EDEN — Chapter 2 (Part 1)

Chapter 2.

“Please~ let there be a Summoned Beast Growth Boost Fruit~”

“Move aside now.”

At I-eon’s housing plot, Debbie was bowing repeatedly toward the garden while the homeowner stood beside her with pruning shears for harvesting fruit. I-eon hadn’t had much time to log in over the past few days, so harvesting the fruit had been pushed aside. If Debbie hadn’t asked about the fruit, he probably wouldn’t have harvested them today either. The mainstream quest window had, of course, been ignored completely.

The restless rainbow hair finally withdrew, and I-eon carefully picked the fruit. Round, ripe fruits the size of a palm dropped smoothly into the basket. When he picked the tenth and final one, Debbie clung to him with sparkling eyes.

“How is it? It’s there, right? It has to be!”

“Hm, nope.”

“……”

Leaving Debbie with her lips jutting out, I-eon checked the effects of the fruits. Rare fruits like the Summoned Beast Growth Boost Fruit were S-grade from cash shop random boxes, so even I-eon rarely saw them. These fruits, too, mostly had mediocre effects not even worth selling at the auction house. He kept only two and placed the rest into his inventory.

[Sweet Fruit
A heavenly sweetness that lifts your mood.]

[Fruit of Labor
Greatly increases the chance of harvesting high-quality crops.
Duration: 30 minutes.]

“Here, have this.”

“Mmph.”

Debbie reflexively bit into the fruit that was suddenly shoved into her mouth and chewed the juicy flesh. Watching her cheeks turn pink from the heavenly sweetness, I-eon ate the Fruit of Labor. Since he had gotten a farming-related fruit, he figured he might as well finish the crop harvest he’d been putting off.

Debbie peeked over with curiosity as I-eon came out of the collection storage with all the tools he needed. There was no trace left of her earlier disappointment.

“A hoe? What are you doing?”

“I’m going to work the field a bit. I’ll finish within thirty minutes, but if you’re bored you can go.”

“I want to watch.”

It won’t be fun at all. I-eon shrugged, telling her to do as she liked, and headed toward the field on the right side of the house. The modest fifty-pyeong field was full of ripe crops. Rolling up the sleeves of his work clothes, I-eon exhaled deeply and bent down.

[Hoe Blessed by the Earth Spirit
Rank: Legendary
A legendary hoe incomparable to ordinary ones. Blessed directly by the Earth Spirit, it harvests crops without scratching them. Due to the spirit’s power, it never loses durability.
Gathering speed +20% (stackable).]

Pak, pak, pak…

With just three swings, plump potatoes pulled out in long clusters. Behind I-eon, who repeated the rhythm of hoe-swinging and one-step-forward like clockwork, piles of potatoes began forming. Debbie couldn’t hold back her amazement at the magical sight.

“Were you actually a farmer by trade?”

“My farming skill is a bit high… but mostly it’s item power.”

“You’re seriously fast at harvesting.”

“My work clothes have +50% gathering speed. The hoe has some too.”

“Oooh.”

In under five minutes, I-eon harvested all the potatoes. This time he put on gloves instead of picking up the hoe and began harvesting strawberries. Debbie, impressed that a paladin could work like a seasoned farmer, picked up a potato at her feet. It looked like an ordinary potato to her untrained eye, but when she checked the item info…

“This is! A Golden Potato they say even the imperial family buys!”

Despite being a potato, it had a rare grade attached, an incredibly valuable item. The potatoes scattered on the ground no longer looked like potatoes to her; they looked like money. Debbie hurried to I-eon.

“I-eon, how do you handle these? If the imperial family buys them, should I connect you with a chef I know? They’ll buy them for more!”

“Oh, I already have a chef I trade with.”

“Who?”

You won’t know them…

I-eon picked strawberries as swiftly as he harvested potatoes and answered without much thought.

“Do you know Chef Kang? He’s from the Justice Guild.”

“The Justice Guild?”

“You know them?”

Debbie’s expression turned odd. Since she seemed more focused on the guild name than the username, I-eon slowed his harvesting pace and turned his attention toward her. Debbie rolled her eyes as if debating whether to speak, then smiled lightly as if it wasn’t important.

“Their guild master is ranked number one in Sword Master. He hates our guild master.”

“…Why?”

“He’s just kind of… you know…”

Debbie chuckled. If the Justice Guild’s master was that person, then I-eon had met him a few times while trading with Chef Kang. A face came to mind, someone who had always been kind even though I-eon wasn’t a guild member. What reaction would he have if he found out I-eon had joined Raham’s guild?

“Don’t worry about it, I-eon. Our guild master doesn’t care either.”

“Probably true.”

At this point, their situations might even be similar. Making enemies everywhere could be considered a skill of its own. I-eon clicked his tongue and returned to picking strawberries. Debbie, who had been following him around and snacking on strawberries from the basket, discovered the “Golden” tag on them and had another over-the-top reaction, making the thirty minutes pass without boredom.

Guild chat, which had been quiet, came alive just as I-eon finished organizing the harvest.

