TWKH Ch 30

Who owns the anchovy?

I definitely gave you a chance, right? I said I’d turn a blind eye if you adjusted the enhancement stone prices. But you didn’t lower them in the end?

You say you can’t lower them because you’re not the owner, but who would believe that?

This happened while selling the full dark set.

Judge for yourselves^^

The dark set was a new look item released a few weeks ago. It consisted of five pieces: hat, clothes, cape, shoes, and gloves, each with a 0.03% drop rate from five boxes. Equipping all five pieces added an effect where black smoke emanated from the entire body.

The drop rate was so abysmal that Jehyun wasn’t interested, but it was hugely popular among some users. Since it was so rare, even a single piece sold for a high price. Boss had also bought it for a hefty sum.

[World] Egris: Selling full dark set. No piece trades, full set only. Whisper.

[Whisper] BabyDaddy: How much are you selling for??

[Whisper] ChokingYouToSleep: 200 million.

[Whisper] To ChokingYouToSleep: Sorry.

[Whisper] Yeomra: How much?

[Whisper] CapletMaxContent: Buying for 100 million.

[World] Egris: Selling full dark set. Box price alone is 100 million. No whispers below 200 million. First offer preferred.

[Whisper] Boss12MoreHours: 300 million, deal?

[Whisper] Yeomra: 250 million.

[Whisper] BabyDaddy: How about 220 million?

[Whisper] ChokingYouToSleep: 250 million, quick deal.

[Whisper] RichCoco: Can you do 250 million?

[Whisper] To Boss12MoreHours: Where are you?

[Whisper] Boss12MoreHours: I’m ranking right now, can you wait a bit?

[Whisper] To Boss12MoreHours: Where are you ranking? I’ll wait at the stone. If a higher offer comes, I might sell.

[Whisper] Yeomra: 260 million.

[Whisper] Boss12MoreHours: I’m at Ponyu. Let me know if a higher offer comes, I’ll add 10 million more.

[Whisper] To Boss12MoreHours: Okay, I’m at Ponyu entrance.

[Whisper] Yeomra: 270 million.

[Whisper] Yeomra: Answer.

[Whisper] Yeomra: Did you die selling the full set?

[Guild] Egris: Ah, Yeomra’s being rude because I didn’t answer his whisper.

[Guild] Buralis: How dare you ignore Caplet’s top dog…;

[Guild] Juaziris: Reply quickly before a war starts, LOL.

[Guild] Egris: This sucks.

[Whisper] To Yeomra: Sorry, someone offered 300 million.

[Whisper] Yeomra: Okay, I’ll buy for 310 million.

[Whisper] To Yeomra: Someone said they’d add 10 million more if the offer goes over 300 million.

[Whisper] Yeomra: Ask how much they’ll go up to.

[Whisper] Yeomra: I’ll add 10 million more than that.

[Whisper] To Boss12MoreHours: What’s your max offer? Someone said they’d add 10 million more to your last offer.

[Whisper] Boss12MoreHours: LOL, who? LOL.

[Whisper] Boss12MoreHours: Are you lying to get more money?

[Whisper] To Boss12MoreHours: No, it’s true. If you buy, I’ll send a screenshot.

[Whisper] Boss12MoreHours: Hmm, then I’ll offer up to 350 million.

[Whisper] To Boss12MoreHours: Okay, I’ll ask.

[Whisper] To Yeomra: They said 350 million.

[Whisper] Yeomra: 360 million.

[Whisper] To Yeomra: Okay, come to Ponyu entrance.

[Whisper] To Boss12MoreHours: They said 360 million. Sorry.

[Whisper] Boss12MoreHours: No way.

[Whisper] Yeomra: Wait, I’ll get the money.

[Whisper] Boss12MoreHours: Egris, I’ll buy for 370 million. I need it today. I’m finishing ranking, 3 minutes left.

[Whisper] Yeomra: Sorry, they said 370 million. Can you do 380 million?

The user does not exist.

It seemed to be the story of the day Boss bought the full dark set. Whether the other character went to get money or not, the last whisper sent after Egris offered 380 million didn’t reach Yeomra, and the screenshot moved to the next.

