Why Is Your Genre Different?
When facing a single opponent as a group, it's only natural to focus on formation and surround the target. Especially if it's a large mob.
Jonathan charged in with his shield raised, slamming his entire body into the lizard while pounding its hide with his one-handed sword. "Come at me, you bastard!"
Irritated by the noise, the lizard whipped its head toward him and swung its forepaw. "Kraaaargh!" "Gaaah!" The lizard's roar and Jonathan's scream crossed paths.
I cast a heal on Jonathan, who was grimacing in pain even from a basic attack that wasn't a tank-buster meant to be lethal for tanks. "Taking it head-on will rack up serious damage! Try to deflect and parry as much as you can!"
"That's easier said than done, sis!"
Thanks to Jonathan holding its attention, we managed to settle into the basic raid positions. With the tank drawing the raid mob's gaze, the main damage dealers could position behind the boss mob, facing less interruption as they poured out their firepower.
That let Iris's spear and Jimmy's dagger calmly target the lizard's vitals, while Hanbyeol's magic struck true, embedding ice into its back scales.
The lizard, focused on Jonathan right in front of it, suddenly planted both forepaws on the ground. I yelled on instinct. "Watch out for the tail!"
It was one of the obvious patterns for lizard raid mobs. Dropping into that stance out of nowhere during an attack was the tell for a massive tail sweep targeting the annoying rear dealers.
It could also lead to a charge from the same posture, but it wouldn't charge with Jonathan right there in front of it. Not for nothing were the melee classes pros—Jimmy flipped into the air, Iris leaped back, both effortlessly dodging the tail.
They chained right into their next attacks without missing a beat, and the lizard, missing any hits with its tail, roared furiously into empty air. "Kraaaaaagh!"
The shout pierced my eardrums even from a short distance away. If my mental strength were any lower, it would've canceled the heal I was channeling. Hanbyeol grimaced slightly from the effect too, but as a max-level player who'd invested a bit in mental strength, her cast didn't break.
The three up close, however, staggered to a halt mid-swing, weapons faltering. The proximity must've amplified the impact. "Urgh..."
I noted their suffering but prioritized keeping the tank's health high enough to survive a tank-buster, focusing on finishing the heal on Jonathan. Party-wide heals came next.
Before I could start an AoE heal, though, I sensed the anomaly and canceled, shouting, "Rocks falling! Above you!"
The lizard's roar had shaken stalactites loose from the ceiling. No time to worry about others—I slapped a DoT heal on Jonathan that didn't need line-of-sight and dodged myself.
Jimmy and Iris handled it with their skills, avoiding or blocking the drops with their weapon hafts. Jonathan deflected them with his shield and was getting the hang of parrying the lizard's basic attacks, holding steady.
Hanbyeol, meanwhile, stood rooted, laser-focused on DPS. A normal party would've used a skill to yank her to safety, but I trusted her.
Mages and shamans had to channel to attack, gaining massive power in trade—and the risk of interruption. Mana and prepped resources poured into a cast didn't come back if broken. That wrecked combos and messed up your rotation.
Hanbyeol wouldn't make rookie mistakes like that, but out of an old habit, I shielded her anyway. It guzzled mana and was weak compared to a mage's barrier, but it could keep someone clinging to life against a killing blow. That's why shields always sucked efficiency-wise.
I choked down the nausea from the mana drain and refocused on dodging rocks. Honestly, as long as they didn't hit my head, it'd probably just be broken bones at worst. The stalactites weren't that huge.
But I was still your average modern person scared of pain. Unlike my party members scrapping toe-to-toe with the lizard without flinching after taking hits earlier, fear of getting hurt overrode any "just heal it later" mindset. Dodging blindly like that, I belatedly noticed Hanbyeol rooted for DPS and felt a flush of shame.
Even without my shield, she would've been fine. The stalactites bounced off before reaching her. No cast barrier—that had to be passive mana flow from channeling forming an auto-repulsion field.
I'd never studied magic deeply, but I'd read up on key skills and PvP passives since we used them as-is. That let her ignore small stuff and focus on casting.
Not just her—I could've tanked stalactites while channeling heals too. If I was AoE-healing anyway, a little damage would've been healed right back. But no, scared of the pain, I'd pathetically dodged while she stood firm.
