LS 32

The saying “a fool gets an extra rice cake” was wrong.

“You should give an extra rice cake to someone cute.”

Watching the one trailing along in his white sable scarf, Dohee couldn’t help but smile. The couple avatar was now one step closer.

💎

Unlike the Yante Continent, the capital of Tandalon, Angph, was bleak beyond words. The lore said it was sparsely populated and frequently raided by monsters, so the place always carried a gloomy atmosphere, as echoed by the nearby NPCs. The sky hung in a dull gray hue, and all the buildings were made of gray or dark red brick, making the town feel utterly lifeless.

The ground was covered in frozen snow, and if you played here for a few days, you’d often see it snowing in-game too. As they made their way to the couple avatar event NPC, Rajanin, Knockoff’s character kept straying from the path and peeking down alleyways. It must’ve been exciting seeing a new continent for the first time. Dohee let his character move slowly, waiting for Knockoff to catch up.

[Party] GOingSupporter187: Even just looking at the screen makes me feel cold… 8ㅅ8

[Party] GOingSupporter187: I just saw something like a dead rabbit in that alley!! ㅠㅡㅠ

[Party] GOingSupporter187: Ugh… I wanna go back to Yante fast… Is the whole map here like this?

[Party] AssaGo: Tandalon’s kind of a poor continent

[Party] AssaGo: Did you read any of the story while doing quests?

[Party] GOingSupporter187: What story!?

[Party] AssaGo: The main Sword of God storyline

[Party] GOingSupporter187: Ah…! Yes! I know that one!

[Party] GOingSupporter187: It said the continent used to be one empire, not seven kingdoms

[Party] GOingSupporter187: There was a ten-minute intro video when you first make a character

[Party] GOingSupporter187: I think you could skip it, but I watched the whole thing! ㅎㅁㅎ I like stories…

[Party] AssaGo: Right, it used to be the Leto Empire, then after its fall it split into seven kingdoms

[Party] GOingSupporter187: Yeah yeah!

[Party] AssaGo: Four of them are all connected on one continent

[Party] AssaGo: But Yante, Tandalon, and Kellon are all separated like this

[Party] AssaGo: If you play through the character story, it might be a spoiler so I won’t say too much

[Party] AssaGo: Anyway, the sword of the first emperor, Shane? Sain?–whatever his name was, got shattered into seven pieces, one for each kingdom

[Party] GOingSupporter187: Yeah, I remember! It said he was cursed because of religious persecution or something, so the sword shattered

[Party] GOingSupporter187: And if you collect all the pieces, you can reunify the continent…! Also, it’s Shenin… ㅎㅅㅎ

[Party] AssaGo: Yeah that’s it. Anyway, the biggest piece fell in Tandalon

[Party] AssaGo: And it’s cursed with some kind of divine punishment, which froze the whole north

[Party] AssaGo: That’s the setting, basically

[Party] GOingSupporter187: Ah… so that’s why it’s like this… ㅠㅡㅠ

[Party] GOingSupporter187: I feel so bad for the people who live here…

[Party] GOingSupporter187: It’s not like they chose to live in this kind of weather… 8ㅅ8

[Party] AssaGo: Why are you so emotionally invested in NPCs lol

[Party] AssaGo: It’s not like they’re even real

[Party] GOingSupporter187: Still… 8ㅅ8 being cold sucks… ㅠㅡㅠ

Dohee burst into laughter at Knockoff’s comment. So the takeaway was just that he hated the cold. Did he really hate winter that much? Honestly, Dohee was the opposite, he preferred winter over summer. Layering cute clothes, no sticky sweat, and all those fun accessories like scarves and gloves. Plus, objectively speaking, Baek Dohee wasn’t someone who got cold easily.

[Party] AssaGo: LOL you hate the cold that much? Even winter?

[Party] GOingSupporter187: Yeah… 8ㅅ8 It’s been freezing lately…

[Party] GOingSupporter187: Is it warmer where you live, AssaGo…? It’s so cold here I can’t survive without a puffer jacket… ㅠㅡㅠ

[Party] AssaGo: I’m fine with cold lol wait are you living in Cheorwon or something? lol where do you live?

[Party] GOingSupporter187: Uh… near Korea University Entrance Station!! Do you know it…?

