The Invincible Raid Party's Broadcast Debut
The Saturday I decided to join the broadcast with the first Dolmugong crew. I woke up at 11 a.m.—calling it morning felt like a stretch. In a hazy daze, I dragged myself to the bathroom, splashed water on my face, and started shaking off the fog.
"Ugh..."
After a quick wash to clear my head, I checked the group chat that was already buzzing from the morning.
Breakfast-slash-lunch would be instant ramen from last time. Good enough.
....
"Haa..."
For some reason, ever since becoming a woman, my appetite had shrunk. Back in the day, one pack of ramen mixed with rice barely filled me up. Now, just the noodles alone did the trick.
"What's the gallery up to these days..."
Leaving the leftover broth behind, I pulled out my phone and logged into the Lost World gallery.
'...'
I wished they wouldn't build up so much hype around me. All this expectation made me paranoid about messing up.
Aqua.
I poured some of the water I'd conjured into a cup, took a sip to wet my throat, and started rereading the posts.
I froze at that post title.
'I never did anything wrong in the past. If anything, I was the one wronged.'
Speculative posts about me soured my mood a bit, but curiosity got the better of me—I had to check it out.
"Pfft."
I spat out the water I'd just sipped.
"Cough... No, that's not it... cough... I really was a guy... cough."
The moment I spoke on stream, that theory would become partially true—whether I wanted it or not. That was the excuse I'd cooked up anyway.
Clean.
I magicked away the spill and started reading the comments.
"Ah... It's ruined..."
It's not true. Really not...
....
What could I do? Frontal assault it was. It was the most plausible excuse I could muster, and I'd just accept the spotlight as karma.
"But I didn't do anything wrong..."
Wait, doesn't karma usually come from evil deeds biting back? I hadn't done anything bad.
"Yeah... Can't hide forever..."
I hopped back into the capsule, fired up Lost World, and leveled up until 30 minutes before stream time. Hit 42, logged out, and checked the piled-up group notifications.
Reading the chat, one thing bugged me.
"PrimalSteelHair..? GreatForgeSmeltingMethod...? Aren't those too long?"
We used class names for raids, but this was casual, game-unrelated hangout—calling them like that felt awkward.
Reply came quick.
"Eumsiinjang... Nerah... Daeje... Sikang..."
Hm, not bad. Easier to say. Nicknames made it feel more intimate somehow.
I read that and let out a deep sigh. Maybe spill the woman thing now to ease the pressure? But no, couldn't break my promise to Serinsel who'd helped me.
"Can't hide forever, you know."
Muttering to myself, I lay back in the capsule. Time had flown—it was 6 p.m., stream time.
[Sarea is Live! - Collab with Season 1 Invincible Raid Party]
Twitch alert pinged. I hopped on the stream. After a 15-second ad, the waiting screen appeared. Five minutes later, with viewers gathered, Sarea showed up.
His decently handsome face filled the cam, and he spoke.
"Whoa, big crowd? You guys don't usually show up like this."
Viewers hit 30k already. Heavy promo paid off—over three times his usual.
Chat scrolled too fast to track. The rest of the raid waited for Sarea's call.
"Alright, decent crowd—let's bring 'em in one by one."
*Ding~*
Voice chat join sound.
"Season 1 Berserker rank 1! First clears of Pride Legion Commander Baran, Lust Legion Commander Lilith, Wrath Legion Commander Balak—GreatForgeSmeltingMethod, Daeje!"
"Hello. GreatForgeSmeltingMethod here."
"Nice to meet you. Been a while since I heard your voice?"
"Heh. Yeah, quite a bit."
Short greetings and intros wrapped up, and others got called in gradually. I reread the order Sarea had sent in the group chat.
...Last spot was a bit nerve-wracking. Plus, with the surprise planned, what if the vibe turned awkward instead of fun?
'You've worked hard all this time. Stacked up real achievements.'
By then, Serinsel's intro was playing.
"Season 1 male Gunner rank 1, Swordsman rank 8! First clears of Sloth Legion Commander Sellos, Pride's Baran, Wrath's Balak, Demon King Kazea—Serinsel!"
"Hi everyone! Serinsel here!"
Her intro done.
"Now... this one's even more insane. Solely cleared all Legion Commanders and Demon King Kazea first. Bard ranks 1 and 4! Eumsiinjang!"
"Nice to meet you all. Eumsiinjang here."
Eumsiinjang's intro ended. My turn approached.
"Yes. Closing out today... Whoa, achievements galore. First time hearing this one's voice too."
"Season 1 all Legion Commanders first clears and Demon King Kazea first. Elementalist rank 2, Swordsman 4, Necromancer 3, Shield Warrior 8..."
"And the only one to max level every single job in Season 1—Noel!"
*Ding~*
I finally joined voice chat.
"Ah. Hello. First time greeting everyone. I'm Noel."
A calm, soft feminine voice accompanied my intro. Then Sarea's chat exploded.
"...Huh?"
Stunned reactions from those hearing my voice for the first time.