Chapter 247
[The first reward is a title. Obvious, right? We're giving you a title befitting the first.]
- Kyaa!
- Well, there's no place where titles are as important as in RPGs lol
- It's a one-of-a-kind title, you know lol
[The second reward is a raid statue that can be placed in the guild hall. Some guild members own statues, but I doubt any guild leader would refuse putting this in the guild.]
- lmao lol
- Just one statue like that elevates the guild's class!
- Guild members... please don't leave us
- But what if the guild leader got the first clear?
- What if there are eight statues?
The director in the video smiled, and Ppoppi Papa beside him added a word.
"Hmm, if I get something like that, I might not be able to return to the blood alliance."
- lol If Ppoppi's father succeeds, he's in a first clear raid of less than ten people here! But over there, he's only a server lord. Huh? Why does a server lord seem cooler? Is this a bug?
- lolololololololol
- Honestly, Boss King of the server is way more awesome lol
- Anyway, looks like insane rewards
[The third reward, yes. It's the last, but also the greatest. The third reward is a skin avatar!]
A skin avatar simply means clothes.
But what kind of skin avatar could be called the greatest?
[We will create a dedicated avatar that only those of you in the first clear raid can use. We'll invite you to the game company and actively reflect your preferences.]
Oh?
This is, admittedly, acceptable.
Normally, creating an avatar can be sold for huge profits, but using that manpower solely for one party means treating them that well.
[Shouldn't there be this level of specialness?]
- Kyaa!
- I can keep wearing a custom avatar in the game? lol
- Geumsugangsan! Geumsugangsan! Geumsugangsan! Geumsugangsan!
- Aegukgangsan
- This is acceptable!
[Haha. Then let's leave the reward talk and now talk about the raid's detailed info. First, the raid size many predicted to be eight is actually three per party, two parties, so six people. Yes, sorry for the unconventional number.]
- So that's why they said at the showcase not to form parties in advance lol
- The director clearly said there's a high chance it wouldn't be eight, you guys
- I don't know, but I've already found eight people, what do I do? lol
- You're doing this to save on making two avatars, right!
- This is right
[Then it seems I've told you all I can. I'll say it clearly: the difficulty is truly tough.]
The video ended.
It was quite impressive.
In the end, they threw out necessary information and fired up the users with rewards.
They'd apparently been explaining the various circumstances beforehand so people would accept them.
'I didn't watch the showcase.'
They say it was the showcase that changed the game's fate.
Anyway.
Ppoppi Papa spoke.
"Hmm, this is a bit troublesome then, isn't it?"
He probably said it because of the raid size, but unlike his words, he didn't look particularly troubled.
Seo Jun thought he knew why.
Ppoppi Papa was subtly checking his reaction.
Glance.
Glance glance.
"Hehehe, Dogwang, with our raid members like this, I think we'd have to completely redo it from scratch, right?"
He casually gauged Seo Jun with his eyes and threw out a feeler.
"Huh? Hyung. Hmm... Is that so?"
"Hehehe, but how did Sword God-nim set up his group?"
Look at that.
He acted exactly as Seo Jun expected.
Ppoppi Papa is testing the waters because he wants to join his raid.
Abandoning even his existing raid.
'He's the guild leader, so abandoning it probably doesn't matter much, and it seems they had roughly formed it but were planning to lock it in starting today after getting the info.'
Seo Jun first counted the members.
They hadn't seriously gathered yet, but the people to join were roughly decided.
Seo Jun, Taewoo, Dangso, Sisik Koneo.
They were two short.
"Well, these guys will stay as they are, right? You're not going to drop them, are you?"
"Of course not!"
Dangso is naturally not dropped.
[MartSisikKoneoroYeonmyeongham: Oh, you're really including me too?]
[MartSisikKoneoroYeonmyeongham: The Four Kings are dead, just wait lol]
That guy also seemed full of confidence when he typed in chat.
Taewoo?
"Hmm..."
"What?"
"If the difficulty is much higher than expected, it'll take days, right?"
"Probably."
"Hmm..."
