CH 7

Even if his items were not great, the guy had flawless skills when it comes to dungeons. As I was being dragged around by this bastard, I had to concentrate on clearing 10 dungeons for almost 30 minutes per dungeon, barely being able to drink water. Considering that ordinary people do about one dungeon in an hour with a party of four, this was a very rigorous schedule.

And if I showed a bit of exhaustion or missed using my skills a few times, he would treat me like a dying old man despite the only three-year difference in our ages.

Nevertheless, since he had a superiority complex about his gaming skills, I couldn’t say that I wanted to rest or stop so I went with his pace while swearing to myself.

Then within a week, I became adapted to the seemingly impossible rigorous schedule. Of course, my level rose like crazy. I hated to admit it but moving according to his plan was the fastest way to get me to max level. 

“This punk… is really good at games…”

As if he were a developer of [Arcadia], he had a knack for arranging movements by weaving small tips in the game well.

He was particularly good at playing using the terrain. Others had to go up and down two or three times while he could pull aggro with a few jumps and kill monsters at once. When I saw this, my mouth fell wide open as I watched it happen in real time.

Even in a complicated maze-like dungeon, it was common to pick up a few hints and find a shortcut. Throughout the week we spent in the dungeon, there was not a single instance of being hit by a boss monster and instantly dying.

Probably because of this, Heejae acted up immediately when I was hit with the same pattern of attacks twice or more.

[Heejae: you jumped again lol]

[Heejae: are you a flea? ㅇ_ㅇ??]

[Sesam: game lagged] 

[Heejae: lolololololol]

[Heejae: u know, it’s a bit unsightly ㅇ_ㅇ lol]

[Sesam: shut up, if u message me, i get more confusedㅡㅡ]

[Heejae: lololololololololololololol] 

[Sesam: ah fck]

[Heejae: lolololololololololololololololololololol]

[Heejae: I crossed the line three times lol]

[Sesam: ah f*ck, I’m also hitting the hammer with my finger right now, so stop. one more word and I’ll hit u in the head next time] 

[Heejae: lolololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololol]

After that, I brushed off Heejae and logged out. I was so tired that I didn’t even dream and just slept.

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Vb, ygfjxojra, iecmt, jcv vlccfg kfgf jii gbyyfv bea bo ws ilof ys Lffpjf jcv atf vjlis ilof bo j ujwf jvvlma abbx lar qijmf. 

* * *

A month passed like that.

And I finally reached level 200 which was the max level. Considering the fact that it took about 6 months to reach the max level in the past, I was shocked at this incredible speed. I was inevitably proud of it.

One day. 

Whenever Shin Heejae called me, I connected to [Arcadia] and found a mail that was from him. This time I got one containing only the contents of the mail without a title.

[High Elf’s Sacred Pendant +9]

It was the most expensive item among the accessories worn by the Healer Spirit at max level.

“What…?” 

Dumbfounded, I took a close look at the pendant that came into the inventory.

I couldn’t believe it even after seeing the item name. I clicked to view details in the item description. It really was the [High Elf’s Sacred Pendant +9]. As soon as I equipped it, my MP almost doubled so it wasn’t a fake.

“No, I mean… Why is this…?”

But it was a little uncomfortable for me to accept it. It was even more so in that the sender was Shin Heejae and not someone else. 

I thought in my head why he could have sent this?

“Did he mistakenly send it?”

It was most likely. Maybe he got it during a trade and mistyped the nickname and sent it to me.

“But what if he didn’t send it by mistake?” 

Then it would be a gift from Shin Heejae to me… Could it be that he gave it as a commemorative gift to celebrate me reaching max level?

However… Was Shin Heejae the type of person who would prepare a gift for having reached max level? He tested the limits of my patience by asking what my IQ was yesterday too, so honestly, this didn’t feel like purely a gift.

“Let’s see… Price is… ”

So I scratched my head and looked up [High Elf] in the auction house. Then, I clicked [Pendant] in the category. 

About 10 identical items were found. However, the cheapest [High Elf’s Sacred Pendant] was 39,999,999,999 gold.

“What…?”

For a moment, I thought I might have misunderstood the numbers of digits, so I rubbed my eyes and counted again carefully. But it was really 40 billion. Even among the same items, the sale of items with higher rank reached 45 billion gold.

