Your Commander-in-Chief – Chapter 334

The raid situation was flowing smoothly.

Up to this point, there had been no issues. That is, until the first pattern appeared.

As everyone frantically unleashed their skills to chip away at the health of the massive chunk-like lion, the first area attack pattern finally began.

[Kwaaaak!]

The enormous beast howled into the sky.

Everyone likely sensed it without any warning, but just in case, I shouted loudly.

“Area attack! Everyone, get ready to jump!”

I too was ready to jump.

Had I not spent a week training my stamina for this very moment?

It was time to show the fruits of that training.

“Dodge!”

Right after the roar, a massive area attack spread across the ground.

Standing on this would mean getting crushed by falling rocks from the sky.

I dashed alongside Sohee towards the boss.

[Hahaha! This guy! This guy!]

The spot closest to the boss.

Even with the area attack spreading across the ground, the main tank, Jupiter, swung his holy sword.

I frowned at the sight. Jupiter wasn’t foolish. There was no way he had forgotten the pattern itself.

So was he simply engrossed in attacking, oblivious to his surroundings?

No, that wasn’t it either. Even while attacking the boss, Jupiter was periodically checking the positions of the party members.

“Jupiter! Dodge!”

[Don’t worry about me!]

How many would not be worried when the main tank was acting erratically?

I rushed forward with a desperate expression.

Boom!

Immediately, a giant rock crashed down.

In the wake of the newly started area attack, party members were scattering in all directions in panic.

At that moment, I noticed Jupiter’s unusual movement.

[Hahaha!]

With a hearty laugh, Jupiter slid backward.

Moving at incredible speed, he narrowly escaped the area attack.

But that didn’t mean the attack was over. He had to keep dodging falling rocks for a while.

What on earth was his movement?

Jupiter moved in a way that was completely different from the Snow Mage zipping around on a bike or the party members flying by in inline skates.

It was as if… yes, it seemed there was something pulling Jupiter’s body, forcing him to move.

It was then.

Jupiter, who had been gliding rapidly around the boss, suddenly soared into the sky.

[Hyaaaah!]

It looked like he was preparing a finishing blow.

Ascending into the air, Jupiter flailed his legs and raised his holy sword high.

“Could it be…”

I murmured as I watched that sight.

And soon, that thought turned into certainty.

[Take this!]

With a mighty shout, Jupiter rushed towards the boss.

Yet the way he moved looked less like running and more like being pulled by an invisible force.

Could it be he planned to do some kind of wire action?

I couldn’t help but chuckle at Jupiter’s ridiculous preparations and came to a halt.

The area attack pattern had ended, so there was no need to keep running.

“Hah… Hah…”

My heart was pounding, and my legs were trembling.

I was short of breath, but I could still hold on for now.

The weeklong stamina training hadn’t been in vain.

I quickly scanned to check on the surviving members.

There were a total of 30 of us left, including myself.

Nine dealers had died, and the sub-tank had also fallen.

But that was fine. Even though many dealers had died, we had dealt an ample amount of damage already.

“Everyone, focus on damage!”

[Hah… Hah…]

[Oh man, I’m dying…]

[My back…]

Of course, surviving didn’t mean everyone was okay.

Some party members, having expended all their energy running, began to slump on the ground, gasping for breath.

They looked incapable of dealing damage in their current state.

I bit my lip.

A person’s stamina is limited. It meant we couldn’t continuously engage in intense battles like in Deron.

The longer we took to retry, the worse the raid results would become.

We must finish it on this first try.

“Only one main healer left, everyone deal damage!”

Jupiter might find it a bit tough, but right now, this was the right approach.

“Hang in there, Jupiter!”

[Uhaaaah!]

Jupiter answered not with words, but with a massive shout.

With excitement, he swung his holy sword.

Jupiter was fully immersed in the situation itself.

Time flowed on as we focused our damage.

The boss’s health had already been whittled down to 40%.

At that moment, the area attack pattern started again.

[Kwaaaak!]

“Get ready to jump again!”

Considering how fast the boss’s health was dropping, if we could endure this pattern safely, we might finish it off in the next damage time.

“Last one! Just endure this!”

Encouraging the party members, I began to sprint again.

The ones who had been collapsed on the ground watching also started to run after me.

“Hek…! Hek…!”

As soon as the sprint began anew, my body began to scream in protest.

Those riding bikes or on inline skates looked fine but the expressions of the other party members mirrored mine.

[Yap! Hah!]

Even at this moment, Jupiter was diligently dealing damage while swinging his holy sword.

Despite being a tank, Jupiter wore equipment from the tail end of the season.

It was enough to deal substantial damage even to the older version of the raid boss.

With every dance of Jupiter’s sword, the boss’s health visibly dropped.

Of course, the most notable dealer among them was the Snow Mage.

Riding a bike and spinning wide circles, she kept firing blue ice from her palms.

To others, it would have just looked like a magician sitting on an invisible chair and spinning around.

Eventually, I reached my limit after running for a while.

I collapsed onto the ground, gasping.

“I can’t… run anymore…”

“Want me to carry you?”

