A Basement-Dwelling Loser, the Inquisitor – Chapter 40

[Rene]

[Viewer Participation Content]

[New Dimension | 16 viewers online | 7:52:38]

[You insignificant creatures dare to disturb my slumber!]

[The ruler of Nibrload. The ferocious ancient white dragon Albion has awakened!]

[System: Entry to Nibrload is now restricted.]

[System: A party that first confronts Albion will lift the entry restriction upon defeating or abandoning the hunt.]

[System: The ‘Albion Hunt’ will be activated from the moment the entry restriction is lifted.]

A flood of system messages filled my sight.

There wasn’t a single person in our party who didn’t understand what these messages meant.

“…It’s a raid!”

Someone shouted near a scream.

Before our eyes was a massive white dragon, so large it obscured the sky.

Its scales glimmered like ice, and its wings spread out like a work of art.

It was a sight completely different from the Hreðsevalgr and Freki we had encountered while climbing Rivagar.

It was the overwhelming majesty deserving of the title “Ruler of Nibrload.”

“First, let’s form a formation…!”

Someone yelled that, but I raised my right hand to draw everyone’s attention.

“Let’s all just die together first!”

“…Huh?”

All the Rebongi looking at me showed expressions of incomprehension.

[Be crushed!]

“Well, I’ll take the lead then.”

But I was serious, and without any resistance to Albion’s attack, I lost my life.

…Is there any title for being the first player to die to Albion?

★

“Haah…”

“Oh, everyone’s gathered now.”

Confirming the last Rebongi, who had just died with a sigh, I gathered all the Rebongi, resting in their ways, and slowly began to speak.

The topic, of course, was the Albion raid.

“Everyone must have their broadcast on, so you all understand why I died immediately, right?”

Fortunately, everyone nodded in response to my question.

We weren’t gathered as a party for the raid; we were here as a streamer and audience.

In other words, I had no information about the other players apart from myself.

Challenging a raid under such circumstances?

It was literally a waste of time and consumables.

I pointed out that there was no need to do such foolish things, immediately after my death, for everyone to hear.

Thankfully, the worst situation would be considered a raid failure if the party wiped out, but as expected, that was not the case, and I resurrected right before the hill at the top of Rivagar.

“So, before we start, um, Lainel. I’ll need to focus from now on, so I probably won’t respond to the chat for a while.”

─You’re fine, you’re fine.

─Just talk to yourself.

“…Hehe. Honestly, are you a bit regretting it…? Saying we should have come together?”

─Shut up.

Satisfied with Lainel’s response, I continued the conversation with the remaining Rebongi.

“First, let’s do a simple introduction. I can do everything but rear support. My job is Traveler. You all know that…?”

And starting from that line, the Rebongi each introduced their jobs or advantages.

“I’m an alchemist, focused more on different support skills rather than recovery-related skills.”

“I’ve invested heavily in tanking skills as a swordsman, so please leave the tanking to me.”

As a result of that summary.

There were four tanks excluding me, eight dealers, and three supporters in the party.

─We’re totally screwed, lol.

I wanted to refute Lainel’s statement, but there was nothing I could say.

Probably everyone, including me, thought similarly.

This is going to be a big problem, right?

There’s no issue on the dealer side. The problem lies with the tanks and supporters.

To be precise, the ratio is off.

There need to be more supporters than tanks to help the tanks while simultaneously supporting the dealers…

Even among the supporters, one was an alchemist focused on support skills.

No matter how I thought about it, there were simply too few supporters.

It would have been great if there were three tanks and four supporters…

“Mmm…”

All the Rebongi’s eyes were on me.

That was only natural. I was the one who gathered these people, and the center of this party was me.

I had to judge, and I had to make decisions.

“First of all, everyone… Do you have any thoughts of… giving up?”

Of course, I had no intention of giving up whatsoever.

How could I give up on such an interesting situation?

But I shouldn’t assume that the Rebongi gathered here felt the same way.

The time had already passed 3 AM.

And considering the environment of Nibrload, the cold and sleepiness made me want to give up…

“Not at all.”

“How could we just give this up?”

“It’s a bit much to say after coming this far.”

There was no way that could happen.

The Rebongi gathered here were probably as serious about New Dimension as I was.

I knew they wouldn’t give up, naturally.

I was just asking in case.

“Then can everyone… follow my instructions from now on?”

At my words, they all nodded.

And to them, I slowly explained the strategy I had come up with.

★

[You insignificant creatures dare to disturb my slumber!]

[The ruler of Nibrload. The ferocious ancient white dragon Albion has awakened!]

After arriving at the top of Rivagar once more and waiting for about two minutes, Albion appeared against the backdrop of the aurora.

A fierce roar that made my head buzz caused me to frown slightly, but I had no time to panic.

“Everyone, please take your positions…!”

[Be crushed!]

“Back…!”

With a yell, Albion, who was using the sky as a stage, dove to the ground.

The attack itself was simply a straightforward charge, so by slightly reducing the formation back, we could avoid a direct hit, but immediately after, a powerful shockwave enveloped our bodies.

