The place Kim Daeseok mentioned was a small island lighthouse called Feroco, located in a corner of the Second Continent. I had marked it earlier while doing the main quest, so I used fast travel to head there immediately.
[Global] DrinkWater: Hello
[Global] SoEso: Party invite gogogo
The character standing next to Kim Daeseok waved at me. It was a female character in shining white armor with a huge shield strapped to her back. Above her nickname, there was a crown icon and the guild name "Chojonyeok" (Early Evening).
The interview began casually through light conversation, just as I expected. The vice guild master of Chojonyeok asked my age, military discharge status, whether I could join voice chat and group messaging, and finally, she got to my class.
[Party] DrinkWater: So you've completed your first job advancement? Rune Mage?
[Party] SoSleepy: Yep.
[Party] DrinkWater: Wait, are you planning to go Dark Mage??
By this point, I could tell what she was getting at. Still, I couldn't lie.
[Party] SoSleepy: Yeah, I'm going Dark Mage.
[Party] DrinkWater: Hmm...
As I answered honestly, the mood instantly turned cold—just as expected. Still, I could understand why she reacted that way.
With a new class out, she probably thought I was just some alt created out of curiosity, or a noob who'd drop the game after a brief interest. Maybe that's why Kim Daeseok jumped in for the first time.
[Party] SoEso: Water-noona
[Party] SoEso: He's not the type to quit after a few days, seriously T_T
[Party] SoEso: You trust me, right?
Ugh. What a pathetic line. Still, he was the only one on my side, so I stayed quiet.
[Party] SoEso: This guy's seriously obsessed with the game.
[Party] SoEso: Took him like 10 days to hit level 200.
[Party] DrinkWater: Oh, really?
[Party] DrinkWater: That's not easy for a newbie.
[Party] SoEso: Right?? He's the real deal LOL
The vice guild master seemed intrigued. Nice—keep it coming.
[Party] DrinkWater: So your mechanics must be solid.
[Party] DrinkWater: Still, Dark Mage isn't easy...
[Party] SoEso: His mechanics are legit.
[Party] SoEso: He was Grandmaster in Heroes of Legion, btw.
[Party] SoEso: Not just once—he hit GM every season.
[Party] DrinkWater: Grandmaster? You played HoL?
[Party] SoSleepy: I quit a few months ago.
The chilly air from earlier had completely disappeared. The vice guild master seemed genuinely impressed—not romantically, but more like a fellow game enthusiast admiring another skilled player.
[Party] DrinkWater: Okay, sounds good.
[Party] DrinkWater: Let's have a 2-week trial period after you join.
[Party] DrinkWater: I'll send you the guild invite. Just write that you finished the interview with me and hit confirm.
As soon as the message appeared, a guild invite popped up in the middle of the screen. I typed that I had completed the interview and sent the application. Less than a minute later, the guild name appeared above my nickname.
Not bad at all. I opened the guild window right away. The names of the guild master, vice master, and all the members were listed out.
Yoo Chae [AFK]
DrinkWater [Online]
Let'sDoSeSeSe [Online]
Hwaseoun [Online]
TheHunter [Online]
ParkSeungjin99 [Online]
(...skipping the rest)
[Party] DrinkWater: As you can see, we usually have around 70 members online at any time.
[Party] DrinkWater: Youngest member is 18, but most are adults.
[Party] DrinkWater: I'll invite you to the Discord and group chat by the end of today.
She rattled off information rapidly and then let the guild chat know about my arrival.
[Guild] DrinkWater: New member joined—everyone welcome SoSleepy~
[Guild] ParkSeungjin99: Whoa hey hey
[Guild] Hwaseoun: Hey hey~ nice to meet ya
[Guild] LaggingLikeCrazy: Hello!!
[Guild] Let'sDoSeSeSe: Not an alt but a new recruit? Whoa, hey there~
[Guild] Haereun: Thought it was an alt too lol. Oh right, we were recruiting; hey hey!
[Guild] SoSleepy: Yep, nice to meet you all.
I stared at the flood of chat messages, feeling a bit overwhelmed.
It was a mess. It had been so long since I'd joined an active guild or clan that I figured I'd need some time to adjust.
[Party] DrinkWater: I'm a 27-year-old woman.
[Party] DrinkWater: Just call me 'Drink' for short, feel free~
As I blankly watched the guild chat rapidly fill with chatter, the vice guild master reached out in a friendly tone, maybe trying to ease my nerves. I responded in kind.
[Party] SoSleepy: Since you're three years older than me, I'll keep using honorifics and call you 'noona' (older sister), lol.
