SRPG | Chapter 2.3

Judging from his reaction, it seemed like this information still hadn’t spread in the game.

‘It’s been over a year, and it’s still a secret? Guess I really have a talent for keeping things under wraps.’

Hwanyoung chuckled to himself before typing again.

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[Party] lIlllIIl: Master.
[Party] lIlllIIl: Are you familiar with an item called Crystal Ice Shard?
[Party] Gudok: Gudok doesn’t know much about crafting… (›´-`‹ )
[Party] Gudok: Whenever I need items, I just beat people up and take them!! (✧∇✧)
[Party] Gudok: That’s the Gudok way!! (✧∇✧)(✧∇✧)(✧∇✧)!!!

An absolute menace.

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This was the same guy who openly advertised himself as a “slave bread” partner in the server chat, and snatched avatars from guild members to give away to others.

“At least he only acts like this in-game… I hope.”

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Maybe this was the true purpose of gaming—providing people like Gudok with an outlet so they wouldn’t cause chaos in real life.

Pushing aside that thought, Hwanyoung began explaining the Crystal Ice Shard crafting process.

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[Party] lIlllIIl: If you synthesize Crystal Ice Shards on the lowest floor of Snow Ice Cave,
[Party] lIlllIIl: There’s approximately a 1/28 chance of creating a special Crystallized Ice Shard.
[Party] Gudok: Ooooh,,,, (・_・)

Having done over 500 trials before quitting the game, Hwanyoung was confident in that 1/28 success rate.

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[Party] Gudok: But… but… is it really okay for Gudok to know this…? (・_・)?
[Party] Gudok: Isn’t this usually super-secret info???
[Party] lIlllIIl: Master is my Master.
[Party] lIlllIIl: It’s fine if you know this much of a secret.
[Party] Gudok: !
[Party] Gudok: (/ω＼) Hhhhnnn
[Party] Gudok: Gudok’s heart… it feels all warm inside!!

[Party] lIlllIIl: And if you have someone you trust, you’re free to share this information with them.

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That should do it.

By now, Gudok was probably already passing Hwanyoung’s words along to “those people.”

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[Party] Gudok: But, but (✧∇✧)
[Party] Gudok: What is this Crystallized Ice Shard even used for?? (✧∇✧)
[Party] lIlllIIl: I’ll show you now.

Hwanyoung hovered his cursor over the Crystallized Ice Shard and right-clicked.

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A confirmation window popped up, along with a brief warning message.

<System: Using ‘Crystallized Ice Shard’ in a certain location may summon a dangerous monster.>

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‘Still the same.’

It looked like no additional patches had been applied while he was away.

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That meant the boss patterns were unchanged, too.

Without hesitation, Hwanyoung clicked “Yes.”

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<System: A ferocious monster has caught the scent of the crystallized shard.>

Kuuuuung.

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A deep, earth-shaking sound reverberated through the cave, making the air tremble violently.

The Snow Ice Cave, which had been a peaceful blend of blue and silver-white hues, slowly darkened into a deep crimson-black.

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[Party] Gudok: ??..?? (;° ロ°)
[Party] Gudok: What the heck?! Slave-nim did something!! (;° ロ°)(;° ロ°)!!

Gudok’s raccoon character suddenly started darting around frantically.

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He transformed into a Surprise Box, then into a tiny, actual raccoon, then back into his beastman form—switching chaotically with no rhyme or reason.

[Party] Gudok: What is this??
[Party] Gudok: Gudok has never seen this before!!

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<System: A ferocious monster has noticed your presence.>
<System: A ferocious monster…>
<System: ■■■ is approaching… Worship it… Praise it…>

The system messages took on a darker, more ominous tone.

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It seemed Gudok had received the same eerie system message because he abruptly froze in place, no longer bouncing around.

Then, a whisper message arrived.

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[Whisper] Gudok: Barcode-nim, I’m seriously asking out of pure curiosity.
[Whisper] Gudok: …What is this?

“Oh, is he scared?”

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Hwanyoung used the “Pat-pat” emote.

His vampire character showered pink sparkles as he gently patted Gudok’s head.

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[Party] lIlllIIl: Master.
[Party] lIlllIIl: Don’t be too scared.
[Party] lIlllIIl: I’m right here beside you.

It was meant as a joke.

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But the response came back much more seriously than expected.

[Whisper] Gudok: …?
[Whisper] Gudok: How did you know that I actually get scared by this kind of stuff??
[Whisper] Gudok: Are you someone I know???
[Whisper] Gudok: No, wait—are you someone who knows me???
[Whisper] Gudok: I just got chills… You’re not, right??

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“…Seriously?”

He was actually scared?