[Whisper] Boss12MoreHours: You didn’t sell it, right? Please.

[Whisper] Boss12MoreHours: I even dreamed about this.

[Whisper] Boss12MoreHours: I’ll offer 400 million. Quick deal as soon as I log out.

[Whisper] To Boss12MoreHours: Wait, they went to get money. I’ll ask again.

The user does not exist.

The user does not exist.

MyeolsePilsal requests a trade.

The trade has been canceled.

Egris: ?

MyeolsePilsal requests a trade.

The trade has been canceled.

Egris: ?? Who is this?

MyeolsePilsal: I’ll buy it for 380 million.

[Guild] Egris: Hey…

[Guild] Egris: Isn’t MyeolsePilsal the guy who bought up all the enhancement stones??

[Guild] Buralis: Yep, that’s him.

[Guild] Buralis: The reselling scumbag.

MyeolsePilsal requests a trade.

Egris: Are you Yeomra? LOL.

Egris: Seriously, are you MyeolchiPilsu? LOL?

“Sigh.”

Jehyun laughed incredulously. Yeomra had tried to switch characters to transfer money, but upon hearing that Boss was offering 370 million, he quickly initiated a trade with MyeolsePilsal. In the short time it took to switch characters and log out, Egris must have feared selling the dark set to someone else.

Caplet users never forget grudges, but blinded by the look item, Yeomra must have thought it would be okay. He probably assumed no one would recognize MyeolsePilsal, who had bought up enhancement stones months ago. It was a foolish assumption.

The subsequent conversation revealed Egris’s magnanimous nature. He offered to keep the incident secret if Yeomra restored the enhancement stone prices. However, Yeomra, feeling guilty, lashed out, accusing Egris of making baseless claims.

Despite this, Egris gave Yeomra time to reconsider for the sake of stabilizing the Caplet market. When Yeomra refused to comply, Egris finally posted the story on the Caplet board.

“Wow, this guy is blinded by money.”

Reading the last paragraph, Jehyun laughed incredulously.

After clearing Mallorca over-saturation for over 8 hours, resting for just an hour, and then conducting interviews and raids for another 6 hours, he was exhausted. But this revelation snapped him awake.

Realizing that Yeomra, whom he thought was better than Kangrim, was actually worse, he now understood why Yeomra had defended Kangrimdoryeong. To the economic criminal Yeomra, Kangrimdoryeong was just a pitiful necromancer who could curse a bit.

“What’s up?”

Jehyun was laughing when Baekyung’s voice suddenly came from nearby. Startled, he turned to see Baekyung, with a towel on his head, sitting on the bed. Jehyun, too excited to notice the pleasant new scent from Baekyung, exclaimed,

“Baekyung, MyeolchiPilsu is Yeomra.”

“What?”

“You know MyeolchiPilsu, the guy who bought up enhancement stones after the over-saturation announcement before the server merge.”

That was a long time ago. Regular enhancement stones were no longer relevant to Baekyung, but Jehyun’s excitement made him react. Baekyung widened his eyes in surprise and asked,

“That’s Yeomra?”

“Yeah, look at this.”

Jehyun handed over his phone. Ha Baekyung leaned against the bed, holding Jehyun’s phone, eyes fixed on the bright screen. It seemed to be a post exposing Yeomra as the hoarder.

But the post was long. The scroll seemed endless.

Tired of reading the beginning, Baekyung slowly scrolled down, aware of Jehyun leaning on his shoulder. His eyes were on the screen, but he wasn’t reading. The conclusion was clear: Yeomra was Myeolchi. Or Myeolchi was Yeomra, whatever.

Baekyung, almost in an out-of-body state, focused on the warmth beside him. Shin Jehyun smelled just like him. It was a new body product he had prepared for today. He bought it thinking it would suit Jehyun, and it did. The scent seemed made for Jehyun.

The shampoo and body wash were the same product, so Jehyun’s hair and body smelled the same. Would his earlobes smell like this too? His waist? His small, cute butt, and even his smaller hands and feet compared to Baekyung’s would carry the same scent.

Ah, I was parched.

