Chapter 2
As soon as I realized that my job was a tank, cold sweat began to form on my hands.
It wouldn’t have been so bad if I’d realized it while playing solo, but the problem was that I only realized I was a tank after entering a dungeon.
“Wh-what should I do…”
I felt increasingly tempted to just turn off my computer and never log into the game again, even if it meant disappointing my brother.
Meanwhile, the person who had been typing sharply in chat earlier started pressuring me again.
[Party] HandsomeWhenMasked:
♡♡ I’m a DPS and I’m taking the lead? I’ll die in 2–3 hits, lol.
Ah, ♡♡ hurry up and go.
If you’re planning to quit, you’re dead ♡♡. Don’t you know how hard it is to find another tank?
How did he know exactly what I was thinking… And why the hearts all of a sudden?
If you’re going to curse, then curse. If you’re going to send love, send love. Just pick one. Preferably the latter.
Then one of the two previously silent party members finally spoke up in chat.
[Party] IssaBro:
You’re using general chat, so I’m guessing you’re a newbie ㅇㅅㅇ;;
[Party] HandsomeWhenMasked:
Then why’d you crawl into a dungeon, lol?
[Party] IssaBro:
=ㅂ=;; Wow~ what a nasty attitude, seriouslyㅋ~! This is a main quest dungeon, bro!!
Things were already tense because of me, and now it just got worse because of their back-and-forth. Maybe my brother was right—there really are no normal users in this game.
With trembling hands, I started typing.
[General] Sunya:
I’m sorry… I just started playing today, and I didn’t realize I was a tank… I think I should just leaveㅠ
[Party] HandsomeWhenMasked:
♡♡ lol there are people who start a game without even knowing their class ♡♡
[Party] IssaBro:
It happens~~ㅋ I was the same -ㅅ-?
[Party] HandsomeWhenMasked:
You’re so ♡♡
[Party] IssaBro:
ㅇㅅㅇㅋ
This wasn’t working. I really wanted to run away from this situation.
It’s not even real life—why should I feel so uncomfortable in a game?!
Fine. If I turn off the computer right now, I won’t have to see these people ever again unless I log back in. They don’t know who I am in real life anyway. It might be irresponsible, but I’ll just quit now…
‘Sorry, oppa… I’ll pay back the 100,000 won. As for the item… I don’t know.’
My index finger hovered over the power button.
And just then—one more message popped up from the last silent player in the party.
[Party] Hwanseong:
Sunya-nim
I should’ve ignored it and just logged out. But the chat was normal, not aggressive like “HandsomeWhenMasked,” so I reflexively replied.
[General] Sunya:
Yesㅠ
[Party] Hwanseong:
I’m the healer anyway, and I’ll be supporting you, so just relax and let’s go.
W-Wow… Is this what it feels like when an angel descends from heaven? It felt like there was a radiant light shining behind Hwanseong’s character on my monitor.
[Party] IssaBro:
Ugh~~ㅋ Hwanseong-hyung, why are you talking like that, lol?
IssaBro called him “hyung,” so I guess they’re friends. He seemed to be teasing Hwanseong.
Hwanseong ignored him completely and spoke to me again.
[Party] Hwanseong:
Follow me.
[General] Sunya:
Gasp—yes, yesㅠㅠ…!
Unlike me, wearing ragged tin can-looking armor, Hwanseong was clearly dressed in high-level gear, wielding a shining staff as he led the way.
[Party] Hwanseong:
Among those three monsters, pull any one of them and drag it along.
[General] Sunya:
Pull…?
[Party] HandsomeWhenMasked:
Ha… ♡♡
Why does this “Handsome” guy keep using hearts? It’s kind of creepy.
Hwanseong, possibly sensing my confusion, kindly explained.
Pulling is basically luring enemies. It’s something every tank must know. Hit one, and the rest will notice you. Then you use AoE (area of effect) attacks to keep their aggro (hostility).
The problem was… I didn’t know what an AoE attack was either.
It sounded like a wide-area attack, I guess?
I rushed to open the skill window—something I’d never even looked at before—and started scanning for an AoE skill. My eyes darted over the text like I was cramming for a college entrance exam.
“AOE… AOE…”
After scanning quickly, I finally found a skill:
[Wave of Light] Lv. 19
A massive wave of holy light spreads toward the enemies, dealing damage as it sweeps through them.
Area Effect: Damages all enemies in a straight-line range.
“Got it!”
