Chapter 23
The beta test of Akare that I had envisioned was a sort of appetizer.
Something light to enjoy before tasting the main course of the official release.
So, I set the beta test period to be very short.
To make the carefully prepared main dish stand out even more.
“After today, the beta test ends.”
With less than five hours remaining until the end of the beta test.
I checked the party that had made the most progress in the main story.
A large company party composed of a martial artist, a mage, and a cleric.
Daehyeop Kim, Sweet, and a VTuber named Suzuka.
These three had progressed to the edge of the prepared story.
With just a bit more progress, they could witness the highlight of the appetizer I had prepared.
‘I never expected those three to form a party.’
The three of them were prominent streamers representing Jiji-jik.
While it wasn’t unheard of for large streamers to collaborate on Jiji-jik,
The platform’s culture leaned towards solo streams, with most streamers focusing on solo content.
Especially since Daehyeop Kim and Sweet used face cams, while Suzuka was a VTuber.
‘That’s why it’s even more surprising.’
Who could have guessed that a party with those three would come together?
I recalled Suzuka’s stream from a while back.
Suzuka had repeatedly failed the Litania quest.
Because of this, Raven (the prince) was dragged away by the Disciple of Salvation numerous times.
After dozens of attempts, Suzuka finally completed the quest and burst into tears on the spot.
Daehyeop Kim, who happened to be playing another game off-stream, noticed this and consoled her.
Suzuka knew of Daehyeop Kim, and he, in turn, remembered who she was.
As they chatted, Daehyeop Kim was the first to suggest that Suzuka join him.
For Suzuka, it was an opportunity, and of course, she seized it without hesitation.
In this process, Daehyeop Kim, who committed the blunder of streaming unauthorized off-game content, faced the consequences.
Yet, thanks to Daehyeop Kim’s sacrifice(?), their party became a balanced group with tank, DPS, and healer.
Of course, Suzuka’s level was lower than the other two, so they had to grind party hunts intensely.
[Heretic Purification (9/10)]
– You have learned from Raven that there are heretic hideouts across the Empire. Destroy all heretic hideouts within the Empire to root out the evil.
– Upon completing the quest, you can proceed with the ‘Approaching Catastrophe’ quest.
The large company party that was formed managed to destroy nine hideouts.
Only one last heretic hideout remained to be destroyed to complete the quest.
In the current storyline, the player had earned the trust of the Emperor.
Because they had uncovered and destroyed heretic hideouts that no one else could.
From the player’s perspective, it was merely a matter of collecting one of the boss drop items, a map fragment.
And using the quest feature that guides them to the destination.
―――
[Title] Breaking News: Large Company Party Enters Last Hideout
Will they be able to clear it before the beta test ends?
There are only about five hours left ㅇㅅㅇ
Likes 2 Dislikes 0
―――
[Comments 3]
A solid tank-DPS-healer combo, so they’ll probably clear it.
ㄴBut it’s still the last hideout, isn’t it?
ㄴIf they leave the boss with 1% HP and the beta ends, that’s gonna be rough.
―――
The community sentiment was that the large company party wouldn’t be able to clear the last hideout.
Based on the average time it took to clear the other hideouts, it seemed they didn’t have enough time.
“It’s going to be close.”
The last heretic hideout, ‘Call of the Immortal,’ was a dungeon with only one boss monster.
Since there were no mobs, one might think the clear time would be significantly shorter.
However, the boss monster of the ‘Call of the Immortal,’ the ‘Sacrificial Lamb of Lamentation,’ was a very tricky boss.
It used all the attack patterns of the previous hideout bosses.
And as time went on, those patterns would grow stronger, making it a raid that relied heavily on pure skill.
Moreover, it was the first boss to use an instant-kill pattern that hadn’t appeared before, making it even more challenging.
“It’s starting.”
I accessed Daehyeop Kim’s channel to watch from his perspective.
The last heretic hideout, ‘Call of the Immortal,’ was a dungeon with only one boss monster.
Since there were no mobs, one might think the clear time would be significantly shorter.
However, the boss monster of the ‘Call of the Immortal,’ the ‘Sacrificial Lamb of Lamentation,’ was a very tricky boss.
It used all the attack patterns of the previous hideout bosses.
And as time went on, those patterns would grow stronger, making it a raid that relied heavily on pure skill.
Moreover, it was the first boss to use an instant-kill pattern that hadn’t appeared before, making it even more challenging.
“It’s starting.”
I accessed Daehyeop Kim’s channel to watch from his perspective.
