Your Commander-in-Chief – Chapter 117

June 26, Monday.

It’s the day when all the weekly content in Deron gets reset.

Again, just like every other day, I log into Deron before 5 PM to start preparing for the raid.

Everything was as usual—except for the guild chat being a bit noisier than normal.

Since I, the guild leader, don’t really use the chat much, the guild members naturally kept things quiet.

But today was different.

Those not participating in the raid—essentially, the guild members who weren’t part of the first party—were energetically cheering on our squishy tanking party.

I felt a bit dazed.

That dazed feeling didn’t change when I arrived at the meeting spot.

The expressions of the party members were a bit unusual.

Their eyes were filled with enthusiasm, and not a single one of them was late—waiting at their spots ten minutes before the scheduled time.

Quite a number of them seemed to have switched their job ranks too.

We weren’t in a situation lacking damage, so that really seemed unnecessary…

I looked at them with concern. As someone managing the party, the job distribution among the members was important, but since we weren’t aiming for a perfect clear, the standards had been set pretty leniently.

“What’s going on, everyone?”

“Raid. Let’s clear it today.”

Our main tank, Dogrik, said with a determined expression.

I didn’t really have any words to match that fervor.

I awkwardly nodded, managing a smile.

It wasn’t just me—everyone seemed to be sharing that sentiment.

“Alright, Guild Leader! Please enter the dungeon!”

“Oh, yes.”

The one urging me to hurry up was the Snow Mage.

Feeling Helena’s intense gaze from the side, I nodded.

“I’m going~”

Today, just like before, we entered the dungeon with a jump.

With a little bounce, as I entered the dungeon, a mixture of amazement erupted from the guild members.

“I heard you jumped like that even at the restaurant?”

“Yeah, that’s right. I did it like this…”

“Today, it’s stripes!”

The last comment came from the Snow Mage.

The raid had reset.

That meant all the progress from yesterday was gone, and all the monsters had revived.

“Let’s go!”

It was intense. The enthusiasm from the party members was so high it was overwhelming.

Even though all they had to do was clear the path, they used everything available.

They didn’t hold back on the potions or the buffs. The healer didn’t wait either.

They drank potions like water.

The progress of our squishy tanking party was nothing short of rapid.

Since we’d already gone through this section once, there were no retries. We pushed forward at lightning speed.

Thus, we reached the first named monster.

“Whoa!”

Dogrik charged ahead, letting out a shout unlike his usual self.

“Wait, what? Everyone’s ready already?”

The party members rushed after Dogrik as if they’d anticipated this was going to happen.

I joined the other party members with a dazed expression as we all entered the named monster’s chamber.

The main tank went out first, so there was no way I wouldn’t follow.

Either way, the fact we had to take down the named monster remained unchanged.

Hoo…

A low breath escaped my lips as the cold air began to wrap around my sword.

“Hah!”

With a short shout, a white dragon shape extending from my sword began to shred the named monster.

I used a skill with a brief wind-up and cooldown first.

A combo flowed out in the order of [Cutting Armor] – [Double Slash] – [Spinning Slash] – [White Dragon Strike] – [Wheel Wind] – [Frenzied Attack].

Not a single delay. The moment the skill ended, I swiftly transitioned into the next stance, my body adjusting perfectly as I swung the sword.

“Hiyaah!”

The speed at which we tore through the named monster was astounding.

Even though it was a second try, we broke through the named monster without a single casualty.

[Void-Infested Finger]

Strength +200, Health +100, Unique

Max Health -10%, Ring

Bound on acquisition

Level limit 85

For each equipped void item, damage +1%

The wearer always remains in a low health state.

“This is…”

The item dropped by the first named monster was an accessory.

It was the perfect upgrade to the Orc Warrior ring.

I discreetly glanced at the party members. The distribution of warrior jobs within our party was extremely low.

Aside from the tank, only Yerin and I were fulfilling the role of dealers.

However, Yerin hadn’t taken the Berserker or Barbarian tree. So that meant she didn’t need this ring.

There were no bidders.

As time passed quietly, I cautiously bid 500 gold.

The standard starting bid within the party was 200 gold, but I decided to add 300 gold just in case.

Time went by, and eventually, the item was in my hands.

It was finally time to swap out my white grade ring.

“Wow…”

As I slipped the ring onto my finger, a happy smile spread across my face.

The ring I was wearing, the Orc Warrior ring, had become worthless, but I had already sold off all my spares.

