I opened my eyes.
Morning sunlight streamed through the window gaps, filling the room.
Judging by how refreshed I felt, I must have slept like a log.
I was just about to stretch and get out of bed when—
—Crash!
"Hey! Kang Tae-ho! You awake?"
The door burst open and Ha-eun stormed in.
With hair rollers in her hair and a smartphone in hand, she looked ready for battle.
Same energy as when she was throwing cushions and throwing a fit last night.
"Ugh, seriously. Don't you knock?"
"Knock? That's what you're worried about right now? Where are my elf photos?!"
Starting first thing in the morning with that nonsense.
What an annoying brat.
"If you don't hand them over, I'm telling Mom to only serve you boiled broccoli for breakfast today."
The threat was childish but lethal.
I surrendered.
Sitting on the edge of the bed, I pulled out my smartphone from my pocket.
VIP emergency contact network.
I sent a quick text through the Japanese Hunter Association hotline I'd gotten in Osaka.
Eventually, after contacting the Japanese side, I managed to get the elf photos.
As soon as the photo files came through the messenger, I tossed the phone over my shoulder.
"Here, catch."
Ha-eun's hand, which had been about to smack my back, froze mid-air.
"Huh? You actually got them?"
Ha-eun picked up the phone from the floor, her nostrils flaring ominously.
The way her fingers swiped across the screen looked like a horny orangutan.
No matter how I looked at it, she didn't seem like someone with the intelligence to work at a decent corporation.
"Wow, insane. Look at those pointy ears. Is that pale skin for real?"
"Wipe your drool."
"Hey, can I upload this to my Neotube? It's perfect for a thumbnail."
Ha-eun plopped down on the bed and started grinning like an idiot.
Obviously planning to bait clicks with some cheap title like 'First Ever Elf Photo Reveal!'
I wanted nothing more than to smack that empty head of hers right then.
But it was also slightly my fault for forgetting to take photos at the Osaka Gate.
I decided to be magnanimous just this once.
"I'm gonna rake in those views. Love you, Oppa!"
"Ugh, gross. Get out."
I waved my hand dismissively and turned my head away.
Having successfully transferred the photos to her phone, she hummed a tune as she left the room.
Drained from the morning chaos, I felt hungry.
When I came out to the living room, the morning news was on TV.
Despite the anchor's serious expression, the content was ridiculous.
[Next story. The so-called 'Silver Salvation Church' that worships Hunter Kang Tae-ho as a god...]
The screen showed hundreds of men gathered at Gwanghwamun Plaza.
Remarkably, every single one of them had abnormally thick hair.
[Savior of the bald! Earth's representative! Praise Kang Tae-ho!]
"What a bunch of weirdos."
I let out a hollow laugh of disbelief.
I had no idea when I'd supposedly saved bald people to deserve this.
The world had clearly gone collectively insane.
If I kept watching this worthless news, my own sanity would get contaminated.
Ugh, whatever.
I gave up thinking about it.
I should just get back to the game I was playing.
I went back to my room and plopped down in my chair.
I wiggled the mouse toward the monitor displaying the screensaver.
With a whirring sound, the screen lit up.
But something was wrong with what I saw on the monitor.
This was the prime hunting spot where I'd been grinding earlier.
In the place where only my character should have been, some character I'd never seen before was spamming skills.
Flashy effects exploded as the monsters that were supposed to be mine got wiped out.
I immediately put my hands on the keyboard.
[This is my spot]
As soon as I hit enter, a speech bubble appeared above the other person's nickname.
[?? You AFK'd for 10 minutes and now you're claiming it's your spot?]
Huh? What is this bastard saying?
[I paid for this spot. Go somewhere else.]
This game had a legitimate spot rental system.
I'd definitely paid good game money to reserve this area.
But the response I got was absurd.
[ㅡㅡ Are you brain-dead]
[Get lost]
Completely ignoring my chat, the guy brazenly cast an even wider AOE skill.
[ㅗ]
[Fuck off]
[ㅗ]
[I'm posting this on the forums]
Even my threat to expose him on the bulletin board didn't faze him.
[Go ahead, dipshit ㅋㅋ]
Ah, my blood pressure's rising.
