[Cenbing: Saintess-nim, I'm really sorry, but I think you need to leave our raid group.]
[Saintess Nice: Huh??]
[Saintess Nice: Why? Did I do something wrong?]
[Cenbing: It's not that...]
[Cenbing: You know most of our raid group is made up of streamers, right?]
[Saintess Nice: Yeah.]
[Cenbing: Since it's a streamer raid group, we have to cater to the viewers...]
[Cenbing: Your gear is non-meta... and your specs haven't gone up in like six months...]
[Saintess Nice: That's because I didn't update them!]
[Saintess Nice: And we've cleared raids just fine with my gear and specs, haven't we?]
[Cenbing: That's true, but... there's just too many viewers who hate gold farmers.]
[Saintess Nice: I'm not a gold farmer;;]
[Saintess Nice: Sure, I've sold some gold to buy chicken a few times, but I'm not a gold farmer!]
[Cenbing: I'm really sorry, Saintess-nim... I think this is the end of the line for us.]
I'd been kicked from the raid group I'd been with for half a year.
The reason? My specs were too low.
[Party application rejected.]
[To Hoshi Pui (whisper): I'm seriously pissed off.]
[To Hoshi Pui (whisper): I can do well, I swear.]
[Hoshi Pui (whisper): With that gear, what makes you think anyone will accept you?]
[Hoshi Pui (whisper): A saintess wielding a one-handed sword instead of a holy book? Are you kidding me?]
[To Hoshi Pui (whisper): One-handed sword saintesses are fine too...]
Even pickup groups wouldn't take me.
The reason? My build was non-meta.
📰 Ias GalleryTitle: Why are pickup groups like this lately? Author: Saintess Nice I applied to a practice group and got instantly rejected. Asked via whisper, and they said it's because of my non-meta build. But isn't a practice group supposed to not care about that?? Just need to clear it, right? Agree?— AnonymousThen make your own group lol— AnonymousGold farmer bitch whining so much— AnonymousYeah agree— AnonymousIf it bothers you, be the raid leader yourself— Saintess Nice (OP)If I make a group, no one comes...— AnonymousWonder why? lololol— AnonymousAre you seriously asking?⭐ Info— AnonymousSaintess Nice is a legendary gold farmer who levels 6 alts all as saintesses and cycles gear between them— Saintess Nice (OP)I just like saintesses so I leveled them...
No one took my side when I vented to those around me.
This is so unfair.
I chose a non-meta build not because it was cheap, but because it suited me perfectly.
I sold gold for cash because I hated seeing it pile up with no content to spend it on.
I leveled all my alts as the same class not to save money, but because I love caring for others as a supporter.
This is so unfair.
So unfair, unfair, unfair.
I'm not a gold farmer, no matter what anyone says.
If raid groups won't recruit me and pickup groups reject me because they think I'm a gold farmer...
Then all I had to do was prove I wasn't one.
⚔ Mythic Weapon ⚔
The boss-tier weapon that only the top 0.1% of high-spec players even attempt.
If I had one of those, no one could call me a gold farmer ever again.
Sure, I was a jobless shut-in who'd only played games in my room, but I had enough cash saved from selling gold over time to give it a shot.
So, steeling my resolve, I bought a Mythic Weapon.
I blew through a year and a half's living expenses in one click, but if it meant I could finally get into groups, it was worth it.
I was that serious about this game—and I loved it that much.
And a few days later...
⚙ UPDATE DETAILS ⚙New T4 gear released
My Mythic Weapon had been turned into trash.
