NOVEL SIMPLE Chapter 4
A community world where countless posts come and go like tides.
The red flower only blooms for ten days; what remains healthy is bound to fade someday.
Proving that statement, any topic that buzzed and drew attention within the community would soon quiet down.
Among them, useful posts that provided help lingered on as guides for users, while those that were mere fleeting entertainment were recalled as “Oh, that happened.”
This was the cycle of the ecosystem in the community sea…
Yet, amidst it all, there was a topic that remained hot for over a week.
It was none other than the new boss, the Gravekeeper.
[Gravekeeper Pattern Analysis]
Slash
Strong Slash
Seriously Strong Slash
Stab
Strong Stab
Seriously Strong Stab
Sword Beam
If this helped, please give a thumbs-up!
new) Kick
[Comments]
– “’Skill’? Ahh… that’s for weaklings.”
– “Patterns exist for those who can’t survive without clinging to them.”
– “You want a skill from the likes of you? Uh, no way…”
– “This is just ridiculous lol!”
– “Add Kick too.”
┗ Added.
┗ (thumbs up emoji)
An article analyzing the Gravekeeper’s patterns.
[Gravekeeper Try Raid Progress]
1st: Pizza Is Definitely Hawaiian – 54 seconds
2nd: Atomic – 49 seconds
3rd: Never Again War – 48 seconds
4th: Great Start, Poor Finish – 47 seconds
4th: Eclipse – 47 seconds
At first, it seemed like Great Start, Poor Finish was leading, but are they just slacking off?
When examined closely, there are differences with Eclipse, but abandoning the decimal, let’s just call it a tie for 4th.
Currently, Pizza Is Definitely Hawaiian is in an overwhelming lead.
If this continues, it looks like they’ll take the perfect kill.
But since Atomic is in 2nd, we can’t let our guard down.
[Comments]
– “Progress?”
– “Progress, lol.”
– “Is it hanging on a pull-up bar?”
┗ “You’ve got some good stamina, huh?”
– “While others have a 1-2 second difference, you have a whopping 5 seconds, definitely overwhelming.”
– “Why is Atomic written in English?”
┗ “It’s a foreign raid team.”
┗ “Oh, right.”
– “What’s with the name of the 1st raid team, damn?”
┗ “Let’s see! It’ll kill you!”
┗ “You… are you part of the Hawaiian faction?”
– “What’s the health at?”
┗ “100.”
┗ “?”
┗ “100%.”
┗ “Current valid hits ‘0.’”
An article sharing the progress of raid teams challenging the Gravekeeper.
[Wait, is this right?]
Am I supposed to ignore taunts, dodge CC, and focus on the healer?
The attack power is so strong that even when using party survival skills, one hit can kill.
Using party invincibility might let you survive for 2 more seconds, but what does that even mean?
They just made a messed-up boss.
[Comments]
– “Isn’t it enough to just kill it before the healer dies? (Genuinely don’t know.)”
┗ “You’re seriously going to dieㅡㅡ.”
[Why is the entry restriction like this?]
(‘Already a party is challenging.’ message.jpg)
Why is there only one party entry, while they split the hunting ground channels?
Other raids can accommodate multiple parties at once.
[Comments]
– “Seriously, I don’t get it either.”
Articles pointing out various issues with the Gravekeeper and rallying against the game company emerged.
Some users went so far as to write their own posts and contact the company out of genuine concern, but the response was nonexistent.
Users tired of waiting for a reply began to share their thoughts.
– “At this point, isn’t it just a special NPC?”
– “? Isn’t it a mob, not an NPC?”
┗ “Since NPC means Non Player Character, it technically includes mobs too, not just what you think of NPCs.”
┗ “Oh, I didn’t know that.”
– “There are also claims it’s a main story NPC.”
– “Maybe they just don’t know the gimmick yet.”
– “It’s just because the developers are terrible. I knew it was just a poorly made game when I was praising Silia Online. Tsk, tsk, the real deal is showing.”
– “They probably just made it so it can’t be caught.”
┗ “Given the attack power, it really doesn’t make sense.”
– “Isn’t it not even the boss we’re fighting right now? We could just level up.”
┗ “The level isn’t the problem; the boss itself is.”
┗ “Ignoring aggro, dodging non-target skills, prioritizing the healer, entry restrictions. Just what I wrote so far is this much.”
┗ “It is quite absurd.”
– “The concept is cool, but still…;”
┗ “I’m curious how it looks.”
┗ “I hope it’s a dignified swordsman grandpa, yum!”
┗ “??”
Various speculations flourished, and no one could provide clear answers.
