He Is That Guy

Anyone who’s ever played an AOS or FPS game where you're forced to team up with total strangers to win knows this feeling:
“Ah. So this is why cursing is a necessary part of life.”
Especially for us game nerds, profanity is practically a second language. If someone’s acting like trash, they deserve to be treated like trash. At least, that’s how I see it.

Of course, I don’t go around flaming good players who follow basic manners. The ones I do flame fall into the following categories:
Trolls who throw the game or int into the enemy team just because they’re in a bad mood.
Players who start hurling mom jokes or sexual harassment.

Anyone who picks a fight with me first.
Though honestly, even with that list, most of the time I just block and move on—too lazy to argue. Especially in HOL. Once you climb high enough, you keep queuing with the same people, and at that level, no one really trolls or mouths off.
In any case, I’ve gotten pretty immune to most provocations after all these team-based games—basically glorified group projects.

It’s been sixteen years since I first got hooked on StarCraft back in elementary school. After all that time, I thought nothing could surprise me anymore.
[Global] I’mSoSleepy: What do you mean “change your nickname”;
[Global] I’mSoSleepy: Are you out of your damn mind lmao
[Global] I’mSoSleepy: Do you even know me? Why the hell are you using informal speech?
And then someone showed up to prove me wrong. A god-tier lunatic. I was so pissed it almost felt thrilling. Like, how the hell did I end up running into this kind of psycho in an RPG I picked up to relax?

[Global] ParkSeungjin99: Oh wow… damn.
[Global] Let’sTripleJump: Can someone summarize what’s happening in 3 lines?
[Global] Haerun: Guild Master being a Guild Master.
[Global] Haerun: There. One line summary.
[Global] ParkSeungjin99: Is the Guild Master heading for drama forums again?
[Global] Let’sTripleJump: No way. This like, what, the third time already?
[Global] ParkSeungjin99: Dude's just built different, huh.
The guild members who had just logged on to chill immediately turned into spectators, happily munching popcorn. DrinkWaterPlz, who’d been trying to monitor the mess, jumped in.
[Global] DrinkWaterPlz: Okay, both of you cool it.
[Global] DrinkWaterPlz: I get that you're mad, but seriously.
[Global] Yoo Chae: Guess I’ll kick him and report the flaming at the same time. 👍
[Global] Yoo Chae: Even if the nickname's fine, that trash personality’s not welcome here, lol.
[Global] DrinkWaterPlz: Can you shut up for a sec;
[Global] I’mSoSleepy: Introducing yourself, huh? lmao
[Global] I’mSoSleepy: Drama forum regular?

Childish potshots flew back and forth. Zero class, but that's just how chat wars go. It's not about logic—it’s a game of who can be pettier and twist words better. Past that point? People start dropping phone numbers and settling things IRL.
[Global] Yoo Chae: Kick him.
[Global] DrinkWaterPlz: Seriously, try saying something sane for once…
[Global] DrinkWaterPlz: We all know the guild needs a newbie right now;
[Global] DrinkWaterPlz: Good newbs with solid mechanics are rare AF…
[Global] Haerun: Sleepy, your control decent?
[Global] soeso: Dude hit level 200 in under two weeks, maniac energy. 😭
[Global] Yoo Chae: Fast leveling doesn’t mean you’ve got good mechanics, lol.
[Global] I’mSoSleepy: Then come at me, bro.
[Global] I’mSoSleepy: Your damn tongue’s too long.
[Global] Yoo Chae: ? LMAOOOO
Yoo Chae laughed like he couldn’t believe what he was reading. I ignored him and kept typing.

[Global] I’mSoSleepy: ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ You scared?
I had already enabled field PVP. In Zenoris, class damage is pretty well balanced, so PVP is popular. Once you hit level 100 and leave the beginner zone, you can toggle PVP on and duel other players anytime.
When I hovered over Yoo Chae, my cursor turned into a sword—his PVP was on too. Figures. The guy gave off hardcore tryhard energy from the start.
[Global] Haerun: Come on, man, fighting a newbie who’s not even max level? For real? lol
[Global] Let’sTripleJump: Yeah nah, I wouldn’t. 😭
[Global] Yoo Chae: Let’s go.
[Global] Let’sTripleJump: Bro’s actually doing it, wtf…
[Global] ParkSeungjin99: LOOOOOOOOOOOOOL

Yoo Chae pulled out a brilliant gold +9 Chain Blade from his hip. Meanwhile, I wasn’t even max level and didn’t have a single upgraded item. Guy had zero shame.
[Global] ParkSeungjin99: I always fight with everything I’ve got…
[Global] ParkSeungjin99: Even if the enemy’s just a low-level newbie…
[Global] ParkSeungjin99: –Yoo Chae, Guild Master of the #1 Guild on the server–
[Global] Haerun: Damn, that’s actually kind of badass.
[Global] Let’sTripleJump: Bro so badass he vanished in the explosion.
Just seeing the weapon confirmed Yoo Chae’s class—Chain Blade. One of the hardest classes to use before Dark Mage came out.

“If I remember right… outside of two starter skills, everything’s non-targeted.”
Non-targeted. Meaning, if you concentrate, you can dodge almost everything. I had a ton of non-targeted spells too, so I wasn’t at a disadvantage.
It would all come down to control. Dodge their attacks. Land mine. Given our damage gap, I’d have to hit him five times for every one hit he landed.

