I Became a Raid Boss

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Da-eun spoke in a trembling voice.

“…I never thought I could hide it for long.”

Her face was a mix of remorse and regret.

With a face as bewildered as her quivering voice, Da-eun tightly shut her eyes.

“But I wished I could hide it forever.”

Even knowing it was futile, she had earnestly hoped so.

“There’s no one who wishes for tragedy.”

Like ordinary people, she too was just the same.

Da-eun, who had spoken softly, opened her eyes.

Her pupils, which had earlier been trembling anxiously, now shone unwaveringly with determination.

“…So just once.”

The black eyes that reappeared held a firm light without a trace of wavering.

“Just give me one chance.”

That was all Da-eun said.

There were no plans outlined.

Just a single request to trust her.

In her resolute black eyes was the face of a girl familiar to me.

A face so inscrutable that I could not fathom her thoughts.

Feeling strangely awkward, I raised my hand, and the girl in her eyes mirrored my action.

‘Hmm.’

Now it felt even more awkward.

As I lowered my hand bashfully, I rolled Da-eun’s words around on my tongue.

“Chance.”

A good word.

Also a cruel one.

A chance allows a little bird tangled up to soar high into the sky.

But not everyone is granted miraculous chances.

Sometimes people can be deceived by a devil disguised as an opportunity, leading to their ruin.

And even if one were to seize the chance, they could still fail for various reasons.

The fact that I could stand here facing Da-eun was because I seized the opportunity that Edel had offered me, wasn’t it?

“…”

A silence settled in the room.

Yuki’s small breaths echoed softly.

No one had told her to do so, yet Yuki held her breath as if she had to watch us.

In the eerie stillness where you could hear her pupils rolling, I slowly reached out, gazing into her eyes that craved a chance.

Tap.

“…Ah.”

The words that touched my fingertips crumbled meaninglessly.

Da-eun let out a sigh.

“What chance?”

It was truly absurd.

“You spoke so solemnly, I thought you’d say something profound, but really, it’s absurd.”

“Ugh! Ugh!”

“Could you please say that in a way that’s even slightly understandable?”

Da-eun thrashed about helplessly, crying out.

“Why?! After begging like this, can’t you just let me off the hook just once, you soulless devil!”

“Do you really think I would just let you off?”

If I did that, I could be the one losing here.

In my disbelief, I shot back, and Yuki chimed in.

“The world of competition is merciless. The winner takes all, and the loser meets their demise; that’s just the way it is.”

“Are we really talking rationale here?! Over a mere board game?!”

“Da-eun, remember, you asked for a chance like a dog, so you can’t complain now…”

“I-I didn’t beg like a dog…!”

A mere board game.

Just as Da-eun said, what we had engaged in was just a board game.

Clarifying the truth behind the events on the small game board, uncovering the clues and hideouts concealed by the opponent, and ultimately putting them on trial— a game based on psychological warfare and deduction.

I was the final victor, and Da-eun was the loser.

As for Yuki… she hadn’t made any significant contributions but hadn’t made mistakes either, so she automatically became the runner-up at the moment Da-eun fell.

“This is absurd! How could this happen?!”

Da-eun shouted in frustration.

“How come every card draw reveals only my evidence?! If that were the case, I wouldn’t be saying anything! Always rolling 6s on the dice, and I’m the only one taking all the lucky cards….”

She was sprawled on the floor, throwing a tantrum, then suddenly shot up.

“Be honest. Did you cheat? Did you get help from Yuki?! If you come clean now, I’ll let the forfeiture slide….”

“Da-eun, that’s pathetic.”

“I don’t care if it’s pathetic!”

Da-eun’s insistence, pulling every excuse together and making a fuss, seemed the most disgraceful I had ever seen her.

That aside, even I thought I had gotten a bit lucky.

“It’s not just ‘lucky’ level; that was the luck of summoning the Dice God….”

“But what can I do? By mid-game, I think your blunders exceeded my luck anyway.”

That was a sincere truth, devoid of lies.

In the early game, due to the ‘luck of the Dice God’ that Da-eun described, I advanced much faster than the other two.

At first, Da-eun didn’t take my lead seriously, but as the gap widened over time, she grew increasingly anxious, starting to make reckless moves that were almost gambling in an attempt to close the gap.

And Da-eun’s agitation was clearly reflected on her face, giving me several hints as I observed her expression.

