Archive of Our Own

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5TH YEAR ANNIVERSARY
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Yuder’s thumb hovered over the ad on his phone. He hesitated, curiosity tugging at him, then gave in. After two years of pretending to forget the game (not very convincingly), he tapped the link to its website.

The website looked better than he remembered. For a moment, he thought the game would've gone under already. It had been years. Who still plays this old, boring game?

Well, not really. He knew many people still played despite his stopping. He saw the reason immediately on the website's launch page: a handsome man with a perfectly sculpted face, golden hair, and mesmerizing red eyes. His name was plastered below his bright smile.

Kishiar la Orr
Turning Adventure Brand Ambassador

Yuder might've left the gaming scene two years ago, but sometimes he still caught wind of it. Especially since both his best friends from high school were also gamers—not as hardcore as he used to be, but still pretty dedicated.

Okay, it wasn't that clunky at first. Turning Adventure was actually so damn good for a newly released game back then. He really enjoyed the combination of world mystery lore, dungeon raid system, game mechanics, and PvP arena. He even enjoyed the mundane grinding because the cute graphics reminded him of his late grandfather's art style.

He had played the game religiously every day since the beta testing period until the day his first-place rank was stolen.

Okay, not stolen.

His opponent was definitely good—godly, even. He might've been a newer player, but you couldn't really cheat your way through Turning Adventure. Players still had to grind and farm personally to upgrade their characters. Higher-level players could carry someone through dungeons or quests, but class progression still depended on your own skills and grinding.

That was one of the reasons Yuder loved the game so much. People had to play fair to get better. Especially, you can't pay your way to be ranked in PvP. And because he had played every single day without fail, he somehow managed to achieve first rank.

His brother, Enon, scolded him for impulsively deleting his account after that defeat. Said he was stupid for getting so angry over one loss (truthfully, he was worried Yuder left his only hobby). Kanna and Gakane, on the other hand, only asked him one thing:

Would he regret it?

But Yuder stayed silent and slowly left gaming behind altogether. He kept telling himself he needed to grow up and focus more on his studies. Which was half-true, honestly. He had always been a good student. He never got bad grades, even while spending almost all his free time gaming.

He never told anyone the real reason he deleted the account.

It wasn't just because he lost.

It was because he lost to someone he had underestimated.

Yuder had never been the arrogant type, but maybe a part of him really had looked down on that newer player back then. And when that same player defeated him with that insane play, all Yuder felt was inferiority and shame.

So he deleted his account.

He spent the next year trying to accept that ugly side of himself and make peace with it.

Then the following year, he saw that same name briefly on Kanna's laptop.

Kishiar la Orr Retires from Professional Competition, Revealed as Turning Adventure Ranker "Akit"

The esports star confirms years of speculation about his in-game identity.

Okay.

So his opponent really had been some kind of god.

Yuder only casually played other games besides Turning Adventure, but even he knew that name. Kishiar was a professional gamer who had become MVP in almost every tournament since his debut. Sure, people talked about his face all the time, but his gameplay was even more ridiculous.

Nobody won that much just by being handsome.

"Yuder, do you want to play Turning Adventure again?" Kanna asked, interrupting his thoughts.

Yuder looked up in surprise.

He hadn't even noticed Kanna arriving at the cafe. The Turning Adventure website was still open on his phone. Today was supposed to be their meetup, yet somehow he had spent the last few minutes staring at a game he hadn't touched in two years.

"Well, you've already finished your thesis, right? And you've been preparing for internships for months. Graduation's basically the only thing left now, so you definitely have some free time."

"I... I don't know..." Yuder whispered softly.

Kanna and Gakane rarely brought up Turning Adventure in conversations despite the two of them still playing the game. They weren't as obsessed with it as Yuder used to be, but they still enjoyed it for their own reasons. Kanna loved the guild she found there—and she enjoyed skin customization way too much—while Gakane mostly played to stay connected with his younger sibling back in their hometown.

"It's their fifth anniversary update, so people are already speculating about all kinds of new additions," Kanna continued while sitting across from him. She smiled. "And since Kishiar became their brand ambassador, Turning Adventure definitely got more players and revenue too. People are expecting bigger lore updates."

She leaned forward slightly.

"I bet the worldbuilding and dungeon mysteries will get even better. You'd definitely enjoy it."

"Yeah... maybe..." Yuder replied awkwardly. "But I deleted my account, and new players can't access the new map immediately, right? So I don't know if I should—"

"Wait, you can use my account!" Kanna interrupted.

