Chapter 140
A little over a week after the pre-quest had opened, a new notice finally dropped. Most of it was corporate fluff like thank-you lines, formal greetings, and PR nonsense, but buried in the middle was the part that actually mattered.
[As of February 10th, 00:00 PST, the prelude quest “Unfinished Business” will officially end. The full-scale World Boss Raid event will begin immediately afterward. Adventurers who have not yet completed the prelude quest are encouraged to enjoy it while it lasts.]
In short, the warm-up was over. The main event was about to begin and Do-Jin’s army was ready. Between the 200 elite players he had personally handpicked from his subscribers and the temporary alliances he had forged with other guilds, his coalition now numbered over 1,500 people.
It wasn’t exactly a team-up, more of a “Let’s not stab each other in the back while the world’s ending!” kind of deal. Still, that was good enough. With this kind of coordination, no one else would be able to interfere or ruin the raid.
Do-Jin had made all the preparations he could. The only thing left was to make sure Theresa and Soso could rack up solid contribution scores during the event.
Just being in my party guarantees them some points, but I might as well help them squeeze out a bit more.
In this game, every little thing mattered. From regular quests to massive events, the rewards always came down to who fought harder and played smarter. One small difference could decide whether a player earned a top-tier reward or got stuck with scraps. All that hidden content and secret unlockables only revealed themselves to players who went all in. That was why Do-Jin picked up his phone and called Theresa personally, just before the event started.
“That’s all you need to do. Do you think you can handle it?”
—M-me? You want me to take on something that important...?
“It’s just in case that situation comes up. No need to freak out before it even happens. Just save that skill, and use it when I give the signal or when you see the right chance. That’s it. Not complicated.”
—I... I’ll try my best. Even if my skills are worthless, the least I can do is give it everything I’ve got.
Do-Jin didn’t say anything for a moment. He knew exactly why Theresa’s confidence had hit rock bottom. It wasn’t because she was bad. She’d done everything right. She took his advice, studied the footage, went through all the practice sessions, and still hadn’t been able to finish the quest.
Her problem wasn’t incompetence. She was just caught in an awkward transition phase, somewhere between tank and DPS, trying to figure out which role to lean into. But no amount of logical explanation helped. She still looked like someone who’d just failed an exam they’d spent months studying for.
“Just focus on what I told you, whether it’s mental rehearsal or practice runs. Stick to that and you’ll be fine.”
—Okay...
That took care of Theresa. As for Soso, he didn’t need to worry. With Do-Jin and Theresa in the same party, Soso’s contribution would skyrocket automatically just by throwing out heals and buffs.
“Damn, healers really are fucking busted. As long as they’ve got the right connections, they can coast through half this game while the rest of us break our backs for leftovers,” he muttered with a dry laugh, staring at his monitor before finally shutting it off.
Meanwhile, I’ve got to bust my ass and nearly die every time just to stay ahead.
The difference between a so-called “commoner” DPS and a “royal” healer was ridiculous, and Do-Jin couldn’t help but think about how unfair the whole system was. Still, that was how things worked. There was no point whining about it now.
He stood up and stretched, the tension in his shoulders finally easing a little. A real gamer knew when to rest. If he wanted to crush this event and keep his edge, he needed his body and mind in perfect shape. Do-Jin tossed himself onto the bed, shut his eyes, and muttered one last thing before drifting off.
“Tomorrow’s the real deal...”
***
It was February 9th, 11:57 p.m. Do-Jin stood near the eastern plains of the Empire, in a region called Inus Prairie, the place that would soon become the battlefield for the World Boss Raid.
He wasn’t alone. He had brought everyone who had agreed to join him for the event. Convincing them hadn’t been hard. One simple line saying he’d received a divine hint about the meteor’s drop zone as a reward for clearing the pre-quest first was enough to make him sound like a prophet.
God, I’m fucking exhausted...
Most of his raid group consisted of hardcore fans from his own channel. Before the event even began, he’d already burned half his energy entertaining them.
I’m pretty sure I’ve taken over a hundred screenshots today.
