TWKH Ch 9

“Your apartment layout is the opposite of mine.”

“Really? Which unit are you in?”

“I’m in 1402.”

“Can I visit sometime?”

“Sure, you’re welcome anytime.”

“Alright, just sit there for a minute.”

While Jehyun headed into his room to search his bookshelf for the book, Baekyung, still wearing his backpack, took a moment to look around Jehyun’s apartment.

For a place where a single guy lived alone, it was impressively clean. Even to someone like Baekyung, who had a strong dislike for untidiness, the apartment seemed spotless—so much so that it perfectly reflected Jehyun’s neat personality. It made Baekyung feel even more favorably toward him. He couldn’t stand men who didn’t know how to clean up after themselves.

“…”

Leaning back against the couch as instructed, Baekyung idly wondered how many people had been in this apartment. Since Jehyun mentioned he’d been living here since his first year, and given his social circle, it seemed likely that over 50 people had visited.

Then, how many people had borrowed books from him? Jehyun seemed like the type who would lend a book to anyone who asked without hesitation—offering before being asked, even.

It was possible that No Longer Human had been read by over a hundred people. As he thought about that, Baekyung inexplicably felt a little gloomy, lowering his gaze.

What’s wrong with me? Lately, thinking about Jehyun made him feel strange. Letting out a soft sigh, Baekyung stretched his lips into a faint smile.

At that moment, he heard the sound of the touchpad at the door.

Since the homeowner was inside, was it family? Standing up, Baekyung turned toward the sound. A beep was followed by the unlocking of the door, and then it opened.

Stepping inside was a man dressed impeccably in a suit, coat, and scarf. His hair was neatly styled, and his expression showed signs of fatigue. However, he was undeniably well-groomed.

“Jehyun, are you—”

The man, brushing his hair back as he entered, paused mid-sentence upon noticing Baekyung. His refined expression turned to surprise, and the lips that had just softly spoken Jehyun’s name pressed together firmly.

“Hello?”

The man greeted Baekyung politely, his enunciation unusually clear. There was no way they were brothers—they didn’t look alike at all. Yet here he was, casually entering the apartment in broad daylight after punching in the passcode. Who was he?

Feeling a sudden, inexplicable annoyance, Baekyung inclined his head slightly and replied.

“Hello. Jehyun Sunbae is in his room.”

“Baekyung, here’s the book—oh, what the…?”

Emerging with the book in hand, Jehyun scowled as soon as he saw the man in the doorway. After glancing at Baekyung briefly, Jehyun shoved the book into his hands and hurriedly pushed him toward the door.

“You’re busy, right? Go read it and take your time returning it.”

“…Okay.”

Baekyung, slightly taken aback by the unexpected visitor, hesitated before leaving. As he walked out, Jehyun forced a smile to send him off. The moment the door closed, Jehyun turned to the man with an irritated expression.

“What are you doing barging into my place?”

“I’m your brother; how is that barging?”

“Of course it’s barging! Is this your house? Why are you here?”

“You’re all nice to Jehee, but you always act like this with me.”

“Then you can be my younger sibling instead.”

Jehyun sighed, his gaze lingering on the door Baekyung had just walked out of. As Jehwan stepped inside, removing his shoes, Jehyun let out another, deeper sigh.

Did he recognize him? Boys probably don’t watch much TV, so Jehyun could only hope Baekyung hadn’t noticed.

Shin Jehwan was a well-known news anchor in Korea. He appeared on the news, hosted current affairs programs, and even participated in variety shows. His popularity was such that he had been voted the number one ideal bachelor in public surveys. Everyone familiar with Jehwan’s face also knew he was the son of the KBC broadcasting director.

Shin Jehyun was the second son of Shin Cheol-yong, the KBC station director, but unlike his older brother Shin Jehwan, he had no interest in becoming a newscaster or anchor. Jehyun’s dream was to become a journalist, which led him to study in the Department of Political Science and Diplomacy instead of Media and Communication. He didn’t particularly want to advertise the fact that he was the son of Shin Cheol-yong either.