Yuder stared at her blankly. "Yours? But don't you also want to play the new update?"

"I mean my alternative account, not my main one. I made it around three years ago when Sister Ever started playing. She needed a companion, so I made one too. I barely use it now since Sister Ever's level is already high enough. But the account level should still be pretty decent, so you can directly use it for the new update. What do you think?"

-

-

Yeah, Yuder shook his head. He didn't know if returning was the right decision. But he missed the game. The world, the dungeons, the endless grinding, even the background music he used to listen to for hours.

Maybe he just wanted to see it all one more time.

He honestly hadn't missed that much over the past two years. The last time he played, the game had already been declining, so there wasn't a lot of new content back then. And during the first year after he deleted his account, the game had almost gone bankrupt until Kishiar la Orr—a professional esports player and celebrity streamer—started streaming himself playing it.

Suddenly, the game became popular again.

And years later, Kishiar became their brand ambassador, followed by the announcement of this fifth anniversary update.

Yuder glanced at his phone screen, showing a gorgeous blond man sitting in his gaming room with headphones on while his computer displayed the Turning Adventure interface.

"I can't wait for the servers to open. It'll be up in five more minutes."

Kishiar flashed a bright smile at the camera.

"If you're also waiting, drop a comment. I'll shout out your names."

He winked.

What a smooth talker.

It wasn't Yuder first time watching this man's streams, but something about it always made Yuder pause. Well, Kishiar's face and eyes were genuinely mesmerizing, so maybe Yuder just thought he looked like some beautiful angel descending to grace humanity.

"I see a lot of you waiting too. BearCook, Secret Agent, Iamsword, BiggerBlue, BiggestBlue,—yeah, yeah, I see you all. Please, my Arcane Legion guildmates, you don't need to make yourselves known. I already know you'll be there since we promised to enter the server together."

Kishiar's voice traveled softly through the room.

Yuder tightened his grip on the mouse.

He was really grateful to Kanna for lending him the account. She only gave him one warning, and surprisingly, it wasn't because the account used a female character with the username StarlessNight. Yuder genuinely didn't care about avatar gender.

The problem was that both Kanna's main and alt accounts were members of Arcane Legion—the same guild where Kishiar, the owner of Akit and the person who defeated him, acted as guildmaster.

Yuder still hadn't met him during his two weeks online so far.

But after this new update?

They were bound to run into each other sooner or later.

"I already told my guildmates that my friend is using that side account now, so I'm sure no one will bother you. But please tell me if you experience anything unpleasant."

Kanna had told him that.

And also—

"You can leave the guild and join another one if you want, but some parts of the new update are guild-member exclusive, so I recommend staying in Arcane Legion for now."

"Yeah. The guild hasn't accepted new members since our Commander account became known as Kishiar, and he rarely accepts anyone now."

That had been another bomb dropped onto Yuder.

The fact that both his best friends were in the same guild as the person who defeated him.

And the fact that they had both interacted with Kishiar before.

Well, he couldn't exactly get angry at them over it. He was the one who deleted his account and abandoned their old guild first. Arcane Legion had been one of the few surviving guilds during Turning Adventure's decline.

And because of Kanna's good reputation—and her personal guarantee—Yuder was allowed to stay there too.

So Yuder swallowed the rest of his pride and hoped he wouldn't meet Akit in-game.

Even though he knew that was completely impossible, considering he was literally inside Akit's guild.

"Finally, the servers are open! If you guys don't have time to play and can only watch my stream, don't worry. I won't spoil the important stuff. I want to spend my first day exploring the new map properly."

Kishiar's soft voice continued playing from Yuder's phone while the screen in front of him displayed the new update jingle before finally loading into the game.

-

-

Yuder exited the game when the clock showed almost midnight. He had played for almost five whole hours, yet his heart still felt full.

The new map was huge and packed with new things to explore. He was also relieved that no one from Kanna's friend list or Arcane Legion guild had bothered him personally. The guild chat itself was surprisingly lively too, filled with greetings, nostalgic conversations, and people excitedly talking about the new map.

He even found some of his old friends from his deleted account inside Arcane Legion now.

They might not know he used to be Yudrain back then, but they were welcoming enough toward him.

If only he didn't have a morning shift tomorrow, he probably would've stayed online all night.

Yuder glanced at his phone. The blond man was still exploring the new map called Nelran. The previous map had been the Orr Empire, along with Arcane Legion's basecamp.

And now this new land felt completely unknown. Something waiting to be explored and conquered.

