Stalkerizing

[Battle] Using Kymaris’ Encouragement. Ally attack speed increases by 100% for 10 seconds.

[Howling Naga’s defense decreases by 20%.]

[Howling Naga lets out a loud cry to alert of enemy intrusion!]

Kaak-kaak!

The struck Siren let out a monstrous screech and lunged at Temporary Nick. He skillfully lured the monster into the empty corridor.

Fighting inside the stone chamber would only cause the Siren to attract all the Nagas in the room.

Unaware that no allies were coming to its aid, the foolish monster kept screaming desperately, flailing its short arms.

[Battle] Using Vine’s Sacrifice. A barrier is maintained for 3 seconds.

[Naberius’ Vines grasp the Howling Naga.]

[Alloces’ Curse engulfs the Howling Naga.]

The division of roles was seamless. While Temporary Nick handled Monster #1, Sa-yoon had his hands full.

He had to control his summoned demons to deal damage while also raising his own barrier and immobilizing Monsters #2 and #3 that had followed behind.

As the casting bar filled, a massive demonic hand emerged from the ground, trapping Monster #2. The captured Naga flailed its short arms wildly. At the same time, Monster #3, afflicted by the curse, transformed into a pitch-black goat, bleating, “Meh—Meh!”

When cursed into a goat, monsters instinctively tried to flee in the opposite direction of the warlock. Once transformed, they would dart around like their tails were on fire, making control quite difficult.

On top of that, there were frequent cases where the transformed goat would charge straight into the middle of other monsters, unintentionally dragging in unwanted guests.

To prevent such a full-wipe disaster, Sa-yoon quickly positioned himself behind the goat, herding it down the opposite corridor. He might as well have been a shepherd.

Once he had successfully guided the goat away, he leisurely turned back. Then, without a moment’s rest, he applied a debuff to the Siren that was being beaten down by the demons and Temporary Nick.

[Battle] Using Miserable Demise.

[Howling Naga’s attack power decreases by 10%.]

[You have defeated the Howling Naga.]

“What the hell?”

Sa-yoon let out a baffled exclamation. The moment the attack power debuff landed, Monster #1—the Siren—dropped dead.

It was true that the dungeon was adjusted for a three-player party, meaning monster health and attack power had been balanced. But it was still a max-level elite monster.

Unless the Siren had somehow attacked itself, it meant that while Sa-yoon had been keeping the other two locked down, Temporary Nick had nearly drained all of its health.

Even with a hunter’s high burst damage, the kill speed was exceptional.

Had he landed a streak of critical hits? But this wasn’t something that could be chalked up to luck alone. Sa-yoon’s expression turned serious.

Was hunter damage always this strong? Did they buff them again without me noticing?

Just the thought of balance patches made his blood boil. His fingers, momentarily losing control, hovered over the Alt and Tab keys, ready to check the official site—until Temporary Nick’s message in the party chat stopped him.

[Party] a10235044: Target #2

[Party] Chasa: Ok ok

Temporary Nick was still curt in his messages. But after witnessing that beautiful damage output, it didn’t come off as rude anymore. Instead, it seemed like a deliberate efficiency move to minimize lost DPS during battle.

The goodwill that had dropped to half was now fully restored. After all, being skilled made up for everything.

Nick, floating weightlessly in the air, closed in, and the health of Naga #2 began draining rapidly.

His damage was impressive… Sa-yoon, momentarily admiring, quickly snapped back to focus and poured in his own attacks.

***

[Party] Chasa: Are you busy, by any chance?

After clearing the fifth and final stone chamber, Sa-yoon switched to auto-move and asked.

[Party] a10235044: ?

[Party] a10235044: No, I’m not busy.

[Party] Chasa: Ah, I see.

The response was immediate. It was clear he had no intention of engaging in further conversation. Sa-yoon felt awkward and was about to drop the topic.

[Party] a10235044: Why?

Why? Because you kept going AFK so often that I started wondering if you had food poisoning—but there was no way he could say that out loud. Even asking if he was busy had been a roundabout way of addressing the issue.

Temporary Nick was an unpredictable player. In battle, he took the most time-efficient routes with extreme precision, yet after clearing each room, he would religiously disappear, as if on a scheduled break.

At first, he would at least say, “Bathroom,” or “Phone call.” But later, he simply started dropping a vague “One sec” before leaving his character standing there, unmoving.

The AFK time was never longer than a minute or two, but the frequency was absurdly high. If this had been a normal party, he would’ve been kicked a long time ago.

[Party] a10235044: You seemed busier than me, though.

