TAHR Ch 1

I learned something new recently.

Misunderstandings are all different, and conversations are all different.

[General] Mollamolla: ★Anonymous0101<<Found/Former Lucan Server/Rank 5/Reward 10,000 gold, 30,000 gold if it’s you/Whisper-Mollamolla, Ttunttuni

Because of this advertisement, which I mistakenly posted in the wrong chat, I instantly became trash who mocked others. All because I posted an ad meant for the server chat in the general chat.

“Ah… This jerk, really.”

Jaein pressed his throbbing head.

Was it his fault for making an unusual mistake, and in front of that guy, of all people? How could he be so unlucky? It wasn’t even that big of a mistake.

He tried to resolve the misunderstanding by apologizing and explaining the situation, but the guy didn’t even listen. No, it was simply impossible to have a conversation with him.

[General] Dambi: Said your settings were wrong

[General] Dambi: LOLOLOLOLOLOL

[General] Dambi: Your excuse is so insincere

[General] Dambi: If you’re going to do that, don’t bother

[General] Mollamolla: No, it’s real;

[General] Dambi: Stop acting

[General] Dambi: You suck at it anyway

Moreover, his tone was incredibly irritating. The more they talked, the more Jaein felt like his stomach was churning.

[General] Dambi: Are you going to give up now?

[General] Dambi: I’ve seen so many crazy bastards like you, it’s getting old

[General] Mollamolla: What? Crazy bastard? Old?

[General] Dambi: Why? Does crazy bastard bother you?

[General] Dambi: Should I call you something else?

[General] Dambi: ♡♡♡ How’s that?

[General] Dambi: Oh, my bad

[General] Dambi: How about son of a b*tch? lol Seems to fit you well

To hear this kind of talk just because he posted an ad in the wrong chat.

Misunderstanding or not, Jaein didn’t want to deal with him anymore. Let him play his own drums and cymbals. Just as he was about to ignore him and go his own way…

As if by some cruel twist of fate, the very thing he had been searching for was snatched away from him by that guy, right in front of his eyes.

“Wow… Really. Ha, haha.”

It was so absurd that for a moment he thought he was dreaming. There was no way this could be happening to him otherwise. But all of this was reality. A bitter reality he couldn’t ignore even if he wanted to.

In the end, all that remained for him was an unforgettable dark moment in his history, Dambi’s mockery, and a thirst for revenge against him. The strings of patience and reason he had been holding onto so tightly snapped with disheartening ease.

“Let’s do this, then.”

He had put in a lot of effort to clear up the misunderstanding, and he had endured the guy’s rudeness as much as he could. He couldn’t just stand there and take this insult any longer. He called me crazy? Fine, he’d show him what crazy really meant.

And so began the war with the weasel.

🕊

Jaein rested his chin on his hand and stared at the monitor.

The server chat on the game screen was scrolling by particularly fast today. He glanced at it and saw that all the users who usually played quietly were gathered, unable to hide their anticipation.

[Server] Naong: Finally, today’s the day!

[Server] Win10Shutdown: Yep lol

[Server] SpaceConquerorMintChoco: Waited so long

[Server] TteokbokkiRamen: Almost died holding my breath waiting

[Server] Naong: LOL

[Server] LightAndMoney: Hu.. I was getting bored of the same people every day

[Server] LightAndMoney: Finally!!

[Server] 5MinutesToLeavingWork: It’s going to be crowded everywhere now lol

[Server] BeforeBedtime: Yeah, it’s going to be insane lol

The reason for this excitement was that today was the day the servers were merging.

When the server merge announcement was posted, they thought their server, which had a decent population, would be excluded from the list. However, it seemed like they were trying to consolidate everything, as all servers were included in the merge.

Fifteen servers were being reduced to six, and with the increased capacity per server, more users than ever would be gathered in one place.

Jaein turned his gaze to the pop-up window that appeared as soon as he logged in.

[Notice] Server Merge Information

Hello, this is Blaze.

Maintenance for server integration will begin today. Please check the schedule below for details.

