Chapter 36
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Translator: True Detective
Chapter: 36
Chapter Title: EP.36 Elite Among Elites
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Craaack!
With her body fully restored, Hyun-ah rose back to her feet and steadied herself. At the same moment, ice began rapidly forming around her legs. So that was what it meant by being unable to move for ten seconds—her feet frozen solid.
'Gotta watch out for that too.'
If a tank got hit by an Ice Spear, went down, and then got frozen like that, it would spell real trouble.
Regardless, Hyun-ah was proving her spot on this year's rookie rankings as a tank. Even with her lower body immobilized, she smoothly parried Anisa's attacks using her sword and shield. Her skills were undeniably sharp.
"Dealers, commence attack!"
Feeling like he'd secured enough aggro on the Ice Queen - Anisa, Minguk issued the order to the dealers. Just as planned, the dealers in position channeled mana into their weapons and swung at Anisa.
Minguk quickly took up a spot behind Hyun-ah. It was the perfect vantage for casting heals on the entire team. The battle proceeded smoothly until Anisa suddenly sank into the ground like smoke and vanished from sight. Teleportation.
"Ice Prison! Everyone, watch your teammates' backs!"
Recalling Anisa's attack patterns, Minguk scanned the surroundings. He had to spot where she'd reappear behind someone. The others were twisting around, checking each other's backs too.
Shhhaaa...
Amid the grating sound of ice scraping, a chill grazed Minguk's cheek. He whipped around. The Ice Queen had appeared right behind him, flashing a wicked grin.
"Raid Leader!"
Then, massive ice claws—each about three meters around—sprang up from all directions, converging on Minguk's position.
'Not bad...'
The claws weren't closing in all that fast. With quick movement, he could slip through the gaps before they tightened.
But six or seven enormous ice claws towering over his height pressing in at once? That would rattle any hero who hadn't seen it before. And getting caught meant thirty long seconds trapped in an Ice Prison, forced to watch helplessly as your team got shredded by the Ice Queen.
Of course, Minguk might be a rookie hero who'd just earned his raid qualification this year, but he was no newbie. He was a raid veteran—a gaming oil baron, through and through.
"Like this, huh?"
Minguk calmly sidestepped through a gap in the encroaching ice claws. Just slip out through the openings before they fully formed. Simple pattern.
- Shaaaa!
Anisa scowled furiously as Minguk escaped the claws. She sank into smoke again, reappearing in front of the tank Hyun-ah and resuming her assault.
Minguk shouted to the team.
"The ice claws are bigger than they look, so it might throw you off. But just aim for the gaps and you can dodge easy! Not hard, so if you actually get caught in Ice Prison, I'll be seriously disappointed!"
Honestly, a pattern like this should be puppy-walk dodgeable. Anisa unleashed another Ice Spear at Hyun-ah.
Thwuuump!!!
The eerie impact echoed across the battlefield.
But this time, Minguk's barrier enveloped Hyun-ah just before the spear struck. He'd even pre-cast a heal to trigger the moment she took damage.
Her health bar dipped from the spear but snapped back to full almost instantly.
'If this is all there is, the early phase is going even smoother than I expected.'
If the patterns stayed this straightforward, taking down Anisa would be a breeze. But no room for complacency. The Ice Queen still had one deadly pattern left that could wipe the raid: the Ice Orb.
And... the first Ice Orb was handled in the most absurd way.
"Huh...?!"
Minguk, perfectly positioned to heal the team, felt something cold press against his back. Then—boom—the first Ice Orb detonated on the field.
"Gah, that's cold!"
The orb burst, sending a frigid shockwave rippling across the battlefield from the epicenter. Ice shards scattered everywhere.
By sheer luck, Minguk's health dropped about 30%, and Hyun-ah nearby lost 10-15%. Manageable damage—nothing he couldn't fix right away.
"That was an Ice Orb that just popped, right?! Right? R-Raid Leader! You predicted where it'd spawn?!"
Excited, Yuna nocked an arrow. As if. Pure bad—or good—luck.
Anisa was winding up for Ice Spear, so Minguk started casting barrier instead of answering. His silence apparently fueled Yuna's delusion.
"J-Just as I thought! With your spot-on calls every time...! You can read the future, Raid Leader!"
"......"
For the record, total coincidence. But hearing her nonsense, the others stared at him in shock too.
After clearing the next Ice Spear, Minguk had no choice but to vehemently deny the absurdity. Yuna and the team looked oddly disappointed for some reason. Then the real Ice Orb pressure kicked in.
"Ye-rin! 1 o'clock—end it!"
