Dusk (BL Light Novel)

Players had started to gather around.
Behind me stood Bia players, and behind Retaking a Class clustered the Jeopa faction—crowding in. It was probably because of how we looked, the ridiculous sight being broadcast through Retaking’s stream.

The fortunate part was that nobody tried to kill either of us. One Jeopa player did try to charge me, but the nearby Bia players immediately killed that Jeopa and stepped back again to just watch us.
I wasn’t watching the stream, so I didn’t know the exact vibe, but it looked like Retaking’s character had finally recovered from laughing too hard and was now twitchily mimicking my movements.
To signal that I didn’t intend to attack, I jumped in place a few times. I had already used the chat to indicate we were “friends,” so hopefully he wouldn’t mistake this for an attack cue. As expected, Retaking quietly jumped in sync with me. Okay, good—

[Normal] Honeybread: 10 ^| 0-)) 7|- 0|= ,,,
“Gotta go at 10 o'clock ,,,.”
There wasn’t any special character that resembled a sun for the “ten o’clock” pun, so I substituted with a comma. He’d get it. We used to talk like this often, and Retaking—true to his Medic class—was a clever guy.

[Race] Tangerine: wtf does that say?
[Race] Shut-inRemovalBill: “Gotta go at 10”
[Race] Pixie: “Gotta go at 10”

[Race] Tangerine: Oh, thanks thx
[Race] UghSecondRate: You decoded that? Mentor energy
[Race] Rohen: Not mentor, Mensa, you idiot

[Normal] Retaking a Class: !!
Retaking, who had stood still reading my message, suddenly jumped with an exclamation mark. It looked exactly like a reaction from a kids’ cartoon—honestly, it was kinda cute.
*[Normal] Retaking a Class: 8282 (hurry hurry)

[Normal] Retaking a Class: 09:48
[Normal] Retaking a Class: 828282828282
After that final message, Retaking switched to combat mode—he raised his Medic-exclusive weapon, the scholarly tome, and gripped the quill lightly in his other hand. Wait, it’s already 48 minutes past?

Guess we’d wasted a ton of time laughing at these outfits. I was a little bummed that we hadn’t gotten to fight more, but hey—making Retaking laugh this much was worth it.
Snapping myself back into focus, I hit the combat toggle and drew my sword and shield. A pale-blue aura spread out like dry ice leaking from a sealed tub of ice cream. The red and the blue now stood facing each other, surrounded by dozens of players. It was funny—but this was the last fight of the night, and I needed to take it seriously.
Retaking was the first to apply buffs to himself: one fast-casting buff, and two no-cast-time passive buffs that chained with it. Nothing I could take advantage of there, so I waited until he was fully prepped.
While the short casting motion made it look like he was just scribbling something with his quill in the tome, I caught a glimpse of him swapping hands, moving the tome to his right hand. It was so smooth it almost looked like a magic trick—I nearly missed it.

[Guild] Honeybread: ㅇㄹㅅ
Just to be sure I wouldn't forget, I typed a memo for myself: “Tome in right hand now.” Then my brain clicked.
Retaking was holding the tome in his right hand?

[Guild] Honeybread: ,?
[Guild] Summoner: Retaking switched ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ weapons?
[Guild] RomanticCat: Ooh, sharp eyes

[Guild] soloist: Ooooh~ such keenness~
[Guild] Ceylontea: OLL~~
[Guild] Ceylontea: Wait—hold on.

[Guild] Ceylontea: Retaking’s in his right hand??
[Guild] EveryNameWasTaken: ?
[Guild] Summoner: uh...

In Dusk, characters could be left- or right-handed. A left-handed character gained higher attack power and attack speed when holding their weapon in the left hand, but lost speed and gained defense stats when holding it in the right. For right-handed characters, the effects were reversed.
Retaking’s character was left-handed. When he applied his buffs earlier, he had the tome in his left and the quill in his right—meaning his offense and defense were both balanced.
But now, with that sneaky hand swap, his main weapon had moved to the right. That meant less attack, but boosted defense—and boosted healing skills and support buffs.

In other words, he’d gone full-on healer spec: a pacifist who couldn’t kill or be killed easily.
[Guild] EveryNameWasTaken: ㅇㅅㅇ... wait
[Guild] EveryNameWasTaken: that healing output’s gonna be nuts

[Guild] EveryNameWasTaken: guildmaster you sure you can wrap this by 10...?
I was caught off guard too. Wait—hold on…
Was he… serious?

[Normal] Honeybread: ?
[Normal] Honeybread: 9:49…
[Normal] Honeybread: 79 0|=…?

[Normal] Retaking a Class: ^0^)/
[Normal] Retaking a Class: 0₩ 6| ~
“0₩ 6| ~” … for-ever.

Forever?
“You cheeky bastard.”
I told you I had to go by 10…!

***
TIP – Vitality is a skill resource consumed when using dodge or defense skills. Higher HP increases max Vitality; higher Coordination reduces how much is consumed.
***
Title: lolol 3rd server is pure gold
Posted by: [Jeopa] MarieAntoinette
3rd server was so hyped I made a sub just to roam around watching Honeybread and Retaking.
And wow.
Absolutely hilarious;;;
Rolling an assassin and using stealth, I’ve caught so many rare scenes lately.

(45outpost_dressing_in_matching_outfits_Honeybread.png)
(switching_wings_and_sprinting_off_Honeybread.png)
(fire_type_pocketmob_vs_water_type_pocketmob_moment.png)
(chat_screenshot1.png)
(chat_screenshot2.png)
Looks like they’re about to fight—who’s gonna win lol.
Water type’s got this maybe?
(9 Comments)

【Top Comment】 Don’t get cocky, might be ice-type not water-type
└ whoa ;;
└ genius...
I watch Retaking’s stream often, and damn 3rd server looks fun… when does it open again?
└ [OP] Not happening unless players quit
└ crying crying this is pain
... (View More Comments) ...

Title: Honey vs Re
Posted by: [Bia] VerandaLaw
Who do y’all think’s gonna win?
Heard Honeybread has a hard stop at 10.
I get off at 10 too, so I’m just catching recaps on the forums.
Are they fighting now?
(16 Comments)

【Top Comment】 Judging by what Retaking said, looks like he’s planning to let him leave at 10am, not 10pm
└ [OP] LOLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL
【Top Comment】 It's already 9:54 and Honeybread still has like 80% HP... lol. Heard from a guildmate that Retaking switched to healing spec so the fight’s not ending anytime soon lol
└ [OP] omg no way, healing spec means... lol
└ Honeybread has no intention of letting him go
└ Retaking logged on ready to grind today, but when Honeybread suddenly said he had to leave by 10, he said “Huh???” like ten times and switched to healing spec to mentally check out lol
Honeybread’s freaking out, spamming Normal Chat with “7979 1818 10! 10!!!☜” like he’s begging
└ LOLOLOLOLOL 10!!!! 10!!!!!!
└ [OP] He’s honestly tragic rn lmfaoooooooooooo

By the way, does anyone know why their wings always seem to glow when they fight each other? Doesn’t happen when they fight other players…
└ [OP] huh… glow? Haven’t noticed. First I’ve heard of it.
└ There’s this theory floating around that every time Honeybread and Retaking clash, their wings glow with a unique intensity and saturated aura that doesn’t show during other fights
└ [OP] Whoa… sharp. It’s just them?
└ idk tbh nothing’s confirmed
... (View More Comments) ...