Chapter 4
[Author: UltimateAlt]
[A newbie joined the V3 Guild full of veterans? (Image attached)]
<Jangsanbeom: Huh? A newbie in that V3 guild?>
<ClockOutClockIn: Could be an alt like you… probably just an alt of a guild member.>
└<UltimateAlt: Nah nah, doesn’t seem like it. They’re chatting in general chat—probably don’t even know how to use guild chat. (Image attached)>
<Jangsanbeom: LOL okay but what’s more surprising than a newbie in V3 is that Hwanseong brought them in. Change the title.>
└<UltimateAlt: What?>
└└<Jangsanbeom: Hwanseong has a friend? That should be the title.>
└└└<PureAndBright: LMAO WTF>
└└└<PrinceHana: LOL please stop 😭>
<QuestSpamQuitter: It’s wild that someone new joined V3, but even wilder that Hwanseong brought them.>
└<PrinceHana: For real.>
<NoobHere: I haven’t been playing long—what’s the big deal about Hwanseong bringing someone in?>
└<UltimateAlt: Because he has no friends.>
<NoobHere: Seriously? No friends? This is an adult game—he never had a single friend even past 20?>
└<PrinceHana: Noobs are scarier. That attack power, wow.>
└<Haryeong: As far as I know, none.>
└<PureAndBright: There was a V3 guild meetup, and someone posted a recap saying Hwanseong’s phone looked brand new—like he had no contacts. That’s when the rumors started.>
<Birista: Also, that post said his in-game tone and personality were the exact same as real life.>
<Haryeong: If that’s true, it’s a miracle he has any friends. He’s the king of being rude and dismissive.>
<PureAndBright: RIP to Sunya who’s friends with that Hwanseong…>
<Birista: But didn’t that recap also say Hwanseong was super handsome?>
└<Haryeong: LOL yeah right. If he was, he’d show his face. He never streams with a cam—100% BS.>
└└<IfYouLogInTheyWillCome: Yo Haryeong, you’ve been shading Hwanseong nonstop—jealous much?>
└└└<Birista: Haryeong’s just salty. He’s the #2 healer behind Hwanseong. Ignore him.>
<GreekYogurt: If that recap’s true—top-tier gaming skills, good looks… if he’s rich too, he’s basically a mythical creature.>
└<Birista: Isn’t he actually rich though?>
└└<GreekYogurt: OMG wait Hwanseong is hyung? I’m his little bro IRL!>
<Haryeong: Facts: no face reveal, no proof of wealth = fake. Case closed.>
└<Birista: Spoken like a true #2 healer who can’t beat Hwanseong. So petty.>
└└<Haryeong: Why do you like him so much? You into him or something? 😂>
<UltimateAlt: How did this turn into a fight in my post… Hwanseong really has the power to create diehard fans and haters. LSP (Legendary Social Phenomenon).>
It was inevitable that UltimateAlt’s post would hit the Hot Board that day. At first, everyone was freaking out about the new V3 member, but it quickly turned into a heated debate about Hwanseong.
Of course, Haeya knew none of this…
The moment I joined the guild, the chat blew up. IssaHyung, who I saw earlier in the dungeon, greeted me warmly. But most of the chat was filled with variations of “Who are you?”
[Guild] IssaHyung: Sunya-nim, we’re all in front of the guild house right now! Come join us ㅎㅁㅎ)// Time to meet the guildies~~!!
[Guild] CheonmaDaeje: More importantly, Sunya—are you a young lord? Or lady? Who exactly are you…?
[Guild] KimSooki: NO YOU ♥♥ idiots, that’s not the problem! They said Hwanseong brought them. He must’ve been hacked!
KimSooki kept spamming hearts and rambling on, but everyone ignored him like they couldn’t see his messages.
Apparently, this wasn’t the first time—he muttered “These punks ignoring me again?” and said he was off to smash some bosses to cool down, telling everyone not to bother him.
[Guild] IssaHyung: Have we ever talked to Sooki-hyung? ㅇㅁㅇ…?
[Guild] Hoeh: Not a chance.
[Guild] CheonmaDaeje: I don’t recall such an event.
[Guild] KimSooki: ♥♥♥♥ you all.
