“…It’s there.”
A long sigh of relief escaped from Doyeong’s lips. The pumpkin seeds that he had been beating himself up over, unable to sell just before quitting, were all still there.
“Thank God. Really, thank God…”
With trembling hands, Doyeong dragged the bundle of seeds into his inventory. The heavy Pumpkin Seed Pouch landed into the arms of his character, Won.
Now, if he just took this to the auction house, he could finally breathe easy from his exhausting financial struggles.
The auction house was outside his personal farm. All he had to do was go there and sell. Thinking complacently, Doyeong headed toward the exit.
Vroom.
With a heavy sound, Won moved toward the village.
Phew…
Just as his tension eased and he tried to lean back against the chair,
KRAAAASH!
“Ah?!”
With an ear-splitting roar, a golden lightning bolt struck from the sky. The pillar of light piercing Won’s crown was so massive and dazzling it covered the entire screen in white.
The modest Pumpkin Seed Pouch in his hand suddenly felt meaningless next to this cataclysmic effect.
[System: The Great Return! The Legendary User has come back!]
[System: First login in 7 years! Please welcome ‘Won’!]
Fireworks exploded all over the screen, pollen fluttered through the air. Even the NPCs showed shocked expressions and started clapping.
“No way, crazy. Quiet down, please…!”
Doyeong scrambled to lower the volume, but it was too late. The eyes of players gathered around the storage were now fixed on the lame level-1 rabbit and the precious pumpkin seed bundle he carefully clutched.
There had been no such feature before. At least, not seven years ago, when Doyeong last played.
Returning players were supposed to come and go quietly, but this damn game’s updates had added this annoying function that loudly announces their return.
The problem was that the effect was so flashy it forcibly drew the attention of everyone on the map.
And above the pillar of light floated the username.
[Won]
The one and only username claimed at the open beta, unique to the game.
That rare name shimmered under the golden spotlight.
The silence lasted only three seconds.
Players who had been idling around suddenly turned their heads simultaneously. And to their eyes appeared a max-level rabbit dressed in beginner’s gear.
Swarm!
Like piranhas spotting prey, characters began to flood in from all directions.
“Huh? Uh-uh?”
Doyeong panicked and moved his mouse, but the old computer couldn’t handle the suddenly crowded character models and screamed in protest. The screen stuttered as if frozen.
Whether Doyeong panicked or not, the chat window at the bottom of the screen started flooding like a waterfall.
[General] RiceEatingKing: OMG, no way
[General] Kilimanjaro: Whoa, look at the name ;; One-letter name is serious
[General] BuySell: Hey, wanna sell your name? Give me a price
[General] Baekdusan: Returning player! If you’re quitting, drop your gear and go!!
[General] Sssushu: Hey don’t block the path, let me watch
[General] FinallyQuittingThisTime: Let’s be friends
Within moments, dozens of players surrounded Doyeong’s rabbit. Frog-like species, armored knights, practically naked female characters formed layers and kept him completely cornered.
[System: ‘Merchant1’ has requested a trade.]
[System: ‘PlayWithMe’ sent a party invite.]
Pop-up windows flooded the center of the screen like spam.
“Ugh…”
Doyeong breathed heavily.
The reason they swarmed was obvious. Curiosity, envy of the username—that was all. But to Doyeong, it looked different.
Suddenly, all the hateful chat messages he had endured flooded his mind again.
‘Are you even human?’ ‘Cut off your fingers.’ ‘How are your parents?’
That nightmare moment when players surrounded and mercilessly bullied him overlaid on the screen.
There was a buzzing ringing in his ears. Though he knew it wasn’t real sound, his head hurt.
I have to turn it off… They have to disappear…
Doyeong grabbed the mouse in a panic. His fingertips shook violently.
First, he had to close the chat window. If he couldn’t see those words, it might get better.
He hurriedly moved the cursor to the bottom of the screen.
But lag was the problem. In a screen stuttering at 14 frames per second, the mouse cursor teleported unpredictably.
[General] Yanamushi: Answer me
[General] Sharalalalala: Chat’s so toxic lol
[General] PassingBy: Look at that gear lol, hoe concept?
