“Stop spacing out. Press the F key quickly.”
Doyeong pressed the F key as if in a trance.
His scruffy rabbit character floated up and settled in the massive beast’s back seat. 0’s character sat in front, holding the reins.
“Hold on tight. If you fall off, don’t blame me.”
0 pulled the reins.
Fffft!
The beast spread its wings powerfully and soared into the sky.
It happened in an instant. The annoying players, the noisy chat window, and the lagging scenery all shrank to tiny dots below. Finally, the open sky and the sound of refreshing wind filled his ears.
His breath gradually settled.
This is so hard…
From the calm sky, 0 casually said,
“Not just anyone gets a ride on this. It’s a rule to keep the seat next to me empty. It’s expensive, you know.”
Normally, Doyeong might have said something like What a jerk, but somehow that arrogance felt oddly reassuring now.
Looking down at the dizzying ground, Doyeong swallowed dryly.
[Party] Won: Yeah. Must be expensive. Looks expensive.
Doyeong clenched his fist tightly with trembling hands and steadied his breathing. Nightmares kept rising to his throat, but he forced himself to hold on to reason. There was nothing to be afraid of. Those guys down there were just data fragments anyway. He only needed to endure until he could sell the pumpkin seeds.
“So be honored and try to breathe steady. It makes people uncomfortable otherwise.”
[Party] Won: I’m getting motion sickness. Thought the ride would be smooth since it’s expensive, but no.
Doyeong spoke as if it were nothing special. Through the headset, he heard 0’s suppressed chuckle.
“Hah. Dude, your mentality’s strong. Didn’t you almost cry just now?”
[Party] Won: Came here to make money, not to cry.
Despite being all scrunched up like baggage, Doyeong said what he had to. 0 seemed to quite like that shamelessness.
0 purposely flew higher and faster, farther from the noise below.
Once only clouds were visible, Doyeong lifted his trembling fingers off the keyboard. But his pounding heartbeat didn’t calm down easily.
How long had they been flying?
At the highest point past the clouds, a huge fortress revealed its imposing figure.
Kuuuuung.
The giant beast landed lightly in front of the castle gates. Doyeong got off behind 0 with a dazed expression.
The size was grand enough to accommodate hundreds of guild members comfortably. The sheer scale was jaw-dropping, but the guild sign above the entrance was surprisingly simple. No, it was straightforward.
[Guild: Money]
[Guild Members: 3/300]
“……”
Doyeong’s eyes narrowed.
The guild name was ‘Money’. And the member count was a mere three.
All three of them use this entire castle?
Doyeong clicked his tongue in disbelief.
To buy a guild hideout of this scale would cost hundreds of thousands of won even converted to real money. Forget the purchase cost, the weekly maintenance fees must be enormous.
Compared to himself trembling over a 5 million won tractor repair bill, he lived in a completely different world.
Whether reality or the game, the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. It’s really disgusting.
Kriiik— thunk!
Whether Doyeong thought or spoke, as 0 approached the castle front, the massive golden doors opened by themselves. A short loading screen passed.
What unfolded inside was far more shocking than the outside look.
“Wow….”
A gasp escaped Doyeong’s lips.
This wasn’t the default game decoration. It was clear they’d hired the server’s top housing commission master and poured their soul into it.
From the high ceiling, a huge crystal chandelier resembling the Milky Way slowly rotated, scattering glittering light. The floor wasn’t ordinary marble either; special glass tiles that caused ripples like walking on water every time one stepped on them.
The walls were adorned with rare glowing plants and jewels, creating a dazzling blend of a fantasy movie’s fairy forest and royal palace.
0 plopped down on a luxurious, museum-quality top-tier leather sofa in the center of the lobby.
“Sit. Take off your shoes. The flooring’s expensive.”
Speaking nonsense, 0 crossed their legs. It was a rather curt welcome.
Doyeong hesitated but climbed carefully into a single sofa opposite and sat down cautiously. Even knowing it was a lie, the imposing air made him feel like he had to take off his shoes to enter.
“Dude, what kind of office PC are you using? I can hear your fan noise all the way here. I brought you inside because I’m worried you’ll get kicked from hanging out in the plaza.”
0 answered nonchalantly and picked up the teacup on the table.
