TWKH Ch 21

Contempt has joined the Party.

[Party] Boss12MoreHours: Damn, you’re pretty.

Habaek has joined the Party.

[Party] SpellChecker: The team leader is crazy.

[Party] Healer: Seems like someone else is leading graphics or something, not Team Leader Ahn Yiyoung, haha.

The response to the guild conquest was explosive. Moving to the oversaturated ancient crossroads, Jehyun quickly clicked the mouse to use the charged cash to buy the Guild Jiwon box.

Since the cloak from the fantasy box seemed to come as a set with the guild conquest, he bought 50 fantasy boxes and 50 elegant boxes for now.

He didn’t buy the regular boxes. Even if the guild name sparkled, it would look like a promoter with an LED name tag at a nightclub.

Using the fantastic Guild Jiwon box of Ankanaks.

3 seconds left until the reuse time of the fantastic Guild Jiwon box of Ankanaks.

3 seconds left until the reuse time of the fantastic Guild Jiwon box of Ankanaks.

2 seconds left until the reuse time of the fantastic Guild Jiwon box of Ankanaks.

Obtained Emergency Potion (10).

1 second left until the reuse time of the fantastic Guild Jiwon box of Ankanaks.

Using the fantastic Guild Jiwon box of Ankanaks.

Obtained Emergency Potion (20).

As expected, box-opening was trash. Seeing the thousand-won cash boxes spit out useless potions, Jehyun clicked his tongue. Not easy.

However, Jehyun was a person familiar with the ruthless box-opening of Caplet. Riding the cheap motorbike, he kept opening boxes as he headed to the canal. However, even when all the Party members gathered, the cloak and recipe did not drop.

“Anyone got the cloak?”

Matgom→ Me.

“Wow. Show it.”

He asked absent-mindedly while organizing his inventory, and Matgom responded immediately. Jehyun spotted Matgom running from afar, eyes sparkling. But there was no cloak on the light-armored Matgom’s back.

Matgom, who had stopped and dismounted from the cheap motorbike, stood still for a moment before speaking in an astonished voice.

Matgom→ No, this can only be equipped in conquest?

“Are they crazy?”

He expected this. They were indeed trash. Releasing the cloak with the condition that it could only be equipped in conquest. This meant that eventually, one had to get a recipe from the elegant box and make the conquest to wear it.

They were wrong from start to finish.

Contempt→ Haha. Knowing this, I only bought the elegant boxes.

“Did you get the recipe?”

Contempt→ No….

“Tell me when you do.”

Contempt→ Hing.

Jehyun burst into laughter at Contempt’s words and pressed Alt+Tab to check the voice talk. Recently, many guild members had been joining the voice talk. Jehyun noticed that three guild members who were not in the Party were still in the voice talk and said:

“We’ll open a separate room. I’ll invite you.”

Sangjae→ Okay. Fighting.

Nitath→ We’ll be there soon! Make sure to get the first clear!

“I’ll share the information in the guild chat.”

With that, Jehyun left the guild chat room and opened a separate voice chat room. He invited the Party members, including Habaek, and confirmed that all the Party members were gathered in front of the canal, then cast buffs.

“Contempt, you’re steering the boat, right?”

Contempt→ Yes. I’ll do it.

“Got it.”

The ancient crossroads was a dungeon in Hyungtae’s canal. It was located deeper than the underground city of the capital where the ancients lived. The heroes headed to the underground canal to uncover the ominous presence felt within the capital and encountered Raptor’s legion commander, Rexa, who had infiltrated the capital.

Rexa, the commander of Raptor’s 4th legion, had infiltrated the capital’s underground on the orders of Majorca decades ago. They aimed to attack the capital castle from underground, where the gods’ shield didn’t reach. However, in the ancient canal they discovered by chance, Rexa met the sealed evil god Sensanar, and their plans went awry.

Rexa, who wanted to conquer the capital, and the ancient god Sensanar, trapped in the underground canal, cooperated to achieve their goals. In the process, Rexa absorbed Sensanar’s power and the subspecies Raptors he brought with him, becoming a powerful demi-god.

However, they underestimated the seal placed by the ancient wizards that had trapped Sensanar in the underground canal. Due to Sensanar’s power within Rexa’s body, he couldn’t leave the underground canal and eventually went mad, consumed by Sensanar’s madness.

Rexa, transformed into the fanatical Rexa-Sensanar, continued to grow stronger by absorbing subspecies Raptors through a gate opened in the underground canal. As anomalies began occurring in the capital due to this, the heroes descended into the underground canal to investigate.

