Friendly Fire
“Damn it! Why the hell did the boss spawn right now?!”
“Ugh. Aggro’s already pulled. Talk about shitty luck.”
“Quit bitching and focus, everyone! We end this fast and go hunt that intruder!”
Carpe arrived to find a group of players locked in battle with a wind spirit.
It was a utterly ordinary scene at first glance—but one thing made it special: the wind spirit’s condition.
Normal wind spirits looked like translucent lime-green basketballs floating around. But the one these players faced had the hazy silhouette of a woman.
And hovering above her head were stark red letters.
Mid-level Wind Spirit Enslaved by Darkness – Silphiruaene
That was more than enough to grasp the situation.
-Things are going sideways. Boss monster spawning here?
“What’s weird about it? Obvious as hell.”
Carpe ducked behind a nearby rock and muttered under his breath.
“Looks like they got caught in a boss spawn on their way to chase me down.”
-Yeah. That’s what it seems like to me too.
Anyway, the only players in this dungeon were KD guild members—the controlling guild.
They’d been heading to catch the intruder (himself) when they ran into the dungeon boss. Aggro pulled, forcing them into combat. That was the story, more or less.
In short...
“Means we’ve got the perfect backstab angle lined up nice and sharp.”
-These guys have the worst luck. Starting to feel sorry for them.
Counting heads, there were eight KD players total—the largest group Carpe had encountered yet.
“Hey, watch it! Aggro just swung our way. Tank, lock it down proper!”
“Got it! Air Bomb missed. Go full DPS!”
“We’ve farmed this thing so much, patterns are burned in. Could dodge blindfolded now.”
The eight KD guildmates handled the boss raid with practiced ease.
Even at a glance, it was clear they weren’t newbies. This was the skill of players who’d hogged boss monsters for ages.
-Teamwork’s solid. Looks like these are the strongest stragglers left.
“Hmm. Boss seems weaker than I thought. A bit tougher than an Elder Trent? She’ll drop quick.”
-Objectively, it’s not weak... but yeah, to your eyes, sure.
After clashing bloodily with a Servant Lord fragment, normal bosses looked cute to Carpe.
“Hmm...”
-What’re you staring at? They’re no match for you anyway. One ambush and they all crumple...
“That’s true, but... something feels off.”
-Off how? What?
“Hard to put into words.”
Carpe narrowed his eyes, focusing on the fight.
“They’re fighting well, sure, but...”
Still, the flow stuttered awkwardly at times.
Why dodge when it was attack time?
Those inexplicable discords grated on his nerves.
“Ah! Got it.”
After staring holes through the battle, he pinpointed the issue.
Carpe turned to Cheonma and asked.
“Bro. Can guildmates PK each other?”
-Guildmates?
Cheonma blinked—what the hell?—but answered straight.
-Depends, but usually yeah. Unless same party or raid. At this level, no raids anyway, so not same party? All PK-able.
In RaSe, parties maxed at four. Bigger groups needed raids.
But raids were a pain—required a quest for the local lord’s permission.
-Guild wars are an exception. Auto-raid for guildmates, no permission needed.
“So those eight aren’t an eight-man raid. Two four-man parties?”
-Bingo.
Mystery solved.
The choppy flow? Hesitation to avoid friendly fire between parties.
-So what? Not a big deal.
“Huge deal.”
Carpe revised his plan.
No direct assault on KD’s rear. Instead, he activated Dragon’s Eye.
Target: Not the boss, but a mage-looking player from one KD party.
Classification: Player
HP: 100% | MP: 78%
Held Skills:
◈ 5-star Poison Cloud
◈ 4-star Fireball
◈ ...
◈ 2-star Fire Arrow
Equipped Gear:
◈ Wind-Infused Staff + 6 others (view more)
“Jackpot!”
Carpe clenched his fist. All conditions met.
-What the hell are you planning?
“Heh.”
-...This is making me nervous.
“Just watch.”
As the two chatted, the raid hit its peak.
“Skill missed again! Cromwell, your turn!”
“Got it. Fireball!”
The mage called Cromwell unleashed his fireball—that instant.
‘Fireball!’
Whoosh!
Carpe silently cast his own. A fresh 4-star skill from his level 35 reward pack.
Target: Opposite party’s tank!
Perfect mark—the guy looked like a total asshole.
Boom!
Carpe’s fireball nailed the tank’s leg.
“Gahk!”
The heavy-armored tank screamed, dropping to one knee. He roared at Cromwell.
“You fucking psycho! Where were you aiming?! Nearly killed me!”
“N-no, that wasn’t mine...”
“Bullshit, you lunatic. Who else here has Fireball?!”
“I said it wasn’t me! My Fireball hit the boss... wait, huh?”
Cromwell paled.
His own shot? Vanished without a trace.
