I Became a Raid Boss

Once upon a time, there lived a very evil dragon.

Whenever the evil dragon appeared, everyone screamed and hurried to run away.

Because wherever the evil dragon passed, nothing was left behind.

The fields were destroyed, houses collapsed, and livestock were eaten.

The tyranny of the evil dragon did not end there.

It burned the elves’ forests and plundered the dwarves’ treasures.

The Ardina Continent was stained with sorrow, anger, and despair.

But just as the cries of all races reached the heavens, the red dragon Gracis appeared.

To put an end to the tyranny of the evil dragon, Gracis made a contract with a human.

That human’s name was Zigrid. He was a common man with no special abilities.

However, Zigrid had one great advantage.

He was braver than anyone else.

A human and a dragon.

A mere human the size of a dragon’s claw and a dragon as big as a fortress.

There was no way a mere human could stand against a dragon that could freely use magic.

But with Gracis’s help, Zigrid did not back down.

Flames flew, ice erupted, lightning struck, and the earth cracked, but Zigrid did not stop.

And finally, a giant dragon fell before the small human.

Having achieved a great feat, Zigrid established a nation at the site where the evil dragon fell and named the kingdom ‘Grasis’ in honor of Gracis, who helped him.

Moved by Zigrid’s sincerity, Gracis gave him a new language and treasures, marking the beginning of great Grasis.

– There’s a fairy tale like that.

The title was ‘The Adventures of Zigrid’, if I remember correctly?

For the children of Grasis, it was like a bible.

Though it was a fairy tale, it felt like a biography, and it made perfect sense to be titled The Adventures of Zigrid.

As far as I know, the contents of The Adventures of Zigrid were somewhat adapted but were based on real events.

It chronicled how Zigrid, with the help of Gracis, defeated the evil dragon and founded Grasis, naming it in honor of the red dragon and receiving a language and treasures.

Because of that, Grasis adopted its own unique language, ‘Granic’, instead of the Arkish language of the Lo Arka Empire, despite Arkish already existing.

‘Some enthusiasts say there must have been pressure from Gracis.’

If that’s the case, there wouldn’t be a reason to use Granic instead of the perfectly good Arkish.

Whether it’s truth or falsehood, it doesn’t matter anymore.

Grasis has fallen.

And the number of people who know Granic is dwindling, eventually to just a mention in a history book that says ‘there was such a language’.

‘- I thought so.’

“…Granic?”

Could the Apostle actually speak Granic?

I looked at the woman, who had a surprised expression while tightly gripping her sword with both hands.

Her grip on the Grip Technique was odd, and her stance was strange.

She didn’t even seem to intend to attack, but at this rate, even swinging the sword would yield no real power.

These days, I realized that the swarms of bugs… I mean, the things attacking me were actually Apostles.

At first, I suspected it, but upon closer inspection, most of the attackers were ones that had come at me several times before.

After hearing the blacksmith’s words, I was convinced that their true identity was indeed Apostles.

The strange aura I felt must have been thanks to Edel’s blessing.

When I realized they would be resurrecting and attacking again, their attitude of easily accepting death and the endless waves made sense.

Of course, just because I knew they were Apostles didn’t mean my response would change.

I would still slash, stab, and send them flying just the same.

As I continued to kill them, my infamous reputation among the Apostles seemed to spread, as the frequency of their attacks decreased significantly.

Eventually, some even seemed to give up and acted strangely.

The most absurd was when one suddenly showed up and set the table for a meal.

I was truly taken aback… The old saying ‘even a dog wouldn’t disturb you while you eat’ from my previous life came to mind, and I waited until they finished eating.

Anyway, it seemed the woman in front of me had heard of my infamy. That’s why she was shaking like that.

Although I didn’t understand her reason for coming all the way here, wasn’t she one of those who act weirdly?

“Do you know Granic?”

“Granic? Grasis? Uh, what was it… A little! I’ve heard!”

“Hmm.”

She probably didn’t seem to have learned it properly.

She could probably only manage a very simple level of listening and speaking.

I stared at her for a moment before shaking off my sword and sheathing it.

I had come here to prepare a meal, recalling the taste of the Cockatrice I had eaten last time, but this time I encountered a person instead of a bug.

I picked up the severed head and gathered the body to head home.

The corpse of the Cockatrice, dragged on the ground because of its short height, trailed behind me.

If it’s a person and not a bug, and not hostile, there’s no need to kill them.

*

“D-did I survive…? Right?”

– What? What is this? A meeting??

– Why did you spare me?

– What did you just do?

– Wow, your voice is amazing.

– Your voice sounds like a baby!

The Gravekeeper turned his back, dragging the body of the Cockatrice.

As its legs dragged along, they drew round circles on the ground.

