SANN | Chapter 11.1

The sound of the door creaking open echoed softly. Sieon turned around to see Gureum standing there, dressed in only Sieon’s pajama top. Gureum tilted his head slightly when he saw Sieon sitting in the gaming chair.

“Huh? Hyung, are you going to play a game?”

“Yeah. It’s been a while since I joined a match. Sit down, Gureum.”

Sieon patted the chair next to him. Gureum scurried over and plopped down. He turned on his PC and launched Cloud Online. Logging in, he clicked on hazeee to enter the game, but something felt off.

Watching Gureum’s monitor with narrowed eyes, Sieon raised an eyebrow.

“Gureum… Did you join a guild?”

“Oh, uh, yeah… Miss Cutie Her suggested it… It’s been a while now…”

“…What?”

Sieon leaned closer toward Gureum. Yangyangyang. He wasn’t mistaken. Letting out a scoff, Sieon glared at Gureum, whose wide, innocent eyes stared back at him, completely clueless as to what was wrong.

“Gureum… Why didn’t you tell me you joined a guild?”

“Well… you didn’t ask me to join yours, so I thought it was okay…”

Only now did Gureum begin to sneak peeks at Sieon’s expression. Ha. With a dry laugh, Sieon ground his teeth. It wasn’t like he forgot to invite him on purpose—Sieon had left his own one-man guild inactive because there was no one else to interact with. Sieon decided to let it slide for now, pressing firmly on Gureum’s neck and giving it a little shake.

“You should have told me first, huh?”

“Ugh, ugh, Hyuung…”

“I’m sorryyyy…” Gureum finally squeaked out an apology, his shoulders hunched in submission. Yet, even as he apologized, his fingers steadily moved his character toward the guild battle arena. Clearly, he thought Sieon was just playing around. Sieon made a mental note to fix that misunderstanding after the match.

“She’s logged in right now, isn’t she?”

“Y-Yeah… She’s over there…”

Without hesitation, Sieon synced his channel with Gureum and approached Miss Cutie Her. As soon as she saw Sieon, Miss Cutie Her burst into uncontrollable laughter.

[General Chat] Miss Cutie Her: kekekekekekeke kyaahahahahaha kekekekekekekekeke

[General Chat] Miss Cutie Her: Oh, so the ahjussi got so mad he came straight to find me?

[General Chat] Chaesyongsyong: Hey, Miss Cutie.

[General Chat] Chaesyongsyong: If Gureum leaves your guild, will you take me in? ^^

[General Chat] Miss Cutie Her: Wow, you’re ditching Parallax to come here? o_o?

[General Chat] Miss Cutie Her: Sorry, we don’t take guild members who have no loyalty, like ahjussi. Hmph.

[General Chat] Meowmeowmeowmeowmeow: We don’t take sloppy guild members who can’t even manage their own husband, kekekekeke.

The Yangyangyang guild members pounced, mocking Sieon for failing to keep his guildmate. Veins visibly throbbed on Sieon’s forehead and hands.

[General Chat] Miss Cutie Her: Also, our guild roster is full right now, ahjussi (ﾟ⊿ﾟ)> No spot for you~!

[General Chat] Chaesyongsyong: Then make one.

[General Chat] Hong Jalla: Wow, your true colors are showing. Commanding people, huh?

Hong Jalla chimed in, watching the exchange unfold.

[General Chat] Chaesyongsyong: So, this is how you all want to play it, huh?

[General Chat] Chaesyongsyong: Got it. See you in the guild battle later. ^^

[General Chat] Hong Jalla: Sure~

[General Chat] Miss Cutie Her: Puhuhuhu, looking forward to it~!

[General Chat] Miss Cutie Her: Not even scared of your skills, ahjussi. Puhuhuhu.

[General Chat] Hong Jalla: No matter what, Heize’s still a meowmeow. Kekekeke.

“H-Hyung… I’m sorry… I didn’t think you’d be upset…”

Realizing the gravity of the situation, Gureum wilted and apologized, his eyebrows drooping.

“It’s fine, Gureum. Hyung will deal with you later. Don’t rush it. For now, let’s start with your guildmates.”

“Uh… okay…”

Sieon’s unsettling smile widened as he adjusted his grip on the keyboard. His eyes no longer looked quite sane.

Soon, the timer struck zero, and a notification appeared on the status window, announcing the start of the guild battle. Cracking his knuckles, Sieon produced a series of ominous clicks.

Guild battles matched guilds of similar rankings. All the queued guilds were well-known names on the server. Winning top placements in these battles earned a significant amount of guild points, so high-ranking guilds often avoided direct confrontations to minimize losses. It was an unspoken rule.

The match began. Predictably, the Yangyangyang guild and Sieon’s guild, Parallax, found themselves in the same field.

