Chapter 38: Relentless Battle Against the Shadow Priest

“I won’t be drawing from the gachas.”

“What? What do you mean by that?!”

Suyeon’s eyes widened in surprise.

It was an unexpected response for her.

Despite her experience hosting broadcasts, she likely hadn’t encountered a situation like this before.

I had no intention of participating in the gacha from the start.

Watching Seolhyun pull a high-grade pet with such low odds only strengthened my resolve.

Besides, the script didn’t demand that I absolutely had to draw from the gachas.

How could they pre-write lines when the outcome wasn’t guaranteed?

That would be outright admitting the game was rigged.

Ultimately, how I play the game is my decision.

“I want to prove something. That even without spending money, it’s possible to enjoy Raniza with skill alone.”

“But the pet gacha offers 10 free draws, which have nothing to do with paid features, right?”

Suyeon openly voiced her opposition.

Did she receive instructions from someone higher up?

Otherwise, there was no reason for her to be so insistent.

Well, no matter. I knew it might be a bit rude, but I wasn’t going to compromise.

“I want to prove this to the viewers during the broadcast.”

“Your determination is admirable, but… maybe it’s because you don’t fully understand mobile games, Yuseong…”

“That’s not the case. I genuinely believe Raniza is a game that can be enjoyed without spending money. Or… does the host think otherwise?”

“Of course not!”

Caught in a rhetorical corner, Suyeon had no choice but to relent.

The more she argued, the more it would appear as though Raniza was a pay-to-win game.

“That’s right. Raniza is one of the best RPGs in the country. You can absolutely enjoy it without engaging in gachas. I must’ve been mistaken earlier.”

Standing still, Suyeon touched her earpiece, likely listening to instructions from her superiors.

Shortly after, she backtracked on her previous stance and agreed with my viewpoint.

Skipping the gacha process, I resumed the game.

“Seolhyun, I’m going to deal some burst damage. Keep up with the tempo.”

“Got it.”

There’s about an hour and a half left, maybe? Time to go full throttle.

I made quite the bold statement earlier.

If I don’t achieve anything noteworthy, I’ll end up looking foolish.

“What’s going on? The monsters are just dying on their own.”

“Wow, you’re really good at this.”

Seolhyun wasn’t very familiar with mobile games.

She struggled with the controls, often making her character spin in circles.

She looked like someone who’d had one too many drinks.

The funny thing, though, was that her damage output was better than mine.

The six-star pet’s skill, Glorious Resistance, dealt reflective damage to attacking mobs, melting them like ice cream.

It felt like playing a 10-kill Rammus against an all-AD composition in League of Legends.

Completely unbalanced.

At this rate, Seolhyun could solo everything. This wasn’t how I envisioned things going.

Meanwhile, my arrows felt like toothpicks.

I kept shooting, but the damage wasn’t registering.

This is so embarrassing. I shouldn’t have bragged about dealing massive damage.

If I could turn back time, I’d go back to five minutes ago and shut up.

No choice now.

I’ll have to push harder. Keep pressing until that overpowered turtle loses its strength.

[Level Up!]

I leveled up after accumulating enough experience points.

I allocated all my stat points to Strength.

Health and Defense didn’t matter—I wasn’t planning on getting hit anyway.

I had complete confidence in dodging every attack.

[This isn’t working, Yuseong.]

Raniza’s difficulty wall was too high. I should’ve at least pulled a three-star pet.

Blitzing through quests at lightning speed is fine, but let’s be real—it’s all thanks to Seolhyun’s pet.

Seeing my damage numbers pop up with every shot hurts my pride.

[You were just being arrogant. Who plays Raniza without drawing gachas?]
ᄂ [???: Welcome to the spicy reality of Korean gacha games.]

[All that time playing League, and now you’re seeing what a high-performance pet can do. lol]

[Everyone knows Raniza’s a gacha game. Why is he going so far?]

[Just draw from the gachas already.]

[At least it’s kind of reassuring. Hardcore spenders can’t complain about Yuseong for once.]

[He claimed it could be fun without spending money. If he wastes time, that’s on him.]