[Valror: Anyone for raid]
[Cocopang: Me]

True to her hunter-maniac spirit, Cocopang responded instantly. I-eon didn’t pay the chat much attention and simply stomped the loosened soil flat before filling a watering can to the brim. The item, called “Gaia, Goddess of Earth’s Watering Can,” transformed normal water into nutrient-rich water. Using it to water the field created fertile soil ready for planting seeds the very next day.

Unlike I-eon, who wasn’t interested in raids, Debbie jumped up after finishing her gifted bowl of strawberries.

“I-eon! Let’s go raid!”

“That’s annoying.”

[Cocopang: What about I-eon?]
[Debbie: He’s with me! He’s coming!]
[Cocopang: Knew it, I-eon ^^]
[Iraine: Wow, reassuring]
[Ji Jong-sosi: I’ve never partied with I-eon before]
[Valror: Me neither lol see you all in the waiting room]

“……”

With a single message from Debbie, backing out became nearly impossible. Even when I-eon glared at her, she only smiled brightly and even tried some awkward aegyo. Watching a twenty-year-old guy his size wriggling was painfully tiring for the eyes, but the effect was strong, it made I-eon give up resistance quickly.

“Fine, let’s go.”

“Hehe.”

“…The guild master isn’t coming, right?”

“Of course not.”

Good. Now that he was an official guild member, I-eon could see the guild roster, and Raham was logged in. As long as that guy didn’t come, he could enjoy a raid with the others just fine. I-eon put away the watering can and prepared for the raid.

A grand cave served as the raid’s waiting room. Unlike normal dungeons, raids only required defeating a single powerful boss from the very start. The guild members gathered snugly in the waiting room, heads together, debating between the two raid options.

‘Lemia’ and ‘Uroboros.’

Valror let out a disappointed sigh with a soft hum.

“If we had about eight people, we could go for Uroboros. But it’s probably safer to go for Lemia, right?”

Everyone nodded. The difference in rewards was unfortunate, but aside from Raham, who still wasn’t responding, and one member who was already running a dungeon, everyone else was gathered. There was no one else to invite. And bringing outsiders to a guild raid would only make both sides uncomfortable.

“Then Lemia it is!”

Debbie, acting as party leader, selected the raid. The party consisted of: tank, paladin I-eon, DPS, shadow walker Cocopang, arc mage Ji Jong-sosi, summoner Debbie, barbarian Valror, and healer, bard Iraine, making six members. Although a bard could buff, heal, and deal damage, the class wasn’t ideal for handling all healing alone. But since Debbie had recruited them all carefully, no one was particularly worried.

“Is everyone ready?”

“Let’s go.”

“Wait, let me adjust my settings.”

While Iraine rummaged for gear, I-eon opened his friends list. Since he had finally harvested crops after a long break, he planned to contact Chef Kang if he was online, but he was listed offline.

Then I’ll just send a message…

—‘Raham’ has joined the party.

“……?”

Who joined?

“What? The guild master?”

“Did he come in by mistake?”

Even the guild members looked around at each other in confusion. The guild master joining the guild raid was unheard of… I-eon wondered yet again if this guild was really okay, then stiffened when he saw Raham enter the waiting room. The guild members, on the other hand, cheered as if they had won a prize.

“Guild master, you’re really coming with us? Really?!”

“I finally get to receive a heal from the guild master~!”

“Welcome, guild master!”

Excited, Debbie switched the raid selection, and Iraine’s role changed from healer to DPS. She now had to change her equipment all over again, but she looked thrilled.

I-eon eyed Raham with a heavy feeling, then let out a long sigh. It was too late to leave. What else could he do? He would just have to focus on his job. With so many people here, there wouldn’t be much opportunity to talk anyway. As long as Raham didn’t come to him first…

“Are you still mad?”

Like this.

“…….”

Get lost. I-eon said it with his eyes, but Raham pretended not to understand and held something out toward him. Two small bottles of perfume.

“A gift of apology.”

“You’re insane.”

I-eon recognized the items instantly. Favor Perfume, an item that increased NPC affinity by 10. For some reason, the devs had set the price at 100,000 won each. Naturally, no one cared about them, and only players desperate to raise their affinity bought them while gritting their teeth. It was one of the worst cost-efficiency items in the game.

I-eon hadn’t planned on speaking to him at all, but seeing the ridiculous “gift” made him ask without thinking.

“Don’t tell me you actually bought these?”

“Yep.”

“Refund it.”

“I already accepted it, so I can’t.”

“Ha…”

Guild members rolled their eyes between the two, watching with great interest. Seeing the guild master behave strangely was surprising enough, but mild-mannered I-eon openly snapping back was fresh entertainment. Debbie, grinning happily through the tension, raised her hand brightly.

“We’re entering~!”

Raham didn’t withdraw his arm. He kept holding out the perfume as if he had no intention of lowering it until I-eon took it. With an annoyed expression, I-eon snatched it away. Raham said he would fix the problem he caused himself, so… fine. But even though he didn’t lose anything, it still felt like he had somehow lost.

—You have entered the raid. Time remaining: 59 minutes.

The rocky region where Uroboros lived. Seven people stepped into a land dark and gloomy under red mist and rolling black clouds.

“Hm…?”

Cocopang, who had been ready to sprint off excitedly, froze mid-step. The others also sensed something wrong. With their extensive raid experience, they identified the problem immediately. All eyes shot toward Debbie, who grinned sheepishly under the sharp stares.

