Stalkerizing

From the start, parties that strictly scrutinize specs never accept a Warlock. The parties that do accept Warlocks are usually those where the party leader doesn’t impose strict requirements during recruitment. Naturally, such parties were mostly hell runs. Forget clearing the dungeon—even making it past the first boss without wiping was considered lucky.

Lack of specs, lack of dungeon knowledge, bad manners, loot scammers…

Every party Sa-yoon had experienced was a minefield filled with one disaster after another.

That was why he had already swapped out his skills the moment he saw the party composition. He had been in too many parties where he had to drag everyone by the collar just to barely clear the dungeon.

[Whisper] a10235044: Hyung, from now on, let’s only run together.

[Whisper] a10235044: I promise I’ll work really hard…

Before the run started, it was “Let’s only run together!” Now, it had become “Let’s only run together…” If they had at least stubbornly insisted, he wouldn’t care, but Sa-yoon had a soft spot for people like this.

[Whisper] Chasa: Okay.

[Whisper] a10235044: Let’s do Medusa after this too.

Medusa? Medusa was good.

Muttering to himself, Sa-yoon ran a hand down the back of his neck. It felt strange to have the next run scheduled immediately after finishing this one.

[Whisper] Chasa: Okay, okay.

[Whisper] Chasa: So don’t get discouraged for no reason.

[Whisper] a10235044: lol okay.

[Party] Freedeal: Oh right, Chasa, I have a question.

[Party] Freedeal: What were you wearing when you were tanking earlier? Your outfit looks different now.

[Party] Shokrates: Oh, Freedeal, you thought so too?

[Party] GegulGegulFrog: Yo, same lol.

[Party] Shokrates: Yeah, robes melt when you use Sacrifice, so normally you can’t use them…

[Party] Freedeal: Ah, if you don’t want to say, you don’t have to! It’s totally fine!

[Party] GegulGegulFrog: I’m curious, so just whisper it to me instead.

[Party] Furple: Did you use buffs while using Life Drain?

As Freedeal cautiously opened the topic, the others chimed in one by one, all agreeing that a robe shouldn’t be able to tank that kind of damage.

[Party] Chasa: Ah, it’s because I was wearing this.

[Party] Chasa:

[Party] GegulGegulFrog: Huh? What’s that?

[Party] Freedeal: This looks like a Priest item?

[Party] Chasa: Yeah, it is.

[Party] Freedeal: But where do you get this? I’ve never seen it before.

[Party] GegulGegulFrog: Oh, I know this one. It’s that trash-tier craftable Priest armor.

The that Sa-yoon was wearing had a rather unique option.

[Absorbs 5% HP upon attacking.]

However, this set had significantly lower specs compared to PvP armor, and it was also awkward to use in dungeons.

For a healer, it was far more efficient to simply cast a healing skill rather than attack to regain HP.

Moreover, healing skills didn’t trigger attack effects, making this armor practically useless for healers.

But what if a DPS wore it?

Especially a Warlock, whose main body didn’t take damage while the summoned creatures fought the monsters?

In that case, it was actually a very useful item when using Sacrifice.

[Party] Freedeal: Oh… Using healer gear for DPS? That’s a new perspective.

[Party] GegulGegulFrog: So if you wear this, you can solo as tank, DPS, and healer all at once?

[Party] Freedeal: Now that I think about it, this is actually really good. Why doesn’t anyone use it?

The answer was obvious. This armor didn’t drop from dungeons—it was a craftable item.

And no one in their right mind would waste materials crafting garbage like this.

Aside from Warlocks, who needed to solo due to the difficulty of party matchmaking…

[Party] GegulGegulFrog: I’m kinda excited right now.

[Party] Chasa: This is tough without healing support.

[Party] GegulGegulFrog: Tsk, sigh ㅠ

[Party] Furple: Chasa, after this, wanna duel me outside?

As they exchanged idle chatter, the party walked through the passageway toward the next boss.

[Party] Chasa: By the way, are you all…

[Party] Chasa: Following me right now?

Sa-yoon, who had unintentionally taken on the role of tank, was leading the way at the front. Behind him, the rest of the characters were running in a single-file line, almost like a train. But from the looks of it, they weren’t actually controlling their own movement.

[Party] Shokrates: Ah, haha. Following the tank is the golden rule.

It was convenient, sure, but in a party of strangers, most people moved independently. In short, this was bad manners.

As Sa-yoon ran diligently, the others, freed from the burden of navigating, started goofing off.

