Love Games Chapter 1

Translator: She.Wee

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Chapter 1: MeowieMeowMeow

 

“Is that Cheon Noeul?”

What? Cheon Noeul? Kyung-soo looked up at the familiar name. However, the girls whispering that name were complete strangers to him, wearing uniforms from a nearby co-ed high school and gossiping with each other.

‘…No way. They can’t possibly know Cheon Noeul. I’m just being overly sensitive.’

Kyung-soo furrowed his brows and returned to his phone. However, he couldn’t concentrate on the internet news or even the trending mobile games. All day long, Cheon Noeul’s name floated around in his mind.

The Cheon Noeul’ he knew wasn’t a person’s name. Cheon Noeul’ was the nickname of a user infamous for their poor control in the MMORPG game <Illusion>, which Kyung-soo had been playing since earlier last year.

[T/N: Cheon Noeul can be roughly translated as Thousand Sky Sunset.]

Although different, Kyung-soo was also somewhat famous in <Illusion>. His god-like control skills were one reason, but he was more renowned for his in-game profession. He was almost the only Berserker on the server. Starting as an explorer and struggling through a weak path until the fourth job change, Berserker was a class abandoned by all users because the process was too difficult and boring.

Kyung-soo earned the title of conquering the Berserker class, and even did a short interview at the request of the game operators, masking his face. The interview and his gameplay videos were uploaded on the official website and spread to external communities. Those who later tried the Berserker class realized that the damage seen in the videos weren’t something just anyone could achieve and, as a result, were greatly disappointed.

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‘Title: Review_after_leveling_Berserker.txt

Author: Youth of Africa/Berserker 

Content: Berserker is a trash job, so let’s all level one up! LOL We should implement a one-account-one-Berserker law because it’s so shitty that everyone should suffer together^^

Haters who want to criticize it, play it first. Go ahead, try it for just one day and you’ll understand. Please, try it^^

You guys owe me the fucking time I wasted, seriously^^

Who implemented the self-inflicted damage when attacking? Come out, I’ll stab you with a knife LOL. Spending so much on potions that even my main character is broke, is this real? Is there anyone else here who became poor because of this damn Berserker? This is so severe that without a pet to eat potions for you, you die after using a legendary skill four times^^ Of course, even with a item, the potion cooldown is so long you still die LOL^^ It looks so easy when MeowieMeowMeow uses it, but the control is extremely difficult….

Did they just make this without testing it? Honestly, GMs, you just went crazy over the new job and released it without testing, right? LOL

Setting the difficulty to three stars without a conscience, huh.

The explorer tree before job changing is notoriously trash. Too weak for anyone to party with…(Yeah, that’s my experience) But once you job change? It’s not just trash, it’s nuclear waste^^ Who said Berserker is strong? LOL Next, another piece-of-trash job~ Only that Berserker is strong. If they chose another job, they would’ve been more successful, why choose Berserker?

Anyway, I’m going to delete my character, bye bye.’

 

(30 comments posted.)

 

– Are you really deleting your character?

└Yeah.

– LOL Maybe you’re just bad at it?

└LOL Shut up. Play it for just one day and you’ll understand. Please, try it^^

└No thanks, bye.

-A third-job Sword Master has more HP than a level 200 Valkyrie. Why choose an explorer? LOL

└Didn’t know, damn you LOL

└Big boast, LOL The base stats are listed on the official site.

└Would I have done it if I saw that??? I’m already pissed, so shut up.

—-

Listening to these reviews, Kyung-soo became the only user who knew how to use the Berserker class properly. As more experiences were shared, his fame grew. Because of this, his guild, <Poseidon>, ranked in the top five on the server, thanks to high-level users joining just to be with Kyung-soo.

“Cheon Noeul…”

The nickname came up again, making Kyung-soo lift his head. This time, it was a man’s voice. Kyung-soo craned his neck to look around, but there were only couples and students in uniforms, not the elementary schooler he was waiting for.

Who is Cheon Noeul?

Kyung-soo had countless people clinging to him because of his notoriety. After the interview video circulated, it only got worse. They all had a few things in common: they had no guild, seemed like beginners who didn’t know what a guild was, couldn’t communicate properly, and were extremely persistent.

To get to the point, Cheon Noeul’s persistence was on another level. His character was a level 82 first-job warrior with no decent equipment or weapons. It was too high to be a mere novelty character, yet he followed Kyung-soo around on unsuitable hunting grounds that were too high for his level.

Cheon Noeul would stick to Kyung-soo wherever he was in the game and talk all day. Even on high-level hunting grounds, Cheon Noeul would bounce around following him, dying repeatedly and reviving with ‘Marks of Resurrection,’ which allowed immediate revival at the death spot instead of a nearby town.

 

Cheon Noeul caused Kyung-soo countless grievances. Whenever Kyung-soo typed ‘Fuck’ in chat, it signaled that Cheon Noeul had found him. His guild members knew from the chat alone that the curse was directed at Chun Noeul; his obsession was that infamous.

