Stalkerizing

[Whisper] a10235044: ?

[Whisper] Chasa: ?

[Whisper] a10235044: Why did you cancel the trade?

[Whisper] Chasa: I think you added an extra zero.

[Whisper] Chasa: Check again.

[Whisper] a10235044: I listed it correctly, though.

[Whisper] Chasa: …

At that, Sa-yoon reopened the trade. The temporary username quickly accepted and increased the amount.

As he counted each zero one by one, his pupils wavered anxiously.

[Trade Amount: 300,000,000G]

Was it thirteen instead of fifteen? Or do kids these days just struggle with counting? Has the collapse of public education reached this far already? He was utterly confused.

[Whisper] Chasa: If there are eight zeros, that’s three hundred million.

[Whisper] a10235044: I know.

[Whisper] a10235044: You said sympathy should be paid with money, didn’t you?

[Whisper] Chasa: Oh, that was…

Sa-yoon stopped typing and rubbed his forehead.

This was definitely a mistake. Now that he thought about it, this kid wasn’t just naive—he was ridiculously kind. The perfect target to get scammed.

[Whisper] Chasa: Who actually means something like that seriously?

[Whisper] a10235044: You weren’t serious?

[Whisper] Chasa: Of course, I was joking.

[Whisper] a10235044: Ah.

[Whisper] Chasa: Cataloa, 300,000 per unit, 100 units.

The price he sold to the temporary username’s acquaintances was 350,000 gold each. He gave a slight discount since they knew each other.

Normally, when trading among acquaintances, they’d match the price, but if asked, he’d just call it a “friend discount.”

[Whisper] Chasa: Total three million.

[Whisper] a10235044: Got it.

The temporary username proceeded to send three hundred million gold. Sa-yoon silently canceled the trade.

This kid wasn’t just an easy mark—was he actually missing a few screws? The sheer lack of common sense was starting to make him concerned.

[Whisper] Chasa: What kind of relationship do we even have for you to hand me this much money? You some kind of philanthropist?

[Whisper] a10235044: I have a lot of money!

[Whisper] Chasa: I have a lot of money too…

If you knew how much I just sold Cataloa to your friends for, you wouldn’t be doing this.

The back-and-forth bickering continued in whispers, unbeknownst to the rest of the party.

[Whisper] Chasa: I don’t take money from kids.

[Whisper] a10235044: Hey, but—

[Whisper] a10235044: What if there’s not much of an age gap between us?

[Whisper] Chasa: It could be even bigger.

[Whisper] a10235044: How old are you?

[Whisper] Chasa: Me?

Before he knew it, the kid had smoothly maneuvered the conversation into a personal inquiry. Sa-yoon hesitated mid-reply.

Given the temporary username’s stubbornness, unless there was a significant age gap, he’d probably insist on forcing the money on him.

[Whisper] Chasa: Thirty-six.

[Whisper] a10235044: Haha, but you type like a younger guy.

[Whisper] Chasa: That’s because I live young.

[Whisper] Chasa: But honestly, I’m an old man. ㅜㅜ

[Whisper] a10235044: What’s your zodiac sign?

[Whisper] Chasa: Zodiac sign?

[Whisper] a10235044: You know, the 12 Chinese zodiac signs—Sheep, Horse, Monkey, stuff like that.

Oh, that was sharp.

Sa-yoon silently thanked the anime he had diligently watched as a kid and answered without hesitation.

[Whisper] Chasa: Rabbit.

In reality, he was an Ox.

The temporary username went quiet, probably searching to verify the truth.

[Whisper] a10235044: That’s kinda cute.

[Whisper] Chasa: What about you?

Adding ten years to his actual age, Sa-yoon casually threw the question back. How old could this kid be? Seventeen? Eighteen? No way he was a full zodiac cycle younger than him, right?

As soon as he asked, the rapid-fire replies stopped.

[Whisper] a10235044: I’m twenty.

Sa-yoon, seeing the delayed response, chuckled out loud.

Last time, when he said he was older than twenty, this kid immediately started calling him “hyung” (older brother). It seemed like when you’re that age, a change in the first digit of your age really matters.

Just like how the kid said Sa-yoon didn’t type like someone in their thirties, he didn’t seem like he was twenty either. If he had said eighteen instead, it would’ve been more believable.

[Whisper] Chasa: Oh? How many credits do college students take these days?

[Whisper] a10235044: I’m taking eleven credits—

Reading that, Sa-yoon covered his forehead and let out a laugh.

