Chapter 40: Albion Conquest (1)

[Lené]

[This is a viewer participation content.]

[New Dimension | 16 viewers | 7:52:38]

[How dare these insignificant creatures disturb my sleep!]

〔Niblrod’s ruler. The fierce ancient white dragon, Albion, has awakened from its slumber!〕

(System: From now on, entry to Niblrod is restricted.)

〔System: The entry restriction will be lifted when the party that first encounters Albion either defeats or abandons the attempt to defeat it.〕

〔System: Once the restriction is lifted, the “Albion Raid” will be activated.〕

System messages filled our view.
No one in our party was unaware of what these messages meant.

“…It’s a raid!”
Someone screamed almost in a panic.

Before us was a white dragon so massive that it blotted out the sky.

Its scales shimmered like ice, and its wings, spread wide, were as beautiful as an artwork.

Compared to Hresvelgr and Freki, whom we had encountered while climbing RivaGar, this was a completely different level.

It was truly an overwhelming figure worthy of the title “Ruler of Niblrod.”

“First, we need to form a formation…!”

Someone shouted, but I raised my right hand to draw attention to myself.

“Let’s all die first.”

“…What?”
Everyone stared at me, confused.

[Crush them!]

“Well, I’m going first then.”

Since I was serious, I let myself be killed by Albion’s attack without any resistance….I wonder if there’s a title for being the first player to die to Albion?

“Sigh…”
“Oh, everyone’s here now.”

As I confirmed the last party member who died with a sigh, I gathered everyone who had been resting in their own way and began speaking slowly.

The topic, of course, was the Albion raid.

“I’m sure everyone has their streams on, so you probably understand why I let us die immediately, right?”

Fortunately, everyone nodded at my question.

We weren’t gathered as a raid party but as streamers and viewers.

In other words, I had no information about the other players except myself.

Attempting a raid in such a situation?

That would be a waste of time and resources.

There was no need to do something so foolish, so I explained my reasoning aloud right after we all died.

The worst-case scenario was that the raid would be considered abandoned if the entire party was wiped out, but thankfully, that wasn’t the case, and we respawned on a hill just before Riva Gar’s peak.

“Then, before we continue… Lynel, I’m going to have to focus now, so I probably won’t be able to respond to the chat for a while.”

ᅳᄀᄎᄀ大
-Just keep talking by yourself

“…Hehe. To be honest, don’t you regret it a little? That you didn’t join us…?”
Satisfied with Lynel’s response, I resumed talking with the rest of the party.

“Alright, let’s start with a quick introduction. I can do everything except backline support. My class is Traveler.

You guys already know that, right?”

With that, the other members began introducing themselves, sharing their classes and strengths.

“I’m an alchemist, and I’ve invested more in other support skills rather than recovery skills.”

“I’ve invested heavily in tanking skills as a swordsman, so leave the tanking to me.”

After organizing everything, I realized the party composition: excluding me, we had four tanks, eight damage dealers, and three supporters.

“We’re screwed, lol.”

I wanted to argue with Lynel’s words, but there was nothing I could say.

Probably everyone, including myself, was thinking the same thing.

“This is bad.”

There was no issue with the damage dealers. The problem was with the tanks and supporters.

To be precise, the ratio was the issue.

There needed to be more supporters than tanks, so they could assist the tanks while also supporting the damage dealers…

But one of the supporters was an alchemist who focused on support skills.

No matter how I looked at it, we were lacking in supporters.

It would’ve been perfect if we had three tanks and four supporters…

“Hmm…”

The others’ eyes were on me.

It was natural. I was the one who gathered everyone here, and I was the center of this party.

I had to make the judgment, and I had to make the decision.

“So, everyone… do any of you, uh… feel like giving up?”

Of course, I had no intention of giving up.

How could I give up on such an interesting situation?

But I couldn’t assume that everyone else here felt the same.

It was already past 3 a.m., and with the harsh conditions of Niblrod, the cold and sleepiness must have been creeping in, making people want to give up…

“Not at all.”

“How could we give up now?”

“Asking us to give up after coming all this way is a bit much…”

Of course, they wouldn’t.

The people gathered here were probably as passionate about *NewD* as I was.

I knew they wouldn’t give up, but I asked just in case.

“So, everyone… could you all just… follow my instructions from now on?”

Everyone nodded.
And to them, I slowly explained the strategy I had in mind.

[“You insignificant creatures dare to disturb my slumber!”]

[The ruler of Niblerod, the ferocious ancient dragon Albion, has awakened!]

After reaching the summit of Rivagar again and waiting for about two minutes, Albion appeared with the aurora as a backdrop.

His roar was so intense it made my head throb, but there was no time to panic.

“Everyone, move to your positions…!”

[“Be crushed!”]

Albion, who had been using the sky as his stage, dove towards the ground with a roar.

The attack itself was a simple charge, so we avoided a direct hit by slightly pulling back the formation, but the intense shockwave that followed engulfed our bodies.