***
[Dungeon ‘Call of the Immortal’ has been entered.]
Daehyeop Kim, having entered the dungeon, immediately surveyed his surroundings.
An empty cavern, surrounded by mysterious pillars.
In the centre of the cavern was a structure that appeared to be an altar.
No waves of monsters appeared, nor did any traps activate.
Unlike the dungeons they had encountered before, it was very quiet.
Because of this, Daehyeop Kim remained on high alert.
“Daehyeop-nim, I feel something here.”
“…I feel it too.”
Both of their Correction Levels were above 20, but Suzuka hadn’t raised hers much at all.
Perhaps because of this, Sweet and Daehyeop Kim sensed the ominous aura from the altar.
But Suzuka, who couldn’t feel anything, just had a puzzled look above her head.
-!
“It’s coming.”
Thud, thud, thud—!
With a rumbling of the ground, something emerged from the altar.
The altar was destroyed in the process, and the dust mixed with earth obstructed their view.
“Suzuka-nim!”
“Yes!”
Suzuka raised her cross and used the cleric’s first awakening skill, Radiant Light.
The light shot out from the cross, clearing the dust and hitting the boss beyond.
―――!!!
[BOSS Sacrificial Lamb of Lamentation Lv.35]
The revealed form of the boss was truly horrifying.
It was as if the bosses from the other destroyed hideouts had been gathered and mixed into one.
So horrifying, disgusting, and grotesque that such thoughts crossed their minds.
“Sweet-nim, I’ve applied Blessing!”
At Suzuka’s shout, Sweet aimed his staff forward.
“Burn them all, Fireball.”
Fwoosh—!
A fireball, larger than before, shot toward the boss.
It was so large that it could almost be mistaken for a Petit Meteor.
Surely, this should at least deal some meaningful damage.
The thoughts of all three aligned, and the result became clear.
“No damage at all?”
Sweet muttered in disbelief.
“It did damage. It just immediately regenerated its health.”
“Tough one.”
Daehyeop Kim’s gaze swept across the cavern pillars.
“No, it might be easier than we think.”
“Easier?”
“Yeah. I think I’ve figured it out.”
Indeed, before Sweet’s Fireball hit, Daehyeop Kim had seen it.
A blue line that momentarily connected between the boss and the nearest pillar.
“Break the pillars. That seems to be the key.”
“Breaking things is my specialty.”
“I’ll take care of the opposite side and the right.”
With Sweet’s words, Daehyeop Kim quickly used Forward Leap and moved out.
The Forward Leap of a martial artist directly depends on the Correction Level.
This was something Daehyeop Kim had learned through his own gameplay.
Because of this, he invested stat points into the Correction Level and bought equipment that boosted it at a high price.
Proving its worth, Daehyeop Kim moved between the pillars, stacking combos of Forward Leap.
6 stacks of Forward Leap, followed by Total Annihilation.
Boom—!!!
A thunderous noise, like the roar of a cannon, echoed through the cavern.
It was a strike resembling the Martial Artist’s Straight Punch seen in the Hall of Heroes.
That blow left a fist-shaped hole, breaking through more than half of the pillar.
“If I get hit by Daehyeop-nim’s serious punch, I’ll be done for. Moving, Blink.”
Sweet, giving a small compliment, used Blink to move to the opposite side and then chanted a spell for Frostbite.
Just like a scene from a trailer, all the pillars within the area froze and shattered.
“Wow… Isn’t that really amazing?”
Watching the impressive moves of Daehyeop Kim and Sweet, Suzuka, not wanting to be outdone, used her own skill.
Cleric’s first awakening skill, Judgment Mace.
The small cross that Suzuka held turned into a mace.
Feeling the weight, Suzuka swung the mace with all her might.
Boom!
With that, the pillars that were supporting the cavern were completely shattered through their teamwork.
Crack—
With all the supporting pillars broken, cracks began to form on the ceiling.
Sensing the shift, Daehyeop Kim quickly launched another attack, landing consistent hits.
“It’s really taking damage!”
They only dealt damage for a short time, but already, 10% of its total health had been reduced.
Just as they thought it might be more manageable than expected…
The boss, which had remained still, suddenly struck the ground with both hands.
Crack—!
The impact caused the ceiling to completely split apart and collapse.
[Dungeon strategy failed!]
Before they knew it, the three of them found themselves back at the entrance of the hideout, looking at each other.
“What kind of nonsense pattern is that?”
“Daehyeop-nim, can we even beat this?”
