Chapter 4

As countless posts rise and fall like the ebb and flow of the tides, the world of online communities continues to cycle.

Just like the phrase, “No flower lasts for ten days,” nothing stays vibrant forever. What flourishes will inevitably fade.

This truth is exemplified by the fleeting nature of topics that grab the attention of many, only to quiet down a few days later. seaʀᴄh thё novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

Some useful and helpful posts remain, guiding users, while others, meant for fleeting amusement, are recalled with a, “Remember when that happened?”

This cyclical pattern was the ecosystem of the community sea…

Yet, there was one topic that had stayed hot for over a week.

It was all about the new Raid Boss, The Gravekeeper.

***

[Gravekeeper Pattern Analysis]

SlashStrong SlashSeriously Strong SlashStabStrong StabSeriously Strong StabSword Beam“If this helped, give me a thumbs up!”

New Addition: Kick

***

[Comments]

—”‘Skills’? Ha, that’s something only the weak use.”

—”Patterns exist for those who cannot live without clinging to them.”

—”Are you suggesting a small fry like you should use skills? That’s a stretch.”

—”This is a real mess, lol.”

—”Also, please add ‘kick’.”

┗ “Added.”

┗ “(?).”

***

A post analyzing Gravekeeper’s attack patterns.

[Progress of Raid Groups Trying Gravekeeper]

1st: PizzaIsBestHawaiian – 54 seconds

2nd: Atomic – 49 seconds

3rd: NeverAnotherWar – 48 seconds

4th: Dragon’s Tail – 47 seconds

4th: Eclipse – 47 seconds

“I’ve only listed the top 5 groups. At first, it seemed like Dragon’s Tail was in the lead, but they’ve been falling behind, living up to their name. Eclipse is close, but I’m leaving them tied for 4th since I’m ignoring the decimal differences. PizzaIsBestHawaiian is currently in the lead with a significant margin. If things continue, they’ll likely get the First Clear But don’t count Atomic out yet.”

***

[Comments]

—”Progress? Lol.”

—”Progress, huh? lol.”

—”Is this some kind of hanging-on-the-bar endurance competition?”

┗ “You all have great stamina, huh.”

—”When there’s a 5-second gap between 1st and 2nd place, that’s pretty overwhelming.”

—”Why is Atomic in English?”

┗ “They’re an international guild.”

┗ “Ah, I see.”

—”The 1st place guild name is something else, lol.”

┗ “Try it once! You’ll die.”

┗ “You’re part of the Anti-Hawaiian Pizza faction, huh?”

—”What health percentage did you get to?”

┗ “100.”

┗ “What?”

┗ “100%.”

┗ “No effective hits so far.”

***

A post sharing the progress of various raid groups attempting Gravekeeper.

[Is This Right?]

“He ignores Taunt, avoids Crowd Control, and targets Healers first. Is this normal? His attack power is ridiculously high; even with Party Survival Skills, we die in one hit. Using a party-wide invincibility skill gives us two more seconds to live, but what’s the point? They made the boss wrong.”

[Comments]

—”Shouldn’t you just kill him before the healer dies? (I’m clueless here).”

┗ “You’re really going to die, lol.”

***

[Why Is the Entry Restriction Like This?]

(“There is already a party in this raid.” – image)

—”They split up the hunting grounds into channels, so why can only one party enter at a time? In other raids, multiple parties can enter simultaneously.”

[Comments]

—”This doesn’t make sense. I don’t get it either.”

Various posts criticizing the game’s developers and pointing out issues with Gravekeeper.

Some users even went as far as to write posts to the developers asking for fixes, but no response came.

Frustrated by the lack of replies, players began venting and speculating amongst themselves.

—”At this point, isn’t it possible this is a special NPC?”

—”Wait, it’s not a monster? It’s an NPC?”

┗ “NPC technically stands for Non-Player Character, so it could include monsters too.”

┗ “Oh, I didn’t know that.”

—”There’s talk that it’s part of the Main Story NPC.”

—”Maybe we don’t know the mechanics yet.”

—”Or the devs just messed it up. I knew Silia Online was going downhill when everyone was hyping it as the next big thing. Now its flaws are showing.”

—”I feel like they’ve made it impossible to defeat.”

┗ “Considering its attack power, it really doesn’t make sense.”

—”Maybe it’s a boss you’re not supposed to beat yet. We might need to level up more.”

┗ “It’s not a matter of level; the boss itself is the problem.”

┗ “Ignores Aggro, evades non-targeted skills, prioritizes attacking Healers, entry restrictions. Just listing what’s obvious, it’s already this much.”

┗ “That’s over the top;”

—”The concept is cool though, sigh;”

┗ “I wonder what it looks like.”

┗ “It’d be nice if it’s a dignified swordmaster grandpa, slurp.”

┗ “??”

Various speculations were rampant, but no one could come up with a clear answer.

Its name, level, appearance, voice—there were far more unknowns than knowns, making it impossible to reach a conclusion.

The fire that started from one user’s post hadn’t died down even after quite some time had passed.

Instead, it was blazing even more, fueled by numerous users’ posts.