With so many unknowns about the name, level, appearance, and voice, it was impossible to arrive at a conclusion.
A fire ignited by one user’s post still raged on even after quite some time.
But it burned brightly, fueled by many users’ posts.
Then news came that not only had they added fuel to the fire but also spilled oil on it—
[Real-time Boss Update]
It was news about the Gravekeeper going out for a stroll.
*
“…The Gravekeeper disappeared?”
– “Eh?”
– “Yeah.”
– “It ran away, lol.”
“Ran away? What do you mean?”
– “It came out of the boss room, killed some people, and disappeared.”
– “???: The best defense is a good offense.”
“What…?”
Even after having it explained to her by viewers, Joanie couldn’t understand and opened the internet herself.
It wasn’t hard to find related content.
If it was any community even slightly related to Silia Online, everyone was talking about the same thing.
Joanie entered the post with the most recommendations.
It was a familiar sight she’d seen a few times before.
The Gravekeeper, adorned in an old hooded cape, descended from the steep mountain.
Players climbing the mountain entirely missed the Gravekeeper as they chatted amongst themselves.
[“Huh? Why is there a combat state—”]
When one player noticed something strange and looked up to see the Gravekeeper, it was already too late.
BAM!
The tank fell so easily that it made the armor look colorless.
The players fell helplessly to the incredibly efficient and merciless ambush.
The video ended with the blade embedded in the chest of the one filming it.
“Uh…”
Joanie stared blankly at the paused video that only left behind the phrase ‘You Died.’
“Guys, what is this?”
– “We don’t know either;”
– “That’s why there’s chaos. Is it acceptable for the boss to wander and hunt users?”
– “It was a raid just now.”
– “For real lol.”
– “Isn’t this a first in history?”
“Um, strictly speaking, it’s probably not the first, right?”
Though she wasn’t an avid raider, Joanie had quite a lengthy gaming history, so she knew enough.
“There were games where the boss room changes over time or where bosses change according to events.”
Some games even created events where a horde of monsters, including boss monsters, invade towns to gradually express impending doom.
There were instances where players had to meet triggers to face the true form of a boss for a clear.
“Usually, it’s often for a short time, as players would feel uncomfortable if such things lasted too long.”
More colloquially speaking, just long enough to get a hit of experience.
“It’s fascinating, though. If it’s Silia Online, it shouldn’t be a bug… Is there some kind of reason for it?”
– “I trust you, Silmen.”
– “Silmen.”
– “Can’t you trust Demoninus? Can’t you trust Demoninus? Can’t you trust Demoninus? Can’t you trust Demoninus?”
– “This sacrilegious person!”
“Now now, no spamming, please.”
Taking advantage of the moment, Joanie imposed a 5-minute chat ban on the spamming viewers, calming down the chat a bit.
With a satisfied smile, she stretched her arms.
“But it is indeed strange. The ones trying now are all top-notch players, right? They got wrecked without even touching it once?”
– “It’s not a first kill situation, it’s a first hit situation.”
– “World first hit lol.”
“Control must be no joke. Just how skilled is their swordsmanship?”
Like in any virtual reality game, Silia Online particularly emphasized the importance of body movement.
Guarding, parrying, dodging, attacking, moving, etc.
Every motion required for combat felt like actual bodily movements and offered far greater freedom than other games.
Normally, specs and skills could compensate, but those leading in raid-like combat content tended to be people who handled their bodies well.
The fact that such players failed to land a single hit says a lot about the Gravekeeper’s swordsmanship.
“Could I use a sword like that if I practiced? Like this, like this?”
Swish.
Vroom.
– “No no no no no no.”
– “The raid leader just has no talent in swordsmanship.”
– “Due to watching this stream, my dental implant costs went up to 39.8 million won. Thank you^^.”
– “What is this? Performance art? lol.”
– “Correct! Gas station balloon!”
– “Don’t you dare call yourself a swordsman.”
“…”
Joanie pouted her lips.
She knew her swordsmanship was terrible.
“Can’t be helped, can it? I’ve never trained professionally.”
Still, she didn’t want to take the time to learn.
Exploring the map and wandering around was far more enjoyable.
Distracted by the chat that was busy mocking her, Joanie hadn’t noticed.
“Raid leader, what are you doing!!!!”
“Behind behind behind behind behind!!!!”
“…Huh?”
WHACK!
By the time she focused and looked at the chat, she had already received a club to the back of her head.
Due to the level difference and the unprepared hit to a vital point, Joanie’s body crumbled in an instant.
[You Died]
Greeted by the familiar phrase in her darkened view, Joanie chuckled.
It seemed she would definitely have to change her destination.