Chapter 144

(Global Megaphone) HHH: our class got nerfed in record time barely two months after it launched, every patch leaves us in the fucking dirt, and our population’s completely cratered. you seriously think we WOULDN’T do the quest? lol

(Global Megaphone) HHH: clearing the hidden quest is basically a free pass into raid groups when the new raid drops four months from now. what’s so wrong with taking the buff and maybe getting more people to roll Mechanic?

(Global Megaphone) HHH: so STOP whispering me about how my fucking parents are doing you fuuuuucking bastards

So much for courteous....

(Global Megaphone) HHH: yep your cores taste delicious

(Global Megaphone) HHH: yep your cores are fucking gourmet

(Global Megaphone) HHH: before I come raid you again

(Global Megaphone) HHH: shut. the. fuck. up.

...That had been a curse.

There was enough pent-up resentment in HHH’s messages that Yeonhoo couldn’t help feeling a little sorry for him.

Even so, far too many alliances had suffered because of what they’d done.

(Global) Kkeunmul: and that makes it okay to blow up alliances people spent fucking forever building? don’t drag everyone else into your problem. do you know how many people quit because of you guys?

(Global) renrne: I get where you’re coming from...but there’s such a thing as going too far. you guys seriously crossed the line

(Global) 82828282: FUCK so you bastards WERE the ones who blew up our core lmao because you wrecked us back then our entire alliance scattered lmaoooo seriously fuck youuuuuuu

(Global) LifeIsHardPlayMedic: wasn’t picking Mechanic your first mistake? lol if you hadn’t picked it none of this would’ve happened lmaoo skill issue

The backlash was only natural.

Right. Even during a Siege War, destroying the core is considered bad manners, isn’t it?

An alliance needed a core to establish its territory.

As long as the core survived, rebuilding after losing a Siege War wasn’t particularly difficult.

That was why, even when alliances fought, the unwritten rule was not to touch each other’s cores.

(Global) Bottle: do you have any idea how fucking hard it was to rebuild after you ripped our core out by the roots;;

(Global) TakeMyGun: you guys managed to rebuild? lmao we couldn’t even do that

(Global) ilangilang: okay fine I get all that but are YOU gonna pay me back for my alliance getting destroyed?? if this whole mess happened because of balance issues then idc if it’s the devs or the Mechanics, somebody compensate us;;

VITA had even used spies to collect the items they needed, so there was no shortage of victims.

Once the core goes down, rebuilding costs so much time and money that most alliances just fall apart completely.

As people continued pouring out their anger, the Mechanic players finally started firing back.

(Global) IDealDamageAndLandBuffsToo: then maybe you shouldn’t have treated Mechanics like trash and constantly given us shit

(Global) IDealDamageAndLandBuffsToo: every day it was “your class sucks” this and some other bullshit that, and nobody would even take us into parties lol what’s the point of spending money to raise my specs when I get rejected at the door every time because my damage is too low?

(Global) ItsNecroNotMacro: honestly I understand the Mechanics. how bad do you think it had to get for them to go this far? their damage IS weak

(Global) MachineMuscle: lmaoooo and the way people look down on Mechanics is insane too lololol every raid Mechanics probably hear “should’ve rolled Gunner” like fifty times because their damage sucks and they don’t contribute anything to the party?? lmao

(Global) FlowerSong: the DEVS are the ones who fucked up the balance patches but the PLAYERS are the ones who discriminated against Mechanics and bullied them sooo yeah I get it lol

(Global) HealMeAndIWontBite: lmao what are you talking about like your damage WASN’T shit??? you think the devs are stupid? if what you’re saying was true they would’ve buffed you ages ago. blame your hands lmaoooo

Before long, Global chat had turned into a battlefield between Mechanics and everyone else.

The argument escalated so rapidly that the messages were almost impossible to follow with the naked eye.

It only began to die down when HHH sent one final megaphone.

(Global Megaphone) HHH: guys you see how they treat Mechanics? lol

(Global Megaphone) HHH: we’re going for the last crystal now

(Global Megaphone) HHH: any Mechanics who wanna help, gather up

(Global Megaphone) HHH: (coordinates)

Somehow, Yeonhoo felt like he already knew where those coordinates led without even clicking them.

Unidentified Core Crystal

Info: ???