This quest demonstrated that the Raptors, besides invading Caplet, could also team up with the evil gods scattered throughout Caplet, shocking the allied forces. As a result, players speculated that Majorca would ally with an evil god to revive in Majorca’s tomb.

“We’ll go left.”

The ancient crossroads and the underground canal consisted of continuous crossroads. Depending on the choice, the number of mid-bosses encountered before reaching the final boss, Rexa-Sensanar, varied. Usually, players chose the left classic route. This way, they only faced one mid-boss before heading straight to Rexa-Sensanar.

Taking the non-classic route required passing at least 4 to 8 bosses. Although it took longer to clear compared to the classic one-mid-boss Kaien, the simpler patterns made it less likely to wipe out, offering a significant advantage. Kaien’s pattern had a high risk of wiping out with even a single mistake.

However, experienced players who could clear it without mistakes usually finished within 5 minutes, preferring a direct fight with Kaien over taking the detour.

“Let’s go.”

As the Party members boarded the boat, Jehyun signaled. Contempt untied the rope and set the boat in motion, and soon they entered the old canal.

The boat, hastily made for navigating the underground canal, unfortunately, didn’t have a well-functioning steering device. Therefore, they had to steer manually.

Squeak

Entering the dark canal, small Merge Golems attached to the walls recognized the players and jumped onto the boat. Dozens of Mini Merge Golems swarmed the deck. As the golems filled the boat, Contempt dealt with a few of the Merge Golems beside him.

Seeing their comrades die, the golems on the left rushed towards Contempt. Contempt quickly dodged to the left, slowly circling the left side of the deck. With the weight shifting left, the boat tilted to the left and turned left at the first crossroad.

After successfully entering, Contempt led the golems to the right this time. With the boat tilting right, he killed all remaining golems to clear the deck, and the boat continued straight. Eventually, a large cavity appeared, and the water flow slowed down.

“Let’s disembark.”

In the center of the cave was a coliseum-like plaza, surrounded by nearly collapsed walls. The canal’s water flowed around the plaza, and as the players disembarked, the boat, now ownerless, began circling around the plaza.

In the moss-covered center of the plaza was a pedestal holding a scripture. It showed the struggle of a fanatic who worshiped Sensanar, trying to break the seal that had trapped the evil god Sensanar.

The fanatic ultimately failed to break Sensanar’s seal and died, but the pedestal was imbued with the corrupted soul of the fanatic.

There are always characters in horror movies who summon ghosts by doing things they shouldn’t. In the ancient crossroads, that role fell to Party leader Jehyun. When the Healer manipulated the scripture, a message appeared in the center of the screen.

[The scripture contains a story about Sensanar. ‘When a black door opens in the sky and demons emerge from the eggs, the world will meet its end.’ What does it mean?]

As soon as the message disappeared, a video started.

「When a black door opens in the sky… and demons emerge from the eggs, the world will meet its end…. Evil god Sensanar!」

A voice worshipping Sensanar was heard, and cracks appeared on the scripture and pedestal, from which a faint light burst forth. The light circled the plaza and then soared into the sky, swelling greatly. The light, which had spread out like cotton candy, suddenly gathered in one place and formed a small statue.

In the dazzling light, a child who looked about 10 years old slowly opened their eyes. The child’s eyes, wearing an old-fashioned robe, were a ghostly blue, and their body glowed faintly as if enhanced by Photoshop. Soon, with a flutter, several large wings sprouted from the child’s back, accompanied by a chilling scream.

Awakened fanatic Kaien, return Sensanar!!

The first boss of the ancient crossroads, fanatic Kaien, was the only devotee who worshipped Sensanar even before Sensanar gained great power.

Sensanar favored Kaien and shared some of his power with him, allowing Kaien to stop aging and live a long life.

Kaien, who received Sensanar’s grace at the age of 10, still had the mental age of a child. As Kaien screamed and reached out, the water from the canal surrounding the plaza began to fly towards the players in the center of the plaza.

As the video neared its end, Jehyun repeatedly dodged. The sound of mouse clicks continued, and as soon as the screen returned to the player’s perspective, the Healer cast a retreat spell.

A pillar of water shot up where the character had been standing. It was a nonsensical pattern that had frustrated players many times when the saturation dungeon first appeared.

“Let’s see what’s different.”

Jehyun moved the character to avoid the rising water pillars and examined the map. He was looking for changes in the saturation.

Kaien was a more challenging boss than the final boss, Rexa-Sensanar. As players progressed, they had to endure bombardments from Kaien’s wings. Upon closer inspection, Kaien had two more wings compared to the saturation dungeon.