“Yuseong, can we take a break? I’m exhausted.”

“We’re almost done. Let’s push just a bit more, okay?”

“No, seriously. My fingers are cramping.”

I had been playing nonstop for an hour.

Not a second wasted, with every move calculated for maximum efficiency.

I avoided unnecessary battles, only completing quest requirements.

Even gear management was minimized.

I avoided returning to town until my equipment was about to break.

Naturally, my experience gain slowed down. RPGs inherently require some grinding, after all. As a result, the monsters’ levels gradually outpaced mine, making the game increasingly challenging.

Even Seolhyun, who seemed invincible, started taking damage.

Carelessness could now cost her life, forcing her to chug potions constantly.

Tap-tap-tap! Seolhyun frantically tapped the screen, muttering complaints.

“My head hurts. Ugh, is this a migraine?”

I couldn’t ignore this any longer.

Her puffed-out cheeks and protruding lips were a clear warning sign.

Had I pushed her too hard?

If this continues, she might throw her phone and storm off the set.

I’ve seen it in celebrity gossip comments.

Despite her sweet image, she’s rumored to have a prickly personality.

A sudden outburst wouldn’t be surprising.

I need to prevent that from happening.

“How about a five-minute break?”

“Yes!”

I should’ve suggested it sooner.

Her anger dissipated instantly, replaced by a radiant smile.

She looked as cheerful as a kid on a school field trip.

Seeing that made me feel a little guilty.

She probably came here just to have some lighthearted fun, but meeting me turned it into hard labor.

“Your fingers must be pretty sore.”

“Yeah, I can’t even clench my fists properly.”

Seolhyun extended her trembling hands toward me.

It might sound odd, but her pouty demeanor was oddly endearing.

It showed how hard she had been trying. Despite my laser focus, she managed to keep up with me.

“You’re using muscles you don’t normally use. Let me see your hands—I’ll massage them for you.”

“Huh? You don’t have to…”

To me, Seolhyun was indispensable—a tank and damage dealer all in one.

I needed to keep her in top shape, at least until we faced the chapter’s final boss.

I gently took her hands and began massaging them.

Her hands were cold.

Was she naturally sensitive to the cold? I needed to warm them up quickly.

Blowing warm breath onto her hands, I continued the massage.

“No, I’m fine, really.”

“What? Oh, I’m sorry. Your hand felt so cold that I did it without thinking.”

Seolhyun pulled her hand back forcefully.

Ah, what a blunder. In her haste, she acted rudely.

Why did she grab someone else’s hand and blow warm air on it as if it were a dryer?

She really loses her mind whenever she’s focused on a game.

“What are you two doing? This isn’t a dating show, you know?”

Suyeon seized the opportunity.

Was it because of the tension left after rejecting her earlier suggestion?

She was clearly taking advantage of the situation to tease them.

Who comes on a dating show only to spend over an hour glued to their phone?

I was just repairing my cherished shield! This is so unfair.

“Seolhyun, I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable. I’m really sorry.”

I apologized again.

Seolhyun’s face flushed bright red, and she quickly turned her head away, as if even meeting my gaze made her uneasy.

This is bad. Things are at a critical juncture right now.

How can I calm her down?

“No, you don’t need to apologize. I overreacted. Ugh, what’s wrong with me? Let’s just… keep playing.”

“Okay! Got it.”

While I was fretting nervously, Seolhyun took the initiative to ease the awkward tension.

Thank goodness we can continue the game.

Let’s just focus on achieving the goal.

I grabbed my phone and fixed my gaze on the game screen.

I accepted the final quest of the chapter and entered a massive dungeon.

Slaying monsters as I went, I finally reached the final floor.

Staring at the small phone screen for so long, my eyes felt like they were going to pop out.

My fingers started aching too, just like Seolhyun’s earlier.

But it was almost over now. The moment of triumph was at hand.

[You lowly human! How dare you disturb the slumber of Lubred, Priest of Darkness?]

Finally, the chapter’s final boss appeared.

A giant skeleton warrior with a black cloak billowing behind it intoned ominously.

