Chapter 72: A Curse Lifted

[Party] Sephiroth: Good job.

Sephiroth’s chat popped up just as I was basking in a moment of pride. It was his first compliment of the day after a constant stream of nagging, and contextually, it was definitely aimed at me. I scanned the battlefield. The situation was nearly wrapped up; we were about to secure a victory in our twentieth consecutive match. I could have just let it slide, but I felt the urge to double-check.

[Party] BlueberryWhiskey: Me?

[Party] Sephiroth: Yeah, Ble-ie.

His response was curt, almost dismissive. He even used that nickname. Normally, I would have snapped at him for being rude, but now, a small smile tugged at the corners of my mouth. I wasn’t sure if it was because my basic attacks were finally landing properly, because we were winning, or simply because I’d received rare praise from Sephiroth.

Whatever it was, the feeling wasn’t bad.

[Party] Sephiroth: You happy now?

Never mind. I take it back. He really has a knack for ruining a good mood.

As I shot a glare at Sephiroth, the enemy altar exploded. [Victory achieved.] A grand notification announced the win, but simultaneously, another window appeared just for me.

[You have completed Ignas’s Battleground 20 times.]

[You have begun to understand Ignas a little better.]

[Ignas’s Curse: Movement Speed -10% has been lifted.]

“…Huh?”

I let out a dumbfounded sound the moment we returned to the lobby. As if on cue, Sephiroth was already looking my way. Our eyes met, and he spoke first.

“Looks like you found a way, didn’t you?”

“Yeah.”

The phrase “You have begun to understand Ignas” suggested that participating in his battleground was recognized as an effort to understand the god. If twenty matches lifted the speed debuff, then fifty, a hundred, or two hundred matches might eventually lift the other curses too.

To test it, I sprinted from one end of the lobby to the other. I didn’t care that others were staring at me blankly. The sluggishness that had haunted my movements was gone, replaced by the crisp, light feeling I had when I first started Zelpia. Having grown used to the penalty, the restored speed felt almost dizzyingly fast.

“What’s with you all of a sudden?” Seong-jin asked.

“I have my reasons.”

I gave a vague answer, but my grin wouldn’t fade. You really don’t know what you have until it’s gone; that 10% movement speed felt like a godsend. I still couldn’t use skills, but I felt certain that they, too, would return if I kept at it.

“Won-jae hyung. Let’s start the next round quickly.”

“Right. Let’s go, fast.”

Won-jae gave me a look that asked if I’d lost my mind, but fortunately, Jin-sol backed me up.

fck lollll I thought my guildies weren’t that bad at the game but I was dead wrong. The moment the match started, Sephiroth’s team rushed us so fast I thought they were hacking. Who were the guys saying Sephiroth seemed sluggish yesterday? Because he definitely wasn’t???? Lmao and that one low-level, BlueberryWhiskey? We tried to focus fire and kill them, but they dodged everything. Not Sephiroth’s partner for nothing. They kept dealing 1 damage like a constant annoyance, felt like a mosquito fck lollllll. Also the others were good too?? They aren’t a famous guild so I looked down on them, but there’s a reason Sephiroth joined them. Sigh, anyway it was a good experience. If not for this season, when would I ever fight Sephiroth?

[Comments]

• If you want to fight him, just step within 40 meters of the Fanatic anytime.
  • Fighting and dying are different things ㅡㅡ
    • ?? You die either way, what’s the difference?
      • When you “fight,” he gives you a chance to clash blades first.
        • lmfaoooooo
        • That’s a very important distinction lol.
• I met Sephiroth’s team yesterday and he did feel a bit slow? Maybe just a condition issue?
  • Isn’t the Fanatic famous for always being in top form?
    • Maybe he had an upset stomach lol.
• You sure you didn’t just imagine it? In your dreams.
  • F*ck, I died anyway, why would I lie about it in my dreams.
    • loolllll
• I also met the Fanatic yesterday and he did feel subtly slower. I actually dodged one attack.
  • No way, for real?
  • Insane… you actually dodged an attack from the Fanatic?
  • Is this how a “Named” player is born?
  • Drop your IGN, I’ll support you lmfao.
• Why does that BlueberryWhiskey person keep doing 1 damage at that low level? Wouldn’t it be better to just hide?
  • Idk, they’re just a brave mosquito that knows no fear.
  • How could we ever understand the mind of someone who hangs out with the Fanatic?
    • True lol.
    • Are those two actually dating?
    • I thought Sephiroth was boosting/proxying for them, but I guess not.
      • Ugh, the people talking about proxying in Zelpia are so annoying ㅡㅡ it’s not even funny.
• But Sephiroth’s fighting style was weird. He didn’t use a single skill.
  • Sephiroth: “I can kill all of you even without skills.”
    • This is probably it.
    • Power of the hidden master lol.
• He didn’t just stop using skills, he didn’t even use HP potions lol.
  • Reason: You have to lose health to use a potion.
    • Oh, true lol.

