Zone 2 Raid (1)
A week passed in the blink of an eye.
Between pouring every spare moment into leveling up and researching the boss’s attack patterns while sharing strategies, there simply hadn’t been enough time.
Yet the promised hour had arrived, and no one could stop a train already in motion.
“Today, we located the boss of Zone 2.”
Emily, standing at last upon the platform, declared to the front-line players.
“Tomorrow, we will liberate Zone 2!”
The Zone 2 boss raid was about to begin.
It was right after Ian had reached level 16.
This raid, too, placed Ian in Emily’s party—the raid leader’s group.
As she walked among the crowd toward the cave that housed the altar, Naira draped an arm around her shoulders.
“Whoa, what’s with that outfit? It’s seriously hot. Yeah, it suits you.”
“Get off.”
“Why’ve you been hiding something like this all this time? Oh, wait—don’t tell me someone caught your eye?”
“That’s not it.”
“Hmm… fine, I’ll believe you.”
“Haah…”
Ian was wearing her usual cloak, but this time the front hung open instead of being tightly wrapped. As a result, the daring design of the Savior’s Proof was completely exposed. Not only Naira, but Mugi and the other raid members kept stealing glances at her.
‘I know there’s no helping it, but…’
Ian had been male in reality, so she understood how they felt when they stared. She just hadn’t expected even the women to look. Then again, how many of them were actually women?
Still, knowing that in her head didn’t stop the constant stares from grating on her nerves. At this rate, she worried she might collapse from high blood pressure before they even reached the boss.
Today, however, she couldn’t rely on magic alone like before. Even with Mugi the mage present, a fierce battle would inevitably force her to draw her sword.
When that happened, hiding it would be impossible anyway. The boss wasn’t the kind of opponent she could afford to hold back against.
So she had decided it was better to show the armor now, while things were still calm, rather than in the middle of a frantic fight. After all, shock tended to dull with time.
Besides…
‘There’s no way I’m letting that woman have her way.’
Threatening to reveal what was underneath unless Ian called her “big sister”? Fine. She would show everything herself and shut her up for good.
With that defiant thought, Ian had boldly left the front of her cloak open—only for Naira to immediately latch on.
“Whoa, look at those abs. Your legs are crazy toned too. Mind if I cop a feel?”
“Not happening.”
“C’mon, we’re both girls. It’s not like it’ll wear off. Here, just let me slip a hand between your chest—”
“Be honest. You’re not actually a girl, are you?”
“Hey, where else are you gonna find a heavenly beauty like me? You’re the one at fault for looking so damn tempting.”
“What kind of bullshit is that?”
Between Naira’s relentless teasing and the nonstop stares, Ian had no choice but to admit her judgment had been wrong.
That didn’t mean she had any intention of calling Emily “big sister,” though.
While enduring Naira’s harassment, Ian and the others reached the cave entrance where the altar waited. She glanced back at the raid members who would be fighting alongside her.
Sixty players in total. Normally a raid was limited to forty people across ten parties, but this time they had chosen to rotate groups with extra breathing room. The goal was to minimize casualties by thoroughly learning and executing the boss’s patterns.
Even so…
‘Their faces still look pretty grim.’
Everyone’s expressions were stiff with tension. No matter how many of them had reached the average level of 15, fear wasn’t something easily overcome.
‘Not that I’m one to talk.’
Ian placed a hand over her chest. Her palm was slick with cold sweat, and she could feel her heart hammering.
Yeah. She was scared. Of course she was. From the start, her goal had never been to clear the raid.
“Hoo…”
She let out a long breath anyway. To push the fear down, even a little. To survive this time as well. Ian steeled herself once more.
“Let’s go in.”
Emily’s voice rang out. Carrying their own resolves in their hearts, the players stepped into the cave.
After cutting down the bats lurking inside and pushing through the darkness, they finally reached the altar’s entrance.
Emily pointed to a spot a short distance from the entrance.
“We’ll make this our base camp.”
Setting up the camp went quickly. They lit a bonfire, brightening the surroundings with flames, and soon had a passable base established.
Staring into the flickering fire, the raid members finished their final checks. Emily, the raid leader, slammed her shield hard against the ground.
-Bang!
“Is everyone ready?”
The players listened to her voice and nodded.
They had done everything they could. All that remained was to throw themselves into the fight with everything they had.
Emily pointed toward the altar.
“What we’re facing are the heroes of the past. This will be another difficult battle.”
But then she struck the ground with her shield again. With a resolute expression, she declared to the players,
“We will win this time as well. Let’s all survive and move on to the next zone.”
Emily turned to face the altar entrance and raised her shield forward.
“All units, advance!”
-Waaaaah!
With battle cries, the players charged into the altar.
[Humans… those human bastards….]
