I Became a Raid Boss

Wobble wobble.

Nom nom.

“…This isn’t the taste I wanted!”

The chicken that was left with nothing but bare bones… I threw the Cockatrice leg away.

The flavor was quite stable.

I worried about it having a foul smell, but surprisingly it was clean and smooth with a nice chewiness….

It just wasn’t the taste I was looking for.

I thought I had enough confidence since I’ve done a lot of cooking, but maybe it was unrealistic to match the essence of modern science in just one attempt.

“Guess you can’t be full on the first bite, huh?”

If I had succeeded on the first try, I might’ve been disappointed thinking, “Is this what I’ve been searching for all along, something so easy to make?!”

So let’s not despair over failure and instead take pride in having found some delicious ingredients.

Some people might dislike monster meat, but I wasn’t particularly averse to it.

After all, even if it’s called a monster, it’s just a mountain beast like the wild animals on Earth.

But a tad more ferocious, a bit more dangerous, and with excellent reproductive capabilities, maybe?

At first, I also had my reservations, but as I ate to survive, it turned out to be tastier than I expected.

Since then, I’ve been eating without prejudice.

“…Ah.”

While I was soaking in satisfaction, a breeze brushed against my cheek.

I pressed down hard on my cape to keep it from blowing away and looked around at the mess I had made.

I had quite a bit of leftover ingredients….

Since the Cockatrice was large, I prepared ample materials, but it seems I bought too much.

Even the food I made ended up being leftover.
Spices can just be saved for later, but milk and food would spoil if left out…. Maybe I should’ve bought a storage artifact.

I could just drink the milk, but right now I was too full to want any.

After pondering for a moment, I gathered my resolve and poured the remaining milk into a cup.

Glug glug.

“Pyaaa…!”

Ugh, I feel like I might burst….

But wouldn’t drinking this much make me a bit taller?

“…Sigh.”

Knowing very well that it would not, a deep sigh escaped me.

I wanted to at least be taller than a little squirt, but here I am.

I was taller in my previous life, so is this just the gods’ way of saying I should live small in this one? Sadly, my height hasn’t changed from a few years ago.

Even at this age where I should be growing!

I know the reasons and that there’s nothing I can do, but still… it makes me sad.

“Let’s wrap things up.”

The cleanup wasn’t done yet.

I’ll put the spices on the shelves by type and finish the leftover chicken tomorrow.

With the weather this nice, surely it wouldn’t spoil in just a day?

Having tidied everything neatly, I nodded in satisfaction.

“So, shall we finish things up now?”

Shing.

Srrrng.

The sword at my waist came out of its sheath with a metallic sound.

The rusty, cracked iron sword looked like it could break at any moment.

It has certainly seen better days. It’s impressive that this iron sword, which I casually picked up at a small village blacksmith, has lasted this long.

I didn’t even take good care of it.

With a skill like this blacksmith’s, they might be able to forge a master sword someday.

I recalled the blacksmith’s face, which looked fierce but was gleaming with pure ambition, and I smiled faintly as I swung my sword.

Swish!

With a sharp silver arc, blood splattered.

Red blood dripped onto the blooming red flower.

If it had been a blue flower, I would have been in trouble. Thank goodness.

“…!”

At first glance, it looked like a person, but the way it scuttled made it definitely a rat.

Well, it makes sense; at night, one wouldn’t find a person sneaking and scuttling around.

And I’m not the kind of guy to feel guilty just for catching a rat.

Ah, isn’t “agape” not the term for this kind of situation? Well, as long as the meaning gets across, it’s fine.

It pained me a little to use a sword made by a future master for such menial tasks, but what could I do without a proper tool?

Sorry, unknown blacksmith. I promise to buy a more expensive sword as an apology next time.

“Hm.”

The rat’s body disappeared in a swirl of light.

It was the same phenomenon I saw when I dealt with a thief in the morning, and I narrowed my eyes.

“Is there an organization I don’t know about?”

One… no, if there are two, it raises reasonable suspicion.

I’ve heard that some information guilds or assassin guilds use poisons or artifacts to completely obliterate corpses while simultaneously ending their own lives, but I’ve never seen or heard of this before.

And with this, I realized something else.

When the thief touched the Crimson Aegis, it felt strange, and after catching the rat just now, it became clear.
These guys’ presence is different from that of regular people.

It’s not that it’s undetectable, but it feels oddly alien, if that makes sense?

I let down my guard because their presence didn’t match what I know of a person, allowing them to get close to me.

Besides, their recognition felt blurred, so I couldn’t make out any features.

“The sneaky approach I understand is to reduce one’s presence, but this method exists too.”

They’ve devised such a method. Truly, human imagination is remarkable.

But why did they come here?

Like I thought before, there are no roads and the terrain is rugged deep in the mountains.

No matter how accustomed to the mountains a herbalist might be, getting here wouldn’t be easy.

“Could it be….”

Unconsciously, I tapped the sword at my waist and shook my head.

“No. It can’t be.”

Yeah, it’s just a coincidence.

I forced myself to dismiss my unease.

‘But, if by any chance, what if it’s not just a worry, but a fact….’

I stared intently at the sword hanging from my waist.

It was red like the Crimson Aegis, but it gave off a thick feeling.

*

Not long after a community post became a popular thread, a new post from the author surfaced.

[Indiana Jones Review]

(You Died)

What a ridiculous failure ha-ha

I tried to hide my presence and crawled around, but they figured it out right away and came to kill me.

It was a post attached with a death message that one would see if they’ve played Silia Online at least once.

