Chapter 44: A Slightly Different Raid

“Ha, what should we do? Should we call it quits here?”

“Wait a moment…”

I listened to my raid members’ words as I tried to recall.

If there had been a bug so severe that progressing through the raid was impossible, it should have stuck in my memory.

However, no matter how hard I racked my brain for old memories, I couldn’t recall any mention of a bug with the Holy Dragon.

Of course, my brain isn’t a computer, so I can’t recall every detail from the past.

But something this significant, something that would cause such an issue, should have been remembered.

“Could it be a problem with the Blessing of the Sun?”

At that moment, I looked up at Helena, who had been sitting absentmindedly.

The other raid members also turned to look at her.

“This raid is associated with the Sun God, right? Maybe it’s intended. Maybe we’re not supposed to use the Blessing of the Sun.”

“That’s a plausible theory.”

The other raid members nodded in agreement with Helena’s words.

But I couldn’t believe it.

No, it was more accurate to say I didn’t want to believe it.

In the other world’s Daeron, there was no such mechanic.

This raid was simply an easy dungeon that could be cleared by drinking the Sun Blessing potion and smashing through.

Still, even if I didn’t want to accept Helena’s words, I couldn’t outright deny them.

This was a different world.

It meant there was a possibility the patch hadn’t been applied as I remembered.

Even if I wanted to deny it, I couldn’t.

Evidence was plastered right on Daeron’s homepage.

The event preparing for the global server didn’t exist in the Daeron of the other world.

“Alright, let’s all try starting without the Sun Blessing.”

I checked the raid members’ statuses to make sure the Sun Blessing doping was removed.

I also stopped myself from instinctively tossing a dose into my mouth.

“Ready to move in?”

“Yes.”

As Dogrick, the main tank, carefully approached with his massive shield, the colossal dragon’s head began to rise slowly.

And then, it displayed a different pattern than before.

[Do you not value your lives? I still cannot comprehend the thoughts of humans.]

Rumble—

The enormous body of Sunphos began to move gradually, letting out a tremendous roar toward the sky.

[KROOAAARGH!]

As expected, the pattern had changed.

In that moment, the certainty I had clung to deep in my heart shattered to pieces.

“Leader!”

I turned at the urgent voice calling for me.

Most of the other raid members were staring at me.

It seemed they were waiting for me to give orders.

Just then, a loud explosion resounded.

Sunphos’s massive tail slammed into the ground with tremendous force.

A familiar sight: the tail swipe pattern.

An attack meant to scatter the melee DPS clinging to its sides.

What was I doing, standing there in a daze?

The raid had already begun.

I bit my lip and dashed toward Sunphos’s flank.

Leaping high into the air, I crashed down onto the ground, driving my enormous greatsword into Sunphos’s scales.

Bang!

“Focus on reading the patterns! Melee DPS, stay off the tail line and stick to the flanks!”

While issuing minor orders to the raid members, my gaze continually scanned the massive body of the dragon.

Front paw swipes, ground stomps, and bites with enormous fangs.

Patterns I remembered were being unleashed on the tank.

At that moment, a red circle appeared beneath my feet.

It was the curse pattern that falls from the sky.

If hit, it applies a debuff that makes health recovery impossible for a certain period.

It was a forced pattern that even a priest’s cleansing skill couldn’t remove.

It had to be avoided.

For the ranged DPS attacking from afar, getting hit a few times wouldn’t be a big deal, but if the tank got hit, it would be a disaster.

“Watch your feet! Avoid the circle!”

As I shouted to the raid members and moved aside, black lightning struck the spot where I had just been standing.

Crash!

Some didn’t manage to dodge in time, but most were able to avoid it.

“Heal! Healing isn’t working!”

A desperate voice cried out, drawing my attention.

The healers pouring heals into the main tank, Dogrick, were looking at him with urgent expressions.

Black currents of electricity were coursing through Dogrick’s body—it seemed he hadn’t been able to avoid the pattern.

“Damn it!”

No matter how tanky a class he had chosen, without healing, he wouldn’t be able to hold out for long.

As Dogrick’s health began to drop rapidly, I shouted to the off-tank who had been waiting on standby.

“Take over the tanking! Hold him until the main tank’s debuff wears off!”

The debuff lasted for 20 seconds—a dreadfully long time.

Dogrick narrowly swapped places with the off-tank just before he would have died, retreating to the side.

Five seconds had passed since the curse pattern appeared.

I began counting in my head.

From my memory, the pattern fell every 10 seconds.

And just as five more seconds went by, another red circle appeared beneath my feet, just as I remembered.

“Curse pattern! Everyone, dodge!”

I wasn’t worried about the damage dealers.

What concerned me most was the off-tank currently holding Sunphos.

He stepped back, pushing against Sunphos’s front paw with his massive shield.

Just after he retreated, black lightning struck where he had been standing.

Crash!

Time passed, and when the next cursed lightning struck, Dogrick’s debuff finally expired.

He rushed forward to take back the aggro.

While hammering Sunphos’s body with his massive greatsword, I kept my eyes constantly scanning.

I was anxious, worried that a pattern I didn’t know about might appear.

Since we weren’t using the Sun Blessing potion, the most crucial buff, Sunphos’s health was depleting at a much slower pace.

When Sunphos’s health reached 80%, the massive dragon crouched, and its wings, previously unused like mere ornaments, began to move.

Whoosh!

The powerful wing beats made my body sway.

As the strong winds began to spread in all directions, Sunphos’s body started to ascend into the sky.

It was the flight pattern.

In this state, the melee DPS couldn’t do anything.

But then, my eyes caught sight of Iyeap.

