Chapter 64
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 64
Chapter Title: Raid Clear Triumph
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BOOM! KABOOM! RUMBLE RUMBLE CRASH!
The foes who had lost their minds to demonic arts charged like a swarm of bees, swinging their blades wildly.
It was hard to believe they were movements trained in martial arts, but there were just too damn many of them.
"Kill them."
With every word from the vice leader, the number of demonic cultists swelled.
Under the endless onslaught, my comrades fell one by one.
"Argh, they're too strong!"
"How the hell are we supposed to break through that?!"
Even Nangong's overbearing and Jeomchang's swift sword style collapsed helplessly.
The last ones standing were the Shaolin monk and me.
"I'm sorry... If only I'd been a little stronger..."
Expending his last bit of energy to guard me, the Shaolin monk finally breathed his last with those words. I had no time to mourn him. I had no choice but to bolt through the gap his death had created.
'Damn it. If only I had my darts, I could've taken that bastard out ages ago!'
At that moment, I couldn't strike the vice leader from afar. All I could do was cut down the small fry to clear a path.
Slash! Whoosh! Swish!
Thanks to the comrades who'd sacrificed themselves first, I'd figured out the vice leader's swordsmanship.
I dodged the explosive barrage of attacks with nimble footwork and closed in until the end.
Slash!
I swung my sword horizontally.
My blade, honed to the peak of agility, reached the vice leader's throat.
Before he could even recover his weapon from his previous strike and reset his stance.
Plum Blossom Myriad Li Fragrance.
I unleashed the ultimate technique at my maximum power.
The vice leader's energy was completely depleted.
A brilliant plum blossom effect bloomed where I'd severed his neck.
"Wooooah! We finally did it!"
I shot up from my chair, letting out a victory roar.
I was so thrilled I pumped my fists in the air, shouting "Hooray!"
I'd always griped about the Plum Blossom Myriad Li Fragrance effect whenever I used an ultimate, but today? It didn't bother me one bit.
Who cares if the petals that should waft a subtle fragrance just whipped around dramatically? As long as the damage was massive! If the DPS had been even 3% short, I'd be the one dead.
"Whoa, seriously? We wiped everyone else and you pull it off?"
"As expected of our Alliance Leader!"
"How'd you dodge that last one? No gimmick or anything?"
The guildies' excitement poured through my computer speakers.
Even those who'd died early had stuck around, on the edge of their seats watching if I'd make it.
"Hahaha, there is a gimmick! The pattern's so varied I didn't notice at first, but I figured it out when Breeze Prince and Qukyu died!"
"Huh? For real?"
"The Martial Alliance that got first clear said there wasn't one?"
"They probably muscled through on specs without spotting it. I'll summarize it and post on the strategy board."
"You're sharing it all?"
"We've already grabbed all the rewards up to third clear. What's the harm?"
The game I was playing, Murim Online, had dropped its first raid update just a month after launch.
A few max-level users existed, but even hardcore spenders hadn't fully geared up with equipment and skills yet.
With such tricky mechanics at this stage, even the top 1st and 2nd guilds—who farmed 24/7 with overwhelming specs—took a whopping eight days to clear it.
The race among the other guilds for that special third-place reward had heated up.
And right now, my guild as Alliance Leader, the "Sichuan Tang Clan Update Diehards Alliance," had snagged third and ended the competition.
'Ha... Never thought I'd end up as raid leader too.'
I'd started the game casually, for sure.
My clinic was stable enough, and I'd cut my workweek to four days, so I had plenty of free time, right?
But as I played, greed kicked in. I leveled up, pieced together gear bit by bit.
Once basic gear was set? Time for better stuff. To farm better drops? Had to run dungeons. And to run dungeons, you had to join an alliance to recruit party members.
'Sigh, such is my fate.'
Joining the top 1st or 2nd raiding guilds that cleared content competitively? Not an option.
I'm not a pro gamer! I couldn't ditch classes for 24/7 grinding like a college kid—I'm the director of a clinic!
So I just joined any raid group that'd take me...
- I'm quitting the game. Too hard, can't do it. Divine Physician, you be Alliance Leader.
- Huh?
And that's how it happened.
Somehow my PVP videos went viral on the game forums, drawing applications from serious players. We had fun raiding together, and boom—we were the server's third-ranked guild.
"Whoa! Rewards dropped!"
As I bantered with the raid team on voice chat, the cutscene played.
Everyone's first clear, so there was some story blabber from the boss.
"Ooh, wonder what gear we'll get~?"
The moment I clicked the vice leader.
A mythic-grade equipment effect filled the screen.
I'd expected that much. First clear always guarantees one top-tier item.
The issue was whose class it fit...
"Kyaaah!"
Dragon Blood Plum Blossom Sword!
It's mine!
I had no clue what Mount Hua had to do with plum blossoms—skipped the story—but it was the Mount Hua Sect weapon from this raid's set gear.
"I'll bid on it?"
Raid rule: Twelve of us bid on desired loot, highest contributor gets it.
"Heh heh heh, thanks a ton."
Everyone knew I'd have the top contribution, so they yielded graciously.
"Of course the raid leader grabs their weapon first!"
"It's like it knew to drop for you, Leader."
