0.
After their defeat, the Trio—Longfeng, Hwa-Wol, and Elzahar—stood outside the arena, dazed.
An unfair fight?
Overwhelmed by the enemy’s numbers?
Some might think so, but at least not the three of them.
In fact, anyone who watched that battle would agree that no one could say such things.
It was a war.
The fact that they entered with just the three of them meant their defeat had already been decided—they were the only ones who hadn’t realized it.
All three of them felt it in that moment.
“If the team leader had been here...”
“Would it have been different?”
“...Damn it, no way.”
At Hwa-Wol’s final harsh curse, both Longfeng and Elzahar nodded.
Luna, the team leader of the Luna Team, was the strongest among the Rapid Guild rookies.
But even with her in the fight, there would have been no way to win.
It was like how humans couldn’t overcome natural disasters.
Seong was that kind of existence.
Rookie?
Newbie?
Such words couldn’t even begin to describe him.
That was Seong.
They had intended to crush him.
But instead, they were the ones crushed.
The last thought they all shared was one.
“Was that really his full strength?”
“...”
“...”
Neither Longfeng nor Hwa-Wol could answer Elzahar’s question.
In fact, they didn’t want to answer it.
They wanted to believe that was Seong’s full strength.
If there had been more power...
Then what they had done was just like trying to break a rock with an egg.
Or maybe, even now, that was still the case?
‘Yeah, that couldn’t have been his full power.’
‘It had to be his strength~’
‘Damn it, even if that was his full strength, it’s still a problem...’
Even though the three of them had unique+ grade jobs, they couldn’t even touch Seong.
No matter how legendary someone was, they hadn’t shown that kind of strength.
Luna had a Legendary grade job, so the Trio knew well.
But what they had felt was power that surpassed Luna, which wasn’t just skill or talent.
It came from the pure performance of a class’s abilities.
Was there just one more?
An Almighty grade?
They swallowed hard, the sound echoing in the quiet.
A sense of certainty began to settle in.
So, it was true.
If anyone could do it... it might be Seong.
“Could he clear it?”
“Maybe~?”
“Damn it, make some sense.”
The Trio’s opinions were divided.
Longfeng was hopeful it was possible.
The others were more skeptical.
No matter how much Seong had, doing it alone would still be tough.
“I mean, damn it, even Yuna, after hitting level 100 and class changing, did solo raids, and it’s already insane to even think about solo raiding. But if that idiot did it, of course, it would fail, idiot.”
Hwa-Wol said with frustration.
Despite his harsh words, everyone could only agree with him.
“Ah... that’s true.”
“That’s true~”
Yuna was the only one in the Rapid Guild who could take on solo raids, someone whom all the guild members respected or feared.
She only occasionally teamed up, mostly to guide the second-string teams or for training purposes.
Otherwise, she didn’t team up.
Almighty grade?
Maybe someday.
They had already felt Seong’s incredible class abilities.
But could he raid faster than Yuna?
They didn’t think so.
As they were exchanging these thoughts, Luna came running from a distance.
Her frantic run looked somewhat cute, but to the Trio, it felt a little scary.
Her expression was more urgent than ever before.
“Phew! I told you not to fight, didn’t I!?”
“...We don’t have anything to say.”
“...Exactly~”
“...”
Longfeng and Elzahar lowered their heads, almost apologetically, while Hwa-Wol stayed silent, too ashamed to speak.
Seeing them all reflect on their actions, Luna didn’t feel like reprimanding them further.
Still, they were the ones who messed up.
“I really hope you’ll be more careful next time.”
“Got it, Team Leader.”
“Sure, Team Leader!”
“Understood, Luna Team Leader.”
The Trio answered in unison, and Luna let out a sigh of relief, feeling reassured.
Just then, they saw Seong walking toward them.
At first, they felt a bit intimidated by his stance, but now, it was different.
All four of them—Luna included—felt a chill as they watched Seong’s approach.
The way he walked, the confidence he carried, reminded them of the earlier march of his army.
The tension they felt was palpable.
It was like everything they knew was now shifting.
Now, they understood.
‘Is this how other teams feel when they see us?’
‘...Maybe~?’
‘...Damn it, we really need to reflect on ourselves.’
With that, they made their way to the inn.
1.
The Third Village, Trinium.
Although raids could be undertaken from the third village, Trinium, this place was a bit too extreme in that regard.
