SRPG | Chapter 2.5

A moment later, Marbas, now at half HP, suddenly froze in place.

It tilted its head back and roared, spewing flames into the sky.

<System: ‘Marbas’ ignites the ice of the ‘Frozen Cave.’>

Circular markers flickered all over the floor.

A second later, massive ice pillars crashed down onto those spots.

At the same time, Marbas weaved through the falling pillars, slashing with its front claws.

The party had to avoid both the ice pillars and Marbas’s direct attacks.

“…Ah. If I get hit even once, I’m dead.”

Unlike the others, Hwanyoung wasn’t at max level yet.

His gear was still standard equipment.

The others had maxed-out gear and enough HP to tank a few hits.

But Hwanyoung didn’t.

One hit and he’d be reduced to dust.

He had to dodge everything while also typing out the next pattern explanations.

Frantically weaving between attacks, Hwanyoung typed for dear life.

[Party] lIlllIIl: Once this pattern ends
[Party] lIlllIIl: Summons will appear around the main body

At that moment, the serpent tail of Marbas came flying straight at Hwanyoung.

‘Ah.’

Hwanyoung hurriedly took his hands off the keyboard. But it was already too late to dodge. Even his invincibility and evasion skills were all on cooldown.

‘You need to stay alive until the end to get the achievement… What a shame.’

It was the moment he gave up and resigned himself.

Suddenly, Gudok, who had been near Marbas’s mouth, transformed into a pigeon and started flying toward Hwanyoung.

Hwanyoung stared at Gudok in confusion.

Why… Why is he coming this way? A magician is an assassin-type class. There’s no tanking skill or anything like that…?

[Party] Gudok: Slave-nim
[Party] Gudok: Nooooo!!

Whish! Smack!

Gudok, who had rushed in front of Hwanyoung, took the hit from the serpent tail and was sent flying along with Hwanyoung’s vampire.

[Party] lIlllIIl: ??

No, seriously, what the hell is he doing…? Why did he go out of his way to fly over here just to get hit too? He doesn’t even seem like the type to enjoy pain…?

Hwanyoung couldn’t comprehend Gudok’s trolling. He just sent a string of question marks.

[Party] lIlllIIl: What is this…?

[Party] Gudok: (✧∇✧) Hehe
[Party] Gudok: Pain lessens when shared!

[Party] lIlllIIl: …What?

[Party] Gudok: Since we both got hit together, I took half of Slave-nim’s pain! (✧∇✧)

[Party] lIlllIIl: ?

The serpent tail attack was just a normal area attack. The damage didn’t decrease just because multiple people got hit. No matter how many were hit, the incoming damage was the same.

[Party] Gudok: I couldn’t let Slave-nim suffer alone!
[Party] Gudok: Because Gudok is Slave-nim’s devoted master! (/ω＼)

[Party] lIlllIIl: ?

[Party] Gudok: Gudok and Slave-nim are one body! (๑ᵔ⩊ᵔ๑)
[Party] Gudok: Kyaong~ So embarrassing~ (/ω＼)

[Party] lIlllIIl: ??

[Party] Gudok: Gudok is shy… (/ω＼)

[Party] lIlllIIl: ???

[Party] Gudok: That was kind of a cool confession just now, wasn’t it? (/ω＼)
[Party] Gudok: If I were Slave-nim, I totally would’ve fallen for Gudok just now!
[Party] Gudok: Kyaaa~
[Party] Gudok: (/ω＼) (/ω＼) (/ω＼) (/ω＼) (/ω＼) (/ω＼)

[Party] lIlllIIl: …?

Is this guy actually insane…?

“His roleplay is insane.”

Even Hyoppang, who usually held back, couldn’t contain himself this time and cursed Gudok with some pretty blunt words.

[Party] Hyoppang: You crazy bastard, please get a grip ㅠ
[Party] Hyoppang: I’m really sorry, everyone

[Party] Eco Cup Discount 300: LOLLLLLLLLLLLL

[Party] Gudok: Hng (›´-`‹ )
[Party] Gudok: No one understands Gudok’s sincerity
[Party] Gudok: You’re all mean!! (>д<)(>д<)

Ignoring Gudok’s cries, Hwanyoung checked his character.

The recent serpent tail attack had drained his vampire’s HP completely. His vampire turned to a pile of ashes and scattered into the air.

“Ah, it died in the end.”

If his gear had been slightly better, he might have barely survived. What a shame.

<System: You have died.>
<System: A hidden monster raid is in progress on the field. You cannot revive until the raid ends.>
<System: Raid participation rewards will be distributed after the raid ends.>

“I just hope I get a lot of EXP from this.”

