Chapter 196
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Translator: True Detective
Chapter: 196
Chapter Title: Garai Raid
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Unlike the first attempt, which hadn't gone too badly, the second challenge ended in a rather absurd fashion.
Garai's gaze attack had locked onto the two healers in succession, and neither of them managed to dodge it, resulting in their deaths. No matter how skilled Han Minguk was, there was no way he could keep the heroes alive single-handedly against Garai's onslaught.
"Let's try again."
The moment the second healer's death was confirmed, Minguk immediately called for a total wipe.
Dealers might hold out for a bit, but without a tank to block the monster's attacks or healers to mend the heroes, pushing the raid forward was impossible.
"You have to dodge the gaze attacks no matter what. For now, healers, keep as much distance from Garai as possible."
That was why Minguk issued a light caution to the healers.
"Hoo... Got it."
"Damn it. Should've run more simulations on the machine back at the clan house."
They knew it wouldn't be easy, but Garai's gaze attack had to be dodged every time.
Even if they took the initial strike, the follow-up pursuit from Garai's talons absolutely had to be avoided—especially for healers with their low vitality. It was a basic requirement for clearing this raid.
'If only there were a way to bait the gaze attack...'
Garai's gaze was known to be random.
It seemed to target healers consistently during their attempts, but so far, no clear pattern had emerged. In the end, it was up to the heroes to handle the attacks themselves.
"Gaze and feathers first. Let's start by getting familiar with those patterns."
The road ahead was long, but even a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. With that, the next try began.
The Imperial Guard proceeded with the fight, focusing on their own survival as per Raid Leader Minguk's instructions.
"Gaze! Joanna!!!"
"Gaze on me! Don't mind me!"
Reading Garai's gaze pattern was no great challenge for Minguk.
All he had to do was shout the name of the hero Garai looked toward when it spun its body. More precisely, it was the target indicated by the monster's beak.
It required instantly identifying the target and calling it out, but compared to the monsters from GGW—the mobile VR game Minguk had played—it wasn't some insanely technical attack.
The devilish GGW devs had crafted plenty of truly bullshit patterns.
The last boss Minguk faced before coming to this world, Uranoras, had earned the nickname "Damn Thing" among gamers precisely because of its infuriating patterns.
"Okay! Dodged it!!!"
"Coming in from three o'clock! Clear some space!"
Thanks to Minguk's precise calls on gaze targets, the Imperial Guard was quickly adapting to the attacks. It was then that it happened.
"Feathers!!! Everyone pull back!"
Minguk shouted as Garai spread its wings wide. This time, even the main tank kept well clear of Garai.
'Wind?'
Concentrating and observing Garai's movements, Minguk noticed a breeze stirring within a certain radius around it. Figuring that out wasn't hard—the feathers' motion shifted noticeably at that boundary.
"Hm..."
Minguk's head tilted back.
The allies, who had hastily retreated the moment Garai flared its wings, were positioned outside the boundary he'd just identified. Meanwhile, feathers rained down from all directions, and the tanks and dealers were blocking them with their bodies.
It wasn't an aggro-pulling attack, and the barrage wasn't endless, so the healers' recovery kept them hanging on with effort.
Various hypotheses flashed through Minguk's mind. He needed to test them one by one.
"Dian."
Minguk called the sub-tank's name and ordered her to step inside the boundary.
"If Dian dies, we'll wipe and retry."
Sure enough, Dian entered the boundary and was shredded by a storm of feathers without a chance to react, losing her life. Just as expected.
'If it's this kind of pattern... Tanks and melee dealers need to minimize their own damage while ranged dealers pour on the DPS. Healers will be crucial too.'
But above all, ranged dealer firepower was key.
Typically, in these phases, bosses transitioned after ranged dealers chipped away sufficiently.
Considering the healers' mana for sustaining the team to the end, prolonging the feather phase could spell trouble later.
'And the feathers come after... about three gazes.'
No more blindly charging in and dying to the feather storm, at least.
"That's how it works?"
"...Ugh! This is why raid leaders need to be smart, huh?"
"Celeste would flip if she heard that."
"Bridget, Remy. Deal damage like your lives depend on it—got it? You two have to nail this."
The Imperial Guard heroes all marveled at the explanation.
Minguk's words rang true. Garai's feather attack had been impossible to tank with their specs and gear.
But it turned out they weren't supposed to tank it...
"Let's go again!"
"Today, we're ripping that birdbrain's head off."
"How about turning it into an ortolan? I'll chew it bones and all."
With a solution in sight, the Imperial Guard dove into the next tries with enthusiasm. They couldn't know how many more deaths lay ahead, but heroes were friends with death anyway.
