Dusk (BL Light Novel)

[Party] Honeybread: Not dodging mechanics?
[Party] MinchanThat’sNotIt: lol I dodge the important ones
[Party] MinchanThat’sNotIt: when I’m casting my burst skills
[Party] MinchanThat’sNotIt: it’s actually better not to dodge, y’know
Dodging the important ones? What a load of shit. Unless you’d coordinated with the healer, you were supposed to dodge everything you could dodge.

And saying it’s “better” not to dodge when using burst skills? That was peak bullshit. Whether you dodge or not only changes the timing by a split second—nothing that justifies ignoring mechanics. Plus, factoring in the healer’s damage loss from covering for you, it was never a gain. Ever.
In short, it was just selfish bullshit for their own convenience.
I wanted to type more, but another mechanic phase kicked in and interrupted me. While ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) it played out, I noticed Gonyanyanya was getting swamped—cleansing the tank’s debuffs, removing the Minchans’ [Mud Husk] stacks—clearly too busy to keep up her previous level of DPS.

As I debated what the hell we were supposed to do with those two idiots, the Muddled Spirit dropped below 1% HP. I dumped all my held-back skills into it—yes, even pulled aggro from the main tank—but it was worth it. The boss died. First phase: cleared.
With the boss down, I immediately typed:
[Party] Honeybread: So this is what you meant by “just heal,” huh?
[Party] Honeybread: Ignore mechanics, tunnel DPS, and expect the healer to clean up your shit?

The moment my message went up, the party froze mid-loot. The only one who kept moving was the quiet dark mage, casually collecting drops.
[Party] Honeybread: Can’t dodge while DPSing?
[Party] Honeybread: How do you even eat with those hands?
[Party] Honeybread: Someone has to spoon-feed you?
[Party] MinchanStopShittingPlease: Bro why are you suddenly flipping out lol
[Party] MinchanStopShittingPlease: We just made a few mistakes; chill

A “few mistakes” and not one damn apology?
There was no way I was gonna stand by and watch some newbie I picked up get bled dry by assholes like these.
[Party] Honeybread: That’s not a mistake, that’s your actual skill level
[Party] Honeybread: How the hell did someone with that skill get a Commander rank?

[Party] MinchanThat’sNotIt: Why you so pressed lol
[Party] MinchanThat’sNotIt: Commander rank is basically a participation trophy now, anyone can get it. Chill tf out
[Party] Honeybread: Again, that wasn’t a mistake. That’s who you are
[Party] Honeybread: And I’m not just picking a fight for fun—
[Party] Honeybread: You flexed your DPS all raid, ate a debuff that slows attack speed, ignored mechanics, and waited for the healer to wipe your ass.
[Party] Honeybread: What part of that do you think deserves kind words?
[Party] Honeybread: Since when is it normal for a DPS to tank attack-speed debuffs like a clown?
They kept playing the “it was just a mistake” card like they were the victims. Sure, people make mistakes. Perfection’s not the standard.

But what pissed me off was their attitude. Not just the lack of an apology—there was zero effort to dodge anything at all.
Their entire gameplay screamed, “Meh, if I can dodge it, I will. If not, healer’s problem.” That much was obvious from how they moved—or didn’t.
[Party] MinchanThat’sNotIt: How many times do I have to say it? It was a mistake.
[Party] Honeybread: Funny, I was about to say the same.
[Party] Honeybread: That wasn’t a mistake—it was your actual skill level.
[Party] Honeybread: You think having high DPS means you’re good at this game?
[Party] Honeybread: Anyone can press buttons and pump numbers.
[Party] Honeybread: If you suck at something, you’re supposed to try harder.
[Party] Honeybread: You eat every mechanic, don’t apologize, sponge off the healer’s efforts—and that’s just a “mistake”? lol

As the argument dragged on, the silent dark mage broke into a little dance—clearly checking out of the drama. “Not my business, figure it out yourselves.”
The worst part? This whole thing could’ve ended with a simple “Sorry, won’t happen again.” But they dragged it out instead. No doubt whispering to each other or voice-chatting behind the scenes, trash-talking me for “suddenly flipping out.”
As I wondered what excuse they’d cling to next to avoid saying sorry, someone totally unexpected jumped in.
[Party] Gonyanyanya2: I’m really sorry… I feel like you’re fighting because of me. I’ll try harder…

