SRPG | Chapter 1.5

‘Efficient in earning praise.’

The two then left the dungeon, with the ashes of the boss fading behind them. It was nearing 2:40 AM, and the entrance to the second promotion dungeon was quieter than expected.

Even the vampires lingering at the entrance seemed to be users who were AFK.

It was time to part ways. As Lee Hwanyoung was about to express his thanks and say goodbye, Gudok initiated the conversation.

[Party] Gudok: Slave-nim, slave-nim,
[Party] Gudok: Gudok has something to say,

Just then, Boom!

[Party] Gudok: Eh?
[Party] Gudok: What’s this?

A bolt of lightning struck above Gudok’s head.

<System: ‘Gudok’ has been struck by the Guild Master’s Wrath.>

Crash! The lightning struck wildly, electrocuting Gudok’s adorable raccoon character, and a dizzy effect appeared above his head.

“Ah, that’s a guild master skill.”

A guild master can use a few special skills on their guild members, and one of them is the ‘Guild Master’s Wrath,’ which temporarily stuns them.

“That skill requires hitting level 50 to use.”

[General] Hyoppang: Got him.

Soon after, the air behind Hyoppang shimmered like a mirage, and a rabbit humanoid character with a huge axe on its back appeared. The name above the character read ‘Hyoppang.’

Ah, so this person is Hyoppang.

Lee Hwanyoung murmured as he noticed Hyoppang’s long rabbit ears and the giant axe on his back.

“…Axe and rabbit.”

Was that intentional? Nah, surely not.

Pushing aside frivolous thoughts, Lee Hwanyoung casually assessed Hyoppang’s character.

The large frame could have been mistaken for a bull or bear humanoid if not for the rabbit ears, clad in steel armor favoring defense over agility.

‘An axe knight.’

Axe knights are sub-tankers known for their binding skills.

Hyoppang’s character approached Gudok with heavy, thudding steps, looming over the small raccoon humanoid like a mountain.

[General] Hyoppang: Gudok,
[General] Hyoppang: Did you enjoy your date with the newbie?

Hyoppang menacingly swung his axe.

Whoom, whoom. Boom, boom.

The giant axe sliced through the air, making a heavy sound.

[General] Gudok: Something’s wrong!!!! (;° ロ°) Gudok doesn’t understand!
[General] Gudok: Hyoppang made a promise!
[General] Gudok: If Gudok helps the newbie,
[General] Gudok: You said you’d take off the raid build task!!!! (;° ロ°)
[General] Gudok: Keep your promise, Hyoppang!!!!!

Lee Hwanyoung stepped back a bit to watch the unfolding scene, not wanting to get involved in another guild’s affairs.

‘I should just take what I’ve gained and leave.’

With that thought, he watched the exchange between Gudok and Hyoppang like watching a movie or drama.

[General] Hyoppang: A promise?
[General] Hyoppang: Who was it that broke the promise first?
[General] Gudok: (˶˙ᵕ˙˶)
[General] Hyoppang: ^^
[General] Gudok: (˶˙ᵕ˙˶) (˶˙ᵕ˙˶) (˶˙ᵕ˙˶) (˶˙ᵕ˙˶)
[General] Hyoppang: ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^

Neither Hyoppang nor Gudok backed down, and through their conversation, Lee Hwanyoung learned that it was Gudok who had first broken a promise and fled.

[General] Hyoppang: Gudok,
[General] Hyoppang: If you were going to run,
[General] Hyoppang: you should have made sure not to get caught by me again.
[General] Hyoppang: You got careless just because I loosened up a bit,
[General] Hyoppang: and now you’ve been caught.

Just then, the air behind Hyoppang stirred, and a new character appeared.

[General] Eco Cup Discount 300: Guild master, I’m scared, I’m scared.

The newly revealed character was a goat humanoid, its mottled gray hair and curved horns standing out. Dressed in a robe with a staff in hand, it appeared to be a magician.

‘Given the black horns, maybe a dark wizard?’

