“Can we even take part in this? From what I’ve heard, they’ve been cherry-picking only the very best teams on the server to prepare.”
“Well… this might sound a little embarrassing, but… apparently the top teams who were prepping for the Orc Chieftain raid had an internal split. They’d planned to clear it eventually, sure, but the loot from Server 1 turned out so valuable that when it came time to divide the shares, they broke apart trying to grab more for themselves.”
Ten Orc Villages per server, twelve servers live right now—so about 120 raid teams in the works? Knock off Jaejung-hyung’s crew, that’s 119. Even just the toll-fee payouts add up to nearly 12 billion won cash. Factor in auctioned chieftain weapons, enhancement stones, the rest of the drops, and it’s easily over 20 billion.
One single Orc Chieftain clear event is on that kind of scale. Impressive.
“Fighting over loot before they even pull… that’s a sight. So one of those splinter groups is short a slot?”
“Yeah. Looks like they decided they didn’t need other top-rankers, that they could handle it among themselves. So each side’s off recruiting, pulling in friends of friends to fill out a roster.”
According to Jaejung-hyung, even the absolute cream of the crop barely managed it.
By the looks of it, those splinter teams are just setting themselves up for a wipe. We shouldn’t jump in. Sure, tagging along to spectate is fine, but grinding one or two more levels won’t bridge the gap. Without top-tier gear bought through cash, endless potions, personal battle sense, strategy, and cohesion all maxed out… throwing together a ragtag lineup won’t cut it.
Not that I’m calling us a ragtag bunch. Honestly, I rate this party pretty highly.
It’s not that I think we’re lacking—or that the rewards don’t tempt me. But if we join, we’ll just burn money and end up retired early.
Still, this kind of event doesn’t come around often. And money’s there to be spent. More than anything, I want to go up against the Chieftain myself… it might actually be fun.
First, I need to hear the terms. Depending on the conditions, the choice could shift.
“Well… it’s not like I think we’re weak or anything, but if they’re just filling slots with acquaintances, I worry the gear and skill gap might show. And since they already fought over loot once, who’s to say we’d see a fair share as latecomers?”
Shield Warrior looked thoughtful at that, clearly weighing it. He organized his thoughts, then spoke.
“They’re aiming for the same format as Server 1’s raid team—forty people. Supposedly that’s the hard cap that can fight the Orc Chieftain at once. If a team wipes, the altar entrance reopens for the next.”
“I’ve heard that—five full eight-man parties.”
“Right. The original entry requirement was level 12, but with the split they dropped it to 10. Rankers at 12 are still rare, and stat-wise there’s no difference between 10 and 11 anyway. Though really, it’s less about that than boosting their own cut. They’ll argue higher-levels deserve a bigger share.”
“So they’re confident enough that even with some lower levels mixed in, they’ll still clear it?”
“Looks like they figure a day or two farming gear and stocking up will be enough.”
Not a chance. Jaejung-hyung said the Server 1 crew were all 12+, kitted out in the absolute best gear money could buy. Orc Field drops have hard limits.
The more I hear, the more absurd this sounds. I feel my motivation draining. It reeks of failure from the start.
Their eyes are on the payout. But if they can’t succeed, there is no payout. Human greed… Still, thanks to that greed, a slot opened for us.
“And they’ve apparently picked up a fair amount of intel. Tips for the strategy. Since Server 1 was a world first, they may have overcommitted strength there. If we attempt it, we’d still have a couple days to prep.”
“So they think they’ve got a secret edge.”
“Seems that way. Otherwise they wouldn’t be splitting off to form new teams.”
So they’re at least strong enough to try. Ambiguous. Hard to judge. If it were just me, I’d join win or lose for the fun of it…
“Well, level requirement won’t be a problem. I should hit 10 today.”
Shield Warrior, Charming, and PrettyGirl are all high-11. That’s close enough to chase rankers who’ve cashed in. Considering the Orc Fields cap out around 13, it’s impressive. Our party also burns through mobs faster than most.
“Yeah. Honestly, level matters less than gear. Forest Set armor is mandatory. And potions stacked to max.”
We’re only missing the Forest Leather Top and Bottoms. That hurdle’s manageable. The real question…
“Do I absolutely have to use a shield?”
Since I run completely without one, that’s critical. Twin blades versus sword-and-board is a huge style difference.
“That I don’t know. I’ll have to ask. Unless there’s a specific reason, I imagine they’d allow it.”
“Please check, then. So—what are the reward terms?”
“Everyone gets the 10% toll payout as baseline. Then one of the seventy enhancement stones each. The rest of the loot gets sold, and the profit’s split by level brackets. Mages get a bonus share.”
