MAX 5

[Whisper] HappyFeet: JoJo

[Whisper] HappyFeet: You having fun with the game?

What is this now? Han Jiho’s brows furrowed slightly.

“…Happy Feet?”

It was a nickname he had never seen before.

But the word ‘JoJo’ was different. There was only one person who called him JoJo. It was Seo Jaeyoon, who had left for Hawaii for a shoot.

Han Jiho typed a chat with a face full of uncertainty.

[Whisper] HanJiHo98: ?

[Whisper] HanJiHo98: Seo Jae?

[Whisper] HappyFeet: Oh lol you knew right away

As expected, it was Seo Jaeyoon.

[Whisper] HanJiHo98: What the

[Whisper] HanJiHo98: How did you get on? I thought you were busy

[Whisper] HanJiHo98: You said you didn’t have a computer

[Whisper] HappyFeet: Taking a short break hhhh I brought my laptop

[Whisper] HappyFeet: But the specs are so crappy I can’t play, I can barely manage to chat ㅠㅠ

[Whisper] HanJiHo98: You’re something else, really

[Whisper] HappyFeet: hhhhhhhhh

[Whisper] HappyFeet: Where are you at now? You playing alone?

[Whisper] HanJiHo98: No, playing with someone I met in the tutorial

[Whisper] HanJiHo98: I have to go to the Temple or whatever it is now

The place he was heading to with cogus2 now was the abandoned planet ‘Olum.’ Investigating the temple there and finding the entity hidden within was the objective of this quest.

[Whisper] HappyFeet: Wow, already? That’s crazy fast hhhh

[Whisper] HappyFeet: That person is an alt, right?

[Whisper] HanJiHo98: Yup yup hhh

[Whisper] HappyFeet: I knew it hhhh

[Whisper] HappyFeet: Wow, the great Han Jiho is getting a carry

[Party] cogus2: I’m back, thanks for waiting thx thx

[Party] cogus2: Let’s go now gogo

[Whisper] HanJiHo98: k

[Whisper] HappyFeet: ???

[Whisper] HanJiHo98: Ah sry

[Party] HanJiHo98: k

[Whisper] HappyFeet: hhhhhhhhh

Han Jiho ignored Seo Jaeyoon, who was flooding the chat window with ‘hh’ as if something was incredibly funny, and moved to the quest area with cogus2. The abandoned planet ‘Olum’ was a map designed with a background of dense, jungle-like forests.

[Whisper] HappyFeet: How is it now that you’ve tried it?

[Whisper] HanJiHo98: It’s fine

[Whisper] HanJiHo98: Playable

He was still a bit unsure, but it wasn’t that he wasn’t having fun. Aside from the fun of the story or quests, the impact and graphics were excellent, making it pleasing to the eye.

[Whisper] HappyFeet: Oh hhhh see? I told you it would be fun hhhh

[Party] cogus2: Let’s go gogogogo

[Whisper] HappyFeet: Let’s do raids and modes together later, that’s where the real fun is hhh they give lots of rewards too yup

At the mention of raids and modes, he vaguely recalled the things Seo Jaeyoon had rambled on about. To begin with, the reason Seo Jaeyoon recommended this game was because he wanted to try raiding together.

[Whisper] HanJiHo98: ok ok

[Whisper] HanJiHo98: Gonna clear the quest first

[Whisper] HappyFeet: Yup, have fun hhhh

I should look into what those are later. Thinking that, Han Jiho gave a casual reply and followed cogus2 into the temple.

It was right when he returned to the hub after finishing the quest and was receiving his settlement. A chat message from cogus2, who was doing a wobbly dance beside him, popped up.

[Party] cogus2: Ah, 98-nim ㅠㅠ

[Party] cogus2: A friend asked to have dinner so I think I have to go ㅠㅠ

[Party] HanJiHo98: Ah, okay okay

Dinner? At those words, Han Jiho reflexively checked the time. 5:45 PM. He had started the game when it wasn’t even noon, yet time had already flown by like this.

[Party] HanJiHo98: Enjoy your dinner hhh

[Party] cogus2: Okay ㅠㅠ I’m sorry ㅠㅠ

[Party] HanJiHo98: It’s fine

[Party] cogus2: Are you going to keep playing, 98-nim?

