CCBBWM 3

The characters of the girl-head-of-household and Beo-deul stood face-to-face with the boss of the Trial’s Gate III.

Up until now, the massive statue had merely sat in the chamber, commanding Guardian Golems. But now, it slowly rose, casting a daunting shadow over the two characters. The boss, known as the Third Statue, exuded a terrifying aura that made both characters tense visibly.

Even Beo-deul, gulping nervously, couldn’t hide the tension. Then the statue took a single step forward, Phase 1 had begun.

[“Pillar pattern incoming. Starting from the right.”]

“Okay.”

[“Three seconds after the left-side pattern ends, I’ll place a ground AoE at the back. Climb up and deal damage from there.”]

Beodeul moved his character in perfect sync with the BreadwinnerGirl’s commands.

The BreadwinnerGirl boldly maneuvered near the boss’s colossal feet with precise, daring movements. Beo-deul’s character, Gilmyu, managed to dodge the falling pillar from the sky and sneak behind the statue. As soon as he arrived, a dazzling white magic circle appeared beneath him.

[“We’ll move out diagonally in five seconds. Five, four, three…”]

The giant staff held by the statue slammed into the ground, cracking it in all directions.

[“Laser pattern coming right after. If your height is awkward, don’t jump lie flat. That way, the attack will be more bearable.”]

“Ah, okay.”

According to the videos Beo-deul had watched, dodging or jumping to avoid the laser was the standard move. But following the BreadwinnerGirl’s instruction, he lay flat to evade it.

“Wow.”

The word slipped out before he realized it. Embarrassed, Beo-deul shut his mouth, but the BreadwinnerGirl simply responded in the same steady voice:

[“Next burst damage phase will sync with the bell pattern. Even if your cooldowns are ready, save them a bit. Let’s dodge the AoE first.”]

As the cracked ground returned to normal, a red sigil appeared beneath Beo-deul’s character.

“Ah.”

[“It’s fine. Just move one more tile.”]

Beodeul’s character took a hit due to the narrow dodge and lost about 20% of his HP.

But before panic could set in, a heal came through, as if the BreadwinnerGirl had been waiting for it. Seeing his HP quickly restored, Beo-deul felt quietly relieved.

[“Phase 2 starting soon. The boss has a bit of HP left, so let’s chip it down with normal attacks. One more pillar pattern first.”]

The BreadwinnerGirl’s commands were as clear and crisp as his voice. Beo-deul followed them obediently, like a docile lamb.

[“Nice dodging. Now we’ll move to a blind spot before the bell pattern. Even if the earthquake pattern comes right after, you can keep dealing damage from there.”]

“Okay, okay.”

As the bell pattern began to signal Phase 2, numerous status effects appeared above Beo-deul’s character. In his first party attempt, they had all succumbed to those status effects and died from incoming mechanics. But now…

[“Don’t touch the movement keys, just deal damage. You can turret here.”]

The BreadwinnerGirl’s reliable voice encouraged Beo-deul’s fingers. Even though a dizzying confusion icon floated above his character’s head, Beo-deul’s trust in him remained firm.

[“Don’t move during the trumpet pattern either. I’ll use a shield.”]

The Holy Wizard’s shield was notoriously fragile lasting such a short time that if it wasn’t timed perfectly, it was useless.

‘That skill is so tricky to use in practice that most people avoid it…’

The angels surrounding the statue began to blow their trumpets. The blast was a wide-area AoE wave; to dodge it, you had to stay far from the statue.

But Beo-deul trusted the BreadwinnerGirl’s and continued dealing damage. Accordingly, the boss’s HP dropped rapidly.

As the dome-shaped shockwave spread out from the statue,

Clang!

The sound of a shield breaking rang out. Since shields that miss their timing vanish without a trace, the sound meant that his shield had worked perfectly.

[“Well done. The next mob summon pattern’s coming. Let’s move back a little.”]

The real credit went to the BreadwinnerGirl’s. He was the one who used the shield at the perfect moment. All Beo-deul had done was trust him and stay in position to deal damage.

Yet the BreadwinnerGirl’s never showed off. Instead, he calmly praised Beodeul and carried on with his duties. Trapped in this “praise prison,” Beo-deul’s fingers kept obediently dishing out damage until they felt like jelly.

Thud! Finally, the statue knelt before the two characters.

[“Nice work.”]

The dry parting words echoed in his ears, but Beo-deul just stared blankly at the chest descending from the sky.

They had done it. Cleared that hellish Trial’s Gate III. The dungeon that had brought him humiliation and trauma. And with just two people.

As the chest settled gently on the ground, Beodeul blinked in disbelief.

“We really did it.”

[“Yeah.”]

“Seriously… we actually did it.”

Then, for the first time, laughter came through his headphones. The voice tickled the inside of his throat and Beo-deul found himself laughing, too.

It was fun. So much fun. Forcing that endlessly frustrating boss to its knees left him this Refreshing feeling as if he’d been doused in soda from head to toe.

‘So this is what makes it all worth it.’

For the first time, Beo-deul understood the joy of clearing a dungeon. His eyes sparkled and he turned toward the true MVP of the run. The lovely party member who’d dragged his inexperienced self to victory by the collar.

“I really made the right choice to trust you.”

Maybe it was the euphoria of victory, but his voice came out sweet, almost fanatical.

They didn’t get any particularly meaningful equipment from the loot box of Trial Gate III. But Beo-deul ’s mood remained high.

Who knew clearing dungeons could be this fun? Just realizing this new kind of enjoyment felt like a major gain for Beo-deul. At the same time, there was a tinge of regret. Wouldn’t it be great if every party member were like BreadwinnerGirl’s?

