“Wow! Really? If you have such a body in reality, too, it seems like you exercise diligently in daily life. Ah, Bae Merong should exercise a bit too.”
“Hahaha, why would a young lady build muscles! I just do some blacksmithing when I have nothing to do.”
While I was carefully advancing with Chris, dealing with the guards around the shortcut, Bae Merong was following behind with the bus customer, chattering non-stop.
“Ah, yes. You can come this way. Then you’ll need accessories with high damage reduction options, right?”
“Hmm. To hunt the dogs of the Betarion Empire, I need to become tougher. If I quickly gear up by taking buses in the early elite dungeons, I can split them all with my axe even if several of them pounce on me.”
The first bus customer was a Dwarf Warrior uncle. The customer’s height was just a bit taller than Bae Merong.
Although he could have made a young face with customization, users who choose the Dwarf race often don’t customize their faces.
Dwarf Warriors, born with a warrior’s physique, had high strength and HP stats in exchange for lower agility.
Dwarf Warriors with suppression skills mainly showed their power in PVP. They were a race I often saw when secretly watching faction battles in Rozelia Forest.
Usually, people who are tall in reality, play tall Human Warriors, but I heard that shorter people choose Dwarf Warriors to gain the advantage of higher HP stats.
Listening to Bae Merong’s machine-gun-like customer service rap, I couldn’t help but feel a wall.
Wow, to be a bus driver, do you have to match the mood of uncle customers too?
Seeing my disgusted expression, Chris, who was following beside me, chuckled.
“You don’t have to go that far. Still, if the customer feels good, they might take multiple rides at once or become a regular. Bae Merong is good at being friendly.”
“It’s a difficult business….”
Fortunately, Bae Merong stuck close to the customer and chattered a lot, so the sparks didn’t fly to me.
In front of the 1st named, where we arrived after paving the way for the customer, Bae Merong gave precautions to the customer.
“You can pay the bus fee after taking down the first named, and if you want to watch, there’s a space here between the tents, right? You can watch from here.”
The Dwarf Warrior customer sat down in the space between the tents with a big smile.
Leaving the cheerful Dwarf Warrior customer behind, the three bus drivers briefly exchanged tactics in front of the named battle area.
“Bae Merong and I will each take two elite soldiers. Rain, you just need to focus on the named, and we’ll join after dealing with all the elite soldiers.”
“Okay.”
“For the special phase, we’ll use the Ice Prison skill once for the initial one, and each of us will survive individually with backward evasion for the follow-up. Can you do it? Did your party perhaps use two-party protection skills?”
Ice Prison?
I tilted my head at the unfamiliar skill name.
Since I don’t do party play, I didn’t know other classes’ skills in detail. I had only seen other classes hunting in the field or secretly watched carnivore users’ group fights in the Rozelia Forest PVP faction battlefield.
Anyway, it means the first area-of-effect attack can be protected by the Mage’s skill without having to avoid it.
Then I don’t need to keep one elite soldier alive.
I looked up at Chris and nodded.
“I’ll try.”
“I think Rain will have no problem.”
For some reason, Chris was showing unlimited trust in me.
[Level 33 Outpost Deputy Commander Kraxas]
[HP 2,050,410/3,000,000]
Boom!
“Good! Clear this side too!”
“Bae Merong just took down two as well! Oh, oh my? The boss’s HP?”
To think not having to deal with elite soldiers along with the boss would be this comfortable!
I was excitedly launching Starlight Slashes continuously, chipping away at the boss’s HP.
“Rain! Cut the DPS! Cut! The special phase is coming soon!”
“Ah, okay!”
I withdrew my sword and put a little distance between me and the boss.
“Ugh, you vermin!”
As Bae Merong and Chris finished dealing with the special phase and lowered Kraxas’s HP below 2/3, he immediately entered the next phase.
Woong.
As Kraxas lifted his body into the air, powerful demonic energy concentrated above his hand.
Boom!
It soon shot towards our party’s heads.
“Now!”
With a crackling sound, my body froze.
Boom!
“Oh.”
So this is the ‘Ice Prison’ skill.
Through the party protection skill cast by Bae Merong, we could block one attack without using an invincibility skill.
Party play is more comfortable than I thought.
For the follow-up attack that came next, all three of us used backward evasion to avoid taking damage.
Chris and Bae Merong immediately focused on the four elite soldiers that had respawned. I dealt with Kraxas, who had descended to the ground.
