Vol 1 Ch 14

We kept running and eventually came across something like a castle gate. It had the aura of ‘Opening this will be a disaster.’

 

“It looks like a bonus gate.”

 

“Really? But something feels off.”

 

We stared at the gate. I suggested we just pass by, but Moment and Human ignored me.

 

“Hmm. The bulletin board said that clearing these things gives you loot and sometimes rare items.”

 

“Ah. I heard something like that.”

 

Sunshine Angel, listening to their conversation, curiously scanned the gate.

 

It’s always the one crazy person in the group that causes trouble for everyone. Like in zombie movies, when someone says, ‘Don’t provoke them unnecessarily,’ one person always goes up to them, gets bitten, hides their wound, and eventually, the whole group is wiped out.

 

And there was one person who was about to create such a situation.

 

‘Moment.’

 

So, I grabbed him and pleaded with him to just go, but suddenly, flames erupted all over Moment’s body.

 

“If I defeat this, will you link with me?”

 

“No. I won’t even if you defeat it. So, let’s just go.”

 

Please. My level is almost 50; let’s stop this nonsense.

 

But even though I wanted to hold him back, the heat was too intense to hold on for long. It wasn’t as hot as the americano I drank this morning, like ‘Ouch, hot!’, but holding on for too long made my fingertips tingle.

 

“No, I’m just saying let’s go!”

 

“Don’t tell me you think I can’t defeat it? You don’t trust me?”

 

“It’s not that…!”

 

Despite my protests, Moment reached out to touch the gate.

 

“Ugh, hic…!”

 

However, Sunshine Angel’s surprise at an ant approaching him and falling backward happened faster than Moment opening the gate.

 

Creeeak—.

 

As he fell back, he braced himself against the wall, but it was the door, not the wall. He seemed to have leaned on it only slightly, but the massive gate opened effortlessly.

 

Seriously, shouldn’t a gate like this require all four party members to open it simultaneously? I cursed inwardly, wondering if the game was made so carelessly. But seeing how easily it opened, I thought maybe the boss wouldn’t be that tough. With that thought, I entered.

 

It was a space filled with fog, just like before. However, the floor was marble, making it feel like we had entered a building rather than a forest. For now, the guide, me, and Sunshine Angel waited in a corner, while Moment and Human walked ahead. As they disappeared into the fog, I cast a shield on them, just in case.

 

Amidst the thick fog, Moment’s flames were visible. Human’s water pillars appeared sporadically, and far away, what seemed to be the boss shot blue beams in various directions. It looked like lightning striking through clouds.

 

Suddenly, I heard their confused voices.

 

“…ShutUp?”

 

“Hey, Jun-ah, why are you here?”

 

“What? I just created a dungeon and entered.”

 

Just then, the fog cleared, and the real ShutUp appeared. As their words suggested, ShutUp’s name was checked in red. Just like a boss monster. Due to the Elf’s Breath Ring’s effect, angelic wings spread wide behind ShutUp.

 

“What the? What’s going on?”

 

I approached and joined their conversation.

 

ShutUp reached out to me. However, despite being partners, meeting as enemies inside the dungeon meant my HP decreased the moment ShutUp’s electricity touched me.

 

“I don’t understand what’s happening…”

 

Sunshine Angel also came closer and stared blankly at ShutUp. Panicked, unable to even think of fighting, a guide message appeared in the center of the hall.

 

<<If combat does not commence within 3 minutes, all will be processed as deceased.>>

 

A supplementary explanation kindly stated, <<Upon death, items may be lost, and a portion of experience will be deducted.>> This meant we could lose items and lose levels.

 

ShutUp was indeed a formidable opponent, but this was a 4-on-1 situation. No, honestly, Sunshine Angel and I were practically non-existent. However, with Human, who was evenly matched with ShutUp, and Moment, our side was sure to win.

 

“You should sacrifice yourself for the greater good.”

 

“Why should I?”

 

Human offered friendly advice, but ShutUp naturally retorted sarcastically. When Moment asked if he wanted his partner to lose levels when he was here, the ill-natured ShutUp replied that linking up felt the same regardless, so it wasn’t a big deal.

 

Hearing such words from someone who had treated me like a mere bystander earlier that day, completely captivated by that shiny guy, ignited my competitive spirit.

 

“Moment.”

 

“Yes, Gentle?”

 

“If you kill ShutUp, I’ll hold your hand and link with you.”

 

“Really?”

 

At my words, Moment smiled gleefully, while ShutUp glared at Moment beside him with a fury that suggested he might stab him with his spear at any moment.

 

“Hey, are you crazy? Do you want to die?”

 

“You have no intention of losing to us right now. So, what choice do we have? Either die or get stomped.”

