---
[Wow, is today the day!]
[*Astria Online’s* first raid dungeon!]
[So many 12-person raid groups have formed.]
[Which raid group is most likely to get the first clear on the Korean server?]
[*Hongbaek Raid Group*, *Skada Raid Group*, *Dajeongdosal Raid Group*]
[Definitely one of those three.]
[Yeah, those are the groups formed by top players who’ve competed for elite dungeon first clears.]
[But doesn’t everyone become equal in front of *Whitey*?]
[With Whitey in *Hongbaek*, they probably have the advantage.]
The guild master of *Plan B*, the largest guild in the *Betarion Empire*, 'Gyuam Jo Hyun-soo', sighed as he read the chat from his viewers.
"Guys! Could you talk about *Plan B's* raid team too?"
[*LOL, you don’t actually expect a first clear, do you?*]
[*Right... let’s change the subject.*]
[*Hahaha.*]
[*LMAO.*]
[*Sad that the top raid groups don’t stream.*]
[*First-clear raid groups usually don’t stream for obvious reasons.*]
[*Yep, no benefit to having their strategies stolen.*]
[*But *Plan B* and *GG Squad* stream to promote their guilds.*]
[*Watching the rivalry between *Plan B* and *GG Squad* is one of the fun parts.*]
[*Jo Hyun-soo! Uphold the pride of the largest guild in the Betarion Empire!*]
[*Go *GG Squad* from the *Alparion Empire!*]
[*Hey, an Alparion spy!*]
*Slash!*
*Screeech!*
Jo Hyun-soo smirked as he sliced through the oncoming demon minions.
"Guild master, these mobs in this tree have way more HP than elite dungeon mobs. It really feels like a legendary-grade dungeon."
"Hehe, but we get 12 players to deal with it, don’t we?"
"Hmm, I still can’t get a sense of what’s waiting for us deeper inside."
"Maybe we should’ve recruited some veteran players. There are those who played *World of Artoria*, the global raid game sensation."
"But those veterans are more into casual games now. It’d be tough to make them follow a strict raid schedule for up to a month."
"Exactly. It’s the younger, more energetic players who should be doing this."
"Let’s clear it quickly and then take those veterans on a carry run while listening to their old stories. *Haha!*"
The *Plan B* raid group exchanged banter as they explored the *Tree of the Abyss*.
The inside of the dungeon felt like a massive hollowed-out, dead tree.
The *Tree of the Abyss*.
Its interior was bizarre.
Black branches intertwined to form walls, creating a linear path around the outer structure of the tree.
Jo Hyun-soo grumbled in frustration.
"I feel like we’re just going in circles. What’s the structure of this tree even like?"
"Could it be a spiral maze? Where we gradually wind our way to the center."
"And I bet there are mini-bosses from the elite dungeons scattered along the way."
The chat for Jo Hyun-soo’s stream buzzed with commentary on their progress.
[*Is it like an ammonite fossil?*]
[*I want to see how other raid teams are doing.*]
[*Go watch the *GG Squad* stream.*]
[*I wonder how *Hongbaek* is doing.*]
[*Whitey’s probably smashing everything, making quick progress.*]
[*I heard *Hongbaek*’s main tank died?*]
[*DeathGod died? What about Whitey?*]
[*Not sure, haven’t heard anything.*]
[*No way...*]
[*Is Whitey soloing the raid?*]
[*That’s impossible.*]
[*Even if Whitey could deal 2-3 times the damage in elite dungeons, this is a 12-person raid!*]
[*Even if the mechanics are perfect, there’s no way the raw damage output could be enough.*]
[*Not to mention, the structure of the raid makes it impossible to solo.*]
[*Whitey may be crazy strong, but this is...*]
---
[Level 53]
[Corrupted Ent + Gatekeeper Baid]
[HP: 79,047,000 / 100,000,000 (79%)]
"Ka-ka-ka-ka-kat!"
*Roar!*
The black ancient tree stirred to life.
The *Corrupted Ent*.
A male figure, who appeared to be a demon, stood atop the tree, laughing maniacally.
The *Gatekeeper Baid*.
The Ent continued to drive its roots into the ground.
*Boom, boom, boom!*
Chris, holding a charm, shouted orders while running.
Updat𝓮d from frёewebnoѵēl.com.
"Target the furthest player first, one by one, in order! Form a straight line! Start with Chris at 25 meters! Then Baymerung, Yeonmina, Dalboreum, and RedHotChicken!"
*Thwack!!*
The roots of the Ent transformed into spear-like pillars that shot up from the ground, targeting Chris. She positioned the pillar in a strategic spot before using a backstep skill to escape.
*Thwack, thwack, thwack!*
Five pillars rose, one after another, targeting each of *Hongbaek*’s ranged damage dealers.
