LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 118
[Don’t come in. -Rain-]
Early morning, in front of Rain’s room.
Chris was dozing off beside it.
Snore, snore.
“Ugh… My little white buddy can’t be sick…”
Wii-rring Click.
“Ah!”
Startled by the sound, Chris turned to look beside her.
“Eh.”
The door opened, revealing a pure white girl sitting in a wheelchair. She was wearing a pretty white pajama that Chris had bought, wrapping her small body snugly. It seemed she had finally gotten ready.
Rain, who had opened the door, was looking at Chris with a slightly surprised expression.
Chris quickly jumped up and grabbed Rain’s shoulders.
“Rain, are you okay!? Wha, what happened? Did you try all night?”
“Ah… Yes.”
Chris cautiously observed Rain’s expression.
There was an unmistakable look of pain and fatigue etched on her face.
Thud.
Chris’s heart sank.
Tears welled up in her eyes.
It felt like her chest was being squeezed.
“What am I going to do if it starts like this…”
Chris lowered her head.
Her lonely fight.
How could she help?
“…Sister.”
Rain embraced Chris’s head.
“Do I look like I’m having a hard time?”
“H-Hard time or not, what is it then!”
“…….”
Rain’s small, soft hand caressed Chris’s face.
With a gentle motion, Rain lifted Chris’s chin, making their eyes meet.
Chris stared blankly into Rain’s eyes.
Inside Rain’s eyes swirled an emotion that Chris couldn’t quite decipher.
That was… a sense of achievement.
“R-Rain!”
Chris’s face brightened.
Rain smiled back brightly.
“I can’t believe you defeated a Level 1 Named Enemy all by yourself in just one day… Rain, eat this too.”
“Ah~”
Nom.
Rain accepted the food Chris was offering her with ease.
This was a precious moment of communication, one that could only be shared once a day.
Chris decided to savor this moment fully.
Although Rain had been eating alone for a while, thankfully they could have a meal together today.
Chris watched fondly as Rain chewed the meat she had fed her, and then asked casually.
“So, how did you defeat it? Well, I know I shouldn’t be asking since it’s kind of a perk competition, but…”
“Because I’m your sister, of course I can tell you… Ah, um. I’m sorry. There are parts I can’t really discuss.”
Rain started to speak freely but then a troubled expression crossed her face as she avoided Chris’s gaze.
Chris nodded.
The part Rain hesitated to talk about must be related to what fueled her ability to solo the boss. A hidden gimmick? Anyway, there could be tricks to deal massive damage. If this was seen as a perk competition, it would be hard for her to share it.
“Um, so… when the magic circle appears while dealing damage, you erase them in order, purify the ants, generate a shield to block the breath, and repeat.”
Chris looked blank.
“Is… is that all?”
“Um… That’s the big picture. Right, there are four magic circles at 60%, and five at 30%.”
Chris had predicted that part.
But how could she step on all those magic circles by herself?
While dodging the magic spears and fending off the ants’ attacks?
Even if she managed to do it all, Rain was alone.
It must be physically impossible due to time constraints.
Reading the doubt in Chris’s eyes, Rain shyly scratched her cheek.
Feeling like she was being questioned, Chris also felt a bit guilty and changed the subject.
“Well anyway, so you’re saying it’s possible to do it alone. Sigh, I guess I have to whip the Hong Baek raid members who couldn’t clear this even as a twelve-man team.”
Rain giggled.
“Sister, please don’t torment the guild members too much.”
Then she murmured with a wistful expression.
“…Just two more checkpoints to go, and then I can meet them.”
“……?”
Chris tilted her head, looking at Rain’s face.
It was a rare expression of fondness from Rain.
That expression was one meant to be shown only to her.
But now, Rain wore that expression while thinking of someone other than herself.
What was going on?
A sense of unease bloomed in Chris’s heart.
*
After a long period of trying, Chris laid Rain down on the bed, gently patting her to sleep.
As the promised trial time approached, she logged into ‘Astria Online’.
The moment they defeated the mid-boss, all members of the raid were bound to the raid dungeon.
The current situation was in front of the Level 1 Named Enemy ‘Black Dragon’ at the ‘Abyssal Tree’.
“Yawn.”
Chris yawned.
But soon, she opened her eyes wide and focused on the Black Dragon.
She was tired from staying up all night worried about Rain, but as the raid leader, she couldn’t show weakness.
Members of the ‘Hong Baek’ raid also began to appear one by one in front of the Level 1 Named Enemy.
As all the members gathered in front of the Black Dragon, Chris conducted a briefing before starting today’s strategy.
Whirring.
A hologram of the combat area for the Level 1 Named Enemy appeared before Chris.
“Oh, a hologram PPT? You must have worked hard making this.”
“We’ll be proceeding with this positioning today. In Phase 2, Red Hot Chicken will join in, and in Phase 3, Cherni will join as well, totaling five. The ranged dealers need to move organically to complete the gimmicks. I’ve also set support members for anyone who dies.”
“Indeed, if it goes as planned, but we haven’t even seen the Phase 30% special phase yet?”
“Even if we clear the second special phase, we won’t know what will happen afterwards. After 60%, nobody knows.”
“Nah, at 30% special phase there will be five magic circles.”
