The Nerf That Brought No Relief
Unlike the Nice Team, who were chewing, tearing, savoring, and thoroughly enjoying the slightly toned-down Bolekia, most raid parties were still struggling desperately against an overwhelming difficulty. Aside from a few exceptions, the majority hadn’t even cleared Palacus, let alone reached Bolekia. [System: Konel has died.]
And here, streamer Konel—who had just been killed by Palacus—was one of the prisoners still trapped at the second gate.
“No, that reflex pattern is actually ridiculous. Making it so you have to react instantly and then throwing in a fake is just straight-up evil.”
Of course, for the viewers who were only watching, it was pure entertainment. They were completely detached from the pain of repeated wipes, simply observing the streamer’s suffering. It was the perfect example of “comedy from afar, tragedy up close.”
To those watching, it looked like the second gate wasn’t even that hard. “They fixed the bug and people still can’t clear it? Others did it with the bug in place.” They casually acted as if it should be easy for anyone.
“No, guys, you only know one side of the story.”
Konel could only feel wronged.
“What do you call it, a nerf? More like a bug fix, technically. Anyway, doesn’t that mean it got easier?”
Strictly speaking, it had gotten easier. But only on paper.
“No, you used to die without even knowing why, and now at least you know what killed you. How is that easier?? Try it yourselves!”
The original difficulty had been so absurd that even after fixing the bug, it remained brutally hard. From Konel’s perspective, the previous version had actually been preferable. At least back then, if the angle didn’t line up, you could just give up. But now… it was still difficult, yet not completely impossible. That ambiguous middle ground was the worst.
“If it wasn’t a bug, I could’ve just cleanly given up. This is driving me insane. So this is what they meant by despair-inducing difficulty?”
Whether intentional or not, the developers had just shown the players exactly what “despair” felt like.
What? The patterns were fast because of a bug? Then of course it makes sense now. That speed was ridiculous. But wait, it’s still fast? Didn’t they say it was nerfed? The developers mercilessly slapped the cheeks of those who returned full of hope.
“Aigoo… Yeah, good work.”
Dungeon abandoned 3/8
This was already the fifth party wipe. Konel had been attempting Bolekia with makeshift raid parties formed from random applicants. Because the members were unvetted, problematic players often appeared, and every time the party collapsed, Konel felt like his soul was leaving his body.
Then why not gather reliable people and form a proper raid?
“You need people to form a raid! I don’t have friends!!”
Sometimes even an innocent question could wound someone deeply.
“Sigh… I’m gonna take a break for today. I’ve been going hard since morning… nothing’s working out. Maybe I really should give up.”
“Of course I’m not giving up, I was just saying. Did the others clear it already? Oh right, how far has the Nice Team gotten?”
“Ah, should I go watch? It’ll probably take me another day or two to get there. At least I can get used to the patterns.”
“Hmm, let’s see… They say Seongna is the best? I was gonna watch Eder hyung, but I guess I’ll go with Seongna’s stream.”
Exhausted from endless wipes, Konel decided to change his content. Instead of broadcasting his own hopeless second-gate attempts, he would watch the Nice Team’s conquest of Bolekia. It was basically turning into a reaction stream, and while some might say “then why would anyone watch your stream,” it was still better than watching his own endless Palacus failures. Honestly, he just wanted a break.
“One second, I’m asking Seongna for permission.”
A beautiful, slightly husky voice suddenly flowed into Konel’s stream. Even with a hint of hoarseness, her natural tone was so lovely that it still sounded pleasant.
Viewers encountering Seongna for the first time were in complete chaos.
Those who already knew Seongna found the reaction hilarious. Once they learned what kind of person she was, laughter would come before admiration. Though even they couldn’t deny her voice was beautiful.
“No, guys…? This is my stream…”
“…Fine.”
“Thank you so much, Seongna. You’ll be blessed.”
“…Huh?”
“No, I, uh, that’s… huh?”
Technically, it was common courtesy to show some sincerity first when requesting a raid tour. Konel had planned to ask for permission and then send a donation afterward. He just hadn’t expected her to demand money so openly. Wouldn’t that hurt her image?
What Konel didn’t know was that Seongna’s image was already at rock bottom. There was nowhere left to fall, so no one cared even if she acted this shamelessly.
It was the classic behavior of an attention-seeking soldier. The type that’s hard to become, but once you are, no one touches you. “That’s just how she is,” and the person who proudly owns that label was none other than Seongnyeo Naise.
“I didn’t know she had that kind of personality. She’s… unique. Anyway, since I got permission, I’ll proudly do the raid tour.”
“Tsk, shut up. It’s embarrassing.”
After the small commotion, Konel began watching in earnest.
“Wow, the patterns are really nasty. Why are they all AoEs?”
Ting—
“Wow, she’s just eating the pattern with Perfect Guard? She’s actually insane.”
“Her timing is really good too. Her reaction speed is insane. The patterns are fast, but how does she—”
“Huh?”
Konel doubted his own ears for a moment. The speed was already fast enough that a single moment of carelessness would kill you. She called that slow? Then how fast had the original Bolekia been?
“No, guys, they’re joking, right? How is that slow…”
From Konel’s perspective, it had to be an exaggeration. But then—
After seeing the actual speed, he understood why they said that.
Only those with the courage to face it can block the golden sword aura. Good luck.
“No, guys, that was the slowed-down version?”
Without meaning to, Konel was beginning to feel the wall.
He acknowledged that the Nice Team was the number one raid, but he had believed that if he joined a properly organized party, he could at least reach their level. But that wasn’t the case.
It was just a game, just one raid in an MMO, but Konel felt the difference in starting lines. Watching people treat patterns he couldn’t even react to as “slow” and perfectly guarding each one made him realize it. Of course, he had to consider that they had been practicing non-stop for two full days, so their pattern familiarity was on another level.
“Wow… guys, I’m just gonna give up.”
“This… I don’t think this is a raid I can clear. I think it’s better to just give up on First Clear, everyone.”
What had started as simple spectating had turned into a lesson in humility for Konel. Ah, this isn’t something I can clear. Giving up cleanly would be better for my mental health.
“I’ll just keep watching Seongna’s stream today and do a support stream. Everyone, I guarantee it. These people are definitely getting the First Clear.”
And so, on the third day of Bolekia attempts, the Nice Team ended their session with a top rating of 100 boss HP bars remaining. In just one day since the normalization patch, they had managed to shave off nearly a third of the boss’s health.