Sharing a blanket, their skin brushing against each other—it was impossible to hold back any longer. Tonight, Baekyung was determined to feel Jehyun’s bare skin against his own. He wanted to burrow into his embrace. The moment Baekyung, growing impatient, pressed the button to turn off the screen,

“It’s really over, isn’t it?”

“What is?”

“The Four Heavenly Kings and Hell. Don’t you think this time they won’t reconcile?”

Thinking Baekyung had finished reading, Jehyun eagerly started talking about Caplet. His rather serious tone revealed his desire to discuss the guild rivalry with Baekyung.

“……”

Baekyung, feeling deflated, turned to look down at Jehyun. As he did, Shin Jehyun also lifted his head to look up at Baekyung.

Jehyun’s tired eyes were tinged with a soft flush, yet his deep black pupils sparkled brightly. Faced with that innocent gaze, Baekyung could no longer entertain the trashy thoughts running through his mind. In the end, Baekyung let out a defeated laugh and responded to him.

“You’re right. It really seems like it’s over this time.”

“Right? So….”

With a voice full of enthusiasm, Jehyun began laying out plans for the future.

Baekyung’s plans had gone astray quite a bit, but what did it matter? Shin Jehyun, chattering about Caplet with that handsome face, was so cute Baekyung wanted to bite him. So it was fine.

* * *

[Raid Party List]

1Party

SpellChecker (Swordsman)

Sangjae (Lancer)

Envelop (Lancer)

TogetherLanceLanceLance (Lancer)

Healer (Priest)

2Party

NotAnArcher (Archer)

KimBoksun (Lancer)

CanYouHealMe (Illusionist)

Habaek (Time Thief)

BeoseotTangsuyuk (Elementalist)

3Party

Contempt (Chain Swordsman)

Q (Mage)

Boss12MoreHours (Dark Sorcerer)

CanYouGiveMeMoney (Necromancer)

NimaDeal (Priest)

4Party

AnyaFrost (Time Thief)

HIPPO (Archer)

KimDead (Illusionist)

WhatIsThis (Mage)

ElementalKingLochNess (Elementalist)

5Party

NoErectionPark (Dark Sorcerer)

56BornKimYoungHak (Archer)

MangoWorm (Mage)

SAHARA (Illusionist)

Open (Priest)

6Party

DadAndDaughter (Berserker)

BlueBubble (Dark Sorcerer)

Crab2 (Illusionist)

MapalChun (Illusionist)

ClearEyedCrazy (Elementalist)

Contempt→ Is there really a Priest named “Open”? I haven’t seen them.

Matgom→ This is driving me crazy.

Boss→ Our Myeolse’s head must be empty.

Contempt→ Huh? What do you mean?

“It means there’s an empty spot, idiot.”

Jehyun clicked his tongue, responding to Contempt’s clueless comment. Only then did Contempt understand the joke and grumble in annoyance.

Contempt→ My head is full! I got confused because the names are written the same! I know what “open spot” means!

Boss→ Sure, sure, our Jiwoo’s head is full~

Contempt→ Geez…

Matgom→ Yeah, our Jiwoo’s head is really heavy. Like a rock.

Contempt→ Who’s “our” Jiwoo?!

The bickering started again in the chat. Clicking his tongue, Jehyun put down his headset and opened the mailbox. He looked through the raid applications that arrived while he was away, searching for a suitable Priest.

But Priests in Caplet were a tough class, with few players due to the lack of easy control satisfaction. Priests were considered the worst class, just above Berserkers, with low representation. Finding a Priest with over 20 raid clears who wasn’t already in a fixed raid group was even harder.

8 clears, 7 clears, 5 clears—the best candidate was an 8-clear Priest. A guild member who ran Mallorca with them reported frequent small mistakes.

If they made mistakes in Mallorca, they wouldn’t fare well in a raid. Jehyun dismissed the 8-clear candidate and searched for the 7-clear Priest’s ID on Caplet’s forums.

7 clears were concerning, but there were no negative reports on the forums, so Jehyun considered interviewing them.

[Whisper] whwsnakehealer: Hello, are you there? ㅋ

A whisper from an unfamiliar ID arrived. Was it a raid applicant? Tilting his head, Jehyun responded.

[Whisper] To whwsnakehealer: Hello. Yes, I am.

