Chapter 5: Carried by a God, Rejected by a Guild

Here’s how I understood Ban-ye’s movements:

Run up the wall and jump exactly four times. This would aggro all the flying monsters in the stage. And when the entire sky was filled with those monsters, Ban-ye would land back on the ground.

Ban-ye’s class was [Mage], a magic user. They changed their staff from green to purple and used a skill called [Taming], which caused all the flying monsters to obediently land in place.

Then, Ban-ye told me to hit each monster once.

[Party][Ban-ye] If I hit them, they’ll die, so go first.

[Party][Ah-ang] Yes!

So, all I had to do was hit each stationary monster once. Even then, the aggro didn’t break.

After I hit each monster, Ban-ye would slam their staff into the ground, and the maximum damage of ‘999,999,999’ would appear over the monsters’ heads—bam, bam, bam—and they would all collapse.

It was the first time I had seen such a sight, and my heart swelled with awe.

[Party][Ah-ang] Are you really Rank 3?

[Party][Ah-ang] There can’t be two people stronger than you.

[Party][Ban-ye] Lol

[Party][Ban-ye] Rankings aren’t based on strength.

[Party][Ah-ang] Then what are they based on?

[Party][Ban-ye] Why are you asking? Haha Just attack.

[Party][Ah-ang] Please tell me! 

[Party][Ban-ye] The rankings are based on who reached max level first. DPS (Damage Per Second) doesn’t matter.

Ban-ye, after saying so primly, continued to gather the monsters’ aggro so I could hit them easily, then unleash explosive damage to finish them off. It was a clean carry, a world away from HellTour’s.

Every time Ban-ye cleared a stage, I sang their praises.

[Party][Ah-ang] I can’t believe this speed is possible;

[Party][Ah-ang] The monsters are like cotton candy, just melting away.

[Party][Ah-ang] You’re going easy on them, right? How much faster are you when you’re serious?

Ban-ye just laughed as if finding my words amusing. I hadn’t meant it as a joke, but I felt a sense of pride anyway.

Just like that, Ban-ye carried me through two CR runs without asking for any payment.

I was impressed by Ban-ye’s skill and character.

[Party][Ah-ang] Thank you so much ! You’re the best.

[‘Ban-ye’ has left the party.]

Even though they left the party without a word, I still adored them. I was so lucky that Ban-ye had accepted my friend request.

After that, I would call for Ban-ye every time I logged in.

Ban-ye seemed busy and didn’t reply often, but sometimes they would carry me like today, and exchange a few words.

So, I started buying them cash shop items as a token of my gratitude. After I started doing that, the time it took for Ban-ye to reply gradually decreased.

[Friend][Ah-ang] What are you doing, Ban-ye? Haha

[Friend][Ban-ye] Playing Chaos Online.

[Friend][Ah-ang] Wanna play together?

[Friend][Ban-ye] No

Rejected again, but it had already been a month since I transferred servers.

Ban-ye hadn’t removed me as a friend and always replied eventually. And even though they acted cold, they always played with me at least once a day.

I was crafting by myself and, after about an hour, decided to message Ban-ye again. (If I contacted them too frequently, they would suddenly curse at me without any context.)

[Friend][Ah-ang] Ban-ye~

[Friend][Ban-ye] 15 minutes

[Friend][Ah-ang] Hehe

That meant they could play with me in 15 minutes.

I checked the time and saw that it would be 37 minutes later. I set my crafting to work and headed to town to check my auction house mail.

“Whoa.”

And… there I spotted the current Rank 1 player, Haneul!

I was so surprised that I took a screenshot. Haneul was surrounded by people who, like me, seemed amazed to see them.

On a whim, I clicked on Haneul and pressed the add friend button.

[‘Haneul’ is not currently accepting friend requests.]

“Darn…”

Unfortunately, Haneul didn’t have friend requests enabled.

However, they seemed to have received a notification that someone had sent them a friend request, because Haneul, adorned with giant wings, started to move around.

I followed them around. Haneul seemed to sense me trailing behind and stopped to look back.

Thinking this was my chance, I quickly spoke to them.

[Ah-ang] Haneul, I’m a fan! Haha

[Haneul] Thanks. Haha

Haneul, perhaps with a good sense of fan service, winked at me.

Overwhelmed, I spammed the [Greet] and [Lovely Heart] emotes. Haneul reciprocated with the [Greet] emote.

How could they be so angelic?

I mustered the courage and asked Haneul to add me as a friend.

[Ah-ang] Haneul, can I add you as a friend?

[Haneul] Sorry haha. My friend list is full. 

[Ah-ang] Can’t you remove just one person? 

[Haneul] No , They’re all close acquaintance.

[Haneul’s Sunflower] LOL

[Under Haneul’s Sky] LOL

[Haneul Haneul] This person is hilarious, LOL

Haneul’s guildmates surrounded me and laughed, but I didn’t mind. Well, they weren’t rankers anyway…

Just then, Ban-ye spoke to me through the friend chat.

[Friend][Ban-ye] What are you doing?

I quickly flattered them.

[Friend][Ah-ang] Thinking about you lol

[Friend][Ban-ye] Really?

[Friend][Ban-ye] Lol

And the moment I said that, I saw Ban-ye standing right behind Haneul’s giant angel wings.

What? When did they get here?

I was startled but, without showing it, ran over to Ban-ye. And I boasted about our friendship in the global chat.

[Ah-ang] Ban-ye!

However, Ban-ye didn’t react.

I sat next to Ban-ye, who had suddenly gone AFK, then lay down, and tried talking to them several times, but they remained silent. I was a little disappointed, but Ban-ye often went AFK like this.