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Hwanyoung let out a short exhale, caught off guard.

No matter how he looked at it, Gudok was too… well…

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‘Fragile.’

For someone who acted so wild, he was oddly delicate in the strangest ways.

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A guy who openly recruited “slave bread” partners in server chat, yet his attitude toward people was oddly loose and soft.

“No matter how I look at it, he feels like a college student…”

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Hwanyoung had plenty of experience dealing with college students due to his job.

He had developed a strong intuition for recognizing them.

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He couldn’t explain why Gudok felt like a college student, but…

He had that vibe.

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A freshman or maybe a sophomore. Definitely not someone in their final year.

“…But I could be wrong.”

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Muttering to himself, Hwanyoung typed a response.

[Whisper] lIlllIIl: Maybe we were destined to meet in a past life.
[Whisper] lIlllIIl: That’s why we’re so in sync.
[Whisper] Gudok: …You’re messing with me, aren’t you?
[Whisper] lIlllIIl: Wow, you pick up on it super fast when you’re the one being teased.
[Whisper] lIlllIIl: Is this the legendary attention-seeker instinct?

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[Party] Gudok: ( >д<) Stop teasing Gudok!!!!

The attention-seeker personality snapped right back into place.

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Pouting, Gudok whined dramatically.

Hwanyoung patted him again with the “Pat-pat” emote and added:

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[Party] lIlllIIl: This is my first time meeting you, Gudok-nim.
[Party] lIlllIIl: I’ve never seen you before, even before I quit.
[Party] lIlllIIl: I last played a year ago, and back then…
[Party] lIlllIIl: My main account’s name was—

Just then, a new system message appeared.

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<System: ■■■ is appr■■ching… Wors■■p it… Prais■■ it… Choos■ death…>

The glitchy, censored text was intentional.

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A trick used to heighten the eerie atmosphere.

‘Looks like it’s about time.’

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His main account’s identity could wait.

The raid came first.

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[Party] lIlllIIl: Ah, Master, one sec.
[Party] lIlllIIl: The timing’s just right.
[Party] lIlllIIl: Let’s talk about my main account after the raid.
[Party] lIlllIIl: First, I need to check the situation.

Quickly sending the messages, Hwanyoung moved his character toward the edge of the cave.

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His vampire character sprinted toward the darkened, shadowy corner of the cave.

At the same time, a faint mirage-like distortion shimmered in the air.

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“…It should be around here.”

Hwanyoung arrived at the far end of the cave and swung an ordinary attack into empty space.

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Thud.

Normally, the attack should’ve whiffed through thin air.

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But instead—

A solid impact.

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<System: ‘lIlllIIl’s attack has exposed hidden presences lurking in the shadows.>

[General] Eco Cup Discount 300: Ah, damn, we got caught. LOL.

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The empty space in the cave burst into black flames.

The invisible figures were forcibly revealed due to the unexpected attack.

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Soon, two beastman characters appeared at the cave’s edge.

A rabbit and a goat.

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Both were familiar faces.

Hyoppang and Eco Cup Discount.

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Hwanyoung’s vampire confidently took a stance between the two.

Hyoppang turned to him and asked:

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[General] Hyoppang: When did you realize we were following you?

Hwanyoung grinned, answering immediately—as if he’d been waiting for that exact question.

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[General] lIlllIIl: The moment Gudok-nim threw a card at me.

In other words—

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Right from the start.

When Gudok suddenly appeared and threw a Card Throwing attack at him,

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Hwanyoung had immediately noticed something—

A hidden presence lurking behind him.

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[General] Hyoppang: …You figured it out that early?
[General] lIlllIIl: Yes.

Hwanyoung was no clueless newbie—he was a veteran of Aeer Online.

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There was no way he wouldn’t notice a stealthed player.

In Aeer Online, stealth was not truly invisible.

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If a stealthed character moved, the air around them wavered slightly, creating a subtle distortion effect.

Standing completely still reduced the distortion to a minimum, but it never fully disappeared.

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‘If stealth were truly perfect, it would have broken the game’s balance.’

After all, Aeer Online was a game, not real life.

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The developers made sure to regularly balance each class.

If stealth had been completely flawless, then Dark Sorcerers, who could stay invisible for long periods, would have become the most overpowered PvP class.

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On top of that, just yesterday, Hwanyoung had personally witnessed Hyoppang and Eco Cup Discount using stealth to ambush Gudok.

The moment he saw Gudok, his brain instinctively linked the names Hyoppang, Eco Cup Discount, and Stealth together.

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“Looks like I haven’t lost my edge yet.”

Hwanyoung used the “Smug” emote.

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His dark vampire character crossed his arms and lifted his chin proudly.

