[Entry Level 15]
[Elite Dungeon (4-person party recommended)]
[Orc King’s Cave]
The entrance to ‘Astria Online’s first elite dungeon, Orc King’s Cave.
There, users who had quickly reached level 15 were forming parties for tackling the elite dungeon.
“Looking for a Swordsman or Fighter tank!”
“Seeking ranged DPS!”
Among the users looking for party members were also users who had already formed strategy parties for the first clear.
While some elite dungeon drop items were bound on acquisition, there was also tradeable equipment.
If you complete the dungeon quickly and farm, you could earn a huge amount of gold.
The common interest of the advance party users gathered around ‘Orc King’s Cave’:
‘Which party will be the first to clear this elite dungeon?’
If asked to choose the party closest to the first clear currently, this party would undoubtedly be it.
“Oh, that person’s character customization is really pretty?”
“Isn’t that ‘Chris’? The party leader who got the first clear on the 1st named in this dungeon during the beta test.”
“Wow.”
A tall female user with fiery red hair, ‘Chris’.
The surrounding users seemed to have a lot they wanted to ask Chris, but everyone gathered here was a competitor aiming for the dungeon first clear. She wouldn’t tell them willingly.
And, her current atmosphere was further preventing other users from approaching.
Tap, tap, tap.
Cool beauty Chris, exuding a chilly aura with a calm expression unlike her fiery red hair.
She was rhythmically, continuously tapping her foot while checking the time.
Pitter-patter.
“Did everyone wait long? Now that I, the great Cherni, have arrived, you can relax!”
Thwack.
“Ow, ouch! What’s this, I took damage! Is PK allowed in this game!?”
“Shut up. You were the latest, Cherni.”
“Oh my, Senior Chris! You know my situation, right? I was working night shifts at the convenience store until recently to buy a personal capsule, so I couldn’t help the last shift? I’ve been up for two nights trying to match others’ leveling pace?”
The male user who was hit on the back of his head by Chris frowned.
The male user called ‘Cherni’ had a face that might seem frivolous at first glance, but the muscles rippling under his costume somewhat diluted that impression.
Chris scanned Cherni’s entire body with sharp eyes.
“What’s with that muscle customization? You’re not actually this fit in real life, are you? What about your synchronization rate?”
“What are you saying! I’ve been working out hard lately, you know? It’s just that I don’t take off my clothes, but if I did, it would be amazing… Oof!”
Chris kicked Cherni’s leg.
“You’re an Elementalist, right? How is it, very different from the beta test?”
“The core seems pretty similar. Except for Swordsman, the other job classes seem similar to the beta, don’t you think?”
“Good.”
Chris turned away from Cherni and smiled brightly while looking slightly down.
“How about our Bae Merong? Have you gotten used to being a Mage?”
“Yes, big sis Chris!”
The small, pink-haired female Mage user called ‘Bae Merong’ nodded her head with sparkling eyes towards Chris.
Cherni, with a sulky expression unfitting for his muscular build, complained to Chris.
“Oh my, Senior Chris! Bae Merong and I are both juniors, why is the treatment so different?”
“Shut up. Are you and Bae Merong the same? Bae Merong is cute.”
“Beh.”
Bae Merong stuck out her tongue while clinging tightly to Chris.
“Alright, then everyone’s here.”
“Has Senior Deathly Death arrived already?”
Chris pointed with her chin towards the cave entrance.
There, a tall male user was leaning against the wall with his eyes closed.
“…I can hear the cave howling. It seems to be allowing our challenge.”
“That senior is at it again.”
“It’s a role-playing game, so Bae Merong thinks it’s okay.”
“Stop using third person!”
Chris, the party leader who mediated between the bickering Cherni and Bae Merong, started the briefing before tackling the dungeon.
“The strategy for the 1st named might have changed from the beta, but we’ll basically go with something similar.”
Beep.
With the notification sound, an interface popped up between the four party members.
[Front – Fighter Deathly Death]
[Mid – Yin-Yang Master Chris]
[Rear1 – Mage Bae Merong]
[Rear2 – Elementalist Cherni]
“As expected during the beta test, this game doesn’t have a healer job class. In other words, we should only allow as much damage as can be covered by potions.”
“If there’s no rear attack from the named, basically the front tank will have to handle all attacks, right?”
“Yes. That’s why the tank’s capability is very important. The mid and rear should focus on performing gimmicks, dealing damage, and handling adds.”