“Kuaaak!”
After completing the second phase in the same way, Kraxas fell not long after, leaving an item box.
“Okay, 1st named clear!”
“Hmm.”
Chris was looking at me with a subtle gaze.
But that was only for a moment; she soon approached me and smiled, holding out her palm forward.
“Rain, well done.”
Thwack.
I hesitantly high-fived Chris.
[Level 33 Quartermaster Galovan]
[HP 149,366/2,610,000]
Pitter-patter!
Now I only need to block the last hit of Galovan’s combo pattern.
Galovan’s minor attacks didn’t deal much damage to my character’s body, which had finished farming the outpost.
Every time the dagger slightly brushed my body, I felt a light pain, but this level could be recovered just with the echostone’s lifesteal damage. It wasn’t to the extent where I needed to be scared and block everything.
“I parked the spheres this time! But it looks like it’ll end soon!”
“Yes, I’ll push through with DPS at this rate!”
Boom boom! Boom!
“Kaaak!”
Having exhausted all his HP, Galovan sprawled on the kitchen floor.
“Oho, 12% received critical damage reduction! Is this full options?”
“Wow, congratulations, customer! 12% received critical damage reduction is indeed full options!”
“Hahaha! I got one thing I wanted!”
As I watched the customer rejoicing while checking the item just acquired and Bae Merong sticking close and rejoicing together, I launched a few Starlight Slashes into the air.
Indeed, when focusing only on DPS without performing tactics, the Swordsman’s firepower was at a considerable level.
But there was a condition.
[Block (A)]
-Blocks attacks from the front 180 degrees.
-(A rank) On successful block within 0.2 seconds of skill use, gain a ‘Vigor’ buff that increases all damage for 10 seconds.
The ‘Vigor’ buff uses the Just Guard judgment of blocking within 0.2 seconds. This is the key.
If you can consistently maintain this Vigor buff, the Swordsman’s DPS can pierce the sky.
A structure where DPS increases by continuously responding to attacks. A character made for tanking heaven.
“Hmm!”
[Level 33 Outpost Commander Zarkan]
[HP 3,180,607/3,300,000]
“Kuhaha! You sure run around well!”
Boom, boom, boom!
“Oh.”
I was watching the ranged DPS Zarkan tanking.
Zarkan didn’t approach targets far away immediately but fired large demonic energy bullet attacks. Chris was continuously throwing talismans while barely escaping the explosion range of those demonic energy bullets.
Pitter-patter!
After the 4-shot large demonic energy bullet pattern ended, Zarkan sprayed small demonic energy bullets over a wide area toward Chris.
Chris approached Zarkan closely while pulling her body out of the demonic energy bullet spray radius. She tried to induce the close-range pattern of jumping demonic energy bullet showers.
Boom boom!
As soon as Chris approached, Zarkan jumped into the air and soon poured demonic energy bullets over Chris’s head.
Thud!
Chris immediately created distance with backward evasion. The arrival spot was the point furthest from Zarkan’s expected landing position.
Boom, boom, boom!
Zarkan immediately returned to the 4-shot large demonic energy bullet firing pattern.
“This is ranged DPS Zarkan tanking.”
Chris, with her red hair fluttering, smiling face, continuously throwing talismans.
Even from a bit of a distance, I felt like I could see her eyelashes.
Eyes with a slightly blue tinge. Did she customize?
Her face, harmoniously blending Eastern and Western beauty ideals, was enough to make anyone fall for her.
Through her outfit with an open waist part, her skin was slightly visible as she moved.
I blankly watched that sight.
Indeed, when a pretty person does it, everything looks like a picture.
“Good! I think I’ve secured enough aggro; now Bae Merong and Rain can DPS too!”
“Yes!”
“O-okay!”
I hurriedly drew my sword.
This is the ranged tanker advance entry tactic. It’s the process of first dealing enough damage to make sure aggro doesn’t flip.
One regrettable thing is that during that large demonic energy bullet 4-shot pattern, you can’t gain the Vigor buff through ‘Block’. When the Swordsman doesn’t tank, the Vigor buff is missing, so satisfactory DPS doesn’t come out.
I pondered ways to increase DPS while launching Starlight Slashes at Zarkan’s body, which was distracted by Chris.
Pitter-patter!
The small demonic energy bullet spray pattern comes after 4 large ones. I think I can block this.
Clang!
“Oh.”
