Chapter 124
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Translator: True Detective
Chapter: 124
Chapter Title: Upper Raid
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"It's not just the White House. Other countries' top raid teams have spotted creatures resembling Garuda while tackling temporary dungeons."
"This doesn't bode well... You don't think Garuda itself is showing up, do you?"
"Shouldn't we pull back to our home country right away? If one of the Twelve Disasters appears, the danger level would skyrocket compared to now..."
"Dangerous? We'd be dropping like flies."
Giselle inwardly agreed with the heroes' grim expressions. The Twelve Disasters were monsters so formidable that even humanity's full might struggled against them.
And the heroes gathered here? They wouldn't even fill a punch's worth of space.
Even the world's top raid team, White House, couldn't clear [S]-rank dungeons with final bosses akin to the Twelve Disasters' lieutenants—let alone the Disasters themselves. That was the harsh reality.
White House and a handful of other elite teams had managed [S-9] clears, but the Twelve Disasters, including the King of Birds Garuda, equated to [S-5] difficulty.
Moreover, in higher difficulties, a single digit's difference meant worlds of pain. Top raids weren't stalling past [S-9] for nothing.
"Things are getting weird."
Giselle scratched her head on the way back to the hotel.
Even from the brief info, she'd gleaned plenty. Heroes she passed in the hotel lobby looked dour, clearly having heard the Garuda rumors too.
"Should I bail...?"
Vietnam lagged behind Korea in amenities and infrastructure, but as a Team GGW member solving Hanoi's crises, Giselle felt she was stepping up as a guardian of humanity. It wasn't bad.
The hero title brought honor, and raid rewards padded her wallet nicely. But if Garuda showed?
'No reason to stick around Hanoi.'
Call her mercenary for a so-called guardian of humanity—she couldn't help it.
Honor, money, and sacrificial duty paled against her own life. Her mother's fate, hailed as sacrifice's pinnacle yet treated like dirt, sealed that mindset.
First, she had to relay this to Raid Leader Minguk and the team. If he insisted on protecting Vietnam's people...
"Can't be helped."
Team GGW and the Vuudsen sisters' bond ended here.
Ting! Ping! Ping!
A massive arrow shot from the drawn bowstring like lightning. Yuna's mana-infused shot pierced the giant red slime's body clean through.
The arrow's mana exploded inside, mangling the slime's innards—visible to the team. But Yuna's face remained tense.
"What the hell is this thing made of?"
"Check the damage! How much did it take?"
It looked on the verge of death visually. Yet the Hero Pad showed the red slime's HP barely dented—under 0.1%.
In a game, a pathetic "1" would have popped up beside it a few times.
Qu-rururu!!!
Bubbling like boiling water from multiple spots, the red slime glared at Yuna. But Tank Hyun-ah's taunt pulled its attention back to her.
Seizing the moment, a dealer lurking in the shadows moved.
'Hoo. Focus... focus...'
Muttering to himself, Minguk channeled mana into his daggers.
He'd planned to heal due to skyrocketing libido side effects, but individual potential—specifically mana crystal boosts—declined on position swaps. For this raid, he'd stick to dealer.
Swaps shaved crystal-boosted stats, but base Agility held steady. Like no level loss on death.
- Huh? Raid Leader, switching back to healer?
- Nooo! I wanna see you shine as a dealer!
Plus, some heroes demanded to see his dealer prowess—like So-jeong and Yuna, eyeing his Battlefield of Proof feats.
He missed Hyun-ah and their fangirl chats, but those were too secretive.
"M-Me too... Mmph!"
Shiranui Mai too, but she'd sat this out—junior in raid tenure.
"Yuna, fall back! I'm taking over! Hah!"
With crisp orders, Minguk charged from behind, mana flaring as he swung his dual daggers.
Slice!
The jelly-like slime chunk sheared off in a lump. Tiny compared to the boss's bulk, but enough aggro.
With Tank Hyun-ah holding, Minguk swung freely.
Caveats: acidic skin secretions and AoE melee swipes. Yet even Yuna and Minguk's barrages barely scratched its HP.
How long did they hack? The slime's body suddenly hardened. Minguk's eyes gleamed.
"It's stiffening! Burst it down!!!"
Instant command—So-jeong and Yuna unleashed from afar, mana pouring heedless of cooldowns.
Hyun-ah bashed relentlessly with her shield. The once-static slime's HP plummeted. Grind it hard to harden, then unload—that was the red slime strat, weak hits first.
Qu-rurururu!!!
Pain drawing its gaze to dealers, Hyun-ah flinched but poured more mana. Aggro held, yet the boss kept drifting.
"This guy's off! Aggro keeps flipping!"
"Hero Pad aggro numbers?!"
"Solid!"
Recalling [B-3] final boss patterns—simple stuff, easy clear. No random aggro noted.
"Ignore for now. Cross that bridge if it breaks."
Hyun-ah nodded, blocking tentacles while spiking taunt on cooldown.
Qu-rururururu!!!
Torn between instincts—kill pain sources first, or tank with shield—the slime screeched. Struck spots throbbed worse.
It unleashed abilities, but Minguk and Team GGW dodged or blocked effortlessly.
Finally, fixated on Hyun-ah, it fell to dealer fire. Mere dungeon mob, no match for mana hate.
"Aggro held in the end... but felt like it would flip anytime."
"Slime trait? Noted."
Unknown for sure, but Revival Stones covered mishaps. Feedback later. Dead was dead.
Minguk checked Hero Pad logs—DPS first, dealer instinct.
"Hmm..."
Top of three, above Yuna as expected, and a solid gap over So-jeong. Hyun-ah eyed him meaningfully.
'Maybe try dealing myself?'
Her gaze hit his top-ranked name.
High-diff raids often saw tanks go DPS or "dil-tank" with aggressive skills.
GGW tanks: her and Tanya. Tanya edged defense; she led offense/support.
Thus, for future DPS-heavy bosses, she'd likely dil-tank over Tanya.
'Gotta practice.'
Minguk seemed to anticipate it.
Dealer Minguk looked hot to her—enough to tempt her too. But 5-star job change first; she shelved it.
"Step it up, both of you. Can't lag healers in DPS."
So-jeong and Yuna drooped. In Mold Vines [B-3], they'd topped Minguk once—while he led.
"Ugh, why's the Raid Leader a dealer god too... Feels self-defeating."
"Ignore it. Geniuses humble us mortals. But you're close enough to catch up. Still..."
So-jeong slyly eyed Minguk, then scanned—Hyun-ah.
"Last boss, and he's... normal? Raid Leader really pounces when horny?"
Edging Hyun-ah, So-jeong whispered puppet-style. She'd volunteered for this clear with ulterior motives.
"Huh? Yeah, he said..."
Hyun-ah glanced—Minguk unchanged, superhuman restraint?
"Sigh. Hoped to catch up..."
So-jeong muttered, disappointed. Days without his "huge" felt torturous now.
Then.
"Ah..."
Post-clear, heading out, Minguk groaned low—craving something desperately.
Chatting heroes behind him hushed. Hearts pounded in their ears. Giselle, sensing it, swallowed and shook her head slowly.
"Oh Hyun-ah, come here."
His heavy voice echoed. Hyun-ah, resigned yet smiling, swayed her hips toward him.
So-jeong and Yuna exchanged looks, nodded, and hurried over—faces flushed with fierce desire.
Kendall watched the ensuing carnal feast, crestfallen. The hardcore porn unfolding before her—untouched by even light contact—was an impossibly high bar.