And so the fourth try began.
"Chloe! Attack Bloom!!!"
At Minguk's command, Chloe unleashed her energy like a blooming explosion. Feeling their mana surge in response, Bridget and Remy threw everything they had at Garai.
"Remy! Watch your positioning! One more step forward from there and you're dead!!"
"Tanks and melee, focus solely on minimizing your damage!"
While the two ranged dealers hammered Garai's shield, Minguk focused with the other healers on recovering the team.
The feathers swirling and plummeting from the air were a real threat. But with the participants' solid specs, they wouldn't even need Dian's ultimate to boost max HP.
'DPS output's solid too...'
Bridget and Remy were top-tier ranged dealers even in raid powerhouse France, and Bridget had her ultimate active to boot.
Still, there were ways to burn the phase faster.
The Guard's dealer lineup was three melee and two ranged, but Chloe could swap classes to ranged if needed, allowing flexible optimization.
No need for that yet, though. How long had they been wailing on Garai?
"Huh?!"
Everyone's eyes widened as they dodged feathers.
Garai scowled at the heroes enduring its attacks and began recalling its feathers. The boundary persisted, however.
"Tanks and melee, hold position until all feathers are gone!!!"
"Fuck! Kill that bastard!!!"
Chloe bellowed, flinching at Minguk's order. Bridget and Remy's attacks then poured down on Garai like rain.
Bang! Boom! Bang!
Every time Bridget's laser orbs and Remy's flames pierced the feathers to strike Garai, fireworks exploded across its body.
The moment the last airborne feathers vanished, a smile crept onto Minguk's lips.
"Okay! Main tank, grab aggro!"
The main tank charged like she'd been waiting. Melee dealers followed like the wind.
"Check your positions before DPS! Gaze could come anytime!!!"
"Everyone, stay sharp! No clue what it'll throw next—flag anything off!"
Issuing orders, Minguk swiftly stabilized the raid.
Garai's subsequent attacks were surprisingly straightforward patterns in sequence.
Feather arrows dropping like missiles on three or four heroes at once mid-fight, summoning firebirds to chase allies—things the Guard could handle with focus.
The issue was Garai chaining gazes and feather storms amid them.
"Bridget, Lea—feather arrows! Fall back and rejoin!"
"Firebird target confirmed! Chloe! Big counterclockwise loop!!! Home base to seven o'clock!"
"Feather storm! Drop fast and regroup! Kite the firebird at max heal range!!!"
Minguk had no breathing room, leading nonstop.
Mistakes meant restarting from scratch, but the Guard's morale soared. Progress was inching forward, and Garai's face twisted more with time.
"How's the situation?"
A Vietnamese official cautiously asked the heroes who had respawned outside after the wipe.
Fifteen hours had passed since the raid began. Vietnam had just two days left.
The French Imperial Guard had cleared all dungeon mobs and was battling the presumed minion of the Twelve Calamities—a new bird monster.
But until that beast fell, the dungeon break loomed. A blood-boiling wait.
At least the raiders' expressions weren't grim—meaning decent progress.
'When I heard the Imperial Guard lost their raid leader Celeste...'
She'd thought Vietnam's fate was sealed.
Even appointing male hero Han Minguk as interim raid leader hadn't inspired confidence. She acknowledged his talent, but he was young; surely lacking against top monsters.
Evidently, that choice had panned out.
"30%—precisely 26.8%."
The official's eyes widened at Minguk's reply. She hurriedly asked,
"Th-then... can you take it down?"
Throngs of Vietnamese were fleeing overseas by sea, braving ocean monsters. Airports teemed.
Yet over ten million remained—numbers exposed if the break recurred.
"We'll give it everything we've got."
Minguk made no bold promises. Failure's fallout was unimaginable.
Plus, Garai's final phase nagged at him. Sneaky bosses always saved their nastiest enrages for last.
The Imperial Guard witnessed Garai's finale after over thirty tries.
"Insolent fools. Behold the power bestowed upon me by Lord Garuda."
Boom!
The fireball manifesting in Garai's hand slammed into the main tank, vaporizing her in one hit—a new pattern.
"Dian! Aggro!!!"
Minguk swiftly called the sub-tank.
"How dare you...! You'll end with her!"
Dian ate the second fireball and dropped. The third targeted top-DPS Chloe.
"Shit!"
Chloe zigzagged desperately from the incoming fireball. But it homed in relentlessly, reducing her to ash.
The fireballs ended after those three.
"Wiping."
Confirming three heroes down in seconds, Minguk called the wipe. Try failed.