Chapter 119

(Whisper) NotMiyoung: Can IOnly join too?

(Whisper) oTyudakTyudako: Ohhh so you two were together???

(Whisper) oTyudakTyudako: But right now we’re only recruiting supports.. :(

Unfortunately, things were not going Yeonhoo’s way.

“They say they’re only taking supports.”

“Yeah....”

Then again, just like in any other game, Zombie Village never had enough support players. Yeonhoo was about to suggest they push a little harder, looking visibly disappointed, when—

(Whisper) NotMiyoung: Then I won’t join

Kwon’s answer was immediate.

No, do you realize what kind of opportunity this is?

Whether this was the group Kwon had been looking for or not, it was still a chance to get inside and have a look around. And with so many beginners in the alliance, blending in should be easy.

“Hey, you should at least join.”

“There’s no point if I can’t join with you.”

“No, but still, that place....”

What if that’s VITA? The words rose all the way to the tip of Yeonhoo’s tongue, but he couldn’t bring himself to say them.

“I’m playing this game with you.”

Kwon added, his face expressionless.

“If I can’t play with you, there’s no point.”

It was so painfully obvious that he meant every word that Yeonhoo faltered.

Is playing with me really that important to him? He was dying to find that spy....

It made him feel strange. Almost... ticklish.

He awkwardly ran a hand through his hair, but then another message came through, and suddenly it looked as though things might work out after all.

(Whisper) oTyudakTyudako: oh wait IOnly is a Mechanic??? if they’re a Mechanic it’ll probably be fine!

(Whisper) oTyudakTyudako: we have lots of Mechanics here too and the officers REALLY like Mechanics

(Whisper) oTyudakTyudako: wanna do a quick interview? one of our officers is nearby so I asked and they said they’ll come over

(Whisper) oTyudakTyudako: anyone who isn’t support has to interview!!!

They like Mechanics?

That part struck Yeonhoo as a little odd, but then again, he always felt a strange sense of kinship whenever he ran into a Necromancer in the wild. Maybe it was something like that.

They do interviews here too. Guess all the top-ranked alliances interview applicants.

Just as he was thinking that, a player came walking toward oTyudakTyudako.

Their level was absurdly high for a beginner hunting ground.

(Global) Mexibokku: yo yo

That must be them.

Aside from the <SystemError> alliance logo floating over their head, there was nothing particularly eye-catching about them.

(Global) oTyudakTyudako: Bokku these are the beginners who saved me

(Global) Mexibokku: pretty skilled for beginners

(Global) Mexibokku: you sure these aren’t alts?

(Global) Mexibokku: wait hold up wtf is that mob—

A monster that had aggroed onto Mexibokku suddenly lunged at them.

Mexibokku casually thrust out a hand.

They were a Mechanic, just like Yeonhoo. Their outstretched hand transformed into a gun, and a single shot dropped the monster on the spot.

Yeonhoo had been watching with mild interest—Oh, another Mechanic—until he got a proper look at the gun.

Then he froze.

Wait. Leopard-print base, black on one side and white on the other....

He had seen that bizarre gun somewhere before.

And it definitely wasn’t a common design.

Mechanic. Mexibokku....

He had just been thinking about how uncommon Mechanics were when a memory suddenly surfaced—the day he had run into that group of Mechanics who arrived in an armored vehicle.

Come to think of it, one of their guns had been....

Leopard print?!

That was it.

The gun attached to Mexibokku’s arm was identical to the one used by Caldi, one of VITA’s alliance members!

Of course, it might sound ridiculous to assume this player was Caldi based on nothing but a matching gun, but Yeonhoo actually had a solid reason.

Mechanics customize almost all their guns themselves!

Since the guns attached to a Mechanic’s body counted as part of the character rather than as weapons, players could customize them down to incredibly fine details. The results could be surprisingly beautiful, and most players preferred designs that showed off their individuality.