“When else will we ever get to hunt with the guild master? I thought we might even clear Chaos Mode~!”

The scenery was darker than the normal raid, and a steady drumbeat heightened tension. It was Chaos Mode.

“You lunatic!!”

Boom! Kwoong!

At the same time as Iraine’s scream, the infinite serpent Uroboros crashed down, breaking apart the rock. Its enormous body was covered in steel-like scales, and its reptilian eyes glowed red. In Chaos Mode, it was even larger and more threatening, drooling venomous liquid that corroded the stone beneath it with a loud hissing melt.

While everyone froze in disbelief, Raham cast buffs. Black energy and magic circles rose over the guild members, alert messages stacking endlessly. Having seen that effect endlessly in Leta, I-eon snapped back to focus the moment he saw Uroboros rear its head. He activated an invincibility skill. A semi-transparent shield formed in front of the entire party, and the serpent’s roar tore through the air.

[ ― ――― ――!!! ]

“Ugh…”

The roar, which normally decreased defense and inflicted a three-second stun, was nullified, but the sheer volume still hurt I-eon’s ears. As soon as it ended, he cast a defense buff on the whole party and charged forward. Behind him, Iraine hurried to prepare for battle while desperately trying to stop the others.

“Shouldn’t we leave?! Are we really doing this?! This is a raid meant for a full sixteen-man party…!”

“Wipe party, let’s goooo~!”

The very reasonable words of Iraine were completely drowned out by Debbie’s excited shout. Reckless challenges without worrying about consequences were exactly Debbie’s specialty. …But maybe because there were so many of them together, even I-eon felt his heart pounding with excitement. And if they did wipe, well, Debbie could deal with the aftermath.

Thud…!

Uroboros struck the shield with a heavy blow, locking its attention onto I-eon. He used a paladin’s armor-shredding skill that wouldn’t conflict with the healer’s debuff, then maintained constant attacks at close range so its focus wouldn’t jump away. The massive tail whipped toward I-eon. As expected of Chaos Mode, each strike was so heavy that even one hit was overwhelming, but I-eon stood firm like he was rooted into the ground, blocking most attacks with his shield. Of course, without Raham’s buffs he would’ve been knocked out instantly after one hit.

Once I-eon secured aggro, attacks rained down from all directions. Cocopang, a melee DPS, was already dancing around atop the serpent’s head, and on the opposite side Valror swung a greatsword the size of his body like it was a flyswatter. With a barbarian’s defense minimized and attack maximized, every skill he triggered dealt devastating damage. Because of this, I-eon had to re-use his taunt the moment its cooldown refreshed to stop Uroboros from turning its head.

“Our speedy boy’s attack power is almost doubled~!”

Riding a white wolf with sharply marked features, Debbie darted across the rocky terrain. She seemed drunk on her vastly increased speed, making plenty of unnecessary movements that were irritating to watch, but her damage output was solid, so I-eon couldn’t say anything.

Thud! With a heavy crash, Uroboros slammed its solid head into the ground. When that head, fast despite its massive size, darted toward I-eon again, Iraine, who had been attacking with fire spirits, summoned vines using the spirit of earth. The bound serpent’s movements halted for a moment. Ji Jong-sosi’s fire magic struck down upon it. Trusting the guild members to hold the front, he focused on long-cast, high-power spells from the rear.

While everyone continued dealing damage steadily, Uroboros suddenly raised its head straight up. I-eon quickly backed away and shouted.

“Poison!”

Its jaws split open and a colorless, odorless venom sprayed out. Once hit, health dropped continuously and movement speed slowed. Anyone near Uroboros had to either flee far away or gulp potions to survive. Cocopang, quick on her feet, escaped the danger zone instantly. But Valror and I-eon, who were close, were the first to be drenched in poison.

— You have been hit by Uroboros’s poison. Your health will continuously decrease.
— Movement speed decreases.

But barely a moment after the debuff appeared, Raham’s skill followed.

— Under the Blessing of the Black Saint, your health continuously recovers.
— You gain immunity to all status ailments for a set duration.

The poison still decreased health, but the healing was stronger and even restored previous injuries. Raham kept the magic circle of the healing skill steady with his left hand while drawing a new one with his right. A glowing red sigil of the Demon God was absorbed into the bodies of the guild members.

— You have received the Sigil of Demon God Nox. Magic enhancement, stage 1.
— Demon-type skills are strengthened.
— The energy of Nox and Tiog are in conflict. Buff duration is shortened.

The divine sigil increased the already top-tier buff effects by five percent each. Since I-eon, Cocopang, and Ji Jong-sosi were human and aligned with the Tiog faction, they received a minor penalty, but it was negligible.

Debbie, who had fled the farthest the fastest, sprinted back and shouted.

“Now! Damage! Damage!”

“I know!”

Uroboros, vulnerable after spewing poison, took a full barrage of attacks. Everyone was intoxicated by their own soaring damage, chaining skills endlessly as if competing. Even after Uroboros regained its senses, everyone except Raham and Ji Jong-sosi kept fighting at close range, causing its aggro to swing wildly.

