“…….”
Silence.
The dust settled, and 0 was standing perfectly fine. His character paused, confirming that not a single point of his HP had been lost.
[Party] 0: …?
0 seemed unable to grasp the situation.
It was natural.
This was definitely the moment he should have died.
The moment he cast the skill, he had seen the boss’s reflection pattern and thought, Oh, I’m screwed. It was a skill that couldn’t be canceled.
So he had taken his hands off the keyboard, ready to revive.
Why was he still alive? Lag? A bug?
Out of habit, 0 opened the combat log window at the bottom right of the screen. Then he scrolled it up.
[Combat Log]
[System] Boss is casting [Mirror Shield].
[System] ‘Won’ threw [Sturdy Pebble].
[System] Boss casting forcibly canceled (0.03 seconds ago).
[System] Casting of [Mirror Shield] was canceled by ‘Won’’s attack!
[System] ‘0’ dealt a critical hit with [Overload Smash].
“……Ha.”
A hollow laugh escaped 0’s lips.
He read the log again. And again.
A pebble.
Did he really interrupt that split second of casting with just a worthless junk item pebble?
Coincidence?
No, the timing was too perfect for coincidence. Had it been 0.1 seconds earlier, the boss would have activated reflection again. Had it been 0.1 seconds later, he would have died.
This was a thoroughly calculated, frame-perfect prediction shot.
0 slowly turned his head.
He saw the Rabbit crouched behind a rock holding a hoe.
But then.
“Hey.”
0 turned on his mic. The sound was a chillingly clear low tone with zero static interference.
Doyeong’s old, twenty-dollar headset was struggling to handle such a pristine audio signal.
It was no longer cold contempt in chat.
“Sir, what was that just now?”
0’s voice held a sharpness that was not admiration but inspection.
“Did you use a bug? Or a hack?”
The dry mood dissipated, replaced by the unmistakable expression of someone who’d found something interesting.
“You interrupted it with a rock? With 0.03 seconds left? Did you throw it knowingly, or did your hand slip and it just landed lucky?”
Doyeong didn’t answer. He only wiped the cold sweat from his brow and glared at the monitor.
His heart pounded wildly. The relief of having protected the tractor made his legs go weak.
[Party] Won: …Luck.
Doyeong typed briefly. He didn’t want any more involvement. He just wanted to get the rewards and leave.
“Luck?” 0 scanned the scruffy Rabbit up and down with disbelief.
“Well, okay. Whether it’s luck or skill, thanks to you my character’s repair cost got saved.”
0 gave a lazy affirmation to Doyeong’s words and continued.
“Let’s check the rewards. Let’s see if you earned your keep.”
0 walked over to the massive golden chest that appeared where the boss had fallen. Doyeong hesitantly followed.
Usually in legendary dungeons, loot is distributed sequentially or shared among the party. So no matter what 0 complained about, Doyeong’s share was guaranteed.
So if possible, at least something valuable.
One more profitable item was just an advantage.
Unaware of Doyeong’s thoughts, 0 kicked the chest.
The chest should have opened with a dazzling light and displayed the item list.
Zap. Crackle.
But the screen acted weirdly.
The moment the chest opened, static noises appeared on Doyeong’s old computer monitor, then a red system message flickered on with broken fonts.
[System Error: Party code conflict detected.]
[Warning: Insufficient members and title data error.]
[Reward algorithm is corrupted.]
[Party] Won: Huh? Hey, what’s going on?
Doyeong panicked and tapped the monitor.
[System: Hidden Cursed Item ‘Corrupted Oath Shackles’ forcibly applied!]
Boom!
Red chains sprang out of the chest like living snakes, lunging toward 0 and Won.
There was no time to dodge.
Clank!
Crimson steel handcuffs clamped onto the left and right wrists of both characters.
“What, what is this!”
Doyeong panicked, pulling his character back. But 0’s character was pulled along, and the chains were unbroken.
[Item Info: Corrupted Oath Shackles]
- Rank: Curse
- Effect: Forces connection between two wearers. (Distance limit: 10m)
- Duration: 24 hours (Logout time not included)
- Removal Condition: None.
- Penalty: Attempting forced removal or exceeding distance resets inventory.
“…Reset?”
Doyeong’s eyes went blank. The words floated around.
