Sorim Grapes is Wronged

27.

[General/Angryy: It was a mistake]

[General/MinoIsMine: I see…lololol]

[General/Gchang: But it’s actually fine if you speak casually ㅇㅅㅇ I feel like you’re probably older than me]

[Whisper/Beombiga: Was that megaphone about Angryy newbie referring to you?]

[Whisper/To Beombiga: Yeah]

[Whisper/Beombiga: Hmm]

[Whisper/Beombiga: Are guild master Gchang and those two bothering you a lot?]

[Whisper/To Beombiga: It doesn’t matter, I can just ignore them]

[Whisper/Beombiga: Ah, okay]

[Whisper/Beombiga: Those people are old-timers, so they’re probably following you around because they’re bored]

[Whisper/Beombiga: They’re not bad people, but if they’re really bothersome, let me know]

[Whisper/To Beombiga: Okay]

What would they do if I really said something? Beat them up for me?

With these pointless thoughts, I started the infiltration quest. NPCs were wandering inside the guild building…. I avoided getting caught by disguising myself as a wine barrel, quickly hiding behind walls, hanging from the ceiling, or wearing a robe pretending to be an NPC. I clicked the mouse and pressed the G key at the right timing.

It had a different kind of fun compared to combat.

I almost got caught in the middle, but somehow managed to get through, and easily won the battle in the last room.

I found a map with the location of a jade seal fragment in the treasure chest. I also acquired two equipment items.

Feeling satisfied, I exited the solo dungeon.

The three users who were sitting as if waiting for me jumped up.

[General/Gchang: How far did you go?]

[General/Gakjong: Judging by the time, probably halfway?]

[General/MinoIsMine: Still, you went further than I thought lol]

[General/Gchang: It’s different from dungeons, right? ㅇㅅㅠ You’ll probably need to look at a guide]

[General/Gchang: The walkthrough videos by Mini Choco and Cheongnyeongong are good]

[General/Gakjong: I also recommend Beombi’s. It’s hard to follow because he’s too good, but it’s fun to watch. You can feel the thrill]

I ignored them and moved my character.

[General/Gchang: ?ㅅ? Where are you going?]

[General/Angryy: To do the next quest]

[General/Gchang: ㅇㅅㅇ????]

[General/MinoIsMine: No way???]

[General/Gakjong: ?? Are you saying you cleared it?;;]

[General/Gchang: ∑(๑º口º๑)!! ]

[General/MinoIsMine: Are you crazy? Seriously?]

[General/Angryy: I cleared it]

[General/Gakjong: ?????]

[General/MinoIsMine: Wow…….]

[General/Gakjong: Angryy newbie cleared infiltration quest on first try]

Don’t these people have anything better to do…

Because they used a megaphone for something not that impressive, the chat window immediately became noisy and whispers came flying from various people.

[Whisper/Beombiga: Is that megaphone for real?]

[Whisper/To Beombiga: Yeah]

[Whisper/Beombiga: Ah…]

[Whisper/Beombiga: You’re a gaming prodigy..]

[Whisper/Beombiga: How did you clear it on the first try without looking at a guide… lol]

[Whisper/To Beombiga: How many times did you do it?]

[Whisper/Beombiga: It was my first try too]

[Whisper/To Beombiga: What?]

[Whisper/Beombiga: No, I’m different. I’m someone who has to clear it on the first try ㅠㅠ]

[Whisper/Beombiga: It would be strange if I didn’t clear it on the first try]

[Whisper/To Beombiga: What are you talking about]

[Whisper/Beombiga: It’s just… Anyway, you’re really good, Angryy]

Hearing this kind of praise multiple times makes me wonder if I’m really that good.

Being good at games might not help in life right away… but at least it’ll help in saving this world.

I want to find the jade seal quickly and give it to Lido. If I successfully bring one, Lido will trust me and assign me to track down other jade seals.

Whispers poured in from strangers who saw the megaphone. “Changgwi Jotmang Guild,” “Are you an alt? lol,” “Attention seeker,” “Congratulations~,” “Congrats,” “Wow, you’re really good”….

It’s surprising that it’s not all insults.

I moved my character while ignoring the flood of whispers.

*

For four days, I continued from quest to quest while heading towards the map location.

I left the port city, cleared another dungeon solo, went to a new city, and received more quests….

Sometimes while doing quests, you have to wait for certain conditions like rain or specific time periods for clearing. When I left my character standing at the quest location and returned after doing housework or errands for my brother, the three of them would be gathered around my character, sitting by a campfire and chatting. Those three were, of course, Gchang, MinoIsMine, and Gakjong.

[General/Gchang: We’ve given up on guild rankings, we probably didn’t even make top 20 last month?]

[General/Gakjong: Huh? Wasn’t your guild ranked 3rd at one point?]

