Inside the Abyssal Tree, on the way to the Named Enemy 1.
Thump thump.
Rustle rustle.
“Chuckle chuckle.”
I chuckled softly while looking at the little Chris, who was walking right beside me.
With her adorable gestures, red hair that cascaded down to her waist, and a single silly tuft that wobbled on top, contrasting with her confident smile.
Just looking at her brings a sense of calm. It’s a different kind of happiness than when I see the tall, shapely Sister Chris.
“Huh?”
Little Chris looked at me with a bright smile. I barely stopped my hand from reaching over her head and awkwardly changed the subject.
“But what’s the benefit of creating a second raid team?”
This was my biggest curiosity. It couldn’t be just for my sake that they were forming a second team.
Of course, if I level up my sub-character, I could enjoy the game with a character other than my main class, also getting benefits from daily quests and such. I could even alter my character’s appearance like Chris.
But still, is it really necessary for a raid?
Little Chris chuckled.
“From the moment I understood the direction of this game, I was thinking about raising a sub-character. Although my sister has a lot of gold, I believe in earning gold through the game itself, you know?”
I nodded.
Chris does spend a lot of gold, but her earnings by playing the game far outweigh the amount she converts from cash. She generates massive amounts of gold through bus runs, quests, and monopolizing weapon markets. In fact, I hire high-standard employees to work as bus drivers, covering the costs. I guess I treat them as a mix of cherished stuffed animal and gold-earning staff.
Little Chris spread her chubby arms dramatically.
“First of all, the best point is that farming becomes easier for the main raid team.”
“Huh? Accessory items are bound, so won’t the sub-characters be the ones farming?”
“The more farming progresses, the more main characters will join the second team. Anyway, whether it’s our raid or that Skada raid over there, it’s obvious the main characters will be stronger, right? Eco Stones or inner workings are also going to be much better than those of sub-characters.”
Chris glanced at Skada, the raid leader of ‘Skada Raid,’ who was following behind us. Skada smiled widely while looking at me and little Chris, with a somewhat mischievous glance.
“Later on, the damage output from team one will exceed what’s needed. Then, main characters from team one who haven’t completed their farming yet will come to support damage for team two, also snagging accessories for cheap along the way. The spare spots will be filled with bus customers. And, the sub-character farming can be done later when the bus fare is high, after making loads of gold.”
“Ah, I see.”
So the plan is to swap characters between team one and two.
Eventually, after farming is done, I could also receive the boss’s portion or even create a third team with the missing members.
“And the legendary weapon made from materials only obtainable in this raid is super hot, right? There are only three parties that have cleared it so far, so the more weapons we extract, the better. I can farm for the sub-character weapons later, so I’ve got to sell them off for a hefty price when they are expensive. Rain also made a ton of gold this time, right?”
Little Chris beamed at me. I scratched my face awkwardly, embarrassed by her praise.
Just as Chris said, I had made a staggering amount of gold from monopolizing the weapon materials known as ‘Crow’s Remnant.’
By combining it with ‘Crow’s Spirit,’ which drops alongside the items from the Elite Dungeon ‘Ice Castle,’ I managed to sell the legendary weapon ‘Northern Commander’s Weapon’ for an outrageous price.
“Thanks to that, I was able to pay off all of Sister Chris’s debt.”
“Tsk. I said you didn’t have to pay me back.”
I gave a refreshed smile. Little Chris somehow licked her lips.
That’s right. As of today, I’m free from debt.
I’ve been diligently saving my YouTube earnings and ad revenue into my personal minus account called ‘Sister’s Money.’ The remaining amount was paid off with the gold earned from selling the weapon.
I even have a thousand gold left! With this money, even if I auction all the earrings and rings today, I will still have plenty left over.
“By the way, this weapon must have an evolution-type, right?”
I fiddled with the ‘Astaroth’ hanging at my waist.
The second legendary weapon that appeared after acquiring ‘Astaroth’ through a World Boss strategy, ‘Northern Commander’s Weapon,’ is comparable to Astaroth. Although the sold weapon couldn’t match Astaroth’s price, as more clearing parties come in, it should steadily drop in value. The insane auction price at that time surely benefited from the title of first legendary weapon.
“Moreover, the options on this legendary weapon are purely PVE-focused. No cooldown resets or PVP options. Though the additional damage and confirmed critical hit options when stacked are impressive.”
I checked the options for the ‘Northern Commander’s Sword’ I had sold through the auction house’s sales record.
[Northern Commander’s Sword]
[Legend Rank]
[Attack Power: 450]
[NPC Additional Damage: 20%]
[All Skill Damage Increased by: 50%]
[Socket 1: EMPTY]
[Socket 2: EMPTY]
…
[Socket 6: EMPTY]
[Unique Ability: Chance to stack ‘Shadow Shadow’ buff on attack. On 5 stacks, convert to ‘Rampage’ buff.]
(Rampage – Increases NPC additional damage by 20% for 10 seconds, guaranteed critical hit on all attacks.)
