[No title provided]
Aren't they both the same? A moment later, Lee Seo-yeon returned still chuckling, while Yoo Seol-ah had managed to school her expression as she came back to us. I tried my best to regain my composure too, but when my eyes inadvertently met Seol-ah's, I had no choice but to duck my head.
"...What's with you?"
...The Ruinele doujinshi wouldn't leave my mind. If the game takes off, there'll definitely be stuff like that. The memory just wouldn't fade. And it hit even harder because it was Seol-ah who said those lines.
I already knew she had overflowing knowledge on that front—hell, she probably knew way more than I did. But she's not the type to say stuff like that out loud usually. Aside from that first time she pounced on me, she gets shy about it.
Seol-ah tilted her head for a second, then her face started turning red bit by bit. This time, she tugged lightly at my wrist and whispered,
"...Hey, you didn't happen to hear that, did you?"
"......"
She already seemed convinced, so I didn't bother denying it.
Her earlobes flushed bright red right away.
"...Ugh, no... Seo-yeon brought it up first..."
She'd jumped straight to blaming Seo-yeon without a second thought, which pretty much confirmed she'd been thinking the exact same thing. Her voice got a little louder, and that drew Lee Seo-yeon right in from the side.
"Hey, Seol-ah, what's with sneaking off by yourself like that?"
"Aaaah!..."
Seol-ah, who'd been trying to pin it all on Seo-yeon, got dragged into her arms in an instant to pay for her "crimes." Not that she seemed to hate it—hard to call that actual punishment.
"So, what were you talking about?"
With Doyun jumping in, unable to hold back his curiosity any longer, Seo-yeon pondered for a second before pointing at the doll nearby.
"Oh, this one? Or should I say this person?"
"Just call her Ruinele."
"Got it. So yeah, Ruinele's missing her pants. Too lazy to put 'em on."
"Figures. I heard none of the mage tower lords are normal..."
Basically, Astasia was held in check by four major factions: the royal family, the church, the mage towers, and the shadowy assassin guilds. With powerhouses like that keeping each other in line, rumors about the strong ones tended to spread.
The royal family—the biggest player—had a whole separate intel division, or so I'd heard. No surprise that Doyun-hyung, with his royal background, knew the stories too.
"What about the other mage tower lords?"
Seo-yeon, curiosity piqued, asked—and Seol-ah answered with the weirdest look on her face.
"...Yeah, no normal ones. There's this one who never takes off their outfit, and another whose gender no one even knows..."
"Why are all mages like that?"
"Dunno. Guess magic research drives 'em nuts."
True enough... If you had to pick the weirdest bunch, everyone would say the mage towers. The assassin guild I was in? All pretty normal folks. Insanely skilled, sure, but their personalities stayed within regular bounds. No bizarre antics, at least.
"...Mages being weird isn't exactly news."
I still vividly remember one mage I knew grinning like a maniac while blanketing an entire dungeon in AoE spells. Thought he was the Joker or something.
I wasn't pointing fingers at anyone specific, but Seol-ah shot back immediately.
"...Hey, why're you looking at me when you say that?"
"Never seen it myself. Why so defensive?"
"...Hah, seriously."
Binding me with magic before pouncing isn't exactly "normal," after all. Couldn't say that with the others around, but I wasn't backing down either.
Seol-ah started growling, but this time the sparks flew toward Doyun-hyung instead.
"Oppa. Between us two, who's weirder?"
"......"
Sorry for dragging him in out of nowhere, but Doyun-hyung would judge fairly. Obviously, he'd say I'm the normal one.
Doyun-hyung smiled faintly as he thought it over, then replied brightly,
"Aren't they both the same?"
"No, hyung, what the—"
"Oppa, you saying I'm like him?"
He looked a little apologetic at our protests, but he wasn't taking back his words.
...Yeah, as the leader, he's decisive when it counts. But putting me and Seol-ah on the same level...?
"Anyway, watching you two got me thinking about the game."
"...What?"
He came up with game ideas from our pointless bickering? Doyun-hyung really is a genius.
"You know how MMORPGs always have character classes?"
"Yeah. Always arguing which one's OP..."
"Turn-based RPGs like ours? Players barely have classes. Mostly summoners or commanders—stuff like that."
Players usually aren't frontline fighters by design. And for immersion, they often don't even show the player's face.
"Make player classes selectable?"
"Yeah. Thinking of adding it from the start. Not sure if player characters join combat yet, though."
But what did us have to do with it? Seol-ah beat me to the question.
"...You got that idea from us?"
"Yep. You two—a mage and an assassin—always bickering like that."
"......"
Embarrassing hearing it from someone else. We're adults, but acting like we're fighting over online game classes IRL.
Seo-yeon stifled a laugh as Doyun-hyung got serious.
"Thing is, when factions exist, rivalry between them feels natural."
"...Well, yeah."
Even with just two groups, zero conflict is impossible.
"If players pick classes, rivalries form organically. Makes 'em love their class more."
Like how external threats unite internals. Once the game launches, we'd play too—Seol-ah'd probably stack mages, and I'd pour love into assassins. Inevitable.
"Player classes won't be OP, obviously. But it could reduce unused characters too."
"Bonus if player and character match classes?"
"Exactly. Adds strategy, even if details aren't set."
We were just messing around, but game ideas won't quit in Doyun-hyung's head.
Seol-ah glanced at him and mumbled softly,
"...So, uh, buff mages a bit...?"
"Hey, you—"
"Kidding...!"
Ops get accused of favoritism with imbalanced classes—that's a real issue. But Doyun-hyung just smiled warmly.
"Players fighting over buffs? Not bad. Shows they care about the game."
True—if you hate it, no patch notes matter. You just delete the app.
Differentiates us from others, but one concern lingered.
"Balance issues?"
"No worries. I'm confident there."
Zero hesitation, pure confidence. If he says it, gacha RPG balance woes won't plague us.
One big worry down.
"Easter eggs too?"
"Gotta sprinkle some in for fun."
Seo-yeon's eyes sparkled as she grinned.
"Then, when assassin and mage players meet, make 'em growl at each other."
"......"
Way too familiar. Player avatars won't show faces, so no heavy déjà vu.
Doyun-hyung nodded approvingly.
"They're smart usually, but childish together? I like it."
"...N-no need to make it that childish..."
If the game blows up, millions witnessing our spats? Global if overseas. Hasn't happened, but the shame hit hard already.