chapter 15
The dungeon wasn’t that far from the boss room, but the number of monsters pouring out at every corner kept growing, making it hard to rush through.
This time, wolf-type monsters appeared. Fast movement, high defense—taking them down wasn’t easy. And with those bastards swarming in from all directions, it was tricky to find a safe spot for damage.
I dodged a leaping monster’s attack with an evasion skill and started spamming fast-casting spells, when suddenly—someone latched onto me.
[Party] CottonCandyFox: KyAAAAkㅠ I’m scared!!!
[Party] CottonCandyFox: It hurts so much save meeeㅠ0ㅠ!!!
“……”
It was CottonCandyFox, of course, with her HP sliced in half after getting smacked by a monster.
Since me and WitchLetsGo, both ranged DPS, were kiting around to deal damage, Buffer CottonCandyFox and Healer HoneybeeBzzz also had to actively dodge and assist.
In situations like this, you were bound to take a hit or two. Compared to HoneybeeBzzz, who was frantically healing herself with just 20% HP left, CottonCandyFox was actually doing pretty well. Honestly, looked like she got hit on purpose.
[Party] CottonCandyFox: Sleepy-oppa
[Party] CottonCandyFox: Kill them fast, pleaaaseㅜㅡㅜ
[Party] CottonCandyFox: Fox is sooo scared~ ;ㅡ;
“Sigh…”
Right alongside that annoying «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» chat, buffs stacked on me like clockwork. Shaking my head, I nuked the monsters chasing CottonCandyFox. The sooner they were dead, the sooner that cursed chat stopped.
[Party] WitchLetsGo: All good but…
[Party] WitchLetsGo: Don’t you think you’re spamming mage buffs a little too much? ㅋㅋㅋㅋ
[Party] HoneybeeBzzz: Hey hey
[Party] HoneybeeBzzz: Keep that up and you’re never getting an attack speed buffㅡㅡ
[Party] WatDoUCongDoU: Fr ㅋㅋ
[Party] SuwonSpecialCity: Careful please
[Party] SuwonSpecialCity: I need attack speed too ffs
Buff stacks capped at three and the duration was short, so Buffers had to keep cycling buffs appropriate to each class nonstop. At WitchLetsGo’s complaint, CottonCandyFox smugly threw out more buffs.
[Party] CottonCandyFox: ^^
[Party] WatDoUCongDoU: Damn… sweet…
[Party] HoneybeeBzzz: Sweet… heh
[Party] WitchLetsGo: Are you f***ing serious ㅋㅋㅋ
[Party] WitchLetsGo: Y’all too much
[Party] SuwonSpecialCity: Bow your head Witch-nim ;;
Watching this nonsense made me sigh, but what was insane—they still executed everything perfectly. Monsters were dropping fast despite all the trolling.
‘No way this isn’t a party of alts…’
Considering their gear looked like standard quest rewards or cheap sets, their skill level and game knowledge were way too high. No way they were fresh max-level players. Way too many red flags.
They dodged attacks flawlessly, kept up banter, and still maintained DPS output. Definitely alt accounts.
Maybe they brought CottonCandyFox here to help level her, like me? But if they’re doing a raid dungeon, why bother with alts? Something didn’t add up.
[Party] CottonCandyFox: Sleepy-oppa you’re sooo good! >ㅡ<
[Party] CottonCandyFox: First time here, right?
[Party] CottonCandyFox: You haven’t even died once sooo impressive ㅇ.ㅇ
[Party] ImSoSleepy: Yeah first time
As soon as the monsters were cleared, CottonCandyFox dashed over and spammed me with cuteness and clingy emotes.
‘Seriously suspicious…’
But without question, the weirdest one was CottonCandyFox. Is this how netkama scammers operate these days? Honestly, I wanted to straight-up ask—has that crap actually worked on anyone before?
[Party] SuwonSpecialCity: Boss time
[Party] SuwonSpecialCity: We rushing in?
[Party] WatDoUCongDoU: Sleepy-nim, you good?
[Party] ImSoSleepy: gogo
Since it was Normal difficulty, we skipped mini-bosses and went straight to the main boss. Everyone stepped onto the warp portal, and a cutscene played.
「New… prey has arrived!」
The floor cracked open, flames burst out, and a massive demon with a lion’s head and huge fangs appeared. Gripping a gigantic hammer, this raid boss was Marbas, one of Solomon’s 72 demons.
The cutscene ended, and Marbas roared, towering in front of our huddled characters. His HP bar flashed full across the top, then vanished.
