HSF 4

4

At first, Cheong-hyeon thought the Guild Master was trying to mediate the situation. As for Akhaeng, Cheong-hyeon had decided to ignore him whether he misunderstood the situation or not, so he was satisfied that others’ misunderstandings had been cleared up in the meantime.

[To Lucky]: Ah yes haha…

[To Lucky]: The misunderstanding has been cleared up now, so it’s fine!

[Whisper] Lucky: Ah, that’s a relief!

[Whisper] Lucky: Please be careful to avoid similar misunderstandings in the future 🙂

Cheong-hyeon furrowed his brow at this unexpected response. He had simply been wrongly accused by a strange person, yet here was Lucky telling the innocent party to be careful…It was natural for Cheong-hyeon to sharpen his tone in response to such an unreasonable comment.

[To Lucky]: There won’t be any such thing, so Akhaeng should be the one to be careful

[Whisper] Lucky: That’s good then! 🙂

“Ugh! What an unpleasant guy…”

In truth, while Akhaeng’s constant provocations were partly why Cheong-hyeon hadn’t grown attached to the guild, the bigger reason was the Guild Master, Lucky.

Lucky had a habit of irritating people with that seemingly polite tone while subtly rubbing them the wrong way. Since Lucky carefully maintained his image, anyone who expressed discomfort with his words was treated as being oversensitive.

Furthermore, Lucky subtly favored certain guild members, taking them along for dungeon expeditions or giving them small gifts. Since these actions were so minor, it was awkward to complain about them, which left new guild members who weren’t in Lucky’s good graces feeling subtly excluded.

[Guild] Lucky: Anyone want to run Mystic Mine~

[Guild] StrongestSpirit: Me

[Guild] bowwow: Me too~

[Guild] Capybara: Me! Me!

[Guild] Poten: Me too!

[Guild] Poten: Ah, I’m too late ㅜ

The same thing was happening now. Mystic Mine, or “Shingang” as players called it, was a dungeon that could be run once daily to collect ore from monsters. Selling this ore to the merchant outside the dungeon yielded substantial gold, making it part of players’ daily routine.

Unlike other dungeons, it had a 10-minute time limit and only allowed parties of up to four people. It was obvious that Lucky would take Poten, who had sent the latest message, instead of Capybara.

[Guild] Lucky: Oh, Poten-nim couldn’t join us last time.

[Guild] Lucky: And we promised to go together next time 🙁

[Guild] Lucky: Capybara-nim, I’m sorry but…

[Guild] Lucky: Today I’ll go with Poten-nim ;_;

[Guild] Capybara: Ah, ok Haha

[Guild] Capybara: It’s fine, I can join a public party hahaha

[Guild] Lucky: Ok, next time I’ll invite Capybara-nim first 🙂

Cheong-hyeon knew Lucky wouldn’t keep that promise. This was a certainty born from his own similar experiences of being excluded in the past.

In Mystic Mine, maximizing gold income meant killing as many mobs as possible within the time limit. In public parties, you’d often encounter people who would go AFK for the entire 10 minutes or waste time harassing party members instead of hunting, resulting in significantly less gold compared to running with friends. That was why Cheong-hyeon also preferred guild parties over public ones. After briefly contemplating the stranded Capybara, Cheong-hyeon typed:

[Guild] Ittorang: Capybara-nim

[Guild] Ittorang: I haven’t done Mystic Mine yet either, want to go together?

[Guild] Capybara: Oh! Yes, that would be great haha Should we go now?

[Guild] Ittorang: Yes, I’ll find two more people for a public party

Cheong-hyeon couldn’t ignore the excluded Capybara and ended up choosing to join a public party with them. Although he had come to dislike public parties after a few bad experiences, he figured having Capybara along would make it better than going alone.

We might get lucky and find decent party members…

At this point, all he could do was pray for good party members.

[Guild] Jimni: I’ll join for Mystic Mine too.

[Guild] Capybara: Oh! Jimni-nim haha That’s great.

[Guild] Jimni: Give me 3 minutes. Killing a boss right now.

[Guild] Ittorang: Ok!

Jimni was a Knight, a tank class. Tanks were essential for Mystic Mine gold efficiency because they could quickly gather mobs, but in BioGod, tank players were even rarer than healers, making them difficult to party with. Cheong-hyeon’s lips curled into a slight smile at Jimni’s unexpected addition. He had a feeling today’s Mystic Mine income would be quite substantial.

[Guild] Jimni: Invite me.

[Guild] Ittorang: Ok.

[Guild] Ittorang: I’ve invited Capybara-nim too.

