NOVEL NEXT Chapter 362
After a round of exchange… Well, it wasn’t really an exchange.
With all the power and justification, Kayak was practically beating up Ye-na and the top culprits of the failed raid in public.
Anyway, after that whole saga, the atmosphere naturally turned icy.
[The vibe just turned into fried intestines, lol]
[What’s up with Kayak? She came as a guest and is saying such things? – Message deleted]
[No cursing at Kayak, no no no! And no cursing at Ye-na either!]
[What guts does Ye-na have to challenge the king of Twishi, Camilla?]
[The streamer is directly searching for the culprit, huh… – Message deleted]
[The peace the broadcast host wanted to protect…]
[Our Ye-na did nothing wrong!!! ㅠㅠㅠㅠ Protect our poor Ye-na!! – Message deleted]
[Am I the only one relieved? Kayak had no wrong in her words, though.]
[Honestly, it’s been three days, and not knowing the patterns is a bit extreme.]
[She’s just squeezing out the juice, lol. How is it that she’s not going off script at all? lol – Message deleted]
[That’s only possible because Camilla is a woman; if Han-yul or Seok-hoon had cried, it would’ve been a different picture.]
[For real, they would’ve hit rock bottom.]
“…”
Han-yul wasn’t even making a proper comment; he was just quietly dealing with the chat that was crossing the line.
For someone who loved peace and hated conflict, this situation was extremely stressful. Others might call him indecisive and not manly enough, but this was how he had lived his whole life.
“Ugh… How can you say such harsh words…”
From one side of the call room, a sob broke through. It was Ye-na. Having received a verbal slap from Kayak, she couldn’t hold back her tears and began to cry.
Though Han-yul didn’t quite understand why Ye-na was crying over such a mild reprimand, that wasn’t really important.
‘Should I run to the convenience store or something?’
Right now, he just wanted to escape the Discord chat.
After all, Kayak was providing feedback only to those who had failed. As the leader, Han-yul had worked alongside Kayak in the raid, so wasn’t it okay for him to step out for a bit?
Just as he was thinking that…
“It’s too much, ugh… It’s too much, Kayak! I’ve been cutting back on sleep for the raid since three days ago—”
“Uwwhuhuuu…”
A bizarre sound that was indistinguishable between laughing and crying could be heard.
‘What the heck is that noise?’
Half-closing his eyes and attempting to leave, Han-yul confirmed the source of the sound. It was Kayak.
“Uwhuhuhuk… I have to catch the dragon… I’m uncomfortable saying this too, but I must capture the dragon and become the dragon slayer…”
Han-yul, who had been silent until now, couldn’t help but mutter in disbelief.
“…Are you crying right now?”
[Match juice ON]
[Not to be mean, but Kayak is really a weirdo, lol]
[Are you laughing or crying??]
[Looking at Kayak’s screen, she looks like she’s laughing]
[But her face is covered while crying, so I can’t tell, lol]
[Is this WWE?]
[The girls’ psychological warfare is intense, damn, it’s savage]
[Wow, is she immediately squeezing out the juice?]
[So it’s true that girls can turn tears on and off]
[That’s a bit forced, though…]
[The forced juice makes it even scarier, lol]
[Did you recruit Kayak because of this picture, damn it]
[To Han-yul]
[An insane girl can only be handled by another insane girl, damn]
[Han-yul is indeed a master, mm-hmm]
[Let’s make the broadcast host a national soccer coach!]
[Ye-na is flustered, lol]
“Wait, what… are you really crying?”
“Uhh… I don’t want to cry, but the tears just come out… I don’t want to put Seok-hoon in the engineering team instead of Ye-na… But we’ve got to succeed in this raid…”
“No way…! I’m a crucial healer in this party…!”
“But you’re a healer who can’t heal properly…”
“What did you say?”
“Uhh… I’m sorry…”
The rest of the guild members in Discord were just as focused on their conversation as Han-yul was. Seok-hoon, who had already left the raid party, was laughing so hard in the chat that it seemed like he would burst.
“She’s pretending to cry while saying everything she wants to say.”
Honestly, it’s amazing how talented she is.
Han-yul momentarily forgot about running away to the convenience store and was genuinely impressed. Truly, overflowing with talent and charisma.
However, Ye-na’s following words made Han-yul’s head start to ache again.
“Ugh… Anyway, it’s up to the party leader Han-yul to decide who gets in and out, you know?”
“Ugh…. That is true… If Han-yul doesn’t want to kick her out, there’s nothing I can do…”
“That’s right! The decision lies with Han-yul!”
[Oh no, don’t do that]
[You crazy girls, why don’t you fight amongst yourselves, lol]
[Suddenly the fire is spreading here, lol]
[Han-yul… this was a decision you had to make someday]
[Ye-na expulsion, go, go, go! Ye-na expulsion, go, go, go!]
[Looks like really weak people can’t do broadcasts]
[Suddenly pitying the person who was jealous of the raid leader with so many girls, lol]
“Why are you guys yelling at me?”
