Chapter 22: Raid group reorganization(2)

A week passed, and the raid reset.

In other words, it was time to raid with the newly restructured raid group.

There was always much to prepare before starting a raid.

Players would visit temples to receive long-duration buffs, check their potions and doping supplies, and ensure everything was in order.

Once all preparations were complete, it was time to head to the meeting spot.

The current time was Friday, 4:50 PM.

After completing a raid, my armor underwent some changes.

I finally took off the heavy full plate armor that had been weighing me down.

The lack of defense could be compensated for with the [Solar’s Sacred Sword of the Sun God], so it was a natural choice.

My slim figure, previously hidden by the large armor, was now fully revealed.

The overall appearance of the new armor wasn’t much different from that of a Roman soldier’s.

It was simply a modernized design.

The color scheme featured an appropriate mix of white and gold.

This armor consistently ranked among the best-designed armor sets across all seasons of Delon Online.

White plates layered over a pure white dress gave it a look that emphasized mobility over defense.

Even the gauntlets, which had covered my fingers completely, were discarded.

The lack of finger sensitivity made wielding a sword uncomfortable.

I also changed my boots.

They were now designed for mobility, resembling gladiator shoes in appearance.

Was it too radical a transformation?

As I approached the meeting spot, the raid members turned their gazes toward me.

“Raid leader?”

“What?”

“No, I mean… what about your defense?”

“It’s fine. I can handle it.”

After running a raid, I realized what I needed wasn’t defense but mobility to move my body faster.

My movements weren’t as responsive as I’d hoped, and I ended up needing more healing than expected.

This gear should enable better performance.

Anxiety was evident on the raid members’ faces.

It was understandable.

The main tank had suddenly shown up wearing armor with less defensive capability.

Still, this gear was something you could purchase with raid tokens.

It had better stats than my previous armor.

The problem must have been the armor’s appearance.

“Has everyone introduced themselves? There are quite a few new faces.”

Looking around at the raid members, no one seemed uncomfortable.

I had worried about potential conflicts stemming from past incidents, but fortunately, it appeared there were no issues.

With the reorganization, changes had occurred within the group’s composition, leading to new role assignments.

The number of mages decreased from 30 to 20, with rogues and warlocks filling the vacancies.

The rogue leader, nicknamed [Iyap], was a male rogue.

Four rogues, excluding himself, were under his command.

The warlock leader, nicknamed [Priscilla], was a female warlock.

Four warlocks, excluding herself, joined her group.

The mage role was now divided between two leaders.

The first mage leader, nicknamed [Nyamnyami], was a petite female mage.

She led nine mages, excluding herself.

The second mage leader, nicknamed [Helena], was a busty female mage who had consistently topped the DPS charts during the first raid.

She led eight mages and one archer, excluding herself.

The healer lineup remained unchanged, so the healer leader from the first raid was retained.

Their nickname was [Chloe], and six priests, excluding herself, were under her command.

Before entering the raid dungeon, I explained the basic tactics.

“We’ll stick with the standard tactics. I’ll remain the main tank, and I’ll switch places with Dogrick only at the final phase.”

I looked around at the raid members, making eye contact with each one.

As they nodded one by one in response, I turned around.

It was time to enter the raid dungeon.

“Let’s go in.”

The moment we crossed the dungeon’s entrance, a loud sound echoed behind me.

It was as if a large group of people had jumped in place simultaneously.

Startled, I turned around.

“What are you all doing…?”

“Raid leader, aren’t you going to jump this time?”

“You always jumped when entering the dungeon.”

“We were waiting for it…”

Did they really wait an entire week to mimic the way I jumped into the dungeon last time?

All of them?

Apparently, the raid members had conspired together.

Feeling my cheeks flush red, I turned my head.

“Raid leader, please jump.”

“Jump! Jump!”

A raid leader also has to take care of the raid members’ morale.

So… this wasn’t something weird.

Unable to resist their insistence, I jumped in place.

Thud!

“Wooo~ The raid leader jumped!”

“Wow… you jump really high with that light gear.”

“That was awesome!”

It was a little—no, very—embarrassing.

But the atmosphere among the group significantly improved, so it wasn’t a bad decision.

I turned to glare at Hwarang, who was clapping enthusiastically with a broad smile.

Everyone in the group knew that Hwarang was someone I had brought in.

After all, I had invited him to the raid chat even before posting the recruitment notice.

So he had to perform well.

Even if he couldn’t claim the top spot, he needed to rank among the top DPS in the dealer lineup.

With that small sense of unease, the raid progressed.

The battle with the first boss, which had no complex patterns, ended quickly.

As the massive orc fell to the ground, I checked the DPS rankings.

Helena ranked first, Hwarang took second, and Iyap came in third.

Relieved, I exhaled a sigh of relief, but then I noticed everyone’s eyes were fixed on my sword.

“Raid leader…?”

“What is it?”

“That sword…”

“Oh…”

It was only then that I remembered how special my sword was.

I had been swinging it recklessly before entering the raid and had momentarily forgotten.

There was no point in hiding it.

Proudly, I held the sword out for everyone to see.

“I obtained it.”

“Uh… could you share the link, please?”

[Solar God Solara’s Sacred Sword]

Strength +30

Stamina +30

Increases max HP by 10%.

Increases attack speed by 15%.

Attack Power +300, Defense +70.

Can activate [Solar God’s Sanctuary Declaration] once a day.

20% chance to activate [Cloak of the Sun] upon attack.