[Guild] Hoeh: LOL
Despite everyone clearly ignoring him, KimSooki still responded sweetly with hearts.
“He seems like a nice guy.”
He always added two or three hearts per message. That earlier “♥♥♥♥ you all” probably meant “my little lovebugs.”
His tone was a bit rough, but even I, a total stranger, could tell he really cared about the guild.
[Guild] IssaHyung: Sunya-nim, come quickly >ㅂ<)//!!
And as I thought earlier in the dungeon, IssaHyung seemed super friendly and upbeat.
“But… how do I get to the guild house?”
Finding my DPS role earlier was just a matter of opening the skill menu. But I had no clue how to find the guild house.
As if reading my mind, Hwanseong told me to open the teleport window and click “Guild – Welcome to Busan” at the bottom.
“Welcome to Busan…? Wait, like the real city in South Korea?”
All the zone names so far had been fantasy-style, so this one caught me off guard. But Hwanseong was already teleporting, so I quickly clicked and followed.
The screen darkened, then lit up again to show a small house and the guild members gathered around. Everyone had shiny weapons, clearly veterans compared to me.
[Guild] IssaHyung: Welcome, Sunya-nim!! To our guild >ㅁ<))/
[Guild] Sunya: Oh! Nice to meet you all…! ㅠ
IssaHyung started throwing flower petals around my character.
Then, a character jumped wildly over to me. It looked like a child wearing traditional Asian clothing—a boy, with hair down to his thighs.
The small, cute boyish character looked up at mine, and honestly, he was adorable.
Above his head: “CheonmaDaeje”.
I was surprised. Judging by the way he typed, I expected a middle-aged man character.
[Guild] CheonmaDaeje: Since I don’t know your gender, I’ll call you “Young Hero.”
[Guild] CheonmaDaeje: Surprised this old man has a child avatar, weren’t you?
Whoa… is he psychic?
[Guild] Sunya: OMG, how did you know…
[Guild] KimSooki: Cheonma’s doing that RP shtick again ♥
CheonmaDaeje chuckled and explained that true martial arts masters never age—so he kept a youthful appearance.
Honestly, he seemed super dedicated to his character. I almost clapped for him.
But…
This game’s setting is Western fantasy, right? A martial arts master feels like a massive lore break.
Feels like a magical girl anime where some random middle-aged dude shows up out of nowhere…
[Guild] Hoeh: Hello.
[Guild] Sunya: Oh, hello…!
Hoeh’s avatar was the complete opposite—muscular male with a glowing weapon, wearing a tank top that looked like a stretched-out dad shirt.
“Are these people okay…?”
I couldn’t tell if the players were weird or if this was just how online games worked.
[Guild] IssaHyung: We have more guildies, but it’s the off-season right now ㅠ0ㅠ~~!
[Guild] KimSooki: Hey WTF I haven’t said hi yet!
[Guild] IssaHyung: But if we post in the group chat that Hwanseong brought a newbie, they’ll all log in instantly ㅎvㅎ!
[Guild] KimSooki: 222 wait pls; I’m on boss #3 rn
[Guild] KimSooki: So wait for me
[Guild] IssaHyung: Oh right, we’re all on “DASU Code” right now. Wanna join? You can just listen!
[Guild] Sunya: DASU Code…?
[Guild] KimSooki: Issa you ♥♥♥ idiot
What the heck is DASU Code? And what does “you can just listen” mean?
[Guild] IssaHyung: It’s voice chat!! We mostly use DASU Code to talk while playing ㅎㅎ
Ah, so they’ve been chatting through voice call this whole time… and typing just for me.
I felt a wave of emotion.
I thought this game was full of weirdos like my brother, but maybe he was the weird one.
[Guild] Sunya: Oh, yes pleaseㅠ…! I’d love to join!
IssaHyung sent me a link. I downloaded DASU Code, pasted the link, and joined the guild’s voice channel.
Before entering, it asked me to type a name, so I entered “Yoon Haeya.”
But then—problem.
“I can’t hear anyone?”
I expected to hear their voices right away, but it was just images and chat.
The latest chat was a system message saying “Yoon Haeya has joined! Please welcome them with applause!”
I was still confused when a message popped up—from Hwanseong, who hadn’t said a word since adding me to the guild…
