CHAPTER 16
The dungeon wasn't far from the boss room, but the number of monsters pouring out at every turn kept increasing, making a quick breakthrough difficult.
The wolf-type monsters that appeared this time were fast and had high defense, making them hard to kill. With those things swarming in from all directions, it was quite tricky to find a good position to deal damage.
I dodged the attack of a monster leaping at me with massive fangs using a dodge skill and began pouring out relatively fast-casting skills. Suddenly, someone clung to me.
[Party] CottonCandyFox: Kyaaaaㅠ So scary!!!
[Party] CottonCandyFox: It hurts so much, please save meㅠ0ㅠ!!!
"..."
It turned out to be CottonCandyFox, who had been hit by a monster and lost about half her HP.
Since I, a ranged damage dealer, and WitcherLet'sGo were running around dealing damage, both CottonCandyFox the buffer and HoneybeeBuzzBuzz the healer had to work hard dodging and supporting.
Because of that, it was inevitable for them to take hits two or three times, but compared to HoneybeeBuzzBuzz, who was barely hanging on with 20% HP while desperately healing on the run, CottonCandyFox was doing pretty well. Honestly, it even seemed like she was getting hit on purpose.
[Party] CottonCandyFox: SleepyOppa
[Party] CottonCandyFox: Please kill it fastㅜㅡㅜ
[Party] CottonCandyFox: Foxy is scared~;ㅡ;
"…Sigh."
Alongside that cringeworthy chat, the buffs flowed in steadily. Shaking my head, I killed the monster chasing after CottonCandyFox. That way, I wouldn't have to see more of that dreadful chat.
[Party] WitcherLet'sGo: Everything's great, but…
[Party] WitcherLet'sGo: Aren't you giving the mage buffs a little too frequently? lol
[Party] HoneybeeBuzzBuzz: Ahem.
[Party] HoneybeeBuzzBuzz: Keep that up and you'll never get the attack speed buff ㅡㅡ
[Party] WhatDoYouKongDoYou: Real talk lol
[Party] SuwonSpecialCity: Please be careful
[Party] SuwonSpecialCity: I need that attack speed buff too, damn it
You could only stack up to three buffs at a time, and they had short durations, so the buffer had to constantly rotate through buffs tailored to each class. In response to WitcherLet'sGo's comment, CottonCandyFox added more buff skills as if to prove a point.
[Party] CottonCandyFox: ^^
[Party] WhatDoYouKongDoYou: Ah, sweet…
[Party] HoneybeeBuzzBuzz: Sweet… hehe
[Party] WitcherLet'sGo: Goddammit lol
[Party] WitcherLet'sGo: You're really doing me dirty
[Party] SuwonSpecialCity: Bow your head, Witcher;;
Their chat was so ridiculous it made me sigh, but the surprising part was that even while joking around, everyone still did their jobs perfectly, and the number of monsters quickly dwindled.
'No matter how I look at it, this seems like a party of alt characters…'
Compared to the quest reward or relatively cheap gear they were wearing, their game knowledge and skill level were far superior. There were more than a few suspicious things about them that didn't add up for a freshly max-leveled party.
Their movement control when dodging attacks and how their damage output didn't drop even with all that chatting clearly showed that most of them were on their alt accounts.
Were they here to help CottonCandyFox, who—like me—wasn't max level yet? But if they were going to run a raid dungeon anyway, wouldn't it make more sense to use their main characters? It was definitely strange.
[Party] CottonCandyFox: SleepyOppa, you're so good! >ㅡ<
[Party] CottonCandyFox: Is it true this is your first time here?
[Party] CottonCandyFox: Not dying even once is amazingㅇ.ㅇ
[Party] I'mSleepy: Yeah, it's my first time
As soon as the monsters were cleared, CottonCandyFox ran up to me like she'd been waiting for it and started pouring out all kinds of flirty and cutesy messages.
'This is really fascinating.'
Among them all, CottonCandyFox was by far the weirdest. Do net-kamas (male players pretending to be female) really still try moves this obvious? Honestly, I wanted to ask outright: Has anyone ever actually fallen for this kind of stuff?
[Party] SuwonSpecialCity: It's the boss next
[Party] SuwonSpecialCity: Shall we go right in?
[Party] WhatDoYouKongDoYou: Sleepy, you good?
[Party] I'mSleepy: Let's go
Because it was normal difficulty, we met the boss right away without a mid-boss. Once everyone stepped onto the warp portal, the screen transitioned to a cutscene.
"New… prey has arrived!"
The ground cracked and flames erupted as a demon with a lion's head and massive fangs appeared. Wielding a huge hammer, this boss monster was Marbas, one of the 72 demons of Solomon.
Once the short cutscene ended, Marbas let out a huge roar in front of the huddled-up characters. The boss's full HP bar briefly flashed on screen before vanishing.
This was one of the reasons why dungeon raids were so tricky. Unlike field raids, you couldn't see the health bar, making it extremely hard to tell how much more damage you needed to do or how long you had to hold out.