[Solar God’s Sanctuary Declaration]

Declares a large area around the user as the Solar God’s sanctuary.

Increases all stats by 15% and restores 1% HP per second during the duration.

Duration: 60 seconds.

[Cloak of the Sun]

Powerful solar energy cloaks the user like a mantle.

Summons a solar cloak that deals continuous damage in a small radius around the user.

Duration: 10 seconds.

When I linked the item, awestruck exclamations erupted from all around.

This was it—the thrill of farming an incredible item.

With a smug expression, I slung the sword over my shoulder.

“So… the entire message was about this?”

“Where did you get it? Is that information you can share?”

I let out a soft sigh, closing my eyes.

In my world’s Deron, nothing was truly a secret.

The client files had been completely datamined, and every hidden feature had already been revealed.

But things were different here.

“I’ll share it.”

After some deliberation, I came to a decision.

The raid members looked surprised by my response.

But here’s the thing: a weapon with an unknown source is desirable, but a weapon with a known method of acquisition yet nearly impossible to obtain is even more coveted.

And this weapon fell into the latter category.

Even in my world’s Deron, where the method to obtain it had been revealed long ago, fewer than four [Solar God Solara’s Sacred Swords] had been crafted by the end of the season.

I explained to the raid members about the Shards of the Sun series.

I told them that equipping two of those items and visiting the temple triggered a hidden quest.

“Uh, raid leader?”

“Yes?”

“Are you okay with this information being shared outside the raid?”

“Of course, go ahead.”

I had no intention of keeping it a secret.

If anything, I wanted everyone to know about it.

After all, weapons that define a season exist for that very purpose.

Raising the sword high above my head, I struck a heroic pose.

Streaming was prohibited, but taking screenshots within the raid group wasn’t.

So, I made sure to look as cool as possible.

“Then, uh… would you be willing to do an interview after the raid?”

“In… an interview?”

The person asking was Iyap, the rogue who had recently joined our raid.

He continued speaking with a cautious expression.

“I work as an online journalist, so I was wondering if you’d be open to an interview.”

It was an ordinary day.

With Deron’s raids reset, it was also a time when the prices of doping potions temporarily spiked.

That day, an article appeared on a webzine:

[First World Item (Solar God Solara’s Sacred Sword) and a Middle School Raid Leader]

Interviews with famous people always bring a sense of excitement.

Today, the journalist had joined a new raid group, feeling thrilled as the raid progressed.

The group they joined had recently gained immense popularity as the “Middle Schooler Raid Group,” though the group’s official name was yet to be decided.

Initially formed as a pickup raid, the group reorganized after achieving their first clear.

Underperforming DPS players were replaced.

[Image of Solar God Solara’s Sacred Sword specs]

And it was there that the item was discovered.

Not by anyone else, but in the hands of the small raid leader.

(Image of Yeon’s character holding the Solar God’s Sacred Sword aloft)

That day, Deron players saw the message:

[[Solar God Solara’s Sacred Sword] has appeared.]

The journalist was among them.

In Deron, uncovering something new always brings the journalist a sense of fulfillment.

Yet there were things that no amount of effort could uncover.

The Solar God’s Sacred Sword was one of them.

The weapon had nearly slipped from the journalist’s mind.

It was pure luck.

Incredible luck, really, that the raid leader of the newly joined group turned out to be the owner of a world item.

The small raid leader was a goddess of fortune.

Let me invite you to a moment shared with the goddess of fortune.

The journalist’s first question was whether it was okay to disclose information about the item.

To this, the raid leader, hereafter referred to as Yeon, readily agreed.

“To obtain the Solar God’s Sacred Sword, you need key items. These are the Shards of the Sun series.”

(Image of the Shards of the Sun items for clarity)

The Shards of the Sun series are accessories that can be obtained in the Red Orc Empire raid.

Had Yeon recognized their value beforehand?

“No, it was pure coincidence. I only acquired the items because no one else bid on them. It was all by chance.

After equipping the items, I went to the Lunaris Temple, and that’s when the hidden quest began.”

Laughter—

Why did you visit the Lunaris Temple?

“My class is a paladin. I went there to increase my favorability with the temple.”

Many people are curious. Does the next update have something to do with the Solar God?

“The quest to obtain the item reveals a lot, but I won’t spoil anything. Call me petty if you want, but this is for the benefit of those who will attempt the quest after me. I hope you understand.”

(Image of Yeon’s character driving the Sacred Sword into the ground)

(Image of a massive golden light emanating from the sword)

Don’t you think the sword’s specs are overwhelmingly overpowered?

“What’s wrong with that? It’s not an item just anyone can obtain.

A season-defining item should have this level of performance. I think of this item as the romance of Deron.”

Laughter— The romance of Deron, huh?

Suddenly, a question came to mind.

May I ask one last question?

“If it’s something I can answer.”

Are you really a middle schooler, or is it just a persona?

“I’m really a middle schooler. I go to school and study hard to make my mom proud.”

Yeon turned out to be a devoted daughter.

This concludes the interview.

(Image of Yeon with a radiant sun cloak billowing behind her)

[Comments]

[“Hoeeeh… Middle schooler-chan, did you ninja the Solar God’s Sacred Sword…?”]

[“Wow… Those junk items were prerequisites for a hidden quest?”]

[“A middle schooler who thinks about the romance of Deron…”]

[“Wait, those items actually drop? Our raid group hasn’t seen a single one.”]

[“The stats are insane lol I want it…”]