Then, while ignoring me in the global chat, Ban-ye messaged me through the friend chat.

[Friend][Ban-ye] I know you are lol

[Friend][Ban-ye] lol

[Ah-ang] What are you doing?!

But as soon as I spoke in the global chat, they went silent again.

I realized that Ban-ye was now ignoring me and felt hurt. I felt a little gloomy. I thought Ban-ye was on my side…

Then, Ban-ye spoke to me in the global chat.

[Ban-ye] Ah-ang, wanna join our guild?

[Ah-ang] Really?

[Ah-ang] Yes!

My hurt feelings from moments ago melted away. I hurriedly urged them on, worried they might say they were joking.

[Ah-ang] Invite me quickly!

Actually, after meeting Ban-ye on this server, I had become interested in their guild, Slaughter. I liked Ban-ye, and I wanted to join the guild they were in.

The name Slaughter was really cool, and when I searched for them in the rankings, I was envious that they were the #1 guild on the server. (I decided to ignore the posts on the forum about them, just like I did with Ban-ye’s.)

Moreover, since Ban-ye was the guild master, I had a glimmer of hope that they might let me join.

Because we were friends!

But so far, Ban-ye hadn’t mentioned inviting me to the guild, and whenever I subtly asked if Slaughter was recruiting, they always said no.

But to suddenly ask, “Wanna join our guild?”… Had they not been ignoring me all this time, but instead asking their guild members if I could join?

[Ban-ye] Okay, sending guild invite.

[Ah-ang] Wow!

[Haneul] Congratulations~ ^^

[Ah-ang] Whoa, thank you! ><

Receiving congratulations from the angelic Haneul made me feel even more elated.

And finally, the long-awaited guild invitation message appeared.

[‘Ban-ye’ has invited you to the ‘Slaughter’ guild. Do you accept?]

[Yes] [No]

Of course, I clicked yes!

A new guild chat window appeared, and a flood of messages poured in.

[Guild][HugMeRaiseMe] Suddenly?

[Guild][HeyYam] HeyYam~

[Guild][ImSoCute] HeyCute lol

[Guild][Male3] Welcome

[Guild][Youngmyeong]~ (Nice to meet you)

[Guild][Bogak] Hey

[Guild][Neda] Hello, Ah-ang. I’m Neda.

[Guild][Male3] Anyone want to go to the Temple of Trials?

[Guild][Bogak] Sure

[Guild][Male3] Let’s go.

[Guild][Male3] Coming on my alt.

[Guild][Neda] Anyone want to go to the theater?

“Whoa, this is chaotic…”

But judging by their conversations, they were definitely skilled players. Sure enough, when I opened the guild window to check their levels, I was stunned.

[Guild][Ah-ang] Wow, everyone’s max level.

[Friend][Ban-ye] Ha… Here we go again?

Then, Ban-ye muttered something incomprehensible in the friend chat.

Meanwhile, the Slaughter guild members asked me if I was max level.

[Guild][ImSoCute] Aren’t you max level, Ah-ang??

[Guild][Ah-ang] Nope, I’m 144.

[Guild][HugMeRaiseMe] Not an alt?

[Guild][Ah-ang] This is my main ;

[Guild][HugMeRaiseMe] What? We’re only supposed to accept max level players.

[Guild][HeyYam] You’re 144?

Sensing the chilling atmosphere, I pleaded.

[Guild][Ah-ang] Whoa… please, I’m begging you… I’m so desperate.

But no one responded. Instead, the mood shifted towards blaming Ban-ye, who had invited me.

[Guild][HugMeRaiseMe] Ban-ye, what’s this?

[Friend][Ban-ye] Heh

[Guild][Ban-ye] They’ll reach max level soon, right, Ah-ang?

I wasn’t usually very perceptive, but this time, I knew exactly what the right answer was.

[Guild][Ah-ang] Yes, I’ll get there quickly.

[Guild][Ban-ye] They said so.

And fortunately, there was a guild rule that allowed for exceptions.

[Guild][Neda] It’s okay if you’re not max level as long as you reach it within a week of joining.

[Guild][Neda] I joined that way too.

[Guild][HeyYam] But can they go from 144 to 200 in a week?

[Guild][Neda] ;; I went from 198 to 200… Sigh…

Honestly, I wasn’t confident, but Ban-ye spoke confidently to the guild members.

[Guild][Ban-ye] Everyone’s max level these days haha.

[Guild][Ban-ye] Of course they can.

[Guild][Ban-ye] Right, Ah-ang?

[Guild][Ah-ang] Yes!

I answered mechanically, but I felt doomed.

And I finally understood why Ban-ye had ignored my requests to join Slaughter. They probably felt awkward rejecting me because of my level.

‘But why did they accept me now…?’

Did they really think I could reach max level?

Curiosity gnawed at me, but it wasn’t the right time to ask. I opened the [Consumables] tab in my inventory and checked the [Experience Scrolls] I had obtained from the [Royal Kits]. I had opened so many kits that I had a pile of these scrolls, which were exclusive to the kits.

Experience Scrolls were buff items that increased the amount of experience gained while hunting.

The problem was, I wasn’t good at hunting in experience grinding areas.

Because I had only ever practiced dyeing fabrics and crafting fashion items, I rarely hunted. I had mostly leveled up through carries.

So, I asked Ban-ye in the friend chat.

[Friend][Ah-ang] Ban-ye, can I really reach max level in a week?

Ban-ye replied,

[Friend][Ban-ye] You think?