Gamemate Chapter 5

Translator: She.Wee

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Chapter 5

[Guild] [‘HolyKnightPaladin’ has reached level 178.]

In a bid to hit the max level as soon as possible, HolyKnightPaladin began leveling up at a frightening speed. A few guild members, including Jiwon, who had time to spare, helped out occasionally. But even considering that, gaining three levels in just two days since joining the guild was truly impressive.

[Chelling: I hate year-end stuff so much.]

[Chelling: I hate company dinners.]

After rushing nonstop for two days, the regular party members who had been helping HolyKnightPaladin decided to take a break and gathered at the guild headquarters for the first time in a while. For Paladin, who had been too busy hunting since joining, this was their first time entering the guild headquarters, and they were so intrigued by the new surroundings that they remained silent, observing everything.

[Pozzo: Office worker… You slack off all day, just quietly go to the company dinner.]

[Chelling: LOL, true though. ^^]

[Chelling: But I’m curious—how old are you, Paladin?]

[Chelling: For reference, I’m 29 this year.]

[HolyKnightPaladin: I’m 20.]

[Don’tAskMe: Wow, you’re super young.]

[Watermelon Doctor: That’s why I nicknamed them ‘Baby.’]

[Don’tAskMe: You said calling your younger brother in high school gross, though…]

[Watermelon Doctor: Haha, but online babies are different.]

Since most guild members had irregular login times and many played quietly without much interaction, the few members who regularly showed up in the chat were mostly university students. Even though Watermelon Doctor wasn’t that much older than 20, Paladin, as the newbie, was naturally treated like the youngest in the group.

[Watermelon Doctor: Are you on break now?]

[HolyKnightPaladin: No, I’m retaking my college entrance exam.]

[HolyKnightPaladin: I submitted my application today.]

[Pozzo: OMG, I’m rooting for you!]

Paladin’s unexpected story about retaking the exam prompted everyone gathered in the room to offer words of encouragement, starting with Pozzo. Even Jiwon, who had managed to pass on her first try but endured the hellish standardized exams, couldn’t help but sympathize, offering advice several times. Paladin’s gaming obsession made sense now—they were a student who had just finished their exams.

[Chelling: If Paladin gets into college, we’ll hang a banner in front of the guild HQ.]

[Hando: Permission granted.]

[HolyKnightPaladin: LOL, thank you.]

Amid the guild members’ endless attention, HolyKnightPaladin seemed flustered but grateful. At that moment, Pozzo turned their character slightly and asked abruptly:

[Pozzo: By the way,]

[Pozzo: Would you like to join this week’s guild war, Paladin?]

Ark Serenity was fundamentally a PvP-oriented game. While you couldn’t randomly kill passing users, it offered various forms of limited PvP, the most common being the guild war system. Guild wars occurred when one side declared war and the opposing guild accepted. Each guild could participate in only one guild war per week. Declining with a forfeit meant avoiding the fight, but it came with penalties such as losing ranking points, guild assets, and resources. Hence, top-ranking guilds generally accepted challenges, as victory yielded significant rewards.

The thrill of winning as part of a group was electrifying, even in a virtual world. It was no surprise that most users aspired to join large guilds, and guild leaders often scouted high-spec players desperately, primarily because of this guild war system.

[Pozzo: Your level is still a bit low, but we’re short on people this week.]

[Pozzo: I think it would be a good experience for you.]

[Pozzo: Just think of it as a trial run.]

The guild Plum ranked 29th on the server—not at the very top, but large enough to be considered significant. If they pushed hard, they could easily break into the single-digit ranks. While level wasn’t everything, high-level players had fewer barriers to using advanced gear and often excelled in combat due to extensive practice and experience. Most guild wars were carried by max-level players.

Although Paladin wouldn’t contribute much at this stage, their steady development as one of the game’s rare tank characters could potentially make them a valuable asset.

[HolyKnightPaladin: Sure, I’ll join.]

[Hando: Do you have PvP-specific gear, Paladin?]

Jiwon asked, just in case. Though Paladin didn’t belong to any guild when recruited, it was possible they’d been in another one before. In Ark Serenity, PvP and PvE gear were distinct, and upgrading both required double the time and money. Most players without proper PvE gear used the basic PvP gear provided.

[HolyKnightPaladin: How can I check if it’s PvP gear?]

[Hando: It’s written in the top right corner of the item info window.]

There was a brief pause as Paladin presumably checked their items, then responded:

[HolyKnightPaladin: Yes, I have some, but I don’t really know much about it.]

[Hando: That’s fine, haha.]

[Hando: Most people don’t bother with PvP gear before hitting max level anyway.]

[Hando: Just use what you have for now.]

Anyway, the guild wars were battles for max-level players. Instead of fiddling around with PvP gear with the current resources, it was much better to focus on enhancing PvE gear, even just a little, to prepare for higher-level dungeons or bosses.

