CHAPTER 17

[Party] CottonCandyFox: Over here.

I quietly stood next to CottonCandyFox, having accepted their offer to help me position as a mage.

[Party] CottonCandyFox: Until I say otherwise,

[Party] CottonCandyFox: Go ahead and DPS.

The spot we had moved to was within the boss's attack range, but trusting CottonCandyFox's chat cue, I began charging up Fireball.

Starting from Phase 2, Marbas became immune to any form of crowd control, so it was best to focus on using the highest damage-dealing skills.

"You filthy bugs!"

Marbas roared in rage and swung his hammer wildly in front of him. Boom, boom! After pounding the ground twice, he slammed his hammer down again, causing the floor to crack open and flames to shoot up.

[Party] CottonCandyFox: Now!

I had a feeling this would happen when the ground-shattering started, so at the same time CottonCandyFox gave the signal, I dodged the flames using an evasion skill. So the red glow here signals the final attack.

Unlike me, CottonCandyFox, and BuzzingBee, the two players on the opposite side—SuwonSpecialCity and Let'sGoWitcher—also dodged the consecutive attacks with ease. Their classes had shorter cooldowns and an extra class-specific dodge skill, which made a difference.

As for our tank, WhatDoYouKongDoYou, he was naturally immune to CCs and had very high defense and HP, so as long as he stayed close to the healer, there was no need for him to move at all.

Finally, I spotted BuzzingBee, frantically running around in the back, and I understood what CottonCandyFox meant by "mage position."

"Each class really does have its own designated spot."

Under normal circumstances, CottonCandyFox would probably be near BuzzingBee, applying buffs.

When watching guide videos, I always focused on patterns and damage, so I never paid much attention to positioning. But now I could see how important that actually was.

As I started to understand Marbas' overall attack patterns, I also easily dodged the whirlwind spin and the massive AoE jump attack that followed. CottonCandyFox jumped up and down in excitement, praising me.

[Party] CottonCandyFox: Kyaa~ You're amazing!! >ㅁ<

[Party] CottonCandyFox: So cool~!! ♥♥♥

"..."

Did they really take the time to type out emojis in the middle of this chaos? What a nutjob.

"Grrraaah!"

Just then, Let'sGoWitcher launched their ultimate, Judgment of Light. Marbas, taking a direct hit, staggered and spread his enormous demonic wings.

"I'll kill you all!"

Finally, the boss shouted the line that signaled the start of Phase 3. We couldn't see the health bar, but it was clear he had about 30% left.

[Party] WhatDoYouKongDoYou: Watch out for the wall slam.

In Phase 3, the Berserk phase, Marbas no longer stood still in the center but dashed around the map at high speed, making it particularly dangerous.

His charging attack targeted a random player at insane speed. You had to dodge it with perfect timing—it was a tough one. But since each charge was followed by a 3-second recovery as he slammed into a wall, it wasn't too hard to land attacks afterward.

"Die!"

The first target was SuwonSpecialCity. With a graceful dodge, they avoided Marbas' rush and summoned dozens of swords midair, which rained down on him.

It was the Warlord's ultimate skill, Death Rain. The swords pierced into Marbas' back, causing him to writhe and pound the ground before targeting his next charge.

[Party] CottonCandyFox: Wow~ waaah~

[Party] CottonCandyFox: So scary~ Fox is scared~ T^T

Spotting Marbas charging at her like a bull, CottonCandyFox posted a crying emote, then swiftly dodged the attack. Dodging with chat, emotes, and movement—talk about multitasking.

Once again, Marbas failed to hit anyone and slammed into the wall, triggering a flurry of attacks. Watching it unfold almost made me feel bad for the guy.

"Ugh... Urgh!"

Marbas' body turned a bright red as he turned toward his third target. That meant he was nearly dead. And the final target was… me.

No one could help once Marbas started charging—he became immune to all damage and CC. As he barreled toward me, I calmly assessed the situation.

SuwonSpecialCity dodged when Marbas was visually about one fingertip's distance away on-screen—about 2 seconds after the charge began. CottonCandyFox, on the other hand, dodged at a closer distance, about 3 seconds in.

However, SuwonSpecialCity had been closer to the center of the map, while CottonCandyFox had been all the way at the edge, so it took longer. That meant judging by visual distance was more accurate than by timing.

Good thing I had been watching closely. Like SuwonSpecialCity, I hit my dodge just as Marbas got close. Thud! Just as expected, Marbas missed me and crashed into the wall again.

[Party] Let'sGoWitcher: Oh, nice one.

[Party] WhatDoYouKongDoYou: ssss

[Party] BuzzingBee: sss

[Party] CottonCandyFox: hahahahaha

As soon as Marbas crashed, our party unloaded every skill we had prepared. Marbas let out one final scream, dropped his hammer, and collapsed. A flood of experience and notifications filled my screen.

Cleared Kirant Underground Dungeon!

You have defeated Solomon's Demon No. 72, Marbas!

Title Earned: Demon Hunter!

Quest Completed: Clear the Kirant Dungeon!

Quest Completed: Clear a Raid Dungeon!

