LS 133

The four members of the Human raid party ordered noodle soup for lunch. No one felt like cooking for four, and since the weather was cold, they all craved something warm and soupy.

“Any food preferences?” Yeojin asked.

Moonhyuk shook his head quietly.

“He’s not picky, he eats everything,” he said.

Dohee added that from the side, which made Yeojin glance at him with a knowing smile. For some reason, that annoyed Dohee.

“Wow, seeing it in person is wild.”

“What, am I some zoo monkey to you?”

Dohee grumbled at Yeohoo’s remark. He’d expected they’d all meet in person eventually, maybe at an offline gathering, but he still felt annoyed for no real reason, even though he didn’t exactly keep secrets from the twins.

“No, I mean… I know IngSupp.”

“…What?”

Yeohoo’s sudden words caught them all off guard. Even Dohee whipped his head around to stare at him. Moonhyuk looked completely clueless.

“This is… no, seriously, this is crazy.”

“What is?”

“IngSupp is kind of a campus celeb at Hanguk University. I didn’t know it was the same person!”

Moonhyuk and Dohee spoke at the same time.

“Hyung is?”

“Me!?”

A short silence fell over the living room. Yeohoo scratched his head and laughed.

“Yeah. Dohee probably wouldn’t know since he barely went to class and dropped out pretty quickly. I’m a Theater & Film major at Korea U. I’m Baek Yeohoo, one year younger than hyung.”

“Oh… okay.”

While Moonhyuk nodded politely, Dohee looked back at Yeohoo and asked,

“But why hyung?”

“Well, cause he’s hot. He’s super popular.”

“…What?”

“Judging by his personality, he probably has no clue, but he’s super well-known. People talk about ‘the hot guy in the Sociology department,’ ‘the one in the plaid shirt,’ ‘the one in the white tee’, he’s a legend. I browse the student community app sometimes, and he comes up all the time. Like, ‘Who was the hot guy in the plaid shirt at the general ed building?’ That kind of stuff.”

“Ah…”

“Pretty much everyone knows his name’s Kwon Moonhyuk and that he’s in Sociology.”

Yeohoo and Yeojin both burst out laughing.

Moonhyuk scratched his head, clearly flustered. Watching the three of them, Dohee just started feeling bitter. Why does he have to be this good-looking? People ask for his number just walking down the street.

Sure, Dohee was obviously prettier than anyone asking, but still, it made him irritated.

“Anyway, it’s just wild. Are you going to class next semester? Got any gen ed credits left? I heard you were valedictorian, help me out a bit. I gave you a carry in SoGod~”

At Yeohoo’s playful remark, Moonhyuk let out a laugh.

Dohee, for some reason, suddenly had the urge to smack the top of Yeohoo’s head. Goddamn. If he’d known this would happen, he wouldn’t have dropped out.

“Um… I might take a break next semester…”

“A break!? Why?”

This time, Dohee answered.

“Hyung said he’s gonna take a break and hang out with me. We’re locking ourselves in and playing SoGod the whole time.”

“…What?”

“Uh, um…”

Yeohoo stared at Dohee in disbelief. Yeojin burst out laughing, realizing it was a joke. Yeohoo eventually laughed too. The only one who didn’t was Moonhyuk.

“It’s a joke, hyung.”

“Ah…”

Finally, he forced a sheepish smile.

After the greetings and chatter died down, Yeohoo brought up the real reason they’d come over so early.

“I’m gonna lose it. Did you see the announcement?”

“Yeah.”

“Oh, I haven’t…”

“Hyung hasn’t?”

Moonhyuk shook his head at Yeohoo’s question. Of course he hadn’t had time, he’d barely opened his eyes and was pouring cereal when they barged in. He still wasn’t in the habit of checking announcements first thing in the morning.

Dohee briefly filled him in: no compensation plan yet.

“Should we protest in front of NGA? Maybe they’ll give us the full clear title if someone freezes to death,” Yeojin snapped.