I swallowed dryly, looking at the massive axe clutched in its bony hand.

“Seolhyun, how many potions do you have left?”

“Six.”

We’d bought a ton of potions in town, but somehow only six were left.

That’s nowhere near enough.

What do we do?

The damage from this boss will definitely be on a whole other level compared to the mobs we faced earlier.

“This could be really dangerous. Try your best to avoid its attacks!”

“Got it! Here I go!”

Seolhyun charged at Lubred with her longsword, using a leap skill to close the distance in an instant.

Boom!

But after all, it was just a mobile game.

The flashy combat animations didn’t play out.

Instead, it was a simple exchange of one hit for another.

One strike from me, one strike from you—very fair and square.

“Ah! I told you to avoid its attacks as much as possible!”

“How am I supposed to dodge that?”

This is driving me crazy.

Seolhyun’s health was dropping rapidly.

She was so flustered that her movements became even clumsier.

Suddenly, she swung her sword into thin air.

“Is my phone broken? Why does it keep attacking the wrong spot?”

“You’re pressing the directional pad in the opposite direction.”

“Oh, I see! But what do I do? I’m almost out of potions.”

“Fall back! Run away!”

I gave the command, but it was already too late.

Seolhyun was bound to die.

If she had the skills to escape, we wouldn’t be in this mess in the first place.

Let’s at least whittle down Lubred’s health as much as we can.

Shoo-shoo-shoo!

I kept firing arrows in rapid succession.

Thanks to investing all my stats into attack power, my damage output was decent.

Of course, it wasn’t nearly enough, but it was something.

Given the circumstances, I could make it work through sheer skill.

“I’m dead.”

“Can you revive?”

“Yeah, I’ll use a crystal to resurrect. Oh, wait, I’m back in town?”

Seolhyun had retreated from the frontlines.

It’s unfortunate, but I’d expected this.

Now the real challenge begins.

I focused my attention, watching Lubred step over Seolhyun’s corpse as it advanced toward me.

My character is a glass cannon—one hit, and I’m done for.

I zigzagged desperately, doing my best to keep my distance while occasionally firing arrows.

+++

[What’s with Yuseong’s control skills? Lol.]

(Amazing control.gif)

[Yuseong’s character seems to have similar movement speed to the boss, so why isn’t the boss closing the gap? And what the heck, is that a moving shot?]

[Was this game even designed to allow moving shots? Lol.]

[This guy is good at literally every game. Unbelievable.]

[Seriously, this is absurd.]

[Our guild’s group chat is going wild right now. Haha.]

[Why is he implementing features the game developers didn’t even create? Lol.]

[Chipping away at the boss’s health like that is oddly satisfying. If we all played like Yuseong, we wouldn’t need to spend money on microtransactions.]

[The boss pattern looks tough, but he hasn’t taken a single hit.]

[By the way, is Seolhyun even a fan of this game? Lol, she’s terrible.]

[Shh! Let’s keep this among ourselves.]

[I laughed out loud when she swung at empty air. Haha.]

+++

“Damn it, how many more hits do I need to land to kill this thing?”

I had no idea how much time had passed.

I must have fired at least a hundred arrows, but Lubred’s health bar still had over 10% left.

My damage output was dropping.

Did it have some kind of skill that increased its defense as its health decreased?

If I had enough time, I’d tough it out and keep attacking all night, but this was a live broadcast.

“Should I just give up here?”

I might as well quit.

This wasn’t a competition; it was a promotional event for a new game.

Dragging it out like this was just my own greed, a futile struggle.

“You’ve been waiting long enough. I’m back!”

“Seolhyun!”

Just as I was about to throw in the towel, I heard Seolhyun’s voice beside me.

Her muscular warrior had rejoined the battlefield.

Despite her still-awkward movements, she looked more reliable than ever.

“This is the better bow, right? I spent every last bit of my money to buy it from the shop.”

“Thank you.”

I picked up the bow she’d dropped.

Its attack power was nearly double that of my previous one.

Alright, let’s do this. With a smile, I glanced at Seolhyun’s character battling fiercely against Lubred.