Chapter 82: Read Receipts and Unwanted Reunions

Where did he even get that absolute, unwavering confidence with his “You like me anyway”? It was so utterly ridiculous that I didn’t even want to waste my breath arguing back. I just let out an exasperated sigh and turned to walk away, but Sephiroth’s heavy gauntlet abruptly clamped onto my shoulder.

“What now?”

“We have to loot the items.”

“Ah.”

Right. Items are items. I quietly fell into step behind Sephiroth as he grabbed Hyangi’sBerion’s corpse by the left ankle and casually began dragging him away across the grass.

[Forum > Community > General] Title: Free Giveaway Author: Sephiroth | Views: 44,579

[Attached Image.jpg]

• Mage Gear x1
• Warrior Gear x1
• Staff-user Gear x1 First come, first served.

[Comments]

ClickClick: Mage gear dibs!

└ GoddessJiyu: ㅎㅎ RIP to the deceased.

└ └ PreciousDaejung: 222

└ └ └ JusticeServed: 33333 ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

└ └ └ └ adsfjhlh: 4

└ 8282Machine: Aigo, mister… why did you make that choice? ㅠㅠ

└ 09Purifying: ㅠㅠ Archiving this screenshot in case they delete their comments [Image.jpg]

└ └ AngelMilkMon: You’re the absolute worst here ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

└ ClickClick: Ah f*ck, my loading was slow so I just saw the picture now;;; Ah, Endless-nim, I didn’t mean it. Cancel.

└ └ Sephiroth: Check your mail, sent.

└ └ └ positiveMan: ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

└ └ └ └ LoveYouYoo: Ah, he already sent it~ No returns!

└ └ └ └ └ 0104988Secret: ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

└ └ └ └ └ └ Etotto: ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Boss seals the deal so they can’t even run away.

└ └ └ └ └ └ └ Barbarian驱逐: I literally almost pissed myself just now.

└ └ └ └ └ └ └ └ ClickClick: ㅠㅠㅠㅠ? Did I do something wrong? ㅠㅠㅠ

└ └ └ └ └ └ └ └ └ PreciousDaejung: Since it’s already come to this, you only have one choice. Join the ProudDaughters guild ㅋㅋ

└ └ └ └ └ └ └ └ └ └ RubyDad: Ahㅋㅋ You didn’t die because you accepted the mage gear, you died because you’re in that guild ㅋㅋ True honorable death meta ㅋㅋ

HolloHollo: Wait, this picture ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Did you really take a victory selfie after slaughtering Endless?

1SyooHandsome: Holy f*ck ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ━

OhMyGod: Wow, Endless-nim, I didn’t type a single bad word in this comment section.

└ HolloHollo: You really trying to escape by yourself? ㅡㅡ

HandfulTwoHandful: ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Giveaway meta is real.

diyongdiyong: Wow, look at that flex title ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

└ TwitIdiot: Oh look, the cultist fanboy is here to suck up.

└ └ diyongdiyong: Why the fck are you picking a fight out of nowhere?

└ Password999: ㅋㅋ Real talk, ‘Free Giveaway’ is a legendary title.

└ └ diyongdiyong: I literally just had to change my underwear ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

└ └ TwitIdiot: Oh look, the cultist fanboy is here to suck up.

└ └ └ diyongdiyong: Seriously, what is wrong with this son of a btch?

└ └ └ └ Password999: Didn’t he probably get clapped by Sephiroth before? Kids like him always act like this.

└ └ └ └ └ TwitIdiot: No, I didn’t.

└ └ └ └ └ └ diyongdiyong: Figures. It’s always the low-tier scrubs who show inferiority complexes ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

SoldierAfrica: Delete the photo while I’m still asking nicely ^ ^

└ Labyrinth: Endless has entered the chat~~~~~~~~~~~~~

└ AnotherPepp: Ah, supporting Endless here;; That edge-lord psycho acting like he’s all that is so damn annoying;;

└ Anonymous1231: ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

└ Sephiroth: Because ‘nicely’ is the only way you know how to talk.

└ └ SoldierAfrica: I’m holding back because unlike someone, I’m a civilized person ^ ^

└ └ └ Sephiroth: Ah, I see. I guess a civilized person’s common sense involves hiding in a PVP zone and blindsiding someone in a 3v1.

└ └ └ Sephiroth: Come to think of it, you are civilized. It would take at least five of you to even stand a chance against me, so sending only three was actually quite polite. OK, I understand.

└ └ └ └ loviForever: zㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

└ └ └ └ └ JunKuri: Ah, a 3v1 is a bit unmannerly ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ └ └ └ └ └ └ Vergwalo97: F*ck, it was a 3v2.

└ └ └ └ └ └ └ Sephiroth: Are you seriously counting the Level 68 BlueberryWhiskey as an actual opponent?

└ └ └ └ └ └ └ └ LibertyOnion: ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Straight for the throat.

└ └ └ └ └ └ └ └ └ power88: Why aren’t they replying anymore ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

└ └ └ └ └ └ └ └ └ └ Galaxy101: ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ What a trade.

└ └ └ └ └ └ └ └ └ └ └ RainySeasonFrog: ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

└ └ └ └ └ └ └ └ └ └ └ └ adultaudio: ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Look at Endless running away ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

└ └ └ └ └ └ └ └ └ └ └ └ └ SecretHolder: Ah, this is too damn funny ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

And the very next day, we finally succeeded in stepping foot into the Diamond League.

