Chapter 45
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 45
Chapter Title: Dungeon Raids
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There are many ways to enjoy Wonderland.
From combat, field boss hunting, and large-scale raids, combat alone offered countless methods.
And then there were the innumerable lifestyle contents, such as fishing, trading, gathering, processing... and hunting.
That wasn't all.
One Nertuber even made a career out of creating content of himself building his own house for three years straight after the games release.
It was no exaggeration to say that you could enjoy Wonderland by doing literally 'anything you wanted'.
But what if there was one piece of content that was the most fun of all?
The so-called ultimate content that all users unanimously agreed upon.
That would be...
- The best part of Wonderland is obviously dungeon raids.
I agree.
After raiding here, other games just dont satisfy.
lol for real.
- You get tons of XP, the rewards are awesome, and theres even a time attack mode. What could be more fun?
Getting a rare item as a reward once in a while is pretty sweet.
Yeah, I grinded solo for 10 hours and got nothing, then one dropped right away in a dungeon lmao.
Stop flexing.
I don't know about other things, but leveling solo takes forever.
Yeah, one dungeon clear gets you at least 50 XP.
Dungeon raids, unlike regular hunting, offered bountiful rewards.
Depending on the level, you could gain a significant amount of experienceat least 50upon completion.
Moreover, rare-grade items that seldom dropped in normal hunting grounds could be found.
The kind of gear that sold for an average of 50 to 100 gold on the auction house.
And what's more.
- The biggest advantage is that it doesn't take long if you go with an experienced party.
Yeah, the level 40 Orc Dungeon only takes 3-4 hours.
Exp parties are the smoothest.
F, I got a troll in auto-matching and it took me 6 hours to clear the Orc Dungeon.
Doesn't the Orc Dungeon take like 5 hours even with a learning party? lololol
They messed up all the mechanics and the aggro kept shifting, so it took even longer than a learning party...
There was also the advantage that recruiting experienced players significantly increased the dungeon clear speed.
In other words, it was a golden opportunity to obtain immense experience and rewards in a short amount of time.
To put it another way, there was absolutely no reason for players to dislike raids.
- I wish they'd remove the daily dungeon entry limit.
Twice a day? Seriously? They should let us run it at least 100 times.
If you run it 100 times a day, Wonderland's economy will collapse lol.
Who cares? It's not like I get any rare drops anyway, so I'm fine with it.
Oh, you poor Wonderlander...
If there was one drawback to such raids, it was the strict entry limitations.
Not only could you enter only twice a day, but there were also level restrictions.
Thus, players sought ways to comfortably clear the dungeons they could only access twice a day.
"Recruiting for Trent Dungeon clear exp party! Looking for a ranged DPS or a mage."
"Elder Goblin learning party recruiting. We'll start as soon as we find a tank."
That method was to be selective when recruiting party members, choosing only skilled players.
Players were sorted into learning, clear exp, semi-exp, and hardcore parties based on their skill level, and this began to have a tremendous impact on clear times.
A learning party might take five to six hours to clear, while a hardcore party could finish in just three to four.
And this was for dungeons of the exact same difficulty!
"Recruiting for a hardcore Trent Dungeon party. Healer can be a learner, but any fakers will be called out on the forums immediately."
As a result, players put great effort into recruiting party members.
They had to balance the party composition with a tank, DPS, and healer, while also checking everyone's skill level.
It might seem overly complicated for a single raid, but in a way, it was only natural.
After all, who you partied with could determine whether a clear took an hour or half a day.
Amidst this complex and delicate situation.
"Is everyone ready?"
A man muttered, looking at his party members.
A black-haired man with a lean yet resilient build and a smirk that suited him.
It was Lee Won of the Heosong Group.
"Do a final check on your gear, and please double-check that you've brought your battle consumables."
He was currently making thorough preparations to run the level 20 Trent Dungeon.
"Raise your hand when you're done."
"Raise my hand? Like this is our first or second time in the Trent Dungeon."
A man grumbled at Lee Won's instruction, a look of annoyance on his face.
Then, a female healer spoke in a gentle tone.
"Party leader, you know this is an alt party. You don't have to check so meticulously."
"How am I supposed to know if you're really on alts? We just met online, after all."
"What did you just say?"
The man replied to Lee Won's sarcastic tone, his face flushed with anger.
The female healer between them quickly stepped in to mediate.
"By that logic, we have no way of knowing if you're on an alt either, party leader. We just have to trust each other. Besides, anyone who trolls is bound to get shamed on the forums."
"Hmm..."
Lee Won said softly.
"Well, you have a point. Still, there's no harm in checking, so let's do one last check."
"..."
"..."
The eyes of the healer and the tank narrowed as they looked at Lee Won.
Though they hadn't specified, they too were seasoned players on their second playthroughsveteran newbies, so to speak.
