I Became a Raid Boss

“Now that Yuki has joined, we’re at two….”

Da-eun spread her arms wide.

“We just need six more people.”

“…just six more?”

“Well, of course! With the strongest asset, Yuki, on our team, saying only six more makes total sense.”

“Ah, I see. That makes sense.”

“….”

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

Is she always this brazen?

If she weren’t so shameless, she wouldn’t rush to fight every time Kana teased her.

And definitely wouldn’t be neglecting her viewers, ignoring their complaints while streaming for 24 hours straight just to hunt.

And then—

Whack!

“Yikes! Why did you hit me all of a sudden?!”

“Your eyes are impudent.”

“…Charging someone with a crime based only on suspicion goes against the presumption of innocence.”

Da-eun didn’t know that her reaction was only fueling Yuki’s suspicion.

Yuki retracted her hand that struck Da-eun.

“Is it really necessary to gather a full party? There’s no restriction on entry; wouldn’t two be enough?”

“Sure, Yuki is strong, but that’s still pushing it.”

“…?”

Yuki tilted her head.

Da-eun let out a sigh, realizing she clearly didn’t get it.

“Yuki, you haven’t done any raids, have you?”

“I haven’t been in a party, but I’ve defeated a lot of bosses.”

“I’m not talking about that. I meant, have you ever participated in content categorized as a ‘raid’?”

“…No.”

“I figured as much.”

The term “raid” was said to have originated from an MMORPG.

Initially, it referred to dozens of players tackling specific bosses or dungeons, but over time, many different forms of raids appeared among various games.

Some people wondered, “Can we even call this a raid?!” while others argued, “This isn’t a raid at all!” No matter what people acknowledged or rejected, many things were named a raid.

“The raid system in Silia Online adheres to the principle of ‘many must work together to conquer.’ It’s not something you can defeat just because you’re skilled or high-level.”

Of course, if you’re high-level and skilled, clearing it would be easier.

‘Someday, if a player with Kana’s strength were to appear, lower-level raids could be cleared solo.’

Some games implement a system to restrict player levels and stats to prevent such situations, but Silia Online had no such system.

“Six people have to step on platforms, while the other two must take high-damage area attacks. If you can’t disrupt that pattern, it could deal nearly fatal damage to the entire map. Do you think two people could manage that?”

As mentioned earlier, if one had overwhelming strength to defeat the boss before the attack pattern emerges or had the necessary defense or health to withstand the damage, it wouldn’t matter.

But at their current level, that was impossible for either side.

“Does Joanie not like combat content much?”

“I studied hard.”

When your body is not great, you have to use your brain.

…Or was it the other way around?

Da-eun scratched her head.

Anyway, since she had an understanding of it already, gathering new knowledge wasn’t hard for her.

“Except for one, all the raid bosses were like that. And….”

…Even that one ultimately turned out that way.

Da-eun swallowed her words and smiled bitterly.

Yuki, looking puzzled, exhaled lightly.

“So, how do you plan on gathering the remaining six?”

“Gathering them isn’t hard.”

If Da-eun and Yuki asked their viewers, “Who wants to raid together?” they would swarm like bees.

But she wouldn’t know the skill level of those gathered or if they’d cause conflicts.

That was the issue with the way of gathering called ‘block raid’ or ‘public parties.’

You needed specific people, but you had no idea who they’d be.

‘But what can we do? Neither Yuki nor I belong to a guild.’

You have to bite without teeth.

“…Huh?”

It was then that Da-eun heard a whisper.

*

“The mood isn’t great.”

“It’s the timing.”

Yuki’s casual observation as she scanned her surroundings resonated with Da-eun.

‘She can read the atmosphere after all…’ was a bonus thought.

“I think it’s because of the extermination order. If they were going to turn the area in front of my house into a garbage dump, I’d raise both hands and protest, would I be okay with a bomb nearby? A bomb that’s likely to explode.”

“Can’t you just take it out before it explodes?”

“…Are you serious?”

“I was just joking.”

“That didn’t sound like a joke at all—”

“It was a joke.”

“…Let’s go with that.”

If she hadn’t said it was a joke, Da-eun would genuinely be concerned if Yuki was a caveman.

