SRPG | Chapter 2.4

Gudok’s character, which had been darting around in panic, suddenly froze in place. It seemed like he had genuinely gotten scared by the sudden horror cutscene.

[Party] Gudok: Ahㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ

The battle was seconds away from starting. Hwanyoung quickly gave out orders.

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[Party] lIlllIIl: We don’t have a healer right now.
[Party] lIlllIIl: So, everyone be extra careful not to get hit.
[Party] Eco Cup Discount 300: Wow LOL, self-inflicted hard mode~!!!~!
[Party] Eco Cup Discount 300: But who am I? The best evasion Warlock in Aeer, that’s who! LOL

Maybe it was the thrill of giving raid commands after so long, but Hwanyoung realized he was feeling a little more fired up than usual. His fingers tapped rapidly across the keyboard.

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[Party] lIlllIIl: The hidden mob here is completely immune to bind effects.
[Party] lIlllIIl: So, Hyoppang, just go all-in with your attack skills.
[Party] Hyoppang: Got it ^^
[Party] lIlllIIl: Warlock, hit all your debuffs as soon as the battle starts.
[Party] Eco Cup Discount 300: All at once?
[Party] lIlllIIl: Yes.
[Party] lIlllIIl: This monster stacks debuffs, so don’t hold back—apply them all.
[Party] Eco Cup Discount 300: Ooooh~ Gotcha, LOL.

Lastly, Hwanyoung turned to Gudok.

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[Party] lIlllIIl: Master.

Gudok was already clinging tightly to Hwanyoung’s character, his avatar trembling as he used the Fear emote.

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[Party] lIlllIIl: Don’t be scared…
[Party] Gudok: ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ

But there was only one job an assassin like Gudok needed to do in this party.

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Hwanyoung gave him a short and simple order.

[Party] lIlllIIl: Master.
[Party] lIlllIIl: Dodge the attacks and just keep dealing damage.
[Party] lIlllIIl: You know the rule for damage dealers—survival of the fittest.
[Party] Gudok: ㅠHing…

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Gudok whined.

Hwanyoung, however, remained firm, commanding his sulky master with authority.

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[Party] lIlllIIl: Master.
[Party] lIlllIIl: Stay focused.
[Party] lIlllIIl: Don’t get hit. Not even once.
[Party] Gudok: (›´-`‹ ) Slave-nim, this is too mean,,,
[Party] Gudok: Say something nice to Gudok too,,,
[Party] lIlllIIl: I believe in you, Master.
[Party] lIlllIIl: You’re the best.
[Party] lIlllIIl: Master is the best, best, best.

Even Hwanyoung could tell it was a half-hearted encouragement, but there was nothing else he could say. He wasn’t exactly brimming with inspiring words.

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[Party] lIlllIIl: That should be enough, right? Now focus.
[Party] Gudok: Uuung… (›´-‹ )
[Party] Gudok: I’ll do my best,,, so I don’t get scolded by Slave-nim,,, (›´-‹ )
[Party] Gudok: Gudok just wants to be praised by Slave-nim,,, That’s why he’s working so hard,,,
[Party] lIlllIIl: Good thinking.
[Party] lIlllIIl: If we clear this raid, I’ll make sure to praise you plenty.
[Party] Gudok: Okaaay,,, Gudok is looking forward to it… (›´-`‹ )
[Party] Gudok: The reward that Slave-nim gives… I’m excited…
[Party] Eco Cup Discount 300: LOL what is this?
[Party] Eco Cup Discount 300: Seriously, who’s the master and who’s the slave here? LMAO

Crack crack crack crack.

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A strange sound echoed from the speakers. Then, a gaping, fanged maw peeked out from the fissure.

What crawled out was a four-legged beast. Its overall shape resembled a wolf, but instead of a fluffy tail, a massive snake was attached to its back.

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<System: The Solomon’s Demon ‘Marbas’ has appeared.>
<System: ‘Solomon’s Mark’ is activated.>

As soon as the system message popped up, the entire party slowed down significantly. Solomon’s Mark had triggered, reducing their movement speed.

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“No healer in the party… As long as it doesn’t apply HP reduction, we’ll be fine.”

Solomon’s Mark was a status ailment skill used by Hidden Monsters.

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Every 30 seconds, it randomly applied one of five debuffs: reduced movement speed, reduced attack speed, reduced skill casting speed, HP reduction, or MP reduction.

Most debuffs could be dealt with through skillful play. However, HP reduction was an entirely different beast. Unlike MP, which could be easily restored with potions, HP reduction was much harder to counter.

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‘But there’s no use whining about it now.’

Besides, Hwanyoung himself had judged that the four of them could handle this.

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“Raids are all about praying for good luck anyway.”