Yet the first-rank player and commander of one of the most famous guilds in Turning Adventure spent all his time simply wandering around the map. Kishiar avoided almost every quest flag and event trigger he came across. He just ran around aimlessly, farming random materials and admiring the scenery.

"It's so different from the Orr Empire, right?" Kishiar said through the stream. "You guys will probably get bored if I keep saying how much I love this map."

He chuckled softly.

The sound of his laughter filled Yuder's room and somehow made him feel warm.

"Anyway, it's midnight already. As much as I want to keep playing, I should probably end the stream soon before my manager starts nagging me."

Kishiar teleported his avatar back to Arcane Legion's basecamp. The camp was still crowded, with many guild members hanging around the lobby area chatting casually.

Yuder had visited the lobby earlier, too.

If he had stayed just a little longer, he probably would've met the famous Akit face-to-face in-game.

But honestly, Yuder was glad they hadn't met yet.

He still hadn't prepared his heart enough to face that man.

"I see my guildmates are still playing."

Kishiar greeted several members while casually reading through the guild chat. Then his gaze shifted slightly toward the stream comments.

"Tomorrow's Sunday."

"Yeah, it is," Kishiar replied. "But I still have a schedule tomorrow morning, so I can't stay up too late."

"What kind of schedule?"

Kishiar smiled brightly at the screen, and Yuder could feel his chest tighten again.

"You'll all find out later."

The chat instantly exploded.

"Thank you for watching and supporting me today, too," Kishiar continued. "I'll stream Turning Adventure more often from now on, okay? I'll upload my schedule later."

His eyes softened slightly. Even after playing for five straight hours, he still looked ridiculously beautiful.

"See you later."

And then the stream ended.

Yuder let out a quiet sigh before checking his messages. Their group chat—BFF, consisting of him, Kanna, and Gakane—already had several unread notifications.

Kanna:
Have fun?
I wanted to play longer too, but I had volunteer work as usual :(

Gakane:
Still playing rn
Lil bro asked me to stay longer
Iamsword's helping us with side quests too

Kanna:
I wanna play too :(
The new map looks amazing

Gakane:
Yeah

Kanna:
What about you, Yuder?
I saw you were still online before logging off

Gakane:
You can tell me if you wanna form a party too, okay Yuder

Kanna:
Yeah
Did anyone approach you?

Gakane:
I think Yuder still playing
Your StarlessNight account is still online

Kanna:
Oh maybe Yuder still enjoying the game then
I'm glad

Gakane:
Me too

Kanna:
Let's play together again
The three of us

Gakane:
Yeah
I'll ditch my current party for our old trio again

Kanna:
So glad I made my side account an assassin

Gakane:
Didn't you just make it because you liked that particular assassin skins

Kanna:
Well yeah but you know me, Gakane

Gakane:
😄

Yuder finished reading the newest messages. Gakane had sent the last one only two minutes ago.

A smile slowly spread across Yuder's face as he typed his reply.

Thanks, both of you
Let's play together another day
Got a morning shift tomorrow
Good nigh

After sending the message, Yuder turned off his phone screen.

-

-

BiggestBlue: StarlessNight, do u want to join our party?
BiggerBlue: Hey, you should at least greet her first
BiggestBlue: (｡· v ·｡)?
BiggerBlue: ArcReader isn't using her alt anymore, she gave it to her friend
BiggerBlue: Didn't you read her announcement?
BiggestBlue: So sorry, StarlessNight (*_ _)人
BiggerBlue: Please forgive him, StarlessNight
BiggerBlue: I'm Bigger and he's Biggest
BiggerBlue: Do you want to do a dungeon with us?
BiggestBlue: Yeah, yeah, we need one more member

Yuder glanced at the time on his phone screen. It was almost midnight again.

Today marked the eighth day he had stayed up late playing the game again, just like during his high school and early college days.

Since Arcane Legion hadn't kicked him out—and Yuder still hadn't looked for another guild—he simply stayed.

Most of the time, he played solo. Farming, grinding, and leveling up his class.

But sometimes he played together with Kanna and Gakane, which slowly helped him get closer to other Arcane Legion members too. They did quests and dungeons together in the new map, and because Kanna and Gakane vouched for him—and because Yuder himself was genuinely good as a player—they accepted him easily.

Almost like an old friend.

He still hadn't met Kishiar at all.

Yuder always watched Kishiar's Turning Adventure streams and carefully avoided whichever area Kishiar happened to be playing in. Kanna and Gakane also told him he didn't need to personally greet the guildmaster since Kanna had already asked permission for him beforehand.