Then, news came that didn’t just add fuel to the fire but poured oil over it—

[Real-time Boss Update]

It was news about the Gravekeeper’s outing.

***

“…You’re saying the Gravekeeper has disappeared?”

—Yep

—Yes

—Ran away, lol

“Ran away? What do you mean?”

—Came out of the Boss Room, sliced up people, and vanished

—???: “The best defense is a good offense”

“What…?”

Even after hearing her viewers’ explanations, Joanie couldn’t understand, so she finally opened the internet.

It wasn’t hard to find related information.

Any community even slightly related to Silia Online was talking about the same thing.

Among them, Joanie clicked on the post with the most upvotes.

A familiar figure she had seen a few times.

The Gravekeeper, completely hiding their appearance with a worn-out hooded cape, was descending a steep mountain.

Players who were climbing the mountain in the opposite direction didn’t notice they were getting closer to the Gravekeeper, as they were busy chatting among themselves.

[“Huh? Why am I in combat mode—”]

By the time one player sensed something was off, looked up, and discovered the Gravekeeper, it was already too late.

Slash!

The Tank, who fell helplessly, made the armor he was wearing meaningless.

The players were helplessly taken down by an extremely efficient and ruthless ambush.

The video ended with a sword being thrust into the chest of the person who was filming.

“Uh…”

Joanie stared blankly at the video that stopped playing, leaving only the words ‘You Died’.

“Guys, what is this?”

—”We don’t know either;”

—”So, there’s chaos right now, people are asking if the boss is really hunting players while roaming around.”

—”Wasn’t it supposed to be a raid?”

—”For real, lol.”

—”Isn’t this a first?”

“Hmm, strictly speaking, it’s probably not the first time.”

Joanie, though not a frequent raider, had enough experience as a gamer to know a fair bit.

“There have been games where the boss room changes with the passage of time or where bosses change based on events.”

Some games even had events where, to portray an impending apocalypse, a horde of monsters, including boss monsters, would attack towns.

There were also cases where you had to meet certain conditions to trigger the boss’s true form and clear the event.

“Usually, though, these are short-term events. Players would get frustrated if something like that lasted too long.”

In simple terms, just enough to make players feel a thrill.

“But it’s still intriguing. Since it’s Silia Online, it’s probably not a bug… maybe there’s a reason behind it?”

—”We believe in you, SilMen!”

—”SilMen!”

—”You don’t believe in Demoninus? You don’t believe in Demoninus? You don’t believe in Demoninus?”

—”Blasphemer!”

“Hey, no spamming.”

She gave the spamming viewers a 5-minute chat ban as a gift, and the chat calmed down a bit.

With a satisfied smile, Joanie stretched.

“But it’s really curious. The people attempting it now are all top-tier players, right? Yet they got wiped out without even landing a hit. They haven’t even struck it once?”

—”It’s not about a first kill; they’re aiming for the first hit.”

—”World first hit, lol.”

“Their control must be insane. How well does the boss wield its sword?”

Like any virtual reality game, in Silia Online, especially, physical movement skills were crucial.

Guarding, parrying, dodging, attacking, moving, and so on.

All the movements required in battle felt as real as moving your own body, and the game’s remarkable freedom allowed far more than other games.

While specs and skills usually made up for things, top-tier players in raid content were always those who handled their bodies well.

The fact that none of these players had managed to land a single effective hit showed how skilled the Gravekeeper was with a sword.

“Could I get that good if I practiced? Like this, like this?”

She mimicked swinging a sword.

Swish, swish.

—”No, no, no, no, no.”

—”The streamer has zero talent in swordsmanship.”

—”Watching this stream cost me 39.8 million won in dental implants. Thanks a lot ^^.”

—”What is this? Performance art? lol.”

—”Correct! A gas station air dancer!”

—”Don’t ever call yourself a swordsman.”

“…”

Joanie pouted her lips.

She knew her swordsmanship was terrible.

‘It can’t be helped, right? It’s not like I’ve ever trained professionally.’

She didn’t really feel like investing time in learning either.

She enjoyed exploring maps and wandering around much more.

Grumpily watching the chat that kept making fun of her, Joanie sheathed her sword.

“Once this journey ends, I’ll have to go check it out myself. I’m really curious.”

—”You’re going to try with those skills?”

“Like I said before, I’m not going to try. I just want to watch.”

In any case, it was something to think about after her current journey.

She was already close to her destination, so it would be a waste to turn back now.

While spontaneous changes in plans could be fun, changing them at the last moment, not so much.

Once she arrived, she planned to set up her tent, prepare a meal, and then…

Getting lost in thoughts of a leisurely rest, Joanie didn’t notice the chat.

—”Streamer, what are you doing!!!!”

—”Behind, behind, behind, behind, behind!!!”

“…Huh?”

Thunk!

By the time she snapped out of it and looked at the chat, the club had already reached the back of her head.

Due to the level difference and a critical hit to her unguarded vital spot, Joanie’s body crumpled in an instant.

[You Died]

As the familiar phrase greeted her in her darkened vision, Joanie let out a small laugh.

It seemed like her destination was about to change after all.