• Does not cause severe damage? : Mosquito [O] BlueberryWhiskey [O]
• Uses a sharp weapon? : Mosquito [O] BlueberryWhiskey [O]
• Is annoying as hell? : Mosquito [O] BlueberryWhiskey [O]
• Makes you want to kill it? : Mosquito [O] BlueberryWhiskey [O]

[Comments]

• “Want to kill” is a bit much lol.
  • That’s because you haven’t fought that person yet ㅡㅡ
  • Nah, I definitely want to kill mosquitoes.
    • You can really feel the sincerity here lol.

Saturday morning started with a bang.

The moment I logged in, the guild chat was on fire. The messages scrolling up at lightning speed were filled with pure rage. Looking closer, it was NasiGoreng (Gyu-tae) who was spamming the chat.

[Guild] NasiGoreng: No, fck, those Endless bstards…

[Guild] NasiGoreng: Are they actually fcking insane?!?!

[Guild] NasiGoreng: Fck, who the hell kills a person just walking down the street?!

[Guild] BuffNinjaPls: Facts.

[Guild] Eiron: Goreng-nim, please calm down ㅇㅅㅇ;;

[Guild] NasiGoreng: Does it look like I can calm down right now?!

[Guild] NasiGoreng: Eiron-nim, whose side are you on?

[Guild] NasiGoreng: Say it right now ㅡㅡ

[Guild] Eiron: No… I’m sorry…

[Guild] BlueberryWhiskey: What happened?

I had never seen NasiGoreng lose his cool like this. The chat paused for a second after my question, then exploded again.

[Guild] NasiGoreng: Hello, Blueberry-nim.

[Guild] NasiGoreng: No, those Endless fckers actually declared war on us lol.

[Guild] BlueberryWhiskey: You mean back when we met them in the BG?

[Guild] NasiGoreng: Those fckers were serious.

[Guild] NasiGoreng: I was just walking along today when three of them jumped me and ganked me lol.

[Guild] NasiGoreng: If they had any balls they’d 1v1 me.

[Guild] NasiGoreng: Bringing two more guys just in case they lose? So f*cking pathetic lol.

[Guild] PungPungLove: Omg wtf.

[Guild] PungPungLove: They just hit you out of nowhere?

[Guild] NasiGoreng: I’m telling you! Ugh, I’m so pissed.

[Guild] PungPungLove: Endless is acting so cheap, why?

[Guild] BuffNinjaPls: Their pride is dead lol.

Seong-jin was sweating bullets in the chat. I wondered if we, being in the same guild as Sephiroth—who kills anyone within 40 meters—really had the right to complain, but then again, Sephiroth only did 1v1s. He didn’t jump people with a crowd.

[Guild] HitMeOnceOppa: fck those trashbags, they play like sht.

[Guild] HitMeOnceOppa: wait.

[Guild] PungPungLove: This guy just keeps telling everyone to wait;

[Guild] HitMeOnceOppa: no rly I’m gonna settle this today.

[Guild] BlueberryWhiskey: Settle what?

[Guild] HitMeOnceOppa: you’ll see.

With those ominous words, Han Gyu-tae went AFK. Well… fine, do whatever. I was just about to ignore him and focus on comforting NasiGoreng when—

[Guild] PungPungLove: Oh, these f*cking psychos.

[Guild] PungPungLove: Guys, look at this.

[Guild] PungPungLove: [Link]

The link Seong-jin posted was to a thread on the official Zelpia community forums. Unlike other anonymous boards, the official forums required players to post under their actual in-game nicknames. Naturally, formal guild disputes were settled there. Seeing a link pop up at this exact moment gave me a very bad feeling.

Seems like the “Mosquito” nickname is sticking, Un-ha! But more importantly, what do you think Gyu-tae is up to on the forums?

📚 Also on NHV Novels

The Price of Stardom

ModernRomance

Read Now →
Not interested