The Final Boss Has Returned - Episode 151
Hive Mind!
As befit the final boss of Phase 2, Hive Mind endured for quite a long time against an assault closer to war than a raid, composed of the strongest elite forces—including Yujin and Drakan—regardless of whether they were users or NPCs.
Hive Mind thrashed violently, unleashing not only the Judgment of Will but also all sorts of bizarre skills that materialized mental strength!
But in the current unprecedented situation where all of Arde Saga Second's military power was concentrated in one place—a precedent unfindable anywhere in Arde World's entire history—such thrashing from Hive Mind was meaningless.
In the end, Hive Mind met its demise after the desperate struggle of the Over Ranker suicide squad led by Yujin and Drakan, who had infiltrated deep into its very body.
The spectacle of every single Over Ranker, including members of the Lightwing Guild, united under a single objective was undoubtedly a sight that would likely never be seen again.
[You have slain Hive Mind.]
"Damn it all."
Drakan let out a sigh as he looked at the system message announcing Hive Mind's death that appeared before his eyes.
Though Drakan had been through battles on land, sea, and air from the previous game until now, this raid was the most brutally difficult one in his entire gaming life.
The place where the Over Ranker suicide squad stood was none other than the heart chamber.
This room made of red flesh, where Hive Mind's heart and core had been located, was strewn with clusters of tentacles everywhere.
"I didn't know it would be to this extent. If we two had challenged it with only our own power, we might have brought disaster upon ourselves instead."
Yujin also muttered this with an expression showing he was exhausted for the first time in Second.
Yujin.
As he said, Hive Mind was a mighty foe among mighty foes.
Before launching the raid, both Yujin and Drakan had believed that even without Xiongmao and Simseong's assistance, they could succeed if they were prepared to suffer heavy losses, but once the lid was lifted, that prediction had been tragically off the mark.
Despite mobilizing ordinary users without limit to secure numerical superiority, Hive Mind's main body was no easy opponent.
Attacks that materialized mental strength were merely the basics; on top of that, there were acidic and toxic fluids pouring out from within its body, not to mention the tentacle clusters and monsters parasitizing inside it!
Truly, against the resistance of Hive Mind which thrashed about with everything at its disposal, the suicide squad—not to mention the entirety of the gathered forces—had to cross the brink of annihilation several times.
But that too was now over.
Hive Mind.
Because it had finally fallen.
[Calculating Hive Mind raid contribution.]
Soon after, another notification window appeared before the eyes of every Over Ranker present.
Hive Mind raid contribution!
It was a raid they had finally succeeded in after breaking through countless obstacles, and since it was the most difficult raid in Arde Saga's history, the raid contribution—which naturally determined the distribution of rewards according to the high-risk, high-return rule—could not help but be the focus of all attention.
[Contribution's up!!]
[Who's gonna take 1st in contribution?]
[It's Drakan nim~]
[Here comes the fanboy lol]
[A true fanboy;;]
[Honestly I'm a fanboy too but I don't think Drakan nim can take 1st;]
[Yujin's 1st no matter how you look at it. Seriously god-tier;;]
[2nd place is basically the strongest human lol]
Of course, since this entire situation was being broadcast live to users around the world through Arde Live, users who had just breathed a sigh of relief at having prevented Arde World's destruction immediately latched onto this fresh bait and began debating fervently about the contribution rankings.
A small number of Drakan fans claimed Drakan was 1st in contribution, but such claims were hardly accepted.
Yujin!
The performance he showed in this raid was so incredible that even users who stood at the complete opposite end from Yujin—who normally hated Yujin or his toxic fandom, the Infinite Yujin Cult—couldn't help but acknowledge it.
In this Hive Mind raid, Yujin had revealed all the combat power he had kept hidden until now.
Because it would have been impossible to succeed otherwise.
Every time the golden blade of the Holy Sword he raised flashed, enemies fell like leaves in an autumn wind—that was only natural—but the scenes where he pulled out without hesitation the remaining two ultimate skills, 'Incarnation of Radiance' and 'Final Light,' excluding 'Hero's Strike' and 'Solar Manifestation' which he had already shown in the Cool Breeze Valley siege, truly evoked the image of a real Hero of Light that one might only see in a fantasy novel.
Every time the raid faced the crisis of annihilation, it was mostly Yujin who created a breakthrough, and through this raid, Yujin had firmly solidified before the eyes of all users exactly why he was a top ranker.
Therefore, 1st place in contribution was out of the question, and what users were interested in was 2nd place in contribution.
2nd place in contribution!
A rank that could be called the strongest of the human realm, if one excluded Yujin who was on an insurmountable level!
Fierce battles broke out in the chatroom over who would take that 2nd place.
[2nd place is obviously Drakan nim for real]
[If not Drakan, who else can claim to be the strongest human?]
[Are you ignoring Sword Emperor right now?]
[Honestly, Sword Emperor's performance was better than Drakan's;]
[Sword Emperor is literally the strongest class among Over Rankers, look at these fanboys blinded by Drakan talking nonsense lol]
[Wujing was the best. He showed the dignity of a great power's player.]
[-Best-]
["1 second"]
Excluding some Chinese users who brought up Wujing, the vast majority of users were divided into two factions.
