Pick, pick, pick.
Arrows rained down, missing 0 and embedding themselves in the scarecrow.
“Huh?”
Tongjang muttered blankly.
“Why did the arrows suddenly curve? Is this lag?”
To everyone else, it just looked like lag or a bug. But 0 did not miss the split-second moment when aggro was scattered and the monsters’ feet were stuck.
“As expected.”
0 gulped down a buff potion and started sweeping through the battlefield again.
Crash! Thud!
0’s punch shattered the Dullahan’s armor, and Dojisa’s magic wand turned the skeletons to dust. Then, when Tongjang’s flashy explosives started going off, the mobs melted away instantly.
[Battle Ended]
“Wow… I thought I was going to die.”
Dojisa sighed in relief and collapsed onto the spot.
“What was that just now? The mobs suddenly turned stupid? Maybe the server lagged?”
“Just lucky! I told you my star sign luck’s great today!”
The two who had been leading the mobs didn’t notice anything. They were simply busy picking up items, thinking it was just luck. Only then did Doyeong cancel the dance motion and drop the act.
Phew… Hope I didn’t get caught.
He was just brushing off his chest and preparing to quietly back away.
Ding.
A whisper notification popped up in his ear.
[Whisper] 0: Hyung.
Doyeong’s shoulder twitched.
0’s character, who had stopped picking up items at a distance, just turned his head and stared straight at Doyeong.
[Whisper] 0: You sure know how to move your hips.
[Whisper] 0: You can’t lie.
[Whisper] 0: That wasn’t a ‘dance,’ that was a ‘motion cancel,’ right? And you interrupted it in increments of 0.1 seconds.
Did he… see that?
His heart pounded. That insane eyesight to spot hips on a three-head-tall rabbit avatar was scary, but even scarier was the log window the guy was staring at.
[Whisper] Won: Nah, I just thought I should cheer you on… Sorry if I bothered you.
Doyeong forced a casual reply, praying this insane guy was not some pervert examining the logs too.
But on 0’s screen, the blatant evidence was already displayed.
[System] Motion Cancel (Perfect!)
[System] Pre-delay Cancel (Perfect!)
0’s lips curled upwards.
Thought he was trash, but this was jackpot.
He thought he was an old newbie, but in reality, he was exploiting a system loophole. That 30-million-won investment was worth every penny.
[Whisper] 0: Nope. Bother? Your pet does motion cancels and even puts in the crowd control? Ridiculous cost efficiency.
0’s fingers tapped rapidly on the keyboard.
[Whisper] 0: Hyung. Those fingers of yours look pretty expensive.
[Whisper] 0: Why are you pretending not to know? Don’t tease your owner like that.
[Whisper] 0: Show me more. Let’s see how much your value goes up.
A chill ran down his spine. That guy knew. He knew, but was pretending not to.
“Hey? What are you two standing around for? Watching something fun? Let me join in!”
Breaking 0’s cold stare, the clueless Dojisa butted in. The orc clung awkwardly to Won.
“By the way, mister, were you just lucky? I mean, we all dodged, but how did you avoid those arrows?”
“Ah… I was just mashing buttons…”
“Aw, stop being humble. You’ve got talent! I’ll train you!”
Dojisa waved his magic wand around, fussing excitedly.
“There’s a spot open in our guild! I’ll put you down as my recruit, so join officially! Taking care of newbies in this game is basic etiquette. If I mentor you one-on-one, you’ll be a ranker in three weeks.”
Dojisa’s offer was sincere. A talented newbie was like an oasis in a stagnant pool.
“Dojisa.”
0, who had been smiling moments ago, stood between Dojisa and Doyeong.
“Why are you training him?”
“Did you eat something bad today? Why so grumpy? Jealous?”
“Jealous? No. You just have no sense of decency.”
0 growled.
“Stop drooling over items already in my pending cart. It’s disgusting.”
“Huh?”
“I’ve already claimed this rabbit. I’m the one who raises him, and if I discard him, I’m the one who does it.”
“You’re crazy, seriously?”
“Don’t drool. It’s gross.”
Dojisa shut his mouth. He knew he was crazy too, but this guy was the kind of maniac even he wanted to avoid. Whatever obsession was driving him to act like this, if they fought, Dojisa knew he’d be the one to lose.
Then 0 stared down at Doyeong and drove the final wedge.