[Whisper] whwsnakehealer: Ah~ ㅋ

[Whisper] whwsnakehealer: I was wondering if you filled all the raid slots ㅋ

[Whisper] To whwsnakehealer: Currently, the tank/DPS slots are full, and only the Priest slot is left. If we can’t find a Priest, we’ll fill with a Shaman. Are you applying for the raid? What’s your class?

[Whisper] whwsnakehealer: Ah, I’m a Priest ㅋ My main has a raid group, so I plan to use this character.

[Whisper] whwsnakehealer: I can show proof of clears with my main ㅋ I’ll show you now.

When Jehyun posted the recruitment ad on Caplet, he received a similar comment from someone asking if they could join with an alt character while their main was in another raid group. They hadn’t whispered him directly, so Jehyun assumed they weren’t interested. But could this be that person? He waited patiently for a response.

[Whisper] TooBigToRefuse: Hi, here’s my raid clear proof. ㅎ

A moment later, another unfamiliar ID whispered him. It seemed to be from another server. Jehyun replied briefly and then typed:

/inspect TooBigToRefuse

The character’s status window that appeared was as impressive as Jehyun’s own. Fully awakened Mallorca gear, over 100 clears of Mallorca’s Tomb (saturation), and 50 raid clears.

Finally, someone reliable! Realizing he had found someone to fill the spot, Jehyun quickly whispered back.

[Whisper] To TooBigToRefuse: You can be available for 24 hours starting from patch day, right?

Considering the clear might take a long time, it was something he needed to confirm multiple times. The response came from the earlier alt character.

[Whisper] whwsnakehealer: Yesㅋ I can ㅋ Is there a spot?

[Whisper] To whwsnakehealer: Yes, I’ll give you the open chat link ^^ Thank you.

[Whisper] whwsnakehealer: ㅋㅋㅋ Thank you?ㅋ By the way, keep it a secret that I’m raiding with my alt character, okay?ㅋ

[Whisper] To whwsnakehealer: Yes, don’t worry ^^

His tone was a bit annoying, but Jehyun could overlook that. With such a well-equipped Priest, he could trust them to handle the party.

Finally, it was all set. Breathing a short sigh of relief, Jehyun spoke in guild chat.

[Guild] Healer: Got all 30 spots filled.

[Guild] EvenIfYouDieIt’sYourHeal: Oh, you found someone? I wanted to join, so jealous ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ

Nitath, who had practiced for the raid, had to miss it due to a sudden family vacation. Jehyun felt the absence keenly, knowing it would have been easier to boss Nitath around.

[Guild] Healer: ㅋㅋㅋ Next time, let’s go together.

[Guild] Habaek: Who did you recruit?

[Guild] SpellChecker: Is their ID “Open”?

[Guild] Contempt: ㅡㅅ”ㅡ……

[Guild] Healer: No, it’s an English nickname, wowsnakehealer?

[Guild] Healer: No, it’s whwsnakehealer << this one.

[Guild] Healer: But it’s an alt character ㅇㅇ.

[Guild] Sangjae: What’s their main?

[Guild] Healer: They asked to keep it a secret.

[Guild] EvenIfYouDieIt’sYourHeal: It’s not a Priest from Hell, right?ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

After the revelation that Yeomra manipulated prices as MyeolsePilsal, Caplet and in-game chat were in an uproar. Dozens of posts demanded that F1, the guild leader of Jicheonwang, expel Yeomra, the vice leader. Some posts came from anonymous Four Heavenly Kings members and anonymous Hell guild members.

Amidst the chaos, F1 announced that as soon as the exposé was posted, they began discussing the guild’s response. They wanted to make it clear that the decision would be their own, not forced by public outcry.

A day later, the Four Heavenly Kings and Hell guilds officially split. Their ostentatious debut ended in disgrace.

Since then, Hell had become a meme in Caplet, with players attaching the name Hell to anything bad.

[Guild] Healer: No, it’s notㅋㅋㅋ

[Whisper] Habaek: What’s their main?

As Jehyun conversed with guild members, he received a whisper from Habaek. Asking about the main character? Jehyun bit his lip, pondering. Should he tell Baekyung? He hesitated, then put his fingers on the keyboard.

