PC Bang Detour and Vice-GM Ambush

She was indignant, wondering how it could not open until this hour, but bars usually don’t open in the middle of the day.

It was perfectly normal for it to be closed.

“So where do we go now?”

“Good question… Anyone know a place?”

And there was no one. I sighed, watching the people awkwardly rolling their eyes in front of the closed establishment.

This is why you shouldn’t just go out spontaneously, like stir-frying beans in a flash, without a plan.

Seeing their helplessness, I subtly raised my hand.

“Let’s just go to a PC bang.”

“So a gamer really has nowhere else to go but a PC bang, huh?”

“What exactly is a gamer…?”

‘Beats me. Someone who likes games?’ Im Hyerin sadly hung her head.

She made a forlorn expression, like a loyal subject who had lost their country, and muttered in a small voice.

“I thought I’d finally escape Iskaria today…”

“The swirling swamp of raids…”

Lee Seyoung took Im Hyerin’s words and clasped her hand.

Did they say eyes communicate? They squeezed each other’s hands and exchanged nostalgic glances.

I’d felt it before, but the two of them really seemed quite similar.

“According to SoonToDie’s opinion, we will proceed to the PC bang. My lieutenants! Follow me!”

“Yayyy! A gamer is a gamer because they play games! What should we do first when we get there?”

“Iskaria isn’t happening today, is there anything else?”

“Shall we go to the Arena? I need to raise my PvP score.”

It was such a quick change of stance that I wondered if this was the same person who had been so down just moments ago.

I slowly followed them as they gathered in groups of three or five, contemplating what to do.

What would I do when I got in? Level an alt, or go farming?

“SoonToDie, no, Jungwoo-nim, what will you do?”

“‘Nim’ is too formal… just call me whatever you’re comfortable with.”

“Then… can I… call you Jungwoo hyung?”

Han Do-yoon scratched the back of his head and asked cautiously.

He was excessively polite. Even asking about things like that.

I nodded vaguely and touched my ear. The word ‘hyung’ felt very unfamiliar.

“Jungwoo hyung, what will you do?”

“Hmm… I don’t know. I’m thinking about it.”

“Do-yoon-ssi, have you decided what you’ll do?”

“I… no. I haven’t decided yet.”

‘Is it really true that there’s nothing to do besides raids?’ While I was seriously contemplating, we arrived at the PC bang.

Since it was a new PC bang for everyone, they created IDs and chattered non-stop.

Every time they opened their mouths, it was about games – how the current gold market was, or how the Arena wasn’t great.

Logging into Frisia, I rested my chin on my hand, looking at the character named DontOrderMe. ‘Should I try leveling a different class? PatchNote seems to have separate characters for each class.

I want to try that too, it feels like that’s what it means to be a veteran player.’

“Hahaha…”

“What’s wrong? Is something the matter?”

“Ah, no. It’s nothing.”

Han Do-yoon, who was next to me, asked with a puzzled look, and I quickly composed my expression and replied. ‘Was I really someone who copied others like this?’ I was so dumbfounded myself that a laugh involuntarily escaped me. ‘I need to pull myself together.’

After logging in as DontOrderMe, I adjusted the system settings and character settings, which had reset because it was a PC bang, to my preference, then immediately headed to the Arena.

Time to properly blow off some steam.

“Seeking participants for the Arena. Let’s have a match.”

“Hoh, today I’ll establish the hierarchy. Follow me to the Arena.”

“Deal. Let’s go.”

I grinned, queuing for an Arena match with Beta noona.

It was fundamentally a random matching system, but even if there were fewer people during the day, I wondered if we’d actually meet.

Soon, the person I was matched with was PatchNote, not Beta noona.

“Huh?”

‘Why are you here?’ As I stood there flustered, everything was set, and I gritted my teeth at the sight of PatchNote lunging with skills, creating distance. ‘No, I was supposed to fight Beta noona, so why did PatchNote suddenly appear?!’

“Why are you here?!”

“Um… I wanted to try it too.”

‘Try what? Screwing up my day?’ Grinding my teeth, I used a dash skill to approach PatchNote and slammed my skills into him. A combo chain exploded, and just as the highest damage-coefficient skill was about to activate, PatchNote used a stun.

“Crazy, that worked? How did that work? Did you use it knowingly?”

“Of course.”

His smirk was so infuriating. This is why handsome people are the worst.

I pouted my lower lip and continued my attack, but no proper damage went through, as if he’d slathered his gear with evasion stats.

Thus, this PvP match went to PatchNote.

“Wow… I never thought I lacked in control, but this is truly…”

“You’re really good too, hyung. If you had made even one mistake with a skill, I would’ve lost.”

