I Became a Raid Boss

The stage of the festival that started with Joanie’s event.

Amidst everyone singing and dancing joyfully, there were those who couldn’t let loose and enjoy.

“…So what now?”

“That’s exactly what I’m saying. Ah… this time I tried to do a Perkle.”

“Come on, don’t kid around. You didn’t even land a hit, what Perkle?”

“Whose side are you on?”

“You punk, are you working for the Gravekeeper?”

They were the members of the ‘Hawaiian Pizza’ raid team, racing towards the first clear against the Gravekeeper, the raid boss.

To them, the Gravekeeper was like a colossal mountain, one that they felt they could never conquer.

To be honest, they thought if the word ‘absurdity’ were to take form as a character, it would be the Gravekeeper.

Yet the reason they didn’t give up on the Gravekeeper’s strategy was that the taller the mountain they had to climb, the greater the sense of achievement when they finally overcame it.

“Raids need to be hard to be fun. If they’re easy, are they really raids?”

They teamed up with their comrades to conquer the high mountain.

How romantic is that!

Of course, there was also the allure of the honor that would follow.

Anyway, for that reason, they held onto their hopes and worked hard to find even the tiniest gaps.

“I think the Gravekeeper is difficult because it’s a realistic boss. In other words, it doesn’t act like a boss in an MMORPG.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Think about it. In reality, would a boss put a mark over someone’s head shouting, ‘I’m gonna hit this guy!’?”

“Uh… no, right?”

“So we need to approach this realistically. Instead of just tanking damage, we should aim to not get hit at all. Of course, that won’t be easy either.”

Even in the realistic Silia Online, the bosses until now had followed the rules of MMORPGs.

They attacked the player with the highest hostility, executed patterns in a set order, or randomly selected one from a predetermined set to attack.

Of course, responding to that was up to individuals, so a player’s skills couldn’t be excluded.

But the Gravekeeper was different.

A being that had shed the chains of the systems that had shackled bosses until now.

The Gravekeeper was slandered by players as a disgrace to Demoninus for that very reason.

Like it or not, to face such a being, they concluded that they had to break free from their existing common sense just like the Gravekeeper.

“Healers, don’t worry about healing, just stay in the back as much as possible. Tanks and damage dealers should go get healed as soon as their health drops. If things look dangerous, just put up a shield. When you feel the Gravekeeper approaching, run without looking back.”

“Tanks, don’t be scared. Fight like you’re holding onto it for dear life. If you just try to save yourself, what good is that if everyone else dies anyway? Once you get to the healer, just stick close.”

“Finally, damage dealers, when the tank is holding it down, look for opportunities to attack on your own. Don’t attack haphazardly, but coordinate so that you’re attacking in a way that limits the space for dodging. Always keep in mind that attacks can come flying at any moment.”

At first, it wasn’t going well.

Trying to fight in a real combat setting outside the bounds of a system they were so accustomed to led to problems from all directions.

Death while waiting for healing.

Death while relying on shields.

Death from losing balance while trying to chase.

Death, death, death.

Moreover, their previous progress regressed during that time.

The crowd in the community laughed at them.

But wasn’t it said that every step back is two steps forward?

“I saw it, your attack pattern…! bang bang bang bang bang! Ah, save me!”

Clang!

One of the dealers managed to deflect the Gravekeeper’s sword successfully for the first time.

Of course, they died immediately after from the follow-up strikes, but it was an incredibly encouraging achievement.

“Finally, you’ve become human…”

“The dealer who couldn’t even deal damage is now pulling their weight. This raid leader has no regrets…”

The emotional raid leader uncorked a bottle of wine they had saved for a very important day that evening.

A dealer who had been dying while acting recklessly had finally become a person. Could there be a more important day than this?

They became accustomed to attacks, and their movements grew smoother.

The Hawaiian Pizza team and the other teams sharing information with them smiled brightly.

Finally, there was hope that they could make progress that had been stagnant.

“I can’t deny that it’s a poorly made boss….”

“But it seems to fit the free atmosphere of Silia Online better than anyone else.”

They even began to glamorize the Gravekeeper, who had cut them down dozens of times, so one could see how brightly their happiness circuits were burning.

The dazzling flames worried those watching nearby; it looked as if their circuits might burn out completely.

And then, the honorary firefighter Joanie appeared.

Whoosh!

“….”

“….”

Thanks to Joanie dumping cold water on them, their small precious happiness circuits were saved.

