The moment the system alert appeared, Rotten Seed froze in place.
The boss had entered Groggy state.
As soon as the “Groggy” message popped up, all the attention that had lingered on the Dragon Knight vanished—redirected, like nothing had happened, straight back to Rotten Seed.
Right as the party leapt forward, kicking off the ground to charge the boss, glowing magic circles bloomed into the air.
Watching the flashy effects play out, Ye Ubeomjeol reached out again, casting shields to support them.
His first raid in a long time was… genuinely fun.
Almost enough to make him wish it wouldn’t end.
(Dragon Knight) Ye Ubeomjeol:
Nice work, everyone.
Rotten Seed, and even the Round 2 boss Wilt Rose, were cleared in a flash.
Is it just because everyone’s high level?
Normally, Rotten Seed alone would take 30 to 40 minutes. Wilt Rose could stretch into two to three hours if even one person messed up.
But this time? Barely took an hour.
The rewards seem... about the same, maybe.
While comparing the loot with what he used to get before quitting, Ye Uwon glanced at the party chat window.
It was quiet. Still.
Why isn’t anyone saying anything?
Sure, nobody’s obligated to say “GG” or “thanks for the run,” but... these people were especially silent. They didn’t even loot the boss or touch the corpse. Just stood there. Doing nothing.
I don’t think I messed up or anything.
Other than that awkward moment in Round 1 with the unexpected hook, no one had said a word. Ye Uwon replayed the whole thing in his head, just in case. Still nothing.
Anyway, I’ve got a lot to do. Time to head out.
There was a mountain of catch-up waiting for someone who just returned to the game. He needed to check his rewards, maybe skim some strategies for the next Apostle, Maestro.
He exited the party window.
And immediately, a whisper popped up.
(Whisper) no.10:
😭😭😭
It was one of the players from the party.
(Whisper) no.10:
😭Ye Ubeomjeol-nim😭 are you still here??
(Whisper) Ye Ubeomjeol:
Uh… yeah?
(Whisper) no.10:
Phew 😭 oh god 😭 thank goodness
(Whisper) no.10:
We were all in the middle of talking 😭😭 but you left so fast 😭😭
What were they even talking about?
Before he could make sense of it, a notification flared across his guild tab.
[SYSTEM]
You have received a guild invitation from [GaeSae]. Do you accept?
GaeSae. That was the guild tag all the party members had next to their names.
The sudden invite left him briefly stunned. Then he looked above his character’s head.
Right... I don’t have a guild anymore.
Ye Uwon used to be in a guild with Kim Heeyeon and her friends. But while he was away from the game, she must’ve told them they’d broken up. His name was gone from the roster.
A guild wouldn’t be so bad, honestly.
Guilds came with a lot of perks in an MMORPG. Easier to find party members. Access to guild territory where you could buy or craft rare upgrade materials for your gear.
Though honestly, with enough money, you could bypass most of that. That’s why the old Ye Uwon wouldn’t have even considered joining a stranger’s guild.
But now?
[Gisekki]:
@SpiritHasArrivedBowDown / Congrats, Spirit Priest! The highlight of your entire life right there, huh?
[Gisekki]:
@SpiritHasArrivedBowDown / Spirit Association? lol okay bro, is that the official name of your little LARP cult?
[Gisekki]:
@SpiritHasArrivedBowDown / What’s up with your name, anyway? Why is every single one of you named like some weird shrine acolyte? I swear, there’s so many people out here demanding worship, I can’t even find time to raid anymore with all these self-important little gods riding palanquins around. 😂😂
Ye Uwon remembered Gisekki’s earlier chat messages and let out a quiet laugh as he reached for his mouse.
(Guild Notification):
Welcome, Ye Ubeomjeol! Please enjoy your time in our guild!
The name [GaeSae] floated gently above Ye Ubeomjeol’s character.
(Whisper) no.10:
Okay so. Our guild usually ranks really high server-wide! We only use in-game voice chat to communicate, but no pressure—if you’re not comfortable, it’s totally optional!