Was he challenging me to see who had more free time?
I made my character, who'd been hanging from a rope, jump down.
Positioning myself to completely overlap with his character, I started button-mashing skills just as frantically.
On screen, the two characters tangled together, desperately trying to get the last hits on monsters.
For a while, the chat window filled with profanity filtered into asterisks.
This petty pride battle continued until—
With a flash of effects from the portal, a swarm of new characters poured in.
They all had the same guild mark under their IDs.
Guild members from the same guild as the guy I'd been fighting with.
[You here? ㅋㅋ]
[ㅇㅇ There's one bug trying to steal the spot]
[Push him out]
They surrounded my character in a circle and began massacring monsters in unison.
With the overwhelming firepower difference, my character couldn't even get near the monsters and just slashed at empty air.
[Get lost ㅡㅡ]
[What the hell]
[I said get lost]
[Fucking bastards]
No matter how much I pounded the keyboard, all I got back was mockery.
[ㅋㅋ Your struggling is so cute]
[Bug cut~]
Those bastards were definitely in their own messenger group chat right now, roasting me and giggling.
I could almost hear their slimy laughter through the monitor, and it pissed me off in a strange way.
But I'm an adult.
A civilized 32-year-old.
Getting angry at every provocation from faceless kids would only shorten my lifespan.
I let out a deep sigh and gripped the mouse.
Too dirty and petty—I'll be the one to leave.
I controlled my character to take the portal to another quiet hunting ground.
That's when I heard Mom's voice from outside my door.
"Sweetie~ Dinner's ready!"
"Coming~"
When I went out to the living room, the table was piled so high with side dishes it looked ready to collapse.
The trauma of that horrific force-feeding flashed through my mind.
I reflexively snatched the bowl with the smallest portion.
"Mom, my digestion hasn't been great lately, so I'll just eat a little."
As soon as I finished the bowl, I put down my spoon and stood up.
"Thanks for the meal."
I fled to my room without looking back.
Only after locking the door did I let out a sigh of relief.
I approached the desk again and climbed into the chair in front of the monitor.
The moment I looked at the screen, I couldn't believe my eyes.
Those guild member bastards from earlier were swarming around my character.
Somehow they'd tracked me even to this channel, surrounding my character in a circle while dancing in unison.
A system message appeared above one of their heads.
[XXX has decreased your popularity.]
[AAA has decreased your popularity.]
With ominous ding-ding sounds, the popularity I'd worked so hard to build was plummeting.
[? What the hell are you doing?]
As soon as I typed in disbelief, responses came immediately.
[ㅋㅋ The idiot's here]
[Did you at least eat before gaming? ㅋㅋ]
These bastards were really crossing the line.
[Just answer me. Why are you following me.]
[Check the forums, dipshit ㅋㅋ]
Forums?
A chill ran down my spine.
The forums they were talking about must be the largest anonymous bulletin board where 90% of this game's users hung out.
I hurriedly minimized the game window and opened an internet browser.
I clicked on the game community address saved in my bookmarks.
As soon as the main page loaded, the title ranked #1 in real-time best posts hit me like a punch.
[Title: Idiot exposed ㅋㅋ]
The view count was already exploding.
With trembling hands, I clicked on the post.
The body text read "He AFK'd then came back claiming it was his spot so I called my guild to teach him a lesson," with screenshots attached.
The comment section was a disaster.
ㄴ ㅋㅋ Serves him right.
ㄴ Damn ㅋㅋ This satisfying development is insane.
ㄴ Suuuuuck it!!
My blood pressure shot straight up.
I immediately tried to log into my community account.
My fingers trembled slightly as I typed on the keyboard.
After getting the password wrong twice, I finally managed to log in.
I immediately clicked on the comment section of that post.
[I definitely paid for that spot.]
As soon as I hit refresh, replies started pouring in.
ㄴ The guy himself showed up ㅋㅋ
ㄴ I paid~ for the spot~~ What bullshit ㅋㅋㅋ Your brain is tragic.
ㄴ So do you have a receipt? ㅋㅋ If you're mad, call your own guild.
ㄴ Get out, bug ㅋㅋ
The mockery filling the screen snapped my last thread of reason.
