240 Hours (1)
"Hah... hah..."
Confirming the Skeleton King was dead, I dropped onto the ground like someone who'd just sat down too hard.
...It worked. Thank god it actually worked.
A third-level spell. A Warrior skill. I'd put unshakable faith in the sheer power of those two abilities, and neither one had betrayed that faith — both had delivered spectacular results.
Taking down a boss this murderous this early in the game was nothing short of a miracle. And with only four people, no less. Three of them were low-level characters who had no business being anywhere near a boss raid — and we'd still pulled it off!
Well, looking at the picture, I'd done most of the heavy lifting myself... but this operation had been heavily revised to reflect my own judgment. The original plan had been a lot more aggressive. Kim Seyeon and Park Seeun were supposed to draw the thing's aggro out in the open and even attack the Skeleton King directly.
That will not do. The two of you could be gravely injured.
I'd shut that down, of course. Both of them had looked disappointed, but it was the only sensible call. Neither of them had even hit level 10 yet. Closing in on a level 50 and poking at it? One swing from the Skeleton King and they'd have been cut clean in half. Cleric skills or not, a level gap like that wasn't something you just punched through.
And more importantly... like hell was I going to let the women who might become my girlfriends get hurt!
My women(?) were already banged up from all the fighting we'd done — it was hard enough looking at those wounds. If they took anything worse, it'd leave a scar on my heart the size of a crater.
So aside from Han Sora, who was shooting from range, the other two were limited to running around with shields and pulling as much aggro as possible. Kim Seyeon had also served briefly as a human stepping stool so I could launch myself, but that was it.
The downside was that the Skeleton King had seen right through their attempt to split its attention and simply refused to react at all — but thanks to Sora's desperate sniping, the distraction plan had ultimately succeeded.
Sora's role had been critical, just as I'd expected. Raising her up had been one of the best decisions I'd made.
After all that hellish effort to kill the thing...
Surely some kind of groundbreaking reward was about to roll in, right? Massive experience. Mountains of gold. They'd dump it on us by the truckload, wouldn't they?
I mean... when you clear a boss raid, the standard is to shower you with gear, EXP, gold — the works, right? No matter how stingy this godforsaken system was with experience and gold, the thing we'd just killed was a Field Boss. A Field Boss! At the very least, it ought to have the basic manners to—
You have slain the Skeleton King!
Experience Gained: 875(Shared with party)
Gold Gained: 125(Shared with party)
...
................................What??
Are you fucking KIDDING me???
"What?"
Even Orderly Good let a single word of pure disbelief slip out of my mouth. Yeah — even my alignment thought this was ridiculous. How could anyone, no matter how virtuous, not lose their mind over rewards this obscenely stingy?
875 experience and 125 gold? Hold on, let me do the math. Four people in the party, right? Multiply by four and...
Even if I'd soloed the thing, I'd only get 3,500 EXP and 500 gold?
Is this a fucking joke? We busted our asses killing this thing and all we get is 3,500 and 500 gold? What the hell is 500 gold supposed to buy — a single goddamn nosebleed tissue?
And 3,500 EXP — what level-up is that supposed to get you? Fine for low-levels, maybe, but this sand— this Skeleton King bastard was level 50!
I may never have played Brave Saga Online, but even I know 3,500 EXP at the level-50 tier isn't enough to level anything up.
God, I was so pissed the curses were lining up like a machine gun ready to fire. Of course, our illustrious Orderly Good filtered every last one of them, so not a single word made it out!
"...What is that?"
But what was that over there? That glowing thing sitting on top of the bleached bones that used to be the Skeleton King...
Ah — that was the thing the Skeleton King had been wearing earlier... that royal-looking cloak? A dragon robe, wasn't it?
I distinctly remembered slicing it apart along with the skeleton's body when I landed Gale Strike... so why was it completely intact?
Don't tell me... a drop item?
It was right in front of me, so I reached out without thinking and picked it up. An item description window popped up immediately.
Unique
A garment said to be worn only by kings. Crafted from an exceedingly rare material, the Emperor's Dragon Robe is the only one of its kind in existence. Grants the wearer environmental protection and a bonus to defense against ranged attacks. The effect scales with the wearer's level, growing stronger as the wearer levels up.
...So the goddamn system did have a shred of conscience after all.
The drop item, at least, was something worthy of a boss mob.
But was that it? Seriously?
"O-Oppa!"
"Jeong Hoon!"
"Are you all right!?"
As I sat there dazed with the Emperor's Dragon Robe — or whatever the hell it was called — in my hands, my three companions gathered around me. Every one of them looked worried. Damn... having three beautiful women fussing over me like this... this is why a man needs to have skills, huh? Not bad. Not bad at all!
"I am unharmed. Have you all checked the notification windows?"
In stark contrast to the swelling pride in my chest, I calmly asked the three of them about the Field Boss kill notifications. They all nodded.
"Y-Yeah. It p-popped up! The Skeleton King kill, the EXP and gold coming in, all of it...! But... seriously... the admins are complete garbage. We take down a boss like that and this is the reward they set? I just want to crack open whoever designed this and rearrange their brain—"
"S-Sora. Calm down a little..."
Naturally, Han Sora was the one who launched into the longest rant. Looking at that mix of joy and fury on her face, I felt a real sense of kinship. Yeah. Fellow gamer. You felt it too.