Arcane Legion honestly wasn't the type of guild that constantly forced members to interact or party together anyway. Aside from territory wars, most people just did their own thing.

Still... maybe someday, when he was playing alone, Yuder could try accepting invitations from other guild members.

They had all been pretty kind to him so far.

StarlessNight: What dungeon are u doing?
BiggestBlue: the Star of Nagran one
BiggerBlue: Have you tried it yet?
StarlessNight: No
StarlessNight: But I watched the guildmaster's stream and videos
BiggestBlue: Isn't our Commander amazing??

Commander.

Yuder still wasn't used to calling Akit as the other guild members did.

But honestly, Commander was a fitting title for Akit—Kishiar. He really was a good leader during raids.

Kishiar might've retired from competitive esports last year, but his streams and videos were still insanely popular. Recently, he only focused on Turning Adventure content, and somehow, Yuder had ended up watching almost all of his latest (and old) videos too.

Strictly for game information, obviously.

Not because of his soft voice or mesmerizing face.

Definitely not.

StarlessNight: Yeah
BiggestBlue: ₍₍⚞(˶>ᗜ<˶)⚟⁾⁾
BiggerBlue: So, want to join us?
StarlessNight: Okay

Yuder accepted the party invitation before teleporting his character to the dungeon entrance.

And at first, he didn't pay much attention to the rest of the party members. Not until another player appeared in front of him.

BiggerBlue: Wait, we just called the other two
StarlessNight: OK

Yuder glanced through the party list.

Then froze when he registered the last name that joined.

Akit.

Ah.

So it was finally happening.

The unavoidable meeting.

BiggerBlue: Commander! We got the rest player!

Yuder didn't get the chance to read Kishiar's reply because Kishiar's voice suddenly came through the party voice chat instead.

"Oh, it's StarlessNight."

BiggestBlue: Commander, you shouldn't startle her
BiggerBlue: Sorry, StarlessNight
BiggerBlue: Our Commander prefers using voice chat
BiggerBlue: Apologized for not telling you first

Yuder heard Kishiar chuckle softly.

"My apologies, StarlessNight. I hope you don't mind."

Kishiar's avatar performed a polite bowing gesture.

The character design itself looked fairly similar to Kishiar in real life: golden hair and red eyes. But since Akit belonged to a mystical race, he also had horns and pointed ears.

"I'm Akit," Kishiar continued warmly. "I heard ArcReader lent you her alt account, but this is our first time meeting, so welcome to Arcane Legion."

LittleOne: Hello! I'm LittleOne!
LittleOne: It's also our first meeting, nice to meet u
BiggerBlue: Yeah welcome welcome
BiggestBlue: ⸜( ˶>ᴗ<˶)⸝♡

Slowly, Yuder typed on his keyboard.

StarlessNight: Thank u for having me
StarlessNight: You can just call me starlessnight

The reply comes sooner.

BiggerBlue: You're ArcReader's friend, right?
StarlessNight: Yeah
BiggerBlue: Then you're older than us
BiggestBlue: So noona!
BiggestBlue: can we call you noona?

"Guys, don't pressure her too much," Kishiar said lightly. "It's rude to trouble a lady about her age."

BiggerBlue: Sorry, noona
BiggestBlue: sorry

"But ArcReader did mention you're her childhood friend, so I assumed you're around the same age as her."

StarlessNight: Yeah we have the same age
BiggestBlue: Yay
LittleOne: I'm around ArcReader's age too
LittleOne: so just be casual with me okay

The conversation continued casually, but Yuder found himself distracted by Kishiar's voice again.

"I'm a bit older than all of you, but please feel free to be casual with me too."

After that, they discussed dungeon strategies before finally starting the raid.

Kishiar's voice accompanied the entire exploration. Giving commands, supporting teammates, and directing the raid smoothly. He really knew how to use every party member efficiently.

Yuder honestly didn't know how he survived listening to that soft voice for an entire hour-long dungeon raid.

But somehow, he did.

And just before logging off, he heard Kishiar speak again.

"You're really good, StarlessNight. Especially your move when dodging the boss attack. It's so effortless and clean..." 

A small pause. "I hope we can party together more often."

"Okay, thank you for everything tonight, guys. Good night. Sweet dreams."

Something inside Yuder melted. The greeting was meant for the whole party, obviously, but warmth still pooled strangely inside his stomach.

Yuder had to admit it now. He genuinely enjoyed Kishiar's streams and playing together with him. And not just because Kishiar was ridiculously skilled. His voice was just...

... way too soothing.