“Well… If we try hard, maybe we can, right?”
Although they were dumbfounded by the unexpected instant-kill pattern,
They rekindled their fighting spirit and the large company party re-entered the dungeon.
“Let’s not break all the pillars at once; let’s use the skill cooldowns strategically.”
During their third failure, Daehyeop Kim made a suggestion.
It was certain that the boss’s instant-kill pattern triggered after all the pillars were destroyed.
“Oh, if we bring its health down to 70%, the instant-kill pattern doesn’t appear.”
They figured out the strategy to counter the instant-kill pattern on their sixth failure.
Leaving one pillar intact, they waited for all their skill cooldowns to refresh.
Then, using basic attacks, they broke the remaining pillar and launched a burst attack immediately.
“At 50% health, there’s another instant-kill pattern. It seems like a channeling skill?”
When the boss’s health dropped below half, its regular patterns disappeared, and it entered a concentration state.
During that state, pieces of flesh fell off the boss, dealing damage, and flesh-shaped mobs were summoned.
The large company party struggled with this pattern for quite some time, unable to make further progress.
“This… it’s like that pattern from the Disciple of Salvation quest.”
On their twelfth failure, Daehyeop Kim correctly identified the pattern and scrapped all previous strategies.
Dodging the falling flesh and ignoring the summoned mobs was pointless.
Just like with the Disciple of Salvation pattern, their attacks were entirely blocked by an intangible barrier.
With the strategy back to square one, the three of them put their heads together to figure out a solution.
“After taking down the mobs, the barrier’s weakening a bit.”
“Really?”
“Yes. The viewers noticed it too.”
On their twentieth failure, they finally figured out the exact strategy for the second instant-kill pattern.
Avoiding minor attacks, dealing with the summoned mobs, and breaking the barrier was extremely challenging.
Wasn’t there another way? As they desperately sought alternatives, Suzuka’s keen eye played a pivotal role.
Motivated, the large company party re-entered the dungeon.
“Wow, that was seriously close.”
“Leaving us with only 5% health and then going into a berserk pattern is just too much.”
“But I think we’re almost there.”
Fortieth attempt. The large company party, now familiar with the pattern, saw hope slipping away right in front of them.
“There’s… enough time for about two more attempts.”
With 53 minutes left until the beta test ends,
There was barely enough time for about two more attempts.
In other words, only two chances remained.
“Shall we continue playing together even after Akare’s official release?”
Before entering the dungeon, Suzuka made a cautious suggestion.
Sweet shrugged in response to the suggestion,
And Daehyeop Kim burst into laughter as he looked at Sweet.
“Let’s do it together.”
“I agree with Daehyeop-nim’s opinion.”
“Really? It’s a promise!”
In the cheerful atmosphere, what could be their last attempt began.
They had repeated the normal patterns so many times that they could avoid them without even looking.
They also managed to get through the instant-kill patterns that appeared at specific health percentages, just like they had done before.
Now, the only pattern to be cautious about was the berserk pattern.
The three of them, forgetting that they were even streaming, focused completely on the raid.
As the boss’s health dropped below 5%, the berserk pattern began.
Fireballs exploded, burning the boss’s skin.
They used Frostbite on the burned area to deepen the wound.
It was a blow strong enough to kill, but the boss was in a berserk state.
The boss’s berserk state had an effect of reducing damage by 80%.
Because of that, even a hit strong enough to kill wouldn’t bring the boss down.
Now, the boss’s remaining health was below 3%.
Radiant light poured out from the small cross, purifying the boss’s corruption.
Suzuka, saving Judgment Mace for this moment, threw the mace with all her strength.
Using up all her holy power with Heal and Blessing, Suzuka clasped her hands together in prayer.
Now, the boss’s remaining health was below 2%.
“This is getting tiresome.”
You cursed mass of flesh.
Daehyeop Kim swallowed his words and used Forward Leap.
Even though the boss’s pattern had sped up due to the berserk mode, it was still slower than Daehyeop Kim.
He used directional changes with Forward Leap to dodge the boss’s attacks.
It was truly godlike movement, transcending the limits of human reflexes.
Forward Leap 6-stack combo, Total Annihilation.
In that moment, a memory of the Straight Punch carved into the cliffs of the Great Mountain flashed through Daehyeop Kim’s mind.
――!!!!!
The boss, the Sacrificial Lamb of Lamentation, let out a silent scream.
***
Finally, the moment had arrived.
Watching the stream, I immediately logged into Akare.
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