“Hyung, don’t look around elsewhere either.”
“W-what…”
“The owner feeds you, and if you accept snacks from others, you’ll get sick.”
Doyeong swallowed dryly.
When did he ever feed me? We’re just barely holding on.
But he didn’t really hate the control. At least, if he stayed by this crazy guy’s side, it didn’t seem like he’d die alone.
Tongjang, who had been watching quietly, slipped in.
“But hyung, I also recommend it. Our guild buffs are server top tier. [Experience Gain Increased by 20%], [Gold Gain Increased by 15%]… Converted to money, that efficiency easily beats minimum hourly wage.”
“Oh… gold too?”
Doyeong’s ears perked up. His instincts reacted to the word ‘money.’
“Then… should I join for a little while?”
“Yeah! I’ll take care of you, mister! Here, join!”
Dojisa happily sent the guild invite.
[System: Guild Vice Master ‘Gwanak District Governor’ has invited ‘Won’ to guild [Money].]
Just as Doyeong was about to hit [Accept],
“Wait.”
0’s voice cut in sharply. Doyeong’s hand froze in midair.
“Who said you can switch jobs? Our 24-hour contract isn’t over yet.”
“It’s the same guild. So what? It won’t hurt you.”
“It’s a loss. You’re going outside my control.”
0 glared at Dojisa.
“This guy is mine. Why do you keep eyeing the stuff in my cart?”
“What… Ah, you’re really petty! It’s way better if we’re guildmates!”
0 thought for a moment, then smirked and snapped his fingers.
“Fine. Then I’ll invite him my way. It’s easier to manage if I keep him inside my fence.”
[System: Guild Master ‘0’ has invited ‘Won’ to guild [Money].]
A flashy invitation popped up in the center of the screen. There was no chance to refuse.
For Doyeong, who only planned to sell pumpkin seeds and quit, it was a perfectly fine choice.
15% hourly efficiency boost… plus the #1 ranker’s carry.
Doyeong’s mental calculator churned fast. Pride? That was a luxury compared to the extra 15% profit.
If he checked how much gold he had and sold that too? He probably wouldn’t even want to log in again.
Hang in there. Just for a day. Milk this for all it’s worth and leave.
With careless thoughts, Doyeong pressed the accept button.
Flash!
With a fanfare, the simple, gaudy guild mark ‘Money’ appeared above Doyeong’s head.
“Oh! Nice! Welcome to the guild, mister!”
Dojisa bounced excitedly.
“Well then, since you joined the guild, we have to do the initiation rite? Mister, come to my training ground first. I’ve got a ‘Hell’s Lower Body Routine’ all set up…”
“Stop.”
But again, 0 blocked Dojisa’s way.
“Ah, why again! What the hell’s wrong with you? We’re guildmates! Once you join, you’re my apprentice!”
“Who said I’m your apprentice?”
0 smiled and opened the guild management window. The clicking of the keyboard rang out cheerily.
“Don’t get the wrong idea. Not all guildmates are on the same ‘level.’”
“What? Level? Hey, isn’t Korea a democracy?”
“Nope. In capitalism, equality depends on how much money you pay.”
0’s fingers moved swiftly.
Shortly after, system messages flooded the guild chat window.
[System: Guild Master has changed ‘Won’‘s position.]
[System: ‘Won’‘s guild permissions are being reset.]
The ‘New Guild Member’ label above Doyeong’s character vanished. In its place, a phrase impossible to believe was an in-game title appeared in red.
[Position: Guild Master’s Private Property]
[Permissions: None (No chat, party, or whisper allowed without guild master approval)]
Silence.
Neither Dojisa, Tongjang, nor even Doyeong could speak.
“…?”
Doyeong stared in disbelief. Private property? No permissions?
“Hey… What’s this? Why’s the position named like this? Is this a bug?”
“Do you like it? It’s a special custom rank just for you.”
0 nodded, satisfied.
“Literally. You’re not a ‘guild member,’ you’re registered as my ‘asset.’”
“No way… The game actually lets them do this?”
“Of course, I paid for it. It’s hard to manage assets that talk back and run around on their own, so I locked all permissions.”
“This crazy dog’s completely lost it today.”
“If you want anything, just submit a payment request. I’ll approve it.”
Dojisa couldn’t hold back any longer and finally exploded at 0’s continued abuse.
??? He’s this possessive and they haven’t even met in real life yet??