I Became a Raid Boss

Pine blinked.

He looked up at the dome-shaped white ceiling that got higher toward the center and thought,

‘What do they call that method of constructing a ceiling…?’

He felt like he learned it in school, but it was so long ago that he couldn’t remember.

To be honest, he didn’t have much interest in architecture anyway.

“Ah… It’s a strange ceiling.”

Muttering a phrase that had become half a meme among players, Pine stood up, and the calming scenery of the temple welcomed him.

Waking up here meant he had met his death.

Gueeeek…

Uwooooor…

The other engineering members who died alongside Pine also started to open their eyes one by one, making odd noises.

If someone who didn’t know them heard, they would worry that something was wrong, but Pine pretended not to notice.

It should have been just one or two times of such nonsense.

He knew it was just a silly joke, so there was no reason to react and waste his energy.

Guhh!

Ignoring the engineering members, he checked his inventory when suddenly, a zombie sound reached his ears.

“Oh man…. Isn’t that getting old?”

“It’s a concept. Please respect that.”

“Just want to exorcise it.”

If you gotta do it, then do it.

Pine attempted a physical exorcism, but the zombie, having sensed it early, stretched its neck back and moved away, so it went in vain.

‘…Mosquito?’

That mosquito was what summer brought, and it looked just like that.

It buzzed around his ears, disappeared when he turned on the light, and reappeared when he gave up and lay down….

Look at that. It seems like it’s getting closer again because he appears to have given up.

“Enough. Come here and sit. Everyone else too.”

Like a mother who found a hidden report card, Pine’s voice called the engineering members who gathered around.

Confirming that all the members had gathered, Pine opened his mouth.

“Am I the only one who thinks this is strange?”

“Our engineering team is originally strange, you know?”

“… No.”

– First of all, the name itself is strange.

– For real lol, who eats Hawaiian pizza like that? (Message deleted.)

– Aaaaahhh!! A person died!!!!

– Ddddddddddddddd.

“Heretics deserve execution.”

One of the rules in Pine’s broadcast chat.

Heretics who violated the rule of ‘Don’t speak ill of Hawaiian pizza’ were purged en masse.

Taking this opportunity, Pine sighed as he eliminated the dissidents.

“It’s a pity you don’t understand the charm of Hawaiian pizza.”

– The truly unfortunate ones aren’t us…

– Shhh!

– Ugh…!

– Hawaiian pizza is the best pizza in the world, as stated in the ancient Goguryeo records.

– So that’s why it failed? << You should leave ㅇㅇ. There were a few who showed signs of insurrection, but he could overlook that much. After all, Pine didn’t give his nickname and the engineering team that name because he liked Hawaiian pizza to the point of obsession; it was simply enjoyable to see people’s disgust. Clap.

“It’s only natural for our engineering team to be strange; why would we even ask that?”

“Can we say that openly?”

“What’s wrong with that? We’re already known as the flavor-impaired engineering team.”

Lemony, who had been a step back, timidly raised her hand.

“I think I understand what you mean. You want to say it feels like we’re doing a raid…?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

No engineering member questioned Lemony’s words.

It was merely a joke for a moment; they all felt the same way.

If ‘fighting strong opponents together’ is the definition of a raid, then it wouldn’t be inaccurate to call it a raid before.

But what Lemony was referring to wasn’t that.

“Instead of going for the back row first, we attacked the one who accumulated the most enmity and did not react until we attacked first, not dodging or blocking.”

“There were attacks that seemed to follow a pattern.”

In other words, the previous Canaria had acted in exactly the opposite manner of what was just laid out.

“It felt the same as facing other raid bosses.”

If the previous Canaria was an NPC that acted according to her whims, then now she felt more like an NPC executing behaviors set by the developers, just like other bosses.

“I’ll need to try a few more times to make an accurate judgment, but there was definitely a clear difference just from what I’ve seen so far.”

“‘Is this really the same boss?’ was the thought that crossed my mind.”

“… Wouldn’t it be better if she had the old demeanor?”

“Excuse me?”

Everyone turned their heads towards the engineering member who said that.

Caught off guard by the sudden focus, he awkwardly scratched his head.

“It just felt cool. Like an unbeatable absolute force…. It was unique and enjoyable, so it’s a shame.”

“Even Demoninus thought this was a bad idea, huh?”

The difficulty should be elevated to a degree common sense permits.

“It doesn’t make sense to simply take hits like a scarecrow. Dodging and blocking should be more realistic. Even the notoriously powerful Darkness Spirit and Royal Ring bosses don’t act like this.”