[Whisper] To Habaek: It’s a secret.

He had promised to keep it secret, and he had to honor that. Especially since it was a personal relationship.

[Whisper] Habaek: ㅠㅠ I can’t know either?

[Whisper] To Habaek: Noㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

[Whisper] Habaek: ㅠ_ㅠ……

Baekyung whined cutely, but Jehyun couldn’t tell him. No, Jehyun firmly drew the line and invited him to the party.

You have invited Habaek to your party.

Habaek has joined the party.

[Party] Habaek: Can’t you secretly tell me?

[Party] Healer: No… don’t tempt me.

[Party] Habaek: ㅠㅠ

[Party] Habaek: Are you coming down later?

[Party] Habaek: Can I tempt you like this?ㅎㅎ

[Party] Healer: ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Sure.

[Party] Healer: Yeah, I’ll come down.

[Party] Healer: Should I buy some snacks on the way?

With finals over and the semester finished, Jehyun had been frequently visiting Baekyung’s place. Three days had passed since he stayed over, and he spent two of those days with Baekyung.

Despite knowing only the theory, Jehyun’s visits to Baekyung’s place had no sexual implication. Like visiting a friend’s house, Jehyun offered to bring snacks.

[Party] Habaek: Ah. I want tacos.

[Party] Habaek: Sunbae, how about we go together? We can go to the back gate, get coffee and snacks, and come back.

[Party] Healer: Sure, I’ll get ready and come down. Be out in 10 minutes.

[Party] Habaek: Sounds good.

Baekyung often responded with “I like it” rather than “Yes” or “Okay.” It felt so endearing that Jehyun couldn’t help but smile broadly as he stood up. Before heading off to lead the raid, they had a brief moment for a date.

* * *

“Who made the mistake just now?”

Jehyun’s question was answered in the raid chat.

[Raid] AnyaFrost: Let’s stop making mistakes ㅡㅡ

[Raid] 56BornKimYoungHak: It was me…

[Raid] AnyaFrost: Don’t say that.

[Raid] AnyaFrost: People can make mistakes.

[Raid] Crab2: ?? No, it was meㅠㅠ It was my fault at the start. I’m sorry.

[Raid] AnyaFrost: Are you out of your mind, gay?

[Raid] Crab2: Can you call me Crab?

[Raid] MapalChun: Don’t play like crap.

[Raid] Crab2: Did you say crap?ㅠ

[Raid] MapalChun: No, Hell.

[Raid] Crab2: It’s worse there,,

[Raid] Contempt: How can you say that to a raid memberㅠㅅㅠ

[Raid] SpellChecker: Grounds for a lawsuit;

“Please focus. Getting hit by these patterns is unacceptable. Revive in town and regroup.”

There were two types of raid leaders: those who comforted after mistakes and those who strictly enforced rules. Jehyun was the latter.

If it were a new trial dungeon, he would comfort and guide them, but Crab2 was a DPS with over 20 raid clears. An Illusionist with ample evasion skills dying to basic patterns was unacceptable to Jehyun.

Jehyun lay on the cold ground until he saw all the party members hit the revive button, then he exited.

Would you like to enter Hellkaras’s Sanctuary?

【 Y / N】

He pressed the enter button again, and the loading screen appeared.

“Let’s take a 5-minute break. Gather by 48 minutes.”

Realizing a lot of time had passed, Jehyun said this and turned off his mic. As he took off his headset, Baekyung, sitting next to him, scooted over and placed a hand on Jehyun’s neck. Baekyung’s large, cold hand, chilled by the air conditioner, massaged the back of Jehyun’s neck.

“Ah, that feels good.”

Smiling, Jehyun said this, and Baekyung’s laughter followed. Baekyung, laughing softly, leaned his head on Jehyun’s shoulder and said,

“Sunbae, you’re scary when you lead.”

“Me? I’m scary?”

Jehyun asked, eyes wide in surprise. Baekyung nodded slightly, eyebrows furrowed, and asked,

“Would you scold me like that if I made a mistake?”

It was a question asking for leniency. Jehyun laughed awkwardly, squinting his eyes. Then, in a calm voice, he asked,

“Baekyung… do you think this game is a joke?”