Besides, was it really necessary to be so strict when they had gathered to break a time attack record?
It was one thing to be thorough, but this felt like he was just looking down on them.
'How can people who gathered to break a record be so lax?'
However, Lee Won's thoughts were quite different.
'If you want to be number one in the time attack, you need to have the mindset to match.'
He wasn't just aiming to get on the rankings; he was aiming for first place in the time attack.
A top-tier record that would put him in the semi-pro leagueand he was aiming for the very top spot.
'...I'm still pissed off.'
Lee Won grit his teeth.
For the past six months, he had practiced everything from MMA training to various ball sports for the last evaluation.
He had even deliberately chosen Lutetia as his starting town to showcase an outstanding performance.
All to show himself agilely defeating the speed-type Silver Wolf.
'I don't know who he was, but he had to show up right in front of me.'
But with Yuhyeon's appearance, all his plans had gone up in smoke.
Not only was the spotlight for killing the Silver Wolf in three hits stolen from him, but he had even died an unsightly death.
'This is fucking ridiculous. I killed it in three hits and didn't even get my due!'
What infuriated him most was that even though he had killed the Silver Wolf in three hits, his contract terms hadn't improved significantly.
The team leader's attention had been completely stolen by Yuhyeon's brilliant combat.
'...Hoo, let's relax.'
Of course, the company had offered decent terms, so he had signed the contract, but he couldn't help feeling resentful, thinking he could have gotten more.
'They said I'd get a bonus if I set a high-ranking record.'
The saving grace was that he still had plenty of chances left.
There was word that a special bonus from the chairman would be given if he broke a time attack record in a dungeon.
'It's a bit of a shame I have to challenge the general difficulty...'
The time attack was divided into general and hard difficulties.
The general difficulty rankings changed several times a week, while the hard difficulty was a realm not just anyone could challenge.
The record of 'Yuryeong (Ghost),' who held first place in hard mode, was famous for being unbroken for three years.
'Still, first place in general is nothing to sneeze at. It's a respectable achievement for a semi-pro.'
However, even first place in the general difficulty was by no means an easy position to attain.
It was proof of possessing top-tier skills as a semi-pro and a record that would earn him respect wherever he went.
In other words, if he could just take first place, it was clear that the Heosong Group's attitude toward him would change.
That was why Lee Won had gone to such lengths to form a party composed only of alts.
'It's not an impossible task.'
Lee Won opened his inventory window.
Armor of the Flame Forge (Epic) - Equipped
On hit, chance to activate 'Fire Wall' around the wearer.
Helm of the Forgotten Druid (Epic) - Equipped
Reduces Nature attribute damage by 10 and has a chance to activate 'Nature's Power' for additional damage.
Sword of Madness (Epic) - Equipped
On attack, chance to activate 'Power of Madness,' increasing attack power by 1.2x.
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.
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Equipment with incredible effects that were on another level at a glance.
He had prepared items that reduced Nature attribute damage and even Fire attribute items that gave him a type advantage.
In essence, he had assembled a desperate hand of cards specifically to take down Trents.
'These are the items I bought by pouring in my entire signing bonus.'
It was gear he had bought by spending his entire 30 million won signing bonus, all for the single-minded goal of claiming first place.
Though they were low-level epic items that he would eventually have to discard, that didn't matter much.
The only thing that mattered was achieving an overwhelming debut by recording the number one time attack.
"Alright, let's go claim first place."
With a determined expression, Lee Won walked into the Trent Dungeon.
At that moment.
"Last spot for Kobold hardcore party! We'll start as soon as anyone joins!"
After leaving the exchange, Yuhyeon headed for the dungeon bulletin board in Lutetia.
'So many people...'
Yuhyeon thought to himself as he looked around the plaza.
"Recruiting for Trent learning party! Need a tank and a healer!"
"Recruiting for Trent clear exp party..."
Party recruitment here, party recruitment there.
Everywhere he looked, the area was filled with people looking for party members.
'Wasn't party play one of the 100 tasks?'
As it happened, Yuhyeon also needed to complete 'Achieve Party Play 1 Time,' one of Lutetia's adventurer tasks.
Yuhyeon walked up to the players recruiting for parties and spoke to them directly.
"I heard you're recruiting for the Trent Dungeon. Could I join?"
"What's your experience level and class?"
Experience level? What does that even mean?
Yuhyeon's eyes narrowed at the player's question.
"I don't know about my experience level, but my class is Bard."
"Ah, a Bard is a bit..."
The player replied, his expression turning sour.
"We're a learning party, so I don't think we have room for a Bard."
The reaction was the same when he approached other players.
"A Bard? Um... uh... everyone, should we let him join? Ah, probably not, right? Hehe, sorry about that."