 

ShutUp’s eyes now blazed with blue electricity. Sunshine Angel watched this scene with his hands clasped in a prayer pose.

 

“Wow… That’s cool.”

 

Seriously, why was he finding the person who had just declared war on us, threatening to kill us, so cool? Sunshine Angel wasn’t normal either.

 

Not getting the loot. Well, I could understand that. But losing levels was unacceptable.

 

“You have to win, okay?”

 

“Who are you to grab him!”

 

As I said that, grabbing Moment’s shoulder, ShutUp snapped again. It didn’t make sense that he was obsessed with me, his game partner, when he was having a good time with a handsome guy in reality.

 

<<All will be processed as deceased in 10 seconds.>>

 

Another warning message appeared. Human, who had been standing silently, was now summoning a water pillar behind ShutUp, preparing to strike.

 

Thump—!

 

ShutUp narrowly dodged the attack and cursed at Human, but Human pretended not to hear and swung his whip near ShutUp’s ankles. As a result, water pooled thinly on the marble floor.

 

I had a very bad feeling about this, so I grabbed Sunshine Angel’s wrist and took refuge on a nearby statue. As expected, whenever ShutUp threw electric spears at Moment and Human, they struck the floor, and micro-currents flowed through the water.

 

“This is brutal.”

 

“If we had stayed there, we both would have been electrocuted.”

 

It seemed Sunshine Angel and I were the only ones who avoided electrocution, as Human and Moment were floating in the air. I knew Psychics could fly, but it felt so unfair at times like this. Having to be careful about electrocution in a game, just like in reality…

 

“This dirty game world.”

 

Sunshine Angel chimed in with “Yeah, yeah” in response to my grumbling. I checked the cooldown for Relax; it still had 5 minutes left. Sunshine Angel was periodically supplying Rapid and Healing to Human and Moment.

 

Since ShutUp hadn’t linked up recently, I assumed his PG had accumulated enough that he wouldn’t use major skills. But… he summoned a waterfall of lightning, just as expected.

 

“That’s a waste of money.”

 

He must have lowered his PG with paid items. Otherwise, he wouldn’t use skills like that.

 

“Huh?”

 

But something felt strange.

 

If he was evenly matched with Moment, then in a 2-on-1 situation, this PK should have ended quickly. Strangely, even with Moment and Human combined, they were struggling.

 

Why? Puzzled, I checked the partner window…

 

“Ha! No way!”

 

I could clearly see ShutUp’s PG rising by 20 percent, but it was slowly decreasing. Despite him continuously using minor skills, it had actually gone down to 10 percent.

 

“Human, Moment, this is weird. ShutUp is continuously using skills, but his PG is going down.”

 

“What?”

 

“This damn…”

 

As expected, I knew he wouldn’t fight normally, but for the sake of fairness, the game had given him a cheat code against a player fighting alone. Even the confident Moment was momentarily flustered and was knocked back by a thunder orb thrown by ShutUp.

 

Boom!

 

The ground vibrated, and the water pooled on the floor rippled. It was like being in a bowl filled to the brim. Despite Moment and Human unleashing skills at ShutUp, they were at a stalemate.Would it have been better if Moment and Human’s attributes had been compatible? Even when Moment used his skill, the water pooled on the ground, quickly extinguishing the flames. Because of this, he couldn’t form a lava zone like he did when chasing the ants earlier.

 

Still, despite the lack of compatibility, the two worked quite well together. Human summoned a water pillar to make ShutUp dodge to one side, while Moment simultaneously placed Fire Ring to trap ShutUp like a snare.

 

The problem was, even though they trapped him… Perhaps because he could use his abilities infinitely, ShutUp unleashed his Thunder Protection Shield to its maximum. Fire and electricity met with a sizzle, creating a dazzling spectacle before my eyes.

 

The massive lights that clashed with blinding intensity momentarily separated, and ShutUp bounced off Fire Ring’s snare like a superball. I used Relax to lower both of their PG and cast a shield on them.

 

However, when even their combined efforts yielded no significant results, both Human and Moment were exhausted. As they stood in a standoff, skills held in their hands, ShutUp made a proposal.

 

“If Gentle promises to link willingly, I might lose.”

 

Right, I thought, rather than lose levels, I’ll link one last time and then cleanly transfer servers. With that in mind, I stepped down from the statue and walked towards them.

 

Beside the relaxed ShutUp, Moment casually spun Fire Ring around, sneering.

 

“I don’t like that.”

 

There was no need to provoke him intentionally. I quickly ran through the splashing water and stood between the two of them.

 

“I’ll just sacrifice myself. Since I’m partners with him anyway, linking isn’t that difficult.”