As the shockwave passed by, enough to be mistaken for a snowstorm, Albion spread its wings wide once again.

Naturally, it looked much larger than when it was floating in the sky.

This really takes me back…

I felt like I was returning to that world.

[How arrogant!]

“It’s coming from the left! Tanks build a wall, and the others stay behind…!”

Feeling excited while thinking that, I calmly observed the situation around me and gave commands.

Of course, I didn’t actually know Albion’s patterns.

I was merely watching its movements, predicting its actions, and choosing the best course of action.

Crack! An unpleasant sound echoed as ice shattered.

The culprit creating that sound was, naturally, Albion.

Its tail was smashing through all the ice rocks on the summit of Rivagar, closing in on us.

The two tanks used their best defensive skills.

A thick wall created by the Berserker’s skill, Blood Veil, and the Warrior’s skill, Shield of Guardian.

The wall collided with Albion’s tail.

The balance was only for an instant.

The pristine white shield showed no signs of damage.

However, the scarlet blood-red barrier began to crack slowly, and the tanks were being pushed back.

“Support, now!”

“Yes.”

And just before the blood-red barrier broke, at the same time as my command, vividly colorful light soared from the back.

Skill: Philosopher’s Stone.

It’s one of the cheating skills that allows you to copy a skill of your party member.

Of course, there are several restrictions, but one thing’s for sure.

The skill chosen by the alchemist was the Berserker’s skill, Blood Veil.

The blood-red barrier, which was about to break, regained its form once again.

And whether Albion’s power had weakened, the two that were blocking its tail no longer got pushed back.

“Now, I’m going in…!”

A myriad of spells filled the sky. Spears, great swords, and warhammers accelerated.

The damage time allotted would be at most 5 seconds.

But that was enough.

In that time, everyone here could unleash the maximum possible attack.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

With a resounding roar, Albion’s HP bar began to decrease.

Though it was a tiny figure compared to the length of the HP bar, confirming the damage was enough.

And among us, the one who made the biggest difference was the tank, the Berserker.

Blood Veil grants buffs to the caster according to the damage received and absorbed if the barrier doesn’t break within its duration.

Given that it had been pressed almost to the breaking point, it must have received a considerable buff.

Well, it was certainly thanks to that cheating skill, Philosopher’s Stone, which synergizes with all skills.

“We’re swapping out!”

And right at the timing when the damage time seemed to be ending, the instruction to swap out.

Hearing that command, the warrior and berserker nodded before quickly moving back, and the swordsman and martial artist waiting behind stepped forward.

The strategy I established was simple.

If there’s a problem of too many tanks, then just reduce the number of tanks.

By keeping two of the tanks waiting at the back, we could swap them out with each passing pattern.

This way, the tanks that used their skills could rest while the tanks at the front could receive enough support.

Of course, it meant there would be two inactive members in general…

But there was no choice.

We hadn’t even gathered for the raid in the first place, so we just had to find the best approach given the situation.

[Pierce through!]

And after the anticipated 5 seconds of damage time ended.

Albion spread its wings wide, causing a translucent circle to form at my feet.

“Something’s coming! Dodge…!”

Noticing that fact, I instantly threw myself to a spot without the circle.

Just then, ice spears shot up from where I had just been standing.

Thud!

“Huh?”

However, not everyone could evade the sudden pattern.

Three dealers and two supporters fell.

While the three dealers dying wasn’t a huge issue, the fact that we lost two supporters went without saying—it was disastrous.

Moreover, even with the formation changing, the warrior and swordsman had also been pierced by ice spears, their bodies impaled.

─We’re done for.

“Yeah…”

I humbly agreed with Lainel’s words, then commanded the remaining Rebongi not to use any consumables and fought back against the beast as much as possible.

The time it took until the party wiped out, with me being the last one, was about two minutes.

★

【New Dimension Gallery】

【Title: Found the Broadcast】

【Written by: ㅇㅇ】

RiMing.tv/ND_Lene

Isn’t this dude that dude?

The one who got his head smashed by priests and paladins only to be sniped with a nuke, lol.

【Likes: 35 / Dislikes: 3】

ㅇㅇ: It’s been long proven that it wasn’t a nuke, dude.

└Post by ㅇㅇ: For real? I didn’t know because I left the gallery back then.

Roid: But why the hell are these guys at Rivagar at this hour???

└Post by ㅇㅇ: No one really knows, lol.

ㅇㅇ: Damn, the dragon looks so cool!

Lugst: Just give it up already!

└Post by ㅇㅇ: Feels like they’ve already done over 15 attempts, and given the party’s composition, they seem likely to give up quickly?

└Lugst: How bad is the situation?

└Post by ㅇㅇ: There are 16 people, but 4 tanks and 3 supporters, lol.

└Lugst: If it were me, I’d just give it one attempt and then bail, lol.

└Post by ㅇㅇ: For real.

ㅇㅇ: How messed up do you have to be to not register a coordinate for over 15 attempts, and only just do so now, lol.

└Post by ㅇㅇ: That was kind of impressive, lol.