Ch.18Someone’s Memory(A)+

# 18. Someone’s Memory (A)+

[JoanOfArcIsASaint : It’s up!!!!!!]

[JoanOfArcIsASaint : Link) Dimension Lord ‘MENSIMAR’ Teaser]

[KillTheCute : Wow]

[KillTheCute : Finally!]

[StubbornBackdoor : Woaah]

[EtiquettePath : Confirmed]

[WaterKnowsTheAnswer : Ah]

[WaterKnowsTheAnswer : I can’t watch it right nowㅠㅠ]

I was waiting for food in the university cafeteria with some classmates I’m fairly close with when my phone kept buzzing with notifications. Checking it, I saw that our raid leader had shared a teaser for the new raid update.

“Can’t resist.”

“Huh? Can’t resist what?”

“Nothing.”

Even though this game updates fairly quickly, as a member of a raid team aiming for world first, a new raid boss is always something to thirst for!

For me, gaming is freedom and escape, and a new raid boss is an exhilarating thrill.

Those three minutes flew by like an arrow. Being in public, I couldn’t scream out loud, but my heart was pounding wildly with anticipation. My friends tilted their heads wondering what was wrong with me, but my attention was fixed on my smartphone screen…

‘Update on November 19th? Wait, isn’t that a Sunday?’

Seriously, what game company updates on a Sunday?

If you want to stay up all night for world first and then sleep in happily, Friday or Saturday makes sense! What kind of nonsense is this?

Brrrrrr-

“Yuri! Your food’s ready!”

“Ah.”

Let’s eat first.

**

Does it matter that it’s a Sunday?

To raid against that crazy boss, even Monday would be fine! No matter what kind of tantrum my brother or sister throws.

Still, I hope we can finish it during this attempt.

There’s a world of difference between pulling an all-nighter and getting just two hours of sleep.

So I need to focus and follow the raid leader’s orders carefully.

– Floor markers at 3 and 9! Clockwise turn!

[NewThrills : d]

[KillTheCute : gl]

I typed ‘d’ instead of ‘y’, but it wasn’t worth pressing the language key and I’d already sent it. As long as they understand I acknowledged the order, it’s fine. Actions speak louder than words anyway.

Standing at the 3 o’clock position relative to Mensimar, I quickly moved clockwise to avoid the floor pattern that had wiped our raid on the fifth attempt. About an hour and a half’s worth of movement.

Just as I narrowly avoided it, the raid leader’s razor-sharp orders continued.

– Tank ult! Healer light of salvation!

[KillTheCute is preparing ultimate skill ‘Eternal Sacred Light’.]

[PhysicalTherapist : omg]

– 3 seconds!

The leader’s desperate cry hit my eardrums at the sixth attempt, right at the point where we had failed previously.

– NOW!!!

“Please!”

And then the final hurdle arrived, and at this moment, the fate of our raid depended on KillTheCute and PhysicalTherapist, these two people.

“I knew I could count on you!!!!!”

[Dimension Lord MENSIMAR has fallen to his knees]

– He’s staggered!!! Maximum DPS!!!!!

At the raid leader’s even more excited DPS order, I also activated my damage boost and unleashed my ultimate skill, having barely survived while squeezing in damage until now. I caught a glimpse of my damage meter shooting up vertically after being pushed down due to focusing on survival, but that wasn’t important right now.

“Please please please please please die you bastaaaaaard!!!”

I frantically clicked my mouse and keyboard. If we missed this opportunity, we might have to face completely new patterns again, and in raids like this, new patterns meant more attempts.

We’d overcome all sorts of gimmicks and patterns, only to fail due to lack of DPS?

I gritted my teeth. As if I was one with the thrill, I poured out all my skills without wasting even 0.1 seconds.

“Impressive.”

“Ah.”

“Savor this moment…”

“Aah.”

We did it.

We really did it.

In my meaningless and joyless life, another moment of meaningful emotion had arrived.

For a moment I thought the boss might be faking his defeat only to stand up again, but thankfully that didn’t happen.

It was amazing.

We crushed it.

It was fun.

Truly.

“This is what bliss feels like…”

I was happy.

**

[Raid Party](0/6)

– JoanOfArcIsASaint(Offline) 2 days ago

– KillTheCute(Offline) 1 day ago

“What on earth is going on?”

Neither of them appeared in the game-linked app or in our raid group chat. The friend list showed “2 days ago” and “1 day ago” based on a 24-hour count, but in terms of actual days, it was 3 days and 2 days ago.

Not just one, but both of them going dark like this.

Since they’re both as serious about the game as I am, they must have some major circumstances. Otherwise, it makes no sense.

That’s why I was even more concerned.

‘Backdoor recorded the world first video, and even captured all the GIFs and background screenshots.’

It felt like not showering after a workout. Usually, after a world first clear, it’s standard practice to bask in that glory for a few days.

I felt a bit petty.

Even though I knew it was useless, I sent them a whisper just in case.

[NewThrills : When are you coming back]

[JoanOfArcIsASaint is currently logged out.]

“Tsk.”

In 40 minutes, my afternoon lecture would start, and I was already feeling drowsy. And like clockwork, I’d probably get a message from my brother. What was he planning to ruin today?

‘Ah. I want to skip. I desperately want to skip.’

[JoanOfArcIsASaint has invited NewThrills.]