“Yeah…”

I didn’t refuse Sohee’s offer.

As the party leader, I didn’t want to be seen being carried, but still, I had to clear the raid for now.

Sohee carried me on her back, and I swung my translucent holographic staff to summon a duck.

“Take this!”

“Huuh…”

Even Sohee, who had boundless stamina, seemed slightly strained carrying me as she began to breathe heavily.

Crash!

[Hwaaaaak!]

Now, party members began falling one by one, unable to endure any longer.

Some gave their all until the end, while others calmly accepted their deaths.

[Party Leader…]

[This is it for me…]

“Nooo!!!”

I could fully understand why the party members had no choice but to stop.

Because they couldn’t run with the infinite stamina like in the game.

Right now, wasn’t I being carried by Sohee?

In this place, D.R., a situation that couldn’t possibly happen in the virtual Deron was unfolding.

“Oi!”

As the area pattern was about to conclude,

I jumped off Sohee’s back and gave the order.

“Start dealing damage!”

The number of survivors left totaled 20.

That meant 10 people had died to one pattern.

But still, 20 was better than nothing.

The remaining party members poured their skills together along with me.

Colorful lights burst forth from every direction.

Translucent holographic effects adorned the massive monster.

Even in that moment, Jupiter was being dragged around while swinging his sword.

[Hyaaaah!]

In the end, after giving everything we had, we managed to achieve:

[Krurur…]

Boom!

The massive chunk collapsed with a thud, signaling the end of the raid.

“Hik… Hik…”

I sat down on the ground, breathing heavily.

The raid was over. I could say with certainty that amidst my long Deron life,

this short raid was the one with the highest difficulty.

[Hoohoo!]

Like an angel descending from the heavens,

Jupiter fluttered her wings and landed on the ground.

She seemed quite pleased with the wire action she had used.

[What do you think, Blood Demon King…?]

Jupiter asked, evidently seeking praise.

With her chest heaving fast and her slightly ajar mouth,

that sparkling gaze was simply adorable.

I nodded and replied.

“You did well. You were the best…”

[The be, best…!]

That’s right. Jupiter was undeniably the best in this raid.

Thanks to her free movements and rapid mobility using the wire, she managed to dodge a significant chunk of the boss’s patterns, allowing us to switch the healers back into dealers.

If Jupiter hadn’t shown up with the wires, this raid would have most likely failed.

“Is that a wire?”

I asked Jupiter just to confirm.

She jumped in surprise.

She turned her head slightly and pretended not to know.

[W-who says it’s a wire? I don’t know what you’re talking about…]

“Hmm…”

I decided not to press further. What could I do if she didn’t want to reveal it?

There were no achievements and no drop items.

But today’s experience would remain a treasured memory.

I called back the out party members for the final wrap-up.

“Thank you for your hard work. You all did well.”

The party members exchanged bittersweet smiles and greetings.

After watching them for a while, I carefully spoke up.

“So, everyone. How was it?”

As my voice flowed out, the party members naturally focused their eyes on me.

In the midst of the quiet atmosphere, I continued.

“Is there anyone who would like to use this when D.R. is released?”

I asked just to check.

However, no one answered my question.

They must all be thinking the same thing.

[Umm… I think I’ll buy it…]

“Really?”

The one who raised her hand was the Snow Mage.

I recalled that her preferences were a bit unique.

Indeed, the Snow Mage genuinely seemed to enjoy the raid and smiled unlike the others.

“I think I’ll buy it too, but I still don’t plan on doing raids in real life.”

[Hoo…]

The party members exhaled a sigh of relief at my words.

Did they really think I would conduct another raid like this?

I chuckled and shook my head in disbelief.

How many people would want to raid in a way that sacrifices the advantages of the virtual world, now only with downsides?

Of course, if someone used wires like Jupiter, it might be feasible.

But that wasn’t something I was eager to do.

I’d rather connect to Deron using a capsule.

“Is there anyone against disbanding this temporary raid that’s currently formed?”

Since we cleared the raid, our objective was met.

Though there were other raids left, I had no desire to toil through another new raid.

If this boss’s patterns had been tougher, it would have been an even worse experience.

“No objections then. We’ll disband. Everyone, thank you for your hard work. I hope you enjoy the remaining testing period.”

I declared the disbandment with those final words.

Only then did the party members start to vanish.

Each saying their goodbyes with bittersweet expressions as they disappeared in a burst of light.

Jupiter demonstrated her wire movement one last time.

[Well then, I’m off…!]

With her farewell, she soared into the sky.

Suspended in mid-air, she disappeared in a glow.

Truly…

“Let’s go too.”

“Yeah.”

I held hands with Sohee as we left the playground.

As we approached the parked car, Sohee spoke up.

“Are we not exercising anymore?”

“Exercise? Nah? I’m still going to do it?”

“… Why? We’re not going to do D.R. anymore, right?”

“That’s true, but I feel like I should. Ah, don’t worry. As promised, I won’t do any strength training.”

I smiled slightly as I answered Sohee’s words.

I had to keep in shape for the nights ahead.