He Is That Guy

One hour later, with the selection match just around the corner, we ran a final position check.
In the middle of the city of Veritas—the area we had to defend—a pure white flag bearing a golden eagle emblem was planted in the central square. Our goal was simple: block every entrance and make sure the attacking team never got their hands on it.
Once the match began, a gauge would appear at the top of the screen. The team to fill it first would win. You earned points by killing enemies, but stealing the enemy’s flag instantly gave you 40% of the gauge, so we had to guard it like our lives depended on it.

Out of the four entrances—north, south, east, and west—our team of thirty guild members, including myself, Yu Chae, Dorahee, SaChinnom, TheHunter, Haereun, and Hwa So-un, was assigned to the north gate, the closest to the flag.
The selection match was one of Xenoris’ biggest events, so even members who rarely joined guild chat or logged in were online. There were a bunch of guildmates I didn’t even recognize.
Dorahee, our Buffer, held down the north gate with us, while our Tank (Muljom) and Healer (Haereun) were dispatched to the west and south. Mokappang, a Summoner who could handle multiple enemies at once, took the east.

[All] PitbitBlueCard: when tf we starting??
[All] BlackWolf: @@@RECRUITING FOR HOLY WAR QUEST – ONLY VETERANS@@@
[All] dkandkan: 7 PM

[All] Kaegani: who we fighting???
[All] AngryBee: isn’t it Hanmaum?
[All] HERSHEYSChocolate: selling popcorn~^^

[All] BaeksungeungKing: if it’s Hanmaum they’re gonna get stomped lol
[All] JackJjae: gimme popcorn pls
As I watched the flood of users piling in to spectate, I glanced over our guild members waiting for 7 o’clock. You could tell no one was even remotely nervous. HanmaumHantteut wasn’t exactly a threat.

At 7 PM sharp, open-world PvP would be disabled, and only members of participating guilds—Chojeonyeok and HanmaumHantteut—would be able to fight. This applied everywhere, not just Veritas—other cities and villages too.
[Kim Daeseok: lmao]
[Kim Daeseok: Yu Chae, get ready, you’re gonna die LOL]

[Kim Daeseok: Squad SaeSaeSo’s coming for you!]
Reading that dumbass message from Kim Daeseok, a HanmaumHantteut guildie, I couldn’t help but let out a laugh. Not even worth replying to. I turned back to the game screen, where Yu Chae was wagging his character’s tail right beside me.
[Guild] Yu Chae: Hyung hyung~
[Guild] Yu Chae: Wanna do more farm quests after the match?

[Guild] Jeo Jolryeoyo: If I’m not tired
[Guild] Yu Chae: I wanna watch again ㅎㅡㅎ
[Guild] Jeo Jolryeoyo: Sure

Ever since I properly started the farm quest line, Yu Chae had been visiting every day to help out. Whether it was giving me Buff-granting items, sharing tips to clear quests faster, or even spending real money on pricey decor items—he’d done it all.
I kept telling him, “Go decorate your damn farm,” but all he’d ever reply with was “Isn’t your farm our newlywed house? Or are you saying we should sleep in separate rooms now?”—and I’d pretty much given up at that point.
[Guild] Staeric: Haven’t seen anyone this close with the Guildmaster since Muljom tbh

[Guild] Hwa So-un: LOL
[Guild] Hwa So-un: Don’t mind them…
[Guild] Haereun: Yeah for real, just ignore it

[Guild] Staeric: ? LOL
[Guild] Sanyang-eMeChinnom: But Staeric
[Guild] Sanyang-eMeChinnom: What brings you here?