[Do you accept the invitation?]

Just as I lay down on my bed to rest a little longer, the app that I was sure I had closed suddenly opened by itself and a strange message appeared.

“What’s this?”

[Do you accept the invitation?]

What is it?

[Do you accept the invitation?]

Each time the same message appeared above the previous one, it flickered and gradually faded.

It was a bit scary. But the raid leader’s nickname was clearly written in the message. I connected it to the leader’s sudden disappearance.

I had an intuition that if I didn’t answer this time, I might miss the chance forever.

It was truly an instinctive feeling, almost bypassing my brain.

“Accept.”

**

[You have glimpsed A’s memory.]

Thud-

“Ow ow ow-“

Oh. Oh, oh…

I’m back. My vision was blurry as if someone had suddenly pulled back blackout curtains, so I blinked. And there was someone wearing an outfit much more… provocative than when KillTheCute first appeared. Whew, it’s embarrassing to look.

“Who are you!”

Jet-black hair extending down to the shoulder blades, crimson eyes that seemed to hold ferocity. An overall tall, toned muscular physique, along with a face and beauty that could rival KillTheCute’s…

“So this is how the leader felt when he first saw me.”

“…Leader?”

The tall woman who had jumped up immediately after falling on her backside and was eyeing us warily with a somewhat intimidating aura seemed taken aback by KillTheCute’s words.

“New, Thrills. Right?”

“Huh? Uhh?”

KillTheCute approached the woman. The woman, her earlier intensity gone, hesitated and stepped back, but with her confused expression intact, she let KillTheCute take her hand.

“Nice to meet you. Thank you. And I’m sorry.”

“Ah, no. What is this all about.”

“Cute.”

“!!”

“I’m KillTheCute. And that guy standing there in a daze is our leader.”

The woman who had been blinking suddenly nodded, then roughly slapped her own cheek.

“What, what are you doing!”

“It hurts?”

“…”

My first meeting with the black-haired intimidating woman, or rather NewThrills, was incredibly intense.

**

“So, you went offline because you were dragged here. The raid leader called Cute, and now both of you called me? And who comes is completely random?”

“That’s right.”

“Wow. This is really. Wow. Does this even make sense?”

The meeting with NewThrills was conducted not by me but by KillTheCute. She was the one who chose A, the one who broke the ice, and she showed the will to do it, plus they were both women.

NewThrills let down her guard after realizing the blonde woman before her was KillTheCute, though she still glanced at me occasionally.

“So… I know it’s selfish to say this after acting selfishly, but I think you have every right to be angry at us for dropping you here without your consent.”

Still, I couldn’t let KillTheCute take that responsibility. Even though she offered to share it, the final responsibility was mine. The fundamental responsibility lay with me.

Even if NewThrills was a woman, and even if she was dressed in a way that made it hard to know where to look due to the amount of exposed skin, I had to step up here.

“NewThrills. So.”

“Being called by my nickname while looking at my face makes me sound like I’m obsessed with sex.”

“Cough-“

Well, your current outfit does look kind of… thrilling.

Hearing such words directly from a woman I’d just met was something I lacked immunity to. On the other hand, speaking so bluntly was very much like the NewThrills I knew.

‘Or is it not?’

Seeing her face turn red, it seemed she had belatedly realized what she’d said.

“A-Anyway! Since you’re not controlling a character but giving orders to ‘me,’ you should call me by my name, not my character name. You wouldn’t call Cute ‘KillTheCute’ either, right? Right or wrong.”

“That’s true.”

She’s straightforward.

“Yuri.”

NewThrills extended her right hand to me and her left to KillTheCute as she spoke again.

“Ah Yuri. That’s my name.”

“Seong Hyun.”

“Sun Sae-yeon.”

The raid party, now grown from two to three, exchanged somewhat awkward glances as we performed a triangular handshake. I was thinking about how her surname was quite rare, similar to KillTheCute’s.

I naturally relaxed my grip and broke the silence.

“So, you’re not angry?”

“Pfft! No?”

NewThrills laughed, gripping my hand tighter instead of letting go.

This woman has incredible grip strength!

“I’m actually glad.”

“What?”

“You saw part of my memories, right?”

“Yes.”

I couldn’t dare say I understood. In reality, if I had a family like that, I would have felt suffocated too.

“But you could die. We almost died too.”

“Rather than continuing to live like that, I’d prefer to enjoy freedom here and die.”

I heard KillTheCute gulp beside me.

“…It’s funny that I’m saying this, but we brought you here without asking.”

“In the end, I made the choice. And if it bothers you that much, you can grant me one wish later.”

NewThrills gripped my hand even tighter, which was starting to lose feeling from lack of blood flow, and even shook it up and down.

[NewThrills has requested to join the party.]

[Do you accept?]

“What are you doing?”

“Uh, yeah.”

[NewThrills has joined the party.]

“Raid leader who gave me back my name. I’m counting on you.”

“Huh? What did you say?”

“Nothing. Nothing at all.”

NewThrills mumbled something, but her genuinely happy smile, as if proving her words weren’t just bravado or lies, soon made me forget about it.

With her somewhat intimidating eyes and an outfit that was embarrassing to look at directly forgotten, I stared blankly at her, thinking how pretty she was, so pretty that I wondered if she was really the same NewThrills…

“NewThrills!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

Ah.

She is NewThrills after all.