Sin hovered.
It was the kind of aimless, slightly irritable hover that made low-level players scatter and Touch Me roll his eyes.
He drifted slowly around a cliff edge overlooking the ethereal Basin of Stars—one of the newer areas introduced during the most recent YGGDRASIL patch. Crystalline trees shimmered below. The lake reflected nothing. Time didn't flow right here.
It was beautiful.
It was also where Sin was murdering his final miniboss for a class unlock.
"Another one down," he said, checking his stat panel. "Only five more level to spend."
"Did you get the passive?" Touch Me asked as he landed beside him, his heavy knight armor crunching against the rock.
"Yep. [Radiant Intercession]. Adds a flat damage null on AoE attacks to nearby allies."
"Oh, great," Touch Me said. "You're a healer now too?"
"I was always a healer," Sin replied. "I just needed fifty quests and a part-time theology degree to unlock it."
Touch Me snorted. "You sound like an ex-priest who wandered into an MMO."
"I am a judgment archangel," Sin said solemnly. "It's in the job description."
He brought up his class screen and sighed.
Level: 95
Racial Tree: Celestial (15) → Archon (10) → Archangel (10) → Archangel of Judgment (5)
Job Classes:
Divine Executioner: 15 (Finishing moves so great, single target, anti-resistance/undead toolkit, great counter for evil meta alignment builds, there have been a lot more dark magic or necromancer users since a new job release called Eclipse, which focuses on dark magic power increases)
Paladin: 10 (Core defensive toolkit, Smite, high HP scaling)
Holy Liberator: 10 (Anti-evil reflect, magic counter)
Blessed Knight: 10 (Regeneration, passive shielding)
Valkyrie: 5 (Utility caster + scaling damage)
God Slayer (Divine Variant): 5 (this son of a bitch job level had it's own chain of side quest and a list of hellish grind material and is one of the reason he isn't done building yet but it was worth it since it gave him more long range options and is very stong Aoe addition to the build Anti-heal, anti-buff, divine magic powerhouse)
"I've got five level left," Sin muttered. "Saving it for World Champion."
Touch Me perked up. "You too?"
"Obviously," Sin said. "Have you seen the anniversary announcement?"
"I've seen thirteen breakdowns of it on Reddit," Touch Me said proudly. "I also watched a guy eat a lemon whole while reciting the patch notes for it."
"That sounds like hell."
"It was hell. But he made good points."
The World Champion update had been announced two weeks prior to YGGDRASIL's anniversary.
Only nine players in the entire game could qualify for the title—one per world zone. Each champion would receive the World Champion job class, an endgame prestige role designed for elite PvP contenders.
The conditions were simple: survive a regional elimination bracket and win the cross-server world finals.
The rewards?
Anything but simple.
[Dimensional Slash] – a near-unblockable offensive skill that bypassed almost all defenses, even invulnerability states.
[Dimensional Guard] – a defensive skill with zero startup time that granted absolute damage null for 3 seconds.
And of course, gear.
World Champion items weren't Divine-Class. They were beyond Divine-Class. Pseudo-World Items. Armor that repelled coded status effects. Weapons that hit like nuclear warheads.
And a small but significant power buff when fighting in your "home world."
"So…?" Sin asked, tilting his faceless head. "You going for it?"
Touch Me rested his greatsword on his shoulder. "Yeah. Probably not your world, though. I'll sign up for the Midgard tournament or something."
"So we can both win."
"Exactly."
They exchanged a fist bump.
Then, after a pause:
"I'm going to crush you anyway if we end up in the same bracket," Sin added.
Touch Me grinned. "Of course. But you'll have to get past a paladin beetle with a justice aura."
Sin looked like he regretted the conversation immediately.
They flew down into a rest zone, an angelic sky citadel where the music was soft and the fountains sparkled. No mobs. No quests. Just players in downtime.
Sin glowed gently in the corner like a biblical punishment waiting for release. Touch Me ordered tea.
"Man," Sin muttered. "I'm gonna have the strongest build in this whole damn game. Max stats. Broken passives. Unique race path. World Champion job."
Touch Me leaned in, sensing a punchline.
"And I'm still a single, pringle, untouched virgin."
Touch Me spit out his tea.
Sin floated dramatically closer to the ceiling. "I will become the first divine being to hit level 100 in loneliness."
"That's—" Touch Me coughed, still laughing. "That's so tragic it loops back to being impressive."
"I'm like a paradox," Sin continued. "Peak performance, zero affection. I'm the final boss of involuntary celibacy."
"Dude, you can't just say that while glowing with holy light."
"Maybe that's the problem," Sin groaned. "I chose a race that doesn't even have a mouth. I've literally given up my ability to flirt."
Touch Me tapped the table. "To be fair, you didn't have much game to begin with."
Sin froze. "Uncalled for."
"Listen," Touch Me said, grinning. "You're rich, good-looking, and you can game for eighteen hours a day and get paid for it. You're literally the dream."
"And yet," Sin said, "I remain unlovable. Like a cursed item with good stats and a tragic backstory."
They sat in comfortable silence for a while.
A few low-level players walked past, giving them wide eyes. Sin was glowing with passive divine light and a vaguely unsettling aura of judgment. Touch Me's armor had started humming again.
"So…" Touch Me said eventually. "Why don't you just… I dunno. Talk to people more?"
Sin groaned again. "Have you seen my real-life charisma stat? It's in the negative. I used to get anxiety ordering food at cafes."
"You're a literal tournament champion."
"Online. I'm terrifying online. In person? I'm a dumb rich kid with social anxiety and a demon mask he wears to esports events so no one knows he's sweating."
Touch Me laughed. "I remember that. You wore the han'nya mask at Nationals. One of the girls in the front row passed out."
"She thought I was going to bite someone," Sin muttered.
"You kinda looked like you would."
They both laughed.
"You're lucky," Sin said after a while. "You've got a girlfriend. A job. A whole life."
Touch Me snorted. "You're lucky. You don't need a job. You can game all day and get sponsored for breathing."
"Yeah," Sin said. "But your girlfriend nags you in the most loving tone I've ever heard. I swear she threatens you like a Disney princess."
Touch Me smiled. It was small, but real.
"She's alright."
"See? That's the smile of a man who gets hugged regularly."
"You're not wrong."
They both sighed.
"Maybe I'll get a girlfriend," Sin said. "After I unlock 'One Who Lived a Thousand Lives' and collect six pseudo-World Items and become the PvP god of my server."
"Yeah," Touch Me said in the most sarcastic voice possible. "That'll definitely solve your romantic problems."
Sin happily punched him.
Back in the world, another alert chimed.
The anniversary event was officially announced, and our sign-ups are in 2 months, but everyone was hyped, and that's all that matters.
"Guess it's time," Sin said.
Touch Me nodded. "Don't forget to pick a different world."
"I won't."
"Also, don't forget to hydrate, shower, and touch grass."
Sin blinked. "...Do I look like someone who remembers any of those things?"
"God, no."
They exchanged a thumbs-up.
Two broken gamers. Two different worlds.
But still, a team.