No matter how much he liked Ha Baekyung, he couldn’t go easy on him. In a relationship, business had to be handled more strictly than with others. Being too soft could harm their relationship.

“That’s harsh.”

Baekyung pouted in disappointment. Ha Jaekyung or Kang Yoonjae would have found it nauseating, but Baekyung, filled with a desire to be adored by Jehyun, didn’t care.

Seeing his cuteness work, Jehyun laughed and patted Baekyung’s cheek.

“You don’t make mistakes.”

The words, full of trust, made Baekyung laugh. But Shin Jehyun wasn’t just trying to make Baekyung feel good.

Among the 29 raid members, the one Jehyun trusted most was Habaek, Baekyung. Jehyun believed that even if everyone else made mistakes, Ha Baekyung wouldn’t. He rubbed his cheek against Baekyung’s head and added,

“And now is the time to be strict.”

Tomorrow, the Hellkaras’s Sanctuary over-saturation dungeon would be updated, and his raid group still couldn’t clear it without mistakes. Switching from 20 to 30 members introduced many variables.

Reading the concern in Jehyun’s words, Baekyung wrapped an arm around his shoulder. Turning slightly, he reassured him,

“I’ll clear it for you. Don’t worry.”

His voice was full of confidence. Jehyun felt a wave of relief and smiled.

Right in front of him was the person Shin Jehyun liked the most and Healer relied on the most.

All clear? With Habaek as my DPS, of course, it’ll happen. Jehyun also steeled himself, kissing Baekyung’s head. The day of reckoning was approaching.

Livestream links are up

Four Heavenly Kings [link]

Countess [link]

Let’s go, let’s go, let’s go

Comments (182)

Anonymous 1: All the Caplet game nerds are gathering here

└ We couldn’t even form a raid group so we just postponed itㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

└ Same hereㅠ We can’t find 30 people ㅅㅂ.. Raids are so much fun

Anonymous 2: Jackson is in Four Heavenly Kings? He’s fun but isn’t he a bit of a weak link?ㅋㅋ

└ ㅋㅋㅋ Four Heavenly Kings seem confident in raids, like they’re throwing him in as a buffer

└ Only confident in raids?ㅋ

└ ? Countess filled 30 people with a mix of fixed party, guild, and additional members, while Four Heavenly Kings have over 25 fixed raid group members, of course, they’re confident

Anonymous 3: All clear?

└ All clear?

└ All clear?

└ Definitely possible

Anonymous 4: Healer Hyung, please let someone else have it this time

└ Nope, get lost, underdog bettors~

└ What’s the current underdog betting rate?

└ Over 5 timesㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

└ Oh, most people think all clear is possibleㅋㅋ

Anonymous 5: There are a lot of new IDs in Countess

Anonymous 6: It’s starting

Anonymous 7: Wow, what’s with the intro? Did Cast have the skills to make a video like that?

└ Flex probably made it for themㄷㄷ

└ Skipping idiots, that’s a 2-year-old video

Anonymous 8: I’m seeing a raid for the first time, can game nerds also get wiped at the entrance? Can they even fail?

Anonymous 9: An entry pattern is an instant wipe? These guys mean businessㅋㅋㅋ

* * *

Ancient Dragon Hellkaras Who dares to disturb my rest….

Ancient Dragon Hellkaras I will erase your existence with an unending flame….

“Breath, breath, breath! Gather up.”

As soon as the entry pattern started, the 30 raid members ran forward. Following Jehyun’s lead, the lancers gathered at the front, with the rest of the raid group assembling behind them.

Descending from the sky, Hellkaras took a deep breath and curled his body. Then, opening his mouth filled with sharp teeth, he gathered flames inside. As the blazing fireball swelled, Jehyun gave the command.

“Barrier 1, now.”

Sangjae→ It’s up. 5, 4, 3.

“Activating barrier 2.”

Envelop→ Yes, raising it now.

After three wipes, they had established a sequence for the lancers to raise their barriers. As they used their skills with shields in front, blue protective barriers formed around the lancers, blocking the flames. The lancers’ health quickly dropped, but the rest of the raid members behind them were safe. Jehyun healed the tanks as he watched the four lancers consecutively raise their barriers.