Those who were anticipating it were disappointed, while those wishing for a failure probably rejoiced.

If the content ended there…

As it got closer, I entered combat status

(Health Bar.jpg)

I didn’t think to take a picture earlier, but seeing the health bar type, it looks like it might be a raid boss?

But does it usually show both name and level as ??? like this?

I don’t know since I don’t go on raids?

If anyone knows, please let me know.

This is a boss photo taken from a third-person perspective.

(I should’ve taken it from first-person, but I was sliced up in an instant and had no time to capture it.)

If I hadn’t switched to third-person mode ahead of time, I probably wouldn’t have taken this photo either, lol.

[Comments]

– Oh, it’s a new boss.

– How slow do you have to be not to even capture a screenshot?

┕ Just a guy who loves adventures… cut him some slack.

┕ If you react like that, what does that make me?

┕ A trash?

┕ Ugh, what a trash.

– I was curious about the sword’s performance, but okay bye.

– A sword-wielding hermit living in the mountain? I can’t resist this, I’m going to knock my head against it right now haha.

┕ This was the last will of the dearly departed.

– An unknown name shows like that when there’s little information on the boss. But it’s strange to see the level hidden too.

– I wonder if it drops a sword if I kill it?

┕ Considering it’s stuck, there’s likely a separate drop item and it might be a first clear reward, right?

This game boasts countless possibilities and boasts immense freedom, yet gamers’ thirst is never quenched.

New clothes, a new phone, a new computer.

New things always hold a magical power that excites the heart.

Thus, users of Silia Online were perpetually thirsty for new information, and that’s why informative posts held significant weight among the various popular threads.

During this time, the discovery of a new boss felt like a refreshing rain during a drought to these thirsty users.

[Looking for Mercenaries to Raid]

[Let’s Learn About Herbs]

[Gathering Info About the Hot New Boss]

[Speculation: What is the New Boss?]

[The Importance of Basic Skills]

[About the Free Mercenary City, Liberi]

Posts began pouring out like mushrooms after rain.

*

“A new raid boss appeared?”

– Well, strictly speaking, it was discovered, not appeared.

– It hasn’t been updated even once, so it makes sense.

– Seeing this, I feel once again that Silia Online is amazing, with so much to do despite not having a single update.

– So much is still unknown, and there’s still so much I haven’t finished, haha.

– There isn’t even a common bug;

– Ultimate game.

“It’s really surprising. How did a game like this come out in our country….”

– ?

– ??

– That remark.

– Are you dismissing Korean games?

– Streamer Joanie / Controversy.

“Oh, no, no! That’s not what I meant!”

Sensing the imminent disaster, the streamer, Joanie, hurriedly waved her hands.

“I just meant it’s amazing! Honestly, compared to overseas technology, our country’s seems lacking right?”

– Hm…

– That’s true, I suppose.

– ??? They made Silia, how could they be lacking? Haha, you’re so clueless.

– Before Silia, most were imported games, after all.

“But look! Without testing, not a single bug; the optimization is so good that there’s no lag. Even SSS-class foreign games don’t achieve that.”

– Agree.

– Unless they’ve infused it with alien technology, it doesn’t make sense.

“I held off on playing those so-called god games until all bugs were fixed.”

– Same here, haha.

As the lively chat gradually calmed down, supportive comments for Joanie rose.

Having quickly dodged the disaster, Joanie let out a secret sigh of relief.

“Anyway, those doing raids must be excited now.”

– Isn’t the party leader trying it?

– Honestly, if it’s the leader, they’re not particularly bad at controlling, so it should be something to watch.

– But since raiding isn’t the main content…

– I’d like to see them get wrecked.

– For real, haha.

“I don’t really plan on trying it just yet.”

Joanie displayed a somewhat negative demeanor.

“Raids are fun, but I find traveling more enjoyable. That’s why you all watch my stream, right?”

– True, true.

– There’s an emotional aspect to Joanie’s travels.

– Getting killed by encountering high-level mobs while wandering around is indeed fun.

“Unexpected surprises are one of the charms of travel.”

– Charm (Gets hit and dies).

– Charm (Physical).

As she communicated with her viewers, Joanie quickly skimmed through the posts rising in the community.

Only a short while after it had been discovered, the posts were filled with speculation and no clear information.

“Definitely intriguing. It gives off an Excalibur vibe from King Arthur’s legend. Is it guarding a tomb?”

– I think that’s likely.

– That’s why it’s called a Gravekeeper.

– Its real name hasn’t been revealed yet, after all.

“A Gravekeeper, huh. Good name. I wonder what backstory it has? I’m curious.”

– Others seem more interested in the drop items.

– Or maybe the patterns.

– This person just loves stories.

Joanie did not deny it.

“Perhaps if I get the chance, I’ll go check it out? Ah, but I don’t mean I’ll try it.”

As she streams, there are moments where she can predict how her viewers will react to what she says.

Sometimes, she uses that to elicit the desired response.
Yeah, just like this time.

Anticipating her viewers would get excited, Joanie blocked it in advance, smiling as the expected reactions unfolded.

‘Gravekeeper….’

Even with the shape of her body hidden by her cape, one could easily guess it was a small figure.

A child? A dwarf? Or perhaps a hunchbacked old man?

What kind of backstory could lead to guarding a grave, and what story is tied to the sword standing in the tomb?

Joanie’s heart raced at facing the unknown.

Though she had no plans to attempt it right away, she had a feeling she would meet the Gravekeeper sooner rather than later.

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