LS 28

[Party] GOingSupporter187: Uh… yeah, I do like them

[Party] AssaGo: You like them?

[Party] GOingSupporter187: I only like looking at them!

[Party] AssaGo: So you don’t like touching them? Never had a pet before either?

[Party] GOingSupporter187: Ah… I’m kind of big, you see… ㅠㅡㅠ

[Party] GOingSupporter187: I’m scared I might hurt them, so I can’t really touch them… and I’ve never had a pet

[Party] GOingSupporter187: But I have touched a cat before!

[Party] GOingSupporter187: There’s a cat behind the convenience store at our school!

[Party] GOingSupporter187: It was a stray, but the store owner started feeding it and ended up keeping it ㅎㅁㅎ

[Party] GOingSupporter187: So I got to pet it once, and–

[Party] GOingSupporter187: It was all soft and squishy and tiny and just…ㅠㅡㅠ

[Party] GOingSupporter187: I was scared I might hurt it, so I just gently stroked it with my finger!

[Party] GOingSupporter187: But then it started rolling on the ground and rubbing its head on my leg… it was so cute!!!

Hearing Knockoff talk about petting a cat, Dohee finally realized–he was a guy. Big, tall guys usually got nervous around animals and didn’t know how to handle them.

He remembered a friend from high school who was on the basketball team, loved cats, but was always frustrated he couldn’t pet them for fear of hurting them.

As Knockoff kept rambling on about how cute the convenience store cat was, Dohee asked:

[Party] AssaGo: Knockoff, are you a guy?

[Party] GOingSupporter187: Huh!? You didn’t know?

[Party] AssaGo: You never said anything—how would I know? ㅋㅋㅋㅋ

[Party] GOingSupporter187: Ah… 8ㅅ8 I guess that’s true… I’m a guy! Don’t I sound like one?

[Party] GOingSupporter187: Are you a guy, AssaGo-nim?

[Party] AssaGo: Yup

[Party] GOingSupporter187: I figured you were! ㅎㅁㅎ

[Party] AssaGo: “I figured you were”–what’s that supposed to mean ㅋㅋㅋ

[Party] GOingSupporter187: Just a feeling…! Sometimes I do wish I weren’t so big… It has its perks but… ㅠㅡㅠ

[Party] GOingSupporter187: Still, I want to pet cats…

[Party] AssaGo: Are you tall too?

[Party] GOingSupporter187: Yup! I’m tall! 187cm (6’2) ㅎㅁㅎ

Dohee burst out laughing. So that’s what the “187” in his username meant. He hadn’t expected it to be his height. What kind of kid puts their height in their username like that? It was the kind of thing a middle-schooler would do. He laughed to himself for a good while before he could calm down.

He’d never really gone digging into people’s personal info or felt curious about it before, but with this guy, the pointless little details just sort of came out on their own. It was kind of fun listening to him go on and on.

Thinking about this giant 187cm tall guy who couldn’t bring himself to properly pet a kitten and just stood there awkwardly… it made Dohee grin for no reason. He didn’t even know what Knockoff looked like, but somehow he could imagine it so clearly.

[Party] AssaGo: You’re tall af ㅋㅋ

[Party] GOingSupporter187: Hehe… Being tall can be annoying sometimes, but it has its perks!

[Party] AssaGo: Like what?

[Party] GOingSupporter187: Uh… when I’m working part-time, I can reach stuff that’s up high

[Party] GOingSupporter187: And at the library, it’s easy to grab books from high shelves! ㅎㅁㅎ

Well, it must be nice.

Dohee started laughing again. The image popped into his head before he could stop it: a tall, gentle-looking guy in the library, reaching for books. He blurted out a question.

[Party] AssaGo: Do you know what a Samoyed is?

[Party] GOingSupporter187: A Samoyed? 8ㅅ8 Isn’t that a dog?

[Party] AssaGo: Yup ㅋㅋ You remind me of one

[Party] GOingSupporter187: Uh… me!? 8ㅅ8

Yes. You.

Dohee didn’t bother responding and just got his character up. Knockoff scrambled to follow.

[Party] AssaGo: Where’s the next quest?

[Party] GOingSupporter187: Ah…! Uh, it says it’s in Warm Beach Field 2! I think we get it there!

[Party] AssaGo: Let’s go. The main quest on this continent’s fun

[Party] GOingSupporter187: Okay! ㅎㅁㅎ

Following behind the guy’s character, Dohee had to work hard to keep his laughter in.