Outside of their family, only Seo Eunjae knew that his father was Shin Cheol-yong. Fortunately, Jehyun didn’t resemble his father or older brother, which allowed him to easily conceal his background. However, with Shin Jehwan visiting his apartment, Baekyung might be able to figure it out based on the shared surname and family name.

Although Baekyung didn’t seem like the type to pry, Jehyun couldn’t shake the feeling that he might have to keep Baekyung quiet, and he couldn’t help but feel irritated, glaring at Shin Jehwan.

“What are you looking at?”

On TV, Shin Jehwan was known for his kindness and sense of humor, but in front of his younger brother, he was just a normal older sibling. He threw his cashmere coat and scarf aside and flopped down on Jehyun’s couch, pulling a cushion close as he began to boss Jehyun around.

“Ugh.”

“You go down and drink it.”

“You sure talk a lot. You’re living well these days, huh?”

“…I really can’t stand you. If a video of you doing this gets out, I’ll kill you.”

“Make sure my face looks good in it.”

“You’re so annoying.”

Grumbling, Jehyun went to the kitchen. He turned on the automatic coffee machine, set a cup beneath it, and pressed a button. The machine ground the beans, and espresso began to pour out. Jehyun stared at it, dissatisfied, before adding hot water to the cup and bringing it to Shin Jehwan.

Unlike his father, Shin Cheolyong, and his older brother, Shin Jehwan, who worked in broadcasting, Jehyun had the freedom to pursue his dream of becoming a journalist, partly thanks to his older brother, who had perfectly met their father’s expectations.

Shin Jehwan had persuaded their father to let Jehyun follow his own path, which allowed Jehyun to attend the Department of Political Science and Diplomacy, despite his unconventional choice.

So, despite his grumbling, Jehyun couldn’t ignore his brother’s requests.

“Who was that guy who just left? He’s handsome. Is he going to be a journalist too?”

“He’s a freshman from our department. I don’t know him.”

“Tell him to be an announcer. You should try to recruit him. Lately, the guys in this field… their faces… they don’t look great.”

Sitting up, Shin Jehwan smiled as he sipped the coffee Jehyun had brought him. He had the kind of face that everyone would call handsome and smooth, but every time he smiled at Jehyun, Jehyun felt like he might throw up. Holding back the urge to gag, Jehyun pointed toward the room with the computer.

“If you see him again, recruit him or something. I’m going in. Take it easy.”

“Jehyun, want to order chicken for dinner later?”

“Order it and call me.”

It wasn’t unusual for Shin Jehwan to stop by Jehyun’s apartment. Since it was closer than his own place to the broadcasting station, Jehwan would sometimes visit to rest when he had to pull an all-nighter for work.

Despite Jehyun’s cold attitude, Shin Jehwan clicked his tongue and nodded. He couldn’t help but think about how good-looking Baekyung was earlier, though his gaze had been a little intense. As he closed his eyes, recalling Baekyung passing by, he settled in on the couch for a short nap.

* * *

Week 2 of server integration. Though it was Monday after regular maintenance, the schedule was relaxed since other overflow dungeons hadn’t been updated yet. After finishing daily quests while leaving Shin Jehwan alone, Jehyun noticed Habaek was online and approached him sitting in a corner of the Guild hideout.

After running dungeons for the past week to lower his infamy rating, Habaek’s ID had now turned white.

However, when asked about leveling an alt character, there was no response. Jehyun circled around Habaek, making noise by spamming skills at him, before half-giving up and stopping his character’s movement.

He had mostly leveled alt characters alone until now, but when he leveled with Habaek last time, the speed was much faster than usual. Though he had leveled alts with the Boss and Contempt before, the Boss was a cloth-wearer making it hard to round up mobs at low levels, and Contempt was a plate-wearer making it too slow at low levels.