Perhaps it was due to the surrounding rugged and high mountain ranges.
Huge monsters and powerful creatures often appeared, making it a village known for its many raid bosses.
While many people came to enjoy the solemn scenery or the beauty of a small town,
far more came specifically for the raids.
Among them were the large guilds, particularly the ranking guilds, with many rookies stationed here.
There were many raids, and recently, a new raid boss had appeared.
The Watcher of the Winds, ‘Anemor.’
It was the most talked-about raid boss lately.
A boss in its 60s that was ridiculously powerful for its level range of 50 to 80, and it was much stronger than most level 80 raid bosses.
It was a boss that most believed was impossible to defeat.
[No way, can we really defeat Anemor?]
[Anemor is ridiculously strong lol.]
[Can’t beat this lol.]
[Even Luna Team from Rapid Guild came, right?]
[Even if Luna Team’s grandpa showed up, they couldn’t beat it lol.]
The consensus was that this boss was designed to be unbeatable.
It wasn’t just talk because they couldn’t beat it.
There were many pieces of evidence.
First, it was incredibly strong for a level 60 raid boss.
It was stronger than many level 80 raid bosses.
Second, despite being a lower-level raid boss, it had a name.
While most raid bosses did have names, it was rare for them to be named.
The ones that were named tended to have exceptional power for their level range.
Anemor was one such boss.
But the problem was that, even with a name, it was far too powerful.
No guild, whether a large guild or one in the top rankings, had been able to defeat it.
Luna Team was no different.
“Hmmm, so you’re saying it’s extremely strong for its level, right?”
Luna Team had already attempted the raid more than five times.
Yet, they had not even seen phase 2 yet.
It was a humiliation, but none of the guilds had lasted longer or pushed the boss as far as Luna Team had.
Still, they hadn’t even made it past phase 1.
“Yes, we’ve shared all of Anemor’s phase 1 skills with you.”
“Thank you.”
“Um...”
Luna spoke, hesitating for a moment before closing her mouth again.
She was concerned that her next words might be impolite.
But then, Hwa-Wol spoke first.
“If you’re about to fail, we’ll join in.”
“Pardon?”
Seong looked at them, puzzled.
Hwa-Wol sighed, preparing to speak.
No matter how strong Seong was, if he couldn’t do it alone, it was natural to step in.
What mattered now was the honor of being the first to clear it for Rapid Guild.
It was something all members of Rapid Guild knew.
Hwa-Wol had intended to mention it to Seong, but then...
“Isn’t that obvious?”
“Huh?”
“Hmm?”
“Huh?”
“Eh?”
Seong spoke as though it was a given, and his expression made the four of them seem lost for words.
Well, it was obvious.
But, since they worried that Seong might be too proud to accept help, they were about to mention it.
Now, with Seong's matter-of-fact attitude, they looked like fools for even considering it.
“If it’s impossible alone, of course, we all need to join in. Isn’t that what teaming up is for?”
Updat𝒆d fr𝑜m freewebnøvel.com.
“...”
“...”
“...”
“...”
It was so logical that they couldn’t even argue with it.
Seong’s question made them feel like they were the ones who misunderstood.
The concern that Seong might be too proud turned out to be their own mistake.
“Oh, no, of course. I just wanted to let you know, since this might be your first raid. You know... there are more people who don’t know than you might think.”
“Ah, I see.”
Seong nodded as if he understood, and the others exhaled in relief.
With the briefing over, they stood up.
“Shall we go now?”
Already?
Seong’s comment made them look at each other, confused.
Normally, after a briefing, they would discuss their roles and strategies for collaboration.
But Seong stood up immediately, as if the information alone was enough.
Did that mean he was ready to go right away?
The others stood up, still uncertain whether this was arrogance or ignorance.
Given Seong’s track record, they weren’t sure whether to question him.
“This will be fun.”
Seong said with enthusiasm.
The others exchanged looks of tentative agreement.
They were curious to see what strategy Seong would employ.
Despite everything, they didn’t think Seong would succeed alone, but if the four of them preserved their strength until the later stages...
‘If we join in the later stages...’
‘This could be really exciting~’
‘...’
‘Maybe, just maybe...’
They felt like this could be the time.
As they thought about it, Seong was lost in his own thoughts.
‘First, I need to increase the number of troops that can operate in the air.’