Compared to right after Jaheun joined in the previous attempt, the party atmosphere had loosened up and become much more cheerful. Thanks to Limousine diligently using the party-wide status resistance skill whenever it was off cooldown, the boss fight with Chì Dǒu ended without a hitch.
“Ah, I can’t stop thinking about Mousine-nim hopping around on the platform. It’s driving me crazy.”
“I was desperate. It’s rare for me to give up DPS-ing.”
“I’m sorry, I’m really sorry.”
They each rolled for the loot that dropped from Chì Dǒu and chatted pleasantly while clearing out the mobs in the corridor leading to the second boss. Aside from Moto getting aggroed by the mobs and screaming while running all the way down the corridor with barely any health left—causing the short-range DPS to go on a mad marathon chase—it was an impressively clean run.
Limousine glanced sideways at Jaheun, who was quietly following behind. He had made such a fuss about being brought along, and now he’s been silent for a while. Maybe he’s still annoyed from the wipe earlier? Or does he just not like the party vibe?
[Party] BananaMambo: By the way, Jaheun-nim too
[Party] BananaMambo: Total pro ㄷㄷ
[Party] Pichuragi: No wonder Jaheun-nim
[Party] Pichuragi: Kept moving around while handling the mob, I thought it was just habitual movement; turns out he was dodging Ratan
[Party] Pichuragi: I was naive ㅠ
[Party] Moto: ㄷㄷ What a pro
[Party] Jaheun: ㅋㅋㅋㅋ
[Party] Jaheun: Thank you
……Or not? Maybe he’s fine after all. Limousine stared at the party chat, puzzled, but couldn’t glean much from it. Whatever. We’re only running one dungeon together anyway. No need to overthink it. With that, Limousine turned off his mental focus. Before they knew it, chatting along the way, they arrived at the second boss.
The second boss, <Modified Xuán Láng>, was a humanoid enemy with elaborate black-and-white ornaments hanging from his head, making jingling sounds. His mechanics required a bit of arithmetic. As before, Banana Mambo moved to the 12 o’clock position and began the explanation with practiced ease.
[Party] BananaMambo: When you first hear the explanation, you’re gonna be like what the hell is this, but once you do it, you’ll say it’s easy af
[Party] BananaMambo: After we chip away some HP, Xuán Láng goes to the center and gives you a number between 1 and 5 above your head, randomly
[Party] BananaMambo: Then a crapload of tiles will spawn on the map
[Party] BananaMambo: Stepping on a white one = +1, stepping on a black one = -1
[Party] BananaMambo: For phase 1, adjust to 2, for phase 2, adjust to 3, and for phase 3, adjust to 4
[Party] BananaMambo: More tiles spawn with each phase, but don’t worry about that—Moto-nim and Ratan-nim, just try to step on as few tiles as possible to hit the target number
[Party] BananaMambo: The number will change mid-phase, but as long as you adjust it correctly with the tiles, you don’t have to worry
[Party] BananaMambo: Also, there’ll be number tiles at 12/3/6/9 o’clock on the map—Ratan-nim, go to 3 o’clock; Moto-nim, go to 9 o’clock
[Party] BananaMambo: The rest of us will handle the rest of the setup
[Party] Moto: I’m nervous……
[Party] Moto: I might end up a dumbass who can’t do simple math……
[Party] Ratan: I’m nervous…… what if I’m an idiot who can’t tell black from white……
[Party] Pichuragi: ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
It was clear from Banana Mambo’s instructions that she was a seasoned veteran—she didn’t bother explaining the complex underlying mechanics, just crisply pointed out exactly what everyone needed to do.
The number above a player’s head would decrease by 1 not only from stepping on the wrong tiles but also from getting hit by an AoE that went off before the number-checking field activated. The number of AoEs increased by one with each phase—once in phase 1, twice in phase 2, and three times in phase 3. So, assigning the number 1 to less experienced players ensured their numbers wouldn’t go negative regardless of mistakes.
