Plague City Pest

Less than a week after the new expansion pack was updated, a raid party challenged the level 65 raid dungeon [Plague City Pest]. It seemed people’s farming speed was faster than expected.

Everyone anticipated their raid results, but the first day passed without any news.

It was obvious. They must have failed to clear it. I don’t know how many named monsters they got past, but the server message announcing the first clear achievement didn’t pop up.

The next day.

Our Chewy-Squishy party was also preparing to depart.

In line with the new expansion pack, there were changes to the raid party’s composition. We brought in new users, excluding those who had quit the game in the meantime.

Three mage users who had been with us previously left the party.

Yerin, SnowMage, and another sub-tanker named Citrus joined to fill the three DPS slots.

SnowMage, who specialized in a PVP-only tree, was a bit unsettling, but she used a rank reset ticket without any hesitation to completely wipe out her job.

After that, she was reborn as an ice-type mage tree specialized in raids.

Yerin.

The former guild master of Singsing and also a former VRS pro.

She was a melee dealer who chose the [Sword Master] class, a warrior-type dealer.

Citrus.

A tanker user.

I also met her when I was raising Yeonigongju.

“Everyone, don’t forget your antidote potions.”

I said, checking the auction house in front of the party members.

The most important things in this raid were the priests’ Cure skills and the antidote potions that could be crafted with top-tier alchemy.

After a brief period of preparation, I passed by the party members and headed towards the entrance of the dungeon.

I was planning to do the entrance jump that I was now used to.

“Looks like the party leader-nim is going to jump.”

“I’m seeing this for the first time…!”

Is it that amazing that I jump right in?

It was still an incomprehensible reaction.

But since the party members liked it, it was something I had to do as a party leader.

“Here I go!”

I kick off the ground with all my might and *shwoosh* – enter the dungeon.

Following behind, the other party members also jumped in.

When 40 people jumped at once, it made quite a racket.

[Plague City Pest]

The city once called Full Skalan, before the plague struck, no longer exists.

It was because of the rat named Pest that nested in the plague-ridden city.

Actually, I wasn’t that interested in the raid’s story.

Anyone who’s curious will find it on YouTube on their own.

“Let’s start slowly.”

With the two tankers in the lead, we began to proceed through the dungeon.

The townspeople were infected with the plague and were walking around as gruesome undead.

Even the Knights who should have been protecting the residents were not okay.

The death knights, resurrected in the plague, were guarding the city in their gruesome forms.

Even in death, they had not forgotten their roles.

Clearing the path itself wasn’t that difficult.

However, we couldn’t increase our speed because of the miasma of plague that occasionally surged from the ground and the giant plague rats that popped out from all over the city.

Squeak- Squeak squeak-!

It was the moment I stomped on a plague rat that suddenly popped out.

Along with a short intro video, the first named monster revealed itself.

[Zealot Jack Hylo]

The gloomy-looking Jack Hylo was wearing a black robe and praying in front of a large rat statue.

Green miasma, symbolizing the energy of the plague, was floating around his body.

There were no revealed patterns. This was because the attacking party that started first did not leak information.

I know. I know what kind of patterns this guy has and how to attack him effectively.

Of course, that’s if it hasn’t changed from the previous raids.

“I’ll enter.”

When I nodded at Dogric’s words, he took out his shield and charged at the boss.

“Hwaaaaack!”

Dogric, the main tanker, showed that he had secured aggro, and each dealer began to use their skills.

I couldn’t be left out either.

“Awakening!!!”

Kwaang!

The moment lightning fell from the sky, I quickly put on my wing costume.

The moment I confirmed the huge wings sprouting from my back, I rushed forward faster than anyone else.

As I whittled down Jack Hylo’s health to 90%, the plague energy floating around him slowly began to move.

The plague energy was a pattern that targeted ranged dealers.

It randomly follows one user for about 30 seconds, and then switches direction again.

It was a pattern that kept the ranged dealers constantly moving.

“Avoid the poison gas!”

Avoiding the green plague energy wasn’t that difficult.

Because the approaching speed was slow.

Jack Hylo was a humanoid boss, so his defense was weak.

His health was quickly reduced, reaching 70%.

[Pest… My god-isiyeo.]

Jack Hylo’s next pattern appeared.

As he offered a short prayer to the statue, giant plague rats poured out from all directions.

Plague rats, they weren’t strong monsters. They were weak monsters that would die as soon as a normal warrior user swung a normal attack.

However, the scary thing about plague rats was the various status-inducing diseases they carried on their bodies.

When a plague rat dies, dirty blood pours out.

Melee dealers couldn’t easily touch them. Ranged dealers had to deal with them.

