SRPG | Chapter 2.1

The next day. To commemorate the last day of his early summer vacation, Hwanyoung met up with a friend.

“Hey, your company cafeteria food is really good.”

Hwanyoung sincerely admired the meal as he moved his chopsticks.

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“It’s actually delicious. Our cafeteria food tastes awful.”

“…Hey.”

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Across from him sat a man in a short-sleeved dress shirt. Like Hwanyoung, he also had a cafeteria tray in front of him.

Kim Hyunwoo. Hwanyoung’s long-time friend, and now, just like him, a corporate slave.

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“Hey, Lee Hwanyoung.”

Kim Hyunwoo called out to him. Hwanyoung, scooping up some soup, responded half-heartedly.

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“Yeah, yeah.”

“Did you seriously come here just to eat?”

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“Yup.”

At Hwanyoung’s blunt answer, Kim Hyunwoo frowned and muttered in discontent.

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“I swear I told you like five hundred times to meet in the evening. Why the hell did you come at lunchtime and steal my meal ticket?”

“No particular reason?”

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Hwanyoung casually continued eating as if he didn’t see the issue. Wow, this cafeteria makes amazing fried chicken. The seasoning is just right.

Kim Hyunwoo’s expression became increasingly displeased. Hwanyoung chuckled and spoke.

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“I have to play a game tonight, so I came to see you during lunch.”

“What game?”

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“Aeer.”

“I thought you quit.”

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“Yeah. But I started again.”

Kim Hyunwoo openly scowled this time, looking like he just remembered something.

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“Didn’t you have some weird person bothering you when you quit last time?”

“Oh, you remember?”

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“That… never mind. You do what you want.”

Even as he said that, Kim Hyunwoo shoveled rice into his mouth while eyeing Hwanyoung warily. His gaze carried a hint of concern.

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Hwanyoung laughed and reassured him.

“It wasn’t anything serious. I actually quit because work suddenly got too busy, not because of that person.”

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“Really?”

“Yeah.”

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Even though Hwanyoung’s answer was light and without hesitation, Kim Hyunwoo still looked uneasy. He had always been annoyingly sentimental like this. Hwanyoung smiled and tried to ease his worries.

“You don’t need to worry. That guy isn’t even bold enough to pull any real stunts.”

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“…Yeah?”

“If anything, he was the opposite. He wanted power, but he didn’t have the ability, so he just passively tormented others in a weirdly roundabout way.”

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Despite the gentle and friendly tone, his words were sharp and ruthless.

“Isn’t your boss the same type? From the way you rant in the group chat, he sounds exactly like that.”

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The moment the word “boss” came up, Kim Hyunwoo’s face instantly soured.

“That bastard… just because his proposal got rejected, he suddenly starts taking it out on me….”

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Making money off other people’s backs is so damn hard. Kim Hyunwoo grumbled.

Hwanyoung sympathized with the complaint. Yeah, that’s just how companies are.

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“Anyway, don’t stress over it too much. Honestly, if it’s someone from a game, you can just cut contact and be done with it. Dealing with your boss, who you have to see every day, is the real problem.”

So just eat your food. Hwanyoung gestured toward Kim Hyunwoo’s tray.

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“Mm…” Responding meekly, Kim Hyunwoo resumed eating but soon paused again to ask,

“You’re really sure you’ll be fine? You have a weird talent for attracting problematic people. Since way back, you’d suddenly find someone ridiculously stupid and go, ‘Aww, that’s kinda cute,’ and—”

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“Hyunwoo, how many years have we been friends?”

“Come on, man, don’t include me in that. Where else would you find someone as normal as me?”

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Hah. Hwanyoung just laughed it off. You’re not exactly normal either…

Hearing his mumbling, Kim Hyunwoo scoffed.

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“Anyway, next time, come in the evening. Don’t just show up for a free lunch. Buy me drinks.”

“Alright.”

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After finishing lunch with Kim Hyunwoo, Hwanyoung wrapped up the bank errands he had been putting off. Then, he traveled to another district, gathering friends who worked nearby for a round of coffee.

After that, he moved to yet another area to eat bingsu with more friends. When they finished, he headed to another place to meet different friends for yet another coffee break.

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‘What a productive day.’