[Party] Ittorang: Please gather at the Mystic Mine entrance.

Shortly after inviting Jimni and Capybara, all party members assembled at the dungeon entrance. As Cheong-hyeon was happily looking at his reliable party members and was about to recruit for the last empty spot, something came up.

[Party] Jimni: Invite Seohee1

[Party] Jimni: Too

At that moment, Seohee1 teleported and appeared at the dungeon entrance. They looked exactly the same as when Cheong-hyeon had seen them in the guild room earlier, except they were holding a slightly different staff. Cheong-hyeon hurriedly sent a party invitation before Seohee1’s entrance effect had even had the chance to fade away.

This Mystic Mine party composition was optimal. Cheong-hyeon was an assassin with good close-range AoE skills, Capybara was a fire-attribute mage with excellent hunting abilities among ranged DPS, Jimni was a Knight—a tier 1 class for Mystic Mine and as rare as wild ginseng, and Seohee1 was a ranked priest whose personality might be terrible but whose skills were undeniable.

Cheong-hyeon’s prediction of making good money wasn’t wrong. Even with mediocre party members, having just one Knight would allow them to earn more gold than usual. Now with a skilled healer added to the mix, they couldn’t help but make excellent profits. The fact that Seohee1 was occasionally immortalized on the BioGod community for their rude personality wasn’t important right now to Cheong-hyeon, who was blinded by greed right then.

[Party] Seohee1: Hi.

[Party] Seohee1: DPS, remove all defensive accessories and switch to damaged ones.

At these words, Cheong-hyeon’s heart raced with excitement. The darkness-attribute assassin had explosive close-range attack power but low health and defense, making them prone to dying easily. Because of this, wearing at least one accessory that boosted health and defense was necessary.

That was the minimum for skilled players—most wore two, and some even wore three. BioGod users jokingly called darkness assassins “Doomsalja (Future Aspiration: Tank)” because they hoarded tank equipment. Cheong-hyeon hovered his mouse over the ring he had never even considered removing since beginning his journey as a darkness-attribute assassin.

[Giant Jackson’s Guardian Ring]

[Legendary Grade]

Defense +200

Maximum HP increased by 15%

Damage received from all elemental attacks reduced by 20%

Low chance to absorb a portion of the enemy’s health upon hit

A ring possessed by Jackson, the master of the great tower. Rumored to have ruled the earth in ancient times before being banished to the edge of the world for stealing divine relics.

This ring was Cheong-hyeon’s end-game accessory and his only defensive item, obtained by repeatedly hunting the boss Jackson so he could minimize his defensive accessories. With a trembling heart, Cheong-hyeon unequipped the ring. He felt conflicted, wondering if this was okay while simultaneously feeling like he had always wanted to try this. His heart pounded like a teenager committing their first act of rebellion.

[Darkness-Immersed Ring]

[Hero Grade]

Darkness attribute damage increased by 7%

Ambush success rate increased by 10%

15% chance for additional hit during ambush

(Special Skill) Curtain of Darkness: Darkness falls on a specific area. Enemies in the area become confused and have a slightly increased chance of being ambushed.

Skill cooldown: 10 minutes

It is said that an unprocessed ring will swallow even its owner into darkness.

Cheong-hyeon equipped the spare ring he had been carrying in his empty ring slot.

[Party] Ittorang: I changed it but

[Party] Ittorang: You know darkness assassins are really squishy???

[Party] Jimni: lol lol lol lol

[Party] Seohee1: lol Scared?

[Party] Jimni: It’s fine, if you die it’s Seohee’s fault.

[Party] Ittorang: A little scared Haa…

[Party] Capybara: I’m squishy too ㅠㅠ…

[Party] Ittorang: Darkness assassins are squishier than mages ㅠㅠ!

[Party] Seohee1: It’s fine, it’s fine.

[Party] Seohee1: Voice chat, let’s go.

[Party] Seohee1: Channel 3.

Mystic Mine wasn’t a dungeon difficult enough to require voice chat or where communication was crucial, so typically suggesting voice chat for Mystic Mine simply meant socializing for the 10-minute run. Occasionally, it meant planning properly to maximize monster kills and gold earnings during those 10 minutes.

Given Seohee1’s notorious reputation, it was unlikely to be the former, so Cheong-hyeon prepared himself mentally for intense hunting and joined the voice chat app.

“Hello~”

“Hiii~”

“…Um, can you hear me well?”

“Yes, I can hear you clearly.”

The cheerful, clear female voice that responded to his greeting was Jimni, and the shy male voice was Capybara.