“…Six bombardments?”

A voice tinged with laughter echoed.

In the saturation dungeon, Kaien’s bombardment was triggered every time his health dropped by 20%, making the pattern very hectic and complex. What used to be manageable at 4 times was now increased to a harder difficulty of 6 times, meaning the strategy time would increase significantly.

“We need to shoot the harpoon really well.”

Boss→ Right….

The Party members agreed with Jehyun’s words, and the strategy commenced immediately.

Matgom, who attracted Kaien’s aggro, led the floating Kaien about 1 meter above the ground to the outer edge of the canal.

Using borrowed curse.

Using the blessing of raindrops.

Feeling the effect of the holy raindrops.

Jehyun applied a defense reduction debuff to Kaien, gave dot heals to the Party members, and kept a certain distance from them. Since Kaien had been asleep in the canal for a long time, he could manipulate water. If more than two Party members were close, water pillars would rise from the ground, dealing massive damage.

Therefore, when going to the ancient crossroads, the strategy was usually to take one melee dealer and two ranged dealers. In Jehyun’s Party, both Contempt and Habaek were melee dealers, so Jehyun needed to continuously heal them.

Contempt has died.

[Party] Contempt: No.. this is just an instant death ㅜㅅㅠ

But that was the story in the saturation dungeon. In the priest Party, it was better for more than two dealers to stick to Kaien for melee attacks, but here Contempt died as soon as the water pillar rose from the ground.

In that brief moment, Habaek managed to dodge, which was a bit unlucky. Jehyun clicked his tongue and asked.

“How much damage did you take?”

Contempt→ 400,000….

Matgom→ Crazy?

“Hah.”

400,000 damage made melee attacks impossible. It meant dealing damage while avoiding water pillars, which would definitely cause damage loss. They weren’t just a trial Party; they had set out to get the first clear. To clear faster than Jicheonwang, they had to minimize damage loss even during trials.

“What about creating more distance? To both sides.”

Since Matgom was in front of Kaien, if Contempt and Habaek positioned themselves on both sides behind Kaien, they could deal damage without the water pillars. However, the problem was that Habaek couldn’t benefit from the back attack option on his dagger.

[Party] Habaek: That causes more damage loss.

Habaek also pointed out that issue. The additional back attack damage option was also on Contempt’s chain, but the applicable range differed by weapon.

The back of a chain swordsman was 160 degrees, while the back of a time stealer was 40 degrees, almost directly behind. It was a small risk given to high-damage time stealers.

Moreover, time stealers usually had 2 back options on their weapons. Not applying these options would result in over a 20% loss in pure damage, which was significant.

Awakened fanatic Kaien: Eek! All humans are bad!

What to do. As they were contemplating, Kaien screamed and flew into the sky. Jehyun and the Party members maintained their distance, then dodged when water started filling the ground and steam began rising.

“Gather around.”

Those who had kept their distance to avoid the water pillars moved using dodges and gathered around Matgom. As soon as the Party members grouped together, boiling water surged everywhere except where Matgom stood.

A buff called “Kaien’s Trace” was applied to Matgom’s buff window. This buff was given to the person who had drawn Kaien’s aggro the most since the dungeon started, making the water controlled by Kaien recognize them as the owner and not attack them.

Newbies unfamiliar with checking buffs and trial Parties where aggro targets frequently changed often experienced wipeouts during this boiling water pattern. Since it was displayed as a buff rather than a debuff, failing to distinguish the trace among numerous buffs meant it was over the moment they moved. The spot where the user with the trace stood would become a safe zone once the pattern started.

Contempt→ Hmm, this is easy?

“Ah….”

Matgom→ Ah, Contempt flag.

They thought they had passed the pattern easily, but the only additional thing in the saturation was not just two wings.

Feeling the effect of cooling.

You have died.

SpellChecker has died.

Habaek has died.

Boss12MoreHours has died.

Contempt has died.

Awakened fanatic Kaien: I’ll protect you, Senshi….

“Are you serious?”

Contempt→ Hing….

As soon as the boiling water pattern ended, the place where they gathered instantly froze, and everyone wiped out.

Cooling? Jehyun checked the debuff that briefly appeared on the screen and raised the system window.

“Why did we get cooled?”

Boss→ Is the temperature difference too big? Do we need to leave immediately after the boiling water pattern? But we’d get a debuff, right?

Leaving the spot immediately after the boiling water pattern resulted in a dot damage debuff due to the remaining heat. It wasn’t lethal but still had significant damage.