This was why dungeon raids were brutal—unlike field raids, you couldn’t see the HP bar. You had no idea how much damage you needed to dish out or how long you had to survive.
[Party] SuwonSpecialCity: Dodge early patterns no matter what
[Party] SuwonSpecialCity: If you get hit, don’t wait for heals—chug potions
[Party] WatDoUCongDoU: gogo
WatDoUCongDoU raised his greatsword, a white shield materializing midair. CottonCandyFox followed with her buffs.
Marbas had three phases. First phase: all his attacks only reached halfway across the map, so ranged DPS and supports had to stay beyond that range.
Second phase: the entire map fell under his attack zone, making it the only real window for ranged DPS to attack safely.
[Party] WitchLetsGo: Sleepy-nim
[Party] WitchLetsGo: You gotta move back more
[Party] WitchLetsGo: It’s fine to fall back to where Fox-nim is
[Party] ImSoSleepy: okok
I had watched guides, but first time being here, I wasn’t sure about the first-phase range. WitchLetsGo’s chat was a lifesaver.
As soon as I backed off, Marbas slammed his hammer into the ground, kicking off the raid. The earth rumbled, screen shaking violently.
「Don’t expect to leave here alive!」
The first-phase opening line. Just like in the guides, I began charging Thunder first.
Fireball hit harder, but with CC¹ still viable in phase one, Thunder’s built-in stun made it the better choice.
Krrrrr! The beast roared as red markers appeared across the map floor—AoE attack indicators.
Marbas lifted one leg and stomped down, the red zone cracking apart as flames erupted. SuwonSpecialCity backflipped away, smoothly dodging the blast.
The moment the double stomp ended, a fan-shaped red zone flared up as Marbas swung his hammer wide. SuwonSpecialCity barely evaded it, prompting WatDoUCongDoU to trigger his
[Party] WatDoUCongDoU: Taunting
[Party] WatDoUCongDoU: DPS go
A Guardian-exclusive skill for tanks. White sparks radiated around WatDoUCongDoU, and Marbas’s aggro locked onto him.
With the boss fixated on the tank, DPS unloaded everything. I fired off my fully charged Thunder, immediately starting a Fireball charge as WitchLetsGo pulled out her shining silver bow.
It was
「Kraaahhh!」
Marbas howled as my max-charged Fireball and the Sharpshooter’s ulti slammed into him.
「Now I’ll fight you for real!」
Second phase triggered. The entire map became his attack zone, as expected. Red markers spread across the floor instantly.
‘Shit…!’
The problem—even if you knew the attack sequence, you never knew the exact zones. Where I stood, was this where the first AoE landed? Or the second?
[Party] CottonCandyFox: Over here
I was about to hit evade and bail when CottonCandyFox quickly pinged me in chat. I scanned her position.
Not far—thankfully. I didn’t hesitate, instincts kicking in.
Kwa-kwang! Marbas drove the horns attached to his hammer into the ground and spun 360 degrees. Craters opened up everywhere. Using an evade skill, I dashed to CottonCandyFox’s side, losing half my HP but surviving.
“Haa…”
Looking back, the spot I’d stood moments ago was obliterated. I let out a relieved breath. Didn’t dodge perfectly, but this wasn’t bad at all.
[Party] HoneybeeBzzz: Whoa Sleepy-nim ㄷㄷㄷ
[Party] HoneybeeBzzz: You actually dodged, thank god ;;;
[Party] WatDoUCongDoU: Ah, damn
[Party] WatDoUCongDoU: Trying to do this without Discord is a pain
[Party] CottonCandyFox: Sleepy-oppa
[Party] CottonCandyFox: Stay with me like that again
CottonCandyFox dropped the weird emotes and cutesy tone entirely, her next lines blunt and to the point.
[Party] CottonCandyFox: This spot’s for support
[Party] CottonCandyFox: Mage has to move up more
[Party] CottonCandyFox: I’ll position you properly ‘til it’s over
[Party] CottonCandyFox: Just follow me
She used an evade skill mid-chat, dodging the second AoE. That attack was way easier to dodge, so I managed with clean movement, frowning slightly.
‘…She’s positioning the mage?’
Not even max-level… and a Buffer? With that level of control?
‘CottonCandyFox is an alt too.’
Way too many signs for her to be some new player like me. It felt off, but now wasn’t the time to argue. Clicking my tongue, I replied.
[Party] ImSoSleepy: ok
____________________
Note:
¹CC (Crowd Control): Abilities that disrupt or disable character actions, including stuns, sleeps, roots, paralysis, etc.