Your Commander-in-Chief – Chapter 87

If I had to name the biggest downside of a VR Game, it would be that people get tired easily.

Naturally, as the Raid progressed, everyone’s focus just dropped like a rock.

It was nearing 10 PM. Our squishy-soft guild was struggling to get past the second Named Monster, [Sneaky Ratman Katoss].

When I set up the Raid Party, I said that the trial time would end by 10 PM.

The shutdown regulations binding my ankles had disappeared, but I couldn’t change the originally set time.

Forty players need to move as one team. If I extended the trial time just because I had some leeway, it would disrupt the daily routines of the party members.

“Let’s do one last try and regroup tomorrow.”

Starting the last try of the day with my guild members.

[Sneaky Ratman Katoss] was a Named Monster that I couldn’t remember existing.

It was no longer surprising. I had come to accept that there were differences between this world and the Deron I knew.

Dogrik, clutching a massive shield, slowly moved forward as the battle began.

Katoss, with his huge rat head, charged forward, letting out a horrifying scream.

[Kyieeeek!]

Katoss’s attack induced serious bleeding.

Even with a shield, if you got hit by that attack, there was no escaping the bleed.

The moment red blood gushed out from Dogrik’s body, huge plague rats sprang up from all directions, rushing towards him.

This was Katoss’s most basic pattern.

Ranged dealers had to deal with the endless swarms of giant plague rats throughout the battle.

The status effect [Bleed] indicated a debuff that continuously drained the target’s health and could stack.

The basic strategy against Katoss was to keep the stack of bleeding as low as possible.

Using the healer’s cure skill and bleed recovery potions, we had to endure as best we could.

If we coordinated well with the party members, it was a manageable tactic.

Everyone thought that way—until Katoss executed his pattern.

The moment Katoss’s health dropped to 50%, hell truly began.

If the giant rats that appeared all over the map stayed alive for more than five seconds, Katoss would teleport behind them and consume them.

Having eaten a rat, Katoss would recover 10% of his health and significantly boost his stats before charging towards the nearest player.

Aside from that, there were no special patterns.

However, the spawn rate of the huge plague rats was the issue.

The longer the battle dragged on, the shorter the spawn interval for those plague rats became.

This try didn’t change much either.

Katoss consumed everyone who was overwhelmed by the tidal wave of rats.

“Let’s wrap it up for today!”

The moment the clock struck ten, I raised my arms and shouted.

Party members began to leave one by one with disappointed faces.

We hadn’t even taken down the first Named Monster on the first day.

It was inevitable to feel drained.

I didn’t show it in front of the guild members, but I felt a deep sigh wanting to escape.

In front of the Raid Dungeon.

I was sitting atop a large boulder, refilling my meager potions.

Helena, who hadn’t left yet, approached me.

“Yeo.”

“Yeah?”

“I think we can clear Katoss.”

“Really… Katoss?”

“Yeah.”

Helena nodded at my question and used blink to move next to me.

I shifted slightly to the side to make her comfortable.

“What’s the plan? What do we need to do?”

“Once Katoss’s health drops to 50%, he teleports.”

“Right.”

“I was thinking we could time it then.”

“Time it when?”

“Yeah, there’s a brief moment when Katoss is about to eat a rat.”

I nodded at Helena’s words.

Indeed, there was a moment before Katoss gobbled up the rat.

It was just that he moved so suddenly there was hardly any time to act.

“We’ll attack the rat then and make it explode.”

“Explode the rat?”

“Yeah. Then Katoss won’t be able to eat it.”

“But while we deal with the rats, will that even be possible? He suddenly teleports, so how can we predict where he’ll bounce to?”

“I think we just won’t deal with the rats.”

“We just won’t deal with the rats…?”

Helena nodded and began to outline her proposed strategy.

Before Katoss executes his teleportation pattern, we would maintain the current approach until his health drops to 50%, and we wouldn’t deal with the plague rats.

The undealt plague rats would go after the bleeding tank, and Katoss would teleport behind the plague rat.

At that moment, the ranged dealers would aim accurately and hit the plague rat in Katoss’s hand to deal damage.

Unable to recover health from not swallowing a rat, Katoss will teleport again and grab a new plague rat.

Then the ranged dealers would attack Katoss again along with the new plague rat.

It would repeat like that.

“Can… can that actually work?”

I asked with a trembling voice, but I felt a sense of clarity rising.

I was already visualizing it in my mind.

“Let’s try it tomorrow.”

Helena said with a light laugh.

It was an incredibly pretty smile.

*

The next day.

