"We, we did it!"
"Waaaaah! We really cleared it!"
"It was truly a nightmarish pattern... Do we have to capture it again if it resets? I'm not confident."
The dead members who were huddled together at the entrance of the 2nd Named boss combat area, blocked by the external barrier generated during combat, cheered.
Bae Merong sat down on the floor with a deep sigh.
"Haaaaah..."
"Well done, Bae Merong."
Chris smiled gently and patted Bae Merong's head.
Bae Merong looked up at Chris with a sulky expression.
"...You've been so into Rain lately that you don't pay attention to me... You used to call me cute too."
"Aw, our junior Dayeon is still cute."
"Hehe."
Chris, who was looking at Bae Merong with proud eyes, suddenly checked the time.
How long did it take to conquer Jakam?
Today's set attempt time was also nearing its end.
"This is bad. I didn't expect it to take this long."
Chris made a troubled expression.
The plan was to finish Jakam as quickly as possible and use the remaining time to get information on the last Named boss, but that plan was ruined.
"By the way, it's easier than I thought? If we just adapt to the terrifying normal patterns, the gimmick itself doesn't seem like much?"
Chris shook her head at Ranger Disappointing's casual words.
"What are you saying. Without Rain's information, do you think we could have cleared it today?"
Disappointing hesitated, then stroked his chin lost in thought.
"Hmm... Well, we couldn't have found the demonic energy overflow made by 12 stacks of demonic energy injection in the first place, right?"
"And the subsequent linked absorption, feeding, and groggy patterns would still be a mystery too."
Bae Merong and Cherni also chimed in agreement.
"Really, if you think about just charging in and finding it, it would have been too difficult. Rain is alone, right? How on earth did she find these gimmicks? Was it possible because it's time-based? Still, to clear it you have to shave off 200 million directly..."
"Could someone be helping her? Even for Rain, it's hard to imagine conquering a raid dungeon alone."
"That's not true. If she wasn't alone, finding the demonic energy overflow gimmick would be the first hurdle. What kind of party would think to limit the demonic energy injection to 1 person target to create 12 stacks?"
"I-is that so?"
Bae Merong and Cherni made puzzled expressions at Deathly Death's rebuttal.
Chris nodded.
"If there were several days of attempts, we might have discovered it by trying various experiments. But... In just one day? When it's hard to survive even in normal patterns? Impossible."
Rain.
The more she got to know her, the harder it was to gauge the limits of her abilities.
Clap!
Chris clapped her hands to draw the raid members' attention.
Rain is fighting her own battle. It's not good for them to talk about her like this.
Chris sent meaningful glances to the raid members, conveying 'I'll kill you if you bother our Rain'. The raid members who were each talking about Rain swallowed their words with a gulp.
"Well well. As I always say, we should go at our own pace, right? Shall we start with the auction and then talk?"
And she grinned while linking the dropped item.
[Ring of the Abyss]
[Legendary Grade]
[Strength +80 Agility +80 Intelligence +80]
[Damage Received -12%]
[Critical Damage Received -30%]
[Unique Ability: All damage received from NPCs -10%]
(Bound on acquire)
"Ooh, indeed. The 2nd Named boss drops a defensive ring. Similar to the elite dungeon drop table."
"Actually, even with things like this, in raid dungeons you still die in one hit anyway."
"What are you saying? Damage reduction options are important. With something like that, you can trade hits just with Echostone recovery in elite dungeons, right? You don't even need to use response skills for minor patterns. Even in Astria Online where HP is almost meaningless, damage reduction is an important option."
"The stats alone are plenty beneficial."
"If you specially enhance it with magic stones to convert to PvP options, you can rampage in faction battlefields."
"With options like that, it seems like you won't die to one of Jakam's sword energies? I'll use it for dungeons. If there's any left later, I'll bid for another one for PvP use."
For users of 'Astria Online', there are no armor items. Metal armor was meaningless in front of the bizarre ability called demonic energy. There are costume items like armor, but they only have meaning for appearance.
Armor made of mithril or treated with magic would have sufficient defensive ability, but that's NPC talk. For users, the 'adventurers from the stars', the item 'ring' was replacing that position.
Rings that don't restrict movement and provide high stats along with excellent defensive abilities. These also have value comparable to earrings.
However, the Red-White raid members just drooled while watching Chris. They can't win against her in a gold fight.
Chris chuckled and bid.
"I'll bid 2000 gold. You'll get plenty of distribution money."
"Woohoo! As expected of Raid Leader Chris!"
