Dusk (BL Light Novel)

From the very start, the four-man group that had swarmed in was made up of three Dark Warlocks and one Farseer. Thank god there wasn’t a healer. If there had been, I wouldn’t have been able to take them on alone — I’d have had to wait for backup.

Still, having so many status-inflicting classes lumped together made it critical to manage my resistance skills properly. I focused on dealing AOE damage while watching their movements closely.
The moment one of them attempted a status skill that couldn’t be dodged with movement alone, I activated a resistance skill — and from that point, it was full-on burst mode.
I was fully equipped with the Supreme Commander set, fully upgraded. They were wearing standard full sets. Even if theirs were fully enhanced, it wouldn’t compare to mine. That’s why the damage I was dishing out to their DPSs was pretty damn satisfying.

The Farseer’s main status effect was Sleep, but since that one gets canceled the moment the target takes damage, I saved my precious resistance skills for the more dangerous stuff — the Assassin’s skills. I focused all my effort on reading the Assassin’s animations like a hawk, blocking as many attacks as I could with my shield. When it was unavoidable, I used resistance skills to neutralize the most critical debuffs.
I managed to focus down and kill one of the Jeojajok players who seemed to be putting out the most DPS. Another was down to a sliver of HP — but by that point, all my resistance skills were on cooldown. Which meant that any unavoidable status effects from then on would hit me full force.
Even with the Supreme Commander tank set, the incoming damage at that point was no joke. I burned through potions while finishing off the near-dead opponent. And just as I took him down, I saw another Assassin wind up for a stun animation.

There was nothing I could do. I could only hope they fumbled their rotation.
Just as I braced for the incoming stun and mentally ran through what skills to use afterward—
[Combat] Gonyanyannyang2’s Status Regulator resisted the Stun effect.

While I’d been fighting 1 versus 4, Gonyanyannyang2 had somehow kept a low enough profile to avoid drawing attention — then targeted me and used a resistance skill with pinpoint timing. As if they’d anticipated the exact moment the Assassin would go for the stun.
It was an unexpected power play. Before I could even react with surprise, I leapt at the Farseer, who had started casting a skill, and broke the cast mid-channel. Then I shoved my skill combo into them. The Farseer’s health bar dropped rapidly under my assault.
Maybe frustrated that things weren’t going as planned, the last remaining Assassin abandoned their party member and lunged at Gonyanyannyang2 instead. I wanted to help, obviously — but this was [N O V E L I G H T] a golden opportunity. With the melee DPS distracted, I could freely rip into their ranged caster.

Swallowing my guilt, I left the newbie to fend for themselves and focused everything on pounding the Farseer. Every time they tried to cast, I interrupted them. They died a slow, unceremonious death, having accomplished nothing.
I figured the Assassin would kill the newbie quickly and return, but surprisingly, they were taking their sweet time. Wondering what the delay was, I kept my skills going on the Farseer and tilted my aim slightly to glance at the newbie.
And what I saw was… incredible. The newbie was healing themselves and actually holding out against the Assassin’s attacks.

No way. Are you serious? Holding out that long against a max-level Assassin? Is this kid secretly Retaking a Class?
But even with good control, the gear gap was too much. While I was watching, the newbie’s health dropped, and they eventually melted.
The Assassin, having failed to quickly finish off a low-geared returnee, now dashed at me. Unfortunately for them, I’d just finished off the Farseer.

Supreme Commander Saint Knight at 30% HP versus a Captain-ranked Assassin at 80%.
Unless I’d completely lost my mind, there was no way I was losing this.
[System] You have defeated Jeojajok Captain 'AreYouChildrenofDarkness'.
[System] You have gained 1,270 Fame Points.
All clear.

Satisfied, I looked down at the glittering light orbs and made my way to where the newbie had fallen.
I rummaged through my inventory, found a resurrection scroll, and used it. A silver shimmer rose from the light orb that marked where Gonyanyannyang2 had died. After the casting time finished, the newbie slowly stood up with only a sliver of health and mana.
[General] Gonyanyannyang2: Thank you ㅠㅠ
[General] Gonyanyannyang2: You were fighting four people on your own and I couldn’t even help… I just jumped in and died…
[General] Gonyanyannyang2: ㅠㅠ…

Okay, this is just blasphemy now.
[General] Honeybread: Dude; didn’t you see how you saved me from getting stunned?
[General] Honeybread: That was sick.
[General] Gonyanyannyang2: Really…??

They seemed genuinely surprised, as if they had no idea what they’d done. I’d started to wonder if this person was really a newbie at all — but that reaction made it clear. It might’ve just been dumb luck.
Then again, the way they held out solo against a full-geared Assassin using self-heals… that was no joke. Honestly, that level of performance puts them nearly on par with Retaking a Class. For a Harmonizer, even great control won’t help much if you spam heals and lower your defense because of stress debuffs — it’ll just get you killed.
But if this one gets trained right, we might actually have a new Commander Jo in the making. Or even a future Supreme Commander Jo. Maybe our very own Viajok version of Retaking a Class?
Yeah, I know I’m getting ahead of myself — but dream big, right?