He went on detailing the breakdown. Honestly, it wasn’t as stingy as I expected. With forty people, the split spreads naturally. Sure, the core guys will skim more, but compared to being locked out for level, it’s acceptable. The guaranteed base payout alone is enormous.
Of course, the higher-rankers split because even that felt unfair.
“Well then, we’ll need Charming’s and PrettyGirl’s thoughts too.”
Shield Warrior clearly leaned toward joining, but we had to check the others. We’ve been fighting together a few days now, but everyone deserves a say.
I glanced over. Charming and PrettyGirl were sitting on the hill, laughing quietly like sisters. Looked good, honestly.
Hard to believe we’d been awkward at first. Now, they were as easy with each other as Shield Warrior and I were.
“Hey—did you hear about the raid team offer?”
They turned at my approach. Charming answered first.
“Yes, Shield Warrior mentioned it earlier.”
“Are you in?”
“What about you, Jooho?”
“Well, it’s not just up to me. I want to hear everyone first.”
“I think it sounds fun. If we can, we should try.”
Charming’s the type to leap at anything new. Clear and decisive.
One vote yes.
“Really? PrettyGirl?”
She perked up and glanced over.
“I’m fine either way. As long as we’re together. It doesn’t matter much to me.”
One neutral.
I looked back at Shield Warrior, standing ramrod straight, ready to ask his stance.
“Well, same for me. Whatever you decide.”
Another neutral.
…Nothing left to say. Decision’s in my lap now.
“So then…”
***
“Huh? You want the Orc Chieftain’s attack patterns? What for?”
“Because I need to know.”
Jaejung-hyung leaned in, squinting at me suspiciously.
“You… you’re not going after the Chieftain, are you? No. That’d be crazy. Who asked you for this?”
Sharp as always. Yeah, I am going. Nobody asked—I just need to know.
“No, I just want the info.”
“Why? Writing a guide? Won’t sell. It’s all over the boards already.”
“Not those half-baked posts. I want the real deal.”
“…You’re serious?”
His eyes narrowed, suspicion deepening.
“Well, that’s how it worked out.”
“You can barely play and you’re talking Chieftain? What level are you?”
“I’m 10.”
“What?”
His face twisted like he’d seen a ghost.
“You’re not sleeping at home, are you?”
“I sleep. I’m tired, but not collapsing.”
“No way. With your hours, there’s no way you’d be 10. Unless… did you cash-whale?”
He flailed in confusion until he landed on that theory. Wrong, but close.
“Nope. Just grinding. With a party.”
He stared a beat, then reluctantly accepted.
“But at 10, no raid would take you. Unless things changed overnight?”
So I explained about the splintered raid team in my village. He just laughed.
“That server’s a total shitshow. And they think they’ll raid?”
“Well, I’m not exactly betting on it. Just want the experience. Could be fun.”
“In my opinion, that’s doomed. On our server, we scraped together every elite we had and barely cleared. Give it a few days—higher levels, more practice—then maybe. These guys don’t get how much being one day ahead matters.”
He chuckled again, half-disbelieving, then grew serious.
“Anyway, levels aside, here’s what matters. Listen up. The Orc Chieftain…”
And I listened, focused, as he laid it all out: the Chieftain’s attacks, defenses, specials, weak points. The kind of firsthand detail no forum post could match.
“Strategy’s important, but the people executing it matter more. Even the best guide’s worthless without the skill to pull it off.”
“For example?”
“In this system, healer roles are fuzzy. Potions cover some, but in long fights, it breaks down. No healing spells either. So players have to overcome that with sheer control.”
“True, no heals yet. Maybe later.”
“Past the glaive phase, in the final berserk, you need at least ten alive. The other thirty have to shave as much HP off as possible before they drop. The roar alone wipes plenty.”
“So the berserk’s that bad?”
“Yeah. At that point, raw skill isn’t enough. The Chieftain gets insanely fast and stronger. STR and AGI must be amplifying. To face him, you need a solid ten ace-tier players alive. Otherwise, you can’t even talk about a clear.”
“Aces, huh…”
“When we did it, we hit berserk with ten left. By the end? Just three standing. Out of forty. Every top name we had, and in the end, they all fell from potion shortage. Potion management is life or death. The last ones alive were the ones who could handle it.”
Three survivors out of forty. That’s brutal.
“Any fewer, and the DPS just isn’t there. You’ve got to keep pouring damage in under insane pressure. And berserk limits your windows hard, so DPS loss is huge. That’s why you need ace-tier players. Or, sure, if twenty or thirty survive berserk you can brute-force it—but with the roar, no chance.”
The more I listened, the more uneasy I felt.
No matter how I cut it, this raid team won’t be enough.
Sure, having intel in advance helps. But it can’t fill the gap left by missing aces.
And with those aces scattered among splintered crews…
Who knows how this will end.