[Global] Ppuhohong: LOLLLLL is it early evening again
[Global] HayangFox: Why the sudden guild war announcement
[Global] WaterDrinkingHippo: Looks like that guild master is losing it again
[Global] Eyongyong: Oooh, this is gonna be a juicy match
[Global] Oingkkoing: Wait, isn't Hanmaeum the guild that hangs out with Early Evening?
[Global] DeliciousGopchangHouse: Character deletion duel gogogo
With the sudden declaration of a guild war, the global chat exploded. Unlike me, who was frozen in place, Unyum barely managed to gather her wits and quickly spoke.
[Guild] Unyum: OMG;;
[Guild] Unyum: Everyone hit "Postpone" on the vote for now
[Guild] Bicheo: Guild master
[Guild] Bicheo: So we're not doing the war, right?
[Guild] Poppabam: For real… war is a bit much
[Guild] Poppabam: If it's Early Evening, we'll get wrecked…
[Guild] Jjanghoon: Come on, it's not that bad LOL
[Guild] Jjanghoon: Not really
[Guild] SoeSo: Nah, we won't just get wrecked
[Guild] SoeSo: They'll strip us down to the core, even my soul will get wiped out LOL
[Guild] Jjanghoon: ?;;
[Guild] GloryOfChicken: What's wrong with Early Evening;
[Guild] Unyum: I'll look into it, hold on hold on
[Guild] SeolJihye: What is this LOL
[Guild] SeolJihye: I'm gonna get beat up and die from this, sigh ㅠ.ㅜ
I kept my hands resting on the keyboard and just stared blankly as the situation unfolded. Then, a sudden thought made me furrow my brow.
"No way…"
No, it can't be. Surely not. The ominous suspicion that suddenly hit me sent chills down my spine.
'Get it together.'
There's no way someone would be that much of a lunatic. Just because of a newbie they've only known for a week, they'd suddenly declare war on a friendly guild? One of the few close allies?
It was such an absurd thought that I let out an awkward chuckle. That's just self-importance talking. Ridiculous.
[Party] Unyum: Um
[Party] Unyum: Sleepy
[Party] Unyum: Sorry about the raid ;;
[Party] Unyum: I don't think I can do it right now
Pulling myself together, I quickly moved my stiff fingers and replied:
[Party] SoSleepy: Nah nah
[Party] SoSleepy: Totally understandable
[Party] SoSleepy: It's all good
[Party] Unyum: ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ
Even through the monitor, I could feel Unyum's frustration and distress. What the hell is even going on?
I didn't know the exact mechanics of guild wars, so I couldn't say anything carelessly—but judging by the guild members' reactions, this wasn't a normal situation.
'Still, if there's a vote involved, doesn't that mean there's still a chance to avoid the war?'
Surely they don't have to accept the challenge no matter what. Watching Unyum struggle to handle the situation, I nudged Kim Daeseok.
[Whisper] SoSleepy: Hey but
[Whisper] SoeSo: Yeah?
[Whisper] SoSleepy: Can't we just all vote to reject it?
[Whisper] SoSleepy: Why is everyone freaking out?
[Whisper] SoeSo: Ah this is…
[Whisper] SoeSo: Kinda complicated
[Whisper] SoSleepy: What do you mean
After that message, Kim Daeseok went quiet. I waited, sensing there was more to this.
[Guild] KyokoKyoko: Because of the raid
[Guild] KyokoKyoko: I just quickly hit postpone ;;
[Guild] KyokoKyoko: What did Early Evening's guild master say??
[Guild] Unyum: No responseㅠㅠ
[Guild] Unyum: Seriously, what is this..
[Guild] Poppabam: Did they maybe make some mistake or something?
[Guild] SeolJihye: Still though
[Guild] SeolJihye: Suddenly declaring war is a bit much
[Guild] Jjanghoon: Agreed, no manners
The guild was abuzz, and so was the global chat. Players were absolutely loving the unexpected drama in an otherwise boring evening.