It was fortunate to have four lancers and one swordsman comfortably. If they had only three lancers, they might have wiped several more times, missing the precise timing.

“Breath is over. Moving in.”

With the flames of the breath attack subsiding, the gathered raid members began to spread out.

Ancient Dragon Hellkaras was enormous. Moving out of the safe zone to attack meant not seeing his entire body, making it hard to grasp his patterns.

Moreover, raid leader Shin Jehyun faced Hellkaras head-on with the tanks, briefing the patterns. Party members on the left and right sides saw completely different perspectives, requiring them to interpret the leader’s commands for their viewpoints.

“Tanks, manage your aggro well. No further instructions.”

Sangjae→ Yes, yes. I’m passing at 2 minutes. I’ll switch at 1 minute.

Hellkaras had an aggro structure that couldn’t be handled by a single tank. If one tank maintained aggro the whole time, there wouldn’t be a need for others, so they designed it to secure tank positions in the raid party.

The target of Hellkaras’s aggro received a debuff called ‘Pressure.’ Pressure activated as soon as Hellkaras targeted the main tank and killed them when the duration ended. To avoid instant death, the tank had to switch targets before Pressure expired.

When another tank used an aggro skill to switch Hellkaras’s target, ‘Pressure’ disappeared, replaced by ‘Fatigue.’ The tank then had to avoid drawing aggro until Fatigue expired. If they received Pressure while Fatigued, they would die without a chance for resurrection.

“Jump, evade.”

Seeing Hellkaras leap into the air, Jehyun briefed the team. The large, dark body rose into the sky, and as it landed with a thud, a shockwave spread out.

Using Retreat.

You took 1,700,000 damage from the shockwave.

AnyaFrost has died.

CanYouHealMe has died.

Crab2 has died.

[Raid] AnyaFrost: Sorry ㅠㅠ

[Raid] CanYouHealMe: Sorry….

[Raid] Crab2: ㅠㅠ Sorry

The shockwave was a pattern that also existed in the saturation difficulty. But there was a reason why three died. AnyaFrost, CanYouHealMe, and Crab2 were respectively Time Thieves and Illusionists, classes characterized by high attack speed.

In Caplet, skill cooldowns and casting times fluctuated with attack speed. This also applied to evasion, with faster attack speeds shortening the invincibility window of evasion skills. That’s why no players opted for extreme attack speed builds in Caplet.

“It’s okay. Hellkaras’s attack speed has increased, so you need to time it well. Let’s do a quick revive.”

Since Hellkaras’s attack speed had increased, the evasion timing was no longer the same. Hence, only classes with high attack speed and short invincibility windows had died.

Recognizing it as something that could happen to anyone, Jehyun lightly comforted them and monitored Hellkaras’s patterns.

TogetherLanceLanceLance→ Transferring aggro.

Matgom→ Yes. I’ll take it.

The tanks continued to transfer aggro. As Matgom took over the target, Hellkaras used its breath attack again. While restoring the health of the shielded Envelop, Jehyun noted Hellkaras’s health bar nearing 90%.

Reducing the first 10% was easy. If over-saturation introduced new patterns for Hellkaras, it would likely start now.

“Transitioning phases.”

Ancient Dragon Hellkaras Behold the flame of the abyss.

[Raid] Q: No need to show us.

[Raid] WhatIsThis: No, not interested. Turn it off.

Ancient Dragon Hellkaras summons the flame of the abyss.

You feel the effect of Earth God Ter’s Blessing.

“A new pattern has appeared.”

Seeing the new buff with Hellkaras’s dialogue, Jehyun quickly hit ESC to bring out the mouse. Hovering over the new buff at the end of the bar, a description popped up below.

[Earth God Ter’s Blessing: Ter has bestowed a blessing to quell Hellkaras’s flames.]

Simultaneously, monsters began spawning from the map’s periphery.

Ness→ What’s appearing?

“Yes, mobs are spawning.”

A creature resembling a small dragon was gliding across the ground. Jehyun started to brief, then frowned. On closer inspection, the approaching creatures were statues, not mobs. And there were two types.

“What’s this? They’re statues, not mobs, and they aren’t attacking. Let’s avoid them.”