[Party] SuwonSpecialCity: Try to dodge the early patterns as much as possible
[Party] SuwonSpecialCity: If you get hit, don't wait for heals—use a potion right away
[Party] WhatDoYouKongDoYou: Let's go
As WhatDoYouKongDoYou raised the greatsword he was holding, a bright white shield formed in midair. CottonCandyFox followed suit by starting her buffs.
Marbas had a total of three phases. In the first phase, all his attacks only reached the middle of the map, so ranged attackers and supporters had to stay outside that range and rotate their skills from a distance.
Once the second phase began, the boss's attacks covered the entire map, making it the only time ranged dealers could attack freely without worrying about positioning.
[Party] WitcherLet'sGo: Sleepy
[Party] WitcherLet'sGo: You need to move further back
[Party] WitcherLet'sGo: You can retreat just in front of Foxy, that's fine
[Party] I'mSleepy: Got it, got it
Though I had watched a strategy video beforehand, I didn't know the exact attack range for this map since it was my first time here, so WitcherLet'sGo's message was actually a relief.
Just as I moved back, Marbas slammed his hammer into the ground and the raid officially began. The ground quaked and the screen shook violently.
The demon Marbas lets out a roar!
Due to fear, health regeneration and movement speed are reduced.
"Abandon all hope of survival!"
It was the line that marked the beginning of the first phase. Just like in the strategy guide, I started charging Thunder.
Fireball had stronger damage, but since some crowd control still worked in the first phase, Thunder with its stagger effect was more useful.
Grrrrr! With the monster's roar, red lights appeared on the ground. It was the telegraph for an area attack.
Marbas raised one of his legs and stomped the ground, and the marked area cracked open with flames erupting. SuwonSpecialCity deftly somersaulted backward to dodge the wide-area attack.
As soon as the two consecutive slams ended, a fan-shaped red marker appeared, and Marbas swung his hammer in a huge arc. Once SuwonSpecialCity narrowly dodged it, WhatDoYouKongDoYou used the skill.
[Party] WhatDoYouKongDoYou: Provoking
[Party] WhatDoYouKongDoYou: Go for DPS
It was one of the exclusive skills of the tank class "Guardian." White sparks spread out widely around WhatDoYouKongDoYou, and Marbas immediately turned his gaze toward him.
In this short moment when the boss's aggro was fixed on the tank, the damage dealers unleashed all their skills. Right after landing my fully charged Thunder, I began charging Fireball, and WitcherLet'sGo drew a massive silver-glowing bow.
It was the Sharpshooter's ultimate skill, . Using the ult this early was a valid move, given that Sharpshooter had a shorter cooldown across the board compared to other classes.
"Kraaagh!"
Taking the full brunt of the Sharpshooter's ultimate and my fully charged Fireball, Marbas reared back and roared once more.
"Now, I shall face you seriously!"
This marked the start of Phase 2. From now on, the entire map would be within attack range. As expected, right after the line, red light rapidly spread across the ground.
Damn…!
The problem was that while we knew the order of attacks, we didn't know the exact zones. I couldn't tell if the spot I was standing on would be hit by the first AoE or the second.
[Party] CottonCandyFox: Over here
Just as I was about to use a dodge skill to retreat, CottonCandyFox sent a quick message. I quickly checked her location.
Fortunately, it wasn't far. My body moved before I had time to think through the decision.
Crash! Marbas slammed the horn on his hammer into the ground and spun around 360 degrees. As the entire ground shattered, I used my dodge skill to dive toward CottonCandyFox's position. My HP was cut in half, but I arrived safely.
"Haa…"
I let out a deep sigh of relief as I saw the spot where I had been standing just moments ago utterly destroyed. I didn't dodge perfectly, but considering the situation, this was a good outcome.
[Party] HoneybeeBuzzBuzz: Whoa Sleepy ㄷㄷㄷ
[Party] HoneybeeBuzzBuzz: You actually dodged that, thank goodness;;;
[Party] WhatDoYouKongDoYou: Man, this is
[Party] WhatDoYouKongDoYou: So hard to explain without voice chat
[Party] CottonCandyFox: SleepyOppa
[Party] CottonCandyFox: Stick with me like just now
CottonCandyFox's next messages came without any of her usual strange emoticons or cutesy tone.
[Party] CottonCandyFox: This spot is for support
[Party] CottonCandyFox: Mages need to move closer in
[Party] CottonCandyFox: I'll guide your positioning for the rest of the fight
[Party] CottonCandyFox: Just follow me
At the same time she typed that, CottonCandyFox used a dodge skill to avoid the second area attack. It was an easier one to dodge than before, so I avoided it with some simple movement and furrowed my brows.
'…She's going to manage the mage's positioning?'
Not even max level… and a buffer, at that? And with that level of skill…
'CottonCandyFox is probably an alt too.'
There were just too many things that didn't add up if she was a first-time player like me. The feeling of suspicion kept growing, but now wasn't the time to dwell on it. I clicked my tongue and replied.
[Party] I'mSleepy: Got it
[T/L: Read extra chapters on my ko-fi page "Pokemon1920" : http://ko-fi.com/pokemon1920 ]