[Global] AngelJeong: Character deletion duel gogogogogogo
[Global] AngelJeong: Character deletion duel gogogogogogo
[Global] AngelJeong: Character deletion duel gogogogogogo
[Global] PCTa: How many times has Early Evening declared war now?
[Global] EngineOff: No spamming please
[Global] granduca: Wasn't it supposed to be the Fever guild?
[Global] granduca: Why suddenly Hanmaeum?
[Global] PeepleScholar: Ah crap / I knew it~ goddamn Early Evening punks
[Global] AngelJeong: Character deletion duel gogogogogogo
[Global] Bba Seok: Isn't this the third time?
[Global] StudyGuideEnjoyer: Stop spamming ffs
[Global] YuBiGwanWoo: But still… Yuchae is an attention-seeker…
[Global] FateOfThePark: You… idiot…
[Global] GallopGallop: Ugh stop it already
[Global] IndependenceFighter: This is a freakin' circus LOL
My head hurt from watching the chaos unfold, so I hid the global chat tab. Since the guild war announcement was public across all channels, the ripple effect was massive. And considering Early Evening is the #1 guild, the situation felt even heavier.
[Whisper] SoeSo: Sorry, my mom called suddenly
[Whisper] SoeSo: Anyway, here's the deal
[Whisper] SoeSo: You can refuse a guild war
[Whisper] SoeSo: But if you refuse three times from the same guild
[Whisper] SoeSo: It counts as a loss
[Whisper] SoSleepy: ??
[Whisper] SoeSo: Yeah 3 refusals = 1 loss
[Whisper] SoeSo: And if you lose a guild war
[Whisper] SoeSo: You lose a lot of guild prestige
[Whisper] SoeSo: It could even cause a level down
I tilted my head at Daeseok's explanation. So even if we refuse this time, if Early Evening keeps declaring war two more times, we lose by default. Either way, we're likely screwed.
'Sure, there's always a chance that Early Evening loses and Hanmaeum wins…'
But considering Yuchae's insane control and the damage output I saw during raids, plus the skill level of their guild members, that seemed unlikely.
[Whisper] SoSleepy: Man, this system's kinda broken;
[Whisper] SoSleepy: Isn't this way too biased toward top-ranked guilds?
[Whisper] SoeSo: Well, there is a limit to how many wars each guild can declare
[Whisper] SoeSo: 5 times per year…
[Whisper] SoeSo: If I remember right, this is the third time Early Evening has come at us.
[Whisper] SoeSo: So honestly, it'd be ridiculous for them to use their last two chances on us.
[Whisper] SoeSo: Strategically, they'd gain way more by attacking a weaker guild.
[Whisper] SoeSo: Plus, there's a cooldown between guild war proposals—two weeks, I think? They can't do it back-to-back.
[Whisper] SoSleepy: So you're saying… there's still a chance they will use the last two on us?
[Whisper] SoeSo: LOL yeah, that's possible too…
[Whisper] SoeSo: Anyway, there's kind of an unspoken rule among guild leaders.
[Whisper] SoeSo: Normally, people try to avoid going all the way to a guild war.
[Whisper] SoeSo: Since a guild war gets broadcast publicly.
[Whisper] SoeSo: Even if you win, it's a hassle and usually not worth the trouble.
[Whisper] SoeSo: And if you start a war and lose, it's humiliating as hell.
[Whisper] SoeSo: So there's been this quiet agreement like, "let's not take it that far."
[Whisper] SoSleepy: Yeah
[Whisper] SoeSo: But Early Evening is the one guild that keeps breaking that rule LOL
[Whisper] SoeSo: Most guilds don't even use all 5 guild war chances
[Whisper] SoeSo: But Early Evening uses every single one, every year LOL
"…"
So in the end, the problem is the Early Evening guild.
They're the ones who go out of their way to stir things up, using all five yearly war proposals—even though guild wars usually just lead to mutual losses—and picking on weaker guilds to flex their strength.
'But they didn't seem like total jerks…'
I recalled chatting with them over mic during raids, getting help with items, and being treated kindly. It was hard to reconcile that with the toxic, alpha-guild behavior I was now hearing about.
