Chapter 8: The Ranker’s Obsession and an Unwanted Gift

I shook my head with a weary face, and Kyutae, noticing my mood, lowered his voice by a notch.

“You went straight home yesterday saying you were tired—did something happen? Did Sephiroth take you down too?”

“If only it was just ‘taking me down.’”

Don’t even get me started. When I waved my hand dismissively, Kyutae tilted his head. His fine, fluffy hair bobbed slightly with the movement.

“What else is there besides getting killed?”

“Man, I died to that guy six times yesterday. It was a nightmare.”

“Six tiiiimes?”

Han Kyutae stared at me with eyes wide as a rabbit’s, clearly caught off guard. I suppose it makes sense; I’m probably the only one who started their newbie life by dying to a single person six times. Yesterday, I was so exhausted and hollowed out from dealing with that lunatic that I went straight home, but thinking back on it today, I felt a fresh surge of annoyance.

“Is he always that crazy?”

“Sephiroth is a bit crazy, yeah.”

“A bit? A biiiit? Every time I died, he personally ripped a Resurrection Scroll to bring me back to life.”

“Eh? Sephiroth did?”

“Yeah. Sephiroth.”

Who else would I be talking about in this context?

“Why would Sephiroth do something like that?”

“How should I know?”

“No, no, wait a second.”

Unlike me, who was fuming over Sephiroth’s antics, Kyutae looked like he’d swallowed something bad. To be fair, hearing about someone killing you and then reviving you with a scroll sounds twisted to anyone. I figured I’d take this chance to vent and trash-talk Sephiroth to my heart’s content.

However, contrary to my expectations, Kyutae just scratched his brown-dyed hair.

“Sephiroth isn’t really the type of person to do that, though.”

Look at his eyes. He’s not that kind of person. Is that the vibe?

Not even close. That guy was unhinged even if you didn’t look at his eyes. Every time he asked me, “Why aren’t you fighting properly?” in that sweet, gentle voice, I got goosebumps. I pouted at Han Kyutae, who dared not to take my side.

“You said you died to him too.”

“He didn’t revive me. In the first place, Sephiroth just kills everyone who enters his line of sight, but I’ve never heard of him going through the trouble of reviving someone.”

Then why me……?

Han Kyutae, who seemed to ponder for a moment, quickly offered an easy-going answer.

“Maybe Sephiroth took a liking to you?”

“Does someone normally smash the head of a person they like six times?”

“Well, Sephiroth is a madman. It could happen. Anything else?”

“He threw some items at me and told me to level up.”

“Whaaat?”

Kyutae’s voice boomed, and he immediately scanned the surroundings. Fortunately, there was still some time before the lecture started, so only a few people were looking our way. Lowering his voice, Kyutae leaned in and whispered.

“I think Sephiroth has a crush on you.”

“Please, use a turn signal before you spout such nonsense.”

I’m the sinner for even trying to have a conversation with this guy.

I pushed Han Kyutae’s forehead away, and he recoiled with a mock whine. He was unnecessarily good at playing the victim. Settling naturally into the seat next to me, Kyutae pouted.

“Is there any other reason for him to throw items at a newbie he’s seeing for the first time?”

“Maybe he’s running a ‘Help the Newbies’ campaign or something.”

“While splitting their heads six times with an axe?”

“Does having a crush involve splitting someone’s head six times with an axe?”

“Sephiroth could do that.”

At this point, “Sephiroth” seemed like a universal modifier. A magic word that made the impossible suddenly plausible as long as it was the subject of the sentence. At this rate, Sephiroth could make the sun rise in the west, and people would just nod. Good grief.

“He said he’s following me because I beat him.”

“Ah, I’ve heard about that. They say the Sephiroth AI appears on the 5th floor of the Tutorial Tower.”

“Wait, was that actually an AI?”

“Yeah. It’s not like the real Sephiroth is automatically summoned to the tower for every single newbie tutorial.”

As I listened to Kyutae’s explanation, the pieces of Sephiroth’s incomprehensible words began to fit together. To sum it up: I defeated the Sephiroth AI in the tower, the real Sephiroth was deeply impressed, and now he wants a 1:1 duel with me.

Is he seriously a psycho?

I thought piecing it together would feel refreshing, but it only made me feel more frustrated. It felt like I’d shoved a hundred dry sweet potatoes down my throat at once. Unaware of my distress, Han Kyutae casually crossed his arms.