At last, he had taken care of all the postponed meetups (and his bank errands). Feeling lighter, he finally returned home.

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Before he knew it, it was evening.

He thought about having dinner, but after all that bingsu, cake, and coffee, he wasn’t hungry at all.

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After a quick shower, he turned on his computer.

The moment his screen lit up, a message popped up at perfect timing.

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—

1st Team / Kim Jaejeon

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1st Team / Kim Jaejeon

1st Team / Kim Jaejeon

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1st Team / Kim Jaejeon

Though he had been told he didn’t need to reply, there was no real reason not to, so Hwanyoung sent back a brief response.

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1st Team / Lee Hwanyoung

1st Team / Lee Hwanyoung

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1st Team / Lee Hwanyoung

A moment later, a grinning emoji popped up from Kim Jaejeon.

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As Hwanyoung mentally reviewed his work, he launched Aeer Online.

‘The participant list is already out… I should organize the schedule next week and prepare the announcement….’

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After a short loading screen, the familiar character selection window appeared.

As always, he picked the vampire. Since he had just finished his second promotion yesterday, today was going to be all about grinding levels.

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‘Starting tomorrow, it’s back to work. Gotta go all out today.’

<System: Welcome to Aeer Online.>

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The moment he logged in, his mailbox started blinking. Hwanyoung decided to check his mail first.

From: Gudok
To: lIlllIIl
Attachment: <Fresh Air After Rain (Unique)>

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“Oh.” The sender was Gudok. Was it okay to open this?

“…Well, it’s just a game. Should be fine.”

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In Aeer Online, the only form of mail harassment possible was sending hate messages. You couldn’t send bombs or biochemical weapons or anything like that.

‘If it’s just insults, I can report him.’

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Feeling lighthearted, Hwanyoung clicked open the letter from Gudok.

—
Slave-nim! ( >д<)
I won’t let this slide!! ( >д<)
I WILL HAVE MY REVENGE!!! ( >д<)
—

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So far, it was pretty much what he expected. It fits Gudok’s attention-seeking personality perfectly.

What was surprising, though, was the content below.

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—
※ Moving on to the main point ※

Hello, Barcode-nim.
I received the gift you sent, thank you.

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But no matter how I think about it, I feel like I got something way too expensive and nice compared to what I did for you…
So, one of my guild members happened to have the avatar that pairs with <Fresh Breeze After Rain (Unique)>, and I acquired it through a fair and just process to send to you.

(It was a legitimate duel under the supervision of our Guild Master, Hyoppang, so you don’t have to worry about stolen goods!)

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If you ever need help in the game, feel free to message me anytime.
Enjoy your time in Aeer!
—

“Huh. So attention-seeking mode and normal-person mode can coexist in one letter, huh?”

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Hwanyoung was genuinely impressed.

‘And taking an avatar from a guild member through a duel just to send it… that’s kinda amazing in itself.’

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He opened the avatar attachment and equipped it.

A glowing rainbow appeared behind his vampire character.

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As he walked around, soft pink sparkles scattered from the rainbow effect.

“This… really doesn’t suit me.”

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A dark, brooding vampire with a rainbow and pink sparkles. Just listing the words together was enough to make him question reality.

“Just walking around makes me look like an attention-seeker…”

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Despite his complaints, Hwanyoung went ahead and locked the item in his inventory.

Once locked, an item couldn’t be traded or discarded without entering a secondary password.

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A locked item meant… it would permanently take up a spot in his inventory.

An eternal inventory slot sacrifice.

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That was how much Hwanyoung liked the item Gudok had sent.

Maybe he should send a thank-you message.

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Hwanyoung opened his friends list to check if Gudok was online.

“Let’s see….”

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— Gudok (Online / Location Hidden)
— Hyoppang (Online / Location Hidden)

Gudok was online. But unlike yesterday, he had set his location to private.

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“Oh, right. He said he was going to take revenge.”

Hwanyoung re-read Gudok’s message. The dramatic “I WILL HAVE MY REVENGE!!!” made him chuckle.

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It was hilarious that someone so eager for revenge had to hide his location like this.

Shaking his head, he closed the friends list and refocused on the game.

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“All I need to do before the third promotion is level up… where should I go?”