[General] Hyoppang: Damn, I even told Gudok to act all hyper to distract you…
[General] Hyoppang: And yet you still noticed…^^
[General] Eco Cup Discount 300: LOL, you’re seriously way too sharp. ㅋㅋㅋㅎㅋㅎ
[General] Eco Cup Discount 300: We thought hiding in the dark corners of Snow Ice Cave would make us completely invisible, lmao.

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Eco Cup Discount chattered noisily, while—

Somewhere else, Gudok was…

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[Whisper] Gudok: ㅠㅠ
[Whisper] Gudok: Barcode-nim, these creepy system messages keep popping up
[Whisper] Gudok: What is this? I’m scared
[Whisper] Gudok: Huuhhhghhhghh sob sob sob sob

Gudok had completely dropped his attention-seeker persona and was now whimpering like his real self.

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‘…I’ll deal with Gudok in a minute. First, let’s bring those two into the party.’

Hwanyoung sent party invites to Hyoppang and Eco Cup Discount.

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Then, he efficiently summarized the situation.

[General] lIlllIIl: This thing is too hard for just me and Gudok-nim to handle.
[General] lIlllIIl: Can you two help?

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That one word—“handle”—was enough explanation.

It meant that a monster was about to spawn here.

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Without hesitation, Hyoppang and Eco Cup Discount accepted the party invites.

<System: ‘Hyoppang’ has joined the party.>
<System: ‘Eco Cup Discount 300’ has joined the party.>

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***

The party had now grown to four members: Gudok, Hwanyoung, Hyoppang, and Eco Cup Discount.

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The composition wasn’t too bad. Two pure damage dealers, one sub-tank, and one debuffer.

[Party] lIlllIIl: From now on, I’ll talk through party chat.
[Party] Hyoppang: Yep~^^~

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At that moment, a fragmented system message appeared for everyone in the party.

<System: Ominous>
<System: Death>
<System: Approaching>
<System: Watching>
<System: You>

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Crack crack crack crack.

A creepy sound, straight out of a horror movie, blasted through the speakers. Gudok’s character recoiled in shock, literally jumping in place.

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[Party] Gudok: ㅠㅠ
[Party] Gudok: ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ
[Party] Gudok: ㅠㅠ
[Party] Gudok: ㅠㅠㅠHnghhh uhhuhhh waaahh sobbbㅠㅠㅠ
[Party] Hyoppang: Gudok, are you the only one using the chat? ^^?
[Party] Hyoppang: If you wanna cry, do it alone ^^~
[Party] Eco Cup Discount 300: LOL, I already muted Gudok’s chat, so whatever nonsense he’s spewing, I can’t see it. Guess I win?

While Gudok, Hyoppang, and Eco Cup Discount bickered, the cracks in the ground widened.

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Sssaaaahhhh.

Smoke began rising from the fissures. The already dimly lit cave grew even darker as the smoke spread, clouding the screen.

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[Party] Eco Cup Discount 300: Ah, this vision obstruction is legendary lol
[Party] Eco Cup Discount 300: Snow Ice Cave was already dark, and now this? LOL

In an instant, the lowest level of the cave was filled with thick smoke. It wasn’t ordinary smoke, either—above their characters’ heads, eerie status ailment symbols appeared, hinting at its abnormal nature.

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[Party] Hyoppang: Oh, this is Solomon’s Mark.

Oh? He recognized it. Hwanyoung responded with admiration.

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[Party] lIlllIIl: Yes, that’s right.
[Party] Hyoppang: Did you summon a hidden?
[Party] lIlllIIl: Yeah.

A Hidden Monster referred to a creature that appeared only under specific conditions.

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Since players had to discover the conditions through trial and error, some Hidden Monsters were well-known, while others—like this one—were secrets known to only a few.

[Party] lIlllIIl: Yep, it’s a hidden.

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Even players who knew about Hidden Monsters wouldn’t necessarily recognize Solomon’s Mark. That meant Hyoppang had probably encountered a Hidden Monster before.

[Party] Hyoppang: Seriously, why would they put a hidden in the Snow Ice Cave? Lol^^…
[Party] Hyoppang: No one comes here except assassins doing solo leveling…
[Party] Hyoppang: Aeer, you perv23ted game, seriously.

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<System: ‘Marbas’ has locked eyes with you…>

Through the widening fissure, a blood-red eye appeared. Instead of pupils, a complex magic circle was drawn where its iris should be.

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<System: This may be your last chance to flee…>
<System: Choose your fate…>

Hwanyoung didn’t hesitate. He clicked the Start Battle button.

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Immediately, a chilling scream rang out! A grotesque magic circle flickered on the screen before vanishing.