In contrast, Habaek’s Time Stealer, despite being leather armor, was optimized for mob hunting, making leveling feel 2-3 hours faster than others. Knowing Habaek would make a good alt-leveling slave, Jehyun wouldn’t give up easily and kept calling out to him persistently.

Only after a while did Habaek finally respond. “You’re here.” Jehyun quickly urged him.

Healer: Where’d you go? Did dailies? Let’s level alts

Habaek: Nope busy

Healer: What are you doing

Healer: It’s fastest with you

Habaek: Unlike someone crazy about games, I’m cultivating culture

Healer: lol?

Healer: Doing assignments, freshman who hasn’t served military?

Habaek: Get lost, you rotten returning student;

Jehyun chuckled while putting candy in his mouth. Rolling the lemon lollipop with his tongue while thinking quietly, he got curious again and asked.

Healer: What’s your major?

Habaek: You know that’s cyberstalking, honey?

Healer: I got A+ in all freshman required courses, ask if you need help

Healer: I’ll teach you

Habaek: lollollollollollollollollollollollol

Healer: Not lying, for real

Habaek: Kante Guild Master special: Pathological liar

Due to ongoing wars, Jehyun hadn’t received the Guild Master position yet and was still Vice Guild Master, but everyone treated him as the Guild Master. When Habaek dismissed him as a liar, Jehyun narrowed his eyes. He immediately picked up his phone and called for Sangjae in a group chat that Habaek wasn’t in.

[Sangjae, could you invite Habaek to the group chat?] 12:38

After Sangjae responded and some time passed, Habaek, who had left the group chat of his own accord last time, returned.

Seeing Habaek join, Jehyun got up and pulled out a file from his desk. He took a photo of his printed freshman first semester required course grades and sent it to the group chat.

Then the Boss quickly uploaded a photo of his Olympic gold medal. Not wanting to lose to the sudden flow of bragging, other Guild members started uploading photos one after another.

[Should I ask where the bathroom is via DM?] 12:50

[You’d have to be crazy to do that lollollol, no way lollol] 12:51

Sangjae sent a picture of a trendy, emotional cafe. The interior, clearly well thought out, immediately caught Jehyun’s eye. It must have cost a lot of money, and at twenty-seven, being the owner of such a large cafe, it gave off a sense of silver spoon vibes.

[I ate a scone leftover from yesterday’s lunch today, it’s too much] 12:55

[Contempt, that’s so rudeㅉㅉ Who sends a picture of cheese dak-galbi at this hour?] 12:56

Contempt sent a picture of cheese dak-galbi piled high with cheese. As soon as Jehyun saw it, saliva filled his mouth. Having eaten a rushed lunch while Shin Jehwan slept, Jehyun felt the pangs of relative deprivation and, like Sangjae, scolded Contempt.

[Haaah… how am I supposed to beat this? ㅠㅅㅠ] 12:59

SpellChecker sent a picture of a pink, soft-cheeked cat stretching out its paw. The little fangs poking out from either side of its cute snout were unbearably adorable. Jehyun zoomed in on the photo, melting as he looked at it, and just as he did, Habaek, who had been offline, sent a photo.

Like typical gamers, the rare nickname caused the number “1” to drop quickly. Jehyun clicked the photo in a fit of jealousy, but instead of a rare nickname, the screen displayed a nickname that only made him angry.

“Are you kidding me?”

Jeheon clicked his tongue in disbelief and turned his gaze to the monitor. By then, Habaek had already disappeared. Jehyun went back to the character selection screen, deleted the level 1 alt character he’d made, and created a new one.

The class was priest, and the ID was AhnYiyoungS2Habaek. Once logged in, Jehyun saw the character standing in the starting area—just like the character he’d seen earlier on his phone.

AhnYiyoungS2Habaek: lol?

HealerBFAhn Yiyoung: ^^?

It was Habaek. That cute little jerk. Jehyun couldn’t help but burst into an incredulous laugh.