“Aggro keeps bouncing! Stick closer!”

Despite I-eon shouting in frustration as the only one struggling…

“You’re doing fine.”

“You’re amazing, I-eon~!”

Only aggravating replies came back. It was the first time his taunt cooldown ever felt this long. He had to spam even the sub-taunt skill he normally never used. Still, the high damage output was undeniable, Uroboros’s health was dropping rapidly. Considering it was a seven-man party, the speed was remarkable.

At this rate, we can really clear it.

The hope that it was actually possible made I-eon’s face brighten. A raid meant for a full sixteen-man party, if they cleared it with only seven, the rewards would be huge. They’d even have their names engraved in the Hall of Fame as the first seven-man party to defeat Chaos Uroboros.

Everyone must have felt the same good sign, since even as they rolled around dodging attacks, the atmosphere was lively. As the phases progressed, the patterns grew more varied, but there were no major mistakes. With I-eon cutting attacks at perfect timing, boosted stats from buffs, and each person’s sharp control, the party play flowed beautifully.

“Ji Jong-oppa, lightning!”

“Okay!”

As Iraine’s water spirit drenched Uroboros’s body, Ji Jong-sosi activated the chain lightning he had prepared. Kwa-kwa-kwang! The sky split open and lightning branched down, striking Uroboros. The powerful synergy between bard and archmage dropped Uroboros’s health sharply, finally pushing it below thirty percent. I-eon dismissed his shield for a moment and grabbed a sword in his left hand. Though he was only beginner-level in dual wielding, it was enough for straightforward attacking.

“Get ready for multi-hits!”

[ Grrrrk… ]

Staggering, Uroboros’s eyes blazed and it curled its body tightly. Its jaws opened wide and bit its tail. Then, like a statue, its hardened form displayed a large number over its head.

The tail-bite pattern, triggered below thirty percent HP. They had to land that many hits within ten seconds to break the shield and stop Uroboros’s petrification. The number scaled with party combat power, so even with a small party like this, it should have been manageable.

Should have been.

Everyone except one person lost their words when they saw the number above the serpent’s head.

‘300’

It was not a value possible for a seven-man party.

“Are you kidding… 300?!”

“Whose fault is that?!”

“Just hit it!”

Whether it worked or not, I-eon attacked first, and the DPS followed. Everyone spammed their fastest skills and hammered away with frantic auto-attacks. Debbie even jumped off her summon to add her own hits, and Valror was punching with his bare fists after throwing his greatsword aside. The number dropped quickly, but expecting seven people to reach a hit count meant for a ten-man minimum was too much. Five, four, three… the timer ticked down, but the count had only just reached the nineties.

…2, 1, 0.

— Failed to stop petrification.

Flash…! A blinding light swallowed the area. I-eon clenched his teeth and attempted to use his invincibility skill against the incoming massive AoE damage. But only the “Skill not ready” alert sounded. He had already used it earlier during the quake attack, never expecting they’d fail the pattern. With no choice, he activated whatever personal defensive skill he had left. He couldn’t help anyone else; he had to survive first.

When the devastating roar faded, barely alive, I-eon supported himself with his sword and gasped for breath. He quickly scanned the area. Bodies of guild members were scattered everywhere. All the DPS had been wiped out. And the healer…

“…….”

“…….”

Their eyes met. After seeing this exact survival pattern back in Leta, I-eon’s expression twisted. And despite being the healer, Raham looked far healthier than I-eon.

“Why didn’t you use your continuous heal?”

“…Oh, that.”

Previously, he had saved the entire party with absurd healing output in a similar situation. Uroboros was stronger than Leta’s wraiths, but still, there was always a chance. Or he could have used at least a burst heal.

He must have understood I-eon’s suspicions, yet Raham smiled lightly and answered.

“I forgot. I panicked.”

“…….”

Of course, that excuse held no weight whatsoever. I-eon’s face turned cold, utterly unamused. At this point, he didn’t even want to know what went on in that guy’s head.

Thud, thud…

Awakening from petrification, Uroboros completed its mutation and shed its rocky outer layer like discarded skin. Before it could lock onto them, I-eon grabbed Raham’s arm and pulled him behind a large boulder. Leaving the raid required a short delay, and if they got targeted by a freshly mutated monster, escaping safely would be nearly impossible.

Hiding together, I-eon dropped Raham’s arm as if discarding it. Hidden under the wide robe, Raham’s arm was thicker and harder than expected. Not that it mattered here, he was still just a healer. His strength stat wouldn’t let him beat down a monster anyway.

“Let’s go.”

“Mmm.”

Raham made a vague sound, neither agreement nor refusal, then cast a spell on I-eon. His battered condition instantly restored to perfect health.

Why now?

I-eon raised a brow, but Raham closed the already short distance further, close enough for his breath to be felt.

“You know something?”

“What… Let’s just go.”

“Paladins and demonic priests are an amazing match.”

His sharp eyes curved beautifully.

…What the hell?

Even if referring to the past, Nox and Tiog had always been in a classic good-versus-evil conflict. Their relationship was still terrible. So Raham’s words, to I-eon, were nothing but nonsense.

Raham looked amused by I-eon’s skeptical expression, yet he offered no explanation and instead began chanting another spell. Black energy surged around him. Because of that, Uroboros instantly located them and turned its gaze toward their hiding spot.