Maybe I misjudged them. And weren't they supposedly on good terms with our guild?
[Whisper] SoSleepy: I kinda get now why everyone's freaking out about this guild war
[Whisper] SoeSo: Yeah, part of it is
[Whisper] SoeSo: It's been a while since we had one, so that's a shock
[Whisper] SoeSo: But also, Early Evening and this guild called Fever really hate each other
[Whisper] SoSleepy: Fever?
[Whisper] SoeSo: Yeah
[Whisper] SoeSo: We don't really get along with them either LOL
[Whisper] SoeSo: Those guys act like they're losing their minds, constantly provoking Early Evening
[Whisper] SoeSo: I think they end up in guild wars at least twice a year
Fever… that name sounded familiar.
I opened the guild list and typed it into the search bar.
[3. Fever | Guild Level: Grand | Members: 233 | Guild Leader: Sangdangan]
The #3 ranked guild on the server. No wonder I'd seen them around in the field.
[Whisper] SoeSo: Anyway
[Whisper] SoeSo: The real question is why they're suddenly going after us
[Whisper] SoSleepy: Yeah, it's so random
Now that I'd heard everything from Daeseok, Early Evening's behavior made even less sense. If they had real beef with a guild like Fever, wouldn't it make more sense to use their war proposals on them? Not Hanmaeum?
And judging from Unyum's reaction, it's not like there was any recent drama between us and them either…
[Guild] Unyum: Hmm;
[Guild] Unyum: Anyway
[Guild] Unyum: Go back to doing your own stuff for now
[Guild] Unyum: Yuchae isn't responding
[Guild] SeolJihye: Got it
[Guild] Poppabam: Yep
[Guild] KyokoKyoko: OK
[Guild] SoSleepy: Alright
After over 30 minutes of trying different things, Unyum finally gave up with a sigh. With the person responsible staying silent, there wasn't much else she could do.
Neither Early Evening, who started the war, nor Hanmaeum, who received it, said anything, and the global chat died down quickly.
[Party] Unyum: Sleepy
[Party] Unyum: I'm really sorry this happened right after you joined the guildㅜ
[Party] SoSleepy: No no, don't worry about me
The mood had gotten awkward, so I left the party to go do some hunting quests. If anything new came up, someone would post it in the guild chat. Until then, I might as well level up.
[Global] SoSleepy: I'm heading off to do some quests
[Global] Unyum: Got it
[Global] SoeSo: ㅠㅠ
I opened my inventory to find the scroll I hadn't gotten to use because of the guild war vote. Just as I was about to use it—
[Server] Yuchae: Hello. I'm the guild master of Early Evening.
"…?"
A huge, bright red message popped up at the top of the screen. It was from a 6,900-won cash item called the Mega Megaphone, which lets a message be broadcast to the entire server.
[Guild] SeolJihye: ???
[Guild] SoeSo: Huh?
[Guild] KyokoKyoko: What the…
[Guild] Bicheo: ?
[Global] NightShiftCommander: What the hell LMAOOOO
[Global] Haecher: Is this guy a CEO or something?
[Global] HeartThrobber: KYAAAA Yuchae oppaaa~~ ><
[Global] BongjunBongjun: Ugh
Despite completely ignoring Unyum's desperate messages earlier, Yuchae had now suddenly used a Mega Megaphone—causing both guild and global chat to immediately explode again.
**[Server] Yuchae: Sorry for the sudden guild war.
**[Server] Yuchae: But we had no choice.
[Server] Yuchae: The Hanmaeum guild stole something very important from us.
And incredibly, before I even read it, I already knew what was coming next. It was a surreal, almost paranormal moment—and it sucked so bad.
No way… no way, right? Please…
**[Server] Yuchae: Please return our Sleepy-hyung whom you took.
[Server] Yuchae: Until then, we'll keep sending guild war requests.
"…Oh, f***."
[Server] Yuchae: Come back to us, Sleepy-hyung… I'll do better this time… sob ㅜㅡㅜ
At that final Mega Megaphone message, I couldn't take it anymore—I buried my face in both hands.