"Thanks~ Split the iron ore and gold among yourselves after my cut!"
The thrill right after clearing—next best thing.
The team divvied up the loot, all cheers.
"We finally beat this thing!"
"How many tries was that? Gotta work tomorrow—disaster."
"Huh? Breeze Prince, you're a salaryman? Thought you and Qukyu were students."
"...Yeah, 3-hour round-trip commute. Raid leader, you don't work?"
What? For real? Always online, so I figured college kid.
Breeze Prince was our highest-logged, biggest-spending Jeomchang user; Qukyu our only tank, a Shaolin monk.
"Leader works four days a week."
"Lucky! Quit your jobs, everyone!"
"Haha, I work tomorrow, but with this new weapon, gonna farm more. Write up the guide too."
"Might as well pull an all-nighter now! Let's grind together!"
Breeze Prince swapped to farming gear and hollered.
That guy's okay?
I could recover from an all-nighter with breathing exercises, but still.
Unlike me and Breeze Prince—who couldn't cool our hype—most logged off naturally.
"Haha... We're off to bed."
"Too tense, stomach's upset. Pop some digestive meds and crash."
"Aigoo, Qukyu! Should've said your stomach hurt and rested!"
"Felt like we'd clear soon. Meds'll fix it."
I lightly scolded Qukyu, then started drafting the strategy post.
One hour later.
"Whoa, Leader, how'd you even spot that?"
"Eh? Qukyu, still up?"
"Yeah. Hyulmyeonsu settled my stomach. Farming with Breeze Prince. Gear's lacking, so gotta level fast."
Qukyu must've had notifications on—he read my post right away and marveled.
"Whoa, you posted already?"
Breeze Prince rushed to the strategy board too.
"Ah~ A gimmick like that... Whoa, vertical slash then stance switch timing? Gold Immortal Body drops regardless of animation? How'd you know?"
Well, 'cause that's when the actual opening appears after the big move...
Can't say that, though.
"Good eyes, that's all. Gotta throw darts right then! Mobs respawning made closing in tough. Wouldn't have made it without you, Qukyu."
"Heh... You're too kind."
"Haha, true that. Our Divine Physician's got divine eyes and godlike control! Leader must really be hyped for the Sichuan Tang Clan update."
Breeze Prince chuckled.
Not my guild name, but yeah, I was waiting—joined right away.
"They'll drop it by year's end, probably."
"You believe that? Took four years after one-year promise. I say next year."
No rebuttal for Breeze Prince.
Ha, darts! Gimme my darts!
Even in-game, pure melee's so frustrating!
"You main ranged in other games, Leader?"
"Yeah. Good at aiming."
"Melee's insane too... Wonder what. Hey, main ranged? Make a Mosan Sect alt? Use talismans."
"Pfft! Where'd you get that evil sorcery?"
Mosan Sect, really?
They hadn't updated Sichuan Tang Clan but made Mosan—non-standard—first? Ridiculous.
Even if they wanted mage-like jobs.
"Ah, our Leader hates Mosan as evil sect. But Sichuan Tang Clan's neutral-ish too..."
"Qukyu?! What weird wuxia novel you read? Read my top 10 orthodox picks and talk then!"
"Eek, sorry!"
I bantered with the night owls till dawn, grinding Murim Online.
Luckiest day ever.
Got my weapon, and right before logging off, snagged legendary gear for Qukyu in a dungeon... er, cave.
"Hello hello! Good morning~."
I'd pulled an all-nighter gaming and headed to work.
First time since starting Murim Online. A night or two awake's no biggie for me, but condition management is key for a doctor.
"Director, you're in a great mood today. Something good happen?"
Whoa, that obvious? I cupped my cheeks—my grin reached my ears.
"Heh heh, yep. Something awesome."
"Ooh, went somewhere fun?"
"Kinda~ And scored something huge?"
"Ooo, Director flexing? Whatcha buy?"
As I pulled out my phone to show off, Seol Yuhee and Gong Nari waited eagerly.
"What'd the Director buy? Won a herb dryer or something?"
Seo Inae smirked, but this was way better.
I bragged to the staff with dozens of screenshots of my character.
"Ta-da! Mythic weapon! Dragon Blood Plum Blossom Sword!"
So damn cool, right? Design's nuts! DPS insane! Demonic cultists shredded so satisfyingly.
"..."
But after 50 shots of my geared character, the staff's reaction was brutal.
Even loyal Seol Yuhee, and Gong Nari with her office-worker "boss-flattery" skill, were speechless.
"What? Why the reaction?"
"Haha... Yeowon games?"
Hwang Sanghun, popping out from his consult room, said that was it.
"Yeah. Third mythic on server, first sword for Mount Hua Sect..."
I tried explaining how epic the Dragon Blood Plum Blossom Sword was.
Hwang Sanghun nodded with a faint smile.
Even I could tell—no interest, but listening 'cause boss.
No way! Five staff, zero gamers?
I gave up bragging, asked glumly.
"No issues yesterday?"
"Nope. InBody machine broke, called service... and."
Hwang Sanghun spilled as if waiting.
"Teacher Jin Minjeong left early for personal reasons, so Teacher Seo Inae covered... Oh, and insurance company rep stopped by."
Insurance? What for?
Would've called if so!