[Party] Chasa: …

And truthfully… Sa-yoon had been fully enjoying Nick’s odd gaming habits.

The dungeon, Medusa’s Refuge, was set in an abandoned temple. The interior was made of white marble, and each pillar was adorned with uniquely intricate carvings.

Every time Nick went AFK, Sa-yoon took the opportunity to summon different types of demons and snap screenshots next to the pillars.

Seeing the system log fill up with “Screenshot saved” messages made him feel satisfied—like he could skip a meal and still be full.

Since Nick never commented whenever he came back, Sa-yoon assumed he hadn’t noticed. But now, it felt like getting caught yawning in class and locking eyes with the professor. Feeling embarrassed, he cleared his throat.

[Party] Chasa: You were the one who went AFK first.

[Party] a10235044: lol

[Party] a10235044: Just joking.

[Party] a10235044: Sorry for going AFK.

That didn’t mean he was actually admitting fault. Everyone knew the first one to apologize in situations like this lost by default.

[Party] a10235044: But still, for taking breaks, I came back pretty fast, right?

“Well… that’s true.”

It was a fact. Since his damage was so ridiculously high, monsters melted like butter, making the dungeon progression fast despite his frequent AFKs.

[Party] Chasa: At this rate, you could probably solo this dungeon.

[Party] a10235044: Not that much.

[Party] Chasa: Then next time, I’ll bring a different class instead of a warlock.

He meant it.

Nick’s damage output was so overwhelming that by the time Sa-yoon even completed a full damage cycle, the mobs were already dead.

It basically meant he hadn’t contributed much at all. In other words, he had just been along for the ride on a Hunter-powered carry.

There wasn’t even enough time for his damage to accumulate properly. He hadn’t turned on the damage meter, but he was sure his contribution barely hit 10–20%.

Just what kind of gear does he have?

He had already tried checking. As expected, Nick had set his items to private, so he couldn’t see anything.

Due to the game’s high level of freedom and the vast array of possible builds, many players kept their equipped items and skill choices private.

[Party] a10235044: I like warlocks, though.

[Party] Chasa: Black Mage is better.

People generally preferred the explosive, satisfying damage of a Black Mage over the warlock’s gradual, harmony-like damage stacking through demon summoning.

[Party] a10235044: Nope.

[Party] a10235044: People are mistaken—warlocks are good.

[Party] a10235044: It’s just that Koreans can’t even wait for an elevator door to fully open.

Sa-yoon’s expression turned complicated as he read the chat.

In two years of playing this game, not once had he met someone who said this.

[Party] a10235044: You just need decent gear to make it efficient, so it’s not great for cost-performance.

…You. You’re a good person, aren’t you?

Something within Sa-yoon vanished in an instant—distance, emotional barriers, all gone. In their place, an overflowing wave of fondness surged up.

[Party] a10235044: Though, it is a bit hard to control.

[Party] Chasa: Right?

[Party] Chasa: The skill order, timing, and execution are tricky, but if you manage it well, you can definitely keep up with other damage dealers.

The problem was that most warlocks couldn’t manage it.

Warlocks weren’t considered a dead class simply because they couldn’t deal damage.

In Divine, warlocks were widely regarded as the most mechanically demanding class. If there were a difficulty scale out of five stars, they’d easily be a seven.

But wasn’t the whole point of gaming to conquer difficult challenges?

If a game were easy all the time, what would be the fun in that? Warlocks were clearly designed to appeal to that sense of challenge.

These days, though, people were too used to easy roads—that was the real problem. Clicking his tongue, Sa-yoon felt like an old man grumbling about the younger generation.

He still remembered, back when he refused to give up hope, he had once written a guide titled: “How to Deal 1 Million Total Damage as a Warlock in the Temple of the Moon.”

Out of all his posts, that one had received the worst response.

So meeting someone who actually understood warlocks? It was impossible not to feel a sense of kinship.

[Party] a10235044: Anyway, I still think warlocks are good.

[Party] Chasa: Yeah, I think so too.

Here was a guy passionately advocating for warlocks to an actual warlock.

Just how much must he have loved the class before he defected to another one…?

Sa-yoon hadn’t heard the full story, but it must have been rough. His gaze, filled with sympathy, softened as if he were looking at a fallen comrade.

[Party] a10235044: I have a question, too.

[Party] Chasa: Sure, ask me anything.

Sa-yoon’s fingers danced lightly over the keyboard.

The cheerful approval made Temporary Nick float up into the air again, circling Sa-yoon like a tiny satellite.

[Party] a10235044: Did you customize your character yourself?