The Final Boss Has Returned
Episode 107
[Ah, already the next phase? lololol]
[That schooling was epic, right?]
[Hey! This is Yujin, hey!]
[Stop bullying the boss already-- poor thing now lol]
We hadn't even started the boss raid that long ago, and it was already transitioning to the next phase!
The chat window was utter chaos, but I had no time to worry about that.
Because, just as it spat out the words "Minion Summon," the bastard had summoned so-called "adds."
[Kieeek!]
[Kiiiiik!]
Countless tentacle monsters burst through the mucus-covered floor!
But there was no need for me to step in personally to deal with such trash mobs.
"Lowly trash. How dare you attempt to harm the Lord!"
Because I had not one, but two capable summons.
Nosferatu, the Vampire King!
Wielding his blood-red sword, he tore through the adds every which way.
Every time his blade flashed, the trash mobs collapsed like rotten bundles of straw.
Lich Dice!
He summoned undead.
The moment undead composed of zombies, ghouls, skeletons, and even two Death Knights appeared in the boss room, the numerical advantage the enemy held lost all meaning.
[Go, my soldiers. In accordance with the Apostle's will, eliminate all that filth!]
The undead charged at the adds the instant Lich Dice's command fell!
Watching that sight, I leisurely gripped the Executor of Iron Blood.
[What are you doing, Drakan? lololol]
[Drakan's a totem streamer lol]
[Hey, our Drakan is stepping up now. Watch closely.]
The chat was in the midst of a heated debate over whether I would make my move or not.
And I felt the need to put an end to that discussion.
The fact that the phase had changed meant the boss monster's health was running low!
No matter how little I cared about this dungeon, I couldn't just sit back and watch.
"Avatar of Iron Blood."
[The skill 'Avatar of Iron Blood' has been activated.]
[All stats temporarily increase by 65%.]
[Attack and Defense temporarily increase by 65%.]
[All skill effects temporarily increase by 65%.]
[Allies' stats in the vicinity temporarily increase by 32%.]
[Enemies' stats in the vicinity temporarily decrease by 32%.]
The moment I activated the skill, messages scrolled up before my eyes!
Perhaps because my victory level had increased, I smiled as I felt the immense power flooding in from the Avatar of Iron Blood—far superior to when I had first used it.
[There it is lol Drakan's avatar lolol]
[Ah lol, trying to jump in for the spoon at the last minute? Pathetic lol]
[What are you talking about? The protagonist is supposed to appear last.]
[True. Honestly, Drakan hasn't even hit max level yet; comparing him to top ranker Yujin is unfair;]
[Heuku bastards have finally lost it lol]
[Huh, what? I can't hear well because a Yut-kwi is talking?]
The moment I used Avatar of Iron Blood, the chatroom turned into pure chaos.
I waved my hand to clear the chat window and kicked off the ground, leaping into the air.
[Another mortal flies in like a moth to the flame!]
The moment the Unclean One spotted me and fired a volley of tentacles, I used a skill.
"Berserk Blade."
BOOM!
The aura condensed within the Executor of Iron Blood exploded, and simultaneously, the Unclean One's tentacle volley burst apart mercilessly.
[These damned mortals!]
The Unclean One was hurling curses now!
But its tribulations did not end there.
"Divine Strike!"
BOOM!
While the Unclean One was distracted by me rushing toward it, Yujin's Divine Strike hammered its body once more.
[Kuaaaaaaaack!!]
A wretched scream, now pitiful enough to sound tragic, filled the boss room.
At this point, it was getting hard to tell who was the monster and who was the player!
Holding the Executor of Iron Blood, I immediately plunged it into the screaming body of the Unclean One.
"Steel Storm."
And I detonated Steel Storm, into which I had poured a considerable amount of mana, right inside the Unclean One's body.
KWA-BANG!
At that moment. With an explosion, the Unclean One's giant, wound-riddled body burst like a balloon.
I smiled as I watched the dark red storm of aura erupt toward the ceiling.
[You have slain the boss monster 'Unclean One' of the dungeon 'Abandoned Temple'.]
Along with that, the boss monster's death was announced by a system notification.
[Kill steal lololol]
[Drakan's personality lolol]
[Ack lolol]
[Ah, I didn't know bullying noobs could be this fun lolol]
[Hey wait, the results window is gonna pop up now lolol]
The chatroom erupted the moment the boss monster died!
And donations exploded!
I read the chat while deactivating the Avatar of Iron Blood.
[The skill 'Avatar of Iron Blood' has been deactivated.]
Right at that moment.
A results window appeared before my eyes.
[Calculating raid contribution.]
[Raid contribution calculation complete.]
[Dungeon 'Abandoned Temple' Raid Contribution Ranking]
[1st Place: Yujin 50.00%]
[1st Place: Drakan 50.00%]
[Congratulations! You have cleared the dungeon 'Abandoned Temple' with significant raid contribution!]
[Your level has increased.]
[The Demon God of Darkness makes a subtle expression at the contribution result.]
[The Demon King of Destruction bursts into laughter at the raid result.]
[The Demon King of the Sea encourages you, saying you did well for facing a Hero.]
[The Demon King of the Sea has donated 1,000 points.]
The contribution result that appeared was, surprisingly, a clean 50:50 as if someone had cut it with a knife!
The demon kings of Bokmajeon didn't seem too pleased with that result, sending rather disgruntled messages.
Except for the Demon King of the Sea, that is.
