was simple—go straight into Another and figure out who the impersonator was and what they were trying to pull.
His plan was straightforward. Crude, even. But effective.
Sure, it came with the hassle of making a sub account and the uncertainty of whether we’d even get accepted into Another… but still, it was the most direct method.
I got all that. I did.
But—
“I’m not doing it.”
I had no intention of wasting time on something that pointless. At the end of the day, Another without Heunjeok had nothing to do with me.
Sure, if they came at us first like we expected, I might consider it then. But right now, there was no conflict. No reason for me to step into that mess myself.
Seo Jeongyeon blinked in surprise, like he hadn’t expected me to refuse.
This time, I was the one who smirked as I stood up.
“If that’s all you had to say, I’m heading back. I just stepped out in the middle of my shift.”
“You’re really not going to do it? This is the only way to get solid information.”
“To even get in, I’d need a sub account. Not really my thing. And…”
I trailed off.
Truth was, there were other things I wanted to ask him.
Why he suddenly deleted his account and disappeared. Why he stayed gone for over a month.
But now that I was actually face to face with the real Heunjeok, it felt… awkward to bring it up. I could already guess what had happened just from the fact that he came back as Ilhwiilbi.
‘Then shouldn’t you just ignore Another, even if they’re impersonating you?’
Why go as far as infiltrating the guild on a sub account just to gather information?
Then again… who was I to talk? I was just as deep into the game.
“Hmm… alright.”
Seo Jeongyeon seemed to rethink his plan, idly touching his lips before picking up his phone again.
“Got it. Then at least give me your number. Just in case.”
“You’re persistent, I’ll give you that.”
Even now, asking for my number… I gave up resisting and took the phone. I entered my number and hit call. My phone lit up with his contact.
“Happy?”
“Yeah. If anything comes up, feel free to call.”
He handed my phone back with a picture-perfect smile. Even though I’d just rejected his proposal, he didn’t seem bothered at all.
Would I ever actually contact him?
More importantly—
‘How is this guy planning to face me from now on?’
He’d been Ilhwiilbi, constantly sticking to me in-game. And now he was this regular customer at the café.
Well… considering how shameless he was, he’d probably just act like nothing happened.
Either way, I had no reason to contact him.
With that conclusion, I turned my back.
***
Heunjeok—no, Seo Jeongyeon—didn’t show his face for the next two days.
Not at the café, and not in the game either. The friend request I sent to Ilhwiilbi just sat there, pending.
Another guild was quiet too. Well, even if it was a fake, they’d need time to settle in. Especially if they had to imitate someone else.
As for me, those two days flew by.
Between Sohee’s design work, my café shifts, and squeezing in Arc Road whenever I had time, I barely had a moment to breathe.
Then, on the third night—
It was my day off, and I was fully focused on design work when my phone started vibrating.
“Ugh…”
After staring at a monitor for hours, I was completely drained. Stretching my stiff body, I picked up my phone.
“Hello.”
[Why aren’t you checking your messages?]
The moment I answered, Maha jumped straight to the point, his voice tense. Messages?
“I’ve been busy working. What is it?”
[Ha… just log in. Now.]
Click.
The call ended.
I stared at the screen for a second before opening the messaging app. There were definitely over a hundred unread messages.
That wasn’t unusual. The guild chat group was always active, even outside the game. But as I started scrolling through them, my expression hardened.
“…What the hell.”
Another guild… what?
I skimmed through the messages at high speed, then immediately shut down my program and logged into Arc Road.
Welcome to Arc Road, a world full of adventure!
[Guild] Ryupe: ohhh
[Guild] Yeoyeorang: you’re here 😭😭😭😭
[Guild] MeowMeowRawr: why are you so late ㅇㅅ'ㅇ
Ignoring the guild chat, I moved to a save point first. Everyone was probably already there anyway.
The screen shifted. The bright city disappeared, replaced by a dark, industrial landscape filled with machines spewing white steam.
The raid entrance of Zakan City.
Among the crowd of players, I spotted members of our guild—and members of Another.
I slowly looked over my guildmates lying dead on the ground, one by one.
A crooked smile spread across my face.
‘These fucking bastards…’
The reason Maha had called me was obvious.
This wasn’t a proper guild PvP match with balanced numbers like before.
This was a one-sided provocation. Practically just PK.
After finishing a raid, our members ran into Another’s guild—and they started it. Threw insults, then attacked out of nowhere when our guys tried to leave for the next run.
Maha had even sent me a video. It was all there.
[All] MovieIsSoSo: Sunday 😭😭
[All] GoodWeather: 😭😭😭😭
[All] sky004: this is so unfair 😭
[All] Astaroth: seriously wtf
[All] Astaroth: I was typing and they just hit me wtf
[All] MeowMeowRawr: those assholes just started beating us 😭
I joined the party immediately and scanned the enemy names.
No ‘heunJeok.’
No NoFuture either.
All unfamiliar names.
After fighting Another for over a year, I knew most of their members. If I didn’t recognize a single one—
‘New recruits.’
The fact that they were acting like this so openly meant one thing.
A declaration of war.
I let out a cold laugh and drew my weapon.
[Party] TodayIsSunday: take positions
My guildmates moved instantly, like they’d been waiting for it. Even the ones who’d stayed dead got up using respawn, chugging potions as they rushed back into position.
Six of us. Nine of them.
Didn’t matter.
Our teamwork wasn’t something that would crumble over a small number gap. And even if it did—I’d make up the difference myself.
[All] Opokjs: lol got beat and called your guild master?
[All] HalfCookedTadpole: not even embarrassed? lmao
[All] IncheonPigeon: legendary
[All] TodayIsSunday: you picked the fight first, why are you whining
[All] TodayIsSunday: what, scared now that I’m here?
[All] TodayIsSunday: then go call your “returned” guild master too
[All] kumayoung: lol
[All] BeautyHunter: acting tough huh lol
[All] zang2213: got any proof you started it? top guild abusing power lmao
[All] TodayIsSunday: yeah, I’ve got proof~
[All] TodayIsSunday: so now I’m gonna beat the shit out of you
I didn’t feel like dragging it out any further.
Activating my buffs, I rushed forward and swung my staff at the one standing at the front.
Crack—!
A red flash burst as the hit connected.
His HP dropped sharply.
About a third in one hit.
Three more like that, and he’d be dead.
Clearly shocked by the damage, he panicked and stumbled back, trying to run.
‘Not happening.’
If we took one down first, we’d have the advantage.
I chased after him, my guildmates right behind me as they unleashed their skills.
【I will protect you all!】
【Looks like a fun hunt is about to begin.】
Sky, our Holy Knight, cast a defense buff.
At the same time, Astaroth, our Infighter, grabbed one of the enemies trying to block my path and slammed him into the ground.
MovieIsSoSo, our Gunslinger, covered me from the side.
With boosted defense, a clear path, and ranged support—
I closed the distance instantly with a dash and struck again.
The tip of my staff drove into his abdomen.
His HP dropped below half.
Realizing he couldn’t run anymore, he chose to attack instead, swinging his sword.
I had already predicted it.
Using a counter skill, I deflected his attack and followed through with the final blow.
[Ugh—!]
Just like I calculated—
Three clean hits.
And he dropped.
The same bastard who’d been talking shit in chat just moments ago.