‘Well, it’s not like I’m in any position to be picky about teammates.’

He still remembered when he once got knocked out during a phase that required the whole party to endure together, which prolonged the others’ debuff duration. That mistake could have easily led to a total wipe, so yeah it was a big one.

So Beo-deul had no choice but to admit it plainly.

‘If only my control were even half as good as BreadwinnerGirl… I wouldn’t have had such a rough time with my first party.’

After briefly reflecting on his past mistakes, Beo-deul quickly perked up and said:

“We did a great job, shall we head out now?”

[Ah, yes.]

As soon as he pressed the dungeon exit button, a loading screen popped up. Beo-deul checked his phone while waiting it was full of missed messages, including one asking him to call back as soon as possible.

“I’ve got to take a call, so I’ll be heading off now. Thanks you so much for today.”

[Huh? But]

Just as BreadwinnerGirl was responding, Beodeul tapped the call button. As the “connecting” message disappeared, he barely caught what BreadwinnerGirl was saying.

[Will it be a long call?]

Will it be long? Beo-deul, half removing his headset, instinctively pressed the phone to his ear while debating how to respond.

[Took you long enough to call back, Han Beo-deul!]

“Uh, no, not sure.”

[What? What are you saying? Did I call the wrong number? No, the call went through… Who are you talking to right now?]

Uh-oh.

Voices from both ends were flooding his ears. In a panic, Beo-deul ended the call on the voice chat app and pinned his phone between his shoulder and ear while typing with his hands.

: [General] Gilmyu: Sorry, I’m on a call rn..ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ
[General] BreadwinnerGirl: ;; Okay okay

That should do it. Just in case, Beo-deul triggered a wave emote, then got up from his chair. Meanwhile, the nagging from the phone continued.

“Oh, sorry. I was just talking to someone for a bit.”

[So are you free to talk now?]

“Yeah, go ahead.”

Leaving the room and heading into the kitchen, Beo-deul switched the call to speaker mode and leisurely started brewing coffee. After so much focused dungeon crawling, he was seriously craving caffeine.

[You’re coming back to school this semester, right? The department chair wants to know when you’ll be in for advising.]

“Returning? Yeah, I should.”

[Really? Good call. People have been talking, you know saying it’s a bit much that you went on military leave after freshman year and then extended it with a regular leave.]

Jeez, people sure like to talk. Beo-deul chuckled like someone who’d just heard a corny joke.

“Who’s the department chair now?”

[Professor Seo Ji-Hye. Ring a bell?]

[That reaction’s not too reassuring… Want me to talk to her for you? When are available for your advising session?]

“Wouldn’t it be easier if I just adjusted to her schedule? I’ll reach out myself.”

Sipping his freshly brewed Americano, Beo-deul asked,

“Se-In, are you coming back this semester too?”

[What? Come on, try to keep up! I graduated straight through this time I’m a TA.]

“Oh, really? That’s why you called, huh.”

[Yeah… uh-huh. Got Professor Seo Ji-Hye’s contact? Want me to let her know you’ll reach out?]

“Yeah. I’ll check. If I don’t have it, I’ll ask someone.”

[And there are a few other students who just finished military leave and are also returning this semester. You should get in touch with them too.]

“People I know?”

[No, they entered after you took your leave. Most are just a year younger than you. About three are in our year… Not that you need to remember all this. Just saying. Anyway, I’ve told you everything.]

Beo-deul tilted his head. Three classmates are returning too, but it’s not important to remember? Even though Se-In had just told him to talk to the juniors.

‘Ah.’

Beo-deul’s expression stiffened slightly as he realized why. He remembered a certain group from freshman year that had always tried to get under his skin.

‘What was that guy’s name again… Im Dae-Seok?’

If he was in that crowd, he understood why Se-In said it wasn’t worth the trouble.

“Got it. Thanks for the heads-up.”

[Sure. Try to meet up before the semester starts if you get time. Or maybe we’ll see each other at advising. Anyway, I have more calls to make, so I’ll hang up now!]

“Okay. Take care.”

As the call ended, the apartment fell silent he was alone, after all. Beo-deul gazed out the window with a sip of coffee, then looked up suddenly.

“Right. I didn’t finish the quest.”

He picked up his phone and headed back to his room, reminded of his game mid-thought. After struggling with that dungeon for weeks, he’d completely forgotten to complete the quest!

“Huh?”

Back in his room, Beodeul looked at the monitor and blinked. His character was still standing at the dungeon entrance and BreadwinnerGirl was circling around him.

[General] Gilmyu: ??BreadwinnerGirl??

Just as she was about to swing her massive spellbook behind him, BreadwinnerGirl paused. The way he canceled the attack mid-motion was seriously impressive. It’s not even a PK zone, and even if he had hit him, it wouldn’t have done that much damage.

[General] BreadwinnerGirl: That was a long call.

It sounded like he’d been waiting all this time. But why? Was there still some reward to divide up? Beo-deul fumbled for a reply.

[General] BreadwinnerGirl: Were you on with your girlfriend?

Cough.

Beo-deul let out a small laugh and quickly denied it.

[General] Gilmyu: Nope, it was something elseㅋㅋ; Is something up?

[General] BreadwinnerGirl: Oh, nothing major.

[General] BreadwinnerGirl: Want to add each other as friends?

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T.L/N
(I know some people already knows this lol, but i still gonna add a little note..)

“PK” (Player Killing): Not all MMORPG areas allow PvP (Player vs. Player). Its mention that it ‘isn’t PK zone’ which underlines that there’s no threat, making the other player’s restraint even more notable.

“ㅠㅠ” (crying emoticon)

“ㅋㅋ” (a light laugh emoticon)