He Is That Guy

[Guild] Yoo Chae: Hyung

[Guild] Yoo Chae: You need Lhinne Feathers, right?
[Guild] Yoo Chae: Should I give you some??
[Guild] I’mSoSleepy: Yeah, how many you got?

[Guild] Yoo Chae: I’ve got 50
[Guild] I’mSoSleepy: Gimme all of them
[Guild] Yoo Chae: Haha okay, where are you right now?

[Guild] I’mSoSleepy: ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) Kelp Forest fast travel point
It had already been four days since I joined the guild.
The first day, I’d shut the game off in shock after realizing I couldn’t leave the guild. The second day, I’d been damn near shivering from Yoo Chae’s stalking. By the third, I’d regained some emotional stability. And by today—the fourth day—I was starting to get used to it.

[Guild] Yoo Chae: Hyung, what’s your level now?
[Guild] I’mSoSleepy: 207
[Guild] Yoo Chae: There’s an accessory you can equip at 208—want it?

[Guild] I’mSoSleepy: Yup
The moment that bastard realized I wasn’t rejecting his trades, he lit up like a Christmas tree and started handing me items left and right. And me? I made a point of scooping up anything that looked useful.
I could always just stonewall him, reject everything, and quit the guild after a week. That was fine too. But that wouldn’t stop the guy’s obsessive stalking.

The important part isn’t just leaving the guild after a week. It’s cutting off whatever twisted fixation Yoo Chae has on me. So, I’ll take everything he gives—but I’m not giving shit back.
Humans are built with this thing called “reciprocity bias.” They think that if they give a lot, they’ll get something in return. And when they don’t? They get disappointed. Start pulling away.
Watching Yoo Chae run around all over the place gathering up items for me made me grin.

Everything’s going according to plan.
Accept just enough. Ignore just enough. That way, I don’t get stressed, and I rake in the loot. Win-win.
[Guild] Yoo Chae: Hyung, hyung
[Guild] Yoo Chae: Your shoes are +3, right?

[Guild] Yoo Chae: A +7 pair just dropped in the auction—should I buy it for you?
+7? I immediately stopped farming and pulled up the auction window. He didn’t say which shoes, but the price range should be about the same.
The +7 boots listed were going for 800 million gold. I shook my head.

[Guild] I’mSoSleepy: Nah
[Guild] Yoo Chae: Why not? They’re good
[Guild] I’mSoSleepy: I said no

[Guild] Yoo Chae: sob ㅜㅡㅜ
[Guild] I’mSoSleepy: Just help me herd mobs in Hell Swamp
Of course, there’s a crucial rule in this plan: don’t take expensive items.

Otherwise, I’d start looking like a scammer mooching off some poor sap. Not to mention, it’d be damn awkward.
Up until now, the stuff I’d accepted were just quest mats or wearable gear under +5. Anything higher had a much higher failure chance during enhancement, so prices shot up fast.
Checked a gold-to-cash ratio on a trading site—roughly 100 million gold = 100 bucks. So 800 mil? That’s an 800-dollar item.

What kind of lunatic tries to give an $800 item to someone they just met a few days ago?
Even thinking this was ridiculous. Honestly, it was pathetic. Sure, he’s the guildmaster of a top-ranked guild, so it’s not like he couldn’t afford it.
[Guild] TheHunter: What the hell am I looking at…

[Guild] Hwaseoun: Just ignore them
[Guild] ParkSeungjin99: Can you?? I’m legit about to lose it lmao
[Guild] LaggingLikeHell: Same hereㅋㅋㅋ

[Guild] DrinkWaterPlz: Why don’t you two just get married and use partner chat?
[Guild] Yoo Chae: Should we?? Hyung, wanna marry me?
[Guild] I’mSoSleepy: Like hell I do;

[Guild] Yoo Chae: Yeah, I guess proposing in guild chat’s kinda lame
Oh, is that so?
After four straight days of this bastard’s nonsense, I’d finally gotten to the point where I could tune him out. I ignored him and checked a whisper from Kim Daeseok.

[Whisper] soeso: Bro I’m really sorry lmfaoooo
[Whisper] soeso: I swear I’ll clear a spot for you after the week’s up
[Whisper] soeso: Loyalty! Loyalty!

Daeseok, who was half responsible for dumping this stalker on me, was groveling. He promised to bring me into his guild after my week was up.
Daeseok’s guild was called OneHeartOneWill, a pretty solid group that consistently ranked top 15.
More importantly, they were one of the few guilds still on good terms with the #1 guild, EveningGlow.

They usually didn’t take new members, but since Daeseok basically introduced a stalker to me, he explained the situation to his guildmaster and got a tentative agreement to bring me in.
...Well, he was trying to get the agreement. If it fell through, I’d just have to find another guild.
Is it always this damn hard to join a decent guild?

