Quantum Jump (1)

Momentarily dazed, I hurriedly picked up the drop items scattered across the ground. Separate from the 10-second priority claim, our party had set it so only I, the party leader, could loot the drops.

Crazy... No matter how many I pick up, they just keep coming. Is this for real? What's this? Taitonic really has everything.

But there were so damn many that I couldn't grab them all at once. In the end, I dumped all the junk items I carried around to keep my weight gauge heavy just to fill my inventory.

"Whoa! One raid and we got 1.5 million guild achievement points!"

"This is insane. I've never even heard of a named field boss giving over 300k, and 1.5 million? And our guild got it all solo?"

The ridiculous drops, achievements, guild points... The risk had been huge, but we were starting to feel just how massive the rewards were in return.

"I can't believe it no matter how many times I look. Did we really take down a dragon?"

"Chukbing-hyung, you gonna say something that obvious right now? It popped in the global alert, so with the items looted, let's all return and debrief in town."

"Got it!"

The battlefield, fierce just moments ago, was now eerily silent. Following Chukbing-hyung's lead, we one by one used return scrolls inside the empty lair.

The village had been deserted moments ago, but now quite a few users dotted the square. Some curious ones must've teleported in right after the global alert.

We rushed to the inn and rented rooms before more could crowd in.

"Hah! People are fast! The ones who ported in were checking if a dragon was really in the lair, right?"

"Maybe. Or probably gatherers. I've seen analysis posts saying dragon lairs have special harvestables."

"Oh! For real? You should've told us sooner! My gathering mastery is pretty high—I could've mined some!"

"Chukgul-ah, you still out of it? Regretting missing that after seeing the dragon drops? Hohoho!"

While the guildmates shared their joy, I couldn't get a word in. Just like when I first revealed my ID change, whispers flooded in despite the early hour—probably from blabbermouths or Taeseong affiliates outing me as the first dragon slayer.

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The spam was too much; I couldn't do shit. Finally, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I turned off whispers and looked over the party.

Miracle... and the heroes of reversal.

Nothing else came to mind. A single party pulling off an impossible dragon raid on first try—zero deaths. My old solo-only stubbornness was proven dead wrong. But now, late as it was, I'd been right to take these people as comrades.

"Everyone... great job. I was confident we'd succeed, but actually pulling it off... it still doesn't feel real. Special thanks ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to Kaiser-nim and Rapunzel-nim for joining us."

"Sandro, we didn't just tag along—why say that?"

"Yeah, Sandro-oppa. We got this amazing memory and huge achievements thanks to you. We're grateful you invited us."

Kaiser brushed it off, but imagining the raid without them was chilling. More close calls than expected, and those two silently overperformed every time.

Well, not everyone's a Merlin or Hidden Card... Lucky as hell.

I hadn't shown it to anyone, but I'd worried the whole raid: if things went south, would Kaiser backstab for the holy sword? As a magic swordsman using longswords, he might covet it. That's why even in the pinch, I held back summoning Ferari.

But against my fears, when danger hit, he tanked aggro without hesitation—even risking death for the clear. If I wasn't grateful, I'd be no better than Darius.

"We agreed no drops from the start, so we'll say goodbye here. Burning Star folks, it was an unforgettable raid—I learned a lot. Felt good to play hard after so long."

"Let's meet again as good allies. Burning Star, fighting~!"

"Call if you need help, Kaiser-nim. Cool?"

"Yeah. For you, anytime."

With that, Kaiser and Rapunzel ended their brief Burning Star stint and left the inn.

"They seem so purely into Taitonic. No guilds or politics—just enjoying the game, chasing its endgame. Right?"

"Maybe... Taitonic's content is rich enough for that. From their view, castle sieges and guild wars might seem weird."

Last Chance seemed touched watching them go, reminded of Hidden Card—maybe he'd forgotten amid the high. Perhaps in Taitonic's early days, Ra Chan and Hidden Card adventured purely like that too.

"Anyway, great work everyone. Success is great, but even better—no deaths. I figured even a wipe leaving just Dro alive for the kill would be a win."

Chukbing-hyung's words hit home: how they'd trusted and followed me, their lacking GM, without complaint. My dragon raid pitch might've seemed insane, but they believed.

"Die? Would I lead my guild to death? I'm not that heartless."

"Hoho, whatever—jackpot, super jackpot! When that lizard flew up in final phase, I thought we were done! Who knew Dro would smash it down? Felt like a disaster flick!"

"Right! That random targeting aerial phase—still curse-worthy now. Other guilds might clear the rest eventually, but first-try strat on that? Pure miracle."

Chukbol-noona started, Ra Chan piled on—they were really hyping me up.

"Miracle? Nah, all Dro's skill. That's why he's our leader. Raid seemed early, but right call. Imagine Darius and Taeseong getting this—our revenge delayed half a year?"

"Speaking of, everyone check achievements? Mine blew my mind, but you're all chatting other stuff..."

"Achievements are nice, but how great can they—gasp!!"

Chukbing-hyung joined the praise, leaving me sheepish, when Chukbol-noona gasped at Hyunjung's words. Soon enough, I got why.

The achievements were nuts.

Plenty of extras, but the stat boosts stood out. Minor past achievements bumped single stats by ~10; these three were all-stats top-tiers. Combined, like gaining nearly 100 levels. In same-level fights without attack/accuracy mods, stat gaps decide everything. We'd closed dozens of levels instantly.

"Whoa! No wonder HP/MP felt off—these are super A-grades? First time seeing effects like this."

"Hyung! These three might beat my 20 combined. Wow, so that's why rankers chase high-grades!"

Hyunjung was right—these topped dozens of average ones. Even calm Chukbing-hyung couldn't hide his joy.

Damn, 20 achievements? I just hit 10... Not slacking all this time.

I always teased him as a close bro, but Hyunjung ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was top-guild caliber. Without Levendas shining, no clear.

Talking it over, only I got Dragon Slayer; others ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠snagged A-rank Dragon Subjugator—good enough. Hundreds getting S-ranks per raid would break things.

"Alright, drop time? Dro, spill—we're dying here!"

Achievements done, onto the real prize. Tu Mertus dropped so many even I gawked. Young dragon or not, it was a dragon.

Four dragon parts for crafting, multiples each. Only one heart, but Divine-grade stunner. Drake scales (Unique) sometimes made Legendary gear— these promised top-tier Legendaries.

"For real? This many Legendaries at once?"

"What about the first Divine mat! Dragon heart, huh?"

But the finished gear? Even crazier. A Divine weapon—one of only two in Taitonic.