LS 114

Neither potions nor skills worked. While Dohee’s cursor hovered aimlessly in the air, Oreckthat’s message popped up in the raid chat.

[Raid] Oreckthat: Uh…? I’m the only one who came back?

Seconds later, an alert said that GoingSupporter had died. And right after that, the characters of PrettyHealerHyung, RiceCake, Yeojin, and Moonhyuk all dropped dead in an instant.

[Raid] PrettyHealerHyung: What the hellㅠㅠㅠㅠ

[Raid] SoftRiceCake: Why did me and Healer die?

[Raid] SoftRiceCake: Wait, Yeojin and IngSupp died too???

“Why… did I die?”

Moonhyuk asked as he turned to Dohee, clearly confused. Dohee glanced between the monitor and Moonhyuk, completely baffled himself. The chat was exploding with strings of “hahaha” and “????”.

[Raid] Oreckthat: Huh… Was that… not it? (＾◇＾;)ゝ

[Raid] SoftRiceCake: LOL that awkward emoji is killing me hahahahaha

With no choice, the remaining raid members decided to retry. After hitting the restart button, they returned to the entrance. In the safe zone, the Human raid team gathered to brainstorm again.

— I mean, Oreckthat returned to the ruins map, so it seems like that was the right solution?

Dohee nodded at Yeohoo’s words.

“Yeah, I think the mechanic itself is correct.”

— But then why did the other five die?

Noodle asked with a frustrated voice. Dohee took off his headset and raked a hand through his hair. It felt like there must be a way to get everyone through alive…

[1WantToBeChunky has donated ₩5,000!] Maybe the two of them need to split the slab breaking? Four each? There are always two exiled, and eight slabs to destroy, right?

Just as Dohee put his headset back on, the donation alert popped up. He raised an eyebrow, this one made sense.

“A viewer just suggested maybe the two exiled players are supposed to split the slabs. There are eight we need to break, and two people get exiled, so four each.”

Yeohoo agreed.

— That could be it. Earlier, you didn’t break any, right? Oreckthat broke all of them. He made it back, and out of the remaining team, four lived and four died. If we assume you were ‘linked’ to the ones who died, maybe they died because you didn’t break any slabs?

“So this time, let’s have each of the exiled players break four slabs. Ready?”

[Raid] SoftRiceCake: Let’s go again

[Raid] SoftRiceCake: Ugh but I kinda wanna get exiled… LOL

[Raid] SoftRiceCake: I wanna see the slab room tooㅋㅋㅋㅋ

[Raid] PrettyHealerHyung: I’m fine just staying here…ㅠㅠㅋㅋㅋㅋ

“Everyone on board?”

The raid agreed. They’d already retried several times, and it was well past 2 a.m. Hunger was starting to kick in. Dohee’s coffee and Moonhyuk’s chocolate drink were long gone. Even the glass of water Dohee had nearby was empty. If they wiped again, he’d have to snack while retrying. He thought about that casually as they faced Momba’s Echo once more.

— I swear, I’m gonna slice this bastard’s head off and go home tonight.

— Isn’t this already your home?

— Shut it, Tando~

The group chuckled as Noodle and Tando bickered again. Despite the long tries, the atmosphere was still light. Long raid sessions could wear people down and make things tense, but most of the Human raid team was made up of hardcore gamers who spent 12+ hours at their PCs daily. They still had plenty of energy.

“Let’s focus and burn it down to 155 bars.”

Everyone went silent, only calling out necessary signals as they whittled the boss’s HP down. This time, they reached 155 faster than ever. The exiled players were PrettyHealerHyung and 4Evil, the two who didn’t want to go.

“Red star.”

Following Dohee’s order, they quickly discussed who would take which slabs and calmly got to work.

[Raid] PrettyHealerHyung: All four done!

[Raid] 4EvilPrettyGirl: Seems like that’s it

[System] PrettyHealerHyung has received the Eye of Truth buff. You will return to the main map shortly.

[System] 4EvilPrettyGirl has received the Eye of Truth buff. You will return to the main map shortly.

The two returned safely, system messages confirming their success.

— Did we finally get it!?