"Sniff, I'll follow you for life! I love gold the most!"
The Ranger Ko Seungwoo who loves gold shed tears of emotion.
"So, today's attempt is extended, right?"
"Tomorrow's Sunday, isn't it? I'll delay tomorrow's start time by as much as we extend, so let's proceed a bit more today."
The 12 members of the Red-White raid party continued even after the regular attempt time.
Their steps traversing Area 3 were unhindered.
Chris has a duty to pass on information to Rain. Her heart wouldn't allow just receiving conquest methods without giving back.
[Swordsman 'Drizzle Rain' (Offline)]
Rain is still offline. She should have gotten sufficient sleep, but one can guess the attempt process for Jakam was painful.
Her real body would need time to recover stamina too.
Chris roughly wiped her eyes that were about to redden for no reason, and moved her steps beyond Area 3.
Finally arriving at the deepest part of the 'Tree of the Abyss'. What looks like the entrance, a screen made of giant tree stems.
In front of that.
A cavity that looks like a Named boss combat area.
And, two giant god-soldiers.
[Flame Spearman]
[HP 100,000,000 / 100,000,000 (100%)]
[Ice Shieldman]
[HP 100,000,000 / 100,000,000 (100%)]
"This is...!"
"Gatekeepers, intermediate bosses!"
An arrangement that drains the raid members' strength.
The combat area is divided into left and right.
"The layout is similar to the 1st Named boss of the Ice Palace of the Frozen Land, right?"
"Hmm... Even the gatekeepers aren't easy."
"There's no cliff or anything in the middle? We should be able to go back and forth?"
"Should we split half and half?"
Chris looked at the two giant god-soldiers with a dejected expression.
We're in a hurry.
We don't have time to be held up by things like this.
There was no time to be dazed.
Chris shook her head vigorously and gave orders.
"Let's split up for now. I'll take the spearman tank, Deathly Death will be the shieldman tank."
The 12 Red-White raid members split into six each and positioned themselves in front of the spearman and shieldman.
And then.
Woong.
On top of the tree stem screen leading to Area 3, a demon appeared.
Chris looked up at him and gritted her teeth.
"Gatekeeper Bade...!"
The demon who was controlling the Ent at the entrance of the Area 1 Named boss combat area.
"Kahahaha! To think you unwelcome guests would reach the front of the Army Commander's quarters! Did Death Knight Jakam not do his job properly?"
He looked down at the raid members sneering.
Swish.
And, he raised his hand.
Woong!
Demonic energy gathered in his hand and.
Rumble!
Creak.
The giant god-soldiers that looked like eternal statues started to raise their bodies in sync with Bade's hand gestures.
And.
Rumble rumble.
Creak, creak creak.
The 'Tree of the Abyss'.
That entire ominous combat area moved.
"Wh-what!"
"It's an earthquake!"
Rumble rumble!
Amidst the intense vibrations, all raid members lowered their posture and looked around.
Creak creak!
The ground the users were standing on.
Of course, that's also part of the tree.
Creak, creak creak!
Those moved and.
The floor sank.
What remained was a narrow square combat zone centered on the 'Flame Spearman' and 'Ice Shieldman'. The little combat area each party member was standing on.
All other floors sank, revealing bizarre black holes.
"A-a cliff!"
"It's exactly like the 1st Named boss of the Ice Palace of the Frozen Land! No, a little different? B-but still! We can't cross to the opposite side!"
Chris scanned the combat area with her eyes.
Did all the floors sink except for the ground the Named bosses are standing on? No. Tree pillars were raised at about 8-meter intervals.
It's difficult, but it seems possible to step on them and cross to the opposite side using 8-meter movement skills like 'Backward Evasion'.
But if we split up to take them down separately, there's no need to cross to the opposite side, right?
That question was soon answered when the battle started.
Whoosh!
Flames started swirling around the bodies of all raid members standing on the 'Flame Spearman' side.
[Flame Injection (3 minutes)]
[Attack Power +30%, Death after 3 minutes elapse]
It was the same for the 'Ice Shieldman' side. Cold air also started gushing from the bodies of raid members gathered around Deathly Death.
[Cold Injection (3 minutes)]
[Defense +30%, Death after 3 minutes elapse]
Chris was appalled.
"Crazy...!"
The meaning of this buff was clear.
Before 3 minutes pass, the positions of members on both sides must be switched.
Stepping on the tree pillars raised at 8-meter intervals.
Crossing the cliff where the floor has sunk.
Chris cried out.
"Aah~! Even the gatekeepers are Named boss level in this dungeon!"