Clicking his tongue, I-eon glanced at Raham once, then stepped out from behind the rock. The serpent’s eyes gleamed as it opened its mouth, red mana gathering inside.

“Look at this guy acting like he’s a dragon.”

Keeping Raham behind him, I-eon didn’t dodge. Instead, he activated his invincibility skill, now off cooldown. A massive fireball blasted toward them, large enough to engulf the boulder behind him. The semi-transparent shield dispersed the breath. Before the flames even faded, I-eon sprinted in, secured aggro, and moved behind Uroboros. That way, any blind attacks wouldn’t hit Raham.

Now it was literally do-or-die. There was no way he could defeat Uroboros alone when its health had recovered to forty percent, but Raham must have had something up his sleeve to look that confident. Dodging a swinging tail, I-eon shouted to Raham in party chat.

[If I die, you die!]

He was the one who threw away a perfectly clean chance to leave, so he had to take responsibility. It was a declaration filled with one hundred percent sincerity. Even so, Raham replied in a lightly amused voice.

[Okay.]

Sharp rocks shot through the air. I-eon rolled his body, dodging every attack. He had no idea how long he had to endure, and against a strengthened Uroboros it was wiser to dodge than block. He stepped on guild members’ bodies several times while running, but there was nothing he could do about that. No one was whispering complaints, so clearly everyone understood.

Facing such a wide-range attacker alone was exhausting. With no time to rest, rolling left and right nonstop quickly left him breathless.

[When is it done?!]

[Almost.]

Perfect timing. Not long after Raham answered, chains shot up from all directions and wrapped tightly around Uroboros’s body. The startled serpent twisted desperately to escape, but the more it struggled, the tighter the chains constricted. The chains drained its strength as well, and the massive creature finally crashed onto the ground.

Boom…!

Fanning away the flying dust with his hand, I-eon finally caught his breath. Uroboros was completely restrained, unable to move even an inch, only its fierce eyes darting around. I-eon hadn’t known a healer could have a skill like this, but at this point he decided he wouldn’t be surprised even if Raham suddenly pulled out an axe or a whip and went wild.

Raham strolled over casually and sat right on top of the giant serpent’s head without hesitation. While I-eon flicked off the dirt sticking to his clothes, he glared at Raham with a sour expression.

“See? I told you we should’ve left earlier. Let’s escape while we can.”

“Hm? Why? We’re catching it.”

Pretending to be surprised, Raham widened his eyes, then while still sitting, summoned a magic circle. The same Demon God’s sigil they had seen at the start of the raid descended not on Raham or I-eon, but onto Uroboros.

— Uroboros has received the Sigil of Demon God Nox. Magic enhancement, stage 1.

Isn’t that a buff? I-eon frowned. The magic circle didn’t stop; another formed immediately. As soon as one vanished, another appeared along the same trajectory.

— Uroboros has received the Sigil of Demon God Nox. Magic enhancement, stage 2.
— Uroboros has received the Sigil of Demon God Nox. Magic enhancement, stage 3.

“Hey, what are you doing?”

— Uroboros has received the Sigil of Demon God Nox. Magic enhancement, stage 4.
— Uroboros has received the Sigil of Demon God Nox. Magic enhancement, stage 5.

“…Hey.”

Raham caught the anxiety in I-eon’s voice and met his eyes with a smile. But his hands didn’t stop casting. Finally, when the fear-inducing barrage of alerts came to an end, I-eon was wearing the same fed-up expression he had shown once before.

— Uroboros has received the Sigil of Demon God Nox. Magic enhancement, stage 10.
— Limit break! Sigil efficiency greatly increased.

“……”

It was the sigil of a god, nothing less. I-eon didn’t have the skill himself, but judging by its name, activating it even once would consume a huge amount of mana. Seeing Raham push it to stage ten without showing a hint of exhaustion made it hard to believe he was a mere player like I-eon.

Touching the serpent’s head as if measuring something, Raham finally lifted his chin.

“This should be enough.”

The way he sat there so calmly made him look like Uroboros’s owner, making I-eon flinch without meaning to.

“Remember the skill you got right after finishing the class-change tutorial?”

“Tutorial?”

Of course he had one… I-eon opened his skill window and checked the name of the skill in the very first tab.

“Aperio?”

“Yeah.”

It was a special trait skill given differently to each class. The skill he earned on the day he heard Tiog’s voice for the first and last time.

“Use it.”

“…This only works on demonic beings.”

Which was why he almost never used it unless he went all the way to the Demon Realm. He could count the number of times he’d used it on one hand. And since Uroboros was a divine beast-type monster, it shouldn’t take any damage at all.

Raham shrugged shamelessly.

“Try it. Trust me.”

“Yeah right.”

Despite the gruff response, I-eon straightened his posture and gripped the sword properly. Since they had come this far, he might as well try. If it didn’t work as expected, he planned to ditch Raham and escape alone.

As soon as he readied his stance, Raham stood up and moved aside. But almost as if waiting for him to rise, the chains wrapped around Uroboros began turning transparent. They couldn’t restrain a raid boss forever, and behaving so leisurely had been a mistake.