After what felt like a blizzard of shockwaves passed, Albion spread his massive wings once more.
Of course, he looked far larger now that he was on the ground compared to when he was in the sky.

This really reminds me of the old days… It feels like I’ve returned to that world.
[How arrogant!]

“They’re coming from the left! The tank should form a wall, and the rest stay behind it…!”

I felt a rush of excitement with those thoughts, but I calmly assessed the situation around me and gave orders.

Of course, it’s not like I know Albion’s patterns.

I’m simply doing my best by watching its movements and predicting its actions.

A grating sound echoed as ice was crushed.

Naturally, the culprit behind the sound was Albion.

Its tail crushed all the ice and rocks of Mount Riba-Gar as it came toward us.

The two tanks used their best defensive skills.

The Berserker’s skill, Blood Veil, and the Warrior’s skill, Shield of Guardianship, formed a thick wall.
Albion’s tail collided with that wall.

The balance of power was even for just a moment.

The pristine white shield remained intact.

But the blood-red barrier started to crack slowly, and the tanks were gradually being pushed back.
“Support us!”
“Understood.”

And just before the blood-red barrier was about to break, a burst of radiant light shot up from the rear in response to my words.
Skill: Philosopher’s Stone.

It’s a powerful skill that copies one of the party members’ skills for use.
Of course, there are several limitations, but its performance is undeniably strong.

The skill the Alchemist chose was the Berserker’s Blood Veil.

The blood-red barrier, which was on the verge of shattering, regained its form once more.

And as Albion’s strength weakened, the two tanks no longer got pushed back.
“Now, I’m going in…!”

A multitude of spells covered the sky. Spears, greatswords, and war hammers accelerated toward the enemy.

The window of time we had to attack was at most five seconds.
But that was enough.

It was enough time for everyone here to unleash their strongest attacks.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Amid the deafening explosions, Albion’s HP bar started to decrease.

Compared to the total length of the HP bar, the damage was minuscule, but just seeing that we were doing damage was satisfying enough.

And the one who contributed the most among us was the Berserker tank.

Blood Veil is a skill that, if the barrier isn’t broken by the time it expires, absorbs the blood and gives the caster a buff proportional to the damage received.

Considering how close the barrier was to shattering, the buff they received must’ve been immense.

Well, it was all thanks to the broken skill, Philosopher’s Stone, which synergizes with every skill.
“Switch the frontline!”

And as the attack window seemed about to end, I gave the command to switch the frontline.

At my order, the Warrior and Berserker nodded and quickly retreated, while the Swordsman and Martial

Artist, who were waiting behind, stepped forward.

The strategy I devised was simple.

If too many tanks are a problem, reduce the number of tanks.

Two of the tanks who were supposed to be on the frontline were held back to switch out with others after each pattern cycle.

This way, tanks who have used their skills can rest while their cooldowns refresh, and the tanks at the front lines can receive adequate support.

Of course, from a broader perspective, there are two people idling…

But there’s no choice.

It’s a raid that started in an unplanned situation, so we can only make the best of the circumstances.
[Get pierced!]

And after the expected five-second damage window, Albion spread its wings wide, and a translucent circle appeared beneath our feet.

“Something’s coming. Move, move…!”

Realizing this, I immediately threw myself into a spot without the circle.

At that moment, spears of ice shot up from the floor where I had just been standing.

Thud!

“Huh?”

But not everyone was able to avoid the sudden pattern.

Three DPS and two supports died.

Losing the three DPS wasn’t too big of a problem, but losing two supports was the worst possible outcome.

To make matters worse, during the process of repositioning, the berserker and the swordsman were also pierced by the spears of ice, possibly due to their delayed reactions.

– We’re screwed.

“Indeed….”

I readily agreed with Lynel’s words and gave orders to the remaining party members not to use any consumables, and we fought the monster as best we could.
The time it took for our party to completely wipe after that was about two minutes.

【New Dimension Gallery】
【Title: Found the stream】
【Written by: 00】

RiMing.tv/ND_Lene
But isn’t this the guy from before?

The one who used to bash the heads of priests and paladins, but then got sniped by a hacker, lol.
【Upvotes: 35 / Downvotes: 3】

Anon: It’s been proven for a while now that it wasn’t a hack, dude.
└OP: Really? I quit the gallery at the time, didn’t know.

Roid: But why the hell are these guys in Rivagar at this hour???

└OP: No one knows, lol.
Anon: Damn, the dragon looks so cool.

Lugust: Just give up already.
L OP: They’ve probably wiped 15 times already, and with a party setup like that, they’ll give up soon.

Lugust: How bad is it?

└OP: 16 people, but they have 4 tanks and 3 supports, lol.

└Lugust: If it were me, I’d have quit after one try, lol.

└OP: Same.

Anon: How much of a trash-tier guild do you have to be to wipe 15 times without coordinates being leaked, and only now they’re leaking, lol.

└OP: Yeah, it was kind of amazing, lol.