[Chelling: Since you’re playing Holy Knight, a class with a lot of HP,]

[Chelling: Even if you wear gear that’s not great, you won’t get one-shotted lol.]

[Chelling: Anyway, let’s grind hard until Wednesday. I’ll help you out.]

[Hando: Yep, let’s focus on leveling up first. I’ll help you set up your equipment later.]

Ding-dong—

As Jiwon scrolled through the chat, the familiar sound of the doorbell rang in his ears.

No one was supposed to visit. He wondered if it might be someone from the nearby church but didn’t bother to go check or respond. Instead, he remained focused on the items on the screen. Then, he heard the sound of the door lock being pressed.

The confident, unhesitating press of the buttons was followed by the chirp of the lock, and the front door swung open with a clatter.

“Hey, are you gaming again?”

At the familiar voice, Jiwon stretched his neck and peeked out through the gap of the open room door.

The man, buried in a large long coat and casually kicking off his shoes, was Junghoon, an old friend.

“What the—why are you here?”

“Just passing by and saw your place. Why is it so cold in here? Turn up the heat.”

“That’s because your studio is unusually warm.”

[Hando: I’ll be back after handling something real quick.]

Jiwon hastily typed into the chat, reluctantly stood up from his chair, and raised the boiler temperature.

Junghoon, now shedding his ankle-length coat and the scarf he had wrapped several times around his neck, finally seemed to feel alive. He naturally grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and took a sip.

“I’m taking a break from streaming for a while.”

“Seems like you’re pretty relaxed now that your competition is gone. You’ve been losing sleep over this for ages.”

“Oh, Sung-bit quitting? Yeah, thanks to that, my subscribers have gone up. But that’s not the reason. I’m planning to take a trip, a long one. Spending Christmas alone hit me pretty hard.”

“Didn’t you make plans with your peers since you said you were streaming? Why didn’t you call them over?”

“Well, I do have plenty of people to call. The problem is not having a girlfriend.”

“Ah.”

“That look on your face, like you can’t relate at all, is seriously annoying. You’re going to start dating again once the semester starts, aren’t you? You jerk.”

Before enlisting, Jiwon had a girlfriend—two years his senior and attending a nearby university. However, they broke up due to practical reasons when Jiwon enlisted, and she began preparing for employment.

He didn’t have any lingering feelings about it, and during his year and a half of military service, he never really felt the need for romance.

“I’m not seeing anyone for now. I’m planning to take tutoring jobs during summer vacation, so I need to prepare in advance.”

“Don’t you have everything sorted out already? I’m running out of content for my streams, so I’ve been trying out random stuff on different servers.”

“Well, there are daily tasks, sometimes I work on my secondary character, and I keep upgrading my specs. Lately, I’ve been helping a newbie in the guild.”

“In our guild? I didn’t know.”

“You wouldn’t know since you don’t log in on your main account. The newbie’s only started recently, but they play all day long.”

“Guess it’s because the guild master is a gaming freak. Only people like that join.”

Junghoon clicked his tongue in amazement. Even though gaming was his job, Jiwon’s lifelong attachment to Ark Serenity since childhood was something he couldn’t rival.

The guild they had created as a joke between the two of them had grown to its current size partly because of Jiwon’s reputation, but its continued success was entirely thanks to Jiwon.

“So, you’re not logging in for a while?”

“Yeah. You’ll have to manage the guild for me in the meantime.”

“What am I supposed to do without my right-hand man? It’s easier when you’re there during guild wars.”

Junghoon was Jiwon’s only gaming friend in real life.

Most of his high school friends and college peers preferred light-hearted shooting games over RPGs like Ark Serenity. Even those who played games often stuck to mobile gaming these days, making it harder to bring them into his world.

Though Jiwon had managed to drag some of them to PC cafés a few times, they’d often quit after struggling with beginner quests, so Jiwon had long since given up on making gaming buddies in real life.

“If you quit, I’ll have no friends left.”

“As if I’d quit. This is my livelihood. Who else would play Ark with you but me?”

Jiwon, who had been lying precariously on his bed, sat up straight with a grin.

“You’ve got guild members. That’s enough, isn’t it?”

Even when he had quit to prepare for college entrance exams or had to take a break for his military service, the guild members were always there in the game.

And now, there was a new guild member around his age who played diligently. Though they didn’t know each other’s faces, names, or anything else, spending time together in the game was always fun.

Ah, I said it’d be quick, but I’ve been gone too long.

“I need to get back to hunting, so get out.”

“Hunting for what?”

“I told you, I’m helping the newbie.”

“Okay.”

Jiwon personally helped Junghoon put on the coat he had carelessly tossed aside and opened the front door for him.

Without any hesitation or regret, Junghoon slipped on the sneakers he’d worn in and quietly left, as though he were used to being shooed away.