Right then, another chat popped up.
[Party] IssaBro:
Tank, I’m in so much pain ㅠ^ㅠ!! Save Issa!!
I looked at IssaBro’s health bar and panicked—it was nearly empty. I quickly spammed Wave of Light.
The monsters turned their attention from IssaBro to me. And honestly, it hurt way less when I was the target than when IssaBro had been.
[Party] Hwanseong:
I was healing you. Don’t be so dramatic.
[Party] IssaBro:
Let me be~! Also, I have a questionㅋㅋ!!
[Party] IssaBro:
If the tank fails to hold aggro, the DPS usually gets targeted, right? So why are they all coming after me ㅇㅅㅇ?
What does that even mean?
It didn’t sound like he was blaming me. He didn’t mention the healer, so it probably wasn’t directed at Hwanseong either. That left only one person…
[Party] HandsomeWhenMasked:
So what ♡♡♡♡
It was “HandsomeWhenMasked,” the one who’s been sending hearts non-stop.
[Party] IssaBro:
Haha, people who suck always talk the most~ If your DPS is trash, why even play DPS? Let’s just bring another tank in~~
[Party] HandsomeWhenMasked:
Just go. And tank, you’re not even using your defense skills ㅡㅡ?
“Defense skills…?”
I had barely figured out my AoE skill, and now there was something else? A defense skill?
Up to this point, I had only ever used the default skill assigned to the 1 key to do quests. Figuring out AoE already had me on the edge, and now I had to deal with defense mechanics?
I swear, I’m quitting this game the moment the dungeon ends.
[Party] Hwanseong:
I’m healing anyway, so what’s the problem. Sunya-nim, just keep doing what you’re doing.
[Party] HandsomeWhenMasked:
Whoa, as expected of God-Healer Hwanseong.
[Party] IssaBro:
Wowww, that weak-strong-weak rhythm was sick ㄷㄷ…!
[Party] HandsomeWhenMasked:
Shut your mouth and move. And it’s Handsome, not “average guy.”
[Party] IssaBro:
Says the one who’s been talking the most, so scary =ㅅ=;;
Despite the tension between IssaBro and HandsomeWhenMasked, we somehow managed to finish the dungeon. At one point, I accidentally led us the wrong way and pulled unnecessary monsters, earning me a scolding.
After finally defeating the boss in the last room, I felt tears welling up.
[Party] HandsomeWhenMasked:
Let’s never meet again.
[Party] IssaBro:
Same to you!!
[HandsomeWhenMasked has left the dungeon.]
[IssaBro has left the dungeon.]
I was about to leave and log out too. But before I did, I felt like I should at least thank Hwanseong for helping me.
Thanks to him, I saved my 100,000 won and kept my brother’s item…
[General] Sunya:
Thank you so much, Hwanseong-nim… really, thank you.
After typing that, I left the dungeon.
The sense of liberation washed over me. I closed my eyes and let out a deep sigh.
“Earning 100,000 won is seriously hard…”
This game that used to feel so simple now felt like a series of tough exam questions. I couldn’t believe people actually enjoyed this kind of difficulty.
Just as I was about to turn off the game for real, I heard a new sound—ping!—a chime I hadn’t heard before.
It was a whisper in purple text.
[Whisper] Hwanseong:
Hey.
It was the angel from the dungeon.
I panicked. I didn’t want to ignore the person who had helped me, so I paused and started looking for the whisper reply function.
As if he knew I didn’t know how, another whisper came in.
[Whisper] Hwanseong:
You don’t know how to whisper, huh? Just click my name in chat and select “whisper.”
Following his instructions, I finally figured it out.
[Whisper] Sunya:
Ahh!!
[Whisper] Hwanseong:
Is this your first time playing?
Isn’t it obvious…? Not just this game—this was my first game, period…
[Whisper] Sunya:
Yeahㅠㅠ It’s so hard I think I’ll just quit. I feel like I’ll only cause trouble againㅠㅠ. I only got through it thanks to you, Hwanseong-nim!!
[Whisper] Hwanseong:
Hmm…
He sent a message like he was thinking about something.
I was about to say goodbye and log off when another alert popped up.
This time, it wasn’t a message—it was a system notification.
[You’ve been invited to join the guild ‘V3’. Accept invitation?]
Huh? A guild…?
My eyes widened at the sudden invitation.
[Whisper] Hwanseong:
Hurry up and accept.
But I said I was quitting this game?!
