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#1 - I Found an S-Rank Newbie
Elysion Sermo's current highest-level dungeon, "Typhoon's Sanctuary."
Right now, in that place where fierce winds raged endlessly, a gigantic serpent-shaped monster and seven heroes gathered to defeat it stood before their final battle.
"Whew... Then let's do one last check. Everyone brought their buff potions and enhancement items, right?"
"Yep, got everything."
"Of course. How many attempts have we done already?"
"And everyone brought fifty stacks of 'Typhon's Aura,' right?"
"That's the entry requirement. If someone forgot that, they'd have wasted an entire year. Well, except for 'Long Live Taeyang.'"
"Noona, why am I the exception?"
"Our college-entrance-retaker Taeyang still did all his daily quests and soloed all the bosses even while studying~"
"Ahem. Clearing my head. Just clearing my head."
-Puhahahahaha!!!
At the exchange between the man and woman, everyone present burst into laughter.
The man leading the briefing was no exception.
"Pfft... Mr. Jellypang, save teasing Mr. Taeyang for later. Then... Since everyone's ready, Dawn Guild. We will now begin our fifty-second attempt at Gigantomachia difficulty for the 'Colossal Monster Typhon.'"
The cheerful atmosphere instantly turned serious.
Everyone present submitted fifty stacks of Typhon's Aura and entered the gigantic colosseum.
To defeat Typhon, the strongest boss that nobody had managed to kill for an entire year.
-Ziiing! KWAAANG!!!
A massive magic circle formed in Typhon's mouth, and an overwhelming storm erupted forth.
"Wind Breath! Everyone behind the pillars! Anyone without a pillar, get behind me! 『Aegis Barrier』!!!"
The man who had been leading earlier, clad in white armor and carrying a silver shield, thrust his shield forward.
Those unable to hide behind pillars immediately rushed behind him.
-SHWAAAAAA!
Just before the storm arrived, an enormous golden wall of light appeared and began protecting everyone behind it.
The merciless storm breath was blocked entirely by the barrier and failed to harm anyone.
While the breath attack continued, the man quickly assessed the situation.
"Which DPS are still alive!?"
"Taeyang and Tokkaengi!"
"Mr. Taeyang! Ms. Tokkaeng! Ultimate cooldowns!"
"Ready!"
"I'm ready too!"
"Then let's finish it with this burst phase!!!"
At those words, the man and woman nodded lightly and waited for the storm to end.
At last, the storm subsided.
The swordsman wielding a longsword, Long Live Taeyang, charged forward, while the woman with a wand, Tokkaengi No. 17, prepared a massive magic circle.
"『Moonlight Descent』!"
A gentle moonlight descended above Typhon's head.
-KWAGAGAGAGAGAGA!!!
The spell possessed power comparable to the storm breath from earlier and inflicted tremendous damage upon the already wounded Typhon.
How much time had passed?
The moonlight finally ended, and just as Typhon was about to retaliate—
Long Live Taeyang, holding a longsword transformed into the shape of wings, was already charging toward Typhon.
Stepping on Typhon's body and climbing upward, Long Live Taeyang leapt high once more and lunged toward Typhon's head.
"『Heaven Cleaver』!!!"
-CHWAAAAAAAK!!!
And sliced Typhon apart together with the sky itself.
The dark clouds behind Typhon split apart along the sword's trajectory, and Typhon's massive body swayed before finally collapsing to the ground.
-KWAAANG!
Landing from the sky, Long Live Taeyang gasped for breath and asked his teammates:
"We... got it, right...? There's not suddenly a fifth phase or something, right...?"
"If there is... I'm seriously going to Mystic Games headquarters. Seriously."
As though it had been waiting for those words to finish, a gigantic fanfare sounded and a holographic announcement appeared.
[Congratulations to the Dawn Guild raid party for achieving the server's first clear of the Gigantomachia difficulty of 「Colossal Monster Typhon」!]
[Shield]
[Jellypangpang]
[Rainbow]
[Tokkaengi17]
[Settled Poet]
[Cold Fire]
[Long Live Taeyang]
The moment he saw the words "First Clear," Long Live Taeyang clenched both fists and fell onto the ground while shouting:
"NICEEEEEEEE!!!"
Fifty-four weeks after the boss's release, and fifty-two weeks after Dawn Guild's first attempt, the seemingly impregnable Gigantomachia difficulty of Colossal Monster Typhon had finally been cleared.
"How about a real-life meetup to celebrate the clear?"
"Where? Back to Hyung Suho's place again?"
"Why there again? This time let's go to Jellypangpang Da-eun's dessert shop."
"No, because after that you'll all end up going to your bar for the second round anyway. And what's with 'Jellypangpang Da-eun'?"
"Because you're Jellypang, so I called you that. Besides, your café for round one and my bar for round two is basically tradition."
Shield, Kim Suho, who had been speaking formally to his guildmates just moments ago, switched back to casual speech.
He always used honorifics whenever he was in a formal position like raid leader, but normally he was a very cheerful person.
As Shield once again pondered where they should hold the meetup, someone stood up.
-Screeech!
It was the main DPS of the raid party, Long Live Taeyang.
His real name was Yeon Taeyang.
"Taeyang, heading there again today?"
"Of course."
"Come on, can't you take at least one day off?"
"And if our newbies quit because of that, are you hyungs going to take responsibility?"