[Guild] Staeric: Got off work early today hehe
[Guild] SseSseSsehajago: Ooh~ nice
[Guild] Staeric: But who knows about tomorrow LOL

[Guild] Staeric: ㅠㅠ
Staeric was a guildie who landed a job around the time I started Xenoris, so his login rate had plummeted. According to Muljom, though, he was actually pretty skilled.
[Guild] Mokappang: Ah… the life of a working adult…

[Guild] GeojeojulgeJalsa: Who else here has a job?
[Guild] CapitalSpawnedMonster: Me lol
[Guild] Doraheeibnida: Same here 😊

[Guild] ManaOllingnam: I’m more curious about the Guildmaster tbh
[Guild] ManaOllingnam: Are they a student or working?
[Guild] Haereun: For real

[Guild] Hwa So-un: Gotta be a student
[Guild] Staeric: College student?
[Guild] Hwa So-un: Nah, elementary school

[Guild] Haereun: LOLOLOLOLOL
[Guild] Park Seungjin99: LMAOOOOOOO
[Guild] Yu Chae: ?

[Guild] MuljomMasyeora: LMFAOOOOOOO
[Guild] Staeric: LOLOLOLOL
[Guild] ManaOllingnam: WTF LOL I’m dead

[Guild] Jeo Jolryeoyo: LOL
[Guild] Yu Chae: Hyung…
[Guild] Yu Chae: Why are you laughing..? ㅜㅡㅜ

[Guild] Jeo Jolryeoyo: Cuz it’s funny lol
[Guild] MuljomMasyeora: LOLOL
[Guild] Hwa So-un: Jolryeoyo’s laughter = confirmed agreement~

[Guild] Yu Chae: LOL
Guild contribution of member Hwa So-un has been changed to 0 points.
[Guild] Hwa So-un: Wait what

[Guild] ManaOllingnam: ?
[Guild] Staeric: Oh shit
[Guild] Park Seungjin99: Judge I did nothing wrong

[Guild] Haereun: I’m innocent I swear
[Guild] Hwa So-un: TIMEOUT please ㅠ
Yu Chae’s petty revenge just because he got teased made me sigh.

[Guild] Jeo Jolryeoyo: It was just a joke, calm down
[Guild] Jeo Jolryeoyo: Put it back
[Guild] Yu Chae: Why don’t you ever take my side, hyung?

[Guild] Yu Chae: You’re so mean…
[Guild] Jeo Jolryeoyo: Put it back
[Guild] Yu Chae: Sniffle… ㅠㅡㅠ

Guild contribution of member Hwa So-un has been changed to 180 points.
[Guild] Hwa So-un: Whew, thank god
[Guild] Hwa So-un: Thanks Jolryeoyo

[Guild] Jeo Jolryeoyo: Good
[Guild] Hwa So-un: I had 210 points before but hey, I’ll take it 😄
[Guild] Park Seungjin99: ffs LMAO

[Guild] YangnyeomGejangJjeop: Positive mindset lmao
[Guild] Staeric: LOL okay
[Guild] Staeric: I get it now

[Guild] Staeric: You and the Guildmaster
[Guild] Staeric: You guys are dating, huh?
[Guild] Jeo Jolryeoyo: ?

[Guild] Jeo Jolryeoyo: We’re not anything.
[Guild] Staeric: ?? Wait what? Not dating?
[Guild] Staeric: Isn’t the Guildmaster your girlfriend?

[Guild] Jeo Jolryeoyo: ???
The fuck is this guy even saying?
[Guild] MuljomMasyeora: HOLY SHIT LOL

[Guild] Hwa So-un: Girlfriend LMAO
[Guild] SseSseSsehajago: Damn Staeric figured it out early huh
[Guild] Park Seungjin99: Dude’s got good instincts...

[Guild] TheHunter: G I R L F R I E N D 🤣🤣
[Guild] YangnyeomGejangJjeop: smh why didn’t you tell us you two were dating
[Guild] MuljomMasyeora: Exactly lol

[Guild] MuljomMasyeora: I feel so betrayed 🤣
[Guild] Jeo Jolryeoyo: I’M A DUDE FFS…
[Guild] Staeric: Whoa, seriously?