I had definitely made enough profit.

“Congratulations, Guild Leader!”

It was the voice of the Snow Mage.

She was clapping for me enthusiastically.

If I just left it be, that applause would spread like wildfire.

I cleared my throat and turned my head away.

“Ahem, ahem… let’s get moving.”

The auction for the other items proceeded swiftly.

With that, the path clearing began again, just like before—it was absolutely rapid.

An unstoppable force.

We reached the last named monster directly.

I looked at the party members, who were burning with enthusiasm, and couldn’t help but smile awkwardly.

Honestly speaking, I didn’t think we could clear it today.

Just because they were passionate didn’t mean their skills would magically improve, right?

Our raid party hadn’t pulled off all of the Elder’s patterns.

We had wiped repeatedly before all the other patterns even appeared.

“Please wait a moment before we begin.”

That was Helena’s request.

She was still wielding the grotesque tentacle staff, a level 65 world item.

Due to the memorizing skill that item possessed, there wasn’t a weapon that could surpass its momentary DPS.

I looked at that tentacle staff uneasily. Staring at that tentacle brought back vivid memories of being caught by the Kraken. It wasn’t a pleasant feeling at all. Rain pouring from the sky and waves crashing from all directions.

And don’t even get me started on the feel of those slimy tentacle binds—it was absolutely horrific.

“What skill are you loading?”

“Time Acceleration, three times.”

I nodded. Helena wasn’t thinking about her personal DPS numbers.

Her skill choice considered the overall DPS increase for all the ranged dealers standing in line with her.

Time Acceleration is a skill with a long cooldown.

We had to let about five minutes pass in total just sitting there.

“Ready. We can start now.”

As Helena’s calm voice rang out, every party member stood up.

And so, the battle began.

As always, the start was smooth.

Everyone focused entirely on the raid, keeping their senses sharp.

No one died until the split pattern appeared.

From there, things continued to flow smoothly.

“Die!”

Honestly speaking, the conditions of the party members felt overwhelming.

If they kept this up, they’d feel more fatigue later…

I shook my head. I shouldn’t entertain such thoughts as the guild leader, especially when the party members were putting in such effort.

I too had to respond to that enthusiasm.

Strength surged into my hand gripping the sword. As I rapidly swung, the white dragon danced at the sword’s tip.

Swish!

The extended sword strike made the Elder’s body tremble considerably, signalling the arrival of the next pattern.

“Portal appearing!”

It was time for the designated four dealers to enter.

I turned and dashed to my assigned position.

Whoosh—

In an instant, the world flipped upside down.

As I entered the segment of the broken world, monsters began to pour in along the shattered paths.

It was a long, straight cave. No need to wander; I just charged on ahead.

With the [Flight] skill slightly helping me float, I used [Charge] off the wall, followed by [Dragon Slash] to close the distance rapidly.

Less than three seconds after entering the portal, I reached the gem of the other world.

I instantly swung my sword, shattering the gem.

Crash!

The instant I shattered the gem, my body returned to the original battlefield.

Just as I fell from the sky, I swung at the Elder.

The white dragon, filled with magic, pierced the Elder’s body.

The dealers who smashed the other world’s gems received a buff called [Power of the Other World].

Honestly, I didn’t know exactly what that buff did.

I hadn’t seen the subsequent patterns yet.

Crash!

The portals that had opened up were all destroyed, and the remaining three dealers fell into the scene.

Helena, Hwarang, and Yerin.

They were the strongest dealers in the party.

Swinging my sword, I quickly scanned the progress of the raid. There were still no fallen members on the floor.

It was an improvement over yesterday’s progress.

“Boss health is down to 30%!”

With Dogrik, the main tank’s shout, the Elder’s body split once again.

The Emperor’s body and the Prophet’s body started teleporting and firing beams in all directions.

The summoned bomb spheres were doubled in number.

The Elder’s main body had now transformed into a mass of tentacles.

With only the head remaining, the Elder’s body floated and swung its tentacles.

“We’re almost there! Everyone focus!”

Clearance was within reach. The Elder’s health was dropping rapidly, now down to 20%.

Until now, no one had died. Honestly speaking, that was bordering on miraculous.

It was incredible how these clumsy players had managed to get this far.

At that moment, the next pattern of the Elder began.

It was a pattern we hadn’t experienced before, one that hadn’t leaked outside.

The Elder’s body floated into the air, creating a massive portal across the entirety of the boss room.

