Raid Preparation (3)

Sandro's current special skill, Taming Monster, had reached 4-star thanks to the options on his Rune Paytona, allowing him to have up to four pets in total. Though he could only summon one at a time, filling all four slots meant he could cycle through them sequentially in battle. However, monsters tamed with Taming Monster could level up, so there'd been no real need to tame anything else up to now. Sandro himself was swamped with his own leveling, leaving no spare time to grind levels for Ferari. More than that, having snagged a field boss like a red drake, no other mob could even compare.

But raiding a dragon required pulling out every ounce of his capabilities. He'd felt it every time he used Taming Monster—this skill had limitless potential depending on how it was applied. Taming a special mob and summoning it at the right moment could counter several of Tu Mertus's tricky attack patterns. To test that theory, Sandro headed to "Reden," a hotspot for high-level players.

Grand Archmage Rainzel's Hidden Dungeon. This field dungeon spanned ten floors, each guarded by different types of monsters. Since the monsters on each floor had wildly varying attributes, players tended to stick to layers matching their weapons or skills. And on the final tenth floor, the boss mob Rainzel—now a lich—respawned, dropping legendary gear that made the place insanely popular. The two pieces of Rainzel equipment Sandro had recently bought with gold were pricey drops from here.

Nestled at the southernmost tip of Bernstein Castle, right against Kaljen Castle's border, a rundown old mansion sat midway up a wild hillside. The entrance to Rainzel's dungeon—aka Reden—lurked in its basement. Most dungeons were far from towns or castles, and Reden was no exception, tucked away in the sticks. That's why the basement bustled with players recruiting for parties to fill gaps, peddling potions and consumables at markup, or snapping up junk loot cheap.

As always, Sandro slipped through the crowd in stealth and entered the dungeon.

Unlike instanced dungeons, field dungeons like this were tough to stumble into mobs after entry. Constant streams of players cleared downward, leaving upper floors eerily empty.

'Whoa, no mobs until floor 3? Hotspots really are on another level.'

Reden was a hit with early 300s players, but Sandro had come for a different reason. Rainzel, who made a pact with a demon from the demon realm and became a lich, had created countless guardians against intruders. Deeper floors had tougher, trickier monsters. And the floor players shunned? Floor 9, Sandro's target.

Floor 9 was guarded by enhanced iron golems, deemed trickier than the manticores on floor 10. Or more precisely, their aggro was a pain, but they were easier to handle. Slow attack speed meant low threat damage, slow movement let players ignore them for floor 10. Simple.

"Yeah, not a single ant on floor 9."

The stairwell to 9 had been packed with hunting parties, but inside? Dead silent, even around the safe stairs. Sandro veered off the main path to a corner lab, slipping in cautiously. No monsters—just massive metal scraps strewn about. The telltale signs of golems from his early grinding days on Primordial Island.

"Floor 9's double height ain't random. These chunks take up space."

Clang! Clang! Approaching the pile triggered a racket as scraps fused into a massive iron golem. Five meters tall, Soldier-grade titan size, but crudely lumped like a sumo wrestler, wide and unbalanced.

The golem raised a fist high and hammered down like a mallet.

Whoosh! Sandro dodged with Shadow Step, then treated it like a titan—kiting up its leg to its back for attacks.

Clang! Clang-clang! Metal screeched on metal, but even Sandro's insane attack power barely dented its HP. The holy damage from Rune Paytona every fourth hit? Barely registered.

'Just like the rumors. Tankiness that defies it being a regular mob. That's why it's worth dragging all the way here!'

Regular iron golems had sky-high physical defense, tough to kill solo. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠But their magic defense was weak, so mages or magic weapons made short work. Not these enhanced iron golems in Rainzel's dungeon. Rainzel had bloated their magic defense to absurd levels, on top of massive HP. Not boss-tier, just elite regulars, so damage output was low-threat. But that defense? Players ditched them. Time to kill one equaled four or five on floors 8 or 10. Plus, other floors needed mages ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠for attribute mobs; here, mages did zilch. No sane player bothered.

That was exactly why Sandro targeted this non-boss mob for taming.

The golem swung its long arm backward, but rear-attack judgment filled Sandro's MP via Mana Shield—barely a tickle.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

"Tankiness is boss-grade, no cap. Even Rune Paytona says so."

After pounding away, faint magic circles etched into its olive body lit up like switches flipping. The defense buff effect that made players hate it more.

"Damn! Soloable for me, sure, but who parties this? Dungeon designer had no sense."

Skill up, damage halved. First time post-Rune Paytona feeling output frustration.

Attacks weren't painful, so Sandro whittled its HP under 10%. Then, he cast Taming Monster on a fresh target for the first time in ages.

Watching the 10-second cast bar fill patiently, golden light finally burst from the iron golem.

"Sweet! Regular mob, easy tame as expected!"

Checking stats: Weaker than Ferari overall, but defense crushed it.

That unique skill description? Chef's kiss. Tankiness, defense, and buff—that's why Sandro trekked here.

Not a long-term buddy like his baby dragon Ferari, but second tame deserved a name.

"Tough guy? Gotta be that brand. You're Volpo now. Volpo!"

Unsumming the sturdy beast, Sandro hunted another. Elite spawns meant one per lab. Soon, he tamed a second in another room, naming it Polbo. Then, return scroll.

One slot left—not for regulars like iron golems, but a field boss-grade pick.

* * *

Whoooosh. Shockingly frigid wind whipped Sandro's cheek as he flew on Ferari. Final taming spot: frozen wasteland Northland, battered by northern gales.

'Game or not, this cold is nuts. First time ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠feeling chill like this in VR.'

Sandro always maxed sensitivity to high, and over half of riders did too. Still, this bite went beyond cool—shivering territory. No wonder Northland stayed unpopular despite being Empire turf.

Undeterred, Sandro low-flew Ferari over snowfields. White wolves, ice trolls, raging yetis respawning everywhere, idling. Once player levels evened out, it'd be prime hunting. But as always, hot zones meant fierce spot PK; dead ones like this? Ghost towns. Cold factored in, but the real killer was elsewhere.

The wolves endlessly prowling the icy tundra: frost wolves.