Still, these were genuine fans, people who had stuck with him through all his streams and events, and he didn’t have the heart to refuse them. So he smiled, posed, and took photo after photo until everyone got their perfect group shot.
With only three minutes left before the raid started, everyone had split off into their assigned parties. The chatter was still loud, and he could feel dozens of eyes watching him even from afar, but at least he had some space to think. He turned his focus to Party One, the main squad consisting of five players that would move with him.
Theresa was fidgeting nervously, tapping her leg nonstop while adjusting her shield. Soso stood beside her, wearing the same blank, unreadable expression as always. In the corner stood Tanto the masked thief, half-hidden in shadow and silent as ever. Finally, towering over everyone like a walking fortress, was Lotus the black paladin.
They were either idling or pacing nervously when the world message hit.
[The Fragment of Laves, Star of Ruin, is falling upon Lostania.]
A roar went up immediately.
“Whoa, shit, look at that!” someone shouted in the distance.
A crimson comet ripped through the night sky, tearing across the horizon before crashing into the vast center of the plains. Even from miles away, the impact shook the ground under their feet. Dust, wind, and shockwaves rippled through the landscape like something straight out of an apocalypse.
[The Fragment of Laves, Star of Ruin, has landed on Lostania.]
[Massive spatial fractures are forming across Inus Prairie.]
[Stop the servants of calamity before they spread destruction across Lostania.]
The messages rolled in one after another, an official declaration that the world event had begun. It was then that a whisper came through the chat.
Barie: Looks like your intel was spot on. Thanks to you, we’ve got a head start on everyone else. Must’ve been valuable information, so I appreciate you sharing it. I’ll make sure to repay the favor down the line.
The guildmaster of Shilla, Barie, had been the first to confirm their alliance and the first to send thanks. Moments later, messages from other partnered guilds poured in as well, all expressing their gratitude for the early tip-off.
Do-Jin didn’t bother responding one by one. He copied and pasted the same line, “It was nothing, just wanted to help,” and sent it to everyone before turning his attention back to his raid.
“Remember, we’re just scouting at first. Stick to the zones assigned to your teams,” Do-Jin reminded everyone. “You don’t need to move as a full raid, but make sure each party stays grouped. Follow commands, keep comms clear, and don’t act like idiots.”
A wave of replies came through instantly.
“Yes, sir!”
“Got it!”
“Can I follow you directly, Do-Jin?”
He smirked at that last one. “Alright then. Let’s make it fun, everyone.”
With that, around 200 players, led by Do-Jin himself, stepped into the Inus Prairie, where the world’s first true raid was about to begin.
***
From the moment it fell, the Fragment of Laves was already fractured, its body cracked and pulsing with unstable energy. The instant it struck the ground, those fissures spread like veins of corruption, turning the entire Inus Prairie into one massive rift zone.
As the raid group stepped inside, smaller rifts began to bloom everywhere, one after another, each one vomiting out pulsing, jelly-like blobs that splattered across the soil. They oozed and wriggled before seeping into the ground.
Moments later, they erupted back up, this time taking on the forms of beasts and monsters. It was like watching the land itself remember every living thing that had once walked upon it, only to twist them into abominations.
Lotus bared his teeth in something between awe and excitement. “Holy shit, this is way wilder than I pictured.”
“I expected as much, but that doesn’t mean I’m happy to be right,” Tanto muttered, adjusting his mask with a sharp tug.
They weren’t the only ones stunned. Every single person who stepped into that corrupted prairie froze for a second, overwhelmed by the surreal, grotesque sight of the world splitting apart around them.
“Alright, we’ll start slow,” Do-Jin said, stepping forward with calm authority. “Tanks, set up a front line. We’re clearing the rift at one o’clock first. Push forward and secure space.”
As his voice snapped the others into motion, the battlefield came alive.
“Theresa, you stick with the other tanks for now. Watch how they handle aggro and rotations; you’ll learn a lot.”
“Ah, y-yes!”
“Good. Move out!”