Core Structure Preview: Flower-Bud Type (Phase-V)

How could I not know?

Only one item on the collectibles list still had its name marked with a question mark.

And Yeonhoo knew a flower-bud-shaped core very, very well.

Alliance Core of <47>

Core Structure: Flower-Bud Type (Phase-V)

Anyone could tell that’s <47>’s core.

(Global Megaphone) HHH: <47> lets go

Sure enough, their target was <47>.

But as Yeonhoo read the description, something occurred to him.

“Other alliances have cores too, though. There has to be another flower-bud one somewhere. Why go out of their way to attack <47>, the number-one alliance across all servers?”

—I think <47>’s core might be the only one with that shape.

“Can that happen?”

—This is just my guess, but I think the flower-bud type is the core design for the number-one-ranked alliance. If you lose first place, it probably changes completely into a different flower shape, like the ones for second and third. So I don’t think they have a choice either.

Yeonhoo let out a sigh.

That made sense.

The Mechanic coalition would surely rather fight some weak, low-ranked alliance than deliberately pick a battle with <47>.

—BOOM! KABOOM!

As if their lives depended on it too, rockets launched by VITA continued streaking through the skies over <47>’s alliance territory even now.

Explosions erupted.

The durability of the outer walls visibly dropped in real time.

And the alliance members, apparently with no intention of backing down, kept repairing shattered sections of wall and returning fire.

(Alliance) ShinJadu: MIU!!!!! WHERE DID THIS MAN GO!!!

(Alliance) CheersInMyEyes: 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

(Alliance) GoodLuck: we appear to be searching for our alliance leader;

(Alliance) 1Poop1: okay first of all he’s a Sniper and he’s really good at shooting;

(Alliance) FUNK: kinda scary and doesn’t smile much;

(Alliance) BBQ: do not upset him.. eats well.... always asks me to cook for him

They were looking for Kwon.

The increasingly desperate calls made Yeonhoo realize he really needed to let him go.

“For now....”

But why was it so hard to actually tell him to leave?

Because—

I want to talk to him more.

That was the truth.

He didn’t want to let Kwon go yet.

He wanted to talk a little longer—not about the game, but about other things.

—I don’t want to go.

Kwon’s low voice slipped into his ear.

—I want to talk to you more.

It was as if he had read Yeonhoo’s mind.

The reluctance practically dripped from his voice, and for a moment Yeonhoo forgot the situation entirely and let out a faint laugh.

—You’re laughing.

Kwon caught the tiny sound and sighed deeply.

—Should I just tell <47> to go to hell?

The sulkiness in his voice somehow made Yeonhoo feel like the mature one.

“How can you tell your own alliance to go to hell? Besides, you were defending it so seriously until five minutes ago.”

—That was because you....

Kwon started to say something, then abruptly stopped.

—Anyway, if we just hand over the core, it’s over. I don’t care about any of it anymore.

The tingling in Yeonhoo’s chest had already been bad enough.

Then—

—Should I come see you right now?

Now his heart was pounding so hard it felt like it might drive him insane.

And the fact that Yeonhoo burst out laughing when Kwon offered to abandon <47> just to come see him probably meant he wasn’t exactly sane himself.

Still, Yeonhoo knew better.

Kwon might talk like that, but <47> meant a lot to him.

“Then hurry up and win. Come see me afterward.”

Yeonhoo’s lips moved once, then stopped.

He seemed to hesitate over something before a voice barely louder than a whisper slipped out.

“...Because I want to see you too.”

By then, Yeonhoo was rubbing the back of his neck, which had grown unbearably hot.

He glanced at the mirror beside him.

Every inch of skin visible above his clothes had turned red.

Like that, Yeonhoo waited for Kwon’s answer.

But nearly a full minute passed without any response.

Did he not hear me?

Yeonhoo lightly tapped his mic.

It responded perfectly.

Then Kwon definitely should have heard him.

Why isn’t he saying anything?

Yeonhoo was staring at the screen in confusion when—

(Alliance) Miu: @Everyone

Ding.

A single message appeared.

Kwon had tagged every alliance member.

Then Yeonhoo saw the messages that followed, and his eyes curved into a smile.

(Alliance) Miu: llets win qquick

(Alliance) Miu: im in a huryr

The dignified alliance leader’s messages were riddled with typos.