• Maintenance Time: 20xx-08-01 11:00 ∼ 20xx-08-02 13:00 (26 hours)

• Maintenance Details: Server Integration

• Precautions:

• All mail will be initialized after the server merge.

• Guild names will be prioritized based on creation date. Guilds with the same name will need to reset their names after the maintenance is complete.

• Please log out in a safe location before maintenance begins.

“11 o’clock.”

He checked the time and saw it was just past 10. In an hour, the server would close, and a day later, the new integrated server would open. That’s why the main city was bustling with people. Everyone seemed to be celebrating the last moments of the current server, gathering on rooftops and tower tops to chat.

[Server] 5MinutesToLeavingWork: I wish the day would go by faster;

[Server] LightAndMoney: New world here we come!

[Server] HealHow: They’re giving out strength points for this server merge event lol

[Server] LightAndMoney: Frfr

[Server] Lilac: What is it?

[Server] HealHow: Event monsters spawn in dungeons, and if you tame them, you get 1000 gold

[Server] 5MinutesToLeavingWork: What????

[Server] TteokbokkiRamen: ???? Realzzzy???

[Server] Lilac: OMG!!! Real???

[Server] LightAndMoney: Yeah go to the website

The reason users were so surprised by the event rewards was that Blaze, unlike other games, didn’t hand out gold easily. There wasn’t even any gold in the in-game quest completion rewards.

The only way to earn gold was through grinding. But even that had a limit. 200 gold per day.

Therefore, the event content that offered gold was more tempting to users than anything else. It was a sign that the game company was putting in real effort.

However, Jaein couldn’t enjoy this festive atmosphere.

No, not just Jaein, but all of his guild members felt the same.

Gathered at the top of the tallest castle in the main city, a place only certain users could access, the guild members were all lying down or making gestures of despair, crying.

[Guild] Ttunttuni: I’m against this server merge ㅜㅜ

[Guild] LotteriaKetchupThief: ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠMe too

[Guild] AriS0ng: Why of all…

[Guild] Anew: Why of allㅠㅠ

[Guild] BungeoSSamanco: Merging with the Lucan server!!! Damn it;;

[Guild] AriS0ng: Ssong is… against it meow

[Guild] TouchMeAndMeow: hh

Until the first day the server merge announcement was posted, the “Freshly Caught Sunfish” guild, like other users, had been positive about the event. After all, games are more fun with more people.

But since yesterday, when the merge list was released, the Sunfish guild had been gloomy, even digging themselves into a hole. This was because the Lucan server was included in the list of merging servers.

[Guild] BungeoSSamanco: At this point, isn’t the game company just hating on us?

[Guild] Anew: Is it a crime to be ranked 1st in guild ranking for a year??

[Guild] LotteriaKetchupThief: Exactly;;;

[Guild] LotteriaKetchupThief: I guess it’s a problem even if we do well ㅠ

[Guild] Ttunttuni: Is it our fault that there are no competing guilds!ㅠㅠ

[Guild] LotteriaKetchupThief: There are competing guilds, it’s just the difference is huge hh

[Guild] Ttunttuni: A 400 point difference means they don’t exist

[Guild] AriS0ng: That’s true lol

[Guild] TouchMeAndMeow: hh

In Blaze, guild ranking was just as important as individual ranking.

Guilds were ranked based on dungeon clears, crafted item donations, speedrun rankings, and the Conimons owned by guild members, and the highest-ranked guild was chosen as the ruling guild.

The ruling guild.

It meant the strongest guild, representing the server.

But this system wasn’t just for honor. The ruling guild had the right to adjust taxes on all items traded on the server and collect those taxes.

In a game where gold was hard to come by, the benefits the ruling guild received were practically privileges. Therefore, many guilds competed fiercely to take the top spot. As a result, in each server, the ruling guild changed monthly or quarterly.

However, the “Freshly Caught Sunfish” guild, after winning amidst a warring states period, hadn’t lost the top spot for a year.

Jaein was the guild master of the Sunfish guild and the 3rd ranked individual player, a mage named “Mollamolla.”