Retreating to a safe distance, Raham added casually,

“Oh, you can’t get hit.”

That’s your job, idiot!

Before the restraint completely vanished, I-eon swung his sword downward. A brilliant blue light, similar to the skill he used to kill the mid-boss in Leta but even more dazzling, split the sky and struck Uroboros. Even though it wasn’t a direct-hit sword skill, for the first time, he felt a thrilling impact rather than hollow flashiness.

He recognized the sensation, he had felt something similar back in Leta. Heart pounding, I-eon checked Uroboros’s health. Even the powerful synergy attack from archmage and bard had only taken three percent earlier, yet now a full ten percent had vanished instantly.

“You’ve got to be… kuh!”

Barely dodging the tail, I-eon rolled forward. The tail swept violently over where he had been standing. Before he had a chance to catch his breath, the ground trembled and man-sized spikes erupted upward. Avoiding the spikes targeting him, he dashed to the middle of the serpent’s body. Taking advantage of a brief pause in attacks, he used Aperio again.

Crack-crack! With a splitting sound, Uroboros’s health dropped sharply once more.

Now twenty percent.

Checking the remaining health, I-eon stunned the lunging serpent momentarily with a counter skill and slashed again. The health fell from twenty to ten percent. But as expected of a trait skill, it consumed a heavy amount of stamina, and I-eon’s vigor was nearly drained.

[Out of stamina!]

[Already?]

[What do you mean already?!]

He had been the only one rolling around nonstop and had fired off a trait skill three times. Raham’s endlessly regenerating mana was the real abnormality here.

— Equivalent Exchange! Sacrifice 30% of HP to restore 30% stamina.

Even while dodging a rain of attacks, I-eon asked in clear annoyance.

[Don’t you have a normal healing skill?]

[Didn’t learn it.]

[What? Why?]

[If you can’t manage your health and stamina, then you should just die.]

[…]

He rarely ever used up all his stamina… but Raham was the kind of guy who would use Equivalent Exchange to restore stamina even if a party member only had twenty percent health left.

Confirming once again how cold-blooded Raham was, I-eon gritted his teeth and focused on avoiding every hit. If he died here, he’d end up like the rest of the guild members, just giving Raham more reason to laugh at him. I-eon, who had never caused trouble except during his newbie days, refused to accept a humiliation like that. Especially not in front of that obnoxious man with his talent.

Catching an opening between attacks, I-eon poured all of his recovered stamina into one final Aperio. Uroboros let out a dying roar, the tremor shaking the entire ground, and its massive body finally toppled over. A flood of alerts assaulted I-eon’s eyes and ears.

— With the final blow from ‘I-eon,’ Uroboros has been defeated.
— Uroboros, having lost its body, returns to the abyss.

The enormous serpent’s body scattered into dust, and where the corpse vanished, seven treasure chests appeared. I-eon stared blankly at the sight, then turned to Raham as he approached.

“What the hell is this? This wasn’t such a ridiculous skill before.”

Aperio was a trait skill used as a finisher in other classes, but for paladins, it was just a low-efficiency skill with too many restrictions. Even when he had used it in the Demon Realm during a quest, it definitely hadn’t been like this. Yet Raham looked completely unsurprised.

“Demonic types and Tiog’s divine types are opposites. Aperio’s damage scales with the opponent’s magic.”

“Uroboros isn’t a demonic creature.”

“Read the skill description properly.”

I-eon, who had never cared much for the skill, read the details carefully. “Delivers judgment upon the evil servants of the Demon God.” That one vague sentence was all the description offered.

What was that supposed to mean? I-eon’s expression grew more confused.

“I stacked ten sigils on it.”

“And?”

“With ten Demon God sigils, it’s at the same level as a Demon King.”

“……”

“So Aperio’s damage is calculated high, but Uroboros itself is way weaker than a Demon King.”

In short, he had forcibly turned a divine beast-type monster into a demonic one. He left its original stats intact but maximized the opposing attribute to deal explosive damage.

I-eon let out a breathless laugh. Only an insane healer would even consider such a reckless mana headbutt.

Then a realization hit him, and I-eon’s face twisted.

“Wait. Doesn’t that mean Uroboros also hit harder against me since we’re opposites?”

“Yeah. One hit from it would’ve killed you.”

Of course.

“You could’ve told me that earlier.”

“You dodged well.”

Raham replied with a sly smile. I-eon had thought getting hit would break Raham’s spell, so he had dodged desperately, but apparently, his life had actually been on the line. Maybe it was better he hadn’t known.

I-eon clicked his tongue loudly. Compatible my ass, the only reason it worked was because the guy was crazy.

“Anyway, since we’re done, revive the guild members.”

Thankfully, no one had left the raid yet. Feeling a bit guilty for unintentionally trampling them earlier, I-eon waited. Raham blinked once, then asked back.

“Why should I?”

“…What?”

I-eon was stunned by the unexpected answer. Raham, however, wore a faint smile.

“Why should I revive people who couldn’t even manage their aggro?”

“That’s not…”

What was this meritocracy nonsense? Stiff with exasperation, I-eon was about to lecture him but stopped. Emotional appeals like “We’re a guild” wouldn’t work on him. Instead, he calmly retraced the facts.

