Dusk (BL Light Novel)

I needed to find Gang Jaegyung, but first, I decided to check out Base 42. It was where the Level 44 dungeon was located, and now that Base 44 had been taken, Base 42 was at risk of being cut off. If any newbies were planning to run the dungeon, they’d be prime targets for ambushes.
Better to make a quick sweep through Base 42 and make sure things were secure. If everything looked fine, I could move on and start hunting Gang Jaegyung.
The path from Base 43 to Base 42 was surprisingly quiet. I had expected the area to be swarming with players, but everyone was probably still fighting at Base 44. With Jeoja’s forces pushing so aggressively, they might even try to push further into our territory.

I sprinted through the empty base, taking out any Jeoja players I encountered along the way. When I stumbled upon a newbie player lying dead on the ground, clearly a victim of a gank, I resurrected them and kept moving.
[General Chat] Honeybread: Get inside the dungeon. Now.
[General Chat] TriangleCoffeeMilk: Yes, sir! Thank you ㅠㅠ

After sending the newbie running safely inside the dungeon, I turned my attention back to the minimap. That’s when I saw it — a red triangle moving straight toward me.
I activated a defensive skill and swung my camera around. There he was.
Gang Jaegyung.

He must have been waiting at Base 42 for me. I wasn’t sure why, but it saved me the trouble of hunting him down.
As soon as he saw me, he started casting offensive skills. I could tell by the way he was playing that he was holding back, expecting me to go easy on him and let him rack up some easy kills for the bet.
Too bad for him.

Today, I wasn’t playing fair. Today, I was going to bury him.
Gang Jaegyung was hitting me hard, but I could feel the difference in our power levels already. With my gear now re-engraved for attack instead of defense, his healer build was crumbling. And with me going all out, our health bars started diverging rapidly.
[Combat] You receive 2,816 damage from Retaking a Class’s DoT effect.

[Combat] You use Fatal Strike, dealing 6,242 damage to Retaking a Class.
[Combat] You use Fatal Blow, dealing 11,731 damage to Retaking a Class.
I grinned. The difference was night and day.

Realizing that something was wrong, Gang Jaegyung started to adjust his strategy, falling back into his typical defensive cycle. But by now, it was too late. The gap was too wide. Normally, our fights dragged on, back and forth, like a long war of attrition.
Today, it was over in three minutes.
[Combat] You have slain Retaking a Class with the skill “Sins Made Manifest.”
[System] You have defeated Jeoja Faction Commander Retaking a Class.

[System] You have gained 3,680 reputation points.
[Faction] Honeybread, Viajok Faction Commander, has slain Retaking a Class, Jeoja Faction Commander.
He must have been so confident that I’d let him win — so much so that he got careless. I could practically feel his confusion radiating through the screen.

[General Chat] Honeybread: How did you lose that? ;
[General Chat] Honeybread: Wow…
I typed the taunts and then strolled away, leaving Gang Jaegyung to process what had just happened.

Earlier, he’d been so proud, waving around that A4 sheet of paper filled with my “compliments” and his self-deprecating lines, acting like that would be enough to make me forgive him. Maybe he thought I’d be satisfied seeing him humiliate himself in front of his viewers.
Maybe he thought I’d feel bad.
Too bad. That’s not how this was going to go.
I chugged a potion to top off my health and was about to move to the next area when a private message popped up.

[Whisper] Sillonti >> Honeybread: LOLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL
[Whisper] Sillonti >> Honeybread: Retaking a Class is just standing there in shock.
[Whisper] Sillonti >> Honeybread: His fingers aren’t moving.

Perfect. This was going exactly the way I planned. Gang Jaegyung had walked right into it.
[Whisper] Sillonti >> Honeybread: He’s like, “Wasn’t he supposed to go easy on me…?”
[Whisper] Sillonti >> Honeybread: Is that true?

[Whisper] Honeybread >> Sillonti: Yep.
[Whisper] Sillonti >> Honeybread: He said your damage is weird.
 

He already noticed. Well, considering how many defensive engravings I removed, it’s not surprising. My defense plummeted, but my attack power shot up, so it was only a matter of time before he caught on. Especially since the one I’m up against is Gang Jaegyung, the guy who calculates skill damage down to the decimal point. There’s no way he wouldn’t notice.
I decided to set up at Base 42. Since Gang Jaegyung had died here after running into me, the chances of him coming back were high. Besides, there might be some punks causing trouble in front of the Level 44 Dungeon, so it would be best to play gatekeeper as a precaution.
And sure enough, after seeing Gang Jaegyung’s stream, some Jeojajok players, who had been nowhere to be seen earlier, started poking their heads out. I whacked them down like playing whack-a-mole while waiting for Gang Jaegyung.

But my health was a concern. With the defensive engravings removed, even attacks from regular players were hitting pretty hard. No matter how many potions I chugged, my HP kept dropping. The Jeojajok players kept coming, and since I couldn’t fully recover my health, I might end up dying earlier than planned when Gang Jaegyung shows up.
I needed to win at least two or three more rounds. I thought it over and decided to get a healer.
[Faction] Honeybread: Looking for a healer, any Priest or Medical Corps, just to heal. Pay negotiable.

[Whisper] HaveToGoToTheGym >> Honeybread: Item Level 210, Officer, Priest Corps.
[Whisper] MustardWithStains >> Honeybread: Item Level 210, Officer, Priest Corps.
[Whisper] BallKick >> Honeybread: Item Level 209, Captain, Stress Management Expert.

Several people responded. After some consideration, I decided to invite BallKick. His item level was slightly lower, but he was a Captain and claimed to handle stress well.
[Party] BallKick has joined the party.
[Faction] Honeybread: Healer slot filled. Thanks for applying.

[Party] BallKick: Hey, hey!
[Party] Honeybread: Base 42.
[Party] Honeybread: Just stay hidden nearby and heal me when I call for it.

[Party] Honeybread: You can deal damage to other players except for Retaking a Class. I’ll pay extra for that.
[Party] Honeybread: 200,000 per 30 minutes.
[Party] BallKick: Whoa. Big spender.

[Party] BallKick: Okay, I’m on my way.
As I was checking BallKick’s message, another attack came flying in. The sound was wet and bubbling, and the effect was a sickly, coppery color. It was the viral effect from a Medical Corps member.
Right on time.

From a distance, I spotted Gang Jaegyung casting another virus spell. I activated my dash skill and rushed straight at him.
When I got close, he activated his protective gear, and I zigzagged, dodging as much as I could while landing blows on his character.
Noticing my decreased defense, Gang Jaegyung altered his usual virus skill rotation. His skill order was more cautious than usual, a clear sign that he was desperately trying to win.

But when two players of equal skill clash and one has better equipment, the outcome is obvious.
[Combat] You have slain Retaking ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) a Class using the Divine Punishment skill.
[System] You have defeated the Jeojajok Commander, Retaking a Class.

[System] You have gained 3,640 Fame Points.
[Faction] Viajok Supreme Commander Honeybread has defeated Jeojajok Commander Retaking a Class.
Once again, I won. If I still had my original equipment, I might’ve lost, considering how little HP I had left.

I crouched my character down in front of Retaking a Class’s fallen body and typed a message.
[General] Honeybread: Throwing the match doesn’t count, you know. —,—
He must be fuming. He probably had a lot to say to me.

But today, I had no intention of listening.