Chapter 42: Preparing for the Second Raid(2)

While farming the dungeon with party members, I noticed the guild chat suddenly flaring up.

“What’s this?”

“They say the Singsing Alliance is gathering outside.”

Frowning, I checked the guild chat.

As time passes, players’ levels increase.

Because of that, the once quiet level-45 dungeon, [Dragon’s Tomb], had become crowded with people.

Naturally, both our alliance and the Singsing Alliance were also converging on this place.

It was inevitable that small and large conflicts kept breaking out.

“What a hassle.”

“Might as well deal with it now,” Iyeap remarked.

I sighed at his words.

As time went on and the war dragged out, the Singsing Guild had significantly shrunk, but their alliance persisted and continued the fight.

“What are you going to do?”

“There’s no other choice.

The guild members are uncomfortable.

Let’s go and push them out.”

Without delay, I turned on my heels.

We had just taken down the first boss, so there wasn’t much reason to linger.

As I sheathed the massive claymore I held in both hands onto my back, its blade shrank instantly.

Turning around as I walked, I typed into the guild chat:

Yeon: “[We’ll declare war and break through the entrance.

Attack as soon as you see them.]”

Dogric: “[Are we fighting at the dungeon entrance?]”

Yeon: “[Yes.]”

This timing worked out perfectly.

The weapon farming for me and the other party members in the dungeon was already complete.

I decided to use this opportunity to test out the performance of the new equipment we’d acquired.

Heading towards the dungeon entrance, I opened the guild window and declared war.

As soon as I saw the world message pop up, I confirmed it and typed into the guild chat again:

Yeon: “[Heading out now.]”

“I’m going first.”

With that, I leapt out of the dungeon.

Bright light enveloped me as I exited the dark cave, and my vision quickly adjusted.

At that moment, I spotted a large Paladin standing guard ahead.

He wasn’t looking at the dungeon entrance.

Holding a massive shield, he had his back turned toward me, staring straight ahead.

Schring!

As I unsheathed the claymore on my back, the sword, which had been shrunken, reverted to its original size.

No words were necessary.

He was an enemy alliance member, and we were already in a declared war.

Without hesitation, I swung my blade.

Whoosh!

With a fierce cutting sound, the massive blade sliced through the air and struck the knight’s side.

In that instant, a clang! rang out as the Paladin’s body spun rapidly and tumbled away like a rolling ball.

“What, what the hell!?”

The enemies blocking the entrance finally turned to face me.

Their expressions were filled with shock and confusion.

Since I had just been farming in the dungeon, the buffs and potions I used were still in effect, with plenty of time remaining.

No additional preparations were needed.

Without pause, I charged toward the enemies.

“Cr-Crazy!”

Leaving behind the astonished scream, I swung my blade wide.

The claymore, wrapped in a red aura, displayed a far greater range than when I used a holy sword.

With the overwhelming strength stats enhanced by doping and buffs, the tank line blocking the front faltered significantly.

I didn’t miss that opening.

Taking a large step forward, I brought down the massive sword, which I had pulled back with all my might.

Boom!

The attack, infused with all my strength, slammed into the ground.

In that instant, a red shockwave spread widely, sending the hostile alliance members near the dungeon entrance flying into the air.

[Rending Strike]

A heavier attack than before was ready.

The game’s system allowed me to swing a sword larger than my own body with ease.

Crackling!

A massive slash, enveloped in red bloodlust, unfolded broadly.

That attack, which tore through the air, turned most of the players into gray hues.

However, it was slow.

The startup and ending delays were significantly longer than before, leaving me unable to respond to incoming attacks.

An ice spike came flying at me and lodged itself into my shoulder.

Thunk!

My health plummeted instantly, and the freezing debuff began to stack.

But just as I wasn’t alone, neither were they.

Soon after, my party members, who had been farming the dungeon with me, began to appear.

As handpicked members of my raid team, they were quick to act.

Chloe, who emerged from the dungeon, extended her hand toward me, scattering a green aura.

As my depleted health rapidly recovered, a translucent white orb began to envelop my body.

A protective barrier that blocked all damage for a set duration surrounded me, deflecting all attacks directed at me.

“Push in now!”

I shouted to the guild members and allies who were still at a distance.

At that moment, I used Charge to dive into the enemy ranks.

With the shield in place, there was no need to fear death.

I plunged into a section of the enemy formation and immediately activated [Whirlwind].

The massive claymore scraped against the ground with a harsh screech before lifting into the air and spinning.

Whooosh!

Due to the claymore’s inherently slow attack speed, the spinning speed wasn’t as fast as before.

This allowed me to clearly observe the enemies’ movements beyond the red whirlwind.

As our allies joined the battle, the battlefield descended into chaos in an instant.

Nearly 200 people had gathered here.

In the narrow space of the dungeon entrance, I swung my sword relentlessly amidst the confusion.

While slaughtering enemies from the far right, a berserker emitting a crimson aura stood in my path.

He, too, seemed to be wearing the Orc Warrior’s Ring.

However, my gear was superior.

I immediately activated my reserved [Berserk] buff, pushing my attack speed to its limit.

Clang!