Han-yul regretted not running away to the convenience store.
“Oppa!”
“Guild leader…!”
“Make the decision!”
“…Ye-na, stay out for a moment. This raid will have Seok-hoon join instead.”
“This raid will have Seok-hoon take my place.”
“Oppa!”
“I didn’t want this either, Ye-na. But it can’t be helped.”
Seeing Han-yul looking quite exhausted, Ye-na couldn’t really argue anymore.
I just stood by, watching that scene unfold.
[Kay]
[This is it, this is it, lol]
[Going by skills is definitely the way, yeah]
[Ye-na, that person’s so stubborn, lol]
[Normalization success!]
[As expected, justice is served by Camilla, lol]
[It’s nice to see the effort paid off]
[But is this person really crying?]
[The crying sounds so ridiculous, it seems fake]
[I didn’t see any tears earlier]
[Could it be real, though, lolol]
[So many pure Kayaks here]
[It’s just crocodile tears, you guys]
“Then do you really think I’d fake crying?”
I showed my red eyes to the doubting viewers.
Of course, I wasn’t genuinely upset or heartbroken over my quarrel with Ye-na. I just shed some tears while reminiscing about sad thoughts.
Not using an effective weapon is just foolish. Considering that the opponent probably doesn’t lack for such weapons either, it wasn’t like I had to hold my head high about it.
“And even though Seok-hoon is coming in, if he doesn’t perform his role in this raid, he’ll be swapped out for someone else. Seok-hoon will be pushed back to the waiting list.”
“Ugh… that’s tough.”
“This is serious competition.”
[It’s time to find the culprit, lol]
“Oh, I’m going to watch you with my eyes wide open every raid, so be ready!”
[Now it’ll finally get interesting, yeah]
[Hang the culprit!]
[If you can’t do it right, it’s fast-track cyber boot camp, yikes]
Han-yul seemed to have steeled himself and declared as the leader, causing the guild members to groan.
“This should be good enough, right, Kayak?”
“Why are you asking me…”
“Because I think you’re the expert here. Will this yield results?”
You’re the expert, you fool. You’ve played RPGs and raids more than I have.
But really, this situation was quite bizarre.
To see someone who has participated in so many raids struggling to kick out one person. Thanks to that, I’ve ended up taking the fall as the bad guy.
Having chosen to be the villain, if nothing comes from it, that’s its own kind of sadness.
“If this doesn’t work, then we’ll just have to give up.”
“Haha…”
But I don’t think that will happen. From what I see, this group has potential, but it seems to lack a sense of urgency.
A bit of tension is always necessary.
The pressure of potentially being replaced by guild members will strengthen them and help them grow even more.
Park-gam would harden them further and help them grow even more.
“Alright, we’re entering. Everyone check your positions properly.”
Seok-hoon filled Ye-na’s empty spot, and the party headed once more toward the Dragon’s Nest.
– Intruders…
– What are humans doing in the sacred nest?!
– Get lost, you bug-like creatures!
Now accustomed to the monster waves.
Stage 1. Guarding the Dragon’s Nest were the Dragon Knights and Lizardman warriors.
“Kayak and I will break through together. Supporters, keep cycling your cooldowns and keep healing and buffing us.”
At this point, detailed briefings weren’t even necessary.
After three days of repetitive tasks, it would be strange if they weren’t proficient by now.
Swinging through the swarm of monsters along with Han-yul.
– Kraaak!
– For the Queen!
– Spill your blood, warriors!
The highly intelligent AIs didn’t just target the enemies in front of them.
Lizardmen were eyeing the backline, where Han-yul and I stood, untouched by the incoming heal and buff barrage.
Han-yul let out a loud cry upon spotting one.
“Look at me-!”
Raising the attack speed of allies while drawing aggro from enemies in a victorious shout.
The monster swarm that had turned away swiftly returned to Han-yul.
“Pour heals on Han-yul!”
I shouted as Han-yul’s health rapidly dwindled while I slashed through the enemies.
No matter how solid a tank is, they can die if focused down.
If the main tank fell here, clearing the upcoming stages would become extremely difficult. The resurrection altar could only be reached after passing the second stage.
However, such a fundamental mistake didn’t occur. The skilled healer, Seok-hoon, had already been focusing heals on Han-yul before I even shouted.
Stage 1 was cleared that easily. It was simply about handling the incoming monster waves.
“Felt faster than before…?”
“No one died either.”
“Clean, it’s clean.”
The guild members seemed overjoyed with the successful breakthrough.
Yeah, this is how it should be. It doesn’t make sense to keep dying in the first stage, right? Clearing the early stages without anyone dying is the unwritten rule!
Even the party leader, Han-yul, seemed to notice the change and immediately gave orders.
“Quickly regroup and we’ll enter Stage 2 immediately! Everyone, drink potions, recover health and mana, and cooldown your main abilities.”
Afterward, we successfully cleared the cursed wall we had never passed before, Stage 3.