LS 5

He couldn’t bring himself to say it out loud, and his insides boiled again. Dohee took another swig of the cold water he’d fetched earlier when the kid had caught the rabbit, trying to calm his disbelief. Well, it’s not like the kid knows I’m the GoingSupport. Yeah, fair enough.

[Whisper to GOingSupport187]: Ah, okay okay. You know GoingSupport?

[Whisper from GOingSupport187]: Yeah! Don’t you?

[Whisper from GOingSupport187]: Ah… guess you’re a different class 8ㅅ8

[Whisper from GOingSupport187]: They’re the strongest support out there! A top ranker! I saw them use their Awakening skill, it was so cool!

[Whisper from GOingSupport187]: But apparently you only get it after maxing out the level… ㅠㅡㅠ

[Whisper from GOingSupport187]: I’m a support too… I started playing after watching GoingSupport’s videos on TubeYou…

[Whisper from GOingSupport187]: They were so cool, but I couldn’t use the same username… 8ㅅ8

Like that would ever work.

He let out a laugh in disbelieve. The fact that this kid thought he could use the same username was funny enough, but even funnier was that when he couldn’t, he settled for this knockoff of a name. Still, hearing that someone started playing the game after watching his videos… that hit him in a weirdly complicated way.

[Whisper to GOingSupport187]: lol so you raised a support?

[Whisper from GOingSupport187]: Yeah… but leveling’s so slow ㅠㅡㅠ

[Whisper from GOingSupport187]: Oh, and earlier someone said you’re max level too!

[Whisper from GOingSupport187]: So you’ve got an Awakening skill too?

[Whisper from GOingSupport187]: Do you get one at max level? Have you seen the support Awakening? It’s super cool…!

Watching the same kid who couldn’t say a word when he was being harassed earlier now buzzing with excitement and bombarding him with questions, it was kind of cute. And funny. Like, seriously, what kind of guy is this?

[Whisper to GOingSupport187]: Yeah, you get an Awakening at max level.

[Whisper from GOingSupport187]: Whoa… can you show me? 8ㅅ8

It wasn’t the first time Dohee had gotten a “You’re max level? Show me your Awakening!” type of request.

Every time, his response had been the same: mentally scoffing who’s barking now and cleaning out his ear.

Because using an Awakening skill consumed a special potion called the “Doom Elixir,” and that stuff wasn’t exactly cheap.

Not that the potion was hard to get or expensive enough to be a burden for a max-level player, it just wasn’t worth wasting on some random passerby.

Even so, Dohee never imagined he’d actually use his Awakening in Ladenska Ground 1, a beginner hunting zone.

Awakenings were skills meant for high-level raids, there was barely ever a reason to use them in standard fields.

[Whisper to GOingSupport187]: I’ll show you.

Dohee moved his character, which had been sitting on a rock.

He hit the hotkey assigned to his Awakening, triggering the Dark Assassin’s “Dark Wave.”

A massive dark storm swirled around the character, followed by a gale that ravaged the earth around him.

The Dark Assassin’s Awakening was an AoE skill meant for taking out multiple enemies, not just one.

It was useful in raids for clearing mobs around bosses or dealing with named monsters.

The cooldown was ten minutes, but it was a highly effective skill when used at the right moment, and one of the reasons Dark Assassins were welcome in raids. Dozens of rabbits in the area vanished in an instant. No wonder I was about to lose my mind grinding these things all day.

[System][General]: ‘AssGo’ has used the Awakening skill ‘Dark Wave.’

A small crowd of nearby players had gathered to watch.

Unlike regular skills, an announcement showed up in the chat every time someone used an Awakening.

Probably a feature the devs added for flair, since not many people had access to it.

Dohee had always hated that system. Because it made him feel like a monkey in a zoo. The general chat exploded with messages: That was amazing, So cool, What class is that? Do it again!

[Whisper from GOingSupport187]: Wow… that was seriously cool 8ㅅ8

[Whisper to GOingSupport187]: lmaooo

A green whisper message popped up. He wasn’t the type to get giddy over compliments like cool or awesome, but still… he couldn’t help feeling a little puffed up.

[Whisper from GOingSupport187]: But the support Awakening looks even cooler….

[Whisper to GOingSupport187]: ?

After all that, that’s what the kid says? His shoulders slumped again. Well, fine, the support Awakening was flashy. Guess the kid’s got some taste.

[Whisper to GOingSupport187]: True, support Awakenings are pretty damn cool.

[Whisper from GOingSupport187]: Right?! They’re so blinding and flashy and just awesome…

[Whisper from GOingSupport187]: Does it take long to max out a level? ㅠㅡㅠ

Dohee wasn’t sure how to respond. This newbie doesn’t even have proper gear or know how to use their skills, and they’re already dreaming of max level?

Hasn’t anyone taught them the saying a crow following a stork splits its legs?

[Whisper to GOingSupport187]: lol you’ve got a loooong way to go

[Whisper to GOingSupport187]: Support is even harder to max than other classes

[Whisper from GOingSupport187]: Ah… ㅠㅡㅠ

[Whisper to GOingSupport187]: Don’t skip quests, grind your levels regularly

[Whisper to GOingSupport187]: Join every raid you can, it helps you level fast and get gear

[Whisper to GOingSupport187]: But support is tough, you’ll struggle to find parties

[Whisper to GOingSupport187]: lol maybe switch to another class while you still can?

[Whisper from GOingSupport187]: I’m gonna be a support… I’m gonna become a cool support like Goingsupport… 8ㅅ8

So stubborn.