Inventory reset.
Reset.
That meant–
“My pumpkin seeds!!!”
Doyeong’s scream echoed through the room.
50 million won. Tractor. Greenhouse heating costs. Grandfather’s massage chair.
All held hostage by a single pair of shackles.
“This damn shitty game for real!!!”
Half panicking, Doyeong hammered the keyboard like firing a shotgun.
Meanwhile, 0’s reaction was as complacent as ever.
“Ha… it’s a bug.”
0 sighed with irritation.
“You came in with some weird title hanging on and messed up my perfect dungeon system. How are you going to take responsibility?”
0 held up the red chains and pressed Doyeong.
“I read the description. If this gets removed or we separate, inventory resets.”
0 took a step closer.
“It doesn’t matter to me. I can just buy everything again with money. It’s just annoying.”
Clink. The chains made a sound.
“But it matters to you, doesn’t it? That old hoe and the junk in your pouch look more precious than your life. You’d probably jump into the Han River if you lost that, huh?”
That was the exact spot.
Doyeong gasped for air.
“Anyway, you’re responsible.”
0’s character leaned so close to the Rabbit’s nose the screen was filled with his handsome face in close-up.
“You ruined my precious time. My 24 hours, and my freedom.”
0 smiled and hammered the point home.
“Don’t think about running off. Stick right next to me for 24 hours. So close I can hear your breathing.”
“Think of this as raising an expensive ‘disobedient pet’ you bought. Got it?”
Pet.
Doyeong frowned but had no retort. Right now, 0 was basically a creditor holding 50 million won in hand.
Doyeong quickly did the math.
50 million won or my pride?
But pride? Does that fill your stomach?
[Party] Won: …Pay me separately for my keep.
Doyeong’s dry reply made 0 pause. He expected some flustered reaction or whimper, but instead, he was demanding food money? 0 burst out a hollow laugh beyond the headset.
“Ha. Look at this guy.”
Though the demand was spoken harshly, behind the screen Doyeong swallowed hard.
His instincts screamed danger.
He came to earn tractor repair money but got caught by a crazier guy than the tractor itself; he should run, forget the repair money.
But he couldn’t.
If he messed this up, it wouldn’t just be him screwed.
How did it come to this? I just wanted to sell pumpkin seeds and delete the game.
As Doyeong stared blankly at the red chains around his character’s wrists, breaking the silence, a golden server-wide announcement scrolled across the top of the screen.
[Server] Congratulations! An unexpected legend has been born!
[Server] ‘0 (Mentor)’ and ‘Won (Mentee)’ have conquered the top-tier dungeon <Abyssal Pit> ‘without any combat power correction’!
[Server] First ever achievement: [Extreme Mentor]! Recorded in the Hall of Fame for “Most Dramatic Carry”!
“…Huh? Mentoring?”
Doyeong’s jaw dropped.
The dungeon that even rankers wipe in was now recorded as conquered by the server’s strongest player carrying a useless burden.
And the storm instantly struck.
The usually quiet chat window at the bottom left exploded at a maddening speed.
[World] ExpertSlayer: ??? Mentoring? Cleared the Abyss by mentoring? Isn’t that a bug?
[World] Kook Kook Kook: Wow, crazy. Zero said he was gonna solo but cleared it with a burden attached?
[World] MathChairman: Hey look at the nicknames. ‘0’ and ‘Won’. Combined they’re zero won? LOL, intended?
[World] SmoothSoap: Crazy LOL couple name is Zero Won? Cost-effective to the max. Congrats on free couple^^
[World] Dochi0248: But who’s the ‘Won’ beside him? Max level but no gear, showed as mentee? The concept grind is harsh;;
[World] Spade: [Noblesse Guild] Zero, ditch that burden and come with us.
The chat was flooded with both awe at 0’s overwhelming power and mockery toward the ‘Zero Won’ burden player ‘Won’.
0 hummed a familiar tune as if used to this.
“Ah, such a pain. I was gonna clear it alone for the [Solitary Slayer] achievement anyway.”
0 smirked, watching Doyeong linked with the chains.
“But thanks to you I got something even more unique. [Extreme Mentor]. Nobody ever gets this one.”
But Doyeong didn’t have time to savor that achievement.