My short legs flailed in the air as I squirmed in my chair.
"Ah, this is driving me crazy."
I leaned so close to the monitor my nose almost touched it and started typing frantically.
[Don't you guys know the game rules? You KS'd and now you're acting all righteous.]
ㄴ Rules my ass ㅋㅋㅋ If you're mad, get stronger.
ㄴ Loser trait) Looks for rules ㅋㅋㅋ
ㄴ Ah ㅋㅋㅋ Keep going ㅋㅋㅋ
No matter how logically I argued, it was useless.
They had no intention of listening to me from the start.
They were just enjoying watching a convenient punching bag struggle.
The notification sound with each new reply grated on my nerves.
Continuing this keyboard battle would only make my fingers hurt.
But if I backed down here, I'd get so angry I wouldn't be able to sleep tonight.
I roughly grabbed the mouse and pressed Alt+Tab to return to the game screen.
My character on screen was still surrounded by those monkey-like bastards.
They were setting off fireworks above my character's head, continuing their toxic behavior.
I right-clicked on the ID of the ringleader who posted that thread.
[Take down that post right now while I'm asking nicely.]
As soon as my whisper was sent, his character stopped dancing.
Then after a moment, a speech bubble floated above his head.
[ㅋㅋ Idiot. Don't wanna.]
Just one line.
From that short text, the typical bratty smugness of a kid pierced through the monitor.
"Ha, fuck."
Profanity slipped out of my mouth without thinking.
Veins bulged in the hand gripping the mouse.
[If you don't want to die, take it down.]
[So what ㅋㅋ Come here if you're mad.]
[Oh right, you don't have a guild so you can only get beaten up? ㅋㅋㅋ]
Even the surrounding guild members joined in, pouring mockery through general chat.
Kids still wet behind the ears hiding behind anonymity and running their mouths.
To think I bled myself dry saving bastards like these during the Gate Shock three years ago.
I wanted to go back in time and slap my past self.
[IRL fight?]
In that instant, my fingers typed without going through my brain.
By the time I realized and hit enter, it was already too late—spilled milk.
Getting into an IRL fight over a game at thirty-two years old.
Even I found it absurd enough to let out a hollow laugh.
But the die was cast.
I knew it wasn't a mature response, but I'd already blown my top.
The chat window went quiet for a moment. Were they flustered?
But that silence didn't last more than three seconds.
[IRL fight ㅋㅋㅋㅋ Is your brain for real?]
[Ah this is so funny ㅋㅋㅋ Old man, how old are you?]
[Keyboard warrior cut! ㅋㅋ]
They all burst into laughter in unison, as if they couldn't believe it.
That reaction poured oil on my rage.
[Fine, let's fucking do this.]
[Where? I'll come to you.]
As I typed consecutive messages, the ringleader replied triumphantly.
[ㅋㅋ You're really coming? As if a coward like you would, all talk.]
[Incheon Bupyeong Station underground mall, in front of the fountain. Tomorrow 2 PM.]
[Come if you can, dipshit ㅋㅋ If you don't show, I'm exposing you again.]
Incheon Bupyeong Station.
Not even that far from here.
"Yeah, you're fucked now, you bastard."
I glared at the monitor, grinding my teeth.
[ㅇㅇ Just wait.]
[If you run, you're dead.]
After sending that chat, I pressed the computer power button with my foot.
With a whirring sound, the screen went black.
But inside, I was still burning pitch-black.
The heat emanating from the computer tower felt especially hot.
Silence filled the room, but those bastards' laughter still buzzed in my ears.
"Haah..."
I collapsed onto the desk, breathing heavily.
I pressed my forehead against the cold desk, but the heat wouldn't subside easily.
Those smug texts kept flickering before my eyes.
Bupyeong Station underground mall, in front of the fountain. 2 PM.
Tomorrow's meeting place was clearly etched in my mind.
"You bastard, see you tomorrow."
When I meet him tomorrow, I'll fold that little brat in half.
Only my seething breaths filled the room.
I probably won't be able to sleep tonight from anger.
I crawled onto the bed, fuming, and pulled the blanket over my head.
"Seriously, see you tomorrow, fuck..."
My voice muttering under the blanket echoed pathetically.
