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General] SaltCracker: But… if we don’t do this, Sinu-chan…
[General] Gamgyulie: …won’t forgive us,,, ☆
[General] Sinu: Why do we even have guild chat, then?
[General] SaltCracker: Tehe~ ㅇ.<

Beo-deul saw them mention guild chat and could guess there’d been some conversation behind the scenes stuff he hadn’t been privy to.

Probably about him too, judging by the tone…

[General] Sinu: Sorry, Gilmyu.
[General] Sinu: I told these idiots not to stalk people with nets.
[General] Sinu: But they just…
[General] Sinu: They just don’t listen.

From Sinu’s apology, Beo-deul figured there wasn’t much to worry about.

“‘Nets’… Must be the Invisibility Cloak item?”
The “Transparent Cloak” is a one-use item usable in non-PK zones kind of like the Stealth skill for assassin classes.

Putting the clues together, Sinu had clearly been stalked by guildmates using this item before and it just happened again.
If they’d overheard his expressing distrust in the party while invisible, it might’ve caused a stir.
But since that wasn’t the case, Beodeul decided to let it go.

he used the “pat-on-the-back” emote to signal that everything was fine. Gilmyu’s character reached out and patted Sinu on the shoulder.

A moment later, Sinu cycled through “sigh” and “sniffle” emotes.

[Normal] Gamgyulie: ;;
[Normal] SaltCracker: ㅇㅅㅇ;;
[Normal] Glory: ^^;

All of them guildmates bearing the tag sweated bullets.

[General] SaltCracker: This is kinda creepy;;
[General] SaltCracker: No joke, I’ve never seen Sinu use emotes unless he’s mocking someoneㅇㅅㅇ;;

Mocking? That was hard to picture. Beo-deul blinked, imagining the normally cool-headed Sinu doing silly emotes.

Meanwhile, he was whacking SaltCracker again like dust on a rainy day.

[General] SaltCracker: lol no HP loss, nice try
[General] Sinu: lol

Sinu typed a short “lol,” but Beo-deul sensed… coldness behind it.
Must’ve been his imagination, right?

[General] Sinu: Anyway, if you’re coming to the dungeon, switch to your alts.
[General] Gamgyulie: Okaay~
[General] SaltCracker: Kukuku time to show off my Engineer taste ㅋㅅㅋ

SaltCracker vanished first, followed quickly by Gamgyulie.

[General] Glory: Sinu, what class should I come on?
[General] Sinu: Since I know what those two will bring, you come as Gulbi.
[General] Glory: Got it. ^^

Glory even used a greeting emote toward Girmyu before disappearing.
Now the screen was oddly quiet.

[General] Sinu: I’ll switch to an alt too.
[General] Gilmyu: Got itㅎㅎ

Once Sinu disappeared too, Beo-deul stared at his now-lonely character, resting his chin on his hand, in thought.

“I guess everyone’s switching to alts because of me…”

Just then, someone ran in from the portal side of the map, kicking up dust.

A girl character in a yellow chick hoodie with short brown hair and a heavy Engineer-style backpack.

SaltCracker’s alt ‘Dansogeum.’ (Mini Salt)

[General] Dansogeum: First place~~ㅇㅅㅇ

Seeing the consistent naming scheme, Beo-deul was kind of impressed.

[General] Dansogeum: These slackers lost their edgeㅋ

[Dansogeum puffs her chest proudly.]

[General] Dansogeum: To think they’re slower than me… Time to taste the salt, folksㅋ
[General] Geumgyul2: Excuse me; salt isn’t spicy, it’s salty~

The next character was an elf-type male with silver hair and a wide-brimmed white hat.

Obviously Gamgyulie’s alt, ‘Geumgyul2’. (Gold Tangerine 2)

[General] Dansogeum: You think salt’s salty…? I’m just sweet~ㅋ
[General] Geumgyul2: ♡♡Hello, I’m Gamgyulie, Gilmyuㅠㅠ
[General] Gilmyu: Helloㅎㅎ
[General] Geumgyul2: Aw, such a sweet soulㅠㅠㅠㅠ

…Sweet? Where? Beodeul frowned, baffled.

Then two more players appeared.

[General] Useo: Gilmyu.
[General] Gilmyu: You’re Sinu, right?
[General] Useo: Yeah.
[General] Gilmyu: You’re on a different character today?

