“A lackey?”
And what the hell kind of interrogation line was that, like I’m some villain?”
“N-no… I’m not?”
Ye Uwon floundered, flustered as he denied it. But that only made him look more suspicious.
- “Why the question mark?”
“I swear I’m not. Don’t you remember that ‘ServeTheSpirit’—don’t you remember the username?”
- “Huh… figures. That’s your main’s nickname? You really were the Spirit Priest’s lackey, huh, you bastard.”
Still not catching on to what Gisekki was going on about, Ye Uwon grew aggrieved.
“I told you I’m not. I swear, I think Dragon Knights are the most fun class in the world.”
Desperate, Ye Uwon blurted it out.
Though even as he said it, he realized that wasn’t exactly solid proof and rushed to think of something else to add—
- “…Yeah, fuck. Kinda figured.”
But Gisekki agreed immediately, making it all pointless.
You’d think he’d be glad not to have to defend himself anymore, but Ye Uwon couldn’t help but feel vaguely offended.
He exhaled softly, calming himself, then asked in a quieter tone:
“Gisekki-nim. You remember the day you fought with the Spirit Priest in party chat, right?”
- “What about i—oh.”
Only then did Gisekki seem to recall that the Priest he fought with had the username ‘ServeTheSpirit’.
Ye Uwon leaned back slightly in his chair and said,
“In situations like that, anyone can imagine getting into a fight. But actually doing it… that’s different.”
He stared fixedly at Gisekki’s character.
Just as he was watching Gisekki’s character, it felt like Gisekki was watching him in turn.
“That kind of thing... isn’t easy.”
Gisekki said nothing, but Ye Uwon just quietly voiced his own thoughts.
“Isn’t that the kind of person you’d become a fan of?”
At that moment, he heard the sound of someone inhaling on the other end.
But before Ye Uwon could say anything more, a ding echoed in his ears.
Ye Uwon sat up and looked toward the voice room—only to find he was already alone.
Gisekki (Guild Officer) has logged out.
“…What.”
He could’ve at least said something before leaving.
Ye Uwon stared at the screen in disbelief and tilted his head slightly. Then he yawned and logged off.
Weirdly enough, his body, which had felt fine earlier, was now suddenly overwhelmed with sleepiness.
****
Ye Uwon spent the entire day thinking.
(General) Gisekki: The fuck are you lookin’ at
Had he done something really wrong back in that voice room?
Otherwise, why would Gisekki—who usually only logged in at night—suddenly show up in broad daylight?
(General) YeUbeomjeol: Uh, that’s my limestone…
(General) Gisekki: What, is there some rule about who hits what
(General) Gisekki: It’s all nature’s property anyway
...Why does he keep interrupting my limestone gathering?
Sure, anyone can mine limestone. It’s used for repairing gear or crafting interior decor.
But still—
(General) YeUbeomjeol: ..? Gisekki-nim, are you collecting cacti too?
(General) Gisekki: yeah
(General) Gisekki: I need ‘em
…Why go so far as to collect even the cacti, which are only used by newbies?
“Is he trying to make a cactus mirror too?”
That item isn’t even popular. Why?
On top of that, his route kept overlapping with Ye Uwon’s so much that he only managed to collect 5 out of the 10 cacti he needed.
(General) YeUbeomjeol: I also need a lot of cacti, so I’ll just gather in another channel.
He meant it. He thought he’d just switch to another channel.
(General) Gisekki: lol shut up you’re slow as fuck
Gisekki-nim has sent you a party invite.
(General) Gisekki: why not just gather together? lmao
…Huh?
Ye Uwon stared at the party invite, flustered.
He was so caught off guard, it didn’t even register that this was Gisekki’s first ever voluntary invite. Because—
“Item drops aren’t shared in parties, though.”
When gathering, experience is shared in a party, but items aren’t. Which means there’s absolutely no reason to form a party right now unless they’re farming XP.
In fact, staying in the same space just makes it harder to gather.
(General) Gisekki: what, not accepting?