After the second promotion, leveling routes generally split into two main paths.
1. Field Grinding + Repeatable Quests.
– Accept a ton of simple quests like “Kill 100 of X monster,” then grind monsters in the field to complete them.
2. Dungeon Runs.
– Just repeatedly clear dungeons to gain experience.

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‘Party play is way more efficient for max-level grinding.’

Like most RPGs, Aeer Online had better leveling efficiency when playing in a party rather than solo.

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Up until the second promotion, solo players who planned their route well could still keep up with party players, but after that, the gap widened significantly.

“Guess I should check out the party recruitment board first.”

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Muttering to himself, Hwanyoung opened the party board.

[Party] Field Grinding Party – No Vampires
[Party] 7 Vampires Need 1 Knight for Dungeon Carry
[Party] Looking for Tank and Healer to Grind All Day
[Party] DPS Slots Full / If You Apply as DPS, You’re Getting Reported

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“I knew this would happen.”

Every party he looked at was already full of vampires. Some even had outright slurs or insults directed at vampires in their party names.

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“Figures.”

So, the only option left was solo play, huh…?

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Hwanyoung glanced at his pitiful-looking vampire wrapped in basic supply gear before trudging toward the hunting grounds.

‘Let’s go to Snow Ice Cave.’

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For assassin-type characters specialized in one-on-one combat, there weren’t many dungeons suitable for solo leveling.

Snow Ice Cave, Morae Underground Floor, and Ashen Depths…

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‘Out of those three, Snow Ice Cave is the best. There are solid EXP mobs there.’

Without hesitation, he used a warp to head to the northern town. After withdrawing some miscellaneous items from storage and crafting a few things, he summoned the basic mount pet he received as a reward for completing his second promotion quest.

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The vampire’s basic mount pet was a tattered flying carpet. It was blatantly designed to look pathetic—probably to push players toward spending money on better mounts.

‘At least the speed is decent.’

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Hwanyoung hopped on and sped across the snowy field.

By the time he arrived at Snow Ice Cave, it was already packed with vampires.

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“So many people.”

Dark silhouettes of vampires filled the cave, hurling Mud Pools, flinging Blood Clots, and transforming into Bats to flit around. The flashy assassin-class effects cluttered the screen so much that it was hard to see anything.

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Avoiding the other soloing vampires, Hwanyoung descended—lower, and even lower.

By the time he reached the 7th floor, where the vampires were starting to thin out—

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Pyoing!

From between the towering ice pillars, a Surprise Box suddenly popped open.

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“…Huh?”

[General] Gudok: A gentleman’s revenge is something something!! ( >д<)

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Oh, it’s Master.

Hwanyoung opened the chat to greet Gudok.

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‘Didn’t expect to run into him again here.’

Of course, Gudok was probably here for revenge.

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And just as expected, the moment Hwanyoung placed his hands on the keyboard—

Tick.

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“…Huh?”

Still disguised as a Surprise Box, Gudok suddenly transformed back and threw a card straight at him.

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The card embedded itself into his vampire’s chest. His full HP instantly plummeted into the red zone.

Narrowing his eyes, Hwanyoung typed in chat.

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[General] lIlllIIl: M…Master?
[General] lIlllIIl: Did you… just kill me…?
[General] lIlllIIl: I struggled so hard to make it all the way down to Snow Ice Cave 7th floor… just for leveling… and you…?

At the sight of Hwanyoung’s chat, Gudok’s raccoon beastman character jumped up in shock.

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[General] Gudok: (;° ロ°) W-w-w-what are you talking about?!
[General] Gudok: I didn’t kill you! Gudok didn’t kill Slave-nim!!
[General] Gudok: Vampire is alive! Vampire is real!

He actually wasn’t dead.

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Hwanyoung’s vampire had barely survived the card attack.

[General] Gudok: Actually, I carefully calculated the damage
[General] Gudok: To make sure Slave-nim definitely wouldn’t die,,,
[General] lIlllIIl: Really…?
[General] Gudok: Really!! ( >д<)
[General] lIlllIIl: Can I… really trust you, Master…?
[General] Gudok: Please trust me!!! ( >д<)
[General] Gudok: For real! For real! Super real!

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Yeah, right.