“Making or not making that mistake is what separates skill. You’re truly good at the game. Could you give me some lessons sometime?”

“As long as I can be of help, anytime.”

I coughed awkwardly, tearing my gaze away from Han Do-yoon’s pretty smile. ‘Was I… attracted to good looks? No. Nothing like that has ever happened before.’

While waiting for another match, I ordered an iced coffee and was surprised to see the PC bang part-timer approaching the seat next to mine.

He wasn’t carrying just one or two food items.

Three ramens, four drinks, and even hotdogs and tteokbokki… it was such a huge amount that I wondered how he could eat it all.

“What? Why did you order so much? Did you come to the PC bang to stuff yourself?”

“It’s the rule to order and eat various things when you come to a PC bang. PC bang food is so delicious.”

“It must be delicious, sure. It’s loaded with MSG, how could it not be?”

‘They just said we were going for drinks later, and they’re already filling up like that?’ Lost in a strange, troubled mood, I stared blankly at Im Hyerin, then turned my head at the sound of a match being found.

“Oh! SoonToDie, bring it on!”

“Don’t call me SoonToDie!”

Finally, I was matched with Beta noona.

While I could lose to Han Do-yoon’s PatchNote, who was overwhelmingly powerful, I didn’t want to lose to Beta noona’s healer. ‘Seriously, I’m a DPS, what would it look like if I lost to a healer?!’

“Ah… of all people, that bastard…”

“Excellent! Let’s establish the hierarchy today!”

“Where’s the hierarchy when we’re the same age? Is he crazy?”

While Beta noona and I were enjoying our PvP, I heard bickering from the side.

I glanced over to see PatchNote and YearRoundNoRest in a PvP Arena match. So those two also got matched like that.

I rolled my eyes for a moment, then, aiming a skill at Beta noona, I spoke without much thought.

“I bet 10,000 won on PatchNote-nim winning.”

“Oh? Are we betting? I’ll bet 10,000 won on PatchNote-nim winning too!”

“Then I’ll bet 50,000 won on PatchNote-nim winning.”

“If everyone bets on the same person, what’s the point?!”

“Is there no one on my side…?”

At Jung Taewon’s wistful voice, laughter erupted from the guild members here and there.

Just as I suppressed an involuntary laugh and tried to refocus on PvP, I sharply turned my head at Han Do-yoon’s voice from beside me. ‘Excuse me? What did you say?’

“Then, between Beta-nim and Jungwoo hyung, I’ll bet on Jungwoo hyung.”

“What?! Then I’m on Beta-nim! Still, the guild master has dignity, so you can take down SoonToDie-nim, right?!”

“I’m a healer, though?”

“If you’re going by that, I’m a healer too?”

“Let’s just do it! Prepare yourself, SoonToDie! I’ll make you live up to your nickname!”

‘Don’t call me SoonToDie. Don’t call me by my nickname!’ I grimaced, forcing a blurry smile at the two who wouldn’t listen no matter how many times I told them. So that’s how they want to play, huh? I had no choice. I’d have to use my secret weapon.

“Hey! You cheap shot?! 1-pyeong, for real?!”

“If you don’t like it, use 1-pyeong yourself. Healers have 1-pyeong too, don’t they?”

“No, wow, this! Damn it!”

“Be quiet. You’re bothering other people.”

My carefully saved secret weapon was none other than the 1-pyeong can, no-combo, which was used with Transparency.

I had enough loyalty not to use it, but you opened your big mouths first, didn’t you? So endure it and accept it.

And just like that, the glorious PvP battle between the guild master and a regular guild member ended with my victory.

“See that? See? I’m not such a pushover that I’d get thrashed by a healer.”

“Damn it… this SoonToDie…! As the GM of RunawayTrain, I sentence you to be Vice-GM!”

“…Pardon? What?”

“Everyone, from today, SoonToDie is the Vice-GM. I left this spot open precisely for this moment!”

[DontOrderMe has been appointed as Vice-Guild Master of the RunawayTrain guild.]

I stared blankly, lost in thought, at the alarm window that filled the screen. ‘What? It ended up like this?’ I grabbed my forehead, looking at Hyerin noona’s proud smile.

“F-f*cking hell…”

“From now on, I guess we’ll have to call you Vice-GM-nim.”

“Please, don’t cross that river, sir…”

“Hehe, no thanks. You can’t leave our guild now. Do you think I’d let you?”

‘So I got a leash instead of a win in PvP.’ I sighed deeply and left the Arena.

Well, I was planning to stay in this guild until I quit Frisia anyway, so it probably didn’t matter.

And it’s not like being Vice-GM meant I’d have more responsibilities.

I could just think of it as wearing a fancy hat.