Your Commander-in-Chief – Chapter 268

“Is there going to be a Raid Hard Mode?”

“That’s right!”

I rested my chin on the table, watching Jupiter bounce around in front of me.

Could Jupiter’s words really be true?

Raid Hard Mode.

It’s common for RPG games to remix and release previously launched raids with added difficulty.

But Deron had never rehashed a released raid.

Suddenly declaring a hard mode? It seemed too unbelievable.

Especially since the source of the info was Jupiter.

“Where did you hear that?”

“Of course, it’s from the Deron gallery!”

As expected.

I sighed and shook my head.

“Jupiter, Deron isn’t going to release a Raid Hard Mode.”

“Why not? According to a post on the gallery, it sounds pretty plausible.”

Jupiter said that and pulled up a link right in front of me.

The semi-transparent window displayed a post that Jupiter had bookmarked.

“Hmm…”

The post’s content stated that the sudden emergence of the True Blood race had upset the balance.

As a result, the raid dungeon had become absurdly easy to clear.

Naturally, the hardcore raiders had begun to rage, and Deron was supposedly preparing a raid with a new difficulty to match…

It was quite a convincing story.

“The source is the writer’s acquaintance?”

“That’s right!”

“I don’t even know what this acquaintance does.”

“True. But isn’t it obvious? Someone who knows this much information would be closely tied to Deron…”

“Jupiter.”

“… What is it?”

“Is the raid preparation all set?”

“Ah, ahh!”

With a confident expression, Jupiter was suddenly fumbling through his inventory at my words.

That’s right. Today was the launch ceremony for the Soft & Chewy Cow 2nd Raid Party.

Jupiter had been honorably assigned the position of main tank.

“Preparations are perfect!”

Jupiter leapt high into the air and pounded his chest proudly.

The shimmering full plate armor he wore echoed cutely with each impact.

Thump! Thump!

I smiled softly at the scene.

Getting so excited just because he could participate in a raid was adorable.

It felt as if I was looking at my past self.

Of course, back then, I wasn’t in such a cute girl form…

“Ready to go?”

“Phew…”

I stood up, guiding the still-breathing Jupiter out of the small café.

We arrived at the front of the raid dungeon.

Many party members were already there, chatting with one another.

“Quite a lot…”

Jupiter mumbled as he surveyed the party members.

That wasn’t a remark implying the number of people, though.

Jupiter’s gaze scanned the members’ heads above.

Guild Soft & Chewy Cow.

Most of the 2nd Raid Party were our guild members.

Jupiter exhaled slowly and looked up at his own head.

[Slow Forest]

Jupiter’s guild had changed frequently, but he hadn’t switched since entering that one.

Could he have taken a liking to that guild?

A thought popped into my mind, and I suggested to Jupiter.

“Want to switch guilds?”

“No, it’s fine. I like it here.”

But Jupiter shook his head and refused.

I was a bit disappointed, but it was somewhat expected.

“Really? Hmm… then, uh… how about you greet the other party members for now? I need to do a headcount.”

“By, by myself?”

“Yep.”

Jupiter stepped back with a startled expression at my words.

Why was this guy, who always charged headfirst at monsters, so shy?

I gave Jupiter’s back a light push.

“Go on.”

“Ah, ahh…”

Of course, Jupiter wasn’t one to be easily pushed aside.

Currently, I was in my alternate character form as Yeo, so I couldn’t overpower him.

But Jupiter pretended to yield and headed toward the party members.

At first, he was stiff and awkward, but as time passed, he began chatting comfortably with them.

I watched him with a gentle smile.

When I suggested making Jupiter the main tank, he had resisted so much…

But all that resistance had disappeared by now.

I showed him videos proving his abilities.

“Welcome.”

“Oh, Helena.”

I turned my gaze at the voice that came from right next to me.

Standing there was Helena, clad in a bright red robe.

As she approached, Helena pulled me into a gentle embrace.

The closeness felt absurd, but I was now used to it.

The Helena here wasn’t really Helena.