* * *

After the server merge, the Guild ranking for the first week was, of course, dominated by Countess. The dungeon first clear achievements gave 10,000 points per person, which heavily boosted their score.

Week 2 had no first clears, so intense ranking dungeon runs were predicted, just like before the server merge. Therefore, aside from BeoseotTangsuYuk’s Love School, Jehyun had to clear 9 saturation dungeons to rank.

After class, Jehyun would first open Caplet. Since the semester had started, Habaek, Contempt, and SpellChecker were all busy, so Jehyun would do daily quests or level up alt characters until the ranking party gathered, spending any remaining time studying.

You died.

HealerBFAhn Yiyoung died.

GuiJaMoSin: Are you guys really dating? You’re always together?

AhnYiyoungS2Habaek: Did you go for a walk?

AhnYiyoungS2Habaek: Please put the leash on;

KanglimDoryeong: Have a nice day!

KanglimDoryeong: fck why do you keep making dog sounds lol

HealerBFAhn Yiyoung: Samba late baby

AhnYiyoungS2Habaek: No no, I’m hotter

The Guild war had been ongoing for more than a week. It officially ended at 7 AM on Monday with Countess’s victory, but JiCheonWang’s sub-guild leader, Yomra, declared another war.

However, the overall battle situation favored Countess.

JiCheonWang’s guild had about 9 times more members than Countess, but this became a disadvantage. JiCheonWang’s members were scattered everywhere, while Countess members were few, making it harder for JiCheonWang’s guild to organize and coordinate.

Countess didn’t travel in full five-member parties. They preferred ambushes with combinations of healers, dealers, or healer-dealer-tank roles. Jehyun and Habaek often pulled off 2-3 kills before JiCheonWang could even react, disappearing before they had a chance to catch up.

However, there are moments when you just have to deal with it, like when you’re trying to level up an alt character. It would have been easier if I’d made a decoy nickname. Of course, I had to pick this particular ID. After dying to KanglimDoryeong, Jehyun was lying in front of the low-level dungeon entrance with Habaek, talking trash.

AhnYiyoungS2Habaek: But why are you always in low-level zones?

AhnYiyoungS2Habaek: Are you scared of max level and comfortable with low levels? ㅠㅠ

KanglimDoryeong: Nice to meet you!

KanglimDoryeong: Oh, it’s because exterminating pests is my hobby ^^

KanglimDoryeong: I chased a cockroach all the way here lol

AhnYiyoungS2Habaek: Oh, please don’t hurt yourselfㅠ

AhnYiyoungBFHealer: Team kill like this;

GuiJaMoSin: Shut the hell up, stop talking nonsense lol

KanglimDoryeong: Let’s be friends!

Jeheon, who had been typing with an expressionless face, suddenly twisted his lips in irritation.

He’d never had this kind of situation with Jangji, despite fighting for five years, but these Hell Guild members easily crossed the line. Sexual harassment was common, and KanglimDoryeong was spewing cursed words that were being filtered out. It seemed like he wanted to show he was angry through the filtered messages.

These arguments weren’t fun. They only brought stress. Jehyun suddenly realized how good rivals Habaek and Jangji had been, and he let out a sigh.

[Guild] AhnYiyoungS2Habaek: I don’t want to deal with these guys

[Guild] AhnYiyoungS2Habaek: Their mouths are too dirty

[Guild] Contempt: Are you talking again? ㅇㅅㅇ

[Guild] Contempt: You’re making the game boring..

[Guild] Ahn YiyoungBFHealer: If KanglimDoryeong says anything that gets filtered, I’ll screenshot it and post it in the Guild chat

[Guild] Ahn YiyoungBFHealer: If there’s too much filtering, I might report it.

[Guild] Contempt: Oh, but sudden as it is, you two really seem like a couple…

[Guild] Sangjae: Yeah, like those people who do online dating in the beginning… lollol

[Guild] Contempt: ㅇㅂㅇ!!!!!