“Wh-what the—?”
“What? You hit me, that’s what!”
“...Sorry.”
“Damn it. Watch yourself!”
“Hey, Ian. He said sorry. Why bitch over one Fireball? Tough-ass tank acting dramatic.”
“Dramatic? One Fireball took half my HP—urk!”
Bam!
But Ian’s rant cut short.
Boss still alive. Raid ongoing.
Ian blocked the mid spirit’s attack and snarled at the other party.
“Fuck. We’ll settle this after.”
“Yeah, we’ll talk plenty. Just do your job. Don’t pull aggro on us.”
“This prick—!”
“Incoming! Focus!”
KD members refocused on the raid. Carpe sighed in relief.
“Phew. Didn’t kill him.”
He’d worried the tank was too frail for even a nerfed shot. Good thing.
Silent cast halved power; aimed leg, not vitals, just in case.
“Alright. Next target...”
-Hey.
“Yeah?”
-What was that just now?
“Huh? What you saw. Sneak spell to sow discord...”
-Not that. The Fireball.
“Oh, that?”
Why Cromwell’s Fireball vanished midair?
Carpe, obviously.
Cheonma couldn’t believe his eyes.
-That guy’s Fireball... you sliced it with Wind Cutter, didn’t you?
“Saw that, huh.”
-...Hah. Saw it myself, can’t deny it.
Right after his Fireball, Carpe silent-cast Wind Cutter!
Cheonma chuckled hollowly at Carpe’s nonchalance.
Shoot down a flying spell—with a spell.
Simple in words. Insanely precise in practice.
-How the hell do you even...?
“Not hard. Watch their arm extension, lip movement. Predict chant timing and fire.”
His eyes screamed, Easy, right?
Cheonma yelped.
-Like hell it is! You some clay pigeon champ?!
“It works, though.”
-Freakish talent...
“Oh, angle’s open again.”
Carpe fired two spells in sequence again.
Result: Same. Cromwell’s poofed; Carpe’s nailed the tank.
Boom!
“Gahk! You bastard, on purpose...”
“N-no! Not me!”
“Now I get it. No wonder intruders swarming—you traitors.”
“...What?”
“Sneak-killing us mid-raid, fake accident, steal boss loot. Right?”
“Holy shit, you crossed the line. Think officer rank means shit?”
Perfect. Goal achieved.
Infighting.
Mutual suspicion, raw emotions spilling.
-Did you need to? Just smash ’em easier.
“True, but... even if I wipe ’em, they’ll respawn and control again. Better induce total fracture. Plus...”
-Plus?
“Enjoyer trait. Don’t play to win. Play to tilt the enemy.”
-...Your personality.
Cheonma shuddered.
If he regressed again, never cross this guy.
Fracture showed fast.
“Argh!”
“No!”
Familiar or not, boss raids weren’t casual.
Focus already stretched thin—infighting doomed them.
Thud.
The eight KD guilders couldn’t withstand the boss and logged out. Leftover gear greeted Carpe.
One boss left.
Carpe stretched, approaching Silphiruaene.
“Boss means good loot, right?”
-Yep. 100% drop one Wind Set piece. Lucky? Two.
Solid.
Carpe steadied his breath, posed before the boss.
But...
“...Why so docile?”
Silphiruaene showed no aggression.
No ferocity from the KD fight. Just staring blankly at Carpe.
-Weird. She’s aggressive first-strike type.
Cheonma puzzled too—then.
Item in inventory reacts to Silphiruaene.
Second leaf of the World Tree emits vital force.
“Huh?”
Golden energy burst from Carpe’s chest, flying to the boss. As it seeped in...
[Ah.]
The black aura around the mid spirit faded slowly.
“Enslaved by Darkness” vanished. A yellow exclamation mark popped up.
Power of darkness dispelled!
The mid wind spirit Silphiruaene spoke.
Her voice: soft, like a gentle breeze. She eyed Carpe, shocked.
[Human? How does a human hold an elven sacred relic?]
“Uh, long story?”
[Miraculous. If elves entrusted their treasure, they fully trust you. Thanks to you, I’ve regained my senses.]
The wind spirit bowed to Carpe.
[Truly grateful. And since you have the elves’ approval... I have a request. Please, help us.]
Magic King’s Relic
📍 Classification: Conditional Hidden Quest
📍 Restrictions: One Approved by Elves
Wind spirits once lived peacefully in nature. But dark magic suddenly corrupted them. Help Silphiruaene purify the spirits.
🎁 Success: Low demon ‘Croal’ manifests incomplete. Defeat for ‘Demon Token’.
🎁 Failure: Low demon ‘Croal’ manifests complete. Beach city Ruana corrupted by demonic energy.
“Demon? What’s a demon?”
-Demons?! Why are those brutes in a lowbie zone!