[Ent's Roots]
[HP: 10,000,000 / 10,000,000 (100%)]
While the melee damage dealers attacked the Ent up close, the ranged dealers were busy handling this special mechanic.
They had already wiped several times trying to figure out how to deal with this phase.
If the roots overlapped, the Ent would immediately enter a berserk state, leading to a wipe.
If the roots were too spread out, they wouldn’t be able to destroy them in time.
Positioning them in a straight line was critical.
The ranged DPS needed to destroy them all at once with area-of-effect attacks.
*Thwack!*
With RedHotChicken as the last player, the *Hongbaek* raid successfully positioned the roots in a line.
The ranged dealers immediately focused their attacks on the roots.
*Bam, bam, boom!*
With the powerful firepower of their newly upgraded weapons, the roots were quickly torn apart and destroyed.
"Grrr, you pests!"
The demon, *Baid*, who had been riding atop the Ent, raised his hand in irritation.
*Wooooong!*
A massive, ominous purple orb began to form above his hand.
The harbinger of the special pattern: *Demonic Explosion*.
Chris shouted orders without hesitation.
"Baymerung, Yeonmina, Ice Prison! Follow with Cherni, Dalboreum, Water Shield!"
The demonic orb detonated.
*Boom!*
*Rumble, rumble!*
The orb exploded multiple times, threatening to engulf the entire raid group.
But the *Ice Prison* and *Water Shield* from the mages and spirit users successfully protected both the ranged and melee players.
The special phase ended without casualties.
*Fwoosh, fwoosh!*
The Ent returned to its normal patterns, attacking the main tank, *DeathGod*, with its massive branches.
Each hit was terrifyingly powerful. No matter how skilled *DeathGod* was, a single hit would take him out.
The death of the tank meant the raid would be wiped.
He couldn’t afford to take risks with aggressive attacks and had to focus on defense.
*Whoosh!*
The Ent spun its branches in a wide arc, sweeping the entire battlefield. The ranged dealers used their defensive skills to dodge.
*Clang! Thwack!*
"Gah! Even its normal patterns are brutal!"
"Even with defensive skills, we’re still taking damage! This is too much!"
"Keep your HP at max at all times!"
The Ent’s normal attacks targeted everyone, not just the tank. The whole party had to stay alert and defend.
Naturally, this slowed down their damage output significantly.
But the 12 members of the *Hongbaek* raid group were all seasoned veterans.
They calmly dealt with the mechanics and slowly whittled down the Ent’s HP.
---
*Crash!*
*Roarrr!*
With a final, ear-splitting shriek, the Ent’s massive body collapsed to the floor of the *Tree of the Abyss*.
"Arrgh!"
At the same time, the demon *Baid*, who had been controlling the Ent, fell to the ground.
"Grr, these pests! But you won’t make it any further inside. Ka-ka-ka!"
*Shhh.*
Wearing a frustrated expression, *Baid* forced a smile before disappearing into the wall of the tree.
*Wooo!*
The *Hongbaek* raid group erupted in cheers.
"We did it!"
"Wow! It took, what, two or three hours? Considering we have 30 days, we cleared the first boss pretty fast!"
Chris, however, checked the raid interface and shook her head.
"No... the progress hasn’t updated."
[Raid Dungeon: *Tree of the Abyss* Progress 0/3]
Baymerung and Cherni turned pale.
"Does that mean...!"
"That was just a mini-boss!? Something this tough?"
*Rumble.*
Chris gazed at the blackened branches melting away ahead and spoke quietly.
"The real first boss is probably just ahead."
The *Hongbaek* raid
members steeled themselves as they stepped into the now-open chamber.
Inside the *Tree of the Abyss* was a massive cavern.
In its center—
*Grrrk—*
A menacing breath echoed through the room, accompanied by a sinister aura.
There, coiled up, was a black dragon.
Its body was covered in pitch-black scales, a hulking lizard.
A *Black Dragon*.
Its size was about half that of the *Green Dragon*, the previous world boss.
But as the first boss of this expansion's raid dungeon, the power it held within was likely just as great as the *Green Dragon*.
This time, there would be no help from outsiders.
The 12 of them would have to face this boss on their own.
Chris bit her lip.
They didn’t have time to waste.
Even now, *Rain* was pushing herself too hard. If they didn’t hurry, she might seriously injure herself and end up in the hospital.
As much as Chris wanted to rush through it all, the members of the *Hongbaek* raid group also had lives outside the game. Some of them had jobs to attend to. She couldn’t impose her urgency on them.
Staring at the massive creature, Chris muttered under her breath.
"Can we take it down today?"
---
[First Boss]
[Level 53]
[Black Dragon]
[HP: 200,000,000 / 200,000,000 (100%)]