Taewoo was pondering.
The director was openly calling it an unprecedented difficulty. Seeing the rewards, the chance of the clear itself being hard is 100%.
Honestly, Taewoo was confident in his skills, but he was skeptical whether it reached the level of aiming for the first clear.
If so, there would definitely be retries because of his mistakes. Then if public opinion turns bad and they fail?
Since it could genuinely become troublesome in reality, Taewoo was postponing his answer when—
Seo Jun chuckled and said.
"Hey. Don't worry. I'll bus you."
Taewoo's worries vanished completely.
"I'll do it."
Beginner or not, that bastard Jin Seo Jun says he'll bus him—no, spaceship him—so what's there to worry about?
It was a sentence that crossed Taewoo's mind in a mere 0.1 second.
"Alright."
"Hehehe. Then it's four people. Where will you fill the remaining two?"
His intentions are just too transparent.
Keke.
Seo Jun showed mercy to his junior.
The junior also speaking honorifically to his senior was part of it.
"Would you like to join us?"
"Oh! Hehehe. Let's see, if I divide my guild members by six..."
Even if it didn't divide perfectly, he'd still do it.
"But! First, you should know there'll be a disadvantage if you do it with me."
"Oh? What is it?"
"I'm a streamer, so I'll be broadcasting the raid. Inevitably, as that monster said earlier, others can gain benefits."
They gain nothing, but what about other regular players?
From his broadcast, from their competitor, they can gain minor tips and even puzzle-solving methods.
Especially for mechanics in the later part of the raid, to get used to them and find the solving method, you can only do so after clearing all the preceding mechanics each time.
But on the first trials, because you can't master the earlier mechanics, reaching the later mechanics to study and practice isn't easy either.
But what if they can get information on the later raid that another team progressed?
The reduction in learning curve from that is much larger than one thinks.
"Are you still okay with that, Ppoppi Papa-nim?"
He wouldn't be someone who doesn't know this.
And Ppoppi Papa laughed and answered.
"Of course I'm fine with something like that."
"Is that so. Then shall we do it?"
"Good! No. Ahem. First, I should listen to my guild members' opinions..."
"What about the two next to you if Ppoppi Papa-nim doesn't join...?"
"Wait! First, I'll do it. I'm the guild leader, so what can they say if I'm missing?"
As expected.
"Wow, hyung."
"You're really ditching us?"
"No, I just think it'll be more fun doing it with this young man."
"Is that so."
"Then, there's one left. Since Dangso and Sisik Koneo-nim decided to be supporters, we just need to recruit one dealer."
Dangso is a mage, Sisik Koneo is a mechanic.
Both said they'd set support builds if needed, so it actually didn't matter who came.
"Ha! Since when did I say I'd be a support! Find a support! I'm a dealer! Definitely a dealer!"
It truly didn't matter.
"Mion-nim?"
"Ah, I can't abandon my guild members."
"Are you ignoring me!"
Ignoring was correct.
Black Moon Sword Emperor and Heaven-Shattering Dogwang shook their heads.
Hmm.
"Who should we get? We do need someone really good though."
- Take me!
- Probably pick one from the Sword God squad lol
- How about that guy? He's good, 119
"The one who recommended 'Sword God 119' in chat as being good? Are you perhaps 119-nim yourself?"
Seo Jun checked the chat.
The person from earlier typed again.
- No lol
His shield timing and dodging were no ordinary.
Seo Jun can remember most fights.
So the Sword God 119 he remembered today was indeed a good user.
"It's a shame. If he were actually our guild's 119-nim, I'd pick him."
He's a support, satisfying Dangso's requirement too.
No sooner had Seo Jun finished speaking than chat came up again.
- Actually, I am hehe
"Hahaha. Prove it. But you're sneakily recommending yourself. Just Dangso. Just Taewoo. And..."
The uncle who calls a Samoyed a private equity fund, and the person whose internet and reality are polar opposites.
"Hmm... Everyone's abnormal except me?"
Seo Jun lamented.
Anyway, the party was formed.