There was this NuTube channel he watched called Mumu and Pupu. Mumu was this big fluffy Samoyed and Pupu was a tiny orange tabby cat. Whenever he talked to Knockoff, he couldn’t stop picturing Mumu, that big, sweet, dopey-looking dog. He was the type of dog who’d be lucky not to get scammed, huge, gentle, and too nice for his own good.

Anyway, the nice ones always got the short end of the stick. That’s just how it went. So until this guy finally outgrew his newbie status and could pull his own weight, it was only right for the person who picked him up to take care of him. Obviously.

Knockoff seemed thrilled as he ran around the map, picking up quests and exploring the area. Maybe it was the new continent, or maybe it was getting a new pet, either way, it didn’t matter. Once they hit a real hunting ground, Dohee would give him a full-on carry until he logged off. That should rack up a nice chunk of EXP.

Even when he wasn’t logged in, the other guild members were helping Knockoff, so he’d probably hit level 50 in just a few days. That meant they’d be heading to Crewknight soon, and he’d need gear worthy of it.

The gear sets available at level 50 were commonly known as the “Steel Set.” You could choose from the Pure White Steel Set, the Jet-Black Steel Set, or the Crimson Steel Set, and craft whichever you liked, but in truth, the difference was just cosmetic. All three sets had identical base stats.

Let’s just go with the Pure White Steel.

Without even asking for Knockoff’s opinion, Dohee nodded to himself. That one would be the better choice. Robes, the dedicated equipment for supports, were one of the best items to dress up in. With that gleaming white steel robe wrapped around his character, Knockoff would look like a sight to behold. Like a real-life Samoyed.

Dohee barely managed to stifle a laugh.

After living alone for so long, he’d never once thought about raising a pet, but maybe that was starting to change.

[Party] GOingSupporter187: AssaGo-nim, AssaGo-nim!

[Party] AssaGo: Yeah?

[Party] GOingSupporter187: I have to go catch some kind of mutated conch now! 8ㅅ8 It’s scary… come with me…

[Party] AssaGo: LOL, what isn’t scary to you. Where to?

[Party] GOingSupporter187: The Deep Beach Field… ㅠㅡㅠ It might hurt more than the cats did…

[Party] AssaGo: Are you planning to make soup with your “Touch of Baean” skill or what? LOL

[Party] GOingSupporter187: Gasp, you’re right… you’re the best, AssaGo-nim…!

Seriously, when it came to being a mess, he was easily number one in all of Sword of God. Watching him standing close, clearly waiting for Dohee to move first, Dohee ended up shaking his head again.

What’s he going to do when I’m not around?

[Party] AssaGo: Let’s go.

[Party] GOingSupporter187: Okay!

Honestly… yeah.

It wasn’t such a bad feeling.

💎

No-pdate.

When there’s nothing new added to a game, players often call it a “no-pdate.” Literally, no update.

Up until the teaser for the Lost Demon Hunter and the Winter Festival update, Sword of God had been catching a lot of flak for its constant no-pdates. But then, out of nowhere and with no warning whatsoever, they announced the launch of Season 3 and dropped a massive promo for the new raid: Demon Hunter.

Sure, the Winter Festival was expected, it happened every winter season, but the Demon Hunter release and the full Season 3 update had taken everyone by surprise.

With the current storyline of Sword of God still ongoing, it was highly likely that new chapters would unlock with Season 3. Players who were into storylines, collecting, and questing–horizontal content–were buzzing with excitement. Of course, just like Human guild members who were crazy for vertical content, those types of players were equally hyped and counting down the days to the Demon Hunter release.

Monday, 11 a.m.

The moment the update finished, Dohee logged onto the official website. As he clicked into the Sword of God homepage, he blinked a few times.

Am I… still half-asleep?

The homepage was decked out with falling snow effects and a giant Christmas tree right in the middle. When he clicked one of the scrolls hanging from the tree, the update details popped up.

[Notice][Event] The WINTER FESTIVAL is back!

Hello, Adventurers! This is GM Saena.

The long-awaited Winter Festival has finally returned! Let’s all give a round of applause to welcome it back♥

For about one month, we’ll be holding the first phase of the Winter Festival! The second phase will open later, alongside the Demon Hunter update.

This year’s Winter Festival is packed with more varied and exciting events than ever, leading up to the “Lost Demon Hunter” update!

We’ve prepared generous rewards to thank all our players who’ve waited patiently and supported us for so long.

Aren’t you already getting butterflies wondering what events are in store!? >3<

I’ll be guiding you through the event details from here on, so take your time reading, and I hope you’ll all join in!

If you do, Saena will be so, so happy~!