[Guild] Staeric: Then you two are… uh…
[Guild] Mokappang: Staeric’s flustered LOL
[Guild] Jeo Jolryeoyo: I said we’re not a thing…

[Guild] Park Seungjin99: So when’s the wedding?
[Guild] Yu Chae: Probably soon 😊
[Guild] ManaOllingnam: Ooh~~~

[Guild] Hwa So-un: OOOOH~~~
[Guild] Jeo Jolryeoyo: For fuck’s sake
[Guild] MuljomMasyeora: LOOOOOOOOL

I couldn’t take it anymore. I started smacking Yu Chae’s character with my staff while he clung to me like a shadow, but right then our characters froze—PvP was now locked. It was 6:50. Match queue time.
[Guild] MuljomMasyeora: Alright, enough messing around
[Guild] MuljomMasyeora: Focus up

[Guild] Mokappang: Yessir
[Guild] Park Seungjin99: Roger
[Guild] MuljomMasyeora: If you think a side’s gonna break

[Guild] MuljomMasyeora: Use the flares early
[Guild] MuljomMasyeora: Especially the center ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) team
[Guild] YangnyeomGejangJjeop: Got it got it

Just then, about thirty players materialized across the field. The squad had arrived at the respawn zone.
[All] WoonYoom: Hello everyone 😊
It was WoonYoom, someone I’d met before. Two gleaming golden swords were strapped across his back.

Right—he was a Berserker, wasn’t he? They usually carried longer blades than Warlords—often greatswords.
[All] SoaeSo: LOL
[All] SoaeSo: hi~~~

Behind WoonYoom, I spotted Kim Daeseok and a bunch of others. Clearly, HanmaumHantteut had stacked their forces at the north gate to breach it fast.
‘Looks like they outnumber us by two or three.’
That meant we had to take out their Healer, Buffer, or Tank fast.

[All] SoaeSo: Jeo Jolryeoyo, bring it on!
[All] SoaeSo: This bro’s got you covered!
[All] Jeo Jolryeoyo: ? LOL

[Guild] TheHunter: Do you know that guy?
[Guild] Haereun: I think they’re IRL friends or something
He's a Healer. What’s he even doing barking up my tree? The odds of a squishy support like him crossing paths with me in battle were next to none.

Taking down Healers and Buffers was a job for evasive, tanky melee classes—Warlords, Infighters, Chain Bladers…
‘Wait a sec. Isn’t Yu Chae a Chain Blader?’
Realizing again that he played that rare class, I quickly scanned the enemy’s weapons. The only white staff—a Healer’s weapon—was in Kim Daeseok’s hands. So they only had one.

If we could take him out early, our chances skyrocketed. I cracked my knuckles and typed.
[All] Jeo Jolryeoyo: Kim Yuchae
[All] Yu Chae: Yessir?

[All] Jeo Jolryeoyo: Remember that guy we ran into…
Crap, what was his nickname again? I scratched my head and finally remembered Daeseok’s alt.
[All] Jeo Jolryeoyo: Remember that AtchuuGachuuItchu loser?

[All] SoaeSo: ??
[All] Jeo Jolryeoyo: We saw him outside the Keerunt Dungeon
[All] Yu Chae: Oh yeah, I remember

Now that the whole SomSatangYeou thing was out, Yuchae had no reason to lie anymore. He replied without hesitation.
[All] Jeo Jolryeoyo: That was this guy—SoaeSo.
[All] Jeo Jolryeoyo: He pretended to be a girl to mess with you lol

[All] SoaeSo: ???
[All] Yu Chae: Oh
[All] Yu Chae: Really? lol

Catching on immediately, Yu Chae pulled out his gleaming gold chain weapon. Told you the guy was quick.
[All] SoaeSo: Wait
[All] SoaeSo: Hey—!

Clearly not expecting that to come up now, Kim Daeseok was flailing.
I smiled darkly.
[All] Jeo Jolryeoyo: Go kill him.

Right then, a system message lit up across the screen.
The Selection Match – Defense Guild Round has begun!