[Party] HanJiHo98: No, well

[Party] HanJiHo98: I’m going to eat dinner too

He felt he should take a break since things had turned out this way. Hunger he hadn’t noticed was flooding in with a growl, triggered by cogus2’s chat.

[Party] cogus2: Aha hhh you enjoy a delicious dinner too, 98-nim!

[Party] cogus2: Are you going to play again later?

[Party] HanJiHo98: Um, probably?

[Party] cogus2: About what time will you be back on?

At that question, Han Jiho looked at the clock and thought for a moment before typing on the keyboard. He planned to make do for dinner with a salad from the fridge. And if he went for a workout for about an hour and took a shower, it would likely be past 8:00 PM.

[Party] HanJiHo98: I’m going to work out, so I’ll probably be on after 8:00 PM

[Party] cogus2: Wow, you work out? You must have a nice body hhh

[Party] HanJiHo98: Well, not that nice… hhh

Answering like that, Han Jiho stroked his forearm with an embarrassed face. He had always worked out, but he had never once thought he had a “nice body.” After all, just going to the gym was the extent of it.

[Party] cogus2: hhhhhh be careful while working out and see you then hhh

[Party] HanJiHo98: k hhh bye bye

After exchanging a refreshing farewell with cogus2, he exited the game.

Afterward, he brought out the salad he would eat for dinner and logged into MeTube to search for videos related to EoE. Scrolling down and looking through videos, the one Han Jiho clicked on was a video where a MeTuber introduced the content of Echo of Eternity.

According to the MeTuber’s explanation, Echo of Eternity’s content consisted of a campaign where the main story progressed, along with four major game modes.

Besides those, there were various seasonal contents, quests, and events, but since they weren’t the main ones, he planned to learn about them gradually.

Excluding the campaign, the core of the game was Raids; the PVE mode (Player versus Environment: players fighting monsters) called ‘Tainted Front’; the PVP mode (Player vs Player: players fighting each other directly) called ‘Energy Spike’; and the hybrid mode that combined features of both, ‘Dimensional Collision.’

Among them, the one that piqued Han Jiho’s interest the most was the ‘Raid’ that Seo Jaeyoon had mentioned. Raids were divided into Seasonal Raids that changed every season and Unique Raids which were fixed content.

Generally, raids in known RPG games involved a party composed of many users tackling a boss monster or dungeon, but EoE’s raids were quite different from what he knew.

This was because, along with tackling the boss, solving puzzles on the map or discovering and disabling gimmicks were important points.

Seems interesting.

…Or so he thought.

The streamer in the video emphasized the importance of microphones and began to tell stories about when he acted as a guide for first-timer parties. Most of the stories were about how raids were ruined because newbies who didn’t know anything acted on their own without using a mic.

“…”

A microphone is mandatory?

As soon as he heard that, the interest that had been growing while watching the video vanished as if it had been washed away. If even adding a friend wasn’t easy, using a microphone was out of the question.

But the streamer’s words didn’t end there.

「…Rather than public parties, most cases proceed by forming fixed parties. So, for those who really want to enjoy raids properly, it’s good to join a clan. But actually, since almost all of EoE’s content is focused on party play rather than solo play, joining a clan is essential…」

Han Jiho let out a sigh at the streamer’s words, which repeatedly emphasized joining a clan even after that.

One silver lining was that, as the game’s end-game content, only players who reached the maximum level could play raids. As a low-level player, he couldn’t play even if he wanted to.

In any case, no matter how he looked at it, EoE was not a game for solo players. This was because all modes, except for the Campaign and the PVP mode Energy Spike, semi-forcibly required party play.

Should I join a clan?

Han Jiho thought that as he silently chewed on his salad.

However, the interest that had bloomed was long gone at the mention of microphones and clan joins. Microphones aside, clans or guilds were one of the reasons he hadn’t played MMORPGs for a long time. It was because they were annoying due to having too many things to care about.

Then, cogus2, whom he had played with, suddenly came to mind. He was clearly a veteran player who was raising an alt. So, he would surely be in a clan.

“…”

Should I ask him about clans?

After a moment’s hesitation, Han Jiho put down the chopsticks he was holding. He wondered if there was a need to ask someone he wasn’t even close to. In fact, the feeling of annoyance was greater.

I’ll just ask Seo Jaeyoon later.

Thinking that with a light heart, Han Jiho stood up, picked up his tray, and headed for the kitchen. Since he had finished his salad, it was now time to go work out.