At the same time, the long-dormant stone tablet awakened. A torrent of light burst from it and seeped into seven stone statues.
-Rumble…!
The statues began to move. The ancient heroes lifted their weapons.
Their blades turned toward the players standing on the ground.
Finally—
“Everyone, prepare for battle!”
[I’ll slaughter you all!]
Emily’s and the boss’s voices signaled the start of the fight.
The first statue to swing its weapon at the players was Beo of the Wilds, who bore the head of a bear. His axe, glowing yellow, swept toward them.
“Shit! It’s actually using skills!”
Someone shouted, but they had already anticipated the possibility of skills during their strategy meetings.
Emily calmly called out,
“Shields! Everyone forward!”
The shield users moved in unison to the front line. Their most basic skills flared to life.
-Clang!
The attack was too powerful for any single person to block, but the combined barrier held firm and stopped the axe cold.
That opening was all they needed. Emily gritted her teeth and shouted,
“Now!”
Arrows rained down like a storm. A whirlwind of flames and blooming flowers of ice followed.
-Crack!
Fractures spread across the once-solid statue.
“Yes! It’s working!”
“Quit celebrating and smash it already!”
The melee dealers surged in, hacking at the statue with their weapons. Beo’s statue tried to resist, but—
-Boom!
—it ultimately collapsed. Confidence bloomed on the players’ faces, which had been tight with tension.
[You human scum! I won’t forgive you!]
The furious voice of the tablet echoed as the statue fell. Another surge of light erupted from it, and this time the statues of Vidor, the eagle-headed archer, and Brunhilde, the gauntlet-wielder, began to move.
“This time it’s gauntlets and a bow! Everyone, switch to Formation C!”
As prearranged, the ten parties shifted into a two-line horizontal formation to meet the approaching statues.
Meanwhile, Brunhilde’s statue closed in. Its fists, glowing purple, loomed over the players’ heads. Five shields rose to intercept the descending strike.
-Boom!
Brunhilde’s fist crashed against the shields.
“H-heavy!”
“Hold the line!”
The blow was so powerful that arms trembled. The formation didn’t break, but they were barely holding on.
Then, from all ten parties, another volley of powerful arrows and magic rained down on the statue.
-Boom!
Brunhilde crossed its arms in a desperate block. The players’ attack hadn’t landed a decisive blow, but the impact left cracks along the statue’s arms.
That was when—
-Whoosh!
Vidor’s green-glowing arrow, which had been waiting for an opening behind Brunhilde, shot toward the rear of the players’ formation. It was an attack meant to eliminate the troublesome archers and mages. This time, the shield users in the back created a barrier to stop it.
-Clang!
It felt like trying to halt a car at full speed, but the players gritted their teeth and held.
Brunhilde and Vidor’s statues unleashed a tricky combination of attacks. Shaura, who had been surveying the battlefield, suggested to Emily,
“How about ending the first try here?”
“We should at least push through this phase.”
“…Fine, let’s do that.”
Even so, blocking attacks coming from two directions wasn’t easy.
Time to choose.
“Everyone except the shield users, focus fire on Brunhilde! Five shield parties, fall back to the rear!”
Emily decided to endure the arrow attacks as best they could and destroy Brunhilde’s statue first. Even with one less shield, stopping the follow-up punches wasn’t easy.
“It’s going to break through at this rate!”
“Just hold on a little longer! Are your skills still on cooldown?!”
“They’re ready!”
“Okay! Everyone, scatter!”
The players kept driving Brunhilde back. A dazzling display of seven different weapon skills poured into the statue.
-Crack!
“One down!”
The players’ morale surged. And a rear line that had lost its front was bound to collapse.
“Everyone, push forward!”
Without a single death, the players brought down Vidor’s statue as well.
Four statues remained: Tyr the Punisher, Sigurd the Unyielding, Eira the Merciful, and the nameless spear warrior.
But after checking the party’s condition, Emily shouted,
“First try complete! Everyone, retreat!”
The pressure of it being their first attempt, combined with the heavy stamina drain, had left everyone exhausted. Continuing the try in this state risked casualties. It was a shame, but now was the time to refine their strategy.
Relief lit up their faces. Without waiting for orders, everyone turned and began to run before the statues could move again.
But—
[There is no escape!]
At that moment, a barrier of light sealed the exit. Realizing their only way out was blocked, the players were horrified.
Adrian’s and Shaura’s voices trembled.
“Th-there wasn’t anything like this last time!”
“Did the phase change cause this?”
No one could explain why such a change had occurred. The only certainty was that they were now trapped inside the altar.
“We have no choice but to clear it somehow…”
To escape, they had to defeat the boss.
Yet—
[This place shall be your grave!]
The furious cry of the altar’s master echoed within. Tyr, Sigurd, and Eira—sword, shield, and staff—three statues advanced toward the players.
To claim their lives.