Seriously, these guys…

[Party] Furple: So, about that duel later?

[Party] Freedeal: Chasa, you know there’s a 20% bonus EXP buff going on right now, right?

[Party] Freedeal: I mean, you did say earlier that you weren’t gonna level an alt~

[Party] Freedeal: But if you don’t level an alt during this event, people are gonna call you an idiot, lol.

[Party] Freedeal: However! If you do decide to level an alt! Gegul and I will personally carry you all the way to level 60. ^^!

[Party] GegulGegulFrog: Wait, by “Gegul,” you mean me?

[Party] Freedeal: Ah, typo, typo. ^^

[Party] GegulGegulFrog: Man, I’m collecting so many nicknames today. Born to be a star~ ☆

[Party] Shokrates: Freedeal, you weren’t like this when we first met, but your personality’s getting worse by the day. ㅜ

[Party] Furple: Weren’t you saying earlier that you wanted to maintain a good image…?

[Party] GegulGegulFrog: It’s because they’re playing a healer. ㅠ

[Party] Freedeal: lol Chasa, you’re seeing this, right?

At this point, Freedeal wasn’t even trying to hide their true intentions and was blatantly trying to recruit him.

[Party] Freedeal: Warlocks are great, sure, but Spearmasters are really amazing too! ㅠㅠ

[Party] Chasa: Ah, haha. I don’t like characters that wield spears.

[Party] Freedeal: …What?

[Party] Chasa: I don’t like their weapons.

[Party] Freedeal: Then how about Guardians?

[Party] Chasa: Guardians use a lance and a shield.

The moment Sa-yoon stopped to type, the four party members trailing behind him came to a halt as well, like a conga line freezing in place. The only one who kept moving was the random party member up ahead, who soon realized something was off and turned back.

[Party] a10235044: Why’d you all stop?

[Party] Shokrates: Guild leader, stop only opening party chat when you need something. ㅜ

[Party] a10235044: ?

[Party] Chasa: Warlock weapons are pretty.

Warlocks wielded staffs. Sure, spears and lances had some aesthetically pleasing designs, but no matter what, they always had a certain ruggedness to them. Sa-yoon didn’t like that.

[Party] GegulGegulFrog: ㄴㅇㄱ Didn’t see that reason coming.

[Party] GegulGegulFrog: Freedeal’s brain just short-circuited from the unexpected answer.

[Party] a10235044: What are you guys talking about?

[Party] Chasa: Alt characters, haha.

[Party] a10235044: Ahh.

[Party] a10235044: So, you’re not playing a Warlock alt?

[Party] Chasa: Nope. No interest in leveling an alt.

That should be enough to make them drop it. As Sa-yoon resumed moving, the four of them immediately scurried after him, not even bothering to hide the fact that they were just freeloading.

This was kinda… fucking annoying.

As he sprinted down the long corridor, a sudden impulse struck Sa-yoon, and he abruptly veered right.

[Party] a10235044: Hyung, that’s not the way.

[Party] Chasa: Ah.

[Party] GegulGegulFrog: Are you bad with directions?

[Party] Chasa: Not really…

[Party] Chasa: Sorry, but I actually don’t know the way here.

[Party] Furple: How do you not know the way?

[Party] Chasa: I’ve barely ever been to the Tavern.

[Party] Chasa: It’s been a while, so I got confused. ㅠㅠ

[Party] GegulGegulFrog: Ah, fuck. ㅠㅠ Why are you like this? ㅠㅠ

[Party] Freedeal: Chasa, don’t worry! ㅜㅜ We’ll make sure you learn the layout so well, you can walk it blindfolded. ㅜㅜ

[Party] Furple: ㅜㅜ Sorry, sorry.

Claiming to be lost in a last-season dungeon like the Tavern, right before a new dungeon was about to release next month, was an incredibly effective way to milk sympathy.

In Divine, players could choose whether to resurrect at the town or the dungeon entrance after a party wipe. If the party disbanded, they’d return to town, but if they retried, they’d respawn at the dungeon entrance and have to run all the way back to where they died.

Having suffered through countless hellish public parties, Sa-yoon had far more experience reviving at the dungeon entrance than he did actually clearing dungeons.

He had wiped so many times that the Tavern might as well have been his own front yard. But sometimes, a harmless little white lie was more useful than the truth.

[Party] a10235044: Hyung, just follow me. ㅠㅠ

With a sigh of mock defeat, Sa-yoon clicked on the guy’s character and hit the follow button.

Having someone else move his character for him was so sweet.