Exposed by a Rookie Mistake
A smile slipped onto my face.
It was definitely pulling in the aggro. Now that I'd attached a photo, I could practically feel the comment section shifting from raw, unfiltered hate to utter confusion.
I picked up my phone again.
Leaving behind the monitor that was still flashing non-stop comment notifications, I downloaded an app called Hunters App on my phone.
It was a community site that only actual awakened people could use, where they apparently recruited raid parties and did all sorts of other things.
It used the phone's built-in mana detection feature. You could only sign up if mana was detected, and even after joining, you had to authenticate your mana every week, making account sharing practically impossible.
In other words, a space strictly for real Awakened.
Later, you stupid Hunter-fools. I'm off to be a real hunter.
Once I completed the mana authentication and finished signing up, my profile popped up. Some of the information from my status window—specifically, my name and gender—was already filled in.
If I used the precise mana measurement feature, I could even add my class and skills to my profile, but I decided to skip that for now.
Logging into the Korean server on the Hunters App, various boards caught my eye.
From raid recruitment posts and monster strategy guides to humblebrags about looting awesome items in dungeons, and even completely useless shitposts.
Hmm. It's no different from HuntGal. People are the same everywhere.
I searched "healer" on the recruitment board. The search results were absolutely packed with posts looking for healers under amazing conditions.
Apparently, healers got a higher cut of the loot by default. On top of that, they got bonuses for healing critical injuries or purifying poison attacks.
My mood instantly soared. Seriously, wasn't I set for a happy, wealthy life as part of the Healer Royalty now?
Plus, my class wasn't something basic like 'Healer' or 'Priest'. I'd never even heard of an 'Elf' class existing.
It's gotta be some insanely broken unique class, way past S-rank, like EX-rank or something.
Ding-dong, ding-dong.
That was when it happened.
A notification sound chimed from my computer.
Looking at the monitor, a pop-up showed that someone had requested a 1-on-1 chat.
SaveTheMelee has requested a DM.
[Accept] / [Decline]
SaveTheMelee... wasn't this guy an actual hunter? I recalled him clearing a C-Rank gate a while back, making 12 million won, and throwing a massive pizza and burger party on the forum.
He was also a resident ghost of HuntGal, constantly posting alcohol-fueled shitposts whenever night fell.
Most of his posts were just him whining about how people shouldn't look down on melee DPS.
With dopamine surging from the depths of my soul, I clicked 'Accept'.
Man, his reactions were always so satisfying.
There was a reason his username was 'SaveTheMelee' and why he constantly wrote posts begging people not to look down on melee DPS.
Melee DPS was a class that didn't get much respect among hunters.
This was because once a party was formed and the tank held the front line tight, there wasn't much for a melee DPS to do.
Their defense was weaker than a tank's, yet they had to engage in extreme close-quarters combat. Unless they were exceptionally skilled, it was hard to expect much combat efficiency from them.
Since they got hurt so often, they constantly sucked up the healers' mana. In reality, the more optimized a party was, the more they avoided melee DPS.
"Sigh, seriously..."
I brushed back my vibrant green hair and let out a deep sigh.
*What is he going to do if I actually prove it? This absolute scrub melee dps.*
An infinite spiral of dopamine began to swirl in my head.
*I'll post proof of my Hunters App registration on the forum. Then I'll screenshot this chat log to humiliate SaveTheMelee.*
*The brainless Hunter-fools will absolutely explode, lol.*
*A guy who was a jobless loser just yesterday is suddenly Healer Royalty today, lmao.*
*There's gonna be so many people dying of jealousy, rofl.*
"Mwahaha."
First, I picked up my phone and took a screenshot of my Hunters App profile.
Using an image editor, I completely erased the parts containing my personal information, turning them into transparent pixels. Then, I uploaded it directly to the chatroom with SaveTheMelee.
SaveTheMelee was silent. He must have been completely speechless after seeing my proof.
*Exactly. How dare a scrub melee DPS act cocky in front of Healer Royalty?*
*Now, I just need to screenshot this conversation and post it on the forum.*
Just then, another message from SaveTheMelee popped up.
?
Now, I was the one left speechless.
*What? What the fuck? How does he know my name?*
*I erased it! I completely erased all my personal info! Seriously!*
Checking the image again, there was absolutely no visible personal information.
*Then what is it? Did he hack me?*
It was true. Opening the Hunters App, I saw a 12-digit number written in tiny, gray, microscopic font in the bottom right corner of the screen.
*This is the UID?*
Naturally, the UID was clearly visible in the screenshot I had taken.
"Am I seriously... a fucking idiot?!"
I slumped back in my chair and let out a desperate wail.
In all my years of posting on the forum, I had never leaked a single piece of personal information.
I had walked right on the edge, getting into keyboard wars and doing whatever I wanted, but I'd never left a trail.
*What do I do now? What if SaveTheMelee leaks my profile on the forum? Will I have to quit the forum forever? While being brutally mocked?*
Seeing SaveTheMelee's message finally snapped me back to reality.
*Seriously, what am I going to do?*
*Am I going to get completely doxxed and be unable to even step outside?*
Just as my hand holding the mouse began to tremble violently...
Huh?
I began to think it over.
Though this whole situation started in the dumbest way possible, it didn't seem like a bad deal for me.
She was right. If I wanted to live like Healer Royalty, I had to go to gates.
Besides, my body had suddenly been swapped with a middle school girl's, and trying to party up with complete strangers would probably lead to a lot of annoying complications.
Since the offer was already on the table, maybe it was better to use this as a learning experience...?
And it was a fact that SaveTheMelee was an actual hunter.
But just as I was about to type my agreement, another worry crossed my mind.
*Wait, what do I do about my identity? Who's going to believe me if I say I suddenly turned into a middle school elf girl overnight?*
I did have my ID card, at least.
I pulled my ID out of my wallet.
It had the exact same name, date of birth, resident registration number, and face that I remembered.
*If they were going to gender-bend me, they could've at least altered my official identity too so I wouldn't have to deal with this hassle.*
I leaned back in my chair and let out a long sigh.
Too many things were happening in a single day. I needed a moment to clear my head.
*Maybe I should have a beer... No, pouring alcohol into this body feels like a crime.*
On the chat screen, SaveTheMelee's username turned gray. It meant she was offline.
"......"
Instantly, SaveTheMelee's status switched back to online.
Clicking the link directed me to the Hunters App website. Since my computer didn't have a mana detection feature, I logged in using the ID generated from the app on my phone.
And there, a hunter's profile appeared before my eyes.
Name: Yoo Sumi
Gender: Female
Class: Magic Swordsman
Skills:Frost Blade, Cold Blast, Wall of Frost, etc.
*She really is a melee DPS. But isn't Magic Swordsman actually a pretty good class?*
...And she's a girl?
"A girl?!"
The person who wrote shitposts like "S@ve! M#e! M$e!l!e!e! D!P!S! N!o!w!<<" was a girl?
I felt utterly dumbfounded. Though, now that I thought about it, her tone had been a bit feminine.
With trembling hands, I dialed the number SaveTheMelee had sent.
"He~llo~"
A husky, relaxed voice drifted through the phone.
"He... hello."
"...Wait. You called yourself a middle schooler, but you really are just a baby?"