[General/Gchang: That’s ancient history ㅇㅅㅠ Now everyone’s in the military]

[General/Gchang: Or busy with job hunting, getting certifications, preparing for marriage, working overtime, etc., so they don’t log in]

[General/Gchang: The Blood Demon guild keeps eyeing our mine ㅠㅅㅠ]

[General/Gchang: I thought about just giving it up, but those bastards would obviously raise the fees, so we’re hanging on]

[General/Gchang: Look at the fees for the Dark Mine ㅇㅅㅇ]

[General/MinoIsMine: Ah shit, so that mine belonged to them]

[General/MinoIsMine: I quit being a miner because the fees suddenly increased at the beginning of this year lol]

[General/Gchang: A lot of people quit then]

[General/MinoIsMine: I mean, it’s fine if it increases but lol shit]

[General/MinoIsMine: When it suddenly increased by 20%, I seriously considered quitting the game lol]

[General/Gakjong: For real, if Jangsanbeom hadn’t said anything then, they would’ve raised it to 50% and people would’ve quit in droves]

[General/MinoIsMine: Jangsanbeom,, a guild our server can’t do without ㅠㅠ]

[General/Gchang: But why are you guys not in a guild? Want to join ours?]

[General/MinoIsMine: Pass lol We’re going for the concept of unaffiliated hermits]

[General/Gakjong: I’m not doing it as a concept, I’m a real hermit]

In fact, both of them did have the title “Hermit” in front of their names.

In POI, you get titles for achieving certain conditions while playing the game, and there are supposedly 480 of these titles. Titles are divided into five grades according to Forest Effect’s basic rarity: Common, Rare, Ancient, Legendary, and Mythic. “Hermit” is Legendary grade, the second rarest.

You can get it by logging in every day for 10 days while above level 300, without using a single skill including life skills.

[General/Gchang: Ah, okay =ㅅ=;]

[General/MinoIsMine: What’s with that expression? I feel like I’m being ignored]

[General/Gchang: ˶◕ ㅅ◕˶? What?]

[General/MinoIsMine: lololololol I’ll let it slide because you’re cute]

[General/Gakjong: I didn’t know Gchang was this kind of person lololol]

[General/Gchang: What kind of person did you think I was?]

[General/Gakjong: Just lol Anyway, you’re the guild master of a guild that’s been ranked 1st before]

[General/Gakjong: I thought you’d be more dignified, though I didn’t expect that much]

[General/Gakjong: But to this extent… how should I put it,,]

[General/Angryy: Pathetic]

[General/Gakjong: Ah, that’s right lol I didn’t think you’d be this pathetic lol]

[General/Gchang: Heeeng ╥﹏╥]

[General/Gakjong: Oh wait]

[General/Gakjong: Whoa, it’s Angryy lololololol]

[General/MinoIsMine: Angryy, honestly you didn’t just appear now]

[General/MinoIsMine: You were waiting for the right moment to tease Gchang, right? lololol]

[General/Gchang: You’re so mean TㅅT]

I occasionally joined in like this, but I talked more with Beombiga. These people talked about too many things I didn’t know… Like incidents that happened in the game, famous guilds in the game, or famous people.

Someone from a certain guild had risen to group leader but then moved to another guild after only skipping the “Idol Minstrel” skill tree. Someone from this guild and someone from that guild had a PvP duel, and the one from that guild lost but shamelessly didn’t delete their character and kept playing. The 5th and 6th ranked guilds simultaneously challenged the 4th ranked guild that had been dominating the Eastern Continent for a long time, and they were in the middle of a guild war.

MinoIsMine and Gakjong were originally part of some guild, they said. It was a famous guild, but something bad happened and the two of them left together to live as hermits. Like people who become disillusioned with human society in the city and return to farming in the countryside…

Watching quietly, it felt oddly similar to the real world.

Games and reality are similar in many ways… But the differences are so stark that it makes me feel even stranger. It seems weird that people fight over virtual assets in a mere game. But then again, I’ve also stormed out because I was too immersed in a virtual story, so I can’t really talk.

[General/Gakjong: Among POI streamers, only God Lux and Beombiga are worth watching lol]

[General/MinoIsMine: Ah, I agree]

I was quite surprised when the name “Beombiga” appeared in the chat window.

I was in the middle of a fishing quest, and I was so startled that I lost the fish, causing the three of them to tease me with a barrage of “lol”s.

[General/Gakjong: Even Angryy makes mistakes lololol]

[General/Gchang: Ah lololol I should’ve taken a screenshot ㅇㅅㅠ]

[General/MinoIsMine: Angryy, please make one more mistake lololol]

Never mind my mistake, just continue talking about Beombiga.

Fortunately, the three quickly returned to the topic I was curious about.

[General/Gakjong: After all, Beombiga’s influence can’t be ignored in how POI dominated market share from the beginning lol]

[General/MinoIsMine: Beombiga is younger than you’d think]

[General/Gakjong: I think they said they just became an adult?]

[General/Gchang: That’s right, younger than me ㅇㅅㅇ A minor until last year]

[General/Gakjong: Yeah, that’s why there were no late-night game sessions until last year lol]

[General/Gakjong: Debuted at 15 lol]

[General/MinoIsMine: For real, their age is no joke,,,,]

[General/Gakjong: There were a few times when the voice modulation glitched during live streams]

[General/Gakjong: Their voice is super handsome]

[General/MinoIsMine: How can a voice be handsome??? lololol]

[General/Gakjong: It’s very atmospheric and deep]

[General/Gakjong: It just makes you want to call them “hyung”]

At the description of an atmospheric and deep voice, I was reminded of Kwon Je-beom’s voice.

I wonder if Beombiga’s is similar.