[Guild] Sangjae: I know, right? lollol

[Guild] Contempt: I don’t want to know, but okay..ㄷㅅㄷ..

[Guild] AhnYiyoungS2Habaek: What do you know? Not everything that comes out of your mouth is true, guys

[Guild] Ahn YiyoungBFHealer: It’s that obvious? ^^

[Guild] AhnYiyoungS2Habaek: I’ll log in as healer Habaek, let’s go

After silencing the nonsense from Sangjae and Contempt, Jehyun hit the resurrection button and entered the character selection screen. He logged in as a healer, swapped out his PVP items in the warehouse, and soon Habaek invited him to the party.

Habaek invited you to the Party.

You have joined the Party.

Contempt has joined the Party.

[Party] Habaek: Shall we use Mayonnaise first?

[Party] Contempt: Is it Mayotam ㅇㅅㅇ?

[Party] Healer: Contempt, are you doing daily quests?

[Party] Contempt: Yep, let’s go

[Party] Healer: Okay, then let’s meet at the hideout, buff up, and I’ll go summon

[Party] Habaek: Okay

[Party] Healer: Botok, let’s go

Jehyun moved his character to the Guild hideout and entered voice chat. Adjusting his microphone while wearing his headset, he waited until Contempt and Habaek entered.

“Can you hear me?”

Contempt→ Yep.

Contempt→ Why hasn’t Habaek fixed his microphone? If he’s broke, tell his boyfriend to buy him one. He’s super rich.

“Again, talking nonsense.”

Habaek still hadn’t fixed his mic. He claimed the state of it was inconsistent, but since Jehyun was usually the one leading the party, Habaek didn’t see much need to fix it.

It was frustrating to be treated like the party’s leader, but since Habaek would probably snap if he brought it up in voice chat, Jehyun didn’t push him to change his headset.

[Party] Habaek: ㅠㅠ I can’t get such an expensive gift from my girlfriend.

[Party] Habaek: To someone who can’t even afford a bath ㅠ

[Party] Healer: Yeah whatever, I’m scouting. Ready for summon.

[Party] Contempt: ㅇㅂㅇ… So you did have a conscience?

[Party] Contempt: Thought you didn’t ;ㅅ;

[Party] Contempt: Then bro can give a gift first ㅇㅅㅇㅎ Isn’t it almost 2-2 day lollollollollol ㅋ

“Hey, talk nonsense one more time and I’ll throw you as a sacrifice.”

Contempt→ Tch….

At Jehyun’s firm words, Contempt made a sulking sound and shut up. After confirming the silence, Shin Jehyun opened the teleport scroll and pressed the move button for the saved bookmark. Soon the loading screen appeared, and Jehyun’s character appeared behind a tree not far from the entrance stone to Mallorca’s Tomb.

The forest was empty. Jehyun moved his character stealthily closer to the entrance stone while observing the JiCheonWang Guild members around it.

“Ah, there are lots of people?”

Jehyun slightly furrowed his brow.

Many JiCheonWang Guild members with orange IDs were gathered in front of the entrance stone. Looked like about 8 people. Could they win with 3 people in a head-on fight? No. They absolutely couldn’t win.

[Party] Habaek: How many are there?

[Party] Contempt: These days they move in groups intentionally ㅇㅅㅇ

[Party] Contempt: Since small groups always die.. if they have brains, it’s time to move in groups..

“One tank, two healers, about five dealers? Seems like almost two Parties. But… F1 is here?”

During Guild wars, if a Guild Master dies, it’s an automatic loss in the war. So usually Guild Masters involved in wars would stay in Guild hideouts where PVP is impossible, or in towns during Guild wars.

Because of that, Jehyun hadn’t seen F1 in the field at all last week.

But here they were, fearlessly out in front of the tomb. Were they trusting in their numerical advantage? Jehyun narrowed his eyes while tapping his mouse. After thinking briefly, he spoke.