“Fine. Let’s say that was their fault. But why did the DPS party wipe in the first place? That insane hit count earlier, wasn’t that your doing?”

When the absurd number 300 appeared, I-eon had seen it. Raham alone had remained completely calm while everyone else panicked. I-eon still didn’t know what Raham’s combat power looked like, but it was obvious he was the cause.

“If it weren’t for that, we would’ve cleared safely. So reviving them is your responsibility.”

Sure, without Raham they wouldn’t have survived the petrification phase at all, but I-eon deliberately didn’t mention that. Instead, he mimicked the shameless expression he’d seen on many others before, staring Raham down. Raham snorted.

“That’s true.”

Whether he meant it sincerely or not, Raham finally cast the resurrection skill. Massive black wings unfurled above him, and radiant light poured onto the fallen guild members.

— ‘Raham’ has used ‘Resurrection-Multi.’

The greyed, lifeless bodies regained their original colors. Everyone stood up unsteadily, and Valror muttered with a troubled expression,

“I’ve never seen a revival where an angel grabs your soul by the collar and stuffs it back into your body…”

Luckily, since this wasn’t a regular hunting field or dungeon, the death penalty was low. Combined with a top-tier resurrection, all their stats fully recovered. But having witnessed everything, including the two men’s conversation, while dead, the others felt awkward and couldn’t celebrate comfortably. Only Debbie, unbothered by the entire atmosphere, ran straight to Raham and bowed deeply.

“Thank you for saving us, guild master. I promise to never interfere with I-eon’s tanking again!”

Despite the overly polite gratitude, Raham merely glanced at her and answered shortly, “Okay,” before going to open his reward chest. Debbie lifted her head and watched his back with shining admiration.

“So cool…”

It was unclear whether she lacked pride or had incredible mental fortitude.

Watching their antics with an exasperated click of his tongue, I-eon was approached by the guild members, who apologized awkwardly.

“We got too excited. Sorry, I-eon.”

“We trusted you too much and went wild.”

“No, no. Don’t apologize.”

He had been busy because of their wild behavior, but they hadn’t made any huge mistakes. If anything, the apology made him more uncomfortable. Though he waved his hands dismissively, the guild members insisted on apologizing one by one before finally changing the subject. Iraine, unable to contain her excitement, practically bounced in place.

“This is seriously insane. When ten percent of its health dropped at once, I thought it was a bug!”

“With that much damage, couldn’t you and the guild master clear it together?”

“That’d be impossible.”

A paladin’s trait skill not only consumed a huge amount of stamina, but also had a restriction of five uses per day. He had always wondered why such a low-efficiency skill even needed restrictions, but now it made sense. It was likely to prevent exactly this kind of outrageous usage.

After some brief chatter, right before opening the treasure chests, Iraine stopped everyone, excited.

“Let’s take a group photo!”

“Call!”

Debbie, excited as well, summoned her pet as the marker point and hurried everyone into formation. Swept up in youthful enthusiasm, the guild members laughed and cooperated without complaint. I-eon lined up with them, then glanced back, and paused. Raham stood far away, making no move to join them.

He’s practically a voluntary loner at this point…
I-eon sighed and walked toward him. Raham’s eyes quietly followed him.

“Come on, hurry up so we can take the picture.”

“……”

His face clearly said, “Why would I?”
Used to Raham’s odd personality by now, I-eon didn’t bother waiting for a reply and grabbed his arm.

“If you’re not going to act like a guild master, at least behave for the photo. Okay?”

Surprisingly, Raham allowed himself to be pulled along and smiled as if finding I-eon amusing.

“You take good care of me even though you don’t like me.”

“You really think so?”

Since he was the guild master, Raham belonged in the center. After positioning Raham in the middle and standing next to him, Iraine clapped her hands.

“Okay, everyone look at the speedster up front~ and turn off protection mode so your faces show. One, two, three!”

Click- The camera shutter went off about ten times. I-eon kept only the corners of his mouth raised just enough to avoid a muscle spasm, then relaxed his expression as soon as the picture ended.

“Can I upload this to the official site?”

“I don’t mind.”

“Same.”

Since no one objected, Iraine hummed happily as she checked the screenshots.

Meanwhile, Raham ignored the warm atmosphere entirely and silently left the raid on his own. Debbie, who had been staring at him happily, looked deeply disappointed, and for some reason the others also seemed regretful. I-eon couldn’t understand their reactions.

“The guild master does that and nobody minds?”

“Hm?”

Cocopang stared straight at him, then suddenly asked,

“You said you originally played solo, right?”

“Yes.”

“Oh really? Then why did you choose tank? Soloing must be tough.”

As Ji Jong-sosi said, tank wasn’t a great class for solo players. It was essential in party hunts, but too defensively focused to comfortably enjoy content alone. Even so, I-eon had chosen tank for a simple reason.

“It was the recommendation on the class personality test.”

“……”

He tried it three times and it kept recommending tank, so he had no choice. Everyone gave him a strange look, and Debbie nodded enthusiastically, saying the test was incredibly accurate.

“I think you’re a natural tank. You’re great at leading the party too.”

“That’s just because of the class…”

“And you take care of me even when I annoy you.”