But Gisekki was still standing in front of him, like he was doing him a favor, so Ye Uwon could only think:
“I must’ve done something again.”
Clearly, Gisekki had found a new way to mess with him.
It was obvious.
“But what did I do?”
He thought back to his past month of following Gisekki around. To be honest, even Ye Uwon himself could think of a few things.
But the sudden change in behavior meant last night’s voice chat must have been the trigger.
Ye Uwon tried to recall what he’d said—
(General) Gisekki: hurry up ——
(General) Gisekki: my arm’s falling off;
—but Gisekki didn’t even give him time to think, pestering him relentlessly. When the first invite timed out, he just kept sending new ones like a man possessed.
Gisekki-nim has sent you a party invite.
Gisekki-nim has sent you a party invite.
Gisekki-nim has sent you a party invite.
Ye Uwon couldn’t withstand the badgering any longer and finally accepted the invite.
Party
During raids, the party window was always filled with six names. But now, it was just him and Gisekki.
He’d never imagined a day would come when the two of them would be in a party alone. Staring at the party window with a strange feeling, Ye Uwon looked over at Gisekki.
As soon as Ye Uwon accepted the invite, Gisekki began ruthlessly tearing into the cactus heads in front of him.
The headless cacti left in his wake stuck eerily out of the ground. And the problem was—his speed. It was fast enough to make you wonder if he was using a drill.
“What the—? There’s nothing left for me to gather.”
Ye Uwon stared blankly at the empty cactus patch.
At that speed, it looked like Gisekki was even using a speed-boost potion to gather faster.
“Is this for real...?”
Was his grudge against me really this deep?
Ye Uwon quietly retreated to the far-left corner of the field. That patch still had a few cacti left.
“…?”
But Ye Uwon was startled again.
The moment he reached out to pick one, a dark shadow flashed in front of him, and the cactus head disappeared.
He turned stiffly to the side and saw that Gisekki—who had just been way off at the far end—was now standing right next to him.
“He’s like a fucking locust.”
What’s the difference between a locust that leaves nothing behind and Gisekki?
Ye Uwon, who usually valued efficiency, thought he’d honestly prefer if Gisekki just cursed at him directly. Staring dumbfounded at this cactus-locust, Ye Uwon came to a decision.
“This won’t do. If this keeps up, I’ll be gathering cacti all day.”
Time to leave the party and switch channels.
Just as he was about to click the “Leave Party” button, Gisekki suddenly typed:
(Party) Gisekki: why lol
(Party) Gisekki: feeling grateful? lmao
Ye Uwon blinked in confusion.
(Party) Gisekki: got a fuckton of cacti, didn’t you? lol
(Party) Gisekki: totally different league from slowass Dragon Knights lol
They say when you’re too stunned, you can’t say anything. That was exactly Ye Uwon now.
His shovel-wielding Dragon Knight just stood there, blankly staring at the snickering Necromancer.
Tilting his head, Ye Uwon noticed Gisekki’s gathering level.
“Level 3?”
While Ye Uwon’s gathering level was nearly maxed at 49, Gisekki’s was basically at beginner level.
It started to make sense.
He must’ve assumed that the number of cacti gathered would be shared in the party.
“Wait… was he seriously trying to help me?”
With that in mind, Gisekki’s bizarre actions started to make some kind of sense.
But there was still one confusing part—why would Gisekki want to help him?
“Was he… actually grateful about the other day?”
But if you’re grateful, you just say “thanks.” Who expresses it by… gathering cacti together?
To someone like Ye Uwon, who grew up taught that honesty was a virtue, this was a baffling form of appreciation.
(Party) YeUbeomjeol: Uh
More than anything, this didn’t feel like helping—it felt like harassment.
Determined to clarify, Ye Uwon typed:
(Party) YeUbeomjeol: Are you… trying to help me, by any chance?
(Party) Gisekki: fuck no
(Party) Gisekki: why the hell would I? lol
(Party) Gisekki: you nuts lol
The reply came in rapid-fire, all within three seconds.