"Absolutely not~ Have a good trip by yourself~"
"Bye-bye~"
"I'll send the meetup location in the group chat later~"
"Bring me a skill book on the way back~"
Looking at his unbearably annoying guild seniors, Yeon Taeyang flashed them a middle finger and used a Teleportation Scroll to travel to his usual destination.
The teleport completed instantly.
Taking a deep breath, Yeon Taeyang spoke.
"Mmm~ You damn golem bastards. Long time no see. Hyung's here again today."
The place was none other than Golem's Labyrinth.
For someone at level 320 like him, it was completely out of place—a dungeon primarily inhabited by level 100-range golems.
Yeon Taeyang looked around before smiling brightly.
"Found you. My adorable newbie."
Golem's Labyrinth is infamous as a newbie slaughterhouse.
It's a dungeon meant for players who have completed their second job advancement at level 100, yet newbies occasionally end up trapped there.
Why?
Because of a level-10 quest called "Appearance of the Labyrinth."
It's a quest given by Village Chief Therion, who asks players to investigate the suddenly appeared Golem's Labyrinth.
When accepting the quest, Therion gives players a "Labyrinth Pass."
The moment this pass is used, the player is forcibly teleported into Golem's Labyrinth.
And once inside, poor newbies with neither money nor strength become trapped there with no way out.
It couldn't be more notorious.
Of course, Therion would probably defend himself.
He does add the remark, "Become stronger first. At least finish your second job advancement. There's no rush."
But in the end, that bastard Therion is still at fault.
If he'd never handed out the Labyrinth Pass in the first place—or at least restricted its use until after the second job advancement—none of this would've happened.
Why am I so irritated talking about this?
Because I was a victim too.
When leveling an alternate account, I accidentally got caught by it.
Even now, thinking about how that crazy woman Yeon Seoyeon mocked me afterward still pisses me off.
Damn, my blood pressure's rising again.
That bastard Therion.
One day, I'm definitely going to punch that irritating face of his.
Although considering it's been nearly five years and I still haven't managed it, I'll probably never get the chance.
...Anyway, enough complaining.
Right now, let's rescue another poor newbie who fell victim to that devious Therion.
That's right.
The thing I do every single day without fail is rescue newbies.
No matter how much of a god-tier game this is, it's still a seven-year-old MMORPG filled with veterans.
Anything that might cause newbies to quit should be eliminated whenever possible.
After all, a game can only survive if new players keep coming in.
"Hello there~"
As usual, I greeted them as warmly as possible.
"Ah... ah...? H-Hello..."
Ah...
This is dangerous.
She's ridiculously cute.
At this level, I feel like I could seriously use this newbie as material before bed and then drift into a blissful sleep afterward.
The default elf customization.
The default voice that perfectly matched that customization.
The little sprout icon beside her name.
Even the incredibly newbie-like nickname, "Celial1234."
My years of vigilante experience tell me everything I need to know.
This person is a genuine newbie.
I'd bet my life they haven't even been playing for three days yet.
"Are you perhaps trapped inside Golem's Labyrinth?"
"Ah... yes... I accepted some strange quest and came here... but the golems outside are too strong, so I can't get out..."
"Don't you have something like an unrestricted Return Scroll?"
"A Return Scroll...? What's that...?"
She doesn't even know what a Return Scroll is?
Ah...
I'm losing my mind.
Heuuung, Newbie-chan.
I'm way too excited.
You're unbelievably adorable.
I want to raise you properly right this instant.
But helping this newbie grow isn't my role.
My role is helping her escape this godforsaken Golem's Labyrinth.
Of course, if this newbie asks for help, I'll gladly provide it.
After all, raising newbies is one of life's greatest pleasures.
"You'll learn eventually. Sorry, I got sidetracked. My name is Long Live Taeyang. Feel free to call me Taeyang. Calling me Long Live Taeyang is fine too."
"Ah... I'm Celial1234. Please call me Celial."
"Understood, Ms. Celial. Then forgive me for being forward when we've only just met, but may I escort you out of Golem's Labyrinth?"
"Huh...? Me...?"
"Yes. This place is where newbies frequently end up after being tricked by Mr. Therion... I mean, Therion. I'm here specifically to help people like that."
"I see..."
"Since you don't seem to know about Return Scrolls, you probably haven't completed the Return Scroll quest yet and can't use one. That means we'll have to walk out of the labyrinth ourselves. Would it be alright if I helped you?"
Celial hesitated.
A complete stranger suddenly offering help naturally seemed suspicious.
There are newbies like that too.
Honestly, being cautious is perfectly reasonable.
Usually, showing them my ranking is enough to earn their trust.
Should I bring up the rankings now?
Just as I was thinking that, Celial finally spoke.
"...Wouldn't I just be a burden?"
Ah.
So that was the issue.
There are newbies like this too.
The kind who worry that they'll inconvenience others.
An incredibly cute and lovable type.
Among newbies, people like this could practically be classified as S-Rank Newbies.
"Not at all. It doesn't matter one bit. As long as newbies don't quit the game, I'm satisfied!"
After hearing my answer, Celial nodded.
"T-Then... could you please take me outside the labyrinth...?"
"Of course! Come on! Just follow me!"
Looks like today is going to end on a very satisfying note.
To think I'd be able to pick up—no, no, rescue—an S-Rank Newbie.
Celial, just trust me.
I'll make sure you get out safely...!