(Once equipped, bound)
Had I not had ‘Astaroth,’ the options would be quite tempting.
“However, it has slightly lower attack power than Astaroth, and there’s no cooldown reset.”
I value the cooldown reset function more since it allows me to use mobility skills continuously while performing gimmicks alone.
And then…
Woosh.
As I lifted Astaroth, the murky sword emitted a silvery gleam that captivated me.
Ultimately, Astaroth is simply prettier.
“I prefer this sword.”
Little Chris looked at me with a satisfied smile as I rubbed my cheek against the blade.
*
[Named Enemy 1]
[Level 53]
[Black Dragon]
[HP 59,047,009 / 200,000,000 (29%)]
Quack quack quack!
The Black Dragon’s final special pattern, the last breath, poured down onto the raid members.
Everyone, crouched within the barriers made by the ants after executing all the gimmicks, entered the final burst damage time as the dragon’s flight ended.
“Bae Merong, Divine Descent! Let’s finish this by dropping it to 10% with this burst!”
“Yes!”
Fwaaaah!
As Bae Merong drew her talisman, a blue light enveloped the party members. The Onmyoji’s party buff skill, ‘Divine Descent,’ had been activated.
The wizard from the Hong Baek Raid, Bae Merong, was an Onmyoji sub-class. Together with Chris, they alternated using Divine Descent to buff the party.
Boom boom boom!
As Chris called for the burst damage time, the Black Dragon’s HP started to reduce quickly.
Woosh!
During this, Skada, the raid leader of the ‘Skada Raid,’ glanced at the interface while preparing the wizard’s burst skill, ‘Arcane Burst.’ The damage contribution ranking, available only within the 12-person attack party, was before her.
[‘Black Dragon’ Damage Contribution]
[1. Drizzle Rain (23.4%)]
[2. Christu (12.2%)]
[3. Skada mk2 (12.0%)]
…
Skada clicked her tongue.
“What kind of swordsman DPS is…”
No matter how you look at it, even if Rain is the main character, it was hard to understand how he could deal damage nearly double that of the pure-damage wizard while facing the ferocious Black Dragon’s patterns head-on.
Skada’s gaze turned to what Rain wielded, a weapon wreathed in starlight, slicing into the Black Dragon’s body.
“It doesn’t seem like it’s just the weapon making the difference.”
Boom!
The beautiful girl with flowing white hair nimbly dodged the dragon’s foreleg, lightly stepping back, then unleashed starlight slashes. Before the dragon’s actions could conclude, she quickly approached and began swinging her sword. Rain’s blade penetrated between the dragon’s scales, inflicting wounds on the lizard’s body.
This was surely a blow to Skada’s pride. Despite being a sub-class, the gap in damage contribution between her and the tank was embarrassing.
Roar!
As Skada’s Arcane Burst detonated, the damage rankings shook once again.
[‘Black Dragon’ Contribution]
[1. Drizzle Rain (23.8%)]
[2. Skada mk2 (12.9%)]
[3. Christu (12.4%)]
…
Skada had risen to second place, but was still unsatisfied. She had barely beaten a wizard, who was a pure damage dealer, while being an Onmyoji with party buff skills.
Roarrrrr!
Boom!
Clattering.
The Black Dragon fell, and little Chris rushed over to Rain and hugged him tightly. The sight of two small girls wriggling together brought a smile to Skada’s face.
Chris turned back, beaming at Skada.
“Wow! You guys in the Skada raid are amazing, too!”
“That’s quite an exaggerated compliment.”
It truly was an exaggerated compliment. Although the other members of the Hong Baek raid were impressive, ‘Chris’ and ‘Rain’ were users with vastly superior skills.
“Truly the first clear team and the second clear team.”
“Mm.”
Skada nodded at the words of the man beside her, Park Jeong-kwon, the main tank of the Skada raid.
Rain, the white-haired swordswoman.
It was well-known that she belonged to the No Name raid. She had even done solo playthroughs of the Elite Dungeon with that party name.
But did she really clear the raid dungeon alone? Opinions were divided even among the gossipers.
Skada shook her head.
“Indeed, the damage contribution is overwhelming, but even that can’t cover the damages needed to clear a raid dungeon alone. The Named enemies in the ‘Abyssal Tree’ have time attacks and enragement, you know.”
“Surely, there must have been team members when she was clearing during the Perkle strategy? It’s different for an Elite Dungeon.”
“Mm. Nobody knows what kind of users were with her.”
The remarkable and elusive members of the No Name raid.
Before me stood a girl named ‘Rain,’ whose incredible skills were hard to believe.
“What do you think, Park Jeong-kwon, as a swordsman class like Rain? Can you keep up with her?”
“Swordsman…? It’s hard to just place her in the simple swordsman category.”
Park Jeong-kwon was sweating profusely.
Though he was one of the top swordsmen, a user like Rain was a straightforward game-breaker.
Skada gazed at the two girls, who were squealing over the rewards with sparkling eyes.
“No Name raid, Hong Baek raid, huh.”
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