 

Cheon Noeul was known for offering rewards to anyone who first reported Kyung-soo’s location via server mic. Once, a guild member short on cash after failing item enhancement sold out Kyung-soo’s location. Kyung-soo became famous in a different sense, with some joking that finding him was a constant event in the game.

 

Cheon Noeul, a mediocre character with mediocre abilities, didn’t bother leveling up. He even died to slow monsters. Kyung-soo used to think his classmate, Tae-yeol, was the worst at games, but after meeting Cheon Noeul, Tae-yeol was bumped down a notch.

 

Cheon Noeul was unparalleled. Despite being a first-job warrior with the largest HP pool, he struggled against level 60 slimes. Kyung-soo once asked why Cheon Noeul kept dragging monsters to him, and Cheon Noeul always replied with nonsense, like “I want to get closer to you, can’t I?” Even after being coldly rebuffed, Cheon Noeul claimed he admired Kyung-soo’s determination and pledged loyalty.

 

Even after being thrashed in PVP, Cheon Noeul kept following Kyung-soo, boosting his PVP win rate over 90%. Blocking Cheon Noeul from whispering to him led to Cheon Noeul to spam Kyung-soo with mail. He once clogged Kyung-soo’s mailbox, resulting in Kyung-soo’s auction house access being blocked.

 

Kyung-soo eventually unblocked Cheon Noeul and made him promise to stop. Cheon Noeul then stopped creating new characters and sending whispers. Of course, not entirely.

 

‘You have received a new mail. Please check your mailbox.’

 

[Received Mail]

From: ThousandSunset

Subject: ಥ⁠‿⁠ಥ

Content: Will you log in today??? When I whisper, it says you’re offline….

Attachment: Sticky Seaweed (Fishing Item)

 

“Damn bastard….”

 

[Guild Chat]

MeowieMeowMeow: Got mail from ThousandSunset again. What should I do about this bastard?

KidneyRat: LOL LOL LOL LOL

ParkRoach: ThousandSunset GG

MeowieMeowMeow: Don’t.

Ji9star: ★ThousandSunsetGG★

MeowieMeowMeow: Stop decorating it prettily

Ji9star: MeowieKK.

neutaaaa: Oh, simple.

Ji9star: Haha

MeowieMeowMeow: Damn it ༎ຶ⁠‿⁠༎ຶ

 

After it became known that Kyung-soo received what looked like love letters from Cheon Noeul, his guild nicknamed him ‘MeowieGG.’ Similarly, Cheon Noeul was called ThousandSunsetKK.’ Kyung-soo got used to Cheon Noeul’s name naturally following his own.

 

But an event made Kyung-soo decide to confront Cheon Noeul in real life.

 

One item per server, dropped each day. Cheon Noeul snatched it up.

 

[Server] ThousandSunset has obtained ‘Galaxy Sword’!

 

“……?”

 

When a rare item or event item dropped, the nickname of the user who acquired the item would appear in the chat window on the server. Normally, Kyung-soo would have brushed it off, but seeing the words “Galaxy Sword” made him read it several times, his hands trembling. He couldn’t say anything more. Small slimes began attacking Kyung-soo’s character, who wasn’t moving. Beside him, Cheon Noeul, who was bouncing around, stopped and a speech bubble appeared above his head.

 

[Whisper] ThousandSunset: Gasp… I’m sorry *sobs* I’ll return it.

 

Cheon Noeul’s character used a crying emoticon, covering its face with both hands. Annoyed by the excessive emotional display, Kyung-soo slammed his palm on the keyboard. The chat window at the bottom of the monitor was filled with meaningless letters.

 

The Galaxy Sword was an event item, so it couldn’t be traded. It was a single-use item that only the person who acquired it could use, but there was almost no chance that Cheon Noeul, that idiot, would use it properly. While Kyung-soo’s character remained frozen in silence, Cheon Noeul, who seemed to be guarding him, got grazed by a high-level snail and died.

 

[Guild] Ji9star: Whoa, amazing, the Galaxy Sword.

[Guild] neutaaaa: Ugh, today’s Galaxy Sword farming is over, What a wasteㅡㅡ

[Guild] Ji9star: But why Sunset of all people? LOL

Ji9star: Meowie?LOL

 

“…….”

 

[Guild] MeowieMeowMeow : Yeah.

[Guild] WandooWanda: LOL Did you get it stolen?

[Guild] MeowieMeowMeow : Yeah;

[Guild] Ji9star: Damn LOL

[Guild] Ji9star: You’re probably holding the back of your neck right now.

 

That was exactly it. Kyung-soo was clutching the back of his neck, glaring at Cheon Noeul’s character.

 

[Guild] WandooWanda: As expected… Sunset’s class^^ Did you yield…?

 

Yield, my ass. After that comment, other guild members only spammed ‘LOL’.

 

[Guild] Ji9star: ♡ Cheering for you, eternal love ♡

 

Biting his lip, Kyung-soo pounded out an angry message in the guild chat.

 

[Guild] MeowieMeowMeow : Come out, Earth Star.

 

Then everyone got even more excited, and the guild chat started scrolling down faster.