Usually, players stayed in the safe zone until Kaien descended to the ground, but the pattern seemed twisted in the saturation.

Jehyun tilted his head thoughtfully and pressed the revive button.

“Let’s reset quickly.”

The screen darkened and then brightened, reviving the characters on the boat circling the plaza. Jehyun healed the Party members who appeared one by one, buffed them, and checked the system window again.

Until they died from cooling, there was nothing strange. No new debuffs or buffs were applied, and there was nothing suspicious. Jehyun squinted at the screen and gave the signal to Matgom.

“Let’s go again.”

Matgom→ Sure. Count us in.

3

2

1

Go!

Using retreat.

Watching Matgom run, Jehyun jumped into the plaza, and water streams rose immediately. Jehyun dodged, then distanced himself, observing the Party members running towards Kaien. He noticed Contempt and Habaek positioning themselves behind Kaien for back attacks and smirked. There was still an unsolved issue.

They needed to minimize damage loss while avoiding the water pillars. After some thought, he spoke.

“Habaek, you focus on the direct back attack, and Contempt, move to the side. It should reduce damage loss more than both staying behind.”

Boss→ Harsh.

Contempt→ Isn’t that too much….

Since Habaek’s back attack damage was significantly high, it was better for Contempt to take some damage loss alone. Contempt muttered sullenly at Jehyun’s cold judgment.

But this wasn’t a mere guess; it could be confirmed with the damage meter. Seeing Contempt sluggishly move to Kaien’s side, Jehyun chuckled.

“Do your best.”

Contempt→ Ugh. Fighting….

With a dispirited voice, the dealing continued.

As Kaien flapped his wings, the droplets attached to them sharply flew towards the surroundings. When Jehyun cast a shield, it broke immediately, dealing over 50,000 damage.

This would hurt if hit continuously. Jehyun clicked his tongue, used a silver medicine to heal the Party members, and quickly retreated.

Boss→ Huh?

At some point, Boss made a puzzled sound and stopped dealing.

“Why? Is something wrong?”

Boss→ No, maybe I got confused.

“If it’s nothing, uh? Forbidden.”

Boss→ Hah! No, it seemed like the buff moved to the next line. Was there a fixed position just now? I got confused.

The buff moved to the next line? Jehyun scanned Boss’s buff window.

As a dark sorcerer, Boss’s buffs frequently fluctuated due to self-buffs. While Jehyun was looking, a short self-buff came and went, changing the lines from two to one.

Was it confusion? Or did something else appear? Though it was a bit suspicious, nothing changed upon continuous checking. As the boiling water pattern was about to start, Jehyun checked Matgom’s buff window and confirmed the trace remained.

Awakened fanatic Kaien: Eek! All humans are bad!

Kaien flew into the sky, screamed, and boiling water surged up from the ground. When the steam started rising, Jehyun used dodge and spoke.

“I’ll try moving out of the safe zone as soon as the pattern ends.”

Matgom→ Got it.

Using the footsteps of the gods.

Feeling the effect of remaining heat.

Received 40,000 damage from remaining heat.

Using self-healing.

As soon as the water streams, which had surged up, subsided after the boiling water pattern ended, Jehyun used a movement skill to leave the safe zone. He could see his health continuously depleting from the remaining heat. 40,000, an amount not to be ignored. Jehyun quickly applied self-heal, raised his shield, and watched the screen.

Party members were dying from the heat dot damage. In the meantime, something else had changed.

Using prayer.

Habaek has died.

Contempt has died.

[Party] Contempt: Oh no

SpellChecker has died.

Only Jehyun, who could self-heal, survived while two dealers and the tank died. But there was another survivor. It was Boss12MoreHours.

Boss→ What is this?

A bewildered voice. Boss had become a giant ice pillar. The cooling debuff that killed the Party members earlier was on her, but her health was untouched.

Awakened fanatic Kaien: I’ll tear everything apart!

Instead of returning to his position, Kaien screamed this as he flew into the sky. Jehyun quickly turned the screen to look for Kaien, but he wasn’t floating in the center of the plaza as he should have been after the boiling water pattern.

“Where is he?”

Contempt→ Behind you.

“What?”

Behind me? Jehyun frowned and turned the screen. Countless water blades flew towards Jehyun, covering his view.

Received 25,000 damage from Kaien’s malice.

Received 25,000 damage from Kaien’s malice.

⁝

Dozens of damage logs appeared in an instant, and the character died. Jehyun, having quickly understood the pattern, smirked as he watched Boss’s health bar slowly deplete compared to his own.