“Hey, want to go after F1?”

Habaek said the same thing simultaneously.

For once their minds were in sync. Jehyun grinned while starting to invite all connected Guild members.

BeoseotTangsuYuk has joined the Party. Sangjae has joined the Party. Raid has been formed. You have Raid leader authority. Boss12MoreHours has joined the Party.

[Raid] Boss12MoreHours: ??what is this [Raid] Sangjae: I’m doing daily quests, why?

[Raid Leader Notice] Healer: Everyone quickly go to Guild hideout, F1 is here

[Raid Leader Notice] Healer: Let’s assassinate

Jehyun split the Raid into two parties. Currently, the Guild leader, Boss12MoreHours, had to survive until the end while luring JiCheonWang Guild, so he paired BeoseotTangsuYuk, a Summoner who provided movement speed buffs, with Sangjae, a tank with many crowd control abilities. To distract the enemy, he also included Contempt in that party, so they wouldn’t expect a back attack.

Jehyun formed a separate party with Habaek and planned to wait at the back, intending to strike when F1 split off, aiming to take down F1 quickly.

Standing in front of the Mayos entrance and briefing the state of JiCheonWang, Jehyun urged his Guild members.

“They’re probably waiting to go into Mayos. It looks like they’re timing their clear for fun? There’s a lot of people, so they’re probably doing things like that… Anyway, one more dealer joined, and there are 9 now, so we should be leaving soon. Hurry up.”

Boss12MoreHours: Yes, yes, understood.

Sangjae: Should we push them to the left?

“Yeah, if you bring them to the left with the others, I don’t think the helper will go too deep. If they get targeted, they’ll die quickly, so they’ll probably stay at the back. Then Habaek and I will go in and finish F1.”

[Party] Habaek: I’m just watching F1

[Party] Healer: Got it, I’ll take care of the rest.

[Party] Healer: If I can’t finish, should I delete my character?

[Party] Habaek: Trust me, honey^^

[Party] Healer: lol, would I trust you?

Jehyun smirked as he checked his Guild members’ positions. One by one, he saw Boss12MoreHours, Contempt, Sangjae, and BeoseotTangsuYuk moving toward the Mayorka Graveyard entrance, and quickly messaged Habaek.

Boss12MoreHours: I’m entering. Teleport done. Loading finished.

With Boss12MoreHours’s voice, it seemed like there was a faint laugh in the background. Jehyun thought he must have misheard and focused on watching his Guild members appear at the teleport location.

Yemra: ?

F1: What a coincidence to meet here… haha, what a strange fate.

F4: Guild battle, disconnect in 5 seconds~

Boss12MoreHours: Hey guys, how’s it going??

Sangjae: Looks like JiCheonWang is trying to go to Mayos after losing Guild points? haha

Contempt: ew.. smell of the losers..

Yemra: lol, they’re so laid-back?

Boss12MoreHours: lol, we won last week, so… no sense of urgency? haha, wanna let you win this time?

Yemra: lol, really?

Teleporting from a safe zone to a non-safe zone triggers a 15-second shield, preventing surprise attacks.

Using that shield, Countess Guild members began talking trash right after teleporting. After their taunts, JiCheonWang Guild members, who had been standing still, started to apply buffs.

Jehyun waited behind a tree, ensuring not to be spotted. When the shield faded and two Guild members started attacking each other, Jehyun summoned Habaek.

[World] Gang: Mayos, JiCheonWang is fighting, come watch!

[World] KimBokSoon: Are they going all-out? haha

The users, excited that the two Guilds, who had only been doing guerrilla warfare, were now going for an all-out battle, started gathering. Jehyun moved his character back to avoid being detected, squinting his eyes to assess the situation.

As the shield disappeared, Boss12MoreHours and BeoseotTangsuYuk teleported out of their positions. Heavy fire concentrated on where they had been standing, and JiCheonWang members in the swamp, where Boss had left them, were poisoned and began bleeding green.