“Who’s still calling this a god-tier game? It’s a trash game now. The notice was basically just, ‘Sorry for the bug, we know it was inconvenient.’ Seriously? I knew something was fishy. Even the full clear announcement not showing up, felt like a bug,” Yeohoo added, grinding his teeth.

Dohee sighed heavily. No one had a good answer.

“What’s Xeno saying?” Dohee asked.

In situations like this, Yeohoo was way more informed than Jinhee.

“They’re basically like, ‘Whatever the reason, we got the first clear.’ They already got the title and their names on the Monument.”

“Fucking bullshit,” Yeojin spat.

She seemed even angrier after hearing everything that happened between Dohee and Yapdeuk through Yeohoo.

“So what are they doing about compensation?”

This time, Dohee responded. He spilled everything he’d been stewing over while rolling around on the floor in rage.

“Probably trying not to piss off either us or Xeno. My guess? They’ll just say we both got the first clear.”

“What the fuck kind of logic is that?” Yeojin shouted.

Dohee chuckled.

“Yeah, it makes no sense. We’re the true first clear.”

“Then… if they say both parties got it, what happens?” Moonhyuk asked.

Yeohoo answered.

“They’ll probably give the same rewards to both. Maybe let both parties use the first clear title? And put us as joint first on the Monument. But that’s bullshit, right? They didn’t even enter the hidden phase. How the hell does that count as a clear?”

“Exactly,” Yeojin agreed.

“It’s so unfair from our side. And in the end, the devs lose too. Xeno won’t get solo credit, and now they have to share rewards they already got thanks to a bug. And for us? We’re already pissed off beyond repair. No one would blame us if we just quit.”

Dohee nodded, glancing at Moonhyuk’s puppy-dog eyes.

Then, slowly, he spoke.

“Even if they list us as joint first, I won’t be satisfied.”

“Then what?” Yeojin asked.

She sounded like she didn’t expect a real solution. And she was right, there wasn’t one. But just sitting around doing nothing wasn’t Baek Dohee’s style either.

“We’ll rally public opinion.”

“Public opinion?” Yeohoo echoed.

Dohee nodded and continued.

“Even if the devs call it a tie, most people already think we’re the real first clear. I browsed some communities yesterday, and we’ve got the majority of support.”

“So?”

“So let’s make it crystal clear in everyone’s minds. Demon Hunter’s first clear = Human raid party. That kind of thing.”

“Ah, so we shape the narrative a bit?”

“Yeah. Isn’t that Yapdeuk’s specialty anyway? Time he got a taste of his own medicine.”

Yeohoo nodded.

And honestly, this wasn’t a hard fight to win.

Most SoGod communities were already leaning toward Human being the real first clear. Even players who weren’t active online would eventually hear it through word of mouth in-game, if the consensus was strong enough.

Why are you so obsessed over this? someone might ask. But even if it seemed trivial to others, to some people, it was a matter of pride.

So, the four Human party members huddled together, brainstorming strategy while waiting for their kalguksu.

Yeojin began scanning other communities and streamer reactions on her phone.

Dohee messaged Jinhee for help.

Yeohoo contacted the rest of the Human party to get their input. Not that anyone obsessed with full clears would be against it.

And just as the noodles arrived and Moonhyuk started unpacking the containers, Yeojin – who’d been sprawled on the floor with her phone – suddenly shot up.

“Guys. Holy shit.”

Dohee, who had stood up to help Moonhyuk, turned immediately.

Yeohoo, who had been texting someone, looked up as well.

“What is it?”

“I don’t think we even need to do a public opinion campaign anymore.”

Dohee turned back toward her.

“What happened?”

“It’s huge. This might push the devs into not acknowledging Xeno’s clear at all.”

Yeojin’s eyes sparkled as she raised her phone with pride.

Yeohoo and Moonhyuk crowded around Dohee as he slowly looked down and read the post on Yeojin’s screen.

[SoGod][Chat] I’m Exposing the Issues with Xeno’s Demon Hunter Clear.