ALL NOVEL Chapter 530
First of all, I must have respawned in the town. I went to the kid who asked me to find Poppy.
[…Huh? Poppy and the wild dog? Well, thanks for finding her…]
What I got as a quest reward from the kid was an old doll. It looked like something you’d find in a dumpster.
-???
-What a b*tch lol
-This isn’t a reward, it’s a scam.
“Maybe it’s an event item for later?”
Still, I figured it wasn’t a useless item, so I took it.
[You’re the first adventurer to fulfill my request…]
Then, the kid gave me something else, probably a first-clear reward.
“…A spiked collar?”
-???
-That kid gave you a collar lol
-What a spoiled brat lol
“It looks like a piece of armor.”
Upon closer inspection, it seemed like it could be equipped in the accessory slot. Since it could be worn alongside a helmet, it didn’t seem like a bad idea to equip it early on when gear is scarce.
“Well, it’s probably a first-clear reward, so it’s good, right?”
-Yeah
-Probably good lol
-Perfect for dealing with those damn dogs lol
Judging by its appearance, it might have some reflect damage. I usually avoid getting hit, but it would be great for a tank who takes hits like a meat shield.
Now that I’ve received all the rewards.
“Now, I need to gather people…”
I was pondering how to recruit people to take down Poppy, the boss dog.
[Um, excuse me…]
The kid told me there might be more quests.
“Ah, there’s more.”
[Can you take down Poppy? I think it’s all my fault…]
Listening to the kid, it seemed like a boss quest. Since it overlaps with the quest from the drunk uncle, it must be a bonus quest. Feels like a hidden quest you can only get by talking to the kid.
“Alright, I’ve accepted the quest. Shall we go find some party members?”
Since things were going well, I quickly accepted the quest and headed out of town.
-Let’s go
-But do you even have anyone to take down the boss with right now? lol
-Everyone seems busy farming materials lol
“Well, let’s start by approaching the vanguard members.”
In this game, there are no levels, but weapon proficiency and stats increase as you hunt monsters, which makes a big difference.
In fact, it increases even more when fighting stronger monsters.
Since I’ve hunted a lot of Angry Wild Dogs, I probably have the highest stats on this server.
So, I skipped past the members struggling in the beginner zone and headed to the higher-level hunting grounds where the Angry Wild Dogs are.
[Ahhh!]
[Help me!]
[Why isn’t the leather dropping?]
There are some members here, but not many yet. It feels like the vanguard is mostly gathered here.
“Would you all like to join me?”
[Huh?]
[Senior Miro, weren’t you going to take down the boss earlier?]
Since there weren’t many people, I gathered everyone, making about six of us including me.
…This is barely enough for a raid.
“Anyone interested in taking down the boss?”
[The boss?]
[Did Miro get wrecked by the boss?]
“….”
I casually made the suggestion, and Loa from the vanguard hunting ground said that. Ouch, hitting where it hurts.
-LOL
-Ah, Loa lol
-Facts are facts lol
“She’s pretty strong. So, I think it’d be good if our vanguard groups team up to take her down…”
But since I need people for the raid, I cautiously asked.
[Um… but I haven’t even gathered enough leather yet…]
One junior hesitated in response to my question. The character looked familiar.
“Don’t worry, Junior Hwaryun.”
It was Hwaryun from the 4th Celestial Realm class.
Of course, I knew this junior. She joined our cavalry unit early on during the Celestial Realm Great War, didn’t she?
We even hunted zombies together before.
“I’ll help you with your quest.”
[You’ll help us with our quest?]
“Yeah. I can get leather to drop more easily, so we’ll finish quickly.”
While I wasn’t as fast at pulling teeth from wild dogs, using the Bone Knife made leather drop more often for me.
So, if I helped, we could finish the quests quickly, right?
“And after that, you’ll probably get the boss quest too. Let’s all clear it together and escape the beginner zone.”
[Wow… is it okay for you to help us like this?]
“But there’s one condition.”
Of course, it’s only natural. I’m not running a charity, am I?
There are five people here besides me, and helping all of them would be a huge time sink for me.
So…
“If any items drop from the boss, they’re mine.”
[Huh?]
“But of course, I’ll help you with the next boss too.”
-This is savage lol
-What a jerk
-But helping five people and asking for this much seems fair?
-Not bad
I think it’s a fair offer.
[Well, it seems okay…]
[I’m fine with it!]
[If you help me gather the leather, I’m in!]
[Thinking about pulling teeth, ugh…]
I’m basically giving them a fast pass after spending so much time in this hunting ground. Plus, we’ll be able to clear the boss quest.
I doubt only the person who lands the final hit on the boss quest will get credit.
But since it’s a raid format, everyone should be treated equally.