It seemed that the boiling water pattern led to the ice pillar pattern. Boss’s earlier comment about the buff increasing hinted at this. Once the characters resurrected on the boat, Jehyun healed them and circulated buffs, explaining:

“Did you separate the system window? Make sure to check if a buff appears briefly and disappears. Noona mentioned something unusual earlier, which might hint who will become the ice pillar.”

Then, Habaek, who had been silent since joining the Party, summarized the pattern.

[Party] Habaek: The person who gets the buff turns into an ice pillar and needs to freeze alone, then hides behind it to avoid Kaien’s blades?

[Party] Habaek: So right after the boiling water ends, only the person who will become the pillar needs to leave?

[Party] SpellChecker: Oh.

“Yeah, probably. Let’s try again. I’ll count down now.”

Jehyun started the countdown and immediately proceeded inside. The Kaien strategy resumed, and before entering the boiling water pattern, Jehyun saw a brief buff appear and disappear on Contempt for a second.

“Melra, what’s the name of your buff?”

Contempt→ Uh… it’s called Ice Penetration? Didn’t read the description.

No need to read the description. In a few seconds, it would say something about releasing cold air. Jehyun nodded, watched Contempt leave the safe zone after the boiling water pattern, and verified the trace remained on Matgom’s buff window.

As the Party stayed in the safe zone, they didn’t take damage from the heat debuff. However, they had to follow Kaien’s movements and go outside.

“Watch your positions. You need to move to the opposite side.”

Jehyun confirmed Kaien flying to their rear again. Always going behind? With slight certainty, he raised a shield and dashed towards Contempt’s ice pillar.

Awakened fanatic Kaien: I’ll tear everything apart!

As expected, Kaien’s blades hit the ice pillar, shielding the remaining Party members. Due to the heat, Jehyun constantly needed to heal.

Using the zone of grace.

Using prayer.

Using a benevolent touch.

Using self-healing.

The heat reduced each Party member’s health by a quarter. Contempt, the only medium-armored character, lost a fifth, making it hard to cover even with self-heal. Jehyun barely endured the ice pillar pattern using invincibility.

Awakened fanatic Kaien: Tch…!

Passing the pattern safely, Kaien clicked his tongue and flapped his wings. Yet, folding them back and rapidly charging was ominous.

Sensing something, Contempt dodged. Though the tiny character rolled back, the timing was off. Kaien grabbed Contempt by the neck and flew into the air.

Awakened fanatic Kaien: Taste the dirty water!

Then Kaien threw Contempt into the canal.

“Oh, couldn’t dodge this.”

Boss→ As expected, our hole.

Matgom→ So obvious, now?

Contempt→ It wasn’t obvious…?

As Contempt fell into the water, everyone teased him as if prearranged. Jehyun laughed at Contempt’s grumbling voice. Contempt’s swim back to the plaza caused damage loss.

“Must avoid this. Damage drops significantly.”

Contempt→ Can’t do it without me, right?

“Not that much.”

Contempt→ Never gets acknowledged?

Once Contempt returned, the damage per second bar went back up. Confirming everything was back in place, Jehyun continued applying the defense reduction debuff while avoiding Kaien’s basic patterns.

Except for a water pillar rising once due to accidentally hitting Boss, there weren’t major issues.

“Bombardment should come before 80%, right?”

Boss→ Maybe 85?

In the saturation, bombardment started at 80% and occurred every 20%. However, with 6 wings in the oversaturation, the bombardment pattern would likely appear sooner.

As they anticipated, when Kaien’s health rapidly dropped to 85%, he vigorously flapped his wings, creating a shockwave that pushed the players to the outskirts while he ascended into the air.

“Bombardment incoming.”

Awakened fanatic Kaien: Why? Why are you so desperate to torment me and Senshi?!

Awakened fanatic Kaien: I will torment you all too!

Kaien wrapped his wings around his body, causing a wave of energy to shake the entire underground plaza. Soon, faintly glowing light spheres formed around Kaien, transforming into hundreds of large, sharp blades.

Meanwhile, at the outskirts of the plaza, structures resembling collapsed dirt pillars revealed hidden mobile ballistae as they crumbled. Ancient wizards had prepared these ballistae in case the evil god Sensanar broke free from his seal.

“Get on the ballistae.”

At Jehyun’s command, the scattered Party members boarded the ballistae at the outskirts. Jehyun, staying behind, cast buffs on the Party members and watched Kaien floating in the air. Jehyun had to brief the bombardment sequence.