Sword Emperor Argen!
The user who held the existing title of 'Strongest Human,' the strongest among Over Rankers, and the 2nd place user who had been infinitely close to 1st place!
Would he, who wielded swordsmanship close to miraculous, take 2nd place!
Or if not him, would Drakan—the rising sun, the former top ranker and leader of the Dark Alliance whose challenge to Yujin's hegemony was already an established fact—take 2nd place!
At the very moment when users watching the broadcast were fiercely fighting over the bait of 'Strongest Human.'
[Hive Mind raid contribution calculation has been completed.]
The raid contribution calculation was finished.
[It's here!]
[Is it up?]
[Is 2nd place up?]
The raid contribution result rankings that not only the suicide squad members themselves but the entire world was focused on!
Those rankings were finally revealed along with a notification window.
[Hive Mind Raid Contribution Rankings]
1st place. Yujin (25.36%)
2nd place. Drakan (11.34%)
3rd place. Argen (8.54%)
…….
Thus, the 2nd place contribution spot went to Drakan.
[11%!!!]
[Kya, as expected of Drakan nim!]
[The strongest human from now on is Drakan nim.]
[Sword Emperor with his measly 8% lol]
[Sword Emperor lol this punk who was comfortably picking up crumbs beside Yujin, where does he get off lol]
[Honestly, didn't he just get that seat by riding coattails?]
[For real, wasn't Sword Emperor just a small-time guild master in the previous game?]
[Sword Emperor stans acting all high and mighty was disgusting, so this is great lol]
[Our King Drakan just steamrolls the likes of Sword Emperor without even needing his awakening, I'm telling you~]
Along with that, the chatroom truly exploded.
Drakan!
The fact that he had beaten Sword Emperor in the contribution rankings did not end with simply being one rank higher.
Strongest Human!
Strongest Over Ranker!
It meant that the title Sword Emperor had held until now had now virtually fallen into Drakan's grasp.
'Damn it all.'
Argen, looking at the result window, felt his insides burning black with rage.
Drakan.
Argen knew all too well that Drakan had shown otherworldly super plays with overwhelming physical ability throughout this raid, as he had vividly seen and heard it right beside him.
But to think that he would actually be pushed out in contribution!
This was a result Argen had not predicted.
'To think it was to this extent.'
Argen's gaze turned toward Drakan.
Of course, strictly speaking, the match between him and Drakan wasn't completely decided by just this one time.
But separate from that, the problem was that this contribution ranking was already being broadcast to the entire world, and all users would perceive the ranking as a generational change of the 'Strongest Human.'
'I must finish the quest as soon as possible.'
Argen recalled the Myth-grade quest he had been secretly proceeding with, hidden even from the Lightwing Guild.
Though it had been briefly delayed due to Broken World, that Myth-grade quest was also now nearing its end.
If he could just complete that quest, he would finally be able to join the ranks of EX-grade that he had so longed for even in his dreams.
Argen calmed his bitter heart with that thought.
Whether Argen thought that way or not, Drakan was looking at the contribution ranking result window without paying his gaze any mind at all.
'A result as expected.'
Unlike the chatroom's reaction, which was practically holding a festival of frenzy, Drakan was hardly shaken by the contribution result.
Because it was something he had already predicted.
Sword Emperor Argen.
Drakan knew very well that he held nicknames like Strongest Over Ranker and Strongest Human.
But crucially, Argen was comprehensively lacking in physical ability compared to Drakan.
As pointed out in the chatroom, the reason he had been able to rise to where he was now was not because of his physical ability, but because he had grabbed onto the sturdy lifeline called Yujin and grown up comfortably picking up crumbs beside him.
'A hothouse flower cannot overcome the tenacity of a wild weed.'
Drakan smiled as he thought that.
Though Argen carried grandiose modifiers like Strongest Over Ranker and whatnot, he was after all an 'Over Ranker' just like himself.
The difference between Argen and Drakan was truly nothing more than a few sheets of paper stacked together.
Of course, if ultra-high-level users on the level of ordinary Over Rankers fought in actual combat, even a difference of a few sheets of paper would feel huge, but Drakan's overwhelming physical ability—which allowed him to fight on equal terms with Yujin uniquely—became the means to easily bridge such a gap.
'I didn't even covet 1st place from the start.'
What Drakan was concerned about was not Argen, but another.
Drakan's gaze turned to Yujin, who was smiling brightly.
Yujin.
In this raid, Drakan keenly felt that the gap between him and that guy was greater than he had expected.
Of course, since Yujin had revealed all his skills without holding back, Drakan had roughly expected what Yujin's full power would be like.
But the performance that guy had shown, combining his overwhelming physical ability, cheat-level skills, and the Myth-grade item Holy Sword, was terrifying from Drakan's perspective.
'But I'm gradually getting closer now.'
But Drakan was not very disappointed by that.
Undefeated Quest!
Aerial Mobile Fortress Voltaha!
Because he was already almost certain that if he completed just that, he would be able to ascend to EX-grade.
Yujin.
The moment he rose to the same position as that guy would be the right time to begin the grand scheme of rebellion.
Drakan smiled as he thought that.