Chapter 41: Preparing for the Second Raid(1)

The moment Harang reached max level and obtained a Rank 4 job, I sent messages to the users I had already coordinated with.

The entrance to the Level 45 dungeon was located near the Drake hunting grounds, so there was no need to travel far.

Near the entrance of the massive cave, the bones of giant drakes were scattered around.

The Level 45 dungeon, [Dragon’s Tomb], was a dungeon that needed to be cleared before heading into a raid.

While waiting for the others, the users who had promised to go with us arrived.

The first to arrive was Helena.

She was wearing an elegant robe with a red base and golden embroidery, and it seemed that she had chosen [Elemental Master] as her advanced job.

Unlike the lower jobs where only one attribute could be selected, the Elemental Master was a job that allowed free control over the four basic elements, fitting its name.

The second to arrive was Iyeap.

He was the job class representative for thieves in our guild, and now, after Harang and Helena, he was someone I trusted the most.

A black aura was swirling around his body, so it seemed he had chosen [Night Walker] as his advanced job.

Night Walker, which helped supplement the assassin’s lack of survival skills while boosting single-target damage, was a solid choice.

Finally, Chloe arrived.

She was the job class representative for priests in our guild, and she had chosen [Cleric] as her advanced job.

Regardless of the deity she served, the Cleric job was one that drastically increased healing output and used various protective shields for party members.

“Is the tank position being handled by Yeon-nim?”

“Yes, it’s just a dungeon, so I’ll be able to tank with a shield.”

There was only one tank-related job, the Paladin, chosen at Rank 2, but in a regular dungeon, there was no need to worry too much.

Even with a shield, since my job was a Berserker, an extraordinary damage-dealing character, I would probably melt the boss before any significant attack patterns could even appear.

With our five-person party formed, we entered [Dragon’s Tomb].

The entrance to the cave, shrouded in darkness, was a chaotic scene with bones from both humans and drakes scattered around.

The feel of crushed bones underfoot was overly realistic.

“O…”

I drew my sword and shield, then popped a Taechuk into my mouth.

I had used the gold I had farmed during the event period to buy Taechuk, and as a result, I became the person with the most Taechuk in Deron.

“But, Yeon-nim, do you know the way here?”

“Yes, I’ve come here alone before when I had time to figure out the path.”

I casually answered Chloe’s question as I moved forward.

In truth, I hadn’t actually memorized the path, but no one needed to know that.

“If you don’t mind me asking, what are the boss patterns like?”

“I couldn’t last long alone, so I didn’t get to see much of the patterns.”

As we were having this light conversation, a group of giant drakes appeared ahead of us.

They were a sub-species that didn’t quite make it to dragons, but they were significantly larger than the ones we could encounter in the field.

I dashed forward and swung my sword.

The holy sword, wrapped in a red aura, summoned a column of sunlight that sliced through the drakes’ scales.

Even though I was taking on the tank position, I was far from weak.

In fact, a single basic attack drained about 10% of the drakes’ health.

At this rate, I didn’t need to use any aggro skills to draw their attention.

“Yeon-nim! You’re too fast!”

I heard Chloe’s voice from behind, but I didn’t stop.

If I were a typical tank, this would have been risky, but I wasn’t.

After drawing the aggro of all the monsters in the corridor, I leapt into the air.

Due to my incredible jumping ability, my head nearly hit the ceiling of the cave, but thanks to my small stature, it only grazed it slightly.

[Leap Strike]

This time, I didn’t dive straight into the monsters.

My small body soared over the monsters in one leap and landed near the party members at the back.

Boom!

I immediately raised my shield and rotated the wrist holding my sword in a slow, deliberate motion.

Since Harang and Iyeap’s classes were specialized in single-target damage, they weren’t particularly effective in mob-hunting scenarios like this.

In this situation, the only one I could rely on was Helena.

When about 40 drakes closed in, I activated a skill.

I swung my sword downward with great force, slamming it into the ground.

A wide shockwave erupted, sending the drakes’ bodies into the air.

[Blade Storm]

The system-assisted correction followed, and I swung my sword mid-air five times, scattering red blood trails as each slash struck true.

The drakes’ health visibly dropped, but I couldn’t kill them outright.

At that moment, Helena’s robe began to flutter, and from the ceiling of the cave, a massive meteor came crashing down.

Boom!

As an intense, fiery explosion erupted, the drakes, still suspended in mid-air, were obliterated in an instant.

“Wow, mages are really strong.”

“Warriors are stronger.”

“Obviously, mages are the best.”

“I’m telling you, warriors are stronger.”

I nodded at Helena’s comment and fell into thought.

Once I wrapped up raising this character, it might be time to start leveling my secondary character, [Princess Yeon].

The Elemental Master class was already on my list of candidates for that.

The [Dragon’s Tomb] dungeon wasn’t particularly complex.

As we followed the path, we encountered four named drakes, each representing one of the four elements.

They were like a paint-by-numbers challenge.

During the named battles, Harang and Iyeap demonstrated incredible damage output.

Iyeap’s rapid strikes as he darted behind the drakes to shred their backs were chilling to watch.