"I'm sorry, but I don't think you can join us."
It was a series of awkward and embarrassing silences.
'So it's true that Bards have the lowest party acceptance rate in the early game.'
It was a moment that clearly demonstrated the perception of Bards he had read about on the community forums.
'Oh, wait a minute. Since it's a hidden quest, I wonder if it can be done concurrently?'
The thought suddenly occurred to Yuhyeon.
Since Gessin had given him a hidden quest, he figured it wouldn't overlap with a regular quest.
With that thought, he immediately opened his quest window.
Tiring!
Hidden Quest: Bring the Materials Needed to Repair the Bow
Grade: A
Requirement: Conductor of Melody (Level 20 restriction)
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'The requirement is Conductor of Melody, so...'
Seeing the class restriction, it seemed unlikely that it would count as a party quest.
Since no one was willing to take him anyway, he thought it might be for the best.
"Hmm, I guess I'll just check."
Yuhyeon stood in front of the dungeon bulletin board and pressed the registration button.
It was the button to create an instance dungeon.
Tiring!
List of Currently Available Dungeons: 5
General Trent Dungeon (Lv. 20-25) Entry Condition: Party of 4 members
General Kobold Dungeon (Lv. 20-25) Entry Condition: Party of 4 members
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Hard Elder Trent Dungeon (Lv. 20-25) Entry Condition: Conductor of Melody (1 Mercenary NPC can be hired)
"A mercenary?"
Yuhyeon's eyes narrowed.
A mercenary? What does that mean?
"Hey, are you looking for a mercenary or a paid carry? I can help you out for some cash."
Just then, a player who had overheard Yuhyeon's muttering approached him.
"Pardon?"
"You seem like a beginner, so I thought you might be looking for people for a party quest."
The player quickly scanned Yuhyeon from top to bottom, thinking.
'A recorder on his hip, a bastard sword on his back... seems like some kind of Bard class.'
The Bard was a class from the lowest tier, one that was never recruited for parties.
That was why he had readily offered to help for money.
"It's alright. It's a quest I have to clear alone anyway."
"...Alone?"
A look of bewilderment filled the player's eyes.
"You're going to clear a 4-man dungeon by yourself? What difficulty? General?"
"No, the hard dungeon."
"...?"
The player's eyes narrowed as he looked at Yuhyeon.
'...Is this guy crazy?'
Saying he's going to run a hard dungeon aloneis he in his right mind?
This must be what it feels like to watch a moth fly into a flame.
"Ah, could I ask you one thing?"
As it happened, Yuhyeon had a question of his own.
"Yeah, what is it?"
"Do you happen to know what a mercenary NPC is? The entry condition says I can hire one..."
"Ah, you hire them for money from a place like the Mercenary Guild. Hmm... honestly, it's a waste of money. Most of them are general classes, so they're weaker than players, but the hiring fee isn't cheap either."
The player said, scratching his head.
"Instead of a mercenary NPC, you should take me. I'm an Epic-grade class, you know. Ever heard of a Griffin Rider?"
It made more sense to pay him 10 gold than to take an ordinary mercenary NPC.
He'd clear the quest and get the dungeon rewards. If a rare item dropped in the process, he'd more than make back the hiring feeit was a net gain.
And yet.
"Haha, thank you for the offer. I'll try going alone for now."
"Huh... well, if you insist."
Faced with Yuhyeon's firm attitude, the player finally shut his mouth.
What could he do to stop someone so determined to learn the hard way?
Still, he kept a smile on his face and said simply.
"Well, good luck. Let me know if you ever need help. It's just 10 gold."
He needed to build up some goodwill now if he wanted to get paid later.
"Yes, thank you."
Yuhyeon replied with a smile of his own.
He had been curious about something anyway, and the player had just cleared it up for him.
'So I can hire a mercenary with money...'
According to his research, party quests had a characteristic feature: their difficulty was significantly higher than that of normal hunting grounds.
That was why parties were formed with four members: a tank, DPS, healer, and ranged attacker.
The difficulty of clearing a dungeon's various mechanics, like traps and patterns, on one's own was quite high.
'Still, it seems doable.'
However, this didn't really apply to Yuhyeon.
Hadn't he already taken down an elite mob, the Skeleton Knight, by himself?
And at the incredibly low status of a level 1 beginner, no less.
'And they say I can take a mercenary with me.'
The situation was even better than back then.
After all, he could take a mercenary with him.
Regardless of whether the NPC's class was general-grade or not, it was obvious that two were better than one.
"I already have an item prepared for a day like this."
Yuhyeon detached the brooch he wore on his chest.
The brooch he had received from Germano, the elder of Hemona Village.
"Well then, shall we go?"
The Gold-grade Honorary Believer's emblem glinted in Yuhyeon's hand.