Ch.59Guardian

# 59. Guardian

Guardian.

This monster, typically translated as “protector,” truly lives up to its name.

It has a specific area to guard, never leaves that zone, and has a habit of indiscriminately punishing anyone who intrudes into its territory.

Its attack patterns are relatively simple and its movements sluggish, but it boasts tremendous defense, various resistances, and incredible health, with raw attack power that’s absolutely brutal… To summarize in one sentence, it was “a slow but extremely tough and durable creature that happens to be carrying a spear.”

If you ask how to defeat such a creature, there were two approaches: the orthodox method—slow but safe and steady—and tightrope walking—faster but requiring skill and carrying significant risk.

What I had written in my strategy guide back then was the orthodox approach. The mountain theme made finding treasure the more difficult task, so the guide focused on that aspect, and even then, defeating a Guardian was considered relatively easy in terms of difficulty.

Block well, dodge well, and consistently land hits.

They say following these basics is actually the hardest part, but with this Guardian, if you couldn’t dodge its attacks (unless it was a headbutt), you’d be called a troll.

However, the strategy I revised this time was, of course, tightrope walking.

Instead of patiently observing patterns and responding defensively, this was a preemptive attack-focused strategy developed while trying to find ways to defeat it more quickly.

“Guardians are golem-type monsters, and golem-types have joints as their weak points where damage is more effective. The solar plexus area is their biggest vulnerability. We’ll focus our attacks there.”

In the orthodox method, we didn’t particularly target these areas. The weak points weren’t easily exposed, melee attackers risked too much by getting close, and ranged attackers had difficulty aiming accurately.

But top-ranked players eventually chose tightrope walking over the orthodox method. Why? Because Naba Forest Mountain was mandatory daily content back then.

When you have to run it every day, everyone shares the common desire to save even a little time.

And the people gathered here are the elite of each class.

There’s no doubt about the raid members’ skills.

“While Seyeon steadily maintains aggro as the main tank, Yuri and I will target the arm and leg joints to restrict its movement, and Subin will strike at its core during those openings. The basic formation isn’t much different from when we fought the tree monster. Any questions? Raise your hand.”

“None here.”

“I don’t have any either!”

“Okay. We’ll adjust the details with orders as the situation develops.”

Let’s go.

At my word, with KillMeNow leading the way, we marched boldly toward the Guardian.

The Guardian, which had been standing still like a stone statue, began to stir as soon as we invaded its territory. It let out a thunderous roar from somewhere within its body and approached us with heavy, booming steps.

Just like in the game, as expected, it wasn’t fast but carried tremendous force.

’15 minutes.’

While it couldn’t compare to Mensima, this was the first monster since arriving at the Tower that truly gave me the feeling of a real raid.

“Seyeon!”

“Yes!”

The alpha and omega of raiding is aggro management.

KillMeNow might have been intimidated by the golem several times her size, but apart from a brief hesitation when I called her name, she bravely stepped forward and raised her shield.

And then.

“Look over heeeeere!!!”

She banged her sword against her shield and shouted somewhat awkwardly to draw the Guardian’s aggro.

Boom- Boom-!

The ground trembled slightly with each step the Guardian took. We anxiously watched the direction of those heavy footsteps…

“It worked! Yuri, Subin! Positions!”

I confirmed that the aggro had successfully been drawn to KillMeNow. Now the real fight began.

‘First, I need to verify the tanking.’

Without proper tanking, we couldn’t reliably maintain aggro, and without stable aggro, the body would move erratically, making it drastically harder to target weak points—which would directly lead to extended clear times.

I spotted NewAxe standing by, ready to jump in if necessary, and deliberately watched as the Guardian prepared to attack KillMeNow.

‘With her current specs, she should be able to block it without incident. She should.’

This was true even considering this wasn’t exactly a game. Given the courage and prowess KillMeNow had shown so far, I believed she could handle it.

And this was the fundamental role she had performed until now and would need to continue performing. If she couldn’t do this, I’d have to completely rework all my future plans from the ground up.

So.

‘Seyeon. Show me.’

Soon, the Guardian’s fist collided with KillMeNow’s shield.

Boom-!

Instead of ominous and terrible sounds like “crack” or “thud,” we heard the solid impact of strength meeting strength.

Was KillMeNow okay?

Completely fine!

“Yuri! Now!”