Kaien’s bombardment lasted for a minute, dividing the floor into six sections like a pizza, with bombardment zones highlighted. The positions changed rapidly, requiring Party members to listen to the healer’s briefing near the center while dodging the bombardment.

The key was to shoot the ballistae and pull Kaien down within a minute. If they failed, Kaien would gather energy and unleash a one-hit kill by spreading all his wings.

During the minute, Party members had to dodge bombardment while shooting the ballistae, avoiding overlapping paths that would trigger water pillars causing damage. In the saturation dungeon, water pillar damage was low, making it easier for the healer to brief and heal, but in the oversaturation dungeon, even brushing against a water pillar meant instant death.

“Listen to the briefing carefully and avoid the water pillars as much as possible.”

Boss→ Okay.

Awakened fanatic Kaien: Senshi…. Senshi…. It’s so lonely here….

Kaien’s monologue echoed as a circular symbol appeared in the center of the floor. Jehyun confirmed the first position lit up in the north and quickly moved his character while briefing.

“Position 1.”

The word appeared, followed by bombardment at position 1. The loud sound effect made Jehyun frown as he watched Party members shoot the ballistae at Kaien.

The ballista bolts, ending in chains, embedded into Kaien’s wings. They needed to shoot 100 bolts to pull Kaien down, but if the ballista operator died, the bolts from that ballista became useless. Can they survive? Jehyun watched the symbol with a concerned expression.

“Positions 3, 5.”

Bombardment soon hit positions 3 and 5.

Next, it was three places.

“Positions 1, 2, 5.”

With six positions, three bombardments left three safe zones. Jehyun saw Matgom die to a water pillar that erupted from the spot Habaek and Boss had passed. With his hand on the revive button, he ran.

“Safe zones 3, 6.”

From the fourth onward, he called out the safe zones instead of bombardment spots. Running to revive at position 5, Jehyun quickly used the footsteps of the gods to escape. He collided with Contempt at position 6, dodged a water pillar, moved down, and dove to the opposite side as bombardment struck position 5 again.

“Safe zones 2…. 4.”

Compared to saturation, the bombardment radius changed too rapidly. Moving his character to dodge, briefing, calculating revive angles, and keeping track of Party members’ positions to avoid water pillars—Jehyun was overwhelmed. He briefed with a serious expression, mashing WASD.

[Party] SpellChecker: Too fast, haha.

Contempt has died.

[Party] Contempt: How do you dodge this on a ballista?

Contempt at position 6 couldn’t reach position 2 and died. Realizing a retry was inevitable, Jehyun stopped in place.

“Position 6.”

He observed Habaek and Boss, impressed by their reaction speed. They seemed to move faster than his briefing while keeping their view on Kaien in the air.

There was no pattern to the bombardment location changes. It was random, with safe zones sometimes appearing consecutively in the same spot or constantly switching to the opposite side. The briefing healer usually survived using movement skills, while ballista operators relied on booster skills for bursts of speed.

Awakened fanatic Kaien: I’ll soon come to save you, Sensanar….

“…….”

Eventually, the 1-minute time attack ended. The screen momentarily froze before switching to the annihilation video, indicating they hadn’t shot enough ballista bolts.

Kaien, floating in the air, spread his six wings. Radiating a faint light, Kaien gazed at the fleeing heroes with his cold blue eyes. Then he reached out and clenched his fingers as if to grasp them.

With a thud, the fleeing heroes were crushed by an invisible force and fell dead on the spot. When Kaien opened his clenched hand, pure magic flowed from the heroes’ bodies into his grip.

Awakened fanatic Kaien: Senshi, Senshi…. I think I can finally meet you….

Muttering so, Kaien turned his head to the wall where Rexa-Sensanar was sealed in the underground chamber. A sealing formation drawn by ancient wizards was installed on the high-reaching wall.

Glaring at the sealing formation, Kaien rose high into the sky, creating hundreds of bombardment projectiles. The video ended with a scene of the projectiles crashing into the wall, releasing a black aura from within.

Boss→ This is true love, a masterpiece of Caplet lore….

“What?”

Boss→ Hah, you guys won’t understand this feeling….

Pressing the revive button with a blank expression, Jehyun heard Boss mutter in an emotional voice. Sometimes Boss made overly immersive fan comments, often incomprehensible to Jehyun.

What’s he talking about? Jehyun frowned while healing the revived Party members.

It took 4 hours to clear the first boss.

The bombardment, that dreadful bombardment, wasn’t the issue. Humans like Jehyun were masters at shooting ballistae and quickly got used to avoiding the rapidly changing bombardments.