Yemra, the leader of Hell Guild, was the most aggressive. Instead of guarding F1, he was focused on taking down Boss12MoreHours, charging toward him. Sangjae, the tank, stopped him.

Yemra, aggroed by “Enemy’s Vengeful Shout,” charged at Sangjae. Sangjae blocked with his shield, then used “Shockwave,” a crowd control skill, on those trying to reach Boss.

As expected, F1 did not advance. The only remaining tank for JiCheonWang was F3, who was standing by while Yemra admired the battlefield, saying, “Haha, they’re really good.”

“Wait a minute… we’ll just wait here. They only have one character with a crowd control skill left. They’re probably sending their tank to catch Noona.”

Just as he said, JiCheonWang appeared to be short on tanks, with only one spearman available.

There were no classes among the dealers with many crowd control abilities. Whether KanglimDoryeong hadn’t received the news or was waiting for Jehyun and Habaek to appear again in the low-level zone, it was still a party that didn’t include the efficient necromancer for PVP battles.

“They really have a lot of ranged, huh?”

JiCheonWang had an unusually high number of ranged dealers. There were three dark sorcerers and archers, the same class as Boss12MoreHours. Although archers were weak in both dealing and PVP, they were among the easiest classes to control.

Boss12MoreHours: What are they doing? They suck so much! Damn it!

It was then that Boss12MoreHours yelled out. KanglimDoryeong suddenly appeared behind him as he was retreating.

“Ah, damn it. That bastard went over there.”

Jehyun clicked his tongue irritably as he turned the screen.

Although he had easily been taken down by Habaek, KanglimDoryeong’s class, necromancer, was strong in PVP. Jehyun scowled as he watched Boss’s health quickly drain due to the confusion effect from KanglimDoryeong’s crowd control abilities.

If both Yemra, the time thief, and Kanglim, the illusionist, targeted Boss12MoreHours, it wouldn’t take long for him to fall. This wasn’t good.

Sangjae: Use Capture. He’s out of range.

Contempt: Then I’ll use Lava Explosion.

With the new season started, it wasn’t just priests who had gained new skills. Contempt prepared his ultimate skill, while Sangjae once again drew aggro from nearby dealers with “Enemy’s Vengeful Shout” and immediately used “Chains of Captivity.”

With a swish, chains extended from Sangjae’s character, wielding a long spear. The chains wrapped around the JiCheonWang Guild members, pulling them toward Sangjae.

Although it was a crowd control skill that could be resisted, very few enemies knew how to properly evade it. As they were pulled in, Sangjae immediately used his stun skill, “Shockwave,” and Contempt’s “Lava Explosion” as well as Boss’s “Shadow Cloak” rained down on the stunned enemies. The health of JiCheonWang Guild members dropped by more than half.

“Just don’t get hit by time theft. Watch out for Yemra.”

Yemra was ranked second among time thieves. Jehyun wasn’t sure how much of a skill gap there was between him and Habaek, but if Boss12MoreHours got hit by time theft, there would be no way to recover. Jehyun tapped his fingers as he watched Boss12MoreHours run away from Yemra’s onslaught.

BeoseotTangsuYuk summoned a spirit to heal Boss’s lost health. Jehyun swallowed dryly as he watched. F1 was still standing in front of the Mayorka entrance. The spearman, F3, should have moved by now, but there was no sign of movement.

“If we keep stalling, we’ll lose. I’ll draw F3 away.”

Finally, Jehyun made a decision and moved his character. Entering the opposite direction of where Boss and the Guild members were heading, Jehyun immediately debuffed F3 to signal that he was here.

“Habaek, if I draw F3 away and you get enough space for your charge, can you use Donggu (a skill that transfers debuffs and swaps places with a party member) to help me take him down one-on-one?”

F3, noticing the priest, started to move away from the helper, heading toward Jehyun. However, the fact that the priest was alone here seemed suspicious, and F3 didn’t fully separate from F1.

Habaek: Of course we can take him down.

Seeming to recognize the importance of the moment, Habaek answered calmly through his crackling mic. It was a simple but reliable response.

Jehyun grinned, licked his lips, and made his character jump. Even though he stood still as if daring F3 to strike, F3 just smiled, not moving.

“This bastard’s quick to catch on.”

How could he lure F3? But sensing something was off, JiCheonWang Guild members weren’t even giving Jehyun any attention, focusing solely on taking down Boss12MoreHours.

Jehyun danced in front of F3, scanning the raid status window. He quickly checked the health bars of Guild members who were constantly gaining and losing debuffs, then narrowed his eyes, preparing to use the hotkey for “Noble Sacrifice” (which sets the caster’s HP to 1 and heals all allies’ HP, but makes them unable to heal for 10 seconds, with a 10-minute cooldown).

Even though F3 wanted to protect F1, he wouldn’t be able to ignore a priest with only 1 HP.

“I’m using Noble Sacrifice.”

Sangjae: Now?

Boss12MoreHours: Damn it, I’m getting time-locked!!

“What?!”

At that crucial moment, Boss12MoreHours was hit by Yemra’s time-lock debuff. Although not as severe as time theft, it was still a dangerous debuff. Swearing under his breath, Jehyun watched as Boss’s health quickly drained and prepared to use Noble Sacrifice.

Boseot: Invulnerable, invulnerable.

At that moment, BeoseotTangsuYuk used an invulnerability skill on Boss12MoreHours. It was a new skill that could be granted to party members, and it seemed like it had been saved for just this moment. The timing was perfect.

Jehyun, considering the brief 2-second invulnerability, checked the debuff timer on Boss12MoreHours.

“When the invul hits 1 second, I’ll use Noble Sacrifice!”

The duration of the time lock was 1 second longer than the invulnerability. When the invulnerability was active, health recovery was prevented. If they didn’t heal immediately after the buff wore off, Boss would be taken down, and a loss in the Guild battle was imminent.

Quickly calling out, Jehyun licked his lips and calculated the timing. 1 second until the invulnerability wore off. 0.5 seconds to use Noble Sacrifice.

Finally, when the debuff timer on the invulnerability showed the number 1, Jehyun pressed the skill hotkey a moment later.

BeoseotTangsuYuk has died.

Using Noble Sacrifice.

The effects of the sacrifice are felt.

Using Retreat.

Using God’s Step.

As soon as Jehyun’s health dropped to 1, as expected, F3 charged at him. Dodging the spearman’s charge, Jehyun immediately moved out of the range of the crowd control skill and used the “Blessing of Grace” to increase his debuff resistance, and “Radiant Protection” to absorb damage.

Because of the Noble Sacrifice’s risk of causing a period of healing restriction, Jehyun needed to withstand the damage using Radiant Protection and keep F3 away from F1 by an appropriate distance.

“Habaek, wait… wait… hold on.”

Jehyun lured F3 to one side while dodging his attacks with swift movements. It was the most thrilling moment in a non-targeting game.

Holy Shield absorbs 2879 damage.

Holy Shield absorbs 1251 damage.

But not all attacks could be avoided. Jehyun, hit by F3’s advancing attacks while swinging his shield, saw his shield break and checked the distance between himself and F1. 19 meters. The maximum range of the time thief’s charge was 21 meters.

Finally, as Jehyun backed up to 20 meters from F1, he locked onto Habaek, who was standing by the tree, and used the “Rescue” skill to switch positions with him.

“Now! Go in!”

In an instant, Habaek, who had switched positions with Jehyun, appeared next to F3. Seeing Habaek charge at F1, F3 used “Shockwave,” but Habaek barely avoided the range.

“I’m using Capture!”

At that moment, in an attempt to stop Habaek from reaching the Guild leader, chains extended from F3’s entire body, just as Sangjae had used earlier. Jehyun screamed as he saw the black chains heading toward Habaek.