“Okie!”

I clenched my fist in triumph.

KillMeNow had been pushed back a few steps but had successfully blocked the attack.

The impact itself must have been tremendous, as her left arm was visibly trembling, but she didn’t appear to be injured. She quickly recovered from the trembling and steadfastly raised her shield again to continue drawing aggro.

The aggro remained stable even as NewAxe approached the Guardian’s flank and rear, and while YeBeobNoJeong openly chanted magic.

The start was successful.

I could now stop worrying about KillMeNow, who was even attempting to position the boss properly. Unless there was an emergency or a change in plans, it would be better not to break her concentration.

“Yuri! Right side!”

I had already explained the core of the plan, and these were people who understood such shorthand anyway.

NewAxe immediately understood what I meant by “right side”—”Target the right knee weak point that’s become vulnerable because the Guardian’s attention is focused on KillMeNow. I’ll take the opposite side.” She raised her twin axes and fiercely struck at the Guardian’s right knee, then skillfully dodged backward without even looking to prevent drawing aggro, before repositioning for another attack.

Was I doing nothing? Not at all. I had clearly implied in my instruction that I would target the left side.

While NewAxe temporarily retreated to avoid danger and manage aggro, I moved in as if we were taking turns. Though my impact wouldn’t be as significant as NewAxe’s, I struck the Guardian’s left knee and pulled back.

Then NewAxe went in again. Attack and switch. Switch again.

’12 minutes.’

“I’m—the—one—you—should—be—watching!”

“Nice, Seyeon!”

As damage rapidly accumulated, the Guardian began limping on its right leg and tried to switch its attack target to NewAxe. KillMeNow, noticing the change in movement, drew its aggro again, allowing us to continue our offensive without interruption.

‘A proven tank really makes all the difference.’

Even while executing a strategy that bordered on acrobatics, I felt reassured that we wouldn’t easily be overwhelmed. By preventing dangerous situations altogether, she made giving orders easier and allowed the DPS players to focus on dealing damage.

KillMeNow was shining in this Guardian fight, which could be considered our first raid in the Tower.

“Sunghyun!”

“Not yet!”

YeBeobNoJeong, who had finished her incantation and was ready to snipe at any moment, urged me mid-fight, but I judged it wasn’t time yet.

The leg section wasn’t damaged enough yet, so the core was still well-guarded, and a sudden aggro shift could throw everything into chaos.

No matter how powerful YeBeobNoJeong’s firepower was, it wouldn’t be a one-shot kill, so it was better to wait until the guard was down.

Crack-crunch-

During our hit-and-run tactics while maintaining aggro, an ominous sound came from the Guardian’s right leg, which NewAxe had been relentlessly attacking.

“Complete destruction!!!”

“Confirmed!!!”

The Guardian’s right leg, which had been developing cracks all over, finally lost all mobility.

Now the Guardian’s movement was severely restricted.

‘7 minutes.’

About 8 minutes had passed since the raid began. I could feel it getting darker again. I felt a bit rushed, but our speed was sufficiently fast. Without getting excited, I gave another order.

“Seyeon! Right side! Yuri! Left side!”

“Understood!!”

Now the Guardian could only move passively, supporting its weight on its left leg.

Hitting the same spot repeatedly is an age-old tradition.

Both the attacker and the target know how effective it is.

The Guardian seemed acutely aware of this, as it was extremely wary of NewAxe who had shattered its right knee, making it difficult to draw aggro back to KillMeNow like before.

So I completely switched the positions of KillMeNow and NewAxe.

Now the Guardian would have to make a choice.

Would it focus on NewAxe, who had started lurking on its left side, while ignoring KillMeNow who had persistently held its attention but seemed to pose little threat?

Or would it continue to protect its right leg, which could be completely destroyed at any moment?

The Guardian chose the former.

And we still had our third option, which had been waiting for over 8 minutes.

“Seyeon9Yuri3 Subin! Fire!!!”

Boom!

Just as KillMeNow and NewAxe perfectly timed their retreat to their respective rear positions, YeBeobNoJeong’s flame spear struck precisely at the core of the Guardian, which was momentarily standing awkwardly with its aggro reset.

Groooooan—

“Success!”

“Fall back! Phase 2!”

We had 6 minutes left.

It seemed entirely possible to completely immobilize the Guardian before the light in the sky completely faded.