“If we think it’s been made impossible to defeat…”

“Well, it is a possibility.”

In games, when there’s something to narrate story-wise or ideologically, it often isn’t stated outright but conveyed indirectly through strong enemies.

When faced with such enemies, do players not often react with anger, saying, ‘This game is trash. How am I supposed to beat this?’?

“Not many people feel that way.”

They also know.

To put it bluntly, all such things are ultimately designed to make players feel ‘pumped up.’

“But Canaria isn’t an NPC meant to play that role.”

However, it was quite a stretch to see Canaria as an NPC designed for that storytelling purpose.

If she were truly made for that, wouldn’t there have been a need for her to at least have a heavy backside, just to cut hoards of players without mercy every time they met her?

At least that’s how Pine saw it.

Hmmm…

I know, right?

Isn’t it just a matter of preference? There’s no rule saying it has to be heavy.

“Well, that’s true. So I don’t really intend to persuade anyone. Anyway, what I wanted to say was that things have changed, right? Everyone agrees?”

“Yes.”

“There was a lack of spirit in the attacks.”

“So, what will you do?”

“…”

At someone’s question, Pine fell silent.

If he merely wanted to state the differences from before, he wouldn’t have needed to gather the engineering members like this for a serious conversation.

Over a long time of syncing together, there are things that can be felt without speaking.

What thoughts this person is having, what feelings they are experiencing, whether they are in good or bad condition, etc.

And what Pine could ascertain meant the opponent could also understand Pine.

“Do you want to raid?”

“I’m still not sure.”

Pine candidly laid bare his thoughts, realizing that his true feelings had been read accurately.

“That’s why I gathered everyone’s opinions like this. I wanted to know what others thought.”

There are many reasons to want to try again: competitive spirit, curiosity, revenge, etc.

Still, what held back the desire to challenge wasn’t fear.

‘Were they scared of overwhelming strength?’

That wasn’t it.

The memories of being butchered were still vividly imprinted, but he could find no overwhelming force in the changed Canaria.

It might be more fitting to say he felt a pang of conscience.

Or perhaps he was concerned about public opinion.

Pine, having gathered his thoughts, momentarily shut his mouth, giving others some time to collect theirs.

It could be seen as shirking responsibility, but he had always run the engineering team like this.

Listening to everyone’s opinions, while making the final decision himself.

“Pine, I have a question…”

“Yes?”

Pine, tapping his feet while waiting for the engineering members, was approached by Lemony.

“What’s Joanie doing right now? She doesn’t seem like the type to just sit still…”

“Oh.”

If you’re curious, couldn’t you just watch the broadcast?

Even while thinking that, Pine conveyed what he had gathered about Joanie’s movements.

“Joanie is—”

*

“… To help with the raid?”

“To be exact, she asked me to help subdue them, but… yes, that’s right. Yuki likes to fight strong enemies, so I’m sure she’s…”

“I’ll pass.”

“… Huh?”

Da-eun blinked, stunned by the rejection that came almost before her words even finished.

“Do you think I’m some crazy girl who rushes into fights?”

“… Wasn’t that it? … Ah, I’m sorry.”

Realizing her mistake after seeing Yuki’s piercing gaze, Da-eun cursed herself for having blurted out without a filter.

“Ahem…. You’re not a crazy girl, but you do like fighting, right?”

“Yes.”

“So—”

“So.”

Wham!

Yuki harshly thrust her great sword into the ground.

Ignoring the dust that rose and dirtied her pants, she leaned against the great sword.

“So I’m not doing it.”

It was never easy to have a conversation with Yuki, but today was especially difficult.

Da-eun held back the urge to bang her chest in frustration.

Having high levels does not mean having good skills.

Yet Yuki was the highest leveled and the best-ranked person among those Da-eun knew.

She thought it would be helpful since she was naturally talented even if she wasn’t coordinated, but hearing nothing but rejections without proper explanations was exceedingly vexing.

Did Yuki realize Da-eun’s feelings?

Fiddling with the sword’s hilt, Yuki suddenly spoke.

“I’ve already gone to see her.”

“Where? … Don’t tell me?”

“Yes. To Master.”

“… Master?”

The title for Kana had changed again during their time apart.

Da-eun grimaced at the discordant title.

Regardless of that, Yuki’s flat voice continued.

“I went to challenge her to a duel…”

Yuki placed her hand over her heart.

“… But my heart didn’t race.”

“…?”

“I don’t want to fight if my heart isn’t racing.”

What is she talking about now?

Da-eun’s head abruptly came to a halt, unable to comprehend the meaning behind those words.

---