As for Harang, he stayed back and fired his gun, so I couldn’t see him in action up close.

However, the DPS (damage per second) numbers confirmed during the named fights showed that Harang was outpacing Iyeap.

After defeating the four named drakes, we swapped out equipment from the drops and pressed on.

The final boss of this map wasn’t a drake but an actual dragon.

The massive creature, coiled up in a large cavern, opened its glowing red eyes and rose as we approached.

[Foolish humans have dared to come this far!]

If you progressed through the subquests, you could learn the backstory of this dungeon, but all I cared about were the items I could acquire here.

“Let’s go right in.”

While the boss continued its monologue, I ignored it, dashed forward, and leapt high into the air.

My body plummeted toward the boss’s head, and I drove my sword down with full force.

Boom!

The dragon staggered heavily from the blow to its head, but it quickly shook me off with a toss of its head.

As I fell, I continued swinging my sword relentlessly.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

As the swiftly swung sword scraped away at the dragon’s scales, long-range attacks began from afar.

A brilliant white flash flew straight toward the dragon’s head.

Bang!

The enormous creature was cumbersome to tank.

Frowning, I turned the dragon around, forcing it to face away from the party members.

The moment it exposed its back, Iyeap emerged from a shadowy mist and slashed the dragon’s wings with his daggers, tearing them apart.

Right after, Helena, who had been casting a long spell, raised her staff high and swung it downward.

A massive magic circle appeared in the sky, releasing hundreds of icy spikes from within.

Crash!

The magic struck the dragon’s enormous body, causing it to stagger.

The boss’s health began dropping rapidly—much faster than I had anticipated.

Without hesitation, I started running along the dragon’s body.

This was an action impossible when I played using a keyboard and mouse, but here, it was entirely feasible.

As I ran, I swung my sword, peeling away its scales.

The exposed areas were then bombarded by Harang’s bullets.

The boss, [Elastica], as befitting its dragon species, had a breath attack in its repertoire.

This attack pattern emerged when its health fell to 30%, releasing devastating damage in the direction it faced.

“Breath incoming!”

The dragon started drawing its head back, inhaling deeply.

As its chest began to swell, Iyeap, who had been close to it, vanished, leaving only a trail of black mist behind.

The boss room was dotted with large boulders designed as cover to evade the breath attack.

But I didn’t dodge.

Instead, I leapt onto the dragon’s head and started swinging my sword.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Red streaks of blood followed my slashes as the scales on its neck began peeling away.

At that moment, the dragon, shaking violently, opened its mouth wide and unleashed a torrent of flames.

Fwoosh!

Searing heat spread in all directions.

I kept swinging my sword relentlessly, regardless of the fiery attack.

As the holy sword pierced into the exposed flesh beneath the dragon’s stripped scales, I twisted the blade, redirecting the breath upward into the sky.

“Now! Attack!”

The boss’s health was almost gone.

The moment I shouted, a massive fireball struck the dragon’s unguarded body.

Boom!

That was the finishing blow.

The giant dragon lost the light in its fiery red eyes and slowly began collapsing.

The fiery breath that had been pouring from its mouth gradually dissipated.

Thud!

When the enormous dragon’s body finally lay still on the ground, the loot screen appeared before me.

[Dragon Claymore]

Strength +60

Health +10

Unique

[Dragon Claymore]

Strength +10%

Attack Power +620

Binds upon equipping

Increases damage against Dragon-type monsters by 10%.

Level Requirement: 45

A massive claymore crafted from dragon scales.

[Dragonblood Cloak]

Strength +25

Health +25

Defense +70

Binds upon equipping

All Elemental Resistance +10%

Fire Resistance +15%

Level Requirement: 45

A cloak made from dragon scales. Grants the wearer strong resistance to fire.

[Dragon Staff]

Intelligence +70

Intelligence +10%

Magic Attack Power +700

Binds upon equipping

Increases damage against Dragon-type monsters by 10%.

Level Requirement: 45

A staff crafted from dragon scales.

Two weapons dropped in a single fight on the first attempt.

I was lucky.

The Dragonblood Cloak, however, had randomly assigned stats upon drop.

In other words, even if the same item, Dragonblood Cloak, dropped again, the bonus stats could be different, such as agility or intelligence instead of strength.

Helena took the Dragon Staff, while the Dragonblood Cloak and Dragon Claymore entered my inventory.

Without delay, I donned the cloak and equipped the new weapon.

The moment the enormous claymore rested in my hands, its weight pressed heavily against me.

The long, jet-black blade gleamed, adorned with a gold dragon head motif that appeared to swallow the sword itself.

Whoosh!

When I swung the weapon with full force, I felt my body slightly pulled by the sheer momentum—something I hadn’t experienced before.

Still, I was satisfied.

“That thing’s bigger than you, isn’t it?”

“If I sheath it, it shrinks.”

Responding to Harang’s remark, I sheathed the massive sword into the scabbard on my back.

As I did, the enormous blade began to shrink, becoming a size perfectly proportional to my body.

It was slightly disappointing.