One of my morning lectures was canceled. The text notification I received read, “Class is canceled today because the weather is heartbreakingly beautiful,” but no matter how I looked at it, it was clear the professor just had personal business to attend to. Seriously, being a professor must be nice. You can just cancel a whole class purely because the sky looks pretty.

Regardless of the reason, suddenly finding myself with free time, I opened the window of my studio apartment for the first time in a while and looked down at the street. The road at 9:30 AM, just past the morning rush hour, was quiet yet still carried the subtle hum of daily life. Sedans and pedestrians passed back and forth along the narrow alleyway. The sky was blindingly clear, and the scattered patches of foliage glowed in a vibrant, vivid light green, swaying gently with each breeze.

“Looking at it like this, the world actually is pretty.”

How long had it been since I had just leisurely admired the scenery? Ever since I’d grown up a bit, the times I’d actually stopped to appreciate a view could be counted on one hand. Even then, it was always a specific mountain, a particular lake, or some vacation destination where I explicitly set out to take in a tourist attraction. I had never actively absorbed a peaceful, ordinary urban scene like this. It had always been just a blurry background I passed by.

But why today?

I had always thought the landscapes in Zelpia were unrealistically stunning, but the street view I faced today—while not quite reaching that level—was beautiful in its own right. As the falling sunlight broke across the surfaces of the buildings, the reflected rays shimmered and danced across my vision. The cool breeze rolled the droplets of light here and there, making the beauty before me shift with vibrant life from one second to the next.

It felt tranquil.

Whether in Zelpia or in reality, it felt like beauty truly stemmed from having the peace of mind to notice it.

Staring blankly out the window, I felt drawn to take a picture. I wasn’t usually the type to take photos, but a sudden, random urge to capture this exact moment took over.

Click. With the shutter sound, the scenery was captured on my phone screen. The photo didn’t do the actual view justice, but the lighting was good, giving it a certain charm.

After a moment of hesitation, I opened my chat window with Na Eun-hyeok. And as if possessed, I attached the photo and typed a message.

[Chae Un-ha]: The weather is really nice today. Hope you have a great day, Eun-hyeok.

I squeezed my eyes shut and slammed the send button. The moment I watched my message fill the yellow bubble, my heart suddenly began pounding wildly, as if I had just sprinted a hundred meters. I actually sent an unprompted greeting text to Na Eun-hyeok! At least this time, I didn’t repeat the mistake of sending a bizarre, creepy emoticon like before. The content wasn’t bad either. Wait… was it too sudden? Is it awkward? Come to think of it, we were in a relationship where we had literally never texted each other about anything outside of our group project details……

My anxiety fluctuated wildly by the second. The tiny yellow number ‘1’—the read receipt—remained stubbornly fixed next to my message bubble. Should I delete it right now? But wouldn’t deleting it look even weirder? If I unsend it, it leaves a notification saying a message was deleted. If Na Eun-hyeok asks what I sent, what would I even say? Should I just claim I meant to send it to a different group chat and got the wrong room?

Ah, right. It’s definitely safer to just delete it and play it off as a wrong number. I glared at the number ‘1’ and pressed down hard on the message bubble. However, I couldn’t bring myself to hit the delete button. Because at that exact millisecond, the ‘1’ vanished.

‘I’m doomed.’

Nothing remained next to the yellow bubble. Staring blankly at the screen, I violently clutched my hair. Looking at the photo again, it wasn’t nearly as charming or aesthetic as I had thought. It looked completely out of place sitting right beneath our texts from a few days ago discussing the project timeline. Why on earth did I send this? While I was trapped in a spiral of late regret, unable to move, a white message bubble smoothly slid into view.

[Na Eun-hyeok]: Thanks ㅎㅎ

[Na Eun-hyeok]: The picture is really pretty.

[Na Eun-hyeok]: You have a great day too.

Hmm. Maybe it wasn’t so bad after all……

A slow, creeping smile began to spread across my face. My cheekbones twitched upward, and though I tried to bite my lower lip to suppress it, my mouth completely defied my control, leaking out a goofy grin. Re-examining the photo, while it might not have been a masterpiece, it wasn’t terrible either. It was a photo Na Eun-hyeok had called pretty. For me, that alone was more than enough.

I was in a spectacular mood today. It felt like everything was going to go perfectly. It felt like one of those rare days where every single thing would just fall effortlessly into place.

Effortlessly into place, my ass.

[Party] NasiGoreng: They say enemies always meet on a single-log bridge ㅎㅎ

[Party] BuffNinjaPls: A ninja… never forgets a grudge….

[Party] ParkJinSol: Are these the bastards that clapped you guys before?

[Party] BlueberryWhiskey: How do we manage to run into Endless even here?

There were two specific reasons Sephiroth and I were still grinding the Battlegrounds even after hitting the Diamond League. First was due to Won-jae hyung’s desperate, pleading request to farm more Guild Points, and second was because Ignas’s curse had still not been entirely lifted.

The matchmaking algorithm has blessed (or cursed) you with a fateful match! Your guildmates are out for blood, and Endless is right in front of you. Do you rally the guild to execute a flawless tactical revenge, or do you let Sephiroth loose to turn the battlefield into another viral forum post?

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