PP Chapter 2

Clicking it just in case, he found a whisper waiting for him.

[Whisper] Won: Newbie?

It was a simple question, but it took him a very long time to answer it.

While he struggled to reply, the user named Won who had sent the whisper approached him. Playing as a Human race character dressed in stark white from head to toe, he looked at Dohwa’s character and used a laughing emote.

[Won smiles affectionately at Peach.]

[Whisper] Won: If you don’t know how to send a whisper, type /w Won and then your message.

[Say] Peach: /w Won

[Whisper] Won: Oh, good. You really are a newbie.

[Whisper] Won: You have to type it without the period for it to be a whisper.

[Whisper] Won : If that’s uncomfortable, you can just keep talking in general chat. Other people can see it, but only if they’re standing close by.

Mentally thanking him for the kind explanation, Dohwa sent a whisper.

[Whisper] Peach: Thank you for telling meㅠㅠ This is my first time playing a computer game…

[Whisper] Won: It happens. I’m going to cast Resurrect, so press ‘Yes’ when the prompt pops up.

[Say] Peach: Yes.

[Say] Peach: Wait,

[Whisper] Peach: Yes.

[Won smiles affectionately at Peach.]

Finding Dohwa’s mistake amusing, Won used the laugh emote again before casting the resurrection skill.

His face flushed with embarrassment over his mistake, Dohwa pressed yes as Won had instructed.

The screen then went dark before brightening again, revealing the literally revived character.

[Say] Peach: Thank you.

[Whisper] Peach: Wait thank ypui

Realizing he had made the exact same mistake again, he hurriedly retyped his message in a whisper, only to make a typo.

“Hah…”

A complex sigh filled with various emotions escaped Dohwa’s lips.

It was a relief this was in a game; if he had made this many mistakes in real life, he would have just wanted to die.

“It’s okay because it’s a game.”

Even as he muttered to soothe himself, the heat on his cheeks showed no sign of cooling.

Blushing like a peach, just like his name, Dohwa checked the chat window, which kept scrolling up with cheerful ding! ding! sounds.

[Whisper] Won: If it’s easier to use Say, just do that.

[Whisper] Won: By the way, what were you doing?

“/w Won… and then the message.”

He muttered aloud, typing exactly what he said. Only then was he able to send a proper whisper.

Genuinely impressed by his own incompetence, Dohwa sent a slightly late reply to Won’s question.

[Whisper] Peach: I was doing a quest, but I moved wrong and died.

[Whisper] Won: It happens when you’re starting out. If you don’t mind, should I help you out a bit? I originally had a raid scheduled today, but it got canceled so I don’t have anything to do anyway.

“…A raid? What’s that now.”

It was a world entirely full of the unknown. And it wasn’t just an exaggeration—inside the game, Dohwa couldn’t even walk straight.

Stagger, stagger. The polygon model wobbled so much that anyone watching would feel frustrated on his behalf. Had it been real life, his artistic movement would have perfectly mimicked someone heavily intoxicated. Operating at that level of skill, it was simply impossible for Dohwa to know gaming terminology like ‘raid’.

Just then, as if he had read Dohwa’s mind, Won sent a whisper.

[Whisper] Won: Ah, a raid is a team that goes into dungeons together for hard content. Kind of like a large-scale party?

“Ah. So that’s what they call a raid.”

New terminology, words he had previously had no reason or need to know, began piling up in Dohwa’s head. He felt as if he were studying an entirely unfamiliar subject, and an inexplicable sense of excitement reared its head.

He wanted to keep playing the game. And to do that, he seemed to need the help of someone who knew the game well, and just in time, someone had offered to help.

Dohwa, sticking his tongue out to lick his lips, sent a chat to Won.

[Whisper] Peach: I’m sorry to ask, but could you possibly help me???ㅜㅜ

[Whisper] Won: No need to be sorry. This game is known for being helpful to newbies. Can you tell me the name of the quest you’re on?

[Say] Peach: Life Betting

“Ah, fuck.”

Dohwa muttered a small curse at the same mistake.

[Whisper] Won: Ah, okay. I think I know where you need to go. I’ll take you there. Let’s go together.

Won replied readily.

The fact that he seemed to know where to go just from the quest name reeked of a seriously seasoned player.

He didn’t know for sure, but thinking that Won definitely knew this game well, Dohwa moved as Won instructed.

He left-clicked on the mount Won summoned, pressed ‘Ride Together,’ and hopped on. While staring dubiously at his character, who was sitting on the massive bird with her legs elegantly tucked to one side, he heard the notification chime of another incoming message.

Glancing over, he saw a question from Won asking how he ended up starting this game.

He had heard that people who play games usually lack social skills, but Won engaged in small talk very naturally.

It seemed he was a person who played a lot of games but didn’t lack social skills. While having such useless thoughts, Dohwa obediently answered the question.

[Whisper] Peach: Rebellion.

[Whisper] Won: ?

[Whisper] Peach: I started playing as an act of rebellion.

[Whisper] Won: ?

[Whisper] Won: This is a first, so it’s refreshing.

For some reason, Dohwa got the feeling that Won’s 3D model looked entirely dumbfounded

Dohwa, who had been darting his eyes around like his pet cat, ‘Myang,’ after knocking over its food bowl, soon became brazen.

He wasn’t his parents, just someone he met by chance while playing a game, so he felt there was no need to shrink back.

Dohwa straightened his shoulders and, from then on, answered the various questions that came his way with a confident face.

Of course, Dohwa didn’t know it, but his forehead was still slightly flushed.

Won easily controlled his character even while typing. That was truly amazing.

Dohwa couldn’t even manage chatting and moving his character separately, yet this person could do both freely. He felt like someone from another world.

As they chatted like that, they reached the destination in no time. So quickly that the time he had spent wandering felt absurd.

Dohwa thought that if he had known he would arrive this early, he would have asked Sohyun for help.

Pouting his lips in vain out of a sense of futility, Dohwa continued to complete quests one after another with Won’s help.

With the first Dungeon just ahead, it was about time for him to go home. Before logging off, Won suddenly asked.

[Whisper] Won: Are you going to play tomorrow too? We have to go to the dungeon, and I helped you a lot today. You’re coming tomorrow too, right?

“…Did he have fun playing with me?”

At the question asking if he would come tomorrow, his shoulders hitched up for no reason.

He was already in a good mood because the quests were progressing smoothly, unlike when he was playing alone, but his mood got even better when the person who helped him asked that.

Dohwa, humming a tune without realizing it, replied to the chat.

[Say] Peach: Yes, I’ll be here tomorrow too.

“Dammit!”

It couldn’t be helped that he messed up until the very end.

Dohwa looked at the chat window with an annoyed face, then said goodbye to Won and turned off the computer.

It was obvious he would have to face his parents when he got home, but strangely, everything just felt good.

It was to the point where he wondered if this was why Sohyun lived as a game addict.

Living a life in a game where you were praised for doing trivial things, then returning to reality, was bound to be boring.

“Dopamine addict.”

Muttering softly, Dohwa gathered his things and stood up from his seat.

“Hah, what will my parents say when I get home…”

He didn’t want to fight, but it couldn’t be helped.

He had finally found something he genuinely wanted to do, and he didn’t want to give up.

Was it because he had spent his entire life following other people’s orders? A part of him couldn’t help but worry that maybe he really had chosen the wrong path. Thinking to himself how nice it would be if just one person told him he wasn’t doing anything wrong, Dohwa let out an earth-shattering sigh.