Numerous Raid Parties besides ours challenged the Raid, but there was still no news of a clear.

From what I heard on the Deron forum, most parties were stuck on the second Named Monster, [Sneaky Ratman Katoss].

At 5 PM.

It was our squishy-soft raid party’s time.

Before entering the dungeon, I checked the faces of my guild members.

Out of caution, I hadn’t mentioned the strategy Helena had told me the previous day.

“We’re changing tactics for the second Named Monster, Katoss. I’ll explain once we get inside the dungeon.”

The party members nodded obediently.

They must have felt it. That we couldn’t clear it with the ordinary methods.

Before entering the Raid Dungeon, I took a bounce, feeling the gazes of the guild members on me.

Now, it was at a level where my body reacted before my mind even had to say it.

“Wow, how can he jump like that?”

“He’s not a Blood Demon King, but a freaking rabbit.”

The other members casually said something pretty embarrassing.

I slightly turned my head, frowned, and cleared my throat.

“Ahem… Everyone, focus up.”

I began explaining Helena’s strategy to the party members.

Upon hearing my explanation, the guild members expressed admiration, saying it sounded convincing.

“Hwarang.”

“Me?”

“Yeah. You’re the most important.”

Among the ranged dealers I knew, Hwarang had the highest accuracy and reaction speed.

“Target the rat.”

“Uh, I’ll give it a shot…”

Following the now reset path, we reached the front of the rat-human, Katoss, once more.

Dogrik was feeling significant pressure as he gulped nervously while checking his weapon.

“Magicians, do not use area skills.”

I cautioned the mages before entering the battle.

If they exploded all at once while the plague rats were gathering, the main tank standing in front would melt down in an instant.

“We’re moving in.”

With Dogrik’s words, the battle began.

The start was no different from yesterday.

Everyone moved diligently according to the conveyed tactics.

It was at the moment Katoss’s health dropped to 52%.

It was time to stop dealing damage and gather the rats.

“Everyone, do not hit the rats!”

As my voice ended, enormous plague rats burst forth from all directions.

The giant rats rushed toward Dogrik, who was affected by bleeding.

The moment the plague rats reached Dogrik’s side, skills from the ranged dealers started pouring in.

Fireballs and ice arrows, along with basic attack skills and single-target skills capable of dealing significant damage, rained down.

Katoss’s health dropped to 50%.

With the predetermined cue, he executed his teleport.

He appeared right next to his original location.

The moment Katoss lifted a huge plague rat, Hwarang’s gun fired.

Bang-!

A thin flash shot through the air and exploded the plague rat. Katoss bit into empty air.

Cantos, unable to feast on the rat, didn’t recover any health. Shaking off the blood on his hands, he instantly teleported to the next rat.

Again, it wasn’t too far from the spot he originally stood.

Bang-!

Once more, Hwarang’s gun fired, causing the plague rat in Katoss’s hand to explode.

The tactic was working. Smiles began to spread on the faces of the other guild members.

After the teleportation pattern kicked in, no new patterns emerged.

Still, no one relaxed. No one could let their guard down until the battle was over.

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

Hwarang’s gun continued firing at one-second intervals.

And without fail, the plague rat Katoss was holding burst open.

As the battle dragged on, Katoss’s health steadily decreased.

3%

2%

1%

0%

[Kyieeek!]

Eventually, Katoss collapsed.

It felt a bit anticlimactic for a Named Monster I thought we couldn’t clear.

“Wow~!”

The moment Katoss fell, I raised my arms high and cheered.

This was a monster not present in the original Deron. And my guild and I had taken it down together.

How could I not be happy? I was even more thrilled than when I achieved the “Phercle” accomplishment in last season’s raid.

Bouncing up and down on the spot, I hugged Helena beside me.

It was all thanks to her.

If Helena hadn’t been there, I would certainly be sighing here, stuck at this spot again.

“Thank you!”

Slightly surprised by the sudden hug, Helena ruffled my hair as if we were back in school.

Accepting that familiar touch naturally, I felt burning gazes from behind.

They were from the guild members.

“Hmm…”

It seemed I had overshared the friendship a bit.

As the party leader, I had to be cautious about showing favoritism like this.

If the other members start feeling excluded, that raid party wouldn’t last long.

“Let’s check the items and move to the auction!”

I clapped my hands to lighten the mood.

But for some reason, those piercing gazes still wouldn’t fade.

I rubbed my cheeks and checked the items that had dropped to the ground.

These were the items that Katoss relinquished.

For all the trouble we went through, Katoss didn’t drop any special accessories.

Just some ordinary raid armor.