Chapter 37
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Translator: True Detective
Chapter: 37
Chapter Title: A Diamond Among the Rough
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"See? Don't we just sync up perfectly? We've already taken down special bosses twice in one try."
Raids far beyond her own skill level. Having pulled off two successes already in such battles, Yerin's face was flushed bright red with excitement. This was exactly the kind of raid she'd dreamed of back at Hero Academy.
"I'd say about 80% of that credit goes to the Raid Leader, though..."
Everyone nodded automatically at Sojeong's follow-up. Minguk's leadership was truly on another level.
"Still, I agree with Elite Hero Yerin. I was blown away watching Sojeong unnie—er, Hero Kim Sojeong—and the Raid Leader handle those orbs in sequence. Where'd you two get that kind of teamwork?"
Yuna spoke in an awed tone. Minguk chuckled at her words.
Honestly, there was nothing impressive about it—just basic moves. Keeping Sojeong topped up and popping the orb in case of trouble? Solid play, sure, but straight out of Hero Academy basics. Theory and practice were worlds apart, of course.
And they'd never rehearsed breathing together. Well, they'd synced up on other things in bed.
"Alright, let's check the loot chest!"
As the corpse of 'Ice Queen - Anisa' vanished, a sparkling loot chest appeared in the center of the battlefield. This time, Raid Leader Han Minguk would open it.
"Raid Leader! Didn't you pull a Silver Ticket from a loot chest before?"
"Then you should open this one too! Woo-hoo!"
The team insisted he give it a shot. Hyun-ah and Yuna were the ringleaders, and the others—who were wary of tempting fate with Mana Crystals—backed them up.
"...Just so we're clear, I'm actually pretty unlucky? It might not even drop a Mana Crystal."
Minguk wasn't thrilled with the idea. But it seemed decided.
Even as a world-class ranker in GGW—a virtual reality collection raid mobile game—he rarely pulled high-grade heroes from summons.
So he'd relied on event heroes or lowborn ones he'd poured love and effort into, growing them massively for raids.
'Considering my luck, I won't even hope for a Mana Crystal.'
With that thought, Minguk approached the chest.
'Just drop something the team can use!'
He tried to squash his expectations and find inner peace.
But human nature being what it was, the closer he got, the more his mind filled with 'What if there's a Mana Crystal inside?'
Clunk.
"......"
Minguk's face hardened as he opened it and peered inside. No Mana Crystal, not even a Revival Stone. No Skill Stone or Class Stone either. Total dud.
"Yeah, figured as much. Knew it wouldn't drop. Haha."
He'd expected it, so no disappointment. He meant it—the laugh bubbled up naturally.
"Well, since it's like this..."
He'd just farm 'Ice Queen - Anisa' until a Mana Crystal dropped. 30% chance—not bad. Ten runs should net three on average.
That was when Minguk glared at the Ice Queen who'd dashed his hopes, steeling his resolve.
Boost from Chaos: Ice Queen Redux
📍 Objective: Defeat 'Ice Queen - Anisa' again and open the loot chest yourself! No party member deaths allowed.
⏰ Time Limit: 3 hours!
🎁 Reward: Mana Crystal!
《The rewards don't match your hard work (T_T). Chaos feels bad seeing Minguk's disappointment at the loot. So Ppuu offers this quest to pump you up! (Cheers!)
Feeling pumped? Ready to smash dark monsters? (Yay!) Then go now! The Mana Crystal awaits! Oh, and open the chest yourself—don't forget!》
"Whoa?!"
A quest this juicy?! Ppuu, I take back every bad thing I said...
"Hold on..."
Then again, 30% chance on Anisa's chest meant two kills for one crystal was just slightly above average luck.
"Tch. What? Not that impressive. Just one crystal, not even two..."
Minguk clicked his tongue and closed the window. Still, free quest? He'd clear it.
Three-hour limit—not overly generous. Probably included gathering Welcome Keys.
"We'll tackle 'Ice Queen - Anisa' again."
