The party members who had retreated from the deck were immediately swarmed by skeletons.
[Guild] GegulGegulFrog: Now that’s one hell of a welcome party lololol
[Guild] Freedeal: Damn, I’m out of mana. Heal yourselves.
[Guild] Shokrates: Res, please.
[Guild] Chasa: Take the orbs.
Freedeal had burned through his skills right before, and Shokrates, a Black Mage, lost mana just by breathing. Conveniently, Harpas was already summoned for a screenshot, so Chasa used a new skill.
[Combat] Harpas consumes life force to create a mana orb.
[‘Freedeal’ thanks you.]
[‘Shokrates’ thanks you.]
The black phoenix spat out two glowing blue orbs. With no time to type in the heat of battle, the party members expressed their gratitude through in-game emotes.
After confirming his mana was replenished, Chasa rejoined the fight. The damage output from the newly acquired demon, Harpas, wasn’t bad.
And that was the problem.
They called it a Primeval Demon, yet it didn’t seem all that different from the usual DPS demons. The old saying wasn’t wrong—an empty cart makes the most noise.
Wartum, you scam artists… He cursed internally, seething with frustration.
Then something caught Sa-yoon’s eye.
What the hell is that?
When a Warlock summons a demon, the demon’s status window appears at the bottom left. But now, above the HP bar, there were five unfamiliar diamond-shaped icons.
They looked just like gemstones… And one of the five slots was already filled.
Hovering the mouse over it yielded no further explanation.
His momentary distraction cost him—the protective barrier he had wrapped around himself finally shattered. Just before rusted weapons could pierce through the Warlock’s body, Killer shot forward like lightning.
A large number of enemies usually meant their individual attack power and defense were low. As expected, a few slashes were all it took for the skeletons to collapse into piles of bones.
“Hyung, what’s wrong?”
Shin-jae tilted his head toward Sa-yoon’s monitor. His fingers never stopped moving over the keyboard, the endless wave of skeletons giving him no chance to pause.
“No, let’s just take these guys down first.”
Even as Sa-yoon replied, his gaze remained fixed on the five diamond icons. Did they fill up over time? Or did they charge upon landing attacks?
At that moment, the skeleton he struck shattered, and the gauge inside the diamond increased ever so slightly.
So it charges through attacks.
Then what happens when it’s full? A new skill? A hidden summon? What if the real Primeval Demon wasn’t Harpas, but something else entirely?
The deflated hope that had hung limply in his chest began to swell again.
Enemies were plentiful anyway. If he filled the gauge completely, he’d find out for sure. If it was a hidden skill, what was the cooldown? Hopefully, he’d get the chance to use it in this battle.
But that moment never came.
[Guild] furple: Was this supposed to be a defense mission? How long do we have to hold out?
[Guild] GegulGegulFrog: Probably until we reach the other side?
[Guild] Shokrates: The river looks huge, though.
[Guild] Swakkoong: Is this ship even moving? It’s practically anchored.
“There’s no time limit, which is weird.”
“Right?”
Typically, there weren’t this many mobs leading up to a named boss. Everyone here had been playing long enough to sense when something felt off.
[Guild] GegulGegulFrog: Honestly, this ship not sinking makes no damn sense.
[Guild] Freedeal: This is horrifying. T_T
The skeletons were climbing up faster than the eight of them could cut them down. The deck was packed so tightly with enemies that the floor was barely visible anymore.
[Guild] Killer: We need to clear them all at once.
[Guild] Oath’s Vow: I’ll counter.
[Combat] ‘Oath’s Vow’ uses Judgment of Justice.
A massive hammer slammed onto the deck. The overflowing swarm of enemies was flung off the ship all at once, scattering into the waters below.
The sight of hundreds of splashes erupting simultaneously was a spectacle—and Sa-yoon, acting on instinct, pressed the button.
A screenshot.
[Guild] Shokrates: Inner peace~
[Guild] furple: Is it over?
[Guild] Freedeal: Don’t jinx it.
Everyone rushed to the railing, eyes fixed on the water. Silence. The ones that had fallen showed no signs of climbing back up.
[Guild] Freedeal: So we weren’t supposed to kill them, just push them off?
[Guild] Shokrates: They should’ve told us it was a knockback game.
[Guild] Swakkoong: Holy shit, we just went through hell for nothing. LOL
The healers, drained from nonstop healing, quickly sat down. Sitting triggered the rest state, allowing mana to regenerate faster.
Oath’s Vow: Let’s take a moment to regroup before standing by again.
SPLASH—!
Before Oath’s Vow could even finish speaking, a massive wave crashed against the ship. The stern lurched upward so violently it felt like the whole thing might capsize.