Yeojin sounded thrilled, and a new system message confirmed it:

[System] The shattered fragments of lies stir vengeance.

[System] You gain the Vengeful Roar buff from the shards’ power.

[System] Momba’s Echo now takes 10% more damage!

— Hell yeah!!

Overjoyed, Noodle charged at the boss first. Dohee immediately activated damage and move speed buffs.

“Hyung, throw on the move speed and damage buffs. The boss has a received-damage increase debuff now, so also use Chain of Jiun to lower its attack speed. Make it easier for the DPS.”

Moonhyuk’s hands moved quickly. With so many supporter skills, it was easier to just call out commands on the fly. Even in the middle of this intense DPS window, Dohee was glad he’d brought Moonhyuk to sit by his side. Probably one of the best decisions of the year. Well, even if the year wasn’t even two months in yet.

“Keep hitting hard until the next mechanic shows up or new patterns kick in. I’m watching the HP bar, so just focus on burst.”

Dohee pushed the DPS team like oxen. The overlapping buffs and debuffs were shaving HP off the boss noticeably faster.

— Yo, I just hit over 500 million! I’ve never seen that number in SoGod!

Noodle shouted in awe. Dohee snorted.

“Striker nerf, please.”

— GoSupp’s outta line.

Noodle grumbled jokingly and went back to dealing damage. The stream chat was exploding alongside the raid.

TrustedMyFriendAsMuchAsITrustedYou: holy sh*t, this actually worked

TrustedMyFriendAsMuchAsITrustedYou: whoever suggested splitting the slabs is a genius lol

[1WantToBeChunky has donated ₩3,000!] genius alert ^0^~

HowMuchWasYourPC: striker nerf? GoSupp’s way outta line lmao

101heaven: how about a support nerf instead ^^ lol

HowMuchWasYourPC: bro, are you high? support nerf right now??

upanddown88: Hello? Police? Yeah, I’m about to commit murder today.

YubrielConqueror: lololol support club vs striker club

WantChickenFeet: Sorry but correction, it’s not the support club, it’s the support retirement home

TodayIsTuesdayThe12th: ugh we kept wiping at the same spot so this feels amazing

SorcYuhyeon: same, peeled like 10 tangerines while y’all figured that pattern out

“Almost at 120 bars. We should be expecting something soon.”

Dohee gave a heads-up. The boss had started at 180 bars, with the first mechanic at 155. He’d been watching since 140, but nothing had happened through 125. It was about time for the next mechanic…

— Uh, hey, Momba just spat something out?

Yeohoo called out. Dohee responded instantly.

“Stop DPS! Hold up, what do you mean spat something out?”

The team stopped attacking and dodged minor patterns, circling the boss. Yeohoo marked the spot on the minimap where he’d just been standing.

— See this sparkly thing? Boss dropped it. Looks like we can pick it up? Wanna try?

“What are you waiting for?”

— Alright, I’m grabbing it!

The item was a small orb pulsing with dark energy. It looked like it could be picked up via interaction. Urged on by Dohee and Yeojin, Yeohoo quickly snatched it up. The boss immediately curled up and generated a protective shield, likely entering a groggy state.

[Raid] SoftRiceCake: Bro why does this guy protect himself so much

[Raid] SoftRiceCake: You literally can’t hit him, wtf;;

Just as RiceCake’s grumbling popped up, Yeohoo’s character vanished.

— Huh?

“What? Another exile?”

— Not exactly. I mean… what the hell is this?

It had been a while since they’d heard Baek Yeohoo curse. Once again, it seemed that only the player who picked up the orb got transported somewhere else. With no way to see his screen, the rest of the raid could only wait anxiously.

“What is it? Can’t you screen share?”

— Hold up. I can’t do anything right now. Guys, please be quiet. I need to concentrate.

At his request, the entire raid silenced both chat and voice, waiting near the boss for Yeohoo to reappear. But the next system alert wasn’t what they were hoping for.

[System] ‘YeohooHae’ has died.

[Raid] PrettyHealerHyung: ???

“Yeohoo…?”

— Uh… how do I explain this?

He hesitated before speaking again.

— It’s like… a minigame? Or something?