"Jeong Hoon... doesn't the atmosphere around us feel different somehow?"
"Huh? Seyeon unnie's right... something does feel weird."
Park Seeun agreed with Kim Seyeon, and I narrowed my eyes and scanned our surroundings.
On the surface, it was still the same ruined street in XX District, XX City, Gyeonggi Province. But... the air was different. And I didn't mean that filthy, clammy, horrific stench.
Something... that oppressive, hostile tension that had been choking the area — it felt like it was gone.
"I-It feels like... this whole area got... p-purified when the Field Boss died."
Han Sora offered the most gamer-like assessment of all. And as if to agree with her—
"Mother—!"
"Kyaah!"
"Jesus!"
That irritating voice slammed into our eardrums without mercy. This son of a bitch administrator always picked the absolute worst possible timing to show up!
Everyone, long time no— well, not that long, actually!? The last time I delivered an announcement to you all was exactly three days ago!
"What is this all of a sudden..."
"Ugggh... my eardrums almost actually burst this time!"
Kim Seyeon's irritated voice and Han Sora's pained one came one after the other. I felt them. Why the hell did this thing always jump out at the moment nobody expected?
I had a tiny, tiny inkling of what this might be about, though!
Alrighty, alrighty! Why has your adorable, capable, wildly popular Administrator suddenly decided to grace your ears with his voice? You there, student — care to take a guess?
...What kind of brain-dead bullshit is this now?
Yes, yes, Teacher! Because something enormous has happened in the world... that is, on Earth! That's right — correct answer, student! As a prize, you get to spend the rest of your life with the Administrator! Wooo, clap clap clap...!
Playing every part himself — drum, gong, and the whole damn circus. Crazy bastard...!
Instead of spouting that garbage, how about bumping up the rewards, you piece of shit!
Wait — was he about to hand out a special reward? Was that why he'd suddenly opened his mouth?
Yes, yes, yes — you're dying to know what happened, aren't you, everyone!? Is it another new update? Nope! Amazingly enough, someone among the survivors has... for the first time in the world, defeated a Field Boss! Isn't that an incredible event?
Whoa...
I'd figured there probably wasn't anyone as strong as me in the current situation, but we were actually the first in the entire world to take down a Field Boss? Me and my women?
Then again, looking at this Skeleton King's level alone, even survivors who'd been grinding their asses off for days probably couldn't have beaten it.
The world's first Field Boss, the Skeleton King, has been defeated through the tireless efforts of Jeong Hoon and his three companions! A round of applause for Jeong Hoon and his three companions, who achieved the World First Kill! Clap clap clap clap...!
What happened to personal information protection!? I almost screamed it out loud.
"Why does that scoundrel dare speak my name as he pleases...!"
The oral structure under Orderly Good's control poured out that heated protest. You could feel the outrage in every syllable of the phrasing. Of course I was furious! Who the hell did he think he was, broadcasting my real name to the entire world?
"O-Oppa..."
"Why are we just 'companions' while only Jeong Hoon gets..."
Kim Seyeon and Han Sora gave me pitying looks. Park Seeun didn't say anything, but she looked pretty sorry for me too.
Having these three worry about me was a small comfort, at least. Beautiful women really were the best. Infinitely better than being forced to listen to some shrieking male bastard.
...The administrator was a guy, right? Whether he was even human was another question entirely!
But the ones who actually killed it probably aren't feeling very happy right now. Why, you ask? Because you're almost certainly thinking something like this! Ahem ahem... Oh, what the shiiit~ what is this~ is THIS supposed to be a reward? Admin, get out here! Wake up, wake up! Ahem ahem... Nailed it, right?
Nailed it, my ass! I was seething, but I had to admit he'd hit the exact point. Yeah — he knew full well the rewards were garbage.
Which meant... he'd deliberately designed them to be this stingy. That absolute bastard!
I know, I know! You went through hell to kill an incredibly strong monster — one with a ridiculously high level, no less — and you did it as a world first, only for the reward to be 'that much.' Of course you're furious! But don't you worry! That's exactly why I've descended upon you!
Wow, so he did have a scrap of conscience. Then skip the preamble and just—
"Just spit out the new reward already, you long-winded son of a— S-Sorry!"
Park Seeun, apparently at the end of her rope, muttered the outburst under her breath and then immediately apologized. For a second I'd thought it was Sora talking... but even though Seeun had mostly been showing a mature side so far, she was definitely a former athlete. There was no way she'd sit still for the administrator's endlessly drawn-out rambling.
Well then... having achieved the world's first — a World First Kill — you deserve a spe.cial. reward package to match, don't you? And so, in the name of the Administrator, I have prepared two grand rewards for you today!
So what the hell ARE they already!
A sudden surge of irritation yanked me to my feet. The three women, who had been listening to the administrator's voice with furrowed brows, flinched slightly at the sudden movement. None of them said anything about it.
First up... this is going to be fantastic news for everyone living in XX District, XX City, Gyeonggi Province! Thanks to Jeong Hoon of your area, all of you get to share in this benefit!
...Huh? Why was he suddenly talking about our district?
Was he about to start spouting some weird "I am XX of XX, Gyeonggi" nonsense?
After all that buildup, the reward the administrator finally unveiled was, without question, shockingly generous.