The problem was the ice pillar pattern. They had relaxed, thinking it only affected dealers, but suddenly the healer, Jehyun, got hit with the Ice Penetration debuff.

“What is this? Seriously? If I get hit, how am I supposed to withstand the heat?”

When he became an ice pillar, leaving the safe zone to avoid the blades caused continuous damage from the heat debuff. As a priest, Jehyun had previously managed the pillar pattern by constantly healing, but becoming an ice pillar meant he was immobilized.

Naturally, the Party members hiding behind the ice pillar got whittled down by the heat and died. A bug? Must be a bug, right? They tried again, but after several more attempts, Jehyun got the Ice Penetration debuff again. Ice Penetration was a completely random debuff.

Boss→ How about setting the pillar in the center and sticking as close as possible?

Matgom→ How about moving as far out as possible?

Many solutions were suggested, but none worked. Setting the pillar in the center meant everyone froze to death, and setting it on the outskirts caused issues with the heat debuff. It took over an hour to solve the puzzling pattern, and it was Habaek who figured it out.

[Party] Habaek: It seems like the location where Kaien launches his blades isn’t random?

Not random? Jehyun raised an eyebrow and stayed silent, signaling Habaek to explain further.

[Party] Habaek: In previous attempts, it always appeared on the right side of the minimap from the north.

[Party] Habaek: This time, it’s always appearing on the left.

[Party] Habaek: But it was daytime earlier, and now it’s evening.

[Party] Habaek: Okay?

“…What are you talking about? It’s still daytime.”

Jehyun, confused, checked the time displayed on the upper right of the minimap.

“In Caplet time?”

Contempt→ Ah…. They’re being sneaky again.

The current in-game time was 21:40. Reflecting on Habaek’s words, Jehyun recalled that when they had wiped earlier, Kaien had launched his blades from around the 9 o’clock position, with the north being at 12 o’clock.

Jehyun nodded, remembering that Kaien had consistently appeared behind the Party, on the right side of the map, early in the attempts.

“That sounds right. He kept appearing on the right at first, and it must have been daytime then too.”

But then he found it absurd.

“No way, living in a sewer, he’s tracking time? Hasn’t seen sunlight in 3000 years. Isn’t this breaking the lore? This is ridiculous.”

Boss→ Did you just insult our Kaien?

“No, Noona. It doesn’t make sense. A ten-year-old tracking time? Does he think he’s a clock hand?”

Boss→ Ha. How dare you insult that cute kid. You’re not even human.

“…Why are you acting like this?”

Boss was deeply immersed in Kaien’s cutscene. Well, it was understandable. Compared to the grotesque bosses from the Sanctuary of Spirits and the hideous Raptors from K-Hill’s lab, Kaien had an appearance worthy of the title of Caplet’s top beauty. Though he was a boy.

Contempt→ Don’t try to understand an otaku’s heart, Hyung….

Boss→ What are you saying, you’re the biggest nerds here.

“Alright, let’s go again. We’ll clear it this time.”

Thanks to Habaek, they learned how to deal with the ice pillar pattern. The person with the Ice Penetration buff needed to set the pillar like a shield in the direction Kaien would appear, rather than randomly. This way, Party members could safely avoid the blades without leaving the safe zone.

After figuring out the ice pillar pattern, things became easier. The bombardment pattern was still tough, but they got used to it, and by the 20th try, they could flawlessly defeat Kaien without anyone dying.

Awakened fanatic Kaien: This can’t be…!

Awakened fanatic Kaien: No, that’s mine. Senshi gave it to me! No…!

Kaien’s sixth wing was torn off, and he fell to the ground, sobbing and begging for mercy. But the heroes of Caplet were a ruthless bunch who knew no mercy.

Boss→ Ah, so pitiful. Really.

Even Boss, who said that, was diligently beating the exhausted Kaien. The last 10% of his health quickly dwindled, and when Kaien finally fell, a cutscene began.

Jehyun quickly pressed ESC to skip it but became curious after hearing Boss’s fake sobs and decided to watch the video. He had never watched it to the end before.

The power granted by Sensanar drained from Kaien’s fallen body, reverting him to a powerless child. In reality, this would have been considered child abuse, but in Caplet, where the rules of justice and survival of the fittest prevailed, Kaien was merely a villain who attacked the world’s great heroes.

The heroes turned away from the dying Kaien, who rapidly lost his life force. As they sailed away, Kaien lay in the middle of the plaza, endlessly shedding tears. His beautiful blonde hair became soaked.