“We’re in the same guild. I’m still a solo type.”

And Debbie’s chattiness was more on the pleasantly lively side; I-eon had never once found it genuinely annoying. Cocopang watched I-eon, who looked slightly troubled, and laughed.

“You look like the type who always ends up being group leader whenever there’s a team project at school.”

“……”

Well… she wasn’t wrong.

Still, I-eon firmly believed he was a born solo player. When something had to be done as a group, he only took the lead because there was no one else to do it, not because he wanted to.

“Anyway.”

Cocopang cut off his pointless attempt to prove he was a solo player and continued what she originally wanted to say.

“I used to solo most things except dungeons because dealing with guilds was annoying. But there’s exactly one reason I joined Nox.”

“What is it?”

“Because the guild master is handsome.”

“……”

“Same here.”

Iraine, who had been focused on uploading the screenshot, immediately chimed in with strong agreement. Then even Ji Jong-sosi raised his hand with a relaxed smile.

“I joined because of the guild master’s face and reputation too.”

“Oh… okay…”

Iraine maybe, but even Debbie, Cocopang, and Ji Jong-sosi, who were founding members of the guild…

Cocopang snickered at I-eon’s defeated expression, then added, “Ah.”

“And he’s quiet. That part is nice. Though Debbie gets loud sometimes.”

“Right! He and I are the perfect balance!”

“I can’t stand men who talk too much.”

“…Noonaaa.”

Is this guild really okay…?

With the same familiar thought he’d had countless times, I-eon turned away from their lively agreement. Thankfully, at least one person wasn’t part of that chorus.

“What about you, Valror?”

“Oh, me? Ji Jong hyung recruited me. We knew each other from before. He’s a member of my gym.”

“You’re a trainer?”

“Yes. I’m the owner and a trainer.”

Hearing about the gym, I-eon naturally looked at Valror’s body. Though they were similar in height, the difference in muscle mass was on a completely different level, so much so that no job suited him better than trainer or athlete. He had said he was twenty-nine this year, and owning his own gym at that age was surprisingly impressive.

When I-eon admired him, Valror looked embarrassed and glanced away.

“It’s not my ability. I owe it to my parents… Anyway, I-eon.”

“Yes?”

Valror looked at him closely, eyes sparkling as if he had never been embarrassed. His intense gaze made I-eon flinch and step back, but Valror quickly closed the distance again. He circled I-eon once, speaking rapidly with passionate energy.

“I’ve thought this for a while, but your body is really nice. Your frame is straight, your posture is good, and you’ve got more muscle than I expected. If you start working out properly, your muscles will look amazing. If it’s not too far for you, want to come with Ji Jong hyung? You wouldn’t even need to pay for personal training. I can help you myself.”

He clearly wanted to touch and check I-eon’s body all over, but since they weren’t close enough, he was struggling to restrain himself. I-eon, seeing the usually laid-back Valror suddenly transformed, was left speechless. People really did get fired up when it came to their interests.

“Oh, then maybe not right away… but I’ll try going sometime later.”

“Definitely. Ji Jong hyung bought a one-year membership and hasn’t even gone ten times this year.”

“I’m busy at work!”

“You said you’re on leave from school, right, I-eon?”

“Yes.”

“If you want to study well, you need stamina. A healthy mind comes from a strong body. You’ve heard that, right?”

“No…”

“That’s my motto.”

“…Right…”

I-eon then spent the next twenty minutes listening to Valror passionately explain the link between muscles and a happy life.

A few days after the miraculous Uroboros clear, Eden’s large summer update began. As many feared, the planned opening time had already long passed, and maintenance continued well into the afternoon. Because of that, in the Nox guild open chat that I-eon had recently joined, Debbie had been complaining nonstop for an hour.

「Debbie: They extended it again to 12:30 ㅠㅠ」

「Debbie: A three-hour extension is too much, right?」

「Debbie: And then when maintenance ends, the servers will crash and they’ll do an emergency fix again――」

「Ji Jong-sosi: Still, the dev team has been working since dawn. Let’s be patient.」

「Debbie: But that’s literally their jobㅠㅠ」

「Ji Jong-sosi: They probably don’t even get paid enough for what they do…」

I-eon chuckled at the obvious age gap in their tone and finished up his chores. Living alone meant there wasn’t much to do, but he had let things pile up after playing too much lately.

After cleaning and airing out the room, he flopped onto his bed and checked his phone. He expected Debbie to still be ranting, but for some reason, his name appeared in the newest chat message.

「Iraine: I-eon~~~」

「Yeah. I see it now.」

As soon as he replied and turned over, the unread message count dropped again.

「Iraine: Do you happen to know someone called SolarThief?」

SolarThief?

Frowning, I-eon searched his memory. A name he wanted to forget, yet couldn’t, thanks to the candid photo uploaded on the official site, none other than the troublemaker from the Leta Ruins.

Why is that guy’s name showing up here?

While I-eon typed asking what happened, a link appeared. It was a link to Eden’s official site.

「Iraine: I posted our guild photo on the official board, but he keeps picking a fight lol」

「I’ll check it」

Following the link, I-eon opened the screenshot board. Iraine’s post was displayed proudly with a “popular” tag.