Netkama Punch!!!

Even if the gear didn’t fit snugly, once we were inside the dungeon, the bastard had zero openings. Every time I got dragged along with him, we ended up grinding through ten dungeons back-to-back, almost without a drop of water or a break in concentration, each one taking about 30 minutes. Considering that most people clear just one dungeon per hour with a four-person party, this was a brutal pace.

And whenever I showed even a hint of fatigue or missed a few skills, he’d go off about how I was a senile old man, all over a measly three-year age gap.
Already frustrated by how far ahead he was in terms of control skill, I couldn’t bring myself to say I wanted to rest or quit. So even while cursing him out under my breath, I kept matching his pace.
Eventually, I adapted to the impossible pace within a week. Naturally, my level skyrocketed like crazy. As much as I hated to admit it, going along with his plan was the fastest way to hit max level.

“This bastard… He’s insanely good at this game… Ugh, fuck.”
The guy had a weird knack for organizing dungeon routes using all these little in-game optimization tricks, like he was a developer for [Arcadia].
He especially excelled at terrain-based control—while others had to climb up and down two or three times, he’d pull aggro and wipe out mobs in one go with just a few jumps. Watching it in real time had left my jaw on the floor.

Even in labyrinthine dungeons, he’d pick up a few vague clues and find shortcuts like it was nothing. In the entire week we spent dungeon grinding, I never once got hit by a boss’s insta-kill move.
Maybe that’s why, if I got hit by the same attack pattern twice in a row, Heejae would instantly lose his shit.
Private Whisper, Party/Guild Chat:

PHeejae: Jumping again lol
PHeejae: Are you a flea ㅇ_ㅇ??
PSesam: It lagged
PHeejae: LOOOOOL
PHeejae: You do realize how pathetic that looks ㅇ_ㅇlolol
PSesam: Shut up, you’re distracting me more when you chatㅡㅡ
PHeejae: 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
PSesam: Ah fuck
PHeejae: LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL
PHeejae: Three times is crossing the line lol
PSesam: Hey you fuck, I’m already smashing my fingers with a hammer right now so stop nagging. Say one more thing and I’ll smash your skull next.
PHeejae: LOLLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL
After getting completely worn down by that bastard Heejae and logging out, I’d collapse into bed and sleep like the dead, not even dreaming—I was that exhausted.
Each morning, half-asleep, I’d wake up to Heejae messaging me to ask what time I’d be on today… I’d give some half-assed reply, and then around lunchtime he’d start briefing me on where we’d be grinding.

Morning, noon, and night, my entire life started revolving around this game and around that bastard Heejae, like some kind of MMO-addicted zombie.
* * *
One month passed like that.

And finally, I hit the level cap—Level 200. Thinking back to how it used to take six months to reach max level, I was both stunned by the insane pace and… okay, yeah, secretly a little proud.
But that day.
When I logged into [Arcadia] as usual at Heejae’s summons, I found a mail from him sitting in my inbox—no subject line, just an item.

[Holy Pendant of the High Elf +9]
It was the most expensive accessory a max-level Spirit Healer could wear.
“…What the hell?”
I blinked in disbelief, accepted the item, and checked it out in my inventory.

Even just seeing the name, I couldn’t believe it—so I opened the detailed item description and even equipped it. And it was really the [Holy Pendant of the High Elf +9]. As soon as I put it on, my MP nearly doubled. No doubt about it—it was real.
“I mean… Why…?”
But I couldn’t just be happy about it. The fact that the sender was Shin Heejae made the whole thing feel ten times more suspicious.

I racked my brain trying to figure out why he’d send me something like this.
“Did he send it by mistake?”
That seemed most likely. Maybe he was trading with someone else and accidentally selected my name?

“But… what if it wasn’t a mistake?”
Then that meant it was a gift from Shin Heejae… Maybe to celebrate me hitting max level?
But would Shin Heejae—the guy who spent yesterday testing my patience by asking if I had a double-digit IQ—really prepare a congratulatory gift?

“…Let’s see what the market price is…”
Scratching my head, I searched “High Elf” in the auction house and selected the [Pendant] category.
About ten listings popped up. The cheapest [Holy Pendant of the High Elf] was priced at 39,999,999,999 gold.

