My plan was simple. But it would be fatal. That kind of feeling where you’re not certain, but it just might work.
“You’re curious what I stayed behind doing last time, aren’t you?”
“Yes.”
In unison. The kind of shining eyes kids give their parents before a bedtime story. Bright as lanterns.
When I first found a way to block the Orc Chieftain’s roar, I hesitated for a moment.
If I told the assault raid team, maybe they could kill the Chieftain.
But once it was cleared? Nothing left. If I handed them the method to break the roar, would the assault team say, “Oh! Thank you so much. As a reward, we’ll hand you heaps of items”? Of course not. Just like how people go in and out of a bathroom, their mouths would be wiped clean, and I’d be left with nothing to show for it.
This method was single-use. Unless the game company was an idiot, they’d patch it immediately. Just like with the boars. So I decided to use this one-time chance more frugally. I had no reason whatsoever to waste it on Assault’s raid team, who weren’t even close friends.
“That’s when I thought—let’s make a new raid team ourselves.”
“True… if you can block the Chieftain’s roar, then even if our levels are a bit low, it should be doable.”
That was Shield Warrior’s judgment, after already having brawled with the Orc Chieftain. He saw the potential.
The real terror came from that immobilizing roar. Outside that, you could scrape by with potions. Jaejung’s party had lost more than half their members in the roar phase. Other teams too.
“Of course, if I held the surefire method, I was planning to use it inside an existing raid team and scoop up way more rewards.”
“But then you changed your mind?”
“Yes. While fighting in the glaive phase, something kept catching my eye.”
“What was it?”
“I saw another possibility. Which made me think—maybe there’s no need to form a raid team at all. That’s why I stayed behind, to confirm it.”
And so the explanation stretched on. The moment it ended—
“Huh? That’s possible?”
Charming was startled.
“Um… isn’t that a bit much? Couldn’t it cause us problems?”
Shield Warrior looked uneasy.
“I’ll do it.”
Charming raised her hand without even pausing to think.
Sure enough, she was the type who didn’t look back if it sounded fun. In seconds her face brightened again, eyes curving into crescent moons aimed right through me. Honestly burdensome, that look. Like it was pulling me in.
This girl really… definitely had a strange quality to her.
“Sounds fun to me. Whatever problems come, we’ll deal with them then.”
“Me too…”
PrettyGirl raised my hand with her own, eyes rekindled. She looked eager to clash with the Chieftain again, her gaze burning bright.
Okay. Two secured. PrettyGirl was in. If Shield Warrior raised his hand too, then we were past seventy percent of the hill.
“Will four of us be enough? Won’t our DPS be too low?”
Shield Warrior had regained composure after the initial surprise, asking calmly as he examined the odds.
“It’ll take longer to bring him down. But from what I’ve seen, it’s doable. If not… oh well, nothing we can do.”
I shrugged, feigning nonchalance.
“Heh… I guess I can’t sit this one out then.”
Shield Warrior laughed helplessly. That sealed it. All in.
***
Everyone was exhausted from fighting the Orc Chieftain, so they logged off.
Next day, when I clocked in at the PC bang and checked the forums, the results for each server’s Orc Village were plain to see.
There were 12 servers, each with 10 villages—120 Orc Villages total. Out of those, fewer than half—45 villages—had successfully cleared, posted in the notices.
“Whew! In just one day? Impressive.”
Jaejung whistled lightly, reading the announcement.
“Still, they’re a full day behind your party, hyung. They’ll only reach the next region tonight. Those guys.”
“What about your village? Not yet?”
“No. Yesterday we got wiped hard. Every one of the ad-hoc raid teams got flattened right at the start.”
“See? Didn’t I tell you? Just what I expected. You should move to a neighboring village. Yours is hopeless. If you walk over now, maybe tomorrow you’ll be in the next map.”
“They’re all trying again today.”
At that, Jaejung shook his head.
“Greedy kids with no skill. If they’d built a real team in the first place, they’d already be through. Karma. Even if they clear it, the toll fee split will be halved.”
“We’ll have to accept it.”
“You’re going to try again? After failing once, odds are you won’t manage it.”
“I’ve dropped out. In the glaive phase we didn’t even shave off half its HP. Looked hopeless. We just tripped over each other and got hit harder. More people isn’t always better.”
“Exactly. Playing with clueless kids who can’t sync up makes it worse.”
“How’s the new region?”
“A bit tough. Wolves brimming with power. Have to swap out all gear. Need reinforcement stones.”
“So everyone’s using them now, huh.”
“Of course. You think we can afford to sell them? We need every one. Some sold theirs for cash—idiots. Celebrated too early. They’ll fall behind soon enough.”