Self-reflection ended there. Battle wasn't over; we were just facing an increasingly pissed lizard. Focus on ending this fight.
After several forepaw swipes at Jonathan, the lizard finally arched its back upward. AoE? Tank-buster? Unknown pattern, but the melees read it right and backpedaled sharply.
The lizard slammed its forepaw down hard, shockwaves rippling out. Even at a distance, Jonathan, Iris, and Jimmy tumbled. My heals landed just before they hit the ground, restoring them as they charged back in.
"Hey! Over here!"
But that brief tank absence pinged aggro right away. The DPS firehose that was Hanbyeol drew the lizard's blood-red gaze.
It dropped low again, tail-sweep stance. Everyone scattered, but that squandered the last chance to regain control.
Instead of tail, it charged straight at Hanbyeol, still channeling. Cumulative damage had her highest, probably. No game agro table here, but it saw her as the biggest threat.
"No!" "Dodge!"
Jonathan and Iris bellowed, but Hanbyeol glared murderously at the lizard, incantation unbroken. Left alone, it'd smash and flatten her.
Unlike geared melees, casters in flimsy robes ate massive health bars when exposed. In reality? Even worse.
Screw rotations and cast penalties. No pull skill with my arms bound, so I charged and shouldered her aside. Better me than the lizard.
She finished her cast just in time, smirking as she swung her staff—then gaped at my body-check. Never saw it coming, huh?
A massive fireball lanced through, the lizard barreling at us. I shoved Hanbyeol from its path and took the hit instead. "Guh..."
Like a car crash I'd never tasted in my past life. The dull impact hurled me airborne, tumbling wildly. Shock numbed the pain, weirdly. Must've hurt bad somewhere—heal time, but my voice wouldn't come.
"S-Sis...!"
Hanbyeol rushed over. Hanbyeol. Behind you. The lizard glared red-eyed, half-charred, but she ignored it, fixated on me.
This wasn't the outcome I'd aimed for saving her. On second thought, letting her eat dirt might've been right. Every party needs to bench a stationary DPS once to knock sense in.
Plus, dungeon revives meant she'd calculated the risk for max nuke timing. Trusting that would've let her smash it...
No. Couldn't let the kid get hurt. Not when I knew. I'm not tough enough to live with that guilt. So I take the hit. Worst case? Respawn outside.
But no instant death, so chance remained. Forcing gummy eyes open, I spat blood and rechanted heal. Interrupted casts finally took hold with a whoosh.
"Sis, snap out of it. You can't die."
Didn't she hear my mumbling? Or just the whooshes? Clanging weapons nearby didn't help.
She knelt, hands fluttering helplessly over me, visible through half-lidded eyes. "Sis... What do I do? Open your eyes. How do I even set the bones..."
Yeah, I was in bad shape. Explained the numbness—brain dumping endorphins to fend off shock or blackout. My mental strength kept me conscious; body compensating.
"Sis, my fault. Please. Open your eyes. Yeah? It was just stationary DPS since death means revive anyway. I won't do it again. Sis, please. Eyes..."
"Cough... hack..."
My whispered prayer ended; sensation flooded back. Chilling as fractured bones and joints realigned. Punctured lung healed, coughing up dead blood. Breathing eased; I gasped deep.
Hanbyeol mistook it, voice more desperate. "Sis, hear me? Please open your eyes..."
"H-Hanbyeol. I'm... not dead... Look behind..."
As she clung sobbing, the lizard charged breath. Jonathan bashed its back for aggro, Iris and Jimmy hammered from sides, but its fiery eyes locked on her.
"Piss off. Talking to sis."
Hanbyeol hissed coldly; the lizard's maw gaped. She snatched her staff from the dirt, swung—and something yanked its head skyward. Breath sprayed the ceiling.
The other three, safe from flames, swarmed atop, stabbing throat and neck. Head pinned by her telekinesis, it thrashed in agony but couldn't redirect.
Everyone else raiding like normal, why's your genre different? I blinked at Hanbyeol and the lizard's severing neck alternately.
Party members panted, staring at the corpse in disbelief as it stilled only after decapitation. Battle over? Exhaustion hit; eyes drooping, tension snapped. Blackout.