What the hell kind of heart-shattering bullshit was that?
[Party] Honeybread: Why are you apologizing???
[Party] Gonyanyanya2: It just feels like you’re arguing because of me…ㅠㅠ
[Party] MinchanThat’sNotIt: It’s not because of you
[Party] Honeybread: They should be the ones apologizing to you. Why the hell are you apologizing??
[Party] MinchanStopShittingPlease: ?
[Party] MinchanStopShittingPlease: Did you just call us “those assholes”?
[Party] Honeybread: Yup.
[Party] MinchanThat’sNotIt: lmfao okay buddy hahahahahaha
With someone totally unrelated stepping in, the whole thing devolved into chaos. I felt bad for Gonyanyanya—probably sitting there confused and panicking—but at that point, I was more pissed off by her apologizing than by anything those assholes had said.

What, is she a mole? Burrowing into the ground every time someone raises their voice?
[Whisper] Honeybread >> Gonyanyanya2: Say that one more time and I’ll make you pay back that gold tenfold.
Gonyanyanya hesitated briefly before replying.

[Whisper] Gonyanyanya2 >> Honeybread: Sorryㅠㅠ
[Whisper] Gonyanyanya2 >> Honeybread: I just… you came to help me, and now everyone’s fighting…
[Whisper] Honeybread >> Gonyanyanya2: That’s not it
[Whisper] Honeybread >> Gonyanyanya2: They’re the ones being assholes
[Whisper] Honeybread >> Gonyanyanya2: You know that better than anyone. So why act like this?
[Whisper] Honeybread >> Gonyanyanya2: I’m genuinely asking—
[Whisper] Honeybread >> Gonyanyanya2: Don’t you think it’s weird?
If even the healer—literally the one who had to clean up after them—was acting like this, what the hell were we even doing?
But her next whisper surprised me.

[Whisper] Gonyanyanya2 >> Honeybread: I do know… I just wanted to finish the dungeon quickly…
[Whisper] Gonyanyanya2 >> Honeybread: And… I wanted to show you I could solo-heal through it even with players like that… so you'd recognize me… ㅜㅜ
So that’s why she was putting up with the Minchan Duo.
...Seriously?

[Whisper] Honeybread >> Gonyanyanya2: What would you even do with my approval?
[Whisper] Gonyanyanya2 >> Honeybread: I don’t know… haha… it’d just feel nice…
[Whisper] Gonyanyanya2 >> Honeybread: I can do this. Just keep running the dungeon with me. I’ll do better, I promise.
Now that I really looked at her, this kid was kind of… another one of those. Just like Retaking a Class. Same dumbass smile, same stupid way of talking.
Saying she wanted to earn my approval by solo-healing through a nightmare like this, even if it meant carrying the Minchans? It knocked the wind right out of me.

Are all newbies like this...?
…Well. I mean. What can I say? If the newbie I picked up volunteered to solo-heal an Urban Mission dungeon just to impress me, the least I could do was watch her try.
I turned back to party chat. While I’d been whispering, the Minchan Duo had apparently continued mouthing off. I skimmed their chat—just more trash talk about my “insane ego” or whatever—and scrolled right past it.

No point dragging this out.
[Party] Honeybread: Judging by your braincells, no point talking further.
[Party] Honeybread: If your feelings are hurt, feel free to leave. No one’s stopping you.
I’ve got a newbie to babysit.

[Party] Honeybread: Ares, let’s keep going.
Aresuis, our main tank, hesitated a moment—then took the lead, running toward the next room. I followed, with Gonyanyanya and the dancing dark mage right behind.
The Minchan Duo, left behind and stripped of their momentum, just stood there. For a second, I thought they might drop party and rage-quit. But then, reluctantly, they followed us into the next zone.

Could be they didn’t want the penalty for quitting mid-dungeon. Or maybe I’d pissed them off enough to make them stay out of spite.
Either way, they were going on the permanent blacklist for future party recruitment.