He was using the Night Walker’s unique mobility skill to climb onto Sunphos’s body and stab its back repeatedly.

This wasn’t an attack method possible in the original world.

In that moment, a question popped into my mind.

—Why was I sticking to the old ways?

The Deron of that world and the Deron of this world were completely different games.

We were prohibited from using the Sun Blessing potion.

It was as if we were being told to clear it fairly, without any cheats.

I immediately used Leap Smash, slamming down onto Sunphos’s massive body.

Bang!

As I climbed onto the body rising into the air, Iyeap, who had been stabbing the dragon’s back beside me, turned his head.

“Can you hold on?”

“Not sure. My senses aren’t as sharp as Yeon’s…”

Whoosh!

With Iyeap and me on its back, Sunphos soared into the air.

Balancing on the dragon’s wildly swaying body, I shouted downward.

“Ranged DPS, keep attacking!”

In this situation, melee DPS couldn’t do anything.

Unless, like Iyeap and me, they climbed onto this massive dragon’s back.

Using Whirlwind was out of the question—it forced continuous movement during its duration, increasing the risk of falling off Sunphos’s back.

“Yaaah!”

Maintaining my balance, I struck repeatedly with my massive greatsword.

Thanks to the berserker’s signature overwhelming attack power and incredible speed, Sunphos’s health began to drop rapidly.

“Ugh!”

At that moment, Sunphos spun its body sharply.

I managed to hold on, keeping my greatsword lodged into its back, but Iyeap wasn’t so lucky.

He began to tumble off the slippery back.

I reached out desperately, but I couldn’t grab him.

“Damn it!”

Iyeap didn’t just fall, though.

Drawing his dagger, he scratched and sliced Sunphos’s body as he slid down.

Ripppp!

Just as Iyeap fell, I heard a faint tearing sound.

Iyeap’s voice, screaming as he plummeted, faded into the distance.

—A ripping sound?

My gaze quickly scanned the wing membrane.

There, a tiny hole had formed where Iyeap had been clinging.

I wasn’t certain—it was just a feeling.

As an excruciating pain seared through my head, I found myself moving instinctively, striking at the area near the dragon’s wings.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

As Sunphos’s health began to plummet faster, the dragon started summoning massive boulders in the air and dropping them.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The flight phase was about to end.

I shouted downwards.

“Harang!”

No response came.

A boy, just like the younger version of me, looked up and met my eyes.

“Attack the wings!”

Dodging the falling boulders, Harang halted and aimed his musket skyward.

The barrel pointed precisely at the joint of the wing I had been attacking.

Bang!

A bright flash struck, and the slightly torn wound opened wider.

Bang! Bang! Ratatatat!

A rapid barrage of bullets followed, pounding the area around the wound.

Sunphos ascended even higher, beginning to inhale deeply.

It was the prelude to its breath attack.

The attack power was insufficient to sever the wing.

A more overwhelming strike was necessary.

The boss’s health had dwindled to roughly 30%.

My gaze fell on Iyeap’s lifeless body, cold and still on the ground.

He had died from the impact of his fall.

A new system for breaking parts had emerged—something not present in the game.

Even the previously ignored laws of physics seemed partially applied here.

If so, wouldn’t the same apply to the monsters?

“Breath attack incoming!”

The raid members began moving instinctively at my warning.

The boulders that had crashed down all around us remained in place.

Everyone seemed to understand how to use them.

[Berserk]

Activating the buff skill embedded in my necklace, I swung my massive sword relentlessly.

Yet the dragon, seemingly unaware of me clinging to its back, began unleashing its breath attack.

Roooaaaar!

A dark breath attack engulfed the ground.

To evade this attack, one had to take cover behind the boulders.

That meant no one could move.

Perhaps things weren’t aligning perfectly.

Zap!

A bolt of black lightning struck from above, targeting the raid members.

Crash!

It was a cursed pattern that prevented healing for 20 seconds.

Every single member was hit.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

I continued swinging my sword without pause.

Scales peeled from the wing’s joint, tearing the flesh and exposing the bone underneath.

In Deron’s lore, dragon bones were harder than any metal.

But my weapon was forged from a dragon’s remains, making it more than capable.

“Hyaaah!”

I activated Whirlwind, a skill I had avoided using due to its risks.

Since the movement was forced, I would surely fall if Sunphos moved violently.

But the dragon remained stationary, focused on releasing its breath attack.

Crimson blood sprayed everywhere as my body spun at incredible speed.

Thanks to the berserk buff, my attack speed had increased significantly.

Scrrrape!

The massive greatsword relentlessly tore into the wing’s joint.

How long had it been?

As the spinning slowed, I felt something snag at my fingertips.

It snapped.

The moment Whirlwind stopped, Sunphos’s enormous body began plummeting toward the ground.

Alongside it, the giant wing, now severed, floated down slowly.

Boom!

The ground trembled as its massive form crashed, upending the terrain.

Debris scattered everywhere, and the shock of the impact surged through my body.

But I held on.

Thanks to my Undying skill, my health remained locked at 1 for three seconds.

Sunphos wasn’t dead yet.

Its health bar lingered at 25%, but its piercing gaze locked onto me.

Pulling the oversized greatsword onto my back, I prepared myself.

Strength surged into my arms, legs, and core.

Then, I struck down.

Bang!

[Raging Slash]

The skill unleashed a massive shockwave, slamming into Sunphos’s head.

As the giant head, which had begun to rise, was driven back into the ground, a torrent of crimson, blood-soaked slashes rained down.

Crack!

As the Undying duration neared its end, the light faded from Sunphos’s eyes.