Also we’ve been looking everywhere for a tank, and honestly after watching you play... I mean we’ve literally never seen a Dragon Knight played like that before. It was insane. You were absolutely incredible. Since you don’t have a guild, if you’d be willing to honor our humble group with your presence, we’d be thrilled to have yo—
(Whisper) no.10:
W-Wait you already accepted???? 😭😭😭
The next whisper hit like a machine gun.
If this was a mistake, it sure didn’t seem like one.
(Whisper) Ye Ubeomjeol:
Would it be okay if I didn’t?
(Whisper) no.10:
😭😭… Wait, what??? 😭
(Whisper) no.10:
Huh? 😭 I’m the one who sent you the invite, what do you mean?? 😭
(Whisper) Ye Ubeomjeol:
Haha, thank you.
(Whisper) no.10:
😭Wait—??? 😭😭That was supposed to be my line 😭😭
So they’re the guild master, huh.
Apparently, this player, no.10, was the master of the GaeSae guild. Judging by their reaction, they had planned to build up to a formal invite—but Ye Uwon had already accepted before they could say anything. Now they were just flailing in confusion.
(Guild Alert):
Ye Ubeomjeol has joined the guild.
The system wasted no time. As soon as he joined, the guild chat popped open.
Feeling like he should at least say hello, Ye Uwon clicked the chat box.
(Guild) WhereTheDPSAt:
BRO THAT WAS FREAKING NASTY. He just laid out the entire boss like a buffet table in front of me!! Wtf???
(Guild) ^Card^:
SHUT UP ALREADY god you talk too damn much like your class is even that impressive 🙄 You spammed chat the whole raid if you type one more thing I swe—
(Guild) WhereTheDPSAt:
oh my god he’s here
Apparently, they’d been chatting the whole time—because the conversation just kept flowing even under the new member notification.
(Guild) LeaveTheHealingToMe:
h-hi welcome!
(Guild) NyamNyami:
omg hi hellooo
(Guild) TrustingTheCactus:
Oh 👀
(Guild) QuengKang:
hihi~
(Guild) WhiteKimchi:
oh dear;; a brand new member, in our doomed little guild? ^^;; you're so promising, what happened to you? ^^;;
(Guild) LifeIsSolo:
has it seriously been like 3 months since our last new member? damn. I’m touched lol
(Guild) QuengKang:
bro the Dragon Knight’s already higher level than you lmaooo
(Guild) LifeIsSolo:
QuengKang meet me outside rn
Looking closer, Ye Uwon realized most of the names were familiar—they were the same people from the raid. So that’s why party chat had been dead quiet the whole time. They’d all been talking here instead.
(Guild) no.10:
Could you come to the guild territory for a sec? 😭
(Guild) Ye Ubeomjeol:
Sure.
Joining a guild unlocked access to shared territory—a special zone where guild members could hang out, farm, craft gear enhancement materials, and more.
Although… my last guild’s territory was tiny, so I barely used it.
Territory size directly affected how many people could benefit from it. And upgrading it wasn’t easy.
You had to win in Territory Wars to expand it.
Guilds with high rankings and large land usually got there by crushing rivals in war events. His old guild barely participated in those, so their land was tiny.
And it was all claimed anyway.
All the perks had already been taken by Kim Heeyeon’s friends, so Ye Uwon had never really gotten to use them.
Because of that, he didn’t expect much from GaeSae’s territory either.
But the moment he entered, his eyes widened.
…Wait, what?
The loading screen took a little longer than expected. And then—
This is the territory?
He scrolled. Zoomed out. Scrolled again.
The land stretched endlessly. He couldn’t even see the edges.
And then he saw the glittering number floating beside the map.
Guild Ranking: #2
This guild was literally ranked second on the entire server.
Compared to the hole-in-the-wall guild he used to be in, this felt unreal.
Just as he was wondering what to do, the one who invited him—no.10—walked up.
(Guild) no.10:
😭😭😭 our humble little guild is lucky to have you, please treat us well 😭😭😭
Ye Uwon looked at the message and thought to himself—
Pretty sure that was supposed to be my line.