The chat became increasingly aggressive. Doyeong’s vision narrowed. A nauseating wave twisted in his stomach. His finger, about to hit the chat settings button, slipped and clicked empty air.
“Please, hurry, hurry…!”
No, no. Settings or whatever, first he needed to get out of there. To a spot with no people. To a channel with nobody.
In the end, Doyeong gave up blocking chat and instinctively flicked the mouse toward the bottom right of the screen.
If he remembered correctly, the channel switch button was there.
“Move! Get out of the way!”
Through the jammed crowd of characters filling the screen, Doyeong desperately dragged the cursor toward the corner button.
Lag made the cursor feel like it was trudging through mud, but somehow it finally landed on the button.
He didn’t even have time to confirm the icon’s shape. He just assumed it was the channel switch button because it was there.
Click.
The crisp mouse-click echoed in the room.
At that moment,
A message appeared in the center of the screen completely different from what Doyeong expected.
[System: You have been registered in the Quick Matchmaking Queue.]
“…Huh?”
Doyeong’s hand froze in mid-air.
Where there should have been a channel selection window, a spinning matching icon appeared.
This was the result of developers hiding the long-ignored channel switch button deep inside menus to improve user convenience a few years ago.
Instead, they had planted a new button in the most easily accessible spot.
The [Integrated Dungeon: Quick Entry] button.
[Registered in matchmaking queue.]
[Searching for mentor…]
“No, no way… Wait!”
Doyeong’s face paled.
There was no queue or anything. He couldn’t understand what was happening. Was this how this game had become? Wasn’t this class supposed to avoid useless queues?
“Cancel! Where’s cancel!”
Screaming, Doyeong slammed the ESC key repeatedly. Frantically waving the mouse around looking for the cancel button, but the screen was already turning red.
[Match found!]
[Moving to dungeon: Abyssal Rift.]
On-screen, the scruffy rabbit in dirty overalls looked bewildered as it was sucked into a red vortex.
A rusty hoe in hand.
Defense stat: barely 2.
And still with the chat window open, bombarded with curses and insults.
Whoooosh—Bang!
The peaceful farm scene shattered to pieces, and the old computer screamed as it started to load the next map.
The farmer who had come to earn tractor repair money was now boarding the express train straight to hell, far worse than his tractor’s condition.
[System: You have entered the Abyssal Rift.]
[Warning: Level below recommended! Health will decrease even by breathing.]
[Party members: 2/8 (Recommended: 8)]
The scene before him felt so vivid, he almost imagined the metallic and putrid water smells drifting through the screen.
The dungeon air was completely different—far more intimidating than the peaceful farm planting pumpkins.
Crimson lava rippled like veins across the floor, while violet electricity crackled in the air, tearing apart space. Anyone could tell this was the top-ranked dungeon, the kind reserved for the hardened Chaebol Rabbits.
And at the very center of the chaotic mess stood an incongruous presence.
No, it was closer to a walking luxury department store than a human.
His gear was not some clunky iron armor. The character embodied the concept of the ‘Archangel of the Supreme God’.
A pristine white coat flowing elegantly to the ankles rippled like the finest silk with an advanced physics engine every time he moved. Golden embroidery glittered under the dungeon lighting.
The highlight was the massive six wings majestically spread behind him. Each flap scattered white feather effects across the screen, while a golden halo slowly spun above his head.
A walking beacon of light, a character worth at least a house’s price in cash shop value.
Hovering incongruously in the middle of that sacred aura were the blood-red nickname and title.
[Title: Eternal Slayer]
[0]
Next to 0 stood Doyeong’s character, Won, looking pitiful to the point of disgrace.
Dirty overalls. One drooping rabbit ear with a grimy level-1 appearance. In his hands, not a dazzling staff but a rusty, crumbling hoe.
It was like a poor farmhand rabbit who had stumbled into the grand archangel’s arrival ceremony by mistake.
0 slowly bowed his head.
Golden holy hair flowed down, and his blue eyes looked down at Won’s rabbit ears with a mixture of contempt, as if staring at food waste—or a system malfunction discovered.