- The problem is you, you
- When next to the room master, abnormality becomes normal lol
- Just when will this bastard ever realize?
- So damn shameless lol
* * *
Time passed quickly.
Normally, 8-man or 4-man raids were the standard, so Seo Jun made it his main content to get in sync with a few more alongside his raid party.
Meanwhile, other users each took on challenges and received cheers, building the atmosphere.
[Hello. We're a small-time streamer pot, Ramyeonhoe! We'll give it a try!]
[Our party is just average office workers, but we're all using our vacation days and trying lol]
[I'm somewhat confident in controls? It'll be etched in history, so shouldn't you try no matter what?]
[If you become a famous named figure in RPGs, you can keep existing in many users' minds. Raise your hand if you still remember Tainted Power King Sa-nim!]
And the post that came up with three days left fanned the flames of the first clear race even more.
[Hello, this is Monster.]
==
I'll speak freely now, you bastards.
We're gonna take the first clear and ruin your festival mood, so brace yourselves lol.
If Laben ID gets banned or not, whatever~
I won't watch my tongue now.
==
- This bastard lol became so damn pathetic
- If you actually get the first clear after this, I'll acknowledge that for what it is
└ Though the community will go nuts
- Just leave lol
- Honestly, now, people who think Monster <-- is a loser nerd, you know?
└ lol
└ lmao lol
- Are you going berserk?
- Hey, are you crying?
- Dude, why'd you turn so dark? You really went full black lol
└ It's just funny
- Monster's inner thoughts right now (This isn't it? Just insult me!)
- The best way to deal with a troll is to turn them into a laughingstock
└ Was that it? Knowing that, the room master who instantly made the rampaging Monster into a laughingstock in the Solarain server seems newly impressive
└ There you go worshipping!
Even though it seemed to pass smoothly, if Monster actually achieved the first clear, it would be a catastrophe.
No one would want it, and no one would congratulate it.
The festival turning into a funeral happens in an instant.
So people started putting gold into the sleeves of Seo Jun's character, and into the entire raid party.
No, they started showering it.
'Please at least raise your specs.'
'Just take my money.'
As a result, the one most hurt was Taewoo.
"Stop clinging! With other people's money! Without using your own money!"
Seo Jun's luck was just so-so.
It was just that Taewoo's terribly bad luck kept persisting.
"Mean reversion! Why does mean reversion only never come to me!"
It was consistent.
And time passed, to the raid day.
Because of concerns over Seo Jun's bizarre physical ability, they had set all base speeds close to maximum.
Consequently, as the raid difficulty became equally bizarre, the dev team had no choice but to raise rewards and adopt an 'anything goes' attitude. They turned on the broadcast and watched the streaming.
They say if you gaze into the abyss, the abyss also gazes into you.
It was exactly that situation, and the viewers' predictions had been correct.
Naturally, the streamer the dev team was watching was Seo Jun, who had made the raid bizarre.
"Haha. It's nice that the streaming so many are watching starts right away. Nice!"
"I also feel both grateful and sorry towards that streamer."
"Right. Still, if they clear it extremely advantageously through leaking compared to other teams during the first clear race, many people wouldn't accept it, so..."
Reducing sections where leaking is possible and raising the difficulty of leaking itself to somehow make them fail and diminish that advantage was an unavoidable measure for the dev team.
"If they still clear it easily despite all this, we'll have to acknowledge it."
"Haha. That would be really tough, though?"
"Anyway, I'm thankful they're broadcasting. Now, like the surprise ambush we put at the dungeon's start, lots of people can be startled together all at once."
"Our light preemptive strike before starting. Haha. No matter how great an expert is, they can't help but get hit... Huh? Crazy. They blocked that?"
"Huh?"
Even if you knew in advance, it was an attack they were confident would be truly hard to dodge.
So an attack they predicted could even give rise to a 'block the ambush challenge' later.
When someone blocked it from the start without knowing—
They.
Forced themselves to deny the dawning fact that maybe they hadn't properly gazed into the abyss.
It was the beginning of the raid.