The moment our claymores clashed, a massive spark flew out, and the opposing berserker staggered significantly.

I didn’t miss that moment.

Utilizing the recoil from his sword being knocked back, I spun my waist.

As my foot stepped forward, preparing for the next attack, my opponent displayed an unexpected action.

The enemy berserker did not retreat.

Instead, he stepped into my attack range, thrusting his sword forward.

The strike aimed for my neck.

It was clear he intended to use his Undying skill to endure once and then kill me.

At that moment, my mind went blank, and my vision expanded.

I forcibly twisted the direction of my swinging sword.

The blade, which had been aiming for his waist, plunged toward the ground instead.

Clang!

With a heavy impact, his follow-up attack came at me.

A thrust aimed directly at my neck.

However, using the blade embedded in the ground, I deflected the attack.

Screech!

The clashing blades sent massive sparks flying.

I immediately spun my body, leaping into the air.

Although my attack speed with the sword had slowed, my movements remained unrestricted.

As my small frame rose into the air, I gripped the hilt tightly and pulled the sword out of the ground.

The rotational force didn’t diminish even mid-air.

I immediately swung the spinning blade, aiming for the enemy’s neck.

Ka-clang!

The massive blade dented his helmet, but his neck remained intact.

His [Undying] skill had activated.

At that moment, a large chunk of ice flew in from behind me, freezing the enemy berserker in his invincible state.

His massive frame was frozen solid in an instant.

The berserker, who had been preparing a counterattack during his invulnerability, crumbled helplessly along with the ice.

I drove the massive claymore into the ground and surveyed my surroundings.

Most of the hostile alliance members had been dealt with, but since a war was ongoing, I couldn’t leave the area.

“I guess that’s it for farming today,” I muttered, letting out a sigh and leaning against the massive claymore.

The sword, buried deep into the ground, was slightly taller than I was.

The feud between the Shing Shing Alliance and the Malleable Chewy Alliance had been going on for a while.

Their constant cycle of victories and defeats over a long period had ceased to draw much attention.

However, the gear obtainable from the Level 45 Dungeon was a different matter entirely.

[Deron Online Gallery]

[Info Post) Level 45 Dungeon Gear Stats by Class] [37]

(Images of Level 45 Dungeon gear for Warrior class)

(Images of Level 45 Dungeon gear for Archer class)

(Images of Level 45 Dungeon gear for Rogue class)

(Images of Level 45 Dungeon gear for Mage class)

(Images of Level 45 Dungeon gear for Warlock class)

(Images of Level 45 Dungeon gear for Priest class)

“I’ve started seeing rankers hit Level 45 and gear up, so I took some screenshots to compile them.

There are a few missing weapon types, but it looks like all the Dragon series weapons have similar options.

Oh, and I didn’t realize this before, but does gear size adjust to character size?

I snapped a few shots of the skirmish at the dungeon entrance earlier, and the weapon sizes were all different.”

(Screenshot of Yeon standing with arms crossed at the dungeon entrance)

(Screenshot of Yeon pulling a sword from his back)

(Screenshot of a berserker wearing the same weapon)

“These are comparison shots.

Can you see the difference?

The weapon grows when used, but shrinks to fit when sheathed.”

[Comments]

[Wow, rankers are already clearing dungeons.]

[The gear stats look good. Should we farm this and prepare for raids?]

[Crafted Level 45 weapons are better, though.]

[Accessories from battlegrounds are superior.]

[So jealous of the Orc Ring…]

[Lol, can’t even get it for 20,000 gold right now.]

[Wasn’t it available yesterday? No listings now?]

[That person’s mount is tiny, and even their weapon shrinks, lol.]

[It grows when unsheathed.]

[Wow… a sword that grows when touched by the hands of a middle schooler…]

[My sword can grow too.]

[What happened to the people calling the Orc Ring overpriced? All the rankers are wearing it now, you idiots.]

[It seems like a must-have for Berserkers and Barbarians.]

[Yeah, the difference is huge. It’s like playing a whole different game without it.]

The gallery’s topic shifted to a comparison of Level 45 gear performance.

While the gallery users were engrossed in their discussion about Level 45 gear, a new post appeared that had the potential to change the subject entirely.

[Global Launch Event Finals Video Released, Vote Now ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ] [7]

The newly uploaded post had enough impact to redirect the focus of the gallery.

The Global Launch Event.

It was an event open to anyone playing Derron Online.

It wasn’t just the gallery users who began checking the event page. Other players who noticed the announcement also started looking into it.

A total of 100 videos had made it to the finals through internal review, and players could vote for them in real time.

Some users began skimming through the videos to cast their votes, while others checked to see if their own submissions had made it into the finals.

Early in the voting, a few videos began rapidly climbing the ranks.

These were videos submitted by streamers who encouraged voting during their broadcasts.

The term “vote manipulation” started to circulate among players, but Derron’s developers remained silent.

Just when it seemed like the rankings were stabilizing, something unexpected happened.

A video that had been languishing at the bottom of the rankings suddenly garnered an overwhelming number of votes and skyrocketed to the top.

The title of the video was [Absolute Blood Mage Proclamation].