All party members nodded.
They checked the patterns of the 1st named that they had identified during the beta test and prepared for the unknown named bosses.
‘Chris’s Raid Party’ finally stood before the cave.
Before entering the dungeon, Cherni spoke to Chris.
“By the way, Senior Chris, you didn’t touch any other customization but did the red hair again this time? Do you like red?”
“No, I thought it would match well with my favorite color.”
“Oh? What color do you like?”
As she stepped towards the dungeon, Chris left one word.
“White!”
* * *
White hair fluttered in the wind.
The bangs that slightly covered one eye swayed, tickling my nose.
“Achoo!”
I sneezed.
Virtual reality is really amazing, even sneezing comes out.
After finishing my daily exercise of hopping in place and stretching my small body in various directions, I immediately headed towards ‘Orc King’s Cave’.
The first elite dungeon challenge.
I heard that ‘Astria Online’s hell difficulty truly begins from the elite dungeons.
“Even for just the 1st named that was revealed during the beta test period, there weren’t many parties that managed to clear it.”
I prepared thoroughly.
I bought lots of potions with the money saved from leveling up, and completed the full set of equipment from the field boss ‘Orc Warrior’.
“Sniff.”
My nose was running.
Is it because I sneezed?
I sniffled, wiped my nose, and rubbed it on the Orc Warrior skirt.
Looking around.
Peeking out from the corner of the cave, there seemed to be quite a lot of users in front of the dungeon entrance.
Users who had reached level 15 were already preparing for the dungeon challenge.
There would already be parties that had entered the dungeon.
I clenched my tiny hands tightly.
The purpose of this dungeon challenge includes equipment farming, but gold was the most important.
If I succeed in the early clear and sell tradeable equipment, I could earn a lot of gold.
“I-I’ll cash it out and.”
Chicken.
I wanted to eat chicken.
Although there were plenty of delicious foods in this world, unfortunately, there was no chicken.
This game was maintaining unnecessary real-world authenticity in this regard.
Crispy batter, juicy chicken meat, the unique marinated taste of franchise chicken that’s hard to imitate.
I smiled brightly.
“Heh.”
Just imagining it made me happy.
Saliva pooled in my mouth without me realizing.
Alright.
I’ll clear the dungeon, earn a lot of money, and order chicken delivery.
I carefully advanced while avoiding the users’ gazes, and finally reached the dungeon entrance.
[Entry Level 15]
[Elite Dungeon (4-person party recommended)]
[Orc King’s Cave]
Standing in front of it, I-
Hop.
Jumped with my small feet and leaped into the dungeon entrance.
Towards the place that would give me chicken.
Clang, clang!
“Ugh.”
Having boldly entered the dungeon, I hit a stumbling block from the very section leading to the first named.
My ‘Block’ skill had already risen to D rank, but the damage from the regular orcs inside the elite dungeon was beyond imagination.
Fortunately, the damage coming through the blocks was at a level that could be covered by potions, but the named boss’s attacks would be much stronger and sharper.
If I fail to block attacks and allow damage, it would directly lead to a failed clear.
“It’s almost like a Souls-type game.”
I sighed after barely handling the trash mobs.
I carefully advanced while slowly recovering my health.
And, not long after, I was able to reach the first named.
The appearance of the 1st named was an orc with a torso covered in solid muscles. It was wearing iron knuckles on both hands.
Its HP was 10,500.
“Eek.”
Considering that the field boss’s HP was around 3,000, this was a number beyond imagination.
It wasn’t called an elite dungeon for nothing.
The named boss’s HP that would take a party of four level 15 players more than 5 minutes of non-stop attacks to barely chip away at.
“They said 4-person recommended.”
Can I really clear this dungeon alone?
Shake shake.
I vigorously shook my head and gripped the Orc Warrior’s sword in my hand more firmly.
Then I smiled confidently.
‘Astria Online’.
This world is a world for me.
I, who was once the hero of Astria, couldn’t possibly fail to overcome this level of difficulty.
I stepped forward.
Beep.
With the aggro alert sound, the Orc Fighter looked at me.
Grin.
The Orc Fighter’s pig head smiled.
‘Orc King’s Dungeon’
Entry level 15.
The first elite dungeon encountered in Astria Online.
The challenge against its first named boss finally began.
[1st Named]
[Level 16 Orc Fighter]
[HP 10500/10500]