Nickname [Helena2]

In other words, her alternate character.

The outfit, job tree, and customization were all the same as her main character.

This was Helena2.

“Are you not going with the Duck Bomb build?”

“No, I find this more comfortable.”

“Hmm…”

Could Helena really manage to level up an alternate character when she couldn’t invest much time in her main?

That was a question that popped into my head when she mentioned she was making an alternate character in the first place.

But Helena resolved everything with gold.

Character creation—she used gold to summon a bus driver and quickly pushed through all the quests.

Even for character specs, it was the same story.

The Transcendence Stones spilling from her inventory had turned her into a raid dealer practically overnight.

Suddenly, there was another wizard.

I was left in disbelief, staring at Helena’s alternate character.

“Why did you suddenly create an alternate character?”

“Because I want to spend more time with you.”

Was reality time not enough?

Helena had created an alternate character just to join the 2nd Raid Party.

It didn’t feel bad. In fact, it felt good.

My heart fluttered, my toes curled up, and an inexplicable smile formed on my lips.

“Yeo.”

“Ah, yeah.”

“We have to start the raid.”

“Oh, right!”

I nodded at Helena’s prompt and clapped my hands.

Clap clap—!

The sound was small, but all 39 party members around turned their attention to us.

Among them, 36 were from our Soft & Chewy Cow guild.

Including Jupiter, there were only three external members.

“Is everyone ready?”

“Yes!”

“Of course!”

The party members replied enthusiastically, and Jupiter jumped up, waving his arms.

That sight made the nearby party members smile a little.

Such a cute appearance.

“Let’s go!”

Jupiter declared boldly.

It was a bit over the top, but not in a bad way.

“Hiya!”

With a loud shout, Jupiter charged forward.

But this wasn’t a reckless move.

His actions were thoroughly calculated.

He only charged after confirming there were no other monsters around.

I watched him and asked Helena.

“Pretty good, right?”

“… What do you mean?”

“Jupiter.”

“Why about Jupiter?”

Helena answered as if genuinely confused.

Her gaze wasn’t on Jupiter; it was exclusively fixed on me, even in this moment of taking down a monster.

I was wrong. I wanted to subtly show off Jupiter’s growth while boasting about my skills, but Helena didn’t seem interested in Jupiter at all.

“Hmm…”

I ended up shutting my mouth.

“Hiya!”

Boom! Boom!

Jupiter shouted energetically, safely leading the party members to the first named monster.

Since he’d bypassed unnecessary monsters, we had significantly reduced our time.

It seemed he had studied hard by watching videos alone.

His leading skills were not bad.

“First Named!”

Jupiter exclaimed with the excitement of a child in front of a theme park ride.

A named monster was sitting alone in a wide open area.

[Approaching Shadow of Moonlight]

It was a doppelganger monster that randomly copied one of the appearances and skills of the 40 party members and fought.

Who would it resemble this time?

I just hoped it wouldn’t turn into my form again.

I awkwardly smiled and signalled to Jupiter.

“Go!”

Receiving my signal, Jupiter dashed towards the black shadow without hesitation.

In that instant, the black shadow spread wide, sweeping over the 40 party members.

It was about to begin.

Wiggle wiggle.

The shadow began to move strangely and soon created the form of a small girl.

Long, muddy white hair cascading down.

Clad in full plate mail, holding a large shield, and with a shining Holy Sword.

[Approaching ‘Jupiter’s Shadow]

The user chosen by the named monster was Jupiter.

Jupiter stood frozen in surprise at his own sudden appearance.

“Whoa… this is… my… the corrupted form of the Light Knight Jupiter…!”

He began to immerse himself in his own role playing in front of the named monster.

Fwoosh—!

At that moment, a roaring sound of flames erupted.

Right beside me, a fiery sphere was soaring from Helena’s hands.

Without a hint of hesitation, Helena hurled that fireball at Shadow Jupiter.

Swoosh—!

Boom—!

The flames blazed high.

Shadow Jupiter was engulfed in the flames, and a forced battle began.