[Party] Won: Are you seriously telling me to take my shoes off?
“Forget it. What if your graphics break while you’re taking shoes off? You’re too precious, it’d be bad if you lagged and got kicked.”
Despite the rude comment, Doyeong sighed in relief. At least here, there was no danger of being PK’d.
But that relief shattered instantly when the other owners of this castle appeared.
[General] Gwanak District Governor: Hey!!! Crazy dog!!!
On the top right of the screen, a pink speech bubble popped up at the second-floor railing. At the same time, something green leapt down.
Was it a graceful landing? No.
Bang!
With a roar loud enough to sound like a meteor strike and an effect of tiles cracking open, the newcomer appeared. It was a male ‘Orc’ character, over 2 meters tall, wearing a pink magical girl outfit but massive and burly.
[Nickname: Gwanak District Governor]
[Guild: Money Sub-guild Leader]
On his back, he carried a heart-shaped magic wand, but anyone could tell it was a blunt weapon capable of smashing a person’s head.
[General] Gwanak District Governor: You caused trouble again?! The bulletin board’s flipped upside down!
[General] Gwanak District Governor: Hey, send me a party invite. This is frustrating. Too lazy to type!
The orc stomped forward, blocking 0’s path and jumping repeatedly. Behind him, a female gunner clad only in red cape and panties came running in a hurry.
[General] Minus Account: Chairman!! Loyal!! There’s a big problem!!
[General] Minus Account: Please give me a party key! Urgent report!
0 put down the teacup and furrowed their brows like observing a drunken intruder in a quiet art gallery.
“Hah… the noise pollution’s here again. Should’ve locked the door.”
0 flicked their fingers in the air with annoyance.
[System: Party leader ‘Gwanak District Governor’, ‘Minus Account’ have been invited.]
[Party members have joined. (4/4)]
[Voice channel connected.]
Ding-!
With a cheerful notification, boisterous voices burst through the headset.
“Ah, finally I feel relieved!”
A husky woman’s voice spoke. Whenever she talked, the megaphone icon next to Gwanak District Governor twitched.
“Hey Zero! Did you know the bulletin board’s going crazy? The Noblesse Guild is flooding it saying you used hacks and abused bugs!”
Behind the woman’s voice came a more delicate male voice. It was Minus Account.
“Check this out!”
His urgent voice continued.
“Right now, that Road guy is swaying public opinion! He’s rallying, saying ‘Zero used mentoring bugs, check the logs!’”
As Minus Account said, the server bulletin was already flooded with posts by Road and his followers.
[RoadTV] Zero’s Two-Man Clear? 100% Bug. (Fact Check)
↳ Joker: Lol, how? Cleared with mentoring? Makes no sense. I did damage math and it’s impossible with one man’s damage no matter how you crunch numbers lol
↳ Spade: I asked the admins. He’s getting banned, gg
↳ Clover: T__T Zero, I’m disappointed… didn’t you want to do it fair and square?
0 scoffed.
“Ah, those cockroaches? Too bothersome to even squish.”
They didn’t even laugh scornfully, just averted their gaze as if looking at something filthy.
“Chairman, what should we do? Should we check the logs and set them straight? I did a statistical analysis, and if we check the logs now, there’s a 99.9% chance they’ll blush.”
Minus Account’s eyes sparkled, but 0 waved a hand lazily.
“Sure, check. Only with data. Don’t mix emotions.”
“Loyal!”
“If you match their level, they’ll think they’re something. Just dryly document the facts.”
“I’ll send the data right away!”
Minus Account excitedly began copying and pasting the logs onto the board. Meanwhile, the Governor’s gaze landed on the scruffy rabbit crouched in the corner of the sofa.
“Oh my, what’s this?”
The Governor’s voice pitched higher by an octave.
“Hey crazy dog. Are you doing charity? Why’d you bring a beggar? Smells bad.”
“Worth thirty million won. Don’t mess with it.”
“What? It’s not just smelling bad. It’s rotten. What’s with that look? So 2000s vibe.”
The Governor chuckled and circled around Doyeong’s character. The terrifying sight of a huge orc holding a pink magic wand spinning around was pure horror.
Doyeong kept his mouth tightly shut without moving.
Crazy people’s friends are always crazy.