Blue and yellow, why two colors? What’s the difference? Puzzled, Jehyun tilted his head when Baekyung tapped his arm.

“There’s a debuff too.”

A debuff? Jehyun quickly checked the party members’ buff windows. As Baekyung said, some had debuffs.

Envelop and SpellChecker had blue debuffs, their bodies burning blue. What is this? Frowning, Jehyun saw that the health of Sangjae and TogetherLanceLanceLance, who were near them, was plummeting.

They weren’t the only ones. Several raid members’ health was rapidly depleting, beyond what healing could cover.

“Everyone, spread out!”

Using Noble Sacrifice.

You feel the effect of Sacrifice.

The Priest’s new skill, Noble Sacrifice, filled the raid’s health to full, applying a non-recoverable debuff. It didn’t matter since any hit here meant death anyway.

Seeing the statues close to the raid members, Jehyun pulled out the mouse again to check the debuff on Matgom.

[Abyssal Flame: An unquenchable flame. Continues to burn and destroy its surroundings. But long ago, Ter quelled the Abyssal Flame….]

Abyssal Flame and Ter’s Blessing.

Ter quelled the flame? Does the buff remove the debuff? But the debuffed tanks near the buffed tanks didn’t change state. Without an answer, Jehyun instructed,

“They aren’t attacking, so let’s avoid the statues. We’ll go as far as we can.”

Sangjae→ Yes.

Envelop→ Got it.

Barely finishing his words, a blue statue brushed past Jehyun. Up close, he could distinguish it. The blue statue was cloaked in flames, the fully combusted blue fire.

What about the yellow one?

Running towards the incoming yellow statue, Jehyun saw it up close. The yellow statue was made of sand.

Sand and fire, Earth God Ter and Hellkaras’s flame…. Guessing, Jehyun approached the distant blue statue.

[Raid] KimBoksun: This won’t die?

KimBoksun has died.

[Raid] KimBoksun: Oh, guess not ㅎㅎ Never mind^^;

The effect of Earth God Ter’s Blessing has disappeared.

[Raid] DadAndDaughter: I didn’t die either.

MapalChun has died.

[Raid] MapalChun: Why did I die? ㅡㅡ

[Raid] KimDead: Crash into the statue with the opposite color.

When Healer collided with the blue statue, the Ter’s Blessing buff disappeared, and the statue vanished. Simultaneously, the raid chat lit up.

Jehyun quickly briefed, having grasped the situation.

“Those with the Blessing buff, collide with the blue statues. Those with the Flame debuff, collide with the yellow statues. You’ll die if you hit the same color.”

Earth God Ter is the goddess protecting Caplet’s life forms, leading heroes to the ancient dragon Hellkaras’s sanctuary, awakened by the anomalies from the southern continent.

Hellkaras was defeated by Ter thousands of years ago and sealed underground with the Abyssal Flame. However, the Raptor invasion caused Caplet to terraform into Laptiris, weakening Ter’s power, allowing Hellkaras to awaken.

The heroes headed south to defeat the empowered Hellkaras, a storyline unrelated to the main quest. It was a special stage of sorts.

[Raid] ElementalKingLochNess: Our goddess herself is stepping in… so movingㅠ

[Raid] NoErectionPark: Are you still over-immersed?

With the game’s age, long-time users had various connections. Even if not in the same guild, they’d partied or fought together in battlegrounds, creating a more relaxed atmosphere than a completely new raid group.

Ignoring the chat of the fallen raid members, Jehyun surveyed the map. Some, like him, had survived by nullifying the statues and debuffs. But with so many remaining statues, he couldn’t confirm if there were exactly 30 from the start.

If there indeed were 30, it would be challenging with fewer members. Leftover statues would hinder the clear. Cast’s recommendation for 30 members seemed due to the statues.

TogetherLanceLanceLance→ Matgom died, so no debuff target available, what should we do?

It wasn’t just the DPS who died from colliding with the wrong statues. Seeing more than half the raid fallen, Jehyun responded to the tank TogetherLanceLanceLance.

“Everyone, die. We’ll retry.”

Giving the retry signal, he charged towards Hellkaras.