At his command, two hundred players surged forward as one, forming ranks like a trained army. Then came the heavy, wet thunder of hooves. A herd of crimson slime bison barreled toward them, their bodies half-solid, half-fluid, rippling like molten flesh.
“Ranged units, focus fire!”
As soon as Do-Jin gave the order, fireballs, arrows, and bursts of light magic rained down on the charging beasts. The plains lit up like a fireworks festival. Even so, the bison didn’t stop. They bled pieces of themselves across the ground, splattering globs of flesh with every step, but they tore through the wall of explosions and slammed straight into the tank line.
“Keep the tanks’ HP up! Their health’s dropping way too fucking fast!”
“Shit, each one of these bastards hits like a dungeon boss!”
“Close combat, move in! Get those things off the front!”
The chaos was instant. The monsters weren’t just mobs. They were raid-tier enemies, every single one strong enough to lead a dungeon on their own.
“Ranged DPS, target the ones with light markers. We’re focusing fire now!”
The advantage of numbers was that two hundred fighters were working in sync. The battlefield trembled.
Do-Jin extended his hand toward one of the bison-shaped abominations and cast Flash Lance at it as it reared onto its hind legs to slam its skull into the tanks. A golden mark appeared on its chest, glowing like a star.
The mark detonated in a burst of light, and the entire raid reacted instantly. Explosions, blasts, and impact sounds overlapped into a deafening symphony.
The towering slime bison, over three meters tall, burst apart, showering the grasslands with viscous, black-red gore.
“Close-range fighters, clean up whatever’s glued to the tanks! Ranged DPS, keep burning through the rest, one by one!”
Do-Jin had deliberately built his formation for this. The melee fighters were few and specialized, but the back line, his real firepower, was made up of a hundred ranged attackers, more than half of them mages.
At first, people had accused him of favoritism. They said he was only filling the roster with mages because he was one. But seeing those mages unleash spell after spell behind a solid front line, wiping out wave after wave of grotesque monsters with pure destructive power, everyone understood. They weren’t weak; they were the storm before the shield.
[A Boss has been born nearby!]
The announcement echoed across every party channel. Ahead of them, several of the slime creatures began to writhe and merge together, their bodies fusing into a single colossal silhouette that blotted out the fractured horizon. The ground shook beneath its weight while the air crackled with corrupted mana.
And as the monstrous shape finally took form, Do-Jin’s eyes gleamed. Now it begins.
“A... a goblin?” Someone’s voice cracked over the comms, disbelief dripping from it.
The creature standing before them was indeed a goblin, or at least something that vaguely resembled one. Its frame loomed more than six meters tall. The goblin drew back one grotesque arm, then snapped it forward. The elongated limb stretched unnaturally, slamming dead center into the tank line.
“Ghhk!”
The hit was devastating. Four tanks who had already popped their defensive skills were flung backward nearly four meters, their boots gouging trenches in the ground before they tumbled to a stop.
“Shit!”
“Fuck, my HP—!”
A few warriors and rogues who had been weaving between the tanks, darting in and out to chip away at the mobs, were caught in the blow and sent flying too. The formation wavered for a split second.
If the goblin followed up with another swing, it could have wiped out half the front line. But that second attack never came. The instant the abomination had appeared, Do-Jin had already marked it with a glowing point. That was all the signal his team needed.
Dozens of ranged DPS unleashed everything they had. The air howled under the weight of their magic. The slime goblin didn’t even have the chance to roar. It was erased from existence before it could lift its arm again.
“Yep, this proves my point. We gotta overwhelm them with numbers.”
Do-Jin kept picking out enemies that posed the biggest threat to his side and slapped single-target markers on them without pause. As the raid immediately cut down the ones that stood out as especially large and strong, the melee dealers found themselves able to push forward far more aggressively.
After reaching the position he’d marked as the initial objective, Do-Jin lifted his gaze and looked toward a pillar of ominous mana rising in the distance. That was Ground Zero, where the Fragment of Laves had fallen and where the final objective of this month’s World Boss Raid lay in wait.