The Just Guard judgment of successful block within 0.2 seconds activated, and the light of the Vigor buff swirled around my body.
As expected, I could use this pattern.
I happily launched Starlight Slashes with the Vigor buff every 10 seconds. Not long after, Zarkan’s gaze, which had been looking at Chris, turned towards me.
“Ugh, annoying small fry!”
“!?”
Boom boom boom!
Zarkan suddenly jumped and poured a demonic energy bullet shower over my head. I hurriedly used backward evasion. Zarkan’s aggro target had changed to me.
Chris urgently shouted towards me.
“Ra-Rain! Ease up on the DPS a bit!”
“Ah, okay!”
I withdrew from Sword Drawing Stance and focused on responding to patterns. A few seconds later, Zarkan started firing large demonic energy bullets at Chris again.
Wow, that startled me.
Party play requires more attention than I thought.
“Hahaha! You all move extremely fast!”
“It’s nothing! Did you get many items you wanted?”
“I got one full option ring, but since I need to collect coins anyway, can I use it again next time? As a PVP user, heading into dungeons doesn’t really suit my temperament.”
“You’re welcome anytime! Thank you for today!”
The Dwarf Warrior customer used the bus ten times. Very satisfied with the comfortable and fast bus, he left the dungeon with Bae Merong seeing him off.
“Wow…!”
I checked the gold I received and smiled brightly.
The Zarkan bus was an excellent farming method for rich PVP boss customers and a godsend money-making method for commoners like me.
Clearly higher income than selling weapons that had lost their juice. The bus seemed capable of being a continuous gold income source even if it wasn’t the extreme early days of dungeon opening.
If I do solo farming on the first day and run buses a few days later?
Chris, who had approached me at some point, saw my expression and giggled.
“How is it, the bus earnings are good, right? Unnie doesn’t urgently need gold, but I’m thinking of running buses together often from now on to help our juniors earn some gold.”
I barely calmed my body which felt like it would bounce up and down while looking up at Chris.
For some reason, Chris was hesitantly fidgeting with her hands.
Grab.
I, who had something to ask, gently took her hand which had lost its way.
“Hehehe!? Hehe!”
Chris’s pretty face changed to look foolish, and she made strange noises.
I clearly conveyed my intention to Chris.
“Um, can I join sometimes too, when there’s a spare spot?”
If money can be earned this well. Very occasionally, occasionally might be okay.
It might be okay if it’s with Chris unnie.
* * *
Today’s Zarkan bus operation ended.
Rain waved her hand gently towards Chris and soon disappeared from the rocky mountain area.
Chris saw Rain off with a big grin.
“Unnie, your expression since earlier….”
“Rain’s hand is so so soft… Ugh! This damn synchronization rate! Ah…! I wonder what it would feel like to touch in reality…?”
Bae Merong slightly distanced herself from Chris, who had become a fool.
“You know minors are off-limits, right…?”
“A-ahem. What are you saying? It’s not like that!”
Chris cleared her throat and scolded Bae Merong, then quickly hardened her expression.
“What did you feel?”
“If we upload a video of Rain running dungeons, I think she’d get a ton of fans? It’s really like a painting, isn’t it?”
“Pretty and cute… It’s no joke, right? But, besides that!”
“The DPS is insane, above a Mage doing free DPS. Usually, tanks are busy responding to patterns so DPS have to control their damage, right? If that’s the Swordsman’s true DPS, we need to completely redo the DPS tier list.”
“At the 1st named, she chipped the named’s HP down to just before the special phase alone while we were dealing with four elite soldiers.”
“At the 3rd named too, aggro flipped even though unnie had been hitting for a minute first.”
“To begin with, dodge judgments don’t come out. It should have high agility stats due to small character customization, but I didn’t see the boss dodge Rain’s attacks at all. Even Rangers, whose main stat is agility, occasionally get dodge judgments.”
“Her pattern response-ability and multi-tasking ability are beyond imagination. Did you see her DPSing Zarkan while having two chimeras on her? I barely held back because unnie told me to watch. Otherwise, I would have shaken her shoulders and asked how on earth she did that.”
“To the extent that I didn’t see her make a mistake even once during ten runs.”
“We have to compete with something like that? Haah, Bae Merong doesn’t have confidence.”
“This is the skill of Rain, the Swordsman of the first clear team ‘No Name’ party.”
Rain. The silver-haired young girl Swordsman.
Behind her cute appearance was hidden monstrous skill.