With Krist’s confident words, all the Hong Baek members had puzzled looks.
“No way.”
Deathly Death’s eyes widened.
Along with the rare agitation, Bae Merong and Cherni also gaped.
Chris nodded.
“Ugh.”
“Again!”
“Ahhh! Even in the raid dungeon!”
Deathly Death held his head, while Bae Merong and Cherni wore expressions of dismay.
“What? What’s going on?”
“What happened, Guild Master? Deathly?”
The original members of Chris’s party began showing unusual reactions.
Unfamiliar with this situation, the Hong Baek members began to ask urgently.
Chris smiled and conveyed to all the members of the Hong Baek raid.
“This morning, a Level 1 Named perk came out. It was done by someone we all know.”
“……!”
Finally, the other raid members realized what was happening.
The Summoner, Dal Borom, cautiously spoke up.
“…Rain? As in, solo play?”
Nodding.
At Chris’s positive response, the Hong Baek raid flipped out.
“W-What?”
“No way! Really?”
“I mean, uh, Rain could do it, but come on! It’s not Elden, it’s a raid dungeon, right?”
Grin.
Watching the flustered expressions of the raid members, Chris smiled cruelly.
“Then, as twelve members, we absolutely have to clear this, right? If the trial takes too long, you might be disappointed! Members who made multiple mistakes might have to switch out…”
“Whoa!”
Chris turned the Hong Baek raid members upside down twice.
[Level 1 Named Enemy]
[Level 53]
[Black Dragon]
[HP 59,974,550 / 200,000,000 (30%)]
Flap, flap, flap.
The dragon’s wings began to flutter.
The beginning of the third special phase, the flight pattern.
Ta-ta-ta-tat!
“Finally, the last special phase! This time, five magic circles! We have to give it our all!”
Chris quickly dashed to her assigned position and shouted.
Thud, thud, thud!
Other ranged dealers all fruitfully moved to their respective gimmick execution spots.
Whoooom, whoooom, whoooom!
ZAAAAAAAAAT!
From the air, the Black Dragon’s body generated magical spears, flying towards the moving ranged dealers to execute the gimmicks.
“Protection talisman, fire protection, anything goes! Save your party shields for this moment! Use them without hesitation for self-preservation! After this, it’s only the normal patterns!”
The party members darting through this trial can be considered pioneers exploring uncharted territory.
An unknown area with no one to guide them.
The process of solving an absurd puzzle.
In truth, that hopelessness is the greatest obstacle.
But if there’s an answer, the story changes.
This is directly linked to the fact that additional clear parties emerge like wild mushrooms after the first dungeon clear party appears.
If you know in advance, you can prepare. You can boldly use skills with long cooldowns. Simply train your body to know the patterns and movements.
BAM-BAM-BAM!
The ominous sound of the Black Dragon’s spear flying through the air was blocked impotently by the party members’ shields.
And slowly, one by one, the magic circles began to disappear under their feet.
Thud.
Chris successfully stepped on the last magic circle and purified all the ants.
Whoooom!
As the barrier generated in the center of the combat area formed, all the party members gathered inside.
KWA-KWA-KWA-KWA!
The Black Dragon unleashed its concentrated breath onto the party members.
Amidst that terrifying breath, Chris managed to smile.
“With this, all special phases are done.”
All that remained was to chip away at the dragon’s remaining HP.
After that, it didn’t take long for the dragon’s massive body to fall.
KAAAH-!!
THUD-.
Ding!
[Raid Dungeon ‘Abyssal Tree’ Progress 1/3]
[Ring of the Abyss]
[Legendary Grade]
[Strength +80, Agility +80, Intelligence +80]
[Critical Rate +12%]
[Critical Damage +30%]
[Unique Ability: +10% additional damage on attack]
(Bound upon acquisition)
“Ohhhh…! Legendary grade accessory! Critical rate in double digits!”
“To give so many precious stats that only go up a little with level ups, this truly is legendary grade.”
“Look here, it also has a unique ability. No conditions, just bonus damage!”
“Just wearing that would immensely boost my specs. I could become the top dealer in the Hong Baek raid.”
The joy of clearing the Named raid dungeon.
Followed by the sweet rewards that came along.
All the members of the Hong Baek raid cheered.
“It’s a bound item. Ahem, we can’t sell this, can we?”
“Hahaha! Go Seung Woo is only thinking about money!”
Ranger Go Seung Woo licked his lips, while the warrior Hopkins laughed heartily.
“I’ll start the auction for the earrings. Two thousand gold from me.”
“What!?”
“No way!”
Chris coolly placed her bid.
At that tremendous amount, all the Hong Baek members who were about to bid fell silent.
A weekly reset raid, fixed drop items. Eventually, they would become available again.
No matter how rare the first legendary accessory was, it was still quite expensive.
But Chris had tremendous wealth.
“Is there anyone who wants to overbid? The share will be distributed after today’s trial is over. We’ll head straight to Area 2 afterward.”
Chris put the earrings into her inventory and headed without looking back toward the opened path.
She was anxious.
The Level 1 Named Enemy took longer than expected.
They couldn’t afford to waste time on auctions.
Today, they had to clear up to the Level 2 Named Enemy.