When I heard the soft voice spilling out from beneath the cape, Journey’s chat room froze for a moment.

The identity of the Gravekeeper had been a hot topic of debate.

Some said it was a swordsman who had achieved everything and lived away from the mundane, while others claimed it was a magical weapon from ancient ruins, and some argued it was an undead due to its silence…

Among them, there were speculations that it might be a child considering its petite build, but these were dismissed as delusional or absurd jokes.

In the realistic world of Silia, it was impossible for a child to possess such power.

In fact, among the NPCs that players encountered, those who began to step into the ranks of the strong were almost all in their 20s, the prime of their lives.

As they aged, they grew stronger, and those who surpassed the aging threshold became even stronger while those who didn’t were crushed by the ravages of time.

That’s how the world of Silia was known to players.

‘But it actually happened.’

Though I’d have to see the hidden figure beneath the cape to be sure, based on the voice and stature, it didn’t seem possible that it was an adult.

‘Is it a polymorphed dragon? But is there polymorph magic in Silia…? Or could it be a dwarf?’

Thus, it was only natural for such questions to swirl in Journey’s head.

– How did you do that? This is the 156,189th question.

– Stop dawdling and follow!

– What was that strange language?

“A-Ah! I should follow!”

Journey’s combat state had been deactivated the moment the Gravekeeper lowered his sword.

Realizing too late, she dashed after the dragged marks on the ground, answering the viewers’ questions.

“What I just did was Granic, the language used by the Kingdom of Grasis.”

– The Kingdom of Grasis?

“It was a kingdom that fell a year ago. And here… the mountain where the Gravekeeper resides was once part of Grasis territory.”

It wasn’t hard to hear the name Grasis, considering it was a kingdom that had fallen just a year ago.

The street vendors, passing travelers, and the rumors circulating told me all about it.

However, despite the ease of gathering information, there were surprisingly few players who knew about Grasis, and most only knew it as ‘there was a kingdom that fell.’

The reason for this was due to the nature of Silia Online.

New players starting in Silia Online were dropped into a village with a Liberi branch.

All they were given was the status of a mercenary belonging to Liberi and the blessing of Edel, without any main story or quests like in other MMORPGs.

It felt as if the game was saying, ‘You are now a resident of this world,’ with no objectives assigned by the developers—it was up to players to set grand goals for themselves and embark on thrilling adventures.

Journey really liked that aspect.

“Indeed, it makes sense that not many would look into every detail.”

Especially those who were hurriedly rushing for a first clear wouldn’t easily find the time for that.

There were even dedicated pattern analysis teams to achieve the fastest clears, so spending time here wasn’t likely.

Of course, players who were interested would gather information and share it, making it easy to acquire knowledge online.

Now, even those who were diligently running could look for posts by other users or study the history of Silia, but Silia Online was still only half a year old.

There was a lot to do and a lot to want, so for those who didn’t already have a passion for it, it would be pushed aside.

“The language players use is Arkish, the imperial language made by the Lo Arka Empire. And Grasis was in a continuous war with the empire until its fall.”

– Did the empire destroy them??

“That’s not the case, but it was one of the reasons. Anyway… I speculated that the Gravekeeper might be a person from Grasis.”

A mountain located within the territory of the fallen Grasis. A Gravekeeper hiding away, and a grave that looked like it had a backstory.

It just felt like there had to be something more.

“If the Gravekeeper is reclusive due to the fall of Grasis, they wouldn’t have good feelings regarding the Empire, and using Arkish wouldn’t be seen positively either.”

Of course, this was all just hypothetical.

There could be other reasons, or they might not harbor any hatred for the Empire.

Believing in a low probability, Journey cast her die, which was merely pointing at a six.

“Guess I got lucky.”

She felt grateful that the effort she put into learning Granic by talking to NPCs didn’t go to waste.

– But most NPCs handle communication just fine. Even the people in the cities within the fallen kingdom understand everything.

– Occasionally, you have NPCs who speak awkwardly, but are those also people from the kingdom?

“Grasis has been in decline for several decades, they said. So maybe they were preparing in advance? I’m not sure about that part either.”

If someone had experienced it firsthand, they would know.

Journey’s gaze followed the back of the Gravekeeper that appeared far away.

– How often do you even think about learning a language?;

– This is a testament of dedication.

– Our guild leader is right.

– To you, Journey.

“Thanks for the compliment.”

Journey smiled at the favorable reactions in the chat.

“… But I wouldn’t say they wouldn’t kill me just because I followed them, right?”

– Our guild leader is right…

– Huh, they were definitely cool just a moment ago..?

– Sojourner.

“Phew… yeah! It’s either death or fainting!”

After coming this far, I can’t just go back!

Popping her cheeks to muster her courage, she quickly moved her feet.

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