Hwanyoung casually rested his hands on the keyboard. Since his character was dead, there was no need to type hastily anymore. His explanations of Marbas’s pattern became longer and more detailed.

[Party] lIlllIIl: I’ll keep reading the raid boss’s pattern.
[Party] lIlllIIl: After this ice pillar phase ends, the main body will summon minions.
[Party] lIlllIIl: The summons will only follow one survivor.
[Party] lIlllIIl: If you’re the one targeted, don’t do anything else—just run in big circles on the outer edge.
[Party] lIlllIIl: Everyone else, just keep dodging and attacking like before.
[Party] Hyoppang: Got it! ^^
[Party] Eco Cup Discount 300: Okay okay LOL

The saying “the dead don’t talk” only applies in real life. In Aeer, the dead are the ones who talk the most.

‘Though usually, it’s because they’re busy blaming others…’

But Hwanyoung was a seasoned player. Even though he was the first to die, he didn’t blame others or his gear. He just accepted death coolly.

He encouraged his teammates in chat.

Keep going. Almost there. This is the last pattern. Everyone, just hang in a little longer.

[Party] Gudok: (ꐦ ¯−¯)

Then, suddenly, Gudok came over to the spot where Hwanyoung had died and started planting white roses all over the ground.

[Party] lIlllIIl: ?
[Party] Gudok: Slave-nim
[Party] Gudok: Slave-nim belongs to Gudok alone.
[Party] lIlllIIl: ??
[Party] Gudok: Only cheer for Gudok. (ꐦ ¯−¯)

What the hell…?

Hwanyoung typed furiously, his expression completely dumbfounded.

[Party] lIlllIIl: Master ㅡㅡ
[Party] lIlllIIl: Master, you’re the one who should stop messing around and focus on the raid ㅡㅡ
[Party] lIlllIIl: Every single one of these useless antics adds up to a huge DPS loss ㅡㅡ

[Party] Gudok: Gasp
[Party] Gudok: Slave-nim just looked at me like this ㅡㅡ
[Party] Gudok: …Gudok is sad (›´-`‹ )

Gudok suddenly stopped in place and used the Sad emote. His raccoon character scrunched up its face, sniffled, and rubbed its eyes with its little paws.

No, Master, this is seriously not the time for that. Can’t you see the raid boss going wild right now? That thing is literally charging at you, ready to smack you in the head with its front paw.

[Party] lIlllIIl: Master, behind you
[Party] lIlllIIl: Behind
[Party] lIlllIIl: Behind
[Party] lIlllIIl: Stop crying and look behind you
[Party] lIlllIIl: Behind, behind, behind
[Party] lIlllIIl: Behind

[Party] Gudok: KYAA! Slave-nim just spoke informally to me! (/ω＼)
[Party] Gudok: KYAA KYAA KYAA (/ω＼)

[Party] lIlllIIl: No, LOOK BEHIND YOU
[Party] lIlllIIl: Look behind you, Master
[Party] Gudok: (/ω＼)(/ω＼)(/ω＼)(/ω＼)(/ω＼)(/ω＼)(/ω＼)

[Party] Hyoppang: Ha… I’m sorry…
[Party] Hyoppang: I’ll apologize on his behalf… Please, just hold back from reporting him… ㅠㅠ…

Thankfully, before a major disaster could unfold, Marbas’s ice pillar attack phase ended. The next pattern was the summoning phase, just as Hwanyoung had described.

A piercing scream echoed through the cave.

The already eerie atmosphere became even darker. Strange, red magic circles were scattered all over the cave floor and walls, resembling bloodstains.

[Party] Gudok: Hng

With the horror effects kicking in again, Gudok’s character whimpered and fidgeted restlessly.

[Party] Gudok: Slave-nim said he’d protect me, but now he’s gone from this world…
[Party] Gudok: Gudok is scared… (›´-`‹ )

[Party] lIlllIIl: Master, I’m still here.

[Party] Gudok: Ah!
[Party] Gudok: This must be… a message from beyond the grave?! (;° ロ°)
[Party] Gudok: Slave-nim, I miss you!!!! (>д<)

I’m not a spirit, I’m literally still here….

Right then, Hyoppang cut in, ignoring Gudok’s nonsense.

[Party] Hyoppang: Barcode-nim^^ You don’t have to respond to everything Gudok says.
[Party] Hyoppang: Even in the guild, everyone just pretends they didn’t see him. Don’t stress over it too much.

[Party] Gudok: (/ω＼) Uuu…
[Party] Gudok: Talking about ignoring Gudok in party chat…
[Party] Gudok: Gudok is embarrassed! (/ω＼)

[Party] Hyoppang: If it gets too annoying, you can just mute him like Eco Cup does.
[Party] Hyoppang: There’s a chat block option in the settings^^

[Party] lIlllIIl: Got it, hahaha. I’ll consider it.