From the view of a team ahead, he wasn’t wrong.
“Now’s the time to spend money, not earn it. Even pouring everything in, it’s hard to keep up.”
“You’ve spent real money too, hyung?”
“Yeah. Pushing with spare funds. But once that runs dry, not sure what to do. Wish there were some hidden stash.”
“Break your savings account?”
“No way. It’s at maturity, I can’t bring myself to.”
“What about the boss?”
“As if I’d ever beg him for money.”
“Then just gotta grind hard.”
“Yeah, no other way. Might as well sleep. I’m dead tired.”
I wondered what Jaejung would say if he heard that just four of us were about to go after the Orc Chieftain.
***
< Welcome to the world of Lost Sky. >
Brainwaves confirmed.
Joo Seungho. Male.
Character name Jooho. Level 10.
Loading…
<Charming> Welcome. Everyone’s gathered at the market.
A whisper from Charming. After a quick greeting, I joined them.
“All ready?”
“Yes, we got everything you asked for.”
“Then let’s go.”
I led up front, Shield Warrior beside me, with Charming and PrettyGirl following behind.
“If this works, it’ll be incredible.”
“If it works. Let’s focus on that first.”
Shield Warrior nodded, face set. The tension was real.
The path to the Chieftain’s altar wasn’t particularly tough. Since we crawled forward slowly, topping off HP to avoid potion use, there was no crisis, no rush. Before long, we arrived.
“We’re here.”
“Warrior-nim, is the altar open?”
“Yes. Supposedly other raid teams tried all afternoon, but all failed.”
Shield Warrior shook his head. If they couldn’t do it today, odds were slim tomorrow either. At this rate, staying in this village itself felt questionable.
“Let’s end it today. Come.”
This time, I would see the Orc Chieftain lying on that cold floor.
I pressed my palm against the frigid altar gate and pushed.
***
The doors opened. At the far end, flames licked the altar as the Orc Chieftain sat on his throne, arrogance dripping, eyes fixed on us.
“Glad to see you. Tonight, you’re going down.”
Shield Warrior tapped his shield—thunk thunk—steeling his resolve. Meanwhile, the rest of us swiftly made our preparations.
“The early phase depends entirely on you, Warrior-nim. We’ll trust you. Let’s go.”
“Charming, PrettyGirl—ready to move in.”
“Yes, ready.”
“Me too.”
Shield Warrior advanced toward the Chieftain. Muscles tensed, the massive orc rose to meet him.
—How dare you trespass on my altar! I shall repay you with your deaths!
Same canned line as before. No thrill. Pure NPC script. Imposing, but that’s it. Hearing an orc speak fluent Korean still felt odd.
Shield Warrior raised sword and shield, baiting the Chieftain down from the altar. Distance kept between us, the boss followed after him.
“Now.”
Charming, PrettyGirl, and I exchanged glances, then dashed straight for the altar.
“Step on my hands!”
I laced my fingers together, palms up, crouched low. PrettyGirl nodded and sprang lightly from my hands, vaulting high. She grabbed hold of something and steadied herself.
“Higher—keep climbing!”
She pulled up onto the ropes linking the altar’s tallest pillars. From there, she hauled herself to the top.
“No time! Next!”
Charming followed the same way, springing off my hands. Awkward first try, but she managed. Both girls now stood balanced atop narrow stone markers at the altar’s peak.
“We’re up! Warrior-nim, hurry!”
“Quickly, Warrior-nim!”
Their urgent cries mingled with the Orc Chieftain’s bellows, echoing across the altar. From afar, I could see Shield Warrior’s HP bar yo-yoing—dropping, then refilling, over and over.
If he slipped and died, the whole plan was over. He had to reach us alive.
Hearing their high-pitched shouts, Shield Warrior finally broke free of the Chieftain and sprinted toward us.
“Behind you! The Chieftain!”
“Jump now!”
No time for words—he poured every ounce of strength into his run, stepped on my palms, and vaulted up, barely catching hold to join Charming and PrettyGirl.
“Whew… no way I can do that twice.”
“You did well.”
“Nice job.”
Deprived of its quarry, the Chieftain turned his burning gaze on me, still standing on the altar floor. He raised his longsword high, pointing it at me.
“Fine. I was planning to face you anyway. Come!”
Rage flared in his eyes as he charged. In real life, a two-meter giant coming at me like that? I’d run for my life. But here, my heart was calm as a still lake.
That massive fist came crashing down. His AGI stat had to be monstrous—he was fast. But readable.
I dodged by a hair, opening distance again. Now was the moment to test it. As I slipped aside, I cast a quick glance up at the altar.
I prayed our preparations would work.