"Got it!"
Ye-rin handled the second orb. It spawned far from the fight, so at Minguk's call, she activated her Ice Path mobility skill, slid over like she was on skates, and body-slammed the orb.
Boom!
Ice shards flew as it exploded. She zipped back, resuming DPS, and Minguk hit her with a heal.
Two orbs down, and the fight was flowing too smoothly. But if it ended this easily, a special instance like Vision's Dungeon or the Ice Queen herself wouldn't make sense.
As time passed, things grew chaotic fast. Anisa's patterns started overlapping or chaining. In moments like these, the raid leader's situational awareness was key.
"Yuna! Ice Prison!"
Anisa vanished, popping behind Choi Yuna. Minguk called it out and whipped around. A chill pressed in—heavy frost everywhere signaled a new Ice Orb.
Near an ice wall, a one-meter blue orb glimmered. Fresh spawn; it hadn't been there moments ago.
"Sojeong! 8 o'clock—end it!"
Normally Yuna's side, but she was dodging Ice Prison while Anisa targeted her. Sojeong sheathed her weapon and bolted for the orb.
Then, unexpected trouble.
"Whoa?!"
Another orb was spawning in her path. Two at once—Sojeong's eyes widened in confusion.
"Far one first! I'll take this one!"
"Y-Yes!"
Minguk barked the order as Sojeong hesitated. Ye-rin on the opposite side was too far to react in time. He threw a barrier on Hyun-ah, then yelled at her.
"Hyun-ah! If the barrier breaks, pop Heavy Defense or Life Up—now!"
Minguk dashed off. Thirty seconds till orb detonation. But leaving as healer meant no one to top Hyun-ah.
Boom—far off, a chill wave swept the field. Sojeong nailed hers.
Thwuuump!
Minguk, having topped Sojeong preemptively, body-checked his orb.
Meanwhile, Anisa finished Ice Prison on Yuna, teleported back, and hammered Hyun-ah with Ice Spear, shattering the barrier.
"Haaah!!!"
But Hyun-ah, roaring as she boosted her health massively, tanked it clean. Painful, huge damage—but she had more HP left than lost. No direct hit, she could hold for ten-plus seconds.
No time to heal the orb wave; Minguk returned, topped Hyun-ah, and checked party cooldowns on his Hero Pad. Sojeong and Yuna's mobility on cooldown; Ye-rin ready.
'For now...'
Minguk's fingers flew. Time to stabilize Hyun-ah, Sojeong, and himself from the wave. Another orb appeared—close this time.
"Ye-rin, 4 o'clock! Close enough—no mobility, just smash it!"
Boom!
Chill wave swept; Minguk's heals suppressed the fallout.
* * *
The truly dangerous phases in the Ice Queen - Anisa raid were dual orbs, teammates trapped in Ice Prison, or healers forced to orb duty while Anisa spears the tank.
But Minguk constantly monitored cooldowns via Hero Pad, called shots precisely, and navigated crises with sharp judgment.
He'd led far tougher raids with way more heroes—this was just practice. Practice with a slight difficulty spike, maybe?
"Fall!!!"
Hyun-ah shield-bashed the Ice Queen, whose face twisted in exhaustion. Her icy body was cracking under sustained hero DPS.
"Whirlwind Slash!"
Mana swirled from her greatsword, slamming Anisa. Still, she endured stubbornly. But not for long—HP down to about 2%.
"Finish her! Burn all cooldowns—max DPS!!!"
An orb spawned distantly, but Minguk ignored it, ordering full burst. Confident they could end her before it blew.
Twenty seconds later, Anisa shrieked, shattering into fragments and vanishing.
"Whew... we did it!"
Hyun-ah, armor frosted over, shivered and hugged herself against the cold. Queen down, but the battlefield chill lingered, tormenting the team.
Minguk swiftly formed hand seals. Warm healing washed over Hyun-ah, blasting the frost from her gear.
"Thanks, thanks. Whoa...! Raid Leader was right—it was easier than I thought. Right?"
As tank, Hyun-ah's role was simple: hold position, block Anisa's attacks.
Calculate cooldowns for spears, endure till heals—stick to tank basics, done.
"......Huh? What?"
"Easy? After all we..."
The dealers, dazed, exploded at her words.
Dodge prisons, DPS Anisa, spot orbs and body them—multitasking chaos.
Patterns didn't come singly either. Without Minguk's lead, they'd have wiped like R's Clan Third Squad and second-years in that clan house video.
Still, one-try clear. Like Flame Bridge - Ifrit, Ice Queen - Anisa down on the first pull.