Quest Completed: Defeat the Demon!

Quest Completed: Defeat 1,000 Monsters!

Level-Appropriate Raid Cleared! Bonus XP awarded!

My experience bar filled halfway from just one clear. One more Kirant Normal run and I'd hit level 216.

"…This is insane. No wonder everyone's obsessed with raids."

On top of that, we got plenty of gear and enhancement materials as raid rewards. Now I truly understood why everyone recommended raiding.

[Party] SuwonSpecialCity: GG~

[Party] BuzzingBee: Good job, everyone

[Party] WhatDoYouKongDoYou: ssss good work

[Party] Let'sGoWitcher: Man, at the end…

[Party] Let'sGoWitcher: I was nervous when he targeted Drowsy LOL;;

[Party] BuzzingBee: For real

[Party] BuzzingBee: Dodging wall slams is tough

[Party] WhatDoYouKongDoYou: Honestly wouldn't have been surprising if anyone died

[Party] CottonCandyFox: hehehehe

[Party] CottonCandyFox: Drowsy-oppa did great hehehe

[Party] I'mSoSleepy: thx thx, good job everyone

I wasn't sure why CottonCandyFox was so excited when I was the one who performed well. As I said thanks and began sorting through my now-messy inventory filled with new items, I thought to myself:

"Am I supposed to leave the party now?"

Normally, raid parties do three consecutive runs by default, but there hadn't been any mention of that here… Besides, everyone here was skilled enough that my leaving probably wouldn't cause any issues.

And now that I'd gained some experience, I could probably join other official parties too. No big loss.

I was about to say my final goodbyes and leave quietly when CottonCandyFox clung onto me again.

[Party] CottonCandyFox: Sleepy-oppa!

[Party] I'mSoSleepy: ?

[Party] CottonCandyFox: Oppa, you're sooo good at this game~

[Party] CottonCandyFox: Wanna keep partying with us?? ㅇ.ㅇ

She wants me to stay? I asked, just to make sure.

[Party] I'mSoSleepy: You mean, keep going today?

[Party] CottonCandyFox: Nooo~ I mean always!! Together!! ^ㅅ^

[Party] CottonCandyFox: Today! Tomorrow! And the day after tomorrow too!!

Ah, so she meant a long-term party. I thought over her suggestion with mild indifference.

"Is there a reason I should?"

The party seemed to run fine without me. Then again, if they want to run other raids besides Kirant, they probably need a ranged DPS.

In any case, it wasn't a bad offer for me either. It would save me time looking for other parties.

[Party] I'mSoSleepy: Sure, works for me.

[Party] CottonCandyFox: ㅇㅅㅇ!!

[Party] CottonCandyFox: Then, Sleepy-oppa~

[Party] CottonCandyFox: I think you might need some better gear~ ^.^!

"...?"

What's that supposed to mean? Was she saying I had to bring better gear to stay in the party?

Puzzled, I tilted my head—and CottonCandyFox sent a trade request.

[Party] CottonCandyFox: Some boots with movement speed

[Party] CottonCandyFox: And an accessory with magic resistance!

The items that popped up in the trade window were a pair of boots and a bracelet. I hovered over them with my cursor and saw they had the movement speed and magic resistance stats she'd mentioned.

"What the…"

A netkama giving me items instead of trying to scam them off me? That's… new.

[Party] I'mSoSleepy: Nah, it's fine;

[Party] I'mSoSleepy: I'll just buy them myself.

[Party] CottonCandyFox: What? But we're heading into round 2 right now~? TㅅT

[Party] CottonCandyFox: And these aren't even expensive~

[Party] CottonCandyFox: Just take them! Let's play together~!!! ;ㅡ;

They really weren't that pricey…

[Party] I'mSoSleepy: Still feels weird just taking them;;

[Party] CottonCandyFox: Then, Sleepy-oppa hehe

[Party] CottonCandyFox: If you take the items, can I ask you something~?

[Party] I'mSoSleepy: ?

[Party] CottonCandyFox: It's nothing big~

[Party] CottonCandyFox: Earlier when you said thanks to WhatDoYouThatBastard

[Party] CottonCandyFox: What did that mean??? ^^

[Party] CottonCandyFox: I was sooo curious I almost missed dodging the wall slam~! TㅜT

"..."

[Party] WhatDoYouKongDoYou: ? LOLLLLLLL

[Party] WhatDoYouKongDoYou: Oh that?? hahahaha

[Party] BuzzingBee: fr I was wondering too lolol

[Party] Let'sGoWitcher: Yeah lol, judging by everyone's reactions, I'm super curious too lol

I slowly closed and reopened my eyes. The endless attention toward me, the high game IQ, the skill, the way she kept trying to give me things—

I slowly moved my hands to type in the chat window: "/whisper YouKongDoYou," then sent a message.

[Whisper] I'mSoSleepy: Yo

Immediately, a system message popped up:

Could not find the player.

Upon seeing that, I grinned viciously, lips curling up.

"So that's how you wanna play, huh?"

[T/L: Read extra chapters on my ko-fi page "Pokemon1920" : http://ko-fi.com/pokemon1920 ]