Raid Preparation (4)

That bastard's trait was wandering all over the snowy fields without staying in one spot. Because of that, it was tough to hunt in the field with just a standard four-man or six-man party.

Just catch it, right? Isn't a no-named field boss something a single party can handle?

Anyone who hadn't hunted in Northland could say something like that easily. But it was the kind of question only someone clueless could ask.

The reason it couldn't be caught? It was the "Howling" skill that kicked in when its HP dropped below half.

Once the beast let out its howl, regular White Wolf mobs in the area swarmed in like summoned minions. It wasn't even summoning them—it acted just like a boss with a summon skill.

If this place was crawling with users clearing respawns left and right, it wouldn't be an issue at all. But in a userless field packed with mobs, no skill was as tricky or threatening as that howl.

On top of that, the thing had a infamous rep for its mane that probabilistically reflected magic attacks (though not fully immune) and chilling attacks.

If Red ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Drake is the stock soaring to highs among users, this Frost Wolf is the one stuck crashing to lows.

Even top rankers or elite players struggled to raid it with just a few people, always having to skip it. And gathering a massive group just for this guy? The cost-benefit didn't add up.

Thanks to that, Sandro spotted it less than ten minutes into patrolling on Ferari.

A massive Frost Wolf, nearly three meters tall on all fours, its entire body gleaming under a coat of white mane!

Other users would've cleared nearby White Wolves first before starting the raid. But Sandro didn't need to.

He leaped off Ferari and immediately self-buffed, closing in on the beast. His plan was to finish taming it before the White Wolves heard the howl and swarmed.

"Krreung!"

The Frost Wolf snarled viciously at his first strike and counterattacked. Trusting his Mana Shield, Sandro tanked its bite and claw swipes while dishing out damage—but the infamous status effect hit right away.

Freeze—a debuff that slowed attack and movement speed. Since it wasn't a physical effect, his prized Mana Shield couldn't resist it. A magic-induced freeze might've been resisted with magic defense, but this didn't qualify.

The reason? The beast's unique trait, "Chilling Claw." The material item it dropped was famous for it: on claw hits, it reduced attack and movement speed by 50% with a freeze effect.

And that was the biggest reason Sandro had decided to tame it. Not a magic effect—just the beast's innate trait.

Whoosh! Whoosh! For someone in full Legendary defense gear and accessories, this damage was no joke—the field boss hit hard, as expected. But every MP drop was offset by the MP regen pouring in.

His attack power hadn't changed much from level 150 since he'd dumped everything into magic stats. But now at ranker level, he no longer whiffed against nearly any mob in the field.

In other words, he could now pull maximum efficiency from the Holy Sword.

"Agh! Come on!"

Less than thirty seconds into the raid, the beast unleashed its Howling to summon the White Wolves. Dozens would swarm soon in response—but no worries.

Ting! His sword-wielding right wrist clinked against his left—a friction sound signaling activation.

'Skill Acceleration.' The sound of Dantelio's bracelet turning him into a hyper-cheat character for a bit.

MP dipped sharply from the burst of skill costs, but a few hits recovered ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠it fast. The 8-star Weak Point Capture active boosted basic attacks by 150%.

"Every time, it feels insane—this attack power's nuts."

When the duration ended, he refreshed it off cooldown. By the fourth chain cast, the Frost Wolf's HP was tameable.

Ten seconds of casting followed. First try failed—field bosses had some resistance, it seemed.

"Ugh, I'm in a rush here—gonna bounce like Ferari if you keep this up?"

White Wolves drawn by the howl were closing in. But with Skill Acceleration, cooldowns were negligible—he retried, and this time it glowed gold.

MP bottomed out from tanking during two casts. And still in Skill Acceleration, resummoning Ferari would guzzle too much mana.

About thirty White Wolves incoming. Sandro's move? Hop on the freshly tamed, stationary Frost Wolf and bolt.

"Whoa! This guy's ridiculously fast! Is there any ground mount in Tayen this quick?"

He ate a few hits while escaping, but soon the Frost Wolf burst through the pack, pulling away fast.

Ferari was speedy, but flying dulled the sensation. Riding this ground beast felt at least three times faster than his old "Feed"—the kind of speed that'd make cavalry or riders scream cheat if lined up side-by-side.

"Wasn't why I tamed you, but... can't help it. You're too fast—no other name fits."

He named it first, then checked its stats.

"No-named field boss or not, it's stacked—specs rival Ferari's."

Tamed from a higher-level zone, its level and some stats even edged out Ferari's. But lacking flight and AoE skills, it fell short in versatility and utility.

"Filled all four slots already? Before seeing Hellfire, just gotta test-run solo."

Taming wrapped quicker than expected. Time to test the new family with a warmup.

To verify his raid strategy before the real deal! He headed to Tu Mertus's lair to check pet specs and raid startup at once.

'Considerations on Tamed Monsters.'

The title of a somewhat buried post from the old Tayen's "Tips and Know-How" board.

Taming Monster being a special skill meant few referenced it. But Sandro, a fan of speculative reads, devoured every post there.

He'd used it heavily when learning the skill—and reread it multiple times after.

The analysis was meticulous: hit/miss stats, error margins per monster from 1,000 attacks each.

In Tayen, high level alone wasn't enough. Gear and skill trees mattered more—proper equipment let you handle same-level+ mobs smoothly.

Even ranker levels flopped without gear; you'd catch a few mobs then rest.

Pets/summons differed. Level-ups boosted HP/MP/atk/def way more than users, auto-matching specs for the level.

No gear slots made it seem obvious—but huge merit for owners. Users struggled with high-level mobs due to gear checks, but pets/summons shredded if levels matched.

Thus, summoner classes favored solo play—high-XP zones viable without parties.

Key for Sandro now. Spotting this early sparked the idea that Green Dragon raid wasn't impossible.

High-level pets/summons out-DPS most users on high-level mobs.

Would it pan out? Heart racing from the sim, he arrived.

The farthest map in high-level Gartwell Mountains: Silence Forest.

A forest of ultra-massive trees over 70 meters—like sequoias. In-game "Giant Trees," unreal giants stretching endlessly, swarming with orcs, cyclopses—danger zone.

Ground travel would've needed caution, but Ferari made dragon lair access easy. Wyverns aggroed mid-flight but couldn't keep up.

Tu Mertus's lair. Unlike expected lava caves, it was a colossal nest of intertwined Giant Trees over 100 meters.

Overwhelming majesty hit hard.

"Whoa! What a sight—this place is epic! If I'd known it was this easy, I'd have come sooner!"

Field, not instance—no screenshots. Only eyewitness descriptions of scenery and Tu Mertus.

A real-world impossible wonderland. For Sandro, Tayen's epic naturescapes staple, this added fresh thrill.

Lair entrance huge—big jet could pass. Dim light filtered through tree gaps, mystical vibe.

Word was no guardians inside; step in, see Tu Mertus. But instant aggro meant no survivors who'd escaped after spotting it.

But I've got Ferari and Luitus.

MP over 50k—with Mana Shield, no dragon one-shots him.

He came to test stuff—his personality wouldn't solo if death loomed.

Steeling himself, he stepped toward the entrance.

Suddenly, an unfamiliar voice from behind.

"Sandro?"