Dohee’s hands froze over the keyboard for a second, blinking. He often met the twins who lived near Korea University Entrance, and he himself had gone to Korea University a few years ago, so his place wasn’t far either. “Near Korea University Entrance” was vague, but it was definitely close enough to say they lived in the same neighborhood.

[Party] AssaGo: ?? I live near Korea University Entrance Station lol

[Party] GOingSupporter187: Gasp really!?

This time Knockoff genuinely seemed shocked. His character, which had been following closely, suddenly stopped.

[Party] GOingSupporter187: Wow… That’s wild. This neighborhood isn’t even that big!!!

[Party] AssaGo: Right? lol

A strange, hard-to-describe feeling bubbled up. If Knockoff was a college student living near Korea University Entrance, then… Dohee hesitated, then asked.

[Party] AssaGo: Then do you go to Korea University?

[Party] GOingSupporter187: Ah… Yeah! 8ㅅ8

[Party] AssaGo: That’s so weird lolololol

[Party] GOingSupporter187: What do you mean…? I worked really hard to get in… ㅠㅡㅠ

No, not like that. Dohee was just surprised that they might’ve gone to the same school. But he didn’t say it aloud. Instead, he just sent a string of laughing emojis and moved his character forward again. Knockoff’s character hurried to follow.

The feeling got even weirder. If Dohee hadn’t dropped out and was still at Korea University, maybe he and Knockoff would’ve passed each other on campus. Maybe they could’ve even gone to play games together. A newbie he picked up in-game turns out to be a neighborhood local!? It sounded like the title of a webnovel. Still, it was kind of cool.

Maybe next time on GameTalk he’d recommend a good local restaurant. Thinking that, Dohee moved forward, and finally spotted the couple avatar NPC, Rajanin.

[Party] AssaGo: Hey, I found Rajanin or whoever

[Party] GOingSupporter187: Ah! That must be them

Above the NPC’s head floated a massive, ribbon-wrapped heart effect that made you feel weird just looking at it.

[Party] AssaGo: Did you put my username into the Snowball yet?

[Party] GOingSupporter187: Yes! I entered it as soon as I accepted the quest! ㅎㅅㅎ

[Party] AssaGo: Hold on a sec

Dohee opened his inventory and pulled out the Snowball. Clicking a button on the bottom brought up a prompt asking for a partner’s username. After entering “GOingSupporter187,” a message appeared saying it was successfully registered, and the Snowball began slowly spinning. Seeing that, Knockoff took out his own Snowball. Both items began to rotate in sync, playing a soft melody.

[Party] GOingSupporter187: Whoa…! So this is what happens when you enter each other’s usernames!!!

[Party] GOingSupporter187: That’s so cool… 8ㅅ8 It wasn’t moving before…

[Party] GOingSupporter187: Look! It’s even snowing inside the Snowball!

Just like Knockoff said, tiny flakes were falling inside the Snowball. What the heck… why go all in on this of all things? This was almost a waste of the game company’s resources.

Holding their spinning Snowballs, they both spoke to the NPC at the same time.

[NPC] Rajanin: Welcome, adventurers! You’re here for the Couple Avatar Event, I see! Are you ready!?

YES NO

Clicking YES, Rajanin continued speaking.

[NPC] Rajanin: Oh my, it wouldn’t be fun to just hand out an avatar during this once-a-year event, would it?

Of course not

Wait, why was that the only option? Grumbling, Dohee clicked it.

[NPC] Rajanin: I thought you’d say that! So, there’s something I’d like to ask of GOingSupporter187 and AssaGo.

My mother’s not well and can’t travel far anymore. Recently, she mentioned a place she really wanted to see before it was too late. But no matter how much I asked, I couldn’t quite figure out where she meant.

Hint: love, serenade, wedding, lily

Can you two adventurers figure it out? If you take a photo together at the right spot, I’ll give you a precious heirloom: my mother’s ‘Old Pendant.’ Please help us!

I’ll do it I don’t think I can

Clicking “I’ll do it” closed the dialogue box. Dohee blinked. The quest felt more story-driven than expected. No one in the guild had mentioned that. Then again, most of them were the type to skip cutscenes and click through everything.

Dohee waited for Knockoff, who seemed to still be in dialogue with the NPC. Soon, Knockoff’s character moved.

[Party] GOingSupporter187: ㅠㅡㅠ… What do we do…?