He couldn’t even catch a single rabbit and was getting bullied for it, yet he still insisted, absolutely insisted, on becoming a support.

Dohee didn’t know what to make of this newbie. It made him feel kind of sorry, kind of frustrated… and kind of proud, all at once. A strange mix of emotions flashed by.

[Whisper from GOingSupport187]: Ah, I really have to go now!

[Whisper from GOingSupport187]: Thank you for helping me today.

[Whisper from GOingSupport187]: I have to head to my part-time job now… ㅠㅡㅠ

Dohee hesitated for a moment at the goodbye. If he let him go like this, chances were they’d never cross paths again.

At the very least, it would be nice if the kid had some decent gear. In the end, Dohee clicked the trade request button.

[System]: ‘AssGo’ has requested a trade with ‘GOingSupport187’.

[System]: ‘GOingSupport187’ has accepted the trade request.

A private trade window popped up. Dohee tossed in a bunch of low-level equipment materials and potion ingredients he had stashed in storage.

They were useless to him now anyway, not even his alts needed them.

[Trade] AssGo: You know how to craft gear, right?

[Trade] GOingSupport187: Uh… I’ve seen it! But I haven’t tried it yet… 8ㅅ8

[Trade] AssGo: Just take these.

[Trade] GOingSupport187: I don’t have any money… ㅠㅡㅠ

[Trade] AssGo: ?

[Trade] AssGo: I’m just giving it to you, okay? I’m not the type to rip off a flea.

[Trade] GOingSupport187: I’m not a flea though…

[Trade] AssGo: It’s a saying, damn. You’re killing me here.

[Trade] AssGo: Go to town later and make some proper gear. Stop wearing that junk.

What did this kid think he was, anyway? Like a level 150 player would seriously charge a level 17 for this kind of stuff?

Dohee let out another snort of disbelief. Figuring the kid was probably broke too, he added 50,000 gold to the trade window.

Sure enough, he responded immediately.

[Trade] GOingSupport187: It’s okay… 8ㅅ8 You don’t have to give me money

[Trade] AssGo: Just take it, it’s nothing

[System]: ‘GOingSupport187’ has declined the trade.

[Whisper to GOingSupport187]: ?

[Whisper from GOingSupport187]: I’m really fine! I don’t like owing people… ㅠㅡㅠ

[Whisper to GOingSupport187]: lol seriously, I have zero use for this stuff

[Whisper to GOingSupport187]: That’s why I’m giving it to you

[Whisper to GOingSupport187]: Just trade again

[Whisper from GOingSupport187]: 8ㅅ8… I don’t want to… I’ll manage on my own…

[Whisper to GOingSupport187]: Didn’t you say you wanted to be a cool support like GoingSupport?

[Whisper from GOingSupport187]: I did… but it’s really okay… ㅠ I can’t pay back 50k gold…

[Whisper to GOingSupport187]: omg you’re so frustrating. You don’t have to pay it back. Maybe 50k gold sounds like fifty bucks to you, but to me it’s like five cents

[Whisper to GOingSupport187]: It’s literally nothing

[Whisper from GOingSupport187]: Still no… 8ㅅ8

[Whisper to GOingSupport187]: ? Then whatever, your call

He had no intention of forcing help on someone dead set against it. Dohee canceled the trade request and opened his inventory. He’d finished his daily quests, there was no reason to stay on this map any longer.

Just as he was about to rip a teleport scroll, his eyes landed on the dumb little support character still standing there, looking at him without logging off.

Seriously, how was a kid like that supposed to survive in Ladenska? From the looks of it, he wouldn’t even make it out of this kingdom, let alone reach the others.

He didn’t know anything, couldn’t use skills properly, was too soft to even talk back when bullied, let alone report them, and didn’t even know how to craft gear, but he claimed he’d manage on his own?

What, that mess of a character was going to hit max level as a support? Eventually, Dohee gave up on walking away and sent a friend request.

[System]: ‘AssGo’ has sent a friend request to ‘GOingSupport187’.

[System]: ‘GOingSupport187’ has accepted the friend request from ‘AssGo’.

Wait, so he accepts the friend request but refuses the gold? Make up your mind. Why accept one and not the other? Still grumbling, Dohee messaged him again.

[Whisper to GOingSupport187]: If you see me online in your friend list, send me a whisper

[Whisper to GOingSupport187]: If you’ve got questions, I’ll answer them

[Whisper to GOingSupport187]: Honestly, looks like you don’t know anything

[Whisper to GOingSupport187]: Anyway, just whisper me when you log in

[Whisper from GOingSupport187]: Thank you… 8ㅅ8

The kid logged off soon after leaving that message. Staring at the weird knockoff nickname still lingering in his friend list, Dohee shook his head again.

Even as he moved maps to do his next daily quest, he kept breaking into small, dumb grins. It wasn’t like he’d helped for any noble reason.

He just didn’t like seeing a support newbie getting bullied. That was all. So why had he ended up friending the kid and thinking about helping him?

He’d seen tons of newbies in his time playing the game. He’d helped plenty in passing, even tossed a tip or two to struggling supports. But he’d never met such a chaotic mess before. It was probably just a passing whim that’d fade in a few days.

Still, if the kid did log on and whisper him again, Dohee figured he wouldn’t mind taking some time to teach him a thing or two.

As he finished the rest of his dailies, Dohee let out another soft laugh. Seriously, what a ridiculous guy.