At that moment, a large clock-shaped effect burst out from under the feet of the ranged dealer line.

Helena used a time acceleration skill on the entire party.

Helena’s skill didn’t end there.

Once again, as she slammed the floor with that large staff, a giant clock shape spread throughout the boss room.

The movements of the plague rats, which had been spreading widely in all directions, stopped.

Helena’s [Time Stop] skill was activated.

The giant rats became motionless targets.

At that moment, Hwarang’s gun spat fire.

The ranged dealers, who had received the effects of time acceleration, were able to deal with all the rats before they started moving again.

As dozens of giant rats fell at once, contaminated blood began to flow thickly on the floor.

The pattern was cleared.

The dealers started beating on Jack Hylo again.

As Jack Hylo’s health was reduced to 40%, the guy raised both arms and began to chant an unknown spell.

I had an ominous feeling. In my memory, that was all of Jack Hylo’s patterns.

Summoning rat bastards and moving the plague energy, he occasionally shot plague arrows at ranged dealers, but there was no pattern of chanting such a strange spell.

The mages’ spell interruption skills were useless.

Jack Hylo eventually completed all the spells.

[Reveal yourselves!]

Kuguguguk-!

No sooner had Jack Hylo finished speaking than two patchwork giants rose from the floor.

The giant, unnaturally pieced together from people, bears, rats, etc., began to move *thump thump* while letting out a huge roar.

But it’s okay. There were two sub-tankers in addition to the main tanker.

The two sub-tankers, who had been beating on the boss next to the melee dealers, rushed at the patchwork giants even though I didn’t tell them to.

It was the moment I thought the party had stabilized.

Jack Hylo’s pattern wasn’t over.

The moment he held out his hand, the plague energy that had been keeping the ranged dealers moving split into three and its movement speed increased.

The movement speed of the poison gas is fast. Our ranged dealers are mostly warlocks and mages. They had to stop briefly to use their skills. But because of the rapidly moving plague energy, they didn’t seem to have the time to use their skills.

Except for the times when Helena occasionally used time acceleration to shorten the casting time, no skills were flying towards the boss.

Hwarang was the only one who was free in that situation.

He could shoot his gun while moving.

But the DPS is lacking. The healers’ mana was starting to dry up quickly.

The sub-tankers also had to receive purification skills and healing because they were blocking the patchwork giant’s attacks.

I had to make a decision.

“Patchwork! Let’s deal with the patchwork giants first!”

I stopped hitting the boss and rushed towards the patchwork giant.

The horribly-looking guy had eyes on the back of his head too.

As all the attacks from the dealers who could use skills poured onto the patchwork giant, he soon fell.

But at that moment, the patchwork giant’s corpse that had fallen on the floor began to move towards the other surviving giant, and the two giants merged.

[Kuwoaaaaaa!]

The patchwork giant, who had merged with each other, crushed the sub-tanker with an attack speed that was incomparably faster than before.

As he continued to pound the shield with his huge fist, it burst before he could even receive focused care from the healers.

The sub-tanker died.

The patchwork giant’s aggro naturally turned to the healers.

Thump thump thump thump!

It was a speed that didn’t match his massive size.

I immediately used my flight skill to follow behind the patchwork giant.

I had to use dash to catch up because the moving distance was insufficient.

The patchwork giant ignored me, who was slashing at him from behind, and grabbed and killed the healers.

The healers began to collapse in vain.

I bit my lip and rushed in front of the patchwork giant.

It was to directly take the fist that the guy was swinging.

If I endure, we can clear it. Jack Hylo’s health was also almost at the bottom.

If I can save the healers, if I do that, I will be able to clear the first named monster.

Thump!

But the patchwork giant’s huge fist was too powerful.

I couldn’t take it. I lacked strength stats.

The moment I took the attack, my legs gave way and I slumped to the floor.

“Ugh!”

The moment my health dropped to 50% in one hit, the patchwork giant’s fist fell on my body once again.

Wham!

A short pain that rattles my whole body, naturally causing me to frown.

My health was completely depleted, and [Immortality] was activated.

It was the wrong decision. I should have avoided the attack, not taken it.

But regret came too late.

I was able to hold the patchwork giant for 3 seconds, but I died after the immortality effect ended.

Another sub-tanker arrived late and grabbed the guy, but it was already after the healer line had died.

Since there was not enough healing to pour on the main tanker, the sub-tanker couldn’t last long.

The patchwork giant, who had lost his target, began to run wild.

The rampaging patchwork giant killed all the healers without leaving a single one.

The absence of healers soon meant the annihilation of the party.

Retry.

Again!