The problem was that the [High Elf’s Sacred Pendant] sent to me by Heejae was of a higher rank than the most expensive 45 billion won pendant. I turned on the [Item Maniac], a market search app with a heartbroken heart. 

Arcadia today’s market price 1:4,800 won

This meant that it was being traded at 4,800 won per 100 million gold. 40 billion gold is 1.92 million won in real money… In other words, the value of this pendant is equivalent to my monthly salary.

“…You’re kidding, right?”

In shock and chaos, I glanced at the [High Elf’s Sacred Pendant] I was wearing. I took it off for now and put it in my inventory because of some kind of chilling feeling that perhaps this was a trap. 

I kept my mouth shut and waited impatiently for Heejae to connect. As always, he logged in 10 minutes after I logged in.

[‘Heejae’ invited you to the party.]

I pressed [Accept] and pulled the headset with one hand and placed it on my head. When I logged in to the game for the past month, Heejae always told me to join Discord, and now it had become a habit.

Ring! 

When the Discord connection notification went off and I checked that Heejae was coming into the server room he and I were using, I immediately looked at the party window and asked.

[Sesam: hey]

[Heejae: ㅇ_ㅇ?]

“Why?” 

Heejae used an emoticon as we chatted in game, but he spoke via Discord.

It felt like his voice was a little lower than usual. I got the impression that he had just woke up from sleep today. Well, that’s none of my business, but I felt that the timing to ask about the pendant was a bit strange.

[Sesam: there was something strange in the mail]

I couldn’t keep carrying the uncomfortable item, so I calmly asked. However, unlike previously, the guy who answered immediately every time I talked to him, Shin Heejae did not say anything for a few seconds. 

[Sesam: Did you send it by mistake?]

As soon as I asked the question, he finally answered.

“No?”

[Sesam: Why did you send it?] 

“Just because… I gave it to you because it was lying around in my inventory.”

[Heejae: don’t cry because you were touched ㅇ.ㅇ]

Heejae started speaking nonsense again as if he was doing it on purpose.

[Sesam: who’s touched——] 

[Sesam: where did you steal it?]

[Heejae: lololololololololololololol]

It was fine to retort back reflexively, but the problem was that words such as ‘thank you’ or ‘I’ll use it well’ couldn’t come out. I mean… It’s not like we were in a good relationship for him to do such a thing.

However, the problem was that it was burdensome because the amount was too large to overlook. If it was 2 to 3 billion won, I’d swallow it without saying a word, but a monthly salary’s worth is a bit… 

‘And how will it look to this bastard if I accept it immediately…’

[Sesam: you don’t have to give it to me, so just take it back]

It was a pity, but I didn’t feel comfortable receiving an expensive item that I didn’t know the intention of. To return it, I pressed [Request Trade] to Heejae who was standing next to me.

But he refused my deal. 

“What? Why are you rejecting it?”

I pressed [Request Trade] again, but this time the trade window closed faster. It meant that he wouldn’t take it.

[Sesam: what are you doing??]

[Heejae: just use it ㅇ_ㅇㅋ if you don’t have the skills, you’ll like the item] 

“What is this bastard?”

I frowned and pressed the mailbox. And I sent [High Elf’s Sacred Pendant] to Heejae.

Heejae took a deep breath as he saw that I had returned the item.

“Ah… Are you angry? I’m just kidding.” 

[Sesam: I’m not joking. just take it back]

The conversation was cut off for a moment with a thundering chill. But soon, Shin Heejae sighed as if tired and said annoyedly.

“… Ha. No, it’s because you don’t know that it’s a gift to celebrate your level, right? You accepted everything that the other kids from the clan gave yesterday.”

[Sesam: what?] 

“You can just take it and say thanks in the same way. Why would you take others’ and not mine? It’s not discriminatory…”

As Shin Heejae said, as soon as I hit max level yesterday, the clan members, especially the three that I’ve met before, had sent things to my mailbox. And I wrote a thank you reply too each and every one of them. Just like when I received support for beginner items before.

The clan members who sent me the max level gift replied that it was cute and the clan chat window had been friendly for a while. I didn’t know that Shin Heejae had been watching it. I thought he was AFK because he was motionless…

[Sesam: I’m not discriminatory] 

I’m trying to say that it’s too much money, but Heejae that bastard took the initiative to speak first.