As Lee Hwanyoung came to this realization, he uttered a soft “Ah.”

“Right. You’d need a dark wizard to maintain invisibility for a long time.”

Now he fully understood the situation.

Hyoppang, after receiving Gudok’s location from Lee Hwanyoung, had used Eco Cup Discount’s help to become invisible and waited outside the dungeon.

‘If you move while invisible, it’s noticeable, so he must have been hiding as much as possible, pretending not to be there.’

Then, the moment Gudok began to chat with Lee Hwanyoung—when Gudok’s hand was off the mouse—that brief moment was when Hyoppang used the guild master skill on Gudok.

[General] Gudok: Slave-nim!(›´-`‹)

Gudok called out to Lee Hwanyoung.

[General] Gudok: Don’t just stand there, help your master!!! ( >д<)
[General] Gudok: Help your master escape this evil guild master!!!! ( >д<)

Lee Hwanyoung responded to Gudok.

[General] IlllIIl: Master,
[General] IlllIIl: I’m sorry.
[General] Gudok: (・_・)?

It was time for a confession.

[General] IlllIIl: In fact, I informed Hyoppang about the time you would be leaving the dungeon.
[General] Gudok: (・_・)?……What? What are you saying….?
[General] IlllIIl: Thank you for the last three hours.
[General] IlllIIl: I will not forget your kindness.
[General] Gudok: Slave-nim…
[General] Gudok: Not slave-nim…?
[General] Gudok: That… that’s not it, right?
[General] Gudok: Did you really… sell me out?
[General] Gudok: We were good… we were happy… slave-nim… but why… why….

Gudok’s messages became distant.

[General] Gudok: Slave-nim,,, tell me yourself.
[General] Gudok: Did you… sell me out?
[General] IlllIIl: Yes, Master.
[General] IlllIIl: I sold you out.
[General] Gudok: !!!!

‘The genre has suddenly changed. ‘

Just a moment ago he was just an attention-seeker, but now he’s like the male lead out of a dark and clingy romance novel.

‘Seems like attention-seekers these days need to be good at this… It’s not easy.’

Lee Hwanyoung racked his brain to match Gudok’s drama, crafting plausible lines that seemed quite decent. Fortunately, it seemed Gudok was satisfied with Lee Hwanyoung’s response.

[Whisper] Gudok: Slave-nim, good job (๑ᵔ⩊ᵔ๑)
[Whisper] Gudok: Looks like you’re getting good at this roleplay thing too! Nice to watch! (๑ᵔ⩊ᵔ๑) (๑ᵔ⩊ᵔ๑)
[Whisper] Gudok: I’m having fun! Don’t worry!!
[Whisper] Gudok: (/ω＼)

Lee Hwanyoung marveled at the private message from Gudok.

“He really just enjoys the game for what it is.”

Normally, people playing RPG games tend to immerse themselves somewhat. But Gudok seemed to genuinely treat the game as just a game. It was clear he thought as long as it was fun, being on the receiving end was fine too.

Lee Hwanyoung saw Gudok in a new light, a refreshingly positive perspective.

[General] Hyoppang: Gudok,
[General] Hyoppang: Let’s go back to where you belong.
[General] Hyoppang: Your time outside ends here.

<System: ‘Gudok’ receives the Guild Master’s Punishment.>

Hyoppang’s rabbit humanoid swung his axe at Gudok. Gudok’s scream of despair filled the chat.

[General] Gudok: No,,,!!!!!!!
[General] Gudok: I hate jail!!!!!!
[General] Gudok: I’ve barely escaped and haven’t even had one slave bread!!!
[General] lIlllIIl: I’m sorry, Master….
[General] lIlllIIl: May you find a better friend in your next slave…
[General] Gudok: You evil person!!!! ( >д<)!!!
[General] Gudok: You ba… bad person…
[General] Gudok: Bad person!!!!!1111
[General] Gudok: I won’t forget this!!!! I won’t forget!!!!

With those words, Gudok’s character vanished from Lee Hwanyoung’s sight.