Then that has to be Caldi! They must’ve transferred servers and changed their nickname without changing the customization. Kwon’s obviously noticed by now too, right?

Yeonhoo glanced over at him.

“Yeonhoo. They want us to accept a party invite.”

Kwon merely asked the question without the slightest change in expression.

Yeonhoo couldn’t read him at all.

“Hey, you....”

“Yeah?”

“...Never mind. Okay.”

He couldn’t exactly ask him outright.

He would have to feel Kwon out later and see whether he had noticed.

With that thought, Yeonhoo accepted the invitation from Mexibokku—whom he was now fairly certain was Caldi.

The party window immediately opened.

(Group) oTyudakTyudako: oh you weren’t AFK

(Group) IOnly: Hello!!

(Group) Mexibokku: yo yo

(Group) NotMiyoung: Hello

(Group) Mexibokku: heard you wanna join SystemError?

(Group) IOnly: Yes!!

(Group) NotMiyoung: Yes

Apparently they really had made the party just to conduct the interview.

(Group) Mexibokku: heard about what happened.. you saved Tyudak

(Group) oTyudakTyudako: yup NotMiyoung is REALLY good at the game!!!

(Group) NotMiyoung: I’m not Miyoung

(Group) Mexibokku: lol okay you really are committed to the bit

Yeonhoo burst out laughing before he could stop himself.

Kwon kept insisting that he wasn’t Miyoung, yet somehow everyone called him Miyoung more than anyone else. The look of genuine irritation on his face made it even funnier.

(Group) Mexibokku: and this Mechanic is your friend?

(Group) IOnly: Yes!!

(Group) Mexibokku: why’d you pick Mechanic of all things?

Yeonhoo answered the moment the question appeared, as though he had been waiting for it.

(Group) IOnly: Mechanics looked SO pretty so I picked one!! the character select cutscene is really cool too

(Group) IOnly: and now that I’m playing one I LOVE IT!!! the guns are pretty and they look pretty shooting them and they have lots of muscles and the skills are pretty too

Did you know the easiest way to get friendly with people in an online game?

(Group) Mexibokku: haha you’ve got good taste

(Group) Mexibokku: always happy to welcome a recruit with eyes this good. accept the invite

Compliment their class...!

You have received an invitation to join the <SystemError> alliance. Would you like to accept?

YES

NO

The invitation arrived immediately, and Yeonhoo smashed YES without a second’s hesitation.

A <SystemError> alliance tag appeared over his head at once.

(Group) IOnly: Wow hahahahahaha thank you!!!

(Group) oTyudakTyudako: Oh!!!

(Group) Mexibokku: fellow Mechanics are always welcome

(Group) IOnly: I’ll work hard and get strong like you!! BUFF MECHANIC PLS PLS!!!!!

(Group) Mexibokku: hahahaha

(Group) Mexibokku: seriously pls buff us..

The moment Yeonhoo started talking about Mechanics, Mexibokku’s slightly stiff manner softened considerably.

Yeonhoo smiled in satisfaction.

“Now that you’re in, I’ll join too.”

“Okay.”

(Group) oTyudakTyudako: wow NotMiyoung joined too

(Group) oTyudakTyudako: nice hahaha

(Group) oTyudakTyudako: pick this up and activate it!!!

A yellow walkie-talkie that looked like some kind of alliance communication device appeared in front of the two of them.

Their applications had been approved much more easily than Yeonhoo had expected.

He and Kwon were just reaching down to pick them up when—

(Group) Mexibokku: actually there’s one thing I wanna ask

(Group) Mexibokku: NotMiyoung

(Group) Mexibokku: this is an alt right?

Both Kwon and Yeonhoo froze.

(Group) Mexibokku: from what I heard you’re really good at the game

(Group) Mexibokku: but your level says you started today

(Group) Mexibokku: if you have a main can you tell us what it is?

(Group) Mexibokku: we don’t allow dual-alliance membership