If they were lucky, they’d clear it. If not, they’d fail. That’s why people called Aeer a ‘luck-based doomed game’ in the first place.

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Grrrrrr.

Marbas inhaled deeply, its sharp muzzle flickering with reddish flames.

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Hwanyoung quickly typed out the pattern in chat.

[Party] lIlllIIl: First pattern: Fire breath.
[Party] lIlllIIl: If you get hit, you’ll be petrified for 20 seconds. Be careful.
[Party] Eco Cup Discount 300: Are you kidding me? 20 seconds?! LOL

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A brief attack marker flashed on the ground before vanishing. The target was Gudok and Hwanyoung.

Hwanyoung used a movement skill to sidestep, while Gudok activated Surprise Box to dodge the attack.

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The moment they moved, a torrent of flames engulfed the spot where they had been standing.

[Party] Eco Cup Discount 300: Debuffs are goooo~! LOL

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Eco Cup Discount, positioned near Marbas’s snake tail, wasted no time applying debuff skills.

[Party] lIlllIIl: Watch out for the snake tail.

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Marbas wasn’t just dangerous from the front—its tail could attack as well.

Hearing the warning, Eco Cup Discount interrupted his debuffing and quickly backed away.

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A split second later, the snake tail whipped down like a massive whip onto the exact spot where he had been standing.

[Party] Eco Cup Discount 300: Holy crap, I almost got hit LOL
[Party] lIlllIIl: The snake’s attacks don’t have an attack marker.
[Party] lIlllIIl: If something feels off, just dodge immediately.
[Party] Eco Cup Discount 300: Why does this game make me play Dark Souls in the Snow Ice Cave? LOL

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Marbas’s fire breath pattern was over. Next up was Front Paw Slam.

Unlike the fire breath, this attack was visibly telegraphed and easy to dodge, so Hwanyoung didn’t bother warning them. Instead, he focused entirely on attacking.

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Mud, shadow, and bats were launched in quick succession. He weaved through the battlefield, barely avoiding Marbas’s front paw attack, before stabbing forward with his Blood Spear.

“Tsk, my damage is trash.”

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He wasn’t max level yet, and his gear was just standard equipment. It wasn’t surprising that his attacks weren’t dealing massive damage.

The only reason his numbers looked decent at all was thanks to Eco Cup Discount stacking various debuffs.

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But compared to Hyoppang and Gudok, his damage was nothing.

‘Damn, I didn’t think my DPS would be this bad. Kinda embarrassing.’

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Feeling a bit awkward, Hwanyoung quickly typed out the next pattern.

[General] lIlllIIl: Fire breath pattern is changing now.
[General] lIlllIIl: Instead of a straight line, it’ll spread in all directions.
[General] lIlllIIl: If a wide-area marker appears, back away immediately.
[General] Gudok: Gudok is good at dodging! (✧∇✧)
[General] Eco Cup Discount 300: No worries LOL, time to show you all why I’m Aeer’s best evasion warlock.

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Proving that their confidence wasn’t just empty boasting, Gudok and Eco Cup Discount were literally flying across the battlefield.

“You’re dodging that just by walking?”

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Most players, when faced with an unfamiliar attack pattern, instinctively use invincibility skills or dodge abilities to avoid getting hit. But Gudok and Eco Cup Discount were different.

They watched Marbas’s patterns right to the last second, analyzing every movement. If they judged that an attack could be dodged by walking, they simply walked out of harm’s way, unhurried.

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Only when they saw an attack they absolutely couldn’t avoid did they use their invincibility skills or dodges.

Was this boldness? Or were they just fearless maniacs?

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“They’re all insanely good… even though it’s their first time here.”

Even Hyoppang, the party’s tank, was dealing meaningful damage to Marbas.

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…Wait a minute. The tank?

Hyoppang’s class, Axe Knight, was a sub-tank that specialized in bind effects.

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Since Marbas was immune to binds, Hyoppang was technically useless in this fight.

Maybe Hyoppang was aware of that, too—because the axe he was holding was not the one he was using yesterday.

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‘…Isn’t that a basic attack axe?’

Hwanyoung’s gaze followed the axe’s movements.

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Effortlessly dodging Marbas’s fire breath, Hyoppang swung the massive axe down onto its head.

Thud!

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At the same time, a massive damage number popped up over Marbas’s head.

That’s when Hwanyoung realized.

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“…I knew it. That’s a basic attack-only axe.”

The weapon Hyoppang was using was a meme item—a gimmick weapon sometimes used by Bind Knights for fun.

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Equipping it completely locked out all bind skills, but in return, basic attack damage skyrocketed.

There were some Axe Knights who used this weapon to solo bosses for fun or personal challenge, but that was just for memes or the aesthetic.

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It was never a viable raid setup.

Or at least… it wasn’t supposed to be.

