Ch.3The Room of Beginning (2)

# 3. The Room of Beginning (2)

[00:10]

[You have chosen to fight.]

I chose the right door. Despite my unpleasant feelings, making the choice wasn’t difficult at all.

While the left option guaranteed two deaths regardless of my abilities, the right option, though a gamble, offered the possibility of reducing casualties or even achieving complete survival. In short, it was a matter of possibility.

As for the chance of total annihilation…

‘Let’s not think about that.’

I opened the right door and entered. This time, there were no doors at all. Instead, something resembling a crystal ball floated in the center. I actually liked its simple and straightforward nature. As I approached, light from the crystal ball illuminated my body, and soon the familiar vision appeared. Then, like in a visual novel, messages from my companions in the vision began to appear.

[Physical Therapist: The magic power I have left, *cough*, is enough for one cast at best. If I completely drain myself, maybe two…]

[EtiquetteMaster: *gasp* Same, here.]

[WaterKnowsTheAnswer: Sorry… I only have enough for two more spells. And I’m about to be reverse-summoned.]

[StubbornBackdoor: I’m out of special arrows and bombs…]

If this had been an actual raid, such grim reports would have made me consider a retreat long ago.

[Saex: RUN!!! RIGHT NOW!!! ABANDON US!!! AND ESCAPE!!!!!!!!]

[KillThem: YOU IDIOOOOOTS!!!]

Their desperate cries were gut-wrenching.

The vision paused there. Simultaneously, the entire party’s HP/MP status, skill lists, and the approximate number and distribution of monsters appeared.

‘Seeing the exact numbers makes it even more hopeless. Wow…’

It felt like the situation was demanding to know why I hadn’t chosen the sacrifice option.

[Having chosen to fight, you must make another choice.]

[Make the optimal judgment and command to achieve the best outcome in the current situation.]

[Your words will change the tide of battle.]

[Your choice cannot be undone.]

[30 seconds remaining.]

[00:30]

[00:29]

My mouth went dry. Why was I feeling this way? The people in the vision weren’t even real, and I was just selecting an option… why?

I don’t know.

For now, passing through here is the priority.

[KillThem][9.1%/6%]

[Saex][4.5%/8.3%]

[Physical Therapist][34.4%/6.1%]

I checked the vitals of the two tanks and the healer again. KillThem had recovered some health, perhaps from using a self-heal, but Saex had dropped below 5%. He could die at any moment.

[00:27]

Normally, I would have immediately healed Saex. That was my intention. But I reconsidered.

‘Even if I heal him now and we hold on, can we overcome this situation?’

If nothing changed, we’d be wiped out the moment one side broke through.

‘Which direction did we escape in the sacrifice route earlier?’

I recalled the path from memory. I wasn’t just blindly trusting that vision. Looking at the monster distribution, that route indeed had relatively fewer monsters, and significantly fewer strong ones. I decided to trust my judgment.

[00:20]

If that’s the case, there’s only one answer.

Breakthrough at a single point.

“Physical Therapist, Lesser Heal on Saex.”

[Physical Therapist casts Lesser Heal on Saex.]

[Physical Therapist][34.6%/4.5%]

[Saex][12.6%/8.4%]

[KillThem][8%/6.1%]

[Physical Therapist: W-why…]

[Saex: Shh.]

[00:19]

“Saex, activate Bloody Lust and charge toward the location I designate. KillThem and I will be at the very rear, followed by Backdoor. The rest will follow Saex while using their control skills autonomously against anything that interferes with the charge.”

[Saex activates Bloody Lust.]

[You feel no pain during the duration.]

[You do not tire during the duration.]

[Attack power and attack speed greatly increased.]

[Saex: UWAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!]

[EtiquetteMaster: Insane.]

[WaterKnowsTheAnswer: D-don’t scatter!]

Saex’s class had the highest physical prowess and attack power among all classes when considering vanilla stats alone, excluding specific conditions or skills. Since he was going to die anyway, I judged it better to use Blood Lust like a one-time bulldozer to reach the escape point. The effect would last 30 seconds—no, given his condition, probably only 15 to 20 seconds—but during that time, he could obliterate weaker monsters with just body slams.