“Seriously, what’s the problem? Let them be, and we can just keep banging our heads against the wall, right? So what, are we not raiding?”

As the mood turned gloomy, someone shouted.

Yet, the dark atmosphere wrapped around them showed no signs of lifting.

The slight glimpse of humanity from the Gravekeeper.

The way Joanie, who could communicate, saved them and turned back was the beginning of all their troubles.

The scene of Joanie hurriedly following behind, sharing food, and quietly standing before the grave of an unknown person stirred up the community.

It started with the realization that the merciless raid boss was instead a human-like NPC, and eventually, there were those who labeled people attempting to challenge the Gravekeeper raid as violent.

Even if he was human, he was still a raid boss.

Even if they succeeded in the clear, he would just come back to life; why were they making such a fuss?

“When we were getting wrecked, you said nothing!”

“Aren’t we humans too?!”

Frustration bubbled up, but no matter how big that spring was, it was just a drop in the vast ocean.

Moreover, with the foreign communities in chaos, what could they do?

While there were some defending them, it was undeniable that the timing was just not right.

After all, only one party could enter at a time, and now there were people climbing the mountain to see the Gravekeeper after watching a stream, reducing their time to try.

To be honest, the timing was a bigger issue than public opinion.

“Maybe this is for the best.”

The raid leader, who had been watching the situation, spoke up.

“To be honest, it was already going to be slim chances to break through as we were. Saying slim is almost like saying it’s impossible.”

Though they had hypnotized themselves into thinking they could still do it to not lose hope, there was not a glimmer of hope for a clear.

When the leader mentioned the truth that everyone was trying hard to ignore, all eyes turned to him.

“We’re just going to ride the wave.”

“Are you saying we should give up?”

“No. We should take a short break. Let’s rest for about a week to gather information and sharpen our control. It wouldn’t hurt to look for a swordsmanship book or even briefly attend a kendo academy. If it’s too troublesome, they could just play a soul-type game.”

“So, you’re saying to focus on improving our abilities.”

“Exactly. And if we happen to discover the Gravekeeper’s weakness in the meantime, that would be icing on the cake.”

“If that’s the case….”

“It feels like we’re becoming protagonists in a manga. Isn’t this the cliché of meeting a strong enemy, getting beaten, and growing stronger through training?”

The eyes that had sharpened thinking it was a declaration of abandonment softened again.

The raid leader, who had briefly sweated, spoke in a quite calm tone.

“I’ll tell the other teams too. How about we take a short break?”

“What if they say no?”

“Let them try to clear it if they can. If they could, they would have cleared it long ago. And most other teams are probably in a similar situation, so they won’t likely refuse.”

Indeed, just as the raid leader said, among the leading teams, there wasn’t a single team that rejected his proposal.

They too had felt their own lack of ability.

Thus began the miracle of the great unification.

They set aside their bloodthirsty competitive spirit for a moment, and the stage of harmony was opened, which would later be known as the ‘Hawaiian Pizza Summit,’ the beginning of a peace conference.

*

“Gah!”
“Why, why us?!”

The group of Apostles shouted their grievances as they blasted into the sky.

But it didn’t matter; they weren’t making any sense.

Since they couldn’t toss them toward the edge of the cliff, they threw them back along the path they came, disappearing with a pitiful echo among the trees.

“Good direction, good strength.”

The last Apostle flew away in a perfectly smooth arc that could have been an ace in golf.

Perhaps I had a talent for golf.

Maybe I’m an unfortunate genius who never knew they had talent because they never tried it!

Ah, what a pitiful tragedy to fade away without knowing one’s talent due to the deficiencies of rote education.

“Hmm… but it seems better than this world.”

No, it’s definitely better.

Korea has its share of problems, but at least I wasn’t living in daily fear for my life.

In this world, there are plenty of kids who can’t get any education at all, learning just how to wield a dagger first.

Well, unless they’re the children of those holy figures.

Anyway, with that, this defense is finished.

The cracks in my sword seem to have widened today, so I fought more with martial arts rather than the sword, and it was surprisingly effective for stress relief.

As I brushed off the dust, I felt a presence from below the mountain path.

“Haha… haha… there, there it is…!”

Is it a new wave?

A familiar voice struck my ears as I prepared for battle.

“Hello!”

“…?”

That voice was definitely from Joanie or someone like her.

Joanie, panting heavily, stood before me, greeting me with remarkable fluency she must have learned somewhere.

In an informal manner like she was visiting a close friend’s house, I momentarily lost my words.

…What now?

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