Until now, Sinu had been playing the priest-type character “Sinu.”
But today he was on a character named “Useo” a golden-haired male knight.

[General] Useo: Looking at the party composition, I figured Knight would be a better fit.

Ah, party composition.
Beo-deul hadn’t even thought to check.
But yes without a proper tank or healer, a dungeon run could be brutal.

he glanced over the team:

Useo (Sinu): Knight class, Berserker

Gulbi: Holy Wizard (probably Glory)

Dansogeum: Mechanic (Engineer class)

Geumgyul2: Mad Hunter (Ranger class)

Girmyu (Beodeul): Dragon Slayer (Knight class)

Wait… Is this okay?

he recalled hearing Berserkers don’t make good tanks.
And Holy Wizards don’t have strong heals…
Especially when paired with Berserkers, you usually need a main healer.

[General] Useo: I’ll send party invites now.

But Beo-deul was still a newbie among veterans.
And by now, he fully trusted Sinu.

“If there was a problem, Sinu would’ve mentioned it.”

he accepted the invite.

The moment they entered the dungeon, the chaos began.

[Party] Dansogeum: LOLOLOLOLOL
[Party] Geumgyul2: ♡♡ WHAT IS THIS LOLOLOLOLOL
[Party] Useo: lol

They stepped in and Dansogeum instantly dropped dead on the floor.

[Party] Dansogeum: DIEEE SINU DIEEEEEEEEEEEㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ
[Party] Dansogeum: BURN IT ALLLLLLL LOLOLOLOLOLOL
[Party] Gilmyu: P-please
[Party] Gilmyu: Help meeeeeㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ

The gates of hell… had opened.

Even right before entering, the party felt peaceful.
Beo-deul had been both nervous and excited it was her first dungeon with this group.

The chat window was buzzing.
Mostly Dansogeum and Geumgyul2 bantering, with Gulbi occasionally adding cute, emoji-filled comments.

Sinu, as Useo, was quiet.
But Beo-deul didn’t think anything of it.
Sinu wasn’t talkative even in their duo runs.

She didn’t realize that silence… was preparation for chaos.

[Party] Dansogeum: Ugh my trash computer my screen’s all black ;;
[Party] Geumgyul2: If your screen’s black, how are you typing perfectly every time LOL
[Party] Gulbi: Rightㅋㅋ
[Party] Dansogeum: Ah ♡♡ this junk
[Party] Gilmyu: Oh no, is it lag?

[Party] Geumgyul2: Yeah yeahㅎㅎ Don’t worry, it’ll clear up soon LOL

Just as Beodeul was about to type “glad to hear it”, an ominous message appeared:

[Useo is slowly succumbing to madness.]

Black-red smoke began rising around Useo’s body, standing still at the dungeon portal.

[Party] Geumgyul2: Ahahahahahaha
[Party] Gulbi: ^^…
[Party] Gilmyu: ??
[Party] Dansogeum: HEY I SAID WAITㅡㅡ Don’t you DARE leave me behindㅇㅅ”

Oblivious, Dansogeum raged while Useo began transforming into a Berserker.

Beo-deul finally noticed and cautiously moved his character away.

[Party] Gilmyu: That message just now-
[Party] Geumgyul2: Time for a Blood Cleansing,,, LOL Come closer, Gilmyu
[Party] Gulbi: Gilmyu, come here for a DEF buff ^^

Beo-deul obediently moved to Gulbi’s side.

[Caution! The maddened Knight can no longer distinguish friend from foe!]

And finally, the warning appeared.

Useo had activated the Berserker’s Mad Warrior skill.
A high-damage mode where the user goes berserk hurting enemies and allies alike.
Normally, you warn the party first.

But this time…

The blood-soaked blond knight raised his head, eyes glowing

And brought his sword crashing down on Dansogeum.

[Blood Shadow!]

[Party] Dansogeum: I’m DONE LOL

BOOM!

The impact spread like a bomb.
Dansogeum, stunned by the hit, couldn’t move
Her HP plummeted in real time.

Meanwhile, Useo, who had sacrificed half his HP to activate Mad Warrior, quickly healed.
All in under three seconds.

[Party] Dansogeum: 1111111111111111111

[Dansogeum has died!]

[Party] Dansogeum: LOLOLOLOLOLOLOL FML

A gray corpse lay on the floor.
And from that pile of pixels… came unending laughter.