[00:14]

[Physical Therapist][30.4%/4.7%]

[Saex][10.3%/4.4%]

[KillThem][5.5%/5.1%]

Five seconds had passed on the timer. The party in the vision had broken through about 1/3 of the way. Both time and condition weren’t good. But having mounted the tiger, we had to keep running.

[EtiquetteMaster][28.9%/22.3%]

[WaterKnowsTheAnswer][19.4%/19.2%]

“EtiquetteMaster, transfer mana to WaterKnowsTheAnswer using Siphon Mana. WaterKnowsTheAnswer, use all your magic power for Fury of the Bitter Cold.”

[EtiquetteMaster][25.4%/0.1%]

[WaterKnowsTheAnswer][19.4%/41.4%]

[WaterKnowsTheAnswer summons the Water Elemental King.]

[The Water Elemental King rages.]

[All water freezes.]

[Fury of the Bitter Cold is cast.]

[WaterKnowsTheAnswer][19.4%/1.4%]

[The Water Elemental King is reverse-summoned due to insufficient magic power.]

Though incomplete, they unleashed a powerful attack before both DPS members retired. Thanks to this, monsters across a wide area turned into ice statues, allowing the raid party to advance without much resistance. Except for WaterKnowsTheAnswer carrying the completely drained EtiquetteMaster, they were already passing the 2/3 point without much trouble.

[00:08]

“……”

[00:07]

‘EtiquetteMaster and WaterKnowsTheAnswer are retired. Saex used Blood Lust, healing is limited to once or twice, KillThem is guarding the rear, and only Backdoor and I remain…’

There was no one left capable of area attacks. Having moved beyond the influence of Fury of the Bitter Cold, we now had to break through “physically,” even if it meant taking damage.

[00:05]

‘No choice…’

The timer mercilessly continued while I remained silent. At least it was fortunate that time didn’t pass while I was speaking.

I threw another gamble to avoid a total wipe.

Since it seemed there was no retreat option unlike in games.

“Physical Therapist, heal and bless KillThem. Backdoor, use all shooting skills and carry Physical Therapist… act autonomously.”

[Physical Therapist][30.4%/0.2%]

[Saex][5.6%/4.4%]

[KillThem][8.5%/5.2%]

[Physical Therapist: N-no way… No! Captain, no!!!]

[StubbornBackdoor: W-wait!]

[Saex: UWAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!]

[KillThem: Hehe.]

[00:04]

“…”

[00:03]

[KillThem: Captain.]

[00:02]

[KillThem: Give me an order.]

Could these people be more than simple visions? How else could they understand my intentions so well before I even spoke?

[00:01]

“KillThem, activate Eternal Radiance. Hold out by any means necessary until all personnel retreat.”

[KillThem: Roger.]

[00:00]

“With me.”

[Selection time has ended.]

I slumped down. It was out of my hands now.

The vision, which had been playing and pausing repeatedly, now began to flow without my intervention.

[KillThem activates Eternal Radiance.]

[Becomes invincible for a short time, and aggro value greatly increases. Reflects a portion of damage received, and inflicts light attribute damage to approaching dark attribute monsters. When the duration ends, deals a portion of the total damage received to all surroundings.]

[KillThem cannot move. Eternal Radiance will deactivate if moved.]

[KillThem][8.6%/0.2%]

Eternal Radiance consumed surprisingly little magic power for an ultimate skill. However, it had a long cooldown and the penalty of being unable to move, making it difficult to use at the right moment—unless you had excellent control and game sense, or like now, were simply trying to hold out.

I had saved KillThem’s other skills for this moment, and monsters swarmed toward KillThem, whose aggro was already high, like moths to a flame. They even ignored me standing nearby.

[KillThem: Why, aren’t you going.]

[KillThem: Two will die, if one dies]

[KillThem: It’s a net gain.]

[KillThem: But if the captain dies too, it’s not a gain. It’s a loss!]

Why are you assuming I’ll die too? Stop living up to your nickname, and just hold out without arguing.

Until the rest of the personnel completely escape.

[Saex’s Bloody Lust duration has ended.]

[Saex suffers from severe lethargy.]

[Saex has escaped.]

[WaterKnowsTheAnswer has escaped.]

[EtiquetteMaster has escaped.]