[Party] Gudok: Hiiing (›´-`‹ )

The nonsense chatter naturally died down once Marbas began summoning its minions in earnest.

Hwanyoung habitually started counting the summoned creatures. Four, five, six… A total of eight.

‘Guess it only summoned eight since we have four party members.’

Back in his old guild, they had attempted Marbas with even fewer people. They were worried about leaks, so they kept their raid groups small.

As Hwanyoung reminisced, the eight summoned creatures began glowing with a red hue.

The wolf-like beasts sniffed the air and looked around, searching for prey.

“If they target Gudok, we’re gonna have a DPS issue.”

By pattern design, the person targeted by the summons wouldn’t be able to attack Marbas’s main body at all.

If the summons locked onto Gudok, that meant they’d have to take down Marbas with just Hyoppang and Eco Cup Discount’s damage.

But…

‘Hyoppang is an off-tank, and Eco Cup Discount is a debuff warlock.’

Neither of them were pure DPS classes. Even combined, their total damage barely matched Gudok’s alone.

‘The two of them won’t be enough.’

Like most RPGs, Aeer Online had a time limit system. If you didn’t defeat certain monsters within a set time, you failed the fight.

For Marbas, that time limit was roughly 20 minutes. If they didn’t kill it within 20 minutes, Marbas would retreat back into the rift it had crawled out of and escape.

‘And then we’d have to wait a whole month to summon it again.’

Hwanyoung prayed for the first time in ages.

Please… please don’t let the summons target Gudok.

The probability was 1 in 3.

And the gods of probability…

[Party] Gudok: Ah! (✧∇✧)
[Party] Gudok: Gudok has become super popular! (✧∇✧)
[Party] Gudok: The doggy friends are following Gudok!!

“…Oh, come on.”

Hwanyoung’s prayer had been in vain. The summons were rushing straight for Gudok.

This was the last phase. Were they seriously going to fail? How much time was left?

Just as Hwanyoung checked the clock to calculate their remaining raid time—

<I will crush you with my axe!>

A booming voice blasted through the speakers.

Right after, massive axes began dropping onto the heads of the summoned creatures charging at Gudok.

“Oh.”

Hwanyoung immediately recognized the skill.

It was the second ultimate skill of an Axe Knight. Its effect? Temporarily immobilizing all monsters within a certain range.

Whimper. Yelp. The summons, now pinned under the axes, let out distressed cries and struggled to move. Hwanyoung quickly shifted his view toward Hyoppang.

“Wow.”

And sure enough, the towering rabbit beastkin had lifted an axe as large as his own body and was roaring at the top of his lungs.

<UOOOOOOOOOO!!>

“So he swapped weapons in the middle of battle.”

In Hyoppang’s hands was not his usual joke-tier auto-attack axe, but the proper weapon exclusive to Axe Knights.

A weapon that greatly enhanced immobilization skills—known in PVE as the ultimate endgame axe.

[Party] Hyoppang: Bosses that are immune to immobilization
[Party] Hyoppang: Are usually designed to still allow it on their summons
[Party] Hyoppang: So the moment you mentioned summons, I swapped gear^^ㅋㅋ

“Oh, so the summons can be immobilized. Didn’t know that.”

While Hyoppang held the summons in place, Gudok and Eco Cup Discount seized the opportunity to attack Marbas’s main body.

[Party] Eco Cup Discount 300: LOL first place in contribution is mine
[Party] Eco Cup Discount 300: Back off, Gudok ㅗㅗ

[Party] Gudok: (✧∇✧) HEP
[Party] Gudok: Heheheheheh
[Party] Gudok: KYAAAAAA (˶˙ᵕ˙˶)

Gudok flew around the battlefield like an absolute madman. Even his sporadic chat messages were completely unhinged.

“So distracting….”

Watching Gudok and Eco Cup Discount running around reminded Hwanyoung of a dog café.

“…And they’re both beastkin characters too.”

Come to think of it, Hyoppang was also a beastkin.

Wait…

With a sudden hunch, Hwanyoung opened his settings menu. He re-enabled the ‘Show Guild Name’ function, which had been turned off for ages.

Above Hyoppang, Eco Cup Discount, and Gudok’s heads, the same guild name appeared.

(Golden Spoon Ability Users)

“…….”

It’s… Golden Spoon Ability Users, right? Not Beastkin Idiots…?

“…Since they’re all beastkin characters, I can’t completely rule out the latter….”

Hwanyoung was speechless for a moment, then let out a chuckle.

Well, whether they were golden spoon ability users or beastkin idiots—what did it matter to him?

‘…It doesn’t matter, right?’