Not that she hardly believed it, but since Yuki said it was a joke, she’d choose to take it at face value for now.

“So where are we going right now?”

Da-eun looked at Yuki with a confused expression in response to the question.

“…I mentioned that someone’s helping us, right? I’m going to talk to him.”

“Did you?”

“I kind of thought that might be the case.”

She acted as if she just heard it for the first time.

Now Da-eun felt like she understood Yuki a bit better.

Ignoring the question mark hovering over Yuki’s head, Da-eun scanned the area.

They were supposed to meet around here…

“Joanie!”

Hearing her nickname, Da-eun quickly turned her head.

A familiar-faced man was sitting on a café terrace, waving.

Da-eun dragged the now-stunned Yuki towards the man.

“How have you been? Wow, it’s been forever!”

“It’s the first time since the war we’ve met in person.”

“Ah… I really appreciated it back then. If it weren’t for Pine, things wouldn’t have gone that smoothly.”

“…I don’t think that’s true. It wouldn’t have made much difference if I hadn’t stepped in.”

Pine smiled wryly.

He only intervened because he didn’t like how they were being provoked, but looking back now, there was no real need for him to step in.

No matter what the rascals yelled, he could have easily taken them down with one swing.

But Da-eun shook her head, denying Pine’s thoughts.

“Kana said she liked it when the chicks banded together to fight against the Empire knights. If you hadn’t stepped in, the Empire knights probably wouldn’t have come at all.”

“Uh, so that’s how it went?”

“For sure.”

Hearing it that way, it didn’t seem like a false statement…

“But Kana thinks of us fighting as a bunch of chicks chirping.”

Given that level of strength, it wouldn’t be strange to see it that way.

Still, it left a strange feeling, making Pine grimace.

“Enough about the past.”

Yuki, who wasn’t hiding her boredom, interrupted the conversation.

“What do you mean by busy helping?”

“Can’t I even ask how you are?”

“Since I see you all the time in the streams, what’s with the casual chit-chat?”

“You’re really lacking in sentiment.”

Click!

While clicking his tongue, Pine finally got to the main point.

“Since the extermination order has been issued, we have voted among ourselves on whether to challenge the raid or not. The result was exactly half and half.”

“And which side were you on, Pine?”

“Of course, I was against it.”

If Pine weren’t a streamer but just a regular player who enjoyed raiding, the result might have been different.

But he wasn’t a regular player, and he didn’t have a thick skin like Yuki, who ignored public sentiment.

“Huh, you were against it but still want to help me?”

“Why not?”

Pine squinted and beckoned Da-eun.

Understanding his intent, Da-eun leaned closer to Pine, turning off the stream sound.

“…If I have the excuse of helping Joanie, I can also show concern for public sentiment. I can do what I want while getting credit for it, so it’s a win-win situation.”

“…Wow.”

Da-eun admired him.

“You’re really a scary person.”

“Hey now, let’s call it a good thing for a good thing. And even without that, I would willingly help Joanie.”

“Why?”

“Because it would be beneficial for the stream. If things go well, there’s even a chance for a trickle-down effect.”

“What? Isn’t that saying the same thing again?”

So he wasn’t genuinely trying to help after all.

But Da-eun wasn’t disappointed.

‘Just because it isn’t pure doesn’t mean it’s devoid of good intentions.’

She had to grab at straws right now, so she couldn’t think of being naive or judgemental.

On the contrary, his clear motives made her trust him even more.

With a tangible reason to benefit his stream, she didn’t have to worry about a backstab.

‘It’s not impossible he could lie, but…’

The moment he does something like that, his stream would blow up like fireworks.

“So, what about the guild you lead, Pine?”

“That’s why I called Joanie. I mentioned earlier that the opinions were split down the middle, right? Normally, I would make the decision and lead my guild, but this time we decided to change our approach a bit.”

Four, and then four.

What a vague number.

Pine thought as he folded one finger down.

“Those who don’t want to participate can take a break, while only those who want to join will.”

Now that Pine, who had opposed the idea, shifted to agreement, there were three spots left.

The number of fingers Pine raised matched that perfectly.

“What do you think? Would you like to join as a temporary member of our guild? It would be easier than gathering six people.”

It’s actually quite a well-known guild, you know.

Pine confidently smiled.

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