This semester, he had enrolled in twenty-three credits. And the maximum a student on academic probation could take was fifteen. But eleven? Unless he was a senior about to graduate, that was a ridiculously small number for a freshman.

Looks like he really thought this through to seem older. He must’ve debated how many years to add.

Well, people see the world through their own experiences. Since he had lied about his age, he just assumed the kid was doing the same.

That settled it—Sa-yoon decided the temporary username was a middle schooler.

[Whisper] Chasa: You’re basically my nephew. ^^

[Whisper] a10235044: Let’s redo the trade.

Even if he was a third-year middle schooler, that was still a ten-year difference, so he wasn’t wrong.

And so began a touching story between an older brother and a younger one.

“Hyung, just take the money.”

“Little bro, just take the Cataloa.”

Sa-yoon couldn’t bring himself to take money from someone who was practically his nephew. On the other hand, the kid was surprisingly stubborn, maybe because of his age. A ridiculous number of trade windows were opened and canceled in succession.

[Whisper] Chasa: If you send me money, I’m blocking you.

[Whisper] a10235044: ㅠㅠ

Realizing this was getting nowhere, Sa-yoon ended it by simply mailing the Cataloa to the kid’s inbox. That finally put a stop to the trade frenzy, restoring peace.

Just then, the last party member finally joined.

[‘Shokrates’ has joined the party.]

[Party] Shokrates: I’m in.

[Party] Shokrates: Captain.

[Party] a10397688: You’re here.

[Party] a10771052: What’s up with this insane level of lateness?

[Party] a10771052: And in the middle of all this, you changed your username?! You show up late and with a new name?!

[Party] a10397688: Who even mentioned name changes?

[Party] Freedeal: That naming sense is absolute trash.

At first glance, it looked like a reference to the philosopher Socrates, but upon closer inspection, it was actually Shok-rates.

Was it because he played an electric-type character? Shock? Really? That was awful…

Silently, Sa-yoon agreed with Freedeal.

[Party] a10235044: Wait, were you late because you were changing your name?

[Party] Freedeal: I bet he figured, “Since I’m already late, might as well change it too.”

[Party] Shokrates: Ding ding ding! hahahaha

[Party] Shokrates: Freedeal gets 10 points~ ^0^

[Party] Freedeal: Keep it. I don’t want it.

[Party] Shokrates: Eh? ㅜㅜ

[Party] a10397688: Did they lift the electric-type cash shop name change restriction?

[Party] a10771052: Yeah, but earlier, the cash shop was down for maintenance. I couldn’t even log in.

“This game is so fucking doomed.”

[Party] Shokrates: Hey, I found a name change ticket in my mailbox?

[Party] a10771052: Huh?

[Party] Shokrates: Guys, I’m getting confused about who’s saying what…

[Party] Shokrates: You all sound like bots! Name change, please!

[Party] a10771052: Oh, wait, I actually got a name change ticket too.

[Party] Shokrates: Heart, I’ll recommend a nickname for you.

[Party] a10771052: Sure.

[Party] Shokrates: Since your favorite phrase is “Ehh? Ehhh?”, I suggest “Mosquito”! But that’s probably taken, so go with “Mosquito” spelled out.

[Party] a10771052: Ugh.

[Party] a10397688: Ugh.

[Party] a10235044: ?

[Party] a10771052: Ugh, Inseong, you should’ve joined in! Where’s your sense of unity?!

[Party] a10235044: What is this, North Korea?

[Party] Shokrates: Am I seriously the only one confused here? You three talking in a row just makes it worse.

[Party] Freedeal: Haha just stop trying to understand, clear your mind.

[Party] Shokrates: When did you all become monks while I was gone?

Sa-yoon, relieved that he wasn’t the only one confused, quickly joined in.

[Party] Chasa: Honestly, I have no idea who’s who either. Haha

[Party] a10235044: Oh, really?

[‘a10397688’ has been kicked.]

Wait—did he really just kick someone over this…?

[Party] a10771052: You’re seriously just kicking people like that?

[‘a10771052’ has been kicked.]

Before the remaining party members could even process it, the temporary username kicked them out too.

[Party] Shokrates: Oh…

[Party] Freedeal: Well, this is cozy. Hahaha

[Party] Shokrates: So refreshing. ‘-’

“Are we really going in with two robed classes?”

Shokrates, who had just joined, was a Black Mage. Like Warlocks, they were part of the magic class and shared robe armor. Normally, you’d only bring one robe-wearing class to avoid competition over loot.

Did they even agree on this? Because now, they’d have to split the drops.