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“…But if his damage is that high, then it actually is viable.”

For a moment, Hwanyoung felt overwhelmed by Hyoppang’s sheer audacity.

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A basic attack Axe Knight running a raid-viable build?

What the hell am I even witnessing?

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Hwanyoung couldn’t help but let out an amused chuckle.

‘He’s good.’

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Not long after, Marbas’s HP hit 0, and the massive beast collapsed onto the ground.

Phase 1 was completed.

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***

There was no time to relax just because Phase 1 was over.

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Hwanyoung focused hard to avoid typos as he explained Marbas’s Phase 2 patterns.

[Party] lIlllIIl: In 30 seconds, it’ll revive, and Phase 2 will start.
[Party] lIlllIIl: In Phase 2, there are extra patterns:
[Party] lIlllIIl: Falling ice pillars.
[Party] lIlllIIl: Aerial dive attack.
[Party] lIlllIIl: Additional front paw slashes.
[Party] lIlllIIl: You can’t dodge Phase 2 patterns by just walking. Use dodge skills or invincibility moves.

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[Party] Eco Cup Discount 300: OK OK LOL

[Party] Gudok: Gudok’s heart is racing! (✧∇✧)
[Party] Gudok: As long as I’m with Slave-nim,
[Party] Gudok: I’m invincible! (✧∇✧)

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“…Well, he really is good.”

In Phase 1, Gudok hadn’t taken a single hit.

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Eco Cup Discount had gotten clipped by a tail swipe, and Hyoppang had been crushed by a front paw once.

Even Hwanyoung himself had been so focused on explaining the patterns that he got caught in the flames and petrified.

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But Gudok? Not a scratch.

‘Sure, Magicians have a lot of dodge and invincibility skills… but dodging everything on your first run? That’s seriously impressive.’

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Then again, it made sense. You don’t sign up for a public slave-bread contract unless you’re really confident in your skills.

Unless, of course, you’re actually into it.

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<System: ‘Marbas’ reveals its true form.>

The four-legged beast that had collapsed onto the ground shuddered.

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From its back, a pair of frozen wings sprouted, glistening with an icy sheen.

At the same time, the snake tail suddenly lifted its head, jaws gaping wide.

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KYYYYAAAAHHH!

A piercing shriek rang out.

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At that moment, Gudok suddenly activated his second ultimate skill…

…In the completely wrong direction.

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[Party] lIlllIIl: ??

[Party] Eco Cup Discount 300: LOL, he got startled and misclicked.
[Party] Eco Cup Discount 300: He does this all the time, don’t even worry about it. LOL

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[Party] Gudok: (๑ᵔ⩊ᵔ๑) h….;;

[Party] lIlllIIl: Ah… I see.

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He had been so flawless in Phase 1, and now he blundered his ult like this?

Hwanyoung let out an exasperated laugh.

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“This is driving me nuts.”

…But why is it kind of cute?

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Feeling oddly affectionate toward his fearful master, Hwanyoung used the head-pat emote.

[Party] Gudok: (๑ᵔ⩊ᵔ๑)………
[Party] Gudok: Gudok is embarrassed… (/ω＼)

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Gudok pouted and hid behind Hwanyoung’s Vampire character.

As if waiting for that moment, Marbas fully revived.

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This time, it had magnificent ice wings spread out behind it.

It soared into the air, and the screen turned blue as large attack markers appeared on the ground.

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Dive attack pattern.

Hyoppang and Eco Cup Discount used movement skills to retreat.

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Hwanyoung and Gudok used invincibility frames to dodge, then immediately counterattacked the moment Marbas landed.

<System: ‘Solomon’s Mark’ activates again.>

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As Marbas’s HP dropped further, an additional Solomon’s Mark appeared over every party member.

Immediately, their HP began draining at a rapid pace.

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“…Oh, crap.”

They had rolled HP reduction.

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Hwanyoung quickly gulped down a high-tier potion.

His potion cooldown kicked in.

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The others must have used their potions too, because their HP bars began slowly climbing back up.

[Party] lIlllIIl: When Marbas reaches 30% HP,
[Party] lIlllIIl: It’ll start dropping ice pillars.
[Party] lIlllIIl: You have to dodge the pillars while avoiding the main body’s attacks.

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[Party] Eco Cup Discount 300: Overlapping attacks?? Ugh.
[Party] Eco Cup Discount 300: But I can do it, right? I can dodge and debuff at the same time, right??

[Party] Gudok: (˶˙ᵕ˙˶) Gudok has no ult!
[Party] Gudok: I got too scared and wasted it earlier!
[Party] Gudok: But it’s fine because I have plenty of other attack skills! (๑>ω<๑) Gudok is strong!

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[Party] Hyoppang: Shut up and get ready to chain skills.