Kaien: Senshi, Senshi….

Calling out Sensanar’s nickname, Kaien closed his eyes, and memories of Kaien and Sensanar’s past emerged.

Kaien, who grew up as an orphan, was mistreated by the villagers from a young age. He was beaten for stealing food out of hunger and became a victim of senseless violence. Kaien found salvation when he met the newly born evil god Sensanar. Sensanar shared his power with Kaien, who then used it to take revenge on those who tormented him.

Kaien’s memories ended on the day Sensanar gave him the name “Kaien.” The memory of Kaien smiling at a faceless man blurred, and the video returned to the present.

The perspective continued to move beyond the thick wall with the magic circle.

Finally, in a dark chamber illuminated by a single beam of light, a blue flame appeared. Sensanar, who opened his eyes, turned towards where Kaien had been and called his name.

Rexa-Sensanar: Ka…ien…?

“Oh, Noona. He’s handsome.”

Jehyun exclaimed, seeing the face revealed through the disheveled silver hair.

“Oh, damn.”

But the admiration faded in a second. Half of Sensanar’s face was that of the Raptor, Rexa. Right, that’s what he looked like. Jehyun didn’t care much about the bosses’ appearances, but he hadn’t forgotten the face he encountered during rank farming. Clicking his tongue, Jehyun said,

“Does Ahn Yiyoung have a reptile fetish or something?”

Boss→ Sounds plausible. A hundred percent.

After the video ended, they engaged in trivial conversation and boarded the boat again. Another video started.

The map where they defeated Kaien had changed. A hole had formed in the wall where Rexa-Sensanar was. It had been destroyed by the bombardment.

Water from the canal was being sucked into the hole, and eventually, the wall collapsed under the pressure.

The magic circle on the wall remained in the air, but heroes without Sensanar’s power could freely pass through it. It was a path Kaien could never break through.

The boat was sucked into the darkness. As the screen darkened, a loading screen appeared, and they arrived at the chamber where the final boss, Rexa-Sensanar, awaited.

“Shall we take a 5-minute break?”

Matgom→ Yes, yes.

Boss→ I’m getting coffee.

Contempt→ I’ll go hang the laundry.

“Okay, I’ll step away for a bit too.”

After sitting for over four hours, Jehyun’s body felt stiff. He stretched his arms upwards, loosening his stiff body, and yawned. After drinking a glass of water in the kitchen and visiting the bathroom, he returned to find everyone had stepped away.

Jehyun was about to check the character selection screen when he noticed Habaek’s voice chat ID with an X mark next to it and smiled.

“Habaek, are you there?”

[Party] Habaek: Why

A grumpy response came back. Why? Not “Yes?” but “Why?” That’s why I can’t be fond of you. Jehyun clicked his tongue, thinking of someone who would politely answer “Yes?” when called. Then he asked,

“Didn’t you change your headset?”

[Party] Habaek: ?Changed it ages ago;

[Party] Healer: ?

“Then why aren’t you using the mic?”

Everyone was talking on voice chat, but Habaek remained silent, which made Jehyun worry. It wasn’t that Jehyun had any particular feelings for Habaek, but having one person feel excluded from the Party was bothersome. Jehyun, annoyed, questioned Habaek, who responded with a question mark.

[Party] Habaek: ?

[Party] Habaek: Did some rule come out saying we must use voice chat now?

[Party] Healer: Haha?

“You’re making it awkward by not using the mic.”

Of course, he left out “for me.” Habaek laughed and replied.

[Party] Habaek: If it’s awkward for you, then I’ll definitely not use it even more.

[Party] Healer: What’s wrong with your personality^^?

[Party] Habaek: My choice.

[Party] Healer: Such childish language;

Jehyun laughed at the absurdity of the chat but then narrowed his eyes and fell silent. This guy, maybe…

[Party] Healer: Are you worried I’ll recognize your voice and figure out who you are?

He asked, chuckling at the thought.

With thousands of students at Korea University, it was unlikely Jehyun would recognize Habaek just from hearing his voice on a voice call, not even a phone call.

This guy…so self-conscious.

Does he think he has the one and only sweetest, most distinctive voice in the world? Jehyun clicked his tongue and said,

“Your voice will sound different through a mic anyway, so I won’t recognize you. My mic voice and real voice are completely different.”

Will Habaek use the mic now?

[Party] Contempt: ㅇㅅㅇ? Hyung, your mic voice sounds exactly like your real voice though?

But Contempt spoiled Jehyun’s plan.