[StubbornBackdoor has escaped.]

[Physical Therapist has escaped.]

Following Saex, who collapsed just before the escape point as Blood Lust wore off, everyone except KillThem and me successfully escaped.

“That’s right!”

‘The first gamble succeeded.’

I was relieved that the escape point was where I had predicted and that we had timed our arrival well. As I was blankly staring at this realization…

[KillThem’s Eternal Radiance duration has ended.]

[Fragments of radiance scatter around KillThem.]

KillThem’s ultimate skill also ended its duration, returning a portion of the damage that should have been taken in an area effect. This temporarily created a gap in the enemy’s encirclement, like a donut hole…

[KillThem: Go, hurry….]

My vision self, who had conserved some health and magic power, carried KillThem and ran at full speed toward the escape point.

[KillThem: Y-you, crazy… Captain…]

It was a race between being torn apart or escaping first.

“Yes! Run!”

My class, Battle Commander, was capable of fighting to some extent, as the word “Battle” in the name suggested. My vision self ignored injuries and advanced, swinging his sword while focusing only on moving forward.

[KillThem: Drop, me…!]

[KillThem: The captain is, more important than me!]

My vision self’s vitals deteriorated rapidly. I couldn’t hear what my vision self was saying, but I imagined it was the same as what I was thinking.

‘If you, the main tank, die, there’s no future for us.’

Even if everyone else died, we absolutely needed KillThem, the main tank, and Physical Therapist, the main healer. In any MMORPG, healers were royalty, tanks were nobility, and the abundant DPS were mere commoners.

If KillThem had possessed breakthrough power like Saex, I might have left Saex behind instead, though I’d feel sorry for him.

But that was that, and now my vision self and KillThem collapsed not far from the escape point. We had reached our limit.

“…”

[KillThem: Tch.]

[KillThem: What a fool.]

[KillThem: It’s not too late, even now, me….]

[KillThem: Captain! W-what are you doing!]

My vision self adjusted his grip on KillThem, holding him in front and leaning backward.

It was a throwing stance.

[KillThem: You bastard!!!]

[KillThem: Let go of me?!]

Just as my vision self was about to throw KillThem beyond the encirclement…

[StubbornBackdoor has appeared.]

[StubbornBackdoor: This way!]

“Backdoor, you rascal! I knew I could count on you!!!”

StubbornBackdoor, who had been in the best condition among the escaped party members, had autonomously decided to return, piercing through part of the encirclement to guide KillThem and me.

Another “planted” gamble had succeeded, returning a great reward.

[KillThem has escaped.]

[StubbornBackdoor has escaped.]

[All personnel have successfully escaped.]

As I, completely exhausted, passed through the escape point, cracks appeared in the crystal ball that had been showing the vision, and it shattered into light.

Yes. Everyone is safe. We all escaped successfully. Well done. That’s good.

I was thinking that until the very end, but seeing the scattering light dust reminded me that I was in “the Tower” and they were just visions. That realization hit me belatedly as I stared blankly. Then, a message appeared.

[Bold command, quick decision-making, a firm command structure, and a touch of luck combined to produce the miraculous result of everyone escaping.]

[Evaluating…]

“Ah.”

Success.

Yes, I succeeded.

I succeeded!

[Grade – S]

[S-grade exclusive options added.]

[Basic rewards (S-grade) are as follows:]

[Level Up 2]

[Free Ability Points 2]

[Achievement ‘Diamond Spoon’]

[Title ‘S-Class from the Start’]

[Selection rewards are as follows. You can choose only one:]

[Someone’s Weapon]

[Someone’s Treasure]

[Someone’s Technique]

[Someone’s Memory (S-grade additional option)]

“Wow.”

The joy of success was doubled by the cascade of reward messages. Since the basic rewards weren’t going anywhere, I decided to calm my excitement and choose the selection reward first. As I examined the options, the words “S-grade additional option” caught my eye.

‘Someone’s Weapon probably means a weapon or armor, Treasure means money or consumables, Technique means skills. Memory… I’m not sure what that is, but there must be a reason it’s labeled as an S-grade additional option.’

“Someone’s Memory.”

[You have selected Someone’s Memory as your selection reward.]

“Ah, eye candy!”

The space changed once again.