I cracked my fingers and readied my weapon. He struck first. I instinctively triggered my dodge—my character rolled on the ground, narrowly avoiding the hit.
[Global] ParkSeungjin99: Oh?
Every time Yoo Chae’s chain struck, lightning crashed down from the sky. My dodge skill had a 7-second cooldown, so I’d have to survive that long. I weaved past his attacks and fired off an Ice Bolt.

Just as I expected, it didn’t land. Not a single hit. And Ice Bolt’s a pretty fast skill. I had to use a cooldown just to dodge, but he dodged without even using one. That told me everything I needed to know about his level.
I activated Moving Cast, a skill that lets you move while channeling spells, and started charging Ice Spear. It needed 15 seconds.
CRACK!

“Ah.”
I told myself I just had to survive for 15 seconds, and then—his chain scraped my character dead-on. Tch. I clicked my tongue and narrowly escaped the follow-up with a panic dodge.
One hit took out half my HP. What the hell? I thought I could survive at least five hits… At this rate, one more and I’m toast.

[Global] Haerun: That damage is cracked…
[Global] ParkSeungjin99: He’s using endgame gear, but yeah, Sleepy’s a Mage so he’s getting chunked harder.
Spectators had already written me off. But I smiled crookedly.
If I was gonna lose that easily, I wouldn’t have picked a fight in the first place. I tightened my focus, dodging every strike and checking my Ice Spear gauge between movements.

95%, 96%, 97%...
Just a bit more.
98%, 99%...

100%. The gauge glowed blue. I rolled one last time with a dodge and fired the Ice Spear.
[Global] soeso: sss
Ice Spear is a targeted skill. You can’t dodge it. Yoo Chae’s character, mid-chain flailing, froze solid. The spell doesn’t do much damage, but it’s the only one that immobilizes the target for five whole seconds.

“Five seconds is all I need.”
As soon as I saw the freeze land, I began charging Fireball—my strongest, highest-ranking skill.
The downside? I can’t move while charging. But since he was frozen, it didn’t matter.

Fireball’s charge time: 5.3 seconds.
Ice Spear’s freeze time: 5 seconds.
Even with that 0.3-second gap, Fireball’s hitbox is wide. There’s no escape.
I knew I’d won. As soon as the freeze ended, I released the Fireball. Even if it didn’t kill him, it’d leave him barely alive—and I had a faster skill to follow up with—

“……!”
Just in case, I tried to cast a low-tier backup skill—only to spot a chain flying at my character.
Shit. I instinctively slammed dodge, but the cooldown still had 2 seconds left. It didn’t go off.

BOOM! The Fireball landed with a roar—right as the chain pierced straight through my character’s chest.
[Global] Haerun: What the fk was that?????**
[Global] Let’sTripleJump: How did that even happen??
Opposite my fallen character, Yoo Chae stood with just 10% HP left.

“Haa…”
I stared at the gray death screen and dragged a hand across my face.
I let my guard down. I didn’t think he’d actually attack during that window. Should’ve accounted for it.

“Four months off and I’ve gone soft…”
It was a frustrating loss. Seriously—if I were just level 210, this fight would've gone differently.
[Global] ParkSeungjin99: Sleepy, you sure you’re a newbie?
[Global] ParkSeungjin99: I’m legit shook rn;
[Global] DrinkWaterPlz: Honestly thought you’d just get stomped.
[Global] Haerun: Same here, tbh. 😅

DrinkWaterPlz used a revive item on me. While I respawned, Yoo Chae quietly popped some potions and finally said:
[Global] Yoo Chae: Not bad, honestly.
[Global] ParkSeungjin99: Dude dodged all of Guild Master’s skills without a single escape skill, that’s wild lmao
[Global] Haerun: I’ve been playing since beta and even I can’t do that
[Global] Let’sTripleJump: That’s a you problem, bro.
[Global] soeso: His HOL skills are still there lmao
[Global] Haerun: Wait, you played HOL too?
[Global] I’mSoSleepy: I quit.
I gave a lazy answer while chugging a potion.

I lost, so I should probably leave the guild. Staying now would just be awkward.
Thought I’d found a solid guild, and instead I stepped in flaming dogshit. All Daeseok’s fault.
[Global] DrinkWaterPlz: Yep, he was Grandmaster.
[Global] DrinkWaterPlz: GM every season.
[Global] Yoo Chae: Grandmaster?

That’s when Yoo Chae, who’d been ignoring the chat, suddenly jumped in.
[Global] Yoo Chae: You were Grandmaster in HOL?
[Global] Yoo Chae: Hero of Legend Grandmaster?
[Global] DrinkWaterPlz: ?
[Global] Yoo Chae: You were Grandmaster in HOL?
“…?”

What the hell’s up with him now?
[Global] I’mSoSleepy: Yep.
[Global] Yoo Chae: Username?
[Global] Yoo Chae: Was it also I’mSoSleepy in HOL??
He’s using honorifics now.

Mom, I’m scared. I think this guy’s actually insane…
[Global] I’mSoSleepy: ??;
[Global] I’mSoSleepy: Why do you wanna know? What are you gonna do with that info..?