[Battle][Yangyangyang] SlurpSlurp: GG EZ
[Battle][Parallax] 1st Base 2nd Frame: Hi.
[Battle][Yangyangyang] FluffyFluff: Looks like it’s all familiar faces.
[Battle][Yangyangyang] Miss Cutie Her: Let’s play nice (ゝω･)ﾉ Chaesyongsyong ahjussi?
[Battle][Parallax] Chaesyongsyong: Wonder who started breaking the rules first. ^^
[Battle][Parallax] Pmoss: ???
[Battle][Parallax] Pmoss: What’s going on?
[Battle][Parallax] 1st Base 2nd Frame: I think Heize joined Yangyangyang, and that’s why…
[Battle][Parallax] Pmoss: Oh, wtf kekekekeke.
[Battle][Yangyangyang] hazeee: T_T

Both guilds’ members didn’t seem to think much of Sieon’s actions. Gureum cast a quick sideways glance at him. Sieon’s intense gaze was fixed on the monitor, as if he intended to bore a hole straight through it.

The guild match began shortly after. A ten-minute countdown started ticking. The guild that reached the goal zone the most times would earn the highest guild points.

Gureum, still inexperienced in guild battles after only a few weeks of play, struggled with his controls. The objective was to navigate through obstacles and reach the goal, but the course required precise maneuvers, and Gureum hadn’t succeeded even once yet.

He barely made it past the thorny path section and entered the snowy, slippery area. This was the most challenging section, requiring perfectly calculated jumps. A single mistake would send players falling into holes they’d have to climb out of repeatedly, earning this segment the nickname the antlion pit.

Everyone was desperately trying to cross the section. Characters slipped this way and that, and players needed to calculate the sliding distances carefully to proceed. Amid the collective focus, Hong Jalla suddenly spoke up, staring at Sieon’s character.

[Battle][Yangyangyang] Hong Jalla: Wait, what is that guy doing?
[Battle][Yangyangyang] Hong Jalla: That ahjussi isn’t running; he’s gathering snowballs!
[Battle][Parallax] Pmoss: ?
[Battle][Yangyangyang] FluffyFluff: No way… I thought maybe, but he’s actually trying to get himself punched in the face mid-match.

Above the antlion pit, there was a small platform where players could throw snowballs. It was usually used to disrupt other guild members, but interfering during such a challenging course was considered blatantly bad sportsmanship, no matter the guild’s ranking.

Yet, there Sieon was, perched on that very platform, diligently gathering snowballs.

[Battle][Yangyangyang] Miss Cutie Her: No freaking way.
Miss Cutie Her’s worst fears came true. Sieon hurled a snowball that struck her square in the head, sending her sliding into a deep hole.
[Battle][Yangyangyang] Miss Cutie Her: YOU *******!!! AHJUSSI, YOU WANT TO FIGHT ME?!
[Battle][Parallax] Chaesyongsyong: ^^

Sieon casually lobbed another snowball as Miss Cutie Her managed to climb back up, hitting her right in the face. It was intentional. Sensing things were escalating, Hong Jalla tried to move past quickly, but another snowball came flying—this time at her back.

[Battle][Yangyangyang] Hong Jalla: What the ****, did this old geezer lose his mind?
[Battle][Yangyangyang] Hong Jalla: Be honest. Are you 33 or actually 13?

Hong Jalla let loose a string of curses as she tumbled into the hole. Sieon’s antics left Parallax’s guild master visibly flustered.

[Battle][Parallax] Pmoss: Uh… guess you weren’t joking. ㄷㄷ;;
[Battle][Parallax] Pmoss: Our sincerest apologies for a guild member’s unilateral actions….
[Battle][Yangyangyang] Hong Jalla: This ****! Dropped again. Seriously, this is going on the Cloud Online forums, you hear me?!
[Battle][Parallax] Chaesyongsyong: Hehe.

At this point, Sieon didn’t seem to care about guild reputation. His sole focus was relentlessly targeting Yangyangyang’s members. Unsurprisingly, the mood turned hostile, with both guilds’ members starting to argue.

[Battle][Yangyangyang] FluffyFluff: Oh my god, I’m furious. What the hell is Parallax doing, not stopping Chaesyongsyong?!
[Battle][Parallax] zlJonnaMore: Hey, your guild leader’s almost thirty too, so watch your mouth.
[Battle][Yangyangyang] Hong Jalla: Yahhhh, is this dude even human?!
[Battle][Yangyangyang] Miss Cutie Her: Can’t hear you, old man. You’re still older than me (ㅗ•^•ㅗ).
[Battle][Yangyangyang] FluffyFluff: Look at this guy’s username—zlJon! My dad wouldn’t even come up with something that lame.
[Battle][Yangyangyang] Meowmeowmeowmeowmeow: LOL, Parallax is full of cowards who don’t dare stand up to Chaesyongsyong. Total weaklings.

Seeing no way to calm things down, Parallax’s guild master finally raised a white flag.

[Battle][Parallax] Pmoss: Can someone just take Chaesyongsyong off our hands? Or we’ll trade him for Heize. Please kick him out….
[Battle][Yangyangyang] Miss Cutie Her: Sorry, no one to kick out here~! And we’re not giving up Heize!!!
[Battle][Parallax] Chaesyongsyong: Still haven’t learned your lesson, huh? ^^

The battle descended into utter chaos. Members from Parallax and other guilds started crossing the finish line one by one, but not a single Yangyangyang member had reached the goal yet.

Meanwhile, Gureum finally reached the antlion pit. With Sieon furiously pelting snowballs from above, Gureum hesitated. Should he try to pass or not?