In the realm of Neo City, Mark Lee could be anybody and anything he ever wanted.

Well, no. Technically he could only choose from the game’s given classes, but it was still something compared to how things were in real life. If anything, the best part about it was choosing how he wanted his character to look like. Who doesn’t enjoy customizing a character, right? Sure, he also needed to earn gold and coins to be able to upgrade his items into cooler things and even more useful ones, but that was fine and easier compared to earning money in the real world, too. Overall, Neo City was a much needed escape into a land of fantasy and fun.

In his case, his character was a Priest, a healer type. He genuinely didn’t consider that most people found healing not as exciting as getting into the game’s action. The Priest class had the coolest looking attire for a male character, which appealed to him the most—tall, dark, and handsome, flashy clothes, all that jazz. It’s not like he was bad at healing anyway, as long as he upgraded his weapons regularly.

Still, Mark really hated gaming, sometimes.

[MESSAGE] SUN_: Catch up, n00b @L33.

Okay, so he didn’t hate gaming per se, maybe just the people he had to play with whenever he decided to play since he joined the Dream Guild. Sun—big, blonde sack of muscle that he was as a Warrior compared to Mark’s tiny Healer frame—was always calling him out despite being in the same guild; it was okay sometimes, but on days where the whole team just kept suffering losses, Mark couldn’t help but feel annoyed at the nagging attitude. He knew it wasn’t just his fault they were in a slump, so what if he was the healer? It was their own fault they kept getting hurt doing dumb things, too.

[MESSAGE] L33: Quit getting killed right away first, Sun, you’re tank for a reason.

[MESSAGE] SUN_: I wouldn’t be killed if I was healed properly!!1!!111!!!!

[MESSAGE] LADYN4N4: Guys, knock it off. We have a mission to complete. Sun, follow orders better.

[MESSAGE] SUN_: You always take his side, Nana! :(

On most occasions, Mark’s saving grace came in the form of Nana, the guild’s resident Mage and overall leader. Nana was in charge of making sure the plans laid were solid and foolproof—until the other team members decide to mess it up, of course—and she did the job well. Not to mention her character was dressed as a beautiful elf maiden that happened to look quite good next to Mark’s own. The idea that the person behind Nana could be just as beautiful was yet another fantasy in Mark’s head he often dismissed, but not often enough.

[MESSAGE] JENES1S: Because Lee actually listens to Nana like you should, Sun.

[MESSAGE] SUN_: Okay, sure, gang up on me then!!!!

[MESSAGE] SUN_: Jen, I thought for sure you were on my side!

[MESSAGE] JENES1S: I’m most loyal to the guild leader. Whichever side Nana is on, so am I.

[MESSAGE] SUN_: What a up to the beautiful lady.

[MESSAGE] JENES1S: [sent a wink emote]

Mark couldn’t help but frown at that, too. It was a bit cliche to be a group of guys desperately vying for a gamer girl’s attention, yet here they were, apparently. At least, him and Jenesis were often doing their best to be on Nana’s good side. Sun did things his own way, along with their other guild members if they were around. For that night, it was just the four of them desperately trying to find King Ty’s treasure while fighting off hoards of pirate zombies.

Fun stuff, really.

[MESSAGE] LADYN4N4: Let’s just focus and win this thing, I have to go soon.

[MESSAGE] L33: You got it!

The game eventually lasted another hour with thankfully no more complaints from Sun and less losses overall. Mark even leveled up by the end of the mission while Jenesis was generous enough to share the loot he had gotten as their main assist. His Hunter character was only slightly less fancy and well-dressed at Mark’s and neither was he all that good, but he always managed to charm his way to everyone’s good graces through giving shares of his gold. Nana was always particularly happy. A part of Mark wanted to share gold, too, but he had upgrades to do and figured he'd be much more useful with better healing equipment. 

[PRIVATE] Renjun: Hey, Mark, you there?

[PRIVATE] Mark: Yeah, what’s up? We just finished King Ty’s mission, you're late, dude.

[PRIVATE] Renjun: I had homework. Anyway, have you heard about tomorrow?

[PRIVATE] Mark: Tomorrow? What’s happening tomorrow?

[PRIVATE} Renjun: The Dream Guild IRL meet up!!! Didn’t you see Sun’s announcement on the board the other day?

Among the other 6 members of the Dream Guild, Mark really only knew one of them in real life, at least for now. Huang Renjun was his friend from school and was also the one who introduced Neo City in the first place. Still, they’ve all known each other through the game for at least a few months now, enough to know that they at least all lived in South Korea, within Seoul. Real life meet ups weren’t uncommon in the gaming scene and Mark’s been to a few before. It usually involved just a bunch of guys playing the same game, but within the same area now compared to the comfort of their own homes. Classic.

He had to admit though, the thought of a Dream Guild meet up felt the most exciting, since it was the first guild he was in that had a female player. So maybe he was a little bit in love with Lady Nana’s skills and mastery of the Mage class, one of the hardest ones in Neo City. Renjun has told him off about his growing game crush before, claiming that they don’t even know if Lady Nana is how she is in person as well. Mark had simply said he didn’t care. The game crush was still a valid game crush. It was a crush on the person’s skills, anyway.

[PRIVATE] Mark: Ah, right, I must have forgotten to check the notification for it.

[PRIVATE] Mark: Are you going?

[PRIVATE] Renjun: Yeah, why not, it sounds fun. It’s near my place, too, so do you wanna come over here first then we could go together?

[PRIVATE] Mark: Sounds good.

After a few messages from Renjun, Mark was about to log out of the game and get back to doing his own set of homework, when another notification caught his attention, one that managed to make his heart skip a beat at the sight.

[GUILD CHAT] LADYN4N4: Hey @L33, are you going to tomorrow’s meet up?

[GUILD CHAT] SUN_: Why are you only asking him? So biased, Nana!

[GUILD CHAT] LADYN4N4: He’s the only one who hasn’t answered your post, Sun, that’s why I’m asking.

Oh, right.

Mark’s little moment of joy deflated a bit, but even so, he could always consider the fact that