“Well, I’ve never heard of Sephiroth losing a PVP match. It makes sense that he’d be obsessed with you.”

“Don’t say such unlucky things.”

I was busy venting my exhaustion when my phone lit up. It was 10:50 AM.

I pushed the absurd conversation aside and stared at the classroom door. Soon, a tall man walked in with steady steps. His oversized sweater and cotton pants suited him like a model. As always, he looked impeccably clean even from a distance, surrounded by the usual crowd of people.

“Na Eun-hyeok is here. How can he be that handsome?”

Kyutae followed my gaze to Na Eun-hyeok and let out a sigh. The world is unfair, he muttered. I threw a comment back at him.

“He was a child actor; of course he’s that handsome.”

“Do you know my mom has been asking me to get his signature for a year and a half?”

“Why don’t you just ask him?”

“How could I do something so embarrassing?”

Embarrassing, huh. I briefly reflected on my own actions. Picking up Na Eun-hyeok’s timetable to barely match our lecture schedules, sitting in the classroom a bit earlier than him just to watch him walk in…

In a way, Kyutae and I weren’t all that different. Kyutae wouldn’t talk to him because it wasn’t “cool,” and I wouldn’t talk to him because I lacked the courage. Classmates in the same department. Our relationship was just that—exchanging a few words and the occasional nod.

Unlike me, Kyutae quickly lost interest in Na Eun-hyeok. He poked my waist and said playfully:

“Anyway, let’s head to the capsule room together again today.”

“What about Park Seongjin?”

“I already seduced Seongjin a long time ago. We just need you. Go?”

I watched Kyutae as he pointed a thumb behind him and grinned broadly, then I looked away. Na Eun-hyeok had already sat down in the middle of the classroom with his group, his back straight as he looked forward. Staring at the back of his dark head, I nodded.

“Sure, let’s go.”

Perhaps watching Na Eun-hyeok had become my hobby. I decided it might be better to have a different one and nodded. Finding an interesting game at this timing might be destiny.

After all the lectures ended, we headed straight to the capsule room—the same one as yesterday. I was strictly warned not to let anyone find out I was BlueberryWhiskey.

“Zelpia gets a lot of attention, after all. Unless you want to be a celebrity in real life like Na Eun-hyeok.”

“I’ll pass on that entirely.”

I was interested in Na Eun-hyeok, not his popularity, so I rejected the idea flatly. Park Seongjin and Han Kyutae chuckled, knowing I’d say that.

I picked a seat on the display and paid. As I headed to my spot, Kyutae clapped a hand on my shoulder. He warned me with a dead-serious expression.

“It won’t be as bad as yesterday, but there might still be people following you today.”

“Can’t I just make a new account?”

“You want to clear Nightmare all over again?”

True. Thinking about it, the Nightmare clear rewards were too good to pass up. It was a reward I barely obtained after thirty minutes of hell; it would be a waste to give it up just because I became a bit of an in-game celebrity.

Right. People were just excited because it was the first clear in three years. The interest would fade soon, but the rewards were forever. I weighed the options and reached a conclusion.

Let’s just go.

Just in case, I added a condition.

“If too many people crowd around, I’m just going home early today.”

“Seonhwa Noona heard you started the game and took a half-day off work.”

“Why would she take a half-day off……”

“She said she’d carry you through some dungeons to help you level up.”

The mention of help with leveling up brought that lunatic from yesterday to mind—the one who threw expensive elixirs at me for that very purpose.

“I just hope I don’t run into Sephiroth.”

“Would Sephiroth really come to the newbie village twice? Don’t worry.”

“I guess you’re right.”

Listening to the hopeful words of Kyutae and Seongjin, I managed to calm my nerves.

Right. Thinking about it, he’s a max-level veteran, and I’m just a chick who started the game. Yesterday was just bad luck; there’s no way we’ll meet again starting from today.

……But then, why did he come yesterday?

An ominous thought brushed through my mind. I quickly shook my head to dispel it before it could bring bad luck.

Soon, my body was buried in the capsule, and my vision flickered.

“Hmm.”

I opened my eyes back at the entrance of the plains where I had the standoff with Sephiroth yesterday. Unlike yesterday, where not even an ant could be found, I could see newbies hunting monsters here and there.

A few people sent me whispers again. It was less than yesterday, but people were starting to gather. Newbies hitting monsters over there glanced this way to see what was going on.

[General] Don’tCallBack: Are you BlueberryWhiskey-nim?

No. There’s no one here by that name.