I hadn’t played an RPG in years, and even in HOL, I never joined a clan, so I wouldn’t know.
[Whisper] I’mSoSleepy: I’ll wait and see
[Whisper] soeso: Yessir! Salute! ^^7

More important than that, though, was the raid. I’d hit level 207 already, so it was time to start prepping.
Starting at 210, the good quest rewards came from raid missions that needed parties.
Sure, you could solo-level without doing raids, but it meant completing three times as many quests. So even people with trash control always did the raid quests.

[Global] Yoo Chae: Hyung!
He came running all the way to Hell Swamp just because I asked. Dozens of Swamp Leeches were herded in a cluster, and their HP was all conveniently low—just enough for me to finish with one AoE.
Swamp Leeches had absurdly high defense and health, and the quest needed 50 of them. Normally, it was a pain in the ass. But thanks to my persistent little stalker, I was about to clear it in five minutes flat.

BOOM—!
KIEEEEEEK!
I dropped a Fireball right in the middle of the wriggling mass of leeches. All of them, down to the last, died in one glorious explosion of XP.

The mob kill XP and the quest completion XP combined, and boom—I dinged 208. Time to equip that accessory he gave me earlier.
[Global] Yoo Chae: That was exactly 50, right?
[Global] I’mSoSleepy: Yup

[Global] Yoo Chae: Did I do good?
[Global] I’mSoSleepy: Yup
I replied flatly while sorting through the mess of autolooted junk in my inventory. After a moment of silence, Yoo Chae used an emote. Alt+F1—blushing, smiling cheeks.

Unbelievable. Chuckling to myself, I salvaged the trash items and closed my inventory. The guy had just been standing there quietly, waiting, and then spoke up again.
[Global] Yoo Chae: Any more hunt quests?
[Global] I’mSoSleepy: Go east, Black Ghosts. Need 30

[Global] Yoo Chae: I’ll go too
[Global] I’mSoSleepy: kk
Since we were at the northern edge, fast travel was the best way east. I opened the party menu, typed gibberish in the name field, and hit “Create Party.”

ㅇㅁㄹㅇㄴㅁ has started recruiting a party.
[Global] I’mSoSleepy: Join up
Even after I told him to join, Yoo Chae just stood there. What now?

[Global] I’mSoSleepy: ?
More than three minutes passed with no response. I figured maybe he AFK’d without saying anything. Sent another message, and ding—finally heard the party join chime.
Yoo Chae has joined the party.

[Party] I’mSoSleepy: Why didn’t you join right away?
[Party] I’mSoSleepy: I’m using the scroll, alright?
Still no answer. Seriously? I didn’t want to waste any more time, so I used the scroll first. The screen flashed, and the scenery changed.

The swamp here boiled like lava. The sky rained blood debuffs. I threw on my anti-debuff robe, and finally Yoo Chae spoke up.
[Party] Yoo Chae: Just…
[Party] Yoo Chae: I was surprised…

[Party] I’mSoSleepy: By what
[Party] Yoo Chae: Being in a party with you
[Party] I’mSoSleepy: That’s it?;

Like that’s something worth getting worked up about. It’s not even his first party.
[Party] Yoo Chae: Being in the same party really makes it feel like we’re on the same side
[Party] Yoo Chae: Should’ve done this earlier

[Party] Yoo Chae: I’ve got a party buff title too
[Party] I’mSoSleepy: fr? Equip it now
[Party] Yoo Chae: lolol

No idea why he was laughing, but he sounded pretty damn happy. His nickname, which had said , changed to , and my HP immediately increased while my mana regen noticeably sped up.
[Party] Yoo Chae: +20 HP, faster regen, 3% more XP
[Party] Yoo Chae: I’m not a buffer class, so I don’t have many good titles

[Party] Yoo Chae: sob ㅜㅡㅜ
[Party] I’mSoSleepy: ty
So buffer classes give actual buffs through titles, huh? Guess I should buddy up with more buffer mains later.

[Party] Yoo Chae: Want me to pull the mobs?
[Party] Yoo Chae: 30 Black Ghosts won’t take long
[Party] I’mSoSleepy: Yeah

Just like he said, he gathered 30 Black Ghosts and dragged them over to me in no time. He was good at it. His class had a mob-gathering skill, which made it easier, but still.
Thanks to him, I blazed through quests way faster than usual. Five days after hitting 200, I hit level 210.
Yoo Chae, now totally hooked on partying up, messaged me the second I leveled.

[Party] Yoo Chae: Hyung
[Party] Yoo Chae: Want me to teach you how to raid?