If not, well, I’ll take the loot, and we can deal the final blow when the boss respawns.
So.
“Alright, who’s first?”
And so, I started helping them hunt Angry Wild Dogs.
**
After I rolled up my sleeves and helped with the wild dog hunting.
[I finished everything!]
[I’ve gathered all the leather too.]
Since there weren’t many people in the hunting ground, we were able to finish the quests quickly.
“Alright, let’s head back to town and then go for the raid.”
– Finally, are we going?
– Can we really do it with this group?
“We have to try, right?”
Still, there are six of us. It’s a whole different level compared to when I was alone earlier.
“Did everyone bring their items?”
[Yes!]
[I stuffed my inventory full!]
But just to be safe, we all brought recovery items too.
Well, it’s early in the game, so we only bought bandages to stop bleeding and bread to boost natural recovery, but it’s better than nothing.
—
Later.
We all arrived at the forest where Poppy is.
[Whew, I’m nervous.]
[Let’s just do it!]
“Let’s go.”
Everyone’s pumped. Yeah, with this group, there’s no way we can’t take it down.
We even assigned roles.
Me and two others with good weapons are the main DPS.
And the three who took on the tank role even bought big shields.
It’s a simple strategy—three block, three attack—but for Poppy, this is overkill.
“Let’s go in.”
I led the way as we all rushed into Poppy’s forest.
[Wow…]
[The map is pretty, huh?]
[It’s really well-made.]
After entering the forest, the others were momentarily amazed by the scenery.
– They really nailed it lol
– Seriously, how did they make this?
Honestly, even I have to admit it looks great. Maybe the game company helped with the map design? It’s probably cheaper for them to make the map than to spend on advertising.
[Hey, over there…]
[Is that it?]
Anyway, as we went deeper into the forest, the others also spotted Poppy in a clearing.
[What kind of Poppy is that…]
[It looks really vicious.]
The members were in awe of its size and ferocity.
– Lol
– It really looks terrifying lol
“Don’t be scared, everyone. We can definitely win.”
I’ve faced it before, so I confidently moved forward.
“Remember the pattern I told you about?”
[Yeah… it charges.]
“Just watch out for that, and we’ll be fine.”
The reason I got wrecked last time was because of that charge. It suddenly rushes at you, and you just get sent flying.
After that, your body gets stunned, and you die from the follow-up attacks.
But.
“Shields first!”
With six of us, it’s different. Ganging up has always been the way to go.
So, the shield soldiers moved forward first, drawing Poppy’s aggro.
“Try to dodge! Or just raise your shields!”
I told the tanks that as I raised my Bone Knife.
The DPS team spread out in different directions, ready to attack once the tanks drew aggro.
If aggro shifts to you, just hide behind the tanks.
This game has good shield mechanics, so most attacks get blocked.
Though the durability takes a hit.
“Let’s go!”
And so, the raid began.
Woof woof!!
As soon as Poppy saw us, it charged at us.
That’s the charge pattern.
[I’ll block it!]
Thud!
One of the juniors blocked the attack.
Meanwhile, the three of us rushed in and attacked.
Thwack! Thwack thwack!
Poppy’s size is almost human-like, so attacks landed easily no matter where we hit.
Grr! Woof!
With blades flying from three directions, Poppy couldn’t keep up.
– Damn, it looks kinda pitiful..
– Poppy, I’m sorry T_T
– Bro, I feel bad…
Grrrr!
Finally, Poppy let out a loud roar and shook its body.
A shockwave erupted, pushing everyone back.
“A new pattern?”
For an early-game boss, it has two patterns? Charge and shockwave?
Well, both have tells, so it doesn’t seem too hard.
“Ah! My HP is low!”
Though the tanks taking the hits might feel differently.
“Fall back if it’s too dangerous!”
If someone dies, the quest might not count as complete, so I said that and charged back in.
The shields are good, but Poppy’s attack power is high, so we can’t get complacent.
So, the DPS team and I kept wailing on Poppy all day.
Soon.
Woof, grrr…
Poppy let out a short bark and collapsed to the ground.
– T_T
– This is brutal…
– Lol
– We actually did it
– Damn, that was tough though
“Yeah… even with six of us, it was harder than I thought.”
As I said that, I watched Poppy’s body turn to dust and disappear, while the other members cheered.
Everyone’s weapons and HP are in tatters.
Thinking about how the tanks’ HP dropped and aggro kept bouncing around, it’s a miracle no one died.
“Hmm…”
More importantly, we’ve been at this since dinner, and it’s almost dawn, and we just barely took down the early-game boss.
‘…Should I buy a gaming laptop?’
This doesn’t seem like content you can finish in a day or two, so I should probably get a laptop.