Chapter 9: The Boss Raid Proposal

After contemplating the proposal for a moment, Se-hyeon nodded.

“A boss raid? Fine. Let’s do it. But even if the raid is successful, I’ll likely take the vast majority of the contribution points. Are you okay with that?”

His Shadow Orbs had obliterated an Elite Kobold in just two hits. While a Boss would certainly be sturdier, it was still only an F-rank dungeon. As long as he avoided a direct hit from the Boss’s signature attacks, the raid shouldn’t be too difficult. The only issue was the contribution distribution.

Choi Min-cheol laughed heartily. “Haha, that’s perfectly fine! I never expected to take the top spot anyway. Rewards are given to the top ten contributors. I’m just aiming for second place. The quality might be lower than yours, but it’s still a Boss raid reward. That’s a huge win for us.”

Contribution points didn’t just determine rank; they dictated the quality of the loot. If one person monopolized the points, others received lesser rewards. However, even a low-tier Boss reward was leagues better than anything dropped by common mobs.

“Understood,” Se-hyeon said. “Then we need to clear out the remaining Kobolds as quickly as possible.”

To trigger a Boss spawn, every monster in the dungeon had to be eliminated. Only then would the path to the Boss Room open. As they discussed the logistics, other hunters nearby began to chime in.

“U-um… we’ll hand over all our kills too! Can we please join the raid?” “Us too! We’ll sign over everything we’ve hunted! Just let us in!”

The same hunters who were bickering over copper and hides minutes ago were now begging to give it all away. They had seen Se-hyeon’s overwhelming power and realized that with him, a Boss kill was a guaranteed success—and the rewards would far outweigh the loss of a few Kobold carcasses.

“I don’t mind, but Choi Min-cheol was the one who proposed it. It’s up to him,” Se-hyeon said.

Adding more people would potentially dilute Min-cheol’s contribution and threaten his second-place ranking. To Se-hyeon’s surprise, Min-cheol was cool about it.

“I’m okay with it. I’m putting my faith in Hunter Jang Se-hyeon, but a Boss raid is never easy. More people means a safer run for everyone.”

“Then it’s settled. Shall we go finish off the rest?”

“Wait,” Min-cheol interrupted. “You used a lot of mana crushing that wave. Why don’t you rest and recover while we handle the stragglers? There aren’t many left; we can clear them quickly.”

Min-cheol wanted his ‘ace’ at 100%. If Se-hyeon ran out of mana mid-fight, they were all dead.

“Hmm. Alright, I’ll do that.”

In truth, Se-hyeon still had plenty of mana, and the Fragment of Kartemian was already regenerating it at a 50% increased rate. But he wasn’t going to turn down a chance to sit back while others did the grunt work.

“We’ll be back soon! Let’s go, everyone! Let’s see what a Boss reward actually looks like!” Min-cheol shouted, and the morale of the hunters soared.

As the parties scattered to hunt the remaining mobs, Se-hyeon pulled out his phone again.

Ring… ring… — “Ah! Hunter Jang Se-hyeon! I heard a wave broke out. Are you okay? I pulled the porters back as soon as I heard!”

“The wave is settled,” Se-hyeon said. “I need you to send the porters back in. I have a lot of bodies to move.”

— “What? Settled? How…?” Park Sang-su sounded breathless. Waves caused by Elites usually required Association intervention or a desperate defensive stand at the entrance.

“Just send them. And send as many as you can—there’s a lot.”

— “Understood. How many exactly?”

“Including the ones from earlier, 116.”

— “Cough! 116?! Are you serious?”

“Yes. One of them is an Elite Kobold.”

— “Unbelievable… 116 in this short a time? Okay, I’m sending every porter I have on payroll!”

As Se-hyeon hung up, Hong Dae-cheol approached him. “Are you sure about this? Boss raids in F-rank dungeons usually involve a full team of D-ranks. Right now, you’re the only D-rank here.”

“Do I look like a ‘normal’ D-rank to you, Hong Dae-cheol?”

Dae-cheol paused, then sighed. “No. Definitely not. I’ve never seen a D-rank do what you did.”

“Exactly. I don’t think I’m normal either. That’s why I think the Boss is doable.”

Se-hyeon had watched countless raid videos online. Since F-rank dungeons were the most common, their Boss patterns were well-documented. He felt confident that his Magic Combat Tactics and massive mana pool would see them through.

A short while later, a swarm of porters arrived, clearing the battlefield like a vacuum. Once the area was clean, the hunting parties returned one by one.

“Every monster in the dungeon is dead. The path to the Boss Room is open.”

Se-hyeon looked at the tired hunters. “I’m fully rested, but you guys look spent. Do you want to take a break before we go in?”

“Yeah, we need to. This is a Boss raid; we need to be at our best,” Min-cheol agreed.

They spent about an hour resting and repairing gear. As the time passed, Min-cheol grew restless.

“That’s enough rest. The Association’s system will have registered the 95% clear rate by now. If we don’t hurry, their official raid team will show up and take the Boss from under us.”

The hunters bristled at that. They hated it when ‘official’ teams swooped in to take the glory after locals did all the hard work. They quickly stood up and followed Se-hyeon toward the heart of the dungeon.

The Boss Room

A massive iron door blocked their path.

“Do we just push it open?” Se-hyeon asked.

“Yes. It takes a lot of strength. Usually, one D-rank can do it, but we’ll need 4 or 5 of our melee guys to shove it.”

The warriors stepped forward. “Hrrr-yah!”

Greeeeeeak!

The door groaned open just wide enough for them to slip through. As the twenty-one hunters entered the grand chamber, a system message echoed in everyone’s ears:

[21 participants have entered the Boss Room. The Boss will spawn in 1 minute.] [Rewards will be distributed based on contribution for the top 10 ranks.] [The Boss Room is now sealed. It will remain locked until either the Awakened or the Boss is annihilated.]

The gravity of the situation finally hit them. If they failed, there was no running away. The air grew heavy with tension.

“Se-hyeon,” Min-cheol said, his voice low. “Our tankers can rotate to hold the Boss for 20 to 40 minutes tops. That’s your window. Can you finish it by then?”

“I can,” Se-hyeon replied, trusting in the destructive power of his orbs.

“Then we’re counting on you.”

The minute passed. Then, in a burst of mana, the Boss of the Kobold Nest appeared: General Kobold.

— KRAAAA-AAAAAARGH!

Standing three meters tall with a roar that shook the very marrow of their bones, the General looked terrifying. Several hunters turned pale. Se-hyeon, however, was thinking something else.

‘Tsk. Honestly, this would be easier alone. I wanted to spawn 30 orbs and just nuke him the second he appeared, but if I kill him instantly, no one else gets contribution points. That would cause a mess.’

If he achieved 100% contribution, the others would get nothing for their risk. He had to let them engage first.

“Let’s go!”

Choi Min-cheol charged forward, shield raised, with the other tankers following close behind.