[Oof, five-to-five lololol]
[No, how did the results come out like this? lolol wow lolol]
[First time seeing a result like this lolol]
[Hey, where's the guy who called Drakan a totem streamer earlier? I've screenshotted it, so come out while I'm speaking nicely lol]
[No, this is a scam. Hey, honestly, does 50:50 even make sense?]
[Yeah, there's no bug in Ard Saga~]
[Where's the scam lol? It's the System-nim's fair verdict lolol]
[True lolol, System's verdict is acknowledged~]
And with that, the chatroom burst into collective guffaws!
I looked over the endlessly scrolling chat while analyzing in my head how the raid contribution had come out in a perfect 50-50 split like a knife cut.
'My summons slaughtered all the trash mobs inside the dungeon, but my boss fight contribution was low. On the other hand, Yujin couldn't kill any trash mobs but had high boss fight contribution. It seems this result came about because of that.'
Truly a dramatic result born of coincidence upon coincidence!
Considering that my summons' raid contribution was converted to mine, it was only natural that the contribution for clearing all the trash mobs went to me since my summons had handled them all.
But my boss fight contribution was low.
On the other hand, Yujin hadn't killed a single trash mob, but he had dealt massive burst damage during the boss fight, so the system's calculation was quite exquisitely fair, all things considered.
"I'm glad the results turned out well."
Having apparently seen the raid results window too, Yujin retracted his wings of light and descended to the ground, approaching me to say this.
"Yeah. It's exactly half-and-half, like it was staged."
Yujin scratched his cheek and smiled at my words, and watching him, I spoke.
"What about item distribution? What method should we use? Roll dice? Or auction?"
Loot distribution!
This could be called the alpha and omega of dungeon raiding.
Because items were, along with experience points, the ultimate goal for users running dungeons.
It was an everyday occurrence so common it hardly counted as news anymore—due to loot distribution, even after clearing a dungeon smoothly, things could leave a bad taste, cause discord between guild members or party members, or escalate to heated arguments on the Ard forum's grievance board.
In the previous game, there simply was no distribution system prepared by the game itself, so "ninjas" who snatched items and ran were rampant—it was chaos itself. But in Second, the developers recognized this issue and implemented item distribution systems like dice rolls or auctions, so at least the confusion surrounding loot distribution had decreased somewhat.
"Honestly, I don't really care about the items. Drakan-nim can take them all."
Yujin grinned and said that in response to my words.
Well, being a top ranker, he probably wasn't very satisfied with items from an S-rank dungeon.
That must be why he was conceding them to me like this.
[Oh, as expected of our Yujin-nim!]
[True, I told you Yujin-nim is kind.]
[Is that kindness lol? That's being a pushover lolol]
[At Yujin's level, would he even need the junk items from a dungeon like this? lol He's just showboating, disgusting right?]
[You're next, Heuku]
[I said something because you Yut-kwi bastards' praise is disgusting, and now you're calling me a Heuku again lol Ah lol I'm so wronged lol I fucking hate Totem-kan;]
[Then try saying 'Drakan is a fucking dog' lol]
And the problem, if there was one, was that this distribution process was being livestreamed.
In the chatroom, which was now refreshing almost every second, my fandom the Heuku and Drakan's fandom the Church of Infinite Yujin were fighting a fierce battle over whether Yujin's concession just now was showboating or pure goodwill.
I looked at Yujin and thought.
Of course, what the bastard said probably came from pure goodwill.
Because he was enough of a pushover for that.
But the problem was the way his goodwill was being magnified into a heartwarming anecdote.
It was a trivial matter if one could call it that, but I couldn't just stand by and watch him gain even the slightest benefit from anything, no matter how trivial.
They say your stomach hurts when even a cousin buys land; if your sworn enemy bought land, your stomach might just tear open!
"There's no need for that. I think I told you before. Since this loot was obtained through the raiding efforts of the two of us, we should obviously distribute it through a fair process."
I spoke to Yujin as if insisting on principle, and only then did Yujin smile awkwardly and scratch his cheek.
"My thinking was shortsighted."
As expected, Yujin readily conceded the moment he heard my principle.
[No lol why is this so needlessly heartwarming lol]
[Drakan refusing items? Is this the Drakan I know?]
[Hey, that bastard might not even be Drakan. Has he been hacked?]
[Drakan refusing items; what on earth am I even watching right now;;]
The chatroom was plunged into chaos, and immensely satisfied at having snatched away the bastard's trivial gain, I called Lich Dice and ordered the loot collection.
[Here, I have presented the loot.]
Lich Dice had instantly collected the loot and laid it out on the floor!
I tried to examine the items that had come from the boss mob.
Right at that moment.
Oooong!
Among the items laid out on the floor, light began to flow from the most conspicuous ominous violet crystal.
'What is this?'
The moment I narrowed my eyes.
[The Dimensional Stone and the Corrupted Moonlight Stone Necklace are resonating.]
A brief message floated before my eyes.
[Your inventory is opening.]
Along with that, my inventory opened on its own, and soon the Corrupted Moonlight Stone Necklace floated into the air, emanating an ominous purple light.
"What in the world is this......"
Yujin looked surprised by the sudden item resonance, but I was calm.
'So that's why the clues weren't appearing—a quest item was hidden among the loot?'
The quest to find the Lycanthrope's whereabouts!
I had come all the way to the Wolf Den and cleared the dungeon, but when no clues appeared, I was planning to search the boss room after the loot distribution was finished. Now, that was no longer necessary.
Dimensional Stone!
Because a quest item powerful enough to open my inventory by force had appeared.
Oooooong!
At that moment, while I was analyzing the quest in my head like that.
[An unstable Dimensional Gate is opening.]
An ominous alert floated before my eyes.