When the ship finally leveled out, a skeletal king stood before them, submerged up to its chest beneath a colossal bust.
There was no doubt—that size alone screamed “boss.”
[Guild] furple: Isn’t that the boss killer guy?
Oath’s Vow: Holy shit! Is that the first boss?
[Guild] GegulGegulFrog: Attacks aren’t landing?
It became immediately clear—this wasn’t the first named boss. They couldn’t land a single hit.
As the party scrambled in confusion, the Skeleton King swung its arm down.
With a single strike, the ship shattered into pieces.
Everyone lost their footing and plunged into the river.
[Guild] GegulGegulFrog: Fuuuuck, the frog is dead.
The river was deep. The moment they hit the water, their HP plummeted. No matter how much they struggled, they couldn’t stop themselves from sinking.
As the surface grew farther and farther away, the screen slowly faded to black—
The screen went completely black.
“What the hell, did we just die?”
“Looks like it.”
Was this one of those areas where you had to die to proceed? If they cleared it in ghost form, would they be revived afterward?
As Sa-yoon tilted his head, a hand reached out to support it.
“Hyung, you’re frowning.”
He closed his eyes as a thumb gently rubbed the crease between his brows.
Still, it was frustrating that he hadn’t managed to fill all five diamond icons. The last time he checked, the gauge had reached four and a half slots.
Oath’s Vow: Is everyone here?
Oath’s Vow: Let’s all turn on our mics for now. We’ll mute them again when we start the briefing.
Freedeal: Not being able to see anything is driving me crazy.
Oath’s Vow: From what I can see on my screen—and Jeon-gi’s—it’s not lag. Let’s wait a bit.
Swakkoong: Got it.
GegulGegulFrog: So… are we dead?
furple: My guess is we all had to die to start the next phase.
Oath’s Vow: Uh, bullshit.
furple: Jeon-gi, have you lost it?
Oath’s Vow: Wait, don’t you hear that?
Woof! Woof, woof!
A faint sound of barking slowly grew louder. With nothing on-screen, their attention naturally shifted to the noise.
Wet panting. Sniffing.
The volume increased, as if the sounds were right next to their ears. Multiple sets of footsteps paced around fallen bodies, shuffling back and forth before gradually fading away.
Splash.
Once the dogs had gone, shallow water lapped softly in the distance.
But the screen remained pitch black.
Frustrated, Sa-yoon moved his mouse.
“Huh?”
The screen flickered slightly, as if someone had blinked.
He pressed a key on his keyboard, and this time, the screen definitely brightened.
Chasa was lying facedown near the water’s edge, propping himself up on his arms. Through the overgrown vines and tall grass, he could make out his fallen party members.
“I’m turning my mic on.”
Shin-jae nodded, and Sa-yoon switched his mic to ON.
“If you use the keyboard, the screen lights up.”
furple: Oh!
The others quickly began pressing their keys.
As they moved, another player stood up, dusting off the dirt clinging to their clothes.
—AlmondCrunch?
[Guild] AlmondCrunch: ?
Right beside him, GentleFlamePants, dressed as a red poison dart frog, suddenly jumped in surprise.
[Guild] GentleFlamePants: Huh?? Where did my lovely name go? TTTTTT
[Guild] EternalSnowMountainIceflower: LOLLLLL GentleFlamePants LOLOL
[Guild] EternalSnowMountainIceflower: What the actual fuck is this.
[Guild] ArcherOfDarkness: Why does my name sound like some edgy anime villain? …
[You have drunk from the River of Oblivion and lost your memories.]
[In that moment, Cerberus’s minions stole your name!]
[Defeat Cerberus’s minions to reclaim your name.]
The chat was flooded with completely unfamiliar names. A beat later, notification messages began rolling in.
[Combat] By the contract of ‘AlmondCrunch,’ the Greater Demon Harpas has been summoned.
Sa-yoon immediately summoned his demon, clicking his tongue in frustration. The diamonds that had been charged up to four and a half slots were now completely empty.
There was no way he’d be able to recharge them before the first boss. Warlocks never got anything easy.
furple: Wow, this is gonna be an absolute disaster in public parties…
Oath’s Vow: Everyone should just leave their mics on at this point.
Swakkoong: What the hell, this game keeps pulling new shit.
As the party members—now bearing random names—slowly got to their feet, one person was missing. Killer wasn’t in chat or on the screen.
“Where are you?”
Sa-yoon switched his mic OFF and whispered instead.
A short “Ah—” was followed by a response.
[Whisper] WildGrassHare: .