“…Huh?”
I thought I had misread the number of digits. I rubbed my eyes and counted the zeroes again. But no, it was really 40 billion. And those with better substats were nearing 45 billion.
The problem was, the pendant Heejae sent me had better stats than even the most expensive one listed at 45 billion. Feeling nervous, I opened the [Item Maniac] price tracker app.

Arcadia current exchange rate: 1 billion gold = 4,800 KRW
So 40 billion gold = 192,000 KRW… which meant this pendant was basically worth one full month of my salary.
“…You’ve gotta be kidding me.”

Staring in stunned silence at the [Holy Pendant of the High Elf] I had equipped, I unequipped it and stuffed it back in my inventory. I had a really bad feeling about this. It felt like a trap.
I sat in anxious silence, waiting for that bastard Heejae to log in. As always, he showed up exactly ten minutes after I did.
‘Heejae’ has invited you to a party.

[Accept] [Decline]
I clicked [Accept] and grabbed my headset with one hand. Over the last month, logging in to the game almost always meant being dragged into Discord by that bastard. By now, it was a habit.
Ding!

The Discord connection chime rang. I saw Heejae enter the voice server we used. Then I immediately messaged him in the party chat window.
Private Whisper, Party/Guild Chat:
PSesam: Hey
PHeejae: ㅇ_ㅇ?

“What?”
Even though he typed with emoticons, Heejae replied in voice through Discord.
He sounded a little groggier than usual today, like he’d just woken up. Not that I gave a shit, but it made the timing feel kind of weird since I was about to ask him about the pendant.

Private Whisper, Party/Guild Chat:
PSesam: Something weird showed up in my mail
I asked calmly—couldn’t keep carrying a shady item around. But unlike his usual immediate replies, Heejae said nothing for several seconds.

Private Whisper, Party/Guild Chat:
PSesam: Was it a mistake?
I pressed again, and finally he responded.

“No?”
Private Whisper, Party/Guild Chat:
PSesam: Then why’d you send it?

“I dunno… It was just lying around in my inventory, so I gave it to you.”
Private Whisper, Party/Guild Chat:
PHeejae: Don’t cry from being touched ㅇ.ㅇ

As if on cue, the bastard said something completely idiotic again.
Private Whisper, Party/Guild Chat:
PSesam: Who’s cryingㅡㅡ
PSesam: Did you steal this?

PHeejae: LOLOLOLOLOL
The comeback was fine, but I couldn’t bring myself to say “thanks” or “I’ll use it well.” I mean… we weren’t the kind of relationship where that kind of cringey exchange made sense.
But still—this was way too valuable to just let slide. If it had been a 2–3 billion gold # Nоvеlight # item, I might’ve quietly kept it. But something worth a month of my salary?

‘If I just accept it outright, what’s this bastard gonna think…?’
Private Whisper, Party/Guild Chat:
PSesam: I don’t need it. Just take it back.

As reluctant as I was, I couldn’t accept a high-value item with unclear intent. So I stood next to Heejae and hit [Trade Request].
But he declined it.
“…What? Why are you declining?”

I clicked [Trade Request] again, but this time he closed the window even faster. A clear no.
Private Whisper, Party/Guild Chat:
PSesam: What’s your deal??

PHeejae: Just use it ㅇ_ㅇlol
PHeejae: If you suck at the game, your gear should at least be good
“…You little shit.”
Scowling hard, I opened my mailbox and sent the [Holy Pendant of the High Elf] back to him.

He must have seen me return the item, because he let out a long sigh and said,
“…Are you mad? It was a joke.”
Private Whisper, Party/Guild Chat:

PSesam: I’m not joking. Just take it back.
My voice was cold. The conversation halted for a moment, then Heejae sighed again, sounding annoyed.
“…Ha. You seriously didn’t realize it was a level-cap gift? Yesterday you took stuff from everyone else.”

Private Whisper, Party/Guild Chat:
PSesam: What?
“You said thanks and took everyone else’s stuff. Why not mine? What, am I not good enough?”

To be fair, after I hit max level yesterday, the three main members and a bunch of guildmates had sent me things through the mail. I’d replied to each one, just like I did back when they sent me newbie gear.
The guild chat had been pretty lively after I sent out my thanks—some of them even said my replies were cute. I didn’t realize Heejae had been watching all that. I thought he was AFK…
I was about to say it wasn’t discrimination—

That it was just because the item was too expensive—
But the bastard spoke first.