📰 Ias GalleryTitle: Historic nerf patch, upvote if agree Author: Saintess Nice They hyped a massive update and then hard reset?? Devaluing player gear is one thing, but this is ridiculous;; What the hell? Patch is a total failure, quitting the game.— AnonymousTrue, but coming from you it sounds weird— AnonymousSaintess Nice is trash— AnonymousHard reset means gold prices go up, shouldn't you be happy gold farmer?— AnonymousInfo) This bitch just bought a mythic weapon lololol— AnonymousFor real??— AnonymousReason for the post is so obvious lololol— AnonymousJust keep gold farming like always lol— AnonymousInfo) Cenbing kicked her recently for trash specs📰 Ias GalleryTitle: Users getting screwed in real time Author: Anonymous (121.31) Mythic Weapon owners. Other players can just click to upgrade to higher gear, but these guys have to spend even more money lololol It's not for being stronger than others—it's to catch up, and it costs a fortune lololol Ditch the mythic and switch gear? Then all the materials invested so far go to waste. They're totally screwed. Dev team went full backstab legend this time for real— Anonymous(Kang Ho-dong meme: As long as it's not me)— AnonymousFeels like they all got drugged or something— AnonymousSpend more money lol— Anonymous??? : Shut down the servers you insolent bastards— AnonymousIs this really that big a deal??— AnonymousUpvote if you don't care about mythic weapons lol— AnonymousWho held a knife to your throat forcing you to go mythic??📰 Ias GalleryTitle: Is Saintess Nice really quitting? Author: Anonymous (180.226) She sold all her gear and accessories??— AnonymousFor real— AnonymousShe said she's quitting after her mythic got nerfed— Anonymous (OP)For real?— AnonymousYeah check her recent post— Anonymous (OP)No way, for real? But she's a legit gold farmer, why go mythic??— AnonymousNo one knows
As expected—or perhaps inevitably—the patch wasn't rolled back.
"Haha."
In the end, I quit the game, and with my mental state shattered, I enlisted in the military right away.
One year and six months flew by in the blink of an eye.
"Sir! Sergeant Lee Min-uk reporting—"
"Alright, Min-uk, you've worked hard during your service. Keep up the good performance in society like you did here."
"Thank you, sir. You've worked hard too."
Having experienced every type of person imaginable in there, I truly appreciated the value of civilian life.
Still, I was finally discharged.
I earned money, but had no place to spend it, and even on leave, I had no one to meet.
As a result, at 22 years old, I had more cash than I deserved, and planned to live off it for a while.
Pondering happily what to do with it all, I fell asleep basking in the joy of discharge.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
When I woke up, everything had changed.
Not just my status upgrading from soldier to civilian.
The first thing I noticed was my hair.
Just yesterday I was a Republic of Korea Army sergeant, but now my hair hung down past my shoulders in long waves.
Next was my field of vision.
I'd woken up the same as always, yet my eye level felt strangely low.
Then came my body.
What should have been there was gone, and what shouldn't be had appeared.
My brand-new, unopened joystick was nowhere to be found, replaced by two heavy lumps on my chest.
"Eh?"
A voice so high-pitched I doubted it was mine.
Of course, that was the least of my concerns.
"M-my money...!"
My money was gone.
[Balance: 199,443 won]
My bank account, which should have been full of zeros, held barely under 200,000 won.
"My military savings...!"
My 1.5 years of blood, sweat, and tears had been swapped for the two lumps on my chest.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Still, humans are adaptable animals—it didn't take long to grasp the situation.
[Lee Min-ji] [22 years old]
"Lee Min-ji? My name's Lee Min-uk."
Not just my body and bank account—my identity had changed too.
Checking contacts, I didn't seem to have many acquaintances.
The phone memo app revealed more info.
[Memo: Part-time schedule...]
"Ugh, why so many part-time jobs?"
Weekdays and weekends alike, packed solid with shifts.
I had no memory of ever working this hard in my life.
"Some kind of... parallel world?"
Lee Min-ji, the owner of this body, was clearly me—but at the same time, not me.
Same family background and upbringing, but lived as the opposite gender.
That was the only way to make sense of it.
No telling when—or if—I'd return to my original body.
[Memo: Next month's rent 300,000]
"Hmm..."
And the biggest obstacle right now? Rent, looming just around the corner.
For my original self, Lee Min-uk, it would've been pocket change—but for Lee Min-ji, it was impossible.
If I didn't want to get evicted and starve, I had to find a way to make money.
"...Should I get a part-time job?"
Then it hit me: the best way I knew to earn cash.
Gold farming.
Trading in-game currency for real money.
And the term for gamers who make a living that way.
Gold farming could more than cover the rent.
Sure, cash trades violated the game's terms of service.
⚙ UPDATE DETAILS ⚙New T4 gear released
I still hadn't forgotten how Ias turned my Mythic Weapon into trash.
No reason to play clean and pure for those bastards.
This was revenge. Economic retaliation against the game company that betrayed me.
I'll keep selling gold.
Sell and sell until the currency value crashes to rock bottom.
This was the ultimate revenge I could dish out—
"Huh?"
No computer in the house.
This is a problem.