The directional number fields that appeared around the edges of the map displayed a random number from 1 to 5. The players standing in each field had to collectively match that number by having their individual debuff numbers add up to the field’s displayed number.
With four number zones, it wasn’t impossible for four experienced players to handle the mechanic on their own—but that wouldn’t be fun for the others, and as it happened, all the skilled players were melee DPS while the newer ones were ranged DPS who could deal damage from afar. So the roles were deliberately assigned this way to include everyone. Having two players hold steady numbers while the other four adjusted theirs to match the required totals was the standard strategy used in publicly recruited parties, aka pug groups.
[Party] Pichuragi: I’ll lock in at 6 o’clock
[Party] BananaMambo: I’ll go at 12 o’clock
[Party] Limousine: I’ll take 3/6
[Party] Jaheun: I’ll take 9 and 12
Once the positions were sorted out, BananaMambo started the countdown. Unlike earlier, now that everyone had an active role, they would probably need a few tries to clear it.
[Party] Ratan: Ratan!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
[Party] Ratan: Black means minus!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
[Party] Ratan: Why are you like this??????
[Party] Pichuragi: ㅋ
[Party] Pichuragi: ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ God damn
After several attempts, Ratan started crying out in anguish.
[Party] Ratan: I’m so sorry for real ㅠㅠㅠ
[Party] Ratan: I really thought I could at least count numbers ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ
[Party] BananaMambo: ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Calm downnnn ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
[Party] Pichuragi: I saw it
[Party] Pichuragi: Moto-nim…… stepping on an extra white tile and then panicking and stepping on a black one right after
[Party] Moto: ㅋ Ah
[Party] Moto: You caught me……
[Party] Moto: I was hoping to blend in under Ratan-nim’s mess……
[Party] Ratan: ㅠ I deserve it, even being buried under someone else’s mess ㅠㅠㅠ Should I start looking for a grave spot?
[Party] Pichuragi: ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ I can’t breathe, this is hilarious
[Party] BananaMambo: ㅋㅋㅋ Nahhh ㅋㅋㅋ It’s okay even pros sometimes mess up the colors ㅋㅋㅋㅋ
Ratan, looking like he was about to make a formal public apology, was barely calmed down by Banana Mambo’s gentle coaxing. Everyone else saw the repeated mistakes as just part of the fun, so the mood remained cheerful. Of course, that was from the veterans’ perspective—first-timers might have felt differently. But with the majority being veterans, wasn’t the veterans’ opinion all that mattered?
[Party] Ratan: ㅠㅠㅠ I’m really sorry. Please trust me just once more
[Party] Ratan: I’ll show you something this time
Besides, Ratan actually had a pretty good attitude when it came to these tries. He apologized at the right times, took feedback well, was clearly enthusiastic, and knew how to keep the mood up…… Honestly, he wasn’t that bad. Just average, really—he just didn’t run dungeons often enough to be used to it. If he weren’t so obsessed with gathering and crafting, he could’ve been turned into a full-time dungeon slave.
Limousine, knowing roughly how much Ratan earned monthly from crafting, stared at him with a mix of longing and resignation, unable to force him into dungeon servitude. Perhaps sensing the eerie energy from behind, Ratan flinched.
[Party] Ratan: ㅠㅠ Uhh I think Leader is
[Party] Ratan: Glaring at me right now ㅠㅠ
[Party] Ratan: Was I that much of a troll today? Am I getting kicked from Carnival now? ㅠㅠ
[Party] Pichuragi: Damn…… he’s marked……
[Party] Limousine: No, it was a loving gaze
[Party] Jaheun: ;
[Party] Pichuragi: ;;
[Party] Pichuragi: Jaheun-nim is jealous;;;
[Party] Ratan: ㅋㅋ Ah ㅠ I’ve come between a couple and brought ruin…… sinful Ratan……
[Party] Limousine: Enough
What kind of act was that supposed to be? Limousine scowled at Jaheun. But with the mask on, there was no way to tell what Jaheun was thinking. Maybe it was time to just smash that damn mask. Fuming, Limousine urged Banana Mambo to start the countdown already—he was getting sick of Jaheun throwing fuel into the fire and then acting like he had nothing to do with it while the other hyena-like clan members swarmed in.