Had it not been for that, Da-eun might have been the one to secure second place instead of Yuki.

Da-eun’s risky attempts often failed, but she also had quite a few successes.

I stated my thoughts plainly, but Da-eun once again threw herself on the floor, throwing a fit.

Rolling around the dusty room, Da-eun was putting on a show of overreaction.

She had just lost a board game, yet spoke about chances like they held some monumental significance.

“Cough!”

“Why are you acting like this?”

As I halted the now-prostrate Da-eun, she looked at me with tear-filled eyes.

“My wish ticket…! My grand dream of witnessing Kana’s cuteness with my wish ticket has been shattered…! This can’t stand!”

“…”

She was causing all this ruckus over that?

In some sense, her earnest confession was somehow refreshing, and I let out a deep sigh.

“I told you we shouldn’t do it, didn’t I?”

“But a board game without stakes isn’t fun. At least we had to make it interesting with a penalty or something!”

“That’s just gambling addiction.”

“It’s not like we’re betting money. It’s merely to heighten the excitement of the game!”

The prize and penalty for this board game was a wish ticket.

“How about the one-in-first can command the one-in-last to do anything?!”

It felt suspicious all of a sudden when she pressed to play a board game, and lo and behold, she brought it up.

Da-eun pushed her agenda regardless of the lukewarm reactions from Yuki and me.

As for the result? Well, just as you see.

“For that plan to work, Da-eun had to place first, but I had to be last.”

“…I was trying to seduce Yuki into doing that, saying if we teamed up to make Kana come in last, she could face off against her….”

“…”

“Ah! Wait! I’ve been hit hard!”

She had been accusing me of cheating, yet here she was, plotting something fiendish of her own.

“Karma is swift retribution. You’ve been punished for harboring such vile thoughts.”

“Wh-What? Karma? Where did you hear that?”

“On the internet.”

“…I told you to cut down on the internet.”

I didn’t voice the question of why.

Da-eun, whose feelings were now a tangled mess from losing the game, would surely throw out whatever came to mind.

Instead of expressing doubt, I prodded her sharply with my toes.

And then a kick.

“Augh!”

Da-eun rolled away like a soccer ball.

And ended up sprawled on the sofa.

Ignoring her soft groans, I turned my gaze to Yuki.

“Any results?”

“Not really.”

Yuki shook her head.

“At first, it was easy, but Silia Online… ah.”

“Speak casually.”

“Okay. It doesn’t feel the same as when playing a game.”

“Of course not.”

Both the mana concentration and the support from the system in Silia Online were different.

Even a rookie holding a sword for the first time is granted the ability to use mana because of the system’s power.

“Still, you’re learning quickly.”

While browsing the internet, I came across the term “reverse discomfort.”

It means when you use high-performance goods and then switch to low-performance ones, and you feel the difference in utility…

I understood that expression as ‘Isn’t it like using a rusty iron sword after wielding a master sword?’

I figured Yuki might be feeling some reverse discomfort too.

Nevertheless, I thought that reverse discomfort isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

“Maybe because you have experience now?”

Someone who has reached a destination at least once knows what the place looks like and how to get there.

Even if the road is long, harsh, and daunting, isn’t it better than drifting aimlessly in an endless sea?

From what I observed, most players enjoying Silia Online rely on the system when handling mana.

That doesn’t mean it’s a bad thing.

After all, dealing with mana isn’t easy, so it makes sense.

It’s just a bit unfortunate that so much mana is used only in limited ways.

That’s why I admired Yuki, who learned how to move mana on her own.

There might have been some system assistance, but considering that, what she achieved was still impressive.

“Is that so?”

Ultimately, Yuki appeared frustrated as things weren’t going as she wanted.

For a moment, impatience flickered across Yuki’s face.

I had meant my comment as a compliment, so why don’t Da-eun and Yuki seem to understand my feelings?

With a sigh, I decided to show Yuki an educational tool to help her understand.

“Look at Da-eun. She hasn’t even gotten her feel for it yet.”

“…Ah!”

“…It’s wrong to compare yourself to others! Yuki too, shouldn’t find comfort in measuring yourself against others!”

Da-eun, who had rolled away a distance, came back rolling and shouted out.

But really, can’t she just stand up and walk over here?

Why is she still rolling around?

I shook my head while looking at the dust stuck to her white clothes.