[Party] SoSleepy: Feel free to talk casually.
[Party] DrinkWater: LOL okay, that works better for me.
We hadn't talked long, but I could tell right away she was a pretty decent person. This wasn't a bad start at all. The guild had a good vibe.
As I lightly touched my lips, where a satisfied smile had naturally formed, a somewhat familiar nickname appeared in the guild chat.
[Guild] Yoo Chae: Drink, are you online?
[Guild] DrinkWater: Why?
It was the guild master, who'd been marked as AFK just moments ago. Should I say hi? I already introduced myself earlier—would another greeting be overkill?
[Guild] Haereun: Must be thirsty, asking for "Drink" lol.
[Guild] ParkSeungjin99: I've got water too lol.
[Guild] YangnyeomCrabChomp: Please don't 😐
[Guild] Yoo Chae: Do you still have that Atero seed you said you stored in your pet?
Ignoring all the dumb jokes, the guild master got straight to the point. Drink summoned her pet, rummaged through it for a bit, and replied in guild chat.
[Guild] DrinkWater: Yep, still got it.
[Guild] DrinkWater: If you need it, come to the Feroco lighthouse now.
[Guild] Yoo Chae: K.
[Guild] ParkSeungjin99: Drink, mind if I tag along too? Just finished the last raid phase.
[Guild] Let'sDoSeSeSe: Me too, me too, I wanna join.
[Guild] CrazyForHunting: Looking for 2 for Fire Drake raid. Channel 8, until :20. Go go.
[Guild] Haereun: Isn't Drink with the newbie right now? Then I'm coming too.
[Guild] DrinkWater: Ah yeah, the newbie just joined.
[Global] Yoo Chae: Newbie?
The reply came in global chat. He must've used fast travel, because before I knew it, a male character named was standing firmly behind me.
With black hair, red eyes, and a black cloak covering only his left arm, he wore a dazzling gold chain at his waist. At that color and glow, it must've been a +9 item?
"They say +9 gear is basically priceless."
He definitely looked the part of the server's top guild master. Maybe that level of gear is just expected.
[Global] DrinkWater: Yo, didn't you read guild chat?
[Global] DrinkWater: SoSleepy< is a new member. 24-year-old guy~
[Global] Yoo Chae: ?
I couldn't tell if this was my cue to jump in and say hi. I hovered my fingers over the keyboard, hesitating, when the guild master — silent after just posting a single question mark — suddenly dropped something I never could have expected.
[Global] Yoo Chae: I don't like your nickname.
[Global] Yoo Chae: Don't want you in. lol
"...?"
I blinked, wondering if I'd read that wrong. What the hell did that guy just say?
[Global] DrinkWater: What the *** is wrong with you?
Luckily, Drink said what I was thinking. While I stood there dumbfounded, Kim Daeseok whispered me.
[Whisper] SoaeSo: What the hell? What's his deal?
[Whisper] SoaeSo: Do you have some kind of history with the guild master?
[Whisper] SoSleepy: Would I?
Regardless of how shocked the three of us were, the guild master just kept repeating himself like he didn't care at all.
[Global] Yoo Chae: I said the nickname sucks.
[Global] DrinkWater: And what do you want me to do about it, you crazy bastard?;;
[Global] Yoo Chae: Kick him.
[Global] Yoo Chae: And who said you could accept new members anyway?
[Global] DrinkWater: You told me yesterday to do what I wanted. You're seriously *** nuts;
Even though we were just characters in a game, I could feel DrinkWater awkwardly glancing at me, unsure what to do. This was ridiculous. I tilted my head back as the back of my neck started to tingle in that familiar, annoying way.
[Global] Let'sDoSeSeSe: Hiiiii~~
[Global] Haereun: Cutie Haereuni has arrived ><
[Global] ParkSeungjin99: ?
[Global] ParkSeungjin99: What is this eyesore right when I log in, wtf
To make things worse, the guild members who said they'd swing by started arriving one after another. Then the guild master dropped the final bomb—directly at me.
[Global] Yoo Chae: If you wanna stay in the guild, change your nickname.
[Global] Yoo Chae: Otherwise, get out.
[Global] Yoo Chae: I'll even pay for the name change lol
[Global] Haereun: ??
[Global] ParkSeungjin99: What is this? wtf
**[Global] DrinkWater: My blood pressure is spiking **
"Haha..."
Something snapped in my head. With a shaky hand, I grabbed my mouse, opened the settings menu, and calmly unchecked the profanity filter — which I had left on out of laziness.
Then, I typed into chat, slowly and deliberately.
[Global] SoSleepy: Go fuck yourself, you piece of shit.