Still, maybe all that joking around meant everyone was finally feeling comfortable. So it wasn’t a bad thing…… right? Or was it? Was he the only one getting roasted now? They were both conned together in that loyalty scam, so why was he the only one being teased? A petty sense of unfairness briefly surfaced, but it vanished as soon as the fight began and Limousine focused on his DPS cycle.
After a few more tries, the party finally managed to clear the second boss. As the motion of Xuán Láng collapsing played out, Ratan launched into an over-the-top sobbing ceremony while the rest of the party quickly opened the loot chest and moved on to the next area.
The third boss, <Modified Bì Jì>, was a grotesque figure with a massively inflated body plastered with talismans. Bì Jì had originally appeared in the main quest before being modified—back then, he was a handsome martial arts youth. He’d actually been quite popular among players…… But now, post-modification, the only thing he had in common with his old self was the color of his hair. The transformation was so extreme that it wouldn’t be surprising if the devs had gotten a fair number of customer support tickets complaining about it.
Despite the bulky appearance, Bì Jì had a fast-paced combat style and annoying poison debuffs, making him a tricky boss to deal with.
[Party] BananaMambo: This one…… You need fast reaction speed, so it’s a bit tough
[Party] BananaMambo: ㅋ
[Party] Ratan: ㅋ
[Party] BananaMambo: Is there any boss that’s easy for first-timers? ^^ Am I right?
[Party] Pichuragi: Yesss~~
[Party] Moto: Veterans, stay silent
[Party] Pichuragi: (Yesss~~)
Bì Jì had a unique trait: he remembered the order in which players attacked him at the start and used that in his special pattern. Once the battle began, a poison debuff would stack periodically, and when his health dropped to a certain point, he would enter his special phase.
He would fire 90-degree cone-shaped AoEs in the order of first attack, so players needed to position correctly and guide the pattern. The placement of each AoE determined the next one’s location immediately, so the rule of thumb was to stand in front and behind Bì Jì in order and guide the cones clockwise.
The person who guided the AoE would get hit by it and receive a slow debuff along with some damage. If you got hit by another AoE while having that debuff—even if using invincibility skills—it resulted in instant death. So after taking the first hit, you had to get out fast.
At the spot where the AoE hit, a random flower would bloom. Regardless of how many cones were fired, there would always be three flowers in total, and if flowers overlapped in one area, the next phase would become a nightmare. So the rule was to move clockwise after a flower bloomed to spread out the cone AoEs. This phase demanded quick thinking and reflexes. The flower would disappear if it collided with a party member, leaving behind a 3-second debuff.
Once the cones were fired for each party member, Bì Jì would jump to the person with the flower debuff. That jump dealt AoE damage to everyone nearby, so the designated person had to eat a flower just before the last cone exploded and immediately dash far away. Because of the movement slow debuff, if you hesitated even a little, others would get caught.
While that first jump landed, someone else had to grab a flower to draw the second jump. The flower debuff duration was short, so if you didn’t time it right, it would expire before the second jump. And then—it happened once more.
After three total jumps, Bì Jì would charge directly at the tank. The tank had to use a blocking skill with perfect timing to stop the charge. If the timing was off, or if a different skill was used, Bì Jì wouldn’t stop and would randomly charge again into the party.
If the charge was successfully blocked, Bì Jì would stagger and cast a raid-wide AoE. Taking that hit removed all stacked poison debuffs, resetting them and starting the next phase clean. This entire pattern had to be completed once per phase, and as the phases progressed, the cone AoEs widened to 120 degrees, meaning the safe zones became narrower and narrower the further you went.
After hearing the pattern explanation, Ratan said only one thing.
[Party] Ratan: Is this…… bullying?