 

[Guild] WandooWanda: Damn LOL Seriously LOL

[Guild] Ji9star: Meowie is always like this to meㅠㅅㅠ

[Guild] ParkRoach: Meowie, you’re always getting your items taken lately, and now even the Galaxy Sword…^^

[Guild] Ji9star: [Breaking News] Meowie, giving generously, donates even the Galaxy Sword….

[Guild] MeowieMeowMeow : Screw you.

[Guild] WanduWandya: Cheer up! You’ll get another oneㅠㅠ

[Guild] Ji9star: Hmm, and if it gets stolen by Sunset again?

[Guild] neutaaaa: LOL

[Guild] MeowieMeowMeow : Come out, Ji9star.

[Guild] Ji9star: LOL Sorry, sorry.

[Guild] WandooWanda: I’m a lucky guy… Even though the drop rate of the Galaxy Sword is terrible, at least I didn’t get it stolen.

[Guild] Ji9star: Wandoo, you’re done for now, LOL

 

‘ThousandSunsets has requested a trade.’

 

Having revived using the Mark of Resurrection item, Cheon Noeul requested a one-on-one trade with Kyung-soo. But an item that couldn’t be traded wouldn’t move to the trade window. Kyung-soo glanced at him, expressing confusion with, ‘Why isn’t it working?ʕ⁠´⁠•⁠ ⁠ᴥ⁠•̥⁠`⁠ʔ’, and then challenged him to a PVP battle for the first time in a while. Cheon Noeul accepted the PVP request in less than three seconds.

 

LOADING….

 

After a brief loading, the two characters, who were in a hunting ground, were transferred to a battle map where they were alone. The number ‘8:00’ appeared at the top of the map. For those eight minutes, Kyung-soo could shoot and slash Cheon Noeul to death with a bazooka as many times as he wanted. The PVP system balanced the levels and stats to be roughly equal, so Cheon Noeul could theoretically defeat Kyung-soo if he had decent items and control. However, Cheon Noeul was infamously terrible at controlling his character.

 

Kyung-soo used the Berserker passive skill ‘Pull In’ to grab Cheon Noeul, who was bouncing around with weird characters above his head, and blew his head off with a bazooka. People said Berserker was a trash job, but that was because they didn’t know how to use its passive skills properly. When used well, it could be stronger than the server’s top job, Blaze.

 

Bang! Bang bang!

 

Each time damage appeared, Cheon Noeul bent over, unable to resist, and soon collapsed on the ground. In less than ten seconds, Kyung-soo got his first kill and spent the entire eight minutes focused on obliterating Cheon Noeul, ignoring whatever he said.

 

The number at the top changed to ‘1:00’ and turned red. In that short time, Cheon Noeul died and was resurrected 18 times. It was a new record. Deciding to stop tormenting Cheon Noeul, Kyung-soo placed his hands on the keyboard. He typed furiously as if hitting Cheon Noeul, still not over his anger.

 

[Server] MeowieMeowMeow : ThousandSunset, you damn bastard, let’s fight in real life this time. Give me your number.

 

Kyung-soo hit the enter key boldly, waiting for Cheon Noeul to beg for forgiveness. But a few seconds later, his eyes widened. If he wasn’t mistaken….

 

“Oh shit! Shit! Damn! Ahhh!”

 

Kyung-soo’s words spread across the server. Unfortunately, he had a few server mics left, so his declaration of war was broadcast to the entire server.

 

[Guild] WandooWanda: Ah He did it… with a server mic…? You really are something, so scary.

[Guild] neutaaaa: Real fight LOL

[Guild] Ji9star: [Breaking News] ThousandSunsets’s lover challenges Meowie’s lover (damn bastard) to a real fight!

[Guild] MeowieMeowMeow : Ah, shit;

[Guild] neutaaaa: LOL Real fight

[Guild] WandooWanda: Shaking….

[Guild] Ji9star: [Exclusive] Meet the online bully, Meowie !

[Guild] neutaaaa: Online bully LOL

[Guild] WandooWanda: But if Sunset agrees, will you really fight him?

 

Kyung-soo felt wronged. He was just angry and said it without meaning to actually fight. Though he had been hopping from game to game since elementary school, it was the first time he had ever challenged someone to a real fight.

 

[Server] ThousandSunsets: 010-xxxx-xxxx

 

“……?”

 

Then, Cheon Noeul simply sent his phone number through the server mic. He shared his personal number in a chat visible to all server users. Kyung-soo’s mind went blank, not expecting Cheon Noeul to actually reveal his number. The guild chat fell silent. The chat window, temporarily frozen, quickly became chaotic, scrolling down at an incredible speed.

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T/N: I hope you can be patient with me and my translation. Any corrections or comments are deeply appreciated.

Also for Cheon Noeul’s name, actually his real life name is also his in-game name (lol idiot) and it Translates to Thousand Sky Sunsets. So I just used ThousandSunsets as his in-game name and Cheon Noeul as his real life name. ʕ⁠っ⁠•⁠ᴥ⁠•⁠ʔ⁠っ