No time to waste. As he moved to prep the raid, Yerin looked crestfallen behind him. They'd bet a kiss on a one-try clear, but he'd forgotten twice now.
And the Anisa raid kicked off right away—only for disaster to strike.
The ice orbs were cleared, tank aggro solid. Yerin unleashed her mana, gleefully hammering the boss.
She wanted to shine her DPS for a shot at 10-man raids under a skilled leader like him. And yeah, maybe fantasize about rewards from the guy hero.
That's why she missed Anisa's phantom shift landing behind her...
"Jeong Yerin!!!"
Team shouts snapped her back. Panic rising, she scanned around. In that split-second lapse, wedge-shaped ice talons loomed right in front.
"Ice Path!"
Skill triggered, mana surging. A blue ice trail shot out to her line of sight. If she slid that way...
But Yerin bit her lip hard, future grim. The talons clamped faster than expected. She'd be iced before slipping the gap.
Still, no giving up. As she twisted away, Minguk's shield enveloped her.
Boom!
With a deafening crash, Anisa's ice talons formed a transparent cage in one battlefield corner. One dealer down.
"30 seconds! Stay calm, focus on orders!"
Minguk barked at the team. Disaster hit—now survive the clock. Double down on focus.
Luckily, 'Ice Queen - Anisa' didn't demand sky-high DPS. Stretch the fight, no issue. Mana for heals plentiful.
Problem: ice orbs needing dealer pops. With Yerin caged, Sojeong and Yuna had to handle all.
'Cooldowns?'
Minguk glanced at his Hero Pad. Both had used mobility skills recently—on cooldown. But Yuna brought two for this raid.
Prep for worst-case paid off now.
"Choi Yuna! Next orb!"
"Got it!"
Yuna nocked her mana bow at his call. Seconds after Yerin's trap, chilling frost crushed them.
"2 o'clock!"
Minguk grimaced at the orb spot. Right by... Yerin's position. Yuna, mana coursing, sprinted like a sprinter, bow gripped tight.
Thud thud thud!
Ice dust sprayed brilliantly under her feet.
Mobility skill let Yuna tag the orb pre-explosion easily. Caught in the chill wave: her and Yerin.
'...Huh?'
Minguk healed the HP-dipping pair, brow furrowing. Yerin's wasn't ticking up—in the cage. And the chill was draining her slowly.
Not in any strategy videos. Oversight, probably.
"54%."
At that drain rate, she'd hold till cage end. Good thing his healer instinct shield-ed pre-trap.
Now the crux. Both mobility on cooldown. Bad orb spot could doom the raid.
"Choi Yuna, hold position! Kim Sojeong, stop DPS, ease back for orb pattern! I'll take 6 o'clock!"
Pre-position for orbs till cooldowns reset. Past runs showed no orbs till Anisa's next phantom—after this pattern.
Orb spawned. Lucky—meters from Yuna.
"Found it! Popping now!"
"Wait—hold!"
Yuna lunged to burst it, relieved. Minguk reflex-blocked her. His eyes flicked to Yerin's shrinking HP.
'If that blows...'
Forced chill wave on caged Yerin? High death risk pre-escape. No heals penetrated the cage.
Good they'd used Revival Stones pre-dungeon. Death wouldn't end her post-fight.
But Minguk wanted zero deaths, raid success. Reasons mattered.
'Plenty of time buffer.'
Ten-odd seconds? Top raid leaders/healers toyed with that.
"Choi Yuna! Stand by the orb! Don't touch till I signal!"
Minguk ordered, then cast heal—target Oh Hyun-ah. Ice spear incoming her way.
"Kyaaah!"
Weird shriek as she bounced back, then popped up. Minguk's heal mended her.
Meantime, faint yells tickled from Yerin's cage. She'd assessed, screaming to ignore her, pop the orb.
"It's fine, fine. Not dire—take it slow."
Minguk muttered.
Yerin's death meant one less orb-popper, tougher raid ahead. Plus quest fail on that Mana Crystal reward. Sorry, Yerin, but that bugged him more.