[General] Honeybread: Yeah. That was solid.
I gave one more word of praise to boost their confidence, then right-clicked on their character.
[System] You have invited Gonyanyannyang2 to your party.

Time to see if this one's really got what it takes to become the second Retaking a Class.
[General] Gonyanyannyang2: ????
[General] Honeybread: Let’s go.
The newbie seemed flustered and even tried to decline the invitation. I had to send it multiple times before they finally accepted. Why are newbies always so slow to accept party invites?

[Party] Gonyanyannyang2 has joined the party.
[Party] Party leader privileges have been transferred to Gonyanyannyang2.
[Party] Honeybread: Queue up for the dungeon.
[General] Gonyanyannyang2: You’re really gonna help me…?
[Party] Honeybread: Yup. Queue it.
[General] Gonyanyannyang2: If you help me with this too, I’ll feel so bad ㅠㅠㅠㅠ
[Party] Honeybread: Nah, it’s fine. Just go.

Even with me rushing them, they kept flooding the chat with crying emoticons like they were drowning in guilt. I had to shoot a few random skills into the air to get them to hurry up — only then did they finally queue at the dungeon entrance.
Thanks to having a tank (me), the matchmaking popped instantly.
[System] An instance of the dungeon ‘Temple Faded by Darkness’ has been created.
[System] All party members are ready. (6/6)
[System] You are now being automatically transferred into the instance dungeon.

While the screen loaded and the dungeon loaded in, I grabbed my phone and, with practiced fingers, opened the chat with Retaking a Class.
[Me]
I think I just found us a god-tier newbie Jo candidate lmao 15:51
To be honest, whether Gonyanyannyang2 was truly a god-tier Jo-class newbie or just a regular returnee who lucked their way into surviving — that remained to be seen. But before any of that, there was something I was really looking forward to: watching Retaking a Class squirm in jealousy.

That guy craved praise for even the tiniest thing he did. So how satisfying would it be to compliment someone else — especially in the Jo position, which he considered his pride and joy? He’d be foaming at the mouth.
He was probably at work right now, so I wasn’t expecting a reply. I was about to put my phone down… but the little “1” next to my last message disappeared almost immediately. Then came the reply.
[Retaking a Class]
You ignore my messages since Saturday and this is what I get from you??
ㅜㅡ? 15:51

Yeah, I did. So what.
[Me]
Yup. 15:51
[Retaking a Class]
You’re the worst. 15:51

[Me]
Yup. 15:51
[Retaking a Class]
Why are your replies so cold? 15:51
[Me]
Yup? 15:51

[Retaking a Class]
You having fun with that new Jo-class newbie instead of me?
You like them young, huh? 15:51
[Me]
Yup.
Younglings are the best. 15:51
The way he was bitterly sulking made me feel strangely warm inside.

[Retaking a Class]
There’s no such thing as some god-tier Jo-class newbie… Don’t let appearances fool you. 15:51
“No such thing,” huh. “Don’t be fooled by appearances,” huh.
Okay, then who the hell rolls a new alt, pretends they’re broke to shake me down for pocket change, dies multiple times in the field just to catch my attention, hides cracked control skills under the guise of newbie luck, and lures me into a dungeon run?

[Me]
You bark as well as you look. 15:51
[Retaking a Class]
Are you saying I look like a dog????? 15:51
I meant “you bark like a dog,” not “you look like one.” But honestly, the comparison wasn’t entirely unfair. Not that I’d ever say his face was dog-like. His face was perfect.

[Me]
Whatever.
Go back to work. 15:51
[Retaking a Class]
I have the day off, actually. 15:51
…Wait, what? You have a day off and you’re not in-game? You weren’t anywhere in the field. If you weren’t at work, you should’ve been out there stirring shit up, forcing me to log in to deal with it.

Unless… you’re not playing Dusk today? Are you sane? You’re not playing Dusk on your day off?
The dungeon load screen had finished, but Gonyanyannyang2 was watching the intro cutscene, so I stayed glued to my phone a bit longer.
[Me]
Didn’t see you in the field.
What have you been up to?
Not playing Dusk? 15:52

[Retaking a Class]
I am playing Dusk. 15:52
[Me]
Then why didn’t I see you?
What are you doing? 15:52
[Retaking a Class]
Hmm…
Dungeon? Hehe 15:52

Dungeon, my ass. You already ran all your farm routes. I didn’t even try to hide my irritation as I typed back.
[Me]
Get your ass out into the field. 15:52
[Retaking a Class]
You miss me? 15:52

Ugh. Freaking attention whore.
[Me]
Yup.
I’m bored as hell.
But I’m in a dungeon right now too, so come around 4:30. 15:52
The message read receipt showed he’d seen it, but no reply came right away. At the same time, Gonyanyannyang2 seemed to have finished the cutscene, and their character was finally able to move. I was just about to shut off my phone—

[Retaking a Class]
Got it ^//^ 15:52
Oh? He’s actually coming?
Well, if you were gonna come anyway, you should’ve just logged in earlier. Still, it lifted my mood a little. With Retaking a Class around, things would at least be less dull. It felt like the energy was finally picking up.

I erased the stupid blushing emoji from my mind, sent a final message — “okok” — and returned to the game.
Time to try and remember the dungeon mechanics.