 

Moment stroked his chin and subtly glanced behind ShutUp. I noticed his gaze meant Human and Moment intended to capture ShutUp during this conversation. I acted a bit harder.

 

“I’m fine. So don’t fight anymore. ShutUp, hold my hand.”

 

“Trying to get by with just holding hands? Link properly. Otherwise, I won’t.”

 

“Alright. Alright, just hold my hand for now.”

 

As I took a step closer and extended my hand, ShutUp erased his Thunder Protection Shield and approached, clasping my hands.

 

It was as if he had thrown off his armor to prevent me from being harmed by the electricity. Anyone watching might have thought him a devoted lover, but knowing his true nature, I wasn’t moved. Moment stood with his hands behind his back, moving his fingers to control Fire Ring.

 

Meanwhile, Human, who had crept behind ShutUp, was quietly summoning a water pillar. Bars of water, capable of trapping only one person, were formed. If trapped within, even ShutUp wouldn’t be able to easily use his Thunder skill.

 

But just as it was about to be placed over his head, Sunshine Angel screamed.

 

“ShutUp-nim! Be careful!”

 

ShutUp, who had been holding my hand, rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding the water prison. Everyone turned their resentful gazes towards Sunshine Angel.

 

“Hey! You damn fool!”

 

“Who brought that guy?!”

 

“Sigh, this is why we don’t accept newbies.”

 

Everyone said something to him. Sunshine Angel, as an excuse, rambled about why he saved ShutUp.

 

“I owe him a debt.”

 

“Then, what about me!?”

 

Didn’t I owe you a debt? The staff and robe you’re holding now are all from me. Yet, he only blushed at ShutUp.

 

Could it be…

 

“Is the Psychic who saved you in the beginner zone him?”

 

“Yes.”

 

Then, I saw him wave at ShutUp. ShutUp looked at him with an expression he’d never seen before and chuckled.

 

That’s right. Because of this newly met newbie, we missed the chance to defeat ShutUp and are now on the verge of death. I proposed linking to ShutUp again, but he just snorted.

 

“What, trying to betray us again?”

 

Now, ShutUp looked down at us from the air with an expression that said, ‘There will be no mercy.’ He was summoning an electric sphere above his head, large enough to encompass this entire space.

 

I wondered if the Earth was only that big. When faced with an unreal situation, absurd imaginations arise. Thoughts like, ‘I’m going to become electric fried chicken like this,’ or ‘Electric fried chicken with beer is delicious.’

 

ShutUp swung his arm widely towards us. A blinding white light rapidly approached my vision, and when I opened my eyes, we had all been ejected from the dungeon.

 

<<Your level has decreased by ‘1’ due to death.>>

 

<<‘Heart Staff’ has been lost.>>

 

As expected, ShutUp was merciless. I didn’t care much about the Heart Staff since I didn’t particularly like it, but the level decrease truly pained me.

 

Looking beside me, Human and Moment’s weapons were intact. However, Human had dropped his belt, and Moment said his gloves were gone. Sunshine Angel, having little to lose as a beginner, seemed to have lost his robe and was only wearing pants. If I had my way, I would have snatched the wooden staff he was holding and broken it. Under the glares of the three of us, Sunshine Angel bowed his head.

 

“I’m sorry…”

 

“Is an apology going to fix this?”

 

It was the first time I’d seen Human angry. Moment, as if he didn’t even want to receive an apology, ignored him and approached me.

 

“Link with me.”

 

Seeing Moment make a pathetic face, I remembered ShutUp’s warning. The words he said about never linking with anyone else.

 

What gives him the right to tell me what to do.

 

“Fine. Let’s hold hands.”

 

As I said that and extended my hand to take his, my nape was suddenly grabbed, and I was pulled backward.

 

“Where do you think you’re going?”

 

As ShutUp appeared near us, Sunshine Angel’s dejected expression lifted, and he stood beside ShutUp. ShutUp briefly thanked him and praised him, causing his face to blush again.

 

ShutUp opened a portal and tried to force me in. At that moment, sreung— Moment’s Fire Ring grazed ShutUp’s neck. It was a moment where his head could have been severed.

 

“I was first.”

 

“He’s my partner.”

 

“We ended in a draw last time, shall we have another round here?”

 

“The guy who just died to me is talking too much.”

 

As a confrontation that seemed like it would lead to a second round began, people started gathering. It was truly embarrassing. I wanted to stop experiencing such situations, so I quickly squeezed between the two.

 

“Stop! Don’t fight.”

 

Why were the two of them fighting like this? I had no popularity in real life, but my charm stat was unusually high in this game, drawing unwanted attention. Today, ShutUp was annoying, both in-game and in reality.

 

“ShutUp-nim. May I link with you?”