From the generated portal, tiny, squid-like monsters began to pour out.

Each of them was an elite monster. Their attack power was non-negligible.

“Sub Tank!”

It was time for the slacking sub-tanks to spring into action.

“Casters, please take out the minions with your area damage!”

The party members were already doing just that without needing to be told.

But—

“They don’t die!”

“They have too much health!”

The voices of the party members rang out in what sounded like screams.

They were right. The newly appeared elite monsters weren’t losing any health.

The elite monsters kept pouring in. If the numbers increased any further, the healer wouldn’t be able to handle the tank’s diminishing health.

The sharp pain prickled at my head the moment a massive meteor fell from the sky, obliterating some of the elite monsters.

Boom!

It was Helena.

While other party members couldn’t handle it, Helena could.

What was the difference between her and the other members?

[Power of the Other World]

The buff effect gained from breaking the gem, crossing dimensions.

That was the key.

“Hwarang! Yerin! Helena! Focus on taking out the minions! Other dealers, focus on the boss only!”

As soon as I realized that, I shouted and sprinted forward. Almost there.

Right in front of me, the sword pointed straight at an elite monster; suddenly, the ground beneath me began to wobble, and my body vanished, forming the shape of a white dragon.

Craaack!

The rapidly shot white dragon began to engulf the elite monsters.

It seemed the buff from the Power of the Other World added extra damage to those monsters.

The amassed monsters got swept away in an instant.

The progress was looking good.

Just as I thought and smiled.

Boom—!

A massive beam shot out, sweeping away the distant dealer line.

It was a deadly strike.

In an instant, five dealers were taken down.

Detonation spheres exploded all around, generating the otherworldly portals, leaving no room to breathe. It was an unavoidable death.

Five dealers were down, and the rate at which the boss’s health decreased began to slow.

Once again, Boom!

The second beam erupted.

This time, more members were lost.

A total of twelve dealers had fallen.

The Elder had 10% of its health remaining.

If we dragged the battle out any longer, we’d find ourselves unable to stand at all.

The floor would become completely consumed by those otherworldly portals.

At that moment, a healer misstepped, getting flung outside the boss room.

Afterwards, the beam patterns continued to pour down, and at least two members from our party kept getting knocked out.

Boss’s remaining health was down to 7%.

Remaining members: total of 7.

One main tank.

One sub tank.

Three dealers.

One healer.

A situation where calling it a wipe wouldn’t be surprising.

The boss room was completely overrun by spheres at this point.

The location I stood on was about to become submerged as well due to the approaching spheres.

At that moment, Helena abandoned dealing with the elite monsters, unleashing all her skills onto the boss.

However, during the casting of her long skill, she was hit by the beam pattern and fell.

She turned gray and collapsed where she stood.

Remaining boss health: 4%.

At that moment, the main tank Dogrik fell.

There was no other way left. It was time to dump all our attacks onto the boss as it stood.

“Forget about minion clearing! Everyone focus on boss damage!”

As we abandoned clearing the minions, the sub tank quickly fell as well. It was due to the enormous number of elite monsters appearing through the otherworldly portal.

After the tank fell, the healer was taken down next.

And shortly after, Hwarang, who was shooting from a distance, couldn’t dodge the beam pattern and met the same fate.

I was the only party member left standing.

“Uaaah!”

Boss’s remaining health: 3%.

I used my Flight skill, soaring straight towards the boss. From there, I unleashed all skills I could use in the air.

The energy of the white dragon materialized at the sword tip, piercing the Elder’s body.

Remaining health: 1%.

The Elder was on the brink of death, and so was I.

I couldn’t dodge the incoming attack. With all the party members down, the splitting bodies’ beam patterns rained down on me.

Boom!

I couldn’t evade. I had to take them all.

However, the [Immortal] skill activated, locking my health at 1.

The timeframe given to me was only three seconds.

But my body was free-falling downward.

The moment my legs hit the ground, I would be flung out through the portal.

I desperately swung my sword.

I’d used all the skills I could in the air, leaving me with only basic attacks.

I swung rapidly, but the Elder’s health stubbornly remained at 1%.

At that moment, my random kick connected with an elite monster.

Touching that monster meant I’d be grounded.

The remaining duration of my Immortal skill was one second.

Bright flames flickered in my mind as I quickly made a decision. My collapsed posture adjusted into a perfect skill motion.

Slash!

The white dragon shot forth from the sword, spinning and tearing through the Elder’s body.

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