Lee Hwanyoung quickly checked his friend list to see Gudok’s status. True to his attention-seeking nature, Gudok had his location visibility set to the public.

<Friend List>
―Gudok (Online/Guild Headquarters)
―Hyoppang (Online/Private)

“It looks like he really got sent to the guild jail.”

When a guild reaches level 70, a jail facility becomes available in the guild headquarters. Obviously, the jail wasn’t just for show.

At level 80, the guild master gains the ‘Punishment’ skill, which allows them to confine a guild member to the guild jail for up to 24 hours.

Lee Hwanyoung’s memories of being jailed himself surfaced.

“That… wasn’t a great feeling.”

He paced back and forth where Gudok had been standing moments ago. Perhaps interpreting his movement as anxiety, Hyoppang quickly reassured him.

[General] Hyoppang: Ah, newbie,
[General] Hyoppang: You don’t have to worry too much, haha.
[General] Hyoppang: Gudok is a frequent visitor to our guild jail, haha. He ends up there twice a week.
[General] Hyoppang: And we usually let him out almost immediately, so don’t worry too much.
[General] Eco Cup Discount 300: Lol true, just donate some money to the guild storage and you get out right away, no worries.
[General] Eco Cup Discount 300: Ah, I once paid a 4,000 gem bail to escape jail last time.
[General] lIlllIIl: If you paid bail, isn’t that release rather than escape?
[General] Eco Cup Discount 300: ??
[General] Eco Cup Discount 300: Is that so?
[General] Eco Cup Discount 300: Did you study social studies or law? You know a lot.
[General] lIlllIIl: No, I studied ethics.

Unable to stand the foolish conversation, Hyoppang intervened.

[General] Hyoppang: The word ‘bail’ actually comes from ‘bail release.’
[General] Eco Cup Discount 300: For real? Wow, guild master’s super smart.
[General] Hyoppang: No, that wasn’t what I meant to say.

Hyoppang steered the conversation back to the original topic.

[General] Hyoppang: As I just mentioned, our guild members frequently go in and out of jail,
[General] Hyoppang: So if Gudok tries to bother you because of this incident, just send me a direct message.
[General] Hyoppang: Then I’ll catch him and send him straight back to guild jail again. ^^

Lee Hwanyoung thought Hyoppang truly embodied the spirit of a modern guild master.

‘What were all the guild masters I met before doing?’

Suddenly hit by a moment of introspection, Lee Hwanyoung shook his head to clear the strange sense of disenchantment. It’s in the past. Let it go.

[General] IlllIIl: Thank you for your concern.
[General] Hyoppang: No, I should be the one thanking you, haha. ^^
[General] Hyoppang: Oh! And
[General] Hyoppang: I’ll send the promised additional reward in a bit.
[General] Eco Cup Discount 300: ?
[General] Eco Cup Discount 300: Guild master? Additional reward? What are you talking about?
[General] Eco Cup Discount 300: You didn’t say that to me.
[General] Eco Cup Discount 300: Guild master? Guild master? Guild master? Guild master? Guild master?
[General] Hyoppang: Well then,
[General] Hyoppang: Thank you. ^^

<System: ‘Hyoppang’ uses ‘Spatial Movement Scroll (Party Inclusive)’.>

Hyoppang used a spatial movement scroll to forcibly take Eco Cup Discount and disappeared.

As the two characters vanished, the previously bustling chat suddenly quieted.

“……”

Hyoppang reassured him, but Lee Hwanyoung still felt a bit guilty.

Quietly, he opened his inventory and took out some avatars he had thought to send, then wrote a letter.

Sender: IlllIIl
Recipient: Gudok

Attachments: <Clear Air After Rain (Unique)> <Cute Cat Whiskers (Unique)> <Sparkling Blush When Smiling (Unique)>

Sorry, Master.
But a